Chapter 725 of the Main Text of the Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty: Boomerang Censorate?

When this boomerang was shot, the reformists present suddenly became excited and praised it repeatedly in their hearts.

Fu Bi and Sima Guang frowned at the same time.

Even the chief judge Zhao Yan fell into deep thought.

Is this the responsibility of the Censorate?

A quarter of an hour ago, it was unimaginable that Xue Xiang would push the responsibility onto the Censorate.

This sounds more like a childish revenge.

You say it's my fault, I say it's your fault.

But if you think about it carefully, what he said seems to make some sense.

This involves a very complex factor, which is whether the superior should bear the responsibility when subordinates make mistakes, or whether the supervisory agency should bear the responsibility.

...

...

But based on past cases, it is usually the superiors who are responsible, and the supervisory agencies usually only play the role of reporting.

Because in the ancient judicial concept, the idea of ​​collective responsibility is everywhere. If subordinates make mistakes, their superiors must be held accountable.

But when it comes to trial in the royal court, things seem to be different.

Even Zhao Xu showed a look of confusion on his face.

Wang Anshi smiled slightly and said, "I knew it. This guy seems to smile at everyone, but he is very petty. The Censorate looks down on him so much, he will definitely take revenge."

It goes without saying that it was Zhang Fei who taught Xue Xiang to say this.

Although Xue Xiang is smart and eloquent, he has no trial experience and is not very proficient in judicial affairs.

"The Imperial Censorate?"

Zhang Fei also pretended to be surprised and asked, "What Xue Fayunshi means is that the Censorate should be held responsible for the situation in Wuhu County?"

"Exactly."

Xue Xiang said: "When Taizu and Taizong established this whole system, they hoped that each government office would perform its duties and supervise each other, so they set up the Censorate, the Court of Remonstrance, and other supervisory offices.

Although I am in charge of the shipping department of the Southeast Six Routes, I lack the supervisory authority, and it is unreasonable for me to supervise myself.

According to the court's laws, the Censorate should be the first to report to me when they notice this situation. If I turn a blind eye or deliberately cover up the case, they will then report it to the court.

But the current situation is that the Censorate not only did not report to me, but deliberately concealed it and took the opportunity to sue me. They blamed all their dereliction of duty on me. Isn't this a frame-up?"

After hearing these words, almost all the officials began to think about it.

Zhang Fei asked: "Does Envoy Xue have any evidence to prove that they concealed the truth on purpose?"

Xue Xiang said: "If not, then I shouldn't have learned about this from the people of the capital. I had no idea about it beforehand, but the Censorate was very clear about it."

At this point, he suddenly seemed to remember something, "No, maybe they just found out about it recently, and they didn't hide it on purpose."

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"

Xue Xiang said: "As far as I know, last year Qian Zhizheng, the Supervisory Censor of Jiangnan East Road, visited several friends in Jiangning Prefecture and traveled with them, spending more than 500 strings of envoy money. His friends also spent some of it. Maybe that's why they didn't tell me in time."

This is such a blatant irony!

Many officials secretly glanced at Zhao Xu, but the emperor seemed to be just listening carefully.

Zhang Fei picked up a document and said, "Grand Judge, this is about the expenses of Censor Qian Zhi in Jiangning Prefecture, and how many friends he visited. It contains detailed names, locations, and times."

No official questioned this document because it was a very common phenomenon, but if it was put here, it would be very crucial evidence.

Because this can prove that the censor did not perform his duties at the time of the incident.

Zhao Yan said, "Present it."

After Zhang Fei handed over the evidence, he suddenly asked Zhao Yan directly: "Grand Judge, I am still inexperienced and don't quite understand how the Censorate works. Just now, the Grand Judge said that he had worked in the Censorate and the Court of Remonstrance, so I would like to ask you, how should the Censorate work? Is it true as Xue Fayun said that when a situation is discovered, we should first report to Xue Fayun and then decide whether to report it to the court?"

Zhao Yan hesitated for a while before nodding and saying, "Unless there are some special cases, it should be so."

Zhang Fei asked: "What special case does the Grand Court President refer to?"

Zhao Yan said: "For cases such as treason, these should be reported to the court first to avoid alerting the enemy."

Zhang Fei added: "This case is not included."

Zhao Yan nodded.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for telling me."

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, and then said to Xue Xiang: "So Xue Fayunshi does not deny the situation in Wuhu County, but thinks that the Censorate should bear these responsibilities."

Xue Xiang nodded and said, "Yes, perhaps this kind of situation is not limited to Wuhu, but I have done my best to reduce the burden on the people, but I lack the support of the Censorate.

But fortunately, we now have the Procuratorate, and I am very much looking forward to the Procuratorate going to Southeast Sixth Road. I believe that if the Procuratorate goes there, this situation will never happen again. "

Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "As far as I know, this is also the first time for Envoy Xue Fayun to come to the Procuratorate. I wonder why Envoy Xue Fayun said that?"

Xue Xiang said: "This is my own experience. I went to the procuratorate to file a complaint a few days ago, and I was very nervous. However, the procuratorate did not rush to make a decision. Instead, it investigated the whole matter thoroughly, tried to find out every piece of evidence, the cause and effect of each matter, and reported the matter to the higher-ups. They were also willing to seek justice for me. This is the responsibility of an inspectorate."

Wow. This kind of commercial flattery is so corny.

nausea!

I want to vomit!

Even the reformist officials got goosebumps after hearing this.

Brother, please have some bottom line.

But if you are not a fish, how can you understand the joy of a fish? Whoever sits in that position will be full of good feelings towards the Procuratorate!

Zhao Yan couldn't bear to watch any more, "Excuse me, I have a question too."

He looked at Xue Xiang and asked, "Xue Fayunshi, how do you reward people in your shipping department?

Xue Xiang replied: "The reward is based on the income of the local shipping department, because it represents political achievements."

Zhao Yan asked again: "Since Xue Fayunshi does not know the situation in Wuhu County, will he reward the officials of Wuhu County Fayunsi?"

"Yes."

Xue Xiang replied.

Zhao Yan said: "You choose to do this, isn't it encouraging

Sima Guang nodded repeatedly as he listened. He believed that all new policies had this problem, and that it was also the main reason why the Qingmiao Law caused chaos in Jingdong East Road.

Xue Xiang said: "The responsibility of the Shipping Department is to collect money, trade, and save expenses for the court. Rewards must also refer to these. Of course, I hope they can collect more money and save more money, but this cannot break the rules.

What the Grand Court President said is indeed possible, and this requires the help of the Supervisory Office, which is why the court sent censors to various places. "

Zhao Yan was speechless.

No matter what you are asked, you always push the blame on the Censorate. Is this interesting?

But in fact, this is not the key point. The key point is that when Xue Xiang encounters this situation, he will really make adjustments. If not, everything Xue Xiang said will not be valid.

After Zhao Yan finished asking, Zhang Fei suddenly looked at Li Shuo who was listening intently, "Li Shuo."

"The villain is here."

"Don't be nervous."

After Zhang Fei consoled him, he asked, "Which is better, paying with money or grain, compared to the previous practice of only paying with grain?"

Li Shuo thought for a moment and said, "How much does it cost?"

Zhang Fei asked: "If we calculate based on the market price in a bumper harvest year?"

"Of course it's better to pay with coins."

"Why?"

"If we can't pay with money and we don't have enough grain, we can only buy grain. When the harvest is poor, the price of grain will rise. If more people buy grain, the price will rise even more."

"Have you ever been in this situation before?"

"Yes, about ten years ago, the price of grain in Wuhu rose to one hundred and ten coins per dou of rice." When talking about this number, Li Shuo still seemed to have lingering fears.

Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "I wonder what your family conditions are like?"

Li Shuo said: "I am just an ordinary farmer."

Zhang Fei said: "But it costs a lot of money to travel from Wuhu to the capital. Where does your money come from?"

Li Shuo said: "My family really can't afford it, and this is funded by Uncle Yang from my village."

Zhang Fei asked: "Why did he support you?"

Li Shuo said: "Because he has to pay the same amount of tax as me."

Zhang Fei asked, "Is the Uncle Yang you mentioned named Yang Huadong?"

"Exactly."

Li Shuo nodded.

Zhang Fei immediately said to Zhao Yan: "I beg the judge to summon Yang Huadong to testify in court."

Li Shuo was surprised and asked, "Is Uncle Yang here too?"

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile.

Zhao Yan agreed immediately.

After a while, a middle-aged man with a goatee and a scholarly air came into the court.

Just as Li Shuo was about to shout, Yang Huadong glared back at him.

"Yang Huadong, when Li Shuo wanted to go to Beijing to file a complaint, it was you who provided the funding?" Zhang Fei asked.

Yang Huadong nodded and said, "Yes, yes."

Zhang Fei asked: "Why did you support Li Shuo to go to Beijing to file a complaint?"

Yang Huadong said, "Because the Shipping Department collected such high taxes at that time, it caused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. Many people in Jiangning Prefecture wanted to go to the capital to file a complaint. I also wanted to go, but because of my poor health. And I happened to hear that Li Shuo wanted to go, so I funded him with some money and grain."

Zhang Fei asked: "But from what I know, your family background seems to be very ordinary."

Yang Huadong said: "My family is indeed not well off, but...but I just can't swallow this!"

Zhang Fei asked, "Does Mr. Hu know that you spent money to support Li Shuo to go to Beijing to file a complaint?"

A trace of fear flashed across Yang Huadong's eyes. "What? What rich man Hu?"

Zhang Fei said, "Hu Yongwei from Baoping Township."

Yang Huadong blinked and said, "I don't know any Hu Yongwei."

Li Shuo was surprised and said, "Uncle Yang, why don't you know Hu Yongwei? Didn't you always say that the rich man is a ruthless person?"

“Shut up!”

"Of course he said that." Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Because he still owes Hu Yongwei more than ten strings of cash."

As he said this, he flipped open the documents in front of him and took out an IOU. "Yang Huadong, you can't be unable to recognize your own IOU, right?"

Yang Huadong exclaimed: "How did this IOU end up in your hands?"

Zhang Fei said, "Don't worry about this. Let me ask you again, did you really pay for Li Shuo yourself?"

"I uh..."

"Um?"

Zhang Fei looked at him with a smile.

Yang Huadong said: "Hu Yongwei asked me to give it to Li Shuo."

"ah?"

Li Shuo looked at Yang Huadong in shock.

Zhang Fei ignored Li Shuo's shock and said to Zhao Yan, "I beg the judge to summon witness Hu Yongwei to testify in court."

Yang Huadong and Li Shuo were both shocked.

Hu Yongwei is here too?

After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man with a medium build, big hair and greasy face came into the court. As soon as he came up, he immediately glared at Yang Huadong and Li Shuo.

Zhang Fei asked, "Hu Yongwei, did you hear what Yang Huadong said?"

Hu Yongwei nodded.

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you have to say about this?"

Hu Yongwei said, "What's so strange about this? I have to pay taxes too. My family has rice, but the Shipping Department won't let me pay and insists on making me pay in coins. This is really too much. I support Brother Li in filing a complaint in Beijing. What's the problem?"

Zhang Fei said: "But according to our investigation, you have never paid taxes."

".!"

In an instant, Hu Yongwei was sweating profusely.

Zhang Fei said: "So you can't be angry because you paid too much tax."

Hu Yongwei remained silent.

Zhao Yan said: "Witness, answer truthfully."

Hu Yongwei glanced at Zhao Yan nervously, then lowered his head again.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Grand Judge, please let him go. He himself may not know how to answer."

Everyone looked at Zhang Fei. The expression on his face seemed to announce that he had already secured victory.

Zhang Fei then said to Hu Yongwei: "Hu Yongwei, we have investigated the growth of your family's farmland. It was mainly in the sixth year of Jiayou, the second year of Zhiping, and the third year of Xining. In these three years, your family's farmland almost doubled in growth."

Hu Yongwei thought for a moment and looked at Zhang Fei in surprise, "How did you know?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because the corresponding three years were all years of poor harvest in Wuhu area, you took advantage of the old tax system to raise the prices of related goods and made a lot of money.

And this is why you support Li Shuo, because the equal distribution method has ruined your financial path, so you are happy to see Li Shuo go to the capital to complain."

Hu Yongwei said excitedly: "I didn't!"

He was about to retort when he heard Zhang Feiyan say, "But I'm curious, how did you know that so many people would go to Beijing to file a complaint? Who gave you the idea?"

Hu Yongwei immediately swallowed back the words on his lips, struggled for a while, and said: "Even if I plan to do so, it's not against the law."

As soon as these words were spoken, a sneer appeared on Wang Anshi's lips.

Zhao Yan also frowned.

They all noticed that something was wrong with Hu Yongwei, and they thought there were probably government officials behind them, so Hu Yongwei quickly admitted it.

The more this is examined, the more it looks like a conspiracy.

But this is very disadvantageous to the Censorate.

Zhang Fei nodded and smiled: "This is indeed not against the law. I just asked you to testify in court. So, you admitted it."

Hu Yongwei said: "Just admit it. The government keeps saying that it will crack down on profiteers, but in the end they are doing the same thing as profiteers. Besides, when we do business, it is voluntary, but the government is different. If you don't pay, you will go to jail."

Sima Guang secretly glanced at Zhao Xu again, but unfortunately Zhao Xu still had no expression on his face and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "Thank you very much for testifying in court. Our procuratorate will pay for your related expenses."

Hu Yongwei and Yang Huadong were stunned.

Is it so good?

We all admitted it, and not only did you not blame us, you even gave us travel expenses.

It was not until the court police came to them and politely asked them to leave that they stood up in disbelief and left in confusion.

Next, Zhang Fei summoned a fruit farmer from Yangzhou, who was also one of the plaintiffs who went to Beijing to file a complaint.

But the process was no different from Li Shuo's, and the travel expenses were also provided by the local landlords.

And this big landlord was also a victim of the equalization and transfer system.

As the interrogation went on, Wang Anshi became more and more arrogant. Look, look, this was all premeditated, obviously a frame-up.

Moreover, there is nothing wrong with the equalization of transport laws to crack down on such unscrupulous merchants.

Sima Guang was so angry that he shook his head.

After the fruit farmer left, Zhang Fei turned his attention to Xue Xiang. "Xue Fayunshi, the second and third charges against the Censorate actually refer to the same thing. An official reported you for appointing and dismissing officials at will. You transferred some upright officials from the Fayun Division and even dismissed them from their posts. At the same time, you also placed your own cronies in positions."

Xue Xiang said firmly: "This is a pure false accusation."

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"

Xue Xiang said: "This can actually be put together with the first charge."

Zhang Fei said: "I would like to hear the details."

Xue Xiang said: "First of all, I did appoint and dismiss many officials, but this was a power given to me by the court, and it was not a crime of abusing power.

Secondly, I did not appoint my cronies, but some smart and capable officials. The officials who were dismissed were either those who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed, or those who were lazy and followed the old ways, or those who were incompetent. Oh, and there were also officials like those in Wuhu who used the new policies to exploit the people.

Finally, I know that doing so will offend many officials, but I have no choice, because the equalization method requires a lot of information and ability. We must always know the prices of various places in order to make accurate plans. As an official of the Shipping Department, we must also be very diligent and hard-working, and not be lazy like before. "

Zhao Yan couldn't help but ask: "This is just your one-sided strategy. How can you prove what you said?"

Zhang Fei continued, "Grand Judge, our procuratorate has found solid evidence based on the complaint filed by Envoy Xue Fayun."

Zhao Yan asked curiously, "Really?"

But he was not the only one who was extremely curious. All the officials present were very curious about this.

How can you prove such a thing? Even if you ask officials from the Shipping Department to testify, there will be doubts. You are the Shipping Commissioner, and the officials of the Shipping Department will definitely be on your side. You have to produce hard evidence to prove that an official is lazy and procrastinates.

No one has a clue.

Zhang Fei took a copy of the document handed over by Zhou Zheng and raised it immediately, "Although the officials who reported Xue Xiang refused to testify in court, we have already found out the reasons and consequences of their dismissal, as well as their past political achievements.

What I have in my hands are the official documents approved by the officials who reported Xue Xiang, as well as the official documents approved by the officials who replaced them in the past two years.

Their duties were exactly the same, but in terms of the number of official documents approved, the official appointed by Xue Fayunshi approved more documents in one month than his predecessor did in a year. Moreover, from the comparison of the documents they wrote, it is possible to tell at a glance who has ulterior motives and who does not.

Not only that, their political achievements are also very different. And their morals, uh. Sorry! "

As he said this, he flipped through the case file and said, "We haven't found any concrete evidence yet."

"Ha ha!"

There was a burst of laughter outside the yard.

Wang Anshi was so happy that he laughed out loud, while Sima Guang on the opposite side was so angry that his hands were shaking. Who the hell are you mocking?

Zhao Yan clapped his hands urgently this time. "Silence! Silence!"

When the outside of the courtyard quieted down, Zhang Fei added: "But regarding professional ethics, the two are also clear at a glance."

"Present."

While speaking, Zhao Yan also warned: "You are now a prosecutor, not a small clerk, please be careful with your words."

Zhang Fei hurriedly explained: "I'm really sorry, it's just that I mentioned this because of the considerations regarding the Censorate's trial."

Zhao Yan was speechless.

Yes indeed.

When the censors impeached Xue Xiang before, many of them were based on personal morality.

Zhang Fei continued, "Based on these official documents, it is not difficult to see that most officials are still unable to adapt to the equalization of transport system. Under the old system, everything was set and remained unchanged for decades, and they hardly had to do anything. However, the equalization of transport system requires them to do much more than before, as the saying goes, the more you work, the more you get.

Some were dismissed because they were caught by Xue Fayunshi for illegally collecting taxes under the equalization system. This fully proves that Xue Fayunshi did not allow his subordinates to illegally collect taxes, but he lacked the assistance of the supervisory office. "

thin!

Zhang Fei once again showed everyone his details.

No one would have thought that official documents could be used as evidence in court.

this..

But if you think about it, it does make sense. If the number of official documents were larger and more detailed, and if political achievements were added, it would be enough to explain everything.

The same authority and responsibilities, but with such a huge difference, there is no other explanation except negligence.

Wang Anshi could not help but hum, "This is the reason for the corruption of the bureaucracy. Officials who are truly willing to work are excluded, while those who seek fame and reputation are promoted rapidly. Who would be willing to work?"

After the evidence was presented, Zhang Fei said, "All the witnesses I invited have appeared, and all the evidence has been presented."

"Yeah?"

Zhao Yan was slightly surprised.

The officials nearby also had the same feeling, as if the trial was not over yet.

Zhang Fei knew their doubts. They were paying attention to the new policy and forgot that this was just a lawsuit. He nodded and said, "These witnesses and evidence are enough to prove that Xue Fayunshi was framed and wronged."

Zhao Yan immediately reacted and nodded slightly, "Then prepare to make your closing statement."

"yes."

After a short rest, Zhang Fei stood up, looked around, and then said loudly: "Since all the officials of the Censorate refused to participate in the trial, I don't know how they tried the case at that time.

But one thing is certain, that is, throughout the entire case, the Censorate was seriously derelict in its duty, because they did not promptly inform the Shipping Commissioner of the situation at the various local Shipping Offices, which was clearly against the system.

However, since the Censorate was not involved, our procuratorate cannot determine whether the Censorate did it deliberately to frame Xue Fayunshi or to cover up its own dereliction of duty by using Xue Fayunshi.

Not only that, there were many doubts during the trial by the Censorate. For example, whether the Censorate had investigated clearly that behind those common people there were actually many large landowners who had major interests in the case.

For example, did the Censorate investigate the grudges between the officials who reported Xue Fayunshi and Xue Fayunshi?

I don't want to make too much speculation here. After all, our procuratorate completely adheres to the evidence and strives to be fair and just. In the absence of solid evidence, we will not impose charges.

But the Censorate is, after all, an office of supervision. If it was just one oversight, it can be understood. But there were so many oversights at the same time, and there were many interests involved behind them. I don’t know if this is the reason why the Censorate refused to participate in the trial, but it is definitely worth doubting.

As for Xue Fayunshi, he is absolutely innocent. In the past few years, he has been running around and working tirelessly. He has not only improved the national finances, but also reduced the burden on countless people. But everything he has experienced, well, I don’t sympathize with him. There is a saying that goes, "He who can endure the trials of heaven is a true iron man, and he who is not envied by others is a mediocre person."

Zhao Yan asked: "Who said this last sentence?"

Isn't this an ancient saying? Zhang Fei said awkwardly, "Uh, it just comes from my heart."