Judge of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 615: The man at the helm

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"get out of class dismissed!"

After distributing the bottles to the students, Zhang Fei announced the end of the get out of class.

The student named Chen Qing asked expectantly, "Teacher, will you come to teach us again?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I will come here often recently because your four little teachers will be busy these days."

When these words were spoken, all the students were very excited.

This kind of class was so interesting. No one dozed off. They were all in an excited state the whole time because Zhang Fei kept asking them questions. There was no time to be dazed at all. It was not like the previous classes where they would hold books, shake their heads, and doze off while reading.

At this time, someone outside suddenly said, "Judge Zhang, we are also attending the class and are your students. Why don't you give us a bottle?"

Zhang Fei tilted his head and smiled, "When you are qualified to sit here, I will give you bottles."

After saying that, he walked down and bowed to Liang Youyi, saying, "Mr. Liang, I apologize for offending you just now. Please forgive me."

"snort!"

Liang Youyi waved his sleeves and left the classroom.

Zhang Fei couldn't help but smile.

Lu Gongru suddenly laughed and said, "Judge Zhang is indeed worthy of his reputation. This class has benefited us a lot!"

Zhang Fei bowed and said, "I'm sorry that you, Mr. Zhang, are showing off your skills in front of me. I'm sorry to make you, Governor Lu, and everyone else laugh at me."

"I dare not! I dare not!"

Lu Gongru cupped his hands and said, "In the study of law, we are ashamed of ourselves!"

The culture of the Song Dynasty was very open-minded, especially in terms of talent. It was not so respectful to the elderly and fond of the young. For example, Su Shi and Su Zhe would not be submissive to Wang Anshi and Sima Guang just because they were a generation older than them and highly respected in the literary world. They would still confront, tease and satirize them.

To gain a foothold in the Northern Song Dynasty, age is only secondary. Moral integrity and prestige cannot suppress one. The key is to have real talent and knowledge.

Those children of officials, if they do not have real talent and knowledge, are generally limited to the middle and lower levels. They just enjoy some welfare and get a sinecure. It is impossible for them to be promoted because if they do not have talent and ability, they will not be able to stay even if the superiors ask them to.

To be a prime minister in the Northern Song Dynasty, you could be bohemian and unkempt, but you had to have talent.

This is also why, ever since Zhang Fei proposed the concept of the rule of law, the literati have really agreed that he was founding a new school of thought, and more and more ministers in the court have believed more firmly in the rule of law.

The same was true in Hezhong Prefecture. After this class, no matter how much those scholars and officials hated Zhang Fei, they now all acknowledged Zhang Fei's attainments in law.

Lu Xiaosheng suddenly said, "But Judge Zhang still didn't directly answer Mr. Liang's question just now."

As soon as he said this, many people gathered around.

These people were somewhat dissatisfied, but they were too embarrassed to disturb Zhang Fei during class. Now that the get out of class was over, they could discuss it.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It's not that I didn't answer Mr. Liang's question directly, it's that Mr. Liang didn't listen to the class seriously."

An old man next to him said, "But you did say that the bottle should be the main thing. The bottle is your legal system, and the water is Confucianism. In other words, the legal system is higher than Confucianism."

"That is not my intention."

Zhang Fei pointed at the wooden board and said, "I made it very clear that the Yellow River is Confucianism. The water comes from the Yellow River, which is Confucianism. No matter how the water is changed, it is still based on Confucianism. Naturally, there is nothing to discuss. On the contrary, the chief judge is prone to change the bottle with his own subjective opinion, so I emphasize the importance of the bottle."

Yuan Jiang added, "You can also get water from the canal!"

"This won't work." Zhang Fei shook his head.

Lu Gongru asked: "Why?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because no matter what, Confucianism is deeply rooted in people's hearts. People's words and deeds are all subtly following Confucianism, and everyone's habits are actually a kind of consensus. The law of the legal system is derived from consensus. If you want to put Confucianism aside, it is against people's consensus, and the law is no longer a law.

Even if I didn't mention water, they would still follow Confucianism in the trial. Their confusion lies in the bottle, not the water. My purpose is to teach them the law, not Confucianism. If I were to teach them Confucianism, they would all be my teachers. "

"Consensus? Confucianism?" Lu Xiaosheng nodded: "I see."

The four little golden warriors who were eavesdropping on the side were also thoughtful. They had never considered that the consensus on the law of the rule of law had such a close relationship with Confucianism.

But if you think about it carefully, this is the case. The royal court can emphasize the equality of both parties in the contract, but it cannot emphasize the equality between father and son. This will not be supported by anyone. If a father kills his son or a son kills his father, the punishment they face is very different.

The reason is Confucianism. The key is that this ideology is accepted by everyone, regardless of whether it is innate or educated. This is a consensus, so the law of the legal system must defend this consensus.

When encountering such cases, we must consider this issue.

The other scholars who wanted to quarrel with Zhang Fei remained silent, thinking, we really misunderstood him.

That's such a beautiful thing to say.

Confucianism is deeply rooted in our bones and cannot be replaced. There is no need to talk about it. This also shows that the law of the legal system is actually based on Confucianism.

That's fine.

I was still thinking in my heart, no wonder I felt that what he said made sense, it turned out that his legal system also followed Confucianism.

This is not to say that Zhang Fei intentionally flattered Confucianism or tried to please these scholars. This is an objective fact. The common values of people in the world today are Confucian values. Even if the world is ruled by law, the laws and regulations formulated based on Confucianism are still implemented.

The only thing that can promote changes in ideas is productivity. Everything else is useless. The Hundred Schools of Thought in the Spring and Autumn Period were based on the progress of productivity. It is pure nonsense to say that changes can be made by just talking.

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the two sages Confucius and Mencius spent a total of hundreds of years, but the result was just a ripple. It was only after thousands of years of sedimentation that Confucianism became the mainstream value.

At this moment, Zhang Fei suddenly saw a familiar voice passing by the window, and he immediately shouted: "Chief Prosecutor Su, please stay."

Then he turned to Lü Gongru and the others, "Excuse me, I have something else to do."

"Please do as you wish, Judge Zhang."

After leaving the classroom, Zhang Fei caught up with Su Zhe, and the two walked along the special corridor towards the imperial court.

"Every time Judge Zhang gives a lecture, he always gives people a feeling of sudden enlightenment," Su Che praised.

Zhang Fei said, "But I am here to teach today not to show off my knowledge, but to hope that those students can enter the imperial court to work as soon as possible. After all, there are only a few of us, and we can only work in this small piece of land, but our authority covers the entire Shaanxi Road, and we still have a lot of things to do."

Today is a year of outward expansion for the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. All three are indispensable. If any one of them fails, it may affect the other two.

Su Zhe nodded and said, "I understand. Our procuratorate is also ready for this and can cooperate with the imperial court and the police station at any time."

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and said, "It seems that I am far inferior to Mr. Su in cultivating talents."

Su Zhe raised his hand and said, "President Zhang, please don't say that. It's just that my brother and I know a lot of like-minded friends, many of whom have joined our procuratorate. In addition, our procuratorate is different from your imperial court. For the procuratorate, it is more important to be upright and act in accordance with the law. As for the attainments in law, the requirements are not that high compared to the imperial court."

This is just his humble statement.

In fact, many trainee prosecutors are good friends of Su Zhe and Su Shi, and these brothers are very talented. The friends they know must be geniuses who learn things quickly. As for litigation, it is their forte. They just need to learn the skills. Many of them can stand on their own.

But this is a good thing for the Royal Court. The good development of the Procuratorate can alleviate the pressure of the Royal Court's expansion.

... ...

Zhang Fei kicked off his new year work with a course, which indicates that the goal of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments this year is to accelerate the training of talents and then expand outward.

It also indicates that the pressure faced by the imperial court is decreasing sharply.

After last year's turmoil, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the people have gradually become accustomed to seeking to resolve disputes through the imperial court.

There are many things that no one dares to do without the approval of the royal court.

The matter was done, and the officials could no longer stop the imperial court for the time being.

On the one hand, Zhang Fei tried his best to attend law school classes, and on the other hand, he left the affairs of the royal court to the Four Little Kings as much as possible.

Even if he encountered a difficult civil lawsuit, as long as it did not involve the government, Zhang Fei would first hold a meeting with the Four Little Kings, tell them what matters to pay attention to, and then they would go to the trial, and then discuss the case after the trial.

Because they were about to rotate to the surrounding counties, Zhang Fei had to train them to be able to respond to situations on the spot.

However, according to the law of conservation of energy, if the pressure is not in the imperial court, where else did it go

financial.

This year is destined to be a year of treading on thin ice for Yuan Jiang.

We set all the rules last year and we also owed a lot of debts, so we must show results this year.

Originally, the Tiju Changping Division should have played a major role, but due to the ban lawsuit last year, the Tiju Changping Division was forced to retreat to the second line and only control financial products and bulk goods, salt debts, grain, tea horses, etc.

The Qingmiao Law was delegated to the Majia Jiekupu, a pawnshop in cooperation with the Bianjing Charity Foundation.

The reason why it is named Majia Jiekupu is that the charity foundation only invests in the Ma family, and both technology and experience are provided by the Ma family.

The inner hall of Majiajiekupu.

"You little bastard, I'm now on board your pirate ship, so you have to steer the rudder well. If it sinks, we'll all die together."

When he saw Zhang Fei, Yuan Jiang pretended to sigh.

Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Master Yuan, please don't say that. According to the laws of our Great Song Dynasty, scholars and officials are not subject to punishment. I am not a scholar and official. If I have to be buried, I will be the only one to be buried. Master Yuan, at most you will go on a trip to Qiongzhou."

"Qiongzhou?"

Yuan Jiang said unhappily, "At my age, can I still go to Qiongzhou? Forget it, let's sink together."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Don't be so depressed all the time. We have to be optimistic. The current situation is still developing in a good direction!"

Yuan Jiang said: "How can we be optimistic when we owe so much money?"

Zhang Fei comforted him, “Master Yuan, you don’t know, this debtor, you owe so much money, my imperial court doesn’t dare to touch you!”

Yuan Jiang asked: "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Zhang Fei asked, "If our imperial court moves against you, who will pay you back? The imperial court and those creditors will protect you. The more you owe, the less panic we will have."

Yuan Jiang thought about it, nodded and said, "It seems to be true."

As they were chatting, Fan Zheng came in breathlessly, "Sorry! Sorry! I've kept you two guests waiting for so long."

Yuan Jiang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's okay! Your place will be officially open soon, so you must have a lot of things to do."

Zhang Fei asked: "What's the situation in the store now?"

Fan Zheng said: "I recruited most of these people from Hezhong Prefecture, but for the account office, I still have to transfer people from the capital. In fact, the first batch of people have already arrived, but I didn't expect that the business would be so big at first, so I didn't send many accountants last year. But the second batch of people are on the way, so they should be able to make it in time."

"That's fine."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Then let's talk about this year's cooperation."

Fan Zheng nodded, and immediately took out a contract and handed it to Yuan Jiang, "This is the farmhouse loan program that our Jiekupu launched this year. Please review it, Master Yuan."

Yuan Jiang took it in his hand, weighed it, and laughed, "This must have been commissioned by you to the Hezhong Prefecture Office."

Fan Zheng glanced at Zhang Fei and smiled.

Yuan Jiang looked at Zhang Fei, "Could it be the work of the Grand Court President?"

Zhang Fei said: "Didn't Master Yuan just say that I am at the helm and I cannot let this pirate ship sink!"

Yuan Jiang laughed and took the contract to read it.

Fan Zheng did not understand what they were saying, but he did not think about it too much. He introduced: "First, we must obtain the military pay flying money business, and our Jieku Shop will also provide a little interest, so that more soldiers are willing to deposit their military pay into our Jieku Shop. In addition, with the money invested by the Changping Division, our Jieku Shop will have enough money for lending.

As for loans, since the gentry prevented the people from borrowing from the Changping Division, we planned to focus the money on house and land transactions and commercial loans. However, compared with the capital, the repayment period for house loans in Hezhong Prefecture is shorter and the interest rate is slightly lower. This is mainly because the houses in Hezhong Prefecture are far less expensive than those in the capital, and the income is far less than that in the capital. Therefore, the repayment period for land loans is even shorter, but the interest rate is similar to that of house loans. "

Yuan Jiang nodded slightly and suddenly asked, "Salt debt mortgage?"

After hearing this, Fan Zheng looked at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei said: "This is what I proposed. Once the salt debt can be mortgaged to Jiekupu, the salt debt will become more valuable and more creditworthy."

Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "That's a good idea."

"but."

Zhang Fei changed the subject, "The requirements for issuing salt bonds are very high. If salt bonds are issued excessively and the value of salt bonds depreciates, the government can refuse to pay, but Jiekupu may simply close down. If Jiekupu acknowledges the salt debt, it must be given the power to investigate the amount of salt bonds issued."

Yuan Jiang frowned and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. Jiekupu is a private business after all. How can we allow businessmen to interfere with the operation of the government?"

Zhang Fei said: "But this can ensure that the government can sell more salt debts and last for a long time. At a critical moment, it may play a huge role."

Fan Zheng remained silent. In fact, he had his doubts about this and didn't even agree with doing so, because he didn't trust the government. However, the huge investment required to promote the Ministry of Revenue made him feel a little relieved and he accepted Zhang Fei's suggestion.

He wouldn't feel frustrated if Yuan Jiang refused.

Yuan Jiang thought for a while, weighing the pros and cons. If he asked them to look at the accounts, the finances would have an extra 100,000 strings of cash in salt debt income, which was not a loss. But he said, "I have to go back and discuss this with them."

Zhang Fei nodded and said no more. He thought, as a transport envoy, this kind of thing should be easy for you to handle, but you can't rely on us for everything. He said, "Since we are talking about salt debt, let's talk about salt notes."

Yuan Jiang looked at him puzzledly.

Zhang Fei said: "Now that the purchase tax has been abolished, how people in remote areas pay taxes is a problem that the tax commissioner has to face. If they collect grain and cloth and then transport them to the city, it is indeed not cost-effective.

But if they can pay taxes with salt notes, it will make self-declaration very convenient. Moreover, the tax commissioner has done a careful investigation and found that most of the remote villages lack money. Therefore, if the local area can use salt notes as currency, it will be of great help to the commercial development of these areas, and it will also make it easier for the tax commissioner to collect taxes from those places.

I have already communicated with the tax commissioner, and they are willing to accept salt notes. Then, Master Yuan can promote salt notes in those remote areas."

Yuan Jiang nodded and asked, "Who will supervise the issuance of salt notes?"

Zhang Fei said: "We can only rely on the procuratorate."

"Prosecutor's Office?"

Yuan Jiang frowned, "Yes! I almost forgot about the Procuratorate. But then again, can the Procuratorate investigate everything?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Of course."

Yuan Jiang frowned and said, "Then isn't the power of the procuratorate a little too great?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The Procuratorate is only responsible for investigation. As for whether someone is guilty or not, it is all up to our Imperial Court to decide. Their power is not that great."

"Your public security, procuratorial and judicial system is really broad and profound!"

Yuan Jiang chuckled, continued reading, and suddenly asked, "Can the payment for this natural disaster and man-made disaster be postponed for another year?"

Fan Zheng said nothing, but looked at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei said: "If we can't postpone it for another year, it might force everyone's family to be broken up."

Yuan Jiang said: "But aren't we now specializing in business with landlords and merchants? Natural disasters generally can't harm them."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But there will definitely be people who come to borrow money to buy land, and I estimate that there may be more this year, because the new tax law has been introduced, and the second-class households don't have to worry about it. They have money, have to pay more taxes, and have to serve as yamen soldiers. They will definitely use money to buy land.

If there is such a treaty, they don’t even have to worry about the Jie Ku Pu forcibly taking away their land in the event of a natural disaster. This can also attract more people and even encourage other Jie Ku Pu to do the same, which can ensure that merchants will not cause chaos for the government. ”

Yuan Jiang frowned and said, "But the government's finances are not yet at a surplus, and every penny must be counted. If we can't collect a year's interest, there will definitely be problems."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This is what we just mentioned about salt debts and salt notes. This is the government's best emergency solution. As long as the credit of salt debts and salt notes is guaranteed, then at the critical moment, salt debts and salt notes can be issued to save lives. There is no need to squeeze the people dry."

Yuan Jiang pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and nodded, saying, "Your plan is really well-organized!"

Zhang Fei said: "That's not the case. In fact, the public security, procuratorate and courts are the ones who provide the bottom line and maintain the credibility of the government. This plan can only work. However, the Ministry of Revenue must always have food in stock to resist natural disasters. This is also an emergency that our public security, procuratorate and courts cannot provide any support for."

When a natural disaster strikes, everyone will seem very insignificant, and this is when the people need the government the most.

If the government does not provide assistance, it will become difficult for the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments to perform their duties. The people will do anything to survive.

Yuan Jiang said: "But this requires relying on those gentry."

Zhang Fei said: "During the last ban lawsuit, I carefully studied the charity estates of the gentry. They can indeed assist the government in rescuing the people in times of crisis and share the burden of the government. This kind of cooperation can continue, but the public security, procuratorate and courts will also intervene to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation."

It can be seen that everything now is based on the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

Without public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, there is no way to talk about it.

Fan Zheng just stood aside and listened silently, because many of the regulations here were set by Zhang Fei, and he did not agree with it very much. He was a businessman, and businessmen wanted to make money. But there was no other way. When doing business at this level, he had to rely on the public security, procuratorate and courts. This could actually be considered a transaction between him and Zhang Fei. I agree to your request, and you have to give me protection.

Of course, Yuan Jiang was not here to sign the contract today, but to discuss the details of the contract with him. Yuan Jiang did not dare to make the decision alone, he had to go back and discuss it with other officials.

"Huh..."

Fan Zheng, who had not said much just now, let out a long sigh at this moment, "This deal is getting more and more scary the more we talk about it! We still have to go to the government to check the accounts, is this possible?"

"This is a business cooperation, why not."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "And it won't be long before you start to enjoy it."

"enjoy?"

Fan Zheng doesn’t quite believe it!

Zhang Fei said: "Just imagine, hundreds of thousands of strings of money flowing through your fingertips. What a great feeling that would be."

Fan Zheng smiled and said, "I really wish I had the courage like my third brother."

Zhang Fei said: "This is not called courage, but survival. Standing at a low place has its own difficulties, and standing at a high place has its own difficulties. It depends on your choice, but you can never expect that you will only face the difficulties of being at a low place when you are at a high place."

Fan Zheng nodded thoughtfully, and said with a folded hand: "Third brother, your words really woke me up!"

"Fan Da! Fan Da!"

After hearing two shouts, Cao Dongdong pushed the door open and came in, saying in surprise, "Zhang San, you're here too!"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Come over to talk to Mr. Fan about something."

"That's great. We don't have to go to the imperial court to invite you." Cao Dongdong said hurriedly.

Zhang Fei asked curiously, "Why do you want me to do this?"

Cao Dongdong said: "Practice for Xiao Ma!"

Zhang Fei asked, "Where is Xiao Ma going?"

Cao Dongdong said, "How come you still forgot? Didn't we agree to let Xiao Ma go to the surrounding counties to inspect the sub-offices?"

“Yes!”

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I almost forgot about this."

But I thought to myself, I have to go to the countryside to practice, you just want to drink.

Fan Zheng said, "But I have a lot of things to do today."

"There's no way we can finish this work. Let's go, let's go have a drink."

Cao Dongdong didn't care about him. He went straight up and dragged Fan Zheng out.

Fan Zheng hurriedly asked Zhang Fei for help.

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Of course I support my big client."

... ...

Tokyo Bianliang.

In front of the Chuigong Hall, Wang Anshi looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "This shouldn't be happening! This shouldn't be happening! How could this happen? This is so wrong."

At this time, a figure tiptoed past.

Wang Anshi stretched out his hand and grabbed him, "Sima Junshi, where are you running to?"

Sima Guang waved his sleeves, pushed Wang Anshi away, and angrily shouted, "Why am I running away?"

Wang Anshi looked suspicious and asked, "Junshi, what conspiracy are you playing?"

Sima Guang bulged his eyes and said, "I, Sima Guang, have always been upright and honest. I am not like you, thinking about conspiracies and intrigues all day long."

Wang Anshi chuckled twice: "You didn't play enough with Zhang San before."

"Ahem, each other! Each other!"

Collaborating with Zhang Fei is truly a "stain" in Sima Guang's life!

Because Zhang Fei's methods were indeed not in line with Sima Guang's moral values, he himself did not realize that he was fascinated at the time and accepted Zhang Fei's suggestions.

"Why didn't you object just now?" Wang Anshi asked with a frown.

Sima Guang asked, "What are you against?"

Wang Anshi said, "I just suggested that the Qingmiao Law be implemented in Dongjing East Road, but you all kept silent."

Sima Guang was puzzled and asked, "Wang Jiefu, did you take the wrong medicine today? I objected, but you wanted to scold me. I didn't object, but you also wanted to make trouble for me. Do you think I am easy to bully?"

"Who dares to bully you?"

Wang Anshi said: "But this is not like your usual style, you can't not object!"

Sima Guang sighed: "I'm tired!"

Wang Anshi was dumbfounded.

Sima Guang glanced at him and said, "If I could stop you, you wouldn't have come out with the Qingmiao Law, let alone go to Hezhong Prefecture. But the facts have proved that my attempts to stop you are useless. The emperor trusts you more. So I might as well save my energy. I don't want to quarrel with you."

"Yeah?"

Wang Anshi asked, "Don't you think my new policies cannot work without your judicial reform?"

Sima Guang hurriedly said, "Don't judge me by your own standards. I don't think so, but everyone is saying so now."

Wang Anshi's expression changed and he snorted, "I knew you were thinking this way. You want to compete with me? Well, I'll show you that my new policy can work without judicial reform, but without my new policy, your judicial reform will be impossible."

"I hope you can improve your finances soon. Goodbye."

Sima Guang bowed slightly and left.

"You are too contemptuous of others."

Wang Anshi snorted, "I have no intention of waiting for your judicial reform at all."