Judge of the Song Dynasty

Faced with the overwhelming chorus of boos, Lu Gongzhu felt rather embarrassed to strike his gavel.

He couldn’t very well say, “Stop making noise, everyone—he’s about to flatter the imperial court.”

How disgusting that would sound!

The upright and incorruptible Lu Gongzhu truly couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

In his heart, he also began to blame Zhang Fei. Your flattery skills really aren’t worth much—the timing you’ve chosen is absolutely terrible, making yourself unwelcome on all sides.

After a while, when the booing subsided, he struck his gavel twice and called out with little confidence: “Order! Order!”

The area in front of the court gradually quieted down.

Lu Gongzhu glanced at Zhang Fei with meaningful intent.

Discuss the case—don’t flatter.

The more you flatter, the dirtier it gets. The shit on this ass needs to be wiped, not slapped.

Don’t you understand even this?

Zhang Fei pretended not to see and stood up, speaking with complete seriousness: “Yesterday, Du Shaojing, Li Dacai, and others described the suffering of tenant farmers, claiming the imperial court was the culprit.

Yes, almost everything they said was factual, but examining the root cause, this is the result of progress, not regression.”

“Good heavens!”

Seeing that Zhang Fei could actually speak such unconscionable words, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but lower her head and cover her forehead. I’m not very familiar with this fellow.

Lu Gongzhu’s ears also reddened upon hearing this, and he spoke in an incredulous tone: “The result of progress?”

Han Qi, Fu Bi, Sima Guang, and others all looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.

What use was this kind of progress?

“Yes.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said: “The imperial court is progressing, but these landlords want to drag down the court’s forward momentum, resulting in so many injustices.”

At this point, he looked around at everyone. “You must not forget that tenant farming has actually existed since ancient times—it’s not unique to our dynasty. Only the forms and names of its existence have differed.

In the Han Dynasty, tenant farmers were equivalent to slaves. They could not leave their masters at will, had no household registration, and their wives and children were all dependents of the main household. During the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang periods, tenant households were called ‘retainers,’ and the Commentariesof the Tang Code contains clear legal explanations.”

He looked down at the documents and read: “‘From childhood having no refuge, they cast themselves upon others for clothing and food, and their masters treat them as livestock. When they mature and marry, such people follow their master’s registration and have no separate household status. Those of this type are called retainers.'”

He then raised his head toward Lu Gongzhu: “As you can see, retainers had no household registration—even marriage required the master’s consent. Masters could give them away at will, or even kill them without breaking the law.

But in our dynasty, first, our dynasty grants tenant farmers household registration. As it’s said, ‘They are all registered common people, with no hierarchical differences’—meaning that before the court, tenant households and main households have equal status, with no superior-inferior distinction.

Second, during Emperor Renzong’s reign, His Majesty issued an imperial edict stating ‘Guest households may relocate without requiring the host’s authorization.’ In other words, the law ensures that guest households can migrate freely, can separate from main households, and can even work diligently to buy land and become landlords themselves. Compared to the past, isn’t this progress?”

Lu Gongzhu stroked his beard and remained silent.

This was indeed progress.

Han Qi, Fu Bi, and others couldn’t help but show traces of satisfaction.

If one made vertical comparisons, the Song Dynasty had indeed made great progress in legislation regarding master-servant relationships, and this should be a source of pride.

After all, aside from Zhang Fei, who else knew what the future would bring?

“Take this case as an example.”

Zhang Fei continued eloquently: “Although Zhu Erjiu was Du Shaojing’s tenant, in legal terms, theirs was still a host-guest relationship. Du Shaojing simply used high-interest loans cleverly to turn them into de facto tenant slaves.

Purely from a legal standpoint, they were merely repaying debts, not being enslaved. As long as the debt was cleared, Zhu Erjiu would immediately become an ordinary citizen.

This is all due to the court’s legal protections, not because of Du Shaojing’s benevolence.”

After this speech, everyone was lost in thought.

In the past, would there have been any need to play with high-interest loans?

The key point was that these high-interest loans were optional—borrowing or not borrowing was voluntary, not forced upon anyone, and as long as you repaid them, you could leave.

But in the Tang Dynasty, once someone became a retainer, they didn’t even have the qualification to repay their debts.

“You’re being deliberately mystifying, beating around the bush,” Li Lei suddenly stood up from across the room. “What we discussed yesterday wasn’t this matter at all, but rather the court’s tax collection. Don’t try to confuse the issue here.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt as if they had been awakened by a sudden revelation, immediately coming to their senses.

That’s right!

What they had discussed yesterday wasn’t this matter at all, but rather how tenant farmers like Li Sancai would rather pay exorbitant rents than pay taxes, because the government’s taxation was so frighteningly high.

How could he whitewash this?

One couldn’t just make vertical comparisons without horizontal ones.

He was avoiding the important issues and focusing on trivial ones!

Faced with the other party’s questioning, Zhang Fei couldn’t help but smile slightly: “I humbly request that the Prefect summon witness Chen Feng to testify in court, and then everything will become clear.”

Who was Chen Feng?

Li Guozhong and the others looked at each other in confusion. Updates are released by novｅlfire.net

They had never heard of this person!

Even Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, and the others were completely puzzled. This matter was already laid out on the table—what truth could there be?

Only Wang Anshi watched with great interest. He wanted to collect wealth for the state, but having the imperial government smeared like this wasn’t the result he desired.

Lu Gongzhu was also very curious and eagerly wanted to hear this revelation of truth, so he immediately summoned Chen Feng to testify in court.

After a while, a middle-aged man of about forty came into the hall. Looking at his long robe, he didn’t seem like an ordinary farmer.

He bowed to Lu Gongzhu, then went to the witness stand.

Zhang Fei stood up and asked: “Chen Feng, where are you from?”

Chen Feng answered: “I am a second-class household from Xiaqu Village in Kaifeng County.”

“Second-class household?”

Zhang Fei asked: “Have you ever served in clerical duties?”

Chen Feng said: “Seven years ago, I served as village head of Xiaqu Village.”

Zhang Fei said: “What were your responsibilities?”

Chen Feng answered: “Collecting taxes.”

Zhang Fei nodded and continued: “Do you know Li Sancai?”

Chen Feng nodded: “Yes, he’s also from our village.”

Zhang Fei nodded and asked again: “Li Sancai claimed he paid three times the normal tax amount. Is this true?”

Hearing this, Cen Yuanli, Yu Zaishen, and others couldn’t help but glance back at Lu Gongzhu.

They had been a step behind.

Yesterday, Lu Gongzhu had wanted to investigate Li Sancai’s claim about paying triple taxes. Obviously, there was no need—Zhang San had already investigated it for them.

Chen Feng thought for a moment and answered: “I’m not entirely sure if it was exactly three times, but he definitely paid much more in taxes than he should have.”

Zhang Fei asked puzzled: “Why are you so certain?”

Chen Feng looked embarrassed: “Because… because I was the one who collected it from him.”

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate uproar in front of the courthouse.

Wasn’t he walking into a trap?

And didn’t this confirm what Li Sancai had said yesterday?

“Silence!”

Lu Gongzhu struck his gavel.

The area in front of the courthouse immediately quieted down. If they were to close the doors for a private hearing now, who would be able to sleep tonight? They had to get a resolution.

After it quieted down, Zhang Fei asked again: “Why did you demand extra tax money from Li Sancai?”

Chen Feng sighed: “I had no choice.”

“No choice?” Zhang Fei looked curious: “What do you mean by that?”

Chen Feng said: “Because the government collects taxes based on the land registry, but many large landowners don’t pay taxes, so it has to be shared among the other farmers in the village. I also had to shoulder some of it myself, but if I didn’t ask them for extra taxes, I would have had to bear it all alone, and I couldn’t afford that burden.”

Zhang Fei asked again: “Do you remember whose tax burden Li Sancai was helping to shoulder at that time?”

Chen Feng said: “Du Shaojing’s.”

Zhang Fei asked in surprise: “Why did you answer so quickly?”

Chen Feng said: “Because the village where Li Sancai lives is surrounded by the Du family’s fields, and it’s still the same now, so there’s no need to think about it.”

Zhang Fei nodded in sudden understanding: “I’m finished with my questions.”

This was truly a major reversal!

Sounds of discussion immediately arose outside the doors.

So Li Sancai had been shouldering Du Shaojing’s tax burden, which led to him becoming Du Shaojing’s tenant farmer.

This…

Hearing those discussions, Du Shaojing hung his head low, too ashamed to face anyone.

If he had known this would happen, he should have just paid the back taxes from the beginning. Those people above were completely useless.

There was no way around it—the Emperor had already caught him red-handed. He could only fight this out in court now.

Li Lei stood up and said, “Brother Chen, did you ever collect taxes from the Du family back then?”

Chen Feng shook his head and said, “No.”

Li Lei said, “Since you didn’t go to collect them and failed to fulfill your duties, on what grounds do you claim the Du family didn’t pay taxes?”

Zhang Fei leaned back and whispered to the pen-in-caps like Qiu Zhengwen, “This is when you should object, because his question is misleading.”

Qiu Zhengwen asked back, “Then why isn’t Brother San objecting?”

“Forget it, let me demonstrate for you.”

Zhang Fei suddenly stood up. “I object. The opposing counsel’s question is misleading, attempting to induce my witness to admit his own dereliction of duty. But the fact is that Du Shaojing has already admitted to tax evasion, using unsealed contracts, monks and Taoists, female households, and other such methods.”

Li Lei argued his case, “I’m not denying Mogul Du’s responsibility, but that doesn’t mean this witness bears no responsibility for dereliction of duty.”

Lu Gongzhu pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked Chen Feng, “Why didn’t you go collect taxes from the Du family at that time?”

Zhang Fei sat back down.

Qiu Zhengwen asked, “Brother San, that move didn’t work!”

Zhang Fei said, “You fool! In litigation, you must use every opportunity to defend your client. If you don’t object, how can you remind everyone of the fact that Du Shaojing previously admitted to tax evasion? That’s very favorable to us.”

Qiu Zhengwen nodded and looked back at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng answered, “Because village heads had gone to his house to collect taxes before, but they simply couldn’t collect anything. Many of his lands were unsealed contracts that hadn’t been properly transferred, so we could only collect taxes from the previous landowners, and eight or nine out of ten of those owners had already left. We could only have other farmers share the burden. Some other lands were registered under the names of influential households, whom we couldn’t afford to offend.”

Influential households were tax-exempt households, mostly with official backgrounds—either scholar-officials or Imperial Guard officers.

Zhang Fei immediately stood up again. “This coincides perfectly with what Du Shaojing said earlier.”

Li Lei sat down dejectedly.

Li Guozhong consoled him, “Forget it, you’ve done your best.”

There was no way around it. Du Shaojing had already confessed everything earlier and didn’t dare to argue back. On this point, he couldn’t possibly win against the opposition.

Zhang Fei looked around and declared loudly, “The truth is now clear. Indeed, the court has collected excessive taxes from some people, but fundamentally, this is because many large landowners like Du Shaojing have used every means to transfer their tax burden onto other people, making it impossible for the people to bear the load, thus forcing them to become tenants or even bonded servants.

Has the imperial court made mistakes? Yes, but this is a necessary path in the process of improvement. For example, Emperor Renzong hoped to give tenant farmers the right to freely relocate, which was absolutely beneficial to the people. But landlords used high-interest loans to force tenant farmers to become true retainers. The court still needs improvement, but this is certainly not what the court desires.”

As he spoke, Xu Zhiqian handed Zhang Fei a document. Zhang Fei took the document and said, “This shows the tax collection situation in Xiaqu Village over the past three years. Compared to the tax revenue stipulated in the land registry, there’s still a significant shortfall. In other words, if everyone paid taxes according to law, the court would receive much more than it does now.

This shows that the government is also a victim. Even from the perspective of self-interest, the imperial court couldn’t possibly want to see this situation. I also believe that after this case, the court will immediately improve on this point.”

“Well said!”

Wang Anshi, hearing this, shouted excitedly.

That ten thousand strings had been truly worth it.

With his shout, the common people outside the doors also joined in cheering.

It wasn’t that people didn’t harbor resentment, but they still hoped the court could improve. The key was that they could only count on the court for improvement, not on the benevolence of those landlords. Of course they had to cheer, not jeer.

But quite a few officials had mixed feelings.

They couldn’t say it was good, nor could they say it was bad.

They could only desperately force out a trace of a relieved smile, but their mouths felt as uncomfortable as if they had eaten excrement, and their eye sockets felt as if stones had been stuffed inside them—uncomfortable, wanting to cry.

But they couldn’t cry even if they wanted to.

Zhang Fei winked at Xu Zhiqian.

Xu Zhiqian spat, “What are you so pleased about? It’s already been more than a quarter hour.”

Zhang Fei said in surprise, “Really?”

Xu Zhiqian said, “Of course it’s true. Go handle the case first, we’ll discuss it later.”

“Oh.”

Zhang Fei nodded, then turned to Lu Gongzhu and said, “I represent the imperial court in pursuing five hundred thousand strings in back taxes from Du Shaojing.”

“Five hundred thousandstrings?”

Du Shaojing jumped straight up from his chair, then his eyes went black and he fainted.