Is he teaching us how to do things?
All the officials looked at Zhang Fei in stunned silence.
No need to worry about anger!
Don’t dare to question!
Too late to stop it!
This verdict really caught everyone by surprise.
Let’s not talk about whether this judgment is reasonable.
What is certain is that this judgment will break the existing power structure, because they suddenly understand that the imperial court can actually rule that the government is derelict in its duty and has breached the contract.
This is simply unimaginable.
This is definitely a historic verdict.
...
...
This has never happened even in Kaifeng Prefecture.
Zhang Fei only sued the government, and suing the government was not uncommon in the Northern Song Dynasty, but the result was at most to vindicate the plaintiff, and then the emperor would punish the official, but would not say that the government had violated the law.
The reason is that politics and law are integrated. We cannot say that those who pass the law are guilty. This is illogical.
Now that politics and law are separated, it is natural to make such a judgment.
This verdict also seems to be waving to those officials, welcoming them to the era of separation of politics and law.
"This Zhang San is really very capable."
The court had already left, but Chen Qi was still sitting at the table, looking at the salt law on the document, and said in disbelief: "In our opinion, this is a decree and should be enforced, but if it is regarded as a contract, then this judgment is really reasonable.
No wonder he had asked He Yanjian and others to testify in court. It turned out that he wanted to prove that the court had violated the contract. If this law was not valid, then the salt sold by Huang Tong would not be considered private salt. Awesome! Awesome!"
Su Che smiled and said, "In fact, the reason why this case is difficult to judge is that the salt administration cannot afford to make mistakes. Such a judgment did not undermine the salt law, but instead prompted the court to improve the system. This is the most valuable."
Chen Qi suddenly understood.
This is the most difficult part.
Zhang Fei's judgment was not to violate the Salt Law, but to comply with the Salt Law. The salt capital and rice had to be given to the salt households in full. If they were given, and then sold salt again, it would be considered as selling private salt.
Su Che added: "But we have to reflect on this. We have failed in this lawsuit again, and this is something we should have considered."
He really didn't expect that he couldn't get over this problem so quickly. As far as common sense was concerned, this law must be enforced. They felt that no matter what, Huang Tong was definitely smuggling salt and the evidence was solid.
In the past, some upright and benevolent prefects used their power to exempt salt households from the death penalty and adopt a light punishment to serve as a warning to others.
I won't explain it from a legal perspective.
But the imperial court is different from the government. It is a pure law enforcer and must give legal interpretations.
However, this salt law involves transaction issues and has contractual attributes.
As long as it can be proved that the government did not fulfill the contract first, Huang Tong would not be considered illegal.
The government had no evidence to prove that Huang Tong should be fined for the salt capital. Those funds were not recorded in the case because the money had been paid out, but it just did not reach Huang Tong, so there was no way to record it.
I can only say it.
This is why Zhang Fei said those words at the end. If you don’t even record the deductions of money and salt, how can I trust you?
Chen Qi scratched his head and said, "This requires a lot of courage."
As he spoke, he looked at the officials who hurried past him, "And not everyone is necessarily convinced."
Su Che looked up and saw Wei Yingfang, He Chunlin and others chasing after them.
......
In the court, Wei Yingfang and his men dared not say a word because they had a clean record, but that did not mean they would agree with the verdict. If you find us irresponsible, how can we work in the future?
This is equivalent to restricting their power.
How can this be possible?
He immediately ran to Zhang Fei angrily.
But when he saw Zhang Fei, Wei Yingfang's expression suddenly changed, and he was filled with a friendly smile. He even bowed and said, "Judge Zhang is indeed worthy of his reputation. This judgment is an eye-opener for us."
He Chunlin, who was standing aside, had a blank expression on his face, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
"No way! No way! Judge Wei is too kind."
Zhang Fei said, and sighed heavily again, "To be honest, I am very dissatisfied with this verdict. This is the worst possible solution, and it is also a helpless measure."
I don't believe you!
Wei Ying didn't believe it at first, but he still pretended to be curious and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said, "Because according to our imperial court's investigation, there are many people selling private salt. County Magistrate Liu just explained this point, and I believe you all know it."
Wei Yingfang and the others remained silent.
"so what."
Zhang Fei said: "If the imperial court sentences Huang Tong to death, then it is possible that all salt producers will be sentenced to death. In this case, who would be willing to produce salt? This will greatly undermine the salt policy."
Wei Yingfang stroked his beard, nodded slightly, and said, "But if you rule that Huang Tong's salt trafficking is legal, it will also lead to the proliferation of private salt, and the salt administration will also be greatly damaged."
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "What Judge Wei said is exactly the most difficult part of this case. I know the importance of salt administration to finance. I cannot invalidate the salt law, so I did not rule that selling private salt is legal. I just ruled that the government breached the contract first, so the salt sold by Huang Tong is not considered private salt. But if the government did not breach the contract, then what Huang Tong did was selling private salt, and this judgment did not change anything."
Wei Yingfang suddenly felt like he had shot himself in the foot.
He had thought of this a long time ago, so he directed such a drama, making it wrong for the imperial court to make a judgment, and it would also be wrong not to make a judgment.
But it ended up hitting his own instep.
I want to cry!
Uncomfortable!
He Chunlin on the side couldn't help but said angrily: "Judge Zhang said it lightly, but Judge Zhang knows how difficult it is to manage the salt administration. No matter where the salt is stored, it will be lost. If we can't deliver, we have to make up for it ourselves. Aren't you deliberately making things difficult for us?"
He was the most annoyed. This was tantamount to judicial interference in salt administration. He would have to be careful in everything he did in the future. The key point was that those salt households might not listen to them in the future. With the support of the royal court, they would not exploit or oppress them.
The difficulty of the work has greatly increased.
Zhang Fei hurriedly explained: "Of course I know the difficulties of He Yanjian, so I asked the government to write it clearly and clearly divide the responsibilities. The problem now is that a lot of salt and money can't be traced."
He Chunlin smiled coldly, "Does Judge Zhang think that I am corrupt?"
Zhang Fei's expression suddenly changed, and he said calmly: "First of all, this judge only looks at the evidence and never speculates. There is currently no evidence to prove that He Yanjian has committed corruption and bribery. Secondly, is He Yanjian threatening this judge?"
“I don’t dare!”
He Chunlin said: "How dare I threaten Judge Zhang? But if I can't collect the salt, the court will blame me......!"
"Superintendent He Yan can rest assured about this."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You will never blame me."
He Chunlin was surprised and asked, "Why do you think so?"
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I am not in charge of the salt administration. What does the failure to collect salt have to do with me? It's like if the imperial court misjudged a case, the court would never blame the salt supervisor."
At this point, he paused for a moment, "Besides! I didn't want to be the president of the court here, but the government and the vice chancellors forced me to come because there was no other suitable candidate.
But I believe that many people would rush to take up the post of Salt Supervisor. If the Salt Supervisor fails to collect salt, the court can just replace him with someone else. There is nothing to blame. As the saying goes, the competent person gets the job. "
What I mean is, if you are unhappy, you can just quit. There are a lot of people like you, so who do you think you are?
"you...!"
He Chunlin stood up suddenly.
"Please be patient, both of you!"
Wei Yingfang also stood up in a hurry, standing between the two men, and said, "Don't blame me, Judge Zhang. In fact, many things are not as simple as you think. This verdict will indeed bring some trouble to He Yanjian."
Zhang Fei also said aggrievedly: "Wei Tongpan, I have actually understood the difficulties faced by the salt officials. I have not asked too many questions. I do not want to dwell on the past. Only by making such a judgment can we continue to maintain the smooth operation of the salt administration and avoid changing everything at present.
But understanding should be mutual. If my kindness is only met with criticism, next time I will not rack my brains and just judge the case as it should be."
A hint of fear flashed in He Chunlin's eyes.
Wei Yingfang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, thank you Judge Zhang for your good intentions. We will find a way to improve the system and try not to cause trouble for Judge Zhang."
"Thank you, Judge Wei, for your understanding."
Zhang Fei cupped his hands and sighed again, "I really don't know which damn bastard did this."
Wei Yingfang's mouth twitched. This judge was really unusual. He cursed and even cursed his parents. He was indeed an ear writer. But he tried to probe: "Does Judge Zhang think that someone did this intentionally?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Of course it is. Those salt merchants have been selling private salt for a long time, and I haven't seen them report it to the government. I encountered this right after I arrived. Someone must be deliberately trying to alienate the relationship between our imperial court and the salt officials."
Wei Yingfang asked hurriedly: "If that's the case, why doesn't Judge Zhang investigate those who leaked the information?"
Zhang Fei said: "This cannot be investigated. Theoretically, he is helping the police enforce the law. Even if someone
If you do that, it’s not illegal.”
Wei Yingfang nodded slightly, "Thinking about it this way, it is indeed true. It seems that this is just a misunderstanding."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It's the best that Judge Wei thinks so."
"Fortunately, the misunderstanding has been clarified now." Wei Yingfang nodded with a smile, and then bowed and said, "Then we will not bother Judge Zhang anymore. Goodbye."
“Go slowly!”
After they left, Xu Zhiqian stepped forward and snorted, "I didn't expect them to be so self-righteous. If I had known this would happen, I should have gotten to the bottom of it."
Zhang Fei glanced at her and said with a wry smile, "This ice is three feet thick, and it didn't freeze overnight. If we really fall out, it will only hurt both sides."
Just at this moment, Li Si suddenly came over and said, "Third brother, Yuan Daxueshi is here."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Here comes the fisherman."
Back hall.
The couple came to the back hall and saw a scholar in his fifties, dressed simply and with extraordinary bearing, sitting inside. "Your humble servant Zhang San greets Scholar Yuan."
This scholar was Yuan Jiang.
Yuan Jiang quickly stood up, bowed in return, and said with a chuckle: "Since I came here, Judge Zhang has given me such a great gift. I am so grateful! Thank you! Thank you!"
He was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Perhaps Scholar Yuan should not thank me. After all, the instigator of this case was someone else."
After hearing this, Yuan Jiang couldn't help but laugh, "But they are shooting themselves in the foot!"
.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
