Regardless of whether Zhang Fei appears or not, for Zhao Xu, this reform of the official system is imperative. It is conceivable that the reason why Wang Gui submitted this memorial must have been instructed by Zhao Xu.
There are three main reasons.
First, the emperor has grown up and has his own ideas. He wants to make his own decisions and no longer wants to hide behind Wang Anshi.
Secondly, Zhao Xu wants to realize his political ideals, and his political ideals are actually two wars, against Xixia and Liao. Of course, the main one at present is against Xixia. He can't see a way to win the Liao Kingdom for the time being. hope.
But in any case, to do this, the whole country must be united so that the entire country can act according to its own will. In other words, it must take control of power. Both Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty were prepared for this.
It's just that Tang Taizong himself was a military genius, so his preparations were relatively easy.
The third is to streamline officials, improve efficiency, and reduce financial expenditures to lay the foundation for future mobilization.
Of course Zhang Fei knew about Yuanfeng's restructuring, which had a very significant impact on the system of later generations, but it was partially overshadowed by Wang Anshi.
However, this is changing now.
Historically, before Yuanfeng's reform, Zhao Xu broke the old order through Wang Anshi, and then he came out to lead the reform himself. In other words, he had already gained power at that time, and all the opposition such as Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang were eliminated. , which also includes Wang Anshi.
It's different now. The DPRK and China are now in a state of balance, and Wang Anshi has not ceded power to both the DPRK and the opposition. Not only have Sima Guang and the others not been demoted, but they have also gained greater power.
And this is all because of the emergence of the Public Security Bureau.
However, the Public Security Bureau also provided Zhao Xu with another path for restructuring.
That is to use the Public Security Bureau to carry out official reform.
In fact, no matter how the official system is changed, the essence is still the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister.
Taizu Taizong established the system, and Zhenzong and Renzong decentralized power, which led to two situations in the current Northern Song Dynasty court. The first is that the organization is bloated and the efficiency is very slow. Second, the power of the prime minister is too great, because the officials of the three provinces currently do not have real power and all obey the political affairs hall. The prime minister will discuss matters with the emperor, and the emperor cannot directly give orders to the three provinces.
The combination of these two points resulted in the emperor's decree being circulated in the three provinces without the prime minister's nod.
This is why the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was established, and Wang Anshi was the only one here. During this period, the new government decrees were all directed to the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, which was equivalent to bypassing the Government Hall and the three provinces.
But the establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government must be just a temporary structure. Otherwise, Wang Anshi's power would be completely out of control. A group of prime ministers had the final say over there, but he alone had the final say here.
This is only a temporary plan. If the power of the prime minister is weakened, the reform of the official system will still be adopted.
But if the organization is streamlined, the power of the prime minister will be further expanded, because the power of the prime minister is getting bigger and bigger, and the bloated organization is also restricting them.
How to limit the power while streamlining the organization really needs to be done.
Historically, Zhao Xu, who held great power, simply and crudely returned to the three-province system. Currently, it is the second-government system, that is, the Government Hall and the Privy Council. Returning to the three provinces would be equivalent to cutting the Government Hall into two parts. Third, it was placed in the three provinces, so that the three provinces faced the emperor directly, which indicated that the emperor would come to the front and directly participate in government affairs instead of going through the prime minister, and at the same time streamline the organization.
But facts have proven that if only the power of the phase is divided, the efficiency not only does not improve, but also decreases. The reason lies in the division of the power of the phase.
In the past, all decisions came from the Political Affairs Hall, and the prime ministers all discussed matters together. The three provinces directly took orders from the Political Affairs Hall, so they could respond quickly to emergencies.
Divided into three, each takes care of his own thing. If there is a slight flaw, he has to hand it back, not to mention arguing with each other, and it starts over and over again.
To put it simply, if Wang Anshi approved the decree, could Sima Guang pass it by him?
In addition, Yuanfeng's restructuring did not involve deep plowing at the local level. The central government made several changes, and the local level had to deal with it for a long time. Can this efficiency be high?
Is this a case of having your cake and eat it too, or is Zhao Xu's original intention to centralize power and improve administrative efficiency?
Only Zhao Xu himself knew this.
However, now with the birth of the Public Security Bureau, a new kind of checks and balances has been born within the country.
It is the separation of politics and law.
It will definitely not follow the historical process, and the future will become unknown.
Although Zhang Fei also understood the administrative system, what he understood was the system of that era. If he copied it, the result would definitely be a head-scratching move. This could only be done by Zhao Xu and the prime ministers.
He would wait and see for a while, and then make comments if it was not conducive to the public prosecution and law.
Zhao Xu couldn't wait any longer, because there was a large-scale rotation of officials this year, and he wanted to take advantage of this rotation to start moving to the front desk.
After talking with Zhang Fei, Zhao Xu invited Wang Anshi.
"Sir, please look."
Zhao Xu handed a memorial to Wang Anshi, "This is from Wang Yuyu of the Hanlin Academy. I think it makes sense. I wonder what you think, sir?"
Wang Anshi took it with both hands, sat on the chair, opened it and took a look, his brows gradually darkened.
After a while, Zhao Xu asked: "Sir, do you think it's inappropriate?"
Wang Anshi put the memorial together and said with a little disdain: "I think the current reform against redundant officials has been completed very well. Many officials have already joined the Public Service Department, so there is no need to rush it."
It was still an educational tone.
Zhao Xu frowned secretly, but did not show it. He smiled and said: "I am not acting too hastily, but seeing that the integration of the Judicial Office has been so successful, I heard from the people in the Imperial City Division that the judicial officials even It can travel faster than officials from the three provinces, so why not use it for other government offices?"
Wang Anshi said: "I don't deny it, and I'm not against it. I just think that the situation is getting better and rashly returned to the Tang Dynasty's three provinces and six ministries system. This is unpredictable. After all, the situation in the Tang Dynasty is different from ours." The situation is very different. For example, take the Third Division and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Given the size and authority of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it is impossible to replace the Third Division. For the same reason, the Ministry of War cannot replace the Privy Council.
In the opinion of the minister, each government office should be allowed to perform its duties first, and then redundant government offices should be cut down, and then the system should be standardized according to the specific situation. There is no need to follow the "Liu Canon of the Tang Dynasty". "
Zhao Xu was silent for a while, then nodded, "Sir, what you said makes sense."
After a pause, he asked again: "There will be a large-scale rotation of officials this year. What do you think, sir?"
Wang Anshi was stunned for a moment, "Just rotate as usual."
The prime minister came and went, and he was still able to handle affairs in the political hall.
Zhao Xu frowned and said: "But the reform has not yet been completed. If the councilors and political affairs officers are rotated as usual, I am afraid that the reform will be delayed. It is better to restore the powers of the six departments first and let the councilors and political affairs officers continue to reform the reform in the six departments."
Wang Anshi was slightly startled. He had just objected. You are going to restore the six parts again. Didn't you turn a deaf ear to my words? He glanced at Zhao Xu and suddenly realized that this was not an ordinary conversation. He immediately became cautious, nodded and said: "That's okay."
Zhao Xu's words have a hidden meaning. This is for reform. If you don't agree, there will be problems with the reform.
Zhao Xu asked again: "Sir, have all the new laws been promulgated now?"
Wang Anshi's heart skipped a beat, and he said truthfully: "Currently, there are still mainly the laws to protect armor, the laws to protect horses, and the law to change the market, which have not yet been promulgated."
Zhao Xu said: "I will put the armor protection method on hold for now. I think we can use the Royal Police to train an elite division for me."
Regarding this point, Wang Anshi had already seen through it, so he never promulgated the armor protection law, so he nodded and said: "I obey your order."
Zhao Xu sighed again: "Now I want to streamline the officials and reduce the harm of redundant officials. However, some people in the court have been talking about setting up the Ordinance Department of the Second Prefecture. They think that in addition to the Second Prefecture, there is another Second Prefecture. This streamlining of official offices has never been done." How can we talk about it, and the current obstacles between the DPRK and China on the New Deal are not as big as before. I believe that Mr. Sir can implement the new law even in the political hall."
Wang Anshi's 10,000 straw and mud horses rushed towards Zhao Xu, but he immediately said: "The establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was originally established temporarily, and now it is time to abolish it."
Zhao Xu smiled slightly and said: "I am very grateful to you for your understanding of justice. But you don't have to worry. You can recommend officials to establish the Ordinance Department of the second government to enter the three provinces and six departments, including Sinong Temple and Taifu Temple. It will be merged into the Ministry of Household Affairs and reforms will continue."
"I obey."
Wang Anshi cupped his hands and said.
In fact, as early as half a month ago, Wang Anshi had a premonition that this would happen. He felt that Zhao Xu would no longer obey his words, but he did not expect that it would happen so quickly and so violently.
Directly, even the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was abolished.
Having said that, of course the Ordinance Department of the Second Government must be abolished. It was originally a temporary organization, but he did not expect it to come so soon.
After leaving the house, Wang Anshi felt a sense of loneliness in his heart. He looked up and sighed, waving his sleeves and leaving.
Only an hour later, Sima Guang came to this hall again.
"Recently, some ministers have used judicial reforms to impeach me for manipulating power, nepotism, and exclusion of dissidents."
The first words he said frightened Sima Guang out of his mind, "Your Majesty, I was wronged. I don't know who wanted to frame me."
Zhao Xu replied: "It's Cai Que, the censor."
"Cai Que?" Sima Guang was stunned, and then asked: "I wonder what credentials he has?"
This really happened so suddenly that he couldn't even react!
Zhao Xu said: "He said that Xianggong led the judicial reform at the beginning and threatened to separate politics from law. However, the public security, prosecution and law were always controlled by Xianggong, and Xianggong participated in political affairs. Therefore, he believed that this was not the separation of politics and law at all, but the Xianggong's intention to monopolize public security, prosecution and law."
After that, he handed the memorial to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang stood up and took it with both hands, returned to the chair, opened it and started reading. After a while, he closed the memorial and said, "Your Majesty, what Cai Yushi said is reasonable. It is true that because of the minister, he did not fully implement the political and legal affairs." Separation, but I don’t want to monopolize the public prosecutor’s office, nor do I have any selfish intentions.”
There is a saying that Sima Guang did hinder the separation of politics and law to a certain extent. Sima Guang belonged to the Political Affairs Hall, the first administrative department of the Political Affairs Hall. At the same time, he controlled the public security, prosecution and law, and he also shouted the slogan of separation of politics and law, which led to other It is difficult for the administrative departments to intervene in the public security, procuratorate and law. Isn’t it just you, Sima Guang, who is in charge of the public security, procuratorate and law alone?
But this was exactly what Sima Guang wanted. In the Court of Criminal Justice, he almost did not interfere with the public prosecution and law, and no lawsuit ever reached the Court of Justice.
He has a clear conscience and freely admits that this is indeed a problem.
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, "Of course I believe in my husband."
Sima Guang blinked, and hurriedly raised his hands and said: "I am willing to leave the trial court to show my innocence."
Zhao Xu said: "But now the judicial reform has not been completed, and the minister still needs to take charge of the overall situation!"
Sima Guang is a little confused, so what do you want?
After Zhao Xu pretended to think about it, he said: "Let's do this. This time the officials will be rotated. My husband will go to the Ministry of Punishment first and continue to preside over the judicial reform. At the same time, the Court of Punishment and Dali Temple will be named after the imperial court, and a chief justice will be appointed to preside over it." day-to-day judicial affairs, thereby completely separating politics and law.”
Sima Guang cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is wise, I fully agree."
But after saying that, he was stunned again, Ministry of Punishment? Doesn’t the Ministry of Punishment have no authority? How come it involves the Ministry of Punishment?
"It just so happened that Wang Yuyu of the Hanlin Academy recently sent me a memorial. I agree with it very much. I wonder what your Majesty's opinion is?" Before Sima Guang could react, Zhao Xu showed Wang Gui's memorial to him.
Sima Guang took it again, and after reading it, he said truthfully: "I have always been in favor of streamlining the organization, deleting certain duplications, and eliminating redundancy. However, the situation in our dynasty is very different from that of the previous dynasty. There is no need to set up three provinces and six departments according to the "Tang Liu Dian" , which may not be worth the gain.”
Zhao Xu was puzzled when he heard this, how could the two old enemies have such unanimous views on this matter? They were really confused. He said: "I also asked Wang Yuyu why he had to follow the "Liu Canon of the Tang Dynasty". Wang Yuyu answered me, If the system is not explained clearly, the disaster of redundant officials cannot be eliminated. He also took the establishment of the Ordinance Department and Shipping Department of the second government as an example, thinking that this was the result of no system. Many officials were laid off here, but there were not many officials added there. Young official, this back and forth is equivalent to no dismissal."
Sima Guang nodded straightly and said: "Wang Yu's words are reasonable. The Regulations Department of the Second Government should indeed be abolished. If this department exists for a long time, it will definitely destroy the imperial system."
Zhao Xu asked: "Does this mean that you support Wang Yuyu's words?"
"this."
Sima Guang showed a look of struggle on his face. The emperor tied these two things together. If you don't agree with my restructuring, the Regulations Department of the Second Government will not be withdrawn. His tone suddenly softened and said: "I think if you To do this, we should do it step by step and not act too hastily.”
"What you say makes sense."
Zhao Xu nodded with a smile and said: "This time the officials are rotated, some of the powers of the six departments will be restored first."
Sima Guang hesitated and said: "That's okay."
As soon as he walked out of the palace, Sima Guang immediately realized that the emperor was about to take over the power, because this kind of thing had happened countless times in history.
Soon, the news spread, and both conservatives and reformists could not help but remain silent, and did not even dare to discuss the matter publicly. It can be seen that the power was no less than a magnitude 10 earthquake.
They had expected that this rotation would be a big show, but they never expected that it would be so exciting.
In an instant, Wang Anshi was relieved of his administrative power, and without the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, everything had to be done according to the rules.
At the same time, Sima Guang was also relieved of his judicial power.
Once the Trial Court is changed into the Supreme Court, with only the Chief Justice, it will be like the Privy Council, completely separated from the control of the Political Hall, and become a pure judicial institution. If Sima Guang is not the Chief Justice, he will no longer be able to preside over it. Daily affairs of the Public Security Bureau.
Most of the two major forces in North Korea and China were lost in an instant.
This is really terrible.
Only the elite Tang fans were ecstatic. You must know that there were a group of literati in the Song Dynasty who admired the Tang Dynasty very much, including Zhao Xu himself, who was also a little fan of Tang Taizong. They were all eager to restore the Tang system.
This group of elite Tang fans began to build momentum, demanding the restoration of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries system in accordance with the "Tang Liu Dian".
In addition, there were some opportunistic officials who quickly flattered the emperor when they saw this situation.
Fufu
Fu Bi couldn't help but sigh: "What a good trick!"
Their target had always been Wang Anshi before, but they didn't expect that the little emperor's methods could be so ruthless and he would do whatever he said.
"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit." Wen Yanbo said: "Today the six ministries will be restored, and tomorrow the three provinces will be restored. By then..."
Although it is not finished, it is actually an allusion to dividing their power.
The power of the prime minister is the source of power of the scholar-bureaucrat group.
This will break the balance between the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling the world.
Wen Yanbo looked at Fu Bi again, "Fu Gong, maybe you are right."
Fu Bi was startled, then frowned and said calmly: "Do you want to make the same mistake again?"
As usual, every time there was a major earthquake in the DPRK, Zhang Fei acted like an outsider, focusing on his own affairs.
Recently, he has been busy with student loans. Recently, he came to Baifan Building to have final negotiations with Fan Yong.
This time Fan Yong and other businessmen did not struggle too much. They mainly questioned one point, that is, how to ensure their own benefits. Zhang Fei also told them that various examinations would be set up to try to lend money to students with higher qualifications. .
At the same time, let them calculate the interest based on the current wages of the bookkeeper and the caterer, and calculate the interest based on the worse result. This can further ensure that they will be able to pay back the money.
After graduation, if you can't enter the Imperial College or become an official, you should be able to work as an accountant.
After several discussions, Fan Yong and other businessmen agreed. In fact, compared to the previous big deals, this was just a small amount of money!
"Alas, the imperial court really treats our charity foundation as a small treasury with inexhaustible resources."
Fan Yong said with emotion.
Zhang Fei suddenly stood up and looked up.
Fan Yong was stunned and followed his gaze, but saw a plaque hanging above his head - The best is like water.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Think about it, why the charity foundation can spend so much money."
Fan Yong smiled awkwardly, "That's true."
How could this charity foundation develop without the support of the imperial court?
Zhang Fei added: "What's more, investing in education is a business that is guaranteed to make a profit. Some people want to invest money in it, but they are not qualified yet."
"That's true."
Fan Yong nodded.
"okay!"
Zhang Fei said: "You can arrange this matter, I will go back to the procuratorate first."
"Sanlang, walk slowly."
When I returned to the procuratorate, I saw many unfamiliar faces inside.
"Prosecutor Zhang is back, and the students from the Imperial College are here to report."
Wang Gong came forward and pointed at the dozen or so unfamiliar faces.
The dozen or so people immediately came forward and said, "The student has met the teacher."
"Wait a minute."
Zhang Fei said in surprise: "When did I become your teacher?"
One of them said: "Students in the Legal Academy are learning the legal system of the teacher, so they should be respectfully called the teacher."
All are disciples of the law.
These proud men of heaven have long memorized "Song Xingtong" by heart. When they entered the Imperial College, they mainly studied the legal system and studied the cases of the imperial court.
It is natural for them to call Zhang Fei teacher.
"It's up to you."
Zhang Fei added: "No matter what your name is, there is no less work to do."
As he said that, he looked at Qi Ji again, "Inspector Qi, find some work for them, and arrange for them to inspect the prison first."
Qi Ji smiled and nodded.
This is really a good job!
Zhang Fei asked those students again: "Do you know why I arranged for you to inspect the prison?"
More than a dozen people shook their heads.
Zhang Fei said: "What is the concept of legal system?"
"Defend everyone's legitimate rights and interests."
"So do prisoners have legitimate personal rights?"
".have."
After thinking for a while, they plucked up the courage to answer.
Zhang Fei said: "Of course we have it, because if we don't defend the legitimate rights and interests of prisoners, then we can't prevent unjust cases from happening."
“Students must keep the teacher’s teachings in mind.”
"Let's call me Prosecutor Zhang here."
"is teacher."
"???"
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and didn't bother to think about it, "Go and get ready."
These students left with Qi Ji excitedly. They were so happy to have something to do as soon as they came up.
These students, whose edges have not been smoothed yet, are full of ambition and are really full of energy.
After they left, Wang Gong suddenly said: "Prosecutor Zhang, have you heard about the trial court?"
Zhang Fei asked: "What's the matter?"
Wang Gong frowned and said: "It is said that the imperial court plans to convert the Sentencing Court and Dali Temple into imperial courts. If it is true, then our public prosecutors and law will be completely independent of the administration."
Zhang Fei was startled and thought to himself, what should come will eventually come. But he asked: "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
Wang Gong was stunned, "I still want to ask you."
Zhang Fei said: "How could I know?"
Wang Gong pondered for a while, "Logically speaking, this is of course a good thing, but without Sima Xianggong to preside over the overall situation, it is difficult to control the situation, and everyone feels a little guilty!"
It is said that politics and law are separated, but if there is a complete separation, it is inevitable that there will be some worries. Is it really possible to sue the prime minister to the imperial court?
With Sima Guang here, if the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate cross the line, the Trial Court can dismiss them. Moreover, when looking for someone from above, the first thing to do is look for Sima Guang. They will not interfere too much with the Public Procuratorate and the Procuratorate. On the contrary, they do not have too much pressure.
In other words, now they, the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate and the Law must bear all responsibilities themselves.
Although the separation of politics and law is what Zhang Fei pursues, he is reluctant at this moment because he thinks it is too fast, at least until the expansion of Southeast Sixth Road is completed, but he cannot let it happen. The dragon has been lurking in the water.
The key is that he suspected that Zhao Xu did this in advance without waiting for the Public Security Law to be fully implemented. He may also have doubts about the Public Security Law.
It would be more difficult for the emperor to control it personally if he waited until the Public Security Bureau was formed. From this point of view, at this moment, it was indeed a very important window for the emperor.
