Chapter 231: Everyone is an Interested Party
Xu Zhiqian couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Zhang Fei, and after sitting down, she began preparing together with Qiu Zhengwen.
In truth, Zhang Fei had never intended to have Ma Xiaoyi come help. He had arranged early on for Qiu Zhengwen to come assist them, with his main tasks being menial labor like wiping tables, carrying documents, and running errands.
“Zhang San, look at all those people across from us!”
Xu Zhiqian suddenly turned to the side and whispered to Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei looked up and saw that under the pavilion across from them sat seven or eight people. At the front sat Li Lei, the pen-in-cap from Li Family Bookstore, and beside him were renowned notaries like Li Guozhong and Fei Ming.
It was clear that this profession maintained rather strict divisions. Li Guozhong and the others had not stepped forward themselves to litigate against Zhang Fei, but instead chose to strategize and prepare materials from the sidelines, letting Li Lei, who had the lowest seniority among them, take the spotlight.
This was because notaries only excelled at writing complaint documents, finding flaws in the opposition’s arguments, and strategizing, but were not skilled at oral advocacy.
This wasn’t to say they lacked such talent, but rather because pen-in-caps had rarely been able to appear in court for litigation before – it had almost always been a battle of written documents. Hence, everyone had wanted to become notaries. But now the situation had changed.
The profession of pen-in-cap had gradually overtaken that of notary, becoming the key figure in litigation.
“Perhaps those five hundred strings weren’t spent in vain after all.” Seeing this scene, Zhang Fei felt deeply gratified, as if he could already see the prospects for specialization in litigation.
An important indicator of specialization was teamwork and clear division of labor.
In comparison, his side actually appeared less professional, with everything handled by just him and Xu Zhiqian, unlike the opposition where each defendant had a dedicated notary responsible for strategizing for the pen-in-cap.
Xu Zhiqian seemed to realize this problem as well, and whispered, “Zhang San, shouldn’t we also call more people to come? It would be good for them to learn as well.”
Zhang Fei nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. After this case ends, I’ll go speak with Mogul Fan.”
Then he turned slightly toward Qiu Zhengwen behind him and asked, “Zhengwen, how do you think they’ll fight this lawsuit?”
Qiu Zhengwen thought seriously for a while, then answered rather nervously, “I… I think they’ll use the tenant farmers to clear themselves of guilt.”
Zhang Fei nodded and asked again, “Then how should we respond?”
Qiu Zhengwen struggled for a long time before answering, “I… I don’t know.”
Zhang Fei seemed unsurprised and asked again, “Do you know who we’re fighting this lawsuit for?”
Qiu Zhengwen said, “Academician Wang.”
Zhang Fei turned around and stared directly at Qiu Zhengwen.
Qiu Zhengwen blinked. “The Reform Planning Commission.”
“It’s the imperial court.”
Zhang Fei said in frustration, “We’re pursuing tax collection, and only the imperial court has the authority to collect taxes. Have you actually memorized those tax law regulations clearly?”
Qiu Zhengwen’s face filled with an embarrassed smile.
Zhang Fei explained further, “To the imperial court, they are all subjects, all with the obligation to pay taxes. Therefore, in our view, they form a single entity, and this is the key to our victory.”
Qiu Zhengwen nodded with seeming understanding. “Yes, I’ll remember that.”
While they were preparing, officials also began arriving one after another in the corridor. This lawsuit attracted an especially large number of officials.
But unlike previous occasions, after these officials sat down, they were relatively quiet, without much discussion. Most officials sat silently in their chairs, and it was clear they were all very tense.
Perhaps they were not observers, nor participants, but they were all interested parties.
This lawsuit affected the interests of every one of them, whether commoner or official.
After a while longer, Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo quietly arrived in the corridor.
“So many people!”
Seeing the corridor packed beyond capacity, with even the muddy ground in front filled with seated people, Han Qi remarked.
Wen Yanbo smiled. “This time they’re not here to observe the trial.”
Han Qi chuckled. “Neither are we!”
Then he gestured to Fu Bi. “Lord Fu, please.”
“Please.”
After the three men sat down, Han Qi asked Fu Bi in a low voice, “Lord Fu, do you think this lawsuit can truly solve the problem?”
“I don’t think so.”
Fu Bi shook his head. “That’s why I’m very curious about how Zhang Fei will fight this case and what purpose he hopes to achieve.”
“Is that so?” Han Qi sighed. “I haven’t figured it out either.”
In truth, neither of them particularly supported this lawsuit. Even setting aside their scholar-official class interests, from the perspective of imperial rule alone, this lawsuit carried too much risk for too little benefit.
This lawsuit could not possibly solve the problem of tax evasion and avoidance. Instead, it might complicate matters and even create factional opposition within the court.
In comparison, Wang Anshi’s reforms were far more reliable. They opposed Wang Anshi’s reforms not because they disagreed with reform itself, but because they disagreed with Wang Anshi’s philosophy. However, reform was the only way to solve problems.
The judicial system could not solve social problems—only legislation could.
After a while, Lu Gongzhu arrived at the hall together with Li Kai, Huang Gui, Cen Yuanli, Yu Zaishen and others, totaling six judges and assistant judges.
This was absolutely Kaifeng Prefecture’s all-star lineup.
There was no choice—with so many plaintiffs involved, Kaifeng Prefecture had to give their full effort.
Zhang Fei, Li Guozhong, and the others also rose from their wooden shelters and came to the center of the hall, preparing to pay their respects.
The court opening ceremony of Kaifeng Prefectural Office was indispensable. After all, Kaifeng Prefecture was a professional court, different from the Chamber of State Affairs or the Court of Penal Review.
After the court opening, Lu Gongzhu announced loudly, “Due to the large number of people involved in this case and the complexity of the accounts, I believe it is impossible to complete the trial in one day. Therefore, I have decided that, barring special circumstances, court will convene every other day for four hours in the morning, from 7am to 11am, until completion. Do you have any objections?”
Originally, trials didn’t have so many regulations, but as litigation became more complex, Kaifeng Prefecture was forced to establish various rules.
This case would be difficult to complete in one day. If they didn’t establish the schedule in advance, there might be disputes about when to conclude each session. Everything had to be explained beforehand to ensure fairness.
Both sides expressed no objections.
In such hot weather, ending at 11am was just right.
They couldn’t exhaust those elderly observers.
After settling this matter, Lu Gongzhu had them return to their places, preparing to begin the trial.
The defendants who would testify in court had been determined according to the petition Zhang Fei had previously submitted.
There were too many people—they couldn’t have all one hundred and eight defendants plus hundreds of tenant farmers waiting here.
The daily quota was ten people, but however many were tried, court would end promptly at 11am.
The first defendant to testify was named Du Shaojing, a native of Bianjing. He was the cousin of Du Xiu, the Secretary of the Financial Commission, though the relationship was somewhat distant—Du Shaojing’s grandfather and Du Xiu’s grandfather had been cousins.
Although Kaifeng Prefecture hadn’t built special shelters for defendants and witnesses, their seats were placed under large trees on both sides, which still provided some consideration. For the convenience of observers, witnesses sat uniformly on the right side while defendants sat on the left, with signs hanging from the trees.
Everything was evolving toward professionalization.
Zhang Fei stood up and questioned Du Shaojing, “Mogul Du, according to my investigation, you own a total of 1800 acres of land in Xiaqü Township, Gongqiao Township, and Dudian Township in Kaifeng County. Is this correct?”
This was quite ordinary in the Northern Song, as land could be freely bought and sold.
Du Shaojing nodded. “Yes.”
Zhang Fei glanced at his documents again and said, “Before this year, 600 acres of this land avoided land taxes through informal, unsealed contracts.”
“I object!”
Li Lei suddenly stood up from the opposing side. “The court has already decreed that as long as contract taxes are paid within this year, past offenses will be pardoned. Those 600 acres of land are not part of this lawsuit.”
Lu Gongzhu nodded slightly and looked toward Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei explained, “The imperial edict’s provision for pardoning past offenses does not mean that simply paying back contract taxes grants amnesty. Rather, it means that starting this year, if taxes are paid according to law, then past land taxes owed due to unsealed contracts will be pardoned. The key issue is land tax, not contract tax – contracts that are officially sealed with taxes paid for are just the basis for the collection of land tax.”
Lu Gongzhu nodded.
Zhang Fei continued, “But according to the tax records provided by Kaifeng County, Du Shaojing only paid back contract taxes. Of these 600 acres of land, not a single coin of tax has been paid to this day. From when I filed my complaint document until now, nearly a month has passed, and they still have not paid taxes – not a single coin. Therefore, these 600 acres are not included in this amnesty, and the imperial court has the right to collect their back taxes.”
Li Lei immediately argued, “You represent Academician Wang, not the imperial court.”
Zhang Fei replied, “Scholar Wang hired me in the name of the Reform Planning Commission. This point is written very clearly in my complaint document, and the purpose is to collect back taxes for the imperial court.”
Li Lei snorted, “The Reform Planning Commission is merely a temporary office – how can it represent the imperial court?”
Someone in the corridor shouted, “Well said!”
Lu Gongzhu turned to look, but the officials in the corridor all maintained calm expressions, and he could not tell who had shouted, so he let it pass.
Wang Anshi’s mouth twitched several times as he whispered, “Are all these pen-in-caps so arrogant and domineering nowadays?”
Sima Guang laughed, “Surely they would know how to draw a gourd by copying its outline?”
The implication was that everyone was learning from Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei smiled, “May I ask, sir, do you know who established the Reform Planning Commission?”
Li Lei remained silent.
Zhang Fei asked, “You don’t know?”
Li Lei still said nothing.
Zhang Fei smiled, “The Reform Planning Commission was established by His Majesty’s decree. Do you think it can represent the imperial court? Speaking of which, if I cannot represent the imperial court, on what basis would I accuse them of tax evasion and pursue back taxes from them?”
Li Lei still remained silent.
Bringing up the emperor was truly unsporting.
But this really was not Zhang Fei being unsporting – he had to clarify this point. If he did not represent the imperial court, many of his arguments would not hold water.
Moreover, this was fundamentally a struggle between the emperor and the landowners. If this point was not made clear, how could the emperor establish his authority?
Lu Gongzhu asked Li Kai, Cen Yuanli and the others, “What do you think?”
Li Kai said, “The previous complaint document did not mention this point, so we need not concern ourselves with it.”
However, Cen Yuanli said, “But this dispute arose precisely because of this issue. Academician Wang also made this very clear in the imperial court. If we avoid this point, this case may never be resolved clearly.”
Yu Zaishen and the other judges all nodded in agreement.
After pondering for a long while, Lu Gongzhu declared loudly, “Land that has not paid summer taxes in a timely manner, even if contract taxes have been paid back, will be included in the scope of this trial.”