The impression that the Northern Song Dynasty gives people is that it is rather twisted and awkward no matter how you look at it.

With advanced technology, there is no shortage of generals or soldiers... there is a slight shortage of horses, but at least we will not be beaten every day.

Business was booming and the economy was developed, but the court was in deficit every day and the people were complaining about their poverty every day.

Everything seems contradictory.

Although there are many factors that lead to these contradictions, one thing is certain: this society is too advanced and its management is too backward and does not match.

Conscription system.

Do not suppress mergers and acquisitions.

Official banknotes.

Promote business.

etc.

...

...

The same is true for tabloids.

Tabloids originated in the Northern Song Dynasty and flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty. Problems with them had already emerged during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and the court began to regulate them. However, by the Southern Song Dynasty, tabloids were even more rampant than marketing accounts.

The imperial court has repeatedly banned it.

Therefore, Zhang Fei will definitely not take the blame for this. He just brought the "prosperity" forward a little bit, and the country will still develop without him.

Because the people all know that the official bulletin is a lie, it only reports good news and not bad news. Anyone who reads the official bulletin prefers reading tabloids.

It can be seen that the Northern Song Dynasty itself had such soil. The social atmosphere was open, there were scholars everywhere, and education was extremely important. At the same time, technology had caught up, so newspapers were an inevitable product.

The Song court's response was the same as Wang Anshi's. They wanted to suppress the tabloid, but they failed to do so, and the situation became worse.

The most difficult part about legislating is not whether the law is good or bad, but that you have to ensure that the law can be enforced. Some laws cannot be enforced even if they are mandatory, and often make things worse, because the law is the bottom line of society.

Although the whole thing was not planned by Zhang Fei in the initial stage, as things changed, Zhang Fei also took advantage of the situation and began to make plans.

In fact, he could have taken the initiative to stop Wang Anshi, although he might not have been able to convince Wang Anshi. But he did not do so in the end, and his purpose was to let things come to this point.

Because he wants to publish newspapers, if there is no legal support, this matter will become very troublesome, because you don’t know whether it is legal or illegal.

There is no standard.

The Song Dynasty's system was one of checks and balances, and its efficiency was extremely poor. Rather than suggesting that they legislate on this, it would be better to file a lawsuit.

A government decree can be delayed for a year, but a verdict cannot be delayed for a year. No matter what the verdict is, the court must give an explanation.

Zhang Fei also intervened in the matter by acting as an informant.

......

"What? Master Wang is suing my brother?"

Su Che looked at Sima Guang in shock.

Sima Guang nodded.

Su Shi said excitedly: "The other party's spies are Zhang San."

Sima Guang nodded.

"That's great." Su Shi was as happy as a little kid.

Su Zhe was dumbfounded, "Brother, what's good about it?"

Sima Guang also stared at Su Shi blankly.

Su Shi said excitedly: "I have long wanted to fight with that guy, but I have never found a chance. This is really a godsend."

Sima Guang even fainted.

Met a fool.

It's over!

Su Zhe said excitedly: "Brother, do you know what kind of punishment you will face if these three charges are proven?"

Su Shi was displeased and asked, "Third brother, do you think my eloquence is not as good as that Zhang San?"

Su Che was completely speechless and too lazy to argue with him. He said to Sima Guang: "Master Sima, my brother clearly stood up for Zhang San. Why did he ask Zhang San to repay kindness with hatred?"

Su Shi immediately defended himself, saying, "I am not speaking up for him. I just cannot bear to see what Wang Jiefu has done. It is reasonable for him to sue me."

Sima Guang didn't know how to answer this, so he said, "Since you, Su Zizhan, are so confident, it saves me a lot of trouble. But whether the trial will be held has not yet been determined."

"Un...Undetermined?"

Su Shi said nervously.

......

Jianyuan.

"Another lawsuit? How can Wang Jiefu, the Vice-Chancellor, act like a commoner and go to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint at every turn? It's really ridiculous."

"The key is what basis he has to sue Su Zizhan. Although the dispute is fair, using power to force Kaifeng Prefecture to open a court is also a form of favoritism and abuse of power for personal gain. We have to report him to the government."

......

When the Censorate heard that Wang Anshi had gone to file a complaint again, they all found it ridiculous.

Moreover, if you, Wang Anshi, always complain, then what are our Censorate and the Imperial Censorate doing?

They were all tired of litigation.

There was absolutely no sense of involvement.

Zhao Yan sighed and said, "I have studied this kind of case carefully. If you want to say whether Wang Jiefu was cheating, yes, but if you want to say that he was partial to others and committed fraud, that is not the case. It is because before this, such disputes could not be brought to Kaifeng Prefecture, and they were usually discussed in court. But once it was brought to Kaifeng Prefecture, from the perspective of the judiciary, it was difficult to use convincing reasons to dismiss their petitions.

Take the crime of making a book and speaking in a jacket as an example. If we only look at Su Shi's words, it is actually impossible to constitute this crime. However, the other party's petition is based on the result. Su Shi's remarks did indeed cause a stir.

Then according to the commentary on this crime, it can constitute this crime."

After hearing this, all the censors were stunned.

When you meet a master who preaches like this, why don’t you go to the Dali Temple to be the head? It’s really... the tragedy of the Censorate.

Fan Chunren quietly stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Zhao, I would like to ask, does Su Zizhan need your help?"

"......?"

Swish, swish, swish!

Colleagues' eyes immediately turned to Fan Chunren.

It turns out that the Censorate has more than one shame!

......

Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Song Zhigao, Li Zhigao, what...what did you say?"

Li Kai looked at Song Minqiu and Li Dalin in surprise, "Did you publish that tabloid?"

Song Minqiu nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Kai asked in confusion: "Why do you do this?"

Song Minqiu said, "We did this because we agree with Su Zizhan's views and we hate Wang Jiefu's actions. This matter has nothing to do with Su Zizhan. Wang Jiefu sued the wrong person."

Li Dalin said with a smile: "What Su Zizhan said is not illegal, and neither is publishing tabloids. As the Vice Minister, Wang Jiefu is deeply trusted by the government. If he really wants to punish us, why would he need to go through Kaifeng Prefecture?"

Huang Gui hurriedly said, "We in Kaifeng Prefecture have never said that this matter is illegal. As for whether it is illegal or not, we have to go through a trial before we can make a decision. We will report this matter. Please go back first."

Song Minqiu was stunned for a moment and asked, "No...don't you need to put us in jail?"

Huang Guizhi shook his head and said, "No need."

"Well, we'll take our leave now."

Song Minqiu bowed and added, "But this matter really has nothing to do with Su Zizhan."

Huang Gui said awkwardly: "We cannot decide this. We have to leave it to the judiciary to decide."

"What Huang Zhubu said is meaningful."

Song and Li are not scoundrels. They published this tabloid to express their dissatisfaction.

But they did not expect that the incident would end in Kaifeng Prefecture. They believed that they had implicated Su Shi, so they took the initiative to come to Kaifeng Prefecture to surrender.

These two nerds. Li Kai couldn't help but curse inwardly, and then said to Huang Gui: "If they do this, the case will only become more complicated."

Huang Gui heaved a sigh of relief: "The more complicated this is, the less likely it is that we will be in charge."

Li Kai's eyes lit up and he felt happy.

Yes, the position of Acting Governor of Kaifeng Prefecture is still vacant. This case is getting bigger and bigger, involving the interests of all parties. It is definitely not the turn of him, the Tongpan, to make the decision.

......

As expected, the report of Song Minqiu and Li Dalin's surrender made the already troubled Political Affairs Hall even worse.

"The imperial edict drafter actually went to write a tabloid. This is truly an anecdote! Did they think drafting imperial edicts was too boring?"

When Wang Anshi heard the news, he was furious.

Wen Yanbo said excitedly: "You have a good relationship with Song Cidao. Don't you know what kind of person he is? Why don't you want to reflect on yourself?"

This group of people all had a good relationship with Song Minqiu. They were all book lovers and they would often get together to drink wine and discuss books.

Wang Anshi said: "You all knew what I was worried about at that time."

Wen Yanbo said: "We are also willing to work with you to calm this storm. It was you who chose to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint."

Wang Anshi snorted, "They are all coming for me, how dare I implicate Duke Wen."

“You are simply…”

"My Lords, Su Zhishi requests to see you."

Su Shi's current official title is Zhi Shiguan. This official title does not have much power, but he has a good past. Holding this official title means that he is the focus of training by the court. In one or two years, he will be promoted directly. Therefore, as soon as Su Shi came back, Sima Guang extended an olive branch to him.

Wang Anshi frowned and said, "Why is he joining in the fun again?"

Sima Guang saw that Wang Anshi was in the midst of an explosion, and fearing that Su Shi would offend Wang Anshi, he took the initiative to say, "I'll go see him."

But when Sima Guang learned the reason why Su Shi came here, he was so angry that he fainted.

It turned out that Su Shi rushed here because he was worried that the defendant would be snatched away by Song Minqiu and others, and he said that the responsibility lay with him.

"Su Zizhan, can you please stop making trouble?" Sima Guang was about to go crazy.

Su Shi said, "Sima Xueshi, you know Song Zhigao better than I do. He is no match for Zhang San and Wang Jiefu in court. If we let him testify in court, it will only cause trouble."

Just at this moment, Fan Chunren came again.

"It would be great if Su Zizhan is here too."

Fan Chunren couldn't help but feel happy when he saw Su Shi.

Sima Guang asked, "What's the matter with Fan Sijian?"

Fan Chunren hurriedly said, "Master Sima, let me defend Zizhan. I am sure I can beat Zhang San this time."

Su Shi immediately said, "I dare not trouble Fan Sijian with this matter."

Fan Chunren was stunned for a moment, "Has Zizhan already invited someone?"

Su Shi said: "I will defend myself!"

Fan Chunren said excitedly: "How do you defend yourself?"

"Why can't I defend myself?"

"Look, you don't even know the rules of litigation, and you want to defend yourself. If you want to defend yourself, you can only passively take the beating, and you can't attack Wang Jiefu."

"Don't pretend I don't know. Judicial reform has not yet reached Kaifeng Prefecture. The rules are just unwritten and can be changed."

"Wouldn't that be a mess? Wang Jiefu also wants to ask questions to the witness, and then there will only be endless arguments. Moreover, the judicial reform has been prepared for implementation in Kaifeng County, which shows that since there is such a law, we must abide by it."

Fan Chunren said, and then turned to Sima Guang: "Mr. Sima, is what I said wrong?"

Sima Guang stood up and shouted, "Someone, come! Get these two out of the government hall."

"......?"

There is really no peace of mind.

......

Xu Mansion.

"Song Minqiu? Li Dalin?"

Zhang Fei thought about it and still hadn't heard of it, so he asked curiously, "Do these two have any grudges with Master Wang?"

Xu Zun shook his head and said, "Not only did we not celebrate the festival, but we had a very good relationship in the past. Wang Jiefu often borrowed books from Song Zhigao."

Zhang Fei was even more curious, "If that's the case, then why did they do this?"

Xu Zun said: "Because they are very opposed to banning tabloids from discussing current affairs."

Zhang Fei nodded, "Then let's make up a new complaint and sue them together."

"Wait a minute!"

Xu Zun was also having a headache. "Song Zhigao is different from Su Shizhan. He is well-educated and hospitable. He has many friends in the court and the public, such as Sima Xueshi, Wen Gong, Fu Gong, and Zhao Xianggong. He also has a very high reputation in the literati circle. If you bring him to court, you will probably offend all the scholars in Bianjing. See if you can arrange him as a witness."

Zhang Fei said: "They have all surrendered themselves, so they cannot be considered witnesses. Their crimes may be more serious than Mr. Su's. And..."

He smiled slightly: "I don't mind offending those scholars."

Xu Zhiqian said, "Don't get carried away. Why did Uncle Wang want to fight this lawsuit? Wasn't it because he couldn't bear the pressure from those scholars? Not to mention you."

Xu Zun nodded and said worriedly, "Qian'er is right."

"no the same."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I can bear it. Scholars won't take action. Besides, I like this kind of grand scene. My battle robe was made for this. The more scholars pay attention to it, the better. What we have to do is to win this lawsuit beautifully and make them shut up."

Xu Zhiqian snorted softly: "Don't worry, no matter how beautifully you win, they won't shut up, and the trouble will only be endless."

Zhang Fei raised his lips and said, "I've read the tabloids written by Song Zhigao and others. It's just a mess. I can't see any knowledge at all."

Xu Zhiqian was stunned, and suddenly thought of something, and said: "Doesn't it mean that we are invincible?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It must be done."

......

To put it mildly, Su Shi was just complaining, but the actions of Song Minqiu and others were much more serious. The key point was that he was an official who was responsible for drafting imperial edicts. As the matter became more and more serious, the emperor had to be asked to come out and make the decision.

Chuigong Hall.

"When discussing this matter, Wang Xueshi's concerns were not just for no reason, and you all agreed. However, Song Minqiu and others did not ask for the reason, but published the tabloids without authorization, disturbing the people and creating chaos, putting the court in an unjust position. Moreover, they are new court officials, so they should be punished more severely."

Zhao Xu said with displeasure.

Wen Yanbo immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Song Minqiu and others are not unaware of what Wang Xueshi is worried about, but they are still opposed to doing so. And it's not just Song Minqiu and others who are opposed, almost all scholars and students are opposed. I think the decision was too hasty at the time, and it was our negligence that led to this riot. I am willing to bear the blame for dereliction of duty, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive Song Minqiu and others."

Wang Anshi stood aside and whispered, "Can you take the blame for something that's illegal?"

Sima Guang immediately retorted: "Even if we judge the matter by law, publishing tabloids is not against the law."

Wang Anshi smiled and said, "It has not been tried yet, I hope Mr. Sima will not make any rash judgments."

Sima Guang snorted, "You also know that the case has not been tried yet, so what grounds do you have to say that?"

Wang Anshi said: "At least I dare to take it to court."

Sima Guang asked, "Song Minqiu and others went to Kaifeng Prefecture on their own. Could it be that they were guilty of something?"

Zhao Xu hurriedly said, "Please stop arguing, how should we decide this matter?"

Zhao Yan suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Jiefu's worries are not unfounded, but Su Zizhan's words are also difficult to be convicted of. However, it is difficult to take both into account at the moment. I think that the best solution is to appeal to the court."

Lu Gong always wanted to leave Kaifeng Prefecture, but Zhao Yan wanted to go back to Kaifeng Prefecture. His words can be understood as self-recommendation.

Wen Yanbo glanced at Zhao Yan depressedly.

They have never defeated Zhang San in court. Su Shi is a pillar of the country in the future, and Song Minqiu is our good friend. If you send them to court, it will be hard to predict whether it will be good or bad.

And...and it's very dangerous.

Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "What do you think?"

Wen Yanbo really didn't want to go to court. The incidents of Wang Wenshan and Wang Hong were still vivid in his mind. However, unless Wang Anshi was willing to admit his mistake, there was really no better solution to the matter.

Sima Guang was the first to step forward and said, "I agree."

Lu Gongzhu and Chen Shengzhi also expressed their approval.

Wen Yanbo remained silent.

But he didn't know that Sima Guang, Wang Anshi and Zhao Xu all supported Zhang Fei.

No one can stop this lawsuit.

This meeting is just a formality.

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Then let......!"

Zhao Yan immediately said, "I am willing to try this case."

Zhao Xu glanced at Zhao Yan and said with a smile, "Okay! You will be the judge of this case."

......

Court of trial.

"I want to defend myself."

Su Shi excitedly said to Sima Guang, "Master Sima, you have to believe me, I am sure I can beat Zhang San."

Sima Guang said: "You can defend yourself, but this rule cannot be broken. You cannot question the witnesses."

Su Shi was anxious, and he cupped his hands and said, "Brother Junshi, can you make an exception for me?"

Sima Guang said: "This is what Prime Minister Zhao ordered. I have no other choice."

As he spoke, he glanced at the excited Fan Chunren beside him and said, "Let Fan Sijian defend you."

Fan Chunren hurriedly said, "Zizhan, please trust me this time."

Su Shi pretended not to hear anything, but suddenly an idea struck him, and he continued, "Sima Xueshi, actually...actually I think this matter has nothing to do with me. I just complained a few words, and who hasn't complained? How can I be charged with a crime? It was Song Zhigao who published my words in the tabloid without my permission. They should be the defendants, and I can defend them."

Sima Guang glanced at Su Shi and said with a smile, "Su Zizhan, how about this? You can be sentenced to death by hanging for leaking important information. This is not a secret. If you plead guilty, the sentence will probably be one year in prison. You can take it all and save everyone trouble."

Su Shi looked at Fan Chunren.

Fan Chunren bowed repeatedly and said, "I hope Zizhan can trust me once."

Su Shi asked, "Can Fan Sijian say what I say?"

Fan Chunren: “......!”

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