CH 18: Overconfident?

In daily life, Sima Guang was absolutely a humble and magnanimous gentleman. However, like Wang Anshi, he was also very stubborn when it came to issues of principle, and he would never compromise easily.

Thus, people jokingly referred to Wang Anshi as the Obstinate Chancellor and at the same time, they jokingly referred to Sima Guang as Sima Bull.

Once his bull-headedness kicked in, it was really unstoppable!

If their governing philosophies were the same, it wouldn’t matter whether they went left or right; for the Song dynasty, it would absolutely be a blessing.

Then perhaps, what happened later would not have occurred.

Regrettably, there are no what-ifs in life.

After leaving the courtroom, Sima Guang felt angry. He had never imagined this outcome. At the beginning, he was confident of victory, but in the end, he was thoroughly defeated by his opponent.

He immediately asked someone to bring the court trial records. As he read, he pondered on why such a simple case of intentional murder could potentially be deemed as excessive self-defense.

This was utterly absurd.

Meanwhile, professional judges like Lu Gongzhu, Wang Shiyuan, Qi Hui, Liu Shu and others rushed over. They were also at a loss as to how things had turned out this way.

Upon seeing Sima Guang sitting in the chair, his face somber as he looked at the court trial records, no one dared to make a sound. They quietly sat to the side and waited.

After a good while, Sima Guang smacked the transcript onto the table and sighed with regret. “I was really careless!”

When he had just left the court, his head had been foggy. But when he looked at the transcript from an observer’s perspective, he suddenly realized that from the moment he began interrogating Wei Ada, he had been led around by the nose by Zhang Fei.

The key point was that Zhang Fei had used their disparity in status as an analogy for him and the Emperor.

He knew that this was not a spontaneous idea from the other party; the other party was obviously well-prepared and waiting for him to fall into the trap.

But if he were to ask himself, if given another chance, would he choose a different course of action?

Wang Shiyuan was also somewhat puzzled by this, and immediately said, “Academician Sima, you were too gentle with that young man just now. He was so arrogant, showing contempt for the courtroom, and disrespected his superior. Why did you not punish him?”

This was a very professional suggestion.

If it had been him, he would have beaten Zhang Fei to the point that he could only stand trial lying down.

Why did Sima Guang conduct the trial in such a submissive manner?

He even suspected that Sima Guang was intentionally going easy on the other side.

Sima Guang was truly in a difficult situation. If he had actually beaten Zhang Fei in court at the time, no one would have stopped him, including Wang Anshi and Xu Zun. If he did not teach such arrogant pen-in-caps a lesson, then who would give imperial officials their due respect in the future?

However, if he really did go ahead and beat him, the conservatives would lose the future. It would no longer matter whether this lawsuit was prosecuted or not.

Because from the on, as long as they rejected the Emperor’s opinions, Wang Anshi would definitely bring up this incident. So you, Sima Guang, are allowed to raise arguments with the Emperor, but others are not allowed to raise arguments against you?

Are you implying that the Emperor is inferior to you?

Zhang Fei’s clever defense dragged the delicate balance of power between the Emperor and his officials into the fray, which was actually the turning point in this trial.

Because it completely stripped Sima Guang of his advantageous status and position.

This was also crucial because it directly changed the entire procedure of the trial. Even the just Bao Zheng would not have conducted the trial so leniently.

Zhang Fei was in his element, as this was his familiar environment, while Sima Guang was at a loss.

A complete collapse naturally followed as a matter of course.

Lu Gongzhu understood Sima Guang’s predicament. He had to consider the bigger picture and could not resort to corporal punishment. He said, “We can’t blame Academician Sima for this. Now that it has come to this, we should discuss how to judge this case.”

Qi Hui immediately said, “That young man was clearly obfuscating matters. This can’t possibly be excessive self-defense. If we were to judge it this way, wouldn’t it encourage the people to commit crimes?”

Wang Shiyuan nodded and said, “Well said. There’s no such thing as self-defense in someone else’s house. The young man hasn’t produced any conclusive evidence. If we judge it this way, it would cause endless harm!”

This was truly a slap in the face.

As the highest ranking judges in the Song dynasty, they had rejected the Emperor’s decision of granting leniency for voluntary surrender. Now, the other side went even further, and pleaded excessive self-defense, an even more lenient outcome. If they accepted this now, how could they still have the face to sit in their positions?

Sima Guang said, “If we still want to maintain the original judgment, we must find evidence to refute the other party’s argument that the accused had no intention to murder. You must immediately send people to Dengzhou to investigate the background of the accused.”

Because he had thought that he had ironclad evidence proving Ayun’s guilt, he had not investigated much about Ayun’s past and family affairs.

He believed that this was the main reason why he was at a disadvantage. Therefore, if he wanted to reject Zhang Fei’s appeal, he also had to start with examining the details.

***

On the other side, Xu Zun and Zhang Fei returned to their residence. Xu Zun saw that Zhang Fei’s face was full of satisfaction and accomplishment, as if everything had already come to an end. However, he knew that Zhang Fei did not present any conclusive evidence, but only provided some corroborative evidence and clever defenses. The lawsuit was far from over, and he warned, “Don’t be careless. Academician Sima did not pass judgement in the courtroom, but said he would continue the investigation. Clearly, he is not convinced and will certainly find ways to refute your argument. Academician Sima is one of the smartest people in the empire.”

Zhang Fei, however, was full of confidence and smiled: “Within ten days, Academician Sima will definitely pass judgement.”

Hearing his overwhelming confidence, Xu Zun immediately snorted, “Aren’t you a bit overconfident?”

Zhang Fei replied: “If you do not believe me, shall we make a bet?”

Xu Zun, a person with a strong personality, asked, “What kind of bet?”

Zhang Fei replied: “If I lose, I will serve you for free for one year. But if I win, you shall not only cancel my debt, but also give me thirty strings of cash.”

“A deal it is!”

Xu Zun still did not believe this absurdity. Ten days? Hmph, you are overly optimistic about the efficiency of the Song bureaucracy.

Zhang Fei replied, “A deal it is.”

Suddenly, Xu Zun seemed to have thought of something and said: “Wait! You said pass judgement within ten days, but you didn’t mention how he would judge.”

Zhang Fei said: “It’s not about how he should judge, but how we have influenced his judgement.”

He’s really was confident!

Xu Zun looked at Zhang Fei, and earnestly said, “Even though you just shone brightly in the courtroom, don’t let it get to your head. After all, you are merely a commoner. This kind of behind-the-scenes struggle is not something you can handle.”

Zhang Fei calmly replied, “There’s no behind-the-scenes struggle because our opponent has already lost.”

Xu Zun thought that Zhang Fei must be drunk. He waved his hand and said, “Enough! Enough! I can’t be bothered to argue with you. So, how do you think this case would be judged?”

“An immediate release.” Zhang Fei said.

Xu Zun was taken aback and said: “How is that possible? Even if it’s judged as excessive self-defense, it’s still a crime, and there should be punishment.”

Zhang Fei smiled and asked, “Do you remember why Academician Sima opposed reducing Ayun’s charge for voluntary surrender?”

Xu Zun replied, “He considered this case to involve malicious intent, so even if there was voluntary surrender, it would not qualify for a reduced charge.”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, “Although I pleaded excessive self-defense, it doesn’t mean I’ve given up on seeking a reduced charge for voluntary surrender. If the case is judged as excessive self-defense, then it is obviously not a case of malicious intent. Therefore, we can apply for a reduced charge for voluntary surrender. This time, Academician Sima would find it difficult to refute. With a further reduction in the charge for voluntary surrender, and adding to the fact that Ayun has already spent nearly half a year in prison, that would be enough to secure her immediate release.”

“Oh yes! If the case is judged to be excessive self-defense, it would definitely qualify for a reduced charge for voluntary surrender.”

Xu Zun suddenly realized the full significance of Zhang Fei’s suggestion. He looked at Zhang Fei with a hint of shock, and asked, “Did you also factor His Majesty and Academician Wang’s interests into your calculations?

Zhang Fei replied, “I didn’t take their interests into account—I only considered your interests. Regardless of their intentions, His Majesty and Academician Wang have indeed provided you with great support. So you should repay them. In doing so, you would also gain more support.”

Xu Zun felt that this young man was truly unfathomable! If Zhang Fei was simply proficient in laws and good at arguing, he could understand. But now the case had larger political implications.

Actually, if the case was judged to be excessive self-defense in defense of filial piety, that would suffice to avoid a severe judgement for Ayun.

However, Zhang Fei still wanted to uphold a ruling of reduced charge for voluntary surrender.

It might sound like he was pushing it, but such a move was full of political significance.

Because the dispute between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang was originally about whether voluntary surrender applied to this case. Now that Zhang Fei had argued excessive self-defense, even if he won the case, it did not necessarily mean that Wang Anshi had won as well.

Whether voluntary surrender featured in the final judgment had significant political implications.

The more Xu Zun thought about it, the more incredible it seemed, which sparked his appreciation for Zhang Fei’s talent. He thought to himself, I can’t let such a talent slip away so easily! Should I find a way to drag the case on for ten days?

“Surely you do not plan on interfering and dragging this out for ten days, right?”

“What are you talking about? Ahem!”

Xu Zun suddenly widened his eyes, and said, “You scoundrel, do you think I am such a despicable person?”

“That’s good.”

Zhang Fei said: “Tomorrow, you can argue for Ayun’s immediate release.”

Xu Zun was taken aback and said, “But the judgment hasn’t been made yet!”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “But you can express your position on the matter, right?”

Looking at the young man, Xu Zun felt that he was up to something again, so he asked: “What trick are you trying to play?”

Zhang Fei, wanting to cry but having no tears, said, “The case has already been tried. Shouldn’t the Court of Judicial Review express its opinion?”

Xu Zun felt this young man was playing some underhanded trick, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“It’s a disaster! A disaster!”

Just then, a maid rushed in panting and said: “Master, something bad has happened. Miss Qian’er has gone on a hunger strike.”

Xu Zun said: “Tell her if she starves for another ten days, I will let her out.”

“Ah?”

The maid opened her small mouth slightly, staring blankly at Xu Zun.

Zhang Fei also looked at Xu Zun incredulously, wondering, is this really his own daughter?

Xu Zun just gave him an annoyed look. All this is caused by you!