Fu Bi is naturally not as domineering and overt as Zhang Chaoxian. Let me say this - after I finish speaking, who is in favor and who is against?
He seemed to be just expressing his opinion. After speaking, he looked at Zhao Pian and the others, waiting for their opinions.
Zhao Pian, Feng Jing, and Sima Guang looked at each other in confusion. It is certain that they did not agree with Zhang Fei's right to pardon, because preventing the emperor from wantonly manipulating the judiciary was what they had been fighting for, and there was a winner or loser.
This does not mean that the emperor was able to successfully manipulate the judiciary every time.
Contemporary scholar-officials take this matter very, very seriously.
Because this actually involves a very sensitive issue, that is, "the monarch and the scholar-bureaucrats rule the world together."
Since ancient times, the law has been used by emperors to restrict ministers and is a weapon in the hands of the emperor. Legalism is full of this kind of thinking.
If we want to rule the world together, we must either impose restrictions or enjoy privileges.
Otherwise, how can we say that we share the world.
Starting from Renzong, it was actually more about sharing privileges, and scholar-bureaucrats who broke the law were dealt with lightly.
Many ministers directly told the emperor that scholar-officials could not be sentenced to such severe sentences.
What's the reason?
The reason is that if you, the emperor, enjoy privileges, then we scholar-bureaucrats must also enjoy privileges.
Therefore, in many historical events, some very upright and principled scholar-officials, including Fan Zhongyan, would unabashedly defend a certain scholar-official at certain moments.
This is a question of power checks and balances, not selfishness.
Otherwise, it is not co-governance. There can be differences between us, but the differences cannot be too big.
Therefore, as Zhang Fei said, in many cases, it is the result of gaming, not the result of judicial judgment. The judiciary is just covering these privileges.
Now that the judiciary is added as an independent body, the problem becomes very complicated.
Because the judicial system and the previous game are very contradictory, we can only choose one of the two, and we cannot have both.
Therefore, even if they were dissatisfied and disagreed, Sima Guang and the others did not angrily rebuke or refute Zhang Fei.
Because Zhang Fei's starting point is justice, he looks at this issue from a judicial perspective. One crime, more than a dozen different decrees, regulations, and precedents, how can we govern the country according to law?
Now that the Public Security Bureau has become independent, this problem must be solved, otherwise it will cause many problems.
However, apart from Zhang Fei's suggestions, they could not give a specific answer.
In fact, everyone knows that there is another answer, and that is all restrictions.
They would be willing, but it is impossible for the emperor to agree, so this is not an option.
Therefore, this discussion did not produce a specific result.
Because this is no small matter.
Rich Mansion.
"The right to pardon? Haha, I really didn't expect that that kid would actually do the opposite."
Wen Yanbo was also so angry that he blew his beard and glared: "I just said, how could that kid be so brave this time? It's not like his previous behavior at all. It turned out that this was his idea."
Seeing his excitement, Fu Bi couldn't help but joked: "What? Did you think before that he could use this to restrain the officials?"
After hearing this, Wen Yanbo looked slightly embarrassed and sighed: "Perhaps I had too high expectations for that kid. I thought he would be confident if he dared to do this. Maybe he could come up with a very subtle bill. , I’m not talking about having my cake and eat it, but at least I can be impartial, but I never thought about it!”
In fact, he wanted to say it, but without thinking, he just knelt down and raised his hands in surrender.
If you want to do this, you can do it with me!
You said this method is difficult to think of?
No!
It's just that everyone doesn't agree with this, because everyone has always thought about how to restrain the officials, so they don't think about it.
Fu Bi sighed and said, "To tell you the truth, I was actually very shocked when he said this solution. I even thought he had the rest of the sentence left unsaid. But after thinking about it carefully, I realized that this might really be the only solution. solution."
Wen Yanbo immediately said: "How can this be the solution? In the past, if a monarch wanted to protect a certain eunuch, he had to at least pretend to punish him to calm the public's anger. If there is such a bill, he can be pardoned directly. We don't even have to fight. Fight for the law."
He couldn't wait to say that this was aiding the evildoers.
Fu Bi said: "But most of the time, we are still unable to stop him. Otherwise, there would not be so many edicts. And Zhang San's power of pardon is used after the imperial court's judgment."
Wen Yanbo smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Fu, you are not so naive as to think that the monarch will save face instead of using this power of pardon."
Fu Bi said: "I think there will be some scruples and it will be used with caution. If the monarch has to use this power of pardon, then even without this power of pardon, he will not be able to convict. The reason is that the judiciary has already concluded that The other party is guilty, and the public prosecutor’s office places great emphasis on evidence rather than ambiguity. Officials have the right to pardon, but everyone in the world knows that you are covering up. This will affect the reputation of the official, and it is impossible for the official to ignore this. question."
Wen Yanbo frowned slightly.
Fu Bi added: "In many cases in the past, the monarch could replace the law with edicts, and could arrange for officials to interrogate the trial to help him escape the crime, or to aggravate his crime.
Nowadays, it is difficult for the officials to interfere in the trial. It is only said that the officials can intervene in the final punishment. This can actually maintain the authority of the judiciary. "
Wen Yanbo said: "But if there is no punishment, what is the meaning of the trial? It cannot be said that justice is in the hearts of the people. Moreover, when it comes to the issue of the chief judge, the officials already have the right to intervene, so in some major cases, the officials The family has been protected, and this pardon power will ensure that everything is foolproof!"
Fu Bi shook his head and sighed: "I am not saying that this is a perfect solution, but for the Public Security Bureau and the Legislative Council, this is indeed the only solution.
Judging from Zhang San’s case and his confession, in fact, what the Public Security Bureau emphasizes is rules. Every stroke must be clear. This is why when they watch Zhang Fei’s lawsuit, they are often frightened. The reason is this, because he will not be secretive. This is precisely what justice requires and what Confucianism pursues. A gentleman is magnanimous and has no fear of what others say.
For the public prosecutor, even if it is to grant officials the right to pardon, it is better than the current vagueness and speciousness. Moreover, I think this still has certain limitations for officials.
There is still a big difference between pardon and acquittal. "
Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said: "Even if Mr. Fu persuades me, he can't convince the big officials outside. They will never agree."
Fu Bi smiled and said: "Don't you understand that brat's methods? Since he dares to make this suggestion, he must be quite sure that the courtiers will agree."
Wen Yanbo asked: "Why?"
Fu Bi said: "Because Zhang San has told them the result. If they don't agree, the result will be death for all."
Wen Yanbo opened his eyes.
yes!
Officials now face pressure from the public prosecutor and the law, not from the monarch.
If the law is not revised, the procuratorate will have reason to pursue the death penalty. Even if they do dozens of blows, they will be sentenced to death. Who is really injured?
Fu Bi added: "And if the law is revised, the punishment can be appropriately lowered, and it can still be ensured that the death penalty will not be easily used against officials."
Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said: "I think we should prepare to take a step back. In this way, both sides will have a step to step down."
Fu Bi asked: "What do you think?"
Wen Yanbo said: "In public prosecutions and law, civil liability and criminal liability must be distinguished. Officials can only pardon criminal penalties, but cannot pardon civil penalties. Those who deserve compensation must still pay compensation, whether it is to the country or the people."
Fu Bi nodded slightly and said: "I think this is feasible, and the officials have no reason to oppose this."
If the emperor wants to protect someone, first of all it must be a big event or involve a big shot. This small matter cannot be brought to the emperor's attention. It is to protect his life and never to protect a little money. The key is that if you embezzle the country's money, the emperor will also It makes no sense, I won’t let you spit it out!
As soon as Zhang Fei got home, Wang Anshi came to the door.
"I know the intention, and I have no objection to your integration of those regulations and edicts."
Wang Anshi was very curious: "But I want to know, how do you plan to do this?"
Although he opposed it in the court, he knew that Zhang Fei definitely intended to integrate these regulations and edicts, and did not really intend to sentence those officials to death, because this would be of great benefit to the public prosecutor and the law.
For officials, it's actually good.
Zhang Fei then told Wang Anshi about the idea of pardon power.
Wang Anshi was also surprised when he heard this, and asked hurriedly: "Then they agreed?"
"Not yet. Yet."
Zhang Fei shrugged and said: "But I think Fu Gong and the others will agree, because if you want the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate to play their role, you must do this. And for the courtiers, the biggest threat at present is from the Public Procuratorate and Procuratorate. If the law is not revised, If so, the death penalty cannot be avoided, and the imperial court has no reason not to impose the death penalty, which is unacceptable to all officials."
"yes!"
Wang Anshi nodded and said: "For them, the public prosecutor and the law are the top priority."
He deduced it a little in his mind and thought that what Zhang Fei said was true, and it was very likely that it would pass. Suddenly said: "Although corruption is illegal, and corruption during the disaster relief period, it is even more worthy of death, but we cannot ignore one point, that is, many low-level officials have meager salaries. If this is not changed, even if they are killed, it will not be possible to solve this problem. Question. But if the court gives a salary increase, it will not only increase the financial burden, but also make it easier for those officials who usually only know how to eat, drink and have fun."
In fact, all of the dozens of officials who were arrested were officials who actually worked. Relatively speaking, they did a pretty good job. If they had not done well, they would have been dismissed from their posts long ago, because the disaster relief was very sudden. Food-for-work has become even more complicated.
Well, those who don't work can't make this money. As long as they don't go too far and do their work well, Wang Anshi actually tacitly allows them to make a little, because their salary is really not much.
To severely punish corruption, the salary must be in place. We cannot be like the Ming Dynasty. The salary is low and people are not greedy. This is not bad, but it is impossible. Even if you kill every day, you cannot do it, because you If we cannot achieve fairness, we will suffer from inequality if we do not suffer from scarcity.
Wang Anshi knew this very well, so starting from the exemption law, those officials could get their salaries.
But if there is a salary increase, the salary increase can only be based on rank and official position. But in fact, there are only a few people who actually do the work. This will only further increase the financial burden, and it will not be worth the gain.
After all, Wang Anshi is the ruling prime minister. He must consider the difficulties of the lower-level officials. Otherwise, who will help him implement the New Deal.
Of course, at this time, he proposed to raise the salary of low-level officials, which could also win over people's hearts. He also had political considerations in this regard.
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said: "Actually, with the Public Security Bureau and Taxation Department, this problem can be easily solved."
Wang Anshi asked hurriedly: "What's your clever plan?"
Zhang Fei said: "In the past, the performance of the government was based on taxation and judiciary. This led to some officials desperately exploiting the people in order to get promoted. In terms of judiciary, they chose to close cases hastily, or to reduce major issues to trivial matters.
But nowadays, the government neither cares about tax collection nor justice, it only cares about administration, and the meaning of administration lies in finance.
In this case, why not use taxation as a political achievement, because according to the current new tax law, if the government without judicial power wants to increase taxation, there is only one way. "
Wang Anshi's eyes lit up and he said first, "Let the people earn more?"
"exactly."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Due to the separation of politics and law, the government cannot easily rely on power to exploit the people. According to the new tax law, the more people earn, the more taxes they pay. This forces the government to consider how to bring more benefits to the people. good life.
Then by using political performance to select for promotion, you can select real talents. In addition, the increased tax revenue can be shared equally between the imperial court and local governments, with part used for official bonuses and part used for local construction. Officials also know that tax revenue can only increase if construction is good. "
boom!
Wang Anshi slammed the table excitedly, "This is a wonderful idea, so wonderful! Why didn't I think of this before?"
This is in line with his philosophy: the people do not increase taxes but the state uses labor, and it can help him select more financial management talents.
Let's talk about Xue Xiang. If Wang Anshi and Zhao Xu hadn't insisted on using him, it would have been difficult for him to be promoted to the central government based on previous standards. It was because of his lack of moral standards. From the perspective of Confucianism, he was eager for quick success and instant benefit.
But judging by this standard, Xue Xiang was promoted first because he did well in finance!
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "That's because Wang Xueshi ignored the changes brought about by the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate Law. I remember I told Xueshei Wang a long time ago that the Public Security Bureau Law will only make the New Deal simpler."
Wang Anshi waved his hand and said: "That is your public prosecutor's office and has nothing to do with Sima Junshi."
Zhang Fei smiled helplessly.
Zhang Fei's mission has been completed, and he has revealed all the solutions. Then it depends on Fu Bi and his friends' methods.
Since Fu Bi forcibly passed the warehouse tax bill last time, he has broken away from the conservatives and only maintained relationships with Wen Yanbo, Lu Gongzu, and Sima Guang.
Therefore, on the surface, he does not need to consider the courtiers' views on the matter. He only needs to consider judicial issues.
For justice, this is the only solution.
So he directly convened a meeting in the Legislative Council. First, he told everyone about the difficulties of amending the law, and then asked for the official pardon power to be added to it. He also said that this was based on the legal system and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the monarch.
This immediately attracted criticism from many scholar-bureaucrats. Fu Bi, when did you become a loser? The emperor wants to have the power of pardon. Is this for the sake of justice?
This is absolutely impossible!
They couldn't turn this corner for a while.
Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang acted as this lubricant.
This revision of the law involves many edicts. Some edicts may need to be repealed and some edicts may need to be revised. However, if the power of pardon is not given to officials, the Legislative Council will not be able to amend the law.
What will be the result then?
It's not just the dozens of officials who were sentenced to death, but the procuratorate can also act according to the circumstances. They can cite whichever order they want.
The power of the public prosecutor and the law will expand rapidly and will be unrestricted.
This time the Legislative Council enacted legislation, it was to restrain the public prosecutor, and the power of pardon was added just to ask the emperor to agree.
At the same time, they also explained to those officials the difference between guilty pardon and acquittal, which would put some pressure on the monarch invisibly.
After understanding this truth, the officials were very confused.
If you want to amend the edict, you must make a deal with the emperor, otherwise, the emperor will not agree.
In addition, Fu Bi revised the law based on the idea of cautious punishment.
Although there are many people in the DPRK who advocate severe punishment, this revision of the law is completely aimed at officials, not thieves, so most officials still support it.
It's such a double standard.
When the dispute between North Korea and China continues, the Legislative Council also steps up its efforts to amend the law, which is also putting pressure on the outer court.
"I agree with this."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "The main thing that officials want to avoid is definitely criminal punishment. As for civil punishment, the criminal should compensate the victim, whether the other party is the common people or the country."
Zhao Peng and the others also nodded in agreement.
Fu Bi asked again: "And what about the responsibilities of the recommender?"
Zhang Fei looked slightly embarrassed and said: "Recommender?"
Fu Bi said: "According to the system of our dynasty, if you, Zhang San, commit corruption, then Jun Shi will also be punished."
Zhang Fei was surprised: "Really?"
Fu Bi nodded, "Because it was Junshi who recommended you in the first place."
Zhang Fei immediately looked at Sima Guang apologetically, "Sister Sima, I understand now why you are so nervous about me."
Sima Guang glared at him, "Even if there was no such rule, I would still be keeping an eye on you. You are full of evil ideas."
".!"
"Ahem!"
Fu Bi asked again: "What do you think?"
Sima Guang said: "This rule must be written in. This will not only force the recommender to supervise the recommended person, but also prevent the powerful from letting their relatives hold important positions."
Zhao Pian nodded and said, "What you said makes sense!"
Feng Jing also agreed.
Zhang Fei said: "I very much agree with what Bachelor Sima said. This rule does have its own truth. However, our public prosecutors and law are all about evidence. From a judicial point of view, as long as the recommender does not violate the law, then we have no right to impeach him or her." Convicted, or not convicted, what is the punishment?
This is an administrative issue and has nothing to do with our judicial system. If it were written into the law, it would be a mess.
Just imagine, during the appeal, the procuratorate asked Bachelor Sima, "Did you recommend Zhang San?" Bachelor Sima answered yes, and then the prosecutor said, okay, then you are also guilty of corruption. Don’t you think this is weird?
Moreover, it is possible that the procuratorate will use this as a pretext to frame charges and impose a large number of jails, which is absolutely undesirable. "
Sima Guang nodded and said: "That's true. This rule is not compatible with the public security law."
In the old judiciary, it was possible to do this, but the public prosecutors and the judiciary could not do this, because it destroyed the system of the public prosecutors and the judiciary and the concept of the rule of law.
Fu Bi asked: "What is the difference between administrative regulations and judicial regulations?"
Zhang Fei said: "Administrative regulations mainly deal with officials, and they must not ignore them. However, the trial system is relatively loose, and there is no need to emphasize the evidence, but the punishment is also very light. The most is dismissal from office, while the judiciary faces everyone." , they are particular about not complaining and ignoring the case, and the trial system is relatively strict.”
Fu Bi nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "You can't ignore it, and you can't ignore it unless you complain. And corruption crimes almost always involve officials. We can use this method to amend the law."
Everyone sitting nodded.
In the past, there was no distinction between administration and justice, because the law was used to restrain ministers. If there were two distinctions, it actually followed the idea of caution in punishment.
Especially the crime of private use of public utensils can be either big or small. For example, using an official candle to read family letters is not considered private use of public utensils.
If it counts as a judicial matter, this issue becomes a big one.
But if they can be divided into two parts, they can be refined and emphasize integrity at the same time, so that they can focus on applying moral constraints to administrative regulations.
Therefore, in the process of amending the law, a large number of distinctions between administrative provisions and judicial provisions began to be made.
As the news spread, the attitude of the courtiers gradually softened.
After all, distinguishing between administration and justice can help them avoid supervision by the public prosecutor and the law.
The key is that this revision of the law mainly follows the idea of cautious punishment, which is very friendly to officials.
The legislative meeting was almost ready, so after putting together a rough framework, it was submitted to the emperor, which included the emperor's supreme power of pardon.
This is not the final bill. The final bill will have to wait until the Legislative Council session at the end of the year.
But this matter involves an edict, and the emperor must first agree!
The courtiers chose to remain silent.
Anyway, I am extremely reluctant, but I am not opposed to it either.
In the end, the bill was approved by the emperor.
According to the previous system design, the emperor could intervene in the Legislative Council and the imperial court in a tactful way. Here comes the power of pardon, which is equivalent to the final guarantee.
Of course Zhao Xu agreed.
As long as the restraint on the minister is stronger than the restraint on him, then he will make money.
After the bill was passed, Wang Anshi immediately began to complain about the low-level officials, believing that their salaries were too low. If salaries were not raised, corruption would be difficult to reduce.
So he came up with a complete promotion bonus system, which is based on annual tax revenue as the main political performance. If tax revenue has to increase for three consecutive years, promotion and salary increase are necessary, and he proposed that the increase in tax revenue should be counted as errands. Bonuses for officials and local construction.
This was met with immediate opposition from conservatives.
As soon as Wang Anshi raised his butt, they knew what he was about to fart.
How can it be possible to rely solely on performance and not on morality? All those who will be promoted will be officials like Xue Xiang.
But Wang Anshi argued with reason, believing that under the system of the Public Security Bureau and the Taxation Department, if you want to increase taxes, you must increase the income of the people. This is the highest morality of officials, and this is the true sense of serving the country. Serving the people is much better than those who only know how to beep.
He immediately won the support of many officials, especially young officials, including public prosecutors and law officials, because there are the largest number of young officials in the public prosecutors and law enforcement agencies.
The conservatives all lost their voices because they had opposed it before because they believed that using this as their only political achievement would prevent officials from squeezing the people to death.
Just ignore the Public Security Bureau and the Taxation Department.
With the Public Security Bureau and the Taxation Department, it seems that this is really the case. If the people's income is increased to increase tax revenue, this is impeccable!
Their conservative philosophy is to just keep things stable. They don't ask you to increase people's income, but they want it not to decrease. If the country doesn't exploit people less, they are already satisfied. If you still ask for an increase, then of course they have nothing to say.
This suggestion was very consistent with Zhao Xu's official position restructuring, so in the end this policy was passed very smoothly.
