Many civil servants, including Lu Shen, scoffed at Guo Kui's remarks.
But that’s all.
This was not surprising to anyone.
Because everyone knows that Guo Kui was originally a military officer and was definitely a pro-war faction, so he definitely supported Zhong Yan.
The key point is that the emperor at that time gave high praise to Guo Kui's behavior, and even said in court, "If you were here, I would have no worries about the west."
At the same time, Guo Kui also had many supporters in the court. Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi had both promoted him before.
Zhang Fei smiled slightly and did not comment too much. After all, he was not going to review the matter. He just asked, "Why didn't Mr. Guo take out the imperial edict in time?"
Guo Kui replied: "That is because the reason why the emperor issued this decree is that our army is not well prepared and should avoid a major war with Xixia.
But this kind of situation has actually happened quite often in recent years. We often capture a city of the other side. If the other side sends troops to attack, we immediately go back to defend. If the other side does not have a large army approaching, we immediately build fortresses and fortresses in the area to strengthen our defenses. "
In the Qingli Treaty, there was a clause that clearly stated that both parties could freely build fortresses on their own territories without restriction.
...
...
The reason is simple: no one trusts anyone.
During the twenty years of peace, both sides built large-scale defensive fortifications on the border, especially the Song Dynasty. After the twenty years of peace, conflict ensued.
However, due to the existence of these fortifications and internal problems in the two countries, the wars during this period were merely exploratory attacks.
The Song Dynasty did not dare to fight, and the Western Xia Dynasty actually did not dare to do so either.
Guo Kui continued, "At that time, I found that the Western Xia had already started a war, but my general Zhe Jishi had repelled the Western Xia's attacks several times, and our army's morale was high, but we were deceived by the other side in the peace talks and lost two generals.
If I took out the imperial edict immediately, it would cause our army to lose morale, so I decided to wait and see. However, with the sudden death of Li Liangzuo, the leader of the Western Xia, this conflict came to an end.
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "From what you see, Mr. Guo, if Li Liangzuo had not died at that time, would Xixia have fought a war with our country?"
Guo Kui thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Based on the situation at the time, a war was likely to break out, because Suizhou's geographical location was too critical, so even this year, the Western Xia side has been trying every possible way to ask our country for Suizhou."
"Really?" Zhang Fei asked again, "Deputy Envoy Zhong also mentioned the importance of Suizhou just now. Could you please tell us in detail how important Suizhou is?"
Guo Kui said: "There were many reasons for our army's defeat at Sanchuankou, but Suizhou played a crucial role in the entire battle. At that time, the Western Xia army marched out from Tumen in Suizhou, first attacking the Baoan Army, then turned to attack Jinmingzhai, and then went straight to Yanzhou City.
The reason is that if the Xixia army departs from Suizhou, it can reach Yanzhou within three days, leaving our reinforcements too late to rescue us, and thus losing the initiative. Therefore, as long as Suizhou is in the hands of Xixia, Yanzhou cannot rest easy.
It was also because of this that General Zhong Shiheng, the father of Deputy Envoy Zhong, built Qingjian City at a distance of 200 kilometers from Yanzhou, regardless of the harassment of the enemy and the dangerous terrain, at all costs, in order to protect Yanzhou. I believe that Governor Lu is also very clear about this, otherwise, Governor Lu would not have sent Deputy Envoy Zhong to garrison Qingjian City.
Now that our army has recaptured Suizhou, we can use Hengshan as a barrier, and Yanzhou will no longer be a problem. It can also reduce the burden on other routes, and at the same time take the initiative on the northern front. As long as our army goes west out of Hengshan, we can attack Xixia, which means we can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat. "
"I see."
Zhang Fei nodded and continued to ask: "So, Mr. Guo, what do you think was the situation between our country and Xixia during the fourth year of Zhiping?"
Guo Kui pondered for a while and said, “I have to admit that the Qingli Agreement is still in effect. It has not been abolished, nor is it in name only. However, since the Jiayou period, the Western Xia has violated the agreement without authorization and sent troops to invade. Our dynasty immediately stopped paying tribute. After that, our dynasty also judged whether to fulfill the contract based on the words and deeds of the Western Xia.
As I said before, occupying each other's cities was a common occurrence during this period, and the borders between the two countries were constantly adjusted, but no large-scale war broke out. Often after a conflict, the two sides would negotiate to ensure that the Qingli Agreement was implemented, but Suizhou was particularly important. "
At this point, he paused for a moment, "So in my personal opinion, in the fourth year of Zhiping, the two sides were in a state of peace rather than war, but it is indisputable that the conflict was also increasing day by day."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly and continued, "According to what Xianggong Guo said, can I assume that Deputy Envoy Zhong's action of sending troops was actually very common at the time? However, due to the extremely important geographical location of Suizhou, there is indeed the possibility of triggering a war between the two sides."
Guo Kui nodded.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Then according to Mr. Guo's judgment, was our army prepared to deal with the war at that time?"
Guo Kui said: "I think there is a gain, because during the period of luring Wei Mingshan to surrender, General Zhe Jishizhe had already deployed troops at Dali River to prevent the other side from sending troops to stop the surrender, and then won a series of great victories."
Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and said, "Thank you, Mr. Guo, for coming to court to testify."
As Guo Kui left the court, not only the guests who were watching, but even the two parties involved, Zhong Yan and Lu Shen, all looked bewildered.
It is completely unclear which side has the upper hand after all this talk.
Although Guo Kui stated that a rash attack at that time might have triggered a war, he also explained that the geographical location of Suizhou was crucial.
After a short rest, Zhang Fei said, "Zheng Xie, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy."
When Lu Shen heard this person, he couldn't help but show surprise.
Many civil servants also looked around and said in surprise: "Zheng Yifu is here too."
No one knows anything about most of the witnesses at the moment.
However, Zheng Xie had been in the Hanlin Academy in the capital at the time, and his appearance surprised many people. What could he testify about?
But then an old man who was almost fifty years old came into the courtyard, waving his sleeves. Although he was already white-haired, he had an extraordinary demeanor and was dressed very simply, looking very much like Lu Shen.
This man was named Zheng Xie. He was a top scholar in the imperial examination and also an official with high cultural literacy, integrity and uprightness. To be the top scholar in the Song Dynasty, his literary talent was naturally needless to say and he also enjoyed a very high reputation among the literati.
In any case, the appearance of Zheng Xie made the civil servants feel good and fair.
Guo Kui was a military general and had always been in favor of war. He definitely supported Zhong Yan. Zheng Xie, on the other hand, was a civilian official and in favor of peace. He also had a very good relationship with Lu Shen. In this case, he had always spoken for Lu Shen and believed that Lu Shen had suffered an unfair fate. He also made an indispensable contribution to this retrial.
This at least proves that so far, Zhang Fei has been very fair and has not specifically sought out some pro-war factions to testify.
Zhang Fei slightly extended his hand to signal, "Mr. Zheng, please take a seat."
In fact, according to etiquette, Zhang Fei should have stood up and saluted, but Zheng Xie knew that Zhang Fei should not have too many expectations from him in terms of etiquette, so he still bowed and thanked him before sitting down.
Zhang Fei said: "Before that, I would like to thank Mr. Zheng for traveling thousands of miles to testify in court."
"Judge Zhang, you are too kind. In fact, I should thank Judge Zhang for giving me the opportunity to testify in court."
After saying that, Zheng Xie immediately said, "But I have been listening for a long time just now, and there is one question that I have not been able to answer."
These scholars of the Hanlin Academy are all very powerful and they took the initiative right from the start.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Mr. Zheng, please speak."
Zheng Xie said: "Even Zhong Yan himself admitted just now that he sent troops without an imperial order. At the same time, the imperial edict ordered Lu Zhifu and Xue Yunyunshi to preside over this matter. However, when Lu Zhifu ordered to recall Zhong Yan, Zhong Yan still refused to do so. Isn't this disobeying the imperial order?
Perhaps in the political hall, this matter can be judged as a matter of success or failure, but the imperial court is about the law. Although I am not as proficient in the law as Chief Judge Zhang, I can recite the Song Dynasty Criminal Code by heart. I really don’t know what else there is to judge.”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people present seemed to be suddenly awakened and nodded.
You are being mysterious here and asking all kinds of questions, but the facts are irrefutable. Even Zhong Yan himself has admitted it, so he must be guilty according to the law.
All eyes were focused on Zhang Fei.
Zhong Xie was even more uneasy. He knew Zheng Xie. At that time, Zheng Xie strongly suggested that the government directly arrest him to serve as a warning to others. So when he saw this man, he immediately felt something was wrong!
Zhang Fei explained calmly: "This is mainly because the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and it takes several days for the imperial edict to be sent back and forth. Many times, the generals have to make decisions on the spot and cannot consult the court on everything. This is also allowed by military law."
Zheng Xie immediately said, "I understand what Judge Zhang said, but this is not a battlefield, but a matter of fighting or not fighting. This must be approved by the court. Otherwise, the generals will ignore the country's major plans and wantonly start a war in order to gain merit. This is a sign of the country's demise."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Mr. Zheng's words make sense. This is why the presiding judge asked Mr. Zheng to come here to testify."
Zheng Xie was slightly stunned: "I don't know what the judge means by this?"
Zhang Fei said: "In my opinion, from the beginning of inducing surrender to the final recovery of Suizhou, this is one thing, because since the decision was made to induce the other general to surrender, the court hopes to recover Suizhou, so the behavior of this deputy envoy is worth discussing.
And the deputy envoy finally
Choosing to send troops was only one step in the whole matter, not an isolated incident. After all, Weiming Yishan had already been persuaded to surrender before.
This is just like in a battle, a general has to make timely judgments based on the changing situation on the front line. Of course, whether Deputy Envoy Zhong's judgment is forced by the situation still needs to be examined.
However, before that, we must determine one thing, which is how the court viewed the attempt to induce Wei Mingshan to surrender. If the attempt to induce Wei Mingshan to surrender was denied from the beginning, then the behavior of the deputy envoy must constitute the crime of disobeying the imperial order, and there would be no need for a retrial.
However, according to their previous confessions, the court did not seem to stop this behavior. And according to our investigation, Zheng Xueshi was fully involved in the decision-making of this matter, which is why I asked Zheng Xueshi to come. "
After hearing these words, almost everyone looked at Zhang Fei differently.
Including military generals such as Zhong Yan, Zhong Gu, and Zhe Jizu.
They felt wronged before, but that was from a strategic and result-oriented perspective. The fact is that the recovery of Suizhou would reverse the passive situation on the northern front, and the merits outweigh the faults. But they never dared to debate with the other party from a judicial perspective.
Because they also think there is no room for debate.
But after Zhang Fei's analysis, it is definitely worth arguing!
That’s awesome!
This can find loopholes.
.
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