Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi and the others are the kind of people who like to seek excitement when they have nothing to do. Normally, thieves would not approach them. Now they finally met a few of them and wanted to fight them, but they were so weak. Before they were satisfied, Zhang Fei suddenly said that he would send these people to Kaifeng Prefecture.
This aroused great interest among Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi and others.
So, these two idiots took Niu Beiqing, Feng Nanxi and Long Shan to Kaifeng Prefecture with drums and gongs.
Relying on Cao Dongdong's identity, he was able to knock open the door of Kaifeng Prefecture.
... ...
It was already three o'clock in the morning.
Lu Gong, who had already gone to bed, got up in a hurry and rushed to Kaifeng Prefecture.
"what happened?"
Lu Gong looked anxious and asked Huang Gui, "I heard that there is a new clue in the Shi family case?"
This case quickly became politicized from the very beginning, and brought together the contradictions between imperial power and ministerial power, and between the reformists and conservatives.
These two major contradictions are the most acute contradictions in feudal society.
There is no solution at all.
I'm still wasting time here now.
This created new complications, and the matter had now spread to Kaifeng Prefecture. Lu Gong was really going to go crazy.
He had finally managed to get the case to the Dali Temple, but after many twists and turns, it finally returned to Kaifeng Prefecture.
It's really haunting!
If we don't handle the current situation properly, it will get out of control.
He was also extremely nervous and didn't dare to be careless in the slightest.
Huang Gui nodded and said, "Just now, Cao Yanei and Ma Xiaoyi sent these three people here, saying that they were trying to steal Zhang San's sister-in-law."
"Steal... steal my sister-in-law?" Lu Gong was confused.
Huang Gui hurriedly said, "That's what Cao Yanei said. After our interrogation, we found out that the three people were named Feng Nanxi, Niu Beiqing, and Longshan."
Lu Gong frowned and said, "These three names sound familiar!"
Huang Gui said: "They are the ones who escorted the official silver with Shi Dalang."
"Yes, yes, yes! I remember now." Lu Gong slapped his forehead several times and asked, "Didn't they say they were all dead? Or did they really steal the government silver?"
The verdict in this case was dereliction of duty, but since the body was not found, the government also reserved the possibility of embezzlement.
Huang Gui shook his head and said, "Prefect, this case is not that simple."
As he said this, he handed several confessions to Lu Gongzhe, "These are their confessions."
After seeing this, Lu Gong couldn't help but said angrily: "This is really outrageous. Go and find Zhang Fei for me right now."
... ..
Four o'clock in the morning.
Zhang Fei came to Kaifeng Prefecture.
At this time Li Kai also rushed to Kaifeng Prefecture.
"I greet Judge Li and Prefect Lu."
“… … !”
Lu Gongzhe and Li Kai looked at Zhang Fei without saying a word.
Zhang Fei remained silent.
Lu Gongzhe suddenly calmed down and sighed, "Zhang San, Zhang San, you really put a lot of effort into it. You created such a big circle, just to help them get justice!"
Zhang Fei pretended to be confused and said, "I don't know what the prefect is talking about?"
Li Kai snorted, "That Longshan is the groom you were going to take from Baifan Tower. Your wife and Shi Erlang both know him. How could you not know him?"
Zhang Fei cried out, "I was wondering why Longshan left when Shi Erlang came to my house. So this is what happened! That was a close call! It was really a close call!"
Is that all your acting skills
Li Kai didn't want to watch any further. The lazy bailiff at the door had acting skills a thousand times better than his!
Lu Gong was not willing to believe it. There were too many loopholes in your case. He did not believe that Zhang Fei would use all his rigor in the lawsuit. "It seems that you are not going to tell it anymore."
Zhang Fei said: "It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but I don't know where to start. I also want to know the truth."
Lu Gong nodded and said, "Since you don't want to talk, then go back!"
"I'll take my leave."
After Zhang Fei left, Li Kai couldn't help but say: "It seems that we have wronged him before. It turns out that he is not here to cause us trouble, but to help us reduce the burden."
This setup is full of loopholes, obviously trying to tell them that this is not a conspiracy, these are the conditions, I only want the truth.
If you don't give me justice, I will never let you go.
Anyway, I am just an ordinary person. The worst that can happen to me is death.
You are different.
Lu Gongzhe sighed and said, "Wang Jiefu is right. Many problems have reached the point where they must be dealt with."
Why did Zhang Fei make such a simple case so complicated? Lu Gongzhe knew it better than anyone else!
If it hadn't been such a fuss, would Kaifeng Prefecture have taken it so seriously
Won't.
This is definitely systemic robbery. If the law is not changed, it will be difficult for the government to judge.
But things are different now.
That night, the Kaifeng government ordered people to arrest the grain transport officer who was escorting the official silver and interrogate him.
By daybreak, the news had spread throughout the city.
For the court officials, they did not think that this was an unnecessary incident. Instead, they felt that it was a silver lining!
The lawsuit has been going on for so long, and coupled with the emperor's statement, it is already very disadvantageous to them politically. It is also embarrassing and they don't know how to save face.
If they could quickly return to criminal justice at this time, it would certainly be very beneficial to them!
The key point is that they are not stupid, and Zhang Fei clearly wants to intimidate them.
You should have said it earlier!
Why make such a big deal
Isn't it just about the truth
Isn’t it just a transport official
Do you really want to poke a hole in the sky
As a result, all the ministers in the court expressed their righteous indignation and righteousness.
Investigate strictly!
Must be investigated strictly!
You must check it thoroughly and clearly.
Never let a bad guy go.
It can be said that they share the same hatred and a common enemy!
They only have one request, to end this case quickly.
Such a small case actually had the support of the entire court, so Kaifeng Prefecture naturally let go and did it.
Who dares to stop
A tyrannical transport company
The transport envoys would take the initiative to report their crimes and apologize as soon as possible.
Please know that there is no result yet.
After being severely tortured, the canal official confessed everything.
A total of five officials were involved in this case, and the mastermind was Chen Jing, the judge of the Ministry of Revenue, Liu Shang, the warehouse manager of the Ministry of Agriculture, and three minor officials of the Ministry of Transportation.
Kaifeng Prefecture.
"When our people arrived, they had all hanged themselves." Huang Gui said to Lu Gong.
Lu Gong was surprised and asked, "So fast?"
Huang Gui said nothing, just nodded.
Lu Gong frowned again and asked, "Are you sure it was suicide?"
Huang Gui nodded and said, "Wu Zuo has already checked it and everything is confirmed."
Lu Gong looked solemnly at the five bodies covered with white cloth in front of him. After a while, he couldn't help but sigh: "If Zhang Fei hadn't sued the court first, this case would have been difficult to solve!"
... ...
Chuigong Hall.
"Five thousand taels! Five thousand taels can make my subjects commit murder and plunder. What use do I have for you?"
Zhao Xu threw the memorial from Kaifeng Prefecture to the ground and became furious in the hall.
He was not pretending, he was really angry. The court's frequent raids and confiscations were already too much, but there were still laws to follow. Doing this would prevent the yamen runners from embezzling, but this law had side effects.
But the truth is that someone found various ways to confiscate the property of the police officers and fill their own pockets.
Tang Jie and other ministers from relevant departments immediately stepped forward to apologize.
The case made them all feel angry and ashamed.
That’s too much.
Wang Anshi suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about why a small judge and a warehouse official dared to treat human lives as nothing?"
Zhao Xu immediately asked, "What do you think?"
Wang Anshi said: "I think this is all because the law is evil. Those corrupt officials know that the court usually does not investigate such cases. After all, the court also benefits from it, so they dare to do evil.
The source of this evil is not in people, but in the law. Therefore, even if the court imposes severe punishments this time, it will not be able to put an end to this. In my opinion, only by promoting benefits and eliminating disadvantages, and reforming the law, can we permanently eliminate future troubles. "
Lu Gongzhu immediately stood up and said, "I second the motion."
What Wang Anshi said was exactly what he thought.
Because for the imperial court, only by convicting those yamen runners can they confiscate their property and ensure that they do not suffer losses, so the imperial court will not investigate such cases strictly.
Many officials, including Chen Shengzhi, also came out to support Wang Anshi.
This case has indeed angered many people, and they all feel that it is time to change everything.
If this continues, what will happen
Zhao Xu suddenly glanced at Sima Guang.
Sima Guang had no choice but to stand up and express his support for the reform.
This was actually not against his heart, as he did not explicitly say that he supported Wang Anshi's reforms.
Many ministers came forward and expressed their support for the reform of the corvée law.
Zhao Xu glanced at the crowd and said, "In my opinion, even if we announce the severe punishment of the real culprit in this case, it will be difficult to quell the public resentment, so... Prefect Lu."
Lu Gongzhu immediately stood up and said, "I am here."
Zhao Xu said: "After Kaifeng Prefecture has finished hearing this case, it must announce to the world that the court will reform the corvée law within this year."
This little emperor does have some tricks up his sleeve. This is obviously to prevent them from defaulting on their debts. Let's announce it first.
Lu Gong said, "I obey your command."
The ministers shouted: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Among them were conservative backbones such as Tang Jie and Lu Hui.
In fact, what they are arguing about is not whether to reform, but how to reform.
After all, the emperor had not yet done everything he could, and he announced on the spot the implementation of Wang Anshi's reforms, so there was still room for maneuver.
But everyone knew that the emperor would definitely enable Wang Anshi to carry out reforms.
If we want to fight, we have to fight at that time.
... ...
In fact, the trial of this case is almost over. The mastermind and accomplice all committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Now it depends on whether Zhang Fei admits the result.
After all, Zhang Fei was not dealing with a criminal case, but the ancestral law.
So Lu Gong summoned Zhang Fei to Kaifeng Prefecture again and showed him the results of the trial.
After Zhang Fei finished reading it, he asked, "Are they really the mastermind?"
Lu Gongzhe sighed and said, "To be honest, I am not sure. Maybe it is, maybe it is not. I have suspected it before, but the clue is definitely these five people."
He didn't dare to hide it from Zhang Fei. Who knew how many clues this kid had.
Zhang Fei hesitated and said nothing.
Lu Gong remained silent.
He knew that Zhang Fei would most likely agree.
Because the imperial court would never recognize the "laws of our ancestors" that he mentioned, if the lawsuit continued, he would not lose, but he would not win either.
Kaifeng Prefecture has already done its utmost, and it would be very difficult to continue the investigation.
Seeing that Lu Gong remained silent even though he was about to die, Zhang Fei knew that he had no conditions to negotiate, so he nodded and agreed.