When Lu Xiaosheng stood up, Fan Zhen immediately cast an apologetic look, but Lu Xiaosheng looked at him with shame, sighed, and slowly walked down the court.

This Lu Xiaosheng was Fan Zhen's confidant and good friend. He was a very upright man and had a high moral integrity throughout his life. Therefore, Fan Zhen was the first to summon him to testify, intending to use him to demonstrate the demeanor of their country squire and reverse the bad influence caused by the morning.

But little did he know that the other party would still find a flaw and make his old friend suffer.

In the eyes of the squires, this is really demoralizing.

However, Fan Zhen still looked confident and strategizing, without any panic.

Next it was the defense's turn to call witnesses, and this time it was Lu Bangxing who was in charge. He directly summoned a squire from the other side named Xu Qingnian, the same squire who refused to testify in court because of illness in the morning.

However, at noon, after some persuasion from Fan Zhen, he agreed to appear in court.

After all, he is one of the plaintiffs. As a plaintiff, if he is not willing to testify in court, it is too unconvincing.

This old man, Ting Lai, was not as arrogant as Liang Youyi just now. He was sitting in a dignified manner, with his aggrieved eyes like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Are these country squires like this? Lu Bangxing almost laughed out loud, stood up, and asked directly: "I heard that Mr. Xu opened a Jieku shop in the city, specializing in lending."

Xu Qingnian nodded and said: "Yes."

Lu Bangxing asked again: "I wonder how much interest Mr. Xu's Jiekupu usually charges?"

"There's high and there's low."

After saying that, Xu Qingnian immediately added: "I admit that some of the interest rates are relatively high. If you use the imperial court's conversion method, some of them are more than double."

I admit it all, don't ask.

Lu Bangxing smiled slightly and added, "I wonder if the interest agreed upon by the clan this time will bind Mr. Xu's Jiekupu?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "It is not restrictive, because the regulations are only for my folks in Huaishu Township. Jiekupu is in the city, and the two sides have nothing to do with it."

Lu Bangxing said: "In other words, Mr. Xu will not increase the interest rate of Jiekupu to 1.5 cents."

Xu Qingnian said: "No."

Lu Bangxing asked again: "So Mr. Xu doesn't sincerely support the one-and-a-half cent interest?"

Xu Qingnian said: "That's not true. I am very happy to do something for the villagers. But my Jiekupu in the city is just for business, as long as it is not illegal."

Lu Bangxing lowered his head and glanced at the copy, and said: "But according to my investigation, during the famine period about five years ago, which was the most difficult period for the villagers, the Xu family lent as much as twice as much as twice as much to the villagers.

Three times the interest, and annexed the land of dozens of households. At that time, Mr. Xu didn’t seem to think of doing anything for the people?”

Xu Qingnian glanced at him and said, "I am already so honest, but you still want to do this. It is really heartbreaking." He immediately replied with despair: "Many people did this at that time."

He doesn't usually talk like this. Like Liang Youyi, he talks about benevolence, justice and morality, but he knows that saying something here will only make himself more embarrassed, so he simply abandons the cloak of Confucianism and talks about interests directly.

Suddenly boos broke out outside the hospital.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Zhang Fei immediately banged the gavel as if this was his only job.

After the people outside the hospital calmed down, Lu Bangxing continued to ask: "I heard that the draft agreement on interest was drawn up by Mr. Xu."

"Yes, it is."

Xu Qingnian nodded slightly.

Lu Bangxing asked: "Why did you ask Mr. Xu to draft it?"

Xu Qingnian said: "Because my family owns Jiekupu, I know this better."

Lu Bangxing asked again: "I heard that it is stipulated in the draft agreement that anyone who violates this provision will be expelled from his hometown?"

Xu Qingnian was stunned for a moment. After hesitating for a moment, he replied: "This was the plan in the original draft, but this clause was later deleted."

Lu Bangxing asked: "Why?"

Xu Qingnian said: "This is because the government has banned it. We are worried that writing this way will violate the law."

Lu Bangxing asked: "But according to my investigation, the patriarchal law of your Huaishu Township stipulates that if a woman becomes pregnant before marriage, she will be expelled from the township. I wonder if that is true?"

Xu Qingnian frowned and nodded: "Yes."

Lu Bangxing asked: "Can it be deleted now?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "That's not true."

Lu Bangxing asked: "So Mr. Xu is not afraid of breaking the law?"

Xu Qingnian was speechless.

Lu Bangxing waited for a while and then asked: "Is it possible that this provision only restricts you big landowners and country gentry, so it only stipulates regulations but not punishments?"

Xu Qingnian said hurriedly: "Of course not."

Lu Bangxing asked: "Then why is there no punishment?"

Xu Qingnian thought for a moment and then said: "That's because the matter has not been finalized yet. After this lawsuit is completed, we will consider the issue of punishment."

After Lu Bangxing heard this, he asked again: "In other words, this rule can be modified."

A flash of regret flashed in Xu Qingnian's eyes, and he also wondered in his heart, do these Erbi minds move so fast? After plugging one hole, another hole came, endlessly, so he could only nod helplessly.

Lu Bangxing asked again: "Interest can also be modified?"

"I don't know much about this." Xu Qingnian said sarcastically.

Lu Bangxing asked reluctantly: "Is there any provision in the patriarchal law that cannot modify interest?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "That's not true."

"That's okay."

"Yes, it is."

Lu Bangxing said: "I wonder if you modify this regulation, do you need to seek the consent of all villagers?"

Xu Qingnian said truthfully: "This is not necessary. Generally speaking, the rules in the village are decided by the elders of the village."

Lu Bangxing said: "In other words, as long as a few elders in the village nod, the interest can be changed at will."

Xu Qingnian said sarcastically: "The elders in the village will also take the attitude of the villagers into consideration."

Lu Bangxing asked: "What should you consider?"

"Well."

Xu Qingnian said: "The elders in the village will still think about the villagers."

Lu Bangxing said: "That's it, no supervision?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head.

Lu Bangxing said: "If I say that after half a year or a year, the elders in the village think that the interest rate is inappropriate, they can directly modify it, right?"

Xu Qingnian struggled for a moment and finally nodded.

"I'm done asking."

Lu Bangxing sat down directly.

Xu Qingnian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This is really leniency for those who confess and severity for those who resist!

Fan Zhen stood up slowly and asked: "Mr. Xu, in this regulation, is there any restriction that villagers can only borrow money from the village and cannot borrow money from outsiders?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "No. We only agreed that when villagers lend money in the countryside, the interest cannot be higher than one and a half cents."

Fan Zhen nodded and said: "Just now, Mr. Xu said that he opened a Jieku shop in the city for lending. I wonder what the interest rate is in your shop?"

Xu Qingnian said: "This is not necessarily true. There is one point of interest, there is also five points of interest, or even higher. This is determined based on the customer's collateral and the length of the loan."

Fan Zhen asked: "Now that the township has set an interest rate of 1.5 cents, will it affect your store's business?"

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "No, because the interest rate of 1.5 cents is not the lowest. If you have a very valuable mortgage, you can still borrow money with 1 cent interest, but if you have nothing and no

Even if someone guarantees you, you may not be able to borrow it in the countryside."

Fan Zhendao: "So even if the township sets an interest rate of 1.5 cents, it cannot achieve a monopoly."

Xu Qingnian shook his head and said: "Impossible. I have never seen any businessman who can monopolize this industry with low interest rates, unless it is the imperial court."

Fan Zhen asked: "How do you say this?"

Xu Qingnian said: "Take that Jiaozi, for example. Back then, Jiaozi was issued by our Jiekupu. However, some Jiekupu issued Jiaozi indiscriminately due to poor management, causing some people to lose their money, so the imperial court

A special Jiaozi service was set up for the issuance of Jiaozi. At the same time, private Jiekupu was prohibited from issuing Jiaozi. Soon Jiaozi was monopolized by the imperial court."

Fan Zhendao: "This is a good thing."

Xu Qingnian said: "But the imperial court issued more coins, so recently the people have returned to using copper coins and iron coins."

The people outside the hospital began to whisper to each other. Xu Qingnian did not lie. After the short-term release of Jiaozi in Shaanxi, it plummeted. The reason was that the imperial court used a large amount of Jiaozi to pay military salaries, which far exceeded the government's reserve fund. The result was that Jiaozi

The price immediately depreciated.

Businessmen also have spam, but the scope is limited and it is impossible to cause such a bad impact.

The reason is that if merchants send excessive amounts of money, the people will immediately come to make trouble, and they will soon be able to control it, and the government will take action. But if the court wants to use excessive amounts of money, the people can only try not to use it, and there is no other way.
To be continued...