Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Chapter 599

The reason why reforms were difficult to succeed in feudal society was not only because reforms would offend vested interests, but also because it would inevitably offend imperial power.

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

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

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

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

This is almost a dead end.

As the emperor, Zhao Xu is naturally not exempt from customs. He is also afraid of losing power, but he also knows that he cannot be like Renzong. The purpose of sending down Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi and other prime ministers was to check and balance Wang Anshi.

But it is a pity that Sima Guang and the others resolutely opposed the new law. With the promulgation of the Young Crop Law, they left the capital one after another, which led to an imbalance of power between the court and the new party. Later, Zhao Xu directly abolished Wang Anshi, and then Take over the new law personally.

It's a pity that he was alone and unable to support him, and finally died of depression.

However, the appearance of Zhang Fei skillfully maintained the balance between the court and China. Sima Guang, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo did not ask to leave. Now the administration is under the control of the reformers, while the judiciary is under the control of the conservatives. , each performing its duties.

This is the situation Zhao Xu dreamed of.

He will definitely not break this deadlock by himself, and try his best to maintain the judgment of the imperial court, but at the same time implement the new law more thoroughly, and send the exemption law and tax department to Hezhong Mansion.

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

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

But this time, let them rest assured that Sima Guang did not deceive them.

The Department of Regulations of the Second Government was established.

"Now the morale of the other side is really high. They now think that the public prosecutor's law can really stop our new policy. Fan Jingren is responsible for this. He failed to stop our young crop law in the court, but he did it as Erbi. , effectively prevented the implementation of the Green Crop Law in Hezhong Prefecture, making everyone think that it was the work of the Public Procuratorate Law."

"That's a good thing!"

Wang Anshi caressed his beard with a chuckle: "This public security law pays attention to the late strike. If they concentrate their energy and choose to strike late, then the first-mover advantage is all in our hands. Our government orders will become clear and we will not encounter too many people. hinder."

Conservatives blocked the New Deal before, all at the beginning of its promulgation. This actually caused Wang Anshi a headache. Every time a new law was promulgated, he had to quarrel and drive a group of ministers out of the capital. This made Wang Anshi himself physically and mentally exhausted.

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

Well now, I will implement the new law first. If there is any problem, we will go to the imperial court to file a lawsuit. At least the new policy can be implemented in the first place. Whether it is good or not, let's speak with facts.

This is really not a bad thing.

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

"What my teacher said is very true." Lu Huiqing also deeply agreed with this, and said: "Moreover, the imperial court's decree has also made more officials support us, because they think that judicial reform will take away their power. In contrast, the New Deal did little harm to them."

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

Speak with facts, what if this fact is not satisfactory?
If the Young Crops Law can't make money and improve finances, then it won't work, and Zhao Xu has no reason to support them anymore!

On the other hand, Wang Anshi said confidently: "This is the last thing to worry about. Those country gentry are just a bunch of mercenary rabble. They won't last long. When they reveal their true colors, the common people will believe in the young crop method even more. In addition to the current The promotion of Changping Division can issue salt banknotes and salt bonds, and the finances of Hezhong Prefecture will definitely get better in the next three years."

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

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

Wang Anshi hurriedly said, "Please come quickly."

He walked to the door quickly, and Han Jiang walked in before he went out.

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

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

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

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

"That's what happened."

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

Han Jiang said angrily, "I'll tell you the truth, I really don't want to hear your explanation."

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

Han Jiang glanced at him, "What misunderstanding?"

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

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

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

Wang Anshi said: "I recommend you to go for three reasons. One is to promote the exemption law. The other is to give some support to Bachelor Yuan and them to eliminate the resentment in their hearts. Looking for work, this is also for the better implementation of the Youth Law."

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

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

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

The emperor wants to balance the two factions.

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

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

But to be honest, he was very unwilling to cooperate with Zhang Fei, but he was really terrified, and if he was not careful, he might be smashed to pieces.

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

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

"No."

Sima Guang resolutely refused: "Judicial reform is different from other reforms. It must be done step by step. There is a way, and this is more haste than speed!"

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

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

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 that the reason why those people support judicial reform is to deal with Wang Anshi. It does not mean that they all agree with the idea of ​​judicial reform, especially Zhang Fei's idea. Most people do not want judicial reform to be defeated by Zhang Fei He is in control, and he is unwilling to let judicial reform be tied to Zhang Fei.

If the judicial reform is promoted in an all-round way, then Zhang Fei is just a judge who can be removed at any time and will not affect the entire judicial reform.

"Who said that?"

Sima Guang became annoyed and said: "In the beginning 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 all happened suddenly. How come they said that they became dependent on Zhang San. What a shame! Ridiculous."

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

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

Sima Guang's expression froze, he questioned himself, and explained: "I am a bowl of water. The reason why Fan Cunjin and Su Shi's progress is slow may be because Zhang San understands the concepts and rules of the public security law better than them. It can be seen from this that if some people who do not understand promote it, they will only be broken one by one by Wang Jiefu, and the gains will outweigh the losses.”

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

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

Fu Bi nodded and said: "With Wang Jiefu's personality, he will definitely implement the new law non-stop throughout the country, and will not wait for the public prosecutor's law, but his new law will definitely cause problems. When there is a problem, we will send the public prosecutor's law to implement it." Solving the problem will not only gain the hearts 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 Qi Qi nodded.

"Fu Gong is right."

"It's still Fu Gong who is far-sighted."

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

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

These are all reasons for suppressing reformists.

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

Several people began to cultivate talents and discuss, and Zhang San was fooled by the topic.

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

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

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

The reaction of the conservatives made him very worried. He planned to support Zhang Fei, but judging from everyone's attitude, it would be very difficult. Zhang Fei had just denied the ban and made great achievements, and some people were already considering Zhang Fei. Marginalized, he cannot be allowed to gain power.

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

This makes him very difficult.

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

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

Wen Yanbo said: "But it is impossible for Zhang San to win their support. With the implementation of the Public Prosecution Law, if you still want to make the government order clear, you must arrange for someone who can convince the public to preside over the Public Prosecution Law. Otherwise, this will definitely attract people. Attacking them will be detrimental to the overall situation.”

The DPRK still pays attention to virtue and prestige, Zhang Fei's set of ideas is impossible to win the trust of the ministers of the DPRK and China, even if Zhang Fei's words are reasonable, they will not agree, because it will hurt their interests.

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

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

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

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

"Ha ha!"

Fu Bi suddenly stroked his beard and laughed.

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

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

He has seen it clearly. Zhang Feike has never bound himself to the conservatives. He just has a good relationship with Sima Guang. He keeps a distance from other people and never deliberately monopolizes them. 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 whole country, and there is no chief judge in the capital.

You say the edge is the edge.

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

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

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

Because the treatment of the officials in the Northern Song Dynasty is really good, and the political risk is very low, and they only have a three-year term, and they have to be transferred when they expire. In this category, most of the officials who are normally transferred do not seek meritorious service, but seek no faults, so whoever is in charge is actually those officials.

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

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

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

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

Naturally, the officials below would not sit still and admit punishment immediately. He had the capital in his hands, and they started to put pressure on the top, and those officials naturally couldn't sit still.

Procuratorate.

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

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

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

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

Su Zhe argued rationally: "We haven't settled the old accounts, but those people have gone too far. The criminals in the prison are not staying in the prison, but they open illegal shops outside the city. This is simply outrageous.

Also, the business road leading to Jingzhao Mansion was blocked by [-] to [-] vicious dogs, forcing the business travelers to take the single-plank bridge behind the mountain and pay expensive taxes. Such behavior has existed for more than [-] years Long.

Tell me, shouldn't this be handled? "

"Of course it shouldn't matter."

Wei Yingfang stood up and retorted.

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

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

However, Wei Yingfang said convincingly: "I said of course this should not be taken care of. Why are the criminals in the prison released early and go to the store to find work? Isn't it because the imperial court took all the money and food from the Hezhong Mansion to fight the war? How can the government manage so many prisoners without keeping a penny, and can only let some prisoners with lighter punishments be released early after serving their sentences.

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

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

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

But then again, this is really the acquiescence of the imperial court, because the imperial court has no money, but it has to recruit people to manage states and counties and collect taxes. 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 charge a little more, and then everyone will share it equally.

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

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

Wei Yingfang said: "Chief Prosecutor Su, the question is not whether they broke the law, but whether the imperial court can pay their salaries. This is not giving the horses to eat grass, but they want the horses to run away. How can there be such a good thing in the world? You I am not deeply involved in the world, and I don’t understand the benefits.”

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

"Prosecutor Su."

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

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

Is it so cruel?

Didn't the court run by your family?
If you say you want to allocate money, you will allocate money.

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

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

Facing such a powerful Su Zhe, the negotiations naturally ended without a problem.

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

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

This is Cai Yanqing's bottom line.

"Mr. Zhang, I try not to participate in your fights, and my request is not very high. I just want to ensure that the Hezhong Mansion is not in chaos. But your rash actions have already brought the Hezhong Mansion to the brink of chaos."

Cai Yanqing said to Zhang Fei with a serious face.

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

Zhang Fei sighed: "Prefect Cai, I don't want to, but I can't help it. Those bullies rely on their connections in the government to bully the people and dominate the market. This phenomenon is already very serious. Since I started the court, I have been receiving I decided to do this after careful consideration of the secret litigation between the parties."

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

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

Zhang Fei said: "We are not trying to kill them, we are just fighting against such crimes, and we will also strive for reasonable compensation for them.

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

Cai Yanqing frowned upon hearing this.

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

Businessmen will definitely sue in the imperial court.

What should I do?
This tacit understanding is bound to be unsustainable.

After a while, Cai Yanqing said: "Then how can you guarantee that there will be no chaos?"

Zhang Fei said: "I'm still a little sure about this. I have investigated and found that most of the officials have amassed a lot of wealth. They are not desperadoes, and they will be afraid. As long as we don't punish them too severely, They should not take the risk.

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

In addition, even if the imperial court has just ruled in favor of the squires, most of those big landlords and squires will not choose to oppose the imperial court immediately, at least they will not openly oppose them. They have offended the government and will not offend us again. These people will help me stabilize the village , In this way, the overall situation is controllable. "

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

Zhang Fei said: "Collect taxes."

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

"No!"

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

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

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

Zhang Fei said: "Prefect Cai, whether a country can run well depends on whether the country can collect taxes according to the law and try to achieve a balance of revenue and expenditure. It's that simple. But today's behavior is a kind of robbery. The court and the evil Officials, using their power to exploit the people, and then splitting the accounts between everyone, the tax law is like a dead letter. This is by no means a long-term solution, and it is not tolerated by our public security law. If there is a way, it should be stopped, and it will not be disrupted.”

(End of this chapter)