Kaifeng Prefecture.
"Forget it, forget it."
Li Kai waved his hand and said, "In this situation, if we continue to investigate, I'm afraid we'll get into trouble."
Although the scholars outside have not yet pointed the finger at Kaifeng Prefecture, their spontaneous behavior is clearly intended to protect the tabloid. If Kaifeng Prefecture continues its investigation, Li Kai is worried that it will anger these scholars.
You should know that a large number of these scholars are Jinshi, young officials, and their power is also very strong.
Huang Gui said, "I think we should continue investigating."
Li Kai looked at Huang Gui, "What do you mean?"
Huang Gui said: "If we give up the investigation, the other party may become even more unscrupulous. The situation is unstable now. If there are more tabloids, it may get further out of control and cause a disaster.
Anyway, we in Kaifeng Prefecture are following orders. If they blame us, we have reasons to shirk responsibility, but if there are more tabloids, it will be our responsibility!"
Li Kai nodded slightly, "What the chief clerk said makes sense. Then we will do as he said and continue to send people to investigate the matter. At the same time, we will send more people to ensure that there will be no more tabloids."
...
...
As he was speaking, a yamen runner stood in front of the door and said, "Report to the judge, there is a lawsuit."
Li Kai subconsciously asked, "Could it be Zhang San?"
Because the provincial government actually rarely hears cases, only Zhang San comes every day.
The yamen runner nodded awkwardly: "Yes...it's Zhang San."
Li Kai pounded his fist on the table, "Isn't this kid messy enough?"
Huang Gui said, "Perhaps Zhang San came here for this matter."
Li Kai frowned, "Yes, the tabloid incident has a lot to do with him. He...he is not here to sue Mr. Wang, right?"
Huang Gui didn't dare to speak nonsense.
Li Kai immediately asked someone to bring Zhang Fei in.
But when he saw Zhang Fei, Li Kai's eyebrows twitched and his mouth twitched, as if he had suffered a stroke. He gritted his teeth and said sarcastically, "Your business is good!"
Zhang Fei almost laughed out loud, and said with a folded hand: "Thank you for your concern, Tongpan. Can we still go to Hukou?"
Li Kai asked again: "Who do you want to sue this time?"
Zhang Fei said, "I am representing Wang Anshi, the scholar, to sue Su Shi for three serious crimes: leaking important information, making up books and saying things that were not true, and criticizing the emperor. This is my petition."
As he spoke, he presented the petition with both hands.
When these words were spoken, Li Kai and Huang Gui were both shocked and looked at each other with confusion in their eyes.
Huang Gui went straight over and took the complaint. After taking a look at it, he looked even more confused and handed it to Li Kai.
After Li Kai looked at it, he asked in confusion: "Zhang San, did you make a mistake?"
Zhang Fei asked in confusion: "What does the judge mean by that?"
Li Kai opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and then said, "Putting aside my position as a judge, let's talk about the facts. It was Wang Xueshi who closed your bookstore, and Su Shi's words were to speak up for you. You sued Su Shi for Wang Xueshi. Isn't this repaying kindness with enmity?"
Zhang Fei replied: "I am an ear writer."
Li Kai looked at him puzzledly.
Zhang Fei added: "Mr. Wang paid me to fight the case. As a professional spies, I have no reason to refuse, regardless of whether it is beneficial to me personally or not."
Huang Gui asked: "So you also know that Su Shi is speaking up for you."
Zhang Fei said: "I don't think so either. They are doing it for themselves, and I am a victim of the tabloids, not a beneficiary. My father-in-law was once harmed by the tabloids."
Li Kai and Huang Gui looked at each other again, seeming a little hesitant.
Zhang Fei said, "I know this matter has caused a lot of trouble for Kaifeng Prefecture. Rather than being so anxious, it is better to solve this matter openly. Moreover, I think that once Kaifeng Prefecture accepts this case, the court will most likely send someone else to try it."
As soon as these words came out, Li Kai's eyes lit up. This kid is really smart, but he didn't show it. "You go back first. We in Kaifeng Prefecture will carefully consider this case and notify you when there is news."
"I'll take my leave."
After Zhang Fei left, Li Kai said to Huang Gui: "What this kid said makes some sense."
Huang Gui nodded and said, "Yes! Whether to investigate this matter or not, and whether to arrest or not, all depends on whether Su Shi has violated the law, and whether publishing tabloids is illegal. This is really difficult to judge. Litigation is indeed the best way to resolve it."
At this point, he paused for a moment, "I just don't know if the higher-ups will agree to hold a trial for this case."
Li Kaidao said: "Don't forget that it was Wang Jiefu who hired Zhang San. If Wang Jiefu was not sure, could he sue?"
Huang Gui nodded: "That's true."
Li Kai reported to the court without much hesitation.
Because he knew in his heart that if it could be successful, it would definitely not be his fault. On the one hand, he was the Vice-Chancellor, and on the other hand, he was a newcomer in the court. How could they allow a mere magistrate to judge the case? The key point was that there was no prefect in Kaifeng Prefecture, and the court would definitely send someone else. Otherwise, he would have to clean up this mess.
It just so happened that Zhao Yan, Lu Gongzhu, Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi and Chen Shengzhi were all in the Council of State to discuss how to resolve the matter.
Seeing this petition, everyone was confused.
Moreover, this petition was written by Wang Anshi himself. At that time, Wang Anshi disliked Xu Zhiqian's poor writing skills, so he asked Zhang Fei to dictate and he wrote the petition himself.
"Wang Jiefu, what do you want to do?"
Sima Guang shook the petition and asked Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi said: "I, Wang Anshi, have lived an upright life and am worthy of heaven and earth. Although those people have slandered me, I will not use my status and power to deal with them. Therefore, I have decided to use legal means to defend my reputation."
Sima Guang said: "Don't tell me this. I don't know you, Wang Jiefu. You will only make things more complicated."
Lu Gong was secretly glad that we had left. This lawsuit was getting more and more complicated. He advised: "Jiefu, we were all there when the matter was discussed. We also know your worries. This is not a big deal. There are many misunderstandings in the middle. We should make a big deal out of it."
"No."
Wang Anshi said: "If we try to make everything small, then nothing can be solved. I hate this kind of wishy-washy approach the most. In a bright and clear world, right and wrong will be clear at a glance.
I am the Vice-Chancellor, and now I am willing to take a small scholar to court. What else do you want me to do?"
Wen Yanbo said: "As the Vice Minister, you don't take the overall situation into consideration and are still making excuses here. This is really unreasonable."
Wang Anshi said: "As a minister of state, I am already humble enough to be slandered by others. Don't I even have the power to sue now?"
Wen Yanbo said: "But you are not the only one who has the final say in the Political Affairs Hall."
Wang Anshi asked, "What does Wen Gong mean?"
Wen Yanbo glanced at the court and asked, "Do you think the court should accept this lawsuit?"
Sima Guang immediately said, "I object."
Chen Shengzhi said: "I support it."
Lu Gong glanced at Sima Guang, then at Wang Anshi, and said, "I...I abstain."
Everyone's eyes were focused on Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan said: "Taking the case to court is an upright measure and there is nothing wrong with it."
Wang Anshi looked at Wen Yanbo with a smile and said, "Should we invite Lord Fu and Prime Minister Zeng to come over and ask them?"
"You'll have to clean up after yourself then."
After Wen Yanbo said this, he left angrily.
We are here to try to help you calm this down, but you are adding fuel to the fire.
Sima Guang also got up and left.
But after Sima Guang left, he went straight to Zhang's house.
Finally, Zhang Fei was found at Xu's house next door.
At this time, Zhang Fei was sitting in the house talking with the Xu family father and daughter, and a copy of "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" was placed on the table.
Sima Guang looked at Xu Zhiqian and said unkindly, "Qian'er, go back to your room first. I have something to discuss with your father and Zhang San."
"Yes, Qian'er, I'll take my leave."
After Xu Zhiqian left, Sima Guang asked Zhang Fei, "Zhang San, what do you want to do?"
To be honest, these three were the culprits. How come Zhang Fei ended up joining Wang Anshi in a lawsuit?
Sima Guang believed that Zhang Fei should discuss this matter with him.
After all, he was also involved in this matter.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Master Sima, please listen to my explanation."
Sima Guang had no room to sit down, so he said, "You explain first."
"yes."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Does Grand Secretary Sima think that the person who leaked the secrets of the Criminal Court was breaking the law?"
Sima Guang was stunned and couldn't help but look at Xu Zun.
What do you mean?
Accusing your father-in-law of breaking the law?
Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "I'm just assuming."
Sima Guang said: "Of course it is against the law. The law clearly stipulates that leaking important information can result in death by hanging."
Zhang Fei asked, "Then is it illegal for the person who printed the tabloid and published this secret?"
Sima Guang looked at him again. It was you who did it. After thinking for a while, he said, "It is also illegal."
Zhang Fei asked: "What crime is he charged with?"
Sima Guang said: "They should be punished with the same crime."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Is it illegal to print tabloids?"
Sima Guang said: "There is no regulation in this regard."
Zhang Fei said: "If printing tabloids is not illegal, but at the same time the person who printed the tabloids did not know that the content published was a secret of the imperial court, would it be inappropriate to treat them as the same crime?"
Sima Guang stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said, "I am not here to discuss law with you."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Does the Grand Secretary Sima think Mr. Su has violated the law?"
Sima Guang said: "In Korea, the crime is speech. Moreover, what Su Shi said can only be regarded as inappropriate speech at best, but it cannot be considered illegal. If this precedent is set, there will be endless troubles in the future."
Zhang Fei asked again: "What do you think, Grand Secretary Sima, is Scholar Wang's worry justified?"
Sima Guang nodded slightly and said, "What Wang Jiefu said makes sense, and I agree with it."
Zhang Fei said: "If Mr. Su is not punished today, and the incident that Wang Xueshi is worried about happens again, how should the court treat Mr. Su's words?"
Sima Guang stroked his beard and said, "Because there were few tabloids before, most of the things discussed were private rumors. The court did not have any legislation to supervise this aspect."
“That’s the problem.”
Zhang Fei said: "These two questions illustrate one point. There is actually no specific law to follow in this matter. The only three laws that can be related are the crime of leaking important matters, the crime of making false statements, and the crime of criticizing the emperor.
However, it is almost impossible to have a fair trial in this case based on these three laws. As a result, it has become the current situation where the husband has his own reasons and the wife has her own grievances. The final result is that whoever has the most power has the final say.
Isn't this what Grand Secretary Sima is worried about?"
Sima Guang's expression eased a little, "Do you want to use this lawsuit to improve the law in this area?"
Zhang Fei said: "I will only defend the interests of my employer. As for the final verdict, that is the chief judge's business."
Sima Guang nodded slightly: "The final judgment is still in the hands of the court."
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