This is a blood pressure spike.

It sounds so cowardly. You gentlemen are so weak. Even if you show one percent of the arrogance you usually use against us, the Liao people will be crippled if not killed!

He really strikes hard internally but is submissive externally.

But everyone in the venue felt extremely aggrieved.

What do you know? This is called bearing humiliation and carrying heavy burdens. If a real fight comes, you will be complaining again.

It's purely for your own good, and you still scold us?

Have you any conscience?

There are two different mentalities inside and outside the court.

But when it comes down to it, this kind of thing really comes down to results.

Winning or losing is the key.

...

...

Although this is what Zhang Fei expected to see, it is not what this trial is about. After all, this is just a civil lawsuit.

Zhang Fei knocked the gavel three times in succession and continued to ask, "You just mentioned that those Khitans committed the crime because of the fields?"

"Yes."

"After they committed the crime, did they stay there to cultivate the fields?"

"Yes! Yes! The local Khitans have been constantly encroaching on our land. Now there are many more Khitans there than Han Chinese."

“What measures have the local government taken to deal with this?”

"To answer the Grand Court President, sometimes they go too far and the government will send people to dig trenches to prevent them from riding horses and committing crimes."

An older middle-aged man said.

But Chen Xu said: "But we always dig trenches after they have secretly cultivated the land. After the trenches are dug, we dare not cross them anymore, and the trenches become the boundary between the two sides.

But after a while, if some people come from the other side, they will sneak through the trenches to reclaim the new land, and the government will dig trenches again. This goes on and on, and they have occupied a lot of our land."

The other four also nodded.

Exploded!

Exploded!

The people outside the venue were so shocked by what they heard that they were almost going crazy. This was simply too cowardly.

You might as well not build this trench.

Is this trench meant to defend against Liao or against ourselves?

Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Do you know where the real boundary between our dynasty and the Northern Dynasty is in Hedong?"

After these words were spoken, the five people looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Is there anyone who can show you the evidence to prove that those lands belong to our Song Dynasty?"

Chen Xu was surprised and said, "It was the government that asked us to come here to cultivate the land. How could it be fake?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I know that the government asked you to farm. I want to ask whether the government has shown you proof."

Wang Hui suddenly stood up and said, "Grand Judge, no matter where the government is, when it organizes the people to open up wasteland, it will not show the people any evidence of this."

Zhang Fei asked: "Has your Legal Aid Department found any relevant evidence?"

Wang Hui was stunned for a moment and said, "That originally belongs to our country's territory, why do we need to investigate it?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs place more emphasis on evidence, not what you think."

Wang Hui blinked and was too embarrassed to say anything.

The people outside the venue were also confused. Is there something mysterious going on here?

It shouldn't be like this!

Zhang Fei did not make things difficult for Wang Hui, "You two go down and have a rest first."

"yes."

Chen Xu and the others nodded awkwardly, but the last two questions from the chief judge made them a little worried.

Zhang Fei then summoned other plaintiffs.

Although the other plaintiffs were not all from Tianchi, the situations they described were not much different from those of Chen Xu and his group, except that some of them were robbed by the Khitans.

The people outside the venue were almost in despair after hearing this.

The local government's weakness and incompetence makes people feel that there is no hope at all.

However, no one could tell where the border should be in that area, how would they know such a thing.

After the last batch of plaintiffs appeared in court, Zhang Fei suddenly banged the gavel and said loudly: "Although the land deeds provided by the plaintiffs are indeed issued by the government, the evidence provided by the plaintiffs is not complete and needs to be further verified. Therefore, we will stop here for now and continue the trial after new evidence is found."

"???"

When these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.

What?

Is this the end?

Are you kidding us?

Unfortunately, their chief judge completely ignored their feelings, stood up, shook his head arrogantly, and then left, leaving them doubting their lives under the sun.

It's like the poster says it's a 3D blockbuster, but when you walk in, it turns out to be Peppa Pig.

This is simply a blatant fraud!

After Zhang Fei left, the ministers immediately surrounded Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo.

"Mr. Fu, Mr. Wen, that young chief judge is just trying to attract attention. When he was still an Erbi, he liked to dress seductively and attract attention. Now he is even worse."

"That's right. If he just wants to seek justice for these people, then the court can also discuss with them and compensate them with some land. Is it necessary to set up such a big fuss?"

"Yes, yes. In previous civil lawsuits, didn't the Royal Court often suggest that both parties reconcile? Why didn't the Royal Court mention reconciliation this time?"

"The only result of this is to arouse public indignation, stir up hatred among the people towards the Northern Dynasty, and destroy the harmony between the people of the two countries. The key is that this will put the court in a difficult position. If this diplomatic matter is dragged down by public resentment, it will be a disaster."

"Does he count this as interfering with the administration by using the people?"

Everyone was talking at once, and their tone was very anxious.

If the situation continues like this, who would dare to compromise with the Liao Kingdom? This would also make it difficult for the Song Dynasty to change its diplomacy.

Seeing Wen Yanbo's hands buried in his sleeves and silent, Fu Bi could only nod helplessly and said, "I understand your concerns, but he is the chief judge. If there is sufficient evidence, only the government can stop him from going to trial, and I can do nothing about it.

As for reconciliation, according to the rules, the government can also take the initiative to reconcile with those Baixin, and the imperial court cannot interfere in this matter. "

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh!

They wanted to talk to the emperor, but the problem was that the Liao Kingdom was being aggressive, and they were too embarrassed to go and talk to the emperor at this time!

As for taking the initiative to reconcile, isn't that just admitting guilt?

Now that everyone is so carried away, they will be scolded to death.

The only thing they can do is for the Royal Court to suggest a settlement, and then they will cooperate with the Royal Court.

Wang Anshi and Xue Xiang on the opposite side just glanced over here and then left silently.

"Mr. Wang, what is the purpose of the chief judge trying this case?" Xue Xiang asked curiously.

Wang Anshi simply responded: "Be prepared to go to war with Liao."

Back hall.

"That sounds really pathetic."

Zhao Xu slammed his fist on the table.

Zhang Fei on the side said: "Your Majesty, you may be angry, but you must not get too carried away."

After hearing this, Zhao Xu became even more excited and said, "You are the one who provoked my anger, and now you are saying this again. What do you want?"

Zhang Fei said: "I just hope that Your Majesty can know and remember this humiliation, but Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and you still need to be determined in strategy."

Zhao Xu said: "Don't you think this is contradictory?"

“That’s not contradictory.”

Zhang Fei said: "In fact, the real harm brought to our dynasty by the Treaty of Chanyuan is not the loss of that little bit of money, nor that little bit of territory. Money and territory can be taken back. For example, the Han and Tang dynasties also lost territory and money. These are insignificant. The real fatal thing is numbness. Although the world is at peace, forgetting war will lead to danger.

Now, the Song Dynasty no longer has the courage to fight against the Liao Kingdom. This is the most fatal thing. "

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Yes! Since the Treaty of Chanyuan, our dynasty has almost lost the courage to fight against the Liao Kingdom. Since I was old enough to understand, I have never heard any suggestions in this regard."

He was deeply touched by this, because he felt the same way. This was indeed the problem. He asked Zhang Fei again: "What should we do?"

Zhang Fei said: "The one who tied the bell must untie it. Only a victory can eliminate the fear in everyone's heart. Maybe in terms of strategy, we do have many choices. Those ministers in the court think that we should compromise and avoid fighting on two fronts. This is not unreasonable. I can think of ten thousand similar reasons.

But deep down, we are already fighting a desperate battle. If we don't advance, we will die. If we choose to compromise this time, we will have to continue to compromise in the future. We will not win the war against Western Xia because the Liao Kingdom will never allow it. It will be the same as before, with both the wife and the army lost.

This is also one of the purposes of the trial, to arouse everyone’s fighting spirit.”

Zhao Xu pondered for a long time, "You are right. It seems that we can take it easy, but in fact, there is no way out."

The trial started off well but ended badly, leaving everyone disappointed. The domineering judge they had expected did not appear, but public opinion continued to ferment among the people.

More and more people were very dissatisfied with the court's weakness.

The scholars in particular published articles criticizing the officials of the border states.

With the emergence of newspapers, the news quickly spread to Hebei, Jingdong East Road, Northwest China and other places, and people's dissatisfaction with Liao was growing.

The ministers who advocated compromise did not dare to say a word.

This is actually related to reform and change. Due to the success of domestic reforms, the entire society has been completely renewed. In particular, the concept of the rule of law has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The people believe that our rights and interests should be defended. I don’t care whether they are Khitans or Dangxiang people, this is not acceptable!

At the same time, news of a great victory suddenly came from the northwest.

Ganzhou was captured by the joint forces of Song and Tubo.

Not to mention the common people, even Zhao Xu was confused.

Isn't our battle line in Lanzhou and Yanzhou? Aren't we on the defensive?

How to take Ganzhou.

What is going on.

It turned out that since Ganzhou and Suzhou sent troops to harass the Hehuang Channel, Wang Shao reached an agreement with the Tibetan tribes to protect the trade routes and began to fight against the Western Xia army in Ganzhou, Suzhou and other places.

Originally it was just harassment and counter-harassment, because many Tibetan tribes did not want to invade the territory of Western Xia, but the problem was that this game was given the attributes of merchants.

Ganzhou was originally a major trading state with many merchants. These merchants were very dissatisfied with the policies of Empress Dowager Liang. Then, in order to launch a counterattack on the front line, Empress Dowager Liang collected a lot of food and war horses from Ganzhou and Suzhou in the rear, and dispatched a number of elite troops to the northern front.

This made the local merchants and landlords even more dissatisfied. In comparison, the landlords in the Xihe area did not even have to pay taxes, and yet they sold grain at a high price. It was really frustrating!

Coupled with the infiltration of Ma Tianhao and others, the two sides secretly reached an agreement to ensure that if they surrendered to the Song Dynasty, their interests would be protected and their land deeds would remain valid.

Therefore, the reason why Ganzhou was suddenly breached was because they rebelled internally. The two sides cooperated internally and externally and took down Ganzhou in one fell swoop.

The neighboring Suzhou also became precarious.

This gave Empress Dowager Liang a headache. She was unable to take care of both ends and had to quickly send troops to quell the rebellion.

However, this situation continued to occur on the border, especially in the south, which is close to the Xihe area. Because Empress Dowager Liang mobilized an army of 400,000 to 500,000, where would the food and grass come from? The Liao Kingdom could not support so much, so it could only levy taxes by force. The more the court levied, the more people ran to Xihe, and more merchants surrendered to Xihe with their property.

This creates a vicious cycle.

Because Xihe was originally a mixed-population area, Han people were not the majority, there were Tibetans and Dangxiang people, so they joined Xihe without any psychological burden and just joined directly.

The good news from the northwest made the people in the Central Plains more confident, and more and more people asked the court to be tougher on the Liao Kingdom.

This sentiment made many businessmen feel uneasy. After all, the Liao Kingdom was the first trading country of the Song Dynasty, and they all had to do business!

Baifan Building.

"Sanlang, we have a lot of trade with the Liao Kingdom. Can we still do this business?"

Fan Yong asked Zhang Fei with deep concern.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Of course we will continue the business as usual. This is our advantage, how can we give it up?"

Chen Maoqian said: "But under the current situation, who would dare to do this business? If a fight breaks out, the losses will be heavy."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Haven't I already left a way out for you guys?"

Fan Yong asked: "By sea transport?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Do you still need to be afraid of the Liao Kingdom when you are at sea? Besides, when you go to the sea for trade, you don't have to look at the faces of border officials, which makes trade more convenient."

Chen Maoqian nodded and said, "If this is possible, it would be the best. Most of the profits of the port belong to our charity foundation. I am afraid that the court will not allow it. After all, if we do this, we will rob the trade of the border market."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "You are just worrying for nothing. Are the officials afraid of an increase in their port taxes?"

Chen Maoqian's eyes lit up, "That's true. Now all port taxes belong to the government."

As he spoke, he became even more interested. "Sanlang, my son recently wrote to me, saying that there is a place called Taohua Island on the coast of Liao. The location of the island is good. Not only can we build warehouses on it to facilitate maritime trade with Liao and Goryeo, but once we control the island, we can completely control the ports of Liao. With our strength at sea, it is not difficult to take over the island."

We don't have horses, but we have ships, so we are not afraid of the Liao people in naval battles.

Zhang Fei frowned slightly and said, "Ask Erlang to bring us the detailed information about this island."

Chen Maoqian nodded.

Fan Yong asked, "By the way, Sanlang, are you still going to fight the lawsuit?"

Zhang Fei said, "Yes! But the land involved in this lawsuit is quite complicated. But the court session should be held soon."

The lawsuit just started and then there was no further news. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Just when everyone was about to forget about this lawsuit and public opinion was gradually calming down, the Supreme Court suddenly announced that it would continue to hear the case on the next rest day.

Drunk!

Are you done yet? Can’t you finish the review in one go?

But many ministers also saw Zhang Fei's intention. The public opinion had just calmed down a little, and you came again just to keep the heat up.

On the day of the trial, more people came than on the first day. After all, public opinion had been fermenting for many days and everyone knew about the case.

At this court session, Zhang Fei summoned a very important figure right from the start.

It’s Mr. Han Qi.

Regarding the issue of the Hedong boundary, Han Qi was the first prime minister to deal with it. He was a very key witness. However, Zhang Fei had also heard that Han Qi was not in good health, so he allowed his adjutant at the time to testify on his behalf, but Han Qi still agreed to testify himself.

Can this kind of thing be replaced?

If you don't handle it well, you will become a sinner for all eternity.

Han Qi, supported by Han Zhongyan and the old servant, slowly came to the courtyard and sat on a rattan chair specially prepared for him so that he could lean back.

Zhang Fei asked with great concern: "Mr. Han, if you feel unwell, you can just tell me. This lawsuit cannot be concluded in one or two days."

Anyway, I have already procrastinated for a month, so why should I care about waiting a few more days?

Han Qi nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "After the last court hearing, our imperial court checked and found that there was no problem with the people's land deeds. They were indeed issued by the government, and there are official documents from the court to prove it.

But none of them provided complete evidence to prove whether those lands belonged to the Song Dynasty. This is the key to the case. If those areas did not belong to the Song Dynasty, their land deeds would naturally have no legal effect. As far as I know, it was Han Xianggong who advocated the relocation of people to that area for farming. "

Han Qi immediately said: "The Hedong area certainly belongs to our Song Dynasty territory, there is no doubt about that."

The tone was very firm.

Although he has always advocated maintaining relations with the Liao Kingdom, but Zhang Fei asked this question, he must be firm on this point. Otherwise, he would be a sinner. What do you want to do by ceding the territory of the Liao Kingdom to us Song people?

Zhang Fei asked, "Does Mr. Han have any evidence?"

Han Qi nodded and said, "When I was in charge of Hedong, I had looked up relevant evidence. When I learned that the imperial court wanted to summon me to testify, I also applied to the emperor and borrowed some evidence from the court. One of the pieces of evidence was a memorial written by Zhang Qixian, the left envoy to Emperor Taizong in the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo. It clearly mentioned that when Hedong was first pacified, there were no military camps in Lan, Xin, Xian, Dai and other places, so the enemy often harassed them. The article also specifically mentioned the Yanmen and Yangwu camps.

Later, our dynasty also built some military camps in the area to defend against the Khitan invasion from the south. I also borrowed the records of the defense deployment in the Hedong area at that time from the court. "

After saying that, Han Zhongyan presented all the relevant evidence.

After Zhang Fei looked at them one by one, he asked again: "Since this all belongs to our Great Song territory, why is there a dispute? There are more Liao people here than we Song people?"

Han Qi couldn't help being dazed when he recalled the past.

Zhang Fei asked, "Mr. Han?"

Han Qi was startled, then slowly said, "After Emperor Taizong destroyed the Northern Han, he ordered the people to move to Hedong. However, not long after, the Yongxi Northern Expedition ended in failure, and our strategy was forced to switch from offense to defense. At that time, the Liao people often went south to plunder, which caused the plan to move to Hedong to be temporarily shelved.

Later, in order to prevent the Liao people from raiding the south, General Pan Mei at the time adopted the strategy of clearing the walls and fields, issued a ban, prohibiting the people from farming in the local area, and built forts in the local area in order to control the transportation hub between the north and the south. The Liao Kingdom also saw through our intentions and built forts in the dangerous northern mountains to confront our army.

During this period, the border between the two sides was actually determined.

The problem arose after the Treaty of Chanyuan, because according to the Treaty of Chanyuan, both sides stopped fighting and no longer engaged in war. In the following 20 to 30 years, the military preparations in Hedong were neglected, the number of soldiers stationed there was decreasing, and the forts built at that time were gradually abandoned, but the ban on migration was not lifted, which laid the groundwork for the disasters that followed. "

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"

Han Qi explained: "It was the reduction of local garrisons and the disappearance of forts that led to our dynasty's neglect of management of that area, so that many Liao people crossed the Beishan Mountains and entered our territory to farm, while our people were not allowed to enter due to the ban.

This period lasted for about thirty years, and almost a generation had changed, which led the local Liao people to believe that those lands should belong to their Liao Kingdom.

It was not until the first year of the Qingli reign that the border states came to appeal to the court, saying that the northerners Su Zhi and Nie Zaiyou had invaded and cultivated the land of Yangwu Village, that the court paid attention to it.

Zhang Fei asked: "How did the court respond at that time?"

Han Qi sighed, "At that time, the officials of Yangwu Village and the Liao envoys discussed and determined the boundary division of Yangwu Village in the northwest of Chun County."

Zhang Fei asked: "How is it divided?"

Han Qi said: "It extends to Mai Ma City in the east, to the foot of Huangwei Mountain in the south, to Jiaojia Village in the west, and to Zhangjia Village in the north."

Zhang Fei asked: "Is this the initial boundary?"

Han Qi said: "In fact, the boundary has moved more than 20 miles to the south."

Zhang Fei said: "That is to say, after this negotiation, the Liao Kingdom pushed their border line in Hedong southward by more than 20 miles."

Han Qi nodded.

Zhang Fei looked down at the copy and said, "But even according to this boundary, Tianchi and other places are not included."

Han Qi added: "In the third year of the Qingli period, controversy arose again because a northerner named Shi Ting once again crossed the border and invaded our territory."

Zhang Fei asked: "What's the result?"

Han Qi said: "Both sides have adjusted the boundaries north of Chun County again, but the boundary adjustment is not much different from the previous demarcation.

Later, Emperor Renzong decided to dig trenches at the border to mark the boundary. However, in the fifth year of the Qingli period, a northerner named Du Sirong crossed the trenches and cultivated the land north of Tianchi Lake, but he did not enter the Tianchi Lake at that time.

Zhang Fei asked: "What was the court's response at that time?"

Han Qi said nothing.

Zhang Fei waited for a while, then looked down at the document and said, "According to what the plaintiff said before, the court can only dig trenches again. If the other party invades again, the court will dig trenches again. Is this true?"

Han Qi nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "But I am a little confused about what Han Xianggong said. Can the encroachment of a northerner force our country to move the entire border line southward?"

Han Qi said nothing.

It was dead silent outside as well.

As the saying goes, there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart.

Thank you very much Chi Yan Yong Ming for giving me a reward when this book is finished... A little surprise...