If we talk about how to have fun, we have to look at Wang Anshi.

Everyone present knew that Wang Anshi did this in response to the issue of additional taxes on white deeds.

They are using the tenant farmers to make things difficult for you, Wang Anshi.

You, Wang Anshi, should use this matter to deal with them.

I haven't seen you check it normally.

This made Wen Yanbo and others speechless. They used the governance of the country to compete with each other, and instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, they made the problem more complicated.

Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Yan and others with a hint of doubt.

You submitted an impeachment petition without even understanding the situation.

It makes us seem quite unprofessional.

Zhao Yan clasped his hands and said, "This is my fault. I did not investigate the matter thoroughly beforehand. I am willing to accept the punishment."

...

...

A real man should admit his mistakes.

Zhao Xu hurriedly comforted him, "You are too serious. If there is any misunderstanding, just clarify it. Don't worry about it."

Sima Guang, who had been silent before, suddenly looked at Wang Anshi and said, "Wang Jiefu, as the Vice Minister, if you knew someone was evading taxes, why didn't you just order an investigation? Why did you go to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint? Isn't this unnecessary?"

Imperial Censor Lin Dan immediately said, "What Sima Xueshi said makes sense. The court has its own rules and regulations. The Political Affairs Hall is the department of the prime minister, and it is above the Kaifeng Prefecture. If you do this, it will only make the government orders and laws unclear."

Wang Anshi looked at Lin Dan and said with a smile, "You are right, Censor Lin. Unclear government orders and laws are not advisable. I would like to ask you, Censor Lin, do you think tax evasion is a matter of government orders or laws?"

Lin Dan hesitated for a moment and said, "Although this is related to the law, your purpose is to use the law to enforce the order. You are just using this to force the landlords and tenants to pay the taxes."

"Even if it is, I think it's understandable."

Wang Anshi said: "If the law is not followed, things will not be stable; if the law is not followed, the order will not be carried out. The reason why the previous government orders were not carried out is that this matter involves the law, but we are arguing with benevolence and virtue here, how can we make it clear?"

At this point, he looked at Wen Yanbo and said, "Duke Wen previously believed that the issue of tax supplementation cannot be resolved in one fell swoop, and the actual situation should be considered, otherwise it will cause public resentment.

I agree with this, but if we issue a decree to exempt those tenant farmers from taxes, then where does that leave the law? Does it mean that we can change the law at will? If there are laws but they are not followed, even if the laws are good, they are the same as if there were no laws. If there are no laws to govern a country, it will be in chaos. "

Wen Yanbo immediately retorted: "Laws are nothing but human nature. If you abide by the law but do not change it, you will decline."

"The law should be changed, not bent by fiat."

Wang Anshi frowned and said, "Tax evasion is illegal. Even if the law is based on human feelings, we still have to follow the law. This is why I appealed to Kaifeng Prefecture.

If you feel it is inappropriate, you can ask Kaifeng Prefecture to rule that they do not need to pay the tax, but you must also give a legal explanation, or ask Your Majesty to pardon the law. But you must not say that we can decide whether this law is useful or not, use it if it is suitable, and abandon it if it is not suitable, and turn big things into small things, and small things into nothing. If so, the country will be in chaos. "

His speech was passionate and powerful.

There was silence on the other side.

Everyone looked at Zhao Xu.

There's really no arguing about this.

Wang Anshi said it very clearly. You can use a decree to exempt Kaifeng Prefecture from taxation, but you must give an explanation, or you can let the emperor interpret the law. This is the court rules and regulations.

We cannot say that everyone interprets the law with sympathy.

This is a mess.

Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang could not refute this point. This kind of situation had occurred before, and in the end the emperor either used an amnesty decree to interpret the law or pardoned the offender in the name of benevolence and righteousness.

The ball was thrown to Zhao Xu again.

Zhao Xu was very confused. He looked left and right and said, "I am still not clear about what happened in this case. I will wait and see after Kaifeng Prefecture examines the case. If there is indeed injustice or something worth discussing, then we will discuss whether to pardon him."

Zhao Yan, Wen Yanbo and others all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Shenzong's words were impartial, and he did not say that the tax must be collected. If there were special circumstances, it could be pardoned, but it had to be examined first. If they did not dare to examine the case, there must be something fishy going on.

Who else can be convinced?

Lin Dan suddenly said, "But Your Majesty, what Grand Secretary Wang said has nothing to do with the tax payment."

Wang Anshi said: "This is just to avoid violating the imperial decree. These 108 people have evaded taxes by holding white deeds. They will be tried together at the time. Those who should be punished will be punished, and those who should be exempted will be exempted."

He didn't hide it, I just found an excuse, and it was still about this matter.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

Lin Dan was depressed to death.

If I had known this earlier, I would have just filed a lawsuit for the tax payment. This would have caused so much trouble.

Sima Guang suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, if this precedent is set, all future investigations of tax evasion and tax avoidance will probably require judicial decisions."

What this means is that from now on, the imperial court will no longer be able to judge whether others have evaded taxes through decrees, but must do so through litigation.

In fact, it was a warning to Zhao Xu that he had to consider the future, as doing so would make governing the country more complicated, and our Song Dynasty was already complicated enough.

Without waiting for Zhao Xu to speak, Wang Anshi asked, "Aren't you carrying out judicial reform?"

Zhao Xu nodded immediately and looked at Sima Guang with a smile, "You also need to take this into consideration."

Sima Guang's expression darkened and he didn't respond.

Zhao Xu didn't even look at him.

This is what happened to the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty.

Lin Dan immediately said: "But this will double the government's expenditure."

Wang Anshi countered: "If the law is strictly enforced, the taxes collected will be enough to cover government expenses, and there will even be a lot left over."

Lin Dan was speechless for a moment.

I bought a kitchen knife to rob people, and you want to talk to me about the cost of the kitchen knife?

Are you crazy?

After the meeting, the ministers walked out of the hall complaining.

Go to court!

Another lawsuit!

Litigation every day!

From corvée laws to tax laws, they might as well just sue for everything instead of governing the country.

Uncomfortable!

I want to cry!

It’s hard for anyone to feel comfortable when justice is being served!

Wen Yanbo, who came out later, heard their complaints and asked Zhao Yan beside him, "What does Prime Minister Zhao think?"

Zhao Yan looked at the people in front of him and said, "Although I don't like Wang Jiefu's style of doing things, their complaints make me think that maybe Wang Jiefu did nothing wrong."

Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and nodded.

Why do they complain? It’s because some things cannot be said and some secrets are known to everyone.

There are many things that cannot be taken too seriously.

This is why such things always end up in court without any resolution.

They feel very uncomfortable when they are beaten by officials and commanders.

Zhao Yan glanced at Wen Yanbo and said, "And I believe that Governor Lu will exempt those tenant farmers from their burdens in court."

Wen Yanbo said, "It's not that simple. Sima Junshi is right. Wang Jiefu will definitely collect the tax revenue."

After they had all left, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang came out of the hall and stopped in front of the steps tacitly.

"You are risking your life!" Sima Guang said calmly, "Do you know how many people you will offend by doing this? Will you continue to implement the new law in the future?"

Wang Anshi smiled slightly and said, "If Junshi were still alive, what would Anshi be afraid of?"

Sima Guang was confused. "I am against you, can't you see that?" He tilted his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wang Anshi said: "As long as you are honest, justice will prevail. If justice prevails, I can tell them even if there are tens of thousands of people. Haha!"

After saying this, he waved his sleeves and headed for the stairs.

Sima Guang's mouth twitched. "Wang Jiefu, you are so good that you actually want me to protect you. You are dreaming. When your new law comes out, I am afraid you won't even be able to cry."

From the current perspective, his judicial reforms did help Wang Anshi.

But you have to know that the new law had not yet been issued, and Wang Anshi was dealing with an old disease. Sima Guang could only watch helplessly and had to cooperate with Wang Anshi.

It’s so frustrating!

But then again, why couldn't they defend against this move?

In fact, the reason is not how powerful Zhang Fei is, this is the feudal era after all, but it lies in themselves.

It is because of this group of wise ministers that they are protecting Zhang Fei and defending the justice of the Song Dynasty.

If it were Cai Jing, Qin Hui or Zhang Fei who played the same game, they would have died thousands of times already.

It's impossible to survive.

Who the hell talks about fairness to you?

Who the hell talks to you about justice?

It just so happened that Zhang Fei met a group of upright and wise ministers including Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Lu Gongzhu, Zhao Yan and Xu Zun.

Bian Jing Law Firm.

"Grand Scholar Sima, this really has nothing to do with me. Grand Scholar Wang came to our shop personally to entrust us with this, so I can't refuse!"

Zhang Fei looked at Sima Guang who was walking slowly towards him and hurriedly explained.

Sima Guang glanced at him calmly and said, "Won't you ask me to sit down?"

"Ah? Oh, please take a seat, Grand Secretary Sima." Zhang Fei quickly stretched out his hand and led him to the main seat.

Sima Guang sat down and asked, "So you don't agree?"

Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, "To be honest with you, Grand Secretary Sima, I actually have some reservations about this, because I think it will cause opposition from many people."

This is the truth, he was originally planning to use some tricks.

Sima Guang nodded and said, "It's good that you can understand this. They are not good men.

My dear lady, this lawsuit is not as easy as you think. "

Zhang Fei said: "The key to this lawsuit lies in evidence."

Sima Guang glanced at him and laughed.

Zhang Fei was stunned, "Did I say something wrong?"

Sima Guang said: "In fact, everyone knows that they are evading taxes. Why doesn't anyone investigate? It's not that everyone is timid, but it's hard to find any evidence. The so-called evidence in your hands, once presented in court, may become a frame-up."

Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "Are they really that powerful?"

Sima Guang asked: "How many ministers in the court are not big landlords? How many of the royal relatives are not big landlords? Why did they not make a fuss when Wang Wenshan was demoted, but why were they eager to redress Wang Hong when Wang Hong was demoted?

This is about interests, not about good and evil. You are not facing 108 landlords, but all the big landlords in Tokyo. If you make a mistake, you may get yourself into trouble. "

Zhang Fei said timidly: "Will they send someone to assassinate me?"

Sima Guang frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Probably not for now. If I assassinate you now, it would be a clear sign of a guilty conscience. With Wang Jiefu's character, he will definitely investigate thoroughly.

But you have to be extremely careful in court. This lawsuit does not mean that you can escape punishment just because you are helping others. If they catch you, they will definitely kill you. Forging evidence is illegal. "

Zhang Fei asked, "Does Grand Secretary Sima want me to give up?"

Sima Guang laughed and said, "You have boarded Wang Jiefu's pirate ship, how can you get off? The purpose of my coming here is just to tell you that this lawsuit is a competition of strength, not justice. Although Wang Jiefu is favored, his influence in the court is far from enough. If you can't win, don't force it."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Thank you for the warning, Grand Secretary Sima. I will be careful."

Sima Guang nodded slightly and said, "I'll go first."

After sending Sima Guang away, Zhang Fei raised a smile, "Play with me for evidence, haha, I can kill them."

[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]

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