Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Chapter 525 Civil, Military and Law ([-])

After hastily filling their stomachs, the distinguished guests went back to the imperial court to rest, and it was fine if they didn't give them a light meal. If they didn't allow them to rest, it would be really unreasonable.

Of course Zhang Fei didn't dare to do such an extreme thing, he didn't need any money for rest.

But no one was taking a nap. After all, it was rare for these officials to gather together, so it was natural to seize the time to catch up on the past, but the topic still revolved around the lawsuit.

This kind of trial method is something they have never seen before. To put it bluntly, this kind of case is a power struggle. Why should Zhong Er be punished in the first place? He was very angry about his behavior, and Zhao Xu had only just come to power and did not dare to offend the minister, so he ordered Zhong Er to be dismissed from office, and Xue Xiang was also punished.

But the reason why Zhong Er was able to return to his post after that was also because Zhao Xu insisted on promotion without any reason, just relying on imperial power.

In essence, it is still a struggle between imperial power and ministerial power.

But today is different, at least so far, it is completely based on the process and background of the case, without any power involved.

Whether it is Guo Kui or Zheng Xie, they are just stating the facts above, and have nothing to do with their status and power.

Their claim, Zhang Fei expressed it directly, is meaningless.

Therefore, at this point in the trial, they couldn't even see which side had the upper hand.

It is precisely because of this that they are all worried about this, or that sentence, the unknown is the most disturbing.

After noon, the trial continued.

At the invitation of the court police, the distinguished guests came to the valley again. After a short rest, their faces were not too tired, but when they saw Zhang Fei on the presiding judge's platform, everyone's faces were more or less full. At least some resentment.

It's the government's fault that the government doesn't allocate money, but you can do better, you can provide a simple meal, then we will naturally favor you, instead of using this method, let us bear the hatred of the government.

We still blame you.

What a rookie!
I don't even know the way to be an official.

Zhang Fei didn't care. If there was a next time, you would still come, and I still wouldn't provide light meals. I just tapped the gavel lightly, "We will continue to hear the Suizhou case."

The tone is more casual, and there are no solemn ceremonies in the morning.

After saying that, Zhang Fei suddenly looked left and right, and the distinguished guests also looked left and right following his gaze, and found that compared with the morning, the seats of Zhong Er and Lu Shen were closer to the middle, and they could be regarded as sitting directly in the court.

I only heard Zhang Feilang say: "After the interrogation in the morning, we have a general understanding of the process of regaining Suizhou, the decision-making of the imperial court, and the environment and background at that time. In the afternoon, we will hear the specific process of the case. Therefore, I will The seats of Prefect Lu and Deputy Envoy Zhong are placed in the courtroom, this is to make it easier for the chief judge to understand the whole process more clearly."

As he said that, he looked at Zhong Er and Lu Shen and said, "But the rules are still the same. I hope that no matter whether it is the prefect Lu or Zhong Zhong's deputy envoy, he will not interrupt the witness's confession, or use any eyes or movements to influence the witness's confession. The occurrence of this kind of incident will not only affect the judgment of the chief judge, but also cause the procuratorate to intervene in it, which is very unfavorable to both of you. If there is any doubt, the chief judge will ask the two of you, and the two Is the position clear?"

Zhong Er and Lu Shen nodded at the same time, but this completely unfamiliar way made them feel inexplicably nervous, just like elementary school students on the first day of class.

And those distinguished guests just felt that they were different.

Are you adjudicating a case or giving a lecture.

However Cai Yanqing, Wei Yingfang and other Hezhong government officials are already used to this kind of explanation.

After explaining, Zhang Fei tapped the hammer lightly, and said loudly: "It is reported that Master Li Shui and Li of Wushan County, Qinzhou will appear in court."

Hearing this person's name, Zhong Er couldn't help frowning, but Lu Shen showed surprise on his face, as if he didn't expect Li Shui to be called as a witness.

And many distinguished guests also whispered to each other, asking who is this Li Shui?

But after all, it is a master recorder. In this kind of case, do we still need a master recorder to testify in court?
After a while, I saw a thin middle-aged man coming to the court.

After asking him to sit down, Zhang Fei asked: "Master Li, when did you go to Wushan County to be the master?"

Li Shui said: "In June of the first year of Xining."

Zhang Fei looked down at the copy, and said: "As far as I know, the head of the county is not often transferred. This is to let the county magistrate better understand the local situation. I don't know why the imperial court transferred you to Wushan, Qinzhou. county?"

Li Shui replied: "I don't know the details, but maybe it was because of the Suizhou battle, because I was transferred to Qinzhou with the prefect Lu at that time."

Having said that, he glanced at Lu Shen.

Zhang Fei asked: "You may say that it was because of the battle of Suizhou, but in the fourth year of Zhiping, the deputy envoy Zhong regained Suizhou for the first battle."

"Yes."

"Why do you think this has something to do with your transfer?"

"At that time, I was the chief secretary in Qingjian City, and the day before Deputy Envoy Zhong sent troops, I questioned and wanted to prevent Deputy Envoy Zhong from sending troops."

"What are you questioning?"

"Because the vice envoy Zhong said at the time that he had received an imperial edict to allow him to send troops, but I think this is very suspicious, because if the edict is really issued, I, as the chief bookkeeper, cannot be ignorant of it. "

"Then?"

"Afterwards, Deputy Envoy Zhong ignored me. Relying on the prestige of his family in Qingjian City, he commanded all the troops to attack. So I hurriedly wrote to the prefect Lu."

"Ah."

Zhang Fei turned his head to look at Lu Shen first, "Prefect Lu, is there such a thing?"

Lu Shen nodded and said, "It's true. I still keep the letter written by Mr. Li."

"I can bring it."

"Have."

Lu Shen immediately took out a well-preserved letter.

He has always believed that this matter has been treated unfairly. Based on his qualifications and achievements, if he hadn't had this matter, he would probably have entered the central government. Therefore, he is very eager to seek justice one day. He carefully protects these evidences.

However, the trial at that time did not care about these evidences.

After the letter was submitted, Zhang Fei looked at it carefully, then handed it to Cai Bian, and then turned his head to look at Zhong Er, "Deputy envoy Zhong, is the words of Master Li true?"

Zhong Er glanced at Zhang Fei with a guilty conscience, nodded and said, "There is such a thing."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Then have you received the imperial edict?"

Kind of hesitant and silent.

The audience was completely silent, everyone was holding their breath, eyes wide open, looking at the kind.

"A deputy envoy?"

Zhang Fei asked again.

Zhong Er shook his head and said, "No."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the civil and military officials changed instantly.

In the trial in the morning, the civil officials believed that Zhang Fei was somewhat partial to Zhong Er, and the situation was favorable to Zhong Er, and the military generals such as Zhong Gu and Zhe Jizu also thought so, and they were a little relieved.

I never thought that the second half just started, and the situation is changing!

The heart jumped directly to the throat.

This is just the beginning, why not be so exciting.

Zhang Fei said: "Does Deputy Zhong know? This is a crime of coercion, and can be sentenced to death according to the law."

Zhong Er nodded and said, "I know."

Zhang Fei asked: "You know that this is a capital offense, why do you still do it?"

Zhong Er said: "As I said in the morning, Wei Mingyishan had sent a letter to me at that time, and his elder brother had agreed to surrender, but the imperial edict had not yet arrived. If Xixia knew about this, there might be changes. It will also put Weiming Yishan in danger, but if I don't have an order, I can't lead the troops to attack, I can't think about it at that time, I can only tell the soldiers that the imperial court has issued an edict."

Zhang Fei asked again: "I don't know if the Deputy Envoy of Zhong has a letter that preserves the name of Yishan?"

Zhong Er shook his head and said, "Wei Mingyishan doesn't know how to write Chinese characters, he just passed on a message."

Zhang Fei couldn't help asking Lu Shen again: "Prefect Lu, what Deputy Envoy Zhong said is true, he must obtain an imperial edict before he can send troops."

Lu Shen nodded and said, "Of course."

The civil servants who supported Lu Shen let out a sigh of relief. If you asked this earlier, it would be over, and so much effort had to be wasted in the morning.

They don't know that Zhang Fei is the emperor's man. They only know that Zhang Fei has a very good relationship with Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, and they are more inclined to Sima Guang. You must know that judicial reform came from Sima Guang and was recommended by Sima Guang. He came.

They have been unable to figure out Zhang Fei.

If you know that Zhang Fei is the emperor's man, it is probably a different mood.

Zhang Fei asked Li Shui again: "Boss Li, did you participate in the lure of surrendering Wei's brothers at that time?"

Li Shui nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Then do you know about Wei Mingyi Shan's oral letter?"

Li Shui nodded and said, "I know."

Zhang Fei said: "Is what Vice Envoy Zhong said true? He did receive a message from Wei Mingyi Shan at that time, saying that Wei Mingshan had agreed to surrender?"

Li Shui hesitated for a while, and said, "I didn't hear it with my own ears, but...but it should be true."

Zhang Fei asked: "Since you didn't hear it with your own ears, why do you think it's true?"

Li Shuidao: "Because the deployment of Vice Envoy Zhong at that time was based on his knowledge of the deployment of the opponent's troops, and the subsequent attack went very smoothly, so I guess there should be a word of mouth to Deputy Envoy Zhong."

"So that's the case." Zhang Fei continued to ask: "When you wrote to the prefect Lu, did the prefect Lu respond?"

Li Shui nodded and said, "As soon as Deputy Zhong occupied Suizhou, the prefect Lu sent an order for Deputy Zhong to lead his troops back to Qingjian City."

Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Did Deputy Envoy Zhong go back?"

"no!"

Li Shui said immediately.

Zhang Fei said: "Should the deputy envoy just ignore it, or just refuse?"

Li Shui shook his head and said, "Neither of them, the deputy envoy is taking the strategy of delaying, and he is writing back to the prefect of Lu, asking how to arrange Wei Mingshan's department."

Zhang Fei said: "Why do you think this is a strategy of delay? Is there anything wrong with this reason?"

Li Shuidao: "There is nothing wrong with this reason, but Deputy Envoy Zhong is replying to the prefect of Lu, but on the other hand, he is arranging troops and deploying troops to the front line of Suizhou, obviously he does not intend to return to Qingjian City immediately. "

Zhang Fei nodded, and then asked Lu Shen: "Prefect Lu, what Master Li said, is it true?"

Lu Shen nodded and said, "It's all true."

Zhang Fei said: "Then what measures did you take after receiving the reply from Vice Envoy Zhong?"

Lu Shen couldn't help sighing, and then said: "Although the deputy envoy has no order, and even pretends to send troops, I think the matter has come to this point, and it must be properly arranged, because this may lead to the outbreak of war, how to arrange Wei? The Ministry of Mingshan, this needs to wait for the imperial edict."

"Why?"

"If the imperial court is determined to regain Suizhou and is ready to go to war with Xixia, naturally it cannot abandon Suizhou, and at the same time it has to accept Wei Mingshan's troops, but if the imperial court is not determined, then it must be based on the specific situation. , discuss carefully.

Therefore, after waiting for the imperial edict, I sent a letter to Vice Envoy Zhong to lead all the troops back to Qingjian City. As for Wei Mingshan's troops, it is up to him to decide. "

"Does the imperial edict clarify this point?"

"No."

Lu Shen shook his head, "But judging from the imperial edict, it is obvious that we are not ready to go to war with Xixia, but I don't think the surrender of Wei Mingshan brothers will trigger a war with Xixia, and I don't know. The specific situation on the front line, so I let my deputy to decide on his own."

Although he is a pigeon faction with a strong root, he has rich experience in command. Under the situation at that time, how to arrange Wei Mingshan's troops was indeed a problem.

If it is easy to abandon, who will dare to return to the Song Dynasty in the future.

Although pigeons, but the solution is relatively mature, and not in a hurry.

Zhang Fei continued to ask: "This time the Deputy Envoy will obey?"

Lu Shen shook his head and said, "No."

Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"

Lu Shen said: "Deputy Envoy Zhong expressed that he could not withdraw the troops on the grounds that the enemy was attacking."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shui said excitedly: "At that time, there was enough time for our army to withdraw."

Faced with Li Shui's interruption, Zhang Fei was very forgiving, and took advantage of the situation and asked, "Really?"

Li Shui nodded and said, "Because the Xixia army arrived in Suizhou on the seventh day after the prefect Lu's letter was sent to Suizhou. With the strength of our army at that time, we could calmly retreat to Qingjian City and then deploy."

Zhong Er immediately said: "He is not at all!"

"Assassin, don't interrupt the testimony of witnesses." Zhang Fei stopped directly.

Zhong Er couldn't help being taken aback, that resolute face was full of grievances, he just interrupted, if you don't talk about him, I can't interrupt.

Am I a sinner?

It's not fair!

Zhang Fei seemed to see what he was thinking, so he explained: "Deputy Minister Zhong, you have to understand that this case was started by you, and now it has nothing to do with Master Li. He is willing to come and testify in court. Our empress The court should show gratitude and respect for this, and what he said just now was what I planned to ask, so I didn't warn him, but you are the party involved, and your status is much higher than that of Master Li. It will be regarded as interference with witnesses by the chief judge, presiding judge, and prosecutors, so please strictly abide by the rules."

(End of this chapter)