Judge of the Song Dynasty

In the planned reform of the judicial system, only the prosecutor’s office, also known as the procuratorate, needed to be newly established.

The Northern Song’s judicial system was the most sophisticated in feudal times, with its own system of investigation and judgment divisions. The criminal investigation departments also had a relatively complete structure, though the quality of personnel was somewhat lacking.

But there was no procuratorate.

Although some departments, like the Censorate, had some prosecutorial powers, they lacked the core function of a procuratorate system.

Public prosecution!

Generally, in criminal cases, the procuratorate represents the state in prosecuting suspects.

Currently, the government directly conducted trials based on investigated evidence.

There was no prosecution step in between.

For example, in Ayun’s case, Zhang Fei faced the judge directly rather than a prosecutor, which put the lawyer in direct opposition to the judge.

Logically, this was impossible to win, as the power of judgment lay with the judge. Zhang Fei only won because Wang Anshi supported him in court. This was politics, not justice.

If there had been a procuratorate, this situation wouldn’t have existed.

One could even say the procuratorate was the core of the entire judicial reform.

The current separation of administration and law in Kaifeng County, without a procuratorate’s support, lacked supervision and could become even more corrupt than before.

Without this link, any changes would be similar to the original system.

Sima Guang had previously been reluctant for Zhang Fei to enter official service because the court lacked a prosecution department, meaning Zhang Fei couldn’t utilize his abilities.

Of course, he had another ulterior motive – he predicted Wang Anshi’s new policies would cause problems. Mere pressure from within the imperial court wasn’t threatening enough; public support was also needed.

Lawsuits were an excellent means of applying pressure.

Now Wang Anshi was also gaining public support through lawsuits, gaining the upper hand in court opinion.

Sima Guang planned to use the same tactics against him.

But after Zhang Fei proposed the judicial system reform, he changed his mind. With prosecutorial powers, Zhang Fei could have a greater impact as an official.

Additionally, there were now proposals to co-opt Zhang Fei, this legal maverick, into officialdom.

He saw this as an opportunity.

“Thank you for your kindness, Academician Sima, but I believe entering the procuratorate now would not help you and might even cause you trouble.”

“How so?”

Sima Guang asked curiously.

Zhang Fei said, “I’ve heard many court officials have recently recommended me for office.”

Sima Guang nodded.

Zhang Fei smiled, “You surely know the reason.”

Sima Guang nodded slightly, saying, “They’re afraid!”

As soon as he spoke, he realized, “You mean if you enter the procuratorate, they might obstruct its establishment.”

Zhang Fei nodded: “They fear my prosecutions. If I enter the procuratorate with even greater power than before, they’ll view it as a serious threat.

Everything is still under construction, so we should reduce resistance. Therefore, I believe you shouldn’t recruit me, but rather portray me as an enemy. This would better serve judicial reform.”

Sima Guang stroked his beard, contemplating for a while before smiling at Zhang Fei: “Then you’ll have to suffer.”

Zhang Fei joked, “We’ll see who suffers then.”

Sima Guang laughed heartily, then added, “But don’t think you can stay uninvolved. You still need to teach at the College of National Scions.”

Xu Zhiqian exclaimed in surprise, “He’s teaching at the College?”

A pen-in-cap teaching those graduate-scholars?

That seemed utterly ridiculous! Sima Guang sighed helplessly, “I didn’t want this either, but in terms of litigation skills, no one at court can match your husband.”

Zhang Fei smiled modestly, then suddenly brightened as if remembering something, “Yes indeed!”

Sima Guang asked, “What is it?”

Zhang Fei said, “Doesn’t the emergence of a prosecutor’s office give us pen-in-caps legitimate litigation status?”

Sima Guang was stunned, thinking that it didn’t make sense for the government to lead public prosecutions while denying legitimate litigation rights to civilians. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Prepare well – this legal aid matter should not be a big problem.”

Zhang Fei nodded, “Please rest assured, Academician Sima. I will spare no effort in this matter and will not let you face any criticism because of it.”

After discussing this, Sima Guang left.

“Do you really not plan to take office?” Xu Zhiqian asked Zhang Fei after seeing Sima Guang off.

Zhang Fei wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled, “What? Do you want me to become an official?”

Xu Zhiqian said, “We’ve discussed this before – no matter how capable a pen-in-cap is, the number of people they can help is extremely limited. If you want to help more people, you can only do so by becoming an official.”

“True,” Zhang Fei nodded, “But now is not the time. We still don’t know how much power prosecutors will have and which government offices will check their authority. Rushing in now could trap us in a quagmire we couldn’t escape from. Let’s wait until the situation becomes clearer before making plans.”

Xu Zhiqian nodded slightly. She was aware of the overt and covert struggles at court. She wasn’t really pushing Zhang Fei to take office – she just wanted to know his plans. Of course, she still hoped he would become an official and advocate for the common people.

“Ahem!” A sudden cough came from the doorway.

Xu Zhiqian turned her head to see Fan Li looking at them with an odd expression.

Not understanding at first, she glanced at Zhang Fei again before suddenly realizing. She quickly broke free from Zhang Fei’s hand, stepped back, and shot him a fierce glare.

Zhang Fei didn’t seem to think anything of it. He chuckled and said to Fan Li, “Mogul Fan, you’ve come at the right time. I have something to discuss with you.”

The three returned to sit in the back courtyard. Zhang Fei said, “Regarding whether to provide free litigation services, I’ve made a decision to cooperate with the government in providing legal aid.”

“Legal aid?” Fan Li didn’t understand.

Zhang Fei explained the specific operational methods to Fan Li.

Fan Li frowned after listening but said, “If that’s the case, we might as well send our own people to help.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Why?”

Fan Li said, “When cooperating with the government, they won’t be the ones at a disadvantage. I’m worried this legal aid might turn into a form of government service, which would be the end of our profession.”

The same matter could be viewed very differently by commoners and officials.

Fan Li, having started as a clerk himself, immediately saw this as free service to the government that could evolve into mandatory service.

Mandatory government service was something everyone dreaded.

Zhang Fei smiled, “That concern might make sense in other industries, but it’s completely unnecessary in ours. I’ll say it again – we pen-in-caps must defend the law and justice, otherwise our profession cannot survive. And if we’re defending the law, how could we become mere government servants? Moreover, if we can provide legal aid to the court now, notaries and pen-in-caps will gain legitimate litigation status, and officials will have to accept pen-in-caps arguing cases in court.”

Fan Li nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed! Pen-in-caps were different from other professions. To thrive, they needed to maintain some opposition to the government, at least in judicial matters. If they simply followed the government’s lead, what difference would their existence make to officials?

Based on this point, pen-in-caps could never become mere government servants.

Fan Li asked again, “So what do you plan to do?”

Zhang Fei countered with a question: “Has anyone at the firm been saying I’m giving special treatment to Qiu Zhengwen?”

Fan Li hesitated before asking, “Who told you that?”

Zhang Fei smiled. “I guessed it. I am indeed trying to cultivate Qiu Zhengwen, so naturally, some people would be dissatisfied.”

Fan Li gave an awkward smile. “Yes, some people are unhappy about it.”

Zhang Fei nodded. “Perfect! This legal aid program can solve this problem well. Let them take turns providing legal aid. Once they make a name for themselves there and people are willing to pay for their services, they can return to the firm as partners.”

“That could work,” Fan Li nodded, then asked, “Will we still pay them?”

Zhang Fei replied, “We’ll reduce the pen-in-caps’ fees while keeping others the same. Their earnings will depend on their abilities. It won’t be possible to just coast along at our firm.”

Fan Li nodded.

Zhang Fei glanced at Xu Zhiqian and said, “Put Zhiqian in charge of this. You keep managing the firm – I know you don’t particularly enjoy doing this pro bono work anyway.”

Fan Li chuckled, “Fine, whatever you say.”

Zhang Fei added, “Please notify them that we’ll have a meeting shortly to discuss the details.”

“Alright, I’ll go inform them now.”

After Fan Li left, Xu Zhiqian glanced at Zhang Fei and stammered, “Zhang San, do you think I’m not suited for court litigation?”

Zhang Fei was surprised. “Not at all! Why would you ask that?”

Xu Zhiqian said dejectedly, “You just put me in charge of arranging this, which means you don’t want me to litigate in court anymore.” Follow current novels on noveⅼfire.net

Zhang Fei smiled. “You’re quite famous now as Lawyer Xu. If you provide legal aid, everyone will come to you, just like now. That would defeat the purpose. You can still litigate in court, but only for paid cases.”

Xu Zhiqian seemed reluctant, still believing that justice shouldn’t be measured by money.

Understanding her thoughts, Zhang Fei continued, “Zhiqian, don’t worry. Let’s first set up this platform and attract more talent to this profession, get the whole system running smoothly. Then you can decide whether to provide free legal aid or charge fees.”

Xu Zhiqian looked at him and nodded. “I don’t really understand all this, so I’ll follow your lead.”

Zhang Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t easy!

This legal aid program could effectively resolve some ideological differences between him and Xu Zhiqian.

Moreover, it could balance both procedural and substantive justice.

At the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.

“Prefect Lu, I just received news that we’ve encountered some problems with the land investigation,” Li Kai reported hurriedly as he entered the hall.

Lu Gongzhu’s expression tightened. “What problems?”

Any land-related issues were bound to be major problems! Li Kai said, “Prefect Lu should know that many large landowners rent their land to tenant farmers rather than farming it themselves.”

Lu Gongzhu nodded.

Li Kai continued, “This includes many unregistered contracts. When renting to tenants, they split the tax burden equally with the tenants, collecting half taxes from them even though no tax is paid. Though landlords get more profit, the tenants’ burden is indeed lighter. However, their contracts state that tenants bear all tax responsibilities. Now that officials are investigating land, these tenants who’ve already paid half the taxes must now pay full taxes, causing widespread discontent!”

Lu Gongzhu frowned. “How dare those landlords make tenants bear the full burden?”

Li Kai said, “That’s what the contracts stipulate, and moreover-“

Lu Gongzhu interrupted, “And they deliberately instigated this?”

Li Kai nodded.

“This is outrageous!”

Lu Gongzhu angrily slammed his book on the table.