Xu Zhiqian was too lazy to chat with Zhang Fei, so after sitting down, she started to get ready with Qiu Zhengwen.
In fact, Zhang Fei had no intention of asking Ma Xiaoyi to help at all. He arranged for Qiu Zhengwen to come and assist them early in the morning. His main task was to do some hard work such as wiping tables, moving documents, and running errands.
"Zhang San, look at the crowds of people on the other side!"
Xu Zhiqian suddenly turned sideways and whispered to Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei looked up and saw that there were seven or eight people sitting under the shed opposite. Sitting in the front was Li Lei, the clerk of Li's Bookstore, and around him were famous tea and snack masters such as Li Guozhong and Fei Ming.
It can be seen that the professional division in this industry is relatively strict. Li Guozhong and his colleagues did not stand up to dispute with Zhang Fei themselves, but chose to make suggestions and prepare materials on the side, leaving the limelight to Li Lei, who was the youngest among them.
This is because tea eaters are only good at writing petitions, finding the opponent's loopholes, and making suggestions, but they are not good at debate.
This is not to say that they do not have the talent, but because it was difficult for ear pens to go to court to argue before, and it was almost always a battle of papers, and everyone wanted to be the guest of honor. But now the situation has changed.
The profession of earwriter has gradually surpassed that of tea eater and become a key figure in disputes.
"Perhaps the five hundred taels were not wasted."
...
...
Zhang Fei felt very relieved when he saw this scene, as if he had seen the prospect of professionalization of litigation.
An important indicator of specialization is teamwork and clear division of labor.
In comparison, his side seemed less professional, as it was all handled by him and Xu Zhiqian. Unlike the other side, each defendant had a dedicated tea person who was responsible for giving advice and suggestions.
Xu Zhiqian seemed to be aware of this problem, so she whispered, "Zhang San, why don't we invite more people over so they can learn from us."
Zhang Fei nodded: "It's what I thought. After this is over, I'll go talk to Mr. Fan."
As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly and asked Qiu Zhengwen behind him, "Zhengwen, how do you think they will fight this lawsuit?"
Qiu Zhengwen thought about it seriously for a while, and then answered nervously: "I thought they would use the fact that they were tenant farmers to exonerate themselves."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Then how should we deal with it?"
Qiu Zhengwen hesitated for a long time before answering, "I don't know."
Zhang Fei seemed not surprised and asked again: "Do you know who we are helping in the lawsuit?"
Qiu Zhengwen said: "Mr. Wang."
Zhang Fei turned around and stared at Qiu Zhengwen.
Qiu Zhengwen blinked, "Set up the Regulations Department of the Two Prefectures."
"It's the court."
Zhang Fei said depressedly: "We are pursuing taxes. Only the imperial court has the power to collect taxes. Do you remember the tax laws and regulations clearly?"
Qiu Zhengwen's face was filled with an awkward smile.
Zhang Fei further explained: "To the court, they are all citizens and have the obligation to pay taxes. Therefore, in our eyes, they are a whole, and this is the key to our victory."
Qiu Zhengwen nodded, not quite understanding, "Yes, I remember it."
Just as they were preparing, officials also came to the corridor one after another. This lawsuit attracted a lot of officials in particular.
...But unlike in the past, after these officials sat down, it was relatively quiet, without much discussion. Most of the officials sat quietly in their chairs, and it was obvious that they were all very nervous.
Perhaps they are not bystanders or participants, but parties involved.
This lawsuit involves the interests of every one of them, whether they are ordinary people or officials.
After a while, Han Qi, Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo came to the corridor quietly.
“There are so many people!”
Han Qi saw that the corridor was already extremely crowded, and even the mud ground in front of the corridor was filled with people.
Wen Yanbo smiled and said, "They are not here to watch the trial this time."
Han Qi laughed: "We are not either!"
As he said this, he extended his hand to Fu Bi again: "Mr. Fu, please."
"please."
After the three of them sat down.
Han Qi whispered to Fu Bi again, "Does Mr. Fu think this lawsuit can really solve the problem?"
"I don't think so."
Fu Bi shook his head. "So I'm very curious about how Zhang San will fight this lawsuit and what purpose he wants to achieve."
"Really?" Han Qi sighed, "I haven't figured it out either."
In fact, neither of them was in favor of this lawsuit. Even if we put aside the scholar-official class, just talking about the emperor's rule, this lawsuit was too risky and the benefits were too small.
Because this lawsuit is unlikely to solve the problem of tax evasion, it may instead complicate things and even lead to confrontation between the government and the government.
In comparison, Wang Anshi's reforms were much more reliable than this. They did not agree with Wang Anshi's reforms, but they just disagreed with Wang Anshi's ideas. However, reform is the only way to solve the problem.
It is impossible for the judiciary to solve social problems; only legislation can do that.
After a while, Lu Gong, Li Kai, Huang Gui, Cen Yuanli, Yu Zaishen and six other judges and prosecutors came to the hall together.
This is definitely an all-star lineup of Kaifeng Prefecture.
There was no way out. There were too many people suing the other side, and Kaifeng Prefecture had to do its best.
Zhang Fei, Li Guozhong and others also stood up and walked out of the wooden shed, came to the middle of the hall, and prepared to salute.
The opening ceremony of Kaifeng Prefecture is indispensable. After all, Kaifeng Prefecture is a professional court, which is different from the Political Affairs Hall and the Court of Criminal Justice.
After the court session, Lu Gongzhe said in a loud voice: "Since there are many people involved and the accounts are complicated, I think it is impossible to finish the review within one day. Therefore, I have decided that if there are no special circumstances, the review will be held every other day for two hours in the morning, from chenshi to wuzhong, until the review is completed. Do you have any objections?"
Originally, there were not so many rules for hearing a case, but as the dispute became more complicated, the Kaifeng Prefecture was forced to come up with various regulations.
It is difficult to complete the trial of this case in one day. If the time is not set in advance, it may cause controversy as to when the case will end. It must be stated in advance so that it is fair.
Both parties expressed no objection to this.
On such a hot day, it’s just right to end at 11 am.
Don't tire out those old men who are watching the trial.
After discussing the matter, Lu Gong asked them to go back and prepare to start the trial.
The defendants who would testify in court were also decided based on the requests Zhang Fei had submitted previously.
…There are too many people. We can’t let the 108 defendants and hundreds of tenant farmers wait here.
There are only ten places available every day, but we review as many as we can and get off work on time at noon.
The first person to come up to the court to give a testimony was named Du Shaojing, a native of Tokyo Bianliang. He was the cousin of Du Xiu, the judge of the Ministry of Revenue. But after some twists and turns, it was discovered that Du Shaojing's grandfather and Du Xiu's grandfather were cousins.
Although Kaifeng Prefecture did not build a special shed for the defendant and witnesses, their seats were set under the big trees on the left and right sides, so they were still taken care of. In order to make it easier for spectators, the witnesses sat on the right and the defendant sat on the left. There were signs hanging on the trees.
Everything is evolving towards specialization.
Zhang Fei stood up and asked Du Shaojing, "Mr. Du, according to my investigation, you own a total of 120 hectares of land in Xiaqu Township, Gongqiao Township, and Dudian Township in Kaifeng County. Is that correct?"
One hectare is equal to one hundred mu, which is approximately twelve thousand mu. This was common in the Northern Song Dynasty because land could be bought and sold freely.
Du Shaojing nodded and said, "Yes."
Zhang Fei glanced at the words again and said, "Before this year, 40 hectares of land were evaded from paying land tax through white deeds."
"I object!"
Li Lei, who was standing opposite him, suddenly stood up and said, "The court has already issued an order that as long as the deed tax is paid within this year, the past will be forgiven. These 40 hectares of land are not included in this lawsuit."
Lu Gong nodded slightly and looked at Zhang Fei again.
Zhang Fei explained: "The court's decree of "let bygones be bygones" does not mean that as long as the deed tax is paid, bygones will be bygones. It means that starting from this year, if the tax is paid according to the law, the taxes owed due to the white deed in previous years will be bygones. The key is the land tax, not the deed tax. The deed tax is just a proof of tax payment."
Lu Gong nodded.
But many officials showed contempt on their faces, knowing that you people are harboring evil intentions.
When the lawsuit was filed, they said it was tax evasion other than the white deed, but as soon as it came up, they immediately changed their attitude.
It's so shameless.
Then Zhang Fei said, "But according to the tax receipts provided by Kaifeng County, Du Shaojing only paid the deed tax, but he has not paid a penny of tax on these 40 hectares of land. And it has been nearly a month since I submitted the petition, and they still haven't paid any tax, not a penny. So these 40 hectares are not included in this exemption, and the court has the right to collect their taxes."
Li Lei immediately argued: "You represent Mr. Wang, not the court."
Zhang Fei said: "Mr. Wang hired me in the name of the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures. Regarding this point, it is written very clearly in my petition, and the purpose is to collect taxes for the court."
Li Lei snorted, "The Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures is just a temporary office. How can it represent the court?"
Someone in the corridor shouted, "Well said!"
Lu Gong tilted his head to look and saw that all the officials in the corridor had calm expressions. He didn't know who was shouting, so he could only give up.
Wang Anshi's mouth twitched a few times when he heard this, and he whispered
: "Are all these spies so arrogant and domineering nowadays?"
Sima Guang laughed and said, "Can't you just copy the gourd?"
The implication is that everyone is learning from Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "May I ask, Your Excellency, do you know who established the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures?"
Li Lei remained silent.
Zhang Fei asked: "Don't know?"
Li Lei remained silent.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures was established by imperial decree. Do you think it can represent the court? On the other hand, if I cannot represent the court, how can I sue them for tax evasion and demand the tax be paid?"
Li Lei remained silent.
It is really unethical of you to bring up the emperor.
But this does not mean that Zhang Fei does not have martial ethics. He must make this point clear. If he does not represent the court, many of his arguments will not make sense.
Moreover, this is a game between the emperor and the landlords. If this point is not made clear, how can the emperor establish his authority?
Lü Gong asked Li Kai, Cen Yuanli and others, "What do you think?"
Li Kaidao: "This point was not mentioned in the previous complaint, so we don't need to pay attention to him."
Cen Yuanli said, "But this dispute arose from this. Scholar Wang also made it very clear in the court. We should avoid this. This lawsuit may never be resolved."
Judge Yu Zaishen and others also nodded.
Lu Gongzhuo thought for a while and said loudly: "For the land that has not paid the summer tax in time, even if the deed tax has been paid, it will be included in the scope of this trial."
Nancy Beiqing reminds you: Remember to collect it after reading it
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
