The situation where an official works part-time as an earpiece has never happened before. Who would be an official and work as an earpiece? They would want people to forget that they are an earpiece.
This phenomenon doesn't make sense at all.
The imperial court did not have any clear regulations on whether it was allowed, so the royal court did not stop Zhang Fei from coming here as an informant to defend the Commissioner of Taxation.
Su Zhe knew in his heart that it would be difficult to stop Zhang Fei from going to court based on this alone, but he still had to bring it up to suppress Zhang Fei's arrogance.
However, the reason given by Zhang Fei was indeed speechless. His official position was a doctor, and he taught at the Imperial College. Litigation was the basis of his teaching. If he did not litigate, no one would invite him to teach.
It can be said that for Zhang Fei, this lawsuit is just like preparing for class.
"This brat is getting more and more arrogant." Zhang Fei, who was sitting down, couldn't help but curse.
Xu Zhiqian smiled and said, "You are always so talkative. It would be good to learn a lesson."
Zhang Fei said aggrievedly: "I just saw that the atmosphere was too serious and wanted to liven it up."
Xu Zhiqian glanced back secretly, but saw that the expressions of the dignitaries around him were very solemn. The joy brought by the verdict just now was gone.
...
...
Although the previous lawsuit was also very important, it was far less important than the second one because it concerned the authority of the Tax Commissioner.
It is also what the powerful and wealthy fear the most.
The key point is that this has never happened before. Issues of authority are always decided from above, but this time it is left to the judiciary to decide.
They had no idea either.
After a little preparation, Su Che summoned the first witness, who was the Qin family's servant and the first person to see the tax police.
Su Che simply told him everything that happened that night and then sat down.
Lu Jiawen looked at Zhang Fei again, and Zhang Fei shook his head to indicate that he had no problems.
Everyone's testimony about what happened was the same, so there was nothing to ask.
Afterwards, Su Che summoned the second witness, who was none other than Qin Biao, who had just sat in the dock. The change of identity made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Su Zhe asked: "Qin Biao, can you tell me everything you saw that night?"
Qin Biao nodded and said timidly: "I remember it was late at night and I had already gone to bed, but suddenly I heard a loud bang. I thought it was thunder, but someone shouted that there was a thief in the house, so I quickly got up, picked up my weapon and went to the front yard.
Oh, you don’t know, when I arrived at the front yard, I saw dozens of people holding swords and bows and arrows, pointing them at me. I thought I was encountering bandits, so I was so scared that I wanted to run away. But they suddenly shot an arrow, and that arrow almost hit me. I quickly knelt down and begged for mercy...!"
The more he talked, the more excited he became. He was gesticulating and describing everything that had happened that night and his various psychological activities in a vivid and expressive manner. He even wanted to describe the Tax Commissioner as a robber.
The dignitaries around were so angry that they shook their heads.
Is this a law enforcement officer? He is simply a robber!
When he finished his story, Su Che asked again, "I heard that your mother fainted from fear and is still bedridden?"
Qin Biao nodded repeatedly. "My mother didn't know what was going on at the time, so she also went out. She happened to see the other side shooting arrows at me, and fainted on the spot. In fact, not only my mother, but many people in my family were frightened. They have had nightmares for the past few days and wake up at the slightest noise. Even the whole village is in a panic."
"I'm done asking questions."
Su Che sat down.
Peng Siyan, who was sitting in the back, asked Sima Guang softly, "Master Sima, is this your judicial reform?"
Sima Guang immediately said, "The tax commissioner has nothing to do with me."
As he spoke, he suddenly glanced at Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi hurriedly said, "Why are you looking at me? This tax commissioner has nothing to do with me."
This level of force scared him enough, it was a bit too cruel and he had no intention of just lying down and staying in troubled water.
Zhang Fei stood up, still holding the document in his hand and reading it. It was his style to sharpen his weapons before a battle. After a while, he put the document down and asked Qin Biao, "Mr. Qin, if the tax police knock on your door politely, explain their intentions to you, and are unarmed, how will you respond?"
"I object."
Su Che immediately stood up and said, "The other party's question is totally unfounded."
Zhang Fei asked Lu Jia: "The judge will understand why I asked this later."
Lu Jiawen looked at Qin Biao and said, "Witness, please answer."
Su Che sat down.
Qin Biao said: "If they are polite and unarmed, then of course I will treat them well. We dare not go against the tax police."
Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and asked, "Do you still remember what happened on October 8th three years ago?"
Qin Biao thought about it seriously and said, "I don't remember what happened three years ago."
Zhang Fei asked, "Do you still remember what happened on October 12, the year before last?"
"The year before last..."
Qin Biao frowned, thought about it carefully, and shook his head, "I don't remember either."
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Do you remember that your wolfhound has bitten people many times?"
Qin Biao's expression changed, and he looked around guiltily, "No...I don't remember."
Zhang Fei said: "On October 8th three years ago and October 12th the year before last, Baima Township collected autumn taxes, and what happened on these two days was almost exactly the same.
The head of the household in Baima Township went to your house to collect taxes. They notified the Qin family in advance and showed up at the Qin family on time. They knocked on the door very politely and stated their purpose. However, what greeted them was not the hospitality that Mr. Qin had just promised, but more than ten wolfhounds that pounced on them and bit them.
Where was Mr. Qin at that time? He was right behind the wolfhound, laughing. Perhaps everyone wants to ask why the wolfhound was not mentioned in the confessions of all parties. It was because his wolfhounds bit too many people, causing great trouble to the villagers, so that Kaifeng County issued several orders before he put the wolfhounds in the warehouse. "
While talking, Xu Zhiqian quietly handed over a document. Zhang Fei took it and raised it directly, "This is what happened at the time, as well as the confessions of some witnesses."
Lu Jiawen nodded.
A judicial officer came over immediately and prepared to take the document up.
Zhang Fei suddenly put the documents back, looked at Lu Jia curiously and asked, "Why didn't the judge ask me? Why didn't he just call the witness?"
Lu Jiawen was stunned for a moment, then asked with a frown, "Are you teaching me how to judge a case?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I dare not, but this issue is crucial."
If you have something important to say, just say it directly. This guy is clearly trying to embarrass me. Lu Jiawen frowned and said in an unhappy tone: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly. Don't beat around the bush in front of me. If you try to be cunning here, I will punish you for contempt of the imperial court."
Wang Anshi chuckled and said, "It seems that to deal with Zhang San, we have to let some young and energetic officials take action."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "Due to our status, we always feel that it is not a good idea to compete with him."
This kid is really arrogant. Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "The reason is that no one dares to come here to testify. They are afraid of Qin Yuanwai's revenge. Therefore, I hope that the imperial court will keep this document confidential and not disclose the names of the witnesses."
Lu Jiawen nodded: "Since you have a request, we will keep it confidential."
Only then did Zhang Fei hand the document to the judicial official.
Zhang Fei asked Qin Biao again: "Mr. Qin, do you remember what happened on February 21 this year?"
Qin Biao seemed to have no concept of time at all. He was extremely panicked and shook his head woodenly.
Zhang Fei said: "On that morning, your mother went out for a walk and met a villager carrying water. The villager wanted to avoid your mother, so he accidentally spilled the water in the bucket. A few drops fell on your mother's shoes..."
"I object!"
Su Che immediately stood up and said, "This has nothing to do with this case."
Zhang Fei seemed to have expected this and didn't care. He said quickly, "Your mother hit the villager on the head with her cane, causing him to bleed."
"I object." Su Che shouted again.
"I'm done."
Zhang Fei sat down.
Su Che glanced at Zhang Fei with slight contempt, then sat down.
Qi Ji on the side said: "This kid is really cunning. Who will sympathize with Qin's mother after he said that?"
Su Che also glanced at the distinguished guests who were watching the trial, but saw that some of them were shaking their heads with anger on their faces, while others looked a little embarrassed.
Indeed, this kind of question can easily mislead the audience.
Xu Zhiqian leaned over slightly and said, "You really are still as skilled as ever!"
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes at her and said, "What do you mean by 'your sword is still sharp'? I've only been sharpening it for a few days."
Xu Zhiqian asked curiously: "What do you mean? I don't know anything about it."
Zhang Fei chuckled twice and said, "Let's talk later. It's time for us to call witnesses."
He immediately asked to call his first witness, who was none other than the Commissioner of Taxation, Li He.
Li He came to the court and sat down. His expressionless face made it impossible to tell whether he was nervous or excited.
"Li Siwu, who set the mission to raid the Qin family that night?"
"It's me."
Li He replied.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Why did you choose to do it in the middle of the night, and have the tax police fully armed with bows and arrows, shields, and even siege weapons?"
Li He said: "Because according to our investigation, Qin Biao is an extremely dangerous person. In the past, the yamen runners who went to his house to collect taxes were obstructed, insulted, and even injured to varying degrees.
Based on all this, I chose to launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night in order to protect the tax police from getting hurt. The reason why I used siege equipment was because we knew that the Qin family had built a gate several times, and siege equipment was necessary to break it down. "
Zhang Fei asked: "If the other party is a kind and good citizen, would you take such measures?"
Li He shook his head and said, "No."
"Thank you!"
Zhang Fei sat down.
Su Zhe immediately stood up and asked, "Li Siwu, before this mission, did you send anyone to the Qin family to issue a notice?"
Li He shook his head and said, "No."
Su Zhe said: "So you arranged this mission only based on your investigation and did not send anyone to test Qin Biao in advance to see if he would cooperate?"
Li He said: "Because of the amount of tax evasion by the Qin family......!"
Su Che asked: "Has there been any notification, notice, or even probing in advance?"
Li He shook his head and said, "No."
Su Che asked again: "Li Siwu, you just said that if the other party was a good citizen, you would not take the same measures as you did to the Qin family."
Li He nodded.
Su Che asked: "What I want to know is, even if the other party is a good citizen, can you take similar measures?"
Li He said: "We will investigate......!"
Su Che interrupted him directly, "Do you have the authority to take similar measures, even if the other party is a good citizen?"
Li He hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Yes."
Su Che said: "In other words, whether the other party is a good citizen or a bad citizen is not important. The key lies in what your tax commissioner thinks."
Li He said: "We will strictly assess the risks."
Su Che asked, "Does anyone know?"
Li He replied: "Our tax department has strict regulations."
Su Che asked again: "But can the rules determine whether a person is a good citizen or a bad citizen?"
Li He replied: "We will evaluate according to the regulations...!"
Su Che said: "But you just answered that you have the right to take similar actions if you know that the other party is a good citizen. In the end, it depends on what you think."
Li He said nothing!
The fact is that the tax commissioner has the final say.
Su Che waited for a moment, then continued, "Speaking of this regulation, as far as I know, our dynasty has very strict regulations on military equipment, and our procuratorate has conducted several investigations and has not found any decree approving your use of siege equipment. I wonder who gave you, the tax commissioner, the authority to do so."
Li He said: "We, the tax commissioner, are just following orders."
Su Che asked: "What does this mean by following orders?"
Li He said: "The task assigned to our tax bureau is to collect exemption tax from everyone living in Kaifeng Prefecture. But it did not specify whether each of these people refers only to good citizens. So our tax bureau understands that as long as you live in Kaifeng Prefecture, even if you are a bandit, we have to collect exemption tax from you.
That means we are going to be facing a lot of very dangerous people, so we can’t charge everyone a levy if we are forced to use sticks like the Royal Police most of the time.”
Cao Dongdong, who was standing in the back watching the trial, couldn't help but mutter, "We, the Royal Police, will also face many dangerous people."
Wen Yanbo whispered, "Could it be that the tax commissioner really wants to collect taxes from thieves and bandits?"
Sima Guang just shook his head, "I don't know either."
Lu Gong said: "This sounds outrageous. Would the bandits pay taxes to the royal police to arrest them?"
Su Che asked: "Does the court have explicit regulations that allow you to do this? Or in other words, are there any officials who allow you to do this?"
Li He said: "No."
"I have no problem for now." Su Zhe sat down.
Zhang Fei stood up and asked, "Li, why are you sitting here today?"
Li He said: "Because the imperial court summoned me to come here to testify."
Zhang Fei asked: "Why did you summon me?"
Li He said: "Because the procuratorate sued our tax commissioner for abusing his power and destroying private houses."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then do you know what you will face if the prosecution is successful?"
Li He nodded, "Of course I know. I will be caned and sentenced to prison. That's why our tax department has formulated strict regulations to restrain the tax police."
Zhang Fei asked: "So you chose to use siege equipment to raid the Qin family?"
Li He said: "The mission that night was very successful, and we didn't hurt anyone. If we just sent someone there randomly, based on Qin Biao's previous deeds, there might be a conflict and someone might get hurt.
At the same time, it will alert the enemy and make Qin Biao transfer the evidence. Because our rules are to conduct random checks, we cannot let anyone know who we are investigating. And once the evidence is conclusive, we must act quickly and cannot let the other party react, otherwise, all the previous efforts may be wasted. "
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But you are still sitting here, accepting the interrogation of the imperial court."
Li He said: "I, the tax commissioner, always abide by the law."
Zhang Fei asked, "But have you ever worried that this interrogation will dampen the morale of the tax commissioner, so that the tax police will be timid and dare not collect taxes from the strongman again?"
"I object."
Su Che shouted immediately.
Li He still answered: "I am very worried."
Zhang Fei gave Su Zhe two helpless looks, then lowered his head to look at Wen An, "Does the court have a clear regulation that forbids you from using siege weapons?"
Li He shook his head and said, "No."
Zhang Fei asked, "Does the court have a clear stipulation that forbids you from launching surprise attacks at night?"
Li He shook his head and said, "No."
Zhang Fei asked: "What does the court require of you?"
Li He said: "What I know is that our tax bureau is responsible for collecting the exemption tax according to the law, and the Ministry of Agriculture has emphasized several times that the exemption tax must be collected. If there are any omissions, our tax bureau will be held accountable."
The dignitaries immediately looked at Han Jiang.
Han Jiang did say these words, because at that time he believed that the self-declaration by the Commissioner of Taxation was completely unreliable, so he made such harsh remarks.
But I didn't expect that behind this angel was a devil's face. He also felt innocent. Am I wrong to say that?
"I have no problem for now!"
Zhang Fei sat down.
Su Che immediately stood up and asked, "Li, you just said that this mission was very successful and no one was hurt. Then do you know that Qin Biao's mother was frightened by you and became ill in bed?"
Li He nodded and said, "I heard about it."
Su Che asked: "Isn't this caused by you?"
Li He said: "This is certainly not what our tax department wants to see, and we are very sorry about this. But if the Qin family had declared truthfully, none of this would have happened."
Su Zhe said: "When you were assigning the task, did you consider that doing this would hurt innocent people?"
Li He said: "We have considered how to avoid harming innocent people, but what happened to Qin's mother was not something we could have anticipated."
Su Che asked again: "Is the tax commissioner just saying sorry and sorry about this?"
Li He nodded.
Su Che asked: "If the enemy mistakenly thinks you are bandits and chooses to attack you, how will you respond?"
Li He said: "I will reveal my identity in advance."
Su Che said: "But maybe the other party was frightened and didn't hear it, so he chose to take action."
Li He said: "According to the regulations of our tax department, tax police must put their own safety first. Therefore, when they encounter danger, tax police can judge for themselves what to do."
Su Che asked: "Can we kill him?"
Li He nodded and said, "Okay."
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
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