The reason why reforms are difficult to succeed in feudal society is not only because they will offend the vested interests, but also because they will inevitably offend the imperial power.
Because when facing huge vested interests, the reform minister must have supreme power in order to implement it, and this power can only be given by the emperor.
At the beginning of a reform, the emperor would generally give great support. If, like Song Renzong, he was unwilling to give up power at the beginning, the result could only be the Hundred Days' New Deal.
However, usually in the initial stage, the emperor tends to give power to the reform ministers, but the problem is that as the reform deepens, the power in the hands of the reform ministers will become more and more inflated, which will pose a threat to the emperor.
For the emperor, nothing is more important than imperial power.
This is almost a dead end.
As an emperor, Zhao Xu was naturally no exception. He was also afraid of power falling into the hands of others, but he also knew that he could not be like Renzong. If he wanted to succeed, he had to trust the people he employed and not employ those he did not trust. Therefore, at the beginning of the reform, he had always hoped to keep Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi and other prime ministers, with the purpose of checking and balancing Wang Anshi.
But unfortunately, Sima Guang and others were firmly opposed to the new law. With the promulgation of the Qingmiao Law, they left the capital one after another, which led to an imbalance of power in the court. The New Party became the dominant force. Later, Zhao Xu directly deposed Wang Anshi and took over the new law himself.
Unfortunately, he was unable to support himself and eventually died of depression.
However, the appearance of Zhang Fei cleverly maintained the balance in the court. Sima Guang, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others did not ask to leave. Now the administration was under the control of the reformists, while the judiciary was under the control of the conservatives, each performing their own duties.
This is the situation Zhao Xu has always dreamed of.
He certainly would not break the deadlock by himself, and would try his best to be fair, maintaining the imperial court's verdict but at the same time implementing the new law more thoroughly, packaging the exemption law and the tax bureau and sending them to Hezhong Prefecture.
In any case, the emperor did not reject the imperial court's verdict, which was obviously in favor of the conservatives. Moreover, this time Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and others all took the lead, which greatly encouraged the conservatives and made them put aside their prejudice against Sima Guang.
Because before, they thought Sima Guang did nothing and only told them verbally that judicial reform could check and balance the new policies, but they did not see how it checked and balanced them. Instead, it helped the new policies a little bit, so they had doubts about this.
But this time, they felt a little relieved that Sima Guang did not deceive them.
Establish regulations offices for the two prefectures.
"The morale of the other side is really high now. They all think that the public security, procuratorate and courts can really stop our new policy. Fan Jingren has made great contributions to this. He failed to stop our Qingmiao Law in the court, but he effectively prevented the implementation of the Qingmiao Law in Hezhong Prefecture as an informant, which made everyone think that this was the credit of the public security, procuratorate and courts."
“This is a good thing!”
Wang Anshi stroked his beard and laughed: "The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs emphasize the principle of striking back. If they focus their energy and choose to strike back, then the first-mover advantage will be in our hands. Our policies will be implemented without encountering too many obstacles."
Previously, the conservatives had blocked the new policies at the beginning of their promulgation, which actually gave Wang Anshi a headache. Every time a new law was promulgated, there would be a quarrel and a group of ministers would be driven out of the capital, which made Wang Anshi himself exhausted.
These people are so stubborn that they just don't understand no matter what I say.
Now, I will implement the new law first. If there are any problems, we will go to the royal court to sue. At least the new policy can be implemented initially. Whether it is good or not, we will let facts speak for themselves.
This is really not a bad thing.
This is also one of the reasons why Wang Anshi accepted Zhang Fei's plan.
"Master, what you said is absolutely right." Lu Huiqing also agreed with this, and said, "Moreover, this imperial court's decree has also made more officials support us, because they believe that judicial reform will take away their power, and in comparison, the harm caused by the new policy to them is nothing."
But at this point, he suddenly changed the subject: "The question now is whether the Qingmiao Law can be well implemented."
Let the facts speak for themselves. What if the facts are not as we wish
If the Qingmiao Law cannot make money and improve the finances, then it will not work, and Zhao Xu will have no reason to support them anymore!
Wang Anshi said confidently, "This is the least to worry about. Those gentry are just a mob that is only interested in profit. They won't last long. When their true colors are exposed, the people will believe in the Qingmiao Law even more. In addition, the Ministry of Grain and Oil can issue salt notes and salt bonds. The finances of Hezhong Prefecture will definitely get better in the next three years."
Putting aside Zhang Fei's super financial institution, he didn't believe that those landlords could maintain an interest rate of 1.5%.
At this moment, someone outside the door suddenly said, "Master Wang, the matter of Han Temple has arrived."
Wang Anshi hurriedly said, "Please come in quickly."
He walked quickly to the door, and before he could go out, Han Jiang walked in.
"Brother Zihua is here, please come in quickly." Wang Anshi was very attentive.
But Han Jiang didn't appreciate it at all. He just looked at him coldly and said, "Jiefu, how did I offend you? Tell me and I will apologize to you."
Wang Anshi's heart was as clear as a mirror, but he said, "Brother Zihua, why do you say that?"
Han Jiang snorted, "The last time I applied for voluntary declaration, I was exhausted. It hasn't been long since then, and you asked me to go to Hezhong Prefecture to implement the exemption law. I have to cooperate with Zhang San, and the key is to investigate the ban. This is not an easy job. I don't want to offend those gentry."
"So that's what it is."
Wang Anshi pulled Han Jiang's sleeve and sat down on the seat. "Brother Zihua, please don't be upset. Let me explain."
Han Jiang said unhappily: "To be honest, I really don't want to hear your explanation."
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "Misunderstanding! It's really a misunderstanding!"
Han Jiang glanced at him, "What misunderstanding?"
Wang Anshi winked at Lu Huiqing, who immediately bowed and said goodbye. When he left, he closed the door tightly and asked the servants who were waiting outside to leave.
Wang Anshi then explained to Han Jiang: "Brother Zihua, you don't need to investigate very carefully. You just need to pretend to ask. The result is not important at all."
Han Jiang was stunned for a moment, "If that's the case, then why are you still letting me go?"
Wang Anshi said: "I recommend you to go for three reasons. First, to promote the exemption law. Second, to give some support to Yuan Xueshi and others to eliminate their resentment. Third, to use this lawsuit to delay them so that they will not cause trouble again, which will also help to better implement the Qingmiao Law."
Han Jiang asked: "So you don't plan to overturn the imperial court's decision?"
Wang Anshi sighed, "I would like to, but without solid evidence, the government will not agree."
After hearing this, Han Jiang immediately understood.
The emperor had to balance the two factions.
Wang Anshi added: "And I estimate that those gentry will not be able to hold out for long. You just need to drag it out, and they will collapse on their own, and the Qingmiao Law will be better implemented."
After Wang Anshi's explanation, Han Jiang reluctantly agreed.
But to be honest, he was very reluctant to cooperate with Zhang Fei. He was really scared. If he was not careful, he might be crushed to pieces.
... ...
The conservatives on the other side, after being greatly encouraged, planned to press on with their victory and quickly promote the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in various places to counter the new law.
But they knew Sima Guang's character very well and were hesitant, so they asked Liu Shu and Qi Hui to lobby Sima Guang.
"no."
Sima Guang decisively refused, saying: "Judicial reform is different from other reforms. It must be carried out step by step. As the saying goes, haste makes waste!"
Qi Hui said embarrassedly: "But many people think that Sima Xueshi's step-by-step implementation is entirely dependent on the ability of Zhang San. But Zhang San is only one person after all. He can't be everywhere. It's impossible for him to promote public security, procuratorial and judicial organs in every place."
Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi next to them looked at each other tacitly, and suddenly they understood.
Promoting the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs is secondary. The key is to marginalize Zhang Fei.
In fact, they have always been very clear in their minds that the reason those people supported judicial reform was to deal with Wang Anshi. It did not mean that they all agreed with the concept of judicial reform, especially Zhang Fei's concept. Most people did not want the judicial reform to be controlled by Zhang Fei, nor did they want the judicial reform to be tied to Zhang Fei.
If judicial reform is fully implemented, Zhang Fei will be just a court president who can be replaced at any time and will not affect the entire judicial reform.
"Who said that?"
Sima Guang was furious and said, "Initially I sent Fan Cunren and Su Shi to Dengzhou and Yangzhou to promote public security, prosecution and justice, and Zhang San went to Hezhong Prefecture. Those were all unexpected events. How come they said that I was relying on Zhang San? It's really ridiculous."
Liu Shu said: "But the support that Sima Xueshi gave to Fan Cunren and Su Shi is far less than the support he gave to Zhang San."
They went there early, but they definitely didn't make any noise. However, when Zhang Fei arrived at Hezhong Prefecture, everyone's eyes were focused on Hezhong Prefecture.
Sima Guang's expression froze, and he asked himself some questions, and then explained: "I treat everyone equally. The reason why Fan Cunru and Su Shi are making slow progress may be because Zhang San understands the concepts and rules of public security, prosecution and law better than them. It can be seen that if some ignorant people are allowed to promote it, they will only be defeated one by one by Wang Jiefu, and the gains will not outweigh the losses."
Liu Shu wanted to say more, but Fu Bi suddenly nodded and said, "Indeed! Talents are indeed scarce in this area. We must step up efforts to cultivate talents in this area. I think we can select some young officials who are in their prime and have good morals to study in Hezhong Prefecture, so as to prepare for the future."
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, "Strike back after being attacked?"
Fu Bi nodded and said, "Given Wang Jiefu's personality, he will definitely promote the new law throughout the country without stopping, and will not wait for the public security, procuratorate and courts. However, his new law will definitely cause problems. When problems arise, we will send public security, procuratorate and courts to solve the problems. This way, we can win the hearts of the people and let the government know the shortcomings of the new law."
Liu Shu and Qi Hui's eyes lit up and they nodded in unison.
"Mr. Fu has a point."
"Mr. Fu is still a man of foresight."
... ...
This is one of the reasons why they have always been skeptical about judicial reform, because judicial reform can help the new law to be implemented, but if the new law is successful, it will prove that they are wrong.
Therefore, judicial reform and new laws cannot be implemented at the same time, but must be staggered. Only in this way can the shortcomings of the new laws be exposed and the advantages of judicial reform be highlighted.
These are all reasons to suppress the reformists.
Sima Guang glanced at Liu Shu and Qi Hui, nodded and said, "Let's follow Mr. Fu's advice and select another group of young officials to go to Hezhong Prefecture to learn about public security, prosecution and law."
A few people started discussing talent cultivation again, and the topic of Zhang San was moved away.
After the court was dismissed, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi walked slowly out of the city.
Seeing Sima Guang hanging his head and saying nothing, looking troubled, Wen Yanbo could not help but ask, "Jun Shi, what are you thinking about?"
"They don't trust Zhang San!" Sima Guang suddenly sighed.
The reaction of the conservatives made him very worried. He planned to promote Zhang Fei, but judging from everyone's attitude, this would be difficult. Zhang Fei had just denied the ban and made a great contribution, but some people were already considering marginalizing Zhang Fei and preventing him from gaining power.
It can be seen that in the eyes of the conservatives, Zhang Fei has never been one of them, and is even more like an enemy.
This made him very embarrassed.
Wen Yanbo said: "Any reform will offend people. In fact, many officials in the court do not like judicial reform. Zhang San has already offended people, so it is difficult to convince the public. You have to make other plans as soon as possible. I think Su Ziyu is a good choice."
Sima Guang immediately said: "How can this be possible? Then Zhang San will become a scapegoat."
Wen Yanbo said, "But it is impossible for Zhang San to win their support. As the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems are implemented, if you still want your policies to be implemented, you must arrange for someone who can convince the public to preside over the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. Otherwise, this will definitely lead to a mass attack, which will be detrimental to the overall situation."
The court still values high moral character and prestige. Zhang Fei's ideas are unlikely to win the trust of court ministers. Even if what Zhang Fei says makes sense, they will not agree with it because it will harm their interests.
Wen Yanbo believed that blindly pushing Zhang Fei to the position would only cause divisions within the conservative faction.
If you consider the overall situation, you have to be prepared to abandon him.
Sima Guang waved his hand and said, "That won't do. I was the one who forced Zhang San to take over. I can't say that he has completed the task. I will find someone to replace him."
Wen Yanbo said: "But he is only a general who can manage a certain area and charge into battle, but he is not a commander-in-chief and cannot manage the entire country."
"hehe!"
Fu Bi suddenly stroked his beard and laughed.
Sima Guang asked, "Why is Mr. Fu laughing?"
Fu Bi smiled and said, "I think you are a little too sentimental. Zhang San may not want to be on your side. He is a master of his generation."
He saw things more clearly. Zhang Feike had never tied himself to the conservatives. He just had a good relationship with Sima Guang. He kept his distance from other people and never tried to monopolize them. At the same time, he had a very good relationship with Wang Anshi, and the emperor was very optimistic about him. You should know that there is only one grand president in the whole country, and there is no grand president in the capital.
You say edge, edge.
Wen Yanbo nodded slightly and thought, Mr. Fu is right. For us, we can only support Zhang San or not, and we may not be able to control him.
... ..
While the two factions were still planning their plans around this verdict, the Hezhong Prefecture had already turned the page and was starting a new round of fighting.
Although Hezhong Prefecture did not have as many powerful people as the capital, it had a large group of local tyrants, that is, officials who were rooted in the people.
Because the treatment of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty was so good, the political risk was very low, and their term of office was only three years, and they had to be transferred when the term expired. If they were not the kind of officials who carried out the emperor's orders, such as the Transport Commissioner and the Propaganda Commissioner, most of the officials who were normally transferred did not seek merit but only to avoid mistakes. So who was in charge? In fact, it was the clerks.
Therefore, the officials of the Northern Song Dynasty were very powerful, and it could even be said that they controlled everything in the local prefectures and counties.
Officials only issued orders, and the execution depended entirely on these clerks.
The main purpose of the Royal Police's attack this time is to crack down on the power of these petty officials, which is actually the second hardest bone to chew in Hezhong Prefecture.
The toughest nut to crack is of course the military.
Naturally, the officials below would not sit idly by and accept the punishment immediately. They had the capital in their hands, and they began to put pressure on their superiors, so naturally, those officials could no longer sit still.
Procuratorate.
"When you, the police, procuratorate and courts, came to Hezhong Prefecture, you kept saying that you would not settle old scores, but now you are not keeping your promise. If chaos is caused, you will have to deal with it yourselves. We will not intervene."
Liu Daxing, the county lieutenant of Hedong County, shouted at Su Che in extreme anger.
Wei Yingfang, Fan Meng and others also glared at Su Che.
Not to mention that our relatives are also in it, the key point is that as a result of your actions, the clerks below started to make trouble, and our political achievements were also affected.
Su Che argued, "We have not settled old scores, but those people have gone too far. The criminals in the prison do not stay in prison, but actually open a black shop outside the city. This is simply outrageous.
In addition, the trade route leading to Jingzhao Prefecture was blocked by twenty or thirty vicious dogs, forcing merchants to walk on a single wooden bridge behind the mountain and pay expensive taxes. This behavior lasted for more than twenty years.
Tell me, shouldn't this be managed?"
"Of course this shouldn't be regulated."
Wei Yingfang stood up and refuted.
Su Che was immediately stunned, staring at Wei Yingfang blankly, "President Wei, you...what did you say?"
If you don't care, then just don't care. Why do you say it so blatantly? I really don't know where you get the confidence from.
Wei Yingfang said confidently: "I think this should not be managed. Why are the criminals in prison released early and run to the store to find work? It is because the court took all the money and grain from Hezhong Prefecture to fight the war, leaving nothing behind. How can the government manage so many prisoners? They can only release some prisoners with lighter punishments early.
As for the matter of business, it is true that the people who collected the money were the officials of the Transportation Bureau, but that was because the court did not allocate money, but still needed people to be in charge of collecting taxes, so they could only let them collect taxes, and part of the money and grain was also turned over to the government. Such phenomena were everywhere in the country. If the court gave enough money, who would be willing to do those jobs
What you are doing is equivalent to killing the donkey after it has done its job. It will only make everyone feel cold. When no one works, will you be responsible?"
Su Che was really amazed by the fact that he could break the law so confidently.
But then again, this was really tacitly approved by the imperial court, because the imperial court had no money, but had to recruit people to manage the prefectures and counties and collect taxes, so it could only give them ways to make money, such as collecting taxes. For example, it had to find people to collect them, but the imperial court didn't want to pay them, so what to do? Let them collect a little more and then share it equally.
This kind of bandit logic leads to the fact that there are no rules at all. Corrupt officials will naturally exploit this loophole and try to collect as much tax as possible to satisfy the appetite of those above them, and the rest will all be theirs.
How could Su Che not know this? Everyone has encountered this kind of thing. His tone immediately softened. He said, "Our procuratorate can show leniency and not pursue their punishment. We only ask for a fine as punishment. Don't tell me that every penny they made was forced by the court. Our procuratorate currently has enough evidence."
Wei Yingfang said, "Chief Prosecutor Su, the problem is not whether they have violated the law, but whether the court can pay their salaries. It's like not giving the horse grass to eat, but expecting the horse to run. There is no such good thing in the world. You are not experienced enough and don't understand the pros and cons."
Su Che said: "I only know that there is no order without rules. The court should pay them the corresponding salary, rather than letting them abuse their power to seek wealth. If they don't get the corresponding salary, they can come to my procuratorate to sue. Our public security, procuratorate and court will never sit idly by."
"Prosecutor Su."
Cao Yi immediately stood up and said, "You are making things difficult for our Transportation Department. Now the Transportation Department still has to pay compensation to the soldiers. Where can we get so much money?"
Su Che said: "The Transportation Department has no money, just tell the truth, we will ask the court to allocate money to Hezhong Prefecture."
Is it so cruel
Is it possible that the imperial court is run by your family
You say transfer the money, so transfer the money.
But having said that, it is really difficult for them to refute Su Che.
Su Che said firmly, "I can let go of the old accounts. As long as it is legal, they can continue their business. But our procuratorate will never tolerate such illegal acts."
Faced with such a strong Su Che, this negotiation naturally ended in failure.
But Cai Yanqing was extremely anxious because the clerks under him began to go on strike one after another, and the order in Hezhong Prefecture immediately became extremely precarious.
Because it is these officials who are in charge, if they don't take care of it, there will definitely be chaos.
This is Cai Yanqing’s bottom line.
"Judge Zhang, I will try not to get involved in your quarrels, and my requirements are not very high. I just want to ensure that Hezhong Prefecture does not go into chaos. However, your rash actions have already put Hezhong Prefecture on the brink of chaos."
Cai Yanqing spoke to Zhang Fei with a serious expression.
What I mean is, if you want to do this, I can't just sit back and watch.
Zhang Fei sighed, "Prefect Cai, I don't want to do this either, but I have no choice. Those bullies rely on their connections in the government to bully the people and dominate the market. This phenomenon is already very serious. Since I opened the court, I have been receiving secret lawsuits from all parties. I decided to do this after careful consideration."
Cai Yanqing said: "How could I not know this? But you have to come up with a solution first. The current operation of the government depends entirely on those clerks. If they all quit, how can we govern?"
They only have a three-year term and are unable to train their own team, so they can only use existing officials who are most familiar with state affairs, have rich experience, and know how to manage.
Zhang Fei said: "We are not trying to kill them, we are just cracking down on this kind of criminal behavior, and we will also strive for reasonable compensation for them.
This approach is absolutely not feasible at present, because it will inevitably lead to conflicts between the administration and the judiciary. The reason is simple. If we delegate power to them to collect taxes, and the excess is considered as subsidies, then it goes without saying that the merchants will suffer. This is a form of extortion, and our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are to defend the legitimate rights and interests of the people. Once a merchant comes to us to file a lawsuit, we cannot ignore it. "
Cai Yanqing frowned when he heard this.
In the past, politics and law were integrated, so everyone could have a tacit understanding. But now politics and law are separated, and the government continues to delegate power to them, allowing them to make money for the court, but this obviously conflicts with the judiciary.
The businessman will certainly file a complaint in the imperial court.
What should I do then
This kind of tacit understanding is bound to not be maintained.
After a while, Cai Yanqing asked: "Then how can you guarantee that there will not be chaos?"
Zhang Fei said: "I am somewhat confident about this. I have investigated and found that most officials have accumulated a lot of wealth. They are not desperate criminals. They will also be afraid. As long as we don't punish them too severely, they should not take risks.
As for those petty officials who are not well-fed, they usually have no background or are new recruits. Giving them generous rewards is what they need more.
In addition, even if the imperial court had just ruled in favor of the gentry, most of the big landlords and gentry would not choose to oppose the imperial court immediately, at least not openly. They have already offended the government and will not offend us again. These people will help me stabilize the countryside, and in this way, the overall situation can be controlled. "
Cai Yanqing hesitated for a moment and said, "But the premise is that the government must provide enough financial support to pay their salaries. The military expenses over there have not been sorted out yet, and the salaries of officials here have been increased. Can the government afford it?"
Zhang Fei said: "Collect taxes."
Cai Yanqing asked: "Are you planning to increase taxes?"
"No!"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Just collect taxes according to the law and crack down on tax evasion. In this way, we can make up for this part of the fiscal revenue."
Cai Yanqing suddenly realized that the wool came from the sheep after all.
But the sheep are not the common people, but the big landowners.
Zhang Fei said: "Prefect Cai, whether a country can run well depends on whether it can collect taxes according to the law and try to balance revenue and expenditure. It's that simple. And what is happening now is a kind of robbery. The court and the evil officials use their power to exploit the people, and then everyone splits the money 50-50. The tax law is like a dead letter. This is definitely not a long-term solution, and it is also something that our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs cannot tolerate. As the saying goes, if you don't make a decision when you should, you will suffer from the chaos."