"Judge Zhang, I was wrong. I am willing to apologize. I am willing to apologize. Please, give us another chance."

"Judge Zhang, we really know we were wrong."

Kong Tai, who had just confidently shouted "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated", was now crying bitterly and shouting at Zhang Fei at the top of his lungs.

The two of them used to be imperial guards and often went to those brothels. They had no idea what kind of people were dumping manure there. They were simply the worst of the worst, some even the kind that couldn't even be seen in public during the day.

Well. Then you should humiliate me!

dignity?

They are already dumping manure, what dignity are they talking about?

It makes no difference!

It is almost impossible to ask Judge Zhang to work overtime.

This instead aroused inexplicable excitement among the onlookers, and there was constant cheering. You know, before the verdict, many people were inclined to favor Lu Bangxing's defense.

...

...

But now, there is unanimous applause.

It seems that throughout history, happiness has always been built on the suffering of others.

The happiest ones among them were Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi. They clapped their hands vigorously and laughed triumphantly.

This expression is clearly revealed!

Why don't you mess with Zhang San? You embarrass him, and he'll kill you with his petty mind! Lu Bangxing sighed to himself, walked up and said, "That's enough! That's enough! Stop yelling, I'll go discuss this with Judge Zhang later."

"Mr. Lu Er, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, sir! We would rather apologize than dump manure there!"

The two of them were in tears and sobbing, regretting their decision!

"Got it! You must stop talking nonsense."

Lu Bangxing said this and left.

Wei Yingfang, Cao Yi and others also stood up silently and walked out of the imperial court through the side door in a low-key manner.

"What a pity!" Wei Yingfang sighed.

Cao Yi smiled and said, "We don't expect this small case to cause much trouble to the imperial court. This is just a test."

Wei Yingfang nodded and said, "Yes, this test was very successful. With so many people in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, it is impossible for them to be flawless. No matter how capable Zhang San is, it doesn't matter."

As he was speaking, he noticed that Cao Yi was silent. He turned his head to glance at Cao Yi, and saw that Cao Yi was staring blankly at the left front. He followed his gaze and was stunned.

I saw Han Dongniang and a handsome young man standing under a willow tree, having a pleasant conversation.

The handsome young man was Fu Shichun.

Coincidentally, Fu Shichun also looked at them and nodded with a smile.

The provocation could be felt from a distance.

mock up!

You are following me to do evil things in the red-light district, but don’t you know that I am the founder of that Fengyue Newspaper?

Wei Yingfang couldn't help but sigh, "Yes! For these rich kids, playing these tricks is easy for them."

Xu Zhiqian also quickly cleaned up and chased after him, "Zhang San, I think the laws regarding molesting women are not perfect enough!"

"Not perfect enough?"

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, "Don't talk as if it was perfect before. It has always been imperfect. I spent a lot of time trying to find a crime to convict him."

Xu Zhiqian said: "Since you know, you should find a way to improve it."

Zhang Fei sighed, "Don't worry about this. If it's not perfect, I'll be uncomfortable. I'll have to rack my brains to determine the crime and punishment. I don't want to be bald at such a young age."

As he spoke, he smoothed his thick bun.

While the couple was reviewing the matter, they walked towards the backyard. However, just as they arrived at the small lake, Li Si came to report that Su Che wanted to see him.

So Zhang Fei asked Li Si to invite Su Che here.

"Judge Zhang, Madam Zhang."

"Mr. Su, please take a seat."

Zhang Fei and Su Zhe sat down, while Xu Zhiqian stood silently behind Zhang Fei.

"Mr. Su is so anxious to come to me. Could it be that you feel that my judgment just now is unfair?"

Zhang Fei asked half-jokingly.

"Not really."

Su Zhe shook his head: "Judge Zhang's ruling is still very fair, but it also makes me feel a little worried."

Zhang Fei asked, "Mr. Su is worried about the authority of the Royal Police, right?"

"Yes, but not entirely."

Su Che said: "What I am really worried about is the crime that Judge Zhang just cited, plus the authority of the Royal Police, and the punishment that Judge Zhang has imposed.

In fact, the cases just tried were common in the market, and before that, they were either punishable or not, depending on who the other party was. If the other party was a noble and no one was injured, they might just let the matter go, or even the yamen runners might turn a blind eye and avoid them. But if the other party was a commoner, he might be arrested and taken to the yamen to be extorted.

The charge that Judge Zhang has repeatedly cited can be used in many disputes, and the Royal Police can also arrest people, which makes the power of the Royal Police extremely terrifying.

Wei Zheng, the great prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, once said, "There is no fixed law, the severity of the punishment is determined by the situation; if you want to accuse someone of a crime, how can you find a pretext?"

It seems that he is dissatisfied with Zhang Fei's refereeing.

Although the crime Zhang Fei cited, namely "those who intentionally alarmed each other and caused disturbance in the market and among the people," covers a lot of things, it is generally a general term that causes panic among the people. To be more specific, it is mainly aimed at falsely claiming that wild beasts have entered the city and caused panic.

Rarely cited in relation to fights.

Not to mention that this charge was cited in several cases.

In addition, the minimum penalty for this crime in the Song Dynasty's Criminal Code was eighty strokes of the cane, but there was no punishment of hard labor.

Although Su Che also knew that Zhang Fei had the power in this regard, the crime was vague and you had the final say on the punishment, which was definitely not acceptable.

The presiding judge can make decisions based on the person. If he is not happy with the person, he will give a heavy sentence, and if he likes the person, he will give a light sentence.

What is more crucial is that the power of the Royal Police, the crime, and Zhang Fei's sentence, combined together, make it difficult to supervise the power of the Royal Police.

If two people quarrel, they may also be arrested.

Because you can't tell whether quarreling will disrupt the market, but since fighting is allowed, then quarreling is certainly allowed.

This will give the Royal Police a lot of room to maneuver.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Chief Prosecutor Su is right. In fact, I have studied relevant laws and cases before. In this regard, the laws of our dynasty are very strict.

If I had ruled according to the law, Xu Jingtian and his men's behavior could have been sentenced to three years in prison under the Law of Fighting, but this is obviously unreasonable. If I don't cite this crime, I can only cite the last article of Volume 27 of the Miscellaneous Laws, "Doing what should not be done."

Su Che said: "What Wei Zheng said just now refers to this crime."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The crime is described as a miscellaneous minor crime, which involves many categories and is difficult to cover. If I cite this crime, then any sentence I can impose would not be excessive, and this crime even allows me to impose the death penalty, so I don't want to cite this crime.

The reason why I quoted Article 432 of the Miscellaneous Laws, "Those who disturb the market and the crowds and cause disturbances", is that I hope to classify all such cases under this crime, and then draft very detailed regulations, and the punishment will be uniformly hard labor, ranging from one hour to two months, depending on the severity of the case.

This is used to distinguish it from the Law of Fighting and the Law of Theft, and is also a supplement. For example, if a fight is serious, it can be classified under the Law of Fighting, but if it is minor, it will be classified under this law. "

Su Che finally realized what was happening and said, "It turns out that Judge Zhang had already considered this."

Zhang Fei spread his hands and said, "I have no way. I can't find the relevant laws."

This "not deserved to be a crime", as the name suggests, is a catch-all for miscellaneous laws. There are too many disputes between people, and it is impossible to write laws that cover all of them.

So how does the government regulate according to the law? If it cannot find a suitable law, it can cite this law to make a judgment.

If there is no law and the circumstances are extremely serious, this law can be cited and the death penalty can be imposed.

Of course, in the Tang and Song dynasties, if a person was sentenced to death, it had to go through very strict review and had to be approved by the emperor.

Officials generally did not like to sentence people to death, because if it was a wrong verdict, the emperor would definitely know about it.

As far as Zhang Fei is concerned, he certainly thinks that it is better to have as few such pocket charges as possible, just as Wei Zheng said: There is no fixed law, the severity of the crime is determined according to personal feelings; if you want to accuse someone of a crime, how can you find a pretext?

Once officials cite this charge, there will be no way to proceed with the lawsuit.

But Zhang Fei also took into consideration that this is not an era of rule of law and the laws are not perfect. If the government is not given this power, more problems may arise and the rich can oppress the poor at will.

This is also why Sima Guang and others have always emphasized the importance of paying attention to the moral character of officials. A good official quotes laws and regulations mostly to promote good and punish evil, which is due to the limitations of the times.

Zhang Fei had no intention of changing this law.

Therefore, Zhang Fei could only classify this public security crime as another crime, because this "undeserved crime" can be cited when no corresponding law is found.

The memorial explains it very clearly: miscellaneous crimes and minor offenses are numerous and difficult to cover in full.

But if you have relevant laws, then you cannot cite this crime.

As the legal provisions become more detailed, this pocket crime can be further narrowed.

Su Zhe said, "But I wonder how Judge Zhang plans to make up for this loophole?"

Zhang Fei said: "I can't do this alone. I suggest that the Royal Court, the Procuratorate, and the Police Department jointly draft relevant charges and specific punishments. If Mr. Su Xiao is willing, he can preside over it."

Su Che hurriedly said, "I dare not, I dare not. This idea was proposed by Judge Zhang, so Judge Zhang should be in charge."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I can't. I'm very busy. I have a lot of things to do."

Xu Zhiqian behind him couldn't help but look down on Zhang Fei. What busyness? He was just lazy.

But Su Che didn't think so. He thought Zhang Fei was hinting that he had to take care of disarmament, finance, and other laws, so he had no time to deal with it. So he said, "Well, if Judge Zhang is not available recently, I can temporarily take over for Judge Zhang."

Zhang Fei immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much."

Su Zhe said: "That's about the Royal Police."

Zhang Fei said: "For the time being, we can only rely on you and me to supervise and let the Royal Police know that every suspect they arrest has the right to appeal to the Royal Court. Apart from this, there is no better way. If too many restrictions are given to the Royal Police, it will only backfire."

(End of this chapter)