Hearing?
What the hell is this?
Previously, ministers believed that the procuratorate had only two choices: either to prosecute or not to prosecute, but they all believed that the procuratorate was more likely to prosecute because the conservatives were also dissatisfied with their rejection of the prosecution.
The procuratorate has almost no way out.
Unexpectedly, a hearing was held in this gap.
Whether to prosecute or not will have to be decided at a meeting.
I can only say.
It’s you, Zhang San, who knows how to play!
It's numb!
The ministers were all numb!
...
...
Zhang Fei is almost playing with the judicial system to the point of chaos.
The ministers despised this very much.
Pretentious!
I have never seen such a pretentious government office.
It's up to you to decide whether to sue or not. Why are you making so much trouble? You are just bored.
Many ministers expressed their dissatisfaction with this, believing that the procuratorate was deliberately making things mysterious.
Pointless!
However, before they could even open their mouths, the procuratorate published an explanation of the hearing and the reasons for holding it in the newspaper.
rule!
Still emphasize rules.
The reason for holding a hearing is that the procuratorate adheres to its own rules and the evidence does not meet the standards. Although many people are dissatisfied, they have no right to initiate prosecution.
However, since many people have raised doubts and the court also believes that the matter is of great importance, in order to seek a fair result, the procuratorate decided to hold a hearing to listen to suggestions from all parties and improve evidence before deciding whether to prosecute.
After this report was released, it immediately won the support of many ordinary people and scholars.
Although they could not clearly understand what the hearing was about based on this report alone, under such extreme pressure, the procuratorate still did not initiate prosecution and stuck to its principles.
Isn’t this what justice is all about?
Not afraid of power, fair and selfless.
At the same time, the procuratorate can take into account the opinions of everyone and solve the problem in a very fair way.
This is very rare.
Soon, the public opinion turned around.
Most people went from questioning the procuratorate to supporting holding a hearing.
Trial Court.
"Meng Zhiyuan, did you receive an invitation to the hearing yesterday?"
Pei Wen, who was on duty at the Court of Justice today, asked.
"No."
Meng Gansheng shook his head and asked again: "Did you receive it?"
“Neither do I.”
Pei Wen shook his head and continued, "But I heard that many ministers in the court have been invited, including Wang Xueshi, Sima Xueshi, Wen Gong, and Ji Xiang, a total of more than 50 people. Not only that, the Procuratorate also sent invitation letters to some officials in Daming Prefecture, including Han Xianggong."
Meng Gansheng was immediately surprised and asked, "Even Han Xianggong was invited?"
"It can't be wrong."
Pei Wen nodded, "But I don't know whether Mr. Han will come."
Meng Gansheng took a deep breath and said, "What on earth does that guy want to do? Didn't they say that this hearing is just to decide whether to prosecute? For this purpose, they even invited Han Xianggong from Daming Mansion."
Pei Wen shook his head and said, "I don't know much either. Now people inside and outside the imperial city are discussing this matter. Some people say that it is because Han Xianggong is in charge of Hebei Road, and many people previously questioned Han Xianggong for shielding Cheng Fang, so Han Xianggong was invited here to testify in order to prove his innocence."
Meng Gansheng nodded and said, "That's possible. If that's the case, it's probably the government's intention. This hearing is not ordinary. We have to prepare well."
Pei Wen said: "I thought so too, but...but the procuratorate didn't seem to take it seriously."
Meng Gansheng asked, "What do you mean?"
Pei Wen said: "I heard that after this matter was settled, Zhang San took a holiday and went to the charity foundation to make donations."
"???"
Outer city, Hexi.
"I didn't expect you to be in the mood to help with the preparations for the business law."
Lu Huiqing asked Zhang Fei with a smile.
Zhang Fei shook his head and smiled bitterly, "To be honest with you, Lu Xiaokan, I have to go to the Military Equipment Bureau later. This was supposed to be my vacation time, but it turned out to be busier than the lawsuit."
Lu Huiqing asked, "What are you doing at the Military Equipment Bureau?"
Zhang Fei said, "Doesn't the charity foundation donate money every year? But now some people are questioning why so much money has been spent but no results have been seen. I was the one who facilitated the donation to the Military Equipment Bureau, so I have to go over and take a look."
Lu Huiqing nodded and asked, "What about the hearing?"
Zhang Fei said, "It's still early! Because we still need to invite a group of officials from Daming Prefecture, we may have to wait for a month."
Lu Huiqing asked, "I heard that you also invited Han Xianggong?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Lu Huiqing asked, "Did the emperor ask you to invite him?"
Zhang Fei said, "No, it was requested by our procuratorate. I believe that Lu Xiaokan has also heard that many people think that Han Xianggong condoned Cheng Fang, and some people asked the procuratorate to prosecute Cheng Fang. That's why we invited Han Xianggong. However, my father-in-law still asked the emperor, and the emperor agreed."
Lu Huiqing frowned when he heard this.
Zhang Fei noticed that his expression was different and asked, "Why is Lu Xiaokan silent?"
Lu Huiqing glanced at Zhang Fei with a slightly conflicted look.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Lü Xiaokan, I am definitely in favor of the new policy. If I knew more, I would not ask questions that are not conducive to the new policy at the hearing."
Lu Huiqing weighed the pros and cons for a moment and said, "It is absolutely impossible for Han Xianggong to indulge Cheng Fang."
Zhang Fei said: "But according to the facts, Han Xianggong did not stop Cheng Fang from doing anything. Given Han Xianggong's status, he would not be afraid of Cheng Fang."
Lu Huiqing said: "Mr. Han is certainly not afraid of Cheng Fang, but he is afraid of him!"
Zhang Fei asked uncertainly, "Master Wang?"
"And the government."
"What's going on?" Zhang Fei asked.
Lu Huiqing hesitated for a while before saying, "At the first water control meeting, my teacher supported Cheng Fang and dredged the east flow, but Han Xianggong was very supportive of the north flow. In the end, the emperor still adopted my teacher's suggestion and chose to dredge the east flow."
Zhang Fei said: "I know about this."
Lu Huiqing asked, "Don't you find it strange? If that's the case, why did Han Xianggong leave Cheng Fang alone?"
Zhang Fei pondered, "To praise to death?"
"What is flattery?"
"It means to indulge him, to make him proud and complacent, and to make mistakes."
"I'm not sure about that, but that's not the main reason."
Lu Huiqing suddenly whispered, "The emperor had just ascended the throne and was preparing to use my mentor. Han Xianggong's authority in the court was second only to the emperor."
Zhang Fei nodded immediately and said, "I understand."
Although Han Qi also made great contributions to Zhao Xu's accession to the throne, Han Qi was already a high-ranking official at that time. If Han Qi was still in the court, Zhao Xu would not be able to suppress him, and Zhao Xu also had to build his own political team.
If Han Qi continued to serve as prime minister, it would be difficult for Wang Anshi to achieve anything.
Because everyone will definitely follow Han Qi's lead.
Regarding the issue of East Flow and North Flow, Zhao Xu actually wanted to send a signal to tell everyone that times have changed and Wang Anshi is the answer to the future.
Lu Huiqing said to Zhang Fei again: "I mentioned this to you not to prevent you from inviting Han Xianggong to attend the hearing, but I hope you understand that Cheng Fang and the Dongliu Plan are closely related to the new policy of my mentor and cannot be lost."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I know that."
Lu Huiqing said: "But I heard from my mentor that you didn't guarantee that Cheng Fang would be okay?"
Zhang Fei said helplessly, "If I were an Erbi, I could give guarantees according to the situation, but I am just a small prosecutor now. There are a group of people standing above me, and I can't make the decision. I originally planned to back off and hand the case over to you to solve, but unfortunately it didn't work in the end. The hearing is the best way I can fight for. After all, this is an administrative matter, not a judicial one. You can all intervene."
Lu Huiqing hurriedly smiled and said, "I'm just asking, don't take it too seriously."
They really couldn't blame Zhang Fei for this matter. Zhang Fei had tried his best to keep his distance. If the procuratorate could get away with it, the situation would actually be good for them because the emperor would definitely be on their side. But unfortunately, many of their reformists were targeting the public security, procuratorate and courts, so they could only drag them down.
After a stroll in Hexi, Zhang Fei went to the West Square under the Military Equipment Bureau.
"Prosecutor Zhang's presence brings honor to our humble abode."
Liang Shaodong walked out quickly and bowed repeatedly.
Zhang Fei returned the greeting and said, "But I am not here as Prosecutor Zhang today. I am here on behalf of the Charity Foundation."
"That's a relief! That's a relief!" Liang Shaodong said with a smile, "If Sanlang is the prosecutor, we won't be able to hide from him, let alone go out to greet him."
Zhang Fei laughed, "Is it so scary again?"
"It's just a joke, Sanlang, please don't mind it. Please come in, please come in."
Liang Shaodong invited Zhang Fei into the house again and enthusiastically poured a cup of tea for Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei took a sip, put down his teacup, and said, "I heard that Liang Shaojian is now the second-in-command of the Military Equipment Bureau. This is really cause for celebration!"
Liang Shaodong said hurriedly: "It's all thanks to Sanlang's advice, otherwise, I would never have been the second in command!"
When Zhang Fei first donated money to them, there was no Military Equipment Supervisory Department. Liang Shaodong belonged to the Armory of the Three Departments, so he was promoted immediately.
The reason is that Liang Shaodong would ask for money. In Wang Anshi's view, if you can get money to develop weapons, then you are awesome!
Zhang Fei said, "No way! No way! I just gave a few pointers, but Liang Shaojian made full use of it, causing many people in the charity foundation to be dissatisfied."
"Is that so?"
Liang Shaodong suddenly became nervous. He thought that he would not be able to survive for long without funding.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I am teaching you to develop some more complex weapons, such as firearms, so that you can get more money. But you can't not develop them. You have to produce some results, so that I can speak for you!"
Liang Shaodong hurriedly said, "Misunderstanding! What a huge misunderstanding! It's not that I can't produce results, but those results cannot be known to those businessmen."
Zhang Fei said: "That means there are results."
"Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment, I will arrange it right away."
Now that the big moneybag is here, Liang Shaodong must show his courtesy!
Half an hour later, Liang Shaodong invited Zhang Fei to the back yard, where he saw five soldiers standing on the playground, each holding a two-and-a-half-foot-long bamboo tube.
"Please look, Sanlang. This is the musket we prepared specifically for the Royal Police."
"A musket?"
Zhang Fei took care of it, but thought to himself, I spend several thousand strings of cash every year, about 20,000 to 30,000 strings of cash in total, and you only give me this?
Liang Shaodong explained: "Sanlang, don't take Xiaoqian's musket. I'll ask them to demonstrate it to you."
Having said that, he asked the five soldiers to operate it once.
But they were seen raising bamboo tubes and pointing them at several wooden men wrapped in rags fifty steps away, with an assistant beside them in charge of lighting the fire.
Boom! Boom!
With several bursts of fire, they had completed a round of salvos.
Zhang Fei didn't see anything mysterious, he just thought they were setting off fireworks.
Instead, Liang Shaodong excitedly pulled Zhang Fei to the front of the puppet, but saw that the cloth wrapped around the puppet had been shot to pieces.
After reading it, Zhang Fei thought, could this be the prototype of the gun?
Liang Shaodong said, "Sanlang, this is the biggest development of our military weapons department in recent years. We can shoot small stones and iron filings through this bamboo tube to kill the enemy."
He looked extremely nervous while speaking, even though he was not that nervous when he was giving a report to his boss.
The money from the charity foundation is only used to give bonuses to these people and craftsmen, and the money allocated by the court generally does not reach them.
“Interesting.”
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But is this suitable for the Royal Police? If this musket is used in a busy city, innocent people will be hurt!"
Liang Shaodong looked at Zhang Fei with a strange expression.
Zhang Fei asked: "Is there something wrong with what I asked?"
Liang Shaodong said hurriedly: "If we just want to catch a few small thieves, then of course it is not needed, and the Royal Police don't need it! But it is useful to deal with bandits. For example, in Qizhou and Qingzhou, it is said that the Royal Police are short of archers. This musket does not need to be practiced for several years, it can be used quickly."
"That's true."
Zhang Fei nodded and thought, this firearm cannot just be developed, it also has to be used, but currently there is not enough scale, and there probably is no matching tactics. If it is used on the Western Army, if the effect is not good and leads to defeat, I can't bear the responsibility, it would be better to let the Royal Police use it first.
After some consideration, Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Very good. You can discuss with your superiors to see if you can equip the Royal Police with this kind of musket."
Liang Shaodong was very excited when he saw that Zhang Fei was willing to accept it.
"but!"
Zhang Fei looked around and whispered, "But don't exaggerate. If you say this is just a basic musket, the Military Equipment Bureau can still develop a more sophisticated one, such as replacing the bamboo tube with an iron tube."
Liang Shaodong was startled. "Iron pipe?"
Zhang Fei said: "Yes! This bamboo tube seems to be easy to break. If it is an iron tube, it will look sturdy. The key is that it can also cost more money!"
Liang Shaodong nodded, "I understand! I understand! Thank you for your advice, Sanlang."
I thought, if the iron pipes could be replaced, the budget would increase dramatically!
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The key is that you can produce results that satisfy me. I will be happy to give you this money, and you will feel at ease taking it. If the Royal Police are equipped with this kind of musket on a large scale, the charity foundation will donate another bonus to you, so that people will know that the charity foundation also contributed to this."
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"
Liang Shaodong suddenly laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.
As long as the Military Equipment Bureau conducts serious research and development, Zhang Fei is still willing to invest in it. After all, he is not living in the Zhenguan period and does not have to worry about foreign enemies at all. The Northern Song Dynasty is surrounded by powerful enemies, and investing in weapons research and development is very cost-effective.
Taking advantage of the two-day holiday, after finishing the work of the charity foundation, Zhang Fei returned to the procuratorate and was busy with the reform of the procuratorate.
In fact, compared with the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs in Hezhong Prefecture, those in the capital are still a mess and do not appear to be that professional.
Under Zhang Fei's suggestion, the procuratorate was set up specifically for the people, and it could even be said to be a service department where people could file complaints.
The backyard is specifically for court lawsuits.
Another thing is to set up an investigation office to strengthen the investigative capabilities of the procuratorate, and the target will mainly be the general public, while the existing Censorate will specifically target public officials.
At the same time, the investigative court relies on evidence to prosecute cases, and it is not enough to rely solely on the police station.
The third court is the Procuratorate’s Office. This department is not aimed at people, but at police stations, prisons, and other departments related to the duties of the Procuratorate.
Monitor whether their behavior is normal.
The bidding of these three courts is equivalent to further expanding the powers of the procuratorate, making it clear that it will monitor everything, whether it is a government office or an official.
This has indeed attracted everyone's attention, but everyone is not paying attention to these three courts. Instead, we are all discussing the hearing outside, and it seems that your procuratorate has nothing to do with it, which makes us embarrassed to discuss it anymore.
Is this really a big deal?
Many officials came to Xu Zun to find out whether your procuratorate is confident or really does not take it seriously.
Xu Zun still said that our procuratorate believes that the current evidence is insufficient to prosecute, but you insist on prosecuting. We can only wait and see. Now that the person has not arrived, we can't just sit and wait.
Anyway, just don't take it seriously.
But you said they didn't take it seriously, they even sent an invitation letter to Han Qi.
This smoke screen is so effective that everyone is seeing things in a fog.
Is this a big deal or a small matter?
On the other side, Cheng Fang and Cheng Yi were stationed in Chanzhou and traveled day and night because they also hoped to resolve the matter as soon as possible. They have now arrived in Tokyo Bianliang.
When Cheng Fang arrived in Beijing, the first thing he did was of course to see the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I am truly wronged!"
Cheng Fang was crying and snotting, "I have been tolerant in everything, and even when I met Cheng Yi later, I was humble. I never thought that they would treat me like this."
Zhao Xu asked, "Why did someone inform you that you threatened to sue Cheng Yi?"
Cheng Fang said: "I am just talking to vent my frustration, but I definitely don't want to be hostile to Cheng Yi. Your Majesty can go and ask Cheng Yi."
"That's a small matter."
Zhao Xu asked again: "Why do the sailors have insufficient food and clothing?"
Cheng Fang immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is all the fault of the Transportation Department. I didn't take a penny from it. It was the Transportation Department that refused to give me food and clothing on the grounds of insufficient preparation. I was anxious to complete the task assigned by Your Majesty, so this happened."
Zhao Xu frowned, and seeing Cheng Fang was dusty, with pale hair, dark and thin, he must have suffered a lot. He felt a little sorry for him, so he said, "You go down and have a rest first. We will talk about it tomorrow when Wang Xueshi enters the palace."
"I'll take my leave."
Sima Mansion.
"So that's what happened."
Cheng Yi nodded and said with a smile: "I said, it is impossible that Cheng Fang reported me."
Sima Guang asked, "Why do you say that?"
Cheng Yi said: "Because this incident was obviously caused by Cheng Fang's improper law enforcement, how could he dare to make it public? Since then, he has been more respectful of me in opposing me. He should be afraid that I will impeach him. It turns out that they want to use this incident to target the public security, procuratorate and courts."
At this point, he smiled slightly: "But this is also good, I can finally meet Zhang Sanlang, the founder of the law of the rule of law."
Sima Guang said quickly: "Don't say that. You will regret it when you go to court."
Cheng Yi asked: "Why do you regret it?"
Sima Guang smiled and said, "Because as long as you sit in the court and are questioned by Zhang San, you will feel guilty."
Cheng Yi shook his head and said, "I don't believe it. Could it be that Lord Junshi is also like this?"
Sima Guang nodded.
Cheng Yi's expression froze for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Then I want to see it more. I wonder when the hearing will start?"
Sima Guang said: "I guess we have to wait until Han Xianggong comes back before we can start."
Cheng Yi nodded slightly.
After a few more days, Han Qi finally arrived. He was also the last one to arrive among those in the invitation letter.
Zhao Xu also respected him very much. After he had rested at home for three days, he sent someone to invite him to the palace.
Zhao Xu saw Han Qi, who was in his twilight years and looked much less energetic than he was a few years ago. He could not help but feel sad. "There really is no one in this procuratorate who understands the situation. They even sent people to disturb Mr. Han. Damn it!"
Han Qi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please don't blame them. In fact, Inspector Qi told me that they were just inviting me as usual. It is up to me to decide whether to come or not. The reason I came back this time is because I have been ill for a long time and I am no longer able to help Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will allow me to retire."
Zhao Xu immediately said, "Did Lord Han hear those rumors? Lord Han, don't worry, I won't believe them."
Han Qi shook his head and said, "How can I take those rumors to heart? It's just..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhao Xu said, "It's OK if it's not. I believe Lord Han also knows about the battle in Xihe. I really need Lord Han to guard Hebei for me right now."
Han Qi opened his mouth, but Zhao Xu's burning gaze made him unable to speak.
Zhao Xu added: "It is good that Lord Han has returned this time. You must stay in the capital for a while. I still have many questions to ask Lord Han."
"I obey your command."
Han Qi nodded helplessly.
In the afternoon.
When Fu Bi was on his way to the Council of State, he suddenly saw a sedan chair coming towards him. He was stunned. Who was this? It was so grand that he was riding in a sedan chair in the imperial city.
But soon he thought of who it was, so he stood by the roadside. After a while, the sedan stopped and Han Qi bowed and walked out of it.
Fu Bi was shocked, "How come you have become so old?"
Han Qi said with a smile: "You are always running around outside, how can you not look old? Now I envy you, you are in the court, but you can stay out of the affairs. Why didn't I get such a good job in the beginning, and I have to do some thankless work."
Fu Bi laughed and said, "You are not ill from overwork, I think you are just drinking too much."
Han Qi's eyes flashed with guilt, and he pointed at Fu Bi and said, "You are disrespectful to the elderly."
Fu Bi laughed a few times and asked, "But the procuratorate has great authority. Even Mr. Han can be invited here."
Han Qi said: "I came here on my own initiative."
Fu Bi asked, "Why?"
Han Qi asked, "Can I hide it from you?"
Fu Bi's expression changed, and he stroked his beard and said, "I can see that the official seems to be a little regretful."
Han Qi sighed, "You don't know that dredging the river has really caused suffering to the people of Hebei. I see it with my own eyes and I am worried about it in my heart!"
Fu Bi asked: "Then why don't you care about Cheng Fang?"
Han Qi said, "I have already submitted a petition against it at the beginning. Since the emperor has not adopted it, if I continue to intervene, firstly, I will not be able to control it. If Cheng Fang is afraid of me, he will not be so radical. Secondly, I am afraid that it will make Wang Jiefu unhappy. What's the point of that?"
Fu Bi nodded and understood Han Qi in his heart.
Between him and Wang Anshi, Zhao Xu would definitely choose Wang Anshi, because Han Qi was already old, and if he had a falling out with Wang Anshi directly, wouldn't it make Zhao Xu's job difficult?
Fu Bi did the same thing. They all disagreed with the new law, but they just stopped there. I only expressed my concerns. It is up to you whether to listen or not. We will not force you.
However, Han Qi's return undoubtedly fueled the fire in the court. They all knew that the Procuratorate had invited Han Qi, but they were not sure whether Han Qi would come. As a result, Han Qi really came back.
Then this hearing is definitely not a trivial matter of whether to prosecute or not.
However, the recent actions of the procuratorate are very puzzling. They are not paying attention at all and are busy with their own affairs and dealing with some backlog cases.
Everyone is scratching their heads, what on earth are you doing?
It was not until the fifth day after Han Qi returned that news came out that the hearing would be held at Xiangguo Temple three days later.
Only then did they receive official notification from the procuratorate.
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