The sun sets.
The case will be heard in court tomorrow, but Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian are still sitting by the lake, reviewing relevant evidence and discussing the matter tirelessly.
There is actually no secret to legal work. It just requires diligence and meticulousness. Outsiders only see the glorious side of it and seem to take it for granted.
Little did they know that Zhang Fei worked harder than any other spies.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to produce so much surprising evidence in court.
But no one has learned this trick yet.
Even though Fan Chunren, Su Zhe and others realized that Zhang Fei's approach to lawsuits was all about detail, they could never be as detailed as Zhang Fei.
It's not that they don't work hard enough. This may be related to the contemporary writing style. Nowadays, a sentence is just a few words, and what matters is brevity and refinement, and the pursuit of artistic conception. However, the law pursues lengthiness and meticulousness, the kind that makes people drowsy when reading it.
Maybe this kind of thinking is also disturbing them.
"The trial will begin tomorrow, and it seems that the government really doesn't intend to hire an informant." Zhang Fei put down the documents in his hand and softened his eyes.
...
...
Xu Zhiqian nodded as she put the label on it. "They may not realize the importance of this ear pen yet."
Zhang Fei said: "Zhengwen and the others have arrived, do you want to..."
"That won't do."
Xu Zhiqian immediately objected, "The Legal Aid Department only has so many people, and it mainly helps poor people to fight lawsuits. The government is not without money, so who can they blame if they don't hire someone themselves?"
Zhang Fei hesitated and said, "But according to the system, our Royal Court can appoint an informant from the Legal Aid Department to represent one of the parties in the lawsuit."
He still hoped for a more fair trial. He knew that the government did not look for him not because they were stingy with money, but because they did not realize the importance of the ear pen in today's trials.
Xu Zhiqian insisted, "But Zhengwen is not an ordinary spies, and is no worse than Li Min. If people find out that the free ones are better than the paid ones, they will all seek help from the Legal Aid Department. Then the poor will have no one to sue. I think this rule needs to be changed. The Legal Aid Department can only help those poor people in litigation."
Zhang Fei felt that what Xu Zhiqian said made some sense. At present, there are really too many poor people, but the Legal Aid Department has limited resources.
Seeing that Zhang Fei was still hesitant, Xu Zhiqian continued, "Besides, if the government doesn't take the initiative to hire an informant, if we, the imperial court, help them to appoint one, they might blame us if they lose, which is a thankless task. We have already told them that they can hire an informant, but they don't want to. Obviously, they also hope to win the case."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Okay, you decide the rules."
Xu Zhiqian gladly accepted it. She had always been in charge of legal aid. She added, "I heard that many people went to the procuratorate to apply for prosecutors. Why not let Mr. Su Xiao help promote the Legal Aid Department? Those who fail the exam can come to work at the Legal Aid Department and gain experience."
Zhang Fei said: "That's fine, but I think there may not be many people coming for the time being. After all, prosecutors can be officials, but the Legal Aid Department is not yet a formal government agency."
Xu Zhiqian said: "If Li Min wins this lawsuit, it will definitely change the people of Hezhong Prefecture's views on ear pens. Maybe it will attract a lot of people. Isn't it the same in Kaifeng Prefecture?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
At this moment, Li Si suddenly came running over, panting slightly and said, "Third brother, the price of salt notes outside has risen by another hundred coins, and now it has reached four strings of coins."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I understand."
Xu Zhiqian asked curiously, "Why are you interested in the price of the salt notes? Is this related to this case?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I just want to know whether the salt notes are more popular among the people. After all, the government will have to continue to use them in the future. So far, it seems to be quite good and the response is relatively fast."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But the original price of the salt notes was 4.800 coins, and it has only risen to 4 coins now. It seems that there are still many people who think that those salt merchants may not win the lawsuit."
Zhang Fei then asked Li Si: "Is there a lot of transactions?"
Li Si shook his head and said, "I just asked if anyone had made an offer, but I haven't heard of anyone actually selling their salt notes."
Zhang Fei nodded, and then said to Xu Zhiqian: "At present, there is a price but no demand, and both parties are just shouting. This price is relatively false, but at least it can reflect that merchants are still keen on speculating in salt notes."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Of course it's a good thing. Giving interest to salt notes is also to make them more liquid. Any commodity must be circulated to have value. If the market does not recognize salt notes, then this is really just a lawsuit and will not have much impact."
......
The next day.
It was still daybreak when there were already crowds of people in front of the imperial court. Even the seats in the courtyard were full. It turned out that the imperial court had moved up the opening time from 3:15 pm to 3:15 pm, a full hour earlier.
This is because the weather has been too hot recently. The last time the review lasted until noon, which seriously ruined the reviewer experience.
But no matter how early, those officials will arrive early. This lawsuit may seem simple, but the significance of this judgment is very important.
Officials were very nervous about this.
"If the imperial court really judges that the government has breached the contract and needs to compensate those salt merchants, will the government really compensate them?"
Hedong County Lieutenant Liu Daxing asked curiously.
The surrounding officials were also looking around.
Not to mention that they have never seen it with their own eyes, there is no record of it even in history books. There is really no trace to be found, and they don't know what it will become.
"I don't know that either."
Wei Yingfang shook his head and glanced at Qin Zhongshou beside him and said, "If the government really wants to pay out hundreds of thousands of strings of cash as compensation, Commander Qin, your military expenditures will definitely have to be reduced a lot this year!"
Qin Zhongshou snorted, "Hundreds of thousands of strings of cash for military expenses? Fine, if the army gets in chaos, you will be responsible."
Wei Yingfang hurriedly said, "Commander Qin, I was just giving you a kind reminder, why are you blaming me? Wasn't the original issuance of salt notes for military expenses? If we want to make up for this sum of money, we can only deduct it from the military expenses."
Qin Zhongshou said: "Aren't the public security, procuratorate and courts also included in the finances of Hezhong Prefecture? Why don't you deduct their money? They are the ones who judged the case."
Cao Yi smiled and said, "Their total expenditure is only that much. If they have to deduct anything, it must be from the military expenditure."
Qin Zhongshou said unhappily, "I don't care what you do. If something goes wrong, you will be responsible for it."
Liu Daxing suddenly said: "The court said that we are not subordinate to each other, so why can the imperial court interfere in our political affairs?"
Qin Zhongshou immediately said, "That's right! Just ignore him."
Wei Yingfang chuckled and said, "We don't want to care about it either. Unfortunately, both Prefect Cai and Scholar Yuan are afraid of the public security, procuratorate and courts. If they don't take the lead, what's the point of us taking action?"
“Ahem!”
Cao Yi suddenly coughed twice and glanced to the side again.
Cai Yanqing and Yuan Jiang came into the courtyard.
Qin Zhongshou immediately walked over and asked, "Prefect Cai, Scholar Yuan, if the imperial court really decides to compensate the salt merchants, it cannot be deducted from the military budget!"
Cai Yanqing frowned and asked, "Who is spreading rumors?"
Qin Zhongshou's expression changed, and he chuckled, "No one is spreading rumors, it's just... the soldiers are very worried."
Yuan Jiang said: "Commander Qin, rest assured, the military expenses that should be given will not be reduced by a penny."
Qin Zhongshou heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's fine."
Liu Daxing also stepped forward to discuss this matter. "Prefect Cai, Scholar Yuan, compared to the army, the people in our yamen are even more panicked. They were already afraid of losing their jobs when the police, procuratorate and courts came, and now they are even more worried."
Cai Yanqing said: "There has been no verdict on this case yet, what are you worrying about?"
Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "What Magistrate Cai said makes sense. The case has not been decided yet, so don't be impatient. I believe that Judge Zhang is a sensible person and will not deliberately make things difficult for the government."
Liu Daxing said awkwardly: "I hope so."
But they all knew in their hearts that you either don't try the case at all, or the government will definitely lose if the case goes to trial. They don't even have the mentality to win, and even asking for help is a nuisance.
However, the treasury was not rich to begin with, and if this sum of money was to be supplemented, it would certainly cost hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, and expenditures would have to be reduced. All parties were worried that the cuts would fall on themselves.
Especially the military, they are a big contributor to the finances.
Wei Yingfang and his colleagues were well aware of the mentality of all parties and deliberately fanned the flames to create panic.
After a while, Su Che, Cai Jing and others came into the courtyard.
This time, the corridor next to Su Che was finally completed and welcomed its first user. Li Min and his three deputies also entered the corridor.
As soon as they came in, there was a burst of discussion outside the courtyard.
Li Min has been in the limelight recently. This request for interest is really explosive and exciting.
Is it still possible to do this?
After a while, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian went up to the podium, and the courtyard gradually became quiet.
After a little preparation, Zhang Fei glanced at the sky, looked around, and said loudly: "Because the weather has been very hot recently, in order to conduct the trial in a more comfortable environment, the chief judge has decided to advance the opening time to 3:15 a.m. in the future. The opening time will also change according to the weather. If you want to attend the trial, you need to pay attention to the notice posted by the imperial court in time.
Show. "
Thoughtful!
This handsome judge is still so considerate.
The people's favorable impression towards Zhang Fei is really overwhelming.
Cai Jing stood up again and said, "Today our court is hearing a case concerning a salt merchant suing the Salt Administration for breach of contract."
After he sat down, Zhang Fei knocked the gavel and said, "The court is officially open. The plaintiff's representative Erbi will speak first."
Li Min stood up, bowed, and said, "I implore the judge to summon the plaintiff Duan Chaobei to testify in court."
"pass."
As soon as he stood up, discussions arose all around him.
This is the first time in Hezhong Prefecture that an envoy can be seen in court. Previously, it was the procuratorate that performed the duties, but today the procuratorate is only here to supervise.
Not only is this ear pen on par with the Attorney General, but it also seems that there is no difference between the two.
Is the status so high?
Almost all the spies from Hezhong Prefecture had arrived. When they saw this scene, their eyes became moist and they felt that their spring was finally coming.
After a while, Duan Chaobei came to the court. It was early in the morning and the breeze was blowing, but he was sweating profusely and fidgeting, as if he was in the scorching heat. Although they had witnessed the imperial court trial, the feeling of actually sitting in it was completely different.
Li Min asked: "Duan Chaobei, where are you from?"
Duan Chaobei replied: "I am from Luoyang."
Li Min asked again: "Why are you in Hezhong Prefecture?"
Duan Chaobei said: "I have been engaged in the salt trade, so I often stay in Hezhong Prefecture."
"May I ask how many years have you been selling salt?"
"More than ten years. Twelve years to be exact."
"But I heard that you are going to change your career recently?"
"right!"
.....
Zhang Fei leaned back slightly when he heard this and whispered, "This Li Min looks pretty good!"
Xu Zhiqian whispered, "Don't underestimate him because he is young. He has fought hundreds of cases at the Legal Aid Department. He is actually no worse than Li Lei."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This only shows that he has experience, but it is hard to say what his specific methods are. After all, the other party doesn't have an ear pen, so he has a great advantage!"
Then Li Min asked, "Really? You've been doing this for twelve years, why did you suddenly change your career?"
Duan Chaobei said: "That's because the salt business has become increasingly difficult recently."
"Why is that?"
"According to the rules set by the government, we salt merchants transport money to the border, buy salt notes from there, and then go to the designated salt ponds to exchange salt with the salt notes. However, in the past four years, the amount of salt exchanged for the salt notes has been decreasing, and in many cases, we can't even exchange for salt."
"Can you tell me more specifically how much salt the salt notes could have been exchanged for originally and how much salt they can be exchanged for now?"
"Originally, one salt note could be exchanged for 200 kilograms of salt, but now it is 110 or 120 kilograms."
"Salt notes can be exchanged for 200 kilograms of salt. Is this an unwritten rule or a clear government regulation?"
"It is clearly stipulated by the government."
Duan Chaobei said excitedly: "The government issued a clear notice at the beginning. Before that, it was always possible to exchange 200 kilograms. It has only been in recent years that the amount has gradually decreased."
Li Min asked again: "What did the government say?"
Duan Chaobei said: "The government just said that there is not enough salt in the salt pond, so one salt note can only be exchanged for 110 or 120 kilograms. Many times the government simply refused to exchange it for us because there is no salt.
Later, the government issued a salt note worth 60 kilograms of salt, but the original salt note could only be exchanged for two, which still amounted to 120 kilograms of salt.
Li Min asked, "Could it be that the government has changed the rules, but you just don't know about it?"
"impossible!"
Duan Chaobei said: "The government has never issued any notice on this matter, and we have also signed a contract with the government."
Li Min nodded, picked up another piece of evidence, and said to Zhang Fei: "Judge, this is the contract between Duan Chaobei and the government, as well as the notice issued by the government at the time. It can prove that the salt notes issued by the government are worth 200 kilograms of salt, and the value of the salt notes has never been changed."
"Present."
......
"He already has the evidence, so why is he asking? Can't he just present it directly? This is really a trick!"
Qin Zhongshou said with a look of disdain.
Fu Shichun on the side said with a smile: "Uncle Qin, this is something you don't know. The purpose of this lawsuit is to convince the president of the court and the procuratorate. They will only ask questions that are beneficial to them."
Cao Dongdong said anxiously: "But why doesn't the government clear the ears?"
Qin Zhongshou said: "We can't win this lawsuit even if we file a lawsuit."
Cao Dongdong said: "That's not the case. If we can invite Zhang San, we can win the lawsuit."
Qin Zhongshou was surprised and asked, "Really?"
Cao Dongdong nodded and kindly reminded him, "If Uncle Qin gets into trouble in the future, you must hire an informant. You can't save money. Back then, you told the coach that I raped... Xiaochun. Why did you stab me?"
Fu Shichun rolled his eyes and said, "A good man never brags about his past achievements."
Cao Dongdong suddenly woke up, sat up straight and watched the situation carefully.
The military officers on the side all looked at Cao Dongdong.
"Yanei, you haven't finished yet?"
"Hmm... this Li Min does have some tricks up his sleeve!"
"......?"
After Li Min presented the evidence, he continued to ask Duan Chaobei: "Did you exchange the salt notes for salt?"
Duan Chaobei shook his head and said, "Of course not. If they only charge me 120 kilograms, then... I will lose everything I put in."
"What do you mean?"
"We need 4,800 coins to exchange for a salt note, which is 24 coins per jin. If we add the shipping cost, if we sell it to Jingdong Road, we have to sell it for at least 40 coins per jin to make a profit. But if it is 120 jin, the cost is 40 coins per jin, plus the shipping cost, we have to sell it for at least 50 or 60 coins to make a profit. But with 50 or 60 coins, we can't sell it at all, and we may even be punished by the government."
As he spoke, Duan Chaobei looked aggrieved and choked up, "So we have been staying in Hezhong Prefecture, hoping that the government can give us salt in full. In the past two or three years, all my money has been tied up in these salt notes. I can't do anything but live off my savings. Sometimes, I even have to borrow money to get by."
The acting was good and the words were touching, but compared to Wu Zhangshi and Huang Tong before, the people watching the trial this time were very calm. Although they hoped that the salt merchants would win, that was only against the government. They were not stupid. They couldn't even feed themselves, so who would sympathize with these big salt merchants?
The officials were even more disdainful and wished they could take action themselves. Who doesn’t know people like you? You still need to borrow money to make ends meet. Do you think we are stupid?
Li Min asked again: "How much salt notes do you have now?"
Duan Chaobei said: "A total of twelve thousand strings of cash."
The people shook their heads when they heard this. You can come up with so much money, and you are still crying poor?
Li Min asked: "Did you get this in one go?"
Duan Chaobei shook his head and said, "No! It was divided into three parts, because the government repeatedly promised that as long as we continued to sell salt, we would be given enough salt, but it has not been fulfilled until now."
Li Min nodded and asked, "If you had been able to exchange the salt for the full amount, would your life be different?"
Duan Chaobei immediately said, "That would definitely be much better than now. In recent years, I have stayed in Hezhong Prefecture every day, waiting day and night, and I haven't earned a penny."
"I'm done asking questions."
Li Min bowed to Zhang Fei and then sat down.
"He lied."
"I don't believe he didn't make a penny."
"He is very wealthy, why would he borrow money to get by?"
......
Voices of dissatisfaction suddenly arose from the surrounding area.
"quiet!"
Zhang Fei just hit it with a wooden hammer.
Xu Zhiqian whispered: "This salt merchant must not be telling the truth."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Who told the government not to invite spies?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "Aren't you going to expose their lies?"
Zhang Fei said: "I am the presiding judge now, not a spy. As long as they can produce evidence to prove what they said, it will be fine. If they can't prove it, just ignore it. The key is that these pitiful words will not have any impact on this case. They can't even move the people."
Then he said to Li Min, "Since the other party did not ask for an ear pen, the plaintiff's representative ear pen can continue to testify."
A hint of joy flashed in Li Min's eyes. This was really a great start!
He then subpoenaed the remaining six plaintiffs.
All kinds of grievances, all kinds of pity, and all kinds of hints that the government does not keep its promises.
The officials were so angry that they were fuming, but they could do nothing about it.
"Your Honor, all my witnesses have appeared in court."
"Um."
Zhang Fei nodded and said loudly: "Summon He Yanjian to appear in court."
Li Min did not summon any official, they were all on his own side, but logically speaking, questioning the officials was the key, Li Min had discussed this with Zhang Fei. He was new here and still a little timid, because if you want to question the officials, you will definitely ask them to death.
But who would dare to dig into this muddy water? Li Min didn't know what she would find out.
In addition, the other party did not ask for help, so Zhang Fei came to the government to inquire in person.
.
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