"Ah, I really don't know whether we are helping Fan Jingren or harming Fan Jingren by doing this."

Liu Shu said with a worried look on his face.

Many officials around him also looked at Sima Guang in confusion. The conservatives were very united. Although they hoped to help Fan Zhen resume his post, letting Fan Zhen go to Xihe was...!

Sima Guang quickly comforted him, "I'm sure Fan Jingren will be very happy to hear this news."

Everyone looked at Sima Guang in confusion.

Sima Guang said: "Fan Jingren is now in Hezhong Prefecture. Given his personality, if he saw the people of Hezhong Prefecture suffering because of the expansion of Xihe, but unable to stop it, he would definitely be in great pain. If he were allowed to go to Xihe at this time, he would definitely be very happy."

"Master, they are really good at taking advantage of every opportunity. They actually used this opportunity to force the government to re-employ that old man Fan Zhen."

Lu Huiqing said this while gritting his teeth.

He had a huge quarrel with Fan Zhen and finally drove Fan Zhen out, but it wasn't long before Fan Zhen was reinstated. How could he be happy about this? Wang Anshi didn't even dare to tell him the truth.

Wang Anshi said: "We were not prepared enough this time. Let them take advantage of us, but there will never be a next time."

...

...

"That kid did it on purpose."

Before Meng Gansheng left, he glanced at Zhang Fei who was observing his mind and then whispered to Zhao Wenzhen.

Zhao Wenzheng sighed, "We really have no way to deal with his trick. He is telling the truth, but the government doesn't dare to let him deprive those chiefs of their military power."

Meng Gansheng said: "Then we have to be careful recently. This guy is famous for his revenge."

In fact, they all knew in their hearts that if Zhang Fei could not be sent to Xihe District this time, then Zhang Fei would definitely be sent to the procuratorate.

With the emperor and the prime minister's agreement, they had dragged on long enough and almost saw a turning point, but unfortunately, the devil is one foot taller than the road.

This is the highest-level meeting in the Song Dynasty. The emperor makes the final decision at this meeting, and they know that they can't delay it any longer.

But then again, this high-level meeting was more of a formality. We had already reached an agreement privately, and it was just a show for others to see. We were not compromising. We argued with reason, but there was no other way.

So, after the meeting, almost everyone had a resentful look on their face, and no one was very satisfied with the result.

The reformists were very puzzled and thought that this was truly their own fault, so they asked Fan Zhen to supervise them.

Conservatives, on the other hand, wonder why they should get involved in such messy waters.

The opposition was depressed that Zhang Fei was not sent away.

Zhang Fei saw the depression on their faces and was worried about it. He knew that the compromise between the two parties was very fragile, mostly because he was the mediator. If he was not careful, it might break down.

As the saying goes, risks and rewards go hand in hand.

The three families provided great convenience to Zhang Fei, a political novice, allowing him to be invincible. However, it was not easy to consolidate these three families.

Only after all the ministers had left did Zhang Fei tiptoe out.

“Ahem!”

"ah!"

Zhang Fei turned around and saw Fu Bi limping forward. He quickly bowed and said, "Mr. Fu."

Fu Bi glanced at him and said, "You are so audacious, you dare to speak nonsense in this Chuigong Palace. Aren't you afraid that the government will punish you?"

Zhang Fei pretended to be confused and said, "What do you mean by big talk? I don't quite understand."

"Do you really have to let me pick it out?"

Fu Bi asked, "Do you really dare to punish those great chieftains according to the law?"

Zhang Fei said: "Of course I dare, but unfortunately no one supports me to go."

Fu Bi laughed and said, "I think you are sure that the government and ministers dare not let you go."

Zhang Fei refused to admit it and said seriously, "How dare I! I am really sure."

"Yeah?"

Fu Bi smiled slightly and said, "Then you might as well try it in the capital and see if you can govern it according to the law."

Zhang Fei was dumbfounded immediately, and immediately said awkwardly: "Mr. Fu, I didn't expect you to provoke a brat like me."

"This is actually one of the reasons why I asked you to stay in the capital."

Fu Bi said seriously, "Although the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were first implemented in the capital, the governance is far inferior to that of Hezhong Prefecture. If they cannot be successful in the capital, no matter how well the local prefectures and counties implement them, it will only be a flash in the pan."

Why did Zhang Fei's departure make the people of Hezhong Prefecture panic? It is because we now live in a centralized society and any reform must start from the central government. If the central government does not change, once a policy is implemented, all efforts will be in vain.

Although the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were first tried out in Bian Jing, they were actually only a semi-finished product. The reason was that for a long period of time, Kaifeng Prefecture still controlled the judicial power. Later, after Zhao Yan was transferred to the imperial court, the judicial power was transferred from Kaifeng Prefecture to the imperial court. However, this was only caused by personnel transfers, and the court never issued an explicit order.

In addition, there are central departments such as the Court of Criminal Justice, the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Remonstrance, all of which can directly interfere with the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.

In this situation, it is difficult to follow the concept of the rule of law.

Zhang Fei naturally understood the meaning of this and said, "So Mr. Fu is pinning all his hopes on me."

Fu Bi said: "Let's talk about Prime Minister Zhao. He can enforce the law impartially and without bias, but that's just him. He still doesn't know how to make full use of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. We can only rely on you."

Zhang Fei understood immediately, "Don't worry, Lord Fu, I will do my best."

Fu Bi said: "But the most urgent task is Jingdong East Road. We can't let any more trouble happen there."

The arrival of this great victory in the northwest also made everyone forget that at this moment, Qingzhou was undergoing a vigorous debt restructuring.

This is absolutely a historic moment.

Qingzhou, Qiancheng County.

When County Lieutenant Li Meng returned home, he saw his good-for-nothing son still looking sleepy. Without saying a word, he raised his palm as big as a palm fan and slapped him in the face.

Bang!

“Ouch!”

The scream also disturbed Mrs. Li. She hurried forward and saw her son lying on the ground, covering the left half of his face. She was also frightened and screamed. She hurried forward to protect her son, "Master, why did you hit your son?"

"It's already this late, and you, a woman, are still protecting him?"

Li Meng pointed at his wife, his eyes wide as big as copper bells, and said, "Other children are trying to study hard and take the examinations for the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, but this loser is still hanging around in the brothels every day. How can he pass the examinations?"

Madam Li said, "If I can't pass the exam, then I can't pass it. It's not a big deal. As long as you are well, Master, that's all."

"I am now even worse off than him."

Li Meng said: "Do you know that I have to go to the police station to take the exam now? If I fail, then our family will have to go find tree bark to chew on."

Mrs. Li was shocked.

The son said blankly: "Dad, you are so old, and you still want to take the exam?"

When Li Meng heard this, he immediately raised his left hand again.

"Father, spare my life!"

The county lieutenant was the superintendent of police in the old system. His power had been hollowed out by the police station, so he was naturally a major target of crackdowns. If the county lieutenant wanted to continue in his position, he had to pass the police station's examination.

It can also be seen that this debt restructuring is really very cruel, and it is basically better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go.

Although it was Wang Juqing who was carrying out the debt restructuring, he knew in his heart that the more ruthless he was, the more people would hate the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, and would not target him, so of course he had no scruples.

No, there is still the business law to back it up.

Qingzhou, Business Office.

As soon as Shen Kuo, who was in charge of this business law, took office, he immediately issued a registration notice to recruit for the business hospital, business college, and business newspaper.

This immediately caused a huge response.

But instead of opposition and hatred, there was a very enthusiastic registration.

Shen Kuo himself was confused.

This is a little different from what I imagined!

If he is like this, let alone others.

Fan Chunren and Qian Yi also rushed here as soon as possible. The rumors were true. They saw that the courtyard was full of people, mostly middle-aged people, and there were even some white-haired old men.

Fan Chunren walked up to a white-haired old man and asked, "Excuse me, old man. At your age, you are not eligible for the career law, so you don't need to come here to sign up."

The old man immediately looked down on Fan Chunren and said, "Who would come here for that little salary? I came here for knowledge."

"knowledge?"

"The court now pays attention to law, medicine, and mathematics. This is a good thing! I also want to compete with others."

"???"

Fan Chunren and Qian Yi could not help but look at each other.

Are these knowledge so popular?

Why didn’t you know this before?

How strange!

It turns out that the officials of the Song Dynasty, who lived on salaries, had a superior life all year round and did not have to work, so some of them became obsessed with poetry and songs, but many of them also delved into other subjects. For example, many officials of the Song Dynasty knew everything because they had too much free time and always had to find some interests.

However, since these disciplines are not mainstream, those who study them are limited to close friends, forming very small and closed groups.

Business law specializes in these subjects, which aroused great interest among this group of people.

They are particularly interested in this exam. Scholars love to compete, and they also want to take a test to see where they rank in terms of knowledge in this area.

Whether you go to the college or not is another matter, but you have to take the exam.

This is really unexpected.

Just at this moment, Fan Chunren saw a familiar figure and immediately hurried over with Qian Yi.

"Chunren meets Uncle Ouyang."

"Mr. Ouyang."

If not Ouyang Xiu, then who else could it be?

Now he was dressed in plain clothes, and when he saw the two of them, he just smiled and said, "You are here too! Don't call me husband, I am just a plain man now."

Qian Yi nodded.

Fan Chunren asked, "How come Uncle Ouyang has time to come here today?"

Ouyang Xiu was slightly startled and said, "I'll take a look at how he took the agronomy test."

Fan Chunren blinked and said hurriedly, "I almost forgot that Uncle Ouyang is proficient in the art of cultivation and planting."

"A little bit of dabbling, a little bit of dabbling!"

Ouyang Xiu laughed and said, "That's why I also want to come and see it."

At this time, a clerk quickly stepped into the courtyard and whispered in front of Qian Yi: "Your Excellency, the White Tiger Mountain bandit Zhen Tianhu has been captured."

Ouyang Xiu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Zhentianhu?"

Qian Yi hurriedly asked, "Mr. Ouyang, do you know this person?"

Ouyang Xiu sighed, "How could I not recognize him? This thief has been entrenched in White Tiger Mountain. He is very cunning. The government has tried to encircle and suppress him several times, but all ended in failure, and the losses were not small!"

Then he asked the clerk, "Who captured him?"

The clerk said, "Tax Commissioner."

Ouyang Xiu was startled, "Tax Commissioner?"

The clerk nodded and said, "It seems that this is because Zhen Tianhu has hidden 3,000 acres of land near Baihu Mountain, but has not paid taxes."

Ouyang Xiu couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

The bandit, who the government had spent ten years trying to capture without success, was finally captured by the Commissioner of Taxation because he was evading taxes.

this.!

Just then, another court guard came running over, "Judge Qian, the tax collector said he has something important to discuss with you."

Immediately, Fan Chunren and Qian Yi rushed to the imperial court, only to see a middle-aged man with a bitter and vengeful look sitting in the hall.

When the middle-aged man saw the two of them, he immediately bowed and said, "Wu Daliang greets Chief Prosecutor Fan."

This person is the Qingzhou tax collector, Wu Daliang.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Qian Yi bowed and said, "Just now I heard that the White Tiger Mountain bandit Zhen Tianhu was captured by your tax police?"

Wu Daliang nodded and said, "That's why I came here today. We found out that some businessmen have close dealings with Zhen Tianhu. Now we have persuaded those businessmen to testify against Zhen Tianhu and accuse him of tax evasion. I hope the Royal Court can pardon the crimes of these witnesses."

Fan Chunren immediately said, "That Zhen Tianhu has committed many evil things, and he must be sentenced to death. Why should the tax collector do this?"

This is already a capital crime, is there any need to pursue tax evasion?

For this reason, should we pardon the crimes of those unscrupulous businessmen?

If this isn't a waste of time, what is?

Wu Daliang said: "That being said, we, the tax commissioner, rely on evidence. If no one accuses him of tax evasion, then it will be difficult for us to convict him. If we cannot convict him of tax evasion, then it will be difficult for us, the tax commissioner, to collect the fine."

Qian Yi was puzzled and asked, "Is it worth letting those evildoers go just for this little fine?"

Wu Daliang saluted and said, "Please forgive me, Judge Qian. We, the tax commissioner, live on fines."

Fan Chunren asked, "If I don't agree, what will the tax collector do?"

Wu Daliang said: "Without the evidence provided by our tax department, it will be difficult for you to investigate those businessmen, and we will continue to detain Zhen Tianhu until we find other evidence."

Fan Chunren said: "But the procuratorate can investigate your tax department."

"I know that. We will also cooperate with the investigation of the procuratorate." Wu Daliang nodded, then changed the subject and said, "To be frank, if the procuratorate can find out the actions of our tax department, or even the evidence of our crimes, then you will find those evidences very easily."

So domineering!

The corners of Fan Chunren's mouth kept twitching, but he also knew the methods of the tax commissioner. It's not that the procuratorate has not investigated, but it was useless. He nodded and said, "Okay, this time our procuratorate is willing to cooperate with your tax commissioner, but you also have to remember what you said today. In the future, our procuratorate will definitely be able to find evidence of your crimes."

Wu Daliang took out a contract and said, "As long as the Royal Court signs this statement, our tax department will formally file a lawsuit against Zhen Tianhu."

Qian Yi took it and looked at it, "This must be Zhang San's masterpiece!"

However, the Commissioner of Taxation is not omnipotent. In fact, they are just like soldiers. When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the brave one wins. In Qizhou, the Commissioner of Taxation suffered a major setback.

It was drizzling in spring. On a low hill in the suburbs, bursts of crying could be heard faintly. Women and children were seen kneeling in front of a brand new grave, sobbing with their faces covered.

There were dozens of men standing nearby, but a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar stood at the front of the team. "People die for money, birds die for food, this is nothing to complain about, but if we want to reduce the occurrence of such things, we must unite and complete the revenge on those evil thieves.

Our tax commissioner will offer a reward of 10,000 strings of cash to capture these evil thieves until they pay with blood. We want to use this opportunity to tell everyone that once they mess with our tax commissioner, they will end up dead. There is absolutely no other possible outcome."

"Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

"Blood debt and blood debt!"

Zhang Fei, who was in Bian Jing, had no time to look east for the time being. He had to quickly deal with the financial crisis of Hezhong Prefecture, because he was the one who dug this hole. Yuan Jiang and others were helpless about it. After all, the salt production was limited, there was only so much in a year. If you spent your money beyond your means, there would definitely be problems today. You must find enough salt to make up for it.

Zhang Fei’s response was simple, which was to smuggle cheap salt from Western Xia as a supplement.

Speaking objectively, Xixia salt was not only cheap, but also very close to the border states. However, after Zhao Xu took office, he issued the strictest ban on private salt in Xixia, forcing the Xixia economy to deteriorate in preparation for a large-scale attack in the future.

Today, Li Bao came to Zhang's house with detailed information about the Northwest Salt Administration, and he also brought bad news.

"The tax bureau encountered an ambush in Qizhou and lost more than 20 people."

"What's going on?"

Zhang Fei asked immediately.

Li Bao said, "I'm not making excuses. This is because we expanded too early and the tax commissioner was late, which caused some people to lose patience. After the news from Hezhong Prefecture came, they became more cautious, and they were on guard against the people around them being bribed by the tax commissioner. This disastrous defeat was caused by the fact that the people we recruited were bribed by a local bandit, who then tipped off the other party, causing our tax police to be ambushed."

Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "Do they have the ability to take revenge?"

Li Bao nodded and said, "They have already found the real murderer and have offered a reward of 10,000 strings of cash. It won't be long before we make those people pay with blood."

Zhang Fei nodded. "Go tell them that there is no need to leave any of these people alive, nor is there any need to give them a chance to defend themselves. Just leave some witnesses and get the fines. It's time to tell everyone that the tax commissioner will really kill people."

Li Bao nodded.

Zhang Fei did not say much about this, because this kind of loss was expected. He then checked the information sent by Li Bao. After a while, he suddenly asked, "So, Qin and Wei states also belong to the salt-relief zone?"

Li Bao nodded, "Yes."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Will the debt crisis cause panic in the local area?"

Li Bao said, "Of course they will, and it will be worse than other places, because that area was once very short of salt due to the salt ban. I guess once the news gets there, there will definitely be salt merchants hoarding salt and waiting for the price to rise. This year, many salt merchants are waiting and watching, and dare not easily go to the border states to buy salt notes."

Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Is our smuggling in Xixia going smoothly?"

Li Bao said: "Because Xixia has been trying to sell salt to us in exchange for our tea, copper coins, and silk. As long as we open a loophole, it will definitely go smoothly. On the contrary, those human relationships and social etiquette are giving our people some headaches."

Zhang Fei asked curiously, "Social etiquette?"

Li Bao nodded and said, "There are two factions of nobles in Xixia fighting fiercely now, and the salt ponds of Xixia are controlled by these two factions. We have to share the benefits equally. If we only do business with one faction, we may suffer retaliation."

Zhang Fei asked: "What exactly is going on? Tell me in detail."

Li Bao nodded. "Now Queen Mother Liang is in power in Xixia. But this woman is really strange. She is obviously a Han woman, but she has been trying every means to abolish the Hanization policy previously promulgated by her husband Li Liangzuo. Especially after our army recaptured Suizhou, Queen Mother Liang became more radical and won the support of some Xixia nobles, but some nobles opposed it."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If she doesn't treat the Han people a little harder, she won't be able to consolidate her ruling position in Xixia. Whenever a Han person rules a foreign nation, we must be more cautious."

After that, he asked again: "What is the basis for those nobles who oppose Empress Dowager Liang?"

Li Bao said: "Those nobles who opposed Empress Dowager Liang themselves admired our Han culture, and they also gained power by relying on this policy.

However, since our dynasty still strictly prohibits the entry of Xixia salt, this faction does not have the upper hand. In fact, the faction that supports Empress Dowager Liang also hopes to sell salt, but they just hope to use military means to force our Song Dynasty to lift the salt ban. "

"I see!" Zhang Fei thought for a while, "First, you divide us into two groups, and separate the business of these two groups. I will have my own plan then."

"yes."

"Also, tell the emperor that I have something important to see him about."

When Zhao Xu learned that Zhang Fei wanted to see him for something, he immediately summoned Zhang Fei into the palace.

Zhao Xu said: "You are in a hurry to see me this time because of the salt debt crisis in Hezhong Prefecture."

Zhang Fei shook his head. "No, the government knows about this. This crisis is within our expectations. We have already stockpiled enough private salt and can easily help Hezhong Prefecture resolve this crisis."

Zhao Xu nodded and looked at him puzzledly.

Zhang Fei explained: "The reason why I am in a hurry to see the emperor is mainly because I think I can use the salt debt crisis in Hezhong Prefecture to help Xihe Road raise military rations."

Zhao Xu was in high spirits. "What good plan do you have?"

Zhang Fei said: "Originally, our plan was to take advantage of the fact that the dignitaries in the country favored the blue and white salt, and distribute the smuggled clear salt, secretly selling it to the rich people in the country at a high price, and then use the money to buy salt locally to prevent the salt debt crisis.

But now, I plan to adjust my strategy. Now the people in the northwest are aware of the salt debt crisis, and they are all frantically buying salt. This situation has happened before, and the people were smuggling Xixia salt on a large scale.

In this case, why don't we take advantage of this crisis and make all the salt locked up by the salt debt go to the northwest region, causing a salt shortage there, and then have people sell private salt there directly, and send the money and food raised to the Xihe region. This way, not only can we save a lot of travel expenses, but we can also avoid the dissatisfaction of the soldiers on the northern front."

Zhao Xu frowned after hearing this. "Such a large-scale private salt sales will undermine my ban. The salt ban has already caused a financial crisis in Xixia. We cannot let all our efforts go to waste."

Zhang Fei said: "First, the Xihe Rebellion gave rise to illegal salt trafficking, which is reasonable and no one would doubt it. Secondly, after all the illegal salt trafficking has been dispersed, the government can send people to investigate the matter and arrest a wave of illegal salt dealers."

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, "Aren't those private salt dealers our people?"

What do you want to do? I am currently the biggest smuggling boss. If I catch him and get discovered, I will be finished!

He issued the ban himself and did the smuggling himself. He suddenly felt that he had been completely led into a ditch by Zhang Fei.

"It's just a show. We'll find a way to transfer them somewhere else later." Zhang Fei then explained, "We can also use this opportunity to stir up internal strife in Xixia."

Zhao Xu was surprised and delighted when he heard this and asked, "Stir up internal strife in Xixia?"

If you want to deal with Xixia, just stay in the ditch.

Zhang Fei first informed Zhao Xu of the internal situation of Western Xia.

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "I know all of this."

The Imperial City Division is no pushover, and he knows the situation in Western Xia very well.

Zhang Fei added: "Now I have asked Li Bao to divide our salt merchants into two factions to deal with the two forces in Xixia respectively. When the government orders a strict investigation of private salt, we will specifically arrest the private salt merchants who cooperate with Empress Dowager Liang's faction.

Then, we will quietly spread the news that someone inside Xixia has filed a complaint, and Queen Mother Liang and others will naturally direct the conflict towards the opposition. In this way, we can instigate internal strife among them and make them temporarily unable to worry about our military actions in the Xihe area.

The government also used the crackdown on illegal salt to weaken some of the power of the Xihe chieftains, and was able to continue to maintain the ban on illegal salt at the border."

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up, "Yes, we can use the crackdown on illegal salt to control the border between Xihe area and Xixia and Tubo."

"The government is wise."

"You are clever. Keep talking. Keep talking."

Zhao Xu was a little excited. He was very interested in things happening on the border.

"yes."

Zhang Fei nodded and continued, "The government issued a ban on Xixia salt in order to take the opportunity to hit Xixia's finances, but if they use all the profits from private salt for internal fighting, then we don't care.

According to what we have gathered, Empress Dowager Liang's faction is clearly gaining the upper hand. After this incident, they will certainly intensify their efforts to suppress the opposition. At this time, we can use the smuggling of salt to provide financial support to the opposition, ensuring that the two factions are in balance and causing them to continue to consume each other.

Anyway, the powerful people in the country all like Qingbai salt, and the smuggled Qingbai salt can be sold to them at a high price."

"This is a brilliant plan!"

Zhao Xu nodded happily, but then asked excitedly: "If we really provoke them into internal strife, wouldn't it be a great opportunity for our army to send troops?"

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then said awkwardly, "That's the theory."

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "In theory?"

Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, there is also a Liao Kingdom in the north. If I were a Liao person, I would definitely hope that Song and Xia would attack each other, but I would never want to see either side being destroyed.

If we send troops on a large scale, the Liao Kingdom will never sit idly by and will most likely provoke a war with our country in the north.

My suggestion is to let them fight among themselves and slowly nibble away at the border, but don't rush in with a large army. If we rush in with a large army at this time, it would be like fighting for our lives with the enemy when we have the upper hand. If we lose, our situation will be very volatile on both the western and northern fronts."

Zhao Xu seemed a little frustrated after hearing this. "According to what you said, unless Liao or Xixia suddenly disappears, we will never be able to send troops."

Zhang Fei said: "It is difficult to hope that they will disappear, but the government can allow our country to have the power to fight on two fronts, at least to be able to defend on one front and attack on the other.

In other words, after the war with Xixia, we must be prepared to defend the northern line against the Khitans moving southwards. "

Zhao Xu asked: "Can we do this?"

He still felt some fear of the Liao Kingdom.

Zhang Fei said: "As long as the emperor can remain patient, I believe that the emperor will be able to recover all the old territories in the Central Plains."

(End of this chapter)