Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 1010 Deciding the Case

When Zhang Yan got up the next day, he was in a good mood. He kept looking at the entrance of the village to see if the matchmaker was coming. Until the afternoon, the matchmaker did not come, but the county chief Dong Gui and several servants came.

Seeing Zhang Yan, Dong Gui hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. He said: "The county has issued a summons. Please ask Yuan Wai Zhang to pay a visit to the county."

After saying that, he handed over the summons.

Zhang Yan said: "I don't know a few big characters, so please ask the provincial level to read it to me."

Dong Gui read the summons, to the effect that Chen Yi sued Zhang Yan for seizing his land and demanded its return. The county magistrate asked Chen Yi to go to the county and identify him face to face.

After Zhang Yan heard this, he couldn't help but cursed: "This Chen Yi came to my village a few days ago and said that half of the land in the village belongs to him and should be returned. After being scolded by me, he left angrily. I didn't expect this to happen. Go and sue the officials, saying that I took his land, how can it be unreasonable! How pitiful God is, I bought all the land in Zhuangzi, and the deeds are all there now, how can I allow him to deny it!"

Dong Gui said, "Don't be anxious outside the ranks. Just explain everything clearly when you get to the county."

Zhang Yan felt resentful for a while and said to Dong Gui: "It's getting late now. You guys stay in my village for one night and I'll go back to the county with you early tomorrow morning. I don't believe that this Chen Yi can turn black into white." !”

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, he led Dong Gui back to the village and arranged a place to stay.

Normally Dong Gui would go to the homes of the people below and ask for good wine and meat for them to eat, and also give them a sum of money as hard-earned money. Zhang Yan has a son like Zhang Chi, who has good wine and meat, but no money. Dong Gui still wanted to be polite, for fear of making Zhang Yan unhappy.

Everyone in the Zhang family was very angry when they heard that Chen Yi had complained. Only Ding Niang was worried. On the great day when Wu Lang was getting married, something like this would make people anxious.

The next day, Zhang Yan got up early and went to the county town with Dong Gui. To prevent accidents, Zhang Sanlang accompanied him.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Dengzhou City. Since it was getting late and there was no one in the Yamen, Zhang Yan and his son found an inn to stay. Dong Gui just sent a servant to live with them and went home to sleep.

On the third day, Dong Gui went back to report to the county magistrate. Not long after, Dong Gui and his servants arrived at the county government office together with Zhang Yan and his son.

Because the case was considered to be serious, the magistrate personally tried it.

The Song Dynasty attached great importance to human life lawsuits. Human life lawsuits were interrogated by officials and officials at different levels, and the questioning was only conducted at the end of the county. Ling Zuo gathered together in the hall for interrogation, and then he was sent to the state. Xu Chen, the county magistrate, also gathered for questioning because the defendant was a family member of the capital and the plaintiff was an official of the former prime minister.

Zhang Yan and Zhang Sanlang were taken to the county captain's official hall together. Looking on the other side, Chen Yi and his son were already standing there.

When Chen Yi saw Zhang Yan, he immediately said angrily: "Old man, you took my land, why don't you give it back to me?"

Zhang Yan said: "I bought the land with real money. How dare you come to my door if you are acting unreasonably?"

Chen Yi was furious and wanted to scold him again. Dong Gui said loudly from the side: "Who dares to make a noise in front of Shangguan!"

Seeing Dong Gui's serious face, Chen Yi had to swallow his words. He snorted coldly and turned his head away.

After a while, an official came out and said, "Send Zhang Yan and Chen Yi in." Zhang Yan and Chen Yi hurriedly walked indoors as if they were competing. In the room outside, only Zhang Sanlang and Chen Yi's son were left, looking at each other with disgust.

Entering the room, I saw the county magistrate Xu Chen sitting in the middle, with the county magistrate, the chief registrar and the county captain sitting on both sides.

Seeing the two people coming in, Xu Chen asked: "Chen Yi sued Zhang Yan for invading his land and handed him a complaint. But according to our investigation, Chen Yi gave up his land and fled south in February or March of the second year of Jianyan's reign. It has been six months since then." Years have passed. An edict was issued on the seventh day of June in the second year of Shaoxing, which set a three-year limit for people to return to their professions. Those who have sown will be given to those who have harvested them. Those who have exceeded the limit will not be subject to lawsuits. In terms of time, I will not accept your lawsuit. It should be accepted. But I’m afraid there might be some misunderstanding, so I’ll ask you to come to the county office today to make it clear.”

Chen Yidao: "In the summer of the second year of Shaoxing, I sent my servant Chen Zhong back to inspect the fields. At that time, the fields were deserted and no one was cultivating them. If we count from the second year of Shaoxing, it is now the early spring of the fourth year of Shaoxing, less than two years ago. .How come I can’t get my land back?”

Xu Chen looked at Chen Yi and thought, if Chen Yi came here because of Fan Zongyin's wishes, he should follow his words and at least get some benefits from Zhang Yan's land. But then I thought about it, Deng Tan's advice to him was just to punish the public. Although there are only four words in "report to the public and decide", it is extremely difficult to do.

After thinking for a while, Xu Chen said, "What do you think, Yi Cheng?"

The county magistrate said: "The facts of this case are clear and well-founded by law. It should be dismissed."

Xu Chen couldn't help but be shocked when he heard the county magistrate's decisive answer. Xu Chen came over from Zhao Gou's rule not long ago and brought with him the habits there. When dealing with political affairs, you must first consider all kinds of relationships. Only when the relationships are straightened can everything go well.

After arriving here, I didn't expect to ask my superior Zhizhou for advice and told me to report it to the public. Asking one's subordinates is also the same as making a judgment.

Looking at the bosses and county lieutenants around them, they looked like they were taking it for granted, and they obviously agreed with the county magistrate.

Pulling himself together, Xu Chen asked Chen Yi: "You said you sent your servant Chen Zhong back. Are there any witnesses?"

Chen Yidao: "What happened a few years ago, are there any witnesses? By the way, Quanzi was by your side at that time, can he be a witness?"

Xu Chen shook his head: "No. Your son must abide by filial piety, so naturally he cannot be counted as a witness."

Chen Yidao: "Then there are no witnesses. It was an old thing a few years ago. Where did the witnesses come from?"

Xu Chen looked at Chen Yi and said in a deep voice: "Since there are no witnesses and no other physical evidence, the county can only declare that the land belongs to Zhang Yan. After you complained this time, the county has found out clearly that Zhang Yan There is no dispute with you about our land, so you are not allowed to cause trouble for no reason again!"

Chen Yi shouted that he was wronged and couldn't stop crying.

If he must favor Chen Yi, there is much to be done about sending his servant Chen Zhong back to his hometown to investigate. It is not impossible to accept Chen Yi's irrefutable evidence and award Zhang Yan's 500 acres of land to Chen Yi. However, that was a way to deal with ordinary people. Although he didn't know what power Dutong had, Xu Chen didn't dare to deal with it like this. He originally wanted to bring the two of them together and ask Zhang Yan to pay some money to Chen Yi, but it seemed that this was not possible.

After coughing, Xu Chen said in a deep voice: "No noise! ​​If you have no other strong evidence, the case will be decided like this."

After Zhang Yan heard this, he repeatedly handed over to Xu Chen: "The county magistrate is worthy of being the father and mother of the people. This case is simple and clear! Chen Yi, a cunning citizen, relies on his power to deceive the Shangguan by fabricating evidence and wants to take over my land! Fortunately, the Shangguan is aware of everything. Isn't it right?" You will be deceived by him!"

(End of this chapter)