Chapter 710 of the Main Text of the Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty, Loyalty and Justice, was filled with deafening boos from outside!

In the past, in such occasions, the people dared to curse "dog officials", after all, the law did not hold everyone responsible. However, they did not dare to curse the Imperial City Bureau, because no one could guarantee that there were no people from the Imperial City Bureau in the crowd. What if they were retaliated against?

They can only make all kinds of strange noises to express their anger.

Zhao Yan selectively drank a sip of tea and did not stop the people immediately. This is what the Imperial City Administration deserved.

But then again, the layman only watches the excitement, while the expert sees the details.

Liu Renzan is truly a veteran in the officialdom. In such a short period of time, he made the wisest choice.

The success or failure of this is due to the imperial power.

He relied on the imperial power and was fearless, but at this moment he was forced to plead guilty by the imperial power.

Liu Renzan knew very well that the Imperial City Bureau only had to be responsible to the emperor, and their life and death were completely controlled by the emperor, so the judiciary could not punish him.

Therefore, whenever he considered anything, he had to start from the imperial power.

...

...

If he still insisted that Hu Changbai and Qiu He were plotting rebellion, or even just being scoundrels, Zhang Fei wouldn't have much to do. He couldn't dig out their hearts to see if the word "treason" was engraved on them.

But if this is the case, it would be enough to prove that their Imperial City Bureau was greatly negligent in their work and failed to safeguard the interests of the emperor. This would be very fatal to them. If they did this, how could the emperor still trust them?

However, admitting that he just wanted to make meritorious service was to deny that Hu Changbai and Qiu He had any intention of rebellion. Even if they were tortured into confessing, it did not violate the purpose of the Imperial City Administration because it did not harm the interests of the emperor. The key point was that the other party still said those controversial words. In a sense, they were still maintaining the imperial power.

As for maintaining imperial power, it is better to kill the wrong person than to let him go.

On this point, the emperor's ideas were certainly different from Zhao Yan's.

What Zhao Yan cared about was justice, while what the emperor cared about was loyalty.

Wang Gong knew the truth and could not help but admire him. He lowered his voice and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, you were really brilliant just now! You actually forced him to admit it voluntarily. This may be our only chance of winning."

Zhang Fei smiled slightly and said, "It's not possible, but certain. If they don't take the initiative to admit it, we won't be able to win. After all, Hu Changbai did say those words."

Wang Gong nodded, "Yes, yes, yes! This!"

He didn't know what to say. The key point was that Zhang Fei acted very confident, as if everything was under control, but in fact he only had one chance.

"Prosecutor Zhang, when will you send someone to track down the soldiers from the Bridge Camp?"

Qi Ji on the side suddenly asked sourly.

We agreed on team spirit, but ended up operating on our own.

Zhang Fei handed over the document, "Didn't you write this document? And you're asking me."

"I don't have any!"

Qi Ji suddenly shut up, glanced at the copy again, pointed at Zhang Fei and said, "So it's you!"

“Ahem!”

Zhang Fei stopped him with his eyes.

Qi Ji was immediately terrified and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, you are really a man of great skill and courage!"

As soon as Liu Renzan presented the report, the procuratorate was in a very awkward situation because it had not conducted any investigation.

The main reason was that Zhang Fei was worried that if he investigated, he would alert the enemy. After all, the investigative ability of the Imperial City Bureau should not be underestimated. Therefore, he just ordered the procuratorate to conduct an investigation as usual, which was very ordinary.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Because I know they definitely didn't investigate other people."

Wang Gong asked, "Why is Prosecutor Zhang so sure?"

Zhang Fei said, "Because I have investigated related cases. Cases like this are either exaggerated or used to gain merit. The Imperial City Division has arrested Hu Changbai and Qiu He for quite some time, but Liang Yuhou and his men have not even investigated them. It is obviously the latter. Commander Wu has already explained the reason very clearly."

Wang Gong and Qi Ji both nodded slightly.

This is indeed very unreasonable, but they have never thought of finding loopholes in the execution procedures of the Imperial City Bureau and then using it to turn the tables.

Li Lei on the other side was very frustrated and held his forehead. In this situation where it was a sure win, Zhang Fei actually forced his employer to admit it voluntarily.

This is something that even gods can’t save!

At this time, Li Guozhong suddenly put his handkerchief in front of him.

Li Lei took a closer look and saw the word "loyalty" written on the handkerchief. He tilted his head to look at Li Guozhong.

Li Guozhong said: "Now the main thing is to protect our employer."

Li Lei understood immediately.

At this time, Zhao Yan also asked: "Does the defense have any questions?"

"have!"

Li Lei raised his hand subconsciously.

Li Guozhong said, "Calm down. I told you long ago that losing to Prosecutor Zhang is only natural. Don't lose confidence because of this."

"yes!"

Li Lei immediately took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and carefully recalled the other party's question. After a while, he stood up and said, "Mr. Liu."

"ah?"

Liu Renzan seemed to have fallen into semi-despair and had no hope in Li Lei and the others. Now that he had admitted it himself, how could others save him?

But when he looked up at Li Lei, he saw that Li Lei's eyes were still full of confidence, and hope suddenly ignited in his heart again.

Li Lei asked, "In the morning, Liang Yuhou said that there were often complaints in this camp, but as far as I know, the Imperial City Division has not arrested any of them before. I believe that the Imperial City Division should have heard about these complaints, so why did they suddenly arrest Hu Changbai and Qiu He this time?"

Why did they suddenly arrest Hu Changbai and Qiu He this time? Why? Liu Renzan blinked in confusion, then stared at Li Lei, suddenly showing excitement, and coughed, "Yes, yes, of course our Imperial City Division has heard complaints from people in the camp, but our Imperial City Division will not arrest people at random, mainly because of this timing."

"This timing?"

Li Lei immediately asked, "What does Mr. Liu mean by this?"

Liu Renzan hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually it was mainly because of the hearing on the sailor's desertion."

Li Lei asked again: "What does this have to do with the hearing?"

Liu Renzan said: "Because in that hearing, some topics about the military camp were involved. Although the emperor governed the country with benevolence and gave out hundreds of thousands of strings of cash for subsidies and compensation, we in the Imperial City Department were also very worried that someone would use this hearing to plot something bad, because many people were discussing this matter at the time.

So, our Imperial City Bureau sent out many spies, which led to this case. Our Imperial City Bureau certainly does not want to expand this case, but hopes to have a deterrent effect.

Because the duties of our Imperial City Department are different from those of the police station and the procuratorate. Our main job is to protect the emperor and the stability of the country. We must supervise and take action against anything that undermines stability."

Li Lei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you very much, Mr. Liu, for answering my questions truthfully."

Liu Renzan also gave him a grateful look. It's really worth it to invite you here.

Sima Guang, Lu Gongzhuo and others looked at Li Lei and Liu Renzan with contempt.

How shameless!

After Li Lei sat down, Zhao Yan looked at Zhang Fei again. Zhang Fei stood up and said, "I have asked all my questions."

Li Lei also said that he had no more questions to ask.

Zhao Yan said, "Since neither the prosecution nor the defense has any questions to ask, let's take a short break. Both parties can make their closing statements later."

"This Erbi is really cunning. He actually used his loyalty to the government as an excuse to make a fuss."

Wang Gong frowned.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Forget it! They have already given up the lawsuit and are trying to save their lives. We can't ask for too much, or we might end up losing more than we gain."

Qi Ji sighed, "Even if we convict him, we can't punish them. In the end, we still have to hand it over to the Imperial City Bureau to deal with it."

Everyone knows this truth. In the end, it will be the emperor who will punish them. As long as they hold on to the emperor's thigh tightly, their lives will not be in danger.

Sima Guang and his colleagues also took advantage of this opportunity to whisper and discuss their next plan.

At present, the fact that Liu Renzan had been tortured into confessing by the Imperial City Bureau is illegal, which then brings up a question: how to punish Liu Renzan.

They can't let the Imperial City Bureau off easily, so this involves the next issue, the game between the prime minister and the emperor.

The judiciary can no longer handle this matter because the rules are like this and the judiciary can only judge according to the rules.

After a short rest, Zhang Fei stood up first, looked around, and after brewing his emotions, he said loudly: "Regarding the first witness Hu Changbai and the second witness Qiu He, they were of ordinary backgrounds and were just two very, very ordinary soldiers in the Maqiao Battalion of the Imperial Guards.

The year is already halfway through, but according to our investigation, they have had less than five days of rest, and the rest of the time, they mostly live by the river, and have to go down to the river to work before five o'clock every morning, or act as trackers, pulling passing boats, and stay busy until sunset.

It happens day after day, year after year.

They do the hardest and most exhausting work all year round, but rarely get a full salary, let alone any rewards. But they still regard the military camp as their home and are never willing to leave. What excellent soldiers they are. However, they just complained a few words when they were drunk. This is a normal thing, and anyone would complain about it.

I believe that everyone here, as well as the audience outside, will complain all day long if their employer gives them less gifts, even during the New Year holidays.

However, even these ordinary complaints, when heard by those with ulterior motives, were regarded as slandering the government, disturbing the morale of the army, and plotting rebellion. The two of them also became tools for others to get promoted and make money.

And I was tortured. If I had not confessed, I might not be sitting here today and letting the truth come to light. And all of this. ”

At this point, he looked at Liu Renzan, Li Zhien and others over there, "It was all given by the Imperial City Department. As Liu Gongshi himself said, the power of the Imperial City Department is to protect the emperor and maintain the stability of the country. However, they did not inform the emperor of the soldiers' complaints and difficulties in time, causing the court to pay attention and find ways to improve the soldiers' living environment.

Instead, he was only thinking about promotion and making money, and intended to use torture to force the two outstanding soldiers to confess their crimes, in order to make an example of them and shut the soldiers up. However, this was tantamount to covering one's ears and stealing the bell, and deceiving oneself and others.

As the ancients said, it is more difficult to stop the people from speaking than to stop the river from flowing. If the soldiers' complaints about life were turned into a torrent of complaints, the consequences would be disastrous.

Throughout history, there have been many cases that tell us that this is not to maintain stability and protect the emperor, but to deliberately destroy the country and put the emperor on the edge of a cliff. Not only did they fail to fulfill their due responsibilities, but they also continued to create dangers for the country and the monarch.

This situation must not continue to happen, so I implore the Grand Court President to rule that the Imperial City Bureau tortured the defendant into confessing and abused the punishment to serve as a warning to others. And to make appropriate compensation to the first witness Hu Changbai and the second witness Qiu He. "

In ancient judicial systems, there were relatively few compensation regulations, especially when it came to government officials and the people. However, the legal system emphasizes the protection of personal interests, and compensation is indispensable. This is also a big difference between the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems and the old judicial system.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause and deafening cheers.

The people did not dare to curse the Imperial City Administration, they could only express their thoughts in this way.

Liu Renzan and Li Zhien stared at Zhang Fei with vicious eyes.

We have already admitted our mistakes, but you still want to kill us all. You will suffer the consequences in the future.

Although Zhang Fei noticed their gazes, he didn't care at all. He nodded slightly and sat down gracefully.

Because he knew that after this case, the Imperial City Bureau would undergo reforms.

After Zhang Fei sat down, Li Lei stood up. He also looked around and said loudly: "If you stay out of it, you can always talk and laugh. Maybe there are some doubts and disputes in this case, but they are in the Imperial City Division and their responsibilities are so great. Prosecutor Zhang also said that they have to protect the emperor, the imperial city, and the country. The pressure is unimaginable to others.

At that hearing, the behavior of the Chanzhou sailors might seem excusable to us, but from the perspective of the Imperial City Bureau, it was a very dangerous signal.

They must take this matter very seriously and cannot make any mistakes, because a small negligence may lead to a disaster.

Although the other party has repeatedly emphasized that it is more important to prevent people from speaking than to prevent floods, you should not forget that under normal circumstances, the Imperial City Administration did not arrest people like this. It was only because this time was very special. What Hu Changbai and Qiu He said were not just complaints, they were also spreading a false statement, accusing the court of appointing a eunuch who did not know how to control floods.

But everyone knows that Cheng Dujian is very knowledgeable about flood control and has made great contributions. The hearing did not deny this. For these reasons, the Imperial City Department chose radical measures. "

During the previous questioning, he did not mention Cheng Fang because he was afraid of causing trouble. The key point was that he thought it was unnecessary. As long as the Imperial City Bureau did not admit it, it would be difficult to lose the case.

But now that things have come to this, he has to mention it.

But this again caused boos from the people.

But it doesn’t matter, because Li Lei’s words were not spoken to the people, but to the imperial court.

"quiet!"

Zhao Yan knocked the gavel and shouted.

After the people outside the courtyard gradually quieted down, Li Lei continued, "The purpose of the Imperial City Bureau is to maintain the stability of the country. Although Liu Gongshi may be eager to make meritorious contributions, this is also human nature. Therefore, I hope that the imperial court will fully consider the public opinion and environment at the time when making a judgment, and put themselves in the shoes of the Imperial City Bureau. Thank you."

After saying that, he sat down.

Boos came again from all directions.

In the eyes of the people, Li Lei is just being stubborn. Your employer has already pleaded guilty, but you are still holding on here. You are so shameless.

Zhao Yan ignored the people and asked them to keep silent for a while while he carefully read through the evidence they had just handed over.

Sima Guang and the others now all focused their attention on Zhao Yan.

After a while, the people got tired of shouting and gradually quieted down.

Zhao Yan then raised his head, knocked the gavel, and then said loudly: "First of all, I would like to thank the prosecution and the defense for their wonderful debate on this case.

Secondly, since the prosecution put forward a new argument about "slandering the government" during the debate, which has never appeared in other cases, whether it can be established remains to be discussed.

This argument is crucial to this case, and the Royal Court still needs to discuss it. Therefore, no judgment will be made today. Once this argument is discussed, the Royal Court will make a clear judgment. Today's trial ends here, and the court is adjourned. "

The people were stunned immediately.

Even after being beaten like this, there is no immediate judgment?

Can you judge the case?

They don't understand what the new argument is, they just simply think that what Zhang Fei said makes sense and there is no need to wait for another day to judge. Could there be something fishy going on?

Zhao Yan ignored their complaints and had his men pack up the documents and prepare to leave.

“Let’s go!”

Fu Bi supported his knees with his hands and slowly stood up, but his face was like a mask of pain. The old servant beside him wanted to come over to support him, but he was stopped by Fu Bi with his peripheral vision.

The old servant was stunned. What was going on?

Little did he know that in front of Han Qi, Fu Bi was still a little stronger. Although he lost to you politically, he still won over you physically.

Han Qi seemed to be thinking about something else and didn't notice Fu Bi's little thoughts. He hurriedly called Fu Bi and said, "Yan Guo, the other party has already pleaded guilty. Why doesn't the court make a judgment immediately?"

Fu Bi stretched his muscles a little and said, "Ye Dao has just explained it so clearly, didn't you understand?"

Han Qi said: "Isn't that an excuse?"

"Of course not."

Fu Bi glanced at Zhao Yan, "I think Yue Dao wants to turn Zhang San's argument into a written precedent. In this way, no matter how Liu Renzan and others are dealt with in the end, at least this trial is fruitful and can also impose some restrictions on the Imperial City Division."

Han Qi nodded: "I see. Does this need to be discussed by your Legislative Council?"

Fu Bi thought for a moment and said, "Unless it is to be written into a written regulation, or someone is dissatisfied with it, otherwise, it does not need to be discussed by the Legislative Council."

Zhang Fei was not surprised that there was no immediate verdict. He packed up his papers and was about to leave when Li Guozhong suddenly came over and said, "I really don't know if I can win against Prosecutor Zhang once in my lifetime."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "If you guys don't make progress, you probably won't be able to beat me in your lifetime."

Li Guozhong was slightly surprised and said, "You don't want to improve yourself? Where did you get that from?"

We are always learning from you!

Zhang Fei said: "I have already hinted to you at that hearing that nowadays, you cannot just talk big when you are in a lawsuit. The key is to emphasize professionalism. For many issues, you must invite some professionals, and you cannot just rely on your own imagination and speculation, which is not enough to convince the public.

If they had invited Commander Wu today, the result might have been different. But what is disappointing is that you seem to be completely unaware of the operation of the Imperial City Division, so how could you not be defeated!"

Li Guozhong frowned secretly and said, "But we are just a small clerk. How can we invite Commander Wu? We cannot be compared with the Procuratorate in this respect."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But your clients are not ordinary. As long as you ask, I guess even Ma Shuai can be invited. This is not a reason."

Li Guozhong smiled awkwardly and said, "Thank you, Prosecutor Zhang, for your advice."

“I hope you can put what you have learned into practice”

Zhang Fei laughed and bowed, saying, "Goodbye."

"The other party has already admitted that he confessed under torture and abused the punishment. Why didn't the chief judge make a ruling immediately?"

Cheng Yi asked in a low voice, very confused.

Zhao Yan smiled and asked, "Do you think Prosecutor Zhang's argument for slandering the government is reasonable?"

Cheng Yi nodded and said, "I think it is very reasonable. According to the relevant cases I know, none of them complained about personal gains and losses, because such complaints cannot deceive people. This is indeed a subtle and rigorous argument."

Zhao Yan nodded and said, "That's exactly why we can't make a judgment right away."

Cheng Yi was confused and said, "I am stupid and don't understand what the Grand Master meant by this."

Zhao Yan patiently explained: "Although the Imperial City Office has admitted that Zhang was tortured into confessing and that he abused the punishment, he still insisted on the charge of slandering the government, so this argument of Zhang's prosecution became crucial.

Our Imperial Court must give a rigorous and clear explanation so that the Imperial City Bureau will be speechless and this precedent can be applied to all similar cases.

So we have to think carefully about how to use written judgments to distinguish between complaints and slander.”

Cheng Yi finally understood and nodded, "So that's how it is. I understand."

After that, he said again with embarrassment: "The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are really very knowledgeable!"

Zhao Yan said: "Don't be discouraged. There is no shortcut on this road. It requires rich experience."

Cheng Yi said, "But Prosecutor Zhang is not yet thirty years old."

Zhao Yan thought for a moment and said, "As for Prosecutor Zhang, he can only be described as a genius."

At this stage in the trial of the case, the work of the Procuratorate and Erbi has been completed, but the work of the Royal Court has just begun.

On the second day, Zhao Yan summoned everyone and even invited some university scholars with high legal attainments from the Hanlin Academy to help, including Fu Bi. They worked day and night to review cases of slandering the government and study how to write the verdict.

If this case is to be packaged into a precedent, one must carefully consider each word. The key point is that the charge of slandering the government is a pocket crime, and it also involves imperial power. So how to draw the line and where to draw the line is actually a test of one's skills and requires precision.

Fortunately, Zhang Fei had given a very clear framework, so after everyone's efforts, five days later, the imperial court finally issued a verdict on the case. The reason why it did not choose to hold a trial was because Zhao Yan believed that an oral verdict might cause ambiguity, and directly giving a written verdict could express it accurately.

The result, of course, was that the Imperial City Bureau lost the case. The imperial court ruled that the Imperial City Bureau had tortured people into confessing and abused the punishment. At the same time, it ruled that Hu Changbai and Qiu He were not guilty of slandering the government, and gave a very clear and detailed explanation.

However, this line is drawn very conservatively, basically at ordinary people, to ensure that ordinary people will no longer easily face this crime.

Because there is a sentence in the explanation that points out that the applicable objects "should not be famous or influential, and only consider their own gains and losses."

This sentence limits the entire precedent to very ordinary people. If the subject is Su Shi, this precedent will not apply.

In fact, the ministers certainly did not want to write this sentence, but both Zhao Yan and Fu Bi believed that if they did not write it in this way, it would not pass the emperor's review and it would not be widely applicable.

At the same time, the Imperial City Administration was ordered to compensate Hu Changbai and Qiu He with 100 guan each.

This is a request from the procuratorate.

As to how to deal with Liu Renzan, the imperial court also gave an accurate answer, which was to return him to the Imperial City Administration for disposal in accordance with the law.

The judiciary can only make such a ruling because that is the rule, but the court officials will naturally not give up!

I may have to take a day off tomorrow to go back to my hometown with my family to handle some household registration procedures.