As for why Zhang Fei defended Zhao Wenzhen, people in the public can explain it in one sentence: he really gave too much.
Twenty thousand strings of cash for one defense!
Even if you lose, you still have to pay 10,000 strings of cash.
This is even more profitable than loan sharking!
Why can Li Guozhong and others run around for these powerful people, but Zhang Fei can't?
You don’t even pick up the money on the ground?
People can actually understand why Zhang Fei took this lawsuit.
But almost no one in the court thought so. What they saw was a change in the situation. In the eyes of all officials, this was instructed by someone.
And this person is the emperor.
Wang Anshi also thought so, but the difference was that others believed that the emperor instructed Zhang Fei to protect the royal family, while Wang Anshi believed that the emperor thought the pit was not big enough and had to dig a little more.
...
...
This is not to say that Wang Anshi's wisdom in this regard is also extremely superior. In fact, he is not bad either. It's not that he doesn't understand many things, but for him, there is no need to understand them too clearly, because he insists very much on his own ideas. Even if he understands them clearly, he has to do it. He has no choice.
But it cannot be said that in this respect, he is stronger than Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and others.
It was just because Zhao Xu had discussed the issue of the royal family with Wang Anshi before and knew that reform was necessary. He knew that the emperor would never add obstacles to the reform for the sake of the royal family. This was absolutely impossible, so there must be a problem here.
Based on this, it is easy to understand why this is happening.
But his old rival Sima Guang had never thought of this. It was normal for the emperor to protect his relatives. If the emperor did not protect them, there was no need for them to pay attention to this case.
Unlike Wang Anshi who was calm and composed, Sima Guang went straight to Zhang Fei.
To him, this was simply outrageous.
They deliberately tried to go against you, but in the end, you turned against them.
You must know that this case is not only about the new law, but also about his public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
"You need this little money?"
When Sima Guang saw Zhang Fei, he poked his head out like a turtle and punched Zhang Fei in the face.
He still had some requirements for Zhang Fei. You can make money, but this kind of money must not be made. In this respect, he is a bit similar to Xu Zhiqian.
Zhang Fei took a step back in a hurry, "Master Sima, this is a lot of money. I...I am also short of it."
Sima Guang said: "That is to say, if someone kills someone or sets a fire and asks you to defend him, you will agree as long as the offer is high."
"certainly."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Sima Guang frowned and asked, "What did you say?"
Without waiting for Zhang Fei to answer, he stamped his feet fiercely, "You are such a fool! You have worked so hard to build up a reputation through the rule of law, and you have a bright future ahead of you. But for the sake of a mere 20,000 strings of cash, you let it all go to waste. You are so short-sighted..."
But he didn't think Zhang Fei was short-sighted. His expression changed and he asked again, "Did someone force you to do this?"
Zhang Fei quickly shook his head and said, "No."
"I don't believe it!"
"Well...."
Facing Sima Luyu, Zhang Fei also had a headache. He stretched out his hand and said, "Master Sima, please sit down. Let me explain to you."
Sima Guang was certain that this was the emperor's arrangement, and Zhang Fei had no choice but to glance at him and then sit down.
Zhang Fei also sat down and said, "The main reason I took on this lawsuit is because the other party can afford the price. I have no regrets. On the contrary, what Sima Xueshi said just now is against the spirit of the law."
Sima Guang was stunned. Did I violate the spirit of the law? He immediately blew his beard and glared at Zhang Fei, "You...you tell me, what did I do wrong?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because you, Mr. Sima, did not look at this matter fairly and were biased. Isn't the true meaning of law the pursuit of fairness and justice?"
"Is this old man prejudiced?"
"certainly."
Zhang Fei nodded: "So far, the procuratorate has only filed a lawsuit, and the imperial court has not given a verdict, so it is possible that Governor Zhao was wronged, or even possible that Governor Zhao was a loyal minister.
But based on what Sima Xueshi said just now, it is clear that he has already regarded Zhao Zhishi as a guilty person. If this is not prejudice, what is it? If Sima Xueshi came to judge, I am afraid there would be no need for a trial, and he could just judge directly. "
Sima Guang was a little embarrassed and coughed: "The Procuratorate has irrefutable evidence......!"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "If that's the case, what is Sima Xueshi worried about?"
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, then snorted, "I'm worried that you'll use your tricks to confuse right and wrong again to help Governor Zhao get away with it. In the Ayun case, the evidence was irrefutable, but it was you who helped her get away with it."
It seems that this hurdle is really insurmountable. Zhang Fei said: "Sima Xueshi is wrong. I am only defending. The final judgment is made by Sima Xueshi. If it is unfair, it is Sima Xueshi who is unfair. In the final analysis, the power of judgment is not in my hands. The chief judge can choose not to listen to what I say. If the chief judge is fair and accepts my defense, how can it not be fair?"
Sima Guang was not convinced about the Ayun case, but he had already accepted defeat. He waved his hand and said, "I didn't come here to talk to you about this..."
"No."
Zhang Fei suddenly became serious, "Let's make this clear first."
Sima Guang said, "Don't you know how you won the Ayun case? You are using filial piety to coerce me, but Ayun definitely wants to kill Wei Ada. There are only two of us here, so you don't need to lie."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I don't want to discuss this result, but whether I was wrong to defend Ayun at that time."
Sima Guang frowned.
Zhang Fei added: "If I am an informant and cannot defend a suspect, then what is the meaning of the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial system? What the judge says is the truth? What the procuratorate says is the truth? Of course, my father-in-law is impartial and fair, and he will never wrongly accuse anyone. But if Wang Hong, Wang Wenshan and others are sitting in the court, will Sima Xueshi still trust the prosecution of the procuratorate?
Sima Guang remained silent.
Zhang Fei waited for a moment and continued, "If Sima Xueshi does not trust you, it means that Sima Xueshi only recognizes the individual, not the judiciary.
However, it has been proved that it is impossible for Sima Xueshi to ensure that every official has very high moral qualities, so the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are needed to stop or reduce unjust, false and wrongful convictions.
The concept of the rule of law is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals. Legitimate is only related to rights and interests, and has nothing to do with people. Regardless of whether a person is a good person or a bad person, his legitimate rights and interests must be protected. "
Sima Guang was ashamed of his attainments in law, and everyone was convinced of this. Zhang Fei had founded a school of thought, so if you can't do it, don't compete with him. He said directly: "I am not the chief judge, why can't I make subjective judgments, why can't I be biased? Moreover, my duty is to make the best use of people, of course I look at people, this person without moral integrity, I will definitely not use him."
Anxious! Anxious! The old man is anxious! Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "I mean, I am not wrong either."
Sima Guang chuckled, "You said this to me, not to yourself. Whether Governor Zhao is guilty or not, you probably know it better than I do. You observe the law, I observe the person, so I should ask you clearly."
Damn! This old man has fooled me. I have to explain this clearly, but I can't let him know the government's intention. Zhang Fei thought about it and said, "It is precisely because I know it very well that I took on this case."
Sima Guang asked: "Why? Have you ever considered that this will undermine the people's trust in the public security, the procuratorate and the courts, and will also undermine the exemption tax, which is very detrimental to the country and the people."
Zhang Fei said: "First of all, I don't think this will undermine the trust of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. On the contrary, it will make more people trust the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. The law is the law, and it is the same for everyone, whether you are powerful or poor."
Sima Guang's expression changed slightly.
He knew that Zhang Fei was not referring to ordinary people, but the powerful and wealthy.
The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs cannot create the impression that the powerful are killing the rich to help the poor. After all, the power is in their hands. If they are really pushed into a corner, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will be a great hindrance. They still have to be told how to play the game.
Zhang Fei continued, "Secondly, although I helped Ayun win the lawsuit, the court also revised many laws and made our laws more perfect. But to a certain extent, preventing such incidents from happening again is more beneficial to the country and the people. Only by falling can we learn lessons.
Finally, why are official farmlands constantly being occupied and private salt constantly rampant? The key is that the court has not taken this issue seriously. I think this is a good opportunity. "
Sima Guang's expression eased a little, and he asked again: "What about the exemption tax?"
Zhang Fei said: "Governor Zhao spent 20,000 to invite me, which has nothing to do with the exemption tax."
Sima Guang asked again: "Are you sure of victory?"
Zhang Fei shook his head. "To be honest with you, Master Sima, I really don't have any. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked for such a small amount of money, but... I will definitely have to fight this lawsuit."
......
Procuratorate.
"If Zhang San can win this lawsuit, I, Chen Bing, will immediately resign and return home."
But a young prosecutor said in a resounding voice.
"I also resigned and went home. In my opinion, Zhang San must have taken advantage of the fact that Governor Zhao was ill and tried to make a fortune. I heard that even if he lost, he could still make 10,000 strings of cash.
. "
"Don't speak nonsense."
But then Xu Zun walked in.
The prosecutors immediately stood up and saluted.
Xu Zun came and sat down. "Zhang San is my son-in-law. I know him very well. If he is not sure, he will never take this lawsuit."
He also thought that this was most likely premeditated by Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei had half-jokingly said before that he wanted to fight him a few moves.
Chen Bing, who had just sworn an oath, asked in a low voice: "Prosecutor Xu, since Zhang San is your son-in-law, why does he still want to..."
Xu Zun said: "Although he is my son-in-law, the firm is his business. It is not illegal for him to take on this lawsuit. I have no right to interfere."
At this point, he sighed, "It's just that in order to avoid suspicion, I can no longer participate in this case. From today on, the case will be fully handled by Prosecutor Su."
"As you command."
Su Che bowed and said, "But the evidence in this case is irrefutable. He...he has no chance of winning unless...!"
Xu Zun knew what he wanted to say, and said, "We just received a decree from above. The government has adopted the advice of Sima Xueshi and others. The case will be handed over to Kaifeng Prefecture for trial, and Prefect Zeng will be the presiding judge. From what I know about Prefect Zeng, he will never bend the law for personal gain."
Su Che breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that the imperial court had been delaying the trial had made him suspicious. He was afraid that Lu Jiawen would favor Zhang Fei in court.
Chen Bing added: "If that's the case, Zhang San won't have a chance."
"Don't think so."
Xu Zun said: "Those who thought so in the past all lost to him."
Su Che asked, "Based on what Chief Prosecutor Xu knows about him, how will he fight this case?"
Although Xu Zun and Zhang Fei are father-in-law and son-in-law, people in the procuratorate still trust Xu Zun, and no one thinks that Xu Zun would be partial or corrupt.
Xu Zun thought for a moment and said, "I have personally witnessed how he prepared. I think he might attack the shortcomings of the official salt administration. As we all know, whether it is the occupation of official fields or the trafficking of private salt, these are not uncommon things. It can be seen that these laws have problems. He may start from this aspect."
Qi Ji said: "Even if there are problems, we rely on clear regulations. Selling private salt is illegal, occupying official land is illegal. No matter what the problem is, what Governor Zhao did is illegal. Unless he uses the excuse that the law does not punish the masses to exonerate Governor Zhao."
"The law does not punish the masses?"
Xu Zun shook his head. "I dare not say that there is no possibility, but I think the possibility is not high."
Su Zhe nodded and said, "The imperial court has already sentenced Xu Yu, Qin Biao and others. If the law does not punish everyone, there is no point in talking about it. I also think this is unlikely. The key is that no one dares to do such illegal acts openly, and they all do it secretly. If it weren't for the tax commissioner, it would be difficult for us to find these evidences."
Qi Ji wondered, "Then why would he file this lawsuit?"
Xu Zun shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about this yet, but you can't ignore the details of the regulations and the malpractices of official fields and salt. At the same time, you must also take the overall situation into consideration, such as the laws of our ancestors."
"I'll remember that."
Su Zhe frowned. Although he lost the previous lawsuit, he did not care much about it. But he did not want to lose this lawsuit. The evidence was irrefutable. If it was overturned, it would be disastrous. Now that Zhang Fei took over the lawsuit, it really brought him a lot of pressure!
......
However, the emperor suddenly adopted the advice of Sima Guang and others and agreed to transfer the case to Kaifeng Prefecture for trial.
This not only failed to calm the anger, but made it even worse.
What were you doing before? Now that Zhao Wenzhen asked Zhang San to take action, you nodded immediately.
It's obvious that you want to protect the royal family!
How shameless!
But the problem is that they have no reason to blame the emperor.
On the surface, the emperor was indeed not biased, and he did not use his power to influence the case. At that time, the imperial court believed that the case was complicated and the trial was delayed. It was related to me, and the imperial court was not wrong.
Later you said you wanted to transfer it to Kaifeng Prefecture, and I finally agreed!
Can't I agree later?
As for inviting Zhang Fei, that is Zhao Wenzhen's power.
According to regulations and procedures, this is allowed.
Officials can only increase their support for the Procuratorate and Kaifeng Prefecture. Although the emperor obviously wants to protect the royal family, you must not be afraid. Not only that, we must convict Zhao Wenzhen.
It can be seen that they were also panicked. After all, no one dared to question Zhang Fei's ability to fight a lawsuit.
Even the Xu family and the Qin family felt very regretful. We were so stupid. Why didn’t we think of asking Zhang Fei for help?
Since there are no more invitations, there can be no survivors on this ship. Everyone must die, otherwise it would be too unfair.
The pressure immediately came to Kaifeng Prefecture again.
"I knew it, I knew it. Once that guy puts on the green robe, nothing good will happen. Here he comes again! Here he comes again!"
Li Kaizhen looked like he had lost his parents. He shook his head and talked non-stop as if he was possessed.
Zeng Gong couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Why are you panicking? With the evidence from the procuratorate, he can't win this case."
"This is it, this is it." Li Kai suddenly danced with excitement.
Zeng Gong wondered, "What is this?"
“That’s the scariest thing.”
Li Kai said: "When Lu Xianggong was here, we were also deeply troubled by him. We all thought that this lawsuit could not be won, but in the end, you had to rule in his favor. There is really nothing more cowardly in the world than this."
Zeng Gong asked: "Why is this?"
Li Kai sighed, "I don't know how to explain it, so I went to burn incense and pray for blessings, hoping that the guy would not come to us, but in the end I still couldn't escape this evil fate!"
"Bad fate?"
The more he talked, the more mysterious it became, and Zeng Gong was even confused.
Li Kai said seriously: "You may not know, Mr. Zeng, when that fellow first arrived in Bianjing, he spent more time in our Kaifeng Prefecture than in his own home......!"
At this point, he suddenly looked at Zeng Gong, "So that's it! So that's it!"
Zeng Gong felt uneasy when he looked at him, and asked again: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Li Kai said: "In fact, the first few lawsuits should not have come to our Kaifeng Prefecture, but Prime Minister Lu refused to believe in evil and insisted on going to the trial. As a result, the trial went on and on until he left office.
He has not come since you took office, Governor Zeng, until Governor Zeng said he didn't believe it last time and wanted to see his method, and it worked immediately."
Zeng Gong was really amused by Li Kai, and said in a funny way: "Alright! Alright! Stop imagining nonsense here. Trial of cases is the duty of our Kaifeng Prefecture, and he is our spy. It's nothing strange to meet him often."
Li Kai sighed, "Whether Governor Zeng believes it or not, he will understand why everyone in Kaifeng Prefecture, from top to bottom, even the cleaners, hate that guy so much."
Zeng Gong asked curiously: "Why does the sweeper hate him too?"
Li Kai said: "When he comes, there will definitely be a large crowd of people watching. How can the sweeper not hate him?"
“......!”
Zeng Gong laughed and said, "Now that you mention it, I really want to see it. Send someone to the procuratorate and ask them to act faster. I can't wait any longer."
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
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