Speaking of feudal dynasties alone, the Song Dynasty could be said to have the highest emphasis on and level of professionalism in judicial affairs.
There is a big background to this, which is the previous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
The judicial chaos at that time was truly dark and gloomy.
After the Zhao family took over, they were very clear that without improving the judiciary, it would be difficult to truly stabilize the country.
For example, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was a characteristic that "military personnel were in charge of prisons", which directly led to the abuse of punishment and intensified many social contradictions.
Therefore, the Zhao family stipulated that judicial officials must be literati, and through the reform of the judicial system, they created a relatively fair and honest judicial system, the core of which was the system of separate interrogation and adjudication.
The so-called "separate division of interrogation and trial" means separating interrogation and trial.
This system was adopted from the Dali Temple to local prefectures and counties.
The Jusi was responsible for trial, interrogation and verification.
The adjudication department is responsible for deciding the sentence. For the confirmed criminal facts, they will retrieve the relevant legal provisions and determine whether they are applicable to the case.
...
...
The judgment must cite legal provisions. You cannot just come up with a charge, nor can you use the legal provisions to make far-fetched interpretations. This department and the Audit Department of the Three Departments are the two most professional departments in the Song Dynasty.
One is money, the other is law.
Of course, in many counties, the county magistrate and the chief clerk are still in charge of the trial, while the county lieutenant is responsible for the investigation and pursuit.
However, as the largest county in the country, Kaifeng County is actually equivalent to the provincial capital level. Chi County is a very powerful existence. If one can serve as the magistrate of Kaifeng County, he will have a bright future. Ordinary officials will not have the chance to hold such a position.
Kaifeng County also has a provincial-level judicial institution such as the Siliyuan.
Then Kaifeng Prefecture is naturally a higher level.
Kaifeng County, Siliyuan.
In an office piled high with official documents, several clerks and recorders sat inside, working at their desks.
This department is the hardest.
Kaifeng County is too big, with a large and mixed population. There are new cases every day, so it can be said that they have endless work to do!
"Big eucalyptus, big eucalyptus!"
A clerk quickly walked into the room and said excitedly.
Several people in the room immediately looked up.
"What big eucalyptus?"
"Just now, a Taoist priest named Geng Ming sued Luomapo Wei Yushan for colluding with officials, committing corruption for personal gain, and extorting money, which led to the destruction of his family and the separation of his wife and children."
This is really a big case!
The officials immediately gathered around.
"Geng Ming? I seem to have heard of this name before." An old recorder said thoughtfully.
"Yeah?"
"Oh, oh, I remember now. That's what happened. Geng Ming used to be the village head, responsible for collecting taxes. But for some reason, he suddenly went to the Wei family to collect taxes. Not long after, Geng Ming sold his land, and his wife and children left him. Later... I heard that he became a Taoist priest."
The Li Zheng was the most miserable yamen servant in the Song Dynasty. According to the law, he had to be a first-class householder and had to serve in turns. He was often in charge of financial matters, such as collecting taxes, escorting goods, etc.
Of course, everything has two sides. There are also some ruthless people who transfer the sufferings of their servants in the yamen to the villagers, but the result will not change much. After all, they are leeks. Even if they fatten themselves up by some means, they will inevitably be slaughtered.
"I've heard about this, too. It seems to be true. It is said that he did not receive the land tax from the Wei family, so the county government forced them to bear it."
"This Wei family is really well connected!"
"What should I do then?"
As they were discussing, an official in his early thirties entered the room.
This person's name is Chen Chong.
He is a military officer.
Although his official position was only eighth rank, he was also a Jinshi graduate. There was a clear regulation in the Song Dynasty that judicial assistants and administrative assistants must be Jinshi graduates, and many prime ministers had held this position when they were young.
Even if one enters office through ancestral influence, one still has to pass the judicial examination.
This shows how much importance the Song Dynasty attached to justice.
"What are you discussing?" Chen Chong asked when she saw everyone gathered together.
"Manager Chen, someone just came to file a complaint."
These officials told Chen Chong the reason all at once.
Chen Chong couldn't help but frown when he heard this, but he had just taken office and lacked experience, so he organized a meeting to discuss the case.
"Geng Ming has proof of tax receipts. He paid three times more tax in just one year. There is obviously something fishy going on. Not only that, he also kept some proof of the tax he collected from the Wei family, as well as proof of the Wei family's tax evasion in recent years."
"In fact, these evidences are enough to convict him, but these evidences are also known to everyone."
"Yes! Ever since Wei Yushan's daughter married Prince Chang as a concubine, no one dared to go to his house to collect taxes."
"This kind of lawsuit seems to have irrefutable evidence, but it is impossible to win a verdict."
"This Geng Ming is really stubborn. If he could have sued, he wouldn't have suffered so much. Could it be that he has a terminal illness and wants to fight to the death?"
......
Chen Chong listened to their discussion for a long time, but he couldn't make up his mind for a while. After all, there was King Chang behind Wei Yushan. He asked, "What should we do?"
The clerks looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Manager Chen, there is no need to accept a case like this. It will be futile and will offend many people." The elderly clerk shook his head and sighed.
Almost everyone present nodded.
Only a young county prosecutor named Bi Ye said, "You must understand clearly that this is not just about tax evasion, it also includes abuse of power for personal gain, such as stealing from the owner, defrauding officials and private property, etc. If we do not accept the case, if it is exposed, we will also be implicated."
"If it could have been exposed, it would have been exposed three years ago, and he would not have been able to sue in this case."
"It's better to be safe than sorry!" Bi Ye said.
Chen Chong thought that things had indeed been unsettled recently, so she glanced at the young official and asked, "Bi Tuisi, what do you think we should do?"
Bi Ye said, "Manager Chen, we are just conducting the trial. Whether to sentence or not is up to the judiciary and the county magistrate. We should just pretend we don't know and report it. Whether to sentence or not has nothing to do with us."
When he said this, everyone nodded.
I think this is safer.
The Song Dynasty's system of checks and balances actually had a drawback, which was that everyone could blame each other.
Chen Chong nodded and said, "Let's do as you say."
To be on the safe side, Chen Chong personally interrogated Geng Ming, and then packed up the confession and evidence and threw them to the judicial officer.
The Judicial Assistant actually belongs to the Court of Justice, which is divided into the Left and Right Courts. However, sometimes the Judicial Assistant directly takes charge of the Court of Justice.
.....
"You did a good job. After this case is over, I will recommend you to my superiors."
After Lu Jiawen got the manager's confession, he praised Bi Ye happily.
"Thank you, Lawyer Lu."
Bi Ye couldn't help but be overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude.
He was so young, and according to the rules of the Song Dynasty, officials needed qualifications to be promoted, which was what he lacked most, unless someone from above recommended him.
The next day, Lu Jiawen sent the judgment he had written in advance to the county government.
After all, the magistrate is the highest judge in a county.
The relationship between the judicial officer and the county magistrate is not one of checks and balances, but a purely superior-subordinate relationship.
But generally speaking, many civil cases with a sentence of less than thirty strokes of the cane are decided directly by the judicial officer, and the county government is just going through the motions. The magistrate does not have so much time to take care of so many things, after all, he is still the highest administrative officer of a county.
But this case is a major criminal case and must be decided by the magistrate himself.
After Wang Hong saw this case, he immediately sent someone to inform Wei Yushan.
.....
The head of the Wei family, Wei Yushan, is not even forty years old this year, but he has become famous at a young age and his methods are ruthless. Everyone knows him and everyone is afraid of him.
He was also fond of martial arts. When people from the county government came to his house, he was lifting a stone pillar in the yard with his bare chest, and two or three concubines were cheering him on. The scene was very suggestive.
"Geng Ming?"
Wei Yushan was still confused, as if he had never heard of this name.
It was the old man next to him who reminded him.
"It's that stupid village head again."
Wei Yushan just remembered it then, but he was not panicked at all. He immediately ordered someone to write a complaint, accusing Geng Ming of extortion, embezzlement and bribery.
It turned out that at that time, Wei Yushan insisted that he had given the tax money to Geng Ming and that Geng Ming himself was greedy. Then, using this as an excuse, he colluded with several corrupt officials to fabricate evidence and forced Geng Ming to bear the tax money for part of his family's land.
Geng Ming was afraid of being sued, so he had no choice but to take on the responsibility. Later, he could not afford it anymore, and the government took away his land to pay off his debts. In the end, those lands fell into the hands of Wei Yushan.
Chen Chong couldn't stand it when she saw Wei Yushan's complaint. You don't take us seriously at all. You should at least provide evidence. It's just a complaint. Is this county government run by your family?
So he took the initiative to find Lu Jia to discuss it.
Lu Jiawen took the complaint and went to discuss it with Wang Hong.
"The tax notes provided by Geng Ming don't prove anything at all."
Wang Hong waved his hand.
Lu Jia asked in confusion: "If Geng Ming's tax bills are all
If it cannot be used as evidence, then Wei Yushan's complaint is nothing more than a piece of waste paper."
Wang Hong sighed, "I didn't say I wanted to rule in favor of Wei Yushan, but... Hey, Lawyer Lu, you should also know that those village heads often extort money from the people. This happened three years ago. Who knows the situation at that time? I suggest persuading them to reconcile."
When this incident happened, he had not yet taken office in Kaifeng County. He knew clearly what was going on. Although he would not convict Wei Yushan, he was not willing to clean up the mess and thought it would be best to keep the matter peacefully.
As for the personal grudge between Wei Yushan and Geng Ming, you should resolve it among yourselves.
Lu Jiawen nodded and said, "Yes, there are some bad apples among the village heads, but if anyone says that Geng Ming blackmailed Wei Yushan, I will never believe it."
Wang Hong frowned and asked, "Is this how you judicial officers judge cases? What evidence do you have to prove that Geng Ming cannot blackmail Wei Yushan?"
Lu Jia asked: "Even if that's the case, Geng Ming should be sentenced to prison instead of paying several times the tax to the government."
Wang Hong said: "This is a common thing. If a yamen official fails to do his job, he will not necessarily be punished, but he will have to pay compensation to the government. This is also a form of compensation. It's not the first day you have been an official. Don't you know this?"
Lu Jia asked, "Does Magistrate Wang have evidence to prove this?"
Wang Hong frowned and asked, "Are you the county magistrate, or am I the county magistrate?"
Lu Jia asked, "Can a county magistrate disobey the law?"
"Asshole!"
Wang Hong was furious, pointing at Lu Jia and asking, "If it weren't for your family background, you probably wouldn't even be a clerk. What right do you have to lecture me here? From today on, you don't have to take care of this case anymore."
Lu Jiawen stood up, snorted angrily, and left.
Wang Hong ignored the official's son and simply dismissed the lawsuits from both sides due to insufficient evidence.
......
Zhang family.
"well...!"
Xu Zhiqian held her chin with one hand, looking at the gate eagerly, and sighed, "Why hasn't he come yet?"
Zhang Fei said unhappily, "I've already told you that with the efficiency of the court, it will take at least ten days or half a month. We have plenty of time. We still have time to talk about love after work. But you insisted on rushing us, so now we can only wait foolishly."
Geng Ming went to complain when the preparations were not yet completed. As a result, all the documents were ready, but after waiting for three or four days, there was still no news. Xu Zhiqian's excitement was almost over.
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes at Zhang Fei and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.
“Here it comes!”
Xu Zhiqian immediately perked up.
After a while, Li Si came in and said, "Third brother, there is a man outside who claims to be the judicial officer of Kaifeng County. He said he wants to see you for something."
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
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