Guo Kui's reputation in the northwest is really extraordinary. You should know that he was promoted successively by two generations of prime ministers, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi.
Is this a rhythm of dragging him into the water?
Because in cases like this, that's what we're afraid of!
Facing everyone's gazes, Guo Kui just smiled in response. After all, he had seen big scenes and a lot of blood and gore in the officialdom.
"Please rest assured, Magistrate Lu. Mr. Guo is also one of today's witnesses. I will ask him about the relevant matters later."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then lowered his head to read the documents.
Most of the guests sitting here at this time were seeing a royal court trial for the first time. Seeing Zhang Fei dilly-dallying, asking two questions and then flipping through the documents, they couldn't help but shake their heads.
This is what is called rising to the top through ability.
Are you prepared?
Cram at this last minute.
...
...
For example, when Bao Zheng and Fan Zhongyan tried a case, they would memorize all the evidence beforehand so that they could deal with unexpected events in court.
It is not allowed to flip through books while arguing, which is considered very embarrassing by scholars.
After carefully reviewing the document, Zhang Fei raised his head, looked at Lu Chen and said, "At the beginning of the fourth year of Zhiping, the chieftain of the Xixia tribe hoped to submit to our dynasty, and it seems that the person in charge of this matter was also Prefect Lu."
Lu Chen was slightly stunned, then nodded.
Many civil servants felt worried.
Many of them also knew about this, but it actually had nothing to do with the battle of Suizhou. Zhang Fei suddenly mentioned this matter, obviously wanting to exploit Lu Shen's weakness.
really!
This kid tends to be a bit stubborn.
On the contrary, the generals on Zhong Yan's side were secretly delighted.
Zhang Fei asked, "I wonder what decision Governor Lu made at that time?"
Lu Chen said: "I refused at first."
Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"
Lu Chen said: "Because I am worried that it will lead to a war between the two countries."
If I were Erbi, and he answered like this, then he would be finished. Alas, it's a pity that I am a court president. Zhang Feian suppressed his inner desire and nodded, "What's next?"
Lu Chen said: "After that, Zhong Zi Zheng persuaded me to accept his surrender, and I agreed. I remember that not long after, Xixia came to ask for him, and it was Zhong Zi Zheng who suggested to me that Xixia use Jing Xun in exchange, but the other party did not agree, and the matter was left unresolved."
In this case, he never denied Zhong Yan's military talent and foresight, but he also believed that Zhong Yan was arrogant and disobeyed military orders.
Zhang Fei asked, "Who is this Jing Xun?"
Lu Chen said: "Jing Xun was originally a general in Yanzhou. Later, he committed a crime and fled to Xixia. He is very familiar with the terrain of our Yanzhou."
Zhang Fei nodded. "When faced with the surrender of enemy generals, Governor Lu seemed to be extremely cautious. Could Governor Lu explain his views on foreign affairs?"
Lu Chen said: "I have always advocated peace talks rather than war. Because facts have proven that in peacetime, our Song Dynasty will gain long-term advantages. This is our country's strength. It is also because of this that the other side always hopes to stir up trouble, interrupt our prosperity, and stabilize the unstable situation in the other side. And every time our Song Dynasty launches a war, regardless of victory or defeat, the people will suffer and the land will be in mourning."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, looked at Zhang Fei and asked, "Judge Zhang, have you ever seen the post-war scene?"
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No."
Lu Chen said, "They eat their own food, they eat grass and trees, and there is no grass growing within a hundred miles. This is not a natural disaster, but hunger. You will understand why I hope to avoid foreign wars."
Many officials were moved and nodded frequently.
Officials in the northwest all knew that what Lu Shen said was true.
But there were also some officials who sneered and muttered to themselves, as if they wanted to go up and argue with Lu Shen.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Although I have not witnessed the suffering that Prefect Lu talked about, I also hope not to see it in my lifetime. And I have seen Prefect Lu's achievements in Yongzhou. Facing the harassment of local tribes, Prefect Lu chose to rectify the local administration, strengthen the military, and use military power to deter the enemy without fighting. In the end, he forced Nanjiao to send envoys to pay tribute, so that the people of the two places could live in peace."
Lu Shen couldn't help but be stunned, as if he was not used to it. In his mind, Zhang Fei was the enemy, but these words were obviously beneficial to him.
Is this a tactic of flattery?
The guests on both sides were also confused.
Which way are you heading?
Lu Shen's political achievements in Yongzhou can indeed prove that his propositions in Yanzhou are reasonable and consistent. He also rectified the administration in Yanzhou, built fortresses, strengthened armaments, and forced the other side not to attack. He just did not advocate starting a war.
He is a typical dove. Doves are not surrenderists. Doves just believe that war cannot achieve political goals and the result will only be a lose-lose situation. On the contrary, peace is beneficial to them.
In fact, a mature political system must have doves and hawks, because war is just a continuation of politics. If there are only hawks, the result is that war must be fought, no matter what problems have arisen within the country. Even if this war cannot bring any benefit, it must be fought to the end, and the ruling class will be trapped and unable to step down. As the fighting goes on, the country will be gone.
If there are only doves, it would be like someone has a brick and I have the face to catch the mace with my head. That would be even worse, because at least the hawks will fight back.
Only when both factions exist can the ruling class choose to reuse doves or hawks based on the current situation.
For example, now Zhao Xu has begun to reuse hawks, but he has not abandoned the doves in the court. If he cannot win, he will have to turn back.
We must be flexible in foreign affairs. We must be brave when we should be brave, and be timid when we should be timid. However, a mature politician will be timid very beautifully, at least without letting others see it on the surface.
But inflexible diplomacy is bound to be a dead end.
However, Lu Shen himself did not expect to use the evidence in Nanzhou to support his claim.
conspiracy!
There must be a conspiracy here!
There will definitely be a twist.
Just as everyone was cheering up and looking forward to a turning point, Zhang Fei said, "This judge has no problem for the time being. Magistrate Lu can go down and rest first."
Is that all?
Lu Shen looked stunned.
What kind of trial is this?
The guests on both sides looked at each other in bewilderment.
I didn't get any result.
After this series of questions, no one could tell which side Zhang Fei was leaning towards.
You have to know that all those sitting here are veterans in the officialdom, and their ability to read people's expressions is first-rate. After all, the people and things they encounter every day are very complicated.
While I was stunned, a court police officer came forward.
Lu Shen stood up and suddenly felt like he had not said enough and wanted to continue chatting.
Because this kind of semi-public, straightforward conversation is extremely rare in official circles, without those hypocritical flatteries and sinister calculations.
Anyway, Zhang Fei asked directly and he answered truthfully, and no one was shy about it.
After coming down, he felt that this imperial court was truly extraordinary.
Zhang Fei took the opportunity to drink a cup of tea, then knocked the gavel and said, "Pass it on to the deputy envoy of the seed."
Zhong Yan came to the court very consciously, but compared with Lu Shen's composure, his expression was a little complicated. In fact, when he was sitting downstairs, he was eager to try and wanted to argue with Lu Shen in court, but when he really appeared in court, he was nervous and felt like sitting on pins and needles.
After Zhong Yan sat down, Zhang Fei asked, "Deputy Envoy Zhong, you should have heard the confession of Prefect Lu just now."
Zhong Yan nodded.
Zhang Fei looked down at the document, then looked up and said, "According to the evidence we have obtained, in the content you reported to the court, it was clearly stated that you had successfully lured Wei Mingshan to surrender.
But Governor Lu just said that you lied about military intelligence just to get permission from the court to send troops. What's your explanation for this?"
Zhong Yan suddenly said excitedly: "I didn't lie, I just reported the truth."
It turned out that he had been holding this sentence in his heart.
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "But some soldiers saw Wei Mingshan holding a gun and mounting a horse, ready to fight with our army. Is this true?"
Zhong Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "This is also true, but I only found out afterwards that Weimingshan did not agree to surrender."
Zhang Fei asked, "You only found out afterward?"
Zhong Yan said: "Because I persuaded his brother Weimingshan to surrender through Weimingyishan who had already surrendered, it was not me who contacted Weimingshan directly. And Weimingyishan persuaded Weimingshan to surrender through Li Wenxi, a close confidant of Weimingshan, but who could have thought that Li Wenxi would interfere and lied that Weimingshan had agreed to surrender in order to gain money.
If I really just wanted to gain merit and advance rashly, then I wouldn't have to spend money to lure them to surrender, which would probably fail."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Then how did you accept Wei Mingshan's surrender?"
Zhong Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Just as Governor Lu said, I sent out the entire army to attack and surrounded the clan tent of Weiming Mountain in a surprise attack. But this is very normal on the battlefield."
Zhang Fei asked, "Really?"
Zhong Yan nodded and said, "First of all, even if Wei Mingshan agrees to surrender, there is a possibility that there is a trick. I must be fully prepared. Regardless of whether the other party surrenders for real, I will choose this method, so that I can ensure that there is no possibility of any eventuality.
I also reported the truth to the court, and there would be no surprises if there was no certainty. Therefore, in the imperial edict issued by the court later, it also ordered Lu Zhifu and Xue Zhuanyunshi at the time to plan this matter, and I was the one to contact the other party. It can be seen that the court did not think that our army had taken Suizhou, but only supported our army to lure the other party to surrender.
Secondly, in past cases of inducing surrender, many tribal leaders agreed to surrender, but their subordinates were unwilling to surrender. As a result, when our army accepted their surrender, their subordinates turned against them in the middle of the battle, causing the entire plan to fail. I cannot give the other side this opportunity.
This is why I sent out the troops without waiting for the imperial edict, because if this matter were to leak out, it would most likely lead to failure, and it was a matter of life and death at that time."
Zhang Fei said: "So Deputy Envoy Zhong considered all possible accidents and made careful arrangements."
Zhong Yan nodded and said, "Before sending out the troops, I knew very clearly where the enemy's main force was, as well as the number and deployment of their troops. Therefore, even though Wei Mingshan had no intention of surrendering, our army was able to capture 300 chieftains, 15,000 households of civilians, and 10,000 soldiers without losing a single soldier."
Zhang Fei said: "But did Deputy Envoy Zhong consider that this would lead to a war between our country and Western Xia? At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne, and we were not ready to go to war with Western Xia."
Zhong Yan said: "I never thought that the Song Dynasty and Xixia coexisted peacefully at that time. The war on the northwest border has never stopped. Suizhou is my homeland in the Central Plains, but it is still occupied by Xixia. How can we talk about peace?"
(End of this chapter)
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