After the hottest noon had passed, the gate of Kaifeng Prefecture slowly opened.
In an instant, a huge dark cloud slowly pressed over from the gate, and in a short while, it enveloped the entire Kaifeng Prefecture.
The scorching heat at noon in early summer did not dissuade the onlookers. The slightly wealthier citizens went to nearby teahouses and wine shops to take a short break, while the poorer ones squatted under a big tree, ate something casually, and took a nap with their backs against the tree.
If I don’t see the result today, no one will be able to sleep well when I go back!
So as soon as the door opened, everyone gathered around immediately.
However, their enthusiasm makes the officials feel anxious!
Although they are all experienced, they would not be so anxious even in the intrigues of the court struggles, because they all have a bottom line in their hearts and can roughly guess how the other party will move.
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He bowed respectfully to Zhao Pin. Seeing that he was wearing a Taoist robe, Zhao Pin had to give the Three Pure Ones some face. In addition, he also sympathized with Geng Ming, so he pointed to the witness chair next to him and said, "I allow you to sit in the trial."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao."
...
...
Geng Ming bowed and then sat in the witness chair.
Zhang Fei stood up and asked, "Geng Ming, where are you from? What did you do before you became a monk?"
Geng Ming said: "I am from Baima Township, Kaifeng County. My ancestors once served as commanders in the Imperial Guards Cavalry Division."
Cao Dongdong at the door said excitedly: "So he is also a military household of our Third Yamen."
Ma Xiaoyi asked: "Brother, why are the Sanya military households always bullied?"
Cao Dongdong said hurriedly: "I didn't bully the military households."
"......?"
Geng Ming continued, "Later, the family fell into poverty and became self-employed farmers. By the time of my father's generation, he had bought some land in his hometown by selling horses for the imperial court."
Zhang Fei asked, "How much land did your family own before?"
Geng Ming said: "We have a total of more than 430 acres of land, and we are a second-class household."
"That's a lot of land!" Zhang Fei asked curiously, "With such a huge fortune, why did you become a monk?"
Geng Ming was immediately furious, "This is all because of Wei Yushan."
Zhang Fei asked, "How did he force you?"
Geng Ming said, "Three years ago, I was appointed as the village head of Baima Township, responsible for collecting taxes in the township. At that time, Wei Yushan was the richest family in the township, owning at least thousands of acres of land, but he used all kinds of tricks to prevent him from paying a penny of tax."
Zhang Fei asked: "What method did he use?"
Geng Ming replied, "He relied on his family inheritance to lend money in the village. Especially when he was the head of Baima Township, he made up excuses to force the villagers to pay more taxes, but at the same time he secretly sent people to lend money to let the villagers borrow money to pay taxes. But as soon as the villagers paid the taxes, he came to collect the debts again. In the end, he forced the villagers to sell their land to him, but he did not sign an official deed, so the taxes still remained on the villagers' heads."
Zhang Fei asked, "The government doesn't care?"
Geng Ming shook his head and said, "It is undeniable that although Wei Yushan created various excuses to collect more tax money, he did not pocket the money. He turned it all in because his purpose was to make money by lending money and annex the people's land. The government not only did not blame him, but praised him instead."
The officials hearing the trial were drowsy.
Boring.
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Has he ever targeted you?"
Geng Ming shook his head and said, "No, my family had some money at the time, so we didn't need to borrow money from him. But my wife and I often helped villagers who were driven into desperation by him, so we knew all about his evil deeds."
….
Zhang Fei asked, "Are you helping those villagers for free?"
Geng Ming nodded and said, "Since my father's generation, we have often helped the poor villagers, but unfortunately my family doesn't have much money, and there are not many people we can help. If they come to my house to beg for food, I can only give them a bowl of rice."
There was a sigh outside the door.
It's really true that good people don't live long!
People like Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang both shook their heads and sighed.
This is the model of landlord they expect.
When the village is in trouble, you wealthy people should lend a hand.
This is the most cost-effective way.
In this way, the imperial court could share the wealth with the people.
The only flaw is that this model doesn’t seem to live long!
Zhang Fei said again: "Go on."
Geng Ming added: "I really couldn't stand what Wei Yushan did, so I secretly investigated the land he had hidden. At that time, I found that he had hidden 1,200 acres. When it was my turn to be the village head, I took the evidence to his house to collect the tax.
But he not only kicked me out, but later lied to me that he had paid me taxes for 1,200 acres of land and that I had concealed the taxes."
Zhang Fei asked
"As far as I know, our dynasty has evidence for paying taxes, how can he wrongly accuse you?"
Geng Ming said: "He did take out the tax bills he used to pay taxes, but those were not given to him by me. Besides, how could I take away the tax for the 1,200 acres of land by myself? It's simply impossible."
Zhang Fei asked, "What happens next?"
Geng Ming said: "Then he teamed up with two corrupt officials to blackmail me and asked me to give him the 1,200 mu of land. Otherwise, he would sue me for using my power for personal gain."
"Have you made up for it?"
"Because the tax bill was real, and I was afraid of getting into trouble with the law, I had no choice but to pay it back. But I never expected that the government would charge the tax on the 1,200 acres of land in my name. But my family also has more than 400 acres of land, so how could we afford the tax on 1,200 acres of land?"
"Didn't you report it to the authorities?"
"I was planning to file a complaint with the authorities, but at that time, Wei Yushan's daughter was favored by the Prince of Chang and was taken as a concubine by the Prince of Chang. Wei Yushan became even more unscrupulous in the village. How could I dare to file a complaint with the authorities? Moreover, I knew very well that Wei Yushan would never let go of any grievances. I was afraid of retaliation, and I could not afford so much tax, so I pretended to divorce my wife and sent them back to their parents' home. I also sold my land and property and became a Taoist monk. For the past three years, I have been hiding in a Taoist temple."
After these words were spoken, many officials looked strange.
It is also related to King Chang.
This can be put to good use.
But the people at the door all had an expression of "I knew it would be like this", and they were angry but dared not speak out.
Zhang Fei asked: "If that's the case, why are you going to report Wei Yushan now? As far as I know, Wei Yushan's power is stronger than before."
Geng Ming said: "In fact, in the past two years, I have been secretly investigating Wei Yushan, collecting evidence of his tax evasion, and waiting for the opportunity."
Zhang Fei asked again: "So what did you find out?"
Geng Ming said: "I found out that in the past two years, Wei Yushan has become even more aggressive, forcing people to flee the countryside, and those fields have become completely tax-free. In the end, the government distributed the land taxes to the nearby people."
….
Zhang Fei asked: "Why does the government do this?"
Geng Ming said: "Because our dynasty has a rule that when people sell land and houses, they need to ask their relatives and neighbors first. The government will use the excuse that the relatives and neighbors have not supervised them properly and distribute the land tax to the people nearby."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Then why do you want to report Wei Yushan now? Aren't you afraid of Wei Yushan's revenge?"
Geng Ming's eyes suddenly turned red. "That's because... my wife and children are orphans and widows living in her mother's home. They are not well received, and they suffer from grievances and bullying. They often go hungry and cold. They can't survive any longer. I... I really have no other choice, so I decided to come out and report Wei Yushan."
When he finished speaking, he covered his eyes and choked up.
The people outside the door were also deeply moved and secretly wiped away their tears.
This is what justice is all about?
This yamen runner is really causing a lot of harm to people. If you are not cruel to the people, you will be finished.
When Wang Anshi saw this scene, he was very happy. It was not because he was hard-hearted, but because this could provide sufficient evidence for his conscription law.
Of course, this was also the promise Zhang Fei made to him.
Seeing Geng Ming crying uncontrollably, Zhang Fei said to Zhao Pin, "The presiding judge should have seen the evidence of Wei Yushan's tax evasion. It is easy to find, including the 1,200 acres of land Wei Yushan owned in Luomapo. So far, the 1,200 acres of land has only paid taxes for two years, and all of them were paid by Geng Ming. This is definitely not a coincidence."
Zhao Pin nodded.
"I'm done asking questions."
Zhang Fei sat down.
Fan Chunren was slightly stunned, his eyes full of doubts, he stood up and said, "Geng Ming, Wang Hong was the magistrate of Kaifeng at that time."
Geng Ming wiped his tears and shook his head.
"I'm done asking questions."
Fan Chunren sat down
go.
I am here to defend Wang Hong. This matter has nothing to do with Wang Hong. As for Wei Yushan, he also thinks he deserves to die. I have never thought of defending Wei Yushan.
Zhang Fei stood up again and said, "I beg the presiding judge to summon Wei Yushan to the court."
Zhao Pin first asked someone to take Wang Hong downstairs to rest, and then summoned Wei Yushan to the classroom.
After a while, a middle-aged man in his forties came into the hall. He had a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. From all angles, he was tall and strong, with a dignified appearance. He did not look like a womanizer who had committed a crime!
"I, Wei Yushan, pay my respects to Prime Minister Zhao."
Wei Yushan bowed.
Zhao Pin just nodded.
Just stand there and judge!
There's no seat for you here.
Wei Yushan glanced at the chair, but didn't dare to say anything. He just stood there obediently.
Before the question was even asked, the people at the door started spitting and cursing at Wei Yushan.
They don't dare to scold at ordinary times, so when will they scold?
Many people who watched the trial actually did so to vent their emotions.
Wei Yushan could only lower his head and try to cover his ears to steal the bell.
Zhao Pin had been the acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, so he knew how to deal with such a situation. When the people had finished cursing, he slammed the gavel and shouted, "Silence."
When the crowd at the door gradually quieted down, Zhang Fei stood up and said, "Wei Yushan, regarding the case of Geng Ming three years ago..."
Wei Yushan nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."
….
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar.
You're quite straightforward in recognizing it.
Even Zhao Pin, Han Qi, Fu Bi and the others looked at Wei Yushan in surprise.
I asked you to confess, but I didn't ask you to confess so readily. Zhang Fei was also stunned, and said angrily and amusedly: "Then tell me yourself."
Wei Yushan nodded and said, "Among the first and second class households in Xinma Township at that time, the Geng family and my Wei family were the most prestigious. When I was the head of the household, I did not go to his house to collect taxes. It was the head of the village who went there. But as soon as he became the head of the village, he came to trouble me. I think he was using his public office to suppress our Wei family.
So I bribed two clerks. The tax notes were obtained by paying real taxes, not fake ones. I just found a way to prevent the grain from being stored in the warehouse temporarily. I took the tax notes to scare them and asked them to help me pay the tax.
As for his later becoming a Taoist priest, it had nothing to do with me, and I did not bother him."
After hearing this, Su Shi turned his head and said to his brother, "This man is really cruel."
Su Che nodded and said, "He is not only ruthless, but also very cunning. Before, everyone thought he was forging tax bills, which is a serious crime. Who would have thought that he actually paid taxes to get it? I believe Geng Ming did not expect this either."
Zhao Pin was furious when he heard this: "When Geng Ming came to you with the tax receipt, did he ask you for an extra penny?"
Wei Yushan shook his head and said, "No."
Zhao Pin said: "This is legitimate tax collection, how can you regard it as someone suppressing you? Why don't you pay the tax?"
Wei Yushan said naively, "In reply to Mr. Zhao, everyone... is trying to avoid paying taxes, even those third- and fourth-class farmers. If I pay, people will laugh at me for being stupid."
"......?"
Zhao Pin laughed when he heard this, but his laugh was very bitter, and he didn't know what to say.
Han Qi said: "This person is really smart!"
Fu Bi frowned and said, "Maybe there is someone behind to give guidance."
Wei Yushan may seem silly, but his answer to this question is very clever: the law cannot hold everyone responsible.
However, no one expected that it would be Zhang Fei who was giving instructions from behind.
However, Zhang Fei only told him what to do, but he did not teach him how to say it specifically. This shows that Wei Yushan is indeed as cruel and cunning as the rumors say.
Zhang Fei asked: "So, you admit all your tax evasion?"
Wei Yushan nodded.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Are you acquainted with Magistrate Wang of Kaifeng County?"
Wei Yushan nodded and said, "I have a very good relationship with Magistrate Wang."
Zhang Fei said: "As far as I know, not long after Geng Ming reported you, you also immediately wrote a complaint to report him. How did you know that Geng Ming reported you?"
Wei Yushan said, "It was Magistrate Wang who sent someone to tell me."
Zhang Fei asked, "Did he teach you how to do it?"
Wei Yushan shook his head and said, "No, he just told me and I decided to file a counter-complaint."
Zhang Fei asked, "So you didn't bribe Magistrate Wang?"
"No!"
Wei Yushan immediately said, "It is well known that Magistrate Wang is an upright official who never accepts bribes. I have never bribed him with money or land. You can check this."
….
After these words were spoken, all the officials held their heads high.
Although Wei Yushan is ruthless enough, he... is also a man who dares to take responsibility and does not push the blame onto others.
He is a man.
Fan Chunren looked at Zhang Fei in confusion. If you keep asking like this, how can you convict Wang Hong?
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "Since there is no financial exchange between you, how did you get to know him?"
Wei Yushan said, "I have always admired Magistrate Wang's style of doing things. He is very strict in his work and always sticks to his words. Magistrate Wang wants to build water conservancy projects, repair roads, and provide disaster relief. I donated a lot of money. After a few visits, we got to know each other. This... you can all check this out. I evaded taxes because I was afraid that people would think I was stupid, not because I was stingy with that little money."
Wow, you really know how to talk. Zhang Fei asked, "Did you take the initiative to donate?"
Wei Yushan said, "That's not the case. Usually, we donate only after the government sends someone to ask."
Zhang Fei asked, "How much have you donated in the past two years?"
Wei Yushan thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember exactly, but it was at least 700 to 800 strings of cash."
The other officials became more and more excited as they listened. This was much better than they had imagined.
However, conservative elites such as Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang became more depressed the more they listened.
Especially Wang Anshi, he continued to send provocative signals to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang pretended not to see anything and listened to the trial attentively.
Hide the wealth among the people, hide the wealth among the people. It would be really embarrassing if the wealth was hidden in the hands of such people.
Geng Ming was the role model in their hearts, but in the end, Geng Ming's family was broken up and his wife and children were separated.
Zhang Fei asked, "Does Magistrate Wang know that you are evading taxes?"
Wei Yushan just shook his head and said, "I don't know, I guess I don't know."
Zhang Fei asked, "Did Magistrate Wang send anyone to investigate you?"
"That's not the case."
"I'm done asking questions."
Zhang Fei sat down.
Is Fan Chunren completely dumbfounded?
Ask... Finished asking?
That’s it?
What do you have to convict Wang Hong?
Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty.
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