Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 444: Tax war (eighteen)

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zhang Fei definitely did not stay up all night last night. Looking at his energetic appearance, one can tell at a glance that he fell asleep until he woke up naturally, maybe he stayed in bed for a while.

Indeed!

Zhang Fei didn't stay up all night, and he was late on purpose.

The reason is that after the Kaifeng government accepted the case, it seemed to regard him as an enemy, and they didn't even ask when the court would be held. As far as their Kaifeng government and the procuratorate decided, this is actually very important for Zhao Wenzheng. It's very unfair. Even if you are under pressure, the three parties have to sit together and discuss it.

The respect is mutual.

You don't respect me, so why should I respect you.

Zhang Fei, who has a small belly, naturally has to find a way to express his grievances, but he won't keep them all in his stomach.

He knew the Emperor would be here anyway.

As for Xu Zhiqian's worry that Zeng Gong would be angered, Zhang Fei didn't care at all. Since you have regarded me as an enemy subjectively, it's useless for me to please you. I might as well tease you.

Zeng Gong was indeed very upset, but in order to avoid embarrassing himself, he could only discuss with Zhang Fei in a good manner, whether to choose another day for another trial.

However, this is not a rare thing for the guests present.

Almost all the presiding judges who have fought against Zhang Fei in the classroom have suffered from this kind of loss.

Of course, this is all because of their subconscious thinking that officials are respected, and they always want to use official authority to suppress Zhang Fei. Secondly, they are all sensible, if it were Wang Honglai, they would just hit the board, I am expensive, you are cheap, who the f*ck is trying to reason with you.

After a little preparation, the trial will officially begin.

Su Zhe first summoned the defendant Wang Hongjin to the court, and first asked him whether he had falsely declared his property and whether he had evaded taxes.

Wang Hongjin confessed to this.

In the face of irrefutable evidence, this cannot be denied.

There is no trace of emotion in the tone, which shows that he knows that he is a dying person.

Su Zhe asked again: "I don't know what method you use to evade taxes?"

Wang Hongjin said: "The main thing is to hide and not report."

"Hiding more than a hundred acres?"

Su Zhe said curiously: "It's not easy to hide such a large piece of land. And according to our investigation, all the grain in these fields is sent to the warehouse of Governor Zhao's house in Zongzheng Temple , and your father happens to be the old man of Governor Zhao’s house, obviously these lands also belong to Governor Zhao, so this is the reason why you can evade taxes?”

"I object!"

Zhang Fei stood up and said: "The other party is just guessing for no reason, trying to induce the witness to say something that is not good for my client."

Su Zhe immediately said: "I'm definitely not guessing for no reason, but I have never paid a penny of tax on these more than a hundred hectares of land. This is absolutely impossible for ordinary people to do."

Zeng Gong nodded and said: "You continue to ask."

Zhang Fei sat down helplessly.

Xu Zhiqian whispered: "This Mr. Su has improved a lot compared to last time!"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "He is indeed more difficult to deal with than his brother."

Su Shi is still somewhat romantic like a poet, smart but not rigorous, Su Shi was defeated by this last time, and this is a big shortcoming in court.

I don't know if he has improved now.

Wang Hongjin was silent for a while, nodded and said: "That's right, the reason why I was able to evade taxes is indeed because of my status as a master."

There was an uproar at the door.

This is a public trial, and the common people can come to watch the trial, especially since Zhang Fei is coming back to Kaifeng Mansion, so don't miss it!

Win win win!

There was a burst of excitement in the auditorium, and they secretly glanced at the emperor sitting beside him.

Zhao Xu's face is indeed a little uncomfortable.

Su Zhe said: "I have no problem for now."

Zhang Fei stood up, "Wang Hongjin, you just said that you evaded taxes by virtue of Governor Zhao's identity, so did Governor Zhao explicitly order you to evade taxes?"

Wang Hongjin shook his head and said, "No."

Zhang Fei said: "Then how did you use your identity as Governor Zhao to evade taxes?"

Wang Hongjin said: "Because everyone knows that these lands belong to Governor Zhao, if I use some means to hide those lands, those tax collectors and government officials will not investigate carefully."

Zhang Fei said: "In other words, tax evasion is your own behavior, and has nothing to do with Governor Zhao."

Wang Hongjin nodded and said: "Yes."

"I'm done asking."

Zhang Fei sat down.

Qi Ji snorted softly: "I knew he would abandon the car to protect the commander, and let Wang Hong come in to take the blame."

"Such a large tax, how can Wang Hongjin resist it."

Su Zhe stood up and said that he would summon the defendant Zhao Wenzheng.

Soon, Zhao Wenzheng was sitting in the dock. The pale old man never thought that he would be where he is today, so he looked at Zhao Xu who was sitting on the upper left in embarrassment.

Zhao Xu gave him a comforting look, don't panic, I will save you.

This gave Zhao Wenzheng great encouragement.

The minister sitting nearby caught this detail, and the anger began to surge again.

As everyone knows, this is what Zhao Xu wanted, otherwise he wouldn't be here today, and it would be embarrassing to sit here.

"Governor Zhao!"

Su Zhe bowed his hands first, and then asked: "Just now Wang Hongjin said that the land and transactions under his name are almost all owned by Governor Zhao. I don't know if it is true."

Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said: "Yes, I arranged for him to help me manage those fields and business."

Su Zhe asked: "Why?"

Zhao Wenzheng said: "For convenience."

Su Zhe continued to ask: "How do you say that?"

Zhao Wenzheng said: "If it's all in my name, I have to come to me for everything. I don't have time to deal with those things. Many people I know do this."

Fu Bi, Sima Guang and the others seemed to be able to hear a burst of rapid heartbeat.

Su Zhe glanced at the VIP table and thought, forget it, let's not get involved. He didn't ask who they were, but asked again: "But according to my investigation, there are still ten hectares of land under Governor Zhao's name."

Zhao Wenzheng nodded.

Su Zhe said: "But this ten hectares of land has not paid a penny of tax."

Zhao Wenzheng immediately said: "The ten hectares of land is tax-free land, and there is no need to pay taxes."

Su Zhe asked with a smile: "That is to say, Governor Zhao put all the tax-free land in his own name, and recorded all the tax-paying land in Wang Hongjin's name."

A person at the door snorted: "Is there any need to ask, I know all about it."

Many people also spoke sarcastically.

Zhao Wenzheng's face was blue and red, and his expression was very exciting and rich.

Although Zhang Fei has explained it before, he has never experienced this kind of scene, and his heart is also very tormented. The dignified clan is sitting here being interrogated, and every question is very serious.

"Silence!"

Zeng Gong patted the gavel.

The door fell silent immediately.

Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said: "Yes."

"Why?"

"Didn't I say it just now? It's for convenience. In this way, tax collectors will not come to me, and they can go to Wang Hongjin directly."

"I don't know if Governor Zhao knows that Wang Hongjin didn't pay a penny of tax."

"Now I know."

Zhao Wenzheng said: "But I didn't know beforehand."

"Don't know anything?"

"Don't know."

"So this time Wang Hongjin made a false report to the tax department, does Governor Zhao know?"

"Know."

Zhao Wenzheng nodded.

If you plead guilty, you will be fined some money.

Su Zhe said: "In other words, Governor Zhao instructed Wang Hongjin to do this?"

"No."

Zhao Wenzheng resolutely denied, "Wang Hongjin bewitched me."

Su Zhe immediately asked, "I don't know how Wang Hongjin deceived Governor Zhao."

Zhao Wenzheng said: "Wang Hongjin told me that the exemption tax is unreasonable. At the same time, many big landlords in Xiangfu County will not report the truth. I don't know the specific situation. He is responsible for such things. deal with it, I'll let him watch him do it."

Su Zhe said: "Governor Zhao is a clan...!"

"I object!"

Zhang Fei stood up and said righteously: "This case is only about Governor Zhao and has nothing to do with the clan, and Su Prosecution's name may mislead others to think that Governor Zhao represents the entire clan. I'm afraid it has ulterior motives."

"Sorry! I shouldn't have asked that."

Su Zhe took a deep breath. After all, the emperor was sitting here, and asked again: "Just now Governor Zhao said that he didn't know about Wang Hongjin's tax evasion beforehand. Didn't Governor Zhao never check the accounts?"

Zhao Wenzheng said: "I will check every two or three years. Usually it is my accountant who does the calculations. I have never heard of any problems with the accounts."

"No problem?"

Su Zhe said: "According to the evidence we have found so far, Wang Hongjinguang's total tax evasion reached 1,356 shi last year. With such a large amount of tax revenue, will there be no problem with the accounts?"

The audience at the door suddenly gasped.

The VIP table was even more exciting, such as Wang Anshi, Zhao Yan and others shook their heads, evading more than a thousand shi a year in taxes, can the country's finances be free of problems?

But some people sneered, as if to say, your clan is much more ruthless than us, why should your emperor blame us.

This is actually a big problem in feudal society. What is good at the top must be bad at the bottom. This emperor is not a good bird. You take the lead and we take the small one, which is reasonable.

A flash of anger flashed in Zhao Xu's eyes, but it was fleeting.

Zhao Wenzheng glanced at Zhao Xu involuntarily, and then pretended to be calm, "Last year's accounts, the accounting office has not yet calculated clearly, so it is not very clear."

Seeing this, Zhang Fei thought to himself, this old man really has no concentration, and it is still a pleasure to cooperate with Wang Xueshi and the others.

Su Zhe said with a smile: "Fortunately, it is not difficult to check, because there will be tax bills every year when paying taxes, but our procuratorate has investigated the accounts of your house, and there is no record of any tax bills."

Zhao Wenzheng said: "Actually, in the first two or three years, Wang Hongjin once handed over the tax bills, but there were no more after that."

Su Zhe asked, "Why?"

Zhao Wenzheng said: "Because Wang Hongjin earns a lot of money for me every year, and it increases every year, I feel relieved of him. He is not too strict, and the tax is not very much."

Su Zhe suddenly said to Zeng Gong: "Report to Zhifu Zeng, according to our investigation, due to the interval of ten years, the account books in Xiangfu County were damaged by rats and insects, and there are many missing, we have not found out. Relevant records, and the account books in Governor Zhao's house happened to be damaged, and there is no evidence to prove that Wang Hongjin paid taxes and handed over tax bills to Governor Zhao in the first two or three years."

Zeng Gong nodded.

"I'm fine for now."

Su Zhe sat down.

Wen Yanbo couldn't help but said: "Governor Zhao didn't have the confidence to answer, and he was secretive. How can he win the lawsuit."

As long as there is no brain, everyone can see that Zhao Wenzheng must have ordered it, and Wang Hongjin is just a scapegoat.

Fu Bi said: "This charge of tax evasion is still the easiest charge to plead. If he can't refute this, then the next charge will be even more difficult to refute."

......

At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei stood up and said, "Governor Zhao, as far as I know, that Wang Hongjin is the son of your old man."

Zhao Wenzheng nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "It's not a family relationship, so if you ask him to help you, you must be paid for it?"

Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked: "I don't know how much?"

Zhao Wenzheng said: "In the beginning, it was set at five guans per month, including board and lodging, but later he made a lot of money for me, so I added 25 guans to him every month, a total of three per month. Ten strings of money, and he will be given some rewards every year."

Zhang Fei said: "That's a lot!"

Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said: "Yes, Wang Hongjin is paid more than his father."

Zhang Fei nodded, turned his head to look at Xu Zhiqian, "Ding Er Ding San."

Xu Zhiqian immediately dug out two documents and handed them to Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei picked it up and said: "Report to the magistrate, here is the employment contract between Governor Zhao and Wang Hongjin, and the account expenditures for rewarding Wang Hongjin in the last three years, including the employment contracts between Governor Zhao and some servants, which is enough to prove that , Governor Zhao did not lie."

"Submit!"

But Zeng Gong's eyes flashed with doubts.

Huang Gui walked over immediately.

Zhang Fei handed it over and said with a smile: "Two copies, I also prepared one for Su's prosecution."

Huang Gui hehe said: "In the past, when you went to our Kaifeng mansion, you probably prepared only one copy. This time, the time is so fast that you have prepared two copies. It's really not easy!"

Zhang Fei's expression froze, and he whispered: "Master Huang, is he interested in coming to my law firm? I will pay five times the salary."

Huang Gui glared at him immediately, picked up one copy and handed it to Zeng Gong, and asked someone to give the other to Su Zhe.

Qi Ji asked curiously, "What is there to say?"

Su Zhe flipped through the pages hastily, pondered for a while, and asked, "Do you think Wang Hongjin gets this little money every month?"

Qi Ji frowned when he heard this, and cursed secretly: "This kid is really cunning!"

There are also whispers in the VIP seats.

They don't seem to understand that Zhang Fei puts so much effort into wages when they can talk about paying taxes.

Zeng Gong looked at it, and then asked Zhang Fei: "What does this mean?"

Zhang Fei said: "The answer lies in Wang Hongjin."

Zeng Gong nodded and said, "Bring it to Wang Hongjin."

Wang Hongjin came to the hall again.

Zhang Fei said: "Wang Hongjin, you should have heard it just now, is Governor Zhao wrong?"

Wang Hongjin shook his head.

Zhang Fei said: "As far as I know, there are seven concubines in your family."

Wang Hongjin nodded.

Zhang Fei asked again: "You bought one of the concubines at the Furui Building in Xiangfu County for 620 guan, and for the other six, you spent the most 200 guan. At least you have spent twenty guan, and you have spent a total of more than one thousand and one hundred guan."

Wang Hongjin nodded and said: "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked again: "At the beginning of last year, you spent another 8,000 yuan to buy a small house in the west of Bianjing Outer City."

Wang Hongjin nodded and said: "Yes."

Zhang Fei said: "Do you have evidence to prove that you bought it yourself, not for Governor Zhao?"

Of course the concubine does not need to ask, but this mansion has to ask clearly.

Wang Hongjin said: "In order to hide it from the master, I asked a concubine at home to secretly buy it for me. If I bought it for the master, I don't need to hide it, and my master has also bought houses in recent years. But I was never told to do such a thing.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "As far as I know, you still have a secret granary in Zhongmou County, and now there are still 3,500 shi of grain stored there."

Wang Hongjin nodded and said: "Yes."

Su Zhe frowned and said: "It seems that we have to strengthen the investigation methods of our procuratorate, and we can't completely rely on the tax department!"

Qi Ji also nodded.

It can be seen that they are completely ignorant of this matter, and the tax department has not provided the income of this secret granary.

But it's all true. Wang Hongjin manages so much property, how can he not be greedy?

Zhang Fei asked again: "Do you have evidence to prove that this granary belongs to you, not Governor Zhao?"

Wang Hongjin said: "I think it is impossible to find any records about this granary in the master's account books."

Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "This is strange. Adding up all the rewards and rewards you have received over the years, there is not so much money, not to mention that your family's daily expenses are also quite a lot every year. I don't know Where did these come from?"

Wang Hongjin said: "I hide some accounts every year, including the taxes I have to pay every year. Because I later found out that the master didn't realize that we pay much more taxes every year than before, and it's not often Excuse me, so I used the identity of the master to hide the land, evade taxes, and then transfer this part of the money to myself."

But no one in the VIP seat thought that this was a misfortune, or gloating. Instead, they all scolded Zhang Fei for being too cunning, which could give him a chance.

Obviously they have understood Zhang Fei's intention.

Zhang Fei asked, "Aren't you afraid that Governor Zhao will suddenly want to check taxes? As far as I know, Governor Zhao is used to checking the accounts every two or three years."

Wang Hongjin said: "I have prepared fake tax bills. Even if the master wants to check, I can still show these fake tax bills to the master."

"I see."

Zhang Fei nodded, then looked at Xu Zhiqian and said, "Ding Si."

Xu Zhiqian handed another document to Zhang Fei, and after Zhang Fei took it, "I have here the proof of Wang Hongjin's personal wealth, as well as the fake tax bills he prepared for the past two years."

Qi Ji snorted immediately: "Xiangfu County happens to destroy tax bills every three years, and next year happens to be the third year. What a coincidence, you kept the fake tax bills for the past two years. I really don't know you This is to guard against Governor Zhao, or to guard against the government."

In fact, they all know that these big landlords evade taxes on weekdays, and they will keep fake tax bills in case they are needed. After all, this thing is illegal, and they are afraid of being investigated!

Although the people know in their hearts that many officials evade taxes, this is not a public act, it is illegal. These people still use various means to conceal taxes.

After Zeng Gong looked at them one by one, he talked with Huang Gui in a low voice for a while, only to see that Huang Gui shook his head, then raised his head and asked Wang Hongjin, "Is this a fake tax bill?"

He is a majestic prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, but he can't recognize the authenticity of this tax bill at all.

Wang Hongjin said: "I bought it from a tax collector named Xiong Ping."

Zeng Gong whispered to Li Kai: "Send someone to check right away?"

Li Kai nodded.

Zeng Gong looked at Zhang Fei again, motioning for him to continue.

Zhang Fei looked around, and said with a smile: "Even though Governor Zhao trusts Wang Hongjin very much, after all, Wang Hongjin is only the son of the old man, and Governor Zhao is not generous enough to let Wang Hongjin have a wealth of wealth. The fact is obvious, Wang Hongjin is deceiving Next, use Governor Zhao’s identity to evade taxes, and at the same time conceal from Governor Zhao the fact that you have not paid taxes, and then take this part of the money as your own.”

Su Zhe glanced at Zhang Fei and said with a smile, "This is just your conjecture and conjecture. Even if Wang Hongjin concealed his income from Governor Zhao, it doesn't mean that it includes the tax he needs to pay every year."

Zhang Fei slightly shrugged and said, "But the procuratorate has no evidence to directly prove that Governor Zhao ordered Wang Hongjin not to pay taxes."

Qi Ji said: "But the land and the sale are all Governor Zhao's."

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "But it is recorded in Wang Hongjin's name."

Qi Ji smiled coldly, let's wait and see.

Su Zhe suddenly said: "But we have enough evidence to prove that Governor Zhao ordered Wang Hong to go in and occupy the official land."

It was just a warm-up before, and the crime of tax evasion was added temporarily, and the embezzlement of official land and the sale of private salt were the most important.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "I have learned about those evidences, unfortunately, none of them can be used as evidence in court, you may have to find another way to prove it."