Based on Zhang Fei's borrowing of "Song Dynasty Criminal Code", Xu Zhiqian's expectations of him immediately decreased a little bit.
Sharpen your sword before the battle.
Is this useful
Zhang Fei had indeed studied the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code", but he was not stupid enough to memorize the entire text. Laws and regulations are like dictionaries, and he would look them up when he needed them.
Check and remember at the same time.
If you use it more often, you will naturally remember it.
You really don't need to memorize them by heart, just remember the key and commonly used ones, and have a general impression of the others.
It's already three o'clock in the morning.
After running all day, Xu Zhiqian did not go to bed early, but sat by the candlelight, with one hand on her chin. Although there was an opened copy of "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" on the table, her eyes were not on the book at all.
She could really recite it by heart, but she couldn't find a way to seek justice for Li Si.
Dong Dong Dong!
There was a knock on the door.
Xu Zhiqian was startled, and then heard someone outside the door calling softly, "Sister Qian'er."
It was Qingmei's voice.
"come in."
With a creaking sound, the candle flame flickered. Xu Zhiqian hurriedly raised her hand to protect the fragile flame, and saw Qingmei come into the room again.
"Sister Qian'er, I just went to check. There was still a candlelight in Zhang San's room, and... and he just had someone send him some cakes and tea. It looks like he won't be sleeping for a while."
Xu Zhiqian nodded and said, "It seems that he is not just trying to fool me."
Qingmei asked: "Sister Qian'er, do you think he can think of a solution?"
Xu Zhiqian sighed faintly: "I was just trying to save his life and didn't have any hope for him, but Daddy seems to be quite optimistic about him. I hope he can come up with a solution."
... ..
Zhang Fei's initial strategy was to use Xu Zhiqian to cast a wide net and see if he could catch a big fish. It didn't mean that he really wanted to uphold justice and enforce the law.
He was very clear that he did not have the ability to do so at the moment.
For him, the best outcome is to help the weak and fight against the strong while gaining both fame and fortune.
The result is fame and fortune, and the process can be to help the weak and suppress the strong.
It can be seen that he is selective.
If this is the case, he shouldn't have spent too much effort on this case. After all, Xu Zun said that this lawsuit is difficult to win and there is almost no possibility of winning.
But people are complicated.
Although Zhang Fei did not show it, he actually felt very sympathetic towards Li Si in his heart. He felt that Chen Yuteng was really going too far. He had already taken away the man's wife, but was still not satisfied and had to force the man to death.
He is willing to try hard to see if he can salvage it.
However, after reading all the laws related to lending in the Song Dynasty Criminal Code, he only felt more desperate.
The "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" was completely derived from the "Tang Law Commentary", but due to the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty, many regulations were added in terms of lending, most of which were summarized in the "Miscellaneous Orders".
Although most of the regulations favor creditors, there are also provisions to protect the rights of debtors, and the considerations are quite detailed. We should not underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.
For example, the conversion issue mentioned by Xu Zun earlier is also clearly stipulated in the law:
"Those who offer millet and wheat and return it as millet and wheat shall follow their private contract and the government shall not take any action."
That is, if you borrow rice, you must return the rice; if you borrow money, you must return the money. It is not allowed to repay money with goods, so there will be no conversion problem.
The original intention was good, but it backfired and ended up harming more people.
It can be seen that usury is very difficult to control.
Therefore, the interest on private loans was often two or three times the principal, and the imperial court explicitly prohibited compounding of interest, but in fact it was impossible to prohibit it.
Unless it is blatant plunder or deception, they can take care of it. Generally, for contracts that are consensual and have complete procedures, they choose to follow private contracts and the officials will not intervene.
You know the interest rate is very high, but you still want to borrow it. Who can you blame
Of course, who dares to blame the court
"well... !"
Zhang Fei, like a scumbag, threw the Song Dynasty Criminal Code, which he had spent the whole night with, on the table and shook his head, saying, "It seems that some things are difficult to achieve success just by hard work!"
There was a hint of frustration in his tone.
It was obvious that he was ready to give up.
If this contract were to be fought in the future, it would definitely be a fight, but nowadays, it is almost impossible to fight it.
After stretching, Zhang Fei came to the window and opened it. He saw that the sky in the east had already turned pale. "Ah! It's already dawn. It's been a long time since I worked all night like this."
He stretched his arms and looked into the distance. The cool breeze in the early morning blew away the tiredness on his face.
"Alas... I will go and explain to Madam Xu today that I can't help her with this matter! Oh no! She will make fun of me again. What a stupid thing I have done."
After standing for a while, Zhang Fei suddenly felt a little hungry, so he went back to the table, picked up a piece of cake and started eating.
"Huh? Why is it the Household Marriage Law?"
Zhang Fei clearly remembered that he had turned to the page of miscellaneous orders. He tilted his head to look at the window, then turned back and said to himself, "Oh, right! I'm still a single dog now. Oh, it seems that I can have one wife and multiple concubines now. Haha, I have to understand the current marriage laws."
So he picked up the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" on the table and started reading it while eating pastries.
But as he looked at it, his expression gradually became solemn. He suddenly threw the cakes in his hand aside, and took out the contract copies from the documents on the table and started to read them.
As he watched, he was overjoyed and said, "Yes! This is a civil dispute, but if I can make it a criminal dispute, then this iron rule will be broken. It seems that I am still inexperienced and didn't think of this. It's really wrong!"
... ..
at dusk.
Xu Zhiqian stood in the corridor, looking at Zhang Fei's house from a distance, and asked Qingmei beside him: "Has he never come out?"
Qingmei shook her head and said, "But I asked Uncle Rong who just went to deliver dinner to his room, and Uncle Rong said that Zhang San was still reading and didn't talk to him."
Xu Zhiqian curled her lips and said depressedly: "He didn't even bother to ask me for help, and even said he wanted to cooperate with me."
... ...
Zhang Fei did not go out all day, and Xu Zhiqian tossed and turned in bed. When she saw dawn, she got up, washed up, and without even having breakfast, she hurried to the front yard. However, when she passed Zhang Fei's courtyard, she hesitated in front of the gate.
She wanted to knock on Zhang Fei's door several times, but she was embarrassed. As a lady from a wealthy family, it was not appropriate for her to knock on a man's door so early in the morning.
"Sister Qian'er."
"ah?"
Xu Zhiqian was startled and turned her head to look. Seeing that it was Uncle Rong, she hurriedly asked, "Uncle Rong, are you here to bring food to Zhang San?"
Rong Bo shook his head and said, "Zhang Sanlang has just had breakfast and is now walking with the master in the front yard."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiqian immediately walked towards the front yard.
Seeing Zhang Fei chatting and laughing with his father in the yard, he was delighted, thinking that maybe he had thought of a solution.
"Morning, Daddy!"
Xu Zhiqian walked over and greeted Xu Zun.
Zhang Fei was very tactful and took the initiative to greet him: "Good morning, Madam Xu."
"morning!"
Xu Zhiqian glanced at Zhang Fei and asked casually, "Have you thought of a solution?"
Zhang Fei first glanced at Xu Zun, then laughed at himself and said, "I have been wasting my time for two days."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because there is no need to file a lawsuit, just let Li Si file a lawsuit directly."
Xu Zhiqian was confused and said, "I... I still don't understand."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The reason why this lawsuit is difficult is that everyone is doing this, and the people do have a need for loans, and the court has no way to solve this problem, so it naturally cannot intervene.
But now it is different. The court is now preparing for reforms, which means that this situation will be improved. At this moment, the court needs more cases to fully prove the rationality of the reforms.
Now it depends on who dares to sue, and whoever sues will win. In fact, the situation in the court also helped me a lot in winning the lawsuit. "
Xu Zhiqian understood what she heard, and she also knew that Wang Anshi played an indispensable role in bringing this case to Bian Jing, but she didn't quite believe it was that simple!
So she looked at Xu Zun.
Xu Zun stroked his beard and said, "I can't guarantee whether it will work or not, but the court does intend to implement new laws recently, and your uncle Wang has mentioned the issue of private debt many times."
Xu Zhiqian's face lit up with joy. She had complete faith in her father and said, "Then I'll ask Li Si to sue the authorities?"
"tell!"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Go and sue immediately. If you can't win, I'll pay for the damages."
Seeing Zhang Fei's confidence and Xu Zun stroking his beard without saying anything, Xu Zhiqian felt relieved and nodded, "Okay, I'll have someone contact Li Si right away."
Xu Zun said: "Qian'er, don't be in a hurry, eat breakfast first."
"Know it!"
The sound was coming from far away.
Xu Zun shook his head helplessly.
Zhang Fei looked at Xu Zhiqian's hurried back, suddenly frowned, and said, "My benefactor, your daughter is so caring towards a farmer she has never met, why is she so mean to me?"
Xu Zun snorted, "Why do you do this to me? Don't you know it in your heart?"
Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "It's really just a misunderstanding."
Xu Zun said: "Whether it is a misunderstanding or not is not important. What is important is that you should understand that a person's reputation is like a dam that is thousands of miles long. It takes years or even decades to build. But if you don't pay attention, a small ant hole can cause the dam to collapse."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Thank you for your teachings, sir. I understand the truth, but I think being a gentleman is too tiring and not suitable for me."
Xu Zun asked: "So you want to be a villain?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I just want to be an ordinary person with flesh and blood."
Xu Zun stroked his beard and said, "It's okay to be casual and open-minded, but you have to remember that if you dare to make a mistake on the big issues, I will be the first one to not forgive you."
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, then said solemnly: "I can promise you this."
"Listen first." Xu Zun smiled and suddenly whispered, "By the way, if we can't win this lawsuit, you'll be in trouble."
Zhang Fei raised his lips and said, "Don't worry, benefactor, we will definitely win."