Chapter 326: Weizhou Has an Incorruptible Magistrate Zhang

On the platform amid the ruins of the county school, more and more people came forward to lodge complaints. The earliest arrivals were merely men selected by Guo Tiance, and they had indeed been bullied by the Wang garrison commander's household.

But the matters they complained of were no great affairs at all — six parts truth and four parts falsehood, inevitably embellished and exaggerated.

For these soldiers, by the standards of Weizhou, actually counted as people who lived rather well.

One must understand, this was an age when military men ran rampant. If a family had someone skilled with spear and staff, able to secure a post in the army, they naturally stood a few notches above the common folk.

What they called oppression at the hands of the Wang garrison commander, in the eyes of the truly common people, hardly counted as anything at all.

Take Fire Chief Li, for example. The Wang garrison commander had indeed taken a fancy to his eldest sister, and she had indeed been carried off by the Wang garrison commander — but this was with his father's consent, albeit under pressure.

For this, their family received silver for the sale, and Fire Chief Li began to receive favorable treatment in the army, even obtaining the petty post of fire chief.

In later ages, such a matter might be a shocking case of abduction, but in this era, to call it trivial would be an exaggeration — yet it truly was not all that serious.

But though these matters were small, they could still inflict tremendous damage, because just as the complaints kept coming and the affair kept fermenting, Guo Tiance secretly sent men to spread rumors in all directions.

They said that Zhang, the Sikong of Liangzhou, would see justice done for the people, and that many had already come forward to denounce the Wang garrison commander, and so on.

In those days there was little in the way of entertainment, so once this affair broke, it instantly became explosive news throughout Weizhou city.

Those connected and those unconnected, those who truly wished to lodge complaints and those who merely came for the spectacle — all were drawn in.

And so, after the Weizhou soldiers bought off by the Guiyi Army had finished their complaints, encouraged by them, the next to come were indeed the poor common folk who had truly been oppressed by the Wang garrison commander.

Among them were those whose family members had been beaten to death by the Wang garrison commander's household, those whose fields and property had been seized by scheming, those who had been dragged off to gambling and lost their entire fortunes with nowhere to seek redress, and still more whose wives, daughters, and sisters had been carried off and violated by the Wang garrison commander's clansmen and stewards, great and small.

These crimes, one by one, item by item, were documented and verifiable, witnessed by people, and known in the hearts of many.

Their tearful appeals upon the platform were what truly ignited public opinion. In such an atmosphere, even those who in ordinary times had merely been slapped, spat upon, or cursed at by the Wang family's servants would now feel they had been grievously bullied by the Wang garrison commander.

A matter the size of a sesame seed they would embellish into one the size of a peanut, and one the size of a peanut would quickly become one as large as a watermelon.

Seeing the fury mounting ever higher, Guo Tiance knew the moment had come. He secretly shot a meaningful glance at Fire Chief Li.

Fire Chief Li, who had been watching Guo Tiance's expression and movements all along, nodded, then scrambled to his feet and cried out with grief and indignation on his face.

"Why do we weep and plead here? Zhang the Sikong is right there in the prefectural office. Better that we all go together and ask Zhang the Sikong to see justice done for the people!"

The others thought it over — true enough. Why were they here weeping? Why not go directly to Zhang the Sikong?

And so, the weeping petitioners swept along the great crowd of people who had been listening there, and the multitude surged grandly toward the prefectural office.

Zhang Zhao in the yamen was also waiting for this moment. After Wu Ying'er persuaded the Wang garrison commander to open the gates, Zhang Zhao did not show himself, but merely sent Yan Jin in his place to offer a few words of reassurance.

The Wang garrison commander thought nothing of it, reasoning that Zhang Zhao, as Acting Sikong and Military Governor of Hexi, was far above him in rank, and it was only proper that he not appear in person to placate a petty garrison commander like himself.

Little did he know that after he had used the people as a shield to protect himself, Zhang Zhao had already resolved to eliminate him.

And so, within the Weizhou prefectural office, Zhang Zhao very cordially received the people who had come to seek redress, and even very "considerately" opened the yamen gates so that a great crowd could look on.

Of course, those able to enter and lodge complaints had still been screened. Basically, Guo Tiance selected one or two from among the most deeply wronged victims, while the rest were mostly soldiers who had long since gone over to the Guiyi Army, brought in to make up the numbers.

Of course, there were also many common folk who wailed loudly when it came time to lament, but when actually required to lodge a formal complaint, still did not quite dare to step forward.

The foolish young man raised his complaint and crawled forward on his knees to Zhang Zhao, while Zhang Zhao sat upon the great hall of the prefectural office, every inch the image of an incorruptible magistrate.

"This humble commoner kowtows before the Sikong. Today I presume to trouble the Sikong because I have a grievance I cannot redress, and can only beg the Sikong to see justice done."

Zhang Zhao did not speak; the one who spoke was Guo Tiance. He walked to the foolish young man's side, took the complaint from his hands, glanced at it for a moment before presenting it to Zhang Zhao, then said thoughtfully.

"You are a soldier of the Weizhou garrison, and the Wang garrison commander is your superior. By law, when a commoner sues an official, or a subordinate sues a superior, what is the procedure? Do you know it?"

In the feudal era, to protect the privileges of the bureaucratic class and to prevent petty folk from disrupting the administration of justice, there were in fact extremely strict regulations governing commoners suing officials.

In the Tang dynasty, generally there were only two circumstances in which a commoner could sue an official: first, when there was an especially grave injustice; second, when a censor was out on inspection, gathering the grievances of the people — only then could one block the carriage and make one's tearful appeal.

However, the "commoner suing an official" spoken of here, in most cases, referred to bypassing the proper levels to lodge a complaint.

For example, if the foolish young man wished to sue the Wang garrison commander, then according to the regulations, he could only go to the Wang garrison commander's superior — that is, the Troop Commander before the Military Governor's office, or a subordinate official of the Military Governor responsible for military affairs or military discipline.

To directly lodge a complaint against the Wang garrison commander before an Acting Sikong and Military Governor like this — that is what is called a commoner suing an official.

The foolish young man nodded crisply. "This humble commoner knows that for a commoner suing an official, the punishment is fifty strokes of the bastinado or twenty strokes of the spine staff."

The bastinado meant being beaten with thick rattan rods, and the spine staff, of course, meant being struck on the back with a great staff. Neither was to be taken lightly; if truly administered, they could leave a man unable to rise from bed for over ten days, or even bedridden with an illness from which he never recovered.

At this point, Zhang Zhao had to step in. With a wave of his hand he stopped the foolish young man from stripping off his clothes to await the spine staff, then rose to his feet and slowly regarded the Weizhou residents inside and outside the yamen.

"If we follow the statutes this dynasty has inherited from the Great Tang, should an official seize the property of the people, he is to be ordered to return it to the people and provide compensation.

However, I am the Military Governor of Hexi, not the Military Governor of the Zhangyi Army. If I accept your complaint and order the Wang garrison commander to return your family's land and compensate you for the lost harvests of these years, there is indeed the suspicion of overstepping my authority!"

The foolish young man let out a wail, crawled forward on his knees again to Zhang Zhao, and knocked his head against the ground with resounding thuds, blood flying.

"Since our army's Military Governor entered the court last year, the court has never appointed a replacement, and the affairs of the Military Governor's office have been handled by Troop Commander He before the Military Governor's office.

But Troop Commander He and the Wang garrison commander shield one another, officials protecting officials — how would they ever seek justice for humble commoners like us?

I have heard that Zhang the Sikong is fair and incorruptible in Hexi, cherishing the common people. Now that you have entered Weizhou city under orders to suppress the rebels, you are the father and mother of us common folk of Weizhou. If even the Sikong will not see justice done for us, to whom else can we appeal?"

The foolish young man shouted, his face flushed red. In truth, it was not from agitation but from nervousness, because memorizing this passage had truly been no easy task.

Zhang Zhao frowned slightly. Guo Tiance still had not handled the matter perfectly. How could an illiterate man like the foolish young man produce such bookish words? This was clearly a glaring flaw!

But when he looked outside the gate, the crowd was still seething with indignation, every eye fixed on Zhang Zhao, watching to see whether he would step forward to see justice done — and no one seemed to pay much attention to that aspect.

Zhang Zhao therefore breathed a sigh of relief, then sighed again. "What you say is not without reason. In that case, I shall accept your complaint. Go down yourself, receive ten strokes of the spine staff, and then come back to seek redress!"

Zhang Rongbao was also in the crowd. When he heard that ten strokes of the spine staff would be administered, he still shrank back somewhat.

For he now had no surplus grain at home and was utterly alone. If ten strokes of the spine staff crippled him, leaving him unable to earn money or beg for food, he would likely starve to death.

But while he hesitated, those long since arranged by Guo Tiance did not hesitate in the slightest. The crowd surged forward, raising their written complaints, their weeping shaking the heavens, demanding that Zhang Zhao see justice done for them.

Zhang Rongbao looked left and right; beside him were only a few others still hesitating.

They were, in fact, all genuinely aggrieved victims with deep and bitter grievances — they simply did not know it about one another.

Now, seeing this situation, they assumed that only the few of them were hesitating while everyone else was wholly bent on seeking justice. Watching the others so resolute, they suddenly felt encouraged. The few of them gritted their teeth and prepared to step forward as well.

Just then, the foolish young man, having finished receiving his ten strokes of the spine staff, walked in through the gate.

Zhang Rongbao took one look — good heavens! Such a great staff, ten strokes of the spine staff, and yet the foolish young man had suffered hardly any injury.

Though blood was welling from his back, the wounds were all superficial, and moreover a physician was at his side, wiping the wounds with medicinal liquid.

This was clearly going easy on him!

Zhang Rongbao's heart leaped with joy. It seemed the Sikong Zhang really did mean to take this matter in hand — otherwise how would those soldiers dare to fake it right in front of Sikong Zhang?

The clear-sighted people inside and outside the prefectural office also instantly sensed that something was off.

Then Zhang Zhao really did begin hearing the case, and he did not bring up Commander Wang for questioning, and everyone else, by tacit agreement, did not raise the matter either.

The foolish young man presented the altered loan contract and the testimony of the neighboring villagers. Once it was established that his family's twenty mu of land had indeed been taken by the Wang family, Zhang Zhao immediately pronounced judgment.

He ruled that the foolish young man's family should repay the three strings of cash borrowed from Commander Wang's family, with interest of five hundred cash.

Commander Wang's family, in turn, must return the twenty mu of good farmland taken from the foolish young man's family, and all the produce of those twenty mu of good land over five years, after subtracting the costs put in, must be handed over to the foolish young man's family, totaling fifty strings of cash.

At this, the crowd inside and outside the office could no longer hold back. For one thing, they had not expected Zhang Zhao to truly deal with Commander Wang impartially; for another, they had not expected Zhang Zhao to be able to rule in such a way.

At this time, the yield of one mu of good farmland was only between three hundred fifty and four hundred jin. At the Weizhou price of twenty to thirty cash per dou of grain, the yearly output of one mu of good land came to only a little over eight hundred cash.

Yet for twenty mu of land, Zhang Zhao had calculated ten strings a year — that is, he had awarded five hundred cash per mu in compensation.

The output was over eight hundred cash, but after deducting seed, fertilizer, labor costs, and the impact of natural disasters, one absolutely could not clear five hundred cash.

The foolish young man's family had made out handsomely! They had been cheated out of twenty mu of land, and in the end Commander Wang's family had become their tenant farmers for five years of the bitterest toil.

What shakes people's hearts the most? Wealth shakes people's hearts!

At first most people had come to watch the excitement. After a while, stirred by emotion, they felt Commander Wang had indeed gone too far, and hoped Sikong Zhang would punish him a little.

Now anyone with a nimble mind had realized: this was actually a road to riches!

Soon the case of Fire Chief Li's abducted elder sister was also decided. Zhang Zhao ruled that Commander Wang must compensate Fire Chief Li at five times the price paid for the bondservant at the time, while the death of Fire Chief Li's elder sister still required detailed investigation before judgment.

When Zhang Rongbao heard this, he let out a howl and leaped to his feet. He rushed before Zhang Zhao and began kowtowing furiously.

"Sikong, your discernment is clear! The eldest daughter of the Li family accepted my betrothal gifts. Though she was Li Erlang's elder sister, she was even more this humble man's wife! I beg the Sikong to uphold justice for me."

Zhang Zhao waved his hand in fury. "This Wang family is truly detestable! Rest assured, I will certainly uphold justice for you.

How about this: Commander Wang caused you to lose your wife, so let Commander Wang provide a woman to compensate you. And for these ten years of your wasted life, I will also have Commander Wang pay you twenty strings as recompense."

Zhang Rongbao stood dazed for a moment. He had already resigned himself to his lot, but stirred by the deeds of Zhang Yichao, he had felt a touch of emotion. Now, thinking it over — not only twenty strings of cash, but the Wang family would also have to give him a young woman — he instantly came back to life.

"The Sikong is truly a bodhisattva descended to this world! This humble man kowtows to the Dharma King Bodhisattva! The Dharma King Bodhisattva saves the suffering and brings salvation, may his line endure for ten thousand generations, wuwuwu!"

Zhang Rongbao, like the foolish young man, kowtowed on the ground until blood splattered everywhere.

This was truly remarkable! With these three examples before them, everyone gathered inside and outside the office grew restless.

Some who had been bullied by Commander Wang's family racked their brains, trying to recall when such things had happened, and whether there were still witnesses or evidence.

Those who had not been bullied by Commander Wang's family wished they could run to the Wang family's fortified manor right now and let Commander Wang or his family beat them up, so that Sikong Zhang would surely rule that the Wang family must pay them compensation for their medical expenses.

As for the true victims, they all surged forward in an instant, the grievances in their hearts erupting like wildfire, each one wailing and crying for Zhang Zhao to uphold justice for them.

And those whose judgments had already been delivered were also waiting in the prefectural office, because the compensation had not yet been received. In a while they would follow Sikong Zhang to the Wang family's fortified manor to demand it.

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