Looking west tower.
The two bartenders were bent over, holding on to the door, breathing slightly, listening to the noisy voices inside.
One of the bartenders looked back and saw the packed house. He couldn't help but turn back and asked, "What day is today? Why are there so many customers all of a sudden?"
"Didn't you hear them just now? They were all talking about the Imperial Court."
"What did the Royal Court do?"
"It seems to be about some big case."
As they were chatting, they saw a sturdy middle-aged man in simple clothes walking into the building, exhausted.
A bartender immediately stepped forward and said, "Sir, I'm so sorry, the restaurant is full today."
Before he could finish his words, someone slapped him hard on the back of his head. The bartender turned around abruptly, but when he saw it was the shopkeeper, he immediately became intimidated and lowered his head and stepped aside.
But the shopkeeper ignored the two bartenders and instead bowed to the middle-aged man and said, "Please come in, Zhong Qinxia. Please come in. General Zhe and the others are on the second floor."
...
...
"Thank you!" The middle-aged man nodded and went straight up to the second floor.
After asking the middle-aged man to go upstairs, the shopkeeper returned to the door, pulled the two bartenders to a corner outside the door, and scolded them, "You are blind. You don't even recognize Zhong Qinxia."
It turned out that the middle-aged man was named Zhong Gu, the eldest son of the famous general Zhong Shiheng and the elder brother of Zhong Yan. He currently served as the governor of Jingyuan Road and the magistrate of Yuanzhou.
The two bartenders felt very aggrieved, they really didn’t know each other!
The shopkeeper added, "Remember this, no matter who you are today, no matter if there are seats inside, please go inside first."
"Yes, I remember it."
Then the bartender asked cautiously, "Boss, what happened today?"
The shopkeeper said, "Haven't you heard that the case concerning General Xiaozhong will be tried in the imperial court of our Hezhong Prefecture? All these generals are here for this case."
"I see. No wonder they are all talking about some lawsuit."
"You have to keep your spirits up these days, because all the guests here are distinguished guests."
"Got it. Got it."
When Zhong Gu went up to the second floor, he immediately saw a man standing up and shouting, "Brother Zhong, this way."
Zhong Gu immediately walked over and bowed to the two leaders at the wine table, saying, "Brother Zhe Shi, Brother Yao Xian."
The older one is named Zhe Jizu, and he is the prefect of Fuzhou, and the current leader of the Zhe family army.
The younger one is named Yao Si. His father, Yao Bao, died in battle in Dingchuan during the reign of Emperor Renzong. He is currently serving as the governor of Huanqing Road.
There were several people standing behind the two of them, all of them were generals from the Northwest, including Qin Zhongshou.
After some greetings, they sat down. Zhong Gu raised his glass and said, "Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come and support my third brother."
Zhe Jizu waved his hand and said, "Don't be so polite, Dazhi. This case is not just about Zhong Sanlang alone, it is also closely related to each of us. I heard that this is not a special case. In the future, most of our military cases will be handed over to the public security, procuratorate and court for trial."
"I've heard about that, too."
Zhong Gu nodded and said, "But what is going on with the public security, procuratorate and court?"
Several people looked at Qin Zhongshou.
Qin Zhongshou hurriedly told Zhong Gu what had happened during this period.
Zhong Gu nodded slightly, "It seems that the imperial court's trial is fair."
Zhe Jizu said: "If it is just about fairness, without considering success or failure, your brother's case will not be good."
In any case, Zhong Yan did not obey orders and sent troops on his own, but he won.
Justice is not necessarily a good thing!
Lu Shen was a very upright official.
Zhong Gu was again frowning.
Qin Zhongshou also nodded repeatedly and said, "It is still unclear which side the imperial court is leaning towards. Although he is currently fighting with the civil officials, he has not considered our military expenses at all when compensating the salt merchants. In the end, it was Scholar Yuan who came up with the salt debt method, which prevented the military expenses from being cut."
Yao Si said: "I heard that the trial date has not been set yet because the royal court is dissatisfied with the government for not allocating funds to them."
Qin Zhongshou nodded and said, "That's right."
After hearing this, Zhong Gu hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Qin Zhongshou explained the matter again.
Zhong Gu's heart was in suspense when he heard this. "This is simply treating the emperor's order as a joke. These two things are not related at all."
Qin Zhongshou said, "I also specially asked Zhang San, a good friend of Judge Zhang, the current Hezhong Prefecture police chief Cao Dongdong. According to Cao Dongdong, Zhang San is very petty and will take revenge for any slight. This is his usual style."
Hearing this, Zhong Gu couldn't help but sweat all over his face and felt very disappointed.
Royal Court.
"Judge Zhang, aren't you going too far by doing this?"
Su Che said to Zhang Fei in a panic.
"Overdoing it?"
Zhang Fei looked surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
Su Che said: "This is one matter. The government did not allocate funds to you. It is the government's fault. We can report this to the court, but you cannot use this case to threaten the government! You are here to try this case by order of the emperor."
Xu Zhiqian, who was standing by, was also looking at Zhang Fei with great concern.
Zhang Fei immediately said, "The Attorney General must speak with evidence. When did I threaten the government? There is no money, and the witnesses will not show up. What can I do?"
This is a perfect excuse.
Su Zhe could not help but say earnestly, "But it is not a good idea for you to continue making trouble like this. At present, all the civil and military officials of Hezhong Prefecture have come here. They have expressed their dissatisfaction. Some even came to my procuratorate and expressed their intention to sue your imperial court."
Zhang Fei said: "If you have evidence, you can sue me, but you can't sue me. This is against the rules. You should submit it to the procuratorate in the capital first, and then the procuratorate there will file a lawsuit with the Dali Temple."
Su Che was dumbfounded and said in confusion: "But if you do this, it will also affect the authority of the imperial court."
"What authority?"
Zhang Fei said, "I have been here for such a long time, and the two parties have just arrived. Now that they are here, I will start the trial immediately. Doesn't my imperial court have any face?"
Seeing that Zhang Fei was not moved, Su Zhe also had a severe headache and could not help but look at Xu Zhiqian.
Xu Zhiqian whispered, "Judge Zhang!"
"Shut up!"
Zhang Fei immediately reprimanded her, and then said to Su Zhe: "Mr. Su, there are no outsiders here, so I will tell you clearly that even if the government comes, if they don't allocate money, I won't try the case, and the procuratorate can sue us. This is your duty. If it were me, I might also choose to sue. This is indeed suspected of dereliction of duty."
"I see."
Su Zhe nodded and stood up, "Su is leaving now."
It's useless even if the government comes, so there's no point in persuading them.
Zhang Fei said, "I'll take Mr. Su there."
“No need!”
Su Che bowed and went out.
Zhang Fei still walked him to the door, but when he turned around, he saw Xu Zhiqian's cold eyes and immediately said, "In this room, you are the chief clerk and I am the presiding judge. Can't I scold you? It is very unprofessional to look at your superior like this."
Xu Zhiqian's expression changed slightly, and she said aggrievedly: "But you have to be reasonable. Mr. Su is thinking about you. If you continue like this, you will offend both the civil and military officials. I heard that people from several major military families in the northwest are all here. If we anger them, we will not be able to move forward here!"
Originally, she had no objection to Zhang Fei's doing this, but she just had some worries. But now the situation is completely different. All the civil servants from Hezhong Prefecture and people from major military families in the northwest have come. These people have a very important status in the Song Dynasty. Seeing that this matter is getting bigger and bigger, it is really scary.
Not to mention his father, even Wang Anshi wouldn't dare to play like this!
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I am the presiding judge. I am here to convince people with the law. I am trying my best to please them. If the verdict is unfair, it will be meaningless to please them now. But if I make a good judgment, I will just leave them alone. Then everyone will become friendly and respectful to me."
Xu Zhiqian said, "It's not as easy as you say. Don't forget that you have many enemies. Those officials will definitely file a petition to impeach you."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "What are you impeaching me for? Are you paying for overtime? If those officials were all like me, there would be no need for reform in the Song Dynasty."
Government office!
"What did you say?"
Wei Yingfang looked at Zhuoqun, the chief clerk, in shock. "The procuratorate intends to sue the imperial court in the capital?"
Zhuo Qun nodded and said, "Yes, it seems that Su Ziyou also went to the imperial court to persuade Zhang San, but Zhang San still did not want to go to trial, so the procuratorate had no choice but to prosecute."
"madman!"
Wei Yingfang immediately shouted, "This is a lunatic!"
Is it worth it for this little money?
This is simply a case of destroying both sides!
Cai Yanqing glanced at him and said, "You're not bad either!"
"I!"
Wei Yingfang glanced at Cai Yanqing nervously.
Cai Yanqing was too lazy to speak. Just keep wasting time. Then we will die together.
After Yuan Jiang escaped, he didn't want to continue causing trouble, but Wei Yingfang and others strongly demanded that he fight back, otherwise it would be too embarrassing for the government office.
Xue Zhi, the magistrate of Hedong County, said: "If we continue like this, it won't work. People outside have said that our government office is withholding the royal court's funds in an attempt to interfere with the royal court's trial."
Because this matter doesn't seem very political. Why would Zhang Fei disregard the emperor's order for such a small amount of money? Any normal person would not do this. There may be something fishy here.
Therefore, some people speculated that the government withheld funds in order to threaten the imperial court and influence its decision, but Zhang Fei was upright and resolute and therefore was unwilling to open a trial.
This conspiracy theory immediately won the support of the people because in their eyes, the imperial court was very fair.
“Nonsense.”
Wei Yingfang said excitedly: "It was that boy who was unkind first, so we are unjust now."
Xue Zhi said: "But if the incident gets to the capital, we will all be blamed."
He Chunlin and Liu Daxing, who hated Zhang Fei the most, couldn't help but nod their heads. Now they were all terrified.
They all felt that they were standing on the edge of a cliff, or it was because it seemed that all the civil and military officials of Hezhong Prefecture had come and knew about this matter. If they launched an attack together, the court would certainly take it seriously.
But the royal court refused to budge.
If the matter really gets to the capital, no matter what crime Zhang Fei has committed, they will indeed withhold the funds.
This was something they had never expected. Even the most upright officials would not be so cruel as to risk their lives for such a small amount of money.
This can only be described as "crazy".
Wei Yingfang was so depressed that he stamped his feet fiercely and said, "Okay, okay, I'll give them the money. Isn't it okay to give them the money?"
After saying that, he left angrily.
He was angry, but he was more scared. It seemed that this matter was getting out of control, and he was the culprit. All the orders were given by him.
So he quickly called Cai Jing over.
When he met Cai Jing, Wei Yingfang pretended to be calm. He held a cup, blew on it, and asked casually, "How much money do you need to try this case?"
After saying that, he took a sip of the fragrant tea.
"Ten thousand strings of cash." Cai Jing said casually.
"puff!"
Wei Yingfang couldn't remain calm anymore. He wiped his mouth and looked at Cai Jing in surprise, "How much?"
Cai Jing also answered nonchalantly: "Ten thousand strings of cash."
He has been dealing with this matter all the time, and he has a very clear judgement on the current situation. He knows that he is the party with the advantage. Why don't you give it to him if he has the ability?
Let's just wait and see.
See who dies first.
Wei Yingfang was furious and said, "Are you, the imperial court, insulting us? You need 10,000 strings of cash to try a case. You are extorting money. I will impeach you in the court."
Cai Jing replied calmly: "In response to Judge Wei, this is the rule of our imperial court. Since the case is complicated, happened several years ago, and involves many witnesses, a lot of funds are required.
However, our president did not want to trouble the government, so he planned to build some shops to supplement the expenses, but unfortunately the shop construction plan has not been approved by the government so far. "
Wei Yingfang understood immediately and thought, you guys want to build a shop, but I just don't want to fulfill your wish. He said, "I will give you 10,000 strings of cash, but I will report it to the court."
Cai Jing bowed and said, "Thank you, Judge Wei. In addition, we have provided 17,000 strings of cash for our salaries and the previous renovation costs."
Wei Yingfang was dumbfounded again and asked, "Doesn't this ten thousand strings of cash include salary?"
Cai Jing said: "Just now, Judge Wei asked about the cost of hearing this case."
All right! All right! After this case is over, I will come and teach you a lesson. This is unreasonable. Wei Yingfang gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I will order someone to give it to you when the time comes."
"Thank you, Judge Wei."
Cai Jing bowed again and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now."
Wei Yingfang nodded, but when he saw that Cai Jing was really going to leave, he was really unsure for a moment. Did they want money or the shop? He quickly called him back, "Wait a minute, come back first."
Cai Jing turned around again and asked, "Does Judge Wei have anything else to tell you?"
“I don’t dare!”
Wei Yingfang snorted and continued, "In this case, the government office can't come up with so much money at once, and how would I know how much money you need to try the case? In order not to delay the trial of this case, the government will allow the construction of a shop there. I will have someone allocate the funds for the first two months to you."
Cai Jing had no expression on his face. "Thank you, Judge Wei."
(End of this chapter)
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