Chapter 706 of the Main Text of the Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty: It’s all for you, Zhao Xu. The reason why he wanted to meet with Zhao Yan first was actually for another reason, which was to let Zhao Yan stand in front of Zhang Fei and make Zhao Yan the leader.

Firstly, Zhao Yan was the prime minister. It was reasonable for the prime minister to come forward and express his protest. It was also reasonable for the emperor to lose face, and it was impossible for him to compromise with a small accusation.

Secondly, it also prevented his superficial relationship with Zhang Fei from breaking down, so the blame still had to be put on Zhao Yan.

After discussing with Zhao Yan, Zhao Xu took the initiative to make concessions and allowed the public security, procuratorate and courts to intervene in the investigation.

After Zhao Xu gave the order, Li Zhien immediately went to the procuratorate again and expressed that the Imperial City Bureau was willing to cooperate with the procuratorate's investigation into the case.

The procuratorate immediately stated that the previous imperial edict was just a misunderstanding. After all, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs had just been established and it was the first time they had dealt with the Imperial City Bureau. Both sides were somewhat unfamiliar with each other, so Liu Renzan was immediately released.

This surprised many court officials. The reason they were surprised was not that the procuratorate released the people, which was expected. They were surprised that the emperor would give in so quickly.

Many prime ministers had previously reported that the Imperial City Administration was abusing power and bending the law, but successive emperors had only given them a few insignificant warnings. Did Zhao Yan have such a big face?

Even Wang Anshi, who was working very hard, was somewhat surprised by this. Although he did not want to intervene, he still hoped that the matter would not be brought to the imperial court. No matter from which perspective, it would be disadvantageous to him. He really hoped to control speech, because at present, speech was in the hands of conservative literati, who all believed in tradition.

The key reason why the two soldiers were captured was because they discussed the Hebei River Defense.

...

...

So Wang Anshi called Deng Wan to ask, "Has the emperor reached an agreement with Prime Minister Zhao?"

Deng Wan whispered, "On the surface, that's the case, but I've also heard some news, and it may not be the case."

Wang Anshi asked again: "What is that?"

Deng Wan said, "It is said that the emperor did summon Prime Minister Zhao alone before, and Prime Minister Zhao said that the Imperial City Bureau must have abused punishment and tortured him into confessing, so the emperor agreed to let the procuratorate intervene. But if the result of the trial is not so, Prime Minister Zhao will lose his official position!"

Wang Anshi was shocked and asked, "Is it that serious?"

He didn't expect the gamble to be so big, after all, Zhao Yan was the prime minister.

But in fact, this is not the case. This is all news released by the Imperial City Bureau. Otherwise, where would the Imperial City Bureau put its face?

Deng Wan said, "Doesn't Prime Minister Wang think this is not serious enough? The Imperial Court has directly ordered the Procuratorate to go directly to the Imperial City Department to arrest people. In the future, should we listen to the Imperial Court or the government?"

Wang Anshi was silent for a while, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing. He was very pessimistic about the future of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. It was really too radical. But it seemed that they had no way out, so he told Deng Wan: "Don't get involved in this matter."

Deng Wan hurriedly said, "I know. Not only me, but no one else dared to get involved. Even Lord Wen and the others didn't say anything."

Wang Anshi laughed and said, "They don't say anything because it's not the right time yet. When the result comes out, you'll see if they will make a fuss. That's why I told you not to get involved, lest they catch you and you'll suffer."

Government Affairs Hall.

"Junshi, what is going on? I heard that Zhao Yuedao used his official position as a guarantee and asked the procuratorate to investigate the case?" Fu Bi asked a little anxiously.

Sima Guang said: "Prime Minister Zhao talked to me about this matter, but it was not as the outside world said. He did not guarantee it with his official position. The imperial court is particular about evidence. The chief judge cannot make a decision during the investigation. In fact, Prime Minister Zhao only suggested to the emperor that the procuratorate intervene in the investigation to prevent the imperial city department from doing anything wrong."

Wen Yanbo asked, "So what people are saying outside are all rumors?"

".That's not it either."

Sima Guang sighed, "The emperor is very dissatisfied with this. In the conversation with Prime Minister Zhao, there was indeed a hint of threat. If we fail to find evidence to prosecute, or lose the case, it may be very troublesome."

Fu Bi shook his head and sighed, "It shouldn't be like this. The Imperial Court issued this order to seek judicial justice, which is also the responsibility of the public security, procuratorate and courts. So as long as a fair judgment can be made, it is reasonable. How can we judge success or failure based on the result? This is not what justice seeks!"

Sima Guang shook his head and said, "There is nothing we can do about this. We are facing the Imperial City Division!"

Wen Yanbo asked, "If that's the case, is the procuratorate sure?"

"I am not quite sure about that."

Sima Guang shook his head. "According to the information we have so far, the soldiers there did say something that was not in favor of the government, but they definitely had no intention of rebelling. As for slandering the government, that's hard to say! The Imperial City Administration also tortured them to force them to confess their guilt."

Fu Bi frowned and said, "The Imperial City Bureau is allowed to use torture, and they did say this. How can this prove that they tortured people into confessing and abused the punishment?"

Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "Yes! How can this be proved?"

Sima Guang frowned and said, "I have also been thinking about this issue. In the past, to prove that a confession was obtained through torture, it was necessary to prove that the other party was completely innocent. If he was not innocent, then the punishment was used properly. Therefore, if we want to convict the Imperial City Bureau, we must prove that the two soldiers were completely innocent."

Wen Yanbo said, "This is even more difficult. How can we judge whether they said those words intentionally or unintentionally? Even if they are proven innocent, it is understandable to punish them based on their words. How can we win this case?"

Sima Guang glanced at Fu Bi, and seeing that he was also frowning and silent, he said, "It all depends on Zhang San. He is the only one who can do it right now. It seems that they have already sent someone to the Imperial City Department to investigate the matter today."

They all felt a little regretful in their hearts. Letting the matter develop in this direction seemed to be very disadvantageous to them.

They all knew that under the influence of this kind of propaganda, once the procuratorate lost the case and implicated Zhao Yan, it would be wishful thinking to restrict the Imperial City Bureau in the future.

No one dared to investigate the Imperial City Bureau.

In the evening.

Procuratorate.

"Prosecutor Zhang is back. Eh? Where are Qi Ji and the others?"

Wang Gong, who was sitting in the courtyard reviewing documents, suddenly saw Zhang Fei walking in alone, and couldn't help feeling curious.

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and looked around, "Has Inspector Qi not come back yet?"

Wang Gong asked back, "Didn't you go to the Imperial City Division?"

"No!"

Zhang Fei shook his head. "I just rushed here from home. According to the time, Inspector Qi should be back."

"Why didn't you go?"

"I'm scared!"

".?"

Wang Gong almost bit his tongue when he heard this answer. You went to the Imperial City Department before and arrested people for official business. You are the first person since the founding of the country. You are still afraid. He couldn't help asking: "What are you afraid of?"

Zhang Fei asked, "Aren't they going to meet those two soldiers?"

Wang Gong nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "Those two soldiers must have been tortured beyond recognition. I am most afraid of seeing this kind of scene."

Wang Gong was stunned for a moment, then he laughed out loud and said, "Sorry! I never knew that Prosecutor Zhang had this side."

Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Why? Do I look cruel?"

“No, no, no!”

Wang Gong added: "It's just that I'm used to seeing Prosecutor Zhang killing everyone in court, so..."

Zhang Fei shrugged slightly and said, "Convicting a criminal to death and witnessing the execution are two different things."

When he was in Dengzhou Prison, he hated to see others being tortured, even if it was being beaten with a stick. He couldn't stand those scenes when watching TV before and would have nightmares.

"That's true."

Wang Gong nodded and asked, "In fact, we have a general understanding of the situation over there. How should our procuratorate deal with it?"

Zhang Fei said: "If the other party was just talking nonsense after drinking and had no other intentions, and was willing to confess because of torture by the Imperial City Bureau, then we have to sue the Imperial City Bureau for abusing the punishment and forcing him to confess."

Wang Gong frowned and said, "However, how can we prove that he was just talking nonsense because of drinking and had no other intentions? I'm afraid only the two soldiers themselves know the answer."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "We have to conduct a careful investigation to find out. He can't make what is black white, and he can't make what is white black."

Wang Gong still didn't understand.

He thought that he had almost finished the investigation. This was what happened anyway. How could he prove that the Imperial City Bureau had tortured people into confessing?

He had been investigating related cases before, and all the cases of confessions under torture were of ordinary people who were simply wrongly accused, and the cases were all reported to the court. Only when the prime minister stood up to accuse the officials could they be convicted of the crime.

In other words, under normal circumstances, it is difficult to charge officials with this crime.

The reason is very simple, that is, torture is used very frequently. After all, current investigative technology is limited. When faced with a party who refuses to plead guilty, torture is the most direct and effective method. This has indeed helped the government solve many cases, but it is inevitable that confessions may be forced under torture.

Everything has two sides. It is actually very difficult to grasp the balance. Even Bao Zheng often used torture.

It was not until the second watch that Qi Ji dragged his tired body back to the procuratorate. Of course, Xu Zun and Zhang Fei had not left work either and were waiting in the yard.

"Are the two soldiers all right?"

Xu Zun first asked.

Qi Ji said with lingering fear: "They were tortured to the point of having only one breath left. According to their confessions, the Imperial City Department treated them a little better after our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs intervened. They were given enough food. We have now transferred them to the police station and have someone watching them."

Xu Zun asked: "Have you asked them for their confession?"

Qi Ji nodded, "It's actually pretty much what we predicted. They just complained a little bit because they were touched by the hearing and drank a little. But they didn't expect this disaster to happen and they almost died in there."

As he said this, he handed the two's confessions to Xu Zun and added: "This is just a rough outline. Since the two are physically and mentally exhausted at the moment, we can't ask them in detail. After they have rested well, we will go and ask them again in detail."

After Xu Zun received the confession, he said, "In addition to this, we will also have to question their relatives, their friends in the barracks, their superiors, etc. as usual."

Qi Ji asked, "Is that all?"

Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Inspector Qi, what suggestions do you have?"

Qi Ji said depressedly: "I don't have any suggestions. If I just ask as usual, can I win this lawsuit?"

Zhang Fei asked, "Inspector Qi, do you think they were being tortured into confessing?"

"That must be it."

Qi Ji said: "But... But how can this be proved?"

Zhang Fei smiled profoundly and said, "The net of heaven is vast and wide, nothing can escape it, they will always have loopholes."

That evening, the procuratorate and the police station formed a joint team to investigate and extract confessions from those involved in the case.

The Imperial City Bureau would naturally not sit idly by, nor would they underestimate Zhang Fei's litigation ability, so they thought they should also ask Erbi to protect their own rights.

Lee's Bookstore.

"You have already understood this case very clearly. If it really goes to the Imperial Court, are you confident that you can win this lawsuit?"

Liu Renzan asked Li Guozhong.

Li Guozhong said: "If the other party really wants to sue the Imperial City Bureau for torture and abuse of punishment, I think it will be difficult, but with Prosecutor Zhang here, I can't say for sure."

Liu Renzan said, "The person across the street must be Prosecutor Zhang."

Li Guozhong said, "Then I can only promise to do my best and not hide anything from Mr. Liu. We rarely win cases against Prosecutor Zhang."

Liu Renzan asked: "Then how do you think he will fight this lawsuit?"

This is actually a hint to Li Guozhong that our Imperial City Division can provide you with additional assistance.

Li Guozhong's heart was as clear as a mirror, but he frowned and looked at Li Lei again.

Li Lei also shook his head and took the initiative to say to Liu Renzan: "Mr. Liu, if the other party is not Prosecutor Zhang, I can guarantee that we will win this case. Because when the other party is obviously wrong, it is difficult to judge whether it is torture and abuse of criminal law, so we don't know how to fight this case."

Li Guozhong suddenly asked, "Does the Imperial City Division know who the Procuratorate is investigating?"

Liu Renzan said: "We will definitely keep an eye on this matter, but the procuratorate will just routinely question people related to the two soldiers, such as their relatives, acquaintances in the barracks, and their superiors."

Li Guozhong said: "This can only prove that the two soldiers have not disturbed the morale of the army or intended to rebel, but who can guarantee that they have no such intention? Moreover, the charge of slandering the government is also set in stone."

After chatting for a while, they could clearly feel that Li Guozhong and his team were still very confident about the case, but they did not have confidence in Zhang Fei.

There was no way around it. Zhang Fei had an almost undefeated record in lawsuits, while Li Guozhong and his men had never won. However, in the entire capital, Li Guozhong was the only one who could fight with Zhang Fei, and the Imperial City Administration had no one else to choose from.

Of course, at present, it is still in the investigation stage, and the procuratorate has not said that it will definitely prosecute. Liu Renzan came to Li Guozhong just to prepare for the future.

After Liu Renzan left, Li Lei clenched his fist and said, "I really hope this case can go to court."

Li Guozhong asked: "Why?"

Li Lei said: "Because this case is very beneficial to us, I also hope to defeat Prosecutor Zhang once."

Upon hearing this, Li Guozhong immediately warned: "Don't have this kind of winning mentality against Prosecutor Zhang. Even if you lose, it is only natural. Don't be frustrated about it."

Li Lei asked: "Why?"

Li Guozhong said: "Because all of this was created by him. We also learned all the litigation skills we have now from him. But who knows how many skills he has hidden? It is not shameful to lose to him. We just want to do our best."

After several days of investigation, the procuratorate finally obtained a complete confession, but in the eyes of Qi Ji, Wang Gong and others, this confession was all expected and there were no surprises.

However, Zhang Fei confirmed that this was enough to file a lawsuit with the imperial court.

Don't we see things differently?

"Prosecutor Zhang, are you hiding this from us and searching for evidence privately again?" Qi Ji asked.

In the last case of treason, Zhang Fei had a piece of confidential evidence in his hands, which resulted in Qi Ji and Wang Gong having no sense of involvement. They must be dissatisfied with this.

We are a team, and you hid it from us.

"No!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Based on the existing evidence, it is enough to sue the Imperial City Bureau, and there is even some left."

Royal Court.

"Oh. Deputy Envoy Cheng?"

When Zhang Fei came to the imperial court with the complaint, he met Cheng Yi as soon as he entered the door.

"Prosecutor Zhang. Polite."

"Be polite! Be polite!"

Zhang Fei asked curiously, "I heard that Deputy Envoy Cheng has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Daming Prefecture. How come!"

Cheng Yi explained: "Since I am not familiar with the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, Sima Xueshi arranged for me to come to the imperial court to learn."

"I see." Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, thinking to himself, Sima Guang is really not in a hurry to do things!

Lu Huiqing has already set off.

Cheng Yi looked ashamed again, "Actually, this is just a last-minute effort. I heard that Prosecutor Zhang is the founder of the law of the rule of law. It would be great if I could get some advice from Prosecutor Zhang."

After saying this, he bowed sincerely.

"I dare not! I dare not!"

Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "With Deputy Envoy Cheng's talent and wisdom, I believe he will be able to master it quickly."

Who is Cheng Yi? He is a famous philosopher in history, so he really doesn't dare to show off his knowledge in front of an expert.

Cheng Yi pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "I originally thought so, but after the last hearing, I realized that there are always people who are better than you. I hope Prosecutor Zhang can give me some advice."

After saying that, he bowed again.

I didn't realize that Cheng Yi was quite humorous. Zhang Fei thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Does Deputy Envoy Cheng think that Cheng Dujian was guilty of what he did in Hebei?"

After thinking it over carefully, Cheng Yi nodded and said, "I still think that Cheng Dujian is guilty."

“I think so, actually.”

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, “But the reason why I didn’t sue Cheng Dujian is not because he is a eunuch around the emperor, but because of the law of the rule of law.”

Cheng Yi asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because the concept of the rule of law is to defend the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, the starting point is protection, while the previous judicial system was based on promoting good and punishing evil. This is the most common problem in law enforcement by the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

Take the case of Cheng Dujian for example. In fact, according to the evidence, the accusations against him were almost all correct and there was no slander against him.

But because of the lack of system and law, he may be allowed to do this, so the rule of law must provide him with protection, and this is the real reason why we did not prosecute him."

Cheng Yi thought for a while and asked, "But is this correct?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Let's go back to Deputy Envoy Cheng's accusation. Suppose among the 800 sailors, some of them really wanted to rebel. Does Deputy Envoy Cheng think he is guilty?"

Cheng Yi frowned slightly.

Without waiting for his answer, Zhang Fei said, “Even if Deputy Envoy Cheng believes that he is guilty, the law of the law will not think so, because Deputy Envoy Cheng is allowed to do so.

So, we are not protecting Cheng Dujian, but protecting anyone from being wrongly accused. But if you cannot protect Cheng Dujian, you cannot protect anyone.

This is the biggest difference between the legal system and the old justice system. The former is for protection, while the latter is for punishment. Many officials who are familiar with the law cannot make the transition at this point. "

Cheng Yi couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Just then, a clerk came over and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, the chief judge is waiting in the front hall."

Zhang Fei immediately said to Cheng Yi, "Deputy Envoy Cheng, I have something to discuss with the Grand Court President, so I'll excuse myself first."

Cheng Yi hurriedly said, "Prosecutor Zhang, please go ahead. Oh, thank you for your advice, Prosecutor Zhang. I have benefited a lot from it."

"Where! Where!"

Zhang Fei nodded, then followed the clerk away.

When he arrived at the front hall, Zhang Fei formally mentioned the indictment to Zhao Yan.

After reading it, Zhao Yan asked, "What are the chances of Prosecutor Zhang winning this case?"

Zhang Fei said: "At least 80%."

"Yeah?"

Zhao Yan said: "But people outside are not optimistic about your procuratorate."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "That's the best. I like not being favored by others, because that makes people's eyes light up."

The usually serious Zhao Yan was amused and burst into laughter.

Zhang Fei suddenly asked: "By the way, I heard that this lawsuit is related to the chief judge!"

“They are all rumors.”

Zhao Yan said: "How can you use the judiciary as a gamble? This is all nonsense. You don't need to pay attention to it."

Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "I'm just asking in passing to show my concern. Our procuratorate still makes judgments based on evidence."

"???"

Before Zhang Fei filed the appeal, many officials believed that the procuratorate would not initiate a lawsuit in the end, because during the investigation, the procuratorate just asked the usual questions and did not take any unnecessary actions.

The key point is that many of Zhang Fei’s previous lawsuits were on the side of the emperor. In everyone’s eyes, that hearing was to protect the emperor’s interests.

Therefore, when the Procuratorate formally filed a lawsuit against the Imperial City Bureau, and directly accused the Imperial City Bureau of abusing the criminal law and forcing confessions without leaving any room for maneuver, it still surprised many people.

This really means confronting the imperial power head-on.

It's so exciting.

Officials in particular are looking forward to the results.

The royal court was also very considerate and knew that everyone was paying close attention to this lawsuit, so it scheduled the trial date on the officials' rest day.

And it is completely public.

In fact, Wen Yanbo and others hinted to Zhao Yan that it would be better not to make such cases public.

But Zhao Yan insisted on doing so.

Today is the court opening day, but Zhang Fei did not choose to be the last one to appear. After all, he is now a prosecutor and has to accommodate his team. He also came to the imperial court early to prepare.

Wang Anshi, who took time out of his busy schedule to come here, saw this kid coming so early, and his resentment immediately rose up. He told you kid not to get involved, but you are playing such a big game and don't even take me seriously. So he walked over and called Zhang Fei aside.

"I knew you wouldn't listen!"

Wang Anshi was very unhappy.

Zhang Fei whispered, "To be honest with Master Wang, I didn't want to sue before because I was considering Master Wang. Now I am filing an appeal for Master Wang."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Wang Anshi glared at him and said, "I didn't ask you to sue me. You are so shameless to say that."

"real."

Zhang Fei said seriously: "After much consideration, I think that this lawsuit will be of great help to Mr. Wang."

Wang Anshi saw that he was serious about it and said, "Tell me first, what good can it do for me?"

Zhang Fei said: "Master Wang wants to reform the system, but if he doesn't point out the shortcomings of the old system, then Master Wang's reforms will be without a reason. For example, the military system here?"

"The wing soldier system?"

"Exactly."

Zhang Fei said: "I will attack the Xiangbing system fiercely in court and force the court to rectify it. At this time, Wang Xueshi will submit a memorial and propose a reform plan. In this way, the Xiangbing can be included in the bag. Now that the exemption law is advocated, it will become increasingly difficult to levy corvee labor again. Then the Xiangbing force is crucial to Wang Xueshi's farmland irrigation law!"

Wang Anshi's eyes flashed when he heard this, and he asked, "How can we change the troops here?"

Zhang Fei immediately informed Wang Anshi that he would split the garrison troops and make them professional.

Wang Anshi was overjoyed after hearing this, because this plan was very consistent with their reform concept. The key point was that the Xiangbing was now controlled by the three yamen. If it was split up and belonged to an administrative unit, it would be of great help to his new policy! He couldn't help but say, "This plan is great!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "So, I did this all for Master Wang."

Wang Anshi looked at him suspiciously, "Really? Have you ever considered Sima Lao'er?"

Zhang Fei said awkwardly, "The next one is Scholar Sima."