Chapter 193: Panic! Total Panic!
A man wearing a short hemp jacket entered the hall, his worn shoes covered in mud marks.
He was clearly a farmer.
Wen Yanbo whispered, “It seems this fellow wants more than just revenge.”
Sima Guang sighed, “Otherwise, why would Wang Anshi support him?”
As someone in the know, he had remained silent before because he knew that was just the prelude – this was where the case’s true crux began.
He understood Zhang Fei too well – the kid would definitely seek to overturn his own case, exact revenge, and repay Wang Anshi all at once.
“This humble commoner Liu Dong, pay respects to the g… great official.”
One look at Liu Dong made it clear he had never been to court before – his legs trembled as he spoke.
Zhao Bian nodded with a smile, “No need to be nervous, just tell the truth.”
“Yes.” Liu Dong timidly nodded.
Since Wang Hong was still seated, Zhao Bian didn’t arrange a chair for Liu Dong – though even if offered one, he would have been too uncomfortable to sit.
Wang Hong stared at Liu Dong in confusion, not recognizing him.
“Liu Dong!” Zhang Fei suddenly stood up.
“Ah?”
Liu Dong turned around, anxiously looking at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei asked in the most calm voice he could manage, “Can you tell everyone where you’re from?”
Liu Dong said, “I-I live in Liu Village in the south of Kaifeng County.”
Zhang Fei glanced at the documents and asked, “Do you remember what happened on the seventh day of this month?”
“I remember.”
Liu Dong said, “I went to find that… law firm!”
“The Bianjing Law Firm?”
“Y-yes.”
Liu Dong nodded repeatedly, “I went to find the tax calculator at the Bianjing Law Firm.”
Fan Chunren, seeing Liu Dong’s nervousness, suddenly had an idea and stood up, “I object!”
Liu Dong immediately shuddered in fright.
Zhao Bian quickly caught on and, without waiting for Zhang Fei’s explanation, frowned at Fan Chunren, “If you have questions, let Liu Dong finish his answer first.”
His tone carried a hint of warning.
It was obvious Fan Chunren was trying to intimidate Liu Dong, taking advantage of a simple man.
But Zhang Fei gave Fan Chunren two appreciative looks.
He admired this move – there was improvement.
This was exactly how litigation worked.
With such a big weak point, of course it needed to be exploited!
But unfortunately this was Zhao Bian’s court, and he was very kind to the common people – these tactics wouldn’t work here.
Zhang Fei asked Liu Dong again, “Why did you seek tax calculation help from the Bianjing Law Firm?”
Liu Dong answered, “Brother Luo from the neighboring village said that the firm could ensure we wouldn’t overpay taxes.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Did you usually overpay taxes?”
“M-my family only has one and a half acres of land, but every year I have to pay taxes for four acres. I-I really had no choice this time – if I paid those taxes, my mother and I would starve to death. Waaah!”
Toward the end, Liu Dong suddenly burst into tears, pouring out his grievances.
“Dog officials!”
Someone shouted from the entrance.
All the officials inside turned to look.
The onlookers at the door looked up at the sky or down at the ground.
The questioning seemed to be getting more and more blatant, making many officials extremely uncomfortable.
No one had expected Zhang Fei to connect these two cases.
Seeing it was just a single shout from the entrance, Zhao Bian didn’t say anything.
When the officials turned back around, the commoners glared at Wang Hong with angry eyes.
This was such a typical story- the common people knew it all too well.
There wasn’t even a need to investigate, this was definitely not made up or staged.
After waiting a moment, Zhang Fei asked, “Can you answer the questions now?”
Liu Dong nodded while sobbing.
Zhang Fei asked, “Why does your family only have one and a half acres of land, yet must pay taxes for four acres?”
Wiping his tears, Liu Dong explained, “My family originally had four acres of land, but over a year ago, my mother fell seriously ill, so I sold two and a half acres to Mogul Wei.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Is this Mogul Wei Wei Yushan from Luoma Slope?”
Liu Dong nodded, “That’s him.”
Zhang Fei said, “Continue.”
Liu Dong said, “I sold the land to Mogul Wei to get money for my mother’s treatment, but the next year, tax collectors came to my home demanding I pay taxes for all four acres.”
Zhang Fei frowned and asked, “Didn’t you sign a contract with him at the time?”
Liu Dong replied, “I-I did, but Mogul Wei’s people and the realtor told me that registering the contract with the government would require paying a lot of taxes. They suggested signing a private contract where he’d give me money for the land and he would pay taxes on those two and a half acres of land, not me. I was afraid to go to the government office, so I agreed.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Was this point written in the contract?”
Liu Dong nodded repeatedly, “Yes, that’s why I agreed.”
Zhang Fei asked further, “Didn’t you explain this to the tax collectors or try to find Mogul Wei?”
Liu Dong nodded, “I did explain and showed the contract to the tax collectors, but they wouldn’t accept it. I went to find Mogul Wei, but his people told me if I filed a complaint, I would also be punished and fined a lot of money. So I-I didn’t dare file a complaint.”
The officials remained expressionless.
The commoners were grinding their teeth in anger.
Clearly they all knew this wasn’t an isolated case.
Zhang Fei picked up a contract from the table and said, “Your Honor, this is the contract Liu Dong originally signed with Mogul Wei.”
“Submit it.”
Qian Yi let out a slight sigh of relief and said quietly to Fan Chunren, “It seems he still left some room for flexibility and didn’t take things to the extreme.”
Fan Chunren replied, “If he truly left no room for flexibility, he wouldn’t be able to win anyway.”
The Song Dynasty stipulated that all property transactions must pay a 4% contract tax, though in practice it could be more. Paying this tax would get you the government seal, and with an official contract, you could transfer land and tax obligations.
However, many people made private contract to evade this tax. These unofficial contracts were called “white contracts,” while government-sealed ones were “red contracts”, referring to the red ink used to seal them.
Red contracts clearly provided more legal protection.
Many landlords exploited this point, deceiving desperate peasants into private transactions, resulting in “land transferred but tax obligations remains.”
But the government had to handle matters fairly – how could tax evaders be in the right? In fact, because farmers privately sold land to landlords and then fled, many commoners were charged extra taxes to make up for the shortfall.
The wealthy landlords wouldn’t acknowledge these land taxes, and officials wanting achievements would usually find various pretexts to spread these tax burdens among nearby residents.
Zhang Fei hadn’t sought out such people, clearly leaving the imperial government with some face.
After reading it, Zhao Bian didn’t say much either.
This was, after all, a private deed.
The key to this case wasn’t about private versus government-sealed contracts.
Zhang Fei asked Liu Dong: “So you went to the Bianjing Law Firm to calculate taxes?”
Liu Dong nodded.
Zhang Fei continued: “What did the pen-in-cap at the Bianjing Law Firm tell you?”
Liu Dong replied: “They said that the land deeds would determine the amount to be taxed. I gave them my deed, they calculated the taxes, and told me I only needed to pay what they calculated. I showed them my contract with Mogul Wei, and they said they could help resolve my tax overpayment through litigation.”
Fan Chunren wanted to shout “objection” at this point – Zhang Fei had agreed not to overturn his case, and this was going too far. However, seeing Zhao Bian listening intently, he had to hold back for now.
Zhang Fei asked: “What happened next?”
Liu Dong said: “Later I told the tax collector that I had overpaid and wanted to file a lawsuit. The tax collector didn’t say anything at first. But a few days later, he came back and told me all those pen-in-caps had been arrested by the magistrate. They took all my grain, saying I hadn’t paid taxes before and needed to be punished. Now my family doesn’t have a single grain of rice left. My mother is sick, and I had to sell all of our land, waaah!”
He began crying again at the mention of grain and land.
Fortunately those officials had been ruthless – taking all his grain in revenge – otherwise he wouldn’t have dared come here to testify.
Pushed to the edge with nowhere to turn, he had no choice but to risk everything.
“This is truly a corrupt official!”
“Indeed! Zhang San stood up for us common folk. He wasn’t saying we shouldn’t pay taxes, just that we shouldn’t overpay. But they won’t even allow that – it’s too much!”
“I expected this – if Zhang San helped us calculate taxes, how could those officials extort extra money from us?”
The crowd of onlookers at the entrance discussed this heatedly, with cries of “dog official” and “dirty bureaucrat” heard constantly.
Inside, the seated officials’ faces alternated between red and white.
Wang Hong ground his teeth in anger at these unruly peasants.
“Silence!”
Zhao Bian struck his gavel and shouted.
The crowd of onlookers at the entrance gradually ceased their discussions.
Zhang Fei said to Zhao Bian: “I have finished my questioning.”
Zhao Bian nodded and said: “Take Liu Dong away.”
After Liu Dong was led away, Zhao Bian looked toward Fan Chunren, seemingly aware he had something to say.
Sure enough, Fan Chunren immediately stood up and said: “Your Honor, Zhang San is clearly trying to clear his own name. This is unfair to Magistrate Wang and violates his own promise.”
With the facts laid bare, he couldn’t argue that Liu Dong was wrong. He could only say Zhang San had broken his word and acted dishonorably – he had promised not to overturn his own case, but ended up not only clearing it but promoting himself.
It was utterly shameless.
“I did not,” Zhang Fei said earnestly. “Even now, I’ve admitted I made a mistake then – I didn’t report to the officials beforehand and rashly sent people to calculate taxes. Land tax is different from commercial tax. Many commercial taxes aren’t fixed and can be self-calculated, while land taxes are generally fixed. Officials calculate them based on land and household registers. The two methods will definitely conflict and cause trouble for officials. I fully accept the court’s ruling and paid the fine immediately.”
As expected of a pen-in-cap, even when admitting guilt, his reasoning was clearer and more convincing than the court’s official explanation.
Indeed it was true.
Land taxes were mostly fixed – officials would calculate them before collection. When someone interferes, it naturally causes conflicts.
Commercial taxes were different – they fluctuated, and merchants calculated them themselves or hired others to do so, which was quite normal.
Zhao Bian nodded and asked: “But what is the connection between these two cases?”
Zhang Fei replied: “May I ask Your Honor, when Magistrate Wang rejected Geng Ming’s complaint and severely punished the pen-in-caps of the Bianjing Law Firm, who benefited the most?”
After brief contemplation, Zhao Bian said: “Wei Yushan.”
“I object!” Fan Chunren jumped up. “This is merely Zhang San’s speculation, not worth considering.”
He already knew what Zhang Fei was trying to do.
Wang Hong also realized and excitedly shouted: “He’s wrongly accusing me! When handling the pen-in-cap case, I never even considered Wei Yushan.”
He was truly being wronged here – he didn’t even know who this Liu Dong was, how could he have thought about Wei Yushan? He only wanted to punish Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei said solemnly: “This isn’t speculation – facts have proven that Wei Yushan was the biggest beneficiary of both cases. The key is that Magistrate Wang’s principles in handling these two cases were extremely contradictory.
In the Bianjing Law Firm case, Magistrate Wang emphasized tax collection, but in Geng Ming’s case, he ignored taxes – and we’re talking about taxes on thousands of acres of land.
Remonstrator Fan’s reasoning is that the magistrate neglected Geng Ming’s wrongful case due to focusing on tax collection. Since Geng Ming’s case centered on tax evasion, according to Remonstrator Fan’s theory, the magistrate neglected tax collection because he was busy collecting taxes. This is like how Remonstrator Fan now uses his speculation to oppose my factual evidence.”
Zhao Bian looked toward Fan Chunren.
Fan Chunren was sweating profusely – he hadn’t anticipated Zhang Fei would connect these two cases together. It wasn’t factual since the two cases had no inherent connection, and he hadn’t prepared for this.
But the problem was, after Zhang Fei’s argument, Wei Yushan was indeed the biggest beneficiary, and Wang Hong’s handling of the cases was completely different, which naturally aroused suspicion.
Everyone was left reeling from this turn of events.
They had clearly underestimated Zhang Fei.
This was pure retaliation – since his employees had suffered false accusations, he had to falsely accuse in return.
How else could he vent the hatred in his heart?
If he had filed a normal complaint, Wang Hong might have accepted it willingly, and the resentment wouldn’t have been so great.
For a pen-in-cap, as long as the methods were legal, that was all that mattered.
Zhang Fei seized the opportunity to ask Zhao Bian: “I heard Your Honor has served as both magistrate and prefect before.”
Zhao Bian nodded.
Zhang Fei continued: “Then in Your Honor’s opinion, were those pen-in-caps’ actions truly so urgent and pressing? Would chaos have erupted if not addressed immediately?”
After pondering briefly, Zhao Bian shook his head.
Zhang Fei said: “Yet Magistrate Wang suppressed this matter with overwhelming force, without even investigating. This clearly shows his guilty conscience, fearing the truth would be exposed. However, Wang was very clever – he deliberately exaggerated when reporting to the court, repeatedly emphasizing that tax collection was crucial to the state. He was clearly using tax collection to threaten the court.”
This was a serious accusation.
“Objection! I object!”
Fan Chunren was truly anxious now. “These are all your speculations.”
“I have evidence.”
Zhang Fei continued: “Though Magistrate Wang’s handling of these two cases shows huge contradictions in principle, his methods of avoiding punishment are identical – using tax collection as an excuse. This shows he’s a habitual offender.
Magistrate Wang knows of the imperial court’s financial difficulties, and that the court’s biggest worry is failing to collect taxes. He only needs to use this trick and the imperial court has no choice but to turn a blind eye. After all, court officials also worry about their own salaries not being paid. These are facts which have already been proven true.”
“Nonsense!”
“Complete rubbish!”
“You mere pen-in-cap, how dare you insult an official in open court! This is outrageous! Truly outrageous!”
Panic!
All of them were panicked!
How could the officials on both sides remain seated when they had inexplicably become accomplices? They all stood up to angrily rebuke Zhang Fei.
But the commoners at the entrance shouted simultaneously: “What a corrupt official!”
“Only knows how to bully us common folk!”
“You dog official!”
This synchronicity created an extremely ironic scene.
When the officials heard the commoners’ curses, they quickly came to their senses and sat back down, planning to settle accounts with Zhang Fei privately later.
The commoners also realized everyone seated inside were officials and, worried about bringing trouble upon themselves, gradually quieted down.
Wang Anshi chuckled: “Now this has become lively.”
Lu Huiqing nodded with a smile.
The more chaotic it became, the more justified his reforms would appear. He was naturally pleased – this was exactly the effect he wanted.
“You villain, you wrong me so! I’ll kill you!”
Wang Hong suddenly lunged at Zhang Fei like a madman.
Having risen smoothly through official ranks, he had never suffered such injustice – his chest felt ready to burst.
A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated!
But unfortunately, the court guards held him back.
“Careful!”
Seeing Wang Hong restrained, Zhang Fei bravely stood in front of Xu Zhiqian and said casually: “Don’t be afraid, the dogs that bite don’t bark.”
Xu Zhiqian gave him a slight glare.
Wang Hong was gesturing wildly with rage.
Zhang Fei looked at Wang Hong with the same expression Wang had given him at the Kaifeng County Office, as if saying: How does it feel to be falsely accused? Ha ha!
Seeing the situation had spiraled out of control and turned extremely ugly, Zhao Bian struck his gavel several times: “We’ll pause the hearing here. Court is adjourned.”