“Wow, what a huge project!”
Zhang Fei came to the hall and looked at the three big boxes of documents. He estimated that there should be more than the memorials impeaching him, although he had never seen them.
Chen Ming, who was sitting next to him, raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at Zhang Fei, and thought to himself, isn't this all thanks to you?
In fact, the ghost tax police of the Tax Commissioner could be said to be trained by Zhang Fei himself, and Li Bao could be said to be his senior disciple.
There is actually a fine line between the tax police and the robbers, and that line is the law. You can't just find some evidence and then start to imagine it. The tax commissioner must obtain sufficient evidence so as not to undermine the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems and make people convinced.
According to the law, powerful people must be punished if they break the law, and sometimes the emperor cannot cover up for them.
If the tax commissioner wants to convince people, he must produce irrefutable evidence that will leave them speechless.
Qiu Zhengwen bowed his hands first, then said, "Grand Judge, this is actually only part of the evidence, and the purpose is only to meet the standard for prosecution. Due to the special nature of my employer, the Taxation Department, they need to keep some evidence confidential to prevent it from leaking out in advance and allowing those tax evaders to destroy the evidence, resulting in all previous efforts being wasted."
At this point, he paused for a moment and said apprehensively, "Therefore, we also hope that the Royal Court can keep these evidences confidential to prevent them from being leaked and causing unnecessary losses to our employer."
I still felt a little nervous when I said these words to my boss.
...
...
Zhang Fei gave him an encouraging look, then nodded and said, "I understand. We will keep this confidential. However, since there is too much evidence, we still have to review it before deciding whether to hold a trial. If there is a result, we will send someone to notify you immediately."
Chen Ming, who was sitting next to him, suddenly stood up and said, "Then please ask Judge Zhang to deal with it as soon as possible, because this is related to the expenses and bonuses of our Taxation Department. Our people in the Taxation Department didn't have money to celebrate the New Year last year, and they have been working all the time."
Cai Jing and the others turned their heads to look at Chen Ming at the same time, thinking, is it so direct?
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Tax Envoy Chen, we will do it as soon as possible."
After they left, Zhang Fei suddenly clapped his hands and said, "After a few months of rest, it's time to get back to work. As you all heard, the tax department needs to keep it confidential, so for now, only a few of us can do this job."
"ah?"
"Why? You're used to being the president of the court, and you don't want to do such trivial work!"
“No, no.”
"It's better not to!"
The news spread quickly and surprised many people. In fact, everyone knew that the Tax Commissioner would definitely take action at the beginning of this year, but no one expected it to come so soon. It was only the first day of work!
This even leads to a very interesting phenomenon. In the past, on the first day of work, clerks and yamen runners would open the door and clean up, and then minor officials would come to report for duty. Senior officials usually would not come. Who would be so ignorant as to give them work to do on the first day? If there was any, the work could basically be postponed to next year.
However, the sudden action of the Commissioner of Taxation caused all officials, big and small, to go to work.
As soon as Chen Ming returned to the city, the government office sent someone to invite him over.
When they saw Chen Ming, Wei Yingfang and the others first bowed and greeted him. After all, it was the first day of work in the new year, so congratulations were natural.
After the greetings, Cai Yanqing asked, "Tax Commissioner Chen, I just heard that the tax evasion situation is very serious and the tax commissioner has filed a lawsuit with the imperial court?"
Chen Ming said: "It's not serious, we are just following the rules."
Wei Yingfang pretended to be respectful and said, "Chen, the tax collector, is so diligent and conscientious that it really makes us ashamed. He has been diligent in his duties since the first day of opening the office."
At this moment, no one dared to offend the Commissioner of Taxation easily.
Chen Ming said, "Our tax department has not taken annual leave and has been working until now."
Cai Yanqing was surprised and asked, "Really?"
Chen Ming nodded and said, "Because most of our tax department employees rely on bonuses to make a living. How can we celebrate the New Year without money? However, we will take a holiday only after we finish these lawsuits and get the bonuses."
It's so real.
".!"
Cai Yanqing coughed and said, "Tax Commissioner Chen, there is actually no need to be so blunt about some things. After all, this is a government office, so we still have to be careful."
As an official, you should say that you are helping the emperor to share his worries instead of doing things for money.
Chen Ming said, "This is the system of our tax department. Everyone knows it. There is no need to hide it."
Cai Yanqing could only change the subject and asked, "So what is the current situation?"
Chen Ming bowed and said, "Prefect Cai, I'm really sorry. This is a confidential matter of our tax department and cannot be disclosed to anyone. After the lawsuit is filed, if the government office finds any problem, we will give Prefect Cai a detailed explanation."
"Okay, I won't ask any more questions." Cai Yanqing nodded awkwardly.
I asked out of loneliness.
After leaving the government office, Chen Ming was halfway there when he was approached by the procuratorate.
This first day of the new year is so busy.
"Why did the tax department hire an Erbi to fight this case? You should cooperate with our procuratorate. Those Erbi are not trustworthy. If they lose the case, will the taxes be waived?"
Su Che said to Chen Ming excitedly.
He thought the tax commissioner would definitely look for them, so he was already well prepared and in the best condition possible. However, he didn't expect that Chen Ming directly hired Qiu Zhengwen to fight the lawsuit.
This made Su Che very unhappy.
Do you want to bypass our procuratorate?
So is there something fishy going on here?
Chen Ming said truthfully: "This is because when the Procuratorate was in the capital, it once accused our Taxation Bureau of abusing force. It can be seen that the Procuratorate has always had its own powers and may conflict with our Taxation Bureau. Our Taxation Bureau's duty is to recover every penny of tax evasion and more fines. In this regard, Na Erbi will obey us completely."
All the prosecutors, including Su Che, were furious. Su Che was so anxious because he was actually thinking about the Commissioner of Taxation. We are the most professional.
No doubt!
Chen Ming has become the number one straight man in Song Dynasty. He confronts everyone he meets. Don’t you see who is standing behind me? Do you need me to give you face?
unnecessary.
Not only that, his job is to go against everyone. Except for Zhang Fei, the invisible boss, he doesn't need to get close to anyone.
But Su Zhe was also a tough guy. He frowned and said, "Tax evasion is also a criminal case. Our procuratorate has the right to intervene in the investigation. I will go to the imperial court to discuss it. Many things are beyond the control of your tax commissioner. Moreover, if your tax commissioner abuses his law enforcement power, our procuratorate will also prosecute."
This is not a very sensible statement.
Chen Ming bowed and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
“No!”
Su Che waved his sleeves angrily and turned away.
After Chen Ming left, Su Che immediately rushed to the imperial court. How could you ignore our procuratorate for this kind of case? We agreed to supervise each other.
When he saw Zhang Fei, Su Che asked him a barrage of questions without saying a word.
Because Qiu Zhengwen was employed by the Commissioner of Taxation, Su Che would find it hard to believe that you, Zhang San, had no part in the arrangements.
"Mr. Su, please calm down."
After Zhang Fei consoled her, he said, "The procuratorate has the absolute right and must intervene in the investigation of this case, because taxation is the core interest of the country, the monarch, and the people. No one can shut the procuratorate out."
Su Che's hands trembled and he asked, "What's going on now?"
Zhang Fei explained: "But this is different from who the tax commissioner hires to file a lawsuit. Tax Commissioner Chen only cares about the interests of the tax commissioner. It is their power to hire someone to file a lawsuit, but there is no regulation that stipulates that if the government wants to file a lawsuit, it must file it through the procuratorate.
But this does not hinder the procuratorate from exercising its power to prosecute, because the procuratorate's power to prosecute is not restricted by anyone. Even the parties involved cannot prevent the procuratorate from prosecuting. This is a power, not an obligation.
Therefore, the procuratorate can still investigate this case. If the procuratorate believes that the taxation department's lawsuit is not comprehensive enough and that there is favoritism and abuse of power, it can also prosecute any of them. Only the procuratorate has evidence. "
Regarding the prosecution power of the procuratorate and the prosecution of Erbi, they are two different things. For Erbi, if the client does not sue, Erbi must withdraw. The two are in an employment relationship, but the procuratorate is different. It has this power. As long as it violates the criminal regulations, whether the victim sues or not has little to do with whether the procuratorate prosecutes or not.
The procuratorate protects national interests and national laws. As long as someone breaks the law and the procuratorate has evidence, it must prosecute.
The Erbi is between the defendant and the plaintiff, and is the relationship between people, while the procuratorate is mainly concerned with the relationship between the incident and the country.
Of course, the plaintiff can also negotiate with the procuratorate, for example, exchanging a prison sentence for compensation for his or her losses, but the final decision still lies with the procuratorate.
Based on this point, there is no regulation that requires anyone to file a lawsuit through the procuratorate, because whether you go to the procuratorate or not, the procuratorate must intervene anyway.
After Zhang Fei's explanation, Su Zhe calmed down a little and said, "That means our procuratorate can now investigate this case."
He knew that the power of the procuratorate was actually very crucial, and that no details could be missed, in order to defend the power of the procuratorate. Face and dignity had to be put aside. It was impossible to ignore it just because of anger, that was something a fool would do.
Moreover, he was very wary of the Commissioner of Taxation because the real boss behind the Commissioner of Taxation was the emperor. If this department was not restricted, the consequences would be very terrible.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's talk about the facts. Actually, at present, the whole matter has not yet entered the investigation process of the procuratorate. Because nothing has happened, it means that there is no violation of the criminal law. We in the Royal Court don't know whether the evidence can support us to open a trial. Only during the trial process or after the verdict, the procuratorate can intervene in the investigation."
Su Zhe frowned, nodded and said, "I am a little impatient this time."
"But this matter concerns taxation. If the procuratorate must intervene, I will also let the procuratorate intervene in the investigation." Zhang Fei changed the subject, "And I personally welcome the procuratorate to assist us."
"Um?"
Su Che looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
Zhang Fei didn't say anything, but stood up and stretched out his hand, saying, "This way, please."
Su Zhe was stunned for a moment, then stood up and said, "Please."
Zhang Fei brought Su Zhe to the meeting room.
"It's great that Chief Prosecutor Su is here."
Cai Bian and others were so happy to see Su Che.
Su Che saw that there were several of them sitting there, and there was evidence all around him. He knew what was going on. They were really looking for work.
In less than half a day, the news spread throughout the city and immediately sparked heated discussions.
Some people are trembling with fear, unable to sleep or eat, while others are secretly happy. Of course, ordinary people are just sitting back and waiting to eat melons. They want to evade taxes, but their tax bills are cleaner than their faces, usually with only one tick. If they evade again, they will have all Xs. The tax officer may ask, "Dude, how did you survive until now? Can you teach me?"
In the evening.
Wei Mansion.
"We asked Chen Ming about this in the morning, but he refused to reveal any information to us."
Wei Yingfang sighed and asked Liang Youyi, "Didn't the old gentleman receive the news?"
Liang Youyi shook his head and said, "Many people have already inquired about this. Those employees are only responsible for tax audits. The evidence compilation and review are all done by people within the Taxation Department. We have not heard any news yet."
Wei Yingfang asked: "How do they plan to deal with it now?"
Liang Youyi said, "I heard that a lot of evidence was left behind by them on purpose and they asked the tax commissioner to report it. They had expected that the tax commissioner would sue them, but they want to know whether the evidence provided by the tax commissioner to the imperial court was left behind by them on purpose. If so, they will feel relieved."
Royal Court.
The door of the conference room that had been closed for a day was finally opened, and everyone came out dragging their tired bodies.
The first day at work was gloomy.
Who can bear this?
"Ouch! I'm so tired!"
"We only review this much in one day. It will take a long time to finish the review."
Hearing their complaints, Zhang Fei said, "After dinner, everyone go back to the room and have a good rest. We will check again tomorrow."
Xu Zhiqian said: "You can continue to check at night!"
Su Che nodded in agreement.
Zhang Fei said: "There is no end to the work, and everything needs to be done in a balanced way. Let's just leave it at that for now."
After dinner.
"Teacher, you are looking for me."
Cai Jing came to the pavilion by the lake.
Zhang Fei stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down."
"Thank you!"
After Cai Jing sat down, Zhang Fei said, "It would be difficult for just a few of us to find out the truth in a short period of time. I plan to find some students to help."
Cai Jing frowned and said, "Many of those students are children of merchants. It is difficult for us to guarantee that they will not leak the news."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly realized, "What does the teacher mean?"
Zhang Fei gave him an appreciative look: "I must reassure those people, so that they will cooperate and fall into our trap, making our court session smoother.
I know that there is a student in the law school who was arranged by the judge Cao of the Transportation Department. His uncle is a salt merchant on the surface, but in fact he has a close relationship with the grain transport. "
Cai Jing was slightly surprised. We didn't even notice this.
"The success of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs may not be as simple as you think." Zhang Fei simply explained, and then said: "You come and make this suggestion tomorrow."
Cai Jing said: "Student understands."
Zhang Fei added: "I will give you evidence number C-3 for your review, but you have to keep an eye on them."
"yes."
The next day.
Around noon.
"It's almost time, let's go have lunch first."
Zhang Fei stretched his arms, looking tired.
Cai Jing suddenly asked, "Teacher, the tax commissioner just sent someone to ask about this. How long will the imperial court need to investigate?"
Shangguan Jun immediately complained, "It's only been a day and they're already rushing us. We can't finish the review even if we have three heads and six arms."
Cai Jing said hurriedly: "They don't know that there are only a few of us investigating."
Cai Bian said: "They asked for confidentiality, so what can we do?"
Cai Jing looked at Zhang Fei again and said, "Teacher, in fact, some students also have complaints about this."
Zhang Fei frowned and said, "Really?"
Cai Jing said: "They don't know why they can't participate in this case. Some even think that you, teacher, don't trust them at all."
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, then asked Cai Jing, "What do you think?"
Cai Jing said: "Those people are also students of the teacher, and they have been working diligently in the imperial court. They have made great contributions to the smooth tax collection last year. I think they are still trustworthy, and with their help, we will be able to complete the review quickly. Now that people outside are in a panic, this matter should not be delayed for too long."
Zhang Fei looked at Shangguan Jun and Cai Bian again, "What do you think?"
The two looked at each other.
Shangguan Jun said: "I think it's okay. After all, reviewing the evidence is also a valuable experience for them."
Cai Bian also said: "It is said that delay leads to changes, so solving it quickly is also a way to keep it secret."
Strictly speaking, they were all their students. Of course they trusted their students and would have to take them out with them in the future.
Zhang Fei looked at Su Zhe again.
Su Che hesitated for a moment and said, "This is your imperial court's business, I cannot interfere."
Zhang Fei pretended to be entangled again, "This is indeed not a solution. We have to solve this problem quickly. How about this, Chief Prosecutor Su, you should also arrange some trustworthy people to come and help with the review, so as to avoid any changes if we are late."
Su Che nodded. There were many people in the procuratorate who shared his same ideals, and he was not worried that someone would leak the information.
This is what Sima Guang emphasized.
With the addition of these students and prosecutors, the speed suddenly increased and everyone felt relaxed.
At noon, Wei Yingfang, who had just been dismissed from office, was about to get on the carriage to go home when Cao Yi suddenly came here. The two of them just exchanged glances, then got on the carriage without saying a word and drove away from the government office.
Inside the car.
"My people in the Imperial Court just sent me news."
"Yeah?"
Wei Yingfang was stunned. "What is the current situation?"
Cao Yi said, "He came across a total of 36 pieces of evidence, but in order to keep it secret, the Royal Court only had access to half of the 28 pieces, and only eight were complete pieces of evidence. I have just sent people to inquire, and most of them were deliberately left behind by someone, even someone from your wife's family."
Wei Yingfang asked, "What about the remaining small amount of evidence?"
Cao Yi smiled bitterly and said, "There are a few cases where they themselves did not expect it, but the amount is not large."
Wei Yingfang asked cautiously, "Is there any fraud here?"
Cao Yi said, "It doesn't look like there's any fraud. My people told me that the Imperial Court is keeping a close eye on them, fearing that they might tip off the authorities. He memorized all the information by rote. Moreover, the Tax Commissioner appealed to the Imperial Court so quickly, which means they only had less than a month to review all the evidence. If they had more evidence, this amount of time would not be enough."
"Then I'll be relieved."
Wei Yingfang nodded and laughed, "It seems that their tax commissioner is just like this."
After everyone's efforts, all the evidence was finally reviewed. The Royal Court and the Procuratorate both agreed that the evidence was sufficient to meet the standards for prosecution, so it was decided that the trial would begin on January 26th.
At the same time, summonses were also served to all the defendants.
The defendants also cooperated very well with the Royal Court's investigation.
Webster's Inn.
I saw a waiter running into the store, lying directly on the counter, waving his hands, panting, "Boss, Boss, I want to book three rooms."
The shopkeeper said, "Sorry, the shop is full."
The boy raised his head and said, "Are there no rooms left? I need to book for half a month, can you spare a few rooms for me?"
"There's not even one left."
The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Recently, all the people who come here to book rooms have booked for half a month, from the end of the month to the beginning of the next month."
"All right!"
The servant said again: "Then I'll go look at other houses."
"Don't go there. All the hotels in Hezhong Prefecture are fully booked. You'd better go to the temples or Taoist temples to ask."
"All booked?"
Although the lawsuit has not yet started, it has promoted the commercial development of Hezhong Prefecture.
All the hotels, brothels, and theaters were full.
And the turnover of all service industries is rising steadily.
Because this was a lawsuit involving the rich and powerful, and not just the Hezhong Prefecture, but also the big landowners and powerful people from the surrounding prefectures came one after another.
Because the tax commissioner will come to their place sooner or later, and they will not be able to sleep well unless they come and see it with their own eyes.
In the busyness, the court day soon arrived.
You can't see anyone wearing short brown clothes inside or outside the courtyard. No matter whether they are sitting inside or standing outside, they are all dressed in gorgeous clothes. You can tell at a glance that they are rich people.
After all, they are all well-known figures, so it is not convenient to make loud noises, so it is relatively quiet. However, they are all whispering to each other, discussing the person who is being sued this time.
It seems like they are all relatives!
Regardless of whether there is any trick involved, the identities of these people alone are enough to make people feel worried and fearful.
This tax commissioner is really as the rumors say, he only cares about money and not people!
If they can't stop it, who can?
The 132 defendants also hired Li Min and Lu Bangxing to respond to the lawsuit. At this time, the two were already sitting at the desk, not excited at all, but rather listless.
"It's really pointless to fight a lawsuit that is doomed to fail."
Lu Bangxing lamented.
Li Min said: "Why didn't you say that when you collected the money?"
Lu Bangxing said, "To be honest, I regret not asking for more at that time. They are all wealthy people in Hezhong Prefecture. But if we count them individually, they must be worth more than this. It is enough for us to use for several years."
Li Min said: "They didn't ask us to defend their innocence. We just wanted to check the situation and prevent them from being wrongly accused. This price is already good."
"That's true."
Lu Bangxing nodded, "Just thinking about being chased and beaten by Qiu Zhengwen later makes me feel uncomfortable."
Li Min said: "We agreed beforehand that each of us would take half."
"I know! I know! Why didn't the tax commissioner contact us? Could it be because of Judge Zhang?"
"Don't let your imagination run wild. When it comes to taxation, we may not be as knowledgeable as Zhengwen. Their Bian Jing Law Firm was established based on taxation."
"That's true."
After a while, Su Che came into the court with eight prosecutors. Almost at the same time, the three little Vajras also came to the stage.
Everyone returned to their seats and waited for the court to begin.
After another half an hour, Zhang Fei, Xu Zhiqian and Li Si entered the courtyard through the exclusive corridor.
The atmosphere was a bit quiet, and Zhang Fei was not quite used to it, "Huh? Why is there no cheering?" He thought to himself, could it be that I haven't been in court for a while, and everyone has stopped being a fan?
Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips and smiled: "Don't you even look at who is standing outside?"
Zhang Fei secretly glanced outside, damn! They are all black fans. Why are all my black fans so rich? This is ridiculous.
When they arrived at the stage, everyone stood up without any threats. It had become a conditioned reflex.
"Please take a seat, everyone."
Zhang Fei nodded, then sat down and whispered, "Cai Jing, you will be the one to read the speech today. The teacher is not in the mood."
The three little Vajras turned around at the same time.
Are you in a bad mood at this time?
What's going on?
Zhang Fei sighed, "What are you looking at? Facing such shocking data, isn't it normal for such an upright person like the teacher to be unhappy?"
In reality, there are no fans here, only black fans, and he is not in the mood to show himself.
Cai Jing immediately stood up and read out the report, introducing to everyone the cases to be heard today.
After reading the announcement, Zhang Fei banged the gavel and said, "Court is in session."
Qiu Zhengwen immediately stood up and asked to call the first defendant to court. He was a middle-aged man named Yin Chengxing. He was a famous rich man in Hezhong Prefecture and also a member of an old family in Hezhong Prefecture. The history of this family was longer than the founding of the Song Dynasty.
This caused many people to open their eyes wide, because this was the highlight right from the start!
Yin Chengxing sat in the dock with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking reluctant and closing his eyes.
Zhang Fei glanced at him and thought, rich men are different, they have something special.
Qiu Zhengwen stood up, bowed to Zhang Fei, and then said, "According to the evidence held by our tax department, the defendant Yin Chengxing was involved in tax evasion of 3,463 guan in total."
"What?"
Yin Chengxing hadn't made any move yet. When Wei Yingfang and others heard the number, they stood up immediately. It seemed that Yuan Jiang and others quickly sat back down.
As soon as he sat up, Wei Yingfang was already breathing heavily and said to Cao Yi beside him: "Conspiracy! This is a conspiracy!"
His face was filled with fear.
Yin Chengxing, who had just closed his eyes to rest, felt as if he was hallucinating when he heard this number. He had a delayed reflex and was stunned for a moment before suddenly opening his eyes. "It shouldn't be 120 guan." As soon as he said this, he suddenly realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, and immediately changed his words: "You are wronging me. How could I have evaded so much tax?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
