What is going on here
Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian looked at each other in bewilderment.
Why are you being sued again
I have no idea what's going on.
However... for the sake of ten thousand strings of cash, Zhang Fei reluctantly worked overtime for a while.
He also invited Wang Anshi into the store.
Xu Zhiqian personally made a pot of tea for them.
"Master Wang, what on earth is going on?"
Zhang Fei has not yet felt the joy of making money, all he feels is confusion and curiosity.
If I could have sued, I would have done so long ago. The court has already said that I have to pay the deed tax, and let the previous ones go.
Wang Anshi said, "Isn't what I just said clear enough? I asked you to sue those people above for tax evasion. There are 108 landlords in total."
One hundred and eight? If I sue them, will there be any problems? Zhang Fei said, "But didn't the court say that as long as the deed tax is paid within this year, the past will be forgiven. Now it is still within the deadline."
Wang Anshi snorted, "I thought so too, but these people just don't know what's good for them. They are self-righteous and always oppose the court. They won't cry until they see the coffin. I must punish their arrogant and domineering nature today. The court said that as long as the deed tax is paid within this year, the past will be forgiven, but that only applies to tax evasion involved in the white deed. However, those landlords evade taxes not only by using the white deed, they also have various other means."
Zhang Fei blinked and looked at Xu Zhiqian again.
Xu Zhiqian was also confused.
She had never seen this kind of operation before.
"Is this... okay?" Zhang Fei asked stupidly.
Wang Anshi said, "You are the one who wrote it, why are you asking me?"
Oh, that's right, I'm the one who's cheating. Zhang Fei rubbed his face and tried to think it over. He thought for a while and said, "If we find out that they have other means to evade taxes, then of course we can sue them, and we can even hold them responsible for the tax evasion."
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "I think so too. If we find out that they have other means of tax evasion, then they will not be exempted this time and we can hold them accountable together."
Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "That's true, but the court didn't directly hold them accountable for tax evasion, wasn't it because they were worried about...!"
Without waiting for him to finish, Wang Anshi said directly: "Therefore, I choose to sue."
Zhang Fei was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
Wang Anshi did not answer but asked: "Let me ask you, if I succeed in suing, should these 108 landlords be punished, or should all the landlords who evaded taxes be punished?"
"Of course, only these 108 landlords were punished. It has nothing to do with the other landlords."
As soon as the words came out, Zhang Fei suddenly realized, "What does Grand Secretary Wang mean?"
Wang Anshi said: "As the Vice Prime Minister, I could have directly petitioned the government to hold them accountable for tax evasion, but this would inevitably encounter obstacles in the court. If I just sue them, Sima Xiaolao and his men can't stop me, and the number of people involved is limited."
"Killing a chicken to scare the monkey?"
Zhang Fei asked.
Wang Anshi nodded.
Xu Zhiqian suddenly said, "This won't work. The landlords won't think this way. If Uncle Wang succeeds in the lawsuit, who can guarantee that you won't continue to sue them? They will definitely do their best to stop it."
Zhang Fei nodded.
When it comes to politics, who would expect you to be kind enough to let it go
If you, Wang Anshi, succeed in suing them, they will all be on the chopping board, which will inevitably cause a strong backlash. Even if you only sue one person, they will all come rushing in.
Wang Anshi asked: "According to our laws, am I qualified to sue?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Of course."
Xu Zhiqian added, "If it's true, you can actually get a reward."
Wang Anshi asked, "Then why should they stop me?"
"How should I know that?"
Zhang Fei said: "They will definitely not use judicial means to stop it, they will definitely use political means. I am just an earpiece, I don't know much about the affairs of the court."
Wang Anshi asked, "Then what are you worried about?"
"no."
Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "I am considering this for Grand Secretary Wang. Not to mention that the separation of politics and law has not been completed yet, even if it is completed, it may not be used in this matter. If we do so, the consequences may be disastrous."
Wang Anshi calmed down and sighed, "I didn't want things to get so bad. It's all because of them. The landlords are colluding with the officials. If I make a move, they will immediately cause trouble and then push the blame onto me.
But if I compromise, they will definitely become more aggressive, and my new law may not even be implemented in Tokyo.
I have no choice but to use this fair and aboveboard method, to bring them all to court and use the law to force them to pay the ransom."
He had also been an official at the local level, and was well aware of the methods used by the landlords, who shifted the burden downwards, created public resentment, and put pressure on the court.
The other party may have already set up a trap and is waiting for him to be caught.
If it were any other official, they would most likely choose to use both kindness and severity, allowing people to communicate privately so that everyone could understand each other, or take a step back.
But who is Wang Anshi? He has a very stubborn character. If you try to be tough with him, he will never give in.
Don't even think about it.
Let’s fight to the end, whoever backs down is a fucking grandson.
This is the biggest difference between him and Fan Zhongyan. In fact, Fan Zhongyan was also ruthless, but he did not have the desperate determination of Wang Anshi.
Sima Guang knew him very well and knew that this guy would try every possible means to collect the money.
But Sima Guang never expected that Wang Anshi would do this.
He also expected that Wang Anshi would ask Zhang Fei for help, but he thought he would start with the tenant contract. Zhang Fei's answer was very clear that this would be difficult because most tenant farmers would not be willing to sue their employers.
The imperial court has already issued a decree that bygone days will not be pursued, so there is no way to sue.
But Wang Anshi was not stupid. He knew that the enemies were all in the dark, so he had to pull them out first and expose them all in court. Under the watchful eyes of the public, no one could wrongly accuse anyone else.
I won't even give you the chance to throw dirty water on you.
But the problem is that if you do this, you will be ruthless, which is a taboo in the officialdom.
I don’t know what consequences this will cause, because the interests of too many people are involved. Which landlord does not evade taxes? Otherwise, the imperial court would have directly pursued the taxes they evaded. Doesn’t the imperial court want to generate revenue
Hey, young boy! Don't worry! The emperor and I are trying to find a way to deal with them. Zhang Fei had a hard time speaking, and suddenly his eyes turned, "Master Wang, do you want to discuss this with the emperor first?"
Wang Anshi stroked his beard and said, "Do you think I can afford ten thousand strings of cash?"
Zhang Fei looked at him puzzledly.
Wang Anshi said, "This is what the government lent me."
Borrowed by the government? Did the government change its mind? Zhang Fei was unsure.
Xu Zhiqian suddenly said: "But suing like this won't punish the big landlords. They will still push the responsibility onto the tenant farmers."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes! Most of those big landlords rent their land to tenant farmers, so they can easily shirk their responsibilities."
"It's not that easy."
Wang Anshi said, "I have already thought about it. I will sue the landlords based on the land register first. When they present the lease, I will sue the tenants as well."
“This… How can this be possible?”
Xu Zhiqian said: "Those tenant farmers are innocent."
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "Qian'er, let me ask you, if I were to investigate thoroughly, I would investigate them for as many years as they have evaded taxes. Can those tenant farmers pay so much money?"
Xu Zhiqian shook her head and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to pay it in a year."
Zhang Fei said: "If the landlord cannot pay, he will have to bear the responsibility himself."
Xu Zhiqian tilted her head and looked at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei said thoughtfully: "The tax evasion that the court prosecuted was for that piece of land. Although according to the contract, the tenant farmers do have to bear the main responsibility, but for the court, the tenant farmers and the landlords are equally responsible. Once the tenant farmers can't afford it, the landlords will bear everything."
"That's the truth." Wang Anshi smiled coldly, "Don't they like to use tenant farmers to threaten the court? All right, I will beat the tenant farmers to death first, and then deal with them."
Xu Zhiqian felt a chill down her spine and broke out in a cold sweat when she heard this.
This is to annihilate the other side.
But is it really a good idea to do this
The landlord gets a piece of meat, but the tenant farmer's entire family may be ruined.
This was something Sima Guang had never expected, that Wang Anshi would sue the tenant farmers as well.
Zhang Fei groaned for a moment and said, "This is putting others at risk of death in order to survive!"
Xu Zhiqian asked: "What does this mean?"
Zhang Fei tilted his head to glance at him. "As long as the crime is serious enough, the fine is too high, and the proportion of tenant farmers is not high, then the court can treat them as a whole and force the landlords to help the tenant farmers bear the responsibility."
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "That's why I came to you. I believe you can seek justice for those tenant farmers in court."
He is also a legalist, and his attainments in law are not low.
When he talked about the census before, it was not a delay or a sign of giving in, but a preparation for this move.
Zhang Fei said, "I don't have a problem with that. After all, I'm open for business. You can afford it, so I have no reason to refuse. But Mr. Wang, have you really thought through the consequences of this?"
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "The reason why I spent so much money to hire you is that I don't want to implicate you, so that they will know that you work for money, not for me. As for me, haha, you don't have to worry about it. If I can't even deal with these landlords, what else can I do? I might as well go home and farm."
When he said the latter, he looked disdainful.
Originally, he wanted to deal with these big landlords, but they were still formulating the Equalization of Transport Law and the Corvée Law, so he had to eat one bite at a time, and he was never afraid.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Grand Scholar Wang, please don't say that. Ten thousand strings of cash is purely a friendship price. One of my contracts is worth thousands of strings of cash. You have entrusted me to sue more than a hundred people this time, and they are not even tenants. Moreover, this is about taxation, which is the most complicated."
Wang Anshi said, "From what you said, it seems that I gave you too little money."
Zhang Fei said, "It's definitely too little! When I helped Cao Dongdong fight the lawsuit, I got 1,000 guan. Which of these 108 landlords is not stronger than Lin Fei? If I count you as 100 and sue the tenants, I will get 100,000 guan."
When Wang Anshi heard the price, he almost vomited blood and laughed and scolded: "Why don't you become a robber?"
Zhang Fei replied: "I just saw the robber making money without an ear pen."
"... ... ?"
Wang Anshi was speechless.
Zhang Fei added: "Let's make it clear first. I will try my best to sue you, but whether or not I can make it to court is not something I can control. If I can't make it to court, I will not refund you."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "Give it a try, kid."
Zhang Fei said: "Retreat... Retreat 5,000?"
Wang Anshi looked at him without saying a word.
"Seven thousand?"
"One price, nine thousand back... My preparation work also costs money."
"At most fifty strings of cash, which I can still afford, and the rest I have to pay back to the government."
"Fifty strings of cash? Why don't I help you pay for it? I can also do you a favor for Grand Secretary Wang."
"That's settled then."
"I... ."
Zhang Fei sighed, "A robber is not as good as an ear pen, and an ear pen is not as good as an official."