Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 789: President of the Court

To be honest, Zhang Fei spent more time in the capital than he did in Hezhong Mansion. It was also in the capital that he first proposed the concept of legality. However, the people in the capital did not have such feelings for Zhang Fei.

This is all determined by interests.

Although the Public Security Bureau has brought many benefits to the people of the capital, it cannot pull them out of dire straits in a short period of time.

People in the capital saw Zhang Fei slowly growing from a small boy to a judge and prosecutor. In the hearts of many people, Zhang Fei was fighting for his personal future.

But for the people of Hezhong Mansion, Zhang Fei is their chief judge, because Zhang Fei's arrival has completely changed their lives and pulled them out of dire straits. No one can replace this position. , even though Su Che performed very well.

In the face of the shouts of the villagers, Zhang Fei also came to the door very close to the people and wanted to chat with them about how they have been in recent years.

But the folks are full of gossip.

President, why don’t you grow a beard?

President, isn’t your wife here?

President, I heard that you were not promoted after returning to Beijing, is that right?

President, were you the one who wrote the provisional law?

Even Zhang Fei, who is eloquent, doesn't know how to answer these questions.

But he was very happy in his heart.

This proves that everyone is living a good life, because no one comes to him to complain.

In fact, how can it not be bitter? After all, Zhang Fei brought clear governance to Hezhong Prefecture, rather than increasing productivity, which made the wealth increase in a real sense. However, compared with before, the people of Hezhong Prefecture are already very satisfied with the status quo. .

From an ancient perspective, this was an unparalleled peaceful age.

It was not until noon that Zhang Fei returned to the house. Cai Bian had already asked people to prepare a luncheon to greet Zhang Fei. Of course, Su Che also stayed to keep him company, but mainly because his conversation with Zhang Fei was not over yet.

"I heard that the Legislative Council stipulated that the circulation of tax coins cannot exceed the imperial court's copper and silk reserves." Su Che suddenly asked Zhang Fei.

Cai Bian glanced at Su Che and thought to himself, Prosecutor Su is really persistent!

Although the private salt saved the official's life last time, in Su Zhe's view, this was a lesson and he could not continue like this.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Prosecutor Su is referring to the salt banknotes, right?"

Su Zhe nodded and said: "There is currently no legal regulation on the issuance of salt banknotes. It is all decided by the government and Jiekupu through consultation, but facts have proven that they may work together."

Zhang Fei said: "It won't be long before the tax currency will break the constraints of the Legislative Council, and it will be decided by the three divisions and Jiekupu. Before I came, the three major Jiekupu had just transferred from the three divisions in order to meet the needs of the people. I borrowed a million dollars over there."

Cai Bian said in surprise: "Jiekupu borrowed one million guan from Sansi?"

Zhang Fei nodded.

Su Zhe found it even more incredible, "Didn't the Legislative Council take care of it?"

Zhang Fei said: "Jiekupu has collateral."

Su Che frowned and said, "But if we continue like this, won't there be any problems?"

"If you send too much, there will definitely be problems." Zhang Fei said.

Su Zhe is waiting for the next chapter.

Zhang Fei further explained: "But the current financial requirements of the imperial court are to save unnecessary losses and stimulate the growth of wealth, so as to enrich the country and the people. Facts have proved that paper money can benefit the people and the imperial court. This You should also feel this."

Cai Bian nodded.

He actually supports this policy, but Su Che has always had deep doubts about it. He thinks it should be settled as soon as possible.

Zhang Fei said to Su Che again: "Of course, what Prosecutor General Su is worried about is very right, and there is no problem. So this is not complicated, it is just two choices, do you want more, or do you want more? I want to live a more stable life."

Su Zhe said: "Isn't the latter a better choice? Paper money only solves the loss during the transaction process and makes it easier to detect corrupt officials, rather than truly increasing wealth."

Zhang Fei said: "In the past, people could only raise two or three chickens at home, but now they can raise four, five, seven or eight chickens just because they have some extra money. Is this considered an increase in wealth?"

Su Zhe said: "This is just insignificant."

Zhang Fei said: "In a few years, there may be dozens or hundreds. Businessmen and landowners can use money to make money, and so can ordinary people, but only if they have something to spare."

"Anything left?"

Cai Bian thought about it carefully, nodded and said: "The teacher is right, in the market outside, many people slowly become richer like this."

Su Che was also silent in thought.

Zhang Fei said: "Anyway, the current policy of the court is to make the country rich and the people rich. This is not a bad idea. We should not deny this idea, but should give efforts and support.

If we do not choose this path, then the next choice will never be what Prosecutor General Su thinks. It will definitely be to make the country rich and the people poor.

Just like it has been throughout the ages. ”

Su Che's eyes widened after hearing this, and he pondered for a long time. Suddenly he felt enlightened and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "You are right, even if you don't do this, it will never be what I think it is."

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Believe in salt banknotes, recognize salt banknotes, and work hard to make it better, because salt banknotes can indeed make the country and people better, but without salt banknotes, it will just not change. It will get worse, not not get worse."

Su Che chuckled and said, "The Chief Justice is still so good at persuading others."

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "It's not that I'm good at persuading others, but I know that running a country is like sailing against the current. If we don't advance, we will retreat. From the beginning to the end, there is a cliff behind us."

Su Zhe nodded slightly and asked: "What is the position of the public security organs, procuratorates and law among them?"

Zhang Fei pondered for a while, "I think the most accurate answer is everything that Prosecutor General Su has done in the past few years."

Su Che was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses, cupped his hands and said, "Shame! Su Che can't bear it."

Not long after lunch, Su Che said goodbye. As soon as he left, Yuan Jiang and Cai Yanqing rushed here, and Cai Bian also left very wisely.

Like Su Che, when they saw Zhang Fei, they also complained in various ways.

"I never thought that I would miss you so much after you left. Su Ziyou's wooden head really **** me off."

No comparison means no harm.

Yuan Jiang initially thought that her cooperation with Zhang Fei was a good start, but little did she know that it would be the pinnacle of cooperation and that she and Su Che would not be able to talk to each other at all.

Since then, there has been no very sophisticated policy.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "If you two were on good terms with Prosecutor General Su and discussed everything, believe me, Hezhong Mansion would definitely be worse than it is now. It's like if someone is chasing you with a knife, you must run away. Faster than usual."

Cai Yanqing stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The Chief Justice is still so funny."

Yuan Jiang sighed: “But it’s even more tiring!”

Zhang Fei said: "But if you can see the people living and working in peace and contentment, you won't feel tired no matter how tired you are!"

"We are not as noble as you said." Yuan Jiang waved her hands modestly, but then added: "But this seems to be coming to an end. After several years of rapid growth, tax revenue only increased by 1% last year. Done."

It is difficult to go from luxury to frugality!

In the past few years, Hezhong Prefecture's finances were in the lead, and they doubled in the first two years. However, this was all caused by the Qingming Administration and the Taxation Department, rather than breaking through the bottleneck.

Now that all the elites in the tax department have left, it has been proven that not many people dare to evade taxes. At this time, fiscal growth is slow and basically saturated.

Yuan Jiang and the others felt very disappointed.

Zhang Fei said: "Coal and iron."

Yuan Jiang asked in surprise: "What do you mean by this?"

Zhang Fei said: "With the development of industry and commerce, the demand for coal and iron will increase day by day. As far as I know, our Hezhong Prefecture and Jingzhao Prefecture have abundant coal and iron. As long as we find a way, we can mine it quickly. , and then develop smelting technology, then the finance here will soon break through the bottleneck and reach a higher level."

Cai Yanqing frowned and said, "But how easy is it?"

Issuing salt banknotes and salt bonds will bring a lot of money, but if you want to develop coal and iron, it will take years and months of the monkey.

Zhang Fei said: "We don't need to use our brains. Businessmen will figure out a way for themselves. If they want to make more money, they must develop technology in this area. The government can introduce policies to rectify the local coal and iron industry and cooperate with businessmen. Cooperative mining."

In fact, the demand for coal in the Song Dynasty was very large. In the past, the ground heating in Gyeonggi basically relied on coal. Nowadays, with the development of industry and commerce, coupled with the development of firearms, this is an extremely promising industry, and Hezhong Prefecture is The place happens to be relatively rich in coal and iron. Seizing this is tantamount to seizing the future.

This is also the purpose of Zhang Fei coming here. He did not come to Hezhong Mansion to inspect the Public Security Bureau.

The next day.

Zhang Fei took a long nap before getting up. It was not because of the exhaustion of traveling, but because he felt at home here and slept very soundly.

After washing up, he took Long Wu to Big Dog's tavern.

"Good morning, President!"

"Good morning, President!"

"Good morning! Good morning, fellow citizens."

After just a few steps and a quarter of an hour, the businessmen and clerks here greeted Zhang Fei very warmly.

Now it has become the financial center of Hezhong Prefecture.

In fact, at first everyone just came here to sign contracts. Over time, wealthy businessmen settled here to discuss cooperation with other businessmen. After all, all bookstores were built here, and there were complete supporting measures.

"President, you are here."

The big dog came out and said excitedly.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "I have been thinking about the delicious food in your store since I came here."

"This is the shop's honor, President, please come in quickly."

Big Dog immediately welcomed Zhang Fei into the store.

Enter the elegant room, Zhang Fei joked: "Big dog, have you been very boring in recent years?"

Big Dog said sarcastically: "It's true, many people have been transferred away, it's really a bit boring."

"It's going to get lively soon."

Zhang Fei asked in a low voice: "Have they all settled down?"

Big Dog said: "President, please rest assured that everything has been settled. Those workshops are all ready-made and can be used for production with slight modifications, and the craftsmen have already started production."

Zhang Fei nodded, "You need to go all out on this matter. As for the matters with the Taxation Department, just leave it alone."

The big dog nodded and said: "I know."

At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of rapid footsteps.

"Third brother!"

Zhang Fei looked up and immediately stood up, "Fan Da!"

After not seeing each other for many years, Fan Zheng looked more mature and dressed more simply, but he was still so young.

“I know you are coming, but I don’t know what day you are coming, but I am very anxious.”

Fan Zheng's face rarely showed excitement.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Same, same. If you are not in the capital, I am too lazy to go to the Alum Tower."

Fan Zheng was stunned for a moment and said: "Then we still have to go more."

Zhang Fei laughed, "Do you still care about this little money now?"

Fan Zheng suddenly said with emotion: "To be honest with Third Brother, before I met Third Brother, I wanted to keep the family business and make more money. After coming to Hezhong Mansion, it really opened my eyes. It turns out that you can still make money like this. It wasn’t until I went to Xizhou last year that I realized that there are people outside the world, and that Uncle Ma is making money there, which is really jaw-dropping."

"There is no way, everyone with the surname Ma has this kind of virtue."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I hope this doesn't make you lose the motivation to make money?"

"Long lost."

Fan Zhengdao: "It is no longer exciting to make money now. I just feel that this responsibility is huge, because I now control the wealth of the government and most wealthy businessmen, and my life is like walking on thin ice every day."

Zhang Fei said: "Do you also have a strange feeling?"

Fan Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then said shyly: "I can't hide anything from Third Brother, and I really feel an indescribable sense of satisfaction."

"Power."

Zhang Fei smiled.

Fan Zheng looked around in shock, "Third brother, please don't talk nonsense."

Zhang Fei laughed, stretched out his hand again and said: "Sit down, sit down, let's sit down and talk."

"Third brother please."

"Please."

After sitting down, Zhang Fei said again: "I came here because I know that you may have lost your enterprising spirit, so I will find something exciting for you to do."

Fan Zheng asked: "What's the matter?"

Zhang Fei said: "I need you to help me purchase coal and iron, and then deliver it to the designated place. Will someone contact you then?"

Fan Zhengdao: "But the dog brother of this store?"

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, "Have I mentioned this to you?"

Fan Zhengdao: "My Bailun Building is right next to it. It is big and impressive, but the third brother wants to come here."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said: "It seems that you have matured a lot!"

After a pause, he saw that Fan Zheng did not ask again, so he said: "You have already guessed it."

Fan Zheng nodded.

If you want coal and iron and keep it so mysterious, then you must be producing weapons. If you secretly produce weapons in large quantities, isn't it just for war?

Zhang Fei said: "But you still don't understand why I said it would bring you some excitement."

Fan Zheng nodded again.

I will just buy you some coal and iron. Although this is a bit sensitive, it is not exciting at all!

Zhang Fei said: "Because I want you to become the next Third Secretary Envoy."

Fan Zheng was suddenly startled, "Third Secretary?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "I am definitely not kidding. After this reform, you are actually doing the work of the Third Secretary. Through the transfer of wealth, you control the overall situation and discover risks first. But in Taiping Managing wealth well in prosperous times is not a skill. Only in times of war can you do this, which is the real skill."

Is this exciting?

This is simply a fantasy story.

"How could I become the Third Secretary Envoy?"

Fan Zheng asked in a trembling voice.

Zhang Fei said: "Nothing is impossible. Whoever controls Jiekupu in the future will become the next Third Secretary. This is an inevitable trend. Therefore, you have to look at Jiekupu from a longer-term perspective. When buying and selling, you must also set higher goals for yourself."

Fan Zheng still found it unbelievable, "But the imperial court has a system. As a businessman, even if I want to become an official, I have to climb up step by step. How could I suddenly become the third envoy?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "The system has been changed. In the future, the three envoys will be directly appointed by officials, and I will persuade the officials to choose people directly from Jiekupu. This is actually not difficult, because the Manchu Dynasty Neither civil or military officials understand this."

Fan Zheng saw that Zhang Fei was really not joking.

This...

This really opened a skylight for Fan Zheng. He had never thought that he could still be an official, and he was still the third envoy.

To be honest, Fan Zheng was really confused before and didn't know where to go next.

Make money?

The money he made was numb, and the accounts he had in his hands ranged from tens of thousands of dollars at least.

What’s the point?

This time, I am flying straight into the sky.

For Zhang Fei, his plan is to develop industry and commerce, but if businessmen cannot enter the court and control power, industry and commerce will never develop.

We have basically reached the top when we reach Fan Zheng.

But in this ancient society, it was simply impossible for businessmen to enter the decision-making body.

However, Xue Xiang's series of operations gave Zhang Fei hope.

Nowadays, Jiekupu and Sansi are inseparable, and playing is pure currency. If Mr. Lu is allowed to take charge of the current Sansi, he no longer has this ability. From this point of view, the elite of Jiekupu , is the most suitable candidate for the Third Secretary Envoy.

For the emperor, the power of businessmen could also help him check and balance the scholar-bureaucrats.

Zhang Fei plans to use this path to allow businessmen to enter decision-making bodies.

Fan Zheng was Zhang Fei’s stepping stone for the Song Dynasty.

Soon, Fan Zheng understood that Zhang Fei was really well-prepared and not just asking him to buy coal and iron secretly.

At the same time, there is also some financial supply to the front line, as well as secret hoarding of food.

This is actually the business of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Because this plan is to be hidden from the political hall, it must not follow the conventional route. Otherwise, the ministers of the DPRK and China will soon know about it, so they can only find another way, and Jiekupu is the best choice.

This really made Fan Zheng a little excited and looking forward to it.

Businessmen are the ones causing trouble on the front lines, and they are also the businessmen providing money behind the scenes. Isn’t this a businessman’s war?

After making these arrangements, Zhang Fei set off back to Beijing.

Zhang Fei was eager to return home. He was wearing stars and wearing the moon, and he was riding fast, and soon he returned to the capital.

"You are finally back."

As soon as he returned home, Xu Zhiqian hurriedly greeted him.

Zhang Fei didn't even recover, "What happened?"

Xu Zhiqian said: "Something happened in the Jianghuai area. At the beginning of this year, the Taxation Department conducted a tax inspection there, resulting in the death and injury of more than thirty scholar-bureaucrats and more than a hundred lives."

Zhang Fei was shocked and said: "Such a big deal? They must have heard of the tax department's bad reputation, right?"

Xu Zhiqian said: "This is different. For example, in Gyeonggi Province, when they first recognized the tax department, it was just because of the exemption tax, and then they standardized the tax laws step by step, and then later on the warehouse tax. The same is true for Jingdong East Road. , but the Jianghuai area is different. They have to accept all tax laws within one year.

Especially the warehouse tax. There were really many people there who wanted to evade the warehouse tax. As a result, they were found out by the tax department. Some old scholar-officials couldn't accept it for a while and vomited blood and died in the imperial court.

There were also some scholar-bureaucrats who tried to stop the tax police, but were pushed away by the tax police and fell to death. There were countless such cases.

Now the DPRK and China are very dissatisfied with the violent behavior against the Department of Taxation. This matter has caused a storm in the city. Even the chief judge and the rich man did not support the tax department's actions, and even my father did not dare to say a word. ”

At this moment, someone suddenly came to the palace, and Zhang Fei was summoned to enter the palace immediately.

After returning home, Zhang Fei rushed to the palace before he even sat down.

Seeing Zhao Xu, Zhang Fei first reported the results of his trip, including how he frightened Zhong E and others.

"I really have you."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu laughed and nodded with satisfaction: "In this case, they must not dare to scheming with each other for the time being."

Zhang Fei said: "However, things may develop faster than we expected. The reason why I am in a hurry to leave Xizhou is because the Xixia border has gradually become out of control. I believe there will be a fight soon. I am afraid that I will continue to stay. Being there will make people suspicious."

Zhao Xu nodded and said: "But the civil and military officials of the court are not aware of this matter, and if you are just a prosecutor, the help you can give me is very limited. I also plan to appoint you as the president of the court immediately. ."

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, "Immediately?"

Zhao Xu nodded, "Do you know what happened in Jiangnan?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Mrs. Cai mentioned it to me just now."

Zhao Xu said: "Because there are many scholar-bureaucrats involved, the ministers of the DPRK and China are almost standing opposite the tax department, and it is not easy for me to come forward. I need you to calm this storm."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "I understand."

After coming out of the palace, Li Bao was already waiting on the carriage.

“Didn’t you say that Hezhong Prefecture is full of elites and they won’t be as violent as the Jingdong East Road Tax Department? Why are they still making such a big fuss?”

"This is really unfair!"

Li Bao looked aggrieved.

Zhang Fei said: "What's going on?"

Li Bao said: "It's because those scholar-bureaucrats relied on their old age and took advantage of their weak bodies to stalk the tax police. Moreover, those Jiangnan landowners were also very cunning and let some old Confucian women and children stand in the way. This One push will kill someone. No matter how gentle the tax police in Hezhong Prefecture are, they can’t control it.

At that time, the tax police had only one option: either withdraw, or send them to see the King of Hell. ”

Zhang Fei asked: "Did those tax policemen break any rules?"

Li Bao hesitated a little and said: "In terms of law enforcement, there were no violations, but he also fell into several traps. The other party made a conspiracy and set up a maze to confuse the tax police. However, during the trial, the imperial court also sentenced The Taxation Department lost the case.

They just want to use this to separate the Taxation Department and the Public Security Bureau. On the one hand, they praise the Public Security Bureau and law enforcement impartially, but on the other hand, they attack the Taxation Department and frame the case.

This resulted in the loss of life later, and the public prosecutor and the law became somewhat in a dilemma. Many judges and prosecutors also felt that the tax department went too far and bullied old Confucian women, women and children, so this matter came to the capital. ”