Judge of the Song Dynasty

Zhang Fei was a legal practitioner, so no matter what matter fell into his hands, he would definitely still take the legal route.

This was what he was most skilled at.

If he were asked to manage and reorganize the patrol stations, or train these patrol constables, he really might not do it well.

Management required experience.

He had never managed so many people before and would certainly encounter various problems.

Therefore, he chose to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, introducing legal aid into the picture and using complaints and litigation to supervise the law enforcement personnel under him.

Of course, this was also the most important link in the judicial system. If law enforcement personnel were not supervised, then there was no point in talking about any legal system—it would have no meaning whatsoever.

After fooling Cao Dongdong, he invited Fan Chunren into the room.

“Please sit, Master Fan.”

“Thank you!” After Fan Chunren sat down, he said, “Everyone outside now knows that this matter was your doing. This has made many ministers extremely angry, and public opinion in the court is turbulent. This matter may not be as simple as you imagine.”

This incident came too suddenly, causing everyone not to think of Zhang Fei at first, but they quickly came to a realization.

How could there be such a coincidence? Zhang Fei had just gone to shovel manure, and then there was manure everywhere, followed by all these incidents. Without even thinking, everyone knew this matter must have been Zhang Fei’s doing.

This was something the ministers absolutely could not tolerate, because it was equivalent to a mere corvee runner openly declaring war on them.

Money was a small matter; face was big.

Fan Chunren had served as a remonstrance official before, so he knew the dangers involved.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “This is all within my expectations. I plan to give them a good lesson.”

Fan Chunren asked in surprise, “Give them a lesson?”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, “I want them to know that the cost of my service is extremely high. They shouldn’t think of escaping even a single coin of this license fee.”

Hearing his boastful words, Fan Chunren seemed somewhat unconvinced.

Zhang Fei suddenly looked at Fan Chunren and said, “The only thing I’m worried about now is you, Master Fan.”

Fan Chunren asked in confusion, “What are you worried about regarding me?”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “I’m worried that you won’t be able to withstand the pressure. The Legal Aid Office is very crucial. Master Fan probably understands the situation with the Three Military Divisions better than I do. I can only control a small portion of people. The enemies are all internal, so I can only rely on the Legal Aid Office to check and balance the Three Military Divisions.”

Fan Chunren immediately said, “Rest assured about this. The duty of the Legal Aid Office is to help the common people avoid oppression by government clerks and runners. As long as this doesn’t change, no matter how great the pressure, I’m not afraid.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Then I wonder how you plan to demonstrate that you’re not afraid?”

Fan Chunren was stunned for a moment. “What do you mean by this?”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “I think Master Fan should immediately write an article severely criticizing these license fees.”

“Ah?”

Fan Chunren became more and more confused as he listened.

Zhang Fei continued, “Then announce that a legal aid office will be established to help the people fight against the patrol constables. Only this way can you demonstrate that you are not afraid.”

After pondering for a moment, Fan Chunren’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Brilliant! This strategy is truly brilliant!”

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, “Of all the martial arts, only speed cannot be broken. They can’t catch up with me, so how can they fight me?”

When everyone learned that Zhang Fei was once again causing trouble behind the scenes, with new grievances added to old ones, the ministers became even more intolerant and frantically pressured the Three Military Divisions.

Within a single day, more than ten memorials impeaching officials of the Three Military Divisions were submitted to the Chamber of State Affairs.

Because these military generals of the Three Military Divisions also had plenty of dirt on them, making it too easy for people to find leverage against them.

The implication was: if you let Zhang Fei run wild without control, then we will impeach you.

However, facing the turbulent public opinion, the guilt-ridden Sima Guang was restless.

He paced back and forth in the hall, suddenly shaking his head. “No, no, I still need to confess this matter to everyone—that I deliberately targeted Zhang San and made him serve.”

As he spoke, he headed outside.

“Wait! Wait!”

Lu Gongzhu hurriedly blocked Sima Guang’s path. “Sima Guang, things have come to this point. No matter how much you confess, no one will believe you. Instead, they’ll think you’re manipulating things from behind the scenes.”

Sima Guang said anxiously, “But if I don’t confess, then I’ll be controlled by Zhang San, and even by Wang Anshi.”

Lu Gongzhu waved his hand dismissively. “That won’t happen. Zhang San actually has no evidence to prove you did this. At the time, all the ministers in court demanded that Zhang San serve corvee labor. How could they blame you?

As for Wang Anfu, if he dares to say that Zhang San’s corvee service was something you and he plotted together, I guarantee that no one will believe him. In fact, everyone will think he’s framing you.”

After all, having served as acting prefect of Kaifeng, Old Lu was quite experienced in these matters.

The two of them had only revealed Zhang San’s corvee service—there was nothing irregular about their actions, so no evidence could really be found against them.

Speaking of which, if the two of them had conspired together, how could they possibly let anyone easily catch them red-handed? They certainly would have done it without leaving a trace.

“That may be so, but… but I still can’t get past my own conscience.”

Sima Guang shook his sleeves excitedly.

The change in the nature of this matter truly left him unable to eat or sleep peacefully.

Zhang Fei’s move had really gotten him in a tight spot.

Lu Gongzhu advised, “In my opinion, we should observe the situation for a while. Speaking of which, I really don’t believe Zhang San can actually pull this off.”

Sima Guang waved his hand. “These are two separate matters.”

Lu Gongzhu said, “But the court is already chaotic enough. If you make a fuss now, it would be like adding fuel to the fire, making things even more complicated. Even if you want to confess, you should at least wait until the results come out.”

It must be said that his words made sense. The court’s factions were at least still clearly defined at present. If Sima Guang got involved, things would become extremely complicated.

“Alas!”

Sima Guang let out a heavy sigh, sat down, and slapped his thigh. “I truly regret what I did!”

At the Reform Planning Commission.

“Teacher, the opposition voices both inside and outside the court are growing stronger. Even many imperial relatives are pressuring His Majesty and the Three Military Divisions. Zhang San has really stirred up a hornet’s nest this time. Those opposing the licenses far exceed those who opposed our new policies.”

“Hehe!”

Wang Anshi chuckled. “At least I’m a State Counselor, and even so, I had to rely on debating with them to finally convince His Majesty. But Zhang San is merely a runner. Now that everyone knows he did this, they certainly won’t let it go.”

There were still many ministers in court who supported Wang Anshi, but almost none supported Zhang Fei.

After all, Wang Anshi had risen through proper procedures, and his talent and ability were evident to all.

What was Zhang Fei?

A pen-in-cap?

A runner?

What right did he have?

Lu Huiqing said with a grave expression, “From the current situation, if His Majesty doesn’t change his attitude, they might resort to any means necessary and will definitely not let Zhang San succeed.”

Wang Anshi said, “This is exactly what I hope for. Keep a close eye on this matter and see how Zhang San responds.”

Lu Huiqing said in surprise, “You don’t really think Zhang San can actually do it, do you? This isn’t a lawsuit—it’s political struggle, involving the interests of all high officials, nobles, and imperial relatives.”

Wang Anshi also seemed somewhat doubtful. After a moment’s thought, he said, “I understand Zhang San’s character well. His style of doing things may seem rather reckless, but actually, he thinks deeply about every matter. If he weren’t confident to some degree, he wouldn’t do this.”

Lu Huiqing said, “But might he be thinking of using you and Academician Sima to help him win this battle? After all, he holds leverage over both you and Academician Sima.”

Wang Anshi shook his head. “He may want our support, but he needs to handle things well before we have reason to support him. If he can’t handle it well, then there’s nothing we can do. Actually, if this matter were left to Sima Guang and me, we might not be able to pull it off either.”

Lu Huiqing said, “Exactly! If even you and Academician Sima couldn’t do it, what makes him think he can?”

Imperial Treasury.

“This matter was the Deputy Commander’s personal action. How can you blame our entire Three Military Divisions? Our Imperial Guard Cavalry doesn’t support this at all—we didn’t even know about it beforehand.”

Imperial Guard Cavalry Commander Guo Chang spoke with a face full of grievance.

Today these civil officials were making things difficult for them at every turn, but this matter had absolutely nothing to do with them.

It was truly an undeserved disaster.

The Commander of the Cavalry had sent him to explain things to these civil officials.

Li Zhan said, “If your Imperial Guard Cavalry doesn’t support it, then you should have opposed it?”

Guo Chang immediately replied, “Our commander submitted a memorial opposing this matter, but this whole affair was started by you people. You complained about excrement being everywhere in the city, which gave the Deputy Commander his opportunity.”

Gu Ji nodded slightly. “This matter can’t really be blamed on the Imperial Guard Cavalry, but now His Majesty clearly supports Cao Ping. If we just make noise in court without producing concrete evidence, I’m afraid it won’t accomplish anything.”

Cao Han understood immediately and said, “Director Gu speaks reasonably, but actually this matter is easy to handle. According to the Military Patrol Office’s announcement, all vehicles and horses must pay license fees—meaning common people are no exception. But who would willingly pay this extra money?”

Li Zhan immediately added, “And those patrol constables—when you have them collect money, how many won’t collect extra? They’ll definitely be happy about it.”

At these words, everyone looked toward Guo Chang.

Guo Chang hurriedly said, “I’ll do my best to watch over them, but I can’t guarantee that none of the subordinates will collect extra money. As Censor Li said, this is a common occurrence and unavoidable.”

Everyone smiled and nodded.

The meaning was quite obvious: let your people be harsh, and we’ll be able to find excuses to impeach them.

From top to bottom, they were all their people. What could Zhang San possibly win with?

They had already made their position clear to the Emperor beforehand, so as soon as something went wrong, they could impeach to the death. “Look, you didn’t listen to us—this is the result.” This was their usual routine.

They would transfer all burdens downward, then use popular resentment to strike back at those above.

This tactic never failed.

Once money was involved, the waters could never stay clear.

Just then, a clerk suddenly ran in, whispered a few words in Gu Ji’s ear, and handed him a small newspaper.

Gu Ji hurriedly opened it and read, his brow furrowing deeply.

Li Zhan asked, “Director Gu, what’s happened?”

Gu Ji frowned. “Fan Chunren just published an article in the Scholar’s Gazette opposing these vehicle licenses.”

Li Zhan was slightly stunned. “That’s good news!”

Gu Ji said, “Don’t forget—the Scholar’s Gazette belongs to Zhang San.”

Cao Han asked urgently, “What exactly is going on?”

Gu Ji replied, “Fan Chunren’s article doesn’t criticize the vehicle licenses as bad, but rather hints that the Military Patrol Office will definitely use this law to extort money. Therefore, he’s establishing a legal aid office to litigate for common people free of charge. As long as the Military Patrol Office collects even one extra coin, people can seek their help, and they’ll definitely seek justice for the people.”

Guo Chang was alarmed and hurriedly said, “Director Gu, may I take a look?”

Gu Ji handed the newspaper to Guo Chang.

When Guo Chang took it and read, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Was this criticism?

This was clearly targeting their Military Patrol Office!