Chapter 724 of the Main Text of the Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty: It's Not My Fault At this moment, all the officials present were reformists. Facing the arrival of the emperor, they were extremely excited, and they knew what it meant.

It not only expresses that the emperor supports Xue Xiang in this case, but more importantly, the emperor has no intention of giving up the new policy.

This is especially important.

Because before this, many reformists were worried that the emperor would no longer support the new policies, and in the end the emperor allowed the Censorate to make the judgment.

As for the people outside the fence, they were looking forward to seeing what the emperor looked like, chattering and muttering a few words in a low voice.

The common people in the capital did not have the same reverence and worship for the emperor as they did for heaven. When the emperors of the Song Dynasty traveled, they often squeezed together with the common people.

A scene of three cheers of "Long live the emperor" is even more impossible.

The people came to watch the lawsuit.

However, Zhao Xu behaved very low-key, implying to the ministers that he just came to watch the fun, and they should not think too much about it, and should not try to get close to him, and just go about their business.

After the ceremony, the officials prepared to return to their seats.

...

...

It is enough that the emperor can come.

"You little brat!"

Zhang Fei suddenly heard a low voice and turned his head to look, only to see Wang Anshi winking at him covertly.

Zhang Fei walked over and asked, "Master Wang, what's the matter?"

Wang Anshi hesitated a little and said, "There is something I want to tell you now. I don't know if it will affect your performance later."

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "It has already had an impact. If Master Wang hadn't finished speaking, the impact might have been even greater."

Wang Anshi said, "Then old Sima has done you a favor by promoting you. Is that right?"

Zhang Fei nodded, feeling even more confused.

What is this talking about?

Wang Anshi asked again: "If I ask you to drive Sima Xiaoer out of the government, you can't do it, right?"

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "I believe that Scholar Wang would not make such a reasonable request. The key is that I really can't do it. I am just a small prosecutor, and Scholar Sima is the prime minister."

Wang Anshi glared at him and said, "But I heard that old Sima is planning to retire."

"Yeah?"

Zhang Fei was slightly surprised.

Wang Anshi nodded and continued, "Although I haven't received any definite news, this is very consistent with Sima Lao's style. He is in a difficult position this time, so he is very likely to hand in his resignation after the case is over."

This is bad! Sima Guang can't leave. If he leaves, my plan will be missing a corner. How can I support it like this? Zhang Fei frowned secretly and asked Wang Anshi, "Why did Mr. Wang tell me this?"

Wang Anshi said: "Because I hope you can find a way to keep that old Sima."

Zhang Fei was shocked and asked, "Why? Could it be that Master Wang's love grew out of hatred?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Wang Anshi glared at him unhappily and added, "I just chose the lesser of two evils."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "No, I don't quite understand."

Wang Anshi said: "Based on the current situation, if Sima Lao leaves at this time, I will most likely face Duke Wen, and this matter will become even more difficult."

Zhang Fei looked at Wang Anshi in confusion.

Wang Anshi further explained: "Although Sima Laoer and I have completely different ideas, we both believe that the country needs reforms to become more prosperous and powerful. The only difference is how to change.

But Duke Wen was different. He was more conservative. He believed that the problem with the court was that it did not abide by the laws of its ancestors. He hoped to return to the system of the Taizu and Taizong periods.

This is why Duke Wen led the Censorate to suppress the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. Perhaps judicial reform was not something he agreed with.

Sima Lao can still understand me a little bit, but Duke Wen almost completely denies my new policies, and his position in the court is so high, which is even more disadvantageous to me. "

Zhang Fei finally understood that Wen Yanbo was a conservative among conservatives. He nodded and said, "I understand. I will find a way."

Wang Anshi said: "The reason I tell you this now is that I hope you will consider this later, but I hope it will not affect the lawsuit.

If I lose this lawsuit, it will be far more terrifying than facing Duke Wen."

Zhang Fei smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, Master Wang, I can win this case with my eyes closed."

The conservatives over there also received the news and learned that the emperor had personally come to the imperial court. In response, they could only curse, "You little emperor has no martial ethics."

We agreed not to help each other, but you ended up doing this.

If the gavel is finally made in front of the emperor, who would dare to easily deny this judgment?

But they could only curse. The emperor did not express his opinion after all. He just went over to take a look out of boredom and did not say anything.

"Chigui is here too."

Fu Bi and Sima Guang, who arrived late, met Han Qi when they were about to enter the gate of the imperial court.

Sima Guang also quickly bowed, as Han Qi was his former superior.

Han Qi nodded and said to Fu Bi, "Winter is coming soon. The weather is pretty good today. Why don't you come up here and sit down and bask in the sun?"

Fu Bi just smiled at this.

The reason they came just before the court session was that there were undoubtedly only reformists in the room.

At this time, the clerk at the door also came forward and said, "Three gentlemen, please come in, please come in."

When they entered the court, they saw the emperor sitting in the most conspicuous seat. The three of them were stunned at the same time, but they all reacted quickly.

Han Qi rubbed his eyes and muttered, "The sun is a bit dazzling today."

The three men came before Zhao Xu and were about to salute, but Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, my three lords."

But then he smiled and asked, "I didn't expect you three would come here to watch the trial."

There is something else behind this!

Han Qi quickly explained: "I saw that the weather was nice today, so I thought of going out for a walk and basking in the sun, so I came to visit you."

Sima Guang took the opportunity to ask, "I didn't expect that Your Majesty would come today."

Zhao Xu's expression changed, and he said seriously, "I have read the judgment of the Censorate. I think there are no mistakes or omissions in the judgment of the Censorate. I am very curious, could the Imperial Court come to a different conclusion?"

Han Qi thought to himself, it seems that the emperor has grown a lot.

What a clever way of saying it. I have always supported the decision of the Censorate, so I am also curious as to why the public security, procuratorate and courts want to retrial the case. Will there be a different result?

This actually also revealed the curiosity in Fu Bi and Sima Guang's hearts.

The king and his ministers chatted for a few more words, and then Han Qi and the other three went downstairs and took their seats.

Naturally, they would not sit side by side with the emperor, as this was not allowed by etiquette.

After a while, Zhao Yan came to the presiding judge's seat, and the scene suddenly became quiet. Zhao Yan first bowed to Zhao Xu, and then immediately announced the start of the trial.

Zhang Fei did not try to be mysterious and directly summoned Xue Xiang to appear in court.

Xue Xiang came to the plaintiff's seat with a calm and composed look on his face.

Zhang Fei stood up and said, "Envoy Xue, did you know that the Censorate has issued a wanted order for you a few days ago?"

Xue Xiang nodded and said, "I know."

Zhang Fei looked down at the copy and said, "According to our investigation, the reason why the Censorate issued a warrant for the Transport Commissioner was mainly because about two months ago, more than 130 people from all over Jiangnan came to the capital and sued the Transport Commissioner for illegally extorting their money and property.

After the Censorate examined the case, they determined that the Shipping Department had committed many illegal acts, and they charged Xue with three main crimes: first, illegal taxation; second, forming a clique for personal gain and excluding dissidents; and third, abuse of power.

Although the public security, procuratorate and courts announced that these were two cases, even if they were two cases, there was a causal relationship between the two. It was precisely because of the judgment of the Censorate that today's trial took place, because Xue Xiang sued the Censorate for an unfair judgment.

At the beginning, I have to explain the cause and effect.

After saying this, Zhang Fei raised his head again, "For the three charges mentioned above, Envoy Xue Fayun, do you plead guilty?"

Xue Xiang shook his head and said, "I don't admit it. I was framed."

Zhang Fei asked, "Why did Envoy Xue decide that someone had framed you?"

Xue Xiang said: "First, I did not break the law. Secondly, there have always been censors who have impeached me. The main reason is that they do not approve of Wang Xianggong's new policy, and I am responsible for the equalization of transportation, so they are trying their best to drive me out of the court and the public, in order to undermine the new policy."

Wang Anshi nodded desperately.

Zhang Fei asked, "Does Envoy Xue have any evidence?"

Xue Xiang nodded and said, "The memorial they sent to impeach me is the best evidence. The Grand Court President should also be very clear about this matter, because he has also impeached me. If I was guilty, I would have left the court long ago."

The implication is that they are all habitual offenders.

"Yeah?"

Zhang Fei subconsciously glanced at Zhao Yan and said, "Why does the Grand Court President need to impeach you? If the Grand Court President finds you guilty, he can directly summon you to the Imperial Court."

Xue Xiang said: "At that time, there was no public security, procuratorate or court, and the chief judge was still in the Censorate."

"I see"

Zhang Fei nodded in understanding.

Zhao Yan glared at Zhang Fei and said, "Don't try this, kid."

This is a clear implication that it is normal and understandable for the Grand Court President to frame someone in the Court of Censors, but it is absolutely impossible in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

Han Qi laughed out loud when he heard this.

Zhang Fei suddenly picked up a document and said, "Grand Judge, these are some of the remarks and documents we found about the Imperial Censors impeaching Xue Xiang, but according to our investigation, there is no evidence to prove their remarks."

"Present"

After the evidence was presented, Zhao Yan took a quick look at it, then suddenly raised his head and said in a loud voice: "This judge has worked in the Censorate and the Court of Remonstrance, and is familiar with this kind of impeachment, but this is a completely different matter from the Censorate's trial.

Impeachment is like a prosecution by the procuratorate. If the prosecution fails, it does not mean that the procuratorate is guilty of slander. However, compared with the impeachment by the censors, the public security, procuratorate and courts are more rigorous because they emphasize concrete evidence.

However, the judicial trials of the Censorate are also very rigorous, so this court president advises the procuratorate not to confuse these two matters. "

After saying that, he put the document in his hand aside, implying that you should stop trying to play tricks on me. The royal court will not refer to these evidences. If you emphasize this, then your procuratorate will have to be more careful in future prosecutions, because if you fail, you will be guilty of slander.

Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "Thank you very much for the testimony of the Grand Judge. Our procuratorate will pay attention to it."

Zhang Fei was immediately intimidated by his imposing manner.

Wang Anshi glanced at Zhao Yan with dissatisfaction, and thought to himself, as the chief judge, you should be neutral, how can you speak for the other side?

Qi Ji whispered, "Although there is no Erbi on the other side, the chief judge is obviously biased towards the Censorate. This is even worse."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If it were me, I would also speak up for the other party. After all, the other party is a nobody, so this would be more fair."

Han Qi couldn't help but mutter, "Even Mr. Zhao, you can't trust him?"

This was nothing more than a hint that even if the case was handed over to the public security, procuratorate and courts, they would not be biased towards Wang Anshi. After all, the verdict was made by Zhao Yan, but Zhao Yan also hated Xue Xiang and opposed the new policy.

The chief judges are all conservatives. What are you afraid of? Why make things so complicated?

Sima Guang couldn't help but look embarrassed.

Fu Bi glanced at Sima Guang and said, "It's not that I don't trust Mr. Zhao, but I'm too afraid of Zhang San."

Han Qi stroked his beard and smiled, "I see. That's not wrong, haha..."

After being taught a lesson by Zhao Yan, Zhang Fei calmed down a bit and asked Xue Xiang again, "Xue Fayunshi, let's start with the first charge, which is illegal taxation."

Xue Xiang immediately replied: "This is simply nonsense, because the purpose of our implementation of the equalization law is to reduce the burden on the people in terms of conversion."

Zhang Fei asked: "Can the shipping envoy tell me more about this?"

Xue Xiang said: "The reason why the court promulgated the equal distribution law is because the previous supply system of various routes to the capital was too rigid. This system was originally intended to meet the needs of the capital, but the quota was set by Emperor Taizong in the early years and has not changed since then.

However, the demand in the capital was always changing, with great differences every year. This resulted in some goods rotting in warehouses due to low demand in the capital, and some goods not being available in warehouses due to high demand. The court had to temporarily purchase them at high prices, which caused the court's expenditure to continue to rise.

As for the common people in various places, since the quotas were fixed, once the harvest was poor, the people had to spend a lot of money to buy from those unscrupulous merchants in order to pay the full quota.

Many people were forced to lose their families and homes because of this. The equalization of transportation was intended to change all this. First of all, procurement was based on the needs of the capital, avoiding a lot of waste and extra expenses for the court.

Secondly, we will no longer fix the share of rice that each region provides. Just taking rice as an example, if the rice harvest in a certain area is poor and the price of rice rises, we will change to levying money and goods, and then use the money to go to areas with good harvests to buy rice needed by the capital.

This will not only ensure that the people in poor harvest areas do not have to buy rice from the landlords at high prices to pay taxes due to lack of rice, but also prevent the low grain prices from hurting farmers, and the court can also save expenses. It can be said that it kills three birds with one stone, reducing the burden on both the people and the court. "

After hearing these words, the people watching outside the courtyard nodded their heads repeatedly. This sounded so reasonable. How could there be a problem?

Sima Guang scoffed at this.

Zhang Fei then said to Zhao Yan, "I beg the judge to summon witness Li Shuo to testify in court."

"Call the witness Li Shuo."

After a while, a short man of about 27 or 28 years old came into the court.

"Witness, please take a seat!"

Zhao Yan spoke.

"Oh. Oh."

This man seemed to be witnessing a royal court trial for the first time. How could he sit during the trial? He sat down trembling with fear.

Zhang Fei stood up and asked, "Li Shuo, where are you from?"

Li Shuo looked around nervously, not daring to say anything.

Zhang Fei smiled and comforted him: "You don't have to be afraid in the imperial court, just answer truthfully."

Li Shuo then replied in a trembling voice: "I am a farmer from Wuhu County, Jiangning Prefecture."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Why did you come to the capital?"

Li Shuo said: "I came to the capital to file a complaint."

Although no one came from the Censorate, they did not dare to stop these farmers from Jiangnan from going to the imperial court to testify. They did not have the power to do so.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Who are you suing?"

"Shipping Department."

"What did the Shipping Department do?"

"The Shipping Department arbitrarily levied taxes on us in Wuhu. Last year, our Wuhu County had a poor harvest, so the Shipping Department decided to make us pay the taxes at a discount."

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

"It sounds good, but at that time the price of rice in Wuhu County only rose to 45 cents per dou, but the Shipping Department asked them to convert it to 90 cents per dou, forcing us to lose everything we had."

At this point, Li Shuo was no longer afraid, but shouted excitedly.

The people outside the courtyard were also outraged when they heard what happened, and immediately started to curse loudly.

Just by saying it, they believed it completely. This shows that this situation is not an isolated case, but is very common.

Zhao Xu frowned slightly, with a look of doubt on his face.

Sima Guang glanced at Wang Anshi and shook his head with a sarcastic smile, as if to say, what did I say at the beginning? What did I say? I knew it would be like this.

really!

At that time, Sima Guang, Su Zhe and Su Shi all pointed out that this situation would definitely occur.

Wang Anshi turned his face away and looked at him sideways, as if to say, let's wait and see.

Many officials present stared at Zhao Yan and said, "Although you are not young, you usually bring the gavel quickly and forcefully. Didn't you bring the gavel today?"

Zhao Yan pretended not to see anything. He waited until they had cursed for a long time before he banged the gavel and said, "Silence! Silence!"

The sound is not loud.

After cursing for a while, he gradually quieted down.

The president of the court also has his own little thoughts.

Zhang Fei did not argue with Zhao Yan, and asked Li Shuo, "What was the reason for the shipping envoy to ask you to pay twice the market price?"

Li Shuo said, "They said that the harvest nearby was poor, so they had to go far away to buy rice, and the shipping costs were all on us."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Can you spend 45 coins to buy rice and pay the tax?"

"no."

Li Shuo said: "You can only pay taxes with money."

"Thank you!"

Zhang Fei held up an account book and said, "Master, this is what we know from our investigation. The situation in Wuhu County last year was just as Brother Li said. The Shipping Department did convert the price at 90 coins per dou, and the price of rice in Wuhu County was indeed 45 coins at that time."

"Present!"

After the accounts were presented, Zhao Yan read them carefully and said, "It seems that the Censorate did not falsely accuse the Shipping Envoy. The Shipping Department did collect taxes illegally."

Zhang Fei looked at Xue Xiang, "I wonder what explanation the shipping envoy has for this?"

Xue Xiang said: "First, I didn't know the situation in Wuhu County at that time. I only found out about it recently. Secondly, this kind of behavior is not allowed by our shipping department. Our conversion is generally based on the price in rice harvest areas."

"Shipping envoy, wait a moment."

Zhao Yan suddenly stopped Xue Xiang and said, "This judge has a question. Does your shipping department have a clear stipulation on this? Are all conversions calculated based on the prices in the harvest areas?"

Xue Xiang shook his head and said, "It's not specifically stated, but the explanation of the equalization law contains this meaning. The reason why we collect goods from areas with good harvests and collect money from areas with poor harvests is to reduce the burden on the people. If we calculate it based on the rice price in areas with poor harvests, wouldn't it be unnecessary?"

Zhao Yan asked: "If this is your consideration, why don't you write it down clearly? In this way, there will be no objections."

Xue Xiang replied: "Because it is impossible to write clearly. First, the grain prices in different places are different, changing every day and every month. Secondly, there are more than one area with a good harvest, and the grain prices are also different. In some areas, even if there is a good harvest, the grain prices are still high.

However, we will compile statistics on prices in various regions in a timely manner and distribute them to local shipping companies so that they can adjust their tax collection plans.”

This time, not only Sima Guang, but even Fu Bi and Han Qi shook their heads. This reason was too unconvincing.

Since you can't make any regulations, then don't do it. If you don't have clear regulations, then won't it give others opportunities to take advantage?

Even Zhao Xu shook his head slightly.

The reformist officials present also became worried. This reason was untenable!

Zhao Yan stopped talking and said to Zhang Fei, "I'm so sorry. I'm just asking out of curiosity. Prosecutor Zhang, you can continue asking questions."

"It's okay. The chief judge asked exactly what I wanted to ask."

Zhang Fei just smiled and didn't care. He asked Xue Xiang, "Xue Fayunshi, what do you think of the situation in Wuhu County?"

Xue Xiang said: "I would never agree to do this, because it goes against the concept of reform. Wang Xianggong's reform concept is to enrich the country and the people. If I knew in advance, I would definitely punish the officials of Wuhu County Shipping Department."

Zhang Fei asked: "Do you have evidence to prove what you said?"

"have!"

Xue Xiang said: "Since I took office as the Shipping Director, I have been on tours all over the six southeastern routes, and I dare not neglect anything. In the counties and cities I have visited, the local shipping departments have converted the rice prices based on the rice prices in the areas with good harvests. The prices are at least one-third of the local rice prices, and in some cases they are directly reduced by half, which has greatly reduced the burden on the local people."

Zhang Fei nodded and looked at Zhou Zheng. Zhou Zheng immediately picked up a thick stack of evidence and stood up. Zhang Fei pointed at the evidence and said, "Here are the official documents proving that Envoy Xue Fayun has visited various places in recent years, as well as the specific accounts of local taxes collected at that time. They are enough to prove that what Envoy Xue Fayun said just now is true.

Although there is no explicit stipulation, he has been implementing the concept of the new law, which is that the people will not be taxed more and the state will have more money, so the treasury will save expenditure and reduce the burden on the people at the same time. "

Zhao Yan said, "Present it."

Wang Anshi immediately glared at Sima Guang with a proud look on his face, saying, "This is the villain and the evil man you consider him to be. You are the villains."

After the evidence was presented, Zhao Yan could not read it all, so he only gave it to the person in charge of the six southeastern routes. Do you think you are responsible for the illegal collection of taxes?"

This question raises the question that everyone wants to ask, including the reformist officials. This situation is not false, it really happened, there is no way to argue with it!

Xue Xiangzhan replied firmly: "I have no responsibility at all."

After these words were spoken, not to mention Sima Guang and others, even Wang Anshi was frightened. This answer seemed a bit shameless!

Zhang Fei pretended to be surprised before asking, "Why did Envoy Xue answer so confidently?"

Xue Xiang said: "If I knew about this situation, I would definitely deal with it strictly, but my authority is to enforce the new law. I have neither the power nor the manpower to supervise. The Southeast Six Roads is so large, how can I take care of it?

Of course, it is reasonable for the court to make such an arrangement, because if the supervisory power is also in my hands, it will obviously violate the laws of our ancestors, which require us to take precautions and control the twists and turns.

I need the assistance of the Ombudsman Office. As for what Brother Li said, it is obviously the Ombudsman Office's negligence. If the Ombudsman Office reported the situation to me in a timely manner and I did not handle it, it would be my negligence, but I have not received any report in this regard. "

Zhang Fei asked, "Which Supervisory Office did Xue Fayunshi refer to?"

Xue Xiang said: "The Imperial Censorate."