Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Feilong for four years.

When the Song army captured Yunzhou, it basically blocked the Liao Kingdom's way to support Xixia from going to Beijing. In fact, with the current national strength of the Liao Kingdom, they were unable to support Xixia.

Without the aid of the Liao Kingdom, Xixia was basically the meat in the bowl of the Song Dynasty.

Seeing that the situation was over, the Empress Dowager Liang and her brother decisively chose to flee all the way north. The Song army actually captured Xingqing Mansion without a single blow.

Suzhou, Ganzhou, and Xiliang Prefecture in the rear were also captured by merchants inside and outside.

Basically, the richest place in Xixia was under the control of the Song Dynasty.

As for Li Bingchang, Empress Dowager Liang did not take him away, but after he came out, he knelt down directly.

The reason is very simple. After this war, Xixia was devastated, and thousands of people were crying for food. Even if the Song Dynasty asked Li Bingchang to continue to be the leader of the country, he was unwilling.

Why.

If it was not my fault, why should I be held responsible?

This is of course a wise choice. It is no exaggeration to say that if Li Bingchang dares to continue to be the leader of the country, he will die mysteriously and suddenly the next day.

In fact, this was a huge challenge for the Song Dynasty.

Because this was not a complete attack, the people and merchants of Xixia were deceived by the Song people and wanted to join the Song Dynasty, so they rebelled.

Then the Song Dynasty will be responsible for them.

The key point is that they all have weapons in their hands now. If we can't survive, no one will survive.

This is also a very difficult question.

Wang Shao immediately reported the situation here to the court.

Zhao Xu was still immersed in joy when he suddenly saw Wang Shao's letter. Everyone was confused and had never thought about this problem. After all, since Taizong, there has never been a war to destroy the country. Xihe expanded and only fought some Tibetans. Tribe, no experience!

Therefore, Zhao Xu quickly summoned key ministers, including Fu Bi, Zhang Fei, Zhao Pian and other judicial officials.

Because the public security bureau must be built locally.

"I agree with Wang Shao's suggestion and follow the example of the Xihe area." Xue Xiang nodded.

Wen Yanbo immediately said: "But Xihe was able to succeed because at that time Xihe was the main trade route from the Western Regions to the Central Plains. Xixia did not have this environment, and Xixia's population and land were much larger than Xihe's, and the local situation was also Xihe is complicated, and if we completely imitate Xihe, there may be problems."

Xue Xiangdao: "But Xixia is also more fertile than the original Xihe. Xixia has large pastures and salt ponds, which are what we in the Central Plains need. The imperial court can spend money to buy these materials in Xixia, which can not only restore local production, The court will also gain.

The key is that Xixia is also short of currency. We can use tax coins to buy it, and then use the food that Xixia is most lacking to guarantee the tax coins. We may lose some money initially, but not much. "

Wang Anshi frowned and said, "So, the imperial court doesn't want those pastures and salt ponds?"

Xue Xiang hurriedly said: "Ms. Wang, it's not that we don't want it, but we promised from the beginning that as long as they are willing to take refuge, their property will be considered their private property."

Wang Anshi said: "But the Xixia court also has many pastures and salt ponds, including the Liang family and their nobles. Who should count these?"

Of course, what was surrendered before is considered private property, but what belongs to the Liang family and many other Xixia dignitaries can no longer be counted as theirs. Those are all spoils of war!

"this."

Xue Xiang frowned slightly and said, "I didn't think about it carefully."

Zhang Fei suddenly said: "In a legal sense, these should be regarded as belonging to the country. However, I suggest that they can be sold to businessmen or landowners in exchange for food, and then follow the ideas of the Third Secretary to help the local people."

Xue Xiang nodded silently. That was what he thought, so he didn't think about it in detail.

Wang Anshi said: "But salt and pasture are very important goods, especially war horses."

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty had an unusual obsession with horses. How could he finally acquire a pasture and sell it directly?

Is this appropriate?

Sima Guang also expressed concern: "Selling to businessmen, businessmen are only interested in profit. They will not take care of the people, nor do they care about the needs of the court. It is really inappropriate. If the court takes over, they can still hire some people."

Zhang Fei did not base his objection on it, but took the retreat as the basis for advancement: "I just look at it from a judicial point of view, and there may be some shortcomings. The specific opinions of all the gentlemen should be based on."

Zhao Xu immediately said: "This is related to the rise and fall of the country. Don't pay too much attention to it. Let's discuss it together. President, if you have any ideas, just say so."

Fu Bi also nodded and said: "Actually, what Xixia lacks most at present is stability. If the public security system cannot be established well, it is impossible to do what Wang Xianggong and the Third Division Envoy said. In this situation, even if there is a pasture, it is impossible to raise horses. ah!"

That seems to be the case too.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang also looked at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei then said: "According to the previously formulated principles of the Basic Law, they only need to abide by the Basic Law, and the rest of the legislation is still based on local legislation.

In being able to occupy Xixia this time, the merchants actually made the greatest contribution, and the merchants highly respected the public prosecutor's law, because compared to the old system, the public prosecutor's law was able to protect the rights and interests of the merchants. In the future, the obstacles we will face in building the public security system in the local area are the old Xixia nobles and officials who have surrendered long ago, as well as the Tibetan ethnic groups who helped us capture Ganzhou and Suzhou.

Although they have surrendered, most of them joined us because they did not want their own interests to be exploited by Empress Dowager Liang and others. If Xixia is to be completely turned into a state capital of our dynasty, these forces must be weakened and checked.

Therefore, there are three benefits to selling those salt ponds and pastures to businessmen.

First, they can immediately strengthen their power in Xixia to balance the old Xixia nobles.

Second, we can use this to negotiate terms with businessmen and let them assist the court in stabilizing people's hearts. For example, setting a minimum wage and allowing them to hire Xixia people and provide livelihoods for the local people.

Third, and the most important point, businessmen support the Public Security Bureau and can quickly establish the Public Security Bureau and Law in the local area. Moreover, we use the power of businessmen to strive to enact laws that are more conducive to court management. "

Fu Bi nodded and said, "The veteran agrees with what the Chief Justice said. At present, we should focus on building the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate in Xixia."

After that, he glanced at Wang Anshi again, and then said: "As long as the public security law is established, there will be not less war horses, but more. It's just that the court may have to spend more money to buy them, but compared with directly relieving Xixia, the cost will be much higher." The money is much, much less.”

Sima Guang also nodded and said: "If the public security law is well established and minimum wages can be stipulated, businessmen will indeed be a better choice."

Wen Yanbo said: "Constructing the public security system well can also prevent people with evil intentions."

The old man's words made Wang Anshi dare not say anything more and quickly nodded in agreement.

indeed!

At present, the most important thing is to build the public security system, and other things must be postponed a little later. Otherwise, everything will be impossible to talk about, and there will be many hidden dangers.

In such a chaotic situation, if people's hearts are not stabilized immediately, who can guarantee that it will not encourage other people's ambitions.

The person Wen Yanbo mentioned as having evil intentions was not necessarily a party aristocrat, but could also be a general of the Song Dynasty.

Now there are two options. First, adopt Wang Anshi's plan and put it directly under the control of the imperial court, which will take the lead in building the public security law.

Second, use the indirect control of businessmen to build the public security system.

However, according to the principles of the Basic Law, if the imperial court controls the upper class, then the lower class will become a rope, and the old Xixia aristocrats may take the lead. After all, during this expedition to Xia, neither country has declared war, and the Xixia aristocrats and landowners are in the front. The Song Army lacks some prestige in the local area, let alone that this powerful dragon cannot overpower the local snakes.

If you support businessmen, you will split the lower classes and adopt a balancing act.

Obviously the second method is more suitable for the current situation.

One thing that is very crucial is that businessmen have great faith in the public prosecutor and the law. They are supporters of the public prosecutor and the law, not destroyers.

In the end, Zhao Xu adopted Zhang Fei's suggestion.

It is to stabilize the Xixia region around the construction of public security and law.

Subsequently, the imperial court announced that it would spend 5 million yuan to purchase livestock, medicinal materials, and other goods from Xixia.

At the same time, another two million coins were allocated to reward the soldiers of the three armies. This did not include the soldiers of the Western Army in Yunzhou, but only the Song Army in Xixia.

The court spent the money very happily. If it were to conquer an inch of land, it would cost more than this. Of course, these tax coins are actually real gold and silver, and they are all paid from the deposits in the internal treasury.

In the past, when generals performed meritorious services, they would allocate land to them locally, but this time it is not the case, because the court has monetized it, and if you allocate land to generals, you will also face problems in collecting taxes in the future, and these may become unstable factors. Just give the money directly.

This can also stimulate the development of industry and commerce in Xixia. Soldiers will also consume when they get coins!

what is this?

This is a business opportunity!

After receiving this news, businessmen rushed to Xixia to pan for gold.

When Wang Shao got the final plan from the court, Ma Tianhao and the others actually received a letter from Zhang Fei.

They were overjoyed because the entire plan of the imperial court was to focus on businessmen.

By selling resources to businessmen, businessmen can intervene in local legislation, and the laws enacted will definitely be very beneficial to businessmen.

Businessmen in Xixia bought grain everywhere at high prices, because they knew that if they wanted to buy those resources, they had to trade with grain. This incidentally also stimulated the northwest economy, because the price of food in the entire northwest, Xihe and other regions was increased by twenty cents.

Not only that, many northwest landowners began to practice rotational farming on their land, growing grain for one season and horse feed for another season.

Because they knew that this war horse was going to Hebei and would definitely go here, and the horse materials would definitely make money.

Cai Jing, Cai Bian, Cao Ping and others also rushed to Xixia. Cai Jing was mainly responsible for grain trading, while Cai Bian and Cao Ping were responsible for building the public security law.

Wang Shao first sold all the properties of the Xixia royal family and the Liang family to merchants. Within a month, Xixia had 30 more salt-making workshops, more than a hundred ranchers, and many pharmaceutical companies. merchant.

The imperial court obtained a large amount of grain from merchants, and the grain was sold directly to the WFP.

The WFP then sells these grains locally and stipulates that they can be purchased with tax coins.

Where do tax coins come from?

The imperial court spent money to buy local horses, medicinal materials, and salt.

Although the merchant has just taken over and hasn't produced the goods yet, it doesn't matter. The court will pay directly first, and you can quickly hire people to produce.

The businessmen knew in advance that they dared to do this. As long as we take these resources, the money will be available immediately. We can sell as much as we produce, and the price will not be low.

Make money by dying.

At the same time, after Cai Bian arrived at Xingqing Mansion, he immediately promulgated several temporary laws.

One is the Law on Protecting Pastures. In the name of protecting local customs, it is determined that pastures cannot be turned into cultivated land. Violators will be fined heavily. It also involves the Ranch Relief Law, which means that when a ranch is hit by a disaster, the government will provide relief.

After all, herdsmen are not as good as farmers in their ability to withstand risks.

Second, the Salt Tax Law. The salt pond was sold to merchants, but the court had to control the sale of salt to avoid affecting the salt industry.

How to control it is through salt tax. If you want to sell it to Jiezhou, I will tax you 200%. But if you want to sell it to Xuzhou and other places, then I will only tax you 5%, or even In some places the levy is only 1%.

The third is the Minimum Daily Wage Law, which stipulates that the minimum daily wage for employees cannot be less than 30 cash. In Bianjing, it is 100 cash, but it certainly cannot be compared with Bianjing.

Why is it a daily salary instead of a monthly salary? It is to ensure that as long as you work for a day, you must calculate the money to avoid wrangling later.

Of course, this comes at a cost.

The reward is through the contract law, copper redemption law, exemption law, and workshop law suggested by the merchants.

Merchants were also afraid that the old Xixia nobles would cause trouble for them, so they had to have contract laws to ensure that both parties to the contract were equal.

The copper atonement law ensures that merchants can spend money to forgive many crimes without having to accept corporal punishment. These are mainly for moss punishment, and some prison sentences.

The exemption law is different from Wang Anshi's exemption law. Not only are merchants exempted from corvee, they are also exempted from military service, ensuring that the government cannot recruit merchants into the army under any circumstances.

The Workshop Law allows merchants to freely build workshops, but this is only for the privileges of the nobility. Merchants still cannot build workshops on pastures and cultivated land. In fact, the properties of this land are written into the Basic Law and cannot be easily changed. The Pasture Protection Law, It also ensures that the pasture cannot be changed, but that's it. There are no other restrictions. Merchants can build shops in front of noble mansions or on the streets, which were not allowed before.

These bills were also passed one by one.

In addition, the imperial court also announced that local taxes would be exempted for three years, except for the wine tax and salt tax. The name was to reasonably distribute grain and salt, these supplies needed by the people.

In fact, the people of Xixia were slowly getting used to the existence of the Taxation Department.

But for the Song Dynasty court, it was enough not to allow the court to pour money into it every year.

The merchants finally felt the pleasure of power, which attracted more merchants to come to Xixia to do business.

Businessmen must hire people, which in turn provides more livelihoods for local people.

Among them, salt workers and herdsmen are very popular because these are the most profitable businesses, and their wages reach the minimum daily wage in Bianjing.

During this period, Wang Shao and Cao Ping set out to deal with the civilian armed forces, because the first people who entered the border were all militiamen hired by businessmen. How should these people be arranged?

In fact, the method is very simple, that is, let them be incorporated into the Royal Police, and the other part will be absorbed by the Business Administration, mainly the transportation group.

Legislative Council.

"These businessmen are so cunning and shameless."

Sima Guang became angry when he saw the bill coming from Xihe, "On the one hand, they emphasize the equality of contracts, but on the other hand, they set up many privileges for themselves. Although they will not recruit their businessmen to serve as soldiers, they do this , it just seems very shameless.”

Zhang Fei muttered in a low voice: "Isn't it the same for literati?"

As soon as these words came out, Fu Bi, Sima Guang, Zhao Bian and other judicial leaders silently turned to look at him.

The room immediately fell into dead silence.

Zhang Fei also reacted and said: "Sorry! Sorry! As you all know, I am just a straight person."

Sima Guang snorted: "I just realized today that you are a straight person."

After that, he sat back.

He was silent no more, and his old face was still slightly red.

What he said is true!

Zhang Fei quickly spoke out to comfort him: "Actually, what businessmen want is not privileges, but the protection of their own rights and interests."

Fu Bi asked curiously: "How do you say this?"

Zhang Fei said: "As Bachelor Sima said just now, the imperial court will not allow businessmen to serve as soldiers or do corvee labor. Why would businessmen care about this? It is very simple. Businessmen have money. If it is not stipulated in this way, the government will definitely take this as an excuse if it has the opportunity. Recruiting them to serve is actually a form of extortion from them.

Although it is undeniable that this is a privilege, but in times of war, we actually need businessmen to produce instead of asking them to serve as soldiers. I think it is still acceptable. "

Fu Bi nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense!"

As Xixia gradually came to fruition, the plan to destroy Liao was immediately put on the agenda.

After all, the recovery of the sixteen states of Yanyun was a great achievement for the Song Dynasty. Although it was already the general trend, Zhao Xu couldn't wait any longer.

"Now we have acquired a large number of war horses in the northwest Hetao. Within two years, we will have enough strength to attack the Liao Kingdom, and we are even stronger at this time than during Yongxi's Northern Expedition."

Wang Anshi said very excitedly.

Han Jiang said: "I suggest that we should proceed in two steps. First try to recapture the remaining states in the Yanyun area, and then decide based on the situation. Because there is grassland outside the Great Wall, sending troops to conquer will cause huge losses and limited results. Even the public security bureaucracy is difficult to establish in the grassland areas in a short period of time.”

The public security law is still more suitable for cities and towns and places where the population is concentrated.

Wen Yanbo said: "The Privy Councilor's words are reasonable. Taking back the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures is the expectation of the people of the entire Central Plains, and there is enough public support. However, if we continue the Northern Expedition, if there are too many losses, we may not get too much support from the people." support."

Wang Anshi also agreed.

Zhao Xu nodded and asked again: "What do you think we should do to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun?"

Wang Anshi immediately said: "According to the spies' reports, the Liao Kingdom is extremely shocked by the growth of our Song Dynasty's strength. At the same time, their domestic calls for reform are also very high, and the Liao Kingdom has been imitating our Central Plains system and culture.

We can separate the paper currency from the public security law to confuse them. The Lord of Liao is not as wise as His Majesty. In addition, there are many short-sighted nobles in their country. They will definitely be eager for quick success and abandon the public security law and choose tax coins. Since they cut off trade with our country, they have also begun to have a money shortage in their country. Tax coins can solve their urgent needs and appease the people at home.

But once they issue banknotes on a large scale, there will inevitably be a phenomenon of indiscriminate issuance, which will make their domestic people miserable. At this time, we can join forces with Goryeo and send troops at the same time, because Goryeo is also eager to recapture several important military towns on the east bank of the Yalu River. "

Having said this, he paused for a moment and then said: "However, the Li Dynasty in the south has recently begun to step up its attack on Champa. We can first send troops to the south to support it, so that the Liao Kingdom thinks that we have focused our attention on the south and give This will not only weaken the Li Dynasty in one fell swoop, and even capture the Li Dynasty if there is a chance, but also deceive the Liao Kingdom into taking this bowl of poison."

Zhao Xu said slightly worriedly: "But can the finances support the use of troops against the Li Dynasty?"

Wang Anshi said: "The Sixth Southeast Road has developed very well in the past few years and already has sufficient food reserves. If our purpose is only to support the city, rather than to eliminate the Li Dynasty in one fell swoop, I think there is no big problem. But I think The imperial court can deliberately create momentum to paralyze the Liao Kingdom."

Han Jiang's eyes lit up and he said: "This is a wonderful strategy, and I agree with it. According to Guo Jinglue's letter, the troops and horses in the south have been reorganized long ago, and they are able to use firearms skillfully. They are strong."

Wen Yanbo also nodded in agreement, and then added: "The Liao Kingdom is not like our country. They mainly control the Yanyun area and the area around Shangjing, which is where the Khitans lived before. For the tribes in the west, The control of Xixia is actually very weak. Now that we have captured Xixia, we can use Xixia to start trade with the northern tribes to alienate them and ensure that when the time comes we send troops from Yunzhou to attack Youzhou, we will not be attacked from both sides."

Zhao Xu nodded and said: "According to what you all said, this time we will definitely regain the sixteen states of Yanyun and fulfill Taizu Taizong's last wish."

In the previous article, I mentioned that my setting for the protagonist is very narrow, and it is limited to the judiciary as much as possible, because in this era, the Song Dynasty has a group of geniuses, and their ideas are very powerful, so I don’t want to The protagonist takes over everything, being omniscient and omnipotent. In terms of military and finance, the protagonist only plays a guiding role. Now that guidance has been completed, everyone has learned his tricks. During the entire expansion process, the protagonist has not had many opportunities to play his role. If the protagonist is forcibly inserted, it will destroy the previous setting and appear a bit abrupt.

However, I see that many readers think it is still necessary to explain the process and the relationship between the characters, so I will write some extras to explain these clearly.

Even if I really wanted to celebrate the New Year, I would not miss these two chapters.

I will talk about the details in my final remarks later, including the direction of the new book.