In fact, there is a hidden dispute in this case, which is the high-interest loan borrowed by Chen Guang’s wife. However, because the Legal Aid Department is seeking to transfer all the debts of Chen Guang’s family to the government, it did not emphasize this issue.
Now that the government wants to investigate this issue, Zhang Fei is of course happy to act as the middleman.
He had planned all this a long time ago, otherwise, Yuan Jiang would not have thought about it so carefully. The public security, procuratorate and courts will have to face loan sharks sooner or later, so it would be better to use this case as an example.
The wealthy Wu Tianfu came to the imperial court, truly grief-stricken. He was also present that day, and when he learned that the debt would be transferred to the Transportation Bureau, he was so depressed that he couldn't sleep for several days.
Originally he was the strong party, but now he has become the weak party.
A pair of small eyes sometimes glanced at Zhang Fei, sometimes glanced at Li Yongji. The resentful eyes, coupled with the fat face, really made me feel pity for him!
Zhang Fei was afraid that he would laugh out loud, so he quickly picked up the teacup, drank a sip of tea, put it down, looked at Wu Tianfu, and asked gently: "Mr. Wu, today I just asked you to come to the Transportation Department to negotiate. If you have any ideas, you can just tell me directly, don't worry."
Wu Tianfu was actually more afraid of Zhang Fei, because Li Yongji was just a bailiff. When he heard Zhang Fei say that, he said, "My contract is not against the law. The people from the Legal Aid Department are just talking nonsense. What about the 80-odd guan? That's not true at all."
As he spoke, he took out a few contracts and handed them to Zhang Fei. "Please take a look, Judge Zhang. There is no mention of money here. At that time, Chen Hu came to my house to borrow food in exchange for salt, cloth, and tea. I really don't know where the eighty-plus strings of cash came from."
According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, the annual interest rate could not exceed 60%, and could not exceed twice at most. Some rich people had connections behind them and did not care, so they still lent money at several times the interest. However, some rich people used the trick of "borrowing from A and repaying from B".
...
...
What Chen Guang's wife borrowed was all grain, but the agreement was to exchange it for cloth, salt, and tea. The interest was calculated based on kilograms and feet. Ordinary people had no idea how much interest they had paid. In short, they had to pay it back.
Zhang Fei took the contract, but didn't rush to look at it. Instead, he looked at Li Yongji.
Li Yongji said, "Judge Zhang, you must know that the court has clearly stipulated that those who are elected with millet and wheat and return with millet and wheat can be treated as private contracts and the government will not take any action."
Wu Tianfu said: "The first time Chen Hu came to me to borrow grain, we agreed to repay her with grain, but later she asked to repay the interest with cloth. She said that the court only gave her cloth, and I agreed to it out of pity for her. Later, we agreed to repay her with cloth, salt and tea.
This was Chen Hu's own request. I had no choice. I also wanted food, but she couldn't give it to me. The government had handled similar cases before and allowed it."
These landlords are very cunning when it comes to borrowing money, and they take every possible precaution.
After Zhang Fei carefully read the first and second contracts, he handed them to Li Yongji.
Li Yongji took a quick look and asked Zhang Fei, "Does Judge Zhang think this is reasonable?"
It's not him who is asked to pay compensation, it's the Transportation Bureau that should pay. If your royal court stipulates that compensation must be paid in this way, the Transportation Bureau will definitely pay in this way.
Zhang Fei said: "My opinion is not important now, and one party is the Transportation Bureau. It is not convenient for me to express any opinions during private discussions. The key is whether you two can reach a settlement, so whether Li Yashi thinks this is reasonable or not is more important."
Li Yongji said: "Of course I think it is very unreasonable."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Is Li Yashi willing to accept it?"
Li Yongji said decisively: "I definitely don't want to."
Zhang Fei said: "Since both of you insist on your own opinions and are unwilling to reconcile, why not open the case to trial."
Li Yongji said: "Okay!"
At the last moment, Wu Tianfu was a little scared. He could imagine what would happen in front of everyone. His reputation would be ruined. The main thing was that the other party was the Transportation Bureau. If he got the entire Transportation Bureau, would he have a good life? Would he still want to evade taxes in the future? His expression changed immediately and he smiled, "That's not the case. Since the Transportation Bureau has taken over these debts, it's fine. I wonder how much Li Yashi is willing to give?"
Li Yongji said: "Including the principal and interest, thirty strings of cash or thirty dan of grain, no more."
Wu Tianfu suddenly felt a pain in his flesh. He was now more than fifty strings of cash less, but he could only accept the loss. After all, he knew that he was on the same side as Li Yongji and the others. He nodded and said, "Okay! Thirty strings of cash is thirty strings of cash, but I want money, not food."
He is very smart. If he asks for food, God knows what kind of food the government will give him. Can he beat the government by playing the game of conversion?
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "That's settled then."
The three parties immediately signed a settlement agreement.
After seeing them off, Zhang Fei came to the front hall. As soon as he reached the door, he heard a choking voice, "Thank you, sir. Thank you for taking charge of this for us. I..."
He immediately stopped and looked inside, but saw that Chen Guang and his wife were about to kneel down to Su Zhe, but Su Zhe hurriedly stopped them.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? I've already told you that this is what you deserve. You don't need to thank me. Go back with the money and the title deed and live a good life."
It can be seen that Su Che's expression is somewhat complicated.
He will have to pay a heavy price for this case!
After Chen Guang and his wife left, Zhang Fei came out and said with a wry smile, "I didn't expect your side to be slower than mine."
Su Che smiled bitterly and said, "Neither the couple can read. I have to explain everything to them."
After a pause, he continued, "You've finished your discussion."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "After a little hesitation, the Transportation Bureau proposed thirty strings of cash. Wu Tianfu originally refused and demanded full repayment. The Transportation Bureau would definitely not agree, so I suggested that they go to court for trial. In the end, Wu Tianfu agreed."
Su Zhe frowned slightly and said, "This is clearly usury, how dare Wu Tianfu argue?"
Zhang Fei said: "At first, they agreed to pay back the grain with money, and then they agreed to pay back the cloth with rice. This is indeed a complicated way. Chen Hu's debt is composed of tea, salt, and cloth. I can't figure out how much the interest is for the time being."
Su Che asked: "If the case goes to court, how would you rule?"
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "How would you fight?"
Su Che pondered for a while and said, "The previous lawsuit has already determined the court's conversion standard, so we can use the same standard for calculation."
"If you play like this, you have a good chance of winning."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Because I also intend to use this lawsuit to issue a currency-centered conversion law specifically for borrowing and lending."
Su Che glanced at him and asked, "Did you plan this a long time ago?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I have to get some benefits too!"
Su Che smiled and said, "If you want to take advantage of this, I have no objection."
Using this lawsuit as a precedent is absolutely perfect, because one party is the government, and the government sets an example, which is more convincing!
Zhang Fei suddenly raised his head and looked outside, "It seems there are quite a few people outside."
Su Zhe said with a headache: "They are here to see if Chen Guang can get full compensation."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Your procuratorate will be busy from now on. Do you want me to ask Cai Jing and others to come over to help?"
Su Zhe said, "Don't ask for it for now. I have already talked to the Legal Aid Department and they will come to help me."
"Then..."
Zhang Fei cupped his hands and said, "Good luck to Mr. Su."
Su Zhe bowed in return and said, "I hope it won't cause any trouble for Judge Zhang."
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "I hope so!"
The previous lawsuit was just a fuse, the real battle has just begun.
When Su Che returned to the procuratorate, he found that he could not enter the door.
The gate of the entire government office was packed with men, and Chen Qi's helpless voice could be heard faintly from inside, "Don't push in, come in one by one, come in one by one, don't push, do you hear me?"
Oh my god! It came so fast. Su Zhe was dizzy.
When the soldiers saw that Chen Guang could get such a large compensation, and most importantly, he didn't have to pay back his debts, they thought, this is simply...!
immediately!
immediately!
To avoid any changes due to delay.
When Su Che saw this scene, there were at least a hundred people there, none of whom dared to show up, so he ran directly to the police station and transferred more than fifty auxiliary police officers to maintain public order.
It was with great difficulty that public order in the procuratorate was maintained.
Su Che then appeared in front of the hall and said, “Our procuratorate will definitely seek justice for you.”
You all line up first, come one by one, and tell the prosecutor your grievances and your home address. Then our procuratorate will evaluate it. If the evidence is conclusive, we will file a lawsuit with the Royal Court. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
A burst of shouting shook the roof.
Morale is quite high.
Su Zhe couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat off his forehead and nodded slightly, "Just listen and understand."
After saying this, he turned around looking a little tired and went back to the hall.
Chen Qi hurriedly followed and sighed, "We have really stirred up a hornet's nest this time."
Su Che looked up at the roof and said, "If this hornet's nest is on my roof, I have to poke it out!"
Government.
"I got it! I got it!"
He Chunlin ran into the hall excitedly, "The procuratorate has accepted it."
Wei Yingfang asked in surprise, "Did you pick them all up?"
He Chunlin said: "Anyway, as long as there is enough evidence, the procuratorate will definitely seek justice for them."
Cao Yi frowned and asked, "Do those soldiers have any evidence?"
Wei Yingfang smiled and said, "As long as the military camp cooperates with the soldiers, there will be no lack of evidence."
Cao Yi's eyes lit up and he said, "That's right! All the evidence is in the military camp."
He Chunlin asked: "Will the military camp be willing to cooperate?"
Wei Yingfang laughed and said, "If this matter doesn't come to a conclusion, huh, those generals will also have a sword hanging over their heads."
Qin Mansion.
"Generals, I can't stop this."
Qin Zhongshou said: "The thorough investigation of military expenditure by the procuratorate has caused dissatisfaction among many generals. They are now encouraging soldiers to file complaints. If I don't do this, will the soldiers still obey me?"
Zhe Jizu frowned and asked, "Are they all innocent?"
Qin Zhongshou said embarrassedly: "No one is innocent, so they will stick together for warmth at this time. Now that this matter has become so serious, the court dare not punish so many civil officials and generals at once. If they don't make a fuss today, they will be investigated one by one in the future, and they will be helpless. Now they all want to use this matter to curb the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs in one fell swoop.
They even had to provide evidence of the soldiers' withholding and deducting of military pay. All the generals should know that the real reason for the withholding and withholding of military pay is the lack of financial resources in the court. "
Zhe Jizu and Zhong Gu looked at Zhong Yan, then shook their heads helplessly.
This can't be stopped.
Moreover, if you try to stop them, you might get sued, which is not worth it!
Zhong Yan sighed and warned, "You have to keep a close eye on them, don't let it turn into a mutiny."
Qin Zhongshou nodded repeatedly and said, "That's why I have to stand on their side so that I can give them instructions."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
