Suddenly there were loud boos outside!
In the past, on such occasions, the common people dared to call "dog officials". After all, this law does not punish the public, but they did not dare to scold the Imperial City Secretary. No one could guarantee that there would be no people from the Imperial City Secretary in the crowd. In case of suffering What about revenge.
They can only make all kinds of strange sounds to express their anger.
Zhao Bian drank tea selectively and did not immediately stop the people. This is what the Imperial City Division deserves.
But then again, the layman is watching the fun, while the expert is watching the door.
This Liu Renzan is indeed a veteran in officialdom. In such a short period of time, he made the wisest choice.
This success is also the imperial power, and failure is the imperial power.
He relied on the imperial power to feel confident, but at this moment he was forced to confess by the imperial power.
Liu Renzan knew very well that the Imperial City Division only needed to be responsible to the emperor. Their life and death were completely in the hands of the emperor, and the judiciary could not punish him.
Therefore, when he considers anything, he must start from the imperial power.
If he still insists that Hu Changbai and Qiu He are rebellious and even play rogue, Zhang Fei doesn't have much choice. He can't dig out their hearts and see if "Conspiracy" is engraved on them. The word "reverse".
But in this way, it is enough to prove that their Imperial City Department has been very negligent in their work and failed to safeguard the interests of the emperor. This is very fatal to them. If they do this, how can the emperor still return the favor? will believe them.
However, admitting that they only wanted to perform meritorious service is to deny that Hu Changbai and Qiu He had any intention to rebel. Even if they were beaten into submission, it did not violate the purpose of the Imperial City Division because it did not harm the emperor's interests. They still said those controversial words, and in a sense, they were still safeguarding the imperial power.
As for safeguarding imperial power, it is appropriate to kill the wrong person rather than let him go.
On this point, the emperor's thoughts were of course different from those of Zhao Pian.
What Zhao Pian cares about is justice, while what the emperor cares about is loyalty.
Wang Gong knew the truth, and couldn't help but admire him. He lowered his voice and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, it's really wonderful just now! You actually forced him to admit it. This... this may be our only chance of winning."
Zhang Fei smiled slightly and said: "It's not possible, but certain. If they don't take the initiative to admit this case, it's impossible for us to win. After all, Hu Changbai did say those words."
Wang Gong nodded, "Yes, yes! This!"
He didn't know what to say. The key point was that Zhang Fei acted very confident, as if he had everything under control, but in fact he only had one chance.
"Prosecutor Zhang, when will you send someone to track down the soldiers from the bridge camp?"
Qi Ji on the side suddenly asked sourly.
We promised to be a team player, but ended up doing it privately.
Zhang Fei handed over the copy, "Aren't you the one who can write this copy? Why don't you ask me?"
"I didn't...!"
Qi Ji suddenly shut up, glanced at the copywriting again, pointed at Zhang Fei and said, "So it's you!"
"Ahem!"
Zhang Fei stopped him with his eyes.
Qi Ji suddenly said with lingering fear: "Prosecutor Zhang, you are really a very talented person and very brave!"
If Liu Renzan came out with the report just now, the procuratorate would be quite embarrassed, because the procuratorate did not conduct an investigation.
The main reason was that Zhang Fei was worried that if he investigated, he would alert the enemy. After all, the investigative capabilities of the Imperial City Division should not be underestimated, so he just ordered the procuratorate to investigate as usual, which was very ordinary.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Because I know they definitely didn't investigate anyone else."
Wang Gong said: "Why is Prosecutor Zhang so sure?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because I have investigated related cases. Cases like this are either magnified or used to merit merit. The Imperial City Division has arrested Hu Changbai and Qiu He and it has been better, but even Liang Yuhou and the others are better off." We haven’t investigated it yet, so it’s obviously the latter, and the reason has just been made very clear by Commander Wu.”
Wang Gong and Qi Ji both nodded slightly.
This is indeed very unreasonable, but they have never thought of finding loopholes in the Imperial City Division's execution procedures and then using this to make a comeback.
Over there, Li Lei was holding his forehead in frustration. Zhang Fei actually forced his employer to acknowledge such a win-win situation.
It’s true that even the gods can’t save you!
At this time, Li Guozhong suddenly put his handkerchief in front of him.
Li Lei took a closer look and saw the word "loyalty" written on the handkerchief. He turned his head and glanced at Li Guozhong.
Li Guozhong said: "The main thing now is to keep our employer."
Li Lei understood immediately.
At this time, Zhao Pian also asked: "Does the defense have any questions to ask?"
"have!"
Li Lei raised his hand subconsciously.
After seeing this, Li Guozhong said: "Calm down, I have told you a long time ago that losing to Zhang Prosecutor is a matter of course. Don't lose confidence because of this."
"yes!"
Li Lei immediately took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and carefully thought back to the other party's question. After a while, he stood up and said: "Liu Gongjie."
"ah?"
Liu Renzan seems to have fallen into semi-despair and has no hope for Li Lei and others. He has admitted it himself, so how can they save him.
But when he raised his head and glanced at Li Lei, he saw the confidence in Li Lei's eyes, and hope suddenly ignited in his heart.
Li Lei asked: "In the morning, Marquis Liang Yu once said that people in this camp often complained, but as far as I know, the Imperial City Division has not arrested any of them before. I believe the Imperial City Division has also You should have heard of these complaints, so why did you suddenly arrest Hu Changbai and Qiu He this time?"
Why were Hu Changbai and Qiu He suddenly arrested this time? what why? Liu Renzan blinked in confusion and looked at Li Lei again. Suddenly he looked excited and coughed, "Yes, of course our Imperial City Division has heard complaints from people in the camp, but our Imperial City Division will not The main reason for arresting people randomly is because of this timing."
"This timing?"
Li Lei immediately asked: "What does Mr. Liu mean by this?"
Liu Renzan pondered for a while and said: "Actually, it was mainly because of the hearing on the sailor's desertion."
Li Lei asked again: "What does this have to do with the hearing?"
Liu Ren praised: "Because some military camp topics were involved in that hearing, although the Holy Lord ruled the country and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in subsidies and compensation, our Imperial City Department was also very worried that someone would take advantage of this hearing. He would come to do evil things, because many people were talking about it at that time.
Therefore, our Imperial City Division sent many spies, and this case was established. Of course, our Imperial City Division does not want to expand the case, but hopes to act as a deterrent.
Because the responsibilities of our Imperial City Department are still different from those of the police station and the prosecutor's office. We mainly protect the Holy One and maintain the stability of the country. We must supervise and take action on anything that damages the stability. "
Li Lei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you very much Mr. Liu for answering my questions truthfully."
Liu Renzan also cast a grateful look at him. It’s really not a bad idea to invite you.
Sima Guang, Lu Gongzhu and others looked at Li Lei and Liu Renzan with contempt.
How shameless!
After Li Lei sat down, Zhao Peng looked at Zhang Fei again. Zhang Fei stood up and said, "I have asked all my questions."
Li Lei also said that he had no questions to ask.
Zhao Pian said: "Since both the prosecution and defense have no questions to ask, let's take a short break first, and both sides can make closing arguments later."
"This Erbi is really cunning. He actually used his allegiance to the official to make a fuss."
Wang Gong frowned.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Forget it! They have already given up the lawsuit and are working hard to save their lives. We can't force too much, lest the gains outweigh the losses."
Qi Ji sighed: "Well, even if we convict him, we can't punish them. In the end, we still have to leave it to the Imperial City Division to handle it themselves."
Everyone knows that it is the emperor who will deal with them in the end. As long as they hug the emperor's thigh, their lives will not be in danger.
Sima Guang and the others also took advantage of this stall to whisper and discuss their next plan.
At present, the fact that Liu Renzan has been beaten by the Imperial City Secretary is illegal, so it involves a question, how to punish Liu Renzan.
They couldn't easily let go of the Imperial City Division, so this involved the next issue, the game between the prime minister and the emperor.
The judiciary has no control over this matter, because the rules are like this, and the judiciary can only make decisions based on the rules.
After taking a short rest, Zhang Fei stood up first, looked around, and after brewing some emotions, he said loudly: "As for the first witness Hu Changbai and the second witness Qiu He, they were from ordinary backgrounds and were only guards Ma Qiao. Two very, very ordinary soldiers in the battalion.
This year is already halfway through, but according to our investigation, they only rest for less than five days. The rest of the time, they mostly live on the edge of the river. They have to go to the river to work before the fifth watch every day, or they work as The trackers pulled the passing boats and were busy until the sun went down.
It’s day after day, year after year.
They do the hardest and most tiring work all year round, but rarely receive sufficient salary, let alone any rewards. But they still regard the military camp as their home and are never willing to leave. What excellent soldiers they are. However, they just complained a few words casually when they were drunk. This is a normal thing and anyone would complain about it.
I believe that all of you sitting here, as well as the audience outside the hospital, will complain all day long if the employer gives you less gifts even during the Chinese New Year.
However, these extremely common complaints fell into the ears of those with ulterior motives, and turned into slanderous remarks about government affairs, disrupting military morale, and plotting rebellion. And the two of them have also become tools for others to get promoted and make money.
And he was tortured. If he had not confessed, he might not be able to sit here today and let the truth be revealed to the world. And all this. "
Having said this, he looked at Liu Renzan, Li Zhien and others over there, "They are all given by the Imperial City Division. As Liu Gongshi himself said, the Imperial City Division's duty is to protect the Holy Emperor and maintain the stability of the country. However, they did not He promptly informed the Holy Father of the soldiers' complaints and difficulties, which aroused the attention of the court and found ways to improve the soldiers' living environment.
Instead, they only wanted to get promoted and make a fortune, and they intended to use torture to force two outstanding soldiers to confess their crimes in order to scare the monkeys and silence the soldiers. However, this was tantamount to deceiving themselves and deceiving others.
The ancients said that it is better to guard against the mouth of the people than to guard against the river. If the soldiers' complaints about life are turned into overwhelming resentments, the consequences will be disastrous.
Throughout the ages, there have been many cases that tell us that this is not about safeguarding stability or protecting the Holy One, but deliberately destroying the country and setting the Holy One on a cliff. Not only did they fail to fulfill their due responsibilities, but they also continued to create dangers for the country and the monarch.
This kind of situation must not happen again. Therefore, I implore the chief judge to judge the Imperial City Secretary for being beaten and abusing the punishment, so as to serve as a warning to others. As well as corresponding compensation to the first witness Hu Changbai and the second witness Qiu He. "
In ancient justice, there were relatively few compensation regulations, especially those involving the government and the people. However, the legal system emphasized the defense of personal interests, and compensation was indispensable. This is also a big difference between the Public Security Law and the old judiciary.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause and deafening cheers.
The common people did not dare to scold the Imperial City Division, they could only express their thoughts in this way.
Liu Renzan and Li Zhien stared at Zhang Fei with vicious eyes.
We have all admitted our mistake, and you still have to kill them all so that you can reap the benefits from now on.
Although Zhang Fei noticed their gazes, he didn't care at all. He nodded slightly and sat down gracefully.
Because he knew that after this case, the Imperial City Division would carry out reforms.
After Zhang Fei sat down, Li Lei stood up. He also looked around and said loudly: "Away from the incident, you can always talk and laugh. There may be some doubts and controversies in this case, but in the Imperial City Division, their responsibility is It was so important. Prosecutor Zhang also said that they wanted to protect the Holy Emperor, the imperial city, and the country. The pressure involved was unimaginable by others.
At that hearing, the behavior of the Chanzhou sailors may have been excusable in our eyes, but to the Imperial City Department, this was a very dangerous signal.
They must take this matter very seriously and not make any mistakes, because a small oversight may lead to a catastrophe.
Although the other party has repeatedly emphasized that guarding the people is more important than guarding Sichuan, you should not forget that in normal times, the Imperial City Division does not arrest people like this, just because this time is very special, and what Hu Changbai and Qiu He did They are not just complaining, they are also promoting a false statement, that is, accusing the imperial court of appointing a eunuch who does not know how to control floods to control floods.
But everyone knows that Cheng Dujian knows how to control floods very well and has made great achievements. The hearing did not deny this. For these reasons, the Imperial City Division chose radical methods. "
In the previous inquiry process, he did not mention Cheng Fang because he was afraid of causing complications. The key point was that he thought it was unnecessary. As long as the Imperial City Division did not admit it, it would be difficult to lose the lawsuit.
But now, he had to mention it.
But this caused bursts of boos from the people.
But it doesn't matter, because what Li Lei said was not meant for the common people to hear, but for the imperial court to hear.
"quiet!"
Zhao Peng knocked the gavel and shouted to stop.
After the people outside the hospital gradually calmed down, Li Lei continued: "The purpose of the Imperial City Division is always to maintain the stability of the country. Although Mr. Liu may be eager to perform meritorious deeds, this is not human nature. Therefore, I hope that when making a judgment, the Imperial Court should fully consider the public opinion and environment at the time, and put yourself in the shoes of the Imperial City Secretary. Thank you."
After that, he sat down.
The boos came from all directions again.
In the eyes of the people, Li Lei is a tough talker. Your employer has already pleaded guilty, but you are still here to hold on. It is really shameless.
Zhao Pian ignored the people and let them hush for a while while he carefully read the evidence they had just handed over.
Sima Guang and the others' eyes are now all fixed on Zhao Bian.
After a while, the people got tired of shouting and gradually became quiet.
Zhao Pian then raised his head, first struck it with a gavel, and then said loudly: "First of all, the president of this court is very grateful to both the prosecution and the defense for their wonderful arguments on this case.
Secondly, during the debate, the prosecution put forward a brand-new argument about "slandering the government", which has never appeared in other cases. Whether it can be established is still open to question.
This argument is crucial to this case, and the Imperial Court still needs to discuss it. Therefore, the decision will not be made today. The Imperial Court will make an explicit judgment after this argument is discussed clearly. This concludes today's trial and leaves the court. "
The people were immediately dumbfounded.
With everything being beaten like this, can't the verdict be made immediately?
Do you know how to judge cases?
They don't understand any brand-new arguments, they simply think that Zhang Fei's words are very reasonable, and there is no need to wait for another day to decide. Is there something fishy in it?
Zhao Pian ignored their complaints and asked people to pack up the copywriting and prepare to leave.
"gone!"
Fu Bi supported his knees with both hands and stood up slowly, but his face seemed to be covered with a mask of pain. The old servant beside him wanted to come over to help, but he stopped him with his peripheral vision.
The old servant was stunned for a moment, what is going on?
As everyone knows, Fu Bi is still a little stronger in front of Han Qi. Although he lost to you politically, he still beat you physically.
Han Qi seemed to be thinking about other things and didn't notice Fu Bi's little thoughts. He hurriedly called Fu Bi, "Yanguo, the other party has already confessed, why doesn't Yue Dao sentence him immediately?"
Fu Bi moved his muscles a little and said, "Yue Dao has just made it so clear. Didn't you understand?"
Han Qi said: "Isn't that an excuse?"
"of course not."
Fu Bi glanced at Zhao Pian, "I think Yue Dao wants to turn Zhang San's argument into a written precedent. In this way, no matter how Liu Renzan and others are dealt with in the end, at least this trial will still be fruitful and can Give the Imperial City Division some restrictions."
Han Qi nodded: "I see. Does this need to be discussed by your Legislative Council?"
Fu Bi thought for a while and said: "Unless it needs to be written into a written regulation, or someone is dissatisfied with it, otherwise, it does not need to be discussed by the Legislative Council."
Zhang Fei was not surprised that there was no immediate verdict. He packed up his papers and was about to leave when Li Guozhong suddenly came over, cupped his hands and said, "I really don't know if I can win against Prosecutor Zhang once in my lifetime."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "You guys are so unwilling to make progress, you probably won't be able to defeat me in your lifetime."
Li Guozhong was slightly surprised and said: "You don't want to make progress? Where do you start talking about this?"
We have been humbly learning from you!
Zhang Fei said: "At that hearing, I already hinted to you that you can't just practice lip service when fighting a lawsuit today. The key is to emphasize professionalism. On many issues, you must hire some professionals, and you can't just rely on yourself." The imagination and speculation are not enough to convince the public.
If they had invited Commander Wu here today, it might have been a different outcome. But what is disappointing is that you seem to have no idea about the operation of the Imperial City Division, how can you be undefeated! "
Li Guozhong frowned secretly and said: "But we are just a small Erbi. We can't recruit Commander Wu. We cannot compare with the Procuratorate in this regard."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "But your client status is not ordinary. As long as you open your mouth, you can even invite Ma Shuai. This is not a reason."
Li Guozhong smiled awkwardly, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Prosecutor Zhang, for your advice."
“I hope you can apply what you have learned”
Zhang Fei chuckled, cupped his hands and said, "Farewell."
"The other party has already admitted that he was beaten into submission and abused the punishment. Why doesn't the chief court judge immediately?"
Cheng Yi asked in a low voice, very confused.
Zhao Pianxiao asked: "Do you think Prosecutor Zhang's argument for slandering the government is reasonable?"
Cheng Yi nodded and said: "I think it is very reasonable. According to the relevant cases that I know, none of them are based on personal gains and losses, because this kind of complaint cannot deceive people. This is indeed an exquisite and rigorous argument." .”
Zhao Pian nodded and said: "That's why we can't make a verdict immediately."
Cheng Yi said in confusion: "The lower official is stupid and doesn't know what the president of the court means by this."
Zhao Bian explained patiently: "Although the Imperial City Secretary has admitted to subjugating and abusing punishment, he still insists on the crime of slandering the government, so this argument of Prosecutor Zhang becomes crucial.
And our Imperial Court must give a rigorous and clear explanation, leaving the Imperial City Department speechless and allowing this precedent to be applied to all similar cases.
Therefore, we must carefully consider how to use written judgments to distinguish complaints from slander. "
Cheng Yi finally understood, nodded and said: "I see, I understand."
After that, he said with embarrassment: "This public prosecutor is really knowledgeable!"
Zhao Pian said: "Don't be discouraged. There is no shortcut on this road. It requires rich experience."
Cheng Yi said: "But Prosecutor Zhang is not yet 30 years old."
Zhao Pian thought for a while, "About Prosecutor Zhang, I can only describe him as a genius."
At this point in the trial of the case, the work of the Procuratorate and Erbi has been completed, but the work of the Imperial Court has just begun.
On the second day, Zhao Pian called everyone together and even invited some bachelors with relatively high legal attainments from the Hanlin Academy to help. Among them, Fu Bi was working day and night to review cases of defamation of government affairs and study how to write This verdict.
If you want to package this case into a legal precedent, you must carefully consider your words and sentences. The key point is that the crime of slandering the government is a pocket crime, and it also involves imperial power. So how to draw the line and where to draw it? In fact, it is a test of your skills and you must be precise.
Fortunately, Zhang Fei has given a very clear framework, so after everyone's efforts, the imperial court finally issued the judgment on the case five days later. The reason why it did not choose to judge in court was because Zhao Peng believed that oral judgment might cause Ambiguity can be accurately expressed by directly giving a written judgment.
The result, of course, was that the Imperial City Secretary lost the case. The imperial court ruled that the Imperial City Secretary had been beaten into submission and abused the punishment. It also found Hu Changbai and Qiu He not guilty of slandering the government, and gave a very clear and detailed explanation.
However, this line is drawn very conservatively, basically for ordinary people, to ensure that ordinary people will not easily face this crime again.
Because there is a sentence in the explanation that specifies that the applicable object "should have no reputation, no influence, and should only proceed from the gain and loss of its own interests."
This sentence limits the entire legal precedent to very ordinary people. If the target is Su Shi, this legal precedent will not apply.
In fact, of course the ministers did not want this sentence to be written, but both Zhao Pian and Fu Bi believed that if it were not written like this, the emperor would not be able to pass the test, and it would not be widely applicable.
At the same time, the Imperial City Division was sentenced to compensate Hu Changbai and Qiu He respectively one hundred guan each.
This is required by the prosecutor's office.
Regarding how to deal with Liu Renzan, the imperial court also gave an accurate answer, which is to return it to the Imperial City Division for its own disposal in accordance with the law.
Judiciary can only judge in this way, because it is stipulated in this way, but naturally the courtiers will not give up!
I may take a day off tomorrow to go back to my hometown with my family and go through some household registration procedures.
(End of chapter)
