Judge of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 131: You have to sit wherever you go

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"Mr. Su?"

When Zhang Fei saw Su Shi coming to his house angrily, he couldn't help feeling surprised.

"Zhang San, you..."

"Mr. Su!"

Su Shi pointed at Zhang Fei and just said two words when he heard an excited shout from a woman. He turned his head and saw a beautiful girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old. This kind of beauty was rare in Bianjing. His expression changed immediately and he smiled and said politely, "Young lady, do you know me?"

Xu Zhiqian bowed gracefully, "In reply to Mr. Su's question, my name is Xu Zhiqian, and I once asked you for advice on your article "On Punishment and Reward for Loyalty and Honesty". Have you forgotten it, Mr. Su?"

Zhang Fei looked at the shy Xu Zhiqian with disdain. You are obviously a tomboy, why are you pretending to be a lady? Do you have any shame

"Xu Zhiqian?"

Su Shi thought about it, then suddenly pointed at her and asked excitedly, "Xu Zhongtu's daughter?"

Xu Zhiqian nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

In fact, Xu Zhiqian first got to know Su Shi not because of his poems, but because Su Shi once wrote an article "On the Ultimate Theory of Punishment and Reward for Loyalty and Honesty" during an examination, which Xu Zhiqian particularly liked and regarded as a treasure.

About seven or eight years ago, she had met Su Shi once and asked him about this article. At that time, Su Shi was really suave and handsome.

Xu Zhiqian was so fascinated by him.

Su Shi looked at her carefully again and said with a chuckle, "I remember you were just a little girl back then, but I never thought you have grown into a beautiful lady in the blink of an eye."

Do you want a hug? You bad uncle! Zhang Fei coughed.

Su Shi then turned his gaze to Zhang Fei, and immediately remembered the purpose of his visit. He pointed at Zhang Fei angrily and said, "Zhang San, I asked you to fight the lawsuit, why are you trying to harm me?"

Zhang Fei was surprised and said, "I didn't harm you, sir!"

"Still saying no?"

Su Shi said angrily, "We agreed before that you would sue Ji Juxian for stealing my poems and articles, but you charged me with the crime of 'writing books and writing words'. In this case, I am the only one who could be guilty of this crime. How can you not harm me?"

Zhang Fei said with a wronged look on his face: "I am suing Ji Juxian for this crime, not Mr. Su."

Xu Zhiqian nodded and said, "Yes! Mr. Su, you may have made a mistake. I was the one who wrote the petition."

Zhang Fei frowned and said, "Could it be that Kaifeng Prefecture is trying to sow discord?"

Su Shi waved his hand and said, "It has nothing to do with Kaifeng Prefecture. Prefect Lu just asked me to come over to ask the reason, but I must ask clearly, what does this have to do with the crime of Aoshu Aoyan?"

In fact, it was really Kaifeng Prefecture that was obstructing the matter. The culprit was the judge Li Kai. He told Su Shi that Zhang San was a mysterious person and he would prosecute him for this crime. If he turned the tables in court, you would be finished.

Su Shi was also dumbfounded. Why would he be charged with this crime

So he rushed to Zhang's house and asked Zhang Fei for clarification.

Zhang Fei said: "If we don't label it as such a serious crime, how can we prevent such incidents from happening again?"

Su Shi's expression eased a little after hearing this, and he pondered for a moment before saying, "That being said, it is a matter of law, how can we make up charges at will?"

Can't arrange it at will? Haha, in a few years, you will know you are wrong. This is just a warm-up. Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Please believe in my professionalism, Mr. Su. Sometimes, seeing higher and farther does not mean arranging it at will."

“Higher and further.”

Su Shi couldn't help but look at Zhang Fei with suspicion.

By saying this in front of me, Su, are you taking advantage of the fact that I haven’t yet recited the famous line “I, an old man, am still as wild as young men”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If Mr. Su doesn't believe me, you can withdraw the lawsuit."

Su Shi raised his hand and said, "That's not necessary. I want to see how far and how high you can see."

He is so talented that no one has ever been defeated.

... ...

This lawsuit had already caused a great shock in the literary world.

Because today's public opinion is controlled by literati, and this lawsuit is closely related to literati, and the person involved is a talented and romantic man like Su Shi.

Full of gimmicks.

This caused the entire literary world to discuss this matter.

When the charge of "creating unauthorized books and unauthorized words" was exposed, it directly detonated the entire public opinion.

In an instant, rumors were flying everywhere.

Even his younger brother Su Che advised Su Shi to give up the lawsuit.

This crime is horrible.

The greatest enemy of men of letters.

Even an uneducated person cannot commit such a crime!

... ...

Xiangguo Temple!

"The fire is coming! The fire is coming!"

I saw someone shouting loudly in fear.

"Where is the water leaking?"

"Can't you see? There, and there, there's smoke coming out of both."

"Look carefully, where are those places?"

"Where?"

"The bookstore! They are all burning books about Su Shi."

"... ... ?"

It is no exaggeration to say that at this moment, booksellers all over the city were burning books about Su Shi.

Thick smoke could be seen everywhere.

The owner of Ji Juxian was even more ruthless. Upon hearing this, he took his wife and children and ran away without saying a word, leaving everything behind.

This crime is not scary, what is scary is Zhang San.

Zhang San said it was this crime, isn’t it

If this crime is punished with the highest penalty, it would be hanging!

If you don't run away now, when will you run away

Fortunately, people from Kaifeng Prefecture arrived in time, stopped them, took them back for interrogation, and then comforted him.

Kaifeng Prefecture believed that it would be impossible to commit this crime if they gathered together talented people.

... ...

Wang Anshi was glad that he followed Lu Huiqing's advice, otherwise, the limelight might have been snatched away by Zhang Fei.

This charge is definitely adding fuel to the fire.

One is what literati hate the most, and the other is the crime that literati fear the most.

The two are combined into one.

What a freak.

He himself was very curious and quickly went to reserve a seat.

... ..

Lu Gongzhe, who originally wanted to throw the case to the Siliyuan, no longer had this idea at this time, because all the hearing seats had been reserved, even the corridor was included in the hearing seats.

They are all big names in the literary world.

The small courtyard of the Siliyuan is far from enough to accommodate all the things!

The key point is, with so many bigwigs, it would be embarrassing if the review was not done well!

Lu Gong suddenly felt overwhelmed, but this matter had already caused a lot of disturbance among the people, so it had to be tried quickly, so he arranged for the trial to begin tomorrow.

... ...

Dali Temple.

"This kid really wants the world to be in chaos!"

Sima Guang just shook his head and said, "Any matter, as long as it falls into his hands, it will become a big deal. If every spies is like him, what will happen!"

At this point, he glanced at Xu Zun sitting across from him, "It's true that a good teacher produces a talented student, and the student is even better than the teacher."

Xu Zhongtu was originally the number one weirdo, but compared with Zhang Fei, he was too normal.

Xu Zun said with shame: "Sima Dashi may not believe it. I just gave him some help. I really didn't teach him anything. If I did, I would be proud."

As he said this, he quickly changed the subject and said, "Oh, right! I heard that Prefect Lu is planning to try this case in the prefectural court again. Why don't you use this case as an opportunity to test the new law?"

Sima Guang waved his hands and said, "Everything must be done with a legitimate reason. I haven't even petitioned the government yet, but if I rashly interfere with the Kaifeng Prefecture trial, it will only give people something to blame. If this judicial reform starts with violating the rules, how can it succeed?"

Xu Zun nodded slightly and said, "That's true."

In terms of his style of doing things, Xu Zun is actually more like Wang Anshi. Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters.

Lu Gong was originally forced to have the case tried in the government court. What's wrong with you intervening a little and using the case as an experiment? It won't affect fairness and justice, it just changes the process.

Sima Guang was different. He took things step by step and planned before taking action.

In this judicial reform, Zhang Fei provided them with ready-made things, but Sima Guang was thinking about cultivating talents first.

This will take a long time.

... ...

The next day!

It was early in the morning and the Kaifeng government compound was already packed with people.

At a glance, there are only old men.

It is truly a gathering of great writers, a rare event.

Although this matter is not big, it is closely related to them.

Lu Gongzhe, who is also an old man, was almost a junior. When he went out to say hello, his back could hardly be straightened.

I pulled my old friends Wang Anshi and Sima Guang to complain, asking who I had offended.

Why do you torture me like this

Although they were all there to attend the trial, given their fame and status, this put a lot of pressure on the presiding judge.

Last time in the Criminal Court, at least the Gemini of the Northern Song Dynasty were in charge, but this time it’s just him, Lu Gong.

Sima Guang stroked his beard and sighed, "I also think this is indeed a bit inappropriate!"

Wang Anshi immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

Of course he was on Zhang Fei's side, but he didn't expect that Sima Guang was also on Zhang Fei's side.

Sima Guang said: "The main responsibility of a prefect is to govern the prefecture, which is related to the livelihood of the people in the prefecture. However, there are more and more lawsuits now, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources of the prefecture. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

Lu Gong nodded repeatedly.

Long live understanding!

Wang Anshi said, "Isn't there still the Court of Justice below? The prefect can't try many cases."

Sima Guang said: "But in the end, the prefecture came to make the judgment."

Wang Anshi heard something behind his words and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Sima Guang said, "Wouldn't it be better if the two were separated? The prefect would no longer have to judge cases and could focus on governing the prefecture. As for the judicial aspects, they would be handled by another government office. The two would not be subordinate to each other."

Lu Gong nodded, "This arrangement is indeed more reasonable!"

Although this arrangement was obviously intended to weaken the power of the prefect, most positions in the Northern Song Dynasty were replaced every three years. When Lu Gong's term expired, he would definitely not continue to be the prefect, and he would either be in the Censorate or the Three Departments.

The changes in power are not that relevant to the interests of officials.

Wang Anshi laughed and said, "It seems that the rumors outside are true. You really want to carry out judicial reform."

Sima Guang snorted, "Can it be that you, Wang Jiefu, are allowed to reform the law, but I, Sima Guang, am not allowed to reform the law?"

Wang Anshi thought that it would be a good idea to find a job to place this old man, so that he would not be idle and always oppose him. He laughed and said, "I am not so overbearing, but I have no say in this matter. You have to convince the government."

His reforms were mainly aimed at finance, but also involved the military, politics and administration. The only area he left out was the judiciary, because there were no bad policies in the judiciary and there was no urgent need for reform.

Sima Guang's desire to carry out judicial reform was tantamount to backing away from him. If you don't do it, I will do it.

If we still don't give in, it would be too much.

... ...

"Mr. Fu is here too!"

When Han Qi saw Fu Bi, he took the initiative to walk over and greeted him.

Fu Bi just bowed slightly and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Han would have such a refined taste."

Han Qi chuckled and said, "It's not a hobby, it's just pure curiosity! Although it is shameful to steal other people's poems and sell them for money, it's a bit too much to accuse them of a crime."

Fu Bi nodded and said, "I think the same as Han Xianggong. This matter is a bit of an exaggeration. It is a serious crime to sue."

Han Qi smiled and said, "This is really curious. How will Zhang San fight this lawsuit to convince others? I wonder what Mr. Fu thinks?"

Fu Bi shook his head and said, "I haven't figured it out yet."

If he had thought it through, he wouldn't have come. His foot disease has not yet healed, so it is inconvenient for him to move around.

Han Qi suddenly glanced to the side and called out, "Su Erlang."

Su Shi had an older brother who died young, so everyone still called him Erlang, but in fact he was the eldest brother.

Su Shi, who was in the courtyard, saw Han Qi calling him and Fu Bi beside him, so he hurried to the corridor and said, "Junior Su Shi greets Minister Han and Minister Fu."

Han Qi asked, "You were quite generous before, why did you become so petty this time? People just pirated a few of your poems, and you want to kill their whole family."

Fu Bi also frowned in dissatisfaction.

Su Shi was in deep pain and explained, "Mr. Han, you misunderstood me. I never meant that. I just heard that Zhang San was good at litigation and wanted to see it for myself. I also didn't like Ji Juxian's plagiarism of my poems, so I wanted to use this incident to see Zhang San's methods. I just wanted to stop others from plagiarizing my poems, but I didn't expect it to become such a big deal."

Fu Bi asked: "How can we prevent this kind of thing?"

Su Shi replied: "I don't know, but Zhang San said it's okay, and I want to know how he will prevent it."

Han Qi and Fu Bi looked at each other, both confused.

Words are something that can be used by everyone, so how can we stop it

Han Qi warned, "If Zhang San wins the lawsuit, the most you can ask for is some money, but you can't charge him with a serious crime."

Although he lived an extremely luxurious life, he was still very kind and generous when treating the people.

Su Shi hurriedly said: "Even if Han Xianggong didn't say it, I wouldn't do this."

Suddenly, someone outside the courtyard shouted, "Here they come! Here they come!"

I saw a carriage passing through the crowded road and slowly arriving in front of the mansion gate.

Unlike last time, there was no cheering or encouragement, because those standing outside the door today were almost all literati, with only Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi and some other yamen and young masters mixed in. There was not a single ordinary citizen.

The people also wanted to watch the excitement, but they dared not get close to the scene.

When Zhang Fei walked out of the carriage, he heard someone shouting, "Erbi Zhangsan, can't you change your clothes? You always wear the same clothes!"

“Puff!”

Xu Zhiqian, who came out later, couldn't help laughing when she heard this.

Zhang Fei was not embarrassed, and argued: "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. I always wear new clothes."

"What's new? You always use the same trick. Do you think we are blind?"

"Can't I just make every outfit exactly the same?"

"... ... ?"

Is there such a weird thing in the world

Fortunately, there is Xu Zhiqian. When this handsome man and beautiful woman stand forward, it is still quite pleasing to the eye.

As soon as Zhang Fei arrived, Lu Gong ordered him to go to the court immediately, not wanting to wait even a moment longer. The meeting hadn't even started yet, but he had already cracked his lips from greeting Zhang Fei.

After the majestic performance, the courtyard inside and outside gradually became quiet.

After the ceremony, Lu Gong couldn't help but glance at Xu Zhiqian and said with dissatisfaction: "You also need an assistant for this lawsuit?"

Although there is no explicit rule on whether or not to bring an assistant, no one who has never heard of a person bringing an assistant to court, let alone a woman. Last time, it was because the twins supported Zhang Fei, and the lawsuit was of great importance, so they made an exception for him.

But you can’t always do this!

Zhang Fei said in fear and trepidation, "Reporting to the prefect, this is not a minor crime. I have prepared a lot of documents, and I didn't expect the court to open so soon. I am not well prepared, and I need Madam Xu's help."

Having said that, the information prepared this time is far less than last time, because there are not too many cases, but there is also a small burden.

Lu Gong thought to himself that this crime was indeed not a minor one. Anyway, the Court of Justice had already opened the case, so I couldn't be blamed. So he nodded and said, "Okay! I will allow Madam Xu to come to the court to assist you."

After a pause, he asked again: "Regarding this case, I have also investigated it clearly. Ji Juxian did indeed plagiarize Su Shi's poems, but what does this have to do with the crime of printing a book and a poem?"

"Please wait a moment, Prefect."

"... ... ?"

Lu Gong was stunned for a moment, and saw Xu Zhiqian holding the bundle with great effort, while Zhang Fei was bending over, searching for something in the bundle.

"Hey, you! Hold it steady! It's so loose, how can I find it?"

"You are stupid, okay? Or you can carry it and I will find it."

What is this doing

Flirting

Han Qi, Fu Bi and others who were listening to the trial felt that it was a bit too much. It was already a special favor to let a woman go to court, and yet it was done in such an improper way.

Many people just shook their heads.

Sima Guang chuckled and said, "He is using his old tricks again! But without your secret help, he would not have succeeded. Prefect Lu would never let him sit through the lawsuit."

Lu Gong had just complained so much, how could he be allowed to sit down

Wang Anshi said: "He will prove later that I did not help him secretly."

"Yeah?"

Sima Guang said, "Let's wait and see."

Coming again

You might be addicted to it.

When Lu Gong saw this posture, he knew that this kid was asking for a seat again.

It’s impossible to give it to you!

You come here every few days, and I let you sit here, so you have to come every day!

I can't even make it through this life.

You act!

You keep acting!

If I let you sit, I lose.

Xu Zhiqian secretly glanced at Lu Gongzhe, and seeing that he was indifferent, she whispered, "Forget it, Kaifeng Prefecture will not give us a seat."

Zhang Fei glanced at her, threw the documents in his hand into his bag, and snorted, "The treatment for helping a scholar fight a lawsuit is not as good as the treatment for helping a yamen servant fight a lawsuit. Next time, I will never take this scholar's case again."

"Ahem! Someone come! Give him a table and chair so he can put the documents on the table."

Lu Gong waved his hand and said.