Zhang family.
"King Chang?"
Zhang Fei slowly raised his head, and his gaze shifted from the document in his hand to Lu Huiqing opposite him, with a hint of vigilance.
Lu Huiqing nodded calmly and said, "Prince Chang is the official's brother."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei chuckled twice and said tactfully, "I heard that many people are evading taxes nowadays. There should be more than one family like this."
He thought he had been tough enough, but he never imagined that Lu Huiqing was even more violent and would target royal relatives.
Is it really like what is shown in TV dramas? In the Song Dynasty, if you don't offend a royal relative, you would be embarrassed to say that you are an honest official.
Lu Huiqing said, "You should also know that in this kind of matter, many royal relatives are also involved. If someone in the court brings up the royal relatives when the lawsuit is at its climax, or even creates another lawsuit, you will become very passive, and it may end up in nothing. Instead of that, we might as well take the initiative."
Zhang Fei frowned.
...
...
Lu Huiqing added: "And the Wei family is not a famous family after all. It's just that his daughter is the concubine of Prince Chang, so they have some connection with him. It's impossible for the royal family to intervene for such a family, causing dissatisfaction among the ministers and at the same time shutting up others."
At this point, he paused for a moment and continued, "Then Geng Ming is very determined and is unlikely to change his mind at the last minute."
Zhang Fei remained silent in silence.
Lu Huiqing glanced at Zhang Fei and said, "Don't panic. My mentor just asked me to come over to discuss it with you. If you think it's not feasible, I will send someone to inquire about it. After all, you are the one who is suing."
Zhang Fei said: "I need to think about this."
Lu Huiqing nodded with a smile.
Zhang Fei suddenly asked, "Lü Xiaokan seems to think that I will most likely agree?"
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "I haven't thought about it that way. I just thought you would be very interested in this lawsuit."
Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"
Lu Huiqing said: "I chose this lawsuit for another small reason, which is that I am worried that the lawsuit is too simple and will not arouse your interest."
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly: "Lu Xiaokan really flatters me."
Lu Huiqing laughed and said, "Okay, once you've thought about it, let me know."
Zhang Fei nodded: "Okay."
After sending Lu Huiqing away, Zhang Fei's expression gradually became solemn. He picked up the information and looked at it again. "As expected of Lu Huiqing, he has figured out my thoughts."
really!
This lawsuit aroused his great interest. Although he also helped Li Si and Shi Jia, he did it in a roundabout way and did not confront those people head-on.
This lawsuit is about facing them directly.
However, Zhang Fei has a strong interest in taking this step.
After groping around outside for so long, I have to go in and test the depth.
If he was wholeheartedly trying to help Wang Anshi, he would not have hesitated for too long, but he also wanted to get the support of Zhao Xu and Sima Guang.
This requires him to be cautious.
In fact, Lu Huiqing also had his own little thoughts, which was that he had always been on guard against Zhang Fei.
With our support, you can fight them with lawsuits, and the same thing can happen the other way around.
No one wants to be checked and balanced.
Lu Huiqing hopes that this lawsuit will make Zhang Fei's position clearer.
It is to go against those landlords and literati.
Because Wang Anshi’s new law was mainly aimed at transferring the wealth of these rich people to the national treasury.
......
In the evening, Zhang Fei took the lawsuit to discuss with Xu Zun and Xu Zhiqian.
"King Chang?"
Xu Zun frowned and said, "It is said that the current Queen Mother's favorite prince is this Prince Chang."
Xu Zhiqian said, "If the father of Prince Chang's concubine can be lawless, then what is the use of this law?"
Although her relationship with Zhang Fei has been confirmed, it is difficult to change one's nature. When she saw this, she couldn't bear it.
Xu Zun glanced at Xu Zhiqian, smiled slightly, and said to Zhang Fei: "You still have to make your own decision on this matter. If you ask us father and daughter, we will definitely hope to seek justice for Geng Ming."
Xu Zhiqian nodded and said, "This Wei Yushan is really abominable. Not paying taxes is wrong in the first place, but he is not afraid at all. He even caused an upright man like Geng Ming to be separated from his wife and children. This is simply infuriating to both humans and gods."
They are father and daughter of the same character. If they didn't know, it would be fine. But now that they know, they can't tolerate it. If the case falls into Xu Zun's hands, he will definitely appeal to the court.
Of course, these officials have their own reasons, and the worst that can happen is that they will be demoted.
Everything has two sides. This punishment is not imposed on scholars and officials, which has its bad side, but it also has its good side. It all depends on personal morality. Many civil servants with high morals, such as ministers like Bao Zheng, dared to confront the royal family, but at most they were demoted to serve as officials in other places.
Of course, officials like Wang Wenshan, who did bad things and were demoted, may come back after a few years.
It can be seen that the system of the Song Dynasty is inseparable from Confucianism. It is necessary to use morality to restrain ministers and to establish values in order to push this system in a good direction.
However, judging from the results, this road is very difficult to take.
The Renzong Dynasty had a group of unprecedented civil servants, such as the flawless Fan Zhongyan, the impartial Bao Longtu, the decisive Fu Bi, and so on.
The Shenzong dynasty was not bad either.
It makes no difference.
It didn't create a prosperous era.
Of course, Xu Zun's suggestion was entirely from the perspective of this case, but he knew that Zhang Fei had other purposes, so he let Zhang Fei decide for himself.
Zhang Fei thought for a while and suddenly asked, "My Lord, Queen Mother Gao's favorite prince is Prince Chang, not the emperor's?"
Xu Zun was slightly stunned. "It is said that this is the case, but don't make blind guesses about this kind of thing. I suggest that you focus on this case, which is what I am best at."
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm just asking casually. I'll think about it myself."
In fact, the main reason why he discussed this with Xu Zun and his daughter was that if something happened to him, Xu Zun would inevitably be implicated, so he had to be honest with them. If they both objected, Zhang Fei would definitely have to consider other options.
But the attitude of Xu Zun and his daughter is certainly beneficial to Zhang Fei.
They were willing to let Zhang Fei fight this lawsuit and were not afraid of being implicated.
Then whether to fight or not depends entirely on Zhang Fei.
......
Three o'clock in the morning.
Zhang Fei sat in the hall, staring at the documents on the table in a daze.
His main consideration now is the impact on Zhao Xu and Sima Guang.
But Lu Huiqing is right. This kind of tax evasion is a systemic corruption and is known to everyone. Even from a purely legal perspective, whether it is illegal or not is another matter, because the law does not hold everyone responsible. If an ordinary landlord is used as a target, many people will not accept it. If they directly target King Chang, the problem will actually be more serious.
Taking the father of Prince Chang's concubine as a target would obviously leave more room for easing the situation.
It can be seen that Lu Huiqing thought very clearly.
It sounds cruel at first, but if you think about it carefully, it is actually a very safe plan.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past my eyes.
Zhang Fei looked up and saw Gao Wenyin walking in holding a porcelain bowl.
"Husband, it's already late at night, you should eat something first before you get busy."
Gao Wenyin put down the fish soup she had that night and spoke to Zhang Fei in a soft voice.
Her voice was very gentle, as if it contained a magical power that was hard to resist.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Thank you, Madam."
Gao Wenyin handed the fish soup over with both hands.
"Xiaotao's cooking skills are getting better and better." Zhang Fei took a bite and praised.
Gao Wenyin smiled and said, "Since you cooked for me last time, Xiaotao has been working hard to master cooking skills."
"Yeah?"
"Um."
Gao Wenyin nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "I didn't expect that."
While eating, he said to Gao Wenyin, "Madam, you don't have to wait for me to fall asleep every day before you go to rest. If you feel sleepy, go to rest earlier."
Although the two did not sleep in the same bed, Gao Wenyin would definitely not sleep until Zhang Fei went to bed, and would always be on standby.
"How can that be possible? If you are hungry or need to change your pen and ink and can't find anyone, it will delay your work." Gao Wenyin added: "Anyway, I don't have much to do every day. I can take a break at noon, so don't worry about me."
Zhang Fei heard her firm tone, so he smiled and nodded.
Gao Wenyin asked again: "My husband, has this been another big case?"
Zhang Fei nodded: "It's also a case of Yaqian Yi, but this time the opponent is quite powerful."
Gao Wenyin nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei asked, "Madam, you don't seem to be afraid at all?"
Gao Wenyin was stunned for a moment, "Didn't you say, husband, that being afraid is useless?"
Zhang Fei blinked and asked with a smile: "So you are not afraid anymore?"
Gao Wenyin nodded slightly, "I think what my husband said makes a lot of sense. There are many things that you can't avoid just because you want to. I have seen a lot of them and have experienced them myself."
Zhang Fei nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly slapped the document with his palm, "Since my wife has said so, let's do it."
Gao Wenyin looked horrified, "Husband, I..."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Just kidding, I had already decided on this."
"Well... that'll do."
Gao Wenyin patted her chest slightly.
Zhang Fei glanced subconsciously and was actually shaken. He couldn't help but feel moved. This woman was really mature. He said, "Madam, why don't you go back to your room and rest early."
Gao Wenyin said: "It's okay, I..."
"I mean, you sitting here will interfere with my work."
"Oh well."
Gao Wenyin hurriedly left with the empty bowl.
......
Two days later, Zhang Fei invited Lu Huiqing.
"Have you decided?"
Lu Huiqing asked with a smile.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then handed another piece of paper to Lu Huiqing, "I need the evidence on this."
Lu Huiqing took it, looked at it, and said, "After three years, it's really hard to get such a detailed account!"
Zhang Fei said: "But in a case involving property disputes like this, eloquence alone is useless. Sufficient evidence is needed."
Lu Huiqing looked again and said, "I'll try my best to help you find out, but I may not be able to find all of them."
"Thank you very much!" Zhang Fei bowed and said, "Also, I won't come forward at the beginning, Geng Ming will go and sue directly."
Lu Huiqing asked: "Why is this?"
Zhang Fei said: "If I show up at the beginning, Wang Hong will definitely know that I am here for revenge, and they will definitely be on guard, which may not achieve the effect I want. Anyway, we have people on our side, so let them fight among themselves first."
Lu Huiqing hesitated for a moment and said, "When do you plan to intervene?"
Zhang Fei said: "When the Court of Justice sued the Kaifeng County Government."
Lu Huiqing was puzzled when he heard this. "How did the Court of Justice sue the Kaifeng County Government?"
Zhang Fei asked back: "Can't we sue?"
Lu Huiqing shook his head: "It's not that I can't do it, but if there is a conflict between the yamen, they should appeal to their superiors instead of suing."
Zhang Fei said: "Since you didn't say it's impossible, then it's possible!"
Lu Huiqing was stunned immediately.
Can it be done this way?
There is indeed no rule prohibiting it, but no one has ever done it!
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