Zhang Fei sent Cai Jing to invite Yuan Jiang openly this time and did not hide it, so the officials soon learned of the matter.
You must know that the conflict between the Imperial Court and the Transportation Department is becoming more and more acute at this time. Zhang Fei definitely did not invite Yuan Jiang to eat hot pot. Something must have happened in the meantime.
So the next day, some officials came to the Transportation Department to inquire about the information.
Yuan Jiang told them the truth about the purchase tax case.
"That's unreasonable."
When He Chunlin heard this, he couldn't help but started to go crazy, "Their imperial court is really aggressive. They just finished the tax inspection there and forced the government to pay each official a full salary. They have to inspect and pay taxes again. If this continues , no matter how much salt debt we issue, it won’t be enough to fill it.”
Even though Cao Yi had a calm personality, he couldn't help but said angrily: "Scholar Yuan, more than 100,000 yuan of the Hezhong Mansion's finances come from buying and selling squares every year. This cannot be tolerated. Their imperial court cannot just care about their judicial justice, but It is simply too much to ignore our difficulties."
Yuan Jiang nodded and said: "Of course I know this, but 60% of the more than 100,000 yuan of finance comes from discussing the wine tax, but Zhang San only focused on the purchase tax and did not mention the discussion on wine.
In addition, Zhang San did not say that he would ban this shopping mall. He only said that people came to complain, so he asked me about related matters, but how to judge specifically will depend on the evidence. "
Wei Yingfang said: "Scholar Yuan didn't know that the government would encounter many problems in collecting taxes, not to mention the wealthy people. There are some problems here, but the government did this out of helplessness. Not only could it increase taxes for the government It can save a lot of money while also saving a lot of money. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone. This system is really bad!”
Yuan Jiangdai nodded and said: "I also told Zhang San about the stakes here. He said that he would also take into account the difficulties faced by the government, but the details will depend on the trial process."
Cao Yidao: "Then if the imperial court bans the purchase tax again, how should we respond?"
Yuan Jiang pondered for a while and then tentatively said: "If he really decides this, we can either appeal to the court, or we can only wait until the Han Temple incident comes before making a decision."
But this time Wei Yingfang, Cao Yi and others did not agree, but chose to remain silent.
Yuan Jiang saw it but didn't say much.
This was all in his expectation. This was a heart-to-heart comparison. The imperial court moved too frequently, and his double act with Zhang Fei could not be effective every time.
"Tabloid! Tabloid! Imperial court tabloid!"
I saw a young boy jumping up and down in the market, waving a few pieces of paper in his little hands.
It immediately attracted a lot of attention.
Since the Imperial Court was open outside the city, the notices were only posted in front of the Imperial Court. Many businessmen who bought tabloids found business opportunities. Whenever the Imperial Court posted a notice, they would immediately order people to copy it into tabloids and then sell them into the city.
At present, in the entire Hezhong Prefecture, the word "Imperial Court" means it is a top-notch newspaper. This kind of tabloid has never been worried about selling.
"Brother, what other case is going to be heard in the imperial court?"
An uncle stopped the little brother.
"Buy the tax. The chief judge will hold the hearing in person."
"Will the Chief Justice do the trial in person?"
"Yes."
"Bring me a tabloid quickly."
"Why!"
The uncle immediately bought the tabloid, and people around him immediately gathered around. When they saw that it was a lawsuit about purchase tax, they immediately started chatting with each other.
"I've heard about this a long time ago. It seems that the villagers from Xuewu Mountain came to complain."
"What do you think the imperial court will do?"
"Of course the villagers will win."
"I hope so. This purchase tax is as abominable as the government office and should have been abolished long ago."
Soon, news about this lawsuit swept the entire Hezhong Mansion, because this lawsuit not only involved ordinary people, but also involved the interests of the government and businessmen. There was also a very complicated chain of interests hidden in it, which caused everyone to Very concerned.
Imperial Court.
"Teacher, those who were prosecuted invited Li Min to defend them."
Cai Jing handed a defense brief to Zhang Fei and added: "Li Min expressed his refusal to plead guilty on their behalf."
After the last lawsuit and the recent issuance of salt bonds, everyone has realized the importance of Erbi. With or without Erbi, there are two different types of lawsuits.
Zhang Fei took it and took a look, a smile flashed in his eyes.
This is a good thing.
The good business of Erbi is precisely a reflection of the success of the public security organs.
Shangguan Jun said in confusion: "The evidence in this lawsuit is solid, how can they fight?"
Zhang Fei glanced at him and said, "How many times have I told you that there is no lawsuit that cannot be fought in this world."
With that said, he said to Cai Jing: "Since the other party has invited Erbi to litigate, then we must also appoint the Legal Aid Department to litigate for those villagers."
Cai Jing asked: "Are you asking Zhengwen to fight?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, and suddenly thought of someone coming.
At this moment, Li Si suddenly came to the door and said, "Third brother, Mr. Fan wants to see you."
I really miss Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here! Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, and he said to Cai Jing: "Don't rush there yet, wait until I see Mr. Fan."
hall.
"Xueshi Fan is here today, but are you here for the Legal Aid Agency?" Zhang Fei asked straight to the point when he saw Fan Zhen.
Fan Zhen hesitated for a moment and asked instead, "I heard that some villagers sued wealthy people who paid taxes because of the tax?"
Zhang Fei nodded: "Yes."
Fan Zhen asked again: "Will the imperial court appoint the Legal Aid Department to assist those villagers?"
Zhang Fei said: "Since the other party has asked Erbi to defend themselves, our Imperial Court will also appoint the Legal Aid Department to help the villagers."
Having said this, he smiled and said, "Is this why Master Fan is here?"
Fan Zhen nodded, "If the Legal Aid Department will assist the villagers in fighting this lawsuit, then Lao Zhuo is willing to join the Legal Aid Department and fight this lawsuit."
Zhang Fei asked: "I would like to ask a little more, but it seems that Master Fan is also dissatisfied with the purchase tax?"
Fan Zhen nodded and said truthfully: "This country has national laws and families have family rules. If you ignore the national laws and learn the skills of bandits, it is really putting the cart before the horse. In fact, there have always been people in the court who opposed this matter, but it is a pity that the officials did not listen and restrained themselves. Since the establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, more and more places have been implementing this purchase tax."
Does this have anything to do with Wang Anshi? Zhang Fei had not heard Wang Anshi say this, and Fan Zhen and Wang Anshi were at odds with each other, so just listen and said: "Master Fan, if you join the Legal Aid Department, your responsibility will be to litigate for the client. This The long-term concerns of your family, country, and world are not within your scope of authority, and I hope Master Fan can understand this."
Fan Zhen nodded and said: "Don't worry, President Zhang. The three feet of ice will not freeze in a day. I also know it. I only want to seek justice for those villagers, nothing else."
Zhang Fei nodded and said with a smile: "Then I wish Bachelor Fan a victory for the Legal Aid Agency."
"Thank you."
That day, Fan Zhen asked to join the Legal Aid Department, and Qiu Zhengwen was finally relieved. In fact, he wanted to go to the bookstore more, because he had no ambitions for a family, a country, and a world. Only money could reflect his value. This old man It's free work, but it's really boring.
But for Fan Zhen, on the contrary, money is just a cloud. He has political ideals and ambitions.
Although he denied it, he still hoped to use this lawsuit to pay taxes on this pounce.
Since the other party has clearly stated that he refuses to plead guilty, the Imperial Court must hold a trial. However, the Imperial Court did not say that it was very cautious. It just treated it as an ordinary civil lawsuit and did not even send an invitation letter.
The procuratorate also stayed on the sidelines.
But on the day of the trial, the entire imperial court was crowded with people and it was dark. You should know that it was already winter, and the weeds on the roadside were covered with a layer of frost, but this still could not stop the enthusiasm of the people.
Of course, it is undeniable that some of them came just for the appearance of the Chief Justice.
At the same time, the seats were full, with many officials and scholar-officials. However, in this case, the interests of officials and scholar-officials were not completely consistent.
Many scholar-bureaucrats supported Fan Zhen and opposed the purchase tax.
When Zhang Fei appeared in the imperial court, the cheers were deafening, making the four little kings jealous. They now hold court hearings on some cases almost every day, but they have never received such applause from Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei said hello to everyone as usual, and after sitting down in the courtyard, Xu Zhiqian immediately laid out a relevant copy on the table.
After Zhang Fei saw it, he suddenly shouted: "Sergeant Ma."
Ma Xiaoyi said: "Yes."
Zhang Fei said: "Have the main suspects not been found yet?"
Ma Xiaoyi shook his head and said: "Since those people usually live in relatively remote places and in mountainous areas, I sent people to search for them, but no trace of them was found."
Zhang Fei turned his head and glanced at Li Min.
Li Min immediately responded: "Several of our clients also sent people to look for him, but they happened to have no work in the past few days, and they don't know where they went to drink."
The good ones don't learn, but the bad ones learn quickly. Zhang Fei muttered and then said to Fan Zhen: "Mr. Fan, the suspects directly involved in this case have not been found yet. If Mr. Fan requests it, the president of this court will not mind adjourning the trial again."
Fan Zhen smiled and said: "No need, because those people are just following the orders of a few defendants. We mainly want to hold these defendants accountable. Their absence will not affect this lawsuit."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Since Mr. Fan has no objection, the trial will continue."
In fact, Zhang Fei knew very well that Li Min must have had the idea to hide the minions hired by Puhu, because if those people went to court, the perception would be very unfavorable to them.
It would be even worse if there was a jury.
Bang bang bang!
Zhang Fei knocked the gavel three times and said loudly: "Since this case involves the interests of many people, and the president of the court also likes to hear people's opinions very much, the president of the court decided to let the people participate in the trial. Ma Sheriff, please help the president select eight trial assistants."
"Choose me!"
"Chief Ma, choose me!"
At this moment, Ma Xiaoyi was the lover of the public, and everyone in front of the door was waving at him and making all kinds of flirtatious looks.
Apart from anything else, it is much more comfortable just to sit inside and watch. For this reason, it is worth fighting for.
Moreover, as the number of shops in front of the Imperial Court increases, the rents are also increasing day by day. The Imperial Court's finances are also slowly improving. Whether they are assisting the trial team or witnesses, they can get some remuneration. The key is to have a sense of participation. Everyone Everyone wants to sit inside and have a good time.
After all, the people today are more or less oppressed and exploited. They have had countless dreams of hoeing the strong and supporting the weak. This assistant judge can, to a certain extent, help them achieve their wish.
Unfortunately, disappointment is always the main theme.
When the eight lucky ones were born, the rest was all disappointment.
After the assistant jury was in place, the trial began.
The first person to appear in court was one of the plaintiffs, a woman in her thirties.
"My husband was infected with the disease recently, so I went to the market to buy more than 20 eggs that I had saved at home. I wanted to change some money to buy medicine for my husband, but those scoundrels suddenly came to me. Not only did I They took away half of my eggs and broke the remaining eggs. They were really, really bullying me. You will pay me for the eggs, pay for my eggs."
When the lady said this, she suddenly burst into emotion. She pointed at Li Min and the others and roared. Then she lay down on the table, patted the table, and started crying.
The voices of indignation outside also followed the aunt's mood. You just took away the eggs and smashed the rest. Isn't this driving people to a dead end?
As soon as this lawsuit came up, it seemed to go directly to Gaochao.
"quiet!"
Zhang Fei knocked the gavel and said to the lady: "Plaintiff, please try to control your emotions."
The aunt glanced at Zhang Fei and tried desperately to suppress her crying, but she couldn't help but keep sobbing.
Zhang Fei had no choice but to wait patiently for a while, and when he heard the aunt's sobbing became quieter, he asked Li Min to ask questions.
Li Min stood up and said, "Ms. Wei Zhang, you said those people robbed your eggs. Did those people run away after robbing you?"
Wei Zhang immediately said: "They are the ones responsible for stopping inside to collect money, so how could they run away?"
Li Min said: "I don't quite understand this. You also said that their duty is to collect money, so how can they snatch your eggs?"
Wei Zhang said: "They wanted to take away half of my eggs, but of course I refused. Then they snatched my eggs and let it go. They threw the rest of the eggs to the ground, and I...wuwuwu." "
Li Min asked: "Did they break your eggs when you were about to leave, or did they break your eggs during the fight."
Wei Zhang sobbed: "It's in the process of fighting."
"I'm done asking."
Li Min sat down.
The people outside the hospital also responded to his question with boos.
Fan Zhen stood up and said, "Ms. Wei Zhang, is this your first time going back to the market to sell things?"
Wei Zhang shook her head and said, "I go there probably once every two months."
Fan Zhen asked: "As we all know, you need to pay taxes when you go to the market to do business. Generally speaking, how much tax do you have to pay for these twenty eggs?"
Wei Zhang said: "Just one is enough."
Fan Zhendao: "But how many eggs do those people want from you?"
Wei Zhang said aggrievedly: "Twelve."
Fan Zhendao: "Do they have any explanation?"
Wei Zhang said: "No, they just asked me if I wanted twelve eggs, but I refused to give them. If I said I wanted so many eggs, I wouldn't sell them, and they came to rob them."
Fan Zhendao: "Someone may have seen it at that time."
Wei Zhang said: "Everyone in the city saw it."
Fan Zhen picked up a piece of evidence and said, "President Zhang, this is the confession of some witnesses in the market at that time. It can prove that my client did not lie."
"Submit."
"I'm done asking."
After Fan Zhen presented the evidence, he sat down.
Next, Li Min inherited Gao Qiang from Baoxue Wushan Market to appear in court to testify.
"Executive member, please introduce your relationship with Xuewushan Market?" Li Min asked.
Gao Qiang said: "I bought the commercial tax from Xuewushan Market through the government-organized shopping mall."
Li Min continued to ask: "I wonder how much you spent and how many years you bought it?"
Gao Qiang said: "At first I spent 800 guan to buy it for one year the year before last, but ended up losing more than 300 guan, so I didn't plan to buy it the next year, but the government saw no one wanted to buy it, so they forced me to buy it. Bought it.”
The officials at the VIP table frowned and glanced at Gao Qiang, as if to say, you are so bold, you sold us out without hesitation.
As everyone knows, Gao Qiang initially went to the government, but the officials had no choice but to deal with him because they were upset at the time. Only after being introduced by a banknote dealer did he ask Li Min to file a lawsuit for him.
That's what Li Min asked him to say.
The people suddenly booed again.
Obviously, it was not Gao Qiang who was booed this time, but the government.
This makes many officials feel that this imperial court is poisonous, and every time a case is tried, the government can be blamed.
But they didn't want to think about whether they would come here to see it if it had nothing to do with them.
Li Min asked: "Can Gao Yuanwai tell everyone, what did you do before?"
Gao Qiang said: "I used to sell salt with the villagers. Later, I saved some money and started selling wine, horses, etc."
Li Min said: "How many years have you been doing business?"
Gao Qiang said: "More than twenty years."
Li Min asked: "Since you have been in business for more than 20 years, you should be rich in experience. Didn't you do some research beforehand? The market tax of buying Xuewu Mountain with these 800 yuan is not profitable."
Gao Qiang said: "Of course I have done some research. The villages over Xuewu Mountain are basically in mountainous areas, so they go to the market every month to trade some goods. The local market is actually not small. I count this year You can make money if you come down.
But I also know that the government usually uses tax revenue from remote areas that are not easy to collect. I also recruited some people to keep an eye on it, but I never thought that the local people's customs are fierce, and not only do those unruly people not only He paid taxes and often injured my people, which made me miserable. In the second year, I didn’t want to do anything else. Otherwise, all the money I had worked hard to accumulate would be lost on this. I made more money by selling wine, and it was more worry-free. "
Li Min said: "What's the result?"
Gao Qiang said: "In the end, the government said no one wanted it and asked me to continue doing it. I begged everywhere, but it was of no use, so I was forced to continue doing it. But if I still can't make any money, then I will lose all my money. No more, I can only find some strong men to collect taxes.”
"Thank you."
Li Min nodded, and then said to Zhang Fei: "President, I have here a piece of evidence about buying money at the Xuewushan Market last year. In November last year, the government indeed took the Xuewushan Market to buy money." , but the result is that no one bids.
It can be seen that my client is indeed unwilling to accept this transaction, but was forced to accept this transaction, and the price has not changed. In addition, it also includes the personnel arrangements made by the Gaoyuan Foreign Service Institute at that time, as well as last year's income, which are enough to prove that everything my client said is true. "
"Submit."
The court police immediately presented this evidence.
Of course, Zhang Fei didn't need to read it, he would leave it to the Four Little King Kongs for analysis.
Fan Zhen stood up and said, "The high-level officials should also have heard the confession made by Wei Zhang just now."
Gao Qiang nodded.
Fan Zhen asked: "Then do you know about this?"
Gao Qiang said: "I only learned about it in the past two days."
Fan Zhen asked: "Didn't your subordinates tell you what they did?"
Gao Qiang said: "Normally you can't tell."
"You don't usually say it?" Fan Zhen asked: "In other words, this kind of thing happens all the time, so there is no need to report it to employees?"
Gao Qiang glanced at Fan Zhen guiltily, coughed and said: "They only need to pay me, I usually don't care about other things."
Fan Zhendao: "So Gao Yuanwai tacitly allowed them to do this."
"I object."
Li Min stood up immediately and said, "The other party is trying to induce my client to answer."
"invalid objection."
Zhang Fei said: "The defendant must answer this because it involves an issue of division of responsibilities."
Gao Qiang couldn't help but glance at Li Min.
Li Min nodded.
Gao Qiang then said: "I just asked them to collect the money. Because of the lesson from the previous year, I also know that this kind of thing may happen, but I have no choice. Otherwise, the money will not be collected." , maybe they will be injured themselves, and I will have to pay for them to buy medicine."
Fan Zhen asked again: "Just now, Gao Yuanwai kept saying that he would just collect the money. I wonder how much Gao Yuanwai had agreed with them to pay?"
Gao Qiang said: "Nine hundred guan, I spent 800 guan to earn this hundred guan, this is not too much."
Fan Zhendao: "What I want to ask is, do you want them to only collect 900 guan, or do you want them to only pay 900 guan?"
Gao Qiang muttered for a moment, "Only nine hundred strings."
Fan Zhendao: "Then I can think that it doesn't matter how much money they charge."
Gao Qiang said: "If they can collect nine hundred guan, it is considered good."
Fan Zhendao: "I would also like to ask the senior official to answer my question. Is it okay no matter how much money they charge?"
Gao Qiang said: "I didn't restrict them."
"I'm done asking."
Fan Zhen sat down.
Li Min stood up again and asked: "Gao Yuanwai, in the purchasing contract you signed with the imperial court, is there any stipulation on how much tax you can only collect each year?"
Gao Qiang shook his head and said: "No, the contract only states the price I paid, but it does not state how much tax I can collect."
"I don't have a problem anymore."
Later, Fan Zhen reported that another victim appeared in court. He was a young man named Cao Qing. This man came to court, and he was similar to the old lady. He was frothing at the mouth and accused the other party: "Those rogues , like grass bandits, broke into my house, stole our food, and treated my wife with contempt."
I didn't cry, but the more I talked about it, the more excited I got, and I started to slap the case.
Zhang Fei had no choice but to bang the gavel, "Plaintiff, please control your emotions."
Ma Xiaoyi also came forward and asked Cao Qing to sit down.
After Cao Qing sat down, Li Min stood up and said, "Cao Qing, did those scoundrels rush into your house without saying a word?"
Cao Qing was stunned for a moment, "That's not true. My family only has more than 20 acres of land, but they asked me to pay four stones of grain. This is twice the tax. If I pay, what will I eat?"
Li Min said: "So it was you who refused them first, and then they broke into your house and took away your food?"
Cao Qing said: "They collect taxes randomly, why don't you say anything?"
Li Min said: "Please answer my question. Did you refuse to pay taxes first before they broke into your house?"
Cao Qing said emotionally: "They wanted to charge me more taxes, so I refused."
Li Min smiled helplessly and added: "Then they rushed into your house."
Cao Qing nodded.
Li Min said: "What is your wife doing at this time?"
Cao Qing said: "My wife also wanted to come up and stop them, but I never thought that one of them would take the opportunity to hug my wife."
Li Min said: "So it was your wife who came up to stop them first, and the physical collision between the two parties occurred."
Cao Qing said: "That thief hugged my wife on purpose."
Li Min ignored him at all, but said to Zhang Fei: "I'm done asking."
Fan Zhen stood up and asked, "Have they explained why you have to pay so much tax?"
"No." Cao Qing shook his head.
Fan Zhendao: "Then do you have any questions?"
Cao Qing said: "Of course I asked, but they told me to stop talking nonsense and hand over the food quickly. That's when we started to quarrel."
"Thank you."
Fan Zhen nodded and said to Zhang Fei: "I have no other questions."
Next, the defendant Jin Dabao appeared in court. He was a fair and fat middle-aged man, looking rich from head to toe.
Fan Zhen stood up and said, "Jin Dabao, when did you buy the two taxes in Gaoquan Township?"
Jin Dabao said: "I bought it in November last year, and the tax collected is this year's tax."
Fan Zhen asked: "Then do you know anything about what the people you hired did at Cao Qing's house?"
Jin Dabao said: "I only learned about it recently. I only care about collecting money. I don't care about the rest."
Fan Zhendao: "So you tacitly approved of their behavior?"
Jin Dabao said: "The people I hired are all experienced people, and they can't make mistakes."
Fan Zhen asked: "What does it mean to be experienced?"
Jin Dabao said: "Those people used to be errands in the government office, responsible for collecting taxes. I told them, if the government usually tells you to collect taxes, then you should collect taxes how you do. We don't know how to collect taxes either. There’s nothing wrong with following what the government does, right?”
Fan Zhen's eyes flashed with excitement and he asked, "So do you think the government usually collects taxes this way?"
Jin Dabao said: "I don't know that. If not, I will have to trouble them. I made an agreement with them at the beginning, and I can't keep an eye on them every day."
Fan Zhendao: "I have no other questions for the time being."
Li Min stood up and raised a piece of evidence, "President, these are the confessions we asked from more than ten villages in Hezhong Prefecture. These confessions can fully prove that the actions of Jin Yuanwai's men are not normal in the official life." The process of collecting taxes here often happens, and some people complain, but the government never holds them accountable."
"Submit."
The officials in the VIP seats all have expressions of hopelessness. As long as they sit here, they feel that they are a vulnerable group, MD, and everything will be blamed on them.
Aren’t you afraid of officials now?
(End of chapter)
