In fact, Su Che had anticipated this day ever since the gentry decided to unite and resist the Qingmiao Law.
Just as Cai Jing said, if there were no public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, those gentry would never dare to be so reckless, because no matter how much you talk, and no matter how righteous you are, everyone knows that you are doing this to target the Qingmiao Law.
The Qingmiao Law is designed to amass wealth and cut off people's sources of income, which is like killing their parents!
The key point is that the Qingmiao Law was able to be promulgated because the reformists were in power!
Doesn’t Wang Anshi have any regard for his reputation
Doesn’t Zhao Xu have any respect
In the past, this would definitely not work.
But now we have the public security, procuratorate and courts. If we look at this matter from a judicial perspective, it will be very beneficial to the gentry.
After all, they are still on the moral high ground.
In addition, conservatives have always boasted that judicial reform can limit the New Deal.
Whether it's a mule or a horse, it has to be pulled out for a stroll.
See if this is true.
In any case, as long as they take the case to court, the conservatives will definitely support them with all their strength.
However, Su Che was firmly opposed to the Qingmiao Law. It was because of this law that he and Lu Huiqing had a complete falling out and were forced to apply for a transfer to the procuratorate. It is conceivable why he came to Zhang Fei.
We are going to file a lawsuit against the government's ban.
Therefore, when he met Zhang Fei, Su Che immediately asked him if he knew about the ban.
"I heard about it not long ago."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Su Che looked at Zhang Fei's expression and asked, "What does Judge Zhang think?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I don't have much opinion. This is their administrative matter. We can only watch the fun."
Watching the fun? Su Che asked incredulously, "Does Judge Zhang think the government has this power?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, "I am not very familiar with Mr. Su's dissatisfaction, but from a judicial point of view, the clan system is just a kind of folk contract. The court did not explicitly give the clan system too much power, so the government certainly has the power to restrict this kind of folk contract."
Su Che did not seem to agree, "The clan system involves the ritual system, just like the government cannot arbitrarily deprive any father-son relationship, there are laws to follow."
Zhang Fei shrugged and said casually, "Maybe."
"Maybe?"
Su Zhe was surprised and asked, "Could it be that Judge Zhang allowed this to happen?"
Seeing Su Zhe's entanglement, Zhang Fei couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Although Mr. Su's words make sense, this is not an obvious violation of the law. It can only be said to be controversial. Therefore, it is not within the direct jurisdiction of our imperial court. The imperial court directly ordered that the government violated the law."
Su Che said: "But our procuratorate can file a lawsuit. I think it is absolutely unreasonable for the government to do so."
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, "According to the system, if your procuratorate has sufficient evidence, our imperial court will definitely accept the case, no matter what you want to sue. But as far as personal relationships are concerned, I don't actually recommend Mr. Su to do this."
Su Che asked suspiciously, "Why?"
He knew the relationship between Zhang Fei and Wang Anshi, and he also wanted to test whether Zhang Fei's opinion on this matter was in favor of the new policy.
The Royal Court’s opinion on this matter is of vital importance!
Zhang Fei coughed lightly and said, "Let me put it this way. If the government hired me to fight a lawsuit, I might only have a 50% chance of winning if I met anyone else, but if I met Mr. Su, I would basically have a 90% chance of winning."
Su Zhe was stunned when he heard this. This is too insulting. "Does Judge Zhang look down on Su so much?"
"Mr. Su Xiao has misunderstood." Zhang Fei shook his head, and then said: "I heard that Mr. Su Xiao was transferred to the Procuratorate because of the Qingmiao Law, and he made speeches against the Qingmiao Law on many occasions, and even published articles."
Su Che nodded and said, "That's true, but what does it have to do with this case?"
Zhang Fei did not answer but asked: "I personally think that the gentry's move is aimed at the Qingmiao Law. Do you agree, Mr. Su?"
Su Che nodded.
"That's it."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If the procuratorate unilaterally initiates a lawsuit, Mr. Su Xiao's previous actions will definitely be a point of attack for me. I will link the two things together and accuse Mr. Su Xiao of abusing his power for personal gain and using the power of the procuratorate to target his political enemies."
Su Che said excitedly: "I didn't think so."
Zhang Fei said: "But who knows? As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not his heart."
Su Che was stunned and speechless for a moment.
“So I must have accused him of that.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Besides, whether the government has the power to do this may be controversial, but it is also a theoretical dispute. We can only discuss the matter at that time. As long as I can find the point of dispute and not be suppressed by you on the scene, I can link the motives of the gentry with Mr. Su Xiao's previous attitude towards the Qingmiao Law, so as to impress the chief judge and make him believe that your procuratorate is suspected of abusing public power for personal gain. The procuratorate is a government office and represents the court, not an earpiece. It must treat both parties fairly. This is enough for the chief judge to dismiss the procuratorate's lawsuit."
Su Che frowned and pondered for a while, "Perhaps my proposal on the Qingmiao Law will make people doubt whether I am fair, but if I do nothing, wouldn't it be dereliction of duty? The government has absolutely no right to do so."
Zhang Fei said: "I can't stop Mr. Su Xiao from filing a lawsuit, but I suggest that the procuratorate should remain neutral on this matter, because there is no obvious illegal behavior in this matter.
As parties involved, the gentry can of course file lawsuits. It is understandable that they want to defend their own rights and interests, but the procuratorate still has to follow the system and not be interfered with by its own subjective opinions.
If Mr. Su Xiao must sue, then at least investigate. Your brother was transferred out of the capital because of the lack of evidence and investigation. Because the main responsibility of the procuratorate is prosecution, not litigation. "
When Su Shi was mentioned, Su Zhe's expression changed slightly, and he thought, yes! My brother was careless and did not fulfill his duties, so he filed a lawsuit and failed. I can't make the same mistake.
Thinking of this, he knew that Zhang Fei was not trying to scare him. If he argued with Zhang Fei about this matter, he might really be defeated, because he never expected that Zhang Fei would use his previous claims to attack him.
After thinking for a while, he bowed and said sincerely: "Thank you, Judge Zhang, for telling me. Su is very grateful."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I know Mr. Su Xiao must be wondering about my attitude towards the Qingmiao Law. No matter what my attitude is, it has nothing to do with what I said to Mr. Su Xiao, because I know that the gentry will definitely file a lawsuit. I just don't want the procuratorate to be hit because of this."
Su Che asked: "What is Judge Zhang's attitude towards the Qingmiao Law?"
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I have forced myself to forget my own opinion, because I am now the chief judge, and my authority requires me to remain neutral."
Su Zhe was startled, thought for a while, and suddenly saluted and said, "Su is ashamed."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Mr. Su is just unskilled."
Su Che smiled awkwardly.
In the end, Su Che accepted Zhang Fei's advice and did not rashly file a lawsuit. Instead, he went to the government office to investigate the matter in person.
However, Yuan Jiang's actions also completely angered the gentry and landlords.
They began to launch a public opinion offensive.
At present, public opinion is completely controlled by the literati, who can use articles, debates, and young scholars and students to spread propaganda for them.
For a time, negative comments about the Qingmiao Law were overwhelming.
Most of these scholars were conservatives. They believed that the purpose of the new policy was to make money for the country rather than for the people. They used this incident as an excuse to criticize the Qingmiao Law in order to prove their conservative point of view.
Soon, the people sided with the gentry.
The common people do not understand clan law, legal system, or administrative law. They only know one thing: the government does not allow the public to lend money at low interest rates.
No matter how much I explain, it's still the same.
Coupled with the official monopoly system of the Song Dynasty court, it was natural for the people to think that the government was monopolizing interest rates.
Good job!
Have you government officials lost all shame in amassing wealth
Public opinion was overwhelmingly one-sided, especially among the villagers, who were extremely angry. The clan law had originally stipulated this, and they thought good days were coming, but the government ended up doing this.
Is the beautiful dream about to be shattered
The government also tried desperately to explain that it did not prohibit lending at low interest rates, but only prohibited the use of clan law to set interest rates. These are two different things.
But the government only has a few mouths.
According to the old system, the government had to rely on gentry to publicize policies. As a result, the gentry have now turned against the government, and the government has been completely crushed in terms of public opinion.
Government office!
"Master Yuan, what should we do now? People are questioning the Qingmiao Law one after another."
Wei Yingfang pretended to be terrified.
My heart was filled with joy. Fight! Fight! It would be best if you all died.
Yuan Jiang sneered: "This is all within my expectations. I also have a way to disgust them."
"What is it?"
He Chunlin asked curiously.
At this time, Zhuo Qun entered the room and said, "Reporting to the prefect, Superintendent Cao and Chief Clerk Fu want to see you."
"What are they doing here?" Wei Yingfang asked in surprise.
Yuan Jiang said: "I invited them here."
After a while, Cao Dongdong and Fu Shichun entered the hall.
"so many people?"
Cao Dongdong was shocked to see Cai Yanqing, Wei Yingfang, Cao Yi, He Chunlin, Liu Daxing and others were there.
Fu Shichun bowed and saluted.
Cao Dongdong finally reacted and quickly clasped his fists in salute.
Yuan Jiang first asked them to sit down, and then asked, "Do Superintendent Cao and Chief Clerk Fu know about the government's order to prohibit the clan law from stipulating interest?"
Cao Dongdong and Fu Shichun nodded at the same time.
Yuan Jiang said: "I hope the police department can assist the government in enforcing this order."
Cao Dongdong was surprised and asked, "How do we execute it?"
Yuan Jiang said: "Add more people to the sub-offices near each village, and tell them that anyone who lends money at an interest rate of less than 5%, even in their own village, cannot be punished by any clan law. Otherwise, they will be arrested for the crime of lynching."
Wei Yingfang and others were shocked.
They never expected that Yuan Jiang would join forces with the police station.
Cao Dongdong said awkwardly, "Of course our police station has the obligation to assist the Transportation Department, but if we send more people, well... that wooden shed can't accommodate more than a few people, and the weather is really cold now."
Yuan Jiang said: "We will allocate funds to you."
"Yes, sir."
Cao Dongdong immediately clasped his fists.
Cai Yanqing glanced at Yuan Jiang and then at Cao Dongdong, and thought to himself, you guys really know how to have fun!
... ...