There is a saying that goes, don't take it too seriously. Once you do, you will realize how ridiculous everything that happened is.
The appearance of Ding Xiang made the previous verdict a big joke.
Because at that time the imperial court instructed Lu Shen and Xue Xiang to jointly preside over this matter. Lu Shen was opposed to sending troops, but Xue Xiang supported it. However, it was precisely because Xue Xiang supported Zhong Yan that he was also demoted.
From a legal perspective, the court did not make a final decision at the time, but only let Lu Shen, Xue Xiang and Zhong Yan decide the matter. Lu Shen and Xue Xiang were planners, and Zhong Yan was the executor.
Xue Xiang certainly has the power to support.
From this point of view, this is clearly a political judgment.
It was just that the doves won in the end.
However, judging from Ding Xiang's confession, Xue Xiang obviously did not want to dwell on the matter any further. He just expressed his own views at the time and did not say that he wanted to blame Lu Shen.
This is not surprising. Xue Xiang is currently implementing the new policy, which is already a lot of trouble. For him, this matter is already a thing of the past. He does not want to create unnecessary trouble for himself and affect his current duties.
Zhang Fei was also clear about this and did not dig too deep into Ding Xiang. He just asked about Xue Xiang's attitude and actions at the time and let Ding Xiang leave the court.
...
...
At this time, Xu Zhiqian came forward, poured a cup of tea for Zhang Fei, and quietly placed a small note on the table.
Zhang Fei lowered his head and looked at Xu Zhiqian in confusion.
Xu Zhiqian just shook her head slightly.
"I see."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian returned to her seat.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, then suddenly glanced at the sky, then struck the gavel and said loudly: "This morning's trial ends here, and will continue after noon."
When these words were spoken, all the distinguished guests were stunned.
The trial is in full swing. You stopped it abruptly. Aren't you deliberately trying to whet our appetite?
But when they looked at the sky, it was indeed noon, but they were in the valley and did not feel very hot.
Even if you don't rest, you still have to eat!
meal?
hehe!
They overthink it.
Zhang Fei stood up and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying with a guilty look, "Dear guests, I'm so sorry. Due to the lack of funds in our imperial court, we are unable to provide you with a lunch, so please make yourselves at ease."
What this means is to solve it yourself.
"!"
All the VIPs looked at Zhang Fei in disbelief.
Hey!
We are all the leaders of Hezhong Prefecture, well-known figures. We came here as guests to bring honor to your palace, but you didn't even prepare a meal for us.
Is this the way to treat guests?
If you do this, you will have no friends.
But Zhang Fei didn't care about that. He just got up and left, leaving them there.
Xu Zhiqian, Cai Bian and others suppressed their smiles, lowered their heads to organize the documents, and did not dare to touch the angry gazes of the VIPs.
"This Zhang San has become the presiding judge, but his personality hasn't changed at all. He's still so petty and vindictive."
Chen Qi complained to Su Zhe while sorting out the documents.
Su Che could only smile bitterly.
At this time, Li Si suddenly came forward and whispered, "Chief Prosecutor Su, we at the Royal Court have prepared lunch for your procuratorate and the witnesses."
Su Zhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you."
It was indeed a precise revenge.
"How can this be possible!"
Wei Yingfang was furious and said, "Next time he comes to the government office, if you give him a cup of tea, I, Wei Yingfang, will die a miserable death."
Cai Yanqing said, "Keep your voice down. Don't let us come here in the afternoon and have to stand to listen to the trial."
Wei Yingfang was startled, and looked around guiltily, but still said stubbornly: "He dares."
"This Judge Zhang is really as the rumors say, arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone."
Zhe Jizu stood up slowly and said in an unhappy tone.
This lunch is secondary. The key point is that what you did is so insulting!
Zhong Gu smiled and said, "Forget it! Forget it! As long as he can judge the case fairly, that's enough. It's just a meal. I can eat anywhere."
Zhang Fei, who left first, did not go to the backyard to rest, but went to a lounge on the side of the valley.
Not long after he arrived, Li Si invited someone into the house.
This person is Wang Shao.
"Zhang San meets Wang Jinglie."
"Judge Zhang is polite."
Wang Shao also bowed.
"Please take a seat, Wang Jinglie."
"Thank you very much."
After the two sat down, Zhang Fei asked, "Excuse me, why did Wang Jinglie suddenly decide not to testify in court?"
Originally, the next witness was Wang Shao, but Xu Zhiqian suddenly told Zhang Fei that Wang Shao was unwilling to appear in court, which made Zhang Fei very confused. In addition, it was already noon, so he simply chose to withdraw from the court.
Wang Shao hesitated for a moment, but did not answer and asked, "I have little to do with this case, why does Judge Zhang want me to testify in court?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because as far as I know, Wang Jinglüe traveled throughout the Northwest region in his early years, and now he is the Northwest Jinglüe envoy. He knows the situation in the Northwest very well, and it has nothing to do with this case. Wang Jinglüe's opinion will be more convincing. Therefore, I hope Wang Jinglüe can provide some professional opinions, such as the status of our country and Xixia, and the geographical location of Suizhou."
Wang Shao was a civil servant, but he also served as the Chief of the General Staff, so he was relatively neutral. He had seen the scenery of the Northwest in his early years and was very familiar with the customs and people of the Northwest. So Zhang Fei planned to let Wang Shao appear in court as an expert and give some professional opinions.
Wang Shao also witnessed the imperial court's trial method for the first time. He didn't quite understand it and didn't quite understand Zhang Fei's explanation. He asked again: "Is my confession important to this case?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "That's not very important. If Wang Jinglie hadn't come, I wouldn't have bothered him on purpose."
The purpose of Wang Shao's appearance in court was purely to strengthen the persuasiveness of some theories.
Wang Shao said: "Then I will not testify in court."
"If Wang Jinglie doesn't want to, then I won't force him." Zhang Fei asked curiously, "But Wang Jinglie, can you tell me why?"
Wang Shao hesitated for a while, and said with embarrassment: "Because I have a direct interest in this case, it is not convenient for me to testify."
Zhang Fei was surprised and asked, "Does Wang Jinglie have any interest in this case?"
Wang Shao nodded.
Zhang Fei asked: "What kind of interest relationship?"
But here I am extremely confused and think this is unlikely.
Because he had collected a lot of information, if there was really a direct interest relationship, he would send someone to invite Wang Shao in advance, rather than asking him to testify in court after Wang Shao arrived.
Wang Shao hesitated for a while before saying, "You just said that you wanted to ask me about the importance of Suizhou."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Wang Shao asked again: "Then how much do you know about the problem in Suizhou?"
Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "Suizhou was originally my homeland in the Central Plains, but in the late Tang Dynasty, it was occupied by the Dangxiang people. However, since the Dangxiang people were nominally dependent on the Central Plains at that time, Suizhou was also considered part of the Tang Dynasty territory. However, in the early days of our dynasty, the Dangxiang leader Li Jiqian rebelled, and Suizhou was occupied by the Dangxiang. In the following decades, it also became a key location for attack and defense between our country and Western Xia."
Wang Shao nodded and said, "It is precisely because of this that Suizhou belongs to Xixia in their eyes. That is why Xixia has been trying every possible way to get Suizhou back over the years. Any action taken by our army in Suizhou will make Xixia panic and they will continue to send troops to harass them. In terms of foreign affairs, they will also continue to exert pressure, resulting in Suizhou not being well developed.
If Western Xia wants to send troops in the future, Suizhou will definitely be their excuse. From this point of view, what Zheng Xie said is not unreasonable. Suizhou may become the source of war.
But you should also be aware that, at present, the country's finances are in a very difficult situation, and Scholar Wang is also promulgating new laws. We still need some time, and it is not appropriate to conflict with Western Xia at this time.
Therefore, I have suggested to the emperor that we should take Hehuang as our base to form a pincer attack on the eastern and southern lines of Xixia. The Hehuang area has always belonged to the territory of our Song Dynasty. According to the Qingli Agreement, both sides have the right to station troops on the territory, build fortifications, and not interfere with each other. Taking Hehuang as our base should not cause interference and conflict from Xixia.
Zhang Fei said: "In other words, Wang Jinglüe is unwilling to emphasize the strategic attributes of Suizhou because it conflicts with Wang Jinglüe's strategy."
Wang Shao nodded and said, "You can say that. But in fact, Suizhou's geographical location is extremely critical. Both Deputy Envoy Zhong and Minister Guo are right. However, Xixia is also unwilling to give up Suizhou. From the overall situation, the difficulty of managing Suizhou, whether it is domestic resistance or external resistance, is much greater than managing Hehuang. We need time to prepare now."
"I understand." Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Thank you, Wang Jinglue, for telling me."
Wang Shao laughed and said, "This is actually not a secret. Mr. Guo and the others also know about it. I'm just very sorry that I can't help Judge Zhang."
"Wang Jinglüe, please don't say that." Zhang Fei waved his hand. "Based on this layer of interest relationship, Wang Jinglüe is indeed not suitable to testify in court."
Zhang Fei had never thought that this case actually involved two plots by the Northern Song Dynasty against the Western Xia.
A grand strategy.
Before the first year of Xining, in the eyes of the military strategists of the Song Dynasty, Suizhou in the north had always been a strategic location for eliminating Western Xia. This faction was led by Fan Zhongyan and Zhong Shiheng.
Zhao Xu also thought so at first, because this strategy has been implemented.
He really wanted to get Suizhou.
But it was also because of this case that Zhao Xu changed his strategy and chose Wang Shao's Hehuang strategy.
The reason is that after Zhong Yan took over Suizhou, the Western Xia side kept pestering and used all kinds of means to interfere with the development of Suizhou. They also frequently exerted diplomatic pressure, negotiated with the Song Dynasty every day, and exchanged various fortresses with the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was fooled twice.
This also led to the fact that Suizhou had not been developed. If you want to use Suizhou as a base, you must open up transportation lines, establish military farms on the front line, and so on. If these cannot be developed, you cannot use it as a base camp for attacking Western Xia.
At the same time, domestic conservatives were very worried about taking back Suizhou. Indeed, the finances of the Song Dynasty were terrible. If a war broke out again, it might never recover.
In their view, Suizhou is a powder keg that could explode at any time.
It's not worth it.
The key point is that the territory of Western Xia is more important than national security and cannot bring any compensation to the finances of the Song Dynasty.
It was at this moment that Wang Shao proposed the "Plan for Pacifying the Rong" and immediately won the support of Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi. This was all because the turmoil in Suizhou had caused Zhao Xu a headache and the court was in turmoil. In the end, he chose the Hehuang strategy, and at the same time he had been reducing attention to Suizhou to avoid angering Western Xia, and slowly opened up the Hehuang front there.
However, military generals such as Zhong Yan, Zhe Jishi and Guo Kui always supported the Suizhou strategy on the northern line.
Wang Shao didn’t know the trial would be this way before, he was sitting in a very important position at that time.
If he were asked to go up, he really didn't know what to say, because he was very clear about the importance of Suizhou, but he was also the chief of staff and developer of the Hehuang strategy. With the current financial resources of the Song Dynasty, it was impossible to launch these two major strategies at the same time, and they could only be prioritized.
If he emphasizes the strategic attributes of Suizhou, it will affect his plans.
Therefore, he temporarily decided not to appear in court to testify.
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