Just you?
These two short words really made Liu Renzan angry to death, but Liu Renzan was also fearless. With a sinister sneer on his face, he swaggered out of the Imperial City Administration with Zhang Fei and the others.
In fact, the Imperial City Division had long noticed the rise of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments. After Zhang Fei joined the procuratorate, they became even more cautious, but they did not dare to arrest people indiscriminately, fearing that they would be caught by the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments.
However, they have a basis for this case and they are not arresting people randomly.
In this situation, they are certainly not afraid of the public security, procuratorate and courts. If you arrest me and take me back, you will be slapping the emperor in the face!
Then let’s see who gets unlucky first.
But if they caused trouble in the imperial city and attracted the civil servants to join in the fun, it would be quite disadvantageous to them. They all knew in their hearts that the literati would not stand on their side.
It can be seen that Liu Renzan also has some skills and can make the most wise judgment so quickly.
Compared to Liu Renzan's fearlessness, the procuratorate was on the contrary very nervous, because they were just there to investigate, but Zhang Fei directly arrested the person.
This is like an arrow that has been shot, there is no turning back.
...
...
It really is like putting your head on your belt to investigate a case!
But is it that serious?
In fact, many prosecutors don’t quite understand this. They are just two soldiers. Is it necessary for them to fight to the death?
But they never thought that they were fighting a life-and-death battle every time.
Soon, the news spread throughout the imperial city.
The ministers and dignitaries were also shocked.
Before, Kaifeng Prefecture and Dali Temple had never directly sent people to the Imperial City Bureau to arrest people. At least they would seek the emperor's consent first.
In fact, in most cases, it was the emperor who sent people to investigate. If the person was indeed guilty, the emperor would deal with it according to the circumstances in order to appease public anger. In any case, he would try his best not to let other judicial agencies intervene.
Not to mention arresting people directly.
This is really too arrogant.
Even the Chief Judge Zhao Yan was shocked. I only asked you to investigate the case, but I didn't ask you to arrest anyone. He was known as the Iron-faced Censor and was already very tough. But he never thought that this kid Zhang San was even more tough than himself.
All we can say is that the disciple is better than the master.
But Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were numb!
It's really numb!
Here we go again!
Needless to say, Wang Anshi made it clear that he did not want Zhang Fei to get involved. There was really no need for that as he had a lot of things to deal with. However, Zhang Fei did the opposite of what he wanted, fearing that he would not be involved deeply enough and would not offend the emperor.
Wang Anshi was completely speechless.
Although Sima Guang firmly supported the intervention of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments and the need to bring the Imperial City Bureau under judicial supervision, he did not ask Zhang Fei to go and arrest people directly. Moreover, you arrested a public official, a sixth-rank official, not a small soldier. This was really a slap in the face of the emperor.
But the two of them thought about it and felt that this seemed to be Zhang Fei's basic operation. The development of things to this point was actually reasonable.
When the exemption tax was levied, didn't Zhang Fei make everyone uneasy? They kept saying that they wanted to keep a low profile, but if you put him in charge, he would definitely scare you to death. He never kept a low profile.
Every time he did that he caused a sensation in the city.
Just like when he was a pen, he dressed sexiest than anyone else, for fear that he would not be eye-catching enough.
Meng Mansion.
"I give in! I give in!"
Xie Jun waved his hands repeatedly, "We must never bother with that kid again. This time, I am really convinced. That kid really doesn't care about his life! No, no."
In the past, Zhang Fei had always been protecting the interests of the emperor. This time, he was directly attacking the imperial power, which made him feel much better. If he treated the emperor like this, it was understandable that he would be a little worse off to himself!
Don't take issue with him.
"If this continues, that kid will definitely die!"
Meng Gansheng smiled and nodded. Even Bao Zheng couldn't compare with Zhang Fei. He asked again, "But it seems that the court is unusually quiet this time."
Pei Wen said: "This is mainly because the Political Affairs Hall has not made any comments on this. After all, it involves the government, and the prime ministers are silent. Everyone is more or less afraid, and no one knows what the specific situation is at the moment."
Xie Yun asked curiously, "For example, Sima Junshi and his men have always hated the Imperial City Department, and this is an action by the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. How could he not voice his support? It's really strange."
Pei Wen said: "I heard that it was the Grand Court President Zhao Xianggong who warned them not to interfere with the law enforcement of the public security, procuratorate and courts, so as to avoid causing unrest in the court. This is just a small case, and the public security, procuratorate and courts will handle it impartially.
Therefore, Sima Xue Shi also told Liu Shilang and others that they should believe that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs could handle these problems, and they should concentrate on handling the affairs of Hebei and Jingdong East Road.
As for Mr. Wang, it seems that he has not inquired about this matter. He is now busy with water conservancy affairs in Hebei."
Meng Gansheng asked: "What about us?"
This is a great opportunity to target the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. They have put their heads under the guillotine themselves and cannot be let off easily!
Xie Yun showed a timid look on his face: "This matter has become a big enough mess. If we continue to stir up trouble, we will only bring disaster upon ourselves!"
Pei Wen nodded and said, "Brother Xie, what you said makes sense. No one has a say here. If we do something, it will be exposed soon. Maybe someone will follow our lead, which will be terrible."
In the past, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were fighting each other, so they could add fuel to the fire and become the mastermind.
They are not that stupid.
Meng Gansheng nodded and said, "That's true. If this matter is not handled properly, it may lead to the destruction of the family."
Pei Wen said: "However, I think the calmness above is only temporary. They will definitely support the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. Now it depends on whether the emperor will come forward to protect the Imperial City Bureau. Once the emperor comes forward, Sima Xueshi will definitely stand up, and Wang Xueshi will naturally not be left behind. Then it will definitely be a mess again. We can act according to the situation."
Meng Gansheng and Xie Yun looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
Unlike in the past, this case had a very high starting point and was directly facing the imperial power. In addition, the prime ministers remained silent, so no one dared to step in and add fuel to the fire.
Nowadays, everyone has the same idea, which is to move a small stool and watch the show.
Whose show are you watching?
Of course, it’s to watch the emperor’s play.
The current pressure is all on the emperor. Your minions have been taken away from their lair. If you don't do something, your authority will be gone!
They all knew that the emperor would definitely take action.
However, Zhao Xu did not act as they had imagined. He flew into a rage and sent people to arrest Zhang Fei. The palace was relatively peaceful.
Instead, it was Lee Ji-eun, the eunuch of the Imperial City Bureau, who led people to the Procuratorate.
The heads of the Imperial City Bureau are all called "Huangdang Huangchengsi Gongshi". There are seven of them in total, and one of them must be a eunuch. From this point, it can be seen that the Imperial City Bureau is the emperor's eyes, ears and minions.
So everyone knew that Li Zhien must have been asked by Zhao Xu to go, which meant that the emperor had intervened in the matter.
The fun is about to begin.
Procuratorate.
"Mr. Li, please have some tea."
Zhang Fei personally placed a cup of tea on the coffee table next to Lee Ji-eun, giving the eunuch the proper respect.
Eunuchs absolutely represent the emperor.
Li Zhien didn't even look at it, and said sarcastically: "Don't drink this tea yet, I just want to know if Liu Gongshi is still alive now?"
Zhang Fei hurriedly explained: "Mr. Li, you are too serious. Our procuratorate is only investigating, but we don't even have the power to torture. There is not a single instrument of torture in the court. Mr. Liu is living a very comfortable life here, Mr. Li, please rest assured."
"What? If I give you instruments of torture, do you really intend to torture Liu Gongshi?"
Li Zhien snorted and turned her head to look at Zhang Fei. "You are so bold that you dare to come to our Imperial City Bureau to arrest someone, and the person you arrested is Liu Gongshi. I really want to know who gave you the courage."
Zhang Fei said, "Mr. Li really misunderstood. We asked Mr. Liu to come because we were timid and put ourselves in his shoes."
"Yeah?"
Li Zhien laughed, "Then I want to hear how you think about Mr. Liu's affairs?"
Zhang Fei's expression changed, and he said very seriously: "Because Liu Gongshi misinterpreted the imperial edict while handling official business. The emperor clearly said that the imperial city department's marriage official violated the law and could be dealt with by the imperial city department itself without being handed over to Kaifeng Prefecture. However, Liu Gongshi used this order to refuse to cooperate with our procuratorate's investigation into a criminal case.
But everyone knows that our procuratorate does not have the power to make judgments. We only have the power to investigate and prosecute. If Mr. Liu has really been determined to have violated the law, we would never dare to arrest him, because according to regulations, the Imperial City Division has full authority to handle the matter. But the problem is that he has not yet been determined to have violated the law.
If even the marriage officials of the Imperial City Bureau cannot be investigated whether they have violated the law, it is equivalent to saying that the officials of the Imperial City Bureau can act lawlessly, which is obviously unreasonable.
Therefore, we quickly invited Liu Gongshi to the court to prove his innocence. Is there any misunderstanding? If we do not investigate the forgery and misinterpretation of the imperial edict, I am afraid that the Censorate and the Dali Temple will not let our procuratorate go.
I am being cowardly and putting myself in Liu Gong's shoes. "
After hearing this explanation, Li Zhien was really confused. "What are you talking about? If it's not against the law, why are you arresting people?"
Zhang Fei explained calmly: "Although it is not illegal, there is suspicion of illegality. Once it is confirmed that it is illegal, we will immediately return the person to the Imperial City Bureau, and the Imperial City Bureau will deal with it at their discretion."
Is that the case? Li Zhien was really happy with what Zhang Fei said, and nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I've heard that you, Zhang Daer, are born with a strong pen and can confuse right and wrong. Today I finally saw it."
As he said that, he waved his hand and said, "I don't want to waste time talking to you. Tell me, what do you want in order to let him go?"
Zhang Fei said calmly: "Our procuratorate just hopes that the Imperial City Bureau can abide by the imperial court's decree and cooperate with our procuratorate in the investigation."
Li Zhien immediately said angrily: "I wonder if you, the public security, procuratorate and court, have nothing to do. This case is the responsibility of our Imperial City Bureau. After we have finished the trial, we will hand it over to the Dali Temple for judgment. If you have any questions, you can go and discuss it with the Dali Temple. Why are you intervening in the investigation now?"
Zhang Fei said, "Because someone reported to the Imperial Court that your Imperial City Division abused punishment and tortured people into confessing. At the same time, the Imperial Court also issued a decree for our procuratorate to intervene in the investigation."
Li Zhien said: "You have no right to investigate."
"We have it."
Zhang Fei said calmly: "Because our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are supposed to defend the legitimate rights and interests of the people, and those two soldiers also deserve this kind of protection."
It is indeed difficult for the public security, procuratorate and courts to control the imperial city, but the people are outside the imperial city, so the public security, procuratorate and courts certainly have the power to intervene.
Li Zhien took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and asked: "Do you have any evidence?"
Zhang Fei said: "If we have sufficient evidence, we will go directly to arrest them. We are currently in the investigation stage. Our procuratorate only wants to see the prisoner's current situation. We even agreed not to talk to them for the time being, so as not to hinder the interrogation of the Imperial City Bureau. We just want to see if they have been subjected to very harsh punishment. If so, we will make further inquiries."
When it comes to rules and laws, how can Li Zhien beat Zhang Fei? After holding back for a long time, she could only threaten him fiercely: "Do you know the consequences of doing this?"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "This is an order issued by the Imperial Court. Our procuratorate is only executing the order. Even if there are consequences, it should be borne by the Imperial Court."
Li Zhien had never seen such a shameless person before. She was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe. "Okay, okay, you wait for me."
After saying that, he stood up and left angrily.
The cup of tea was not even touched.
After leaving the procuratorate, Lee Ji-eun went straight to the palace. When she saw Zhao Xu, she burst into tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice. She also exaggerated Zhang Fei's words. In a word, Zhang Fei did not take you, the emperor, seriously at all.
"How can this be possible!"
Zhao Xu slammed the table fiercely, and was furious. "How dare he, a little penman, do this?"
He pointed at Li Zhien again and said, "You must mobilize troops from the Palace Front Department right now and bring Zhang Fei to me. I want to see how brave he is."
Li Zhien was not overjoyed, "I obey your command."
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Lan Yuanzhen on the side suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this decree was issued by the imperial court. If Zhang San is arrested, then Zhao Xianggong will inevitably be implicated as well."
Zhao Xu snorted, "I am not afraid of anyone who comes."
Lan Yuanzhen added, "Your Majesty, of course, does not need to be afraid of anyone. However, once Prime Minister Zhao is implicated, Duke Wen and Scholar Sima will certainly file a petition to defend them, and the matter will get out of control. In my opinion, the matter has not yet reached that stage."
After hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but show some hesitation again, and glanced at Lan Yuanzhen, "What do you think?"
Lan Yuanzhen said: "The court officials have always had complaints against the Imperial City Bureau. Even if this incident did not happen today, it would definitely happen tomorrow. As for this case, the Imperial City Bureau has the upper hand. After all, those two soldiers did slander the government and spoke rudely to Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, why don't you use this case to strike a blow to the arrogance of those court officials? "
Zhao Xu asked: "How to attack?"
Lan Yuanzhen said: "Let's let the procuratorate intervene in the investigation. As long as the final result is that the two soldiers are guilty, then Your Majesty can use this as an excuse to drag Zhang San and others into the case and conduct a thorough trial.
After all, slandering the government, disrupting the military morale, and attempting rebellion are not minor crimes. What is the intention of the public security, procuratorate and courts standing up for them?
Whether your majesty really punishes them or scares them, they will not dare to easily target the Imperial City Department in the future."
Li Zhien couldn't help but be overjoyed and exclaimed: "Mr. Zhong, this is a great idea!"
They are more familiar with this kind of operation and are better at it.
To appeal for a traitor is also a form of treason.
It can kill people directly!
Anyway, Zhang San is not a scholar-official, so it is easier to kill him.
Zhao Xu thought for a while, then looked at Li Zhien and asked, "Are you sure there are no omissions in this case?"
Li Zhien wanted to pat her chest and promised: "Your Majesty, I guarantee with my life that there is absolutely no mistake in this case. Although we have used punishment, it is allowed in such cases."
Zhao Xu nodded, and thought for a moment, "Even if I want to do this, I have to talk to Prime Minister Zhao first, let him know the consequences of this matter, so that he won't blame me for being ruthless later."
Li Zhien was not aware of this, because on the surface, Zhao Xu had to protect the Imperial City Bureau. Otherwise, who would be willing to be loyal to you? The people's hearts would be scattered, and it would be difficult to lead the team!
Even if he had to punish someone, he had to do it himself.
However, Lan Yuanzhen knew about it, as it was all arranged by Zhao Xu.
On the second day, Zhao Xu summoned Zhao Yan alone.
"I heard that the royal court recently issued an order to send the procuratorate to investigate the Imperial City Bureau and arrested Liu Gongshi from the Imperial City Bureau." Zhao Xu asked.
Zhao Yan nodded and said, "Yes, because our imperial court has some evidence that the Imperial City Bureau abused the criminal law against the two soldiers and tortured them into confessing, so I sent the Procuratorate to investigate. However, the Imperial City Bureau did not cooperate, and Liu Gongshi even misinterpreted the imperial edict in an attempt to stop the Procuratorate, so he was taken away by the Procuratorate."
Zhao Xu said, "I have also heard about this case. Regardless of whether the two soldiers are guilty or not, the key point is that such cases have always been handled by the Imperial City Bureau. I also hope that the public security, procuratorate, courts and the Imperial City Bureau can perform their respective duties and not interfere with each other."
When talking about the issues of the Imperial City Bureau, his tone was not as gentle as usual, but rather stronger, because this was also his family affair.
Zhao Yan asked: "I, your Majesty, would like to ask you a question. If the imperial city officials commit crimes and kill innocent people, would your Majesty intervene or not?"
Zhao Xu immediately said: "If they kill innocent people indiscriminately, I will naturally deal with them according to the law and will not tolerate them."
Zhao Yan said: "I absolutely believe that Your Majesty will enforce the law impartially, but the question is, how does Your Majesty know that they are killing innocent people and committing crimes."
Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, "Didn't you say that, sir?"
Zhao Yan said: "It is because I told you that Your Majesty knew about it and was able to enforce the law impartially. If I had not told Your Majesty out of fear or because I wanted to protect myself, wouldn't Your Majesty have been kept in the dark?"
".!"
Zhao Xu looked a little embarrassed.
Zhao Yan immediately said earnestly: "Your Majesty, the Imperial City Department is your eyes and ears, but have you ever thought about what the consequences would be if they deceived your Majesty and the ministers dared not speak out?
The reason why I asked the procuratorate to investigate this case is not to punish the Imperial City Department, but to hope that Your Majesty will not be deceived by the treacherous people. Once I have examined the case thoroughly, I will hand it over to Your Majesty for punishment. "
What he said actually reflected the meaning of the imperial edict: the power of disposal lies in the hands of the emperor, but the power of investigation must be handed over to the judicial system.
The Imperial City Bureau will not report you, and you cannot let your left eye monitor your right eye.
Isn't this a complete mess?
Zhao Xu asked, "If things are not as what Prime Minister Zhao said, how should Prime Minister Zhao deal with it?"
There was a hint of threat in the voice.
Zhao Yan replied: "If this is a misunderstanding, then that would be the best."
Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Yan from the side, and for the first time he found that this old man was quite shameless. If there is no evidence, then just pretend nothing happened, and you will take all the benefits. He said calmly: "Well! Since Mr. Zhao is determined to investigate, I will not say more. I will let the Imperial City Bureau cooperate with the public security, procuratorate and courts in the investigation."
His tone was full of dissatisfaction.
Zhao Yan shouted: "Your Majesty is wise."
Is this called wisdom? This is called cowardice.
If Zhao Xu had not discussed it with Zhang Fei beforehand, he really could not help it. You are really going too far.
When Zhao Yan returned to the imperial court, Sima Guang, who had been waiting there, immediately came forward and asked, "What does the emperor say?"
Zhao Yan sat down and said, "The emperor has agreed to let the Imperial City Bureau cooperate with the procuratorate's investigation, but the emperor has also hinted that if the Imperial City Bureau does not torture people into confessing or abuse punishment, I may have to return to my hometown to spend my remaining years."
Sima Guang immediately said, "Please rest assured, Prime Minister Zhao. If the emperor really does this, even if I don't want this official uniform, I will definitely seek justice for Prime Minister Zhao."
Zhao Yan said: "I have said long ago that this case will be handed over to the judiciary for decision. If you get involved, this matter will only become more complicated."
Sima Guang sighed, "Of course I know this, but the public security, procuratorate and courts are only enforcing the law impartially. Now the government is threatening them, forcing them to convict the Imperial City Bureau. This is simply treating justice as a joke.
If we blame Zhao Xianggong for the fair judgment of the imperial court, who will dare to serve as the chief judge in the future? If we do not stand up, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will be destroyed."
Zhao Yan couldn't help but frown upon hearing this, and said with emotion: "After all, it's unavoidable."
He did not want to put the emperor in a position of power and make him unable to step down, which would also be very detrimental to the implementation of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
But the reality is that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs only intervene in the investigation based on the specific circumstances. Whether a person is guilty or not can only be known after the trial. And Zhao Xu’s attitude now is that if you cannot confirm guilt, you cannot conduct a trial.
With this attitude, no one will dare to investigate in the future.
The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs also have no foothold.
Sima Guang was right. As long as there was no evidence to prove that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs were abusing their power and bending the law, the emperor could not retaliate against the Grand Court President.
Otherwise, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can only stop here.
(End of this chapter)
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