Judge of the Song Dynasty

Regarding Lu Gongzhu’s decision, the observing officials did not express much dissatisfaction or anger.

Everyone knew that once the court session began, Zhang Fei would definitely find a way to bring the tenant farmer matter into the trial.

Li Guozhong and the others were also very clear about this and had made ample preparations, but they had not anticipated that Zhang Fei would bring up this matter right from the start.

After Li Lei sat down, Fei Ming leaned forward from behind and whispered, “Strange! Why did he bring up the tenant farmer matter right away?”

Li Lei nodded, also looking puzzled: “Uncle Fei is right. According to our previous predictions, he should have first proven tax evasion on the land proven by sealed contracts, established guilt for that portion, and then used that as grounds to raise the matter of unpaid contract taxes. That would have been more reasonable.”

Li Guozhong frowned and thought for a moment, “Could it be that he learned about the leak at the Archives, so he’s doing the opposite?”

Fei Ming nodded: “That makes sense, it must be so. This way, it’s far too advantageous for us.”

Li Guozhong smiled and nodded.

Fan Chunren frowned: “Could this be his response strategy?”

Qian Yi shook his head: “But this is not the best strategy. Regarding those tenant farmers not paying taxes, this is already a well-known matter. The government has investigated, and they indeed lack the ability to bear the burden. If those tenant farmers are brought to court to voice their grievances, I’m afraid it will be unfavorable to Zhang San and the others.” Fan Chunren nodded slightly but looked confused.

From a purely judicial perspective, tenant farmers’ inability to pay taxes was certainly illegal, but the law must consider human circumstances. If the tenant farmers truly lacked the ability to bear the burden, you couldn’t just kill them all.

The key point was that the land didn’t belong to them, so they couldn’t sell land to pay taxes, and ultimately could only sell their children.

Therefore, Fan Chunren’s prediction was the same as Li Guozhong and the others – they believed Zhang Fei would not raise this matter first, but would instead use the land outside the unsealed contracts as a breakthrough point.

The only reason Zhang Fei didn’t do this was that he might know those pieces of evidence were problematic, so he decided at the last minute to fight this lawsuit primarily around the tenant farmers.

Du Shaojing, as the defendant, couldn’t help but look toward Li Guozhong and the others.

Li Guozhong nodded.

Only then did Du Shaojing nod: “What you say is correct.”

Zhang Fei asked again: “Do you also know that unsealed contracts are not legal contracts and will not be recognized by the imperial court, and that using unsealed contracts to evade taxes is illegal behavior?”

Du Shaojing nodded: “I know.”

Zhang Fei said: “Then you knowingly committed this crime.”

Du Shaojing looked embarrassed: “It was the seller who requested that the contract be unsealed for many of these transactions, and some were instigated by realtors. It wasn’t my idea. Besides, everyone does this.”

They were naturally prepared for this – if you mention unsealed contracts, I’ll say the law doesn’t punish the masses.

Zhang Fei asked: “As far as I know, generally the buyer bears the contract tax. Why would the seller demand signing a unsealed contract?”

Upon hearing this, Li Guozhong’s face lit up with joy.

Du Shaojing glanced at Zhang Fei and asked back: “Have you ever sold land?”

Zhang Fei shook his head: “My parents haven’t given me that opportunity.”

Du Shaojing smiled disdainfully: “Although the law stipulates that contract tax is borne by the buyer, in normal circumstances, the seller also has to pay money, and money must also be given to the official realtors. All calculated, the seller can only recover sixty to seventy percent of the contract tax at most, so sellers are also reluctant.”

After hearing this, Zhang Fei was slightly stunned and couldn’t help but look toward Xu Zhiqian, who gently shook her head. He then turned back to look at Qiu Zhengwen.

The latter nodded and whispered: “This situation does exist.”

Seeing Zhang Fei’s expression change, Fei Ming immediately leaned forward and whispered: “Brother Li, it seems that young man doesn’t really understand the practices here!”

Li Guozhong said cautiously: “Don’t jump to conclusions yet, let’s wait and see.”

As Zhang Fei’s old opponent, Fan Chunren remained relatively calm at this moment. He knew Zhang Fei was skilled at asking these seemingly favorable questions for the opponent, then delivering a decisive blow.

“I’m finished with my questions.”

Zhang Fei sat down directly.

Lu Gongzhu was stunned. That was it?

This wasn’t like his style at all!

After sitting down, Zhang Fei first looked at Xu Zhiqian with a puzzled expression.

Xu Zhiqian said: “There really aren’t any documents on this matter.”

Zhang Fei turned back to look at Wang Anshi, spreading his hands as if to say, why didn’t you provide me with materials on this?

Wang Anshi also looked innocent and glared angrily at Zhang Fei, as if asking: Don’t you know about this kind of thing?

Zhang Fei snorted irritably and turned back around.

Sima Guang saw everything and chuckled: “Stop pretending, I know you’re doing this on purpose.”

Wang Anshi didn’t even acknowledge him, turning back to question Lu Huiqing: “Didn’t you inform him about these things?”

Lu Huiqing said: “Teacher, you only asked me to collect background information on those tenant farmers. You didn’t tell me to inform him about these things. Besides, everyone knows about this kind of thing!”

Wang Anshi said: “What do you mean everyone knows? If you don’t sell land, who would specifically inquire about such matters? You know very well that if you don’t write it down on paper, that brat won’t understand.”

Lu Huiqing was left speechless by the scolding.

Sima Guang observed that it didn’t seem fake, thinking to himself: They actually made such a simple mistake? No, that’s not right. Zhang San, that brat, shouldn’t make this kind of error. He’s always the most detail-oriented. It must be that crude Wang Anshi who overlooked it.

He also knew that the information about these people was definitely provided by Wang Anshi, since Zhang Fei couldn’t investigate much on his own.

Li Lei on the opposing side wasn’t thinking so much. Zhang Fei sitting down so quickly was giving him a great gift regardless, a dreamlike opening. He immediately stood up and asked Du Shaojing: “Mogul Du, since you have already paid the supplementary contract tax, why didn’t you pay the summer land tax at the same time? If I were you, I would either pay everything or pay nothing at all, since not paying taxes is also illegal.”

Du Shaojing replied: “Because I lease out all 600 acres of this land to tenant farmers, and the lease contracts clearly state that taxes are to be borne by the tenants.”

Li Lei asked again: “According to our dynasty’s laws, if a contract stipulates that taxes are to be borne by tenants, then the landlord must first go to the tenants to collect payment. Only if collection fails within half a month can they report to the authorities, who will then collect on their behalf. Mogul Du, did you go to collect?”

Du Shaojing nodded: “Yes, I went to inform them.”

Li Lei continued: “Did those tenants agree to pay the taxes?”

Du Shaojing shook his head: “They said their families had no surplus grain to bear this summer tax.” Newest update provıded by ⓝovelFire.net

Li Lei asked: “Did half a month pass during this period?”

Du Shaojing nodded.

Li Lei continued asking: “Then did Mogul Du immediately go to inform the authorities?”

Du Shaojing said: “No. It was only when the imperial court sent people to inquire that I spoke up.”

Li Lei asked: “Why?”

Du Shaojing sighed: “Because their lives are indeed quite difficult, and I couldn’t bear to pressure them.”

Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips and whispered: “Such heartless words, yet he can say them with a straight face. If he truly sympathized with those tenants, why didn’t he pay their taxes for them?”

Zhang Fei said: “Alright, I’ll ask him about that in a moment.”

Xu Zhiqian smiled with pursed lips: “Good!”

Qiu Zhengwen on the side was dumbfounded. So this is how casual you are when conducting lawsuits?

Just then, Li Lei finished his questioning. Zhang Fei immediately stood up: “Mogul Du, you just said you didn’t promptly inform the imperial court because you didn’t want to pressure those tenants, feeling their lives were quite difficult. Can I understand this to mean that you acted out of kindness and sympathy for those tenants?”

Du Shaojing thought carefully and cautiously, then nodded: “You could say that.”

Zhang Fei asked again: “Then could we say that you actually hoped the court would exempt them from the summer tax?”

Du Shaojing felt uneasy, wondering if there might be a trap here. He couldn’t help but look toward Li Guozhong and the others.

Li Guozhong nodded slightly.

Only then did Du Shaojing answer: “If the court were willing to exempt them from taxes, I would certainly support it.”

Zhang Fei asked: “Then do you know that this would result in the imperial court losing a portion of tax revenue?”

Du Shaojing said: “The taxes from just these few tenants shouldn’t affect the imperial court.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said: “Have you ever considered paying this tax for these tenant farmers?”

Du Shaojing said: “I have certainly considered it, but I’m afraid that if I do this, all my tenants will default on their taxes and expect me to help them pay.”

Zhang Fei said: “Then have you ever considered that if the imperial court exempts those tenants from taxes, everyone will deliberately avoid paying taxes in the future?”

Du Shaojing immediately said: “The court is different – the court often exempts some common people from taxes.”

Zhang Fei asked: “So you have never helped those tenants in financial difficulty bear their tax burden?”

“I…” Du Shaojing hesitated.

“I’m finished with my questions.”

Zhang Fei sat down and whispered to Xu Zhiqian: “Now you know the answer.”

Xu Zhiqian snorted softly: “Even if you hadn’t asked, I would have known.”

“Wow, you really have no conscience.”

Zhang Fei gave Xu Zhiqian a disdainful look, then turned to Qiu Zhengwen, who was already stunned, and said: “Stop spacing out and pour me some tea.”

“Oh, alright.”

Qiu Zhengwen quickly poured Zhang Fei a cup of tea and asked cautiously: “Brother San, what’s the trick behind your questions?”

Zhang Fei took a sip of tea and said: “This lawsuit will take many days to try. I’m just asking a few random questions to clear my throat first. I’ve been getting inflamed lately and coughing up phlegm. cough cough“

“…?”

Qiu Zhengwen was speechless.

Are you about to sing or something?

Then he saw Li Lei stand up. He addressed Lu Gongzhu: “Your Honor, I have the tenant contracts between Mogul Du and one hundred and twelve tenant households here, which can prove that the taxes on these 600 acres of farmland are all borne by the tenant farmers.”

Lu Gongzhu said: “Present them.”

These hundred-plus tenant contracts were quickly distributed among more than ten judges and clerks. Contracts in this era were basically just single sheets of paper.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they had all been reviewed.

Afterward, Huang Gui reported to Lu Gongzhu that according to the tenant contracts, all taxes were indeed borne by the tenant farmers.

Zhang Fei immediately stood up and requested Lu Gongzhu to summon the three tenant farmers Li Dacai, Tian Chun, and Chen Fang to the court.

Lu Gongzhu immediately summoned these three men to appear.

After a moment, three old men dressed in coarse brown clothing entered the hall. Seeing so many officials seated before them, they were so frightened their legs trembled, not knowing how to properly bow.

Li Kai shouted at them, and only then did they wake up as if from a dream, bowing haphazardly without any proper form.

Lu Gongzhu didn’t blame them and told them to sit under the large tree. The three men came to the tree, but none dared to sit, standing properly instead.

Lu Gongzhu didn’t force them and gave Zhang Fei a look, indicating he could begin questioning.

Zhang Fei first asked: “Are all three of you Du Shaojing’s tenants?”

The three men nodded woodenly.

Zhang Fei asked again: “Then how long have you been tenants under Du Shaojing’s household?”

Li Dacai answered: “Five years.”

Tian Chun replied: “Three years.”

Chen Fang replied: “Six years.”

Zhang Fei asked: “During this time, have any of you paid taxes?”

The three men looked at each other, then shook their heads.

Zhang Fei asked: “None of you?”

Li Dacai said quietly: “No.”

Zhang Fei said: “When you signed the tenant contracts, did you know that you would bear the tax burden?”

All three nodded.

Zhang Fei said: “Then why didn’t you pay taxes?”

Li Dacai answered: “Because those fields are under unsealed contracts and don’t require tax payments.”

Zhang Fei asked: “So you knew before signing the contracts that those fields were tax-exempt?”

All three nodded simultaneously.

Zhang Fei asked again: “Then why does the contract state that taxes should be borne by you?”

Li Dacai said: “Mogul Du said that if the government discovered it, then we’d have to pay taxes, so this point had to be written clearly in the contract.”

“Is that so?” Zhang Fei asked: “Did Mogul Du explain this point to you beforehand?”

All three nodded simultaneously.

Zhang Fei asked again: “And you all agreed to this?”

All three nodded simultaneously.

Zhang Fei said: “I’ve reviewed your rental contracts. Although the tenant rent is somewhat less than most red contracts, if you factor in the taxes, you’re actually paying more. Especially your tenant contract, Li Dacai – based on market rates, you’re essentially paying eighty percent of your harvest as rent to Mogul Du. Are you aware of this?”

Li Dacai nodded: “I know. This was my choice.”

Zhang Fei asked curiously: “Why?”

Li Dacai replied: “Because many people were competing for those seven acres of farmland. I offered higher rent, so the mogul rented it to me.”

Zhang Fei asked: “Actually, if you rented sealed contract land, even including taxes, it would still cost less than this. And now you’ve not only already paid eighty percent in rent, but you may still face the risk of having to pay additional taxes. Did the mogul mention this to you?”

Li Dacai answered: “My family used to rent sealed contract land before, but it ended up forcing me to sell my daughter. I swore I’d never rent sealed contract land again.”

As he spoke, his voice became agitated and his eyes began to redden.

Zhang Fei was slightly stunned: “Why?”

Li Dacai said: “Do you think those people only collect the amount of taxes the court stipulates? I’ve paid triple the tax money before, which left me unable to pay rent. I didn’t dare borrow money, so I could only sell my daughter to pay the rent.”

At this point, he suddenly began to cry, wiping his tears while sobbing: “Do you think I’m stupid and can’t do arithmetic? It’s precisely because I can do arithmetic that I don’t dare sealed contract fields. You never know how much tax money the government will demand this time. Even if unsealed contract land has higher rent, we’re willing to rent it, because at least the mogul won’t demand extra money from us.”

Zhang Fei frowned, first glancing at Li Guozhong and the others, then looking around at the officials, as if asking: “With answers like this, are you all shameless?”

Those officials all held stoic expressions.

You all want to fight? Come on!

Let’s hurt one anther!

Let’s see who can bear the consequences.