Chapter 807 Final Judgment

Han Qi would certainly not answer this question, because it was a fact that the Liao Kingdom relied on some border residents to occupy more land. No one could deny that the Song Dynasty was relatively weak in facing the problems of the Liao Kingdom. In any case, it would endure it as much as it could.

The atmosphere was very awkward.

It was dead silent.

Fortunately, Zhang Fei only expressed his confusion and had no intention of further investigating this issue, because it was not the key to the case. He continued to ask, "When did Han Xianggong get involved in this matter?"

"The fifth year of Emperor You."

Han Qi recalled the past, his expression changed slightly, he said slowly: "I remember that I was the governor of Bingzhou at that time. Once I was ordered to inspect the border of Daibei, I found that the barren land under the border was very fertile, but no people of our dynasty were cultivating it. But as we all know, border areas, especially areas with fertile land, must be strategic locations. Since ancient times, every dynasty would station troops on the border. It happened that the northern people Du Sirong and others invaded Lengquan Village, Tianchi and other places again."

Zhang Fei interrupted him and said, "But what about the Tianchi and Lengquan Village mentioned by the plaintiffs Chen Xu and Li Min?"

"Yes."

"Please continue, Mr. Han." Zhang Fei nodded with a smile.

...

...

Han Qi continued, "At that time, I resolutely resisted the invasion of these northerners, so I sent people to drive them away."

"Yeah?"

Zhang Fei said with a little surprise.

Han Qi said angrily: "This thief came to your house to steal things, you didn't drive him away, are you going to invite him to drink tea?"

These words caused the people outside the courtyard to nod frequently.

It has to be said that Han Qi has a very high reputation among the people and is deeply loved by the people. This is because his suggestions on governance are often to the point, and the policies he proposes can also alleviate the difficulties faced by the people, so he is deeply loved by the people.

"What Prime Minister Han said makes sense." Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and asked, "What was the reaction of the Northern Dynasty at that time?"

Han Qi said: "The Northern Dynasty also immediately sent officials to negotiate, and they also threatened that places like Tianchi, Lengquan Village, and Hengling all belonged to their Liao territory. Later, I found a letter sent by the Northern Dynasty to our dynasty in the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu. In this letter, the Liao Kingdom itself determined that Tianchi and other places all belonged to the southern border.

This forced all the northerners to evacuate from Tianchi, Hengling, Lengquan Village and other places. Later, I ordered people to build shelters and trenches in the area, and recruited 3,000 archers to open up farmland on the border to prevent the northerners from invading again. "

Zhang Fei immediately asked: "Does this certificate still exist?"

Han Qi nodded and said, "Yes. To prevent further disputes, after I returned to the Privy Council, I ordered people to sort out and revise the border documents, one copy was placed in the Privy Council and the other in the palace. Now the Privy Council copy is in the hands of Shen Tianjian."

From these words, we can also see that the growth of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in the Northern Song Dynasty was not without reason. The subjects were all aware of this and must protect evidence and safeguard their own rights and interests.

Zhang Fei nodded. "Since this issue has been explained, what is the reason for the current controversy?"

Han Qi said: "Although we presented irrefutable evidence, the Northern Dynasty ignored it. Moreover, since there were already many northern people in the area, they still coveted our arable land. Seeing that our dynasty recruited archers to farm there, they were very dissatisfied. Therefore, during the Jiayou period, the Liao ruler had another negotiation with Emperor Renzong on the Hedong boundary. At that time, Emperor Renzong took out the Hedong boundary book and argued with reason, but the Liao ruler never responded.

It was not until the second year of Zhiping, when the previous emperor had just ascended the throne, that the Northern Dynasty once again launched an attack on the Hedong territory, arguing that Tianchi belonged to them.

The late emperor wanted to avoid damaging the harmony between the two countries, so he wrote a letter to the Liao ruler, urging him to cherish the alliance and avoid war. But the Northern Dynasty still did not respond. "

Zhang Fei said: "After listening to what Han Xianggong said, it seems that the Liao Kingdom just wants to seize our territory, rather than trying to reason with us."

Han Qi hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "It can be said that due to the strategy of clearing the walls and fields adopted by our dynasty before, the frontier was vacant for more than 30 years. The Northern Dynasty took the opportunity to bring people into the frontier to graze and cultivate the land, which caused controversy.

But I have negotiated with them several times, and they have never had any evidence to prove that the land belongs to them. Whenever we show them evidence, they don’t respond. However, the phenomenon of encroachment on the border of Hedong has never decreased. "

"I have some land deeds here. Could you please take a look, Mr. Han, to see if they are authentic?"

After Zhang Fei finished speaking, an adjutant took several land deeds and handed them to Han Qi.

Han Qi squinted his eyes, looked at it for a long time, then nodded and said, "Yes, these are the land deeds that I ordered people to distribute to the border residents of Tianchi and other places in the second year of Zhihe."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Han, for coming to the court to testify. This also allows me, the presiding judge, to clearly understand the whole story."

Han Qi waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. Most of the plaintiffs were recruited by me, so I should testify for them."

After saying that, Han Zhongyan and the old servant helped Han Qi to stand up, walked down slowly, and sat next to Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo.

Fu Bi whispered: "This kid is using you again!"

Han Qi sighed, "This is not the first time. I just regret that I am already old. If I were as young as him, I would not be so passive. Alas!"

Wen Yanbo saw this and a smile appeared on his face.

Fu Bi and Han Qi suddenly looked at him at the same time. Wen Yanbo subconsciously pursed his lips and restrained himself a little.

Han Qi laughed and said, "Mr. Kuan, it's you who are happy."

Wen Yanbo said calmly, "Why did Lord Han say that? How can I be happy after hearing the whole story?"

Han Qi and Fu Bi looked at each other, and then silently despised Wen Yanbo.

On this matter, only Wen Yanbo advocated a tough stance against Liao.

When Han Qi went down, Zhang Fei picked up the gavel and knocked it.

Everyone seemed to wake up from hypnosis and looked at Zhang Fei with wide eyes.

No way!

No way!

No!

Zhang Fei said, "Today's trial ends here for now. I still need to verify relevant evidence. In addition, another important witness in this case, Shen Tianjian, has not returned to Beijing yet. We will continue the trial after Shen Tianjian returns to Beijing."

I knew it was like this.

The people were wailing

Can't you review it all at once?

Moreover, everything has been explained so clearly, can't a judgment be made?

If it weren’t for Zhang Fei, he would have definitely started cursing.

It’s such a scam!

But Zhang Fei ignored them and turned away.

The masters in the courtyard were already certain that Zhang Fei's plan was to manipulate public opinion and force the court to take a tough stance against the Liao Kingdom.

There is no doubt about this.

Yes, Han Qi is a thing of the past. The envoy for this negotiation is Shen Kuo, who is indeed an important witness, but the problem is that no one knows where Shen Kuo is now.

The people of Hedong have already arrived in the capital, but he has not returned yet. Now that the Liao Kingdom has sent troops to occupy those places, he should return to the capital to report. There must be something fishy here!

However, they really guessed wrong about this. When the chief judge will start the trial depends on other people's schedules?

Impossible!

It was not that Zhang Fei deliberately asked Shen Kuo to return to Beijing late, but that Shen Kuo went to Hebei to inspect the Military Equipment Bureau on the orders of Wang Anshi.

There is no way, Shen Kuo is so talented.

But no matter what, Zhang Fei's move is still very effective.

Because at the last court session, Zhang Fei left a controversial point at the end, that is, he did not confirm that those lands belonged to the Song Dynasty.

If there really is a dispute, and even if it belongs to the Liao Kingdom, the imperial court cannot easily rule in their favor. You cannot use other people's things to claim compensation!

At that time, the people's complaints were not very confident. After all, they did not know what was happening. In the past, how could such military and national affairs be discussed in such occasions?

This controversial point disappeared with Han Qi's confession, and it can be confirmed that it is the territory of our Great Song Dynasty.

The public opinion, which had almost died down, surged again and was even more intense than last time.

The more I listen, the more aggrieved I feel. Just one person coming to encroach on a country's land can cause the entire border of a country to move back. The cost of this expansion is simply too outrageous.

It’s no wonder that the Liao Kingdom was so aggressive.

You are such a coward.

Anyone will bully you.

In fact, the temper of the people in the Song Dynasty was also improving, which was caused by the legal system. In terms of rights and interests, they now have a very strong sense of self-protection.

Not only that, the voices of the doves in the court also gradually became smaller, because Han Qi had always advocated maintaining relations with the Liao Kingdom. In addition, due to his status in the court, many ministers were also watching him. However, in court, Han Qi had no choice but to show his toughness. In fact, he was indeed very tough at the time, which had a great impact on the court.

However, many speculators also saw this trend, so they submitted petitions to the emperor, asking him to take a tough stance against the Liao Kingdom.

Although these people were seeking fame and fortune and were opportunistic, their memorials allowed the hardliners in the court, led by Wen Yanbo, to finally gain the upper hand.

Wen Yanbo also took the opportunity to put forward his own ideas in the court.

How can we not fight for it when they occupy our land? We also do not fight for it when they occupy Xiongzhou, and we also do not fight for it when they occupy Yingzhou. There are many fortifications in the suburbs, which is a disgrace to the nobles and officials.

The conclusion is, what's the harm in fighting?

This has happened more than once or twice. If diplomacy cannot curb it, we will have no choice but to go to war. Otherwise, they will ask for Xiongzhou again next time. Should we give it to them or not?

But he did not advocate attacking Liao, or tearing up the Treaty of Chanyuan, but rather advocated a tough response to the Liao's shameful behavior.

This is not extreme, but middle.

Most people can still accept it.

This replaced the previous mainstream thinking, which was: How can we fight when Hebei is not prepared?

In fact, whether it was Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Fu Bi, or Han Qi, they all believed that neither the timing nor the preparation was sufficient to confront the Liao Kingdom.

But now the voice of this advocacy is getting smaller and smaller.

Having said that, their opinions are not the key; the key is the emperor’s opinions.

Because the civil officials were a very large group, there were hawks and doves among them, for example, Kou Zhun, Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Wen Yanbo, Shen Kuo, and even Han Qi and Fu Bi, they were all hardliners when they were young.

It’s just that later on the Song Dynasty was dragged down by the Three Redundancies, and they couldn’t be tough. This kind of thing is not about reason but about strength. However, they were all firmly opposed to ceding land, which is beyond doubt.

It was often the emperor who sided with the doves and advocated compromise.

Therefore, the emperor's vote is crucial.

Zhao Xu did not make a clear statement, but he adopted one of Wen Yanbo's suggestions, which was to replace some dovish officials in the border states with some hardliners.

What a coincidence!

At this time, Shen Kuo returned to the capital to report.

Everyone was talking about it. No one would believe that this was not arranged.

Zhang Fei was too lazy to explain and immediately convened a third trial.

Compared with the previous two court sessions, the atmosphere at this hearing was less uneasy and more expectant.

During the first trial, the masters in the court were so worried that they lost a lot of hair, but after two trials, they gradually got used to it. The key was that the wind direction within the court was also changing. They also knew that worrying was useless and they could only wait for a result.

Although the people outside the court were extremely sad and heartbroken, the chief judge still retained the only hope in their hearts.

However, since they didn't know much about Shen Kuo, they were still a little worried when they saw Shen Kuo come to the trial.

Don't say you are a coward!

“Chen Tianjian, I heard that you just returned from negotiating with the Liao people in Hedong.” Zhang Fei asked.

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked: "Can you tell me what the situation is there now?"

Shen Kuo replied: "Four months ago, the Northern Dynasty suddenly sent troops to invade, drove out our local people, and occupied more than 700 miles of our territory."

Zhang Fei asked, "Are you saying that the Liao Kingdom suddenly sent troops to invade?"

"Yes."

"So you didn't know about it beforehand?"

"The Liao people sent someone to inform me, and without waiting for our response, they directly sent troops to station there."

"Didn't you guys reach an agreement?"

"No."

Shen Kuo shook his head and said, "In this negotiation, the Northern Dynasty was simply arrogant and unreasonable. Their only basis was that their border residents may have grazed and cultivated land in the local area at certain times.

But that was because the officials of the border states of our dynasty neglected the local management, which allowed their border residents to become more and more aggressive and encroach on the territory of our dynasty.

How could I possibly agree to their request?"

Zhang Fei asked: "When they sent troops to settle there, how did the border state government respond?"

Shen Kuo was silent for a while, then sighed deeply, "I have to admit that our dynasty is far inferior to the Northern Dynasty in terms of local military strength. Moreover, due to the civil strife in Western Xia, our dynasty had to send troops to protect our interests in the northwest border, while they came prepared. Therefore, the border state government can only guide the people to leave in time to avoid unnecessary casualties."

Zhang Fei lowered his head and glanced at the copy, "But I heard that some people still suffered considerable losses."

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Can Shen Tianjian briefly explain the cause of this negotiation?"

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "This negotiation was initiated by the Northern Dynasty. Three or four years ago, they sent a special envoy to Bianjing, saying that the border of Hedong had repeatedly caused conflicts between the two countries, and they hoped to draw a clear line to avoid misunderstandings and damage the harmony between the two countries.

Indeed, the dispute over the Hedong border has lasted for decades, and the current emperor also wants to resolve this issue. I remember that he sent the chief judge to negotiate with the Liao envoy at that time."

"Yes."

Zhang Fei nodded and said loudly: "I remember that at that time, after I learned about it, I found that the initial demarcation line was a lookout method, and this method was only an approximate area, without an accurate boundary. At that time, the Liao envoy thought that the local watershed could be used as the boundary. I did not object to this proposal, because using mountains and rivers as boundaries can reduce conflicts between the people of the two countries, so we decided to work together to draw a clear boundary."

Shen Kuo said: "According to the arrangement of the Grand Court President, we sent a number of officials to conduct on-site inspections. When I arrived, I found that the Northern Dynasty was simply trying to use this demarcation to invade our territory."

Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"

Shen Kuo said: "Because the original method of looking around was actually mostly divided according to mountains and rivers, there was a rough dividing line, in fact, it was enough to divide according to this line, but the Northern Dynasty completely ignored the previous boundaries and drew boundaries according to their own ideas. Their purpose was to occupy the terrain that was more advantageous to them. But the funny thing is that they couldn't even call out the names of many mountains and rivers. When they surveyed, they also made many mistakes. In the documents we negotiated with them, they also used the names in our dynasty's boundary book.

These include Tianchi, Lengquan Village and other places. Han Xianggong had presented relevant evidence for these places during the Huangyou period. These were the documents sent by the Northern Dynasty when they negotiated with our dynasty. This was enough to prove that these lands belonged to our dynasty. Under the auspices of Han Xianggong, these evidences were also compiled into a book.

Our officials have repeatedly raised objections, but they have been ignored, and during this period, they have deployed heavy troops to patrol the border in an attempt to put pressure on us."

Zhang Fei asked: "Did Shen Tianjian bring any relevant evidence?"

"have."

Shen Kuo immediately presented a thick stack of evidence.

Zhang Fei took a quick look and nodded, saying, "It's exactly the same as what Minister Han said before!"

Then he looked at Shen Kuo and asked, "So from the beginning to the end, Shen Tianjian never agreed to the Liao Kingdom's request?"

This is the key evidence in this case. After all, this is a diplomatic matter. Although Han Qi's confession has confirmed that those lands belonged to the Song Dynasty, if Shen Kuo agreed to the other party's request, that would be another matter.

"No."

Shen Kuo shook his head and said, "But I also wrote a letter to the emperor about the Northern Dynasty's request, and the emperor also gave clear instructions that the Huangwei Mountain watershed must not be used as the boundary. Because as early as the first year of the Qingli period, the two countries had already clearly demarcated the local border due to the dispute between the northern people Su Zhi and Nie Zaiyou over the invasion of farmland. I heard that Han Xianggong mentioned this matter when he gave his testimony before."

"good."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "According to what Han Xianggong said, the area was demarcated from Mai Ma City in the east to the foot of Huangwei Mountain in the south, Jiaojia Village in the west, and Zhangjia Village in the north."

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "That's right. But if we use the Huangwei Mountain watershed as the boundary, it means moving this boundary nearly a hundred miles further south. This is really absurd.

Secondly, the government also said that Tianchi Lake must not be used as a boundary. Regarding Tianchi Lake, we also have solid evidence. As for the boundaries for which we do not have solid evidence, we are also willing to negotiate with them. "

He had done his homework before coming, and now is the time to demonstrate the toughness of our emperor.

This indeed caused many people to nod their heads.

Zhang Fei asked: "How did the Liao Kingdom respond?"

Shen Kuo said: "And their response was to send troops in without consulting us, attempting to use military force to determine this dividing line."

Zhang Fei nodded and asked again: "Did Shen Tianjian assist the local people in evacuating?"

Shen Kuo nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Does Shen Tianjian know a local named Chen Xu?"

Shen Kuo thought for a moment and said, "Because I was in a hurry at that time, I don't remember the names of the local people, but I brought the local people's household registration book."

After saying this, he presented the land register.

After a comparison, it was confirmed that all the plaintiffs were farmers from Hedong.

After clarifying these circumstances, Zhang Fei announced, under the extremely depressed gaze of everyone, that the trial for today would come to an end.

Because he was only suing the people, as for the specific details of diplomacy, it was not the focus of the case and there was no need to ask too much about it.

At this point, all the key witnesses have appeared, and the current evidence is sufficient to rule in favor of the farmers.

Here comes the problem.

You can rule in favor of the people, but the question is how can you get the Liao Kingdom to return the land to the people, not to mention compensation.

Many ministers opposed this trial for the same reason: it is impossible for the Liao Kingdom to return the land. If you do so, it will only make our dynasty very passive in diplomacy, and we will have no choice but to go down this path with no room for maneuver.

Even if the court wanted to respond toughly, there was no need to do so. Wen Yanbo could handle it.

Therefore, this process was within everyone's expectations, but no one is sure how the Chief Justice will rule.

Back hall.

Zhang Fei looked at Zhao Xu with a questioning look.

After a long while, Zhao Xu suddenly picked up the wine glass on the table, drank it all, and said, "Just do as you wish."

"yes."

Zhang Fei nodded and chuckled, "Your Majesty still needs some wine to boost your courage."

Zhao Xu's face immediately turned red, and he snorted, "You can make fun of me as much as you want now. If something goes wrong later, you, hmm, will be the culprit."

Zhang Fei said: "Anyway, I have already purchased property in Qiongzhou."

"Qiongzhou?"

Zhao Xu was immediately furious, "You wish."

Seven days later, the Royal Court finally announced that the trial would continue on the next rest day.

It’s not easy!

This time we didn't have to wait another month.

satisfy!

This is already very satisfying!

This kind of waiting is really a torment!

Because now even the people have reacted, how can this be judged? After all, the defendant has not come, and may not even know about it. If the judgment is made, will it be useful?

You can't judge the air!

If it were any other judge, the people would definitely sneer at him, thinking that he was just trying to attract attention and that if they had the guts, they could capture the Liao people and bring them here for trial.

But because of Zhang Fei, the people still have strong expectations.

finally!

Finally, the rest day has arrived.

It seemed as if all the citizens in the city had come, and now there was no citizen in the entire capital area who did not know about this.

As for the civil and military officials in the court, royal family members, and high-ranking officials, none of them were absent.

There was no room to sit in the courtyard, and many people were standing to watch.

This judgment will affect everyone's vital interests.

At the hour of Chen, Zhang Fei appeared on the stage on time.

Swish, swish, swish!

Everyone's eyes turned to Zhang Fei.

The attention of all is said modestly.

Zhang Fei picked up the gavel and suddenly looked around in surprise. He felt that it was terribly quiet. There were so many people, but no one was making a sound. He smiled slightly, and just gently dropped the gavel, and said loudly: "After many days of trial and verification, as well as the evidence provided by the witnesses, this judge ruled that the plaintiff won the case."

No applause, no flowers.

Winning the case is certain, but the key question is how you are going to make the Liao Kingdom compensate you.

Zhang Fei continued, "Undoubtedly, those lands are all our territory, but this is a state foreign affair. Our imperial court has no right to intervene. Our imperial court's judgment is only for the lawsuit of the 103 plaintiffs. After our investigation and calculation, we determined that the defendant Liao Kingdom needs to compensate the losses of the 103 plaintiffs with 12,152 strings of money.

Therefore, this President has decided to freeze a corresponding amount of the annual tribute paid by our dynasty to the Liao Kingdom and use it to pay compensation to the plaintiff.

Moreover, if the Liao Kingdom continued to occupy the farmland of these 103 plaintiffs, then 9,123 strings of money would have to be deducted from the annual tribute to compensate these 103 plaintiffs.

Of course, if the Liao Kingdom is dissatisfied, they can also appeal here."