The reason why reforms are difficult to succeed in feudal society is not only because reforms will offend vested interests, but also because it is also very critical, that is, it will inevitably offend the imperial power.
Because when faced with huge vested interests, reform ministers must have supreme power to implement it, and this power can only be given by the emperor.
At the beginning of the reform, the emperor will usually give great support. If, like Song Renzong, he is unwilling to delegate power at the beginning, the result will only be a Hundred Days New Deal.
However, usually in the initial stage, the emperor often gives power to the reform ministers, but the problem is that as the reform deepens, the power in the hands of the reform ministers will become more and more expanded, 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 an emperor, Zhao Xu was naturally not exempt from the vulgarity. He was also afraid of losing power, but he also knew that he could not be like Renzong. If he wanted to succeed, he must be trustworthy in employing people and discarding suspicious people. Therefore, at the beginning of the reform, he always hoped to retain the emperor. The purpose of appointing prime ministers such as Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, and Fu Bi was to check and balance Wang Anshi.
But it is a pity that Sima Guang and others were firmly opposed to the new law. With the promulgation of the Green Crops Law, they left the capital one after another, which led to an imbalance of power in the court and the new party became a dominant party. Later, Zhao Xu directly deposed Wang Anshi and then himself Take over the new law personally.
It's a pity that he couldn't support himself alone and eventually died in depression.
However, the emergence of Zhang Fei cleverly maintained the balance between the DPRK and China. Sima Guang, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo did not ask to leave. Now the administration is under the control of the reformists, while the judiciary is under the control of the conservatives. , each performing his or her duties.
This is the situation Zhao Xu dreams of.
He would definitely not break the deadlock by himself, and would try his best to keep things even. He would not only uphold the imperial court's judgment, but at the same time implement the new law more thoroughly, and send the Immunity Law and the Taxation Department to Hezhong Prefecture in a package.
No matter what, the emperor did not reject the imperial court's judgment. This judgment was obviously in favor of the conservatives, and this time Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, and Sima Guang all took the lead, which greatly encouraged the conservatives. It also made them put aside their prejudice against Sima Guang.
Because before, they thought that Sima Guang did nothing and just told them that judicial reform could check and balance the New Deal. However, they did not see how to check and balance. Instead, they helped the New Deal. They were suspicious of this.
But this time, they were reassured that Sima Guang had not deceived them.
The Ordinance Department of the Second Government was established.
"The morale of the other side is really high now. They all think that the Public Security Bureau can really block our New Deal. Fan Jingren is indispensable for this. He failed to stop our Qingmiao Law in the government, but as Erbi, he , effectively prevented the implementation of the Youth Law in Hezhong Prefecture, making everyone think that this was the credit of the Public Security Bureau."
"This is a good thing!"
Wang Anshi stroked his beard and smiled: "The public prosecutor, procuratorate, and law pay attention to striking later. If they concentrate their energy and choose to strike later, then this first-mover advantage will be in our hands. Our decrees will become clear and we will not encounter too many problems." Obstacle."
In the past, conservatives blocked the New Deal, all at the beginning of its promulgation. This actually caused Wang Anshi a headache. Every time a new law was promulgated, there was a quarrel and a group of ministers were driven out of the capital. This made Wang Anshi himself mentally and physically exhausted.
These people are so stupid that they don’t understand anything.
Now it's fine, I will implement the new law first. If there are problems, we will go to the imperial court to file a lawsuit. At least initially, the new policy can be implemented. Whether it is good or not, let us use the facts to speak.
This is really not a bad thing.
This is one of the reasons why Wang Anshi accepted Zhang Fei's plan.
"What my mentor said is absolutely true." Lu Huiqing also agreed deeply with this, and added: "Furthermore, the imperial court's decree has also made more officials support us, because they believe that judicial reform will take away their power. In comparison, the harm done by the New Deal to them is nothing."
But at this point, he suddenly changed the topic: "The question now is whether the Young Crops Law can still be implemented well."
Speak with facts. What if this fact is not satisfactory?
If the Green Seed Law can't make money and can't improve the finances, then it still doesn't work, and Zhao Xu has no reason to support them anymore!
Wang Anshi said confidently: "This is the least thing to worry about. Those squires are just a group of profit-seeking rabble. They won't last long. When their true colors are revealed, the people will believe in the Qingmiao Law even more. In addition, the current situation If the Changping Division is promoted, salt banknotes and salt bonds can be issued, and the finances of Hezhong Prefecture will definitely become better in the next three years."
Leaving aside Zhang Fei's super financial institution, he simply does not believe that those landlords can maintain an interest rate of 1.5 cents.
At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly said: "Reporting to Scholar Wang, something happened in Han Temple."
Wang Anshi hurriedly said: "Please come quickly."
He hurried to the door. Before he could go out, Han Jiang walked in.
"Brother Zihua is here, please come in quickly." Wang Anshi was very attentive.
But Han Jiang didn't appreciate it at all. She just gave him a cold look and said, "Jiefu, where did I offend you? Tell me and I can apologize to you."
Wang Anshi's heart was like a mirror, but he said, "Brother Zihua, why did you say this?"
Han Jiang snorted: "The last time I declared myself, I was already exhausted mentally and physically. How long has it been? You asked me to go to Hezhong Mansion to implement the exemption law, and I had to cooperate with that guy Zhang San. The key is to investigate the ban. This case is not a good job, and I don’t want to offend those country squires.”
"So that's what happened."
Wang Anshi pulled Han Jiang's sleeve, came to his seat and sat down, "Brother Zihua, don't be upset, please listen to my explanation."
Han Jiang said angrily: "To be honest, I really don't want to hear your explanation."
Wang Anshi said with a smile: "Misunderstanding! It's really a misunderstanding!"
Han Jiang glanced at him, "What's the misunderstanding?"
Wang Anshi winked at Lu Huiqing, and Lu Huiqing immediately said goodbye. When he went out, he closed the door tightly and dismissed the servants who were waiting outside.
Wang Anshi then explained to Han Jiang: "Brother Zihua doesn't need to investigate very carefully at all. He just needs to pretend to ask. It doesn't matter what the result is."
Han Jiang was stunned, "If that's the case, then you still let me go?"
Wang Anshi said: "I recommend you to go for three reasons. One is to promote the exemption from service law. The other is to give Scholar Yuan some support and eliminate the resentment in their hearts. The third is to use this lawsuit to hold them back so that they will not do it again. Looking for trouble is also to ensure that the Youth Law is better implemented."
Han Jiang said: "So you don't plan to overturn the imperial court's judgment?"
Wang Anshi sighed: "I would like to, but if there is no ironclad proof, the officials will not agree."
As soon as these words came out, Han Jiang understood immediately.
The emperor wanted to balance the two factions.
Wang Anshi added: "And I estimate that those squires won't be able to support it for long. You just need to hold it off, and they will defeat themselves and the Green Seeding Law will be better implemented."
After Wang Anshi's explanation, Han Jiang reluctantly agreed.
But to be honest, he was very reluctant to cooperate with Zhang Fei, but he was really frightened. If he was not careful, he might be shattered to pieces.
After receiving great encouragement, the conservatives over there planned to take advantage of the victory and quickly promote public prosecutors' laws in various places to compete with the new law.
But they knew Sima Guang's character well, so they asked Liu Shu and Qi Hui to lobby Sima Guang.
"no."
Sima Guang decisively refused: "Judicial reform is different from other reforms. It must be done step by step. This is true, but haste makes waste!"
Qi Hui said sarcastically: "But many people believe that the step-by-step work of Bachelor Sima is completely dependent on the abilities of Zhang San. But Zhang San is only one person after all. He has no skills at all. He can't wait for him everywhere to promote the public prosecutor's law. Bar."
Next to them, Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi looked at each other in tacit understanding, and suddenly realized something in their hearts.
Promoting the public security law is only second, the key is to marginalize Zhang Fei.
In fact, they have always been very clear in their hearts. The reason why those people support judicial reform is to deal with Wang Anshi. It does not mean that they all agree with the concept of judicial reform, especially Zhang Fei's concept. Most people are not willing to allow judicial reform to be changed by Zhang Fei. He is in control and is unwilling to let judicial reform be tied to Zhang Fei.
If judicial reform is comprehensively promoted, then Zhang Fei is just a judge president who can be replaced at any time and will not affect the entire judicial reform.
"Who said that?"
Sima Guang became angry and said: "Initially, I sent Fan Cunren and Su Shi to Dengzhou and Yangzhou to implement the public security law, and Zhang San went to Hezhong Mansion. It was all unexpected. How could they fall into their mouths and become dependent on Zhang San? It's really Ridiculous."
Liu Shudao: "But the support that Bachelor Sima gave to Fan Cunren and Su Shi was far less than the support he gave to Zhang San."
They left early, but there must have been no movement from them, but when Zhang Fei arrived at Hezhong Mansion, everyone's eyes were focused on Hezhong Mansion.
Sima Guang's expression was stagnant, and he asked himself, and then explained: "I am an average person. The reason why Fan Cunzun and Su Shi are making slow progress is probably because Zhang San understands the concepts and rules of the public prosecutor and law better than they do." . It can be seen from this that if some people who don’t understand are allowed to promote it, they will only be defeated one by one by Wang Jiefu, and then the gains 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. We must step up our efforts to cultivate talents in this area. I think we can select some young officials with strong strength and good morals to study in Hezhong Mansion. , to prepare for future strikes.”
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, "Strike later?"
Fu Bi nodded and said: "With Wang Jiefu's personality, he will definitely implement the new law non-stop across the country and will not wait for the public prosecutor to enforce it. However, there will definitely be problems with his new law. When problems arise, we will send the public prosecutor to implement it." Solving the problem will not only win the hearts and minds of the people, but also let the officials know the shortcomings of the new law."
Liu Shu and Qi Hui's eyes lit up and they nodded in unison.
"What Mr. Fu says makes sense."
"The rich man is still far-sighted."
They have always been skeptical about judicial reform before, and this is one of the reasons, because judicial reform can very well help the implementation of the new law, but if the new law is successful, it will prove that they are wrong.
Therefore, judicial reform and the new law cannot be carried out at the same time. They must be staggered. Only in this way can the shortcomings of the new law be exposed and the advantages of judicial reform highlighted.
These are all reasons to suppress the reformists.
Sima Guang glanced at Liu Shu and Qi Hui, nodded and said, "According to Mr. Fu's words, we will select a group of young officials to go to Hezhong Mansion to study public security law."
A few people started to discuss talent training again, and Zhang San was confused by the topic.
After releasing the yamen, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi walked slowly outside the city.
When Wen Yanbo saw Sima Guang bowing his head in silence and looking worried, he couldn't help but ask: "Jun Shi, what are you thinking about?"
"They don't trust Zhang San!" Sima Guang suddenly sighed.
The reaction of the conservatives made him very worried. He planned to support Zhang Fei, but judging from everyone's attitude, this was probably very difficult. Zhang Fei had just denied the ban and made great achievements, and some people were already thinking about removing Zhang Fei. Marginalization cannot allow him to gain power.
It can be seen that from the perspective of conservatives, Zhang Fei has never been one of their own, and is 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 don't like judicial reform. At present, Zhang San has offended people and it is difficult to convince the public. You have to make other plans as soon as possible. I think Su Ziyou is good." .”
Sima Guang immediately said: "How can this be done? Then Zhang San will become a scapegoat."
Wen Yanbo said: "But it is impossible for Zhang San to win their support. With the implementation of the Public Prosecution and Procuratorate Law, if you still want the government orders to be passed, you must arrange for someone who can convince the public to preside over the Public Prosecution Law. Otherwise, this will definitely attract the crowd. Attacking them will be detrimental to the overall situation."
The DPRK still pays attention to morality and respect. Zhang Fei's philosophy is impossible to win over the ministers of the DPRK. No matter how reasonable Zhang Fei's words are, they will not agree because it will harm their interests.
Wen Yanbo believes that blindly pushing Zhang Fei to the top will only cause internal divisions among the conservatives.
If you think about the overall situation, you have to be prepared to abandon him.
Sima Guang waved his hand and said: "This is not okay. I forced Zhang San to take over in the first place. I can't say that he has completed the task, so I found someone to replace him."
Wen Yanbo said: "But he is only a general who can manage a place and charge into battle. He is not a handsome man and cannot control the whole country."
"hehe!"
Fu Bi suddenly stroked his beard and laughed.
Sima Guang asked: "Why is the rich man laughing?"
Fu Bi smiled and said: "I think you are a little sentimental. That boy Zhang San may not want to be with you. He is a great master."
He saw it more clearly. Zhang Fei had never tied himself to the conservatives. He only had a good relationship with Sima Guang. He kept a distance from other people and never deliberately monopolized them. At the same time, he had a good relationship with Wang Anshi. The relationship is also very good, and the emperor is very optimistic about him. You must know that there is only one chief judge in the country, but there is no chief judge in the capital.
You say the edge is the edge.
Wen Yanbo nodded slightly and thought to himself, Mr. Fu is right. For us, Zhang San can only support or not, and we may not be able to control him.
While the two factions were still planning around this verdict, the Hezhong Mansion had already turned the page and was starting a new fight.
Although Hezhong Prefecture does not have as many dignitaries as the capital, Hezhong Prefecture has a huge group of local snakes, that is, officials who are rooted in the people.
Because the treatment of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty is really good, and the political risks are very low, and they only have a three-year term, and they have to be transferred when they expire. If they are not the kind of officials who bear the emperor's orders, such as transfer envoys, Xuanfu In this category, most of the officials who are transferred normally do not seek merit, but seek no faults, so who is in charge is actually those officials.
Therefore, the officials in the Northern Song Dynasty were very powerful. It can even be said that they controlled everything in the local states and counties.
Officials only issue orders, and all execution depends on these officials.
The Royal Police's attack this time was mainly to attack the power of these petty officials. This was actually the second hardest nut to crack for Hezhong Mansion.
The toughest nut to crack is of course the military.
The officials below naturally would not sit still and accept the punishment immediately. He had the capital in hand. They began to put pressure on the superiors, and those officials naturally could not sit still.
Procuratorate.
"When you, the Public Security Bureau, came to Hezhong Mansion, you kept saying that you would not settle the old accounts, but now you have not kept your promise. If it causes chaos, you will deal with it yourself. We will never take care of it."
Hedong County Lieutenant Liu Daxing roared at Su Che with great anger.
Wei Yingfang, Fan Meng and others also glared at Su Che.
Not to mention that our relatives are also inside, but the key is that if you do something, the swordsmen and pen officials below will start to cause trouble, and our political achievements will also be affected.
Su Zhe argued rationally: "We have not settled old scores, but those people have gone too far. The criminals in the prison, instead of staying in prison, open illegal shops outside the city. This is simply outrageous.
Also, the business road leading to Jingzhao Prefecture was blocked by twenty or thirty vicious dogs, forcing business travelers to take the single-plank bridge behind the mountain and pay expensive taxes. This behavior has existed for more than twenty years. Long.
Tell me, shouldn’t this be taken care of? "
"Of course it shouldn't matter."
Wei Yingfang stood up and refuted.
Su Che was stunned immediately and looked at Wei Yingfang blankly, "Wei Tongpan, what did you say?"
You don't care, you don't care, and you still say it so blatantly, I really don't know where you get the confidence.
Wei Yingfang said categorically: "Of course I shouldn't care about this. Why were the criminals in the prison released early and went to the shops to find work? Isn't it because the imperial court used all the money and food of the Hezhong Prefecture to fight the war? If no money is retained, how can the government manage so many prisoners? It can only release some prisoners with lighter punishments early after completing their sentences.
There is also the matter of business. Yes, those who collect the money are the officials of the Transportation Department, but that is because the court does not allocate money, but it wants people to collect taxes, so they can only collect taxes. Some of the money and grain are also Surrendering to the government is a phenomenon that can be seen all over the country. If the court gave enough money, who would be willing to do those jobs?
If you do this, it is equivalent to killing the donkey. It will only chill everyone's heart. Then no one will work. Will you be responsible? "
He broke the law so confidently that Su Zhe was really drunk.
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. It can only give them a way to make money, such as collecting taxes. Find someone to collect it, but the court doesn’t want to pay the wages. What should I do? Let them collect a little more, and then everyone will share it equally.
This kind of gangster logic leads to the fact that there are no rules here. Corrupt officials will naturally exploit this loophole, collect as much tax as possible to satisfy the appetite of their superiors, and the rest will be their own.
How could Su Zhe not know that no one has ever encountered this kind of thing? His tone suddenly softened a lot and he said: "Our procuratorate can be lenient and not pursue their punishment, but only ask for fines as punishment. Don't say, they are taking advantage of it." Every penny he spent was forced by the court, and our procuratorate currently has enough evidence."
Wei Yingfang said: "Prosecutor Su, the problem is not whether they are breaking the law, but whether the court can pay them salaries. This does not let the horses eat grass, but also wants the horses to run away. How can there be such a good thing in the world? You I’m not very experienced in the world and don’t understand the pros and cons.”
Su Zhe said: "I only know that there is no rule without rules. The court should pay them the corresponding salary, instead of letting them use their power to make money at will. If they don't get the corresponding salary, they can come to our procuratorate to sue. Our public prosecutors I will never sit idly by and ignore it.”
"Prosecutor Su."
Cao Yi immediately stood up and said: "You are making things difficult for our transportation department. Now the transportation department has to pay compensation to the soldiers. How can we have so much money?"
Su Che said: "The Transportation Department has no money, just tell the truth. We will ask the court to allocate money to Hezhong Mansion."
So cruel?
Could the imperial court be run by your family?
If you say money is allocated, money will be allocated.
But when it came to this, it was really hard for them to refute Su Che.
Su Zhe said resolutely: "I can ignore the old debts. As long as it is legal, their business can continue. However, our procuratorate will never tolerate such illegal behavior."
Faced with such a strong Su Zhe, this negotiation naturally ended in vain.
But Cai Yanqing was extremely anxious, because the subordinate officials below began to go on strike one after another, and the order of Hezhong Mansion immediately became precarious.
Because they are all the officials in charge of things. If they don't care, there will definitely be chaos.
This is Cai Yanqing's bottom line.
"President Zhang, I try not to get involved in your fights, and my requirements are not very high. I just want to ensure that there is no chaos in Hezhong Mansion. But your rash action has brought Hezhong Mansion to the edge of chaos."
Cai Yanqing said to Zhang Fei with a serious face.
The implication is, 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 are bullying the people and dominating the market by relying on their connections in the government office. This phenomenon is already very serious. Ever since I opened the court, I have been receiving I decided to do this after careful consideration of the confidential litigation between all parties.”
Cai Yanqing said: "Can I not know this? But you have to come up with a solution first. At present, the government's operation depends entirely on those subordinate officials. If they don't work, how can we govern it."
They only have a three-year term and do not have the ability to train their own team, so they can only use existing officials. They are the most familiar with state affairs, have rich experience, and know how to manage.
Zhang Fei said: "We are not trying to kill them, we are just cracking down on this kind of criminal behavior, and at the same time we will get reasonable rewards for them.
This approach is absolutely unfeasible at present because it will inevitably lead to conflicts between the executive and the judiciary. The reason is very simple. If you delegate power to them and let them collect taxes, the overcharge will be regarded as a subsidy. You don't have to think about it to know that the businessmen must be the ones who suffer. This is an act of extortion, and our public prosecutors are to defend the legitimate rights and interests of the people. Once a businessman comes to us to file a lawsuit, we cannot 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 make money for the court, but this obviously conflicts with the judiciary.
Businessmen will definitely go to the imperial court to complain.
What to do?
This tacit understanding will inevitably not be maintained.
After a while, Cai Yanqing said: "Then how can you guarantee that it will not cause chaos?"
Zhang Fei said: "I am somewhat sure of this. I have done some research and found that most officials have accumulated a lot of wealth. They are not desperadoes. They will also be afraid. As long as we do not punish them too severely, They should not take any risks.
As for the underprivileged officials below, they usually have no background or are new joiners. Giving them a generous reward is what they need more.
In addition, even if the imperial court has just ruled in favor of the squires, most of the big landowners and squires will not choose to immediately oppose the imperial court, at least not openly. They have already offended the government and will not offend us again. These people will help me stabilize the countryside. , In this way, the overall situation is controllable. "
Cai Yanqing pondered for a while and said: "But the premise is that the government must allocate enough finances to pay them salaries? The military expenditures over there have not yet been clarified, and the salaries for officials have been increased here. Can the government afford it?"
Zhang Fei said: "Collect taxes."
Cai Yanqing said: "Do you plan to increase taxes?"
"No!"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "We just collect taxes in accordance with the law and at the same time crack down on tax evasion. In this way, we can make up for this part of the finance."
Cai Yanqing suddenly realized that the wool came from the sheep after all.
It's just that these sheep are not ordinary people, but the big landowners.
Zhang Fei said: "President Cai, whether a country can run well depends on whether the country can collect taxes in accordance with the law and try to balance its revenue and expenditure. It's that simple. But this kind of behavior now is a kind of banditry. The court and evil Officials, use their power to exploit the people, and then divide it 50-50, and the tax law will be like a piece of paper. This is by no means a long-term solution, and it is something that our public prosecutors and law cannot tolerate. As the saying goes, if you continue to cut it off, you will suffer chaos."
(End of chapter)
