Who can't tell the difference between the big and the small kings?
Of course, Sima Guang was not obligated to take orders from Zhang Fei. He only asked Zhang Fei for suggestions. The final decision-making power still rested with Sima Guang.
From this perspective, Sima Guang is the king!
But you must know that Zhang Fei proposed to establish a permanent chief judge, and this chief judge is not necessarily appointed by the emperor, but must be selected according to the system, while the other two are temporarily appointed by the emperor, thus ensuring that the emperor has control over the imperial court. control.
Sima Guang obviously disagreed, and reversed Zhang Fei's suggestion. The permanent president of the court was appointed by the emperor, and the temporary appointee was appointed by the Privy Council and the Political Affairs Hall.
The Privy Council and the Political Hall represent the power of the prime minister.
I still hope to continue to maintain the balance between imperial power and prime ministerial power.
But for Sima Guang, the emperor is the king!
"Senior Sima didn't tell me this."
Zhang Fei said with an innocent face.
"I know."
Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "What do you think of this?"
After Zhang Fei thought for a while, he said truthfully: "As far as the public prosecutor and the judiciary are concerned, in fact, all of this is fine. If there are multiple chief judges, it only needs to ensure that the number of candidates for the Supreme Court is an odd number. This is to ensure that a case will not be delayed. It will take a long time, but if His Majesty can appoint two people, it will be more able to make the Supreme Law fully implement His Majesty’s will.”
Zhao Xu smiled bitterly and said: "I don't know, but all of my prime ministers are smart and capable. I want to know now, if you were the president of the Grand Court, would Sima Junshi's suggestions have any impact on you?"
Zhang Fei said humbly: "If I were the president of the Grand Court, whether His Majesty appoints someone personally or recommends someone from the second government, it probably won't make much difference."
Zhao Xu asked in astonishment: "Why?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because it has become a habit for them to target me."
Zhao Xu laughed and said, "You are quite self-aware."
Zhang Fei smiled helplessly: "I'm used to it too."
Zhao Xu asked again: "Can you handle it well?"
Zhang Fei said: "I dare not say that I will be able to handle every case, but if it is based on the legal system, I think I can still handle most matters.
Because after all, the Public Security Bureau has a complete system, and only in some very, very complex cases can the chief judge be able to exert his greatest power.
But even so, the Chief Justice still has to face the constraints of the system, including the inspectors of the Procuratorate. He cannot make up random things and must provide strong arguments. As for the legal system, I have the greatest authority to explain it. "
Having said this, he paused for a moment and said, "Of course, this mainly depends on what His Majesty plans."
Zhao Xu suddenly smiled and asked: "Then how do you think I should choose?"
Zhang Fei said: "I don't know that."
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded: "I can see that you are really lacking in this aspect. In fact, Sima Junshi's suggestions are better than yours!"
Zhang Fei asked doubtfully: "Really?"
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "A case that can reach the Supreme Court must not be an ordinary case. If the second government and the third division do not agree, it may bring more trouble to me. In fact, I have encountered such cases in the past , I always arrange for multiple officials to go to trial.
Let them participate, and no matter what the result is, no one will have anything to say, so... "
Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Fei, "If you have no problem, I don't want to compete with Sima Junshi on this matter, because even if it is recommended by the second government, it does not mean that it has nothing to do with me."
The implication is that he can also use operations to let one of the two houses recommend the candidate he wants. He still has the initiative.
Feelings, you are worried about me! Zhang Fei said quickly: "I don't have any problems."
"Then it's settled." Zhao Xu nodded and added: "As for the Procuratorate, Sima Jun actually demands complete independence."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "This is what I suggested, because in the entire public prosecutor's office, the procuratorate is very, very critical. It can check and balance the imperial court, the police department, and at the same time, it can also check and balance other government departments.
Moreover, unlike the Yushitai, the Procuratorate pays attention to evidence and can help His Majesty distinguish between good and bad regardless of winning the case. I think the Procuratorate must be independent and given great freedom. The second government and the third department are in a relatively balanced state. "
Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "What about the police station?"
Zhang Fei said: "It depends on what Your Majesty wants."
Zhao Xu asked: "Is the police station administrative or judicial?"
Zhang Fei said: "They belong to both. After all, the royal police have completely replaced the yamen and even some patrols. This depends on the nature of the matter. If the imperial court allows the police station to investigate certain cases, it is judicial. If it is to help If the government office maintains law and order and issues notices, it is administrative."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly, "I currently plan to transfer the police station to the Ministry of War. With this restructuring, the Ministry of War will not replace the powers of the Privy Council. At the same time, I also hope that we can expand our territory with the Royal Police."
"Ministry of War?" Zhang Fei blinked and said, "Your Majesty's plan is very good. I think it is feasible."
"Yeah?"
"Speaking from the bottom of my heart."
Afterwards, the monarch and his ministers discussed the construction of the public prosecutor's law.
Why didn't the emperor talk to Zhang Fei in advance? It was because Zhang Fei couldn't make the decision and could only make suggestions. The key was Sima Guang and the others. After Sima Guang and the others made suggestions, the emperor would discuss with Zhang Fei how to deal with it.
After leaving the palace and preparing to get on the carriage, Li Si glanced inside the carriage from the corner of his eyes.
Zhang Fei understood the idea and got into the carriage, only to see Li Bao sitting inside.
"What's going on with the Tax Department now?"
Zhang Fei sat in and asked casually.
Li Bao immediately sighed: "If there hadn't been the subsequent round of tax repayments, everyone in the tax department would have had a good year this year. You really didn't have the right time to fight that lawsuit."
There was a hint of complaint in his tone.
Zhang Fei said: "This is all your fault. If you had told me this earlier, I could have fought later!"
The pot was so smooth that Li Bao couldn't react, "How did I know this?"
Zhang Fei chuckled: "You are responsible for receiving news, don't you know?"
".!"
These Erbis are really capable of framing people for trouble! Li Bao was frightened and whispered: "Don't tell the officials about this."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "The officials are not in the mood to argue with you about such trivial matters."
After a pause, he asked again: "Will the tax department starve to death?"
Li Bao said: "It is not possible to starve to death. There are still a lot of tax evasion, but they also count the money to escape and be prepared to accept the punishment. But this time they are also well prepared. Some businessmen divided the ledger into more than ten parts. , and then hide them separately.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "But you still found out."
Li Bao said: "Thanks to Sanlang for giving us many investigation methods."
Zhang Fei smiled and asked again: "By the way, what do you want from me?"
Li Bao said hurriedly: "There is also a letter from Big Dog."
Zhang Fei asked: "What did you say?"
Li Bao said: "The northwest region has basically completed tax collection, the salt debt crisis is completely over, and the government now has a lot of surplus."
Zhang Fei said: "What's going on? Aren't they collected at the same time?"
Li Bao said: "Logically speaking, the northwest collects taxes half a month later than the capital, but there are all salt banknotes there, and they declare independently. They take the tax bill and salt banknotes and pay the tax."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but cursed: "MD, I planted the tree, but it was someone else who enjoyed the shade."
Li Bao said hey, "You can't say that. This year, your offices in Jingzhao and Hezhong have paid more than 10,000 yuan in taxes alone."
"real or fake?"
"I've paid all the money, how can I still have a holiday?"
"It's a pity that I have no interest in money. Apart from paying taxes, I don't have much else to spend money on." Zhang Fei couldn't help but sigh.
The corner of Li Bao's mouth twitched a few times, and he said without conscience: "Everyone knows that Sanlang doesn't love money, but most people still love money. Big Dog thinks that there are fewer and fewer people evading taxes in the northwest, but in our northwest We have strong soldiers and horses again. Even though the battle on Jingdong East Road is fierce, in terms of tax collection skills, our Northwest Tax Department is stronger."
Zhang Fei asked: "Did Big Dog receive the news that the Public Security Bureau went south?"
Li Bao nodded and said: "Thirty percent of his letter is a good news, but 70% is that he hopes to go to Southeast Sixth Road. It is really a big honey pot there. After this round, everyone can get rich."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "There happens to be a shortage of people over there, so you can make your own arrangements."
Li Bao nodded.
"correct!"
Zhang Fei asked: "Do you take the commission?"
Li Bao rubbed his hands: "Take a little bit of it."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Also, this person can't just get in and out. He relies on others to evade taxes to make a living. With the money he earns, he can also do some business on his own to keep himself safe."
Li Bao nodded and said: "I forgot to tell you this. In fact, many people have already started doing business, especially those who joined our tax department in the past two years. However, there is no conflict between the two. While doing business, you can It’s better to check the other party’s taxes, earn some bounty from them, and make up for the taxes you pay.”
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's true."
One of the main reasons why Yuanfeng's restructuring in history was not very effective was that it did not change the local structure.
But the current situation is exactly the opposite. Earth-shaking changes have taken place in the local area. Due to the separation of politics and law, the administrative offices have become very united and twisted into a rope.
In addition, due to the promulgation of the Business Law and Debt Restructuring, officials are also very nervous about their official uniforms and have become very efficient.
For example, the capital city has just begun to pay taxes on a large scale, while the Jingzhao Mansion has already paid taxes, and the tax lawsuits in the procuratorate are almost finished.
Lu Gongru, the prefect of Jingzhao, looked at hundreds of people busy on the pier, but still in order. He couldn't help but grinned, "This public prosecutor's law really has the effect of turning corruption into magic."
There is a war on the front line, but as the prefect of Jingzhao, he feels extremely relaxed. He may even take his annual leave in advance. He has never fought such a prosperous battle in his life.
The transshipment officer next to him, Yuan Jiang, was quite dissatisfied and said: "The tax can be collected so quickly mainly because of the salt banknotes. Nowadays, all rural people use salt banknotes to pay taxes. This village may collect them all in less than an hour." .”
Lu Gongru chuckled: "You can't say that. Even if it is salt banknotes, it will take time to collect it from household to household. Moreover, during the tax collection period in the past, the government offices were not open, but now the imperial court is closed. Never had a break.
The number of merchants coming and going has been increasing day by day in recent days. Safety on the roads and in the markets are all the responsibility of the public security organs and the law. In the past, it was impossible for the government to take care of so many things at the same time, but now there are no mistakes at all. "
Yuan Jiang said: "That's because there are so many of them. The royal police plus tax police, plus court guards and prison guards, the number is more than 20 times that of all the previous government officials. Can we not deal with it?"
Talking about efficiency aside from manpower is pure nonsense.
Due to Zhao Xu's strategy, the flow of the Forbidden Army to the police stations was very smooth. Police stations in various places had sufficient manpower, and at the same time, it did not increase the financial burden. All the Forbidden Army soldiers were converted into royal police, and the expenditures were similar.
But the Royal Police does a lot more. And it does not affect combat readiness because there are already redundant troops.
Lu Gongru chuckled and said: "If the royal police are replaced by the previous government officials, see if you can do it."
Yuan Jiang said depressedly: "Prefect Lu, we are on one side, why do you always speak for them?"
Lu Gongru chuckled and said, "I'm just talking about things! Only now do I feel the joy of being an official!"
In the past, the efficiency was too slow. After giving an order, I would have to wait. When I was bored, I would go to the brothel to drink tea from time to time, and my fighting spirit was drained away. Unlike today, where efficiency has been improved on a large scale, there are many things to do every day, and the results can be seen quickly at the same time, but it does not feel hard.
When a government order is issued, there is an immediate response, which gives a sense of accomplishment.
At this time, a young man and a clerk on the dock came over.
The young man handed over a contract and said, "Prefect Lu, Yuan Dynasty Transport Envoy, this batch of grain has been handed over. If there are no other problems, please stamp it."
Lu Gongru nodded and said with a smile: "Thank you for your help."
This young man is Fan Zheng.
"This is a matter for the common people."
Fan Zheng hurriedly bowed his hands.
After Yuan Jiang reviewed the contract, he stamped it and said, "Fan Da, what is the price of food on the market now?"
Fan Zhengdao: "It's relatively stable."
Lu Gongru asked curiously: "The imperial court has bought nearly 100,000 tons of grain in the past few days. Why hasn't the price of grain increased?"
Fan Zheng said hurriedly: "This is because the people all pay taxes with salt banknotes. As a result, all the salt banknotes are now in the hands of the government. The people are all fed by food and there is a serious lack of money. Therefore, it has been able to maintain it."
Lu Gongru stroked his beard and nodded: "That's it."
Fan Zheng asked again: "Will the next batch of grain be sent to Yanzhou?"
"Yes." Yuan Jiang nodded, "The Xihe area will not be used for the time being."
They have received news that the emperor has sent one million coins, which will greatly reduce the pressure on the northwest region.
The key salt banknotes have become popular in the northwest region. After collecting the tax, you can buy them directly from Jiekupu nearby, saving a lot of consumption.
Lu Gongru couldn't help but sigh: "What's the difference between this and the equal loss method?"
Yuan Jiang did not refute this point.
The fact is still the case. Nowadays, all the money collected is salt banknotes. The government must use the salt banknotes to buy and buy. Naturally, it is to get closer and get cheaper.
Isn’t that what the equal loss method is pursuing?
Moreover, it saves money even more than the average transportation method. The Southeast Sixth Road Shipping Department has also hired a lot of people. This all costs money. Here, it is all done through Jiekupu, which saves labor costs. .
Suddenly I heard someone behind me say: "No matter how much money you save, it's not enough."
Several people turned around and saw Su Che walking over.
"It turns out that Prosecutor General Su." Lu Gongru smiled and nodded.
Su Zhe bowed his hands to the two of them.
Fan Zheng bowed to Su Zhe and left wisely. He was really busy now. The Transportation Department relied more and more on Jiekupu to operate. Not to mention salt banknotes and salt debts, nearly 70% of the military pay now comes from Through the operation of Jiekupu, it is really convenient to get money in and out.
After Fan Zheng left, Su Che glanced at the grain on the pier and said: "The transshipment envoy, I think it is impossible to keep sending grain to the front line. This will cause the generals to continue to expand outward. But if there is a slight mistake, There will be big problems. Now that the northwest region is developing so well, we should accumulate people's strength and make progress."
Yuan Jiang said: "Prosecutor Su only sees one thing. What is the reason why commercial taxes have continued to increase exponentially in recent years? It is not because of your public prosecutors, but because of the war, which has led to the rapid circulation of goods and coins, and the rapid circulation of salt. Only then could banknotes become popular so quickly.”
Su Che smiled coldly and said: "It's all supported by the salt debt. If it hadn't been for that batch of private salt a few months ago, I don't know what would have happened. The debt is getting bigger and bigger, and one day it will happen." If something goes wrong, if the government wants to increase taxes at will, our procuratorate will never agree."
Yuan Jiang said calmly: "We have our own rules for this. You and the procuratorate can just mind their own affairs."
Lu Gongru, who was standing in the middle, stroked his beard and remained silent.
This was not the first time that the two had quarreled over this matter. Su Zhe believed that the Xihe area should not be too indulgent, as it would encourage military generals to be greedy for merit and advance rashly.
The northwest region has developed very well in the past few years, but there is still no money. The reason is that it was spent on the war, leaving it to take care of people's livelihood. What a nourishing life it was!
But Yuan Jiang believes that this war is not entirely negative. The scale of northwest business is a crazy expansion that can be seen with the naked eye. The Xihe War has played a role in fueling the flames. It is still within control. As for the batch of salt debts, it is indeed somewhat dangerous. , but that was left by Zhang Fei.
Su Zhe said: "But it is the responsibility of our procuratorate to check the circulation of salt banknotes."
Lu Gongru couldn't help but smile and said: "Prosecutor Su, the tax department is so busy, can your procuratorate still send people to check the salt banknotes?"
Su Zhe said: "It doesn't take much manpower to litigate, and it won't be delayed."
He really couldn't control the affairs of the Transportation Department, but he could keep an eye on it. He also knew that if there was a shortage of money, the Transportation Department would most likely issue more salt banknotes. He had been keeping an eye on this matter.
Yuan Jiang chuckled and said, "Check it, check it. The more you check it, the more people will use my salt banknotes."
Su Che smiled and said: "This is also what our public prosecutors and the judiciary want."
"you!"
Yuan Jiang glared at Su Zhe angrily.
He missed Zhang Fei very much at this time. He had often been made dizzy by Zhang Fei in the past, but he never thought that this Su Che would be more troublesome. In comparison, the life of working with Zhang Fei was still comfortable.
The key is that Su Che has a very good mind. He knows where the government will take action if they want to do something.
He investigates salt debts and salt banknotes very ruthlessly. As long as there is a large-scale flow of salt banknotes on the market, he will start an investigation.
During this tax collection, he saw that the government had collected all the salt banknotes, and the people became extremely short of salt banknotes. If the government secretly issued salt banknotes, it would be difficult to detect.
So, he was about to send someone to investigate.
The officials really didn't dare to mess around. If Su Che caught him, he would be dead. After all, Zhang Fei wouldn't be able to protect him if he wasn't there!
Compared with the rapid development in the northwest, Jingdong East Road is still in the recovery stage.
However, the previous turmoil due to the Green Crops Law has completely passed, and since the money earned from the Green Crops Law was spent on the promotion of Changping Division this year, there are naturally many business opportunities for so many projects, and the key tax department has also cleared a number of Grass bandits, the roads are safer, and the number of merchants coming and going has also increased significantly.
At the same time, due to the arrival of the tax department, the taxes that the people need to pay have been significantly reduced, and they are no longer exploited. No matter how much, at least they know what they are doing, and they fill out the tax forms by themselves.
The people on Jingdong East Road felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
It can be said that Jingdong East Road is currently in a state of tension.
Officials who have never been to the northwest are quite satisfied with this.
Qingzhou.
Qinghe Tower.
I saw the customers inside, almost all holding a newspaper, gathering around the wine table and discussing.
"This hearing was really not fair. It was clear that there were problems, but the lawsuit was dismissed."
"Brother Chen, you should wait until you read it before discussing it. Isn't it clearly written at the end? It was dismissed because of insufficient evidence. The public prosecutor and the judiciary emphasize evidence the most."
"Then don't care?"
"This has already been reported. How could we ignore it? The end of the article does not imply that this matter can only be handled by the imperial court."
"I see, the imperial court must have sent the Public Security Bureau to Southeast Sixth Road. Our newspaper office is abominable and loves to tease people. Just for the matter of losing the law, they handed out eight copies one after another. Fortunately, this restaurant has , if you want to buy it yourself, huh, just reading newspapers this year will cost you a lot of money."
Due to the delay in news, they are still immersed in that hearing, completely unaware that a bigger storm has come.
"Ouch! Please keep your voices down, please."
At this time, the shopkeeper came forward with a pot of tea.
"What? It's been published in the newspaper, why don't people talk about it?"
"No, it's just the private room where Prosecutor Fan and Prosecutor Su are sitting."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
".!"
However, Su Shi and Fan Chunren were really not in the mood to listen to their discussion below. They were both firmly opposed to losing the law at the beginning, and were driven out of the government and opposition parties because of this, so they were more concerned about this matter.
"You deserve it!"
Su Shi put down the newspaper and sneered.
Fan Chunren asked curiously: "Why did Zizhan say this?"
Su Shi said: "When I was building the procuratorate in Yangzhou, they wanted to let me work in a brothel, so they looked down upon me. Now I'm really asking for trouble. Isn't this what I deserve?"
Fan Chunren chuckled and said, "You will never forget this."
Looking back on the past, Su Shi sighed: "You don't know how aggrieved I was in Yangzhou at that time. What's even more hateful is that Zhang San was very successful in Hezhong Mansion, but this was not because I was incompetent, but because they didn't give me support. Now It’s really a natural cycle, good and evil will be rewarded.”
Fan Chunren said: "I don't know why, my days in Dengzhou were very leisurely."
Su Shi was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that Fan Chunren and him were brothers in need. Then he asked: "Don't you feel happy?"
Fan Chunren just smiled helplessly and asked: "How do you think the court will respond?"
Su Shi chuckled: "The next Dibao will tell us that the imperial court has decided to implement the Public Security Law on Southeast Sixth Road."
Fan Chunren asked: "Why are you so sure?"
"Because this must be Zhang San's trick."
Su Shi smiled and said: "If those Jiangnan businessmen hire me to help them litigate, I will definitely let the imperial court get justice for them. Zhang Sanhui can't do that?
The reason why he held this hearing was that he did not want the Public Security Bureau of the capital to solve this problem. Otherwise, there would be no reason to implement the Public Security Law on Southeast Sixth Road. "
Fan Chunren said: "But will Wang Jiefu just sit back and wait for death?"
"impossible."
Su Shi shook his head and said: "But as long as the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate are built on Southeast Sixth Road, even if Wang Jiefu comes up with a solution, it will not be a big concern. Look at the Qingmiao Law and the entire Jingdong East Road, which has changed from a bad law to a good law. Who dares to lend money to people at high interest rates?" Or force people to borrow money."
Fan Chunren nodded, "You are right about this. In fact, there is not much problem with the regulations of the New Deal."
"Who says there is no problem?" Su Shi said: "The concept of equalization is wrong at all. The court should not interfere with merchants' transactions. The court's income should be taxes. In this way, the court will care about whether the people are living well. If the people are not living well and cannot pay taxes, the country will have no income.”
"That's not the case either."
Fan Chunren waved his hand, "Isn't the regular positioning method just selling at high prices and buying at low prices? Isn't this good for the people?"
"This cannot be confused."
Su Shi waved his hand and said: "The purpose of Chang Ping Cang is for the people's livelihood, but the purpose of the Uniform Loss Method is for wealth. If it is just to save expenses, the design will not be so complicated."
At this moment, a servant quickly came to the private room and said, "Sir, Mr. Ouyang passed away an hour ago."
(End of chapter)
