If it weren't for the commotion at the door, Lu Gong would have thought that he had heard it wrong.
One thousand strings of cash
What a great guy!
Not to mention the astonishment of the scholars watching in front of the courtyard gate, even Han Qi and Fu Bi looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
If I could earn a hundred strings of cash from Su Shi's collection of poems, I'd be really lucky.
Just opening your mouth is worth a thousand strings of cash.
I’m afraid that if that bandit sees you, he will call you daddy!
Lawyer!
What a lawyer!
This is even more excessive than the original Fang Datian case. After all, the victim in that case, Wei Ada, was indeed physically injured, and it might even affect his future work.
Su Shi himself was not harmed and was simply being cunning, but Zhang Fei still demanded a thousand strings of cash in compensation.
Su Shi, the person involved, was also stunned.
He felt embarrassed about the amount of the claim.
That’s too much!
Su Zhe, who was standing by, couldn't bear to watch any longer and whispered, "Brother, how can you claim so much money?"
"I... ."
Su Shi stamped his feet fiercely and said with a wronged look: "This... This has nothing to do with me, brother."
Su Che asked curiously, "He is helping his brother in the lawsuit, so how can it have nothing to do with his brother?"
Su Shi was very ashamed and said: "At that time he asked for a hundred strings of cash as a reward, but I didn't have that much money, so I said that the claim for compensation in this lawsuit was my reward to him, but I never thought that he would ask for a thousand strings of cash."
He really didn't expect that Zhang Fei would be so cruel.
Because even if you sell the entire Jijuxian, you still won’t have that much money.
How much money can a small bookstore be worth
He was thinking at the time that at most it would double, to around two hundred strings of cash, and it couldn't be any more.
Are you protecting my reputation or destroying it
This thousand strings of cash had nothing to do with him, but Zhang Fei did claim the compensation on his behalf.
He really has no way to defend himself.
It’s so unfair!
Su Zhe sighed, "I've said it before, brother, you are asking for trouble. It's too late to regret it now."
Su Shi was about to cry. He could already feel the angry looks from Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others.
Even his brother guessed that it was his request, let alone outsiders.
He wanted to step forward and stop the lawsuit, but he also thought that Lu Gongzhe would never agree to such a high amount of compensation.
It just doesn't make sense!
Just wait and see.
"Silence! Silence!"
Lu Gong banged the gavel three times in a row. After all, it was spring and the weather was relatively warm, so the side effects of banging the gavel were relatively small.
After the silence, Lu Gongzhe asked Zhang Fei with an incredulous look on his face: "On what basis do you claim a thousand strings of cash? I have already found out the profits that Ji Juxian made from Su Shi's poetry collection, but it was only thirty strings of cash."
When this gap came to light, Zhang Fei almost aroused the outrage of both humans and gods.
Even those who really rob people of their money are not as shameless as you.
Su Shi felt a little lonely. Is this all the poetry collection you bought for me
Zhang Fei replied righteously: "The prefect is wrong. The amount of compensation should not be calculated based on the profits gained by Ji Juxian, but should be calculated based on the losses of the victims. Therefore, the profits gained by Ji Juxian have nothing to do with the compensation of the common people this time."
Although what he said made sense, Lu Gong was very curious and asked, "But I wonder what Su Shi lost in this case?"
Zhang Fei said: "The risks taken."
"risk?"
Lu Gong was a little confused.
How do we assess this risk
There are not so many regulations at present.
In modern law, compensation in most cases is calculated based on the specific losses.
Zhang Fei asked: "May I ask the prefect, can the government provide concrete evidence to prove that every poem in this collection was written by Mr. Su, or that every poem was not written by Mr. Su."
Lu Gong pondered for a moment and said, "This is hard to prove! The only thing the government can prove is that two of the poems were written by Su Shi while he was in the Historian's Office, and this is recorded in the case."
"The prefect has a point."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I think so too. It is indeed difficult to prove. If I were to identify it, the only one I could recognize is the "Jade Girl Shaking the Fairy Pendant - Beautiful Woman" written by Liu Yong."
Su Shi was a little unhappy. What do you mean? Am I not as good as Liu Laoqi
Zhang Fei then explained, "Because this poem was sold to a singing girl at a high price, the two parties had a contract to prove it. But for many poems, it is difficult to find concrete evidence to prove who wrote them. Fortunately, the literati in our dynasty all have integrity and will not randomly claim other people's poems."
Comfortable!
This guy doesn't look so hideous!
The scholars present couldn't help but give Zhang Fei admiring glances.
Zhang Fei smiled with respect and admiration, quietly stretched out his hand and whispered, "Text number!"
Xu Zhiqian immediately found a document and handed it to him.
Zhang Fei raised the document and said, "This document is about officials in past dynasties who were demoted or killed because of their poems and articles."
After that, he flipped open the book and read: "One of the most famous cases is about the great Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bo, who was convicted and dismissed from office because of a piece of writing called "Cockfighting Edict"."
As he spoke, he looked up at Lu Gongzhe and asked, "Does the prefect know about this?"
Lu Gongzhu nodded and said, "Of course I know about this case. This can explain it."
Zhang Fei replied: "Suppose no one knows about this, and the bookseller slightly changes the name in the article "Fighting Cocks" and puts it in Mr. Su's collection of poems, which arouses the anger of the court and wants to punish Mr. Su. What if there is no evidence to prove that it was not written by Mr. Su? What should we do then?"
After hearing this discussion, Han Qi and Fu Bi, who were angry just now, could not help but frown and think.
Those present here are all literary masters and men of letters. They are very sensitive and afraid of such things.
Although there is no such thing as literary inquisition nowadays, people have been punished for their poems and essays in all dynasties, but they were not so severe. It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the system was completely expanded. Thousands of people could be punished for writing a random poem.
Lu Gong frowned and said, "If it involves human life or official positions, the court will investigate it clearly and will not sentence people casually."
"But the prefect just said that this kind of thing is hard to prove. And."
Zhang Fei glanced around and said, "All of you here are scholars. I believe you should understand that what people say is scary. Some lies become true as they are passed on. First of all, it is difficult to prove who the real author of a poem is. In this case, this phenomenon of pirated printing may cause great problems.
Usually, the pirates do not understand poetry and prose very well themselves, and are very likely to be plagiarizing other people's works. This can easily lead to the spread of false information and fake things, which is very scary.
Because when a hundred booksellers put a poem that is not yours in your collection, it may become yours. If something really happens, the victim will be speechless!"
Everyone present was horrified when they heard this, and their hair stood on end.
That sounds horrible.
The same poem is included in all poetry collections published by a hundred different booksellers. Do you say it is not yours
Can the government be trusted
Zhang Fei continued, "Mr. Su passed the imperial examination when he was still a young man. His talent was appreciated by many ministers in the court, and his career was bright. If his career was frustrated because of a bad work, the loss would be more than a thousand strings of cash.
We cannot wait until a few years or even a dozen years after the incident to make a claim. That would be meaningless because Mr. Su has already lost his most precious years.
As for the Song Dynasty, it might have been the loss of a national pillar. At that time, whether it was a compensation of one thousand or ten thousand strings of cash, what would it mean
I know that the prefect will think that my claim is too harsh and excessive, which is no different from extortion. But I think that my claim is in full respect of the principles and spirit of legislation, because the law is more for prevention, restraint and intimidation, rather than punishment.
It is also in line with the idea of our ancestors to prevent corruption.
If the common people only claim 20 or 30 strings of money, what is the point? Of course, I also know that Jixianju has no intention of harming Mr. Su, he just wants to make a profit, but if you are careless, or your selfishness may hurt others' lives, then the law needs to make you careful. "
Su Shi, who had just regretted his decision, now said to Su Zhe in a smug manner: "Third brother, did I invite the wrong person?"
Su Zhe suddenly woke up and found that his back was soaked. He glanced at his brother, nodded awkwardly, and said, "This man is really worthy of his reputation!"
This scared everyone present. You have to know that those who are sitting here listening to the trial are all prime ministers, great writers, and great poets.
They suddenly felt that this claim was not excessive at all.
Should!
After all, this is related to their vital interests.
And it's really scary, and it's really possible.
This is by no means an exaggeration.
Lu Gongzhu, who was also a civil official, of course also understood the situation. He nodded slightly and said, "Although what you said makes sense, Ji Juxian simply can't afford to pay so much money for compensation!"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "We can discuss this later, but we must pursue the highest compensation, because this matter is actually very, very scary for Mr. Su."
Lü Gong listened to his tone and it seemed that there was still room for easing the tension. He decided to discuss it in the hall. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and said, "I think this case is enough. I wonder what the words about making jackets in your petition are?"
The lawsuit has almost come to this point. In this case, it is nothing more than a claim for compensation. The crime of fabricating false books and words is really not an ordinary crime.
Zhang Fei said seriously: "Ji Juxian's counterfeiting behavior has damaged the foundation of our dynasty and naturally hurt Mr. Su. If it is not controlled in time, the consequences will be disastrous."