Second watch.
Xu Zun returned home a little drunk. Seeing his son, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law all coming to the door, he said apologetically, "You haven't slept yet!"
"How dare I sleep until my father comes back?"
Xu Lingxiao said hurriedly.
After all, Xu Zun is not young anymore, and his family members are a little worried when he doesn't come home tonight.
Arriving at the hall, Mu Zhen quickly poured Xu Zun a cup of hot tea.
Xu Zhiqian said with a little concern: "Dad, at your age, you should avoid going out to drink at night, so as not to hurt your body."
"I don't want to go to social events either. This is not..." Xu Zun suddenly glanced at Zhang Fei beside him, "Isn't this all your husband's fault?"
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment before he reacted and asked, "Is it because of the appeal by the people of Hedong?"
"What else could it be?" Xu Zun gave a bitter smile and sighed, "Today, the number of people who want to treat me to a drink is almost lining up from the South Gate to the North Gate."
...
...
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Is it so exaggerated?"
"You're still laughing?"
Xu Zun glared at him unhappily. Actually, he didn't like socializing either. It was just that many old friends came out to invite him this time. He added, "This time, it's really different from the past. In the past, even if you made a fuss, few people came to me to inquire about the news, because they also knew my character. But this time, everyone shamelessly came to me to persuade me to put the overall situation first and not to mess around."
Xu Zhiqian murmured quietly: "If the people have grievances, can't they appeal?"
Xu Zun looked at Xu Zhiqian helplessly, but didn't say anything. He then said to Zhang Fei, "Zhang San, I have no intention of interfering with your duties. I just want to tell you about the situation in the court. As for how you deal with it, that is the business of your Supreme Court."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "I know."
.....
In the past, Zhang Fei had been doing this because it was just a dispute over everyone's interests. It was all about paying more taxes and doing less illegal things. That was all.
Moreover, Zhang Fei often occupies the moral high ground, is in line with Confucianism, and can win the support of many people.
But this time is different, this time it’s fatal!
It even involves the survival of the country.
Therefore, this time, whether it is the reformists, conservatives, loyal ministers, or treacherous ministers, they are all very worried about this.
Since Zhang Fei would have no way of controlling this matter if it fell into his hands, they lowered themselves to find Xu Zun to inquire about the news. This was an explicit hint that they must let Zhang Fei know the interests involved.
Xu Zun knew the relationship between Zhang Fei and Zhao Xu, and he would not dare to do this without the emperor's approval. Moreover, Zhang Fei was actually better at this than he was, so he just informed Zhang Fei of the situation.
Even the vast majority of ministers in the court were very worried about this.
But in fact, it was limited to the court.
Since these people filed the lawsuit openly and also requested the help of the Legal Aid Department, the news spread quickly and immediately sparked heated discussions, and the atmosphere was completely opposite to that in the court.
The reason is very simple. The people who are suing now are the people who have been treated brutally by the Liao Kingdom. This can arouse more empathy among the people. However, as a minister, he must still consider the overall situation. For example, Fu Bi is actually very angry about this, but he does not think that now is a good time to break off relations with the Liao Kingdom.
But whether it was the bartender in the restaurant or the young scholar, they all complained that the Liao Kingdom was too arrogant and unreasonable, because this was not the first or second time, but every time.
I get angry and furious just listening to it.
But they no longer had any hope in the imperial court, because it was always like this with the Hui people, so what difference would this time be?
Therefore, they now place all their hopes on the Grand President, hoping that he can give them something different.
The existence of the Grand Court President is also the biggest difference from the past.
But Zhang Fei only released the news. There were too many people involved and the case was rather complicated. The Supreme Imperial Court needed to collect more evidence before making a judgment.
There has been no decision to review the case yet, but there has also been no announcement that it will be dismissed.
......
The Supreme Court.
"Since Mr. Zhao has already rejected it, why do you have to take the blame?"
Sima Guang said with a serious face: "If it was just a simple judicial case, I would definitely not intervene, but this case is different from any previous case and will affect the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
Because no matter how you judge, your judgment cannot determine the direction of the matter. This must be decided by the court and must be decided by the government.
If you make a judgment but are ultimately unable to enforce it, this will definitely affect your authority as the chief judge.
Also, if your judgment affects the court's negotiations, or even if you have no influence on them but the negotiations over there turn out to be unfavorable to our dynasty, someone will blame you for this.
The situation is very unfavorable to our dynasty now, and we are in need of a scapegoat!"
Although he did not support breaking off relations with the Liao Kingdom, he came to Zhang Fei not to influence Zhang Fei's judgment. He just knew that Zhang Fei's judgment was useless in this matter. He was purely helping Zhang Fei analyze the interests involved.
No matter how you judge, you cannot decide the direction of the whole matter. It will only damage your authority and bring trouble to yourself.
If they really have to cede land, they have to find someone to take the blame, and if you get involved, you will definitely be the first choice.
This kind of thing happened many times in the Song Dynasty, but in the past it was always diplomatic times that were blamed. Sima Guang was very worried about this.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Sima, but what I think may be a little different from what Mr. Sima sees."
Sima Guang was surprised and asked, "Different? What's different?"
Zhang Fei said: "Like most people, Sima Xueshi sees diplomacy and the relationship between countries, but I see the interests of the people.
Yes, I cannot decide on diplomacy, but I can judge whether the people should be compensated. As Prime Minister Zhao said in his rejection, this is a diplomatic matter and is not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
Diplomacy is indeed not the responsibility of the imperial court, but if the people suffer huge losses due to diplomacy, then I think the court must be responsible for these people. They lost their land for no reason, but they did not get any compensation. This is simply an insult to justice and the concept of the rule of law. "
Sima Guang was startled, "Oh, you want to help those people get compensation?"
"certainly."
Zhang Fei said: "At least based on the current evidence, they should be compensated."
Sima Guang nodded repeatedly, "This is what we should pay." He glanced at Zhang Fei with a hint of suspicion, and then said, "How about this, I suggest that the court compensate those people first, and you don't have to make trouble here. After all, Doctor Han is still negotiating with the Liao envoy in Youzhou, so don't make trouble."
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "Master Sima, you know me. I just look unruly, but I am actually the most disciplined person......!"
"I know you very well. You are the one who understands the rules the best, but you are not the one who follows them the best."
Sima Guang interrupted him and chuckled, "I can't imagine such a thing, let alone the common people. I would go to the imperial court to file a lawsuit. I suspected that the people in Hedong had grown wings and flew here. Only you can come up with such a plan, because you are the only one who understands how the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs work best."
"......?"
"Why don't you say anything? Aren't you very talkative?" Sima Guang snorted.
Zhang Fei said aggrievedly: "I thought Scholar Sima came to show concern for me, but it turns out he was testing me."
"Does this still need testing?"
Sima Guang spit out angrily, and then said: "If I didn't care about you, why would I come here to wade into this muddy water?"
At this point, he whispered again: "You have to know that this matter is not something that can be decided by one person. If one has to make this decision, there will be countless hands pulling him back. And anyone who takes advantage of this matter will inevitably become a scapegoat. Prime Minister Zhao is impartial, but he also chose to protect himself in this matter."
This has happened more than once. By now, he has figured out Zhang Fei's routine. This matter cannot be so simple.
But he believed that even the emperor could not make the decision alone on this matter, because it involved too many aspects, and if something went wrong, no one could save him.
Zhang Fei was slightly touched by his sincere tone. After all, this was something that should not be said. His expression changed and he smiled confidently, "In fact, I have always understood this truth."
Sima Guang frowned slightly and said, "So you decided to do this."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I just decided to keep this option. As for whether to use it or not, that's not something I want to consider."
......
Ministry of Revenue.
"Oh! The Grand Judge is here. What a rare guest, what a rare guest!"
Wang Anshi stood up, bowed and smiled.
"Master Wang, you really make me feel embarrassed."
Zhang Fei quickly bowed in return, then smiled bitterly and said, "Master Wang, you should call me Zhang San. It sounds better to me."
"I don't dare."
Wang Anshi said, "It's not that I'm afraid of your authority as the chief judge, but if I call you too intimately now, it will bring trouble upon myself."
Zhang Fei curled his lips and said, "Master Sima has shown concern for me, but Master Wang, you are so disloyal to me."
Wang Anshi snorted, "He went to find you because he only saw through you sending those people to the capital to file a complaint, but he didn't see through your next step."
Zhang Fei asked, "Did Master Wang see through it?"
Wang Anshi said, "Didn't you tell me that if we want to start stirring up the people's anger against the Liao Kingdom, a trial would undoubtedly be the best propaganda. You must be going there based on the situation."
Zhang Fei immediately laughed awkwardly.
Wang Anshi added seriously, "But there are still dangers."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's why I came here to ask. We are so well prepared. If we lose the fight, it will be dangerous for everyone."
Wang Anshi said: "But I don't think this is the best time. We have to wait until we destroy Xixia and obtain the Hetao Horse Farm before we can fight the Liao Kingdom."
He had his own strategic route, which was to concentrate the main forces to destroy Western Xia first, and to delay the Liao Kingdom as much as possible. It didn't matter if he suffered some losses in the middle, because the cost of fighting on two fronts was too high, and the chances of winning were not high.
Now, in his opinion, the situation might turn into a situation where there is no way out.
“That would certainly be ideal.”
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But Wang Xueshi knows about this, I know it, and the Liao Kingdom also knows it, so now it's not us who are provoking, nor do we want to fight, but the Liao Kingdom is taking action, and we must make sure we are not attacked."
Wang Anshi could not help but sigh and nodded, "So now Ji Fu is out every day, and I have to help him look after the Ministry of Revenue."
Zhang Fei asked: "What's the situation now?"
Wang Anshi said: "At present, it is relatively smooth. The granaries in the major towns of Hebei are full, and the production of firearms has been stepped up. After all, there is a lot of money stored in the internal treasury before, so it is not difficult for the time being. And according to the statistics of the three departments, the money of the court is mainly spent on food, coal and iron, and more is used for food purchase and transportation.
A large amount of tax coins flowed into the hands of landlords. However, unlike merchants, after the three major de-treasury shops increased the deposit interest rates, they deposited the tax coins into the de-treasury shops or directly purchased state debts. For the time being, the price of tax coins was not affected.
But the problem still exists, that is, the Liao army has a geographical advantage, and they can march from Youzhou with a flat road. At the same time, they have a large number of cavalry, and firearms alone may not be able to defend against them. If a real battle breaks out, it will depend on the combat effectiveness of the Hebei Imperial Army. "
One of the reasons why he was eager to wait until Western Xia was destroyed was because he knew that the most capable troops of the Song Dynasty were all in the northwest, including the elite cavalry. He still did not have much confidence in the Hebei Imperial Guards. Although they had begun to reorganize them a long time ago, they had not fought a war for so many years. Who knew if they could win?
The Hebei Plain is flat and very conducive to cavalry combat. Firearms cannot make up for this. Cavalry must rely on the fighting of soldiers and horses.
This is also the reason why he wanted to develop the horse industry and why he insisted on flowing eastward. Hebei did not have any natural barriers, and changing the river course would simply create an offensive environment for the Liao Kingdom.
And this is the strategic dilemma of the Song Dynasty.
Zhang Fei was optimistic and said, "The Song Dynasty has been completely transformed, and the Liao Dynasty is no longer the Liao Dynasty during the reign of Empress Dowager Xiao. I cannot think of myself as too weak, and there is no need to think of the other side as too strong."
Wang Anshi said: "But you seem to be too optimistic about this."
Zhang Fei said: "It's not that I'm overly optimistic, but I think this battle is inevitable, so we might as well face it optimistically and make adequate preparations."
Wang Anshi smiled slightly and said, "By the way, what are you doing here at the Ministry of Revenue?"
Zhang Fei said, "Oh, I'm here to get the tax account book for Hedong, and by the way, I'd like to ask how the preparations are going."
......
However, the facts were just as Zhang Fei had expected. Since Han Wei did not mention the annual tribute, the Liao Kingdom saw through the Song Dynasty's bluffing and responded with a super doubling, accusing the Song Dynasty of violating the Treaty of Chanyuan.
The reason was that the Song Dynasty was stepping up the construction of defensive fortifications in Xiongzhou and Zhuozhou, and they demanded that the Song Dynasty demolish them immediately.
This left Han Wei speechless.
He could not accuse the other side of violating the Treaty of Chanyuan because he had the emperor's order. In fact, the Song Dynasty did make revisions, especially recently, which did violate the Treaty of Chanyuan.
In fact, this regulation was very unfavorable to the Song Dynasty, because the Liao Kingdom was mainly composed of cavalry, while the Song Dynasty was composed of infantry. If the cities along the border did not build fortresses, the Song Dynasty would of course suffer.
Han Wei was very cautious about this matter. If the emperor didn't allow him to say it, he would definitely not say it. He knew that this kind of thing was the easiest to be blamed, so he quickly wrote a letter and sent it to the emperor.
How should I say this?
This letter undoubtedly slapped the officials of the Song Dynasty in the face twice. You asked not to bring up the Treaty of Chanyuan, but now the Liao Kingdom has brought it up. What should you do?
From a diplomatic perspective, the Song Dynasty was becoming increasingly passive. If it now accused the Liao Kingdom of violating the Treaty of Chanyuan, and if the Liao Kingdom really agreed to withdraw its troops from the Hedong territory in exchange for you demolishing those fortresses, would you demolish them or not?
The Liao Kingdom could easily occupy the Hedong area and could not defend it at all. Occupying it or not was just a nominal issue, but if you wanted to demolish the fortress, you would be handing over your lives.
Historical books always record how powerful the Song Dynasty's diplomatic envoys were, but in fact, in terms of diplomacy, the Liao Dynasty was better than the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for the Liao Dynasty to gain the advantage through diplomacy every time.
Although military force is one aspect, strategic vision is equally important.
Especially during the last period of Emperor Huizong of Song, the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic strategy was very correct, which was to ally with the Song Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty. In fact, if the Song Dynasty had supported the Liao Kingdom at that time, it could have hidden behind and controlled it remotely, but the Song Dynasty's diplomatic strategy was simply a mess.
This time is no exception.
The original intention was to blame the Liao Kingdom, but ended up putting himself in such a passive position.
If I had known this earlier, I would not have gone.
Faced with the pressure from the Liao Kingdom, the court returned to silence.
In fact, silence means compromise, but they just dare not say it out loud.
In the end, Fu Bi came up with a solution, that is, to let the Liao Kingdom follow the evidence and admit that those territories belonged to the Song Dynasty in exchange for the Song Dynasty dismantling the defensive fortifications in Xiongzhou.
The Liao Dynasty might agree to withdraw its troops from the disputed areas, but it would not agree to recognize that those lands belonged to the Song Dynasty.
But this is just a delaying tactic.
But at this moment, the Supreme Imperial Court suddenly announced that after many days of evidence verification, the Supreme Imperial Court decided to open a hearing to hear the land lawsuit case of the Hedong people.
The news was so sudden that all the ministers were shocked. Previously, they saw that Zhang Fei had not decided to open the trial, and they thought that Zhang Fei knew the interests involved, so they felt a little relieved.
Who would have thought that Zhang Fei suddenly decided to try the case without any prior notice.
The only one who can stop Zhang Fei is the emperor.
Because the Political Affairs Council cannot interfere with the judiciary.
But the problem was that the Liao Kingdom had just slapped them twice, and now it seemed too weak to go and ask the emperor to stop the chief judge.
The key point is that when the news came out, the common people were delighted. Finally, someone had come to make the decision. Young scholars also wrote furiously and published articles in newspapers to support the president.
Because they all knew that the only problem with this lawsuit was whether it would go to trial or not. As long as it went to trial, the people would most likely win.
As a result, the ministers were even more afraid to speak out. If this got out, the people would block their door and curse them.
They had no choice but to settle for the next best option and request a closed-door trial.
However, Zhang Fei believed that this was a civil lawsuit and decided to hold a public trial. He even set a date for the next weekend, which was only three days away from today.
This made the ministers laugh.
This guy is really stubborn. You can try him, you can try him. If you can make the Liao Kingdom pay compensation, I will chop off my head and give it to you to sit on. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are my creeds in the next life. If anyone says anything bad about them, I will fight him to the death.
Some ministers also published anonymous articles attacking Zhang Fei, believing that Zhang Fei was just eager to show off, to attract attention, and to take the opportunity to hype himself, but in fact it was useless. It was impossible for the defendant to participate in this trial. This was just our self-entertainment.
Is it interesting?
It will only cause trouble to the country.
I have to admit that this statement has won the approval of many people.
If the defendant doesn't even participate, what's the point of holding the trial?
But for the common people, this is exactly what they expect from the Grand Court President.
When Zhang Fei sued the imperial court in the past, most people thought he was courting death.
What is the truth?
This situation happens again and again.
Who says the Grand Chief can't rule the Liao Kingdom?
On the day of the trial, when Zhang Fei appeared in the imperial court for the first time as the chief judge, there was a burst of uniform cheers outside.
"Grand Judge!"
"Grand Judge!"
......
The people cheered excitedly.
Zhao Xu, who was sitting in the hall, felt a little disappointed when he heard the cheers. The cheers could have belonged to him, but he also knew that he couldn't do that and couldn't do it for the time being.
Just as Sima Guang said, once he decides to do so, countless hands will hold him back. After all, the Song and Liao dynasties have been at peace for more than 80 years, and the interests of too many people are involved. Once a war breaks out, life and death will be uncertain.
The judgment of the Grand Judge could be denied by him, and it could even turn into a farce, but once he opened his mouth, there would be no turning back.
In fact, Zhang Fei just helped him bear all the pressure so that he could make a decision more calmly.
Therefore, the ministers sitting in the courtyard sneered at this, and everyone thought that Zhang Fei was just trying to attract attention.
You enjoy the trial, but it is the people of the world who have to bear the consequences with you. You are truly a loyal minister!
After a long while, until Zhang Fei dropped the hammer, things outside gradually quieted down.
When the time was about to come, an official stood up and read out the case for the trial.
Soon after, Zhang Feixuan's first batch of witnesses appeared in court to testify.
A total of five people came up.
Zhang Fei first asked them to tell their names and where they were from.
The five of them were all people living near Tianchi Lake in Hedong.
Tianchi was also the main area of contention in this negotiation.
Zhang Fei looked down at the document and said, "According to your complaint, about four months ago, that is, on March 26th of this year, the Khitans occupied your land?"
One of the young men, named Chen Xu, said, "Yes."
Zhang Fei asked: "How did they occupy your land?"
Chen Xu said excitedly: "That morning, dozens of Khitans suddenly came on horseback and surrounded our village. They said that this land belonged to their Liao Kingdom and that we had to move out within three days. When they left, they took away all our farm tools and even destroyed all the fields. Those were the seedlings we had just planted!"
When he spoke the last part, tears welled up in his eyes, and the four people beside him were wiping their eyes silently. After all, these fields are the lives of the farmers.
There was also a burst of shouting and cursing outside.
This is really too much.
"quiet!"
Zhang Fei slammed the gavel hard and asked Chen Xu, "Do you have any evidence to prove that the land belongs to you?"
"Of course."
Chen Xu nodded and said, "We have a land deed, and our family has been farming there for 20 to 30 years."
Wang Hui, the legal aid representative who represented them, stood up and said, "Grand Judge, we not only have the land deeds, we also found the official documents of the court at that time. It was Han Qi who personally ordered the recruitment of them to farm in Tianchi in the fifth year of Huangyou, and promised that they only needed to farm for two years before the land deeds would be issued to them. So the five of them received the land deeds from the government in the first year of Zhihe."
Zhang Fei said: "Present it."
"yes."
After the evidence was presented, Zhang Fei did not have an assistant. Instead, he read it one by one by himself, and then asked Chen Xu and the others: "Were there any yamen runners or soldiers to protect you at that time?"
"No. Not one."
Chen Xu added: "There were patrols in the area, but when they saw the Liao people coming, they ran away faster than us."
There were boos everywhere.
The ministers sitting inside all lowered their heads and scratched their foreheads.
In fact, they have already gotten used to it.
Above the imperial court, the imperial court has no dignity at all.
Too honest, he says anything.
Just then, someone else shouted, "Royal Police!"
This immediately attracted everyone to shout in unison: "Royal Police!"
This is also a mockery of the old system.
The court police officer was about to raise the sign, but when he heard this, he immediately put it down and continued shouting.
They didn't raise the signs until Zhang Fei looked at them inquiringly.
quiet!
When it was quiet outside, Zhang Fei continued to ask, "Has your family been farming there for more than 20 or 30 years?"
"Yes."
"During this period, has anything similar happened?"
"Yes. Yes. Over the years, the Khitans have always come to occupy our land, saying that the land belongs to them, and they have killed many of us. From what I know, they have killed more than ten of us, including soldiers and ordinary people.
But this time it was different, this time they sent a lot of people over and drove us all out."
"Then how did the local government respond to this kind of thing that happened before?"
"We don't know about that. Maybe it will end up in nothing."
The people outside felt their blood pressure soar when they heard this.
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