The Prime Minister Tang Jie's health was not very good to begin with. After all, he was about to reach the age of 60. He went to argue with Wang Anshi for the whole day, and when he returned home he was so angry that he fell ill in bed.
However, Tang Jie was a famous and upright minister in the court. Some people even praised him as the contemporary Bao Zheng. His character was impeccable and he was truly highly respected.
His illness further aroused the anger of conservatives.
The censors and advisers, led by Liu Qi and Qian Yi, frantically impeached Wang Anshi as a traitor.
This is a serious crime.
Zhao Xu did not expect that Tang Jie would be so angry that he fell ill, but he also felt aggrieved. I didn't do anything. The royalty law still protects you literati, and you are here shouting for war and killing.
It's really bullying.
Wang Anshi thought the same thing. It was Tang Jie who came to scold me, so I argued with him. Can I be blamed for this
He was unwilling to be outdone, and he could not be weak because this was just the beginning and he had to be strong. So he secretly asked someone to impeach Qian Yi for forming a clique for personal gain, in order to make an example of him.
Zhao Xu knew very well what was going on, but he could not let them act so arrogantly, so he immediately ordered Qian Yi to be demoted from the capital and sent to Jiangzhou to serve as a minor official to accompany Wang Sinong.
This further angered the conservatives.
The duty of the censor is to speak. As the emperor, you cannot demote a censor from the capital just because he performs his duties. Does that mean he can only say what you like to hear from now on
This led to more censors getting involved.
On the one hand, he pleaded for Qian Yi, and on the other hand, he continued to impeach Wang Anshi.
But if we think about it carefully, the emperor actually only set up a new department to preside over the new law, but he did not follow the convention and initiate the reform from the Secretariat.
But after all, the Privy Council was also involved.
This is actually not a very outrageous thing.
However, after a year of testing, many ministers were very opposed to some of Wang Anshi's ideas, and even disgusted with them, which caused everyone's nerves to be tense, and they believed that Wang Anshi would definitely do something wrong.
Now that the Regulations Department has been established among the three departments, the conservatives felt as if they were pricked by a needle. Although the skin was not even broken, they reacted violently.
This is actually a neural reflex.
But this also directly led to the rapid intensification of conflicts.
As the new head of the Censorate, Wen Yanbo was anxious. He should have stood up and led the Censors, but he also felt that it would be unreasonable to at least wait until the new law came out.
But people in the court have no choice!
Wen Yanbo hurried to find Sima Guang.
"Jun Shi, this won't work!"
Wen Yanbo said anxiously.
"I know that, too."
Sima Guang wanted to cry but had no tears: "But they were wrong. Although the royalty law was not approved by the Secretariat, it was discussed. Your Majesty is aware of it and it is for the sake of scholars. Not only that, the people are also looking forward to Wang Jiefu's reform of the Yaqian service. Look, Han Xianggong and Fu Gong didn't say anything!"
"Of course I know that."
Wen Yanbo said, "But we have to find a way to appease them. If they continue to make trouble, it won't be long before they are all banished from the capital. By then, if Wang Jiefu's new law is really inappropriate, no one will stand up to oppose it."
The battle hasn't even started yet and we've already suffered heavy losses. It's really devastating.
At the same time, it was also hinting to Sima Guang that no matter what, you have to stand up, otherwise who will support you in the future.
Although Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo were superior to Sima Guang in both status and qualifications, they were old after all and had been idle for some time. Sima Guang was undoubtedly the next leader.
Wen Yanbo also intended to help Sima Guang take power, after all, Sima Guang shared the same political ideas as them.
Sima Guang pondered for a while and sighed, "Then let's have a showdown in court."
Wen Yanbo asked: "How do we compete in court?"
Sima Guang said: "The government and Wang Jiefu obviously want to use Qian Yi as an example. Qian Yi cannot be saved. If the situation continues, more people will be implicated. Qian Yi is also a straightforward person. If he is not allowed to say something, he cannot do it. It is better to let him resign himself and then go to Kaifeng Prefecture as a commoner to sue Wang Anshi for violating the laws of our ancestors."
Wen Yanbo frowned and asked, "Will this work?"
Sima Guang said: "If Zhang San can do it, Qian Yi can do it too. If the court does not accept the case, then we are right."
Wen Yanbo asked again: "Can we win?"
Sima Guang shook his head and sighed, "Who can say for sure? But it's better than leaving the capital with frustration or continuing to make such a fuss."
Wen Yanbo nodded. In court, he wanted to argue for his own rights and would not cause a split in the court. He thought for a moment and suddenly said, "How about we ask Zhang San to prosecute this case?"
Sima Guang frowned, "Zhang San has just received a favor from Wang Jiefu, he may not agree to help us, why don't I go find him myself."
Wen Yanbo suddenly remembered that the calculation of the royalty law was given to Zhang San. How could he help Qian Yi? So he shook his head and said, "Don't look for him yet. Qian Yi's eloquence is not necessarily inferior to Zhang San. He just lacks experience in litigation. But litigation is almost the same as court debate. I guess Qian Yi himself would not be willing to let Zhang San fight the lawsuit on his behalf."
Sima Guang said: "If Duke Wen has no objection, I will ask Liu Shu to talk to Qian Yi and see if he is willing."
Wen Yanbo nodded slightly. "Whether we can win or not is another matter. Even if we lose, it can be regarded as an explanation to everyone. Besides, we can also try to see if your method works."
... ...
Lushi Lane.
The Bian Jing Law Firm, which reopened a few days ago, was as quiet as it was now.
Fan Li, who was guarding the counter, looked at the house full of guests and finally understood Zhang Fei's design concept.
Why should the store be changed to be like a restaurant
If it weren't designed this way, there wouldn't be room for so many people.
Moreover, most of the people sitting here are literati or sons of scholar-officials.
They all came to discuss copyright.
The imperial court takes such good care of us literati, so we cannot let the imperial court down.
Gentlemen love fortune, in a proper way.
In addition, the big booksellers also smelled the business opportunity. This was the best time to monopolize the market, because if they did so, the small booksellers would definitely not be able to survive.
Especially when they learned that the Yan family had signed a licensing agreement with Zhang Fei's bookstore, they also began to take action. Moreover, they were very experienced. They knew which articles and poems sold well and how much money they had to spend. They were able to convince the other party and maximize their own interests at the same time, so they took the initiative to seek authorization.
The two sides hit it off immediately.
However, I was not very familiar with the new law and did not know how to sign a contract. I had no choice but to come to the Bian Jing Law Firm to experience the one-stop service of signing a contract and calculating taxes.
At that time, they only need to take the tax calculation form from the Bian Jing Law Firm and go to the Municipal Taxation Bureau to pay the money.
Actually, it’s okay not to pay.
But the imperial court does not provide any guarantee.
Fan Li now had no intention of greeting the guests. He just sat at the counter, counting the cash. How cool he felt.
Of course, he was not comfortable leaving so much money in the care of others.
Zhang Fei was not idle either. He was entertaining big clients such as Ma Tianhao and Fan Zheng in the backyard.
"well... ."
Chen Maoqian sighed and looked at Ma Tianhao beside him, "Old Four, I never thought that there would be a time when we brothers would be slaughtered."
Ma Tianhao glanced at Fan Zheng standing beside him and snorted, "Brother Fan is smart. He let his son be slaughtered."
Fan Zheng smiled awkwardly and said nothing.
"Hey Hey hey!"
Zhang Fei was speechless: "Please don't be like this, it makes me feel like I'm really going to kill you."
Ma Tianhao said angrily: "Five hundred strings of cash a year? You really have the heart to do that! Li Guozhong is still the head of the business, but the deed and the certificate for his shop only cost ten strings of cash."
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Sir, the money is the money, but please don't insult me. Comparing me with Li Guozhong?"
Chen Maoqian complained: "But this is a little too expensive!"
Zhang Fei said, "This is not a contract fee, this is a service fee. As long as you hire our law firm for a long time, we will cover all your contracts, taxes, and all legal issues. Five hundred strings of cash is really a fair price."
Ma Tianhao snorted: "If we don't sue, then we will lose money."
Zhang Fei said, "Mr. Wang, please be careful. The lawsuit fee is charged separately and is not included in the service fee."
"... ... separately?"
"yes!"
"Then why are we spending this money?"
“Make sure there’s no lawsuit.”
"... ... ?"
Zhang Fei explained: "If it really goes to court, then there will be no way to say anything. My service is to ensure that you don't end up in court, so if you are not sure whether it is illegal, you must come to me first."
black!
It's really not ordinary black.
Chen Maoqian felt that he was a kind and gentle little lamb who was born to be slaughtered.
They quickly picked up the contract and looked at it more carefully.
Zhang Fei added: "The current situation is turbulent, and God knows what will happen. If you walk by the river, your shoes will get wet. If you are not careful, you may lose everything. Is there any business in the world that can make more money than spending 500 strings of cash to buy peace of mind? Besides, these 500 strings of cash are just a drop in the bucket for you."
The fixed annual expenditure is five hundred strings of cash.
You just have a mouth, and nothing else.
Plucking hair hurts too!
Ma Tianhao and Chen Maoqian were depressed and silent.
He really asked to be ripped off!
Zhang Fei glanced at them and coughed lightly: "Of course, this is just a suggestion. When we do business, it is still about mutual consent. You can also ask us to calculate the tax separately. We will calculate the price according to the scale of your business. The maximum is 100 guan per year."
Ma Tianhao snorted, "Don't I have an account office at home?"
Zhang Fei sneered: "Can your accountant guarantee that the taxes you pay will satisfy the government?"
Ma Tianhao was stunned immediately.
Fan Zheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "My two uncles, I think that Brother Zhang San's asking price is very fair. In today's world, we do need the protection of the law."
Zhang Fei immediately praised: "The disciple is better than the master!"
Then he turned to Ma Tianhao and said, “Brother Hao, you should also come with Xiao Ma.”
Ma Tianhao snorted, “Let that rebellious son come. I’m afraid he will sign the five thousand strings of cash. Sign it! Sign it! When I came here, I knew I would be slaughtered by you, but I didn’t expect you to be so cruel.”
Zhang Fei said: "When the price goes up in the future, you will know how kind I am now."
"... ... ?"
... ...
It was almost evening, but the sky was still light.
An old man in his fifties walked slowly to the gate of Kaifeng Prefecture. Although he was dressed in cloth, he had a straight back and looked righteous.
The yamen runner at the gate, upon seeing this man, immediately stepped forward, clasped his fists and said, "I greet Censor Qian."
This old man was the Imperial Censor Qian Yi.
Qian Yi said: "I have resigned from the post of censor. Now I am just a commoner. You don't need to bow to me."
The police officers looked at each other in confusion, not daring to take it seriously.
Don’t offend the censor if you want to offend anyone!
Qian Yi ignored them and walked straight to the Dengwen Drum.
What does he want to do
Before they could react, Qian Yi had already picked up the drumstick and vigorously struck the Kaifeng Prefecture's drum.