What kind of monster have we unleashed
Liu Hai has been working for the government for more than twenty years. Usually, when criminals are released from prison, they will stay as far away from the government as possible, as far away as possible, with fear in their hearts. Unlike this guy, he comes here every two or three days. He is not even so diligent when he goes to the market!
"Complain? Complain again?"
Finally unable to hold back, Liu Hai roared at Zhang Fei fiercely, "Do you think this government office is owned by your family? You come here to complain all day long. I wonder if you are tired of living."
Zhang Fei put down the sleeves of his robe that were blocking his spit, and said calmly: "I hope Liu Muche will forgive me. In fact, I don't want to disturb Liu Muche, but this is the only place where I can seek justice for the people. I... I really can't find another place. You can't let me go to the capital to file a complaint!"
"you... !"
Liu Hai opened his eyes angrily, stared at Zhang Fei and asked: "Are you threatening me?"
This kind of complaint to a higher level is what the government cannot tolerate the most!
Not to mention filing a complaint with the emperor.
“No, no, no!”
Zhang Fei shook his head repeatedly and said, "I was just talking. How dare I say that?"
Liu Hai was panting heavily. After a while, he suddenly snatched the complaint, glared at him, and shouted, "What are you still standing here for? Do you want to open the court today?"
"Ah? Oh oh oh!"
Zhang Fei bowed and said, "I'll take my leave. I'll take my leave."
He saw that it was getting late, and since he had come to file a serious complaint this time, there was no way the trial would start today, so he left.
Liu Hai was very reluctant to pay attention to Zhang San, but he also knew the boss's temper. If he concealed this, he would definitely lose his job, so he went to the back hall with his hair disheveled and said, "Report to the prefect, Zhang San has come to complain again."
When Xu Yuan heard "Zhang San", he was furious and said depressedly: "I really shouldn't have let that guy out in the first place."
He was firmly opposed to citing the excuse of pardon to help Ayun to commute the death penalty. He believed that this would even affect Xu Zun's official career. However, Xu Zun insisted on his own way and rejected the Dali Temple's decision on this basis.
The culprit is Zhang San!
Xu Zun glanced at Xu Yuan, but didn't blame him. He then asked Liu Hai, "Who is he suing again?"
Liu Hai said: "This time he was entrusted by the Wei brothers to sue Fang Datian for wounding someone."
Xu Zun was surprised and said, "Hurting people? When did Fang Datian hurt anyone?"
Liu Hai said: "We are still talking about the murder case of Ah Yun."
Xu Yuan immediately said, "We have already investigated this case very clearly. Fang Datian did not instruct Ah Yun, and the Fang family was completely unaware of this."
Xu Zun coughed lightly and said, "Present the petition first."
"yes."
Liu Hai immediately handed over the complaint.
After Xu Zun looked at it, he asked, "Where is the other person?"
Liu Hai said awkwardly, "Reporting to the prefect, I saw that it was getting late, so I asked him to go back and wait for news."
Xu Zun wanted to summon Zhang Fei immediately, but it was obvious that his subordinates were all unhappy with that kid, so he had to take his subordinates' emotions into consideration, so he said, "This kid is really restless, let's leave him alone for now."
... ..．
However, Xu Zun was only slightly concerned. After examining the complaint, he decided on the second day to open the court for trial three days later and allow Zhang Fei to appear in court to defend Wei Ada.
Although it was not very common in the Song Dynasty to have people go to court to defend the prisoners, it was not rare either. It was not that Xu Zun specially opened a back door for Zhang Fei.
Since the Song Dynasty did not suppress land annexation and at the same time did not emphasize agriculture over commerce, economic exchanges among the people were more prosperous than in any other dynasty, which directly led to an increase in disputes.
Since the common people had no knowledge of the law, they definitely needed help from professionals, and "litigators" came into being to meet the need.
It is clearly recorded in history books that the discipline of "litigation" was born in the Northern Song Dynasty.
However, nowadays such people are not called lawyers, but are called "ear-pen people" because they like to stick pens in their hats, or they are called "hired pen people" or "tea and snack people".
There is a slight difference between the "earwriter" and the "hired writer". Although both of them write petitions, the "earwriter" can still make certain defenses in court, while the "hired writer" only helps others write petitions.
"Tea eaters" are different from the previous two. They only write petitions, but they must ensure the authenticity of the petitions, otherwise they will bear certain legal responsibilities.
Of course, having said that, whether the person who stabbed the writer is allowed to appear in court to defend himself is entirely up to the masters, and it is not a necessary procedure.
As for the open trial, this is also Xu Zun's personal habit, because he hopes to use it to let the people understand more legal knowledge.
... ..．
Tomorrow is the day the court will open. The two elder brothers Wei A, who were summoned, will come into the city today. Zhang Fei will take the brothers to his inn to stay for one night.
He still has some preparation to do.
"Brother Zhang San, I... I'm fine now, there's no need to wrap... wrap like this."
Wei Ada glanced at his brother who was bandaging his right hand. His right hand was almost like a dumpling. He thought it was too exaggerated, so he said to Zhang Feiyan.
Zhang Fei patiently explained: "If you jump around in the hall tomorrow, who will sympathize with you? This bandage is to let people know how much you have suffered. It is natural for you to ask for compensation, so this is necessary."
Wei Er felt that what Zhang Fei said made sense, so he said, "Brother, just listen to Brother Zhang San. He won't harm us."
Wei Ada nodded woodenly, but his face was still full of anxiety.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. You are the only victim in this case. All your requests are justified. No one will blame you. Leave everything to me tomorrow."
Wei Ada nodded and said, "I... I understand. I'm not afraid."
Even so, his voice was trembling.
Zhang Fei was also helpless about this. After all, common people like them would never have to deal with the government in their entire lives, so they would inevitably feel afraid.
The next morning, Zhang Fei left the room early with the Wei brothers.
At this time, many people were eating breakfast downstairs. When the three of them came downstairs, the hall suddenly fell silent and everyone looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
It turned out that Zhang Fei, who followed the local customs, bought a hat specially and then inserted a short pen into the hat. To be honest, he really liked this style and it suited his taste very much.
He is handsome, yet has a touch of elegance and unruliness.
It's so cool.
In Dengzhou, such people with espionage are not common. The guests of this inn were inevitably surprised when they suddenly discovered that there was a person with espionage living here.
Zhang Fei just smiled at everyone, then left with the Wei brothers. He had asked the owner to deliver breakfast to his room early last night, so they ate before coming down.
After he left, there was a burst of discussion in the hostel, and everyone started discussing the Wei Ada case.
The news about this case has already leaked out and everyone is talking about it.
It turned out that the Ayun case had already been widely circulated when it happened, and all the citizens knew about it.
It has been proven before that Ayun's murder of Wei Ada was entirely his own act and had nothing to do with the Fang brothers. But now it is reported that Wei Ada has sued the Fang brothers for assault, which makes everyone very curious.
Is there another injustice in this case
... .．
After walking for a cup of tea, Zhang Fei and the Wei brothers arrived at the gate of the government office. At this time, some citizens were already standing in front of the gate, waiting to watch the excitement.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man rushed forward, pointed at Wei Ada and started to yell at him.
"Wei Ada, you ungrateful bastard, I betrothed my niece to you out of kindness, but you turned your kindness into hatred and falsely accused me. You will not live a good life."
This person is the defendant, Fang Datian.
Wei Ada was so scared that he quickly shrank behind his brother.
He was honest by nature and had a very low self-esteem due to his ugly appearance.
Zhang Fei stepped forward and said with a smile, "How about three strings of cash?"
Fang Datian was stunned and asked, "What do you mean by three strings of cash?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This is an important place for the government office. If you act out here, you will be punished. But you can spend three strings of coins to ask me to appeal for you, and you can avoid physical pain."
Fang Datian tilted his head to look at the government gate, a hint of fear flashed across his eyes, but he still said unforgivingly: "Oh! It was you who instigated Wei Ada to falsely accuse me."
Zhang Fei said, "If the prefect decides in our favor, then your 'false accusation' implies that the prefect is unfair, which could constitute the crime of defaming an official. If you want me to defend you, I'll have to pay you thirty strings of cash, after all, you're defaming the prefect!"
"you... !"
Fang Datian was just a commoner after all, and he was afraid of the government, so he was immediately intimidated by Zhang Fei.
At this time, a man came up from behind him. His name was Fang Dagen, and he was Fang Datian's younger brother. He held Fang Datian and said, "Brother, don't argue with him. I believe that the official will give us justice later."
After saying that, he pulled Fang Datian away.
After a while, many nearby citizens came here one after another. After all, entertainment was relatively expensive in ancient times, and trials in court were not very common, so many curious people came to watch.
After about a cup of tea, the gate of the government office slowly opened.
Liu Hai and two yamen runners walked out of the gate. He glanced and locked his eyes directly on Zhang Fei. He first glared at him fiercely, and then loudly summoned Fang Datian, Wei Ada and Zhang Fei.
After entering the government gate, he first led the three people to the west corridor and handed over the petition. After the clerk examined it, after a while, he heard the summons and went out of the corridor into the courtyard.
Since the trial was open to the public, the trial was not held inside the hall but in the courtyard in front of the hall door.
Compared to the casual first time, this time is much more solemn!
Eight yamen runners on each side held black and red water and fire sticks and pounded them on the ground while chanting: "威...武...".
At the same time, a wooden sign was erected on each side.
Get out of the way! Be quiet!
This is the power of the hall.
The place outside the government office suddenly became quiet.
Wei Ada was so frightened that his legs went limp and he was about to collapse to the ground. Zhang Fei quickly grabbed him with one hand and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, this is used to scare bad guys, we are good people."
As he said this, he glanced at Fang Datian next to him. Seeing that although he didn't collapse directly, his legs were shaking. He couldn't help but laugh secretly. The other party didn't even have a defense lawyer. Am I going too far
Amid this majestic voice, Xu Zun walked in from the east corridor in official uniform. He saw all the little movements of Zhang Fei and Wei Ada just now, and thought to himself, this kid is really extraordinary!