"strangeness!"

Chen Qi tilted his head and whispered to Su Zhe, "Chief Prosecutor, why didn't the other party ask those officials? Could it be that Zhang San, as the presiding judge, has restricted the power of the spies?"

When you were the spy, you were totally arrogant in the court and asked anyone you wanted to question. Now that it is your turn to be the presiding judge, you have become so low-key.

This is really too much!

Su Che said, "Don't think too much. Zhang San and I have discussed this matter. Li Min has just arrived and doesn't dare to make things difficult for the salt officials. In addition, the government has not asked for spies to discuss the case, so Zhang San was asked to ask."

Chen Qi nodded: "I see."

Those who came from the capital thought that Li Min was too low-key, but in the eyes of the officials in Hezhong Prefecture, this ear pen was simply reaching the sky!

When questioning, there were various hints that the court was unfair.

Even Cai Yanqing couldn't help but feel a little surprised, "It seems that in this court, the ear pen and the prosecutor are no different."

Yuan Jiang stroked his beard and laughed, "In Kaifeng Prefecture, there is no difference between the two in court. They just serve different masters. The procuratorate usually represents the court and acts as the prosecutor, while the ear pen represents the defense."

...

...

Cai Yanqing nodded: "I see."

But I thought to myself, it turns out that he knew about it, but he didn't ask anyone to fight for the government. It seems that he is taking this opportunity to reorganize the salt administration. This is a very smart plan!

Yuan Jiang secretly glanced at Cai Yanqing, thinking, he is not testing me. Never mind, let him think about it. Anyway, I have asked their opinions. They don't believe in the ear pen, so it's not my fault.

While they were whispering, He Chunlin had already arrived at the court. This was his second time in court, so he was not as nervous as the first time. Moreover, compared with the smuggling salt case, this case had little to do with him. He was just an executor and supervisor, not a decision maker.

"I am extremely sorry to trouble Salt Supervisor He to take time out of his busy schedule to testify in court."

Zhang Fei said with great guilt.

He Chunlin smiled and said, "Judge Zhang, you are very polite. Assisting the judiciary is also my duty."

"He Yanjian is admirable for his profound understanding of justice."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to ask, He Chunlin suddenly said, "I have something to say. Should I say it?"

Hey, young! He has learned to answer quickly. Zhang Fei was stunned, and said expectantly: "If it is related to this case, He Yanjian can tell me."

He Chunlin immediately said, "Those salt merchants were all lying. They are all very wealthy, so how could they borrow money to get by? Judge Zhang, please don't believe them. You should punish them."

Just sitting there with a calm look.

Don't panic.

It's all under control.

"Thank you, Mr. He, for telling me."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "We in the Imperial Court mainly look at the evidence, not at what they say. We in the Imperial Court will accept it."

He Chunlin said: "They lied with open eyes in front of the imperial court. Judge Zhang should punish them. Such behavior must not be tolerated."

Sitting

Zhang Fei patiently explained: "It is like this. If the imperial court convicts a witness because of a false statement, no one will be willing to testify in court. After all, the question of the ear pen is not so easy to answer.

As long as it is not a lie or perjury that is a form of framing someone, our court will not argue with the witnesses, and we will also distinguish the truth from the falsehood based on the evidence."

The people nodded frequently when they heard this.

Favorability towards the Imperial Court continued to grow, while fear was decreasing dramatically.

Zhang Fei continued, "In addition, regarding the issue raised by He Yanjian, it actually does not have a big impact on this case. What we are mainly concerned about is whether the value of the salt notes and the current value have changed. After all, our imperial court pursues fairness and justice and acts in accordance with the law, not to rob the rich to help the poor. We cannot treat the other party differently just because he is a wealthy businessman. He Yanjian thinks what I said is right?"

He Chunlin nodded slightly, "Judge Zhang is right."

But his tone clearly showed dissatisfaction. This was the first time I had seen such a gentle judicial system!

Zhang Fei smiled slightly, then lowered his head and carefully looked at the documents on the table, then raised his head and asked, "According to our investigation, during the period when the plaintiff accused the value of the salt notes of changing, it happened that He Yanjian was in charge of this matter. I wonder if that was the case?"

He Chunlin nodded.

Zhang Fei suddenly handed a salt bill to Li Si.

Li Si immediately handed the salt money to He Chunlin.

Zhang Fei asked: "He Yanjian should have heard the other party's question just now. What I want to know now is, how much salt can He Yanjian get from the salt pond with the salt notes in his hand?"

He Chunlin glanced at the salt bill and said awkwardly, "About 120 jin."

Although it has little to do with him, it is still a bit uncomfortable to answer this kind of question.

Zhang Fei asked again: "I wonder what the government has set the quantity?"

He Chunlin said: "Two hundred kilograms."

"That is to say, according to the government regulations, the salt notes in your hand should be able to be exchanged for 200 kilograms of salt."

"Yes...yes."

"Has it always been like this? Has the government issued a notice to re-regulate the amount of salt that can be exchanged for this salt note?"

"No!"

He Chunlin shook his head.

Zhang Fei asked: "Excuse me, Mr. He, the Salt Supervisor, how should I understand this question? Since the court has not changed the amount of salt that can be exchanged for salt notes, why is it that the salt notes originally worth 200 kilograms can only be exchanged for 120 kilograms?"

He Chunlin said: "We are also acting according to the instructions from above."

Zhang Fei asked, "What are the instructions from above?"

He Chunlin said: "It is the last salt transport envoy, who is now the transport envoy of Xue."

Zhang Fei said, "But I just asked He Yanjian whether the court had issued an official document, and He Yanjian said no. Now He Yanjian said that this was an order from Xue Fayunshi. Can this judge understand that this was a personal order from Xue Fayunshi?"

He Chunlin nodded.

Zhang Fei asked: "Does the salt envoy have this power?"

He Chunlin shook his head and said, "I'm not sure about that either."

Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Did you do it this way before?"

He Chunlin said: "This method originated during the Jiayou period. It was created by Fan Xiang, the then Chief Justice of Hezhong Prefecture. After that, the annual issuance of salt notes has remained at around 1.66 million strings of cash. It was only after the arrival of Xue Fa, the transport envoy, that the annual issuance of salt notes began to exceed this amount."

In fact, he had worked under Xue Xiang for many years and they had a good relationship, but he did not dare to hide the matter for Xue Xiang because the Censor was sitting nearby and these officials were looking for Xue Xiang's handles everywhere.

Zhang Fei said: "So the change in the face value of salt notes is due to the over-issuance of salt notes."

He Chunlin nodded.

Zhang Fei asked, "I wonder why you broke the rules set by Fan Tixing at that time?"

He Chunlin immediately said: "This is actually related to those businessmen."

He also came prepared this time.

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"

He Chunlin said: "In the beginning, merchants usually exchanged money for salt notes in border states, and then went to the salt pond in Jiezhou to exchange salt, and then sold it to various places, but later some merchants liked to hoard salt notes and wait for the price to rise.

The salt notes were not exchanged for salt, which led to an increase in the accumulation of salt in the salt pond. When Xue Fayunshi arrived, he soon discovered this phenomenon, so he began to over-issue salt notes and sell the salt stored in the salt pond.

Later, Xue Fayunshi combined the salt administration with the horse administration, using the salt profits to buy horses and renting out the pastures to landless farmers. This also exempted thousands of people from the labor of horse breeding and salt making, and saved the court more than 100,000 strings of cash in horse breeding expenses. However, the land rental part of the fiscal revenue was counted as part of the local government, because the finances of Hezhong Prefecture were also very short of money at the time. "

Hearing this, the people were all moved.

It turns out that the salt merchants were wronged so that we can make a profit, then... that is a good thing after all.

But...but don't change it back!

Thinking of this, I felt uneasy again.

For a moment, I didn’t know who to support.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "He Yanjian, please continue."

He Chunlin said: "After the stock of salt ponds was consumed, the cost of buying horses began to be incurred, and the over-issuance of salt notes did not decrease. On the contrary, due to the war in the northwest at that time, the issuance of salt notes was further increased.

As a result, three years ago, the salt pond was unable to exchange salt for a while, and many banknote merchants sold salt notes at low prices. The lowest price at that time was two strings of five hundred coins. Therefore, Xue Fayunshi told us that one salt note could only be exchanged for about 120 kilograms. "

Su Zhe frowned upon hearing this and whispered to Chen Qi, "Duan Chaobei just said that if the salt notes can only be exchanged for 120 kilograms of salt, then we will lose all our money."

Chen Qi said: "That won't mean you'll lose everything."

Su Che said: "Haven't you heard it yet? Some salt merchants are willing to sell at a low price, but some are not willing to do so."

Chen Qi frowned and said, "What the Attorney General means is that the cost for someone to obtain salt notes is very low."

Su Che nodded and said, "That's right. Although the court has a very complete issuance system, it is not perfect. Salt notes are just a piece of paper after all. It is much easier than obtaining 200 kilograms of salt. Someone must be able to get the salt notes easily. We must keep a close eye on this matter in the future."

Chen Qi said: "We have to send people to the border states to investigate."

Su Che said: "As long as it is within the scope of Shaanxi Road, our procuratorate has the power to prosecute."

Then Zhang Fei asked, "Since Xue, the transport envoy, told you that one salt note could only be exchanged for about 120 kilograms of salt, why didn't he directly issue an order to inform the people?"

"This...I'm not really sure about this." He Chunlin shook his head.

The government also has to save face, so it is obviously not acceptable to make direct regulations. The best way is to print small banknotes to replace old ones, thereby devaluing the banknotes.

At that time, Xue Xiang originally planned to directly stipulate that only small banknotes would be accepted, but he encountered some resistance. At the same time, the salt merchants were making a lot of trouble. The government also needed merchants to sell salt temporarily, so Xue Xiang gave them some time to exchange.

Many officials present sneered. They were all conservative and strongly opposed Xue Xiang's approach.

This is clearly an attempt to steal money and compete with the people for profits.

But those who really know how to manage money can actually over-issue money once there are banknote dealers outside, but they must avoid causing panic, as a bank run would be terrible.

Xue Xiang had no choice. The court was forcing him to pay the money, but he was dragging his feet.

Later, as soon as he was transferred, the problem of salt money became more and more serious.

Historically, Emperor Shenzong paid a guarantee to protect the salt law, but that was also because Wang Anshi's reforms had filled the national treasury.

Zhang Fei did not ask further questions. This was normal in the past. He glanced at the documents and asked, "I wonder how many salt notes the government issues every year?"

He Chunlin hesitated and remained silent.

Zhang Fei asked: "Isn't this public?"

He Chunlin shook his head.

Zhang Fei said: "So apart from the government, no one knows how many salt notes were printed?"

He Chunlin nodded.

This print volume is only reported upwards and not disclosed to the public.

The court was still able to check the specific accounts.

But most salt merchants didn't know about it, and the common people were even more ignorant.

Zhang Fei looked down again and said, "According to our imperial court's investigation, the government issued salt notes worth 2.3 million strings of cash last year. Is that true?"

He Chunlin nodded.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Who decides the number of salt notes to be issued at present?"

He Chunlin thought for a moment and said, "Originally it was determined based on the output of the salt pond, but now it should be determined based on the military expenditure needs of the northwest."

In fact, there is no regulation at present, and it is up to you to decide how to consume salt. However, this thing is addictive and will only increase instead of decrease, because it is difficult for people who spend money to live frugally.

Of course He Chunlin led the charge towards military spending and even dragged the military into it.

If you order them to pay compensation, you will reduce military spending.

"One last question."

Zhang Fei asked: "Does the government currently have the ability to exchange the salt notes at the prescribed amount?"

He Chunlin didn't even think about it and shook his head: "No!"

Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Why did He Yanjian answer so confidently? Could it be that he knows how much salt money there is out there?"

He Chunlin said hurriedly: "I don't know the details, but I estimate that there are at least millions of salt notes out there. The key is that the finances of Hezhong Prefecture are also quite tight. At the same time, they are also responsible for military expenses and horse administration. Last year, they reported this situation to the court, hoping that the court would give them some subsidies. Therefore, they definitely cannot come up with any extra money."

"I see!"

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then looked up, "Does the plaintiff and the procuratorate have any questions?"

Li Min simply shook her head.

The other party did not make any excuses and it was obvious that he was just denying his rights.

Su Che stood up and said, "Our procuratorate needs He Yanjian to provide relevant evidence to prove what he just said."

"That's as it should be." Zhang Fei nodded, and then said to He Chunlin: "Because this is related to the interests of the court, the procuratorate must investigate the relevant evidence to avoid damage to the interests of the court. Then I will trouble He Yanjian to provide the relevant evidence to the procuratorate."

He Chunlin nodded and thought to himself that this procuratorate seemed to be more troublesome than the imperial court.

.