The progress of this new law in Jingdong East Road was exactly as Wang Anshi had expected.
Throughout Jingdong East Road, except for a few conservative core members like Fan Chunren, almost all other officials and bureaucrats sided with the reformists.
Although governing a country starts with governing officials, if everyone supports you and truly follows your lead, this is actually also a way of governing officials. Although it cannot last long, it can at least give you a very wonderful start, which is crucial for Wang Anshi.
In fact, Lu Huiqing came here specifically to explain the interests involved to the officials and lobby them to fully support the new law. If the Qingmiao Law failed, judicial reform would immediately come to Jingdong East Road.
You'll just have to wish for good luck then.
This account is not difficult to calculate, you will definitely suffer a heavy loss.
Zhang Dun was responsible for the comprehensive promotion of the Qingmiao Law, and he was the real executor.
As for the method they adopt to promote the new law, it will still be driven by executive orders.
A few days after their arrival, they directly issued the administrative orders formulated by the two government regulations in various places, stipulating that all households in prefectures and counties could borrow cash or grain from local government before the summer and autumn harvests to subsidize farming. The borrowers were matched with the rich and the poor, and 10 people were guaranteed to check each other. The loan amount was divided into five levels according to the assets of each household. The first-class households could borrow 15 strings of cash each time, and the last-class households could borrow 1 string of cash each time. The loan was repaid with the summer and autumn taxes that year, and the interest was 2% per period.
At the same time, the money and grain in the local granaries were used as capital and all used in the Qingmiao Law.
This is a little different from Hezhong Mansion. Hezhong Mansion charges 2% interest every year, while here it is every period, with two periods a year, which actually means 2% interest every half a year.
Of course, this is also because the land in Hezhong Prefecture is not as good as here, and agriculture is far less developed than Jingdong East Road, but debt collection may encounter many problems.
In addition, the key to Hezhong Prefecture is salt profits. Although Wang Anshi was stubborn, he was actually very flexible in financial management. After Zhang Fei's persuasion, he also agreed that the key to improving the finances of Hezhong Prefecture lies in salt debts and salt banknotes, rather than borrowing.
This also led to the Hezhong Prefecture's Changping Warehouse still retaining the relief money and grain. If someone wanted to lend it, they would lend it, and if no one wanted to lend it, then forget it.
In fact, Hezhong Prefecture has not yet issued this decree, and has directly delegated this business to merchants, allowing them to lend money on their behalf. However, at the same time, it has signed a mutual auditing agreement with Majia Jiekupu, making Majia Jiekupu willing to accept salt debt mortgages.
But this actually still follows Wang Anshi's strategy. If Wang Anshi did not agree, Yuan Jiang would not dare to do so.
However, as the period of lean season approached, some problems arose in Hezhong Prefecture.
Royal Court.
"what's the situation?"
Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian came to the office and asked Ye Zuqia who stayed in Hezhong Mansion.
Ye Zuqia stood up quickly and said, "We just received a lawsuit. A farmer sued the local gentry for being dishonest and unwilling to lend him money."
"Really?" Zhang Fei asked, "Did you find out the specific reason? Is it because the other party has no collateral, or is this person's credit not good?"
Ye Zuqia said: "According to what the farmer said, he also borrowed money last year and paid it back on time, but he couldn't borrow money this year. There shouldn't be any problems in this regard, but we haven't sent anyone to investigate yet."
Zhang Fei said: "Then send someone to investigate. We in the imperial court rely on evidence, not speculation."
Xu Zhiqian asked curiously, "Didn't they promise solemnly that they would lend money to farmers in the village at a low interest rate of 1.5% starting this year?"
Ye Zuqia said: "According to what I know, it is because the big landlords saw that the government invested the green seedling money into the Ma family's Jieku Shop, and many of them were also expanding their leather, wool, and medicinal materials workshops, so they did not want to lend money to ordinary farmers in the village at such a low interest rate. But this is just a rumor and has not been confirmed."
“This is outrageous!”
Xu Zhiqian said angrily: "We in the imperial court really shouldn't have trusted them in the first place."
She could not stand this kind of behavior the most, because she had seen too many people forced into desperate situations by these big landlords, and she hated it to the core, so she firmly supported Wang Anshi, and she still does now.
"What are you talking about?" Zhang Fei smiled bitterly, "We didn't believe them at first, but they won the lawsuit."
"Good people never get good rewards, but bad people live a thousand years." Xu Zhiqian muttered softly. Although she was angry and cursed, she was also very patient. Otherwise, Xu Zun would have been killed by her long ago.
Ye Zuqia said awkwardly: “Speaking of the ban lawsuit, the teacher only rejected the government’s ban, but did not impose many restrictions on the gentry and landlords.
According to their regulations, the interest rate for loans in the village cannot exceed 1.5%, but there is no compulsion for the landlords to lend money to the villagers. In this case, the landlord is not lending, not demanding high interest, and it does not violate their agreement. "
Xu Zhiqian turned her eyes and asked Zhang Fei: "If it is violated, can our imperial court intervene?"
Zhang Fei pondered and said, "If it is violated, it will be a civil dispute. It depends on how they agreed and whether there are detailed responsibilities. If not, we can't do anything about it. But if it is not violated, then we definitely can't do anything about it."
Xu Zhiqian was slightly disappointed, but suddenly an idea came to her mind. "Why not ask Master Fan? He was the one who filed the lawsuit, and he was the supporter of it, so he should be held responsible for it."
That's right! We must use this to put some pressure on those gentry and reduce their influence. Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, turned around and shouted, "Li Si."
"exist!"
Li Si immediately appeared in front of the door.
Zhang Fei said, "Go to the Legal Aid Department and ask Mr. Fan to come over."
As soon as Fan Zhen arrived, his face turned red without even saying a word.
Zhang Fei didn't try to be too tactful and said directly: "Mr. Fan, I asked you to come here today mainly to ask about the situation of borrowing in the village. Now it is almost the time when the harvest is scarce, and many farmers can hardly make ends meet..."
Before he could finish, Fan Zhen covered his face and sighed, saying with shame: "Actually, I already know about this matter and have asked about it. Indeed... some big landlords are not very positive about this. We are trying to persuade them to help the villagers."
Zhang Fei said, "Since Mr. Fan already knows about this, I will just say it directly. Facing this situation, our imperial court doesn't have much to do because it's not illegal. But at the trial, you were very confident when you defended those gentry. If you break your promise again, it will have a bad impact on everyone."
Fan Zhen nodded repeatedly and said, "I know that. I will urge them again."
Zhang Fei cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Fan."
Fan Zhen suddenly asked, "Is it true that the imperial court cannot intervene in this matter?"
Zhang Fei said: "It is still uncertain at the moment, because our court has not yet investigated. However, judging from the current situation, it is indeed difficult for our court to intervene, because our court cannot force them to lend money to farmers. We can only tell them what they agreed to in the first place and urge them to fulfill the agreement."
Fan Zhen's face was filled with sorrow.
In fact, he knew from the beginning that this kind of thing could not last long, but he never expected that someone would go back on their word this year, and there were quite a few of them. Judging from their last sentence, he was not very confident.
This is also true.
When Fan Zhen went to the village with a righteous look on his face to urge them to do their work, he almost vomited blood out of anger.
Those big landlords are all shrewd people and have their own ways of speaking. They confidently say that all their money and grain have been invested in shops, so where would they get the money to lend to the villagers
Lending money to people to buy houses or land is not a safe bet. If you don’t pay back the money, the house and land will belong to me. But when you say you are lending money to people to eat, it sounds scary. Without a high rate of return, who would be willing to lend
The key to doing this is that you can neither get rid of the Qingmiao Law nor touch the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
Having said that, if we want to deal with the Qingmiao Law, we have to invest money in the Jiekupu to compete with the Ma family Jiekupu.
Not only that, they also shamelessly discussed with Fan Zhen whether they could sue the government. They believed that it was the responsibility of the Changping Warehouse to provide relief to the villagers, but the government invested the money from the Changping Warehouse in the Ma family's Jiekupu, resulting in no money to provide relief to the villagers. This should be considered a dereliction of duty.
Indeed, the Changping Warehouse had powers that were almost equivalent to free relief, charging only a little interest, or even waiving the interest altogether.
Fan Zhenxin was tired and said directly that this was not the responsibility of our Legal Aid Department. If you want to sue, you can hire someone to do it.
The fact that they could force someone who was so opposed to the Qingmiao Law into this state is enough to prove how shameless they are.
Of course, we cannot generalize. There are still a group of prominent gentry who are lending money at low interest rates as agreed, but without the support of these big landowners, they are powerless and it is impossible for them to lend all their grain to the villagers.
If ideological work fails, we can only ask for a clear conscience.
However, these big landlords actually went to the imperial court and the procuratorate to file a complaint.
Anyway, I can’t sue and I won’t be punished.
Su Che was simply amused by them, "You really have no bottom line." He ignored them because the main responsibility of the Changping Warehouse was to prevent low grain prices from hurting farmers and to raise grain prices. As for the lending function, it was mostly only applicable to years of famine. The reason for prosecution was obviously not enough.
Xu Zhiqian heard that they came to complain and was almost fainted by them. She didn't care about her ladylike image and immediately cursed, "I have never seen such despicable and shameless people. How dare they come here to complain."
We don't cause you any trouble, yet you come to us to complain.
Zhang Fei glanced at her and said, "You've been with me for so long, how come you're still so unprofessional?"
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Did I scold you wrongly?"
Zhang Fei said: "Of course they are wrong. We in the Royal Court do not talk about meanness or shamelessness, we only talk about evidence. This is a good thing. They know how to achieve their goals through litigation and to defend their legitimate rights and interests. It's just that their evidence is insufficient."
Even though you are clearly in the wrong, you still sue someone. This is exactly what the public security, procuratorate and courts are pursuing. If the truth in your heart can distinguish right from wrong, then what is the use of the judiciary
No matter how despicable a person is, he or she has the right to be protected by the law.
Of course, this approach will be despised by many people, but there is no way around it, because if you do the opposite, it will definitely be the worst result. Everyone has a time when they are immoral.
Xu Zhiqian was still angry and snorted, "I'm just a small clerk, I don't have much self-cultivation, if I don't scold you a few times, I will feel uncomfortable."
"Then you should continue to scold me." Zhang Fei said with a smile, "Don't make my wife angry."
As he spoke, he also closed the door, providing Xu Zhiqian with an excellent environment to vent.
Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips and almost laughed out loud. She rolled her eyes at him, and the anger in her heart cooled down a little.
As they were chatting, Li Min suddenly came.
"You are such a busy man, how come you have time to come to my place?"
"No matter how busy you are, you are not as busy as the president."
Li Min flattered him fiercely at first, and then said, "Actually, I came here today to consult the chief judge about a question."
"What's the problem?" Zhang Fei asked.
All along, Zhang Fei has given Li Min, Lu Bangxing and others some hints about what the royal court’s attitude and measures will be in different cases, but whether they can win the lawsuit depends on themselves.
This is also to help their ears grow. After all, the law of the legal system has not yet been formed into written laws, and their ears are sometimes confused.
Li Min said: "It's like this. Some customers came to ask me if it would be illegal if they didn't follow the agreement made by the village? Would they be held criminally liable by the imperial court?"
Xu Zhiqian snorted and turned her head to the side.
Li Min was startled, for he knew Mrs. Zhang's temper well. He could only blame himself for his bad luck in coming at the wrong time and not being able to meet Zhang Fei alone.
Zhang Fei said: "That depends on the specific situation, how they agreed, whether it complies with the contractual principles, and their debt details and debt assumption. Generally speaking, there will be no criminal liability, and at most it will only be a civil lawsuit."
Li Min immediately explained: "The original lawsuit was decided by the chief judge. The chief judge should be very clear that their agreement is actually very simple, and it is based on the principle of contract."
Zhang Fei said: "Just looking at the agreement, it should not be mandatory, but you have been in court for so long, you should know that there is no lawsuit that cannot be fought. I can't give you any guarantees."
"understand!"
Li Min nodded repeatedly.
... ...
Government office!
"How ridiculous! How ridiculous!"
Yuan Jiang paced back and forth in the lobby. "In the beginning, they were the ones who forced us to give up the ban, but now they are turning the tables and suing us at the procuratorate. Do they really think that we, the government, are easy to bully?"
Wei Yingfang hurriedly said, "Master Yuan, it was the imperial court that rejected our ban."
“They are also the main culprits.”
Yuan Jiang scolded angrily.
Wei Yingfang saw that Yuan Jiang had gone berserk and dared not say anything.
The key point is that many officials also think that what the big landlords did is too much. It’s okay that you don’t treat us as officials, but you simply don’t treat us as human beings!
The public security, procuratorate and courts are your fathers, so you can go to them to complain whenever you have time.
Cai Yanqing said: "I do have a plan."
Yuan Jiang hurriedly said, "Prefect Cai, please speak quickly."
Cai Yanqing said: "We can also sue them for not abiding by the agreement and making a big fuss about this matter. Let's see how the imperial court will respond?"
“That’s a good idea!”
Yuan Jiang's eyes lit up, and he added, "But this is not enough. We in the government also have the power to decide this matter. Judge Wei, send someone to urge them to carry out their agreement. Remember, they must parade in the streets, ahem, with great fanfare, so that the people can see their true faces."
"ah?"
Wei Yingfang, a double-faced man, suddenly felt overwhelmed.
Yuan Jiang frowned and asked, "Don't you want to go?"
Wei Yingfang hurriedly said, "No, I will send someone there immediately. Send someone there."
Yuan Jiang said to Zhuo Qun again: "Master Zhuo, please go to the procuratorate and invite Chief Prosecutor Su to come. Doesn't he like to come here very much? I specially invited him to come today."
"yes."
... ...
When he saw Su Zhe, Yuan Jiang roared like a tiger without saying a word, and Su Zhe almost couldn't breathe.
have a look!
Look!
This is the character of the big landlords whom you always protect.
Now that I have taken the money away, they will not lend me any more money. You, the public security, procuratorate and courts, are also deep participants, so you can handle it yourself.
Su Che was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He said, "Master Yuan, the original verdict was made by the imperial court, not our procuratorate. Of course, our procuratorate also strongly supports it, and I personally think it has nothing to do with this matter."
"Not related to this matter?"
He Chunlin sarcastically said: "Chief Prosecutor Su, why didn't you have such insight when you came to check the accounts?"
Su Che said calmly, "I am only discussing the matter at hand. I have heard some things about the situation in the village, but it has nothing to do with the lawsuit, because the lawsuit ruled that the government had no right to prohibit the people from agreeing on a legal loan interest rate. That's all. This is very reasonable. As for whether they borrow or not, it is not related to this."
"What did you say?"
Yuan Jiang said, "If it weren't for that lawsuit, there wouldn't be this day. The Qingmiao money was originally used to help the people. You collected money for the country on one hand, and competed with the people on the other, forcing the government to give the Qingmiao money to merchants for lending. Now that the people need help, you tell me it's none of your business?"
Su Che said confidently: "If the new law is really for helping the people and reducing their burden, then no interest should be charged, or the government should use the extremely low interest rate of the Changping Warehouse to help the people. If the government does not charge such a high interest rate, the other party's agreement will become meaningless, and so many things will not happen. In the final analysis, this is still about profit, not benevolence."
Although he also knew the virtues of the big landlords, this did not change his views on the Qingmiao Law.
You say that the 2% interest is to help the people, but the Majia Jiekupu is also helping the people!
It sounds better said than sung.
If the government lends money without interest to help the poor, no one would say a word.
But the official became furious when he heard this. He bulged his eyes and glared at Su Che, saying, "You are clearly making far-fetched arguments. You are really afraid that gangsters are educated."
Su Che was also fearless. He had long anticipated this kind of thing would happen, but he thought that the big landlords would at most refuse to lend, which was a personal choice. But if the government came, perhaps everyone would have to borrow, which would be even more terrifying.
"You can't make the decision. I'll go to the imperial court and speak."
Yuan Jiang was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he waved his sleeves and left angrily.
Su Zhe didn't care at all and smiled, "Our procuratorate is responsible for supervision, not making decisions."
He stood up and bowed, "Goodbye."
“No!”
Yuan Jiang really went to find Zhang Fei, but when he saw Zhang Fei, he did not lose his temper. Instead, he said to Zhang Fei: "Zhang San, last year your public security, procuratorate and courts stole the limelight, while our government lost face. But this is not a long-term solution. This year our government must recover the lost ground and regain the trust of the people."
Zhang Fei nodded and smiled, "Master Yuan, feel free to speak up if you want to."
Yuan Jiang said: "No matter what, even if our government comes here to sue, your imperial court cannot force those big landowners to lend money to the people. Instead, you should let them know that it is okay not to lend."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "That's what I did."
"Have they asked?"
"right."
Zhang Fei said: "But I didn't abuse my power for personal gain. In fact, they didn't break the law. We in the imperial court have no control over it."
Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "Then I feel relieved."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "You are just bluffing, and you are going to lend money to the people again."
Yuan Jiang nodded: "Yes, our government wants to use the Qingmiao Law to regain the hearts of the people."
After that, he sighed again, "Do you know that many ministers in the court think that the achievements of Hezhong Prefecture last year should be attributed to your public security, procuratorate and courts, which puts Mr. Wang under tremendous pressure."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "So Scholar Yuan should quickly write a memorial to inform the court of this matter."
Yuan Jiang was stunned and said, "Someone might take advantage of this to attack your public security, procuratorate and courts."
Zhang Fei said: "It doesn't matter. Our public security, procuratorate and courts have not made any mistakes. Besides, it's our turn to suffer some injustice."
Yuan Jiang chuckled and said, "This is what I admire most about you, you are reasonable."
"Thank you for the compliment, Master Yuan."
Zhang Fei added: "But lending money to the people is not an easy job."
Yuan Jiang asked anxiously: "What's your plan?"
Zhang Fei wondered, "Master Yuan, wouldn't have thought of how to borrow it, so he just did it this way?"
Yuan Jiang said: "Of course I have a solution, I just want to ask if you have a better suggestion."
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "This is what Zhang San admires most about Master Yuan, he is not ashamed to ask questions from a lower level."
"Stop talking nonsense, okay?"
"No."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "You want me to think of a salt debt and try to take advantage of it, I might be able to do that, but you want me to lend money to the people, how can I do that!"
"Nothing you asked."
"Can't I just care about you?"
"Alright! Alright! Remember, you have to cooperate with me this time."
"clear."
Zhang Fei readily agreed.
It is actually very simple to cooperate, just follow the government's steps.
After Yuan Jiang returned, he hired Lu Bangxing and several other spies, and then filed a lawsuit with the imperial court, accusing those gentry and landlords of not complying with the original judgment.
On the other hand, officials were sent to the villages to urge them to immediately lend money to the people in need at an interest rate of 1.5%.
Wait until the government makes it public and everyone knows about it.
The imperial court directly rejected the government's lawsuit on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Of course, both the imperial court and the procuratorate gave corresponding reasons.
But the government didn't care about all this. On the one hand, it cursed the imperial court for being irresponsible and favoring the gentry and landlords. On the other hand, it directly invited landlords and gentry like Liang Youyi to the government for negotiations.
The result, of course, was a breakdown in the talks.
In fact, many gentry also knew that they were in the wrong, but they were just a very loose alliance, standing together because of a common enemy. They all knew that the binding force was very small, but no one expected that the breach of trust would come so quickly.
But they are all smart people and cannot admit that they are wrong, otherwise, they will have to bear all the responsibility. They said that we also borrowed money, but it is impossible to take care of every citizen who needs a loan.
Secondly, no one violated the original agreement, because there was no agreement at the beginning that prohibiting lending. We just agreed that the interest rate for loans should not exceed 1.5%. Everyone has the right not to borrow money, and your Qingmiao Law also has the right not to lend. Does your Qingmiao Law require everyone to borrow
These words left the officials speechless.
Of course, many of them are two-faced and stand on the side of the gentry.
But Yuan Jiang refused to give up and directly issued an order, forcing the big gentry and landlords to lend money to the people to help them get through this difficult time.
The big landlords filed a lawsuit directly to the imperial court.
There is no need for a trial. How can you force people to borrow money? Your claim is completely groundless. The royal court directly stated that the government's decree is illegal.
The big landowners immediately became fearless.
Things in this world are so funny.
Previously, these big landlords and gentry were still planning how to get rid of the public security, procuratorate, courts and tax commissioner to avoid paying taxes, but now they are hiding under the wings of the imperial court and making faces at the government.
Hit me!
Come and hit me!
The people, who previously viewed the government as exploiters, now side with it, hoping that it can seek justice for them.
This is the effect Yuan Jiang hopes to see.
Although it was rejected by the royal court again, it doesn’t matter, as it can win the hearts of the people.
Many people who were afraid of the Qingmiao Law before now support it. Those big landlords are really unreliable!
Unreliable, unreliable.
The question is, what to do now
With things getting to this point, the big landlords made up their minds not to lend money at all, as they had offended the government anyway. But for the common people, this was worse than before. Although it was usury before, at least they could borrow money.
However, the government invested the money in the Ma family's Jiekupu.
And at this time, Han Jiang finally arrived at Hezhong Prefecture.
Could this be the legendary powerful man who fell from the sky