Judge of the Song Dynasty

What?

Give him tea?

Did you not see this scoundrel call us pigs and label us as disappointing descendants who have let down the ancestors?

Many judges were deeply dissatisfied with Wang Anshi’s actions.

This scoundrel is a traitor among the officials!

After seeing us so embarrassed, you still want to serve him tea?

This is absurd.

Wang Anshi, being forced into the situation by the old fox Sima Guang, had no choice but to quickly take a cup of tea and cover half his face.

I don’t see anything!

I don’t hear anything! ……

Tea was served.

Xu Zhiqian eagerly poured tea for Zhang Fei.

The debate just now was very thrilling, and she was also very excited. At this moment, she was truly willing to serve Zhang Fei tea.

Zhang Fei muttered, “Could it be poisoned?”

Xu Zhiqian’s hand trembled upon hearing this, spilling a few drops. She whispered, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Zhang Fei said, “Look at their eyes; they seem ready to tear me apart. What if they poisoned the tea?”

The atmosphere was already tense. Xu Zhiqian glanced secretly at the officials like Liu Shu, and was immediately infected by Zhang Fei’s conspiracy theory. She whispered, “Shall I taste it first?”

She was completely immersed in the lawsuit, not thinking of anything else. She just wanted to win this case, so Zhang Fei could not fall; it was like protecting the commander on the battlefield.

Zhang Fei looked at Xu Zhiqian with deep gratitude.

Xu Zhiqian also realized what she had said, her face instantly turning red, and she scolded, “It’s all your fault. Why did you ask for tea? Now that it’s here, if you don’t drink it, what will they think?”

“I was just kidding, and you actually believed it.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, picked up the cup of tea, and drank it all in one go, smacking his lips, “Refreshing.”

Xu Zhiqian stomped her foot lightly, “You can still joke at a time like this?”

Zhang Fei said, “Didn’t you see that I’ve already won? Next is the part where I humiliate them.”

Hey! Why are the two of you chatting.

Wang Anshi’s eyes lit up immediately, thinking an opportunity had come. But just as he opened his mouth, Sima Guang was the first to scold, “If you want to chat, go home and chat. This is the Court of Judicial Review, and such behavior is not allowed.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Zhang Fei nodded hurriedly.

Wang Anshi glanced at Sima Guang in frustration and whispered, “You had to steal my line?”

He also wanted to show that he could be strict towards Zhang Fei and wasn’t a traitor to the official class!

Sima Guang looked innocent, “Oh, I didn’t know you wanted to speak. I was just afraid you wouldn’t have the heart to say it. Don’t you see that everyone is already very dissatisfied? This behavior must be stopped immediately.”

Wang Anshi snorted.

“Regarding this case…!”

Zhang Fei looked at his notes and said, “I have prepared some examples.”

Xu Zhiqian immediately stood up and distributed a case file to each judge.

Zhang Fei said, “The case you have now is from the fifth year of the Qingli period, a case of a cow killing a man in Chuzhou Prefecture. The case is very simple, describing a tenant farmer who had always been diligent in plowing the fields and herding cattle for his landlord. One day, the ox suddenly went mad and ran up a hill. The tenant desperately tried to hold on to the ox, but both fell off the hill, resulting in the death of both man and ox.”

He lowered his head and looked at the case file again, “Afterward, the landlord sued the tenant for causing the death of his ox and sought compensation. Initially, the local county court ruled that the tenant should compensate, but the tenant’s family was dissatisfied and continued to appeal. Eventually, the case reached the Chuzhou Prefectural Office, where it was personally adjudicated by Chancellor Ouyang, who was the prefect at the time.”

“The result was that Chancellor Ouyang ruled that the landlord should compensate the tenant’s family thirty strings and bear the funeral expenses. Chancellor Ouyang’s reasoning was that our soldiers who die in battle are given pensions by the state. Similarly, the tenant lost his life while working for the landlord, so the landlord must compensate.”

The Chancellor Ouyang he mentioned was Ouyang Xiu, part of the old-guard of civil officials.

Zhang Fei was well-versed in ancient work compensation systems because he had studied them as a modern-day law student. They originated in the Northern Song Dynasty, and indeed, were part of Wang Anshi’s reforms, although they hadn’t yet been implemented in this current timeline.

Nevertheless, there were existing precedents in some prefectures.

Wang Anshi couldn’t have imagined new laws out of thin air; he surely based them on existing cases.

Lu Gongzhu, who knew about this case, asked, “What does this have to do with the current case?”

Zhang Fei responded with a question, “Does Prefect Lu think Chancellor Ouyang’s ruling was reasonable?”

Lu Gongzhu nodded, “Very reasonable.”

Zhang Fei then looked around, “Do the judges think there was any mistake in this ruling?”

Everyone nodded, indicating there was no issue.

Zhang Fei then looked at Xu Zhiqian.

Xu Zhiqian stood up again and distributed another case file to them.

Liu Shu, who had never seen a lawsuit handled this way, impatiently said, “Just say it. Why all this fanfare?”

It was annoying to watch.

Zhang Fei replied, “Words alone are not enough.”

“…?”

Liu Shu was speechless. He opened the case file and saw that it contained the details of Shi Tingjun’s case.

Zhang Fei cleared his throat, “Do the judges find this case familiar?”

Sima Guang said, “What exactly do you want to say?”

Zhang Fei said, “Why don’t you compare the two case files?”

Following his suggestion, everyone compared them and suddenly realized the similarity.

Zhang Fei scanned the room with a smile, “I believe everyone has noticed the problem. The two case files only differ in names and the context—one is about plowing fields, and the other about escorting goods. Apart from that, there is no difference. Yet the outcomes are completely opposite.”

“You are distorting concepts and playing with words.”

Qi Hui said, “The two matters cannot be conflated.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “The only difference is that a landlord has to pay the tenant a wage, while the government doesn’t need to pay corvee workers. The latter is mandatory, obligatory, and unpaid.”

Qi Hui thought, hmm…!

Is it really okay to speak so bluntly about exploitation?

Zhang Fei continued, “It’s a pity that Chancellor Ouyang is not in court today; otherwise, I’d like to hear his thoughts on this case.”

Liu Shu said, “According to the transport official, it was Shi Tingjun who insisted on taking the river route, which caused this disaster.”

Zhang Fei said, “Throughout history, there have been countless incompetent generals, but even they did not blame their soldiers for lost battles. If these conscripted runners could decide, what’s the point of having a transport official in charge?

But that’s not our argument today. Investigating cases is the government’s job. We’re here to see if this case violates ancestral law.”

He then looked at Xu Zhiqian again.

Xu Zhiqian stood up and distributed another case file to everyone.

How many documents did he prepare?

These officials were really stunned!

They prided themselves on being meticulous, but compared to Zhang Fei, they realized they were quite sloppy.

After Xu Zhiqian sat back down beside him, Zhang Fei said, “The documents you see now contain the discussions of key ministers from the reign of Emperor Renzong to the present, regarding conscripted runners.

For example, the current three-generation veteran official, Chancellor Han.”

Sitting in the corner, Han Qi was delighted. Oh wow, I got a mention. Thɪs chapter is updated by novelFɪre.net

It’s like reading an online novel and suddenly seeing your name as a supporting character, especially as a positive one. That kind of joy is indescribable!

Zhang Fei truly didn’t know Han Qi was present. It was just that Han Qi had once made slight adjustments to the corvee labor law, so he read from the document, ” Chancellor Han once said, ‘There is no greater cause of suffering in the counties than being conscripted as a government runner. Some remarry their widowed mothers, or separate from their kin, or abandon their fields, or commit suicide to reduce the number of adult men in the household. All this is done to reduce the household’s rank,[1] since only high-ranked households are called to be government runners as their corvee labor duties.’ He also said, ‘The wealthy rest easy, while the poor perish.’”

Han Qi stroked his beard, trying hard to suppress a smile.

This kid has potential.

Fu Bi, next to him, glanced at Han Qi and silently chuckled.

He knew Han Qi liked flattery.

The judges all knew Han Qi was present, so they had to nod in agreement.

Objectively speaking, Han Qi’s words vividly described the suffering brought to the people by the system of conscripting government runners.

It was indeed very tragic.

Zhang Fei continued, “There are also numerous documented incidents of social unrest caused by government runners, countless broken families. Records show thirty-two instances of bandit uprisings directly related to the system of government runners forcing people into banditry, a significant risk for the state.”

Sima Guang just glanced at it and didn’t read further.

He could recite these things backward; after all, he was a very learned man.

Zhang Fei continued, “Whether during the reign of Emperor Renzong or the former emperor, both the court and the public almost reached a consensus that the government runners system was a harmful policy. Do the judges agree?”

A moment of silence.

This was not just a consensus during Emperor Renzong’s reign but also a current one. Sima Guang also believed it was a serious problem.

But it couldn’t be resolved.

Everyone knew what Zhang Fei was going to say next but couldn’t stop him. They could only watch his performance.

After a while, seeing no response, Zhang Fei said, “So here’s the question: This harmful policy has existed for decades without any improvement. Ancestral law requires measures to prevent harmful policies. So, does this case violate the laws of our ancestors?”

Ancestral law was meant to prevent harmful policies. This policy had existed for decades, so the officials had knowingly violated ancestral law, making it even worse.

Lu Hui coughed and said weakly, “You are mistaken. Your document clearly shows that many key ministers have submitted petitions about this issue, and the imperial court has made some adjustments.”

He felt a bit aggrieved. We also want to prevent it, but… it’s tough!

Zhang Fei said, “I’m only defending Shi Tingxiu. In this matter, I haven’t seen any improvement. Let’s look at how the court handled this case.

A transport official, without any investigation, first confiscated the Shi family’s property, and Shi Tingjun’s brother and wife were immediately demoted to slavery. Did you judges respect ancestral law? Ancestral law is meant to prevent harmful policies, but you are condoning them, doing the opposite.”

If government silver was lost and not replenished, many officials would be held accountable. So, when something happened, the first thing officials did was to secure the money to ensure that they wouldn’t be out of pocket. Only after that would they talk about justice.

Liu Shu was furious, “Matters of state are not as simple as you think.”

Zhang Fei said, “For decades, harmful policies have persisted with no improvement. I am just a commoner and dare not judge whether the court ministers are incompetent. But how should I understand this issue?”

Liu Shu glared, “Who are you calling incompetent?”

This was becoming a personal attack.

Zhang Fei said, “If you are not incompetent and have the ability but don’t prevent harmful policies, then you are knowingly breaking ancestral law. Such conduct is even more incomprehensible to me.”

What do you mean? If you continue like this, you might as well say that I intend to usurp power for myself.

Liu Shu looked at Sima Guang with a pale face.

Brother!

We are losing face again.

Maybe we should retreat!

Lu Hui, Qi Hui, and other jurors were also feeling exhausted.

They were officials with many concerns, so some things were hard to state explicitly. But ultimately, they had to bear the responsibility for this harmful policy. After all, they were high ranking officials who enjoyed the perks of their office.

As the lawsuit reached this point, they saw no chance of winning. Continuing would only bring more humiliation.

Fortunately, they could still play dirty.

This was their disadvantage, but also their advantage.

We can cut the internet.

Unexpected, right?

Sima Guang understood and looked at Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi whispered, “I can continue the trial.”

Sima Guang sighed, “You may not care about face, but we do! Let’s stop for today!”

With the situation so dire, the imperial court had lost all face. Continuing the trial would only bring more humiliation.

“…!”

Wang Anshi chuckled, “You care about face and want to be the good guy. You really are a villain.”

Sima Guang said generously, “Then you be the good guy.”

Wang Anshi said, “I haven’t conceded.”

“Then I’ll say it.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you ran away from him anyway.”

“…!”

Sima Guang couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and coughed, “This case is very complex and involves ancestral law. It cannot be resolved in one day. Everyone seems tired, so let’s stop here for today. What do you all think?”

Zhang Fei suddenly asked Xu Zhiqian, “Lady Xu, do you have anything to add?”

This statement enraged the officials.

This was a blatant insult.

And Sima Guang was telling you, not even asking you!

Xu Zhiqian’s face turned red. How could she dare to speak?

“Court adjourned!”

Sima Guang couldn’t be bothered with him.

[1] It was mentioned in CH 95 that ordinary farmers were divided into five classes, and the Shi family was a first-class household. These first-class households tend to be conscripted to be government runners who take care of government property, since they have property that can be confiscated should anything go wrong with the government property in their custody while serving corvee duty.