Judge of the Song Dynasty

After learning that the emperor had relented, the censors were overjoyed.

The lawsuit turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Now they could accomplish everything in one stroke.

If they won this case, Wang Anshi’s reforms would be stillborn.

Could there be any better situation?

Because of the massive interests at stake, they felt extremely tense.

They had received word that Wang Anshi would definitely ask Zhang Fei to represent him.

They had learned from their previous mistakes.

And this wasn’t just one or two lessons.

Therefore, this time Liu Shu and the others dared not be careless or underestimate Zhang Fei. They dispatched the highest legal and political think tanks in the court to help Qian Yi strategize. They even swallowed their pride and tried to learn from Zhang Fei by preparing court documents.

But Qian Yi firmly opposed doing this.

All the information was in his head.

The censors couldn’t play Zhang Fei’s game.

Who would write notes during court debates! He really wasn’t used to this rhythm.

Many censors also felt that if they tried to imitate Zhang Fei, it might backfire, and they should play to their own strengths.

Interestingly, Zhang Fei was also studying their court debate records, which Wang Anshi had secretly provided to him.

Given Xu Zun’s rank, he could only access criminal cases. Many documents were unavailable to him – only state counsellors could retrieve them from the Chamber of State Affairs.

“Is this it?”

Zhang Fei tossed a document onto the table and pinched his nose bridge. “What a waste of time!”

Xu Zhiqian was puzzled: “I think what’s written makes sense. What’s wrong with it? Tell me.”

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes: “This reasoning has nothing to do with the law – you speak better than they do.”

Xu Zhiqian modestly said: “I don’t have that ability.”

“Don’t be modest.”

Zhang Fei chuckled: “Back then, your single phrase ‘for my own good’ left me speechless. They don’t have that ability.”

Xu Zhiqian blushed and huffed: “Well, I was right then, of course you were speechless. Hmph!”

Zhang Fei smiled: “Let me ask you – if I was exploiting the poor to attract business from the rich, helping the rich consolidate land, and exploiting the common people, what then? You could find ten thousand reasons to curse me as despicable and shameless, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But as long as I’m thick-skinned enough, those ten thousand reasons can’t constitute evidence of breaking the law. That’s the difference.

Anyone can talk moral principles, and I might even speak more profoundly than them, but lawsuits aren’t about moral principles – they’re about evidence. If they maintain this level, I could win against them even while sleep-talking.

Enough, I won’t look anymore. Reading too much of this will only numb me and make me arrogant. I’d better study my law firm’s contracts – I still need to make money to support my family.”

“…?”

Meanwhile, after discussing with Wang Anshi, Emperor Zhao Xu unsurprisingly decided to appoint Fu Bi as the presiding judge for this case.

First, they both believed Fu Bi would conduct a fair trial without favoring either side, so both parties would accept his ruling.

Second, it was also hinting to Fu Bi that since he had requested this trial, he would have to be responsible if the other side lost and refused to accept the outcome.

Fu Bi actually didn’t want to get involved – he was just trying to manage everyone’s feelings and avoid partisan strife. But now he had no choice but to agree.

This case was arranged to be heard in the Chamber of State Affairs.

The reason for this arrangement was to emphasize again that this was not a criminal or civil case, but a political matter – the public could not interfere with court policies.

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

As they left the hall, Wang Anshi coldly said to Sima Guang.

Sima Guang smiled: “At least my methods are aboveboard, unlike you using tyrannical tactics against those who oppose you. Who do you think you can intimidate? It will only lead to more opposition.”

Wang Anshi proudly said: “I would go forward even against ten thousand opponents.”

Sima Guang looked contemptuous: “Is this going forward? This is destroying the way forward. How is this the way of the sage?”

Wang Anshi agitatedly replied: “They spread rumors and slander me. Should I just endure it and let them bully me? Is that the way of the sage?”

Sima Guang said: “You’re truly the guilty party crying foul first. Did you discuss with us before petitioning His Majesty to establish the Finance Planning Commission?”

Wang Anshi asked: “Would you have agreed?”

Sima Guang said: “This shows you cannot convince people.”

Wang Anshi countered: “Even Lord Fan with his spotless reputation couldn’t convince everyone. How could you and I?”

Fan Zhongyan and his group were practically the most moderate reformers in history.

Yet it was useless.

They were still viciously denounced.

The way of the sage was useless – only the way of the hegemon would work.

Sima Guang couldn’t deny this, and said: “Now we’ll compete in court. You’ll have to accept it even if you’re not convinced. What more do you have to complain about?”

Wang Anshi said: “I’m not complaining, but I’m warning you – this is the only chance. If you lose, you must accept it. If you continue to make trouble, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Sima Guang said: “I’ll say the same thing – each matter should be judged on its own merits. If there are problems with your new policies, I’ll definitely point them out. But I guarantee I’ll stick to the facts and won’t use ancestral laws as an excuse.”

Wang Anshi asked puzzledly: “Why are you so certain my new policies have problems?”

Sima Guang said irritably: “Just based on your arrogant personality, Wang Anshi. This matter should serve as a warning to you – reform is not as easy as you imagine. If you don’t consider things thoroughly, you will surely fail.”

Wang Anshi was unconcerned: “I never thought reform would be easy, but… I would go forward even against ten thousand opponents.”

He swept his sleeves and strode away.

At the Authentic Books Store.

“Brother San?”

When Hou Donglai saw Zhang Fei suddenly appear at the store, it was as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Why are you so surprised?” Zhang Fei asked curiously.

Hou Donglai hurriedly said: “I-I-I heard…!”

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes: “Get your tongue straight before speaking.”

Hou Donglai said: “I heard you have a very important case tomorrow.”

Although the court tried to control discussion, once the case reached the Kaifeng Prefectural Office, who could keep it secret? The news had spread throughout the capital.

As someone in the book business, Hou Donglai naturally had good sources of information.

“That’s why I came today, as I definitely won’t have time tomorrow.”

Zhang Fei casually responded, then asked: “How are your preparations coming along?”

“Ah?”

Hou Donglai seemed not to have recovered yet, nodding: “We’re preparing, but the movable type can’t be made that quickly.”

Zhang Fei said: “I know that, which is why we’re recruiting more craftsmen. How’s the recruitment going?”

Hou Donglai said: “Recruitment isn’t that fast either. We’ve only hired four so far.”

“Four?”

“That’s already quite a few.”

“…!”

Zhang Fei said: “Find out how much the craftsmen in those small workshops earn monthly. Whatever it is, offer them double.” Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI~Fire.net

“Double?” Hou Donglai exclaimed.

Zhang Fei said: “I can’t wait that long.”

Hou Donglai said: “But… but that will cost a lot!”

Zhang Fei said: “As long as their skills are good, money isn’t an issue.”

If money wasn’t an issue, then Hou Donglai had no issues either.

Zhang Fei then took out several contract templates and handed them to Hou Donglai: “Have Master Hong and the others immediately create printing blocks based on these texts.”

Previously, notaries handled business case by case, but the tax calculation business served everyone, so contracts couldn’t be handwritten anymore – everything had to be standardized.

These past few days, after discussing the case with Xu Zun in the evenings, Zhang Fei spent the rest of his time working on these contract templates.

Hou Donglai took them and looked, immediately confused: “What are these dots for?”

“What dots? These are punctuation marks.”

Zhang Fei said: “They’re for marking sentences and meanings.”

But Hou Donglai said: “If you really need to mark sentences, one dot is enough. Why so many dots? Are you charging by character count? “

Zhang Fei tilted his head to look: “Alright, alright, just have them carve according to this. If even one dot is wrong, I’ll dock them one string of cash.”

“One string of cash?”

“Do you know that one wrong character could cost me thousands of strings? Is one string too much?”

“Fine, fine. I’ll keep a close eye on it then.”

Hou Donglai said, wiping his sweat.

Afterwards, Zhang Fei went to inspect the workshop. The main issue was still lack of manpower – they had to carve book printing blocks while making movable type.

Since the Authentic Books Store had obtained copyright from Su Shi, the Yan family, and Wang Anshi, they couldn’t wait for movable type printing before starting production.

Zhang Fei was very generous, saying he would increase their wages.

Manufacturing industries were different from service industries – if you want efficiency and quality, you must invest heavily.

If you’re willing to pay ten times the salary, working 12 hours a day 6 days a week would definitely be a blessing – no one would complain about it. You reap what you sow.

Discussing long hours without considering wages is truly more shameless than a scoundrel.

Now that the law firm was profitable, Zhang Fei wasn’t short on money for the time being. He prioritized efficiency.

After spending over two hours there arranging the next phase of tasks, Zhang Fei left by carriage.

“Whoa!”

Halfway through the journey, the carriage suddenly stopped.

A childish voice was heard: “Are you Zhang San?”

Zhang Fei lifted the curtain and saw a boy about ten years old standing beside the carriage, asking Li Si.

“I am Zhang San.”

“Oh, a man told me to give this to you.”

The boy handed Zhang Fei a letter.

Zhang Fei took it.

The boy then left.

Zhang Fei opened it to read, his pupils constricting as he suddenly burst out cursing: “Fuck those bastards! How dare they use such methods!”

Seeing such refined speech turn vulgar, Li Si was alarmed: “Brother San, what happened?”

Zhang Fei looked up at Li Si, his brows furrowed deeply: “Go to Academician Wang’s residence.”

Long Wu didn’t ask anything more, directly steering the carriage toward Wang’s residence.

But halfway there, Zhang Fei said: “Never mind, let’s go home first.”

Returning home, Zhang Fei went straight to the Xu residence.

“Weren’t you at the bookstore?”

Xu Zhiqian was surprised to see Zhang Fei suddenly appear.

Zhang Fei said: “Something’s happened.”

“What is it?” Xu Zhiqian asked.

Zhang Fei clenched his fists tightly: “They may have kidnapped Ayun.”