Sima Guang would probably be troubled for some time, because he was definitely biased towards Lu Shen. At the same time, he also knew that Zhang Fei would try the case and would definitely show favor to Zhong Yan, so there was a conflict here.
He may not agree.
However, Zhang Fei was very interested in this case. After seeing Sima Guang off, he returned to his room, half-lying on the sofa, crossing his legs, and began to study it carefully.
Sima Guang’s hesitation does not mean that this matter is not feasible. It can still be done through Zhao Xu, so the key lies in whether Zhang Fei himself can do it.
"If I were just a lawyer, this case wouldn't be difficult for me. I would be able to win no matter which side I helped. But as a judge, how should I deal with it? Alas, I don't know if I am qualified for the position of judge."
Although the lawyer and the judge work in the same room, they are two completely different professions. Although Zhang Fei has studied the profession and can develop into a judge, he has never been a judge. He is both excited and nervous at this moment.
I dare not take it lightly and must treat it with caution.
Suddenly, someone outside the door said, "It's you. If my brother sat like this, he would be scolded to death by my father."
When he turned his head, he saw Xu Zhiqian, dressed as a man, standing in front of the door, looking at him with a smile.
"So I only dare to put this chair in our house, but not outside."
...
...
Zhang Fei sat up, pulled Xu Zhiqian who had just walked in into his arms, kissed her lips lightly, and asked, "How's your busy schedule?"
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes at him and said, "It's going relatively smoothly. Those ladies are naturally eager to help the Royal Police make uniforms. The problem now is that I don't know if they can do it well."
As she spoke, she took the copy from Zhang Fei's hand and asked, "What are you reading?"
Zhang Fei did not intend to hide it from her, and said with a smile: "This may be my next lawsuit, but I may try it as the presiding judge."
"Yeah?"
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in shock.
Zhang Fei nodded slightly, "But it has not been decided yet, so you must not reveal this matter to anyone, otherwise our family will be in danger."
"I know."
Xu Zhiqian nodded and looked at it carefully again. After a while, she frowned slightly and said with a hint of frustration: "It's this kind of thing again."
Zhang Fei asked: "What do you think?"
Xu Zhiqian said, "Of course I support General Zhong. A general is not subject to the emperor's orders when he is away from home. If he has to wait for the court's reply for everything, how can he win the war? The key is that we have already taken Suizhou. We have to fight for it. Even if we return it, the other side will not appreciate it! This Lu Shen is really weak and pedantic."
Although she is a woman, she has a character that hates evil and is definitely an Eagle.
Zhang Fei just smiled slightly at this.
Xu Zhiqian glanced at him and asked, "Don't you agree?"
"No! I just said the same thing to Scholar Sima."
Zhang Fei shrugged slightly, but then changed the subject, "But if I were the presiding judge, I couldn't say that."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Why?"
Zhang Fei did not answer but asked: "If Zhong Yan's army is completely wiped out in this attack, what will you think?"
Xu Zhiqian blinked and said nothing.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It can be seen that we are using the results to infer right and wrong. Erbi can use this to sue, but the president of the court said that we must not do so.
The result is only a reference factor. The key lies in the process. We must understand clearly whether there are sufficient reasons to support the judgment made at that time.
If General Zhong was just greedy for merit and was reckless, he should be punished even if he won. The law does not allow a general to hold the entire country hostage. We should encourage such warmongers. Military generals should shout for war and killing all day long, but whether to fight or not should not be decided by the generals. But if there are sufficient reasons at the time, then it is okay.
Therefore, this document is only enough for us to understand the general situation. If we really want to go to court, we will have to investigate again."
Xu Zhiqian nodded slightly: "You are right. If the general does not obey orders, that will not work."
At this point, she suddenly glanced back and said, "So, you have decided to go to the northwest."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I have to go."
Xu Zhiqian's eyes flickered, "Then will you take me there?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Of course! I don't know how long I will stay here, so you and your wife will go with me. Moreover, I will officially hire you as my chief clerk."
"real!"
Xu Zhiqian stood up excitedly, and without paying attention for a moment, her head hit Zhang Fei's chin.
“Ouch!”
The couple covered their heads and chins respectively.
"Zhi Qian, you want me to die before I even accomplish my mission!" Zhang Fei covered his chin and cried.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Xu Zhiqian's face flushed, "I was too excited for a moment." She sat down hurriedly and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Zhang Fei gently rubbed his chin, "Maybe I can only kiss you, and I can't eat."
Xu Zhiqian spat, and seeing that he was not seriously ill, she felt relieved and asked, "Are you telling the truth about what you just said? Let me be your chief clerk?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "If the court doesn't want to, then I won't go. Without you, I can't be the chief judge."
In life, he cannot do without Gao Wenyin, but at work he cannot do without Xu Zhiqian. Over the past year or two, all the documents he used for lawsuits were written by Xu Zhiqian, who was able to express his ideas most clearly.
Xu Zhiqian was secretly delighted when she heard this, and couldn't wait to ask, "When are we going?"
Zhang Fei said: "That may take some time, this matter still needs to be processed."
Just then, Qingmei came to the door and said, "Sister Qianer, the water is ready."
Xu Zhiqian said: "I'm going to take a shower first, we'll talk about it in detail later."
Zhang Fei asked with a question mark on his face: "Why do we have to wait?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "I'm going to take a shower now!"
"Let's take a shower together. We can chat while we're washing!"
"I won't wash with you. How can we finish it?"
"Ouch! My jaw hurts. It hurts so much. Ouch! Ouch!"
"Okay! It's up to you."
Xu Zhiqian stood up and stomped her feet hard.
“Go, go, go!”
Zhang Fei immediately stood up, hugged Xu Zhiqian, and sang: "I love taking a bath, the turtle falls, la la la!"
Now that he has a clear goal, Zhang Fei has to start making arrangements for it. However, he doesn't have many cards in his hand. It can even be said that he only has one, and that is Li Bao.
"Our people are all in Jingdong Road and Jiangnan, but there are not many people in the northwest."
Li Bao said to Zhang Fei with some embarrassment.
In fact, this was all arranged by Zhang Fei. He had previously deployed troops in Yangzhou and Dengzhou, and Shi Tingxiu and Feng Nanxi also went there.
Now, there has been a 180-degree turn, and Li Bao is speechless about it.
Zhang Fei also scratched his head awkwardly. The plan could not keep up with the changes. He suddenly asked, "Don't we know many salt merchants this time?"
Li Bao nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "Most of these salt merchants are familiar with the northwest. You can find a few trustworthy salt merchants and ask them to help us do the work, and we will help them make money. Everyone will get what they need."
Li Bao frowned and said, "This salt merchant is the most cunning businessman in the world. In my opinion, any salt merchant cannot be trusted. We can get some information from the salt merchants, but it is risky to let them work for us. I suggest that we find one or several people to be salt merchants. With our ability, it is not difficult to support them."
"You decide."
Zhang Fei added: "By the way! Do you know about the Suizhou case in the fourth year of Zhiping?"
"The Suizhou case in the fourth year of Zhiping?" Li Bao thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Suizhou was recovered in the fourth year of Zhiping. Something seemed to have happened in between, but I'm not sure."
Zhang Fei said: "Send someone to investigate secretly."
Li Bao frowned and hesitated, "Should we do this first?"
Zhang Fei nodded: "Of course I have to tell the government first, but remember one thing, it is better not to find out than to let the news leak out."
Li Bao nodded and said, "I know."
Not long after Li Bao left, Lu Huiqing arrived.
"I just came from the office. I heard that you haven't been there for the past two days. Are you sick?"
"No! I was just too busy a while ago, so I stayed at home to recuperate for two days."
Zhang Fei extended his hand again and said, "Please take a seat, Proofreader Lu."
"Thank you!"
After Lu Huiqing sat down, he praised again: "I have to say that this exemption from military service was very successful, even far exceeding my and my mentor's expectations."
Zhang Fei said modestly, "No! No! You are too kind, Mr. Lu. The reason why the tax exemption was successful this time is that Mr. Wang dared to include government households and monk households. Otherwise, it would be impossible to collect so much tax."
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "So my teacher is also having a headache right now. Other prefectures don't have tax commissioners and public security courts. Unfortunately, there has been no movement from Sima Xueshi. It will take a long time before the public security courts are implemented nationwide!"
Zhang Fei said: "That being said, I think for the time being, other states should also implement it seriously. If they fail to do so, then we will send them to the public security, procuratorate, courts and taxation department. I believe they will not like it."
Lu Huiqing laughed, "We thought so too, so our teacher will not wait for Sima Xueshi's public security, prosecution and court, but choose to strike while the iron is hot."
At this point, he suddenly changed the subject, "But for now, this cannot be considered a success. Although the money has been collected, it is not certain whether it is enough. After all, this money is used to support tens of thousands of police and tax police, and also to cover the transportation of goods."
Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "The charity foundation has made complete preparations. As long as the court starts to recruit merchants to pledge goods, the charity foundation will be able to take it over immediately. But whether it will be enough depends on the arrangement of the system, not on the price of transporting the goods."
Lu Huiqing asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "Can we distinguish between public and private affairs? If the goods exchanged between officials are also considered public expenses, it will be a bottomless pit. I can't guarantee that it will be enough."
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "You can rest assured about this. We have already found a way to deal with it."
Zhang Fei asked: "What method?"
Lu Huiqing said: "The personal goods of officials, especially valuables, are generally kept confidential. The former Yaqianyi were equivalent to their family servants, and they were very confident.
As long as we set up a strict system and conduct a thorough review of the accounts, they will not dare to do the same thing as before. Otherwise, all their actions are under our control. In addition, with the presence of the tax commissioner, they will definitely be even more wary.
But the premise is that you cannot collude with them to create false accounts to deceive the government."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "We will never collude with them, but if they are willing to spend money, we will keep it a secret for them."
Lu Huiqing chuckled and said, "It's up to you."
Baifan Building.
Zhang Fei and Fan Zheng were standing on the second floor, looking down at the rehearsal of Yan Jidao, Fu Shichun and several singing girls on the first floor.
"What do you think, Third Brother?"
Fan Zheng asked.
Zhang Fei asked back: "What do you think?"
Fan Zheng said excitedly: "Third brother's idea is really brilliant. Let the singing girl perform a story on the stage, and add lyrics and music. This has never been done before. I believe everyone will like it."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Are you willing to pay for it?"
Fan Zheng smiled and nodded, "Yes, I don't want to see this scene in Panlou."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "That's all."
Fan Zheng was stunned for a moment, "Third brother, do you have any objections?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "No! It's fine as long as you think it's okay."
To be honest, he really couldn't understand what it meant. If he were to watch it, he would probably fall asleep after watching it for a stick of incense. But it didn't matter. This was not a performance for him, and the people of the Song Dynasty might not accept his ideas.
As long as Fan Zheng, the businessman, Yan Jidao, the artistic genius, Fu Shichun and Cao Dongdong, the playboys, all agree, there shouldn't be any problem.
"I didn't come to you today to discuss this matter." Zhang Fei added, "Regarding the transportation team, how are you preparing? The court is already urging you to do so."
Fan Zheng hurriedly said, "It's all ready, and Uncle Ma has introduced one of his brothers to me. I've talked to him and he does have a lot of experience. How about I arrange for my third brother to meet him?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It's OK as long as you think it's OK."
Fan Zheng said awkwardly: "Third brother, this kind of thing still requires you to make the decision, I.!"
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Have some confidence in yourself. I believe you can do it. But I will help you draft the relevant contracts and determine the appropriate compensation method. In fact, it is reasonable to have problems. If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. As long as everyone has a clear mind, it will be fine."
Fan Zheng nodded and said, "I'll do my best."
Now Zhang Fei’s mind is no longer on this. He has also planned in advance that he will not do it himself. To be honest, business matters are not his forte.
He only gives advice and does not participate in the implementation at all.
When Li Bao informed Zhao Xu of Zhang Fei's instructions, Zhao Xu was very surprised, because he also planned to hand the case over to Zhang Fei, but did not go to him immediately due to face. Now that Zhang Fei took the initiative to bring it up, he summoned Zhang Fei immediately.
"Did you discover this case yourself, or did Scholar Sima tell you?"
"It was Scholar Sima who told me."
"strangeness!"
Zhao Xu couldn't help but mutter, and then asked: "What did Sima Xueshi tell you?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Sima Xueshi hopes that Lu Shen can get a fair verdict, and he is still very hesitant about this and has not made a decision yet."
Zhao Xu nodded in understanding, and then said, "But didn't you say that this case must be more biased towards the military generals?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Based on the information we have so far, in fact, neither of them is wrong. It can also be said that both of them are wrong. Maybe we can stage a reconciliation between the general and the minister in court."
"I don't expect the generals and ministers to get along." Zhao Xu shook his head with a wry smile, and then said, "I'm just afraid of complications."
Zhang Fei asked: "What does the government mean?"
Zhao Xu glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I will not hide it from you. Zhong Yan is a general I value very much. I am counting on him to help me destroy Xixia. I cannot let him be in danger of political struggle."
Zhang Fei said: "If the emperor really values him, he should use a hammer and an awl to polish him carefully instead of keeping him in a swaddling cloth and taking good care of him."
Zhao Xu snorted, "The training of military commanders should be done on the battlefield, not in the court."
Zhang Fei said: "But it must be done in court."
Zhao Xu's expression froze.
Zhang Fei continued, "Observing discipline and being flexible are not contradictory, and a general who does not observe discipline cannot be expected to do well. Perhaps Zhong Yan's choice at the time was right, but he must also understand that obeying orders is a soldier's duty, not a grievance."
Zhao Xu looked at him and said with a smile: "It seems that you are very interested in this case?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "And judging by the results, Zhong Yan will not be in any danger, but we must warn him to let them know that the court will reward meritorious deeds and punish faults."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly and said, "Since you are so confident, then let's do it this way."
Zhang Fei said: "But Scholar Sima is still hesitating."
Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "He can hesitate for a long time about this matter. I have my own way."
(End of this chapter)
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