Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 599: If you don’t stop, don’t suffer from it

The reason why reforms are difficult to succeed in feudal society is not only because reforms will offend vested interests, but also because it will inevitably violate imperial power.

Because in the face of huge vested interests, the minister of reform must have supreme power to be able to implement it, and this power can only be given by the emperor.

At the beginning of the reform, the emperor generally still gave great support. If, like Song Renzong, he was unwilling to decentralize power at the beginning, the result could only be the Hundred Days New Deal.

But usually in the initial stage, the emperor will often give power to the minister of reform, but the problem is that with the deepening of the reform, the power in the hands of the minister of reform will become more and more inflated, which will pose a threat to the emperor.

For the emperor, nothing is more important than imperial power.

This is almost a dead end.

As the emperor, Zhao Xu is naturally unavoidable. He is also afraid of losing power, but he also knows that he cannot be like Renzong. They all hope to keep Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi and other prime ministers, the purpose is to check and balance Wang Anshi.

But it is a pity that Sima Guang and the others resolutely opposed the new law. With the promulgation of the Young Crop Law, they left the capital one after another, which led to an imbalance of power between the DPRK and China. , and then personally take over the new law.

It's a pity that he was alone and couldn't support him, and he died in depression in the end.

However, the appearance of Zhang Fei skillfully maintained the balance between the court and China. Sima Guang, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo did not ask to leave. Conservatives are in charge, and each performs his own duties.

This is the situation Zhao Xu dreamed of.

He will definitely not break this deadlock by himself, and try to keep things as balanced as possible, not only maintaining the judgment of the imperial court, but at the same time implementing the new law more thoroughly, and sending the exemption law and the taxation department to Hezhong Mansion.

No matter what, after all, the emperor did not overrule the imperial court's judgment. This judgment is obviously in favor of the conservatives, and this time Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, and Sima Guang all took the lead, which gave the conservatives a great deal. The encouragement also made them let go of their prejudice against Sima Guang.

Because before they thought that Sima Guang was doing nothing, they just told them that judicial reform could check and balance the New Deal, but they didn't see how to check and balance. On the contrary, they also helped the New Deal a few times.

But this time, let them feel at ease, Sima Guang did not deceive them.

The Department of Regulations of the Second Government was established.

"The morale of the other party is really high now. They now think that the public security law can really stop our new policy. Fan Jingren is responsible for this. He failed to stop our young crop law in the court, but he used Er The identity of the pen has effectively prevented the implementation of the Young Crop Law in Hezhong Prefecture, making everyone think that this is the credit of the Public Security Law.”

"This is a good thing!"

Wang Anshi Fuxu chuckled: "This public security law pays attention to strike later. If they concentrate their energy and choose to strike later, then the first-mover advantage will be in our hands. Our government orders will become clear and will not be encountered. Too many obstacles."

Previously the conservatives blocked the New Deal, all at the beginning of the promulgation, which actually caused Wang Anshi a headache. Every time a new law was promulgated, he had to quarrel and drive a group of ministers out of the capital, which made Wang Anshi himself It's exhausting.

These people are really brain-dead, and they don't understand what to say.

It's all right now, I'll implement the new law first, and if there is any problem, we'll go to the imperial court to file a lawsuit. At least the new policy can be implemented in the first place. Whether it's good or bad, let's speak with facts.

This is really not a bad thing.

This is also one of the reasons why Wang Anshi accepted Zhang Fei's plan.

"What my teacher said is very true." Lu Huiqing also deeply agreed with this, and said: "Moreover, the imperial court's order has also made more officials support us, because they think that judicial reform will take their In contrast, the New Deal does nothing to harm them.”

But at this point, he suddenly changed the topic: "The question now is whether the young crop law can be implemented well."

Speak with facts, what if the facts are not satisfactory?

If the Green Crop Law can't make money and improve finances, then it won't work, and Zhao Xu has no reason to support them anymore!

On the other hand, Wang Anshi said confidently: "This is the last thing to worry about. Those country gentry are just a bunch of mercenary rabble. In addition, the promotion of Changping Division can now issue salt notes and salt bonds, and the finances of Hezhong Prefecture will definitely get better in the next three years."

Leaving aside Zhang Fei's super financial institution, he simply doesn't believe that those landlords can maintain a one-fifth interest rate all the time.

Just at this time, someone outside the door suddenly said: "Report to Bachelor Wang, something about Han Temple is here."

Wang Anshi hurriedly said: "Please hurry up."

I came to the door quickly, and Han Jiang walked in before going out.

"Brother Zihua is here, please come in quickly." Wang Anshi was very attentive.

But Han Jiang didn't appreciate it, she just gave him a cold look, "Jiefu, how did I offend you, tell me, isn't it enough for me to make amends to you?"

Wang Anshi's heart is like a mirror, but he said: "Brother Zihua, why did you say that?"

Han Jiang snorted: "The self-declaration last time has exhausted me physically and mentally. How long has it passed? You asked me to go to Hezhong Mansion to implement the immunity law, and you have to cooperate with that kid Zhang San. The key is It's not a good job to investigate the ban case, and I don't want to offend those squires."

"So that's what happened."

Wang Anshi pulled Han Jiang's sleeve, came to the seat and sat down, "Brother Zihua, don't be upset, just listen to my explanation."

Han Jiang said in a bad mood: "I'll tell you the truth, I really don't want to hear your explanation."

Wang Anshi said with a smile on his face: "Misunderstanding! It's really a misunderstanding!"

Han Jiang glanced at him, "What misunderstanding?"

Wang Anshi winked at Lu Huiqing, and Lu Huiqing immediately bowed his hands and said goodbye. When he went out, he closed the door tightly and made the servants retreat outside to wait for orders.

Wang Anshi then explained to Han Jiang: "Brother Zihua doesn't need to investigate very carefully at all, just pretend to ask, the result is not important at all."

Han Jiang froze for a moment, "If that's the case, why don't you let me go?"

Wang Anshi said: "I recommend you to go, there are three reasons, one is to implement the immunity law. The other is to give some support to Bachelor Yuan and them to eliminate the resentment in their hearts. The third is to use this lawsuit to hold them back. To prevent them from looking for another job, this is also to make the young crop law better implemented."

Han Jiang said: "So you don't intend to overturn the imperial court's judgment?"

Wang Anshi sighed: "I would like to, but if there is no hard evidence, the officials will not agree."

As soon as these words came out, Han Jiang understood immediately.

The emperor wants to balance the two factions.

Wang Anshi said again: "And I estimate that those gentry will not last long. You just need to delay, they will break down without attacking themselves, and the young crop law will be better implemented."

After Wang Anshi's explanation, Han Jiang reluctantly agreed.

But to be honest, he is very reluctant to cooperate with Zhang Fei, but he is really terrified, and if he is not careful, he may be smashed to pieces.

After receiving great encouragement, the conservatives over there intend to take advantage of the victory to pursue and quickly promote the public prosecution law in various places in order to counteract the new law.

But they were well aware of Sima Guang's character, so they asked Liu Shu and Qi Hui to lobby Sima Guang.

"No."

Sima Guang resolutely refused: "Judicial reform is different from other reforms. It must be done step by step. There is a way to do it. Haste makes waste!"

Qi Hui said awkwardly: "But many people think that Bachelor Sima's step-by-step procedure depends entirely on the abilities of the three of Zhang, but Zhang San is only one person after all, and he has no skills at all. Let’s promote the Public Security Law.”

Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi next to each other looked at each other tacitly, and suddenly realized.

Promoting public security law is only second, the key is to marginalize Zhang Fei.

In fact, they have always been very clear in their hearts that the reason why those people support judicial reform is to deal with Wang Anshi. It does not mean that they all agree with the idea of ​​judicial reform, especially Zhang Fei's idea. Being controlled by Zhang Fei, he is unwilling to let judicial reform be tied to Zhang Fei.

If the judicial reform is fully promoted, then Zhang Fei is just a judge, who can be removed at any time and will not affect the entire judicial reform.

"Who said this."

Sima Guang became angry and said: "In the beginning, I sent Fan Cunren and Su Shi to Dengzhou and Yangzhou to implement the public prosecutor's law, and Zhang San went to Hezhong Mansion. It all happened suddenly. How could it fall into their mouths? Three, it's ridiculous."

Liu Shudao: "However, the support given by Bachelor Sima to Fan Cunren and Su Shi is far less than the support given to Zhang San."

They went early, but they must have been quiet, but when Zhang Fei went to Hezhong Mansion, everyone's eyes were focused on Hezhong Mansion.

Sima Guang froze, asked himself, and explained: "I am a bowl of water, the reason why Fan Cunjin and Su Shi's progress is slow may be because Zhang San knows more about the public security law than they do. Ideas and rules. It can be seen from this that if some people who don’t understand promote it, they will only be broken one by one by Wang Jiefu, and the gains will outweigh the losses.”

Liu Shu was about to say more, but Fu Bi suddenly nodded and said: "Indeed! There is indeed a shortage of talents in this area, and we have to step up the cultivation of talents in this area. I think we can select some young officials who are in their prime of life and have good morals. Study in Hezhong Prefecture to prepare for future strikes."

Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, "A late attack?"

Fu Bi nodded and said: "With Wang Jiefu's personality, he will definitely implement the new law non-stop throughout the country, and will not wait for the public prosecutor's law, but his new law will definitely cause problems. When there is a problem, we will dispatch Implement the Public Prosecution Law to solve the problem, so as to gain the hearts of the people and let the officials know where the new law’s shortcomings lie.”

Liu Shu and Qi Hui's eyes lit up, and Qi Qi nodded.

"Fu Gong is right."

"It's still rich and far-sighted."

They have been skeptical of judicial reform before, which is one of the reasons, because judicial reform can help the new law to be implemented very well, but if the new law succeeds, it will prove them wrong.

Therefore, judicial reform and the new law cannot be carried out at the same time. They must be staggered, so as to expose the disadvantages of the new law and highlight the advantages of judicial reform.

This is all a reason to suppress the reformists.

Sima Guang glanced at Liu Shu and Qi Hui, nodded and said, "According to what Fu Gong said, we will select another group of young officials to go to Hezhong Mansion to study public security law."

Several people started to cultivate talents and discussed again, and Zhang San was fooled by the topic.

After releasing the yamen, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, and Fu Bi walked slowly outside the city.

Wen Yanbo saw Sima Guang hanging his head in silence, looking preoccupied, he couldn't help asking: "Junshi, what are you thinking?"

"They don't trust Zhang San!" Sima Guang suddenly said with emotion.

The reaction of the conservatives made him very worried. He planned to support Zhang Fei, but judging from everyone's attitude, it would be very difficult. Marginalizing Zhang Fei will not allow him to gain power.

It can be seen that from the perspective of conservatives, Zhang Fei has never been one of his own, even more like an enemy.

This made him very embarrassed.

Wen Yanbo said: "Any reform will offend people. In fact, many officials in the DPRK do not like judicial reform. At present, Zhang San has offended people. It is difficult to convince the public. You have to make another plan as soon as possible. I think that Su Zi It’s not bad.”

Sima Guang immediately said: "How can this be done? Isn't that Zhang San a scapegoat?"

Wen Yanbo said: "But it is impossible for Zhang San to win their support. With the implementation of the Public Procuratorate Law, if you still want to make the government order clear, you must arrange for someone who can convince the public to preside over the Public Prosecution Law. It will cause the crowd to attack it, which is not good for the overall situation.”

The court still pays attention to morality and prestige. It is impossible for Zhang Fei's set of ideas to win the trust of the ministers of the court. Even if Zhang Fei's words are reasonable, they will not agree, because it will hurt their interests. .

Wen Yanbo believes that blindly promoting Zhang Fei will only split the conservative faction.

If you think about the overall situation, you have to be prepared to abandon him.

Sima Guang waved his hand and said, "That's not okay. I forced Zhang San to take over. I can't say that he completed the task, so I asked someone to replace him."

Wen Yanbo said: "But he is just a general, he can manage a place, he can charge into battle, he is not a handsome talent, he can't manage the whole country."

"Hehe!"

Fu Bi suddenly stroked his beard and laughed.

Sima Guang asked, "Why is Fu Gong laughing?"

Fu Bi smiled and said: "I think you guys are a little self-indulgent, Zhang San may not want to be with you, he is a great master."

He has a clearer view. Zhang Feike has never bound himself to the conservatives. The relationship with Wang Anshi is also very good, and the emperor is very optimistic about him. You must know that there is only one chief judge in the whole country, and there is no chief judge in the capital.

You say the edge is the edge.

Wen Yanbo nodded slightly, thinking to himself, what Mr. Fu said is reasonable, for us, Zhang San only supports or does not support, and we may not be able to manipulate him.

While the two factions were still making arrangements around this verdict, the Hezhong Mansion had already turned the page and was starting a new fight.

Although the Hezhong Mansion does not have as many dignitaries as the capital, the Hezhong Mansion has a huge group of local snakes, that is, those officials who are rooted in the people.

Because the treatment of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty is really good, and the political risk is very low, and they only have a three-year term, and they have to be transferred when they expire. Most of the normally transferred officials, such as Xuanfu envoys, do not seek meritorious deeds, but seek no faults, so whoever is in charge is actually those officials.

So the officials in the Northern Song Dynasty were very powerful, and it can even be said that they controlled everything in the local states and counties.

Officials only give orders, and in terms of execution, they all have to rely on these officials.

The main purpose of the Royal Police's attack this time was to attack the power of these small officials, which was actually the second most difficult bone in Hezhong Mansion.

The most difficult thing to chew is of course the military.

The officials below will naturally not sit still and accept punishment immediately. He has the capital in his hand, and when they start to put pressure on the top, those officials will naturally be unable to sit still.

Procuratorate.

"When you came to the Hezhong Mansion, you kept saying that you couldn't settle the old accounts, but now you don't keep your promises. If there is chaos, then you will clean it up yourself. We will never take care of it."

Liu Daxing, the lieutenant of Hedong County, yelled at Su Zhe angrily.

Wei Yingfang, Fan Meng and others also glared at Su Che.

Not to mention that our relatives are also in it, the key point is that if you do this, the bureaucrats below will start to make trouble, and our political achievements will also be affected.

Su Zhe argued rationally: "We haven't settled the old accounts, but those people have gone too far. The criminals in the prison, instead of staying in the prison, opened a black shop outside the city. This is simply outrageous." .

Also, the business road leading to Jingzhao Mansion was blocked by 20 to 30 vicious dogs, forcing the business travelers to only take the single-plank bridge behind the mountain, and they had to pay expensive taxes. For many years.

Tell me, shouldn't this matter? "

"Of course it shouldn't matter."

Wei Yingfang stood up and retorted.

Su Zhe was dumbfounded immediately, and stared blankly at Wei Yingfang, "Wei Tongpan, what are you talking about?"

If you don't care about it, you don't care about it, and you still say it so blatantly, I really don't know where your confidence comes from.

But Wei Yingfang said convincingly: "I said of course this should not be taken care of. Why are the criminals in the prison released early and go to the store to find work? Isn't it because the imperial court took all the money and food from the Hezhong Mansion back then? Going to war, you don’t keep a penny, how can the government manage so many prisoners, and can only let some prisoners with lighter punishments be released early after serving their sentences.

There is also the matter of business, yes, the people who collect the money are the officials of the transshipment department, but that is also because the imperial court does not allocate money, but also requires people to manage affairs and collect taxes, so they can only collect taxes. Part of the money and food is also handed over to the government. Such a phenomenon can be found all over the country. If the court gave enough money, who would be willing to do those jobs.

If you do this, it is tantamount to killing a donkey, and it will only chill everyone's hearts. At that time, no one will work. Will you be responsible? "

Su Zhe was really drunk for breaking the law with such confidence.

But then again, this is really the acquiescence of the imperial court, because the imperial court has no money, but it has to recruit people to manage states and counties and collect taxes, so it can only give them ways to make money, such as collecting taxes , I have to find someone to collect it, but the court doesn't want to pay the wages, so what should I do, let them charge a little more, and then everyone will share it equally.

This kind of gangster logic leads to no rules at all, and those corrupt officials will naturally take advantage of this loophole to collect as much tax as possible to satisfy the appetite of the higher-ups, and the rest is all their own.

How could Su Zhe not know, who has never encountered this kind of thing before, his tone suddenly eased a lot, and said: "Our procuratorate can be lenient and not pursue their punishment, just ask for a fine as punishment, don't tell me , Every penny they made was forced by the court, and our procuratorate currently has enough evidence."

Wei Yingfang said: "Chief Prosecutor Su, the question is not whether they broke the law, but whether the imperial court can pay their salaries. This doesn't feed the horses, but wants them to run away. How can there be such a good man in the world?" You are not deeply involved in the world, and you don't understand the pros and cons of it."

Su Zhe said: "I only know that there is no rule without rules. The imperial court should pay them the corresponding salaries, instead of letting them use their powers to make money at will. If they don't get the corresponding salaries, they can come to my procuratorate to sue. , our Public Security Bureau will never sit idly by."

"Prosecutor Su."

Cao Yi got up immediately and said: "You are embarrassing our transshipment department. Now the transshipment department has to pay the soldiers' compensation. How can there be so much money?"

Su Zhe said: "The Transshipment Department has no money, just tell the truth, we will ask the imperial court to allocate money to Hezhong Mansion."

Is it so ruthless?

Could it be that the imperial court was opened by your family?

If you say to allocate money, you will allocate money.

But when it comes to this, they really can't refute Su Zhe.

Su Zhe said resolutely again: "I don't have to forget the old accounts before. As long as it is legal, their business can continue. But such illegal behavior, our procuratorate will never tolerate it."

Facing such a powerful Su Zhe, this negotiation naturally ended without a problem.

But Cai Yanqing was in a hurry, because the subordinate staff started to strike one after another, and the order of Hezhong Mansion immediately became precarious.

Because these officials are all in charge, if they don't care, there will definitely be chaos.

This is Cai Yanqing's bottom line.

"President Zhang, I try not to participate in your battles, and my request is not very high, just to ensure that the Hezhong Mansion is not in chaos, but your rash actions have already brought the Hezhong Mansion to the brink of chaos. .”

Cai Yanqing said to Zhang Fei with a serious face.

The implication is that if you want to do this, then I can't just sit idly by.

Zhang Fei sighed: "Prefect Cai, I don't want to, but I can't help it. Those bullies rely on their connections in the Yali to bully the people and dominate the market. This phenomenon is already very serious. I have been receiving confidential lawsuits from all parties, and I decided to do this after careful consideration.”

Cai Yanqing said: "Can I not know about this? But you have to come up with a solution first. At present, the operation of the government depends entirely on those subordinates. If they quit, then how can we govern?"

They have a three-year term, and they are unable to train their own team, so they can only use the existing officials. They are the most familiar with state affairs, have rich experience, and know how to manage them.

Zhang Fei said: "We are not trying to kill them, we are just fighting against this kind of criminal behavior, and at the same time we will also strive for reasonable remuneration for them.

This method is absolutely not feasible at present, because it will inevitably lead to administrative and judicial conflicts. The reason is very simple. Delegate power to let them collect taxes. Those who overcharged are regarded as subsidies. You don’t need to think about it. The ones who suffer must be businessmen. Once a businessman comes to us to file a lawsuit, it is impossible for us to ignore it. "

Cai Yanqing frowned upon hearing this.

In the past, politics and law were integrated, so everyone could have a tacit understanding, but now that politics and law are separated, the government continues to delegate power to them and let them collect money for the court, but this obviously conflicts with the judiciary.

The businessman will definitely sue in the imperial court.

What should I do then?

This kind of tacit understanding is bound to be unsustainable.

After a while, Cai Yanqing said: "Then how can you guarantee that it won't cause chaos?"

Zhang Fei said: "I'm still a little bit sure about this. I've done some investigations. Most of the officials have amassed a lot of wealth. They're not desperadoes. They'll be afraid. As long as we don't give too much punishment, they should not take the risk.

As for the unsatisfied petty officials below, they usually have no background or are newly joined. Giving them a generous salary is what they need more.

Besides, since the imperial court has just ruled in favor of the squires, most of those big landlords and squires will not choose to oppose the imperial court immediately, at least they will not openly oppose them. They have offended the government and will not offend us again. These people will help me Stabilize the countryside, in this way, the overall situation can be controlled. "

Cai Yanqing pondered a little, and said: "But the premise is that the government has to provide enough finances to pay them salaries? The military expenditure over there has not been clarified yet, and the salaries of the officials are increased here. Can the government afford it? "

Zhang Fei said: "Collect taxes."

Cai Yanqing said: "Are you planning to increase taxes?"

"No!"

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "Just tax according to law, and at the same time crack down on tax evasion and tax evasion. In this way, we can make up for this part of the finance."

Cai Yanqing suddenly realized that the wool still came from the sheep.

It's just that this sheep is not the common people, but those big landlords.

Zhang Fei said: "Prefect Cai, whether a country can run well depends on whether the country can collect taxes according to the law and try to achieve a balance of revenue and expenditure. It's as simple as that. But today's behavior is a kind of robbery. The imperial court and evil officials use their power to exploit the common people, and then everyone divides the accounts equally. The tax law is like a dead letter. This is by no means a long-term solution, and it is also unacceptable to our public security law. There is a way to stop it and not suffer from it. .”