Bang bang bang!
"good!"
"Well judged!"
The people who were watching the trial sent Narodawu out of the court with applause and cheers.
Even the nitpickers didn't show up. It seems that people throughout history have hated this kind of deadbeat.
Luo Dawu was already depressed, and when he heard the cheers, he couldn't help but curse: "What the hell do you have to do with it? I don't owe you any money."
"You're still cursing. Don't even think about escaping from now on. We'll all be keeping an eye on you."
"Yes, we'll all be keeping an eye on you."
... ...
Luo Dawu was so frightened that he trembled and dared not say a word. He lowered his head and walked away quickly.
However, the layman only watches the excitement while the expert looks at the details.
Taking advantage of this gap, the officials were whispering.
A trainee prosecutor whispered to Su Che, "Prosecutor, it seems that there is no such punishment provision in the Song Dynasty Criminal Code?"
Another person asked, "Did the judge make a mistake? According to the miscellaneous laws of the Song Dynasty Criminal Code, those who use money or property as collateral can rely on private contracts and the government will not take any action. If the family assets are gone, they must work as labor service, or the labor service can be carried out by taking all the male members of the household.
But this kind of labor service is not the same as selling one's labor."
Su Che said: "Judge Zhang has the power to change some of the laws and penalties, and it is unlikely that he made a mistake, because he is accompanied by Xu Zhubu and four assistant judges."
Having said this, he turned around and said to the six trainee officers, "But his power will be supervised by our procuratorate, so you should also think carefully about the difference between the two and which punishment is better?"
The prosecutors looked at each other, seemingly without much clue for the moment.
In ancient times, most people who studied law still memorized by rote, which is why Xu Zun became a rare talent in the legal world. He was very flexible and good at thinking in this regard.
... ...
"Labor enforcement?"
Lu Chen nodded thoughtfully and said, "Judge Zhang is indeed worthy of his reputation!"
Zheng Xie beside him asked, "Why do you say that, Brother Jiefu?"
A friend beside him also asked: "What is the difference between this and the reduction of wages for military service?"
Lu Chen said with a serious face: "This service of paying for one's life is actually a disguised way of asking debtors to sell themselves into slavery, but they are usually exploited and the labor they pay back is far more than the debt they owe. Many creditors even take advantage of the opportunity to occupy their wives and daughters, but there are also some people, like Luo Dawu, who are rogues and become the hosts, making the creditors miserable. Therefore, in recent years, those fair and honest officials generally do not sentence like this.
In comparison, selling labor is obviously a better choice. Both parties are still in a contractual relationship, and the payer and the supervisor are not the same person, which also avoids the disadvantage of reducing wages for labor service."
He had been a county magistrate in other places for many years and was very clear about this. If the people were sentenced to labor with their lives reduced by pay, the consequences would be even more severe for them. He simply gave them a beating as a token of his respect, and then let them solve the problem their own ways. Many people would lose their lives, and there was still room for negotiation with the landlords.
This was also an important basis for Sima Guang and others to oppose the Qingmiao Law. There was room for bargaining between the common people and the rich. If the government took action, both the common people and the rich would become prey.
Zheng Xie stroked his beard and nodded: "That makes sense."
... ...
Zhuo Qun said: "If we say which one is better, then selling labor is naturally better. But this will also bring more trouble to the imperial court, and it needs supervision. Selling labor is relatively simple, and it has little to do with the government in the future. It is still limited to transactions between the people, which is more in line with the people's private contracts and the government's non-intervention."
The practice of paying for labor service, after all, limits the matter to the creditor and the debtor, and the government only makes a judgment. However, in the case of selling labor, the government needs to participate.
Cai Yanqing smiled and said, "This is why we need to separate politics from law. In the past, the government had too many complicated affairs to take care of them all. Now the imperial court is specialized in the judiciary, and the public security, procuratorate and courts are capable of doing so."
Zhuo Qun nodded his head, "This is indeed a major advantage of the separation of politics and law."
In fact, the laws of the Song Dynasty were very good. They did not force people to sell their wives and children, nor did they force them to sell their fields and cattle.
But the problem remains, the effectiveness is poor.
To put it bluntly, it is execution.
... ... .
After a short break, the second case was soon heard. In civil cases like this, the Royal Court also seeks a little efficiency. If it spends too much energy on such disputes, it will be too busy when a major case comes.
It is also a debt dispute.
A landlord named Wei Fangcheng sued a farmer named Chen Liugen.
This is a typical loan sharking lawsuit.
As a result, the crowd watching outside immediately divided into different camps. Ordinary people certainly hoped that the farmer would be given a light sentence, as they were also likely to have borrowed money at high interest rates.
However, Liu Changqing and other landlords and gentry were relatively nervous. They certainly hoped for a heavy sentence, but they no longer trusted Zhang Fei.
As for the officials, they are quite looking forward to it.
In fact, cases like this are very common, and it is precisely because of this that class contradictions have become increasingly intensified. This is actually one of the reasons why the Qingmiao Law came into being.
In other words, the situation became more serious because the government did not handle it well. If the judiciary could have good control, Wang Anshi would have had no reason to introduce the Qingmiao Law.
From this we can see that the Xining factional struggle was the basic feature of Song Dynasty society.
Various problems can be seen from Wang Anshi’s new laws and regulations, and also from Sima Guang and others’ refutation of theories.
These problems are not necessarily contradictory, they may exist at the same time. Solving one part of the problem may magnify another part.
After Zhang Fei carefully examined the complaint once again, he looked up and shouted, "Wei Fangcheng."
"exist."
But the middle-aged fat man with a big belly responded alone.
Zhang Fei said, "Based on the petition and IOU you submitted earlier, if the interest on your IOU is converted according to the interest rate method stipulated by our imperial court, we estimate that it will definitely be more than double. However, you also stated in the petition that you can reduce the interest rate by half. Are you still willing to keep this point now?"
Wei Fangcheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Keep it! I am willing to keep it! This IOU was drawn up before the Imperial Court passed legislation on interest, but I also respect the Imperial Court very much, so I am willing to take the initiative to reduce the interest rate to within the Imperial Court's regulations."
Dog licker!
Big bootlicker!
Some landlords are very unhappy about this!
Aren't you surrendering voluntarily
He is simply the scum of the landlord world!
The officials are also very unhappy. You are bullying the weak and fearing the strong!
Don’t we have any face
Don't fall into our hands in the future.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much for your support. In fact, our royal court will not investigate whether the previous contract is compliant, but the interest can never be calculated in this way."
When these words were spoken, many people couldn't help but show joy on their faces.
This fully demonstrates that the imperial court's decrees must be strictly enforced.
In the past, the government also had many restrictions, but they were useless. Many officials hardly cared about the matter and let the people solve it on their own, which was the same as not having any restrictions at all.
Zhang Fei turned his head to look at the man on the right, who was about 28 or 29 years old, with his head down and a look of fear, "Chen Liugen."
"Xiao...Xiaomin is here."
Chen Liugen shook violently all over.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. We in the imperial court don't punish people with sticks."
Chen Liugen nodded woodenly.
The officials looked at Zhang Fei unhappily and asked, "Who are you hinting at?"
Zhang Fei asked: "According to the loan agreement, there is a guarantor named Wu Yu. Why didn't he come today?"
Chen Liugen said hurriedly: "It was me who didn't let him come... This has nothing to do with Brother Wu. Brother Wu was trying to help me at the time, and now he has a lot of work to do at home. I... I don't want to implicate Brother Wu anymore, I will take responsibility for everything."
This debtor still has a natural fear of the government, and it would definitely not be a good thing to go to the government.
The imperial court cannot change this situation in a short time.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This imperial court summons cannot be decided by you. Those who receive the summons should try to attend unless there are special circumstances. But forget about it this time. If necessary, we will summon Wu Yun again."
"Thank you, President. Thank you, President." Chen Liugen thanked him repeatedly.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then asked, "According to the loan note, you borrowed a total of 15 strings of cash from Wei Fangcheng three times. I am curious as to why you borrowed so much money?"
Chen Liugen said: "It is to treat the child's illness."
"Really?" Zhang Fei asked with concern, "I wonder if your son's illness has been cured?"
"Okay! It's okay!" Chen Liugen nodded flattered.
"That's good!"
Zhang Fei breathed a sigh of relief. If you borrow money but the disease is not cured, it will be a tragedy. But there are many such tragedies. He asked again: "Have you ever thought about paying back the money?"
"have."
Chen Liugen nodded and said, "Actually, I have been paying it back. Apart from the food and drink for my family, I have used all the remaining money to pay back the debt. But the debt keeps increasing, and I really... I really can't afford to pay it back."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei asked: "How much did you pay back?"
Chen Liugen scratched his head and said, "I can't calculate the exact amount. I grow some vegetables, raise hens, and do some odd jobs to earn some money. I send it all to the Wei family immediately."
Zhang Fei looked at Wei Fangcheng, "Is what he said true?"
Wei Fangcheng hurriedly said, "Grand Judge, my three IOUs are all due in three months. Now they have long been due, but he has been dragging his feet on paying them back. That money can only be considered as interest for the delay. If I hadn't felt sorry for their family, I wouldn't have asked for it."
Xu Zhiqian whispered, "I asked Li Si to inquire about this matter. Chen Liugen really couldn't pay it back, so he gave the extra money to Wei Fangcheng. He was willing to defer the payment for a few days. It's hard to tell whether it can be counted as interest. The key is that they didn't have a written agreement."
"I see."
Zhang Fei nodded, and then asked Wei Fangcheng: "Then why did you sue Chen Liugen in court this time? Is your family in urgent need of money?"
Wei Fangcheng said, "That's not the case. It was just that we agreed that the Chen and Wu families would use their land as collateral to borrow money. Now that they can't pay me back, I didn't force them to hand over the land deeds to me immediately. I just said that before they pay me back, they will be my tenants. The grain from the land will be split 60% to 40%, with me taking 60% and them taking 40%. But they still don't want to, and they keep coming to my house every day to make trouble. I have no choice but to come to the imperial court to file a complaint."
Cai Jing muttered: "This man is really smart."
Ye Zuqia asked, "Why did Mr. Cai say that?"
Cai Jing said: "Now the tax is collected according to the land deeds, and the court has previously stipulated that tenant farmers do not bear land taxes. According to his statement, the land is his, but the tax does not need to be paid, and Chen Liugen will never be able to pay it back."
"I see." Ye Zuqia sighed, "How can these self-employed farmers be a match for these cunning rich families?"
... ...
The officials all looked at Zhang Fei. They didn't need to think about this problem. They had encountered too many such problems, but often did not have many solutions.
Zhang Fei just nodded and looked at Chen Liugen, "Is what Wei Fangcheng said true?"
Chen Liugen pleaded, "Grand Judge, if I give him 60% of the grain, then... my family won't survive until next year. And it's not that I won't give him anything. I want to give him one stone of grain first, so he can make some concessions."
Wei Fangcheng snorted, "You owe me more than twenty strings of coins now. One stone is only worth a few hundred coins. When do you think you'll be able to pay me back?"
Zhang Fei asked Chen Liugen again: "Chen Liugen, how much land do you have at home?"
When Chen Liugen heard this, he immediately burst into tears, "Please spare my life, Judge! My family only has ten acres of land left, and now all five of us, young and old, rely on it to survive."
"Don't cry yet."
Zhang Fei said: "I have to ask all these questions clearly before I can make a judgment. You said that your family only has ten acres of land, but you have to support five people?"
Chen Liugen sobbed a few times, "I... I also rented 20 acres of land from a wealthy family in the village to cultivate."
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "What about your wife?"
Chen Liugen said: "My wife has to take care of two children and her elderly mother at home. She can only do some odd jobs and sew to earn a little money."
Zhang Fei asked again: "How old are your two children?"
Chen Liugen said: "My daughter is already ten years old, and my son is only five years old."
"Where's the mother?"
"My mother is forty-six."
"Forty-six?"
Zhang Fei thought about it. These Forty-Six were almost all grandmothers in the Song Dynasty. Of course, they were considered to have elderly parents. He continued to ask, "Then your wife usually has to take care of the children and the elderly. How can she have time to do odd jobs?"
Chen Liugen said: "My daughter is very sensible and can help take care of her younger brother. If my mother is in good health, she can also help with cooking. However, the heavy work will be done by my wife."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "How is your wife's needlework?"
"Xiaomin's wife is quite skillful."
After Chen Liugen answered, he looked at Zhang Fei in confusion again.
Wei Fangcheng next to him was also confused. Was this a trial or just a casual chat
The evidence is irrefutable, can't you just make a direct judgment
Give me the land and force him to work and sell it, and that will be enough.
"Um."
Zhang Fei nodded, thought for a moment, then looked at Wei Fangcheng and said, "Wei Fangcheng, how do you want Chen Liugen to repay your debt?"
Wei Fangcheng said, "I know his family is in trouble, and I don't want to force him to mortgage the land deeds to me. Anyway, before he pays off the debt, I will treat the land as rented to my family. I am also willing to give Judge Zhang some face and split the annual harvest 50-50."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much for giving me this little face, but do you think that with this repayment, their family can survive?"
Wei Fangcheng hesitated for a moment, "Judge Zhang, I lent money to his son for medical treatment out of kindness. You can't... You can't let me refuse the money."
"of course not."
Zhang Fei said: "It is only natural to pay back a debt, so our Royal Court must first protect your rights and interests and try to ensure that you can get the legal interest and principal."
"Thank you, President. Thank you, President." Wei Fangcheng nodded excitedly.
Zhang Fei glanced at the complaint again, "You are suing now for a total of 25 strings of cash, including principal and interest."
Wei Fangcheng nodded: "Yes."
Zhang Fei said, "Okay! Let's take this amount as the standard, and no more interest will be added. Within one and a half years, Chen Liugen must pay off all his debts, which is 25 strings of cash."
In fact, the interest rate is still too high. If Wei Fangcheng did not voluntarily reduce the interest rate by half, Zhang Fei would definitely not give so much. But there was no way. This IOU was drawn up before the arrival of the imperial court, and there were various conversions in it. This new law governs old matters, so some concessions must be made.
The interest rate cannot be completely capped.
If Wei Fangcheng takes the initiative to make concessions, the imperial court will also have to make concessions.
But after he said this, Wei Fangcheng was dumbfounded.
The key point is that Chen Liugen was also very worried. How could he possibly pay off the debt in a year and a half
Unless their family only eats once every two days.
Wei Fangcheng said awkwardly, "Grand Judge, this one and a half years is a bit too long. The contract at that time mortgaged the land, and now it has expired. Shouldn't the land be awarded to the common people?"
"You are right, and it should be so."
Zhang Fei nodded, but then added: "If you can prove that Chen Liugen mortgaged these lands to you and can still maintain their family's basic living security, then I will definitely award these lands to you."
Wei Fangcheng said nothing, but was obviously dissatisfied.
It's none of my business.
Zhang Fei seemed to see what he was thinking and said, "As I just said, in a debt dispute, our Royal Court must first guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of your creditors. If Chen Liugen's family has extra money and does not return it to you, our Royal Court will naturally enforce it.
However, we must also ensure the basic living security of the debtors, because this involves the interests of the country and the monarch. If their entire family loses their livelihood, they may starve to death on the roadside, or they may commit illegal acts, which will undermine local stability. Defending the interests of the country and the monarch is also the highest principle of our imperial court's judgment, and it is also not allowed by law. "
This sounded scary, and Wei Fangcheng dared not say anything.
Zhang Fei continued: "I know you may be dissatisfied. After all, it takes a year and a half, and there is no interest in the meantime. But first of all, you are not in urgent need of money, and this will not affect your life.
But if they were asked to pay it off today, their entire family might starve to death.
So, this is actually a last resort, maybe it’s not perfect, but there is no other choice.”
Wei Fangcheng mustered up his courage and said, "But the judge didn't rule that way in the previous case."
This question just brings out the confusion in many people's minds.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You asked a good question. These two lawsuits are disputes over money, but the judgment criteria of this court president are somewhat different. This is because Luo Dawu had no intention of repaying the money before. He did not pay back a penny during the period. Moreover, it is not that he did not make money, he just gambled it away.
Chen Liugen was trying to pay back the money. He borrowed the money out of helplessness and couldn't pay it back out of helplessness. Our judgment was different because of this. For us in the Royal Court, integrity is very important. However, the presiding judge also gave Luo Dawu a chance before.
In comparison, Chen Liugen deserves this opportunity more."
Wei Fangcheng secretly glanced at Chen Liugen and saw that he looked flustered. An idea suddenly occurred to him. Yes! He still can't pay it back in a year and a half! So he said, "Since the president of the court has said so, I will obey him. But what if he still can't pay it back?"
Zhang Fei said: "Our Royal Court will ensure that all the remaining money, except for their family's living security, is used to repay the debt. If they still can't pay it back, then we can only postpone it."
Wei Fangcheng was completely speechless.
Zhang Fei changed the subject and said, "But since this date was set by the presiding judge, I can ensure that he will be able to pay it back."
Chen Liugen suddenly said: "Judge Zhang, I...!"
Before he could finish, Zhang Fei pointed at Ma Xiaoyi next to him and said with a smile: "Hello, Chief Inspector Ma."
Chen Liugen was stunned for a moment, then saluted and said, "Hello, Chief Inspector Ma."
Zhang Fei said, "It just so happens that the police station has a batch of uniforms to make. You can ask Chief Inspector Ma to make some uniforms for your wife. Then you should be able to pay back the money."
Chen Liugen was overjoyed, "Captain Ma..."
He had just opened his mouth when Ma Xiaoyi said generously, "It's a small matter! It's a small matter."
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Captain Ma, do they have a branch office in the village?"
Ma Xiaoyi said: "It should be possible."
Zhang Fei said, "Captain Ma, tell Chen Liugen to contact the branch office."
Ma Xiaoyi nodded and said to Chen Liugen, "Old Chen, have you paid the tax?"
"I've handed it in! I've handed it in!"
"When you get there, just go to where you pay your taxes and ask, and they'll tell you how to do it."
"Thank you, Chief Inspector Ma, thank you, Judge Zhang, thank you very much, thank you very much."
"Thank you, President!"
"Thank you, President!"
At this moment, bursts of loud cheers suddenly rang out outside the yard.
But seeing that the people were excited and happy for Chen Liugen from the bottom of their hearts, perhaps they were happy for themselves as well.
Zhang Fei banged the gavel mercilessly, "Silence! Silence!"
The cheers suddenly stopped.
But some people still had tears of excitement in their eyes.
In the past, if this happened, selling your wife and land would be inevitable. It would be impossible to delay it for another year and a half and find a job for you.
In comparison, the previous government was nothing but shit.
Zhang Fei said to Wei Fangcheng again: "Wei Fangcheng, if you have no objection, you can go down and sign a repayment contract with Chen Liugen later."
Wei Fangcheng looked unhappy. "Since Judge Zhang has made the ruling, I can only obey. But I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."
Zhang Fei asked: "You can talk about it."
Wei Fangcheng said: "With Judge Zhang's ruling, I'm afraid few people will dare to lend money to others in the future."
"Borrowing money is a matter of mutual consent. It is not illegal not to lend it."
At this point, he looked around and said loudly: "But as far as I know, the government will implement the Qingmiao Law recently. The Changping Division will lend money to people in need at an interest rate of 2% per month. I don't know the details. If you need it, you can go there and ask."