Chapter 294: Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right |
Zhang Fei had originally planned to go over there today to take a look, because he anticipated that this matter would certainly alarm Cao Ping, and that Gu Ji’s side would definitely send people as well. He was somewhat uneasy about it.
But before he could even leave, Su Shi blocked his way back.
Ever since Su Shi had lost last time, he had become increasingly obsessed with litigation. Not only had he not been discouraged, but he had become more determined with each setback, eagerly anticipating court arguments every day.
“You said before that the main responsibility of the prosecutor’s office is to prosecute. Now that the General Police Bureau wants to prosecute Spring Breeze Ten Li, this should rightfully fall under our prosecutor’s office’s jurisdiction.”
Zhang Fei helplessly exchanged glances with Xu Zhiqian, then said to Su Shi, “Mr. Su, I was merely making a suggestion at the time. I’m just a clerk. It’s useless for you to come to me about this matter – you need to go to the General Police Bureau.”
Su Shi snorted, “Don’t take me for a fool. Nine times out of ten, you’re the one making the decisions here. You simply don’t trust me.”
Zhang Fei simply nodded, “Speaking personally, I indeed do not trust you, because this lawsuit is one that you may not be able to handle.”
Su Shi was proud by nature, and hearing these words made him even more unwilling to back down. “The other party violated regulations first – this is an iron-clad fact. How difficult could this be?”
Zhang Fei pondered briefly, then asked, “May I ask, sir, if a peddler is sitting by the roadside resting and a passing carriage knocks over the peddler’s goods, who bears responsibility?”
“Actually, it is the same thing.”
Zhang Fei said, “Although that piece of land doesn’t belong to him, the buildings on it are absolutely private property. The government has the right to confiscate and demolish them according to law, but this is a public power – it doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily destroy someone’s private property.
Take fugitives, for example. Officers have the right to pursue fugitives, even to kill them on the spot, but if you commit intentional murder against a fugitive, you’re also breaking the law – though the sentencing might be lighter.
In this case, we have land use regulations on one hand and traffic regulations on the other. These are actually parallel relationships. Whether traffic law can be used to resolve land use issues is a very complex question that must be considered case by case.”
This was a very basic legal principle: someone else’s violation is not justification for your own illegality.
You absolutely cannot say that because he broke the law, I can kill him – then what would be the point of having public officials?
Of course, assisting the police or self-defense would be different matters.
Nothing was absolute.
That’s why trials were necessary.
After hearing this, Su Shi became even more ecstatic, “What you say makes sense. This lawsuit is indeed more difficult than I imagined. Rest assured, I will study it carefully and give it my all.”
Cases that were too simple didn’t interest him.
He needed a challenge.
“…?”
Zhang Fei nearly cursed aloud. Boss, I’m not using reverse psychology – I’m being serious! Stop fooling around! He said helplessly, “Mr. Su, I know you’re well-versed in law, but this lawsuit requires skills that you don’t possess.”
Su Shi asked, “What skills?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
Zhang Fei continued earnestly, “Speaking objectively, this case is just a very ordinary traffic accident and doesn’t fall within the prosecutor’s office’s jurisdiction. I won’t be transferring this case to the prosecutor’s office, and the General Police Bureau would never agree to it either.”
Seeing Zhang Fei’s firm tone, Su Shi knew he had no chance and sighed in disappointment.
Zhang Fei smiled inwardly – why are you in such a hurry? You’ll have plenty to keep you busy later.
After finally seeing Su Shi off, Zhang Fei looked at the sky. “Forget it! I’ll have Li Si go ask about the situation later.”
He turned to look at Xu Zhiqian, “Zhiqian, let’s start preparing. Zhiqian?”
Xu Zhiqian seemed to be pondering something. “Ah? What did you say?”
Zhang Fei asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Xu Zhiqian said, “I was thinking about what you said just now. This lawsuit is indeed more difficult than imagined. Just because a property violates regulations doesn’t mean you can burn it down.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “That’s why this lawsuit requires a particular skill.”
Xu Zhiqian asked, “What skill?”
“It’s…” Zhang Fei changed the subject and asked, “Can you draw?”
Xu Zhiqian was stunned for a moment, “My drawing is very ordinary.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Ordinary is fine.”
Meanwhile, Fang Rui was conveying Cao Ping’s intentions to Gu Ji.
The General Police Bureau would never yield even half a step on this matter, especially since it had been heavily criticized these past few days, and its reputation had already suffered serious damage.
Unless you were willing to apologize and admit your mistakes.
But how could that be possible?
If they apologized, wouldn’t that be tantamount to confirming their own guilt about the violations? It would be better to go to court and fight it out.
But Gu Ji and his associates couldn’t very well use their court connections to stop the General Police Bureau, because they had started this matter. The General Police Bureau had stepped back again and again, and it was only because they insisted on litigation that the bureau had accepted the challenge.
Even if this matter were brought before the Chamber of State Affairs, or even the Hall of Delegated Rule, Cao Ping certainly wouldn’t be blamed.
This was all their own doing.
The good news was that Li Guozhong and the others believed this lawsuit was absolutely winnable. It would be very difficult for Zhang Fei to use street encroachment violations to justify the patrol officers’ acts.
So Gu Ji immediately spent heavily again, hiring other notaries like Fei Ming to defend him.
However, this sudden turn of events also made public opinion chaotic.
Some people supported Gu Ji, while others supported the General Police Bureau.
In the end, it still came down to self-interest determining one’s position.
Those whose families had street encroachment violations would definitely support Gu Ji, while those whose families had no such violations would definitely support the General Police Bureau.
This had nothing to do with justice. Even those who supported the General Police Bureau believed that the benefits of public areas should be shared equally by everyone. Why should you occupy them when we get no benefits at all? Better that no one occupies them.
For Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, and other state counsellors, what they saw was a social phenomenon – this street encroachment behavior.
This behavior had actually become quite serious. Every few years, officials would memorialize about this matter, and the government had tried to rectify it before, but it often ended without results or resolution.
This had become a widespread problem.
Therefore, when the General Police Bureau sued Spring Breeze Ten Li under this charge, it also attracted the attention of the chancellors.
Although this was a small lawsuit that could happen any day, it became extraordinary because of this particular charge.
The Bureau of Records also showed sufficient respect, not scheduling the trial for the next day. According to usual practice, it could have been tried the same day, but Lu Jiawen deliberately postponed the trial by seven days, giving them sufficient preparation time.
Moreover, he specifically chose to hold the trial on a court holiday.
Actually, Lu Jiawen also hoped everyone would pay close attention to this lawsuit. The bigger the commotion, the better – this was his moment to shine.
He also enjoyed the challenge.
Today was the trial date.
At the Zhang residence.
Zhang Fei sat before the bronze mirror with his eyes closed, meditating as usual, letting Gao Wenyin fuss over him.
“Done!”
After smoothing the wrinkles on his robe, Gao Wenyin stepped back and carefully looked him over.
Zhang Fei suddenly reached out, wrapped his arm around Gao Wenyin’s waist, and pulled her in front of him. With a smile, he asked, “Does my wife think I look more handsome in this outfit, or in that constable uniform?”
Although Gao Wenyin had grown accustomed to Zhang Fei’s embraces, she still couldn’t help but lean back slightly with shy embarrassment, pursing her lips as two small dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth. “Looking at you, this outfit looks better.”
Having said this, she suddenly looked up at Zhang Fei, bit her red lips lightly, and said in a low voice, “In the past, whenever you had to fight a lawsuit, I always felt uneasy. But now it seems that fighting lawsuits is actually more reassuring.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Is this uneasiness of yours becoming stronger and stronger?”
Gao Wenyin nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken. “How do you know this?”
Zhang Fei just smiled without answering the question. “Let’s go out. Zhiqian will get angry if we wait any longer.”
“Oh.”
Gao Wenyin nodded, but her eyes flickered with confusion. She secretly glanced at Zhang Fei, frowning in thought. Gradually, a blush spread from her neck to her face.
When they reached the main hall, sure enough, Xu Zhiqian grabbed Zhang Fei and gave him a thorough scolding.
A man who cared more about his appearance than women.
It was truly incomprehensible.
As usual, amid Xu Zhiqian’s nagging, the two boarded their carriage and headed to the Bureau of Records.
At this time, the Bureau of Records was already packed with people. Every time Zhang Fei went to court, it drew everyone’s attention.
But it wasn’t that everyone particularly enjoyed watching Zhang Fei litigate. Rather, every time this fellow went to court, he hit their sensitive spots, making them itch unbearably and feel restless.
However, the Bureau of Records didn’t have the same facilities as Kaifeng Prefecture. Although those who came were all high ranking officials, there were few places to sit, so they could only sit in the corridors. Fortunately, the weather was favorable, and the autumn sunlight was very gentle.
The ministers simply stood on the sandy ground, basking in the sun and chatting.
Censor Li Zhan suddenly approached Sima Guang and the others, asking, “Esteemed academicians, do you think this lawsuit might be another conspiracy by the Police Bureau?”
Sima Guang’s heart skipped a beat, but he asked without showing any emotion, “What do you mean by that, Censor Li?”
Li Zhan said, “Didn’t they use that dung incident last time to introduce those vehicle licenses? This time, might they be trying to use this accident as an excuse to levy street encroachment fees again?”
The guilty-feeling Sima Guang stroked his beard and looked at the others.
Lu Gongzhu said, “That’s unlikely. I heard that the General Police Bureau had repeatedly requested to settle with Spring Breeze Ten Li and was willing to pay compensation, but Spring Breeze Ten Li refused, which is why this ended up in court. This doesn’t seem like a deliberate scheme.”
Li Zhan said, “But they might still use this as an opportunity to make other moves?”
Wang Anshi smiled, “I detect a hint of guilty conscience in your words.”
Li Zhan glanced at Wang Anshi and snorted, “I’ve always rented housing just like you. Street encroachment has nothing to do with me, so why would I have a guilty conscience? I just think that many street encroachment behaviors are understandable. Land in Bianjing is worth its weight in gold, and people have housing difficulties. Taking an extra inch of land is sometimes unavoidable. Our Great Song has always governed with benevolent policies and should consider the reasons behind street encroachment behavior, rather than focusing solely on collecting money.”
Wang Anshi looked at Li Zhan with disdain, “I didn’t mention you specifically. Why are you getting agitated?”
How could he not know that Li Zhan was here to probe whether the Chamber of State Affairs had any intention of regulating street encroachment?
If not, then it didn’t matter.
They were just afraid that they might have such thoughts.
Sima Guang also couldn’t reveal his position, because he knew that the next step was indeed to regulate street encroachment behavior.
Just then, they heard a shout.
“Court is in session!”
“It’s starting!”
Sima Guang quickly said, “Gentlemen.”
The Bureau of Records didn’t have as many formalities as Kaifeng Prefecture, and since this was ultimately just a small lawsuit, they couldn’t make a big production of it just because there were many distinguished guests.
After Lu Jiawen and the various clerks and legal officers took their seats, the pen-in-caps from both sides came to the hall, performed a bow, and took their seats without much ceremony.
Wang Anshi chuckled, “I have to say, when I used to see Zhang Fei in that outfit, it really looked awkward. Now it seems this green robe suits him much better!”
This comment resonated with quite a few people.
Zhang Fei had rarely appeared in court recently, so seeing him in his green robe again stirred some feelings in everyone.
Compared to Zhang Fei, the Bureau of Records was more like Li Lei’s home turf. He had a very good win rate here. He stood up first and said, “First, I want to make clear that the opposing party’s lawsuit is purely mystifying, confusing the issues, and misleading the Bureau of Records’ deliberation.
Setting aside whether Spring Breeze Ten Li actually violated regulations, even if it truly did, this cannot diminish Patrol Officer Xie Hui’s responsibility. According to our dynasty’s traffic regulations, Patrol Officer Xie Hui should bear full responsibility.”
He then looked at his documents and continued, “In the fourth year of the Jiayou era, when Lord Bao was acting prefect of Kaifeng, he tried a case involving a fast horse trampling crops. During the trial, Lord Bao discovered that the field in question was public land that was illegally occupied, but ultimately he still ruled that the one who trampled the crops was at fault. The horseman not only had to pay full compensation to the landowner but also received fifty lashes.
Cases like this are countless. I have prepared ten such examples here. Please review them, Judicial Administrator Lu.”
The observing ministers all nodded slightly.
These were two separate matters.
One could not say that just because he violated regulations, you were not breaking the law.
This made no sense.
Su Shi quietly asked Fan Chunren beside him, “What do you think, Master Fan?”
Fan Chunren stroked his beard and sighed, “I also feel these cannot be conflated.”
Su Shi frowned slightly.
Zhang Fei had mentioned this issue to him before, and he had thought seriously about it after returning home, but he still had not found reasonable grounds for prosecution.
He gradually understood that this litigation ran very deep and was truly not as simple as he had imagined.
Lu Jiawen said, “Present them.”
After Xu Zhiqian finished reading, she said quietly, “Their progress is truly significant! They actually thought to use this point to get around their violations, and they prepared so many case examples.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said, “This is simply the truth. Someone else’s violation is not justification for your own illegality. Unfortunately, this traffic accident case is being fought on facts, not legal principles.”
After Lu Jiawen finished reviewing the documents, he nodded and looked toward Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei stood up and smiled with calm composure, “Similar cases can only serve as supporting evidence and cannot be overgeneralized. Although the circumstances of cases may be largely similar, small differences may be significant. We must still judge based on the specific proceedings of this case. I request that the eyewitness Liu Tong be summoned to testify in court.”
After hearing this, Li Lei could not help but frown and said, “It seems he does not want to get entangled with us on this issue.”
“Impossible.”
Li Guozhong shook his head and said, “If we set aside the street encroachment violation, then it is definitely their fault.”