Wu Tian's answer seemed extremely contradictory. In order to seek peace, he actually went to rebel. This made people confused. Many people watching were dumbfounded. Can you say that?
This is simply outrageous!
However, the eyes of the senior officials sitting here were brightened.
Even Wang Anshi couldn't help but praise: "Their move is really clever and shameless!"
Sima Guang, on the other hand, had a gloomy look on his face and said very unhappy: "In full view of the public, he actually used such sophistry. These Er pens are really cunning."
Although there are gold belts for killing people and setting fires, there are no corpses for repairing bridges and roads.
But no one kills people and sets fire just for the gold belt. Even a three-year-old child wouldn't believe it if he told it.
Wen Yanbo stroked his long beard and said with a slight worry: "This is going to be troublesome!"
"What a coward!"
Zhao Xu was so angry that he couldn't help but cursed in a low voice.
But he was not scolding Wu Tian, but the government.
In Wu Tian's mouth, the government is like a jerk. The more you slap him, the more he will love you.
Cheap!
You usually don't behave like this in front of me.
Liu Zhao on the side heard this clearly and couldn't help but said: "Officials, this is not a coward. To govern a country is not to be brave and ruthless. If the court really goes all out, these grass bandits will be vulnerable and incompetent. But Is this really worth it? I don’t think so.
Moreover, these grass bandits have no fixed abode. Once our army arrives, if they flee into the mountains, it will only make our army futile. In comparison, Zhao'an actually saves time and effort. "
Zhao Xu didn't take it seriously and said: "I understand what Liu Sheren said, but the government is so weak, it may confuse more people to become bandits. If this goes on, how can we talk about peace in the world?"
Seeing that Long Yan was displeased, Liu Zhao hesitated for a moment and then said: "Who in the world is willing to be born a thief?"
Zhao Xu frowned and said nothing.
If there is peace and prosperity, who would be willing to fall into the trap of a bandit and lick blood from the tip of a knife?
Before the trial, almost everyone thought that Li Lei and the others were at the end of their game. If nothing unexpected happened, the Procuratorate should be able to take over today and give everyone an ending.
But in the end, something unexpected happened.
Because it is true that many grassroots bandits were imprisoned and became minor officials and generals in the Forbidden Army, and this is not a rare thing, it is very common.
The regular army's encirclement and suppression of the grass bandits is definitely a thankless task. The key is that the grass bandits are never stopped. Even if you make up your mind to kill them all, some grass bandits will soon appear.
After all, the economic environment is like this. Land is being annexed on a large scale. It's not like Bianjing. There are many jobs in the city, so they can only steal them.
From a human point of view, it is impossible to rebel in order to seek peace, but it is definitely feasible.
Then if the end of rebellion is Zhao'an, and if falling into a bandit becomes a self-recommendation, then how do you judge whether they want to rebel or fight for Zhao'an.
After all, people's hearts are separated from each other.
This is somewhat interesting.
Li Lei was also very proud of everyone's reaction. He took out a thick pile of evidence and said, "President, according to our investigation, there are at least a thousand officers and soldiers on Jingdong East Road who are former grass bandits." , including three commanders, six Yuhou, twenty-six Dutou, etc.
The experiences of some of them are very similar to Wu Tian's. They were all forced into desperation, so they became bandits. However, this was not their inner ambition. They still wanted to serve the country and make contributions. Some of them were ordered to do so by the government. After An, he did make a lot of contributions to the country.
In addition, before they were Zhao'an, as Wu Tian said, they had continued to grow their power, and had repeatedly repelled the government's encirclement and suppression, and were finally Zhao'an.
The only difference between the two is that they were not captured, but Wu Tian was captured by the Tax Department. His strategy of accepting the imperial edict obviously failed, and he could not escape death, but he was unwilling to accept the crime of rebellion, just because of this. This is the biggest humiliation for my client.
He longs to be a hero on the battlefield, not a traitor to his own country, which will make him die in peace. "
Although it is said that a successful king or a defeated bandit, the prerequisite for being punished is that you cannot be caught by the government before you are eligible to be punished. At this time, Wu Tian obviously did not have this qualification. He would probably be punished by death, but why did they He still wanted to appeal, but he didn't want to bear the reputation of being a traitor, because he was loyal to the emperor and the country at heart.
These words really affected many people, and they couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh!
Because ordinary people can feel Wu Tian's pain more than the difficulties of the government.
Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Fu Bi and others all saw it and were worried about not going to the interview!
The other party's goal is actually very clear, which is to take off the label of rebellion. You can decide the other charges as you like. If you say he committed adultery and robbery, we will accept them all.
Originally, the crime of rebellion and robbery were relatively vague, but as this lawsuit began, the definitions of the two became clear.
Of course, there is still a power game behind this, because many people think that Wu Tian is a robber, not a rebel, and these people are powerful people, so the procuratorate must provide enough convincing evidence to prove that Wu Tian is planning to overthrow the government. , the imperial court.
If the other party raises this point of view, how do you prove that he is doing all this to rebel, rather than to show his own methods and strive to be valued by the court, so as to join the court as an official.
Almost everyone looked at Zhang Fei.
How to break this game?
They couldn't think of a solution for a while.
Of course, this is the first time they have encountered it.
Zhang Fei was looking at Wu Tian. Seeing that his eyes were wet and he was sobbing, he couldn't help but smile and said: "This guy's acting skills are really good."
Qi Ji also felt some pressure and asked Zhang Fei: "What should we do?"
Wang Gong reminded in a low voice: "This Zhao'an is a strategy of the imperial court. We cannot deny Zhao'an easily. Otherwise, the imperial court will spend several times more effort to encircle and suppress those bandits, which will only result in more losses than gains."
Zhao'an is not a policy, but a flexible strategy. He is also worried that Zhang Fei will directly deny Zhao'an's strategy in order to convict Wu Tian. Then the court will have one less method to use against the enemy.
"This can't be true, and it can't be true."
Zhang Fei smiled slightly and added: "But those Er pens have really made a lot of progress, which is worth gratifying."
Qi Ji and Wang Gong were speechless for a while, but they were slightly relieved. After all, Zhang Fei was still in the mood to joke.
After Li Lei presented the evidence, Zhao Peng did not read it, but handed it over to the assistant trial officer.
Even without looking at it, he knew that most of the evidence was true. The imperial court had indeed ordered many bandits to be arrested, especially on Jingdong East Road.
Because the officers and soldiers there are relatively weak and not as strong as the Western Army, but the people are very tough and educated, and there are many strong people.
As Li Lei said, the government often sends troops to encircle and suppress the people first. When the encirclement and suppression is unfavorable, they turn to Zhao'an.
I won't issue an imperial edict from the beginning.
Zhao Pian suddenly said to Zhang Fei: "The prosecution can ask questions."
"yes."
Zhang Fei stood up and said to Wu Tian: "Wu Tian, just now you said that you first joined the army not because of your livelihood. Can you prove it?"
Li Lei was stunned and quickly asked: "About Wu Tian's ambition, can you go wrong?"
The young man said: "You can rest assured that this matter is absolutely true and cannot be wrong."
Li Lei nodded slightly and looked at Zhang Fei doubtfully. What's the mystery behind this?
Wu Tian replied: "Before I joined the army, my family was pretty good. I was a second-class household in the village. I had more than two hundred acres of land. I had no worries about food and clothing. I even read books and knew how to read. Just because I He is martial by nature and longs to go into battle to kill enemies and make achievements, so he chooses to join the army."
Zhang Fei asked: "Did your parents approve of you joining the army at that time?"
Wu Tian frowned, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes, shook his head and said: "My parents did not agree at first because they were worried that I would die on the battlefield, and few children from second-class households would take the initiative to join the army, but I insisted on doing this because it was my only wish and they had no choice but to leave it to me in the end."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "This must be why, after serving your sentence, you did not go back to inherit the family business, but chose to become a bandit because you felt that you were too shameless to see your parents again."
Wu Tian immediately said: "Of course not. After I was married to Qingzhou, my parents died of illness one after another."
"Really?" Zhang Fei was startled and said, "Did your parents suffer from illnesses before?"
Wu Tian shook his head, "My parents have always been in good health."
Zhang Fei frowned and said: "Then why did they suddenly die of illness one after another? Could it be that they were harmed by others."
Wu Tian frowned and gritted his teeth and said, "It's all because of this!"
"I object."
Li Lei suddenly stood up and said: "The deceased is great, what does the death of Wu Tian's parents have to do with this case? The prosecutor repeatedly mentioned my client's sad past, just to mess with my client's mind. In a moment of excitement, he said something that he couldn't understand." Confession that benefits you.”
Damn it! The casting was interrupted again, which was really annoying. Zhang Fei glanced at Li Lei depressedly, and then said to Zhao Bian: "I will explain the reason later."
Zhao Pian said: "Objection is invalid."
Li Lei sat down, gave Wu Tian a warning look with his eyes, and then looked at Zhang Fei, thinking to himself, it is indeed Zhang Daer's pen, every word he said is a trap, which is hard to guard against.
Li Guozhong also realized it later. He suddenly felt cold sweat and said in a low voice: "It was really dangerous just now. Fortunately, you reacted."
When Wu Tian received Li Lei's reminder, he reacted suddenly. He couldn't help but glance at Zhang Fei angrily and thought to himself, this person seems to be kind, but he never thought that he could be so despicable and shameless, using my parents to seduce me into making mistakes. I almost died. Got his way. He suddenly smiled at Zhang Fei and said calmly: "I was serving in Qingzhou at the time, so I don't know much about it."
When he was captured, he knew he was doomed. Although the subsequent changes in the situation gave him a glimmer of hope, he had already prepared for the worst. Now he became obsessed with a battle of wits and courage with Zhang Fei.
"well!"
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi both felt a sense of regret, and they were also aware of Zhang Fei's intentions.
If Wu Tian had a deep hatred for the government, how could he still want to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and would definitely want to rebel!
such a pity!
Faced with Wu Tian's provocative smile, Zhang Fei just smiled, "Hey, let's see how Grandpa Zhang handles you." He said to Zhao Bian: "President of the court, I hope that the witness Ge Changnian will be summoned."
Zhao Peng nodded.
Wu Tian couldn't help but frowned when he heard the name.
Soon, an old man in his fifties came to the court and stood on the witness stand, darting his eyes left and right, seeming very uneasy.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Uncle Ge Liu, there is no need to be afraid. Just answer everything truthfully."
"Why!"
Ge Changnian nodded dully.
"Please sit down!"
"Why!"
Ge Changnian touched the chair and sat down slowly.
Zhang Fei asked: "Uncle Ge Liu, are you Wu Tian?"
Ge Changnian glanced at Wu Tian on the prisoner's bench, nodded and said, "We know him. Our two families have been neighbors for decades. I can say that I watched him grow up."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then what is your impression of Wu Tian?"
Ge Changnian said: "He liked to dance with swords and sticks since he was a child, and he was very brave and fierce. He often fought with young people in the village. Later he joined the army, and no one was surprised."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Then do you know about Wu Tian being assassinated and sent to Qingzhou?"
Ge Changnian said: "Why don't you know?"
At this point, he sighed deeply, "This matter was widely spread at that time. My old brother Wu was trying to get him out of it, but he couldn't spend the money. However, no one was fished out. It is said that he had offended the high officials and no one dared to speak for him. His mother cried her eyes out because of this and died not long after.
Not long after his mother left, my old brother Wu couldn't hold on any longer and left too. Before he died, he entrusted me with the remaining 120 acres of fertile land at home. He also told me that when Wu Tian comes back, One hundred acres of the land will be given to Wu Tian, hoping that he can change his mind, farm at home, marry and have children, and the remaining twenty acres will be donated to me. "
Zhang Fei said: "It seems that Wu Tian's parents love Wu Tian very much."
Ge Changnian said: "They only have Wu Tian's son. How could they not love him? They were not willing to let Wu Tian join the army at the beginning. Later, they had no choice but to allow him to go. But they never thought that such a tragedy would happen. "
Zhang Fei said: "Did you hand over the land to Wu Tian?"
Ge Changnian seemed a little uneasy.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Uncle Ge Liu, you don't need to worry, just tell the truth."
Ge Changnian sighed: "It's my fault for not being able to save their family's land."
"How do you say this?" Zhang Fei asked.
Ge Changnian said: "I really wanted to hand over the fields to Wu Tian, but... not long after my brother Wu passed away, the government came and said that his family was extinct and took away all the fields. go back."
Zhang Fei said: "Didn't you tell them that their family also has a son serving abroad?"
Ge Changnian said: "Why didn't I say anything, but those people didn't listen at all."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Later, when Wu Tian came back, did you mention this matter to him?"
Ge Changnian nodded.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Does he know that his parents actually died because of him?"
Ge Changnian sighed, "Although I didn't say it, he must know that his parents had always been in good health, but they suddenly passed away one after another, not for him but for someone else."
Zhang Fei asked: "What was his reaction at that time?"
Ge Changnian said: "He was very excited at the time. He was going to find those people with a knife to take revenge. Fortunately, there were many people in our village at that time, and we finally stopped him."
Zhang Fei asked: "What happens next?"
Ge Changnian said: "After that, he stayed in the village for more than a month, taking care of his parents' graveyard, and then left without telling us. We don't know where he went."
Zhang Fei said: "Did he come back during this period?"
Ge Changnian shook his head and said: "Maybe he came back, because I saw his parents' graveyard being sorted out a few times, but I have never seen him."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Then do you know that he has become a famous bandit in Qizhou?"
Ge Changnian hurriedly shook his head and said: "I never knew about it before. We have heard of Huahua Taisui's name. How could we have imagined that Huahua Taisui was our former neighbor."
"Thank you Uncle Ge Liu."
After Ge Changnian died, Zhang Fei said to Zhao Bian: "According to Wu Tian's own oral facts and what Ge Liushu said, the tragedy of Wu Tian's family was all caused by the government. The hatred between his parents is not We live together, how could he still think about fighting on the battlefield and serving the country? He fell into the trap and became a bandit, but in fact it was for revenge, rather than longing for Zhao'an."
"I object."
Li Lei stood up and said, "The tragedy that happened to Wu Tian was caused by the general judgment of Song and Ming Dynasty at that time, not by the government. The other party made generalizations and tried to accuse Wu Tian of Song and Ming Dynasty without any evidence." His hatred was grafted onto the government and even the imperial court, which is extremely unfair to my client."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "We have a witness to prove this. This witness is the second master of Yunling Village, Luo Erchun, nicknamed Xiao Yan Luo."
"It is rumored that Luo Erchun will appear in court."
But I saw a middle-aged man wearing a green robe, with a long beard and an elegant demeanor coming to the court.
When this person appeared, many people were shocked.
Not the second in charge?
Not to mention wooden shackles and iron chains, he didn't even wear prison uniforms, and he was still dressed up so well.
what's the situation.
There was a lot of discussion for a while.
But those officials all knew that Luo Erchun was already a member of the Taxation Department. It was he who betrayed Wu Tian and the Taxation Department captured Wu Tian.
When he came to the court, Wu Tian couldn't bear it anymore. His bloodshot eyes were staring at Luo Erchun, and his whole body was trembling.
"quiet!"
Zhao Peng knocked the gavel.
The court police immediately put up a wooden sign.
The audience outside the door gradually became quiet.
Zhang Fei stood up and said, "Luo Erchun, what is your relationship with Wu Tian?"
Luo Erchun replied: "Wu Tian is the head of Yunling Village, and I am the second head. We usually treat each other as brothers."
Zhang Fei said: "Since you are brothers, why did you accept the tax department's inducement to surrender? Aren't you afraid that others will accuse you of betrayal?"
Luo Erchun said: "Because in comparison, I am more afraid of Wu Tian."
"Afraid of Wu Tian?" Zhang Fei asked, "How do you say this?"
Luo Erchun said: "Wu Tian is vicious and vicious, and sometimes very crazy. I think that if I stay with him, I will die on the street sooner or later. It just so happens that the tax department promised me a chance to change my ways, so I decided to agree to the tax manage."
Zhang Fei asked: "Crazy? Where do you start talking about this?"
Luo Erchun said: "We grass bandits are usually forced into desperation and only seek money and survival. We will not take the initiative to provoke the government, but Wu Tian is an exception. He likes to provoke the government very much. And humiliate those officials, but I think if this continues, it will definitely be a dead end."
Zhang Fei asked: "Can you give an example of how he provoked the government and humiliated officials?"
Luo Erchun said: "About five or six years ago, when the county had just collected the autumn tax, he suddenly led a team of troops to attack the government's granary and burned thousands of stones of grain.
I don't understand why he did this. It would be a pity to burn this food. Why not transport it back to the village, even if it is distributed to the poor?
What is the purpose of taking such a big risk just to burn the food?
He did not explain at the time, but then he wrote a letter to the local county government, telling those officials that the county government would send him one thousand dan of grain every year, otherwise, he would burn more granaries. "
Zhang Fei asked: "Did he succeed?"
Luo Erchun nodded and said, "He succeeded. The local county government sends a thousand shi of food to our village every year."
boom!
Hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't sit still anymore and slapped his palm on the tea table next to him.
Liu Zhao on the side could not help but tremble a little.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Why?"
Luo Erchun said: "Because taxation is related to the performance of officials, if they cannot pay the full amount of taxes, their official positions may not be guaranteed, so the county government is very willing to spend a thousand shi of grain to buy a stable life.
Although the food obtained was good, since then, the brothers in the village worshiped Wu Tian very much, and he became even more serious. Not only did he rob official silver, but he also wrote to Duan Chengping, the Marquis of Yu of the Qing Dynasty, asking Duan Chengping to give him his concubine, otherwise he would attack the officials from the capital who came to inspect Qizhou. "
Zhang Fei asked in disbelief: "He succeeded again?"
Luo Erchun nodded, "Duan Chengping's concubine has always lived in our village. Wu Tian doesn't necessarily like her that much, but whenever he entertains guests, he must let Duan Chengping's concubine accompany him. Showing off his achievements and how he humiliated those officials."
All the officials present gradually held their breath.
After these words, whoever wants to speak for Wu Tian is simply the enemy of all officials.
"well done!"
Suddenly I heard a shout.
Everyone looked at it immediately.
Who is cheering!
stand out!
I'll kill you!
Many officials' faces turned green with anger.
Zhang Fei held back his smile and said, "Hasn't the government ever thought of sending troops to encircle and suppress you?"
Luo Erchun smiled.
Zhang Fei asked: "Why are you laughing?"
Luo Erchun said sarcastically: "The government has thought about encircling us and sent out many troops. However, the Qingping army's combat effectiveness is too poor and they are no match for us. Once, when two to three hundred officers and soldiers came, Wu Tian used his own People known to the Qingping Army directly lured more than fifty officers and soldiers to surrender, and almost defeated them all.
It is precisely because of this that Wu Tian believed that the Taxation Department was as vulnerable as the Qingping Army, so he personally led his troops to rescue Liu Lian. "
"You're talking nonsense."
Wu Tian suddenly became furious, stood up suddenly, pointed at Luo Erchun and said: "If you, a villain, hadn't encouraged me and given me wrong information, how could I have been fooled, you ungrateful villain?"
After saying that, he was held down by two court police officers.
"Prisoner."
Zhao Pian stopped and said, "If you continue to act unruly here, don't blame this court president for putting shackles on you again."
Wu Tian didn't want to bring that thing with him, so he gasped for air and stared at Luo Erchun with hatred in his eyes.
Luo Erchun seemed really afraid of him and didn't dare to see him.
Zhang Fei asked: "What happened next?"
Luo Erchun said: "Later, some local gentry came forward to mediate the conflicts between us and the government, and also gave Wu Tian some benefits. Wu Tian then restrained himself a little, but once he had the opportunity, he would still find ways to humiliate those officials. .”
Zhang Fei asked: "Why did he do this?"
Luo Erchun said: "I was curious at first, but it wasn't until one of his close confidants accidentally leaked something while drunk that I found out that his parents were killed by the government, including him himself. The official was humiliated, so he did what he did.”
(End of chapter)
