Judge of the Song Dynasty

Zhang Fei wasn’t someone who easily got carried away, but he also wasn’t overly cautious or low-key. When something good happened, he believed it should be celebrated without worry.

After all, those seeking revenge against him would do so regardless of whether he celebrated or not.

Today he had finally succeeded in his revenge, winning justice for the pen-in-caps at the Bianjing Law Firm and venting his anger.

This certainly called for celebration, and he was truly happy. That night, he drank with Cao Dongdong, Ma Xiaoyi, Feng Nanxi, and others until nearly dawn.

He had been exhausted these days and needed to let loose, though unfortunately it was Li Si who eagerly helped him to his room instead of Gao Wenyin, denying him any chance for romance.

The next day, he properly scolded Li Si.

“You can handle everything else, but when it comes to sleeping arrangements, stay as far away as possible.”

For Wang Hong, this was perhaps the most unforgettable night of his life.

He had always dreamed of moving from the Kaifeng County Office to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office. Now his wish had come true, though with a slight deviation – while he wasn’t directly in jail, his door now had an extra lock.

Whether he would end up in prison depended on the final sentencing from the Court of Penal Review. As a county magistrate, his case would certainly be reported up.

In the Song Dynasty, it was mandatory for the crime of ‘intentionally condemning the innocent’ to be severely punished, mainly because such crimes usually accompanied corruption and bribery. The Song Dynasty was extremely harsh on corruption – official corruption cases were not eligible for amnesty in the Northern Song period, and these corrupt officials were excluded from general grants of amnesty.

Moreover, this crime involved a judge, and the Song Dynasty placed great emphasis on justice. Thıs text ıs hosted at N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

With these two factors combined, how could the sentence be light? However, Wang Hong’s case wasn’t traditional corruption but indirect corruption, exposed by Zhang Fei. Without this lawsuit, even if people knew about it, they couldn’t prove his guilt.

There was room for manipulation.

Many officials at court hoped to help reduce Wang Hong’s sentence to the minimum. He certainly couldn’t stay in Kaifeng County, being in the capital region, and it would be best to send him to an official post elsewhere.

They were also trying to preserve an escape route for themselves.

However, while they were still considering how to proceed, the Emperor directly issued an edict. Using the appeasement of public anger as justification, he stripped Wang Hong of his position and exiled him to Qiongzhou.

Qiongzhou was what would later become Hainan Island.

Once sent there, the chances of return were extremely slim.

Objectively speaking, this punishment exceeded the maximum penalty for this crime.

It seemed excessively harsh.

Many high ranking officials were very dissatisfied with this.

But several chancellors remained silent about it.

They suddenly realized.

The Emperor was making an example of him!

At the time, Wang Hong had used the tax assessment issue to petition the court, demanding severe punishment for the Bianjing Law Firm, putting Zhao Xu in an awkward position. This was essentially using tax collection to threaten the Emperor.

Though Zhao Xu was a skilled actor and had approved it without hesitation.

However, Zhao Xu had been secretly supporting Zhang Fei.

He too wanted to vent his anger.

After Zhao Bian submitted the verdict, Zhao Xu immediately showed his true colors and issued the harsh punishment.

The speed was so fast that the ministers couldn’t react.

Who would have thought the Emperor would rule this way? This was a warning to officials that while reasoned arguments would be accepted humbly, they should never use official duties to threaten him. He would remember it, and once they fell into his hands, he would show no mercy.

He would definitely destroy them completely.

This intimidation was very effective.

Many ministers realized that this young Emperor wasn’t as naive and easily fooled as he appeared, but rather was deep, flexible, and crucially, vindictive.

The ministers were all experienced, but none of them had noticed how angry Zhao Xu was at the time.

Such tactics needed to be used with great caution.

Wang Hong had truly fallen from heaven straight into hell.

At this moment, he truly regretted his actions and understood why the Kaifeng Prefectural Office had never beaten Zhang Fei.

There was good reason for it.

The attention that Wei Yushan received from above stood in contrast.

In fact, this case had originated because of Wei Yushan, and Wang Hong had merely rejected it. Yet now the outcomes for these two men were completely different.

Wang Hong was directly exiled without any discussion or chance to appeal – not because he had offended Zhang Fei, but because he had offended the Emperor. How could that end well for him?

Instead, Wei Yushan’s case had prompted the Emperor himself to step in and discuss the sentencing with his policy advisors.

In the Hall of Delegated Rule:

“What are your thoughts on the judgment submitted by the Kaifeng County Judicial Court regarding Geng Ming’s case?” Zhao Xu asked.

Zhao Bian spoke first: “Wei Yushan has deep ties with Prince Chang. If we give him a light sentence, it may provoke public outrage. I cannot support it.”

Like Bao Zheng, he was very wary of these royal relatives.

Once he caught hold of something, he wouldn’t let go.

Emperor Zhao Xu immediately nodded, indicating he had no intention of protecting royal relatives.

But Sima Guang said: “I support the Judicial Court’s judgment. Though it only imposes a fine and seems lenient, the verdict document explains the reasoning clearly.

This case isn’t unique and instead represents a common phenomenon. If the court hands down a harsh sentence, it might drive landlords to desperate measures, causing even bigger problems.”

Wang Anshi immediately responded: “If the court gives a light sentence, we must conduct a comprehensive review of land taxes in the counties and create new land registers to make them pay back taxes. Otherwise, there’s no point in being lenient.”

Though he despised people like Wei Yushan, his ambitions were greater. If one Wei Yushan could increase state revenue while reducing commoners’ burdens, that was worthwhile.

Since leniency served the bigger picture, they should immediately address the broader issues.

But it made no sense to be lenient here while taking no action elsewhere.

Wen Yanbo cautiously said: “It’s not just landlords evading taxes – commoners do it too when they buy land, such as by using “white contracts” instead of “red contracts” that have been officially seal. By law, failing to pay the contract tax within two months incurs heavy fines. Landlords can afford these fines, but commoners cannot. Rather than enforcing a strict policy, which could cause new problems, we should give legal validity to white contracts.”

Wang Anshi immediately countered: “That would effectively abolish red contracts and only encourage land consolidation. The court can decree that this year, all back taxes must be paid, and no penalties will be imposed. The tax burden can thus also be properly recorded on the proper parties.”

Emperor Zhao Xu naturally supported Wang Anshi. With state finances in deficit, how could they reduce taxes? No one suggested reducing official salaries. He nodded: “We think the Academician Wang’s proposal is more beneficial. Exempting contract tax would only encourage land consolidation. Let the Kaifeng Prefectural Office handle this matter.”

Wang Anshi added: “Your Majesty, I suggest restoring the tax calculation rights of the Bianjing Law Firm. This would not only reduce the court’s burden but also provide some oversight.”

Having won such a beautiful legal victory, he felt obliged to return the favor by putting in a good word for Zhang Fei.

Zhao Xu nodded: “Approved.”

Even without Wang Anshi’s suggestion, he would have decreed the restoration of the tax calculation rights. This matter had embarrassed him, and he definitely needed to save face.

Wen Yanbo quickly said: “Your Majesty, this case shows that Academician Sima’s separation of administrative and judicial powers can provide mutual oversight. The court should give this serious consideration.”

Zhao Xu asked, “What are your thoughts on this?”

Wen Yanbo replied, “I believe we can first test this in Kaifeng County, which would also help restore their credibility.”

Zhao Xu nodded and said, “This matter will be entrusted to Academician Sima.”

Sima Guang immediately responded, “This official accepts the command.”

Even though Wang Hong wasn’t dead, his career was as good as finished – and rightfully so! After all, behind this case lay the struggle between judicial and administrative powers. Now that they had won the case, why not use this opportunity to advance judicial reform.

Starting with taking control of Kaifeng County.

Emperor Zhao Xu had the same thought in mind.

After the meeting ended and they left the hall, Wang Anshi grabbed Sima Guang and sang in his ear:

“Preserving wealth among the people, preserving wealth among the people, preserving wealth among the people.”

“Wang Anshi, that’s enough!”

Sima Guang was so angry his hair stood on end.

There was truly no escaping this confrontation.

Wang Anshi delighted in seeing him agitated and chuckled, “Sima Guang! I suggest that your first step in judicial reform should be defining what constitutes ‘the people.’ You see, what you said before actually made sense, but do you know why I couldn’t help but argue with you? It turns out the problem lies here – we’re not talking about the same ‘people.’ Once you define it properly, I won’t argue with you anymore.”

“You’re taking my words out of context.”

Sima Guang retorted, “When I speak of reducing taxes and levies, am I only referring to landowners? My point is that if officials plunder wealth from landowners, the landowners will in turn plunder from the common people, and ultimately it’s the common people who suffer. Am I wrong?”

Wang Anshi looked disdainful, “The facts are right before us. After Wei Yushan gained connections with Prince Chang, his power grew, but instead of being content, he became more demanding. Whether the state takes action or not, they will exploit the common people. This wealth should be controlled by the state.”

Sima Guang sneered, “Well, we shall see.”

With that, he turned and strode away angrily.

Wang Anshi watched Sima Guang’s angry figure retreat and burst into laughter.

The reason he enjoyed debating with Sima Guang was that both men were impeccable in their personal conduct – neither corrupt nor lustful. Their conflicts were purely ideological. If he were dealing with a corrupt official instead, Wang Anshi wouldn’t even bother speaking.

Winning against Sima Guang was truly satisfying.

Of course, Sima Guang felt the same way.

After all, this case had drawn intense public attention. The court could downplay it by not severely punishing Wang Hong, but since they had chosen to punish him harshly, it meant the court recognized the problem and had to take action to appease public anger.

Ancient times also placed great importance on public opinion.

The court immediately announced an investigation into land taxes, updating land registers, and requiring all informal “white contracts” to pay supplementary contract taxes and amend tax burden records within the year. Otherwise, the contracts would be invalidated and the land would revert to state ownership.

While landowners might ignore calls to return land to the people as nonsense, when it came to the threat of land being taken back by the state, the major landowners knew this was serious.

If they didn’t pay these taxes soon, they would truly lose their land – the government was like a hungry wolf!

The common people cheered at this and their resentment greatly diminished. The only remaining issue was that the problem of government runners remained unresolved.

But there was nothing to be done about that yet, as the new regulations were still being drafted.

Wang Anshi needed to think it through carefully.

At White Horse Village.

“Brother Geng is back!”

“Young Master is back!”

“Everyone, come quickly, Young Master Geng has returned!”

When Geng Ming returned to his hometown, villagers rushed from all directions to surround him. Many who had received his help before grabbed his hands with tears streaming down their faces.

Geng Ming also cried uncontrollably.

Although he had never left Kaifeng County, his hometown had felt as distant as if it were thousands of miles away.

Not far away, at the entrance of a farmhouse, stood a beautiful couple – Xu Zhiqian and Zhang Fei.

“May good things come to good people in this world.”

Xu Zhiqian watched the scene with tears glistening in her phoenix eyes.

Zhang Fei glanced at her and said, “Let’s hope so!”

When Geng Ming saw Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian, he immediately ran over and clasped his hands, preparing to bow.

“My two benefactors, your immense kindness will never be forgotten. Please accept my bow.”

“No, no, no!”

Zhang Fei quickly helped Geng Ming up, smiling, “Actually, I should thank you. If you hadn’t bravely stepped forward, I wouldn’t have been able to avenge my grievances.”

Xu Zhiqian beside him choked up and said, “Brother Geng, you don’t need to thank anyone. Others should be thanking you.”

Initially, Geng Ming investigated Wei Yushan because he couldn’t stand how Wei oppressed the villagers and wanted to uphold justice. As Wei Yushan said, he hadn’t specifically targeted the Geng family, because in Wei’s view, they belonged to the same social class.

Therefore, Geng Ming owed nothing to anyone.

Zhang Fei handed several property deeds to Geng Ming, “These are the house and land deeds Wei Yushan returned to you, not an inch less.”

During the trial that day, Wei Yushan hadn’t realized how serious the matter was until he saw Wang Hong’s fate. Then he knew he had barely escaped death.

Now he only sought to preserve his life – money was trivial. The farmland in Wei Yushan’s possession was returned in full, and though Geng Ming had sold the house to others, Wei immediately bought it back at a high price.

Geng Ming stared at the deeds in Zhang Fei’s hands and reached out with trembling hands, but halfway through he suddenly covered his face and burst into tears.

For these villagers, ancestral land and homes were second only to their own lives in importance.

Having lost and regained them, he could hardly believe it.

The surrounding villagers also wept behind their hands.

After a while, Geng Ming finally straightened up and excitedly accepted the deeds from Zhang Fei, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

Zhang Fei said seriously, “Geng Ming, remember this – if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you must come to me immediately. Don’t worry about causing trouble – being afraid to cause trouble might lead to even more trouble.”

Geng Ming looked at Zhang Fei, nodding continuously, “Thank you, benefactor, thank you.”

Just then, a voice called out from afar, “Husband!”

Geng Ming whirled around to see a woman leading two children climbing down from an ox cart.

“Wife!”

Geng Ming immediately ran over, heedless of all else.

“Husband!”

“Father!”

The family embraced tightly, crying together.

Zhang Fei sighed, “I truly envy Geng Ming.”

Xu Zhiqian asked in surprise, “What do you envy about them?”

Zhang Fei sighed, “Having a wife to embrace.”

Xu Zhiqian froze for a moment, then glared with her phoenix eyes, “What a mood killer. Let’s go, you flirt.”

She took his hand and led him toward their carriage.

Zhang Fei chuckled, “I’m not envious anymore. Perfect!”

Xu Zhiqian gave him a coy glance, then asked, “Why did you say those things to Geng Ming earlier? Are you worried someone might harm him?”

Zhang Fei nodded, “Though it’s unlikely for now, we can’t be too careful. I don’t want any flaws in my victory.”