Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 805: Guilty lamb?

Chapter 805: The scapegoat?

Second update time.

Xu Zun returned home with a hint of drunkenness, and saw his son, daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law all coming to the door. He apologized slightly and said, "You are not asleep yet!"

"Dad hasn't come back, how dare I sleep."

Xu Lingxiao said quickly.

After all, Xu Zun is not young, and his family is still a little worried if he doesn't come home tonight.

When they arrived at the hall, Mu Zhen quickly poured Xu Zun a cup of hot tea.

Xu Zhiqian said slightly worriedly: "Dad, at your age, it's better not to go out drinking at night, so as not to hurt your body."

"I don't want to go socializing, that's not..." Xu Zun suddenly glanced at Zhang Fei standing aside, "Isn't it all your husband's fault?"

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Is it because of the appeal by the people in Hedong?"

"What else could it be?" Xu Zun smiled bitterly and sighed: "People who want to invite me to drink today are almost queuing from the south gate to the north gate."

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Is it so exaggerated?"

"Are you still laughing?"

Xu Zun glared at him angrily. In fact, he didn't like socializing either. In fact, many old friends came forward to ask him out this time. He added: "What happened this time is really different from the past. In the past, you just Even though it was so noisy, few people came to me to inquire about information, because they also knew my character, but this time everyone came to me shamelessly and asked me to advise you, you must put the overall situation first and don't mess around."

Xu Zhiqian whispered: "The people have grievances, why can't they appeal?"

Xu Zun glanced at Xu Zhiqian helplessly, without saying anything, and said to Zhang Fei: "Zhang San, I have no intention of interfering with your duties. I just want to tell you the situation in the court. As for how you will deal with it, That is a matter for your supreme court."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "I know."

In the past, when Zhang Fei was doing this, it was a struggle for everyone's interests, paying more taxes and doing less illegal things, that's all.

Moreover, Zhang Fei often occupies the moral high ground, is in line with Confucianism, and can win the support of many people.

But this time is different, this time it is fatal!

It even involves the survival of the country.

So, this time, whether they are reformists, conservatives, loyal ministers, or traitorous ministers, they are all very worried about this.

Because this matter fell into the hands of Zhang Fei, they had no way to control it, so they lowered their profile and went to Xu Zun to inquire about the information. This clearly implied that Zhang Fei must be aware of the stakes.

Xu Zun knew about the relationship between Zhang Fei and Zhao Xu. Without the emperor's nod, he would not have dared to bring this up. Moreover, Zhang Fei was actually better at this aspect than him, so he just informed Zhang Fei of the situation.

Even the vast majority of ministers in the DPRK are very worried about this.

But in fact it is limited to North Korea and China.

Since these people filed a lawsuit publicly and also invited the Legal Aid Department, the news spread quickly and immediately aroused heated discussions, but the atmosphere was completely opposite to that between North Korea and China.

This reason is also very simple. The people who are suing now are the people who have been treated arbitrarily by the Liao Kingdom, which can better stimulate the empathy of the people. However, as a minister, you must still focus on the overall situation. For example, the rich Bi was actually very angry about this, but he didn't think it was a good time to break up with the Liao Kingdom.

But whether it was the bartender of the restaurant or the young scholar, they all complained that the Liao Kingdom was too arrogant and unreasonable, because this was not just once or twice, but every time.

I feel angry when I hear it.

But they have given up hope in the court, because it has been the same every time, so what is the difference this time?

So, they now place all their hopes on the Chief Justice, hoping that the Chief Justice can give them something different.

The existence of the Chief Justice is also the biggest difference from the past.

But Zhang Fei just released the news. Too many people were involved, and the case was complicated. The Supreme Court still needed to collect more evidence before it could make a judgment.

There has been no decision yet to review the case, but there is no talk of dismissal either.

The highest royal court.

"Since Mr. Zhao has dismissed it, why do you need to take the trouble again?"

Sima Guang said with a serious face: "If it were just a simple judicial case, I would definitely not intervene, but this case is different from any previous case in that it will affect the public prosecutor and the law.

Because no matter how you judge, your judgment cannot determine the direction of this matter. This must be decided by the court and the officials.

If you make a ruling but cannot implement it in the end, this will definitely affect the authority of your chief judge.

Also, if your judgment affects the court's negotiations, or even if you have not affected it, but the negotiations there are unfavorable to our court, someone will blame you for this fault.

The current situation is very unfavorable to our government, and we are in need of a scapegoat! ”

Although he does not support breaking up with the Liao Kingdom, he really did not come to Zhang Fei to influence Zhang Fei's judgment, but he knew that Zhang Fei's judgment was of no use in this matter. It was purely to help Zhang Fei analyze the stakes.

No matter how you judge, you can't decide the direction of the whole thing. It will only damage your authority and get you into trouble.

If you really want to cede territory, you have to find someone to take the blame. If you step in, you will definitely be the first choice.

This kind of thing happened many times in the Song Dynasty, but in the past, it was all diplomatic affairs that took the blame, and Sima Guang was very worried about this.

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Thank you, Master Sima, for your concern, but what I think may be a little different from what Bachelor Sima sees."

Sima Guang said in surprise: "It's different? What's different?"

Zhang Fei said: "Sima, like most people, sees diplomacy and the relationship between countries, but what I see is the interests of the people.

Yes, I can't decide the diplomatic aspect, but I can decide whether the people should receive compensation. As Mr. Zhao said in the reason for the rejection, this is a diplomatic matter and is not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.

It is true that diplomacy does not belong to the imperial court, but the people have suffered huge losses due to diplomacy. Then I think the imperial court must be responsible for these people. They lost their land for no reason but did not receive any compensation. This is simply insulting. Judiciary is an insult to the concept of legality. ”

Sima Guang was startled, "Oh, you want to help those people get compensation?"

"Of course."

Zhang Fei said: "At least judging from the current evidence, they should receive compensation."

Sima Guang nodded repeatedly after hearing this, "This should be compensated." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Fei with a hint of suspicion, and said: "Well, I suggest that the court pay compensation to those people first, you Don't mess around. After all, Dr. Han is still negotiating with the Liao envoy in Youzhou, so don't cause trouble."

Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said: "Sister Sima, you know me. I just look unruly, but in fact I am the most disciplined!"

"I know you very well. You know the rules best, but you are not the most observant."

Sima Guang interrupted him and chuckled: "Don't talk about the common people, even I can't imagine that they can go to the imperial court to file a lawsuit. I have suspected before that the common people in Hedong all have long hair. It flew here with wings. Only you can think of this method, because you are the only one who knows best how the public security system works."

".?"

"Why don't you say anything? Aren't you very good at speaking?" Sima Guang snorted.

Zhang Fei was very aggrieved and said: "I thought Bachelor Sima was here to care about me, but it turned out he was here to test me."

"Is there still a need to test this?"

Sima Guang snarled angrily and said: "If I didn't care about you, why would I come here to this muddy water."

At this point, he whispered again: "You have to know that this matter cannot be decided by any one person. If this decision is to be made, there will be countless hands holding him. And through this matter Those who stand out will inevitably become a scapegoat. Zhao Xianggong is selfless, but he also chose to be wise in this matter to protect himself."

This is not a one-off incident. Even now, he has figured out Zhang Fei's tricks. This matter cannot be that simple.

But he believed that not even the emperor could make the decision alone, because it involved too many aspects, and if something went wrong, no one could protect you.

Zhang Fei was slightly moved when he heard his sincere tone. After all, these words are generally not allowed to be said. His expression changed, and he smiled confidently: "Actually, I have always understood this truth."

Sima Guang frowned slightly and said: "So you decided to do this."

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "I just decided to keep this option. As for whether to use it or not, that's not what I have to consider."

Household Department.

"Hey! The president of the court is here, a rare visitor, a rare visitor indeed!"

Wang Anshi stood up, cupped his hands and smiled.

"Scholar Wang is really a disgrace to me."

Zhang Fei quickly bowed his hand in return, and then said with a wry smile: "Scholar Wang, you should call me Zhang San, it sounds better to me."

"Don't dare."

Wang Anshi said: "It's not that I'm afraid of the authority of your chief judge, but if I call you too close now, I'll get into trouble."

Zhang Fei curled his lips and said, "Scholar Sima even cared about me, unlike you, Scholar Wang, who kept a distance from me. You are so unloyal."

Wang Anshi snorted: "He went to find you because he only saw through you for sending those people to the capital to complain, but he didn't see through your next step."

Zhang Fei asked: "Did Academician Wang see through it?"

Wang Anshi said: "Didn't you tell me that to start arousing people's anger against the Liao Kingdom, the trial is undoubtedly the best publicity. You must be watching the situation."

Zhang Fei immediately laughed a few times.

Wang Anshi said seriously again: "But there are still dangers."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "That's why I came here to ask. With such preparations, if we lose, it will be dangerous for everyone."

Wang Anshi said: "But I think this is not the best time. At least we have to wait until we eliminate Xixia and obtain the Hetao Racecourse before we can have the ability to compete with the Liao Kingdom."

He has his own strategic line, which is to concentrate the main force to destroy Xixia first, and delay the Liao Kingdom as much as possible. It doesn't hurt to suffer some losses in the middle, because the cost of fighting on two fronts is really too high, and the chance of winning is not high.

Now, in his opinion, this situation may turn into two ends.

"Of course this is ideal."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "But Xueshi Wang knows about this, I know, and the Liao Kingdom also knows it, so now it is not us who are provoking, nor is it us who wants to fight, but the Liao Kingdom is taking action, and we must ensure that , I will not be beaten."

Wang Anshi couldn't help but sigh, nodded and said: "So now that Jifu is running outside every day, I can only help him look after this household."

Zhang Fei said: "How is the situation now?"

Wang Anshi said: "It's going relatively smoothly so far. The granaries in all the important towns in Hebei are full, and the production of firearms has also been stepped up. After all, I have saved a lot of money in the built-in inventory, so I don't feel it is difficult for the time being. And according to the Third Division According to statistics there, the court mainly spent money on grain, coal and iron, and more on grain purchase and transportation.

A large amount of tax coins flowed into the hands of landlords, and landlords were different from businessmen. After the three major Jiekupu increased their storage interest, they deposited the tax coins into Jiekupu, or directly purchased national debt, temporarily taxing Coin prices were not affected.

But the problem still exists, that is, the Liao army has a geographical advantage. When they send troops from Youzhou, they have a vast area. At the same time, they have a large number of cavalry, which may not be defended by firearms alone. If they really fight, it depends on the Hebei Forbidden Army. combat effectiveness. ”

One of the reasons why he was eager to wait until Xixia was wiped out was because he knew that the most capable armies of the Song Dynasty were all in the northwest, including the elite cavalry. He still did not have much confidence in the Hebei Forbidden Army. Although they had begun to reorganize them long ago, After all, I haven't fought in so many years, who knows if I can win.

The plains of Hebei are very flat, which is very conducive to cavalry operations. Firearms cannot make up for this. We must rely on soldiers and horses to fight.

This is also the reason why he wanted to promote Ma Zheng and why he insisted on flowing eastward. Hebei had no natural dangers, so he changed the river course, which simply created an offensive environment for the Liao Kingdom.

And this is the strategic dilemma of the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Fei said optimistically: "The Song Dynasty has been reborn, and the Liao Kingdom is not the Liao Kingdom during the period of Queen Mother Xiao. I can't think of myself as too weak, and there is no need to think of the other party as too strong."

Wang Anshi said: "But you seem to be too optimistic about this."

Zhang Fei said: "It's not that I'm too optimistic, but I think this battle is inevitable, so it's better to face it optimistically and be fully prepared."

Wang Anshi smiled slightly and said, "By the way, why did you come to the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

Zhang Fei said: "Oh, I'm here to get the tax account book of Hedong territory, and I'll ask you how the preparations are."

However, the facts were just as Zhang Fei expected. Since Han Wei did not mention the Sui coins, the Liao Kingdom saw that the Song Dynasty was just bluffing, and backhanded it with a super double, accusing the Song Dynasty of violating the Chanyuan Alliance.

The reason is that the Song Dynasty was stepping up the construction of fortifications in Xiongzhou and Zhuozhou, and the Song Dynasty was required to dismantle them immediately.

This made Han Wei speechless.

He can't accuse the other party of violating the Chanyuan Alliance, because he has the emperor's order. In fact, the Song Dynasty did repair it, especially recently, it did a lot, which indeed violated the Chanyuan Alliance.

In fact, this regulation was very unfavorable to the Song Dynasty, because the Liao Kingdom mainly relied on cavalry, while the Song Dynasty relied on infantry. The cities along the border did not build forts. Of course, the Song Dynasty suffered a loss.

Han Wei was very cautious about this matter. If the emperor refused to let him talk, he would not say anything. He knew that it would be easy to take the blame for this kind of thing, so he quickly wrote a letter to the emperor.

What do you want me to say?

This letter undoubtedly slapped the officials of the Song Dynasty twice in the face. You asked that the Chanyuan Alliance not be brought into question, but now the Liao Kingdom has brought it out, what should we do?

From a diplomatic point of view, the Song Dynasty is becoming more and more passive. Now it accuses the Liao Kingdom of violating the Chanyuan Alliance. If the Liao Kingdom really agrees to withdraw its troops from the border of Hedong in exchange for you demolishing those fortresses, will you demolish them or not? ?

The Liao Kingdom can easily occupy the border of Hedong and cannot defend it at all. To occupy or not to occupy is only a nominal issue, but if you want to demolish the fortress, you will give up your life.

History books always record how powerful the diplomatic envoys of the Song Dynasty were, but in fact, in terms of diplomacy, the Liao Kingdom was better than the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, the Liao Kingdom would not be able to take advantage every time through diplomacy.

Although force is one aspect, strategic vision is also important.

Especially during the last period of Song Huizong, the Liao State’s diplomatic strategy was very correct, which was to unite with the Song Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty. In fact, the Song Dynasty wanted to support the Liao State at that time, and it could hide behind and control it, but the Song Dynasty’s diplomatic strategy was simply What a mess.

This time is no exception.

Originally, I went to accuse the Liao Kingdom, but ended up being so passive.

If I had known earlier, it would have been better not to go.

Faced with the pressure from the Liao Kingdom, the court returned to silence.

In fact, silence represents compromise, but they dare not say it out.

In the end, Fu Bi came up with a way, that is, to let the Liao State follow the evidence and recognize that those territories belonged to the Song Dynasty, in exchange for the Song Dynasty dismantling the fortifications in Xiongzhou.

The Liao Kingdom may agree to withdraw its troops from the disputed areas, but it is impossible to agree to recognize those lands as belonging to the Song Dynasty.

But this can only be a procrastination technique.

But at this moment, the Supreme Court suddenly announced that after many days of evidence verification, the Supreme Court decided to open a hearing on the Hedong people's land lawsuit.

The news was so sudden that the ministers were shocked. They had seen Zhang Fei delaying the decision to open a trial before, so they thought Zhang Fei knew the stakes and felt a little relieved.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei suddenly decided to try the case, but there was no news beforehand.

The only one who can stop Zhang Fei is the emperor.

Because the political hall cannot interfere with the judiciary.

But the problem is that the Liao Kingdom just slapped them twice, and now they ran to tell the emperor to stop the chief judge, which seemed too weak.

The key point is that as soon as this news came out, the people were happy and excited. Finally, someone could make the decision. Young scholars also wrote hard and published articles in newspapers and periodicals in support of the president.

Because they all know that the only issue in this lawsuit is whether to go to trial. As long as the trial goes to trial, the people will most likely win.

As a result, the ministers are even more afraid to speak. If this spreads out, the people are not allowed to block the door of his house and scold him.

They could only settle for the next best thing and ask for a closed-door trial.

But Zhang Fei believed that this was a civil lawsuit and decided to open the trial. The date was even set for the next rest day, which was only three days away from today.

This made the ministers laugh.

This kid is really incompetent. You judge, you judge, you have to be able to make the Liao Kingdom compensate. I will chop off my head and give you a chair to sit on. The public prosecutor's law is my creed in the next life. Who can say a word about the public prosecutor's law? No, I fought hard with him.

There are also some ministers who anonymously publish articles attacking Zhang Fei, thinking that Zhang Fei is just showing off, grandstanding, and taking the opportunity to hype himself up, but in fact it is useless. It is impossible for the defendant to participate in this trial. This is just our Entertain yourself.

Interesting?

It will only bring chaos to the country.

I have to admit that this statement has won the approval of many people.

After all, if the defendant doesn’t participate, what’s the point of holding a trial?

But for the people, this is exactly what they expect from the chief judge.

When Zhang Fei sued the court, most people thought he was seeking death.

So what are the facts?

This happens again and again.

Who said that the Chief Justice could not govern the Liao Kingdom.

When Zhang Fei appeared in the imperial court for the first time as the president of the court on the day of the trial, a uniform shout suddenly sounded outside.

"President of the Court!"

"President of the Court!"

The people raised their arms and shouted excitedly.

Zhao Xu, who was sitting in the hall, felt a little disappointed when he heard the cheers. The cheers could have belonged to him, but he also knew that it was impossible for him to do so, and he couldn't do it for the time being.

As Sima Guang said, once he decides to do this, there will be countless hands holding him. After all, Song and Liao have been at peace for more than eighty years. There are too many people's interests involved. Once a war breaks out, life or death will be uncertain.

He can deny the judgment of the Chief Justice, and it can even turn into a farce, but once he speaks, there is no turning back.

In fact, Zhang Fei helped him take off all the pressure first so that he could make a more calm decision.

So, the ministers sitting in the courtyard sneered at this, and everyone thought Zhang Fei was trying to please others.

You are happy with the trial, but the people of the world are accompanying you to bear the consequences of all this. You are really a loyal minister!

A while passed, and it was not until Zhang Fei dropped the hammer that the outside gradually became quiet.

When the time was up, an official stood up and read out the case of the trial.

Soon, Zhang Feixuan’s first batch of witnesses appeared in court to testify.

A total of five people came up.

Zhang Fei first asked them to state their names and where they were from.

The five of them are all common people near Tianchi in Hedong.

Tianchi is also the main area of ​​controversy in this negotiation.

Zhang Fei lowered his head and looked at the copy and said, "According to your complaint, it was about four months ago, that is, March 26th of this year, that the Khitans occupied your land?"

One of the young men named Chen Xu said: "Yes."

Zhang Fei said: "How did they occupy your land?"

Chen Xu said excitedly: "That morning, dozens of Khitan people suddenly came. They rode horses and suddenly surrounded our village. They said that this land belonged to their Liao Kingdom and restricted us within three days. They moved out of here, and when they left, they took away all our farm tools and even destroyed the fields. Those were the seedlings we had just planted!"

When he talked about it later, he had tears in his eyes, and the four people next to him also wiped the corners of their eyes silently. After all, this field is the life of their farmers.

There was also a burst of yelling and cursing outside.

This is really deceiving.

"Quiet!"

Zhang Fei banged the gavel hard and asked Chen Xu: "Do you have any certificates to prove that those lands belong to you?"

"Of course."

Chen Xuzhi nodded and said: "We have the land deed, and our family has been farming there for 20 or 30 years."

Wang Hui of the Legal Aid Agency, who represented them, stood up and said, "President, not only do we have the land deed, but we also found official documents from the court at that time. It was Han Qi who personally ordered the recruitment of them during the fifth year of Huangyou's reign. They went to Tianchi to farm, and promised that they only needed to farm for two years before the land deeds could be issued to them. So the five of them received the land deeds from the government in the first year of Zhihe."

Zhang Fei said: "Submit it."

"Yes."

After the evidence was presented, Zhang Fei did not have an assistant, but after reading it one by one, he asked Chen Xu and others: "Were there any government officials or soldiers to protect you at that time?"

"No. Not one."

Chen Xu added: "There were patrols in the area, but when they saw the Liao people coming, they ran faster than us."

Boss broke out.

The ministers sitting inside all lowered their heads and scratched their foreheads.

In fact, they are used to it.

Above the imperial court, the imperial court has no dignity at all.

Too honest and can say anything.

At this moment, another person was heard shouting: "Royal Police!"

Suddenly everyone shouted in unison: "Royal Police!"

This is also a mockery of the old system.

The court officer was about to raise his sign, but when he heard this, he immediately put it down and continued shouting.

It wasn't until Zhang Fei looked at them with questioning eyes that they raised the sign.

Quiet!

When it was quiet outside, Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Where has your family been farming for more than 20 or 30 years?"

"Yes."

"Have similar things happened during this period?"

"Yes. Yes. Over the years, Khitans have been coming to invade our fields, claiming that those fields are theirs, and beating many of us to death. As far as I know, they killed more than ten of us. , there are soldiers and ordinary people.

But this time it was different. This time they sent many people over and drove us all out. ”

"How did the local government respond when this happened before?"

"We don't know about this, maybe it will be settled in the end."

The people outside suddenly felt their blood pressure soar.