Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Chapter 615 The Method in the Bottle

"I see."

Cai Bian nodded thoughtfully, and then whispered to Shangguan Jun and the others: "No wonder we encountered some cases before and were often puzzled, because we always thought about the defendant's morality, good and evil, and never thought about our own morality. Good and evil have long been restrained."

Shangguan Jun nodded and said: "According to the teacher's intention, we can only use limited morals, good and evil to try cases, and let the rules prevail."

Ye Zuqia said: "This is completely reversed from the previous way of adjudicating cases. Presumably this is why common people like to watch teachers adjudicate cases."

The four of them quickly comprehended the essence of Zhang Fei's words, it was really enlightening, Mao Sai suddenly realized, because they usually seemed a little powerless when they encountered some cases, and later they had some doubts about their own judgment. But they didn't know where the problem was, and Zhang Fei repeatedly emphasized their mistakes, but they still couldn't grasp the trick, but after the lecture in class, they completely understood, the problem was that they didn't realize, My own moral concept of good and evil has long been bound in a bottle, and the role that the presiding officer can play is actually very limited.

In Zhang Fei's words, it is very unprofessional.

Little did he know that Zhang Fei formulated this lesson based on their phenomena, of course they were the fastest to comprehend.

But those students haven't tried the case yet, and haven't felt the pressure of the judgment, so they still have some confusion on their faces, while some officials and scholar-bureaucrats behind them feel suddenly enlightened.

"This son really lives up to his reputation!"

Lu Gongru nodded, "A bottle of water and a piece of wood can explain such a complicated problem in an easy-to-understand way, even we have benefited a lot!"

Cai Yanqing said with emotion: "Actually, we didn't focus on water before."

Fan Zhen smiled slightly and said, "It's really good to put one's morality in a bottle!"

"What nonsense!"

Suddenly I heard a loud voice.

Everyone was startled and looked for the sound, only to see Liang Youyi standing up suddenly, and said to Zhang Fei: "This bottle is used to hold water, and water is the most important thing. If there is no water, what is the use of this bottle? I see you These words are simply putting the cart before the horse, and bewitching people."

His words immediately attracted many people to nod in support.

Because according to Zhang Fei's words, water is Confucianism, and the bottle is the law of the legal system, which means that the legal system is more important than Confucianism, which is obviously carrying private goods.

Many old Confucians were very dissatisfied with this, but they didn't want to make noise in class, but Liang Youyi just came to fight, so he didn't care so much, anyway, he wouldn't be caught if he made noise in class.

really?

Seeing that it was Liang Youyi, Zhang Fei's expression changed suddenly, and he scolded: "Come on! Let this old man be taken down by the chief judge."

"Yes!"

That Ma Xiaoyi jumped out from nowhere, and regardless of Liang Youyi's identity, he directly grabbed Liang Youyi's shoulder with one hand.

This turn of events shocked everyone present.

"and many more!"

Cai Yanqing hurriedly called to stop, and then said to Zhang Fei: "Mr. Zhang, why are you arresting people?"

Although Zhang Fei hates this, he has always been reasonable and will not do things to the extreme, and he will not do anything that violates the law.

Zhang Fei frowned and said: "The president of the court said before that he hopes everyone can abide by the rules of the church, but this person not only does not obey the rules, but also makes loud noises in class, and also relies on his elders to sell his elders, blatantly distorting the meaning of the president, in order to Come to deceive people's hearts, it's extremely hateful."

"You kid is too deceitful."

Liang Youyi, who came back to his senses, was furious when he heard Zhang Fei's words, "This is not the imperial court, it's okay if I say a few words, why do you arrest people, if you don't understand today, old man I will never let you go."

"Not bad!"

How could Wei Yingfang let go of this opportunity to quarrel, and immediately stood up and said, "It's not illegal to interrupt President Zhang's class by talking in class. Why should President Zhang arrest someone?"

Zhang Fei said: "Isn't this illegal? He openly spread rumors in class to confuse people, encouraged students to deceive their teachers and exterminate their ancestors, and maliciously slandered Confucianism. The chief judge must arrest him for interrogation to find out what his intentions are. What's the motive behind it?"

Everyone is dumbfounded. Liang Youyi is clearly defending Confucianism. How come you slander Confucianism? It is purely unfounded!

Just as Cai Yanqing was about to speak, Yuan Jiang suddenly grabbed him and signaled him not to speak with his eyes.

Cai Yanqing glanced at Yuan Jiang, and suddenly reacted, thinking, this kid's class is just like his court, it's confusing and frightening!

Liang Youyi blushed with anxiety, "You are so bloody, I just question your point of view, if you can't speak up to me, then you slander me and spread rumors, I will sue you."

Zhang Fei scolded angrily: "You are the one who spitting blood, but you still beat him up, you must be punished."

Those students looked back and forth with blank faces. This sudden change really frightened them.

Fan Zhen suddenly stood up and said, "Presiding Judge Zhang, although Mr. Liang made some rude remarks, it's not like he's spewing blood and spreading rumors to cause trouble. He's just questioning some of your points of view."

The implication is that you are actually spitting blood.

However, Zhang Fei said confidently: "Mr. Fan doesn't need to plead for him. He is just here to make troubles and provoke troubles. Did I say that water is not important? I mean that the bottle should be the main thing, and the object of my talk is the future. The presiding judges are not ordinary people. They are people who use water, so for them, how to use the water is the most important thing. This distorts the meaning of the President."

Liang Youyi opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

He... He really didn't think of this.

He neglected that this class is for a specific object.

But Zhang Fei spoke so lightly, but if he denied that he didn't understand, wouldn't he be stupid, but if he said that he understood, he couldn't refute this point of view.

Fan Zhen said, "Even so, it shouldn't be a crime."

Zhang Fei said with a serious face: "Respecting the teacher is the belief of the chief judge, which is sacred and inviolable. I cannot tolerate any behavior that violates the respect for the teacher. In my opinion, this person's behavior is simply It is heinous and must be taken down."

"you."

Liang Youyi said: "You are simply arguing, and I am not your student, so why can't I question your point of view?"

"Yes, Confucianism also respects the old and loves the young. Why don't you follow it?"

Many literati and officials also came out to help, scolding Zhang Fei for not practicing martial arts, your reasoning is too far-fetched!

Ye Zuqia looked at their pale faces anxiously, and couldn't help but think to himself, this is the first time in the teacher's class.

Facing everyone's crusade, Zhang Fei did not panic at all, and suddenly asked the students: "Do you think I should convict Mr. Liang?"

The students looked at each other, then shook their heads slightly.

Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"

A student plucked up his courage and said, "Because Mr. Liang just said one sentence, even if it is wrong, it is not illegal."

Zhang Fei said: "But he obviously didn't abide by the principle of respecting teachers. In this class, I am the teacher, but he not only interrupted my lecture, but also spoke rudely to me. This is how I will teach students in the future, and how my students will be taught." Respect my teacher, why can't I punish him?"

The student said: "Old Mr. Liang interrupted the teacher's lecture. The teacher can expel him, but he cannot be arrested!"

Zhang Fei asked, "What's your name?"

"The student's name is Shen Qing."

"very good!"

Zhang Fei suddenly smiled, first waved at Ma Xiaoyi, Ma Xiaoyi immediately let go, then cupped his hands and said to Liang Youyi: "Mr. Liang, I hope you can forgive me for what I offended just now."

That's it?

Liang Youyi was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, pointed at Zhang Fei and said: "You have humiliated this old man over and over again, if you don't give me an explanation today, this matter will never be over, even if you report it to the official, I will not be afraid. "

He was about to pass out.

Zhang Fei nodded, and then explained: "Actually, all of this was just to answer Mr. Liang's question. Should we focus on water or bottles?"

Liang Youyi was immediately dumbfounded.

What the hell?

You were in class just now?

Zhang Fei said: "If water is the main thing, I can use my morality to judge whether you are guilty, because I am the chief judge, and Mr. Liang, you are just a commoner now."

Having said that, he looked at the students again, "Do you think that scene just now was scary?"

One kind of students nodded one after another, they were indeed frightened just now.

Zhang Fei said: "If water is the main thing, this kind of situation will definitely happen. Of course, it will not be so simple and rude. For example, when a student and a teacher have a conflict, even if the student is reasonable, the presiding judge may still judge according to his own respect. The idea that teachers value morality, protect teachers, and think that students should not sue teachers, but this will obviously condone more people with bad intentions to be teachers, which is also a terrible phenomenon.”

The students nodded slightly.

This case actually happened, and it is not very rare.

Zhang Fei added: "For another example, in the previous case of murdering mothers in Guixiang, I personally do not want to convict Wu and Zhang, because I think she is really innocent and very pitiful, and what she has done Everything about her was forced and deserves everyone's sympathy. We should not make her life more difficult. This is not what Wu's mother expected, nor is it what the law expects.

But I can't do this, why, because I am the chief judge, he can't follow his own feelings, if I don't convict her, many elderly people may be killed because of this, which will even subvert the morality and ethics of the whole society.besides! "

He pointed out again, "There are many people here who are deliberately dealing with the imperial court, and have used various means to hinder the fair trial of the imperial court. Remember, it is a fair trial. This really hurts With my overwhelming sense of justice, I really want to execute them all directly, so that they can never open their mouths."

Quite a few people felt a shudder in their hearts, their spines felt cold, is it real or not?

Could it be that this is a Hongmen banquet, is it going to take us all together?

Zhang Fei asked, "Do I have the right to do this?"

Someone nodded, but then shook his head again.

"I don't know if the previous presiding judge had this power, but the chief judge certainly didn't have this power."

Zhang Fei picked up the bottle, "No matter how selfish they are, no matter how despicable their purpose is, no matter how vicious their methods are, as long as they don't break the law, I can't arrest them, because my sense of justice must be bound here. In the bottle, I can't judge whether they are guilty or not based on my own gains and losses, likes and dislikes.

Water is the constraint for everyone, and the bottle is the constraint for the chief judge. I will not explain these principles to the people, I will only tell you, because you joined the law school to become the chief judge. If If you can't focus on the bottle in your heart, then you won't be able to become a qualified chief judge.

Let’s talk about the case of killing mothers in Guixiang, why is the law stipulated in this way? Don’t the ministers of the court know that this phenomenon will happen? Of course they know, but there is no way. If this kind of behavior is allowed, it may harm a lot of people. Parents, will lead to moral decline.

In a sense, the bottle is also protecting the water inside from pollution.Do you all understand? "

The students nodded excitedly.

This class is so exciting, it's really ups and downs, immersive, much more interesting than studying with the teacher, and at this moment, they feel that they have learned a lot of knowledge, and they can't wait to become a chief judge .

Zhang Fei looked at Liang Youyi again, "Mr. Liang, can you forgive my reckless behavior just now?"

Liang Youyi kept blushing, and after struggling for a moment, he cupped his hands and said, "This old man hastily interrupted President Zhang's class, and it's also improper."

How dare he be serious? Zhang Fei couldn't be more clear. I know you guys are messing around. I won't arrest you just because I'm trapped in a bottle. If you want to release me, then I can arrest you. I am the Chief Judge.

Zhang Fei cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Liang, for being generous and not fussing with the younger generation."

Su Zhe stood up suddenly and said, "I would venture to ask, can the water in this bottle be changed at will?"

"Of course not."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "This can be explained by the court's legislation. In fact, there are many cases that make the law at a loss every year, but the court will never amend the corresponding law just because of a single case." Only when there are large-scale cases of the same type among the people, will the imperial court seriously consider whether this regulation should be revised or improved. Why is this?"

Cai Bian immediately replied: "Because the law comes from consensus."

"Exactly true."

Zhang Fei gave him an appreciative look, "Because the law is based on consensus, if you want to amend the law, you must also be based on consensus. Maybe a defendant, in a case, was treated unfairly because of the regulations." , but if this is just an example, it cannot shake the whole law, at most it can only be punished by virtue.

Because the law is based on consensus, if one person's injustice is used to destroy this consensus, more people may suffer unfair injustice.

As the presiding officer, one should not easily question the entire law because of a certain case, because there may be deviations between personal subjective feelings and people's consensus. Only when such cases have a mass effect, it must Consider the applicability of this statute.

And this is one of the principles of legislation. If you have the opportunity to participate in legislation in the future, you must consider this point. "

Everyone nodded frequently. Not only the students, but everyone present also became more deeply impressed by the law of the rule of law.

Especially this "consensus".

This is also Zhang Fei's first round of the concept of the law of the rule of law, to explain the principle of legislation.

Su Zhe suddenly asked again: "Since the water inside cannot be changed easily, can you add oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar?"

What are you discussing?

Do you cook?

Everyone was baffled by Su Zhe's question.

But Zhang Fei's heart was like a mirror, he shook his head and said with a smile: "It's best not to."

better not?

Isn't that possible?

How does this work?

Everyone looked at Zhang Fei suspiciously again.

Su Zhe said: "But Judge Zhang often adds oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar to it to change the taste."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Prosecutor Su is referring to the principles and explanations I gave to the regulations, right?"

Su Zhe nodded and said, "Exactly."

"That's a good question."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "I also know that many people are very dissatisfied with this. First of all, of course, you can't just add oil, salt, sauce and vinegar to change the taste, so the court is very cautious about this. Only I, the chief judge, have this power, and the reason is that I have published the concept of the law of the rule of law, and the imperial court of Hezhong Mansion was also established based on this concept.

Secondly, these principles and explanations must be reviewed by the Criminal Court, the Procuratorate, the Criminal Ministry, and the Dali Temple before they can be included in the "Song Xingtong".

Finally, once these interpretations and principles become written laws, I must also abide by them, strictly enforce them, and not change them, because all interpretations and principles will be bound in this bottle, although its taste has changed, its shape There is no change. "

As he said that, he looked at Su Zhe, "Does Chief Prosecutor Su have any other questions?"

Su Zhe smiled and said, "Thank you, President Zhang, for clarifying the confusion."

"No thanks."

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, and picked up the bottle again, "Do you think this bottle should be transparent or opaque?"

This question confuses everyone again.

Lu Gongru, Fan Zhen and the others also looked at each other in blank dismay.

What is transparent and what is opaque.

What the hell are you asking?

Although the four little king kong were a bit incomprehensible, they were all used to it.

Zhang Fei waited for a while, then looked at the scholar-officials behind him, seeing that they were also confused, he pondered for a while, and asked again: "If this bottle is opaque, only the person who filled it will know, what kind of legal thinking is this?"

Cai Bian's eyes lit up suddenly, and he said, "Punishment cannot be known, but power cannot be measured."

"Not bad!"

Zhang Fei nodded in relief, and asked again: "Then what do you think now, is it better to be transparent or opaque?"

"Of course it's better to be transparent."

Shangguan said suddenly.

Zhang Fei asked: "Why?"

Shangguan Jun said: "Actually, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Zichan's "Zhu Xing Shu" had already broken the idea that the punishment cannot be known, so the power cannot be measured. There will be written law books from generation to generation, and they will be more detailed. Naturally, it is better to be transparent. Otherwise, this would not have happened.”

But Ye Zuqia questioned: "This statement is wrong. Although there are written laws, many of the regulations are vague. , and there is no clear punishment. This is not the punishment is unknown, but the power is unpredictable."

Zhang Fei looked at Ye Zuqia again, "Ye Zuqia, what do you think about this issue of transparency?"

Ye Zuqia said: "I don't think there is anything wrong with this proposition, and there are detailed explanations for it in the Tang law. There are many similarities, golden rules and jade rules, and they are all inclusive. Without this law, many misconducts cannot be convicted of the other party. , For example, those rascals who go to make things difficult for the shopkeepers, if he doesn’t hit people, or steal, or mess around in front of the door, you have no way to convict him.”

Shangguan Jun immediately said: "But it is also possible that the presiding officer will borrow this law, bend the law for personal gain, use the public to seek personal gain, nothing, then the presiding officer has the final say."

Ye Zuqia said: "There is no way to do this. After all, the law cannot cover all criminal acts. If the presiding officer came to convict the crime, wouldn't it be broken bottles to get water? This is the consensus of the illegal system."

Shangguan Jun said: "However, from the initial unpublished laws to the written regulations now with more and more detailed explanations, this is an improvement, not a regression. It is naturally better to be transparent."

These four young King Kongs are all extremely talented. He has been with Zhang Fei for so long, and he already has his own unique views on many issues. The debate between the two of them also aroused the thinking of everyone present.

But after thinking about it and thinking about it, there was no answer, and I felt that what the two of them said made sense.

Gradually, everyone's eyes turned to Zhang Fei, and even Ye Zuqia and Shangguan stopped arguing.

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and said: "Actually, both of you are right, and your arguments are actually the same, that is, both think that transparency is good, but it can't be done, and the reality doesn't allow it. But we have to move towards that goal, right?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Zhang Fei raised the bottle again, "Can you see the water in it?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Then can you see this bottle?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Zhang Fei said: "Just now we have explained, should we mainly use water or bottles?"

"bottle."

"And what does the bottle represent?"

"The law of the law."

"That's right, so one of the keys to the rule of law is to let everyone see the bottle clearly."

Zhang Fei said: "That's why, the imperial court has been pursuing an open trial, even if it's too cold to hold a pen, just to let everyone see this bottle. , some unfathomable disadvantages."

These words also won the nods of approval from Fan Zhen, Su Zhe, and Lu Gongru.

To put it simply, it is to use a transparent system to make up for opaque laws.

In fact, as a lawyer who came from a thousand years later, of course, I hope to put an end to the phenomenon that the punishment cannot be known, and the power cannot be measured. This is what most people in the legal profession pursue.

What you think is good may not be suitable for everyone, but what you think is bad may be very suitable for everyone.

In the legal world, this person's ideal cannot override the consensus, and the consensus is often based on realistic needs.

Zhang Fei is a lawyer, not an idealist, but a pragmatist. It is ironic to say that most of his current ideals of family and country are still infected by Xu Zhiqian. His previous ideals were only to win lawsuits and make money , very superficial.

Although he doesn't like pocket crimes such as "due deeds", he also does not approve of the abolition of these pocket crimes.

Because as long as you dare to abolish it, the number of rascals on the street will increase day by day, and all the energy of the imperial court will be put on it, maybe it can't be handled well.

If punishment is unknown, power cannot be measured. This has its reason and value, especially in an era of lack of justice.

"So, the content of this class is to let you remember this bottle."

After speaking, Zhang Fei turned his head to look at Li Si again.

Li Si immediately led the three servants to the classroom, and saw that they each had a tray with the same small bottle as Zhang Fei's.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Today is the teacher's first day in class with them, so I also prepared a small gift for you, which is this vase, one for each of you, and put it in front of your desk to remind yourself all the time."

This gift is really unique!

But also a big surprise.

The students said in unison: "Thank you teacher."