After Wang Anshi left the house, he actually went to find Zhang Fei, and he wasn't just saying those words out of anger.

I have to say, this was really beyond Zhang Fei's expectations.

Hey you! This old man Lu usually doesn't show his true colors, but at the critical moment, he strikes harder than anyone else!

But he had no intention of negotiating with Lu Gongzhe. He did not take commissions, and the 500,000 strings of cash had nothing to do with him. The key point was that Lu Gongzhe also wanted to use the money to take care of the people, which was in line with their purpose.

So he also advised Wang Anshi: "Grand Secretary Wang, calm down. In fact, I think what Prefect Lu did is completely acceptable."

"accept?"

Wang Anshi's eyes widened. "We worked so hard for so long, but he just waved his hand in Kaifeng Prefecture and took the fruits away. This is really outrageous."

He then asked Zhang Fei: "Does Kaifeng Prefecture have the power to do this?"

Did you ask me? Zhang Fei was speechless, but they spent money after all. He thought about it seriously, "If it is a criminal lawsuit, Kaifeng Prefecture certainly has the power to intervene, but if it is a civil lawsuit, then it has no power. But the problem is, whether this case is civil or criminal, Kaifeng Prefecture has the final say."

After a pause, he continued, "If Grand Secretary Wang is unwilling, we can only discuss it within the court."

...

...

"Forget it, don't make things complicated." Wang Anshi said, "Go talk to Prefect Lu. We can agree, but we must also have the power to supervise this matter."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then said to Wang Anshi: "Grand Secretary Wang, even if Kaifeng Prefecture does this, people's hearts are still on our side. No one will think that this is something Kaifeng Prefecture fought for them."

Wang Anshi snorted, "You are the only one who knows more."

Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly, "Then I'll go talk to Prefect Lu."

"Go! Go!"

Wang Anshi waved his hand.

In fact, he also wanted to use the money to win people's hearts for the establishment of the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures.

Reforms will not work without the support of public opinion.

At present, he wanted to carry out reforms against the yamen servants, so he spent most of this money there.

Lu Gongzhe gladly accepted Wang Anshi's humble request.

At this moment, the people outside the Kaifeng Prefecture were almost stretching their necks to break as they looked at the tightly closed gate.

The trial time has already passed, why hasn’t the door been opened yet?

During this time, various conspiracy theories emerged one after another.

Suddenly, with a creak, the door opened.

Everyone was pushing forward desperately, hoping to grab a good seat.

"Don't push! Don't push first!"

Huang Gui came out and raised his hand to stop the crowd. At the same time, several yamen runners also blocked the steps.

Huang Gui said to everyone again: "This case is over."

"it's over?"

Ma Xiaoyi said excitedly: "Didn't they say the trial should be open to the public? Why is it being held behind closed doors?"

I've taken off my pants and you're showing me this?

"Yeah! Could it be that you guys...!"

"Don't think too much." Huang Gui said, "Since the other party has confessed all the crimes, this case ends here."

"Plead guilty?"

"ah...!"

"It's over...my money."

"Ouch! Ouch!"

Waves of wailing came one after another.

Huang Guicai was too lazy to pay attention to these gamblers. He nodded to the two yamen runners beside him, and the two runners immediately posted the verdict on the wall next to them.

The crowd moved over there quickly like locusts.

"Wow... are you really going to lose 500,000 strings of cash?"

"What are you yelling about? Yesterday, Zhang Daerbi asked Du Shaojing to pay 500,000 strings of cash alone. Now he's asking 108 people to pay 500,000 strings of cash. There must be something shady going on here."

"Don't talk nonsense. Look carefully. Not only did the landlords promise to help the tenants pay the taxes, they also promised to change the contracts to ensure that the tenants would not bear the taxes."

“That’s a really good thing.”

"And they also promised that most of the high interest rates would be waived."

"No matter how much you are exempted from paying, you still have to pay back ten times the principal."

"Just be content. Anyone who owes money to loan sharks may never be able to pay it back in their lifetime. If we calculate it tenfold, I guess those tenants would have paid it back long ago."

......

Some people stood on the verdict and discussed it, while many others took out pen and ink to write down the verdict and then left quickly.

This case is not just about these 108 landowners.

"Brother Chen, why are you walking so fast?"

Ma Tianhao stepped forward and pulled Chen Maoqian who was leaving in a hurry and shouted.

Chen Maoqian whispered: "What else can we do? Of course we should go and pay the taxes!"

Ma Tianhao joked: "Can you pay it off?"

Chen Maoqian said helplessly: "It has to be paid. Today, Grand Secretary Wang can sue these 108 people, and tomorrow he can sue us. Five hundred thousand strings of cash, who can bear it? Let's talk about it later. I'm going back first."

Ma Tianhao held him tightly and refused to let go. "Wait, don't you understand? This is a legal issue. Do you understand the law? If you go to pay the tax now and get caught, won't you be walking into a trap?"

Chen Maoqian said, "You can't bet that the government won't sue you, right? Think about it, if you sue a group of people, you'll have an income of 500,000 strings of cash. How can the government not sue? This is much better than collecting taxes."

Ma Tianhao said: "Even if we have to pay the tax, we have to find someone who understands the law."

"Someone who knows the law?"

Chen Maoqian was stunned.

Just at this moment, someone shouted, "Zhang Sanlang is out."

"Zhang Sanlang, I hope you don't kill me this time."

"There is something fishy going on. There must be something fishy going on here. This doesn't count."

"Why did the other party suddenly confess his guilt? You guys were fighting back and forth yesterday?"

"Damn! Are you blind? What you said yesterday was a back and forth?"

Amid endless complaints, Zhang Fei escorted Xu Zhiqian out, got on the carriage, waved his hand again in a casual manner, and entered the carriage, then drove away amid a group of complaints.

Chen Maoqian looked at Ma Tianhao, "What do you mean?"

Ma Tianhao said: "We spend hundreds of guan in their office every year. What are we looking for? Isn't it just this kind of thing?"

Chen Maoqian nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have really forgotten about it. It's also because of that Zhang Sanlang. What he did always scares people away. Not to mention that there's nothing wrong, I don't even want to go to him if there's something wrong."

Ma Tianhao sighed bitterly: "But the world has changed now!"

Chen Maoqian nodded.

The fact that this has been accomplished means that in the future we cannot only consider power, identity and relationships, but also judicial issues.

......

In the courtyard.

"It's really boring. How come they have become so vulnerable?"

Su Shi stood up, stretched himself, and said to Su Zhe with a smile, "Third brother, go with second brother to get the money."

Su Zhe looked at his brother who was showing off, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Second brother, although you won this time, I still don't recommend doing this. Nine out of ten times you will lose in gambling. If you lose, then we will have to sleep on the street."

Su Shi smiled and shook his head: "This is not a gamble."

Su Zhe was slightly stunned and asked, "Second brother, why are you so sure that Zhang San will win?"

"Because..." Su Shi suddenly lowered his voice: "The emperor can't afford to lose this battle!"

Su Che was startled, then nodded: "So that's how it is." Then he frowned again, "Then this matter is not over yet."

Su Shi chuckled and said, "Of course it's not over yet."

Of course, we can't just give it to them like this.

It was impossible for the emperor not to intervene in such a matter, not to mention that the emperor wanted to use this case to establish his authority.

Zhao Xu, who had remained silent all this time, held a meeting in Chuigong Hall this afternoon to discuss this case.

Han Qi, Fu Bi and Zeng Gongliang all participated.

"The tax bills from two years ago actually match the account books from five years ago. This is really a strange story!"

Zhao Xu laughed coldly.

The ministers were all silent.

This time we admit defeat.

You are such a cruel boy.

Lu Gong said: "According to what the prisoner Zhou Cai said, he bribed Wang Hong, the then magistrate of Kaifeng, and asked for a batch of tax bills. As for why it was recorded in the account book five years ago, he had no idea about it."

Zhao Xu asked, "Do you believe what he said?"

Lu Gong replied truthfully: "Your Majesty, I think there are many doubts in this case, and Zhou Cai's words cannot be trusted."

"Wang Hong was exiled to Qiongzhou, and he was still being used by others. It's really sad."

Zhao Xu made a scathing remark and then said, "In my opinion, this matter cannot be accomplished by one person alone, but I don't want to investigate one by one. All officials in the three ministries and courts should be dismissed and investigated. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

All the ministers said in unison.

Do they dare to say no?

If you dare to say "no", then check them one by one.

There is no way out. If you mess up, you can only sacrifice pawns to save the king.

Although the officials in the three ministries were all minor officials, replacing them all would be a huge blow to their power.

However, with the coming and going of people, it can still be reorganized.

But Zhao Xu was not going to give them a chance to revive this time. He heard him say, "The Gouyuan was originally set up to supervise the three departments, but from this case, it seems that the Gouyuan did not play a supervisory role, but colluded with the three departments. Taxation is related to the national strategy and cannot be lost.

Therefore, I have decided to abolish the three ministries and set up a taxation bureau, merging the city tax bureau into it, and placing it under the Ministry of Revenue. The chief officer will be appointed directly by the central government and stationed in various provinces to audit taxes, monitor and recover tax evasion and tax avoidance. "

So cruel!

All the ministers sighed in their hearts at the same time.

Not only did they replace the person, they also laid off the department, which was a complete mess.

Appointed by the central government, most likely by the emperor. In other words, this department is both under the Three Departments and has strong independence.

These superiors were not appointed by the Three Departments, so why should they listen to you, the Three Departments?

The reason why it is placed in the Ministry of Revenue is purely because there is no other way. After all, the three departments are in charge of national affairs. If the Audit Department is not placed here, the three departments will not be able to work.

The reason for doing this is to ensure that the three departments can operate smoothly at present while also supervising the three departments.

In fact, the Three Ministries and Courts have been divided into three parts and merged into one for more than ten times. The reason is that the emperor of the Song Dynasty was worried that the Three Ministries and Courts would have too much power on the one hand, but on the other hand, he was worried that he would not be able to supervise the three departments.

All this back and forth also led to the Three Departments' complete control over the Three Courts, which had become extremely corrupt. With just a word from the Three Courts' judges, the Three Departments' Gouyuan would simply change the account books.

This time, Zhao Xu was determined. Even if the power was too great, he would still set up the Taxation Commissioner. What power is there without money?

But both Han Qi and Fu Bi felt that there was nothing wrong with the emperor doing so.

Today, the Three Departments have indeed lost their original responsibilities and are completely controlled by the Three Judges. In other words, the Three Judges are completely out of supervision.

The amount of money involved here is unimaginable.

How can it work without supervision?

But Wang Anshi was a little confused. I...my Municipal Taxation Bureau is gone just like that?

You didn't even say hello.

That’s not fair!

But he didn't know that there were three people sitting at the table, not just him and Sima Guang.

Zhao Xu asked again: "As for the three divisions?"

Some of the ministers can't stand it anymore. Aren't you asking for too much?

Zhao Xu glanced at them and said, "I was also negligent in this regard. Prime Minister Ji was ill at home for many days, which resulted in the Three Departments being unable to be managed. I failed to notice this in time. Today I intend to promote Governor Lu to be the Three Departments Envoy. Do you have any opinions?"

Lu Gongzhu was a good friend of both Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, so it was acceptable for both sides to have him act as the middleman.

All the ministers expressed their approval.

Lu Gongzhe also hurriedly thanked the emperor for his grace, but he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart because he was taking over a lame Third Division!

Zhao Xu looked directly at Lu Gong and said, "I hope you can properly manage the three departments and prevent this kind of thing from happening again."

Lu Gong hurriedly said: "I will do my best to live up to your grace."

Many ministers were on the verge of tears.

The price is too high.

Zhao Xu's words were almost telling Lu Gong that the reason why I did not touch the three courts did not mean that I did not intend to do so, but that I left it to you to establish your authority.

It is conceivable that after Lu Gongzhe took office, the three departments also had to undergo a wave of purges.

However, this wave of purge was much lighter than the one in Gouyuan. After all, it was handed over to the Three Officials to do it. It was just a replacement of a group of people, and the power structure did not change.

But overall, the cost is very high.

But if you lose, you have to admit it, and you can only get it back slowly later.

However, this time the ministers also saw the true face of the little emperor. He was neither Zhenzong nor Renzong, but he had great ambitions!