Judge of the Song Dynasty

After consecutively losing to Zhang Fei, Fan Chunren had truly learned from his painful experiences and continuously reflected on what aspects he was lacking. Although his prepared documents were not as numerous as Zhang Fei’s, he could recite the Song Code of Punishments backwards and forwards, and he could quickly memorize any materials he had read. He had not made errors due to memory lapses, so the lack of documents could not be considered a shortcoming.

After much deliberation, he believed that he had previously only engaged in armchair strategizing while lacking investigation into the actual case.

This time he had learned his lesson and sent people to investigate the entire matter thoroughly, including every person related to this case – he had looked into them all.

If he had not known that Wang Anshi had gone to find Zhang Fei that very afternoon, he would not have been able to produce evidence to refute him now.

Zhang Fei had asked his questions to prove that the matter was secret.

But before Su Shi, you Zhang Fei, a mere commoner, already knew about this – how could it still be considered secret?

Previously, he had always stumbled on such details – he had internal strength but lacked technique.

“Excellent! Well said!”

“Truly brilliant!”

Some scholars outside the door excitedly clenched their fists. Of course, there were also some who did not quite understand.

“What’s so good about it?”

“Didn’t you just hear? Wang Anshi himself said this doesn’t count as leaking secret information, so naturally it cannot be considered the crime of divulging state secrets.”

“Exactly!”

Although everyone outside was cheering for Fan Chunren, Fan Chunren himself showed no trace of joy, because he knew this was only the warm-up.

Since Zhang Fei had brought this charge, he would not let it go easily.

Xu Zhiqian quietly handed a document to Zhang Fei.

Fan Chunren had made considerable progress, and she had also improved greatly – in many situations, Zhang Fei no longer needed to speak.

Zhang Fei glanced at the document, then stood up and said, “I hope to summon Academician Sima, to testify in court.”

Zhao Bian turned his head toward Sima Guang, as Sima Guang was also a State Counselor and his opinion needed to be sought first.

This brat actually wants to drag me into this. Sima Guang nodded.

Zhao Bian immediately summoned Sima Guang to the stand.

After waiting for Sima Guang to come over, Wang Anshi stood up and patted his backside, saying, “Now you can taste the pain of being unable to talk back.”

“Thanks to you,” Sima Guang snorted.

Wang Anshi chuckled twice: “You’re the real culprit here.”

The implication was that if not for the leak incident at your Court of Penal Review, there wouldn’t have been all these subsequent troubles.

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Sima Guang’s heart skipped a beat – he really was the culprit. Waving his hand, he said, “Go, go, go, get down there quickly. Don’t try to influence my testimony.”

After they finished chatting and Sima Guang sat down, Zhang Fei stood up and said, “Academician Sima, do you still remember the leak incident at the Court of Penal Review last month?”

Sima Guang nodded and said, “I remember.”

Zhang Fei said, “Could Academician Sima please explain what had happened?”

Sima Guang said, “At that time, His Majesty entrusted me with revising the law relating to tenant contracts, so I convened a meeting at the Court of Penal Review to discuss how to revise this law. Who knew that the next day a pamphlet suddenly appeared, taking things out of context, generalizing from particulars, spreading rumors and slandering Judge Xu.”

Zhang Fei said, “Academician Sima oversees the Court of Penal Review and should be well-versed in the law. Do you believe this pamphlet violated the law?”

Sima Guang looked at Zhang Fei with meaningful intent and smiled coldly: “Absolutely illegal. If caught, I would definitely punish them severely.”

Zhang Fei looked down at his document somewhat guiltily, then raised his head and asked, “As I understand it, His Majesty’s order to revise this law also clearly stated the guiding policy is that taxes shall follow the land, and many people knew about it. Is this correct?”

Sima Guang nodded.

Zhang Fei continued, “Since this was a matter known to everyone, then naturally there’s no question of it being secret, so how could there be any talk of leaking secrets?”

Sima Guang seemed to enter his stride, stroking his beard and saying, “First, although the policy of taxes following the land had been determined, this matter is of great importance, and our dynasty’s ancestral laws state that ‘comprehensive order should be established as precaution against malfeasance,’ which also warns us that when promulgating any new law, we must consider it thoroughly.

What we consider is precisely to prevent bad situations from occurring. If our discussions are deliberately leaked beforehand, it will naturally cause unrest and can be classified as the crime of leaking secrets.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, “Academician Sima has explained this very clearly. Since you also participated in the meeting on the third day, were the specifics of prohibiting newspapers from discussing politics determined at that time?”

Sima Guang shook his head and said, “It was not.”

Zhang Fei asked again, “Would there still need to be discussions in between before determining specifically how to implement this?”

Sima Guang nodded.

Zhang Fei said, “Then comparing the two, may I say that both policies were actually in a state of discussion and deliberation regarding their specific contents? Or rather, there was still uncertainty in them, and they had not reached a written state.”

Sima Guang thought for a moment and nodded, saying, “That’s not wrong to say.”

“Then does Academician Sima believe that the actions of Su Shi, Song Minqiu, and the others constitute leaking secrets?”

Before he finished speaking, Fan Chunren stood up.

But Zhang Fei didn’t give him a chance to object, saying, “I’m finished with my questions.”

He even gave Fan Chunren an apologetic smile.

Su Zhe couldn’t help but frown and mutter, “This person is truly cunning to the extreme. If you’re not careful, he’ll find a loophole to exploit.”

He had witnessed this technique before, but at that time he was an observer. However, this matter concerned Su Shi, making them adversaries, so naturally he was very disgusted by Zhang Fei’s opportunistic behavior.

He whispered to Fan Chunren, “His questioning technique is truly brilliant. He’s clearly switching concepts, but Academician Sima didn’t notice.”

“I know.”

Fan Chunren stood up and said, “May I ask Academician Sima, during the meeting discussing the law of tenant contracts, did you instruct the attending officials that they must not reveal even half a word?”

Sima Guang shook his head.

Fan Chunren said, “If one of the officials sought help from his good friend or teacher, would that count as leaking secrets?”

Sima Guang thought for a while, “That shouldn’t count.”

Fan Chunren continued, “If such a thing really happened, would you punish this person?”

Zhang Fei immediately stood up, but Sima Guang had already shaken his head, saying, “I would not.”

This required no consideration. If Xu Zun went home to discuss with Zhang Fei, he certainly couldn’t be punished. After all, this wasn’t some highly secret matter that couldn’t even be revealed to family members. If such things were also punishable, then who would dare attend meetings?

Zhang Fei sat down dejectedly, “What notable improvement indeed!”

Xu Zhiqian asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Zhang Fei explained, “Sima Guang’s tone wasn’t firm when he said ‘shouldn’t count,’ which means it could possibly count as well. The judge will definitely be influenced by this. Fan Chunren had to get a definitive answer, otherwise his question would have been ineffective.”

Xu Zhiqian nodded lightly and glanced sideways at Fan Chunren, feeling somewhat dejected inside.

Logically speaking, she was more experienced and had Zhang Fei’s guidance beside her, but she still hadn’t thought of these details.

Talent was something one had to acknowledge.

She then saw Fan Chunren continue asking, “If that’s the case, then why did you just say that those who leak secrets violate the law?”

Sima Guang was immediately stunned. Yes, if it was just casual talk, it couldn’t be said to violate the law. It was all that Zhang San’s fault for leading me astray just now.

This delighted Wang Anshi on the side, who thought to himself, “This old man’s testimony in court isn’t even as good as mine!”

Sima Guang immediately explained, “I was referring to the statements in those pamphlets, which were purely taken out of context, fabricating facts, and intentionally creating chaos. Therefore, those who published the pamphlets should be considered in violation of the law.”

His face turned red as he spoke.

Xu Zhiqian was amused and said agitatedly, “It seems Fan Chunren’s habits as a remonstrator haven’t been completely reformed!”

Zhang Fei shook his head, “This can only be said to show his lack of experience. Regarding this case, there are too many unknowns and no established rules, so no one knows what kind of answers the witnesses will give.”

Xu Zhiqian nodded with partial understanding, “You mean Uncle Sima doesn’t know the specific answers either?”

Zhang Fei nodded, “Smart.”

Su Zhe couldn’t help but show a pleased expression.

“I’m finished with my questions.”

Fan Chunren sat down, annoyed, “Terrible! I got carried away with my questioning just then.”

Su Zhe secretly rejoiced, “Save whoever we can.”

Fan Chunren said, “How can that be acceptable?”

Zhang Fei immediately stood up and asked, “Academician Sima just stated that if attending officials discuss this matter with teachers and friends, it wouldn’t be considered illegal.”

Sima Guang shook his head with great reluctance.

Zhang Fei said, “If attending officials were dissatisfied with Lord Xu’s words and complained about them to teachers and friends, would this constitute a violation of the law?”

“I object.”

Fan Chunren immediately stood up.

Zhang Fei quickly explained to Zhao Bian, “I’m merely refining Remonstrator Fan’s previous question.”

Zhao Bian thought for a moment and said, “Continue your questioning.”

Fan Chunren sat down in frustration.

Even Sima Guang became nervous. After thinking it over, he said, “That probably wouldn’t count either.”

Zhang Fei said, “May I understand that Academician Sima considers this matter illegal because the other party used pamphlets as a means to spread erroneous statements, thereby triggering widespread heated discussion and causing social unrest?

If attending officials merely spoke casually, even if they were suspected of exaggerating facts, it wouldn’t have caused the unrest at that time, and therefore wouldn’t constitute a violation of the law.”

After hearing this, Fan Chunren was about to stand when Su Zhe immediately said, “Wait.”

Fan Chunren turned his head toward him.

Su Zhe said, “If you object, wouldn’t this drag my brother into it again?”

Fan Chunren said urgently, “This isn’t just about your brother alone anymore.”

Su Zhe replied, “But the other side has obviously given up targeting my brother. You can concentrate your energy on defending Song Minqiu and the others later.”

While these two were still arguing, Sima Guang had already begun to answer: “These pamphlets were indeed different from word-of-mouth transmission. I believe it can be said that because they are written, the judicial treatment of these two differs in judgment.”

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and said, “Thank you, Academician Sima. I’m finished with my questions.”

Su Shi beside him looked ashen, thinking to himself: It’s over, it’s all over. I knew that Song Mingqiu and the others would cause trouble, but you wouldn’t believe me. Now look—Zhang San is even defending me. This is truly outrageous.

Fan Chunren glared angrily at Su Zhe, then stood up and said, “Academician Sima, can you accurately clarify whether it’s the newspapers themselves that are illegal, or whether it’s the inaccurate content in the newspapers that’s illegal, or whether both are illegal?”

Sima Guang thought seriously for quite a while. “Our dynasty has not stipulated that publishing newspapers is illegal. In my opinion, it should be that using newspapers to spread false statements and causing social unrest constitutes illegal behavior.”

“I’m finished with my questions,” Fan Chunren said.

Zhang Fei suddenly stood up and asked, “May I ask Academician Sima, if the newspaper’s content is entirely truthful but simultaneously causes unrest, would that constitute a violation of the law?”

Their questions were becoming increasingly tricky. Sima Guang was left completely bewildered by the questioning.

In fact, not just him—even experienced ministers like Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo were seriously contemplating this question and seemed to have no definitive answer.

Because regarding these questions, the law truly had no very precise regulations. Generally, they judged by results.

If nothing happened, it wasn’t illegal. If something happened, it was illegal.

But in court proceedings, one couldn’t speak this way.

Wang Anshi watched Sima Guang with schadenfreude, thinking: Old fellow, now you understand my pain.

Sima Guang thought for a long time, not daring to speak carelessly. Suddenly he turned to Zhao Bian and said, “Your Honor, I am here today to testify in my personal capacity, and my views represent only my personal opinions.”

Zhao Bian nodded and said, “Academician Sima, please be assured. I make judgments based on legal precedents.”

The implication was that his words were merely his views and could not represent the law.

Only then did Sima Guang answer: “If the content is entirely truthful yet causes social unrest, then there are usually only two situations: either this matter truly belongs to state secrets that cannot be disclosed, or the law itself has problems, thus causing unrest—and this situation would constitute a failure of the government.”

Xu Zhiqian said in a low voice, “Uncle Sima is obviously biased toward them.”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “Not really. He’s just discussing the matter objectively.”