This is really a coincidence.

Originally, cost-cutting and increasing revenue could never go together.

But the decision made at this meeting was actually a two-pronged approach of cost-cutting and increasing revenue.

On the one hand, we are reducing military forces and saving money, and on the other hand, we are lending to increase revenue.

On the surface, this seems to be a political deal between the two factions.

Wang Anshi used the excuse of opposing disarmament in exchange for the promulgation of the Qingmiao Law.

This is because, if disarmament is not passed, the procuratorate will face great responsibility and the entire judicial reform will be in trouble.

It would be very embarrassing if you wanted to sue but the court couldn't pay compensation.

But that’s not actually the case.

Because if it was just a simple deal, the conservatives would definitely not agree to it.

...

...

Whether to disarm or not is a huge controversy among conservatives. Some support it, while others oppose it. It is not something they have always insisted on, let alone exchanging disarmament for the Qingmiao Law, which they strongly oppose.

In fact, all of this is driven by a third force, which is not the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, but is formed by them.

The original problem was very simple: innovation and conservatism.

However, Zhang Fei's arrival triggered judicial reforms launched by the conservatives, but this judicial reform was also unpopular, making the situation in the DPRK more complicated.

Most vested interests don't like it and want to eliminate it.

But there are also some knowledgeable people who support the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, or support the new law, or even support both.

It's not as simple as black and white.

This also means that the third force alone is not enough to defeat both parties at the same time, so they have been pushing for confrontation between the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments and the new law.

While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.

I have to say, this is the best choice.

Because the original judicial reform was born out of the desire to curb new laws.

This was also the promise Sima Guang made to the conservatives in exchange for their support.

Previously in the capital, they wanted to promote the two laws to compete with each other, but the tax commissioner suddenly appeared, causing the public security, procuratorate, courts and the new law to be confused.

Even the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs still protect these vested interests to a certain extent.

But it has also caused many people to doubt judicial reform.

But in Hezhong Prefecture, these situations do not exist. Now the Qingmiao Law is also going to be implemented in Hezhong Prefecture, so you, Sima Guang, must fulfill your promise!

The Qingmiao Law is different from the Corvée Law because when the Corvée Law was first promulgated, some laws were promulgated by the Legislative Council. In fact, many knowledgeable people among the conservatives at that time supported it, and Sima Guang himself did not say that he was very opposed to it.

However, among the conservatives, almost all knowledgeable people were extremely opposed to the Qingmiao Law, including Sima Guang himself.

Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo both disagreed.

This is also why the Qingmiao Law has been in preparation for more than half a year but has not yet been promulgated.

In fact, the obstacles encountered by the Qingmiao Law at present are even greater than in history. In history, Fu Bi and Sima Guang simply quit when they saw that their persuasion was futile.

But now that judicial reform is pulling them back, they have no way of moving forward and can only try to stop it.

This time, the conservatives believed that they had to put pressure on Sima Guang and others. If judicial reform could not stop the Qingmiao Law, then why should we support you?

However, there was actually no need for them to put pressure on him, as Sima Guang himself had already begun to feel anxious.

If this was just a political deal, Sima Guang would never agree to it. He would rather not cut military forces than agree to the promulgation of the Qingmiao Law. Although he knew that he could not stop it in the end, he would try his best to suppress it.

Therefore, when key members such as Liu Shu and Qi Hui came to the Court of Criminal Justice and wanted to discuss with Sima Guang, Sima Guang had already written the letter.

"You can rest assured, I will never let Wang Jiefu do anything wrong."

Sima Guang said: "I will immediately send a message to the imperial court of Hezhong Prefecture and ask them to legislate against the Qingmiao Law."

Liu Shu asked, "I wonder how Sima Xueshi plans to stop this?"

Sima Guang replied: "First, I will ask Zhang San to use the name of the ancestral law to prevent the Changping Granary from being incorporated into the Qingmiao Law. This Changping Granary is the only government office that can help the poor people. We must not allow the Changping Granary to become a tool for the court to collect money."

Although the Qingmiao Law has not been officially promulgated, everyone is already very clear about its regulations.

Wang Anshi hoped to use the Changping Warehouse as capital to lend money to the people.

However, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi and others were all strongly opposed to this.

The Changping Warehouse is broad in scope and is aimed at market regulation, while the Qingmiao Law is aimed at farmers who have the ability to repay. The two laws can be used in parallel but cannot replace each other.

Other officials were even more in favor of this. If this could be stopped, the Qingmiao Law would have no value.

"Secondly!"

Sima Guang continued: "It is necessary to legislate that no one can force others to borrow money, including the government."

Qi Hui nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right! Wang Jiefu always says that usury harms people, but even if we add up the usury in Hezhong Prefecture, how much money can we get every year? If Wang Jiefu wants to make money for the country, he must force people to borrow money."

Liu Shu said: "There is another point to be made. During years of famine, relief should be the main focus, and people should not be forced to borrow from the court because in that case, if the government wants to recover the interest, it will certainly force others to provide guarantees, which is absolutely unacceptable."

Sima Guang nodded repeatedly, "That's right, this point should also be written down. It is not allowed to force others to guarantee. Finally, the interest on government loans should be suppressed."

Fu Bi was immediately confused. "Junshi! This is probably difficult. The interest rate stipulated by Wang Jiefu is lower than that of private lending, and it does not exceed the regulations of the court. It is probably difficult for the imperial court to legislate on this."

Sima Guang said, "It is difficult for the imperial court, but Zhang San must have a way."

Yes, yes, yes!

Zhang San must have a way.

They wanted Zhang Fei to confront Wang Anshi head-on.

Sima Guang's tough statement also made the conservatives unprecedentedly united. In fact, many people had previously been very skeptical about some of Sima Guang's actions.

Are you against the new law? Can your judicial reform work?

But from today's perspective, Sima Guang obviously wanted to use judicial reform to stop the Qingmiao Law with all his might. These points were something Wang Anshi would never agree to. If it was to be completely curbed, then there would be no point in using the Qingmiao Law!

But no matter what, it can be seen that Sima Guang did not break his promise, and the judicial reform was used to deal with the new law.

During this period, fast horses galloped out of the west gate and headed straight for Hezhong Prefecture before the sunset.

People from all walks of life in the court were desperately sending messages to Hezhong Prefecture, telling them the situation in the court and making all preparations for response.

At this time, the entire Hezhong Prefecture was completely unaware of the situation and was still concentrating on dealing with the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. The entire prefecture was in a state of anxiety.

Seeing the climax coming, but it just won’t...!

The procuratorate has received thousands of petitions.

But...but the procuratorate just refused to prosecute.

Isn’t it infuriating?

Everyone is asking, are you going to sue or not?

Don’t just have thunder without rain!

The reason given by the procuratorate was that people kept coming to complain, and our people had to keep investigating, so they simply couldn't spare anyone to prosecute.

When the government learned of this, they immediately ordered the soldiers to be restrained and to file a complaint.

Don’t be anxious!

Come in batches.

There is no point in suing if the procuratorate refuses to prosecute!

Comparatively speaking, the imperial court was much more relaxed and comfortable. It was always busy building the imperial court and not concerned with worldly affairs.

The pub and college in front of the gate have also begun to take shape.

Early this morning, Zhang Fei came to Big Dog's shop to have breakfast again.

Da Gou personally served breakfast to Zhang Fei and whispered, "Brother Bao sent a message asking Judge Zhang not to disappoint the emperor."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It seems that the Qingmiao Law is about to come into effect. Send someone to pass the message immediately. The imperial court is preparing to amend the law on usury and will introduce the most stringent and complete law."

Big Dog asked, "Anything else you want to ask?"

"there is none left!"

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Oh, your tax commissioner needs to hurry up."

Big Dog nodded and said, "We have stepped up our preparations, but this kind of thing cannot be rushed, otherwise, people will notice it."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Anyway, you have to speed up your actions while ensuring that nothing goes wrong."

"I know that Chief Prosecutor Su is here."

The big dog suddenly looked up.

Zhang Fei looked up and saw Su Zhe walking towards him. He immediately stood up to greet him, bowed and asked, "Mr. Su, why are you here so early? Did something happen?"

"That's not the case." Su Zhe said with a smile, "I'm just afraid that I'll be late and see you swimming and exercising again."

"Uh, haha, Mr. Su, please take a seat."

"Thank you very much."

"Big Dog, go get another breakfast."

"Hey! Please wait a moment, my two distinguished guests."

After the big dog left, Su Che asked, "Why are you here for breakfast today?"

Zhang Fei glanced back and said, "I'm mainly here to inspect and have breakfast."

Su Che nodded, without any suspicion, and continued: "The capital has sent me a message, saying that the court has decided to cut the army. I believe that within two days, the imperial edict will arrive in Hezhong Prefecture."

Zhang Fei pretended to be surprised and said, "It seems that everything is as expected by Mr. Su."

"I wouldn't dare say that in front of you."

Su Zhe smiled slightly, and then said seriously: "But it just so happens that my procuratorate is about to collapse. Those officials are using the soldiers' mouths to put pressure on our procuratorate and urge us to file a lawsuit with the imperial court."

Zhang Fei asked: "How is your procuratorate preparing?"

Su Che said: "We have verified that 500 soldiers have indeed been severely deducted and owed military pay."

Zhang Fei was surprised and asked, "Only this much?"

Su Che said: "This is solid evidence, there is still a lot, but the evidence is insufficient for now. We have only a few people in the procuratorate, so we have to take it step by step! But if the prosecution is successful, they won't be too anxious about the rest."

Zhang Fei nodded slightly and said, "If we can really get their military pay back, then our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can truly gain a foothold in Hezhong Prefecture."

Su Zhe smiled and said, "That depends on Judge Zhang."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with me. It all depends on the financial means of the prime ministers."

(End of this chapter)