Zhang Fei and Fan Li came back, but he failed to bring back Qiu Zhengwen and others. Moreover, Wang Hong's tone made him understand that Sima Guang's words were true, and he might suffer a great loss this time.

But he still didn't understand why it turned out like this.

It was not until he returned to Xu Mansion and met Xu Zun that he understood the reason.

In one word, money.

The tax collection in ancient times was different from that in his time. It required the reliance of a large number of officials and their methods rather than a piece of law.

This is rule by man, not rule by law.

This is a very difficult job.

You have to know that the most important political achievement of an official is not how many unjust cases they can solve, that is secondary. The key is how much tax they can collect.

In addition, officials in the Northern Song Dynasty were frequently transferred, but clerks worked in one place for a long time. The power of clerks was very great, and taxation was directly related to their interests, so the court had to rely on them.

If the country cannot collect money, it will not be able to support its soldiers, which will cause a series of problems.

...

...

At this point, it doesn't make sense.

"well...."

Xu Zun sighed and blamed himself deeply: "This is my fault. I have been an official for decades, but I made such a stupid mistake."

The reason why he didn't think of this was because he had checked the land before, so he felt that Zhang Fei's tax calculation was not very harmful. He didn't expect that the other party would counterattack so fiercely, without any reason, and directly arrested people.

He overlooked one point. He was usually the top leader in the county, and those officials were in the same camp as him. They would discuss everything together, and it was a matter within the system. You would be out of office after two or three years anyway. But if Zhang Fei succeeded in calculating the tax, it would not be a matter of two or three years, and it would seriously infringe on their power.

Of course, the reason why this matter fermented so quickly and so violently is that there must be someone manipulating it from above. Otherwise, those officials would not have been able to unite so quickly. After all, the harm caused by this matter at present is not actually that great.

"Daddy, how can this be your fault? It's all my fault."

Xu Zhiqian glanced at Zhang Fei guiltily, "Not only did I fail to persuade Zhang San, I also encouraged him to do this."

After learning the reason, Zhang Fei acted very calm and said, "How can I blame you? This idea was proposed by me. It was just my wild imagination. I want to know what the consequences will be. Will my men be in danger?"

Xu Zun shook his head and said, "It's not dangerous. I have already submitted a petition to impeach Wang Hong. Even if they don't want to save my face, they have to be wary of the Dali Temple. The court meeting tomorrow will probably have a result."

At this point, he turned his head to look at Zhang Fei and said, "But your tax-based business may not be able to be kept."

Zhang Fei breathed a sigh of relief: "I don't care. Human life is more important."

As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

Xu Zun sighed, "This three-foot-thick ice didn't form overnight!"

Zhang Fei laughed at himself and said, "Next time I will wear an extra piece of clothing."

The implication is that there will definitely be a next time.

......

After leaving the house, Xu Zhiqian looked guilty, "Zhang San, I..."

"This is none of your business."

Zhang Fei took her hand and said with a smile: "I have been a little bit complacent recently and have not thought it through."

This time, Xu Zhiqian did not retract her hand, nor did she blush. Instead, she said guiltily, "So I should have stopped you. As you said before, when you were impulsive, I should have held you back, but not only did I fail to stop you, I even added fuel to the fire."

Zhang Fei said, "So that's why you feel guilty about it!"

Xu Zhiqian nodded.

"Then you should feel guilty." Zhang Fei smiled and said, "As a wife, you have failed in your duty this time."

Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes at him shyly, "It's already this hour, and you're still in the mood to joke around."

Zhang Fei gently pulled her forward and put his arm around her shoulders, "I'm serious."

Xu Zhiqian's eyes flashed with shyness, and she rested her head on his shoulder and asked softly, "What are you going to do?"

Zhang Fei said: "I don't know yet, but I am sure that once the hunter puts down his bow and arrow, he will be eaten up by the prey immediately. I just need to be more cautious and smarter."

Take a step back and the world will be broader?

You are thinking about peaches.

If he took a step back, the opponent would not just take a step forward, but would directly trample him to the ground.

But he had never expected it to turn out like this, and he had no idea what to do for a moment.

“Ahem!”

Suddenly, two coughs were heard.

Xu Zhiqian broke away from Zhang Fei's arms like lightning and took two steps back.

Xu Zun glanced at the huge full moon in the sky and sighed, "Where has the moon gone? Rong Bo, light the lamp."

"Yes, sir."

Rong Bo held the lantern forward, and Xu Zun walked to the backyard with his hands behind his back.

After Xu Zun left, Xu Zhiqian glared at Zhang Fei shyly, "It's all your fault."

"My father-in-law didn't say anything, which shows that this is allowed. Come on, come on, hug me again."

"Don't even think about it."

Xu Zhiqian stepped back and said, "I'll go back to the house first."

"Hey, you're not sending me off!"

"Hurry up and leave."

“Here it comes! Here it comes!”

.......

The next day.

Chuigong Hall.

"What on earth is going on?"

Zhao Xu glanced at the ministers standing on his left and right.

Xu Zun immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Kaifeng County Magistrate Wang Hong abused his power, oppressed the people, and disregarded the law. I hope Your Majesty can remove him from office."

Shen Huaixiao immediately stood up and said, "It is Xu Sishi who is the one who is biased for personal gain! County Magistrate Wang enforces the law impartially and punishes the unruly people severely. What is wrong with that? It is Xu Sishi who has always been partial to Zhang San."

Zhao Xu asked, "But Zhang San only sent people to promote the taxable business in his store. I don't know what crime he committed."

Shen Huaixiao said: "Reporting to your majesty, as far as I know, Zhang San instructed his spies to deceive the people into not paying taxes..."

"That's nonsense."

Xu Zun immediately retorted: "He just wanted to do this tax calculation business, but someone was guilty and deliberately obstructed him."

Chen Huaixiao said: "Xu Shisi was also a county magistrate, he should know that collecting taxes is not an easy task, and Zhang San won several lawsuits in a row before and gained some fame, so he used this to deceive the people to hire their law firm to calculate taxes, and also said that if they have any dissatisfaction, they can refuse to pay taxes, and their law firm will help them sue the government.

As a result, several households in the south of the city refused to pay taxes, and the government's collection of taxes was hindered. Magistrate Wang was deeply worried about this, so he arrested all those who were behind the incident. "

Xu Zun said: "As the county magistrate, shouldn't you first find out why the people refused to pay taxes? If it's for no reason, then Zhang San should be severely punished."

Chen Huaixiao said, "If we investigate one case after another and file lawsuits one by one, then we won't be able to collect taxes this year. Will you, Xu Zhongtu, be responsible when the time comes?"

Reason, or money?

"Alright! Alright!"

Zhao Xu hurried out to smooth things over. "I already know what happened. You are all right. Magistrate Wang performed his duties conscientiously and was eager to do his job. I can understand him. As for the matter of Xu Temple, as the judge of the Dali Temple, it is his duty to raise questions about it."

This statement seems fair, but it actually favors Wang Hong.

However, as Xu Zun is the judge of Dali, he is certainly qualified to ask questions.

The censor Chen Tao immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, all of this is the fault of the ear-pen Zhang San. The three departments have always been responsible for calculating taxes. Isn't it implying that the court's statistics are unfair? This will seriously damage the prestige of the court and endanger the stability of the country. But we can't let this happen. I suggest severely punishing Zhang San to serve as a warning to others."

"I second the motion!"

Many ministers came forward to express their support for Chen Tao's statement.

Xu Zun immediately retorted: "Your Majesty, Zhang Fei did not break the law. If the court severely punishes Zhang San for this, wouldn't it be a sign of guilt? Doesn't it mean there is something wrong here? This will also damage the prestige of the court."

"Xu Zhongtu."

Chen Huaixiao shouted angrily, "Are you willing to lose face for your son-in-law? We, the three departments, have to calculate the tax revenue of a country, so there will inevitably be mistakes and omissions. Zhang San makes money by litigating, so he will always find one or two mistakes. If the case goes to court, the auditing officials may even lose their positions. In this case, who would dare to calculate taxes and who would dare to collect taxes?"

Xu Zun smiled coldly: "You are not punished for your faults, but you are severely punished for your innocence. You might as well come to work in the Dali Temple."

“That’s enough!”

Zhao Xu stopped them again.

What is going on?

Who doesn’t know this?

If we continue to talk about justice and fairness, the government will only lose face.

Because money is essential.

Shen Huaixiao said it very clearly that if the spies were not punished, people would not dare to collect taxes because they might be sued.

This phenomenon did happen, and it was not something he made up, he just exaggerated it.

But if taxes cannot be collected, it will be a big problem.

Emperor Shenzong looked at Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, and Wen Yanbo standing in front of him and asked, "Why are the three vice chancellors silent?"

Sima Guang and Wang Anshi exchanged glances, and Sima Guang stepped forward first and said, "Your Majesty, I also think that taxation is a major national policy and cannot afford to make mistakes. In extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done. Magistrate Wang did nothing wrong."

Wang Anshi immediately stepped forward and said, "But Zhang San's action was unintentional. This crime does not warrant death. I think a light punishment will suffice."

Wen Yanbo finally added: "As for the taxable transactions, I think the government should either issue an official document to assist the three departments in calculating taxes, or impose restrictions."

The three of them said this.

After all, they all sided with Wang Hong, and even Wang Anshi said that he should be given a light punishment as a severe warning.

At this moment, Wang Anshi did not dare to give any support to Zhang Fei. The country’s top priority at present was to collect taxes. If a disturbance broke out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xu Zun had already guessed what the result would be, and it was not something he could prevent, but he wanted to emphasize one point: Zhang Fei was innocent, it was just that the water was too muddy, and if he stepped in, he would inevitably fall.

Zhao Xu quickly took advantage of the situation and said, "Approved."

Shen Huaixiao stood up and said, "Your Majesty, so far, only the spies who obeyed Zhang San's orders have been punished. Zhang San has not been punished at all. Such a decision is hard to be convincing!"

Sima Guang frowned, "This is not a serious matter, a small punishment is enough to serve as a warning."

This is obviously also a warning to Shen Huaixiao. If you want to kill Zhang Fei with this, it is too unrealistic. The emperor has just given you an imperial plaque, which is already a slap in the face. If you still want to be aggressive, it would be a bit tactless.

"I also support a small punishment but the problem is that Zhang San has not been punished." Shen Huaixiao refused to give in. "I think at least a certain fine should be imposed to achieve the effect of punishment."

Zhao Xu felt that he had already been slapped in the face, so what was the point of hitting him harder or lighter? He said, "Let Sima Xueshi handle this matter."