Since ascending the throne, Zhao Xu has always emphasized his determination to work hard to govern the country.
But he has not yet shown how determined he is.
In fact, he also went through a period when he was like a newborn calf that was not afraid of a tiger.
It’s the case of Ayun.
At that time, the ministers requested him to make a judicial decision, but after he made the decision, he rejected the ministers' request.
This was not very harmful to the emperor, but it was extremely insulting.
The emperors of the Song Dynasty also wanted to save face!
After that, he knew that as an emperor, he should either not take action at all, or if he did, he must win no matter what the cost.
Otherwise, it would really be a waste of time and effort.
Therefore, in many disputes thereafter, he hid behind, while Wang Anshi, Lu Huiqing and others were the ones who took the lead. He only came out to take advantage of the situation when he saw that the time was right, and did not have any direct conflict with the ministers again.
...
...
Especially after Zhang Fei brought the lawsuit, he handled it with ease. If they really couldn't figure out the argument, they might as well go to court.
But the emperor cannot always hide in the background, he also needs to establish his authority.
He has not yet done anything to establish his authority.
Zhao Xu decided to use this case to establish his authority, and it just so happened that the opponent was the largest interest group in the Song Dynasty.
Let’s compete.
Whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to take it out for a walk.
The other party also understood Zhao Xu's idea, which was to deal with them, because so many ministers had made memorials before, and the meaning was already very clear, but you still wanted to do it.
Even a fool knows what you want to do.
Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the day for burning incense and worshiping Buddha, and many dignitaries have come to Xiangguo Temple.
In a more secluded room in the temple, there were seven or eight people sitting, all dressed in gorgeous clothes.
They are all well-known landlords in Tokyo, the top 50 donors to Xiangguo Temple, and they all have a scholar-official background. If they did not have someone in the court, it would be difficult for them to reach this level in Tokyo.
"Although the emperor has issued an order, don't panic. There are still many ministers in the court who support us."
The white-haired old man sitting in the main seat said with a calm expression.
This man's name was Pang Huai, and he was from the family of Empress Liu E, the wife of Emperor Zhenzong of Song.
The 100 people Wang Anshi sued actually did not include their Pang family, but this was not just a matter of 108 people, but a matter of the entire class. They never said that they would just sit out and watch the show, they all participated very actively.
They knew very well that if they didn't help now, it would be their turn next time.
"So what should we do?"
A person on the left asked.
This man's name was Zhang Zhen, and his grandfather was the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong.
"Find a way to win this lawsuit." Pang Huai said, "This is the best response."
The man sitting at the end on the left said, "We are already preparing evidence. In fact, we have always prepared the annual tax bills just in case. But the most important thing is the accounts of the three departments. When the time comes, the other party will definitely ask Kaifeng Prefecture to retrieve the accounts of the three departments. No matter how well we prepare, it will be useless because our names are not on the accounts."
This person's name is Zhou Cai, and he is the only one on the list.
Pang Huai said: "As far as I know, the three departments are currently keeping a close eye on those accounts."
At this point, he whispered again: "What do you think?"
"Can those accounts be changed?" Zhang Zhen asked Pang Huaiyan.
Pang Huai stroked his beard and said, "Wang Anshi is suing for taxes from the past two years. We can change it. Do you think that Prefect Lu and his men can't tell that these are all newly written?"
"It's possible that Magistrate Lu couldn't see it either."
"Don't think too much about this. Don't you know what kind of person Magistrate Lu is?"
"Just burn it. There will be no evidence."
"Are you crazy? If you set fire to the imperial city, how many people in your family can fill the fire?"
"That's right. If we set the fire at this time, it's obvious that we will be traced back to us. Things haven't come to that point yet!"
Just then, the light suddenly dimmed.
Then two more flashes of lightning shot in.
Boom boom.
A burst of thunder was heard.
Zhou Cai's eyes lit up, "Since fire attack doesn't work, we can use water attack."
"Water attack?"
"A new account book can indeed be seen at a glance, but an account book that has been soaked in water and then dried is not so easy to see."
In front of the temple.
"It's going to rain!"
Cao Ping, who had just finished burning incense and walked out of the hall, looked up at the cloudy sky and said to Ma Tianhao beside him, "Old Four, let's go sit for a while and go back after the rain stops."
Ma Tianhao nodded.
The two went into a side room.
As soon as I walked in, a burst of dense dripping sounds came from outside.
“It was a close call.”
Cao Ping let out a sigh of relief.
A young monk made a pot of tea for them and left the room.
Cao Ping said to Ma Tianhao, "It seems like quite a few people came today!"
Ma Tianhao chuckled and said, "They will never surrender."
Cao commented: "But I always feel that this is not a good thing. We can't rely entirely on them. We still have to find another way out."
When the Cao family prepared the dowry for Empress Dowager Cao, they were heavily in debt, and Emperor Renzong did not give them any rewards, so they had to pay off the debt for many years.
It was not until Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne that the Cao family began to turn losses into profits, and they rapidly accumulated wealth during the years when Empress Dowager Cao was in power.
I am afraid of paying off my debts.
And those censors and imperial officials were very cautious about relatives by marriage.
Therefore, Cao Ping secretly put many fields under the name of the Ma family, and then transferred them to Xiangguo Temple from the Ma family.
Ma Tianhao asked, "Brother Cao, what do you think?"
Cao commented: "You should have known that Dong'er and Xiaoyi went to the law firm that day, right?"
Ma Tianhao nodded and asked, "Brother Cao wants to use Zhang San to avoid taxes?"
Cao Ping sighed, "I don't want to do this, but the government's attitude now worries me. As far as we are concerned, everything will be fine if we don't go to court. But once we go to court, it's a matter of life and death. We must be on guard against this. Since Zhang San said this, he must have a way. After the lawsuit is over, if those people lose, you can go and find out."
Ma Tianhao said: "That guy must have a way. He hinted at this before, but I ignored him."
Cao Ping asked, "Why?"
Ma Tianhao said: "Brother Cao, you have never dealt with him, so you don't know what kind of person he is. That guy looks harmless, but he is also a ruthless person. He has quietly earned several thousand strings of cash from me."
Cao commented: "But you also made a lot of money with the mortgage."
"That's right." Ma Tianhao chuckled a few times: "What I mean is, we can ask him for help, but we must also be on guard against him, especially his backhand. At the beginning, the mortgage was said to be a one-time deal, but later, he left us a contract and another one. We had to refuse it, but the contract was too expensive, several hundred guan each, and he ended up making thousands of guan from us."
Cao commented: "All in all, you still made a profit."
Ma Tianhao nodded: "That's right, his original promise has now all been fulfilled, and our Ma family pawnshop has indeed reached a new level."
"That'll do."
Bian Jing Law Firm.
"I have found all the evidence you requested, including those of the tenant farmers. Don't lose to me."
Wang Anshi pointed at the large boxes of documents and gave instructions to Zhang Fei.
In fact, Zhang Fei had made preparations for both scenarios. The superficial information was investigated by people sent by Wang Anshi, while the shameful information was investigated by the Imperial City Bureau.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Wang, in a lawsuit, there are winners and losers!"
Before he could finish, Wang Anshi interrupted him and said, "We must not lose this lawsuit."
Zhang Fei asked: "If you lose, then you, Grand Secretary Wang!"
Wang Anshi said, "I'm fine. I said at the beginning that Kaifeng Prefecture can sentence those tenants to be tax-exempt. If I lose, I will have a way out."
Zhang Fei asked in confusion: "If that's the case, why is Grand Secretary Wang!"
Wang Anshi said with concern: "I am worried about you. If you lose, they will definitely fight back. They can't do anything to me, so they will definitely come to you."
I don't believe you, you worry about me, do you think I'm stupid? If we lose, you will lose more than me. Zhang Fei looked down on Wang Anshi in his heart, but said, "Master Wang, that's not what you said at the time."
Wang Anshi said: "Who knew it would turn out like this."
"I."
Zhang Fei scratched his cheek depressedly and sighed: "I know, I will try my best and will never lose."
Wang Anshi nodded: "You must be careful."
In fact, Wang Anshi was not trying to scare Zhang Fei. He had the same idea as Sima Guang. This lawsuit seemed simple, but it was extremely dangerous.
Because the other party really has the strength to fight back. If we are caught by the other party, we will definitely beat them to death and make an example of them.
Zhang Fei must be that chicken.
Zhang Fei was puzzled. I am a professional. How could I not know whether it is dangerous or not? The pit has been dug, but I don’t know who will be buried there.
Wang Anshi was a very busy man after all. He left in a hurry without waiting for the rain to stop and took a bath at the same time.
Not long after he left, Fan Li ran in from outside and brushed off the water droplets on his body.
Zhang Fei came over and said, "Mr. Fan, I'll leave the affairs of this store to you for the time being. I have to go back and prepare."
Fan Li groaned, "You should have gone back to prepare a long time ago. The store is not doing much business at this time. I really don't know what you are doing here."
I'm just acting, what do you know? Zhang Fei said angrily, "If the evidence is not delivered, what am I doing staying at home? Am I wasting my energy to have a baby?"
Fan Li smiled awkwardly and suddenly said, "By the way, I just heard something outside."
Zhang Fei asked, "What's the matter?"
Fan Li said: "Those people have already hired the other seven major bookstores to fight this lawsuit for them."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei was surprised and asked, "Didn't they ask the officials in the court for help?"
"No!"
Fan Li said: "Fan Sijian and his men have been defeated time and again, so who would dare to ask them for help? That's why they chose to hire the seven major bookstores this time."
Zhang Fei nodded and smiled, "That's how it should be. Although those officials are talented and have amazing memories, litigation is a very professional matter. Experience is very important. They should ask us for help."
Then he said thoughtfully: "You say, should I let them go, let everyone know that it is better to find an informant than an official."
When Fan Li heard this, he immediately started to get mad. "Hey, Sanlang, let's win the fight first, and don't play those nonsense games. What does their life or death have to do with us? If we lose, they will definitely come and step on us a few times."
Zhang Fei pointed at Fan Li and said, "How many times have I told you that there must be a Grand Chrysanthemum Temple? It's useless for me to be popular alone. We must make our industry popular as well."
Fan Li really wanted to strangle Zhang Fei to death, "What big picture? I only know that for us, staying alive is the most important thing."
"I won't talk to you anymore. It's like talking to a cow. I'll go back when the rain stops. I'll leave the store to you."
After the rain stopped, Zhang Fei went back with the information sent by Wang Anshi.
Zhang's house, in front of the toilet.
Zhang Fei looked at Li Bao speechlessly, "Brother Bao, can't you find another way to send the evidence in? Why do you hide it in the dung bucket? How can I bear to do it!"
Li Bao said awkwardly: "Don't blame me, Sanlang, this is the safest way, because the dung bucket has to be changed every day, and we will not arouse suspicion when we go in and out, after all, there are so many spies watching your house now.
But don't worry, Sanlang, those barrels containing evidence are all clean. I just put a few barrels of feces on the side to cover it up."
"Well, forget it. Next time you should do it better and don't tarnish the reputation of the Imperial City Bureau."
"Yes. I'll find another way next time."
Not long after the evidence was removed, Xu Zhiqian rushed over. Seeing Zhang Fei sitting under a big tree to cool off, she immediately walked over.
"I heard that the evidence has been delivered."
"Um."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian said: "Why are you still sitting here drinking tea? We don't have much time left, so we have to prepare quickly."
Zhang Fei said: "Wait another day or two."
"Still waiting?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "I'll go take a look first."
After a while, Xu Zhiqian exclaimed, "Wow, why is it so smelly?"
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I told you to wait a day or two, but you refused to listen."
at night.
Imperial city.
Two soldiers of the imperial guards were standing guard in front of the Duzhi Gate and chatting.
"Hey! Who are you betting on?"
"Li Baoguo and others."
"You don't want to bet on Zhang San?"
"It's fine if others bet on Zhang San, but it's really stupid for us to bet on Zhang San."
"What do you mean?"
"Do we usually stand in front of the Ministry of Finance?"
"You mean they will!"
"I didn't say anything, but I know this is what Judge Shen and the others asked for."
"Hey, young man! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I bet all my spare money on Zhang San."
"You're all in?"
"A few times before, they all said Zhang San would lose, and I believed them. As a result, I lost several times in a row. This time, I plan to make back my money."
As he was speaking, a few meows were heard from the roof.
One person looked back and said, "These cats are really strange. They go wherever people go."
Suddenly, a line of soldiers came over.
"You two go back and rest. Leave this to us."
The two soldiers looked at each other and thought, does it take so many people to guard a gate?
But they didn't dare to ask more questions and left quickly.
After they left, two soldiers were seen holding their hands at the door, and the other four soldiers immediately entered.
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
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