The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde asked suspiciously: "What do you mean, are you going to impeach Dong Fen, Yang Yusun and Fan Weipi?"

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Duan Mengxian and Zhang Dao both looked at Ouyang Yijing nervously.

Just kidding, Dong Fen is a minister.

Let’s not talk about Yang Yusun, the young minister, but let’s talk about Fan Weipi and Fan Zhongyan’s descendants. If they want to sue you, can you win?

Fan Zhongyan In the circle of Ming Dynasty scholars, Fan Zhongyan deserves to be evaluated as a "sage", but his reputation as a saint is too ostentatious, so although everyone recognizes him in their hearts, they generally use Fang Xiaoru's evaluation of him, "the perfect person".

"Virtue is pure and pure, pure gold and pure jade. The wind is sharp, frost, pines, snow and bamboo. Worry first and then rejoice, thinking about helping the people. A generation of virtuous ministers, unparalleled before and after."

This is how the Ming Dynasty literati viewed Fan Zhongyan.

With this ancestor here, as long as Fan Weipi does not rebel, he can basically guarantee that he will be able to get along well in the officialdom. Even if he offends the powerful people of the dynasty, he can only be held high and put down gently.

Although he was a little nervous, Zhang Dao looked at Ouyang Yijing with a look called "reverence" in his eyes.

"I'm just a little undecided, so I asked you to come here to talk and give me some advice."

Ouyang Yijing said.

Wei Guangde understood that if no one persuaded him, Ouyang Yijing would have impeached all three people like he did before.

Can this be done?

cannot.

Yang Yusun and Fan Weipi were not criminals themselves, but they started a business similar to that of a later public relations company, helping people to lobby for issues.

This time, because you are helping the Yan family to make a case, you think he is a treacherous and evil person, but others just accepted the Yan family's entrustment.

There is nothing wrong with doing things that are entrusted by others and being loyal to them.

In fact, not only the Yan family, but also anyone else who wants something from others will find someone to appeal to, and the two of them are currently the most popular lobbyists in the capital.

Wei Guangde glanced at Ouyang Yijing. If it weren't for the fact that he and he were from the same hometown, who would have helped him get in touch and transfer him back to the capital as an official.

It's hard to say that there is no one to help with the relationship, so Ouyang Yijing can only ask for help.

Wei Guangde didn't plan to speak for the time being. He would wait to see what Duan Mengxian and Zhang Dao had to say. This would also allow him to see through these two people more clearly.

He finally understood that Ouyang Yijing, a fellow countryman, was a useful person and a pure thug. In the future, he would find a way to send him to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and ask him to bite anyone he disliked.

Moreover, judging from the last time he was impeached and this time he knew how to consult with someone, he is not a reckless and courageous man, and he knows the severity.

Duan Mengxian saw that Wei Guangde had no intention of speaking, so he could only say: "In my opinion, these three are not easy to get along with. If Brother Si Zhi has conclusive evidence, he can impeach them. If not, it is best not to make enemies."

Duan Mengxian is in charge of the Criminal Department, so he naturally values ​​evidence, which is completely opposite to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Sure enough, when he heard what Duan Mengxian said, Wei Guangde noticed that Zhang Dao frowned.

Zhang Dao has not yet become a regular official, he is just an observer of politics, but he has already learned a lot about the "hearing and reporting" skills of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Speaking of evidence, is it still necessary for the Metropolitan Procuratorate to continue to open the case?

If they, the seventh-rank censors, had the means to collect evidence of the crimes of these important figures in the dynasty, they would be so stupid.

Different units have different work styles, and Wei Guangde is not surprised.

Ouyang Yijing's expression dimmed after hearing Duan Mengxian's words, obviously he didn't hear what he wanted to hear.

Wei Guangde still kept silent at this time, even lowered his head and stopped looking at them for the time being.

Zhang Dao also spoke at this time, but it was not that he supported Ouyang Yijing's "heard to make trouble", "Brother Si Zhi, the three people you mentioned are very special. If they are defeated, it's okay. If they can't be defeated, you can just rely on them." Bai has made a powerful enemy.”

Zhang Dao was obviously frightened by the combination of Shangshu and Shaoqing. How big an official he was.

It is true that the title of "Give Shizhong" is the seventh rank, but Ouyang Yijing said that it was the seventh rank of the "Gee Shizhong", which is half a rank lower than the Xiaoshan County magistrate he first served as.

But this is Ouyang Yijing's own choice. It's just that in the past few years since he came to the capital, he has never had the chance to find a way to be promoted.

The seventh rank in the affairs, the seventh rank in the affairs, is the master of each subject.

Wei Guangde just listened, but what he was thinking in his heart was whether Ouyang Yijing did this to him to show off to King Yu or something else.

King Yu was dissatisfied with Dong Fen. In fact, many people in the court knew it.

Ouyang Yijing couldn't have come up with this idea just to please King Yu.

If this is really the case, and it is not just a matter of hearsay, then his flattery and flattery are impatient.

If he has the ability to impeach people and is able to curry favor with him, he might really be able to rise up in the future.

But no matter what the purpose, Ouyang Yijing's plan was exactly what he wanted, and it was in line with His Royal Highness Prince Yu's wishes.

Thinking that after Ouyang came to Beijing in the past few years, I really didn't have time to pay attention to him and help him get promoted. Maybe this is also an opportunity.

Since he didn't plan to take action anyway, it seemed good to let Ouyang Yijing take action and make him the number one "litigator" in Prince Yu's palace.

"Brother Si Zhi, I heard that when you were studying, you studied with that lawyer in the city for two years."

It was a long time ago, more than ten years ago, and Wei Guangde couldn't remember it clearly.

You know, Wei Guangde had not yet crossed over at that time, and he lived in Bengshan Fort, so he naturally didn't know anything about the county town.

He didn't know where he heard it from, but he had the impression that before Ouyang Yijing became a scholar, he seemed to have worked for Peng Ze, the number one litigator at that time, and learned to be eloquent.

Litigants don't just rely on words to litigate people in court.

Of course, there are many private things in the hall, but these may not be accessible to him.

Ouyang Yijing was shocked when he heard Wei Guangde's words.

It's been so many years, and although it's not really a secret, it still doesn't look good if someone mentions it.

It should be noted that the litigants of today are not the lawyers of later generations and have a high social status in the Western world.

These days, the status of a litigator is extremely low, and he is the most hated person by local officials.

Many people who have watched movies and TV shows from later generations think that local officials should like to deal with litigants. After all, they can make money by being friendly, but this is not the case.

Lawyers must be literate people, but most of them are also people who failed the imperial examination. Ouyang Yijing's entry into this profession was also related to his failure in the imperial examination for several consecutive years.

If the imperial examination fails, then you have to find another way out.

All you know is that you are blindly obsessed with the imperial examination. That is a fool's errand.

Of course, there are also people who have good fortunes as they age, such as Fan Jin, who failed to pass the exam when he was young, but when he is old and about to retire, he wins consecutively and finally wins the gold list.

Of course, this is a novel, but there are real people and real things that happened around them.

If nothing else, Kunshan Gui Youguang, also known as Mr. Zhenchuan, won the national examination at the age of 32 and failed eight times in the general examination. This year he finally passed the examination. This is the real-life version of Fan Jinzhong's Jinshi.

Continuing to talk about the profession of litigators, they understand the court laws and official document formats, but they have not received professional training and seem to understand only half of them. Therefore, the quality of litigants is mixed.

The Ming Dynasty was a typical "small government" and would not establish many specialized departments to deal with various people's livelihood affairs like later generations.

At the local level, the county magistrate is the biggest person in a county. Although there are six assistants below, after all, politics and law are shouldered by him, and he has to take care of everything. It is inevitable that his energy is limited.

The Ming Dynasty had a simple classification standard for various types of disputes and cases, that is, the disputes between the parents were mediated by the people themselves. For example, small matters such as poaching and fighting in the countryside were mediated by the village chief, village chief, and clan chief. , no need to appeal to court.

Only major cases such as death will be investigated and handled by the government.

However, if you want to make money as a lawyer, of course you can't just deal with it so simply. You have to try to make the party involved in the case refuse to accept it, take the initiative to sue, and reflect your own value in the litigation process. Only then can you make money.

According to today's parlance, the actions of the litigants are called maintaining the fairness of the law. However, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, especially the local officials, it was just looking for trouble.

The Ming Dynasty was an agricultural society, and "agriculture is the foundation of the world." What the rulers wanted most was for people to stay attached to the land and live a stable life.

If litigation is frequent and the parties concerned can obtain benefits through litigation, then others will rush to follow suit. If things go on like this, people's minds will be focused on how to get something for nothing through cunning means, which will eventually lead to the desolation of farmland and the destabilization of the country's foundation.

Therefore, from the official level, it is natural that the group of litigants will not be looked upon favorably.

In movies and TV dramas, it is actually rare to see people joining forces with local powerful people to bully the weak and colluding with the government.

Why?

Because the powerful local gentry families were originally scholars and had a lot of knowledge, and with their high social status, they were already inextricably linked to the government, so there was no need for a lawyer to help them connect.

Therefore, most of the people represented by litigants are the interests of poor and powerless people.

Of course, there are also unscrupulous litigants who secretly collect property from other parties and cheat their employers, but there are not many such people.

If your reputation is ruined, then stop messing around.

Therefore, the profession of a litigator is really very demanding. Quoting scriptures and being able to speak eloquently are basic skills. Otherwise, how can you quarrel with people in court?

Litigation is a means of making a living, and in order to make money, litigators have to encourage people to file lawsuits.

In order to attract more employers and create a brand image, lawyers try their best to fight for the interests of employers and show their ability.

How to fight for benefits? They often exaggerate and make false accusations.

For example, if a simple theft case is reported to the Yamen, the litigant will have to add more words to the lawsuit: "When the lawsuit reaches the official, it is called additional writing. Being killed is called killing, fighting for wealth is called robbing, breaking into a home is called stealing, and invading the boundary is called corpse discovery." The complaint will involve his father, brothers and children, and even his family." This intensified the officials' contempt for litigants.

There is even such an article in the "Da Ming Code", "Those who instigate the litigants, add fuel to the lawsuit, and increase the crime will sit together with the criminals."

It can be seen that the government treats the profession of litigants with contempt, and it is not good to say that they will just use this article to get rid of you.

Now, Wei Guangde suddenly mentioned that he had been a trainee lawyer, which surprised Ouyang Yijing.

"At first, I saw that there was no chance of a complaint in the village, so I helped him a little bit."

Of course he would not admit that this happened, he would only say that he was helping.

Wei Guangde didn't want to say anything about this, but continued: "Everyone who thinks about the lawsuit will understand that it is actually the same thing that Yang Yusun and Fan Weipi did.

Brother Si Zhi, what do you think? "

When Wei Guangde said this, the three people present still didn't understand what Wei Guangde meant.

Don't look at Yang Yusun and Fan Weipi as helping treacherous ministers to escape guilt. They are actually making hard-earned money. The real decision-makers will not be influenced by them, just like officials insist that they judge cases based on evidence. You can't be deceived with just a few words.

"What Shandai said is reasonable. Although Yang and Fan exonerate Yan Shifan, the nature of the crimes he committed is different from that of Yan Shifan. They also contributed to the injustice in the world."

Ouyang Yijing nodded.

"That's right. Apart from these two people, there is only one Dong Fen left. Does he dare to accept the gift from the Yan family?"

When Wei Guangde said this, his eyes were fixed on Ouyang Yijing, wanting to know his answer.

"I heard from people that they were seen delivering boxes into the Dong Mansion."

Ouyang Yijing said with some lack of confidence.

In fact, in his plan, he only needs to impeach three people. If the court wants to pursue the case, he will directly interrogate them. If you don't believe that none of the three people will confess, as long as one of them does it, he will get the credit.

Even if he is impeached and the superiors don't believe his words, it just means that the impeachment failed, which is not a big deal. If he offends him, he will be offended. He is already from the seventh rank, and is already the youngest official to become a Jinshi.

Are you afraid of wearing shoes if you are barefoot?

There is a way to promote workers and capital and drive them out of the capital.

Anyway, from Ouyang Yijing's point of view, it's not a loss at all.

"Since I heard about it, it's best to ask someone to find out. It would be best if there is a witness."

When Wei Guangde said this, he looked at Ouyang Yijing thoughtfully and continued: "You don't have to focus only on this one thing. If the Dong family has other illegal things, you might as well report them together and let him escape even if he doesn't die." Layers of skin.”

Ouyang Yijing understood the meaning in Wei Guangde's eyes.

Before he could speak, he heard Duan Mengxian say: "Dong Shangshu worked in the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu before, and he didn't work in the Imperial College for long. I'm afraid he didn't do many other illegal things."

What Duan Mengxian said was actually to express his judgment. Dong Fen's official career was not a lucrative official position, and he was afraid that there would not be much to grasp.

Moreover, he felt that there was no interest entanglement between his group and the Minister of Rites, so it would be unwise to rush forward like this.

"I just have an opinion. It's not up to Brother Si Zhi to decide whether he should do it or not."

Wei Guangde smiled lightly and took it out first.

Zhang Dao might not understand what he said, but Duan Mengxian didn't know the secret behind it.

Wei Guangde was trying to give Ouyang Yijing advice both inside and outside his words. If he didn't want him to get involved in this matter, he should have given him a stern warning.

"What Meng Xian and Shandai said are reasonable. I'll go back and find someone to investigate. As Meng Xian said, it's really hard to sue without any basis. It's really wrong to accuse someone of innocence out of thin air.

To hear something from the wind, you must at least know where the wind is blowing from. "

The matter stopped there, and the four of them chatted for a while. It was getting late. Ouyang Yijing called the maid to prepare the banquet. The dance music was already prepared. When the delicacies were served, all the beautiful women were already dancing to the music.