economy!
economy!
It’s still the damn economy!
The fundamental contradiction of the Song Dynasty was finance, nothing else. As long as the finance was well managed, all problems would be easy to solve, not fairness and justice. This is why, when the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems first came into being, neither Wang Anshi nor Sima Guang cared about the system itself. Including Fu Bi and others, they only regarded the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems as tools for political struggle.
It was later, with the prosperity of Tokyo's business, the stability of Kawachung Prefecture, and the increase in fiscal revenue, that many of them felt that this might be a way out for the future, and they began to pay attention to the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
But they attach importance to the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and their goal is still to improve financial affairs.
In fact, every official knows very well that the victory or failure of this struggle does not lie in how many cases the two sides handle fairly and impartially within a year, but in finance. Whoever can reduce the burden on the central government's finances will be the final winner.
It's that simple.
Zhao Xu trusted Zhang Fei not because of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, but because of the plan of Qianlongwuyong.
Since the goal is very clear and very simple and crude, let's work hard in this direction.
Therefore, officials in Jingdong East Road loaned out all the money for the young crops at all costs to gain the biggest profit, which were all political achievements.
But if you do this on a regular basis, it will naturally cause complaints.
Those officials and landlords are not so easy to talk to.
However, as early as when the exemption law was being tried out in Bianliang, Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing had already begun planning for this, using the panic of the powerful in Bianliang to threaten officials in other regions.
If you don’t support my new policy, the voluntary declaration and the tax department will come to your door.
Although the exemption law was successful in Bianliang, Wang Anshi knew very well that if he continued in this way, the new policy would be completely subject to Sima Guang's judicial reform.
However, Sima Guang and his colleagues carried out judicial reform in order to oppose the New Deal.
Others may not know why Wang Anshi was promoting reform with a person who opposed reform, but he was certainly not that stupid. He never thought of promoting the success of the Bianliang exemption law to the whole country.
But at that time, his threat theory actually had little effect.
Because many people think that it was you, Wang Anshi, who included us privileged people in the exemption tax. If you were not included, any declaration would have nothing to do with us, so you are the culprit. Do you still have the nerve to blame others
At that time, the number of officials opposing the new law continued to increase day by day.
However, after the implementation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in Hezhong Prefecture, local officials gradually realized that this judicial reform was the most terrifying thing. Once officials lost judicial power, not to mention power and money, even their lives would be in question. They might face prosecution from the procuratorate at any time, and their relationship was completely unworkable.
Of course, the fact that they were able to learn about the situation in Hezhong Prefecture so quickly was also the result of the efforts of Lu Huiqing and others.
Comparing the two, the new method is really better.
Because judicial reform is to limit and divide the power of the government, and at the same time introduce a wave of new people into the field. Wang Anshi's judicial reform actually still follows the Legalist line. In a sense, it is to strengthen the power of the government, but it will only hit the interests of the gentry class.
Simply put, judicial reform is a pure loss for officials, while the new law is just a trade-off between gains and losses for officials.
The new law must be chosen.
Of course, these officials do not have the firm political beliefs like Fan Zhongyan and others. They were conservatives before and they defended their own rights and interests. Only on this basis would they consider national interests.
However, people like Fan Cunru, Su Zhe, and Su Shi were all ambitious and had firm political ideals. They would rather be bound by judicial reform than compromise with the new law.
But this kind of people were a minority after all, and since most local officials supported it, the Qingmiao Law was implemented very quickly in Jingdong East Road.
We soon arrived in Dengzhou.
The situation in Dengzhou was similar to that in Jinan Prefecture. First, the government lent money to the rural areas for the young crops. If the amount loaned out was not much, the government would join forces with the gentry and landlords to share the money.
When Fan Chunren learned about this, he immediately filed an appeal. This was different from the provisions of the Qingmiao Law, but it was exactly what he expected.
It makes no difference.
It is impossible for the government to judge itself as illegal. It can be directly stated that this is a government decree and you, the judiciary, have no right to interfere.
Furthermore, those big landlords and gentry were not completely forced. Although they were a little depressed, they all nodded in agreement. After all, the government only gave them 2% interest. As long as they lent the money out at 2% interest, they would not lose money.
This is better than the tax commissioner coming!
On the contrary, the situation in Hezhong Prefecture is quite different.
Han Jiang's arrival did restore the prestige of the government, but it was only a peak that soon passed, and the Qingmiao Law was simply transformed into work-for-relief.
Those who actually wanted to borrow money by using collateral all went to Ma’s Jie Ku Pu.
Compared with the government, people still prefer to cooperate with businessmen, at least everyone is equal in status.
The momentum is far less than that of Jingdong East Road. It is still the same as usual and has not caused too many waves. But everyone can clearly feel that the pace is getting faster and everyone is in a hurry to make money.
In particular, the government began to issue small-denomination salt notes, which further exacerbated this phenomenon.
The situation that had been suppressed for many years by businessmen and wealthy families finally began to explode under the protection of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
In the past, most merchants did not dare to make money so arrogantly, unless you had connections, otherwise the government would definitely come to your door. The rich families were even more pitiful. In order to avoid the government service, they not only sold their land, but also mutilated their bodies, severed relations with their fathers and sons, and so on.
After the Ma family's warehouse was opened, land transactions increased rapidly.
Some people need capital to do business, so they sell land. Some people want to become landlords, so they buy land.
However, beneath this apparent calm lies hidden crisis and more acute contradictions.
These people are not stupid. They know very well that the Qingmiao Law is just an attempt to cover up the truth and is not worth mentioning at all. The real threat is always the Commissioner of Taxation. They did not pay too much attention to the enforcement of the Qingmiao Law, but instead tried to find ways to avoid the Commissioner of Taxation.
On the river, a small boat passed slowly, with two people sitting in the warehouse.
One of them said, "We in the tax department all live on bonuses. We have already divided the areas so that we won't be caught together. No one wants to split their bonus in half."
Another person asked, "So my master's land is all within your survey area?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure no one else will investigate my fields?"
"Won't!"
"Very good! Here are 100 guan and two land deeds for 100 mu. When the time comes, you will take these two deeds to hand in. After the task is completed, we will give you another 100 guan."
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much! Don't worry, I will take care of it."
... ... .
Pinglu County.
The two convoys met on a narrow mountain road.
"Brother Hu, why did you arrange to trade here? You turned our legitimate business into a bandit business."
"Alas... why else? It's just to avoid the tax commissioner."
"I've heard that, but we don't need to sign a contract. Our two families are so familiar with each other that there's no need to sign a contract. We don't need to come to this desolate mountain to trade."
"I heard that the tax commissioner is elusive and ruthless, so we should be careful this year."
"Okay! It's all silver, as you requested."
"Thank you for the trouble. The amount of silver is small and easy to hide."
"Is this tax commissioner really that powerful? They know about the transactions hidden in the mountains?"
"A new official has three things to do when he takes office, but no one wants to pay so much tax, and no one wants to be the first to do so. Alas... It's better to be safe than sorry!"
"That's true. In two years, we will probably understand the methods of the tax commissioner, and then we can prescribe the right remedy."
... ...
While the Hezhong Prefecture government was showing off its crazy operations, the Royal Court was relatively low-key. However, many of the Royal Court's operations also left the people deeply confused. So after the peak of the crisis, the Royal Court, in conjunction with the Procuratorate and the Police Station, held the first public security, procuratorial and judicial Q&A session in Hezhong Prefecture.
It was held in the main court.
In the morning, the sun was shining brightly, and the area around the Imperial Court was now lush and green with birds singing and flowers blooming.
There were crowds of people inside and outside the courtyard.
Not only the common people, but all the officials and landlords came. Although Han Jiang had stabilized the authority of the government, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and their every move still affected everyone's interests.
Han Jiang did not say that he would ignore the public security, procuratorate and courts. He just wanted to use the government's advantage to suppress them.
He was present in person today and was quickly surrounded by officials.
Lü Gongru put his hands into his sleeves and asked the officials around him, "What is the meaning of this question-and-answer session?"
Cai Yanqing replied: "It is said that it is to answer some questions raised by the people."
Lu Gongru was curious again: "But why did he do this?"
Cai Yanqing shook his head. "I'm not sure about that either."
He Chunlin snorted softly, "That judge Zhang just loves to attract attention and deceive the people. They relied on slandering the government to show their fairness and justice and deceive the people's trust."
Wei Yingfang and the others also nodded.
Han Jiang frowned and said, "Wouldn't you do the same?"
He Chunlin said aggrievedly: "Han Temple's affairs are clear, and I am also shouldering the important task entrusted by the court. How can this be easy?"
The implication is that if we want to be good people, the imperial court will not allow us to be officials!
The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs don’t help to make money, they only need to consider fairness and justice. Of course, that’s simple!
Han Jiang snorted, "This is just an excuse. The Qingmiao Law was originally for the country and the people, but you have lost the support of the people. And your previous salt debts, salt notes, and salt reforms are now highly praised by the people. They are also good policies to win the hearts of the people, and have nothing to do with the imperial court. But now in the eyes of the people, it is the imperial court that forced you to do this. I really don't know whether to say that you are stupid, or praise you for your high moral character and indifference to fame and fortune."
After hearing these words, He Chunlin and the others fell silent.
Looking back, it seems to be true. These policies were implemented very smoothly, and the people benefited greatly. Moreover, they were all issued by their government. As a result, the people were all grateful to the public security, procuratorate and courts.
this... ... .!
Why is this happening
Now they themselves are a little confused.
Lu Gongru, Cai Yanqing, Wang Shao and others all smiled but said nothing.
They all know this clearly in their hearts.
As we were chatting, we suddenly heard someone say, "Here they come! Here they come!"
Han Jiang and the others looked back and saw Zhang Fei, Cao Dongdong and Su Zhe, the three giants of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments, walking out of the lobby chatting and laughing. They were all young and handsome, with extraordinary temperament.
Very pleasing to the eyes.
Even Han Jiang, Yuan Jiang, Lu Gongru and others felt lonely, thinking that they were getting old!
Seeing the huge crowd outside, Cao Dongdong was immediately overjoyed and whispered, "Zhang San, this kind of Q&A session should be held frequently."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, “I will take you to do it a few times, and then you can open it by yourself, and your police station should be the one that opens it most often.”
Cao Dongdong asked anxiously: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because your police station is the one that interacts with the public most often, and conflicts are inevitable, you can hold these Q&A sessions for some of the issues that the public are concerned about, to explain the reasons, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
Cao Dongdong's eyes turned, "I understand! I understand!"
Su Che glanced at this guy secretly and laughed secretly, "You dandy, you really like to show off. Once this question-and-answer session becomes a routine, you royal police will be restricted in what you can do."
While they were talking, the three of them came to the terrace.
However, the stage was slightly changed. The president's seat was covered with a black cloth. The three of them sat in the second row, which was the seat where the Four Little Kings sat before.
This is to give everyone a more intuitive impression that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are equal.
After they were seated, when the outside gradually quieted down, Zhang Fei in the middle said loudly: "Today's Q&A meeting will become a routine system of our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs for two reasons. First, since our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are a brand-new system, many people do not understand it. This Q&A meeting is also to increase people's understanding of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, including how the Royal Police investigates cases, how the procuratorate exercises its procuratorial power, and the interpretation of our royal court's judgments.
The second is to increase transparency. We are not saints, and we make mistakes. We certainly make mistakes sometimes, but we should correct them faster than the average person to avoid causing greater consequences. Increasing transparency is to ensure that once we make a mistake, we can get a timely response and maintain communication with everyone to reduce unnecessary misunderstandings. "
Many officials sneered when they heard this.
Childish behavior!
Pretending!
Everyone can say nice things, but the key is whether they can do it.
What you say now will only make it difficult for you to back off the tiger later.
This is not the way to be an official!
Lu Gongru couldn't help but sigh: "This boy is better than us!"
Guo Kui asked in a low voice: "Why did Magistrate Lu say that?"
Lu Gongru sighed and said, "Envoy Guo, please think about it. If there is a rule in the army in the future, answer the soldiers' questions regularly at any time."
Guo Kui lowered his brows and thought for a while, then waved his hand: "I can't do that."
If a soldier is short of some military pay and then asks about something, how should we answer this? Since ancient times, the practice has always been about exploitation at all levels.
This cannot be explained.
Lu Gongru said: "I can't do it either!"
Han Jiang whispered to Yuan Jiang, "It seems that this kid hasn't changed at all. He likes to be unexpected and unconventional."
Yuan Jiang nodded.
Han Jiang added: "You have to be more careful in the future. Working with this guy is always a mixed bag of joy and sorrow!"
Yuan Jiang sighed: "I'm used to it."
"It's really hard for you."
Han Jiang laughed.
Zhang Fei then said, "Since there are too many people, if we answer questions one by one in person, it may take a lot of time. Therefore, we have entrusted the Legal Aid Department to collect everyone's questions and answer them.
Of course, these questions are also selected. Because of time constraints, we can only answer some key questions that involve the majority of people and that we can answer. We do not have the right to answer questions on behalf of other government agencies.
Now it’s time to answer, starting with our royal court.”
As he spoke, he picked up a document, looked at it, and then smiled at everyone, "It seems that everyone is still very concerned about the previous issue of the seedling money. The main problem is that some large landowners did not lend money to the villagers at an interest rate of 1.5% as agreed upon in the beginning, and why the imperial court rejected the government's lawsuit and why the imperial court did not urge those large landowners to implement the agreement."
The people nodded frequently.
Why do those landlords look so nervous? They just can't get over this hurdle, right
After Zhang Fei finished reading, he put down the document and looked at everyone again, "In fact, the imperial court has explained these issues to the outside world. Today I will explain them systematically again.
Let's go back to the lawsuit. The cause of the lawsuit was that some gentry and some landlords reached an agreement based on the clan law, stipulating that people in their village could only borrow money at an interest rate of 1.5%. Then the government issued a ban to prohibit them from doing so because the government believed that this agreement was against the Qingmiao Law promulgated by the court.
The final decision of the Imperial Court was that the government's ban was invalid, but that was all. The principle brought about by this decision was that the government had no right to prohibit anyone from reaching a legal agreement with anyone else, regardless of their purpose or whether they were targeting the government's policies. This was not important, and it did not involve the content of the agreement, as long as it was legal. Just like our decision, the government had no right to interfere, and the Imperial Court had no right to interfere, because this was just an agreement between private individuals. Do you understand?"
Many people nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei continued, "If a landlord does not effectively follow the agreement, or directly violates the agreement, only the parties involved in the agreement can sue. This is like a sales contract. If one party does not abide by the contract, if the other party does not care and does not pursue it, then no one else has the right to intervene, including the government.
This is why the imperial court rejected the government's lawsuit, because the government was not a party to the case. Similarly, the villagers were not participants either. Although the actions of some landlords might affect the villagers, the villagers had no right to sue them.
To put it more simply, they had no obligation to lend money to the people at low interest rates, and only the participating gentry or other landowners could sue them.
In fact, some gentry had come to inquire before, wanting to sue those who were unwilling to lend money, but according to the content of their agreement, they only agreed on an interest rate of 1.5%, and did not agree that they must lend money if the villagers asked for help. At present, no landlord has lent money to the villagers at an interest rate of more than 1.5%.
Of course, I don’t think those opportunistic landlords have taken advantage, because integrity is very important. After this time, no one will trust them next time. The Royal Court still hopes that everyone can abide by integrity, but this is all the Royal Court can do. "
The big landlords present were not panicked at all when they heard this. In this day and age, contracts are important and honesty is of little use. Besides, you will still come to borrow money, and I don’t need that little interest money.
A scholar suddenly said, "I understand what the chief judge meant, but they originally agreed on this based on clan law, not an ordinary contract. The villagers should also be considered as participants, right?"
“That’s a good question.”
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, saying: "Our imperial court has also carefully considered this. There are indeed some problems here. The clan law should involve every villager, because the villagers cannot lend at an interest rate of 1.5%, and it is not just to restrict the parties involved in the agreement. The villagers should have the right to sue. Of course, I want to point out here that even if the villagers sue, they will definitely lose the case, because no one has violated this agreement for the time being. They just choose not to lend, which does not violate the contract.
However, the agreement did not specify the villagers' obligations and responsibilities from beginning to end. Only a few people signed it to express their agreement. If any villagers lent money at an interest rate higher than 1.5%, it would be difficult for the royal court to judge that they had violated the agreement.
At present, the court's positioning of the clan law is similar to family law, but for example, there is a blood relationship between father and son, so there is no need to draw up a contract for many matters, and the responsibilities are relatively clear. However, the clan law can often bind the villagers of the entire village, who may not be related by blood, so it is more like a convention among the people, which leads to unclear responsibilities and obligations. But our court will make some improvements to the clan law in due course."
An old man immediately said: "A country has its own laws, and a family has its own rules. The judiciary should not interfere with the clan law."
Zhang Fei replied: "The problem now is that it is unclear whether this clan law belongs to family law or national law?"
The old man said nothing.
To be honest, he himself doesn't know.
In fact, this clan system is a family system, which originated from the era of the royal family. At that time, the villagers around the big family were their servants, and of course they had to abide by their clan system. But now, due to the decline of the clan, the rise of the gentry, and the status of the gentry and the people has changed from servants to tenants, and the master-servant relationship has become a contractual relationship. However, the government needs the gentry to manage the countryside, so they continue to give them this power, which is actually between national law and family law. But this is still in conflict with the public security, because the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are in charge of everything, and the civil litigation among them has a lot of overlap with the clan system, which of course needs to be adjusted.
Zhang Fei added: "Of course, the imperial court is not going to abolish the clan system, but just to clarify the relationship between responsibilities and obligations. Because according to my understanding, the clan system was only drafted by a few people, but the entire village is bound by the clan system, and there is no clear relationship between the responsibilities of those who drafted the clan system and those who implemented it. It cannot be only constraints without responsibilities. This is wrong."
Many gentry were very dissatisfied with this.
They certainly just want to have power with as little responsibility as possible.
Anyway, Momo Lake is the best.
In fact, vagueness is rule by man, and rule by man also requires respect for the law and abiding by rules. It’s just that if the law is vague, then I have the final say in everything. The rule of law requires clarity. The clearer the regulations, the smaller the chance of rule by man.
But the people were very supportive and kept nodding their heads.
The gentry didn't say much.
They knew that if they continued to argue about this issue, they would not get any support, and they could only hope that Zhang Fei would move on to the next topic as soon as possible.
Zhang Fei did not dwell on this too much, and picked up the second document. "Regarding the second type of question, it is mainly about the contract. The first is the penalty for breach of contract. Regarding this, the Royal Court has already explained it in the legal newspaper. Some people still don't understand why they have to be punished for paying back the money in advance.
Because the law of the rule of law not only protects the legitimate rights and interests of the borrower, but also includes protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the creditor. It is difficult for the Royal Court to determine whether the creditor has considered the term of the loan when choosing whether to lend money to the borrower and how much to lend to the borrower. Therefore, the Royal Court always believes that the term of the loan belongs to the legitimate and legal rights of both the creditor and the borrower, and must be protected.
On the other hand, if the creditor requires the borrower to repay the money in advance, he may also need to sacrifice some interests and reach a settlement with the debtor. At this point, the Royal Court must protect the interests of the borrower. Similarly, when it comes to early repayment, the Royal Court must also protect the rights and interests of the creditor.
However, from a moral perspective, paying back the money in advance is morally better than refusing to pay it back, and it is a manifestation of credit. Therefore, the Royal Court provides different solutions when dealing with such matters.
The borrower can directly refuse the creditor's request to repay the money in advance and repay it when it is due. However, if the borrower takes the initiative to repay the money in advance, the Royal Court allows the borrower to pay the prescribed penalty to terminate the contract between the two parties.
I would like to add one more thing here. In a business contract, if you terminate the contract early, you must compensate the other party for all losses.
Of course, I still suggest that everyone write it clearly, so that we can truly ensure that our interests are not harmed. If it is not clear, the Royal Court’s judgment may not satisfy both parties. ”
At this time, an old lady suddenly shouted: "Mr. Judge, I also have a question about this contract."
Zhang Fei looked up at the lady and asked, "What's the problem, lady?"
"The contract is so important, but I can't read. What if I get cheated?" asked the old lady.
Many people nodded.
Yeah!
This is a big problem.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "In fact, many people have already reported this issue to the Legal Aid Department. I was just about to talk about this. Regarding the illiterate people signing a contract, the previous way was to find a guarantor or a third party to read the contents of the contract. Now everyone can also find an earwriter or a tea maker to help."
A young man immediately said: "But the agent or guarantor may also be bribed by the other party."
"Yes."
Zhang Fei nodded, "Currently, there is no law to supervise this aspect. The government still hopes that the brokers and gentry can take on this important task, but at present, they are not doing well. Our imperial court is also studying a principle of consideration.
For example, if a contract stipulates that one penny is required to buy one stone of rice, although the contract stipulates this and both parties have agreed on it voluntarily, the price is obviously problematic and does not conform to the principles of market transactions. In this case, the imperial court can rule that the contract is invalid based on this principle.
However, this principle is still under preparation and many issues need to be considered. When some people are in urgent need of money, they may hope to sell at a low price, but if this principle is in place, these people may not be able to raise the life-saving money because no one dares to buy.
Therefore, we are also considering institutionalizing guarantors, that is, setting up a notary office outside the Legal Aid Department to provide contract notarization, even including inheritance, etc., but this also requires time to prepare.
Before these systems are perfected, I strongly recommend that you seek help from bookstores and spend a little money to buy peace of mind. Currently, bookstores dare not commit fraud, because once I find out, I will directly take back their official documents. "
The people outside the courtyard nodded frequently, their expressions moved. The imperial court was still the same imperial court. It really considered their needs and gave very detailed explanations.
But most officials are overwhelmed. You are getting more and more detailed, and it is becoming more and more difficult to survive in our officialdom.
At the same time, some officials also held an appreciative attitude and were increasingly convinced that Zhang Fei was the president of the court. He was always able to find ways to institutionalize some seemingly cumbersome matters.
This is definitely an improvement!
"That's pretty much all my questions."
Zhang Fei looked at Su Zhe, "Next, Chief Prosecutor Su will answer your questions on behalf of the Procuratorate."