Chapter 42: Bringing Full Strength to Bear
“Xu Zhiqian, come out!”
Zhang Fei marched straight to the door of Xu Zhiqian’s quarters and shouted loudly.
“Xu Zhi…”
With a creak, the door opened, and Xu Zhiqian walked out casually, giving Zhang Fei a faint glance. She asked, “What do you want?”
“What do I want?”
Zhang Fei laughed, raising his hand, “We’re familiar with each other, so there’s no need for riddles. I don’t have time for that. I just want to ask you, what did you get Qingmei to say to those wealthy elites?”
He still held a glimmer of hope, hoping that Xu Zhiqian hadn’t completely cut ties.
Xu Zhiqian said honestly, “I simply told them that you only help the poor in legal matters and advised them not to go to you.”
Oh no! It’s done for! Completely done for!
“What right do you have to decide for me?” Zhang Fei was thoroughly losing his mind. Blocking one’s path to wealth was like killing one’s own parents.
Xu Zhiqian snorted lightly, “You’re the one who is not keeping your word. You talk a good game, but in your heart, you’re scheming. Using these poor people to attract wealthy clients to your legal services. What I did was for your own good, to prevent you from going down the wrong path.”
“For my own good?” Zhang Fei found such a turn of phrase strangely intimate. Frustrated, he scratched his head and choked out, “Damn it! I haven’t managed to find a girlfriend but I’ve landed myself a mommy. Damn it!”
Hearing this, Xu Zhiqian was genuinely irritated, spitting out, “I’m not your mother.”
“You wish!”
Zhang Fei exploded on the spot, angrily retorting, “Lady, I need to make a living too. Helping the poor with legal matters isn’t as easy as you think. Do you believe in me so much that you think I can win every case and make a few hundred strings every time without facing retaliation? Moreover, how is earning money from the rich an unjust act? What kind of nonsense is this?”
Xu Zhiqian argued logically, “If you, a pen-in-cap, wish to earn money from the wealthy, that can only be done by aiding and abetting the wealthy in their oppression and exploitation of the common people.”
Zhang Fei, gasping for breath, retorted, “I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’re already hurling accusations. Do you think I’m stupid? There’s nothing to gain in helping them exploit the common people, those people don’t even have enough money to make ends meet. You’re the one who’s naive, thinking that others are as foolish as you.”
Xu Zhiqian also became agitated, “Is it me who’s naive, or is it you? If you act justly and maintain a good reputation, your future will be boundless. Don’t ruin your prospects for the sake of petty gains and destroy your own future.”
“What boundless future? What prospects?” Zhang Fei, seeing that she not only didn’t admit her mistake but also spoke nonsense, became frantic, gesturing wildly, “What on earth are you talking about? I’m just an ordinary commoner. I don’t have your good luck. My future depends on my own hard work, and now you’ve ruined it all. I fought hard for this opportunity, and you, damn it, are standing there talking nonsense without understanding the difficulties of others.”
“You are beyond redemption.” Xu Zhiqian stomped her foot forcefully, flicking her sleeves, “Believe it or not, I’m doing this for your own good.”
“I’m done for! Totally done for!”
Zhang Fei covered his face with both hands, “I’ve really landed myself a mother. Good Lord!”
“What are you arguing about?”
Suddenly, someone spoke from behind.
Both turned to see Xu Zun approaching.
Zhang Fei glared at Xu Zhiqian, saying, “Family matters.”
“Dad, don’t listen to his nonsense.” Xu Zhiqian glared back at Zhang Fei, then noticed Xu Zun’s strange expression and asked, “Dad, why are you back?”
Xu Zun glanced at Zhang Fei and said, “We’re in trouble.”
Zhang Fei suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Usually, when this guy named “disaster” shows up, it’s never a solitary affair.
“What? The Kaifeng Prefectural Office received over thirty complaint documents this morning?”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Xu Zun in shock.
Xu Zun nodded, saying, “And all of them are contract disputes.”
Zhang Fei’s heart sank, furrowing his brow tightly, “They want to take the wind away from our sails.”
Xu Zun nodded, “That’s what I think too. Throughout history, various dynasties have prohibited litigation, but our dynasty has not. But this has always been a controversial issue, with some arguing that we should.”
“Oh no!” Xu Zhiqian also realized what was going on, “Originally, the government usually follows the principle of non-interference with private agreements. Usually, such disputes wouldn’t even bother the Kaifeng Prefectural Office. However, the case of Li Si has set a precedent. The Kaifeng Prefectural Office must treat everyone equally. But it simply cannot handle such litigation every day. If it continues like this…”
Zhang Fei said, “The court may have to prohibit litigation. In simple terms, I am now facing the risk of unemployment.”
Aren’t you good at arguing?
Alright!
We submit!
We’ll just seal your mouth, cut it off at the source.
Xu Zun nodded, “That’s a possibility, but it’s not certain that they will prohibit litigation. It could involve instituting more restrictions. Their next step should be to present a memorial to His Majesty. However, the specific outcome cannot be rashly judged at this point. We still need to see the reactions of other senior officials in the imperial court. But the current situation is very precarious.”
Having understood the situation, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but feel anger rising within her. “This is outrageous! They are clearly doing this because they know they’re guilty. They fear that one day, Zhang San will expose their dirty deeds. It’s truly beyond tolerable.”
She turned to Zhang Fei, impassioned. “Zhang San, we must not yield to this. We must fight them to the end. I refuse to believe they can manipulate everything behind the scenes.”
Zhang Fei was dumbfounded.
Was everything that had just happened an illusion?
He vaguely remembered that just a moment ago, they were in a heated argument.
Xu Zun lightly patted Zhang Fei’s shoulder.
Zhang Fei turned to look at Xu Zun.
With a determined gaze, Xu Zun smiled and said, “Rest assured, I will support you in this matter. Even if I have to give up my official robes, I won’t hesitate.”
He had avoided intervening in the previous legal matters to avoid suspicion, but this situation was different. The other party was blatantly playing dirty and abusing their powers, and he found it intolerable.
Zhang Fei was moved and ashamed at the same time. Although he didn’t feel like he did anything wrong, he felt like he had caused trouble for Xu Zun and had let him down. He struggled to force a smile and said, “Benefactor, please rest assured. I won’t yield to this. If they think they can bring me down with this, they’re underestimating me. I still have many means left unused. So, I earnestly request that you not get involved in this because of me.”
Xu Zun frowned. “But if I don’t support you in the imperial court, you won’t be able to turn this situation around.”
Zhang Fei replied, “As long as I can still speak, it doesn’t count as a loss.”
Seeing that Zhang Fei seemed indecisive and lacked a clear plan, Xu Zun remained silent for a moment, then nodded gently. “Fine, I’ll help you keep your ability to speak. As for the rest, handle it yourself.”
Zhang Fei nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Benefactor.”
He then looked at Xu Zhiqian with a complicated expression. After struggling for a while, he sighed and thought, let it go, let it go. For the sake of Benefactor, I’ll step back a bit. “I apologize for what happened earlier.”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in surprise. “You’re still in the mood to say these things?”
“I’m fine.”
Zhang Fei couldn’t help but feel amused. After all that, it turned out Xu Zhiqian had put the argument out of her mind, making it seem like I’m the petty one.
Xu Zun asked, “What are you talking about?”
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and then honestly said, “Benefactor, there’s something you don’t know. Actually, I’ve always wanted to use the Li Si case to gain some reputation for myself and then engage in business with the wealthy elites.”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei with surprise, wondering why he was being so honest. Was there another reason behind this?
“I see,” Xu Zun nodded slightly, then glanced at Xu Zhiqian, probably guessing what they were arguing about. After all, he knew his daughter well.
Zhang Fei continued, “But I—”
“No need to explain. I believe in you,” Xu Zun waved his hand, cutting off Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei’s expression froze, showing a hint of surprise. “Benefactor, do you really believe in me?”
Xu Zun chuckled, “Whether a person’s heart is good or bad, this old man can still see clearly. Though you’re a bit cunning, your heart is not wicked.”
With that said, he glanced at his daughter and added, “If Qian’er has done something that upsets you, don’t take it to heart. I believe she’s also doing it for your own good.”
Again, for my own good? That must be a common saying amongst ancient people. Zhang Fei nodded with a bitter smile, but now he really had no mood to care about such things.
Because he was facing a crisis.
And at the moment, he was completely unprepared.
The Kaifeng Prefectural Office, as the governmental office of the capital itself, could be considered one of the highest judicial authority in the Song Dynasty. Generally, legal cases wouldn’t reach the Kaifeng Prefectural Office. However, this morning they received over thirty complaint documents, setting a record that might be difficult to break in the future.
When Lu Gongzhu learned of this, he was dumbfounded.
Since when did the Kaifeng Prefectural Office become a public restroom, where everyone threw every kind of problem at it?
But soon he realized that someone was intentionally causing trouble, and they likely had a considerable background.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare to make trouble at the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
Lu Gongzhu was not someone who feared trouble. Once he understood the situation, he was furious. If they dared to play tricks at the Kaifeng Prefectural Office, so be it. It was a good opportunity to sharpen his doghead and tigerhead chopping blocks,[1] which had been unused for a long time. He quickly polished them up, ready to see which fool would jump into his trap.
However, what happened next left him speechless.
On the same day, the Ministry of Punishments, the Court of Judicial Review, the Court of Penal Review, and the Censorate, four major departments, more than twenty officials jointly submitted a memorial, requesting the court to order the suppression of the trend of litigation.
Following that, dozens of officials swiftly submitted memorials upon hearing the news. Among them were many retired officials.
The sheer number and speed frightened Emperor Zhao Xu.
This wasn’t supposed to be a big deal!
But it was certainly not a coincidence.
The reason was simple. If this trend continued, it would harm the interests of the scholar-official class.
Could Chen Yuteng become the largest landlord in Xiangfu County without a political background? Then, who in the imperial court wasn’t like Chen Yuteng?
Who dared to guarantee that recent events wouldn’t happen to them?
Having different political views was just an internal dispute amongst the scholar-official class. Win or lose, they could accept it.
But externally, they were quite united. They needed to protect their collective interests.
So, once someone took the lead, these people subconsciously stood on the same front, and started to fan the flames from behind.
As Xu Zun expected, they directly targeted Zhang Fei. He had made a big show outside of the Xu manor, inciting the people into litigation, and the commoners eagerly followed suit.
If not stopped, the consequences would be dire.
Although Xu Zun, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Lu Gongzhu, and others also spoke out, advocating for justice and stating that Zhang Fei had won the lawsuit within the rules, their arguments seemed feeble in the face of the collective accusations from the entire system.
Crucially, those people didn’t mention punishing Zhang Fei. They just used his case to urge the court to suppress the trend of litigation. Otherwise, Kaifeng Prefectural Office would be dealing with lawsuits every day.
Emperor Zhao Xu reacted promptly, quickly summoning Chen Shengzhi, the Commissioner of the Imperial Military Commission, along with Wang Shiyuan and Qi Hui, to discuss this matter.
The Imperial Military Commission was the highest institution in the military hierarchy and Cheng Shengzhi, as the Commissioner, was a right and proper chancellor.[2]
Assigning him to handle such a minor matter might seem somewhat illogical.
However, Chen Shengzhi was well aware that Emperor Zhao Xu wanted to quell the situation.
Because this case was somewhat related to Wang Anshi, and there were already people in the imperial court with ulterior motives who were trying to link the litigation issue to Wang Anshi.
This was a very dangerous signal.
Emperor Zhao Xu would never allow such a thing to happen.
Moreover, restraining litigation was not a bad thing for the emperor.
After half a day of discussion, they came up with a specific plan.
After all, this wasn’t a big deal.
Handling it was also very straightforward.
They decided that in the future, if a pen-in-cap wanted to appear in court to represent someone, they must be recommended by a legal “bookstore”.
This was the first condition.
Secondly, in the future, pen-in-caps in Bianjing must pass a test held by the Ministry of Punishments to obtain or retain their litigation license.
The purpose of these two conditions was very simple and clear. To completely restrict the people from filing lawsuits would obviously not be acceptable as it went against ancestral laws. But it was necessary to maintain the absolute authority of the government. Everything had to be under the control of the government.
However, with these conditions, Zhang Fei was basically in trouble.
Firstly, he wouldn’t get a recommendation from a bookstore.
Secondly, officials might not let him pass the test.
After all, they were not on the same side.
[1] According to legend, the Kaifeng Prefectural Office was installed with special chopping blocks: the doghead, tigerhead, and the dragonhead, as shown below. The doghead chopper was used for ordinary commoners, the tigerhead for officials, and the dragonhead for members of royalty. The doghead was the sharpest, allowing commoners to have a quick death. The dragonhead was the bluntest, allowing its victims to die a slow and painful death. Since royalty would ordinarily almost never face the death penalty, the intention is that any royalty who did something so wrong as to warrant the death penalty should be made to suffer.