Chapter 321: Your Views

Although Lu Huiqing spoke constantly of fairness, justice, and neutrality, in his heart he held no respect for the law whatsoever. Deep down, he was even more traditional than Gu Ji.

The law was merely a weapon in his political struggles.

He believed that cutting grass without removing the roots would simply allow it to grow again when the spring wind blew.

Things had already reached this point—they held absolute advantage, and His Majesty clearly favored them. Since people were greedy by nature, he hoped to use this opportunity to deal a crushing blow to the conservatives.

This time, he had managed to ensnare quite a few conservative backbone members in his net.

But he also knew Xu Zun’s character. Although Xu had a good relationship with Wang Anshi, if these words reached Xu Zun’s ears, he would probably end up imprisoned as well.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Fei was clearly more reasonable and understood the stakes involved. The key point was that Zhang Fei was also Xu Zun’s son-in-law.

Therefore, he wanted to achieve this goal through Zhang Fei.

But as the saying goes, when striking a snake, aim for the vital spot seven inches from the head.

This blow only struck the opponent’s tail. It might boost morale, but to think it could sever anything was rather wishful thinking. After all, conservative leaders like Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo were still doing just fine. If this was handled poorly and they bit back, it would be quite troublesome.

Especially using the prosecutor’s office to fabricate charges—this was indeed somewhat risky.

After discussing with Zhang Fei, Lu Huiqing also felt that handling things impartially was the best approach, to avoid the losses outweighing the gains.

What if there was an unexpected pleasant surprise?

No one could say for certain.

“Zhang San, please wipe your face first. I’ve already instructed Xiaotao to heat some water.”

As soon as Zhang Fei returned home, the virtuous Gao Wenyin immediately handed him a hot towel.

“Thank you, my lady.”

Zhang Fei took the towel and pressed it directly against his face. “Ah, this feels so good.”

Gao Wenyin asked, “Did you go play football again today?”

Zhang Fei nodded. “Those idiots nearly drove me to death with anger. Look, I’ve shouted myself hoarse.”

“Serves you right!”

Xu Zhiqian walked in and snorted, “What a waste of time on frivolous pursuits.”

With so many things happening now, this fellow still had the mood to go play ball—it nearly drove Xu Zhiqian to distraction.

Zhang Fei removed the towel, and Gao Wenyin beside him smoothly took it from his hands.

Hmm?

Zhang Fei instinctively glanced back at Gao Wenyin, thinking to himself that her care was perhaps too meticulous. Then he turned to Xu Zhiqian and said, “What do you mean frivolous pursuits? Didn’t I tell you that this football concerns the future of the charity? It cannot be taken lightly.”

Xu Zhiqian said worriedly, “But this sounds completely absurd!”

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, “Beauty, I feel it’s necessary to remind you—do you still remember how you evaluated my articles back then? And what was the result? My articles are even more popular than those of Academician Wang and Academician Sima. Everyone loves to read them. Since that’s the case, why can’t everyone love my football too?”

Gao Wenyin nodded and said, “That’s true. Even Xiaotao and Da Niu love to listen to your articles.”

“Love to… listen?”

Zhang Fei didn’t react immediately—there were no radios in this era, right?

Gao Wenyin explained, “They don’t recognize many characters, so I can only read the articles aloud to them.”

Zhang Fei was speechless. This wife was being a bit of a people-pleaser, wasn’t she?

Regarding the articles, Xu Zhiqian had to concede—they were incredibly popular and had even become folk songs. She said, “But even if you succeed, so what? Never mind your football—even if all eighteen societies in the capital belonged to you, you still wouldn’t make much money. You can’t compare with White Crystal Inn, the Ma Family, or the Chen Family.”

There were already football competitions nowadays, and everyone knew how much money could be made from them.

The wealthy merchants in the capital would casually throw some money at those football players as rewards, just for entertainment. No one seriously considered making this into a business.

Zhang Fei shook his head helplessly and said weakly, “With your business acumen, please don’t mention making money to me. Just focus on spending your money—that’s what you’re good at.”

Xu Zhiqian’s face reddened, and she muttered quietly, “I’m just afraid of running out of money to spend.”

“You!”

As they were chatting, Xu Zun suddenly walked in.

“Father is back!”

“Father-in-law.”

Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian immediately stood up.

“Mm.”

Xu Zun nodded.

Xu Zhiqian could see that Xu Zun had matters to discuss with Zhang Fei, so she tactfully left with Gao Wenyin.

Xu Zun glanced at Zhang Fei and chuckled, “Perhaps even Wang Anshi never expected that he would be seen through by a young man like you. Just recently, His Majesty has appointed me as Chief Prosecutor, overseeing the Procuratorate.”

Until today, he had harbored doubts about Zhang Fei’s predictions.

Because during this period, Wang Anshi had never approached him.

He had judged that Wang Anshi might directly attack the Procuratorate, weakening its power, rather than simply replacing someone in the position.

As it turned out…

Zhang Fei quickly cupped his hands and said, “Congratulations.”

“Don’t be too quick to congratulate me.”

Xu Zun raised his hand and sighed, “I don’t even know how to serve as this Chief Prosecutor now.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Actually, with your experience, you are more than capable of being Chief Prosecutor. There’s no need to worry.”

“That’s not how it works,” Xu Zun waved his hand. “Just one political stance brought down Su Shi and Fan Chunren. This shows how difficult this position is!”

Speaking of which, who doesn’t have a political stance?

Zhang Fei smiled, “But Father-in-law is different from them. They’re still accustomed to following subjective will, but that only applies to pen-in-cap officials, not to prosecutors. You have always judged cases based on objective evidence and legal statutes.

The difference with judging cases is that the Chief Prosecutor must adhere even more strictly to objective evidence rather than subjective judgment. Even in the most heinous cases, even when you know who the perpetrator is, if there’s insufficient evidence, you cannot initiate prosecution.

So what you need to pay attention to at the Procuratorate is being demanding.”

“Demanding?”

“Demanding more evidence from the police bureau.”

Zhang Fei nodded, “Your main responsibility as Chief Prosecutor is to determine whether the evidence meets the conditions for prosecution.”

Xu Zun said, “But currently there’s no standard for judgment. If there were, Fan Chunren and Su Shi probably wouldn’t have gotten into trouble.”

Zhang Fei said, “Therefore, Father-in-law needs to rely on his own experience to establish a set of standards. This is the core of the Procuratorate.”

Xu Zun stroked his beard and murmured to himself, “Determining whether evidence meets the conditions for prosecution.”

Suddenly he found this Chief Prosecutor position quite interesting.

If asked to engage in litigation, he truly had no interest, but when it came to building the prosecution system, he was very interested indeed.

“Then tell me!”

Xu Zun suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Zhang Fei again, “His Majesty has already assigned me to review the case of Fan Chunren and Su Shi’s factional conspiracy. How should such a case be judged?”

This factional conspiracy was often a very mystical thing. Believe it and it exists; don’t believe it and it doesn’t.

After all, current political factions don’t issue membership cards.

Zhang Fei smiled, “Father-in-law need only ask them a few questions.”

“Is it that simple?” Xu Zun asked in surprise.

Zhang Fei nodded.

Fu Bi had not attended that meeting today because he was already very weary of such matters, but he still cared about his old friend’s son. He had also instructed Wen Yanbo that Fan Chunren’s life must be kept safe.

Therefore, after the meeting ended, Wen Yanbo immediately ran to find Fu Bi.

Fu Bi nodded slightly, “From what you say, Wang Anshi also seems unwilling to break these rules.”

Wen Yanbo said, “But Wang Anshi’s ambition is also undeniable. With Xu Xun controlling the Procuratorate, he certainly won’t initiate prosecution against the New Laws.

Fortunately, Sima Guang saw through this long ago, so he laid plans in advance. Going with the flow, he’s using this incident to transfer Fan Chunren and Su Shi to key prefectures and counties, where they’ll establish the public justice system to act as a check and balance against Wang Anshi.”

Fu Bi sighed, “But if we can’t even hold the capital, there’s nothing to speak of regarding the localities. Wang Anshi can transfer people away at any time.”

Wen Yanbo said, “Therefore, you must remain at court to give support to Sima Guang.”

Historically, after Wang Anshi came to power, they gradually left the capital because they firmly opposed the Greensprouts Program but Emperor Zhao Xu steadfastly supported Wang Anshi. Under such circumstances, staying at court became meaningless for them – it was better to leave and accomplish something in the localities.

But now it was different. Now they had to remain at court to continue completing judicial reform. Even if they disagreed with the New Policies, they still had to stay at court.

Fu Bi made no comment on this. After all, his era had passed, and his fighting spirit was no longer what it once was. He asked again, “Will Fan Chunren and Su Shi be in danger?”

Wen Yanbo said, “Although Xu Zun is rather unconventional in handling certain matters, he generally doesn’t exceed the boundaries of the law. His actions as an official is quite fair and strict. Since Fan Chunren and Su Shi have no intention of forming factions for personal gain, I believe Xu Zun won’t falsely accuse them either.”

Fu Bi said, “But we still must be careful. For charges like forming factions for personal gain, there’s no standard for judgment – anything could happen.”

The next day, Xu Zun hurried to the Procuratorate to take up his post. A large number of court officials had already submitted memorials defending Fan Chunren and Su Shi. The longer this dragged on, the more complicated the situation might become.

It had to be resolved quickly and decisively.

Fan Chunren and Su Shi, these two stubborn men, never imagined it would turn out this way.

Overnight, they had gone directly from being the accusers to being suspects.

Their lungs nearly burst with rage.

It was agreed that they would settle matters in court, yet there he was playing political games again.

This was completely dishonorable.

Therefore, when they saw Xu Zun, their anger was written all over their faces.

Xu Zun asked with a smile, “Do you know why you’re standing here now?”

Fan Chunren said bluntly, “We’ve been harmed by villains.”

Su Shi said mockingly, “It seems what your son-in-law did cannot be imitated by others.”

We were just following Zhang Fei’s example, yet we didn’t even make it to court.

Pure double standards!

Xu Zun almost laughed out loud. Ignoring Su Shi, he continued addressing Fan Chunren: “Fan Chunren, you say you were harmed by villains, but this evidence shows that recently, Liu Shu, Qi Hui and others have been in close contact with you, secretly plotting the lawsuit. Is this true?”

Fan Chunren said, “We were discussing how to file the lawsuit and how to win this case. This wasn’t plotting – we weren’t hiding anything. Many people knew about this.”

Xu Zun nodded and said, “Then why did they help you? Was it out of collegial sentiment or friendship?”

Fan Chunren answered truthfully, “Perhaps there were those reasons, but mainly it was because they also opposed the New Policies.”

Xu Zun asked, “Did you know beforehand their purpose in helping you?”

Both men nodded simultaneously.

Xu Zun asked curiously, “How did you find out?”

Fan Chunren said, “Because we had previously discussed the New Policies.”

Xu Zun said, “So do you, like them, also oppose the New Policies?”

Su Shi quickly interjected, “We only oppose some of the provisions.”

Fan Chunren nodded.

Xu Zun asked again, “During your investigation, did you consult with officials from the Reform Planning Commission?”

The two men exchanged knowing glances, shook their heads simultaneously, and their faces gradually became somewhat embarrassed.

Xu Zun asked again, “Did you only consult with officials who opposed the New Policies?”

The two men thought for a moment, then nodded simultaneously.

Xu Zun nodded: “I understand. You may go.”

What do you understand?

Su Shi asked in surprise, “That’s it? You’re done asking?”

Fan Chunren also looked at Xu Zun with confusion.

Xu Zun asked back, “Is there anything else you want to say?”

“No.”

Su Shi shook his head and asked curiously, “So does Prosecutor Xu think our lawsuit was improper or not?”

Xu Zun smiled and said, “What do you think? Where is there a prosecutor who only consults with people who share his own views, then decides whether to file charges without investigating the parties involved or consulting with them? Perhaps the Reform Planning Commission has other arrangements, or perhaps they plan to supplement their subsequent regulations.

You first considered your opposition to the New Policies, then considered using judicial means to achieve your goals. Your purpose was to correct what you believed to be wrong, not to uphold the laws in the Song Code of Punishments. You can’t even distinguish between right and wrong versus legal and illegal. What else is there for me to ask?”

After this speech, Fan Chunren’s face alternated between red and white.

Xu Zun’s words truly struck at the heart of the matter, and Fan Chunren realized what a grave error he had committed.

In this case, he had considered political objectives, and perhaps the nation and its people, but he had completely overlooked that he was a prosecutor and was still immersed in his career as a remonstrator.

But being a prosecutor was actually like being a coroner—it was an extremely specialized position where everything had to be done according to proper procedures. It wasn’t a matter of doing whatever you wanted to do.

If the judicial department operated this way, everything would be ruined.

But they had been single-mindedly focused on how to file the lawsuit, how to force Wang Anshi to compromise, viewing Wang Anshi as an enemy. Since he was an enemy, why consult with him? No need for chatter—just fight.

Su Shi raised his head and said, “Prosecutor Xu’s words are mistaken!”

Xu Zun looked at him with confusion.

Su Shi said, “Fan Chunren was not prosecutor—he was just a legal aid pen-in-cap. He bears no fault.”

Xu Zun paused for a moment, then nodded and said, “You make a valid point. I will report this fact accurately.”

Fan Chunren said, “But during my participation in this matter, I viewed myself as a prosecutor.”

Xu Zun smiled and said, “The law is about the law, not about your views.”