In the evening.
Gao Wenyin came to the lake and called to Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian in the pavilion: "Sanlang, Zhiqian, it's time to eat."
Xu Zhiqian replied: "Sister Gao, we..."
Zhang Fei answered first: "We will be there soon."
Gao Wenyin saw that the desk was full of documents and knew that they were busy with official business, so she didn't go over to disturb them. She stood at the intersection and said, "Then I'll go back and prepare. You can come later, it's not a big deal."
"OK."
Zhang Fei put down the document in his hand, rubbed his eyes with both hands, and looked at Xu Zhiqian again, "This work will never be finished."
"Have you thought about how to deal with it?" Xu Zhiqian said as she sorted out the documents on the table.
Zhang Fei frowned slightly. "Actually, regarding the salt notes, I had thought about this issue before I came here. I was well prepared and it was not unexpected."
Xu Zhiqian asked excitedly: "Then why are you still worried?"
...
...
Zhang Fei sighed, "I'm not worried that the Royal Court is too powerful and can decide the interests of too many people, which will force more and more people to stand against us. What I'm considering now is whether or not to hold a trial."
The reason why he could get by in Beijing was that he could eat at three different restaurants and move around freely. Originally, he came here with a plan to pull in some enemies and beat them up, but the other party didn't even give him a chance to breathe.
You can't offend everyone from the very beginning.
Xu Zhiqian asked curiously, "If we don't hold a trial, how can we resolve this?"
Zhang Fei said: "Private settlement. After all, this is just a contract dispute, not a criminal case. Private settlement is normal."
Xu Zhiqian said: "If merchants and government officials settle privately, it will definitely be the merchants who suffer losses. How can merchants be willing to do that?"
Zhang Fei said: "Private settlement does not mean we don't care, but we will mediate it."
Xu Zhiqian hesitated for a moment and said, "I think we can't take a step back. Otherwise, the other side will think that we are afraid and will be aggressive. You should know that it was the other side who started this matter. If you have a way, you might as well suppress them first and make them afraid."
Zhang Fei said: "The reason why they dared to stir up this matter is that they knew that if the merchants won the case, it would not affect their interests, but might cause financial problems, so that the Northwest Military could not get enough military funds, causing the military to stand on their side, which is what I least want to see.
The key is that if we want to handle this matter well, we must cooperate with them. If we sentence them and they can't come up with a solution, that would be terrible. So I have to discuss with them how to deal with the salt notes first. If we go straight to court, will they still be willing to cooperate with me?"
It is clearly written in black and white. According to the law, the businessman will definitely win the case. If Zhang Fei is allowed to prosecute the case, he can even charge it with fraud.
However, the imperial court can only judge whether it is legal or not, and cannot tell the salt officials what to do.
We must definitely reform the salt currency.
If you make a judgment but the other party cannot come up with a compensatory policy, or is unwilling to change, this will become very troublesome and will affect the Northwest military.
Therefore, it is necessary to discuss with the other party first before the Royal Court can take any subsequent actions.
"You are absolutely right!"
Xu Zhiqian suddenly stood up.
Zhang Fei looked up at her.
"Let's eat first." Xu Zhiqian said with a depressed look on her face: "Hearing what you said, this matter seems to be getting more and more complicated."
Zhang Fei laughed and stood up. "If you want to blame someone, blame that bastard Zhong Yan. I don't even know where the person is. If he had tried the case first, I would be the lover in the army. Why would it come to this?"
The most infuriating thing is that they don’t even give the other party a hint that the matter must be handled fairly.
We can only wait for them!
Fortunately, the procuratorate cannot file a lawsuit on behalf of the businessmen. It can only tell them that they can initiate the lawsuit themselves, or ask Erbi and Chashiren to help. For now, they have to wait for the businessmen to file the lawsuit themselves.
Zhang Fei also quickly asked Da Gou to secretly investigate the matter.
But within two days, the big dog came happily.
"Did you find out so quickly?"
Zhang Fei looked at the big dog in surprise.
The big dog chuckled: "Judge Zhang should have guessed it, right?"
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, "What did I guess?"
Da Gou's expression froze for a moment, and he said awkwardly, "What I mean is, if it was manipulated by someone behind the scenes, then we definitely wouldn't have gotten the news so quickly, so... so it's actually those businessmen who want to sue."
"merchant?"
"It can't be wrong."
Da Gou said, "In fact, they didn't hide this matter. Many salt merchants knew about it. But there were a few salt merchants and banknote merchants who didn't want to do it anymore. They thought the court didn't keep its word. The salt banknotes were increasing. They just happened to encounter this case. They saw that the court could still judge the government for breach of contract, so they decided to take a gamble and make the last profit."
"No wonder..."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I said they should calm down and not be so anxious. Are they really not afraid at all? These businessmen are really smart."
Big Dog said: "These salt merchants can be said to be the smartest businessmen in the world. It's no wonder that the court is always on guard against them and doesn't let them become bigger. Otherwise, they will inevitably become hidden dangers."
At this point, he whispered again: "In fact, the real big salt merchants all have powerful backers. They are also secretly supporting those salt merchants to file complaints. No matter what the imperial court decides, they will benefit."
Zhang Fei just smiled slightly, but thought in his heart, all crows are black, so no one should blame anyone else.
But the strange thing is that after three or four days, there was no movement from the merchant.
Whether it was Xu Zhiqian or Cai Jing and others, they all guessed that the businessmen were afraid because they saw that the procuratorate would not make decisions for them, so they did not dare to file a lawsuit.
Of course Zhang Fei was happy to see it.
Come later, bro!
Let me take a breath.
Don't be in a hurry!
However, it's really just a little bit late.
"Li Min has met Judge Zhang."
Li Min is also Li Guozhong's adopted son. When Zhang Fei invited Li Guozhong and others to open a branch, they said they would consider it, but their bodies were very honest.
Send a few people over, it doesn’t cost much, what if it works?
"When did you come?"
Zhang Fei asked with a smile.
Li Min said awkwardly, "It's been a few months."
Zhang Fei said, "He got here earlier than me!"
Li Min nodded with a simple and honest look on his face.
He had arrived a long time ago but had never dared to make it public. Li Guozhong repeatedly told them to wait until the imperial court had gained a foothold before starting any operations.
Without Zhang Fei, they would soon be eaten alive.
Zhang Fei knew that Qiu Zhengwen had probably arrived, but he had told him to keep his distance from him. He asked, "What do you want to see me about today?"
Li Min said embarrassedly: "It's like this. Recently, a group of salt merchants want to sue the government for breach of contract. The salt notes in their hands cannot be exchanged for enough salt."
Zhang Fei frowned, "You didn't tell anyone, how could they find you?"
Li Min hurriedly said, "Oh! Judge Zhang, please don't misunderstand me. I haven't negotiated with them yet, but at present, the tea and snacks in Hezhong Prefecture are not willing to accept them. Let me think about it."
Zhang Fei suddenly realized. No wonder the salt merchants were slow to come. It turned out that they couldn't find anyone to write the complaint. The local tea and snack makers and ear writers had never seen the world. Who would dare to take the case against the government for breach of contract? Didn't they want to get away with it?
But Li Min had been to Kaifeng Prefecture and had seen the world, so he knew that he could sue.
He was thinking that he would win the next lawsuit with great fanfare and open the store. If the lawsuit was handled fairly, he would be sure to win. However, the problem was that the person on the other side was the government, so he was not sure. He came to Zhang Fei in the hope of making sure whether he could win the lawsuit.
If he can't win, he won't take it. If he loses the first deal he opens, who would dare to come to him?
Zhang Fei was also very clear in his mind. He thought for a while and suddenly laughed, "You still want to bribe me?"
“No, no, no!”
Li Min hurriedly said, "I just want to know if I can sue the government for this?"
Zhang Fei said: "If there is solid evidence, of course it is possible, and this judge will definitely handle it fairly."
Li Min was delighted. As long as the case was handled fairly, the chances of losing the case were slim. He clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I understand."
"Wait a minute!"
Zhang Fei asked: "If I let you fight, what result would you seek?"
Li Min said: "Of course, we are asking the government to exchange salt according to the amount agreed upon by the salt notes."
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Is this what Li Xing Shou usually taught you?"
Li Min was stunned and said quickly, "I hope Judge Zhang can give me some advice."
Zhang Fei said: "If it were me, I would ask for interest from the court according to the situation. I can use the money to do other business and make some money! Helping clients recover what originally belonged to them is not a big deal. Asking for interest from the government is a real skill and it will make a big splash."
Li Min blinked, people are stupid.
As expected of Zhang Dayer, it is really ruthless.
Li Guozhong really can't make this up.
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Don't dare?"
"No!"
Li Min was stunned. "Thank you for your advice, Judge Zhang. I know what to do now."
Since Li Guozhong was able to send him here, he must have some courage. Otherwise, who would dare to come to Hezhong Prefecture to file a lawsuit?
After Li Min left, Zhang Fei immediately called out, "Li Si."
A figure immediately appeared in front of the door. It was Xu Zhiqian.
Zhang Fei was stunned. "Are you eavesdropping?"
"I just happened to pass by." Xu Zhiqian argued, and then asked anxiously: "What do you want to do?"
Zhang Fei frowned and said, "I can't avoid this case. You know I don't like to be passive. I want to take the initiative."
As he was talking, Li Si came over happily, "Third brother, you called me."
Zhang Fei said, "Please ask Scholar Yuan to come tomorrow."
"Why!"
But who would have thought that Yuan Jiang did not wait until tomorrow, but came directly with Li Si.
"Master Yuan, I!"
"It just so happens that I am free today."
Yuan Jiang waved his hand and said with a smile.
This old man is very smart. Zhang Fei laughed twice, "I'm afraid Master Yuan has guessed why I asked you to come here."
Yuan Jiang said: "Salt notes."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's right. If this matter comes to the imperial court, I will definitely rule that the government is in breach of contract, but I don't want to appear aggressive. I hope you can settle with the merchant privately."
After learning that it is not the other party who is causing trouble, if he opens another trial, the other party will feel that he is being aggressive.
Yuan Jiang sighed: "How can we reconcile? I can't afford so much salt!"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Yuan is a man of profound knowledge. How can such a trivial matter be difficult for him?"
Yuan Jiang said: "My solution is to delay. The court sent me here to improve the salt policy and improve the finances. Now I have to take out so much salt, and it will be difficult for me to report it! The key is that this will also affect the military expenditure of the border states, so it is not easy to move!"
It was said with a sigh.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "I have a solution."
Yuan Jiang was in high spirits and asked hurriedly, "What's the good plan, Judge Zhang?"
I was wondering why you were in such a hurry to come here. It turns out you have me in your arms. Zhang Fei knew this, but there was nothing he could do. If the government couldn't handle it, he wouldn't dare to judge. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Actually, my method is just to slightly change the method of Master Yuan."
Yuan Jiang was surprised and asked: "My method?"
"drag!"
".?"
Yuan Jiang looked at Zhang Fei puzzledly.
Is that my solution?
It's obviously perfunctory!
Zhang Fei said: "If you drag your feet without any skills, you are called a scoundrel, commonly known as a deadbeat."
As expected of Zhang Daer's pen, his mouth is really powerful! Yuan Jiang asked: "What is the skillful dragging?"
Zhang Fei said: "It means turning the salt notes they currently hold into debt, paying them interest every year, and then agreeing on a year to return the principal."
(End of this chapter)
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