Early the next morning, soldiers from the Imperial Office rushed to Suzhou city with a thick stack of subpoenas, notifying the plaintiffs and defendants to appear in court on time.

The local officials knew that the poor guys had gone to Hai Rui to file a complaint yesterday, but they didn't expect that Hai Zhongcheng would be so swift and decisive and would take them to the governor's office for trial as early as the afternoon.

The Sea King is in full swing, who dares to disobey him at this time? He will definitely be killed as a warning to others.

No one dared not to respond!

After noon, the sky was overcast with sporadic snowflakes falling.

The plaintiffs and defendants awaiting trial lined up in a long queue on Shuyuan Street under the command of the police.

The plaintiff was on the left side of the street and the defendant was on the right side of the street, both holding a 'love number tag' in their hands, waiting to be called.

The plaintiffs on the left side of the street were very quiet. Most of them were poor people with little knowledge. Although they knew that Hai Qingtian was backing them up, they still felt very nervous. They shivered and didn't know which leg to step first when they went to court.

The defendants on the right side of the street looked much more presentable. They were well dressed and spoke decently. Although they were very scared, they still managed to act calm on the surface and barely maintained the dignity of a country gentleman.

After all, no matter how terrible the Sea King was, he couldn't chop off their heads just because they occupied a little land of the common people, right? Besides, many of them had their reputations to protect them, and at the very least they could buy a righteous official position, so they didn't have to worry about being physically tortured.

So they still had the mood to exchange pleasantries.

"Hey, Third Brother, you've been sued too?"

"Yeah, that's awesome."

"Don't panic, don't panic. All the rich people in Suzhou will come here. If no one sues you, it only means that you are not rich enough."

"Hehehe..." The defendants burst into laughter.

"But Lord Hai, why did you call us here so early? With so many people here, the interrogation will take at least ten days, right?"

"That's right. If you queue up every day in the middle of winter, you'll either die of exhaustion or freeze to death..."

"I guess it's to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Most of us are here to be the monkeys." A middle-aged man with ear buns and his hands in his sleeves pointed with his chin at the people at the head of the line.

"The only ones that can really pass the court today are the dozen or so chickens."

"That makes sense." The defendants felt much more at ease.

~~

At the time of Wei, the gates of the yamen were opened, and the officers and soldiers called the plaintiff and the defendant into the court according to their registered numbers.

The first case was about a farmer named Ding San who sued the village landlord Ding Peng for seizing his paddy fields on the grounds that he had borrowed money and had not repaid it three years ago.

Niu placed the complaint on Hai Rui's desk and sighed, "This case is very simple and easy to judge. Ding San only borrowed ten taels of silver at interest, and after a year, the interest doubled to thirty taels. Ding Peng robbed his family's three mu of paddy fields to pay off the debt. Ding San is not satisfied with the complaint, so he can return the fields and pay back the debt. But he can't even take out ten taels of silver, let alone thirty taels."

Hai Rui nodded calmly and summoned the plaintiff and the defendant to come up to hear the verdict.

After a while, the two of them went to the court. Ding San knelt on the ground and dared not speak, but Ding Peng was obviously much calmer. And he was more prepared... The gentry embezzled and merged, and 90% of them relied on usury. There was already a complete set of rhetoric and procedures, at least from a legal perspective, there was no problem.

Therefore, officials have no psychological burden when they favor them.

After taking a quick look at the loan note that Ding Peng showed him, the agreement to use the land to pay off the debt, and the land deed that had already been transferred, Hai Rui asked calmly:

"Ding San lent you ten taels, why should I pay you back three times as much?"

"My Lord, the IOU clearly states that the interest is 90% out and 13% back. He lent me 10 taels, and he had to pay me back 13 taels in three months. He didn't pay me back for a year, so the principal and interest went up to 39 taels. This is how it's calculated everywhere in the world, and it's fair to all. I only asked for 30 taels, which is already a big expense for the sake of our fellow countrymen."

Niu Chenshi on the side sighed secretly. This case was not easy to solve. If Mr. Hai insisted on making it up, it would have a bad impact.

"Nonsense!" Hai Rui sneered, "Since you want him to pay off the debt with his paddy fields, why not do it in March when it's due? Why do you have to wait until a year later, when the principal and interest have accumulated to thirty taels, before you do it? Dare you say you are not plotting to get his three acres of paddy fields?"

"It's all unjust, it was Ding San who asked me to give him a few months' grace. I waited until the end of the year out of kindness." Ding Peng argued convincingly.

"How dare you confuse right and wrong in court? Do you think we are three-year-old children?!" Hai Rui slammed the gavel heavily and shouted, "If you really have a kind heart, you shouldn't charge interest on the due date in March, and let him pay you thirteen taels in an extension. But you still charge interest every month, and the interest is compounded. The longer the time, the higher the interest! You can charge four or five taels of interest from others in a month. Can you call this kindness?!"

"Uh..." Ding Peng was touched by Hai Rui's words. He had no way to argue. He could only whisper, "That's the rule. Everyone else calculates it this way."

"How much does an acre of paddy field in Suzhou cost?" Hai Rui suddenly changed the subject and asked.

"To reply to the Minister, there are upper, middle and lower grades of fields, but for paddy fields, the minimum is no less than twenty taels per mu." Niu Chenshi replied hurriedly.

"Those three mu of paddy fields are worth at least sixty taels." Hai Rui stared at Ding Peng with a sharp gaze and asked, "Why are you only offering him thirty taels?"

"Well, well, I can't pay you back. When I sell things, I have to give you a discount." Ding Peng wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.

"Ding San, let me ask you, why don't you sell the land first and then use the money to pay off your debts?" Hai Rui looked at Ding San and said.

"Mr. Ding is the head of our area. He has spread the word that no one dares to buy my land, and I can only buy it from him at half the price." Ding San answered tremblingly.

"Ding Peng, you actually only paid nine taels of silver, but one year later you demanded three mu of paddy fields from someone else. If this isn't plunder and annexation, what is this?" Hai Rui slammed the gavel and immediately pronounced the verdict: "You have three days to return the fields to Ding San. If you fail to do so, you will be put in the shackles and put on display in public!"

"Thank you, Hai Qingtian!" Ding San cried with joy.

"Du Gong, I can give up the land." Ding Peng was unwilling to give up and said, "But it is only natural to pay back debts. What about the money he owes me?"

Ding San was stunned. After he lost his land, he went to the city to work. He had been unemployed for more than half a year and had only been back to work for a month. He couldn't even pay a tael of silver.

Hai Rui sneered and said, "Okay, but you have to return the grain he has been growing for three years for free. Suzhou paddy fields produce 2.5 dan per mu, two crops a year. Three mu of land can produce 45 dan in three years. And I'm not charging you any interest!"

The average annual price of one dan of grain in Suzhou was two taels of silver, so forty-five dan was ninety taels. No matter how Ding Peng calculated it, he had to pay for it himself.

Ding Peng was speechless. He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He hesitated and refused to sign the written verdict.

Hai Rui slammed the gavel again and threatened:

"You only paid nine taels of silver and occupied someone else's paddy fields for three years for free. No matter how you look at it, you've made a huge profit. If you don't restrain yourself, this court will sentence you. How should you be sentenced according to the Ming Dynasty Law for forcibly occupying other people's land?"

The yamen runners struck the water and fire sticks together, and Ding Peng was immediately frightened and had to sign the affidavit obediently.

ps. This is the first of three consecutive updates. Please give me your monthly votes!