After the court was adjourned, the job of cleaning up was naturally handed over to the clerks, while Lu Gongzhuo went into the inner hall with a group of judges to discuss matters.
“Who is this lawsuit about?”
Yu Zaishen couldn't help complaining as soon as he sat down.
Cen Yuanli sighed, "Yes! I feel that officials like us are the ones being tried."
The other judges were also dejected.
After this lawsuit, the judge's morale became extremely low.
It's really a strange story.
Li Kai laughed and said, "That's because you haven't tried Zhang San's case yet. That kid has a lot of tricks to embarrass our government. This is definitely what he did on purpose."
As Zhang Fei's old rival, Li Kai knows Zhang Fei very well.
Then Li Kai turned to Lü Gongzhe and said, "Governor Lü, I think we can't continue this lawsuit. The court is about to become a den of robbers."
...
...
The other judges and prosecutors also nodded.
This was definitely the most difficult case they had ever tried in their lives.
In the end, they are always the ones who get hurt.
It's too difficult.
Lu Gong pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Go check what Li Dacai and others said to see if it is true. Why did they pay three times the tax? Why is that?"
Li Kai and others were all stunned and looked at Lu Gong in confusion, "Do you think things are not complicated enough?"
Lu Gongzhu explained: "We have no say on whether to fight this lawsuit or not, but what we can do is to rectify the administration of Kaifeng Prefecture and prevent such things from happening again. Otherwise, we will not be able to explain to the people."
Everyone looked at each other, and they suddenly remembered that all these things happened in Kaifeng Prefecture. Wouldn't that make us the culprits and bandit leaders?
this..
Li Kai suddenly regretted helping Du Xiu and others.
You are not playing with Zhang Fei, you are playing with me!
After all, Lu Gong was about to be transferred.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fei hurriedly got on the carriage and left Kaifeng Prefecture without turning back and waving like a trademark. In the eyes of most people, he was fleeing in panic.
Speaking objectively, compared with the previous lawsuits Zhang Fei had fought, this lawsuit was indeed not so satisfactory.
On the contrary, the seven major tea-drinking makers were already eager to hold a celebration banquet immediately.
Although they did not expect Zhang Fei to make a breakthrough directly from the tenant farmers at the beginning, they were prepared for this, and the process was just as they expected.
It can even be said to be exactly the same.
Everything is under control.
Li's Bookstore!
"Everyone says that Zhang San is so awesome, but after seeing him today, he is just so awesome. Haha..."
Du Shaojing was holding a wine glass and laughing happily.
He was actually very nervous when he was in class before, he never thought that this would happen!
Wow. Don't think it's so easy.
Now you can fast forward to the celebration party instead of drinking to calm yourself down.
Li Guozhong said cautiously: "Mr. Du, don't be too happy yet. The lawsuit has not yet ended and nothing is certain."
"It's over."
Zhou Cai said in a relaxed tone: "That kid must know something, so I dare not mention the land, I can only talk about this white deed."
Li Guozhong just smiled. In fact, he thought so too. He said that because he was worried that if something unexpected happened, he would not be held responsible. After all, the lawsuit was not yet concluded.
Du Shaojing nodded and said, "Brother Zhou is right. We did pay the deed tax. As for using a blank deed to evade taxes, everyone does it. They can't do anything to us."
Zhou Cai chuckled and said, "I guess we don't even have to fight this lawsuit tomorrow. If we continue the trial, it won't be us who will suffer, but the court!"
What he said was absolutely correct. Just as they were celebrating their victory, many ministers had already reported to Emperor Shenzong, informing him of the entire process of the lawsuit and strongly suggesting that the lawsuit should not continue, otherwise it would endanger national stability.
When these memorials were submitted, Wang Anshi was also reporting the situation to Zhao Xu.
Zhao Xu simply showed the memorials to Wang Anshi.
"What do you think, sir?" Zhao Xu asked.
Wang Anshih once again put on a cynical look and said, "Your Majesty, I think these people are unworthy of being officials. They should be expelled from the capital and never employed again."
Under any circumstances, his attitude must be very firm. Taking history as a mirror, many reformers in ancient times failed because their attitude was not firm enough.
Zhao Xu asked, "What do you mean, sir?"
Wang Anshi made a big search: "This lawsuit is indeed very embarrassing for the court, but this is precisely because what they said is all true, this is the problem, but as ministers, none of them proposed to solve the problem, all of them wanted to cover up the problem, and pretend to be deaf and dumb. If such ministers are kept in the court, how can the country be governed?"
"Sir, you are right. I think so too."
Zhao Xu nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Sir, do you have any solution?"
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "Of course I have a solution, but this matter is complicated and involves too many people, and we have to proceed step by step. However, I think the court can now re-legislate and emphasize that taxes are imposed in different places. Tenants have no obligation to bear taxes, and the owners are not allowed to impose taxes on tenants, and the government will no longer intervene."
Zhao Xu said: "But the owner can still include the tax in the rent."
Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, rest assured. Although tenant farmers need land more, the owners also need tenant farmers. If no one cultivates the land, they will have to bear taxes every year. If tenant farmers cannot support themselves, they will not rent those fields. This is like going to the slaughterhouse to buy meat. Although everyone wants to eat meat, if the price of meat is too high, no one will buy it, and both sides will suffer."
Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "How do we deal with the problem of the police?"
If the emphasis is on local taxes, then do tenant farmers serve in the imperial court? If tenant farmers do not serve in the imperial court, then the imperial court will have no one available, because the main household is willing to serve, which is just one household, and the tenant farmers are the majority!
Wang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that we have been revising the corvée law in the two government offices? At that time, the head of the household must pay to be exempted from the corvée, and the common people can also get paid for their service. In this way, it will not affect the tenant farmers.
If we do not emphasize that taxes should be levied on the land, then the landlords may force the tenants to serve them. "
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, "Sir, you have considered it carefully."
Seeing that Zhao Xu did not show any worry at all and looked confident, Wang Anshi was completely relieved.
The reason why he rushed to report the situation to Zhao Xu as soon as possible was because he was afraid that Zhao Xu would believe the slander and be shaken.
After Wang Anshi left, Zhao Xu said to the eunuch beside him: "Send someone to Zhang's house and tell Zhang San to stop."
"I obey your command."
Zhang family.
"No more fun!"
Zhang Fei came to the study and said to Xu Zhiqian with a little regret.
Xu Zhiqian asked: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said helplessly: "Just now the government sent someone to tell me to stop. I said we could have fun for three days, but I'm already scared on the first day."
Xu Zhiqian said, "In fact, it is not easy for the government to allow you to do this. I think our goal has almost been achieved. I just asked Qingmei to inquire about it. Now everyone outside is talking about the tenant farmers. After this lawsuit is over, the court will definitely treat this matter seriously and improve the situation of the tenant farmers."
Zhang Fei sighed, "But I still want Li Guozhong and his team to perform well for a few more days to help revitalize our industry."
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes, "Aren't you tired?"
Zhang Fei said: "I just think that since we are already so exhausted, why not get more benefits from it."
Since Zhang Fei's performance today was not very exciting, the main part was listening to the tenant farmers complaining, which also led to the tenant farmers becoming a hot topic today.
It also sparked heated discussions among readers.
Many people say that the current situation is too unfair to tenant farmers.
Not only did the tenant farmers have to pay rent, they also had to pay taxes and even perform military service.
There is no surplus food in this house.
And to impose taxes on them is tantamount to forcing them to die.
But since the tenant farmers were in court, their criticism was directed at the imperial court and they did not criticize the landlords much.
First of all, the landlord is also acting in accordance with the contract, and the contract was signed voluntarily by Shuangfeng, so there is nothing wrong with it.
Secondly, the people’s hard life is the court’s responsibility.
The next morning.
On his way to Kaifeng Prefecture, Su Zhe secretly glanced at Su Shi, who was still sleepy, and asked, "Didn't my second brother say yesterday that he wanted to sell his poems? Why did you come back drunk?"
Yesterday, his words made Su Shi angry, and he went home and made a harsh statement, "A mere fifty strings of cash, can it defeat me, Su Shizhan?"
As a result, he came back in the middle of the night, smelling of alcohol and rouge.
You can tell at a glance that they are going to drink wine.
Su Shi yawned and said, "I made a little more money from the sale, so I drank a few glasses. What's wrong? Can't I drink now?"
Su Zhe hurriedly said: "That's not what I meant, it's just about the money."
Su Shi's expression froze, and he blinked, "Ahem. How can I carry so much money by myself? They will deliver it to me when the time comes."
Su Zhe looked at Su Shi and asked, "What poem did you write yesterday? Could you please recite it for me to appreciate?"
Su Shi glared and said, "You don't believe me?"
"I dare not."
"Then why do you ask that? You clearly don't believe me."
"I won't ask."
"That's good enough. Let's go quickly, or someone else will take your seat."
Su Che thought, if you hadn't been lying in bed and couldn't be called, we would have arrived a long time ago. I guess we will only be able to stand and watch the trial later.
Sure enough, when they arrived at Kaifeng Prefecture, it was already crowded and the brothers could only stand holding onto the pillars.
"So many officials came to the emperor's defense yesterday, but he remained unmoved. It seems that the emperor is determined to fight this lawsuit to the end this time."
Du Xiu whispered to Shen Huai about his filial piety.
Chen Huaixiao said with a smile: "Then let's add another fire today. Don't worry, the first one to collapse will definitely be the government."
Du Xiu said worriedly: "But this will hurt both sides, and we didn't say we got the upper hand."
This indeed damaged the reputation of the court, but it also brought shame to the government!
Shen Huaixiao said: "At present, it is the government that wants to blindly trust Wang Anshi, not us who want to fight. It is not our fault!"
They used the tactic of hurting the enemy by 1,000 and themselves by 800, to see who could not bear it first. The purpose was to teach the little emperor a lesson, to tell him that there are some things you should not touch, because you are not clean either.
Suddenly, I heard a burst of cheering from the opposite side in front of the door.
It goes without saying that it must be Zhang Fei who has come.
This kid is always the last one to appear, making a room full of prime ministers wait.
Zhang Fei, Xu Zhiqian and five other people including Qiu Zhengwen entered the courtyard.
Shen Huaixiao was amused when he saw this and joked, "He wouldn't think that he lost on the first day because of the number of people."
Fu Bi, who was sitting in the coolest place, whispered to Han Qi, "Mr. Han, if today is the same as yesterday, we have to go and persuade the emperor. We can't go on like this."
Han Qi nodded: "That's what I meant. Some problems need to be solved, but it's inappropriate to talk about them here. It will ruin things."
No one wants to see both good and bad things destroyed.
But things may develop in this direction.
So far, neither side shows any sign of backing down.
Not long after Zhang Fei arrived, Lu Gong and other judges came to the court. They all looked exhausted, as they had suffered a bad trial yesterday.
The courtyard gradually became quiet.
After the opening ceremony, Zhang Fei immediately stood up and asked for the number one defendant Zhou Cai to be called.
Li Guozhong couldn't help but glance at Zhang Fei and saw that this guy's aura seemed different from yesterday.
Zhang Fei suddenly turned his head to look at him and gave him a helpless look.
Li Guozhong felt something was wrong and told Li Lei, "You have to be careful."
Li Lei nodded.
After a while, Zhou Cai came up to the hall. He was an old landlord in Kaifeng County. His ancestors had been officers during the time of Zhao Lao Da. At that time, Zhao Lao Da gave a large number of military officers very generous treatment. Although his ancestors were not great generals, they also received good treatment because they took the initiative to resign. With this wave of benefits, his family became a famous landlord in Kaifeng County and Xiangfu County.
Unlike Du Shaojing yesterday, Zhou Cai was very relaxed and not nervous at all. He bowed to Lu Gongzhe and went to sit in the dock.
Zhang Fei glanced at the documents on the table, and then said to Zhou Cai, "Mr. Zhou, as far as I know, you own at least 500 hectares of land in the villages of Kaifeng County and Xiangfu County."
Because the land today is very fragmented, with some land in the east and some land in the west, it is impossible for Wang Anshi to check all of it. He found out that there are 500 hectares, or 50,000 acres of land.
Zhou Cai nodded slightly guilty, "About the same."
There must be more than this!
Zhang Fei said: "Fifty hectares of land were granted to your family by the Emperor Taizu, so they are exempt from taxes. However, about 230 hectares of land are white-deeded land, and are rented to tenant farmers."
Zhou Cai nodded and said, "Yes."
Zhang Fei said: "These 230 hectares of land have never been taxed."
Zhou Cai replied: "That's because..."
Zhang Fei said: "You just need to answer yes or no."
Zhou Cai was stunned. You didn't treat Du Shaojing like this yesterday. Do you think I'm easy to bully? Ignoring Zhang Fei, he raised his head and said, "I don't know, because according to the contract, the tax is borne by my tenants. I have sent people to tell those tenants. As for whether they paid it or not, I'm not sure. I immediately paid the deed tax."
Same routine as yesterday, in other words, go ask my tenant for it!
However, Zhang Fei did not play by the rules this time. He changed the subject and said, "But according to my investigation, the remaining 220 hectares are neither tax-free land nor deeded land, but you have not paid a penny in tax either."
"I object."
Li Lei suddenly stood up and said, "Your Highness, the other party is slandering us. The official has paid taxes on the 220 hectares of land every year. We have the tax bills of the past two years as proof."
Lu Gong said, "Present the evidence."
Li Guozhong and Fei Ming looked at each other, feeling a little surprised but not panicked.
After all, they had made sufficient preparations. They had previously thought that Zhang Fei would first prove that these lands had evaded taxes, and then involve the tenant farmers. However, after yesterday's trial, they believed that Zhang Fei intended to use the tenant farmers as a breakthrough point.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei suddenly launched a counterattack.
After being examined by a group of professional officials, they all told Lu Gongzhe that there was no problem with these tax notes.
Li Lei immediately said, "According to the system of our dynasty, the stamps on tax notes are destroyed under the supervision of the supervisor every year after the tax is paid. These tax notes are enough to prove that Mr. Zhou has not failed to pay taxes. Zhang San is just slandering him."
Lu Gongzhu looked at Zhang Fei again.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "That's impossible. According to reliable information, there is no record of Mr. Zhou paying taxes in the court's account books."
Chen Huaixiao, Du Xiu and others smiled at each other.
"Bring me the account book."
Lu Gong gave instructions to Huang Gui.
Huang Gui immediately put on the ground a ledger that he had prepared long ago.
Lu Gong flipped through the wrinkled account book, compared it with the tax bill, and said to Zhang Fei, "Where did you get this information?"
Zhang Fei glanced at Wang Anshi.
Lu Gongzhe also glanced at Wang Anshi, and then said: "No matter where you got the information from, your information is not accurate. This account book has Zhou Cai's tax payment record, and it matches the tax bill."
Zhang Fei frowned and turned his head to look at Xu Zhiqian.
Xu Zhiqian's acting skills were always on point. She pointed at the copy in front of him and said, "That's right!"
Zhang Fei raised his head: "I don't believe it."
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