The Shangyuan Festival in Xining's seventh year can be regarded as a peaceful past.

After the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, which was more plain than in previous years, the most talked about in Tokyo now was the trial of the 37 profiteers.

Not to mention how easy it is to write the word frame, it is only a real crime, and it really has to be investigated, and the grain merchants are all a mess. As the No. 2 person in the Imperial Historical Observatory, Cai was ordered to lead the trial for nearly a month. A long list of charges came up, and there were so many charges that they had to be applied for separate cases.

Seeing the thick stack of confessions brought by Lu Jiawen, who was an observer, Wang Yan looked surprised: "I can't imagine that there are so many crimes, how did Cai really torture them?" ”

"What confession can't be obtained under Miki? But Cai is indeed not such a confused person. Lu Huiqing took the confession first and looked at it first.

"Well, that's right." Wang Yan nodded, remembering that at this time last year, his own Lao Tzu was stabbed by Cai Qu, and he deserved the three words 'steady and ruthless', "I don't know what crime Cai Qu convicted the grain merchants?" ”

Lu Huiqing looked at the first page: "Occupy and steal other people's land, and there is no shortage of thirty-seven grain merchants. ”

When Wang Yan heard this, he felt that something was wrong: "What kind of crime is this?!" Those who encroach on public and private land in the government will be imprisoned for two and a half years at most! ”

Lu Huiqing ignored it and turned the page, "The school bucket scale is uneven, everyone has it." ”

Lu Jia asked: "A dry grain merchant changed the scale bucket in the store to sell grain to make a profit. According to the law, those who are uneven and gain heavy profits should be judged as thieves. The grain merchants have been greedy for decades, and the stolen money is tens of thousands of yuan. ”

Wang Yan shook his head: "The crime of theft, the exile sentence will be at the top." Good people who build bridges and pave roads are rare, and those who are rich and unkind are everywhere. If you judge the crime by fighting and weighing things, if you really get to the root of it, most of the merchants in Tokyo can be arrested and imprisoned. ”

"But that's not all. Among the 37 people, 11 lost their children, 4 had their parents in other countries, and 1 was married. Lu Huiqing paused, "There is also a fraudulent stagecoach ...... here."

"All the sins of a lifetime have been tortured!" Wang Yan suddenly laughed: "Is there any disrespect for the Buddha at the expense of words and paper?" Cai is really capable, and it's all a crime of chicken and dogs! ”

This list of crimes looks like a lot, but in fact, it is just a cane to blame. And the punishment is not at the first level of thorn matching, it can be redeemed with money, indeed, as Wang Yan said, it is chicken and dogs.

"I can't say that." Lu Huiqing said: "Those who are guilty of murder, two. instigated the tribal to beat people to death, three people. ”

Wang Yan's laughter stopped abruptly. This crime is serious, and the crime of murder is basically death, and instigation to death is also ordinary.

Lu Huiqing flipped through the confession page by page, and continued to read in a straight tone: "There are six adulterers, including two adulterers and concubines, and one adulterer brother and wife. ”

Adultery with a concubinage is a felony and a violation of ethics. Civil strife among the heinous sins, adulterer hanging, rape and even more so are all dead ends.

"The civil strife hangs. As for fornicating with brothers and wives...... "Wang Yan recalled the laws in the criminal system, "it's a three-thousand-mile exile, right?" ”

"Two thousand miles of rape, the strong will be added to one level." Lu Huiqing corrected, and then read: "There are five people who have banned weapons privately, three of them have five crossbows, and one has armor and two collars. ”

Possession of weapons is also a felony, and there is a suspicion of rebellion. Bows, arrows, knives, shields, and short spears are common weapons that can be held by the people, and people in the north can basically find one or two bows. But long soldiers are not allowed to be collected, crossbows are not collectible, and armor is strictly forbidden. According to the criminal system, if you secretly possess three collars or five crossbows, you can be sentenced to hanging.

"However, if one of these crimes is repeated, the five deceased should be punished according to the law." Lu Jiawen explained.

Wang Yan couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this: "I don't go to the root of serious crimes, but I make a fuss about these trivial things......"

"There are also serious crimes, controlling the market!" Although Lu Huiqing said this, the corners of his mouth involuntarily pouted, "Cai Zhizheng is convicted of a good crime!" ”

Wang Yan immediately sneered: "Those who control the profits of the market are considered theft, but their crime is to avoid stabbing ...... There will be no streaming! This crime is really serious! ”

Lu Jia asked and sighed: "Who let the crime of hoarding Juqi in the criminal system not be found......

Lu Huiqing said: "Zhang Qianya killed the treasury official with a penny, 'one penny a day, a thousand days and a thousand, the water drops are worn by stones, and the rope is sawed and the wood is broken', no one said that he was wrong in this judgment." The law is not human, and if it really causes death, even if it is not in the law, it can be dealt with. What's more, the supply of grain and straw in Beijing was sufficient at the beginning, and prices soared, because there were rumors spreading. From this, a capital crime can also be convicted. ”

"That's right! This profiteer's hoarding caused panic among the people. Collusion makes profits and shakes the country's foundation. Coupled with the article of bewitching the public, it is okay to hang up and seek rebellion. Wang Yan said fiercely.

Generally speaking, the normal practice of the imperial court to deal with the hoarding of wealthy merchants was to use economic means, not violence. For example, Li Kui's Pinglian Law during the Warring States Period, Sang Hong's Sheep Uniform Losing Law in the Western Han Dynasty, and Wang Mang's Five Equals and Six Baskets, almost all of them used the power in their hands to crack down on the hoarding of wealthy businessmen through administrative power.

Han Gang and Wang Yan's strategy is to start from the will of the people and coerce the will of the people to control the profiteers. This is also forced by the times, otherwise if you want to solve the problem by economic means, there is no other way than to open and close positions. Even if it is a peace war, that is, the government forcibly requisitioning the people's grain, it will not move the wealthy merchants who are close to the clan, and when the time comes, it will be the small and medium-sized grain merchants who will suffer.

But Cai did not mention this stubble at all in the charge, and it can be seen that he is helping the grain merchants to exonerate. But he did it very wisely, and the list of crimes listed could also send the grain merchants far away, but it was also very convenient to be lenient, after all, there were no heinous charges—except for a few who were found guilty of capital crimes. Among the 37 grain merchants, five of them have committed serious crimes, and they can be used as a punishment, and public opinion can be eased somewhat.

"Cai is really smart." Lu Huiqing sighed.

In this case, Cai did show his uprightness and strict observance of the law, and gave the Son of Heaven room for leniency and pardon. Just looking at his means, he is indeed not an ordinary person. Moreover, Cai Qu was valued by Wang Anshi because of the court ceremony, and he was favored by the Son of Heaven because of the change in Xuandemen, and every step was calculated just right. Thinking about the mind of the mind and evaluating it with a simple rudder of seeing the wind and making the rudder, it seems too condescending.

Wang Yan looked up from the window and glanced at the pavilion of the main hall of the Political Affairs Hall, where his father was discussing military affairs with the other Zaifu. If Wang Anshi saw this confession, he would definitely refuse to give up.

If it is said that it will be dealt with, according to the current crime, it is indeed possible to put the grain merchants to justice. In the name of fines and stolen goods, the previous act of confiscating 1.3 million stone of grain was legalized. But for Wang Anshi and the New Party, such a statement of guilt is tantamount to confusing right and wrong. It is not possible to punish hoarding with heavy punishment, but not to punish him for other crimes, and then ...... Or just a few months later, what law will stop the greed of the merchants?!

Under the indulgence of the presiding judge, Cai Qu, the trial of the grain merchant case was quickly brought to a conclusion.

Of the thirty-seven grain merchants, except for a few who were hanged for serious crimes, the others were sentenced to exile or imprisonment, and the nine leaders of the line were not even tattooed, and they could be acquitted by paying fines according to the law, and only the grain of more than one million stone was confiscated as undue gain.

However, Wang Anshiden rejected it and said that the grain merchants had committed a false talk and should be hanged. Almost all the grain merchants have said that the current drought is the failure of the imperial court to do so, and the so-called crime of 'vain talking about good luck and evil' is used to confuse the public and make profits, and it must not be forgiven.

In the past few days, there has been a dispute in the court, and the Yushitai, Kaifeng Mansion and the Trial Court have all upheld the original verdict, while Wang Anshi insisted on his opinion and wanted to punish the leader severely. The people's opinions were mostly biased towards Wang Anshi, while the legal divisions maintained their authority, and the Son of Heaven did not speak, and the situation was contentious for a while.

Regarding this case, officials in Beijing have different opinions. Zeng Bu felt that the Son of Heaven's intention was already very clear, and it was almost impossible for Wang Anshi to push it back.

Sitting in the public hall of the third division, Zeng Bu listened to the report of the small official sent to the city: "Bachelor, Lu Tiju said that this matter has been approved by Wang Xianggong and Lu Jianzheng. ”

Regarding the little official's answer, Zeng Bu remained silent, and he couldn't see his joy or anger from his face, "Okay, you should go down first." ”

Zeng Bu was the only one left in the hall, and the anger that had accumulated in his chest was exposed from his trembling hands. Lu Jiawen is indeed getting more and more arrogant, he is the top boss of the city, and he skips everything and submits it directly to Zhongshu.

I don't know how long it took, Zeng Bu raised his head and called a small official outside the door who was waiting to be assigned to come in: "Go and call Wei Jizong to come and see." ”

Wei Jizong was the proposer of the City Change Law, and he became an official from Buyi. After that, Lu Jiawen raised the city's affairs, from the initial suggestions to the later measures to increase and reduce the loss of various regulations, Wei Jizong participated. But now Wei Jizong has been excluded by Lu Jiawen for some reason, and he has not been allowed to participate in the affairs of the city since then. Now he has nothing to do in the three divisions, and he has a fortune.

After a while, Wei Jizong came to report, saluted Zeng Bu, got up and asked, "I don't know what the bachelor can command when he comes to the official?" ”

"Since the drought in Hebei last year, there has been no rain or snow, and the Son of Heaven is worried. This official has been ordered to go to Xiangdu City, Hebei Province, and to inspect the local people's livelihood and disaster. It's just that the city is changing, and the officials don't know a lot, and they need someone who is familiar with the disadvantages of the situation to help......" Zeng Bu stopped when he said this.

Wei Jizong was stunned for a moment, looked up at the three divisions of the same sentence calmly, and couldn't see any of the same expressions, and suddenly understood, and immediately bowed and saluted: "Xia Guan understands, and is willing to serve the bachelor." ”

"Not for me, but for the officials!"