Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 166: The cage of power

On the second floor, there is only a small room with four windows, but the decoration is very elegant. At this time, there is a person sitting in the room, which is Emperor Shenzong.

He was sitting at a small square table with a jug of wine and four very delicate dishes on the table, all of which were Zhang Fei's favorite, even including the pretty little maid beside him.

"Xiaomin Zhang Fei sees His Majesty."

Zhang Fei bowed.

Zhao Xu said with a smile: "You don't need to be polite, just sit down."

The hand leads directly to the opposite side.

He didn't want to reveal his identity before, but he just wanted to maintain a kind of communication between friends with Zhang Fei. He and Zhang Fei were about the same age, and they hit it off right away. This kind of relationship is very rare for him.

Even if he has exposed his identity now, he still hopes to maintain this relationship.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

It's not the first time Zhang Fei sat across the table with Zhao Xu, he smiled, came to sit opposite Zhao Xu, looked around, "This seems to be the first time I've been a guest at His Majesty's house."

A guest? Zhao Xu liked this statement very much, and laughed: "I have wanted to invite you for a long time, but I haven't found the opportunity."

During the conversation, the maid next to them had already poured a glass of wine for them.

Zhao Xu raised his glass and said, "Congratulations on winning this lawsuit."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Zhang Fei hurriedly raised his glass to meet him.

Drinking it all down, Zhao Xu put down his wine glass and said, "At first, Fan Sijian temporarily asked Wang Xueshi to testify in court, which really shocked me into a cold sweat. Fortunately, you were not surprised, which made Fan Sijian It’s really a pleasure to tell them that they can’t use it!”

Zhang Fei originally wanted to pick up some food to eat, and suppressed the wine, when he heard the emperor's question, he hurriedly said: "To tell you the truth, this is actually much better than I imagined, even better than last time The lawsuit of the law of the ancestors is much easier."

"Really?"

Zhao Xu was surprised.

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Last time, the jury was asking me, this status is not equal, so I have more scruples, this time at least I have an equal relationship with Fan Sijian, on this basis, The difference between whether Master Wang made a confession or not is only because he lost very embarrassingly or slightly embarrassingly."

Zhao Xu said with a smile: "So no matter what, he will lose."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Because they are messing around in this matter, unless they use those despicable means, otherwise, it is impossible for them to win."

Zhao Xu nodded, and said: "About Fang Yun, I have sent people to investigate secretly, but the other party has done a very thorough job, and have not found any clues yet, but I have sent people to secretly protect Fang Yun , you don’t have to worry too much about this.”

Zhang Fei hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Xu said with a smile: "Unexpectedly, you are still such a person who values ​​love and righteousness. In fact, Fang Yun only saved your life at the beginning, and you also helped her get rid of the crime. This is already repaying her." Life-saving grace."

Zhang Fei smiled wryly and said, "It would be great if the results of love can also be obtained through calculation."

"It makes sense." Zhao Xu nodded with a smile, and said again: "It's really strange to say that every time I hear you go to court, I always benefit a lot, even better than the debates of those ministers .”

Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said: "This may be because those ministers talk about gains and losses in terms of morality in front of His Majesty, while I judge morality in terms of success or failure in the courtroom, which is exactly the opposite, so Your Majesty feels different. "

"Morality judged by success or failure?"

When Zhao Xu heard it at the beginning, he felt that the words made no sense, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that there was some truth, so he asked, "How do you say this?"

Zhang Fei replied: "Because the law is born out of morality, and it is also the bottom line of morality. Many times some immoral things are not illegal, but illegal things must have a moral aspect, so When the law fights, morality becomes naked.

A lawsuit is purely a battle of interests. We do not want to persuade the other party, nor to explore the truth, but to use the weapon of the law to subdue the other party. This is like a confrontation between two armies. In the end, what is defended is precisely morality. "

Zhao Xu pondered for a while, nodded and smiled and said, "Your explanation is refreshing, I would like to toast you again."

"This cup should be my respect to Your Majesty."

"Same."

Drink it.

Zhao Xu said again: "Before you were in court, you said that the establishment of the Second Government Regulations Division would be supervised by the judiciary. In my opinion, they will definitely pay attention to the study of litigation and try to stop it with the law. Wang Xueshi's reform, can you guarantee that you can always win?"

Zhang Fei was startled, hesitated for a while, shook his head and said: "I can't."

Zhao Xu raised his arms to the table, leaned forward, and asked, "What should I do?"

"This...." Zhang Fei was a little bit tangled up. He was so involved in the lawsuit just now that he forgot about the emperor. It was all because of Fan Chunren. But bad.

Seeing his tangled expression, Zhao Xu smiled slightly: "I can only talk to you about this problem, and I hope you can tell me everything you want, and you can talk endlessly."

The question he wants to ask is actually very simple, can the judiciary restrict me? As an emperor, if I have to rely on your ear pen to promulgate policies, it means that the imperial power has been greatly weakened!

What Fan Chunren said just now caught his attention.

The emperor wants to follow the legalist line, and what he pursues is not that the law is not noble, but that he respects the emperor and humbles the ministers. This is a very important political thought of the Legalists.

Centralization strengthens power.

But at present, this legalist thinks differently from Zhao Xu. If the lawsuit continues like this, he will also be supervised by the judiciary.

"Yes!"

Zhang Fei nodded, coping with it, thinking to himself, if he didn't clarify this issue, he might not go on firmly. Anyway, now I’m just a bastard, and I don’t have any power. I just want him to listen to what I say, and it won’t have any effect on him. If I become an official in the court in the future, then these words may be said forever No more exports.

Weighing for a while, Zhang Fei nodded and said: "If you lose, you have to admit it."

Zhao Xu frowned slightly, this was not what he wanted.

Zhang Fei then said: "If you don't recognize it, you will perish."

Zhao Xu was surprised again: "How do you say that?"

Zhang Fei asked: "Your Majesty, do you know why Qin prospered and died?"

Zhao Xu pondered for a while: "Prosper because of the law, and die because of the law?"

The demise of a country is definitely not a reason. Usually, to answer this question, you must combine the context. He didn't answer Zhang Fei, but guessed what Zhang Fei wanted to say.

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "To be precise, Qin was prospered by the law, but at the same time died by respecting the monarch and humble ministers. This is why no one who respected the legalists in the past dynasties lasted long." /

Death to honor the emperor and humble the people?

This seems to be telling Zhao Xu directly not to follow the path of Legalism.

But this is obviously contradictory to Zhang Fei's previous views.

Before Zhang Fei once emphasized that the only way to make the country rich and strong is the Legalists.

Zhao Xu asked: "What is the explanation for this?"

Zhang Fei replied: "If the law is to defend the bottom line of morality, then the monarch is to defend the bottom line of the law. Once the monarch breaks the law, the country will perish.

Because the law has the least restriction on the monarch. Ordinary people break the law, mostly for money, beauty, and even power. Very difficult.

Unless you rob the women of the people and send people to plunder the people's property, how can the country survive with such a monarch. Throughout the past dynasties, whenever a country weakens, it always starts with the monarch breaking the law, and there has never been a phenomenon where the law perishes and the country survives. "

Zhao Xu shook his head when he heard it: "You only know one thing, but not the other thing. My every move is under their surveillance, but I may know nothing about their actions. How can you It can be said that it has the least restraint on me."

Zhang Fei smiled.

Zhao Xu asked: "Isn't my answer sincere enough?"

The implication is that I hope you can talk openly and honestly with me, and I can't talk about this with others.

Zhang Fei scratched his head, and said vaguely: "If the monarch is supervised by the judiciary, do they still need to watch the monarch's every move?"

Zhao Xu immediately fell silent.

The censor admonishing officer is really annoying sometimes, but the problem is that the emperor is not subject to judicial restrictions. If no one is watching him, the emperor can do whatever he wants.

If the emperor committed the same crime as the common people, and the judiciary was independent, the censor and admonisher could indeed be dispensed with, and the Kaifeng mansion would be enough.

After being silent for a long time, Zhao Xu said again: "Although that is the case, if this lawsuit is lost, will I have to give up the reform?"

In fact, what he wanted to ask was precisely Zhang Fei's answer, whether the judiciary would override the imperial power.

Zhang Fei said: "If it is as I said, this lawsuit should not exist, because His Majesty has the power to set up the Division of Regulations of the Second Government, which is completely in line with the imperial court regulations. Take it to court."

Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "You don't understand what I mean."

Zhang Fei also wanted to say: "Your Majesty didn't understand me."

Zhao Xu said in astonishment: "Then what do you mean?"

Zhang Fei said: "As I said just now, the monarch is the last line to defend the laws of the country. In other words, the laws restrict His Majesty the least, followed by ministers, and most restrict the people.

But the law is like a rope, which encloses everyone in it, tight and unified. Therefore, when the hemp rope tightens His Majesty's restraint by one point, the ministers will tighten it by five points, and the common people will tighten it by ten points. And His Majesty's previous worries were based on taking a closer look at himself. Under such circumstances, this lawsuit cannot exist. "

In the final analysis, this lawsuit was triggered by a power struggle, not entirely based on the judiciary.

Zhao Xu pondered for a while, and asked: "How do you determine that if you tighten the constraints on the monarch by one point, you can tighten the constraints on the ministers by five points?"

Zhang Fei said: "If an ear pen dares to sue the monarch and succeeds in suing the prime minister, no one dares to say a word. On the contrary, just because an ear pen sues the prime minister does not mean that he can sue the monarch. From a legal point of view Say, the monarch has the most judicial immunity.”

Zhao Xu retorted: "I did not violate the law, but many officials have violated the law, so what do you say?"

Zhang Fei pondered for a while, and said, "Does your majesty understand the businessman's tax payment?"

Zhao Xu nodded: "Of course I understand."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Does Your Majesty know that many officials fish in troubled waters?"

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei said: "Why doesn't the court care?"

Zhao Xu fell silent.

Zhang Fei said: "The imperial court wants to expand fiscal revenue, but at the same time is unwilling to spend too much reward. How is this different from robbery? But if Your Majesty restrains himself and does not want this illegal income, this phenomenon will inevitably be serious. Reduced in size."

Zhao Xu sighed: "I don't want to, but the current financial situation is beyond the means."

Zhang Fei said: "If your Majesty takes the lead in robbing because of this, the consequences are certain. The dynasties and dynasties have already told us the ending. This is just a vicious circle! The phenomenon of tax overpayment is based on the situation of loosening one point. .

In fact, His Majesty got much more from it than any of them, but their combined income may be more than His Majesty, or at least about the same. It can be seen that the looser the constraints on His Majesty, the more His Majesty will lose, and eventually the country will be destroyed. "

Combined with the current events, Zhao Xu understood it as soon as he heard it, but felt his face was hot, he picked up the wine glass, took a big sip, and sighed: "I know what you mean, but it's not easy?"

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "In fact, the road is very difficult, otherwise, why would there be a Tang Taizong in so many years, but this is at least a way to survive, and that road must be a dead end."

Zhao Xu asked: "But respecting the emperor and humble ministers is the legalist thought."

Zhang Fei pondered for a while before saying: "Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, he actually combined Confucianism and Legalism. He did not abandon many thoughts of Legalism. Minister, it is definitely a dead end, but all countries that do this, without exception, will all perish because of it.”

Zhao Xu was puzzled and said, "Why is this? This is what Han Feizi, the patriarch of Legalism, advocated."

This is an extremely important reason why he supports Legalism, that is, to assert imperial power, and Wang Anshi's reform also incorporates this idea into it. This is also an important reason why Zhao Xu supports Wang Anshi.

If the imperial power is not extended, it will be impossible to expand the territory to the outside world, and it will be impossible to reform the law internally.

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "So Han Feizi also lost completely!"

Zhao Xu said: "But Daqin...!"

He originally wanted to say that Daqin had won, but Daqin died in the second generation, which seems to be unconvincing.

Zhang Fei said: "The core idea of ​​Legalism is actually that the law is not noble and the rope is not bent, so that the country can be effectively governed. But this obviously has a sharp contradiction with honoring the monarch and humble ministers. The two are incompatible, so It is necessary to introduce the fusion of the Confucian monarch, monarch and minister with Legalism, because the monarch, monarch and minister are relatively gentle."

The Confucian monarchs and ministers do not completely respect the monarch, but cleverly use morality to restrict the monarch, which means that your monarch must have the appearance of a monarch, and your ministers must behave like a courtier.

This is why courtiers often use Yao, Shun and Taizong as examples when dissuading the emperor.

It is simple and rude to respect the emperor and humble the ministers. In the universe, I am the only one who respects me.

But in this way, it does not mean that he has come back again. The combination of Confucianism and Legalism cannot make changes.

Zhao Xu was very confused.

Zhang Fei continued: "The reason why I support His Majesty to take the legalist line is because the country is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, and power must be used to turn things around."

Zhao Xu was completely confused, "Aren't you contradicting yourself?"

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "If Your Majesty has a good choice, you can use all the contradictions to your Majesty's advantage."

Zhao Xu asked: "How to make a choice?"

Zhang Fei said: "It's very simple, it is to give part of the power to the judiciary. Throughout the dynasties, many people believed that if there is less restraint on the imperial power, the monarch will naturally benefit.

But in fact, it’s the opposite. The monarch benefits the most if the imperial power is more restricted, because the monarch can exchange this one point of restraint for the five points of restraint of his subjects. Although everyone becomes weaker, the ministers lose more. The imperial power will naturally be extended. "

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "Give justice?"

Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty can also understand that the power handed over to the country will become public power."

"Public power? Country?"

"Yes."

Zhang Fei nodded, and said: "But as long as the degree of public power is properly grasped, the power of the monarch can be asserted."

"How do you say that?" Zhao Xu asked.

Zhang Fei explained: "Because from the perspective of pure jurisprudence, the monarch has both the legislative power and the interpretation power. less restrictive.

It's like the case of setting up the Regulations Department of the Second Government. If everyone only speaks the law, His Majesty only needs to change his name, and he will be invincible. The one who doesn't speak the law is the other party.

Therefore, when Fan Si advised them on this matter, what they talked about was not legal principles, but morality.

If it is not possible, His Majesty can add a few more chief judges to interrogate. The law of the ancestors can give many explanations, and each explanation is reasonable. Your Majesty can obtain the explanation you want through legal means. . "

After hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

Zhang Fei's theory really opened a door for him.

In the past, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers was a zero-sum game. Everyone wanted to increase power, but no one had ever thought of reducing power together.

As long as you lose more than me, the gap between us will be even greater, and the imperial power will naturally be extended, so the consideration is how much power should be locked in the cage, which is most beneficial to the monarch.