Chapter 157: Revenge
Zhang Fei’s answer completely caught Fu Bi off guard.
Last time when Zhang Fei took on this case, everyone had made things very clear. It was essentially a betting agreement, or could be understood as a challenge match. Using the charge of “violating precedents” this time was meant to make up for the previous case.
The situation remained the same – if they lost, the Reform Planning Commission would be dissolved without the possibility of revival under a different name. If the other side lost, they could no longer use ancestral law to impeach the new policies. This was the unspoken understanding!
Fu Bi had thought Zhang Fei would definitely accept. But now Zhang Fei indicated that even if he lost, there could still be a possibility of establishing another planning commission. This seemed rather unreasonable.
Fu Bi said with slight displeasure, “If that’s the case, this lawsuit is meaningless.” Even if the other side won, they would gain nothing – why would they want to fight?
Zhang Fei replied, “In response to Lord Fu, lawsuits are about the law, not about meaning. From a legal perspective, they are simply making trouble without understanding the law. Regarding the charge of ‘violating precedent’, I can silence them with one sentence.”
“Is that so?” Han Qi snorted, “I don’t believe it. Let’s hear how you’ll silence them.”
Zhang Fei explained, “Legally speaking, His Majesty has absolute power to establish temporary departments to handle national crises. Am I correct?”
Han Qi nodded, “That’s right.”
Zhang Fei continued, “From a legal standpoint, the Reform Planning Commission is just a temporary department – its name doesn’t matter. If this point about violating precedent succeeds, it would effectively strip His Majesty of his power to establish temporary departments. The judiciary doesn’t have this authority, and such an action would seriously damage our dynasty’s judicial system. Therefore, those proposing to make a charge of “violating precedent” clearly don’t understand the law – if this isn’t making trouble, what is?” Fu Bi and Han Qi exchanged glances, their eyes filled with worry. Indeed, they were speechless.
The other side understood all this, but they were discussing politics. At the political level, they were specifically opposed to Wang Anshi establishing new departments to enact reform, bypassing the Palace Secretariat.
Even if this new department were dissolved, they couldn’t possibly mean that the Emperor could not establish any new temporary departments, as he often did during wartime.
But Zhang Fei was talking about law, which was a different matter entirely. Legally speaking, if the charge of violating precedent was allowed, it could be used to prevent the Emperor from establishing any temporary departments in the future, effectively stripping away imperial power.
Who would dare do this? Even if someone wanted to, they would have to be indirect about it.
With the conversation reaching this point, there was nothing more to discuss.
Finally, Fu Bi asked, “What if they bring a charge based on violation of ancestral law?”
Zhang Fei furrowed his brow and nodded, “His Majesty has just issued the edict on ancestral law, and I’m not very familiar with them. If they make accusations on these grounds, I would not object.”
You’re not familiar with them? Weren’t you the one who came up with them?
The implication was that he would accept this charge being brought.
But what use would it be? After asking this question, Fu Bi dismissed them.
Han Qi shook his head with a bitter smile, “This young man is even harder to deal with than we imagined!”
Fu Bi looked at Han Qi apologetically, “Had I known, I really shouldn’t have invited you to jointly hear this case!”
Han Qi quickly replied, “Lord Fu mustn’t say that. As ministers, it’s our duty to share the Emperor’s burdens.”
Fu Bi asked, “How does Lord Han plan to handle this matter?”
Han Qi chuckled, “We’re only responsible for hearing the case. If they don’t accept it, that’s nothing unusual. We just need to inform Sima Guang and the others – the rest has nothing to do with us.”
Fu Bi nodded repeatedly, “Lord Han makes a good point.”
Indeed! They were just there to hear the case and ensure fairness and justice. As for their disputes, they could resolve those themselves.
If they helped argue with Zhang Fei, they wouldn’t be neutral anymore. That would violate the spirit of law.
Fu Bi, who hadn’t wanted to get involved in the first place, thought this was a perfect explanation.
“Well done!” Outside the Chamber of State Affairs, Wang Anshi excitedly patted Zhang Fei’s shoulder, saying sincerely, “Your courage surpasses even mine!”
Wang Anshi was certainly considered fearless, challenging everyone, but even he wouldn’t dare speak to Fu Bi and Han Qi like that now.
With the Emperor’s protection from above, what was there to fear? Zhang Fei calmly said, “They must pay for what they’ve done.”
Wang Anshi looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
Although Zhang Fei’s tone was calm, Wang Anshi could sense his anger – this was actually the first time he had felt it.
He finally realized this was an act of revenge.
Previously, Zhang Fei had been willing to accept this betting agreement, believing he wouldn’t lose. This hadn’t changed, but now he refused to accept the agreement, insisting on resolving legal issues through legal means.
Even with Han Qi’s involvement, there was no room for negotiation.
If they wanted to play dirty, fine! He would too.
First ensure his client was in an unbeatable position – what could be more underhanded than that?
Wang Anshi was happy to benefit from this, saying only, “But they won’t give up easily.”
This way, the censors and remonstrators definitely wouldn’t agree.
Zhang Fei smiled, “Academician Wang should focus on reforming the country. Leave such small matters to me. I won’t let your thousand strings of cash go to waste.”
Wang Anshi nodded with a laugh, “Alright, alright, I’ll leave it all to you. I won’t interfere.”
After all, he wouldn’t lose.
If they couldn’t win the lawsuit, they’d just change the name.
No big deal.
Really.
Meanwhile, Han Qi and Fu Bi immediately sent someone to summon Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo, informing them that Zhang Fei had refused to accept this charge, and his reasoning was irrefutable.
Because refuting it would mean stripping the Emperor of his power.
This could cause earth-shattering consequences.
Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang were also shocked.
They hadn’t expected Zhang Fei to refuse and take this underhanded approach to the extreme.
In their subconscious, they thought Zhang Fei had already gained a great advantage by receiving a fair and just trial. They hadn’t anticipated that Zhang Fei would make excessive demands to ensure his unbeatable position.
This seemed a bit too much!
However, Han Qi and Fu Bi’s attitude also surprised them. Though not explicitly stated, they implied that as presiding judges, they couldn’t force a trial when the charges had been invalidated.
The implication was: handle it yourselves.
Leaving the Chamber of State Affairs, the usually gentle and refined Wen Yanbo angrily said, “This pen-in-cap is truly ungrateful.”
Sima Guang also frowned, “I hadn’t expected that young man to act this way.”
Wen Yanbo asked, “Now that we’ve been played for fools, what should we do next?”
This was awkward!
It turned out they had been wishful thinking.
He simply didn’t appreciate their goodwill.
After thinking for a moment, Sima Guang said, “If I could trouble Lord Wen to inform Qian Yi and Fan Chunren. I’ll go talk to that young man and see what he’s up to.”
Wen Yanbo nodded, “Alright!”
But as soon as Sima Guang left, Wen Yanbo regretted it, wondering why he’d taken on this thankless task again.
When this news reached Fan Chunren and Qian Yi, they would surely be furious.
There would be no way to pacify them.
Ah, how exhausting! Meanwhile, Sima Guang had barely walked a hundred steps out of the imperial city when he saw Zhang Fei sitting alone drinking tea at a teahouse. He angrily walked over.
Being caught in the middle was already difficult enough, and now this sudden development made him even more upset.
Seeing Sima Guang approach, Zhang Fei immediately stood up and bowed, “Zhang Fei greets Academician Sima.”
Seeing that he seemed to be waiting for him, Sima Guang gritted his teeth and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“I haven’t waited long,” Zhang Fei smiled sheepishly, gesturing, “Please sit, Academician Sima.”
After sitting down, Sima Guang asked in a low voice, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Zhang Fei smiled, “I once promised Academician Sima that I would get everything back on track.”
“Is this getting things back on track?” Sima Guang exclaimed, “This will only make things more complicated!”
Zhang Fei said, “By ‘back on track’, I meant resolving things through justice under fair and equitable conditions.”
Sima Guang grew more confused, “Now Wang Anshi is in an unbeatable position. They won’t agree to go to court anymore.”
Zhang Fei explained, “Justice is justice, it’s pure and not open to negotiation. From a legal perspective, Minister Wang is indeed in an unbeatable position because his actions are legally permitted – they’re forcing the issue with their accusations. If they can make accusations whenever they want, however they want, is that still law? That’s certainly not what I’d call ‘back on track’.”
After thinking for a while, Sima Guang sighed, “But things need to be done step by step. You can’t reach heaven in one bound. If you’re this rigid about it, we might not even get to court, and then even more despicable methods might emerge.”
Zhang Fei shook his head and smiled, “I believe they will accept.”
Sima Guang asked, “What makes you so certain?”
Zhang Fei smiled, “It seems Academician Sima is much too involved in the matter, confusing who’s active and who’s passive.”
Sima Guang looked at him puzzled.
Zhang Fei said, “Academician Sima should know better than I that even without this lawsuit, they could never stop the Reform Planning Commission, at least not now. Therefore, this lawsuit is absolutely advantageous for them – they lose nothing if they lose, so why not try?”
Sima Guang nodded slightly.
Indeed.
Emperor Zhao Xu wasn’t a fool – if he couldn’t handle it, he wouldn’t do it this way.
If Zhang Fei hadn’t first filed the ancestral law lawsuit, they could only make noise in the imperial court, which would be useless. Even Fu Bi, Han Qi, Sima Guang, and Wen Yanbo wouldn’t speak up about it.
They would have to wait for the new laws to come out before deciding what to do.
This was a lawsuit that fell into their laps – if they didn’t pursue it, would that upset Wang Anshi? Zhang Fei smiled, “So now it’s not me begging them to file this lawsuit, but them begging me. Consider this – if they can’t even get the qualification to go to court, how can they face His Majesty with their reasoning? When Lord Han and Lord Fu reject their charges, it’s not showing favoritism to me – they know that legally speaking, they don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Yes! Initially, Wang Anshi didn’t even want to fight this lawsuit – they were the ones who demanded it. Sima Guang raised an eyebrow at Zhang Fei, “Does this mean you’re not confident about winning this case?”
“No.”
Zhang Fei shook his head, “To be honest with Academician Sima, I’m doing this purely to get revenge on those despicable people. They must be very angry now, calling me unreasonable, ruffian, scoundrel, feeling like I’ve played them – and that’s exactly what I want.”
Hearing this, Sima Guang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry – so it was just about venting his anger! Zhang Fei continued, “Actually, they have no legal awareness at all. To them, the law is just a sword in their hands, always cutting others but never themselves. This time, I plan to teach them a good lesson.”
Sima Guang looked at him and smiled, “You want to teach them a lesson?”
Zhang Fei nodded and added, “And I think this is an opportunity for you, Academician Sima.”
“Oh?”
Sima Guang asked, “What do you mean?”
Zhang Fei said, “Only by learning from their mistakes will they understand the importance of respecting the law. This way, you can use this to promote judicial reform.”
Sima Guang’s eyes lit up.