Judge of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 112: You are all lawless criminals

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Redundant...The disaster of redundant officials

There was silence in the hall.

In fact, the problem of redundant officials has been mentioned repeatedly since the reign of Emperor Renzong, and no one dares to say that redundant officials are not a problem.

This is a consensus.

Everyone knows the disadvantages, but these disadvantages are precisely the core interests of officials.

Officials control the decision-making power, so as a matter of human nature, no one wants to be stabbed in the back.

This is why, although everyone knows about the three redundancies, no one has been able to solve them.

However, no one has ever dared to blame Taizu and Taizong for the problem of redundant officials.

To say so is tantamount to seeking one's own death!

At this moment, even Fu Bi, Han Qi and others had to admire Zhang Fei's courage.

Even Wang Anshi, who once said "our ancestors are not worthy of being followed", felt inferior to him.

Everyone is dumbfounded.

You're overdoing it!

Liu Shu really didn't expect that Zhang Fei would dare to bump into this. He was stunned for a long time before he reacted. He immediately asked excitedly: "According to you, the disaster of redundant officials is all due to the bad policies of Taizu and Taizong?"

This time Zhang Fei didn't need to look at it, Xu Zhiqian had already placed the document in front of Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei opened it and started reading.

The officials present at the table felt inexplicably cautious when they saw Zhang Fei looking at the documents.

They originally thought they were well prepared, but they didn't know that compared with Zhang Fei, they were still dwarfed by him.

There is absolutely no comparison.

No matter what they asked, Zhang Fei could find the answer from the documents he had prepared.

What a thorough preparation.

This even looks like cheating.

Zhang Fei looked at it for a long time before he raised his head. "The source of this bad policy lies with Taizu and Taizong, but the blame cannot be attributed to Taizu and Taizong. Instead, it should be attributed to the unworthy descendants of later generations who violated the laws of their ancestors..."

At this point, he glanced at the document again before confirming, "It was caused by."

Liu Shu was puzzled and snorted, "You are obviously contradicting yourself?"

He can even say such nonsense, it is obvious that he is panicking.

“Not at all.”

Zhang Fei asked: "Regarding the number of officials during the reign of Taizu and Taizong and the number of officials today, do you know clearly? If not, I have the specific number here."

Liu Shu hurriedly said, "Don't bother with any more documents. We all know this."

This issue has been debated so many times that they can recite the number of officials in each dynasty by heart.

"That's great."

Zhang Fei read the document and said, "During the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Zhenzong, the number of officials was about 8,000, while in my reign it reached 24,000, a full three times the number. The gap between the two was only about 50 years, which is a very scary increase."

Liu Shu interrupted him and said, "Don't talk nonsense here. I am asking you now, is it Taizu and Taizong who caused the disaster of redundant officials?"

"Please be patient, Doctor Liu. I will explain this clearly."

Zhang Fei said, "Send them the document of the festival number."

Xu Zhiqian was stunned. "So this document is used here?"

Zhang Fei nodded.

Still want to send it

Many jury officers are depressed, so this fight is not fun at all!

Zhao Xu outside the door was already sweating profusely. He actually needed to take a breath. For him, the emperor, this lawsuit was becoming more and more serious.

If he was like this, what about Sima Guang and Wang Anshi

No one knows at this point where this lawsuit will lead.

Because this has started a debate against Taizu and Taizong.

In feudal times, this was actually very fatal.

After receiving the document, they started reading it immediately.

I got lost in the lake as I looked around!

"Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty?"

Zhao Xu looked at Liu Zhao in confusion.

Liu Zhao also shook his head.

Liu Shu was also confused and asked directly: "Why did you bring up the Tang Dynasty Jiedushi again?"

He thought Zhang Fei was deliberately avoiding the fatal question, but he obviously would not let Zhang Fei succeed. He could not escape that question even if he died.

Zhang Fei explained: "This document is about the origin and decline of the Jiedushi system in the Tang Dynasty. Although we all know the harm that the Jiedushi system brought to the country, everyone should not forget that in its initial stage, the Jiedushi system once helped the Tang Dynasty expand its territory and resist foreign enemies.

It was precisely because of the benefits brought by this system that the Tang Dynasty continued to delegate power to the Jiedushi, which led to the Anshi Rebellion.

We cannot ignore the efficacy and talk about toxicity, as this will prevent me from seeing the essence of the matter.

What is the essence? As the old saying goes, when the sun is at its zenith, it wanes; when the moon waxes, it wanes. It is clear that once anything goes to extremes, it will inevitably backfire on itself. Just like rice, rice can fill your stomach and has many benefits for people, but if you eat a hundred bowls a day, you will die, but can you say that this rice is poisonous? This is the essence of bad governance, and the Jiedushi system itself is not a bad governance. "

Zhao Xu nodded when he heard this: "So that's how it is!"

Fu Bi said with admiration: "The disciple is better than the master!"

Don't you like to play with allusions? Today I will play with you to the end. Zhang Fei said again: "Taizu and Taizong divided the power and prevented the separatism of the feudal lords. This fully reflects the core idea of the ancestral law, that is, the policy of preventing corruption. At that time, there was no disaster of redundant officials. The arrangement of Taizu and Taizong was very appropriate.

Why did it evolve into the current disaster of redundant officials? The reason is just as the ancestral law that Lu Zhongcheng and others quoted incorrectly just now.

They mistakenly believed that the laws of their ancestors were not unique. They cited the policies of Taizu and Taizong as the laws of their ancestors, which led to the new emperor ascending the throne and receiving the advice of ministers, further advocating the wrong laws of their ancestors, thus continuing to divide power, causing the number of officials to grow like a sow giving birth, which led to the current disaster of redundant officials.

“Wonderful!”

Zhao Xu shouted out loud in excitement, but immediately stopped talking. He glanced inside guiltily, and when he saw that no one cared, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This brings us back to the essence of the problem, the uniqueness of the ancestral laws.

This example is sufficient to set the tone for the ancestral law.

Wang Anshi muttered, "He is calling a horse a pig!"

Sima Guang snorted, "He is clearly trying to turn a stone into a pig."

Liu Shu's face was ashen, and he no longer had the arrogance he had just now.

Zhang Fei continued: "Let's go back to the true laws of our ancestors, to prevent things from happening and to set rules for things to happen. We need to formulate a comprehensive and perfect system to prevent possible hidden dangers.

It can be seen that what Taizu and Taizong were trying to prevent was not the Jiedushi system, but to prevent the Jiedushi system from becoming the cause of bad politics. Policy making must be careful, tortuous, and know when to stop. "

As he spoke, Zhang Fei suddenly held up a graph and said, "Please look, this is the annual change in the number of officials in our dynasty."

It is a diagonal line with a very large angle.

As he spoke, he picked up another piece of paper, on which was written, "Be prepared for dangers and control crookedness."

"Do you think this picture matches these eight words?" Zhang Fei asked a group of officials.

Awkward!

These eight words combined with this picture are so embarrassing!

“Not at all tortuous, not at all meticulous, and without any restraint. It just keeps going up.”

As he spoke, Zhang Fei put down the two pieces of paper, looked at the document again, paused, and continued reading: "If you think that the disaster of redundant officials is not the bad policy set by Taizu and Taizong, then you must admit the uniqueness of the ancestral law. Otherwise, the disaster of redundant officials is due to the bad policy of Taizu and Taizong. Doctor Liu, what do you think?"

"This officer...!"

The rake hit him back, and beads of sweat the size of beans flowed down Liu Shu's temples.

This problem is very fatal.

Zhang Fei cleverly explained the "laws of our ancestors" as preventing the causes of bad politics, but this is obviously more in line with the core idea of "preventing things from happening and making rules for things to happen", that is, policies to prevent bad politics.

The policy of preventing corruption is all about prevention. It is best not to let corrupt policies happen, so we should correct them in the process of their formation.

Zhang Fei also used the example of the Jiedushi to illustrate that the cause of bad politics is often pushing a policy to the extreme, which will eventually turn into the opposite, rather than the policy itself.

The same is true for the division of responsibilities.

It is a good policy in itself to prevent the country from splitting up again. It is just that you guys do not understand the laws of our ancestors and have turned it into a bad policy.

You have to take the blame.

If no one carries the responsibility, only Taizu and Taizong can do it.

Your choice

How to choose this

No matter what you choose, you’ll die!

Liu Shu originally thought that he had thrown a fatal question to Zhang Fei, but it turned out that the clown was himself!

Wang Anshi was ecstatic when he heard this. This undoubtedly broke the ancestral law that supported the division of power.

If you can speak, just say more. Even if you talk till the end of time, I, Wang Jiefu, will accompany you to the end!

Everyone knows that the disaster of redundant officials is due to the policy of dividing power formulated by Taizu and Taizong. One government office is divided into four, which naturally leads to the disaster of redundant officials!

But the problem is that this is the tone set by Taizu and Taizong, who dares to change it

Only Wang Anshi dared to clamor that "the ancestors' teachings are not worthy of being followed."

But he had no choice. If he didn't deny this, he couldn't carry out reforms, but this also brought him countless troubles.

Officials who originally supported him chose to stay away from him because of such words.

And now Zhang Fei has provided him with dual certification of justice in terms of law and ideology.

Reform is the way to follow the laws of our ancestors!

These officials didn't even prepare a single document. They were trying to cram at the last minute but failed.

This explanation made them feel helpless.

For a moment, it was truly impeccable.

However, Zhang Fei cleverly shifted the blame for the problem of redundant officials onto the ministers, while at the same time flattering Taizu and Taizong.

Seeing that Liu Shu was speechless, Sima Guang asked Wang Anshi, "Do you have any other questions?"

Wang Anshi glanced around and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"

“… … !”

This time they have learned their lesson. They should not ask random questions. If they keep asking, they might end up committing unforgivable crimes.

Wang Anshi smiled and said, "I have nothing to ask about this question."

Sima Guang looked at Zhang Fei and said with a smile: "You seem to have done a lot of homework."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "This is related to the laws of our ancestors, so I dare not speak nonsense."

"Very good!" Sima Guang nodded in praise, and then said: "By the way! You also mentioned the constraints and extensiveness."

"yes!"

Zhang Fei pulled out the first document and read: "Regarding the binding nature, the imperial edict clearly states that the rules have been set and things have their regularity. We should abide by them and not dare to go beyond them. Based on these four sentences alone, I believe no one will doubt that this law will be above all other laws and is the fundamental law of the country.

As for its broadness, it is actually easy to understand. The laws of our ancestors must set the tone for the entire country, so they must be broad and cover all aspects. Any policy must respect this law.

In the past, many officials took a sentence or an imperial edict from Taizu and Taizong and regarded it as the law of their ancestors. That is pure nonsense and they do not understand the law at all. "

Han Qi and Fu Bi blushed.

Who are you scolding

Sima Guang, Lu Hui, Tang Jie and others were no exception.

They do this all the time.

Zhang Fei looked at Xu Zhiqian again.

Xu Zhiqian immediately stood up and handed them a document.

At this time, the officials didn't dare to look.

Even the look in his eyes when he looked at Xu Zhiqian gradually became filled with malice.

You have to watch it.

When they opened it, Zhang Fei said, "It records some of the policies and words of Taizu and Taizong. If it is used now, do you think it is appropriate?"

Everyone was silent.

The document also mentioned Taizu’s policies towards Hou Shu. Now that Hou Shu is gone, are those policies still appropriate

You are playing word games!

It's so shameless.

Zhang Fei said seriously: "Laws are very strict and cannot be made at will. If we can arbitrarily quote the policies of Taizu and Taizong as the laws of our ancestors, then according to the legal system, all the policies of Taizu and Taizong will become the laws of our ancestors, which is obviously not allowed."

Sima Guang nodded and asked again: "According to what you said, taking precautions against incidents and making rules for twists and turns are the core ideas of our ancestors' laws."

Zhang Fei corrected: "This is the only ancestral method."

Sima Guang did not argue, but just asked: "Can you explain these two sentences?"

"sure!"

Zhang Fei took the small note and read: "This sentence is quoted from the ancient Chinese classic "Han Shu, Liyue Zhi". The original words are, "Make rules for things and take precautions for things". It means that no matter big or small, we must make rules and take precautions.

The Taizong edict states that all things should be prevented in advance and comprehensive and detailed regulations should be formulated to prevent corruption.

The "曲" above means "small things", while the "曲" below means "thorough".

Sima Guang nodded and asked again: "If a system is enacted that does not prevent hidden dangers, does it violate the laws of our ancestors?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Of course it's a violation."

Sima Guang then asked: "Is it a violation of the laws of our ancestors to promulgate a system that is not fully regulated?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Of course it is a violation."

Sima Guang nodded and asked no more questions.

Zhang Fei glanced at Sima Guang and thought to himself, you really are worthy of being my brother Guang, you are still so clear-headed.

Liu Shu thought, let's stop here and don't go into it any further. This kid is too well prepared. Taking advantage of Sima Guang changing the subject, he immediately said, "I almost forgot that you are here to speak up for Shi Jia Erlang today. You think that the court's punishment of him violates this imperial edict."

edict!

It is not the law of our ancestors.

In other words, they were unwilling to acknowledge the tone set by Zhang Fei.

But the tone softened. Violating Taizong's edict was of course also a violation of ancestral laws.

Zhang Fei had just opened his mouth when he saw the old man Sima Guang holding up the teacup and taking a sip.

Is he drinking tea

He was actually drinking tea.

I want to drink too!

Zhang Fei coughed a few times, his mouth open, "Oh oh! Eh!"

Liu Shu wondered, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Fei pretended to be hoarse and said, "My throat is uncomfortable."

Sima Guang whispered: "It's your turn again!"

Wang Anshi was a little unhappy, but he still reprimanded his men, "How do you do things? You didn't even prepare a pot of tea for Zhang San. If this gets out, won't people think that the court won unfairly?"

Is it an unfair victory

I think it was an unfair defeat!