In fact, it is not surprising that the Commissioner of Taxation took over the taxation of the capital area, because the system was designed in this way. We can only blame them for not stopping the exemption tax in the first place.

However, the Beijing Taxation Commissioner has not taken over the entire situation because everyone is well aware of the interests involved and is reluctant to take this step. At the same time, there is also considerable resistance from the court.

However, the current timing is extremely sensitive. In the eyes of others, as soon as you, Zhang Fei, came back, you made three consecutive changes, turning the entire system upside down.

You are just trying to deal with us.

But this is really unfair. Zhang Fei had no intention of doing so. Wang Anshi only asked him to create some public opinion and publicize it first. This is fine, but it is to give those powerful people a psychological preparation, because this is a matter of time.

What’s frustrating is that these two groups of people thought the same thing.

This caused the matter to ferment rapidly, especially the behavior of the tax collectors, which forced the court to take it seriously and immediately passed a resolution in the Chuigong Hall.

As soon as the meeting ended, the news spread, immediately attracting a barrage of curses.

The Commissioner of Taxation will not only take over all taxation, but will also emulate the tax laws of Hezhong Prefecture. This is really cutting into their flesh!

These powerful people have been developing for nearly a hundred years, and many of their relatives do not pay taxes, but many of their relatives do not have special privileges. This is simply a way to catch them all in one fell swoop!

...

...

Zhang family.

"Lu proofreading?"

"Are you surprised to see me?"

Lu Huiqing asked.

"oh."

Zhang Fei reacted and held out his hand, saying, "Please take a seat, Proofreader Lu."

Lu Huiqing sat down and said, "Just now the government has decided that the tax commissioner will take over all taxation this year."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "This is not my fault. I am helpless."

Lu Huiqing said: "Of course I know this, but it is meaningless to say this now. The key is whether you are prepared to deal with it. I estimate that it won't be long before they will stir up disputes and use the public security, procuratorate and courts to attack everyone, making the public security, procuratorate and courts enemies everywhere. By that time, even if you are fair, you are wrong."

If you want to destroy something, you must first make it crazy.

Aren’t you, the public security, procuratorate and courts, supposed to enforce the law impartially?

OK!

If you have the ability, you can treat everyone equally, and that is your ability.

No one has ever done this in history.

Shang Yang, who had not yet truly achieved this, could not avoid the fate of being torn to pieces by chariots.

You are simply looking for death!

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I have thought of this, but what I can do is to continue to adhere to the principles. If I back down and break the principles, I will only die faster."

Lu Huiqing said: "But sticking to principles may also lead to death. You can't be enemies with everyone."

Zhang Fei frowned slightly and couldn't help asking, "What suggestions does Lu Xiaokan have for this?"

Lu Huiqing smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, I didn't come here to give you advice. I came here to protect myself. They will definitely use the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs to deal with the new policy even more unscrupulously in the future. I was able to deal with it before, but now it is definitely not possible."

So he came here for this matter. I thought he was really worried about me? Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't worry, Procurator Lu. The Procuratorate is not the Censorate. It is impossible for anyone to wave it around. As long as it is not illegal, there will be no problem."

Lu Huiqing smiled bitterly and said, "You have been the chief judge in Hezhong Prefecture, so you should know that many things are not as simple as you think."

Zhang Fei said: "But it's not complicated. For example, if you follow the new law completely, even if there are problems, you are innocent in the eyes of the public security, procuratorate and court. But if you just use the new law as an excuse to commit robbery, then you are breaking the law."

Lu Huiqing said: "But there will always be bad apples in any group. The mistake of one person will affect the entire new policy."

Zhang Fei immediately said: "If this situation really happens, I will help Xin Zheng explain it clearly in court and will not let Xin Zheng's reputation be damaged."

Lu Huiqing asked: "Can you really do this? Will it give people something to blame?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Please rest assured, Proofreader Lu, I still have this ability. No matter what, I will uphold the new policy and will only target those black sheep."

Lu Huiqing remained silent.

Zhang Fei asked, "What else is Lu Xuejian worried about? You can't ask me to protect those who committed crimes. After all, their crimes are actually harming the new policy in disguise. This is not what Wang Xueshi and Lu Xuejian want."

Lu Huiqing hurriedly said: "You misunderstood. Do you remember how you cooperated with Yuan Houzhi in Hezhong Prefecture?"

"Remember."

Zhang Fei nodded, and suddenly realized, "Does Lu Xiaokan want to emulate this method?"

Lu Huiqing nodded and said, "If some of them violate the law, we have to speak up for them. Otherwise, no one will be willing to gather around our teacher. Moreover, if we do this, it will also be good for you, because it will force Sima Xueshi and others to support us more."

Although the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments emphasize the separation of politics and law, justice is ultimately a part of politics and will be included in political struggles. It is not as simple as right or wrong.

Lu Huiqing has always been very keen on struggle, because in his opinion, it is necessary to rely on struggle to unite forces, so as to create cohesion.

His meaning was very simple, that is, they still wanted to expand their power by dealing with the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, and at the same time asked Zhang Fei to be as lenient to them as possible.

He doesn't care about the public security, procuratorate or courts.

Zhang Fei thought for a while, nodded and said, "This is feasible. Anyway, please rest assured, Proofreader Lu, I will never do anything to harm the new policy."

Lu Huiqing nodded. Although he had reservations about Zhang Fei, Zhang Fei had not done anything to harm the new policy. He had reason to trust Zhang Fei. He said, "Now the government has handed over the taxation issue to the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures. What do you think?"

Zhang Fei said: "Everything is normal."

"Um?"

Lu Huiqing seemed a little confused.

Zhang Fei said: "The more actively we fight, the more we will fall into the opponent's trap. I think what we need to do is to follow the routine and keep everything as usual. We should remain unchanged in the face of all changes."

Lu Huiqing nodded slightly.

As soon as Lu Huiqing left, Sima Guang arrived.

When he saw Zhang Fei, Sima Guang first asked, "Do you know the result of today's meeting?"

Zhang Fei nodded: "I just found out."

Sima Guang couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, the thing I was most worried about has finally happened!"

He did not dare to step forward and take on the important task of reforming the law because he was worried that he would not be able to handle the situation.

In fact, the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems are more in line with Sima Guang's philosophy of cleaning up bureaucracy, saving expenses and reducing taxes and levies. However, he believed that this was as difficult as climbing to the sky, otherwise Wang Anshi would not have come up with other solutions.

He originally thought that he could avoid this problem by emphasizing the judiciary and gradually cleaning up the bureaucracy, but he never expected that the emergence of the Tax Commissioner would disrupt his plans and he ended up at this point.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Instead of complaining here, Mr. Sima, why don't you help a little."

Sima Guang asked: "How can we help? Judging from the facts, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are not wrong, but it is almost impossible to ensure that everything is in accordance with the law."

Zhang Fei said: "That's possible."

Sima Guang quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Fei said: "Regarding the case of treason in Qizhou, we have actually been given some inspiration. The reason why everyone is afraid is that the current laws and regulations are still too strict, which will increase the difficulty of law enforcement. If the punishment is too harsh, law enforcement must be relatively lenient. On the contrary, if the punishment can be more lenient, law enforcement can be stricter."

Like the Qin State, where the punishments were harsh and the law enforcement was very strict, we would definitely not be able to continue.

Within a range, punishment and law enforcement are relative. If the law is too harsh, law enforcement must be very lenient, otherwise there will definitely be problems.

Now, many punishments in the Song Dynasty were also very harsh, which led to many precedents where lenient treatment was given, because people have compassion and the people really had a hard time.

The public security, procuratorial and judicial departments must respect the law, which will certainly increase the difficulty of their work.

Sima Guang stroked his beard and asked, "Do you mean to urge the Legislative Council to amend the Penal Code?"

Zhang Fei nodded, "Now the other party is obviously going to deal with law enforcement, so reducing the penalty will be very beneficial to law enforcement. Also, the Legislative Council should speed up the passage of the contract principle."

"Contractual principles?"

Sima Guang asked again: "Why is this?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because the essence of everything is that money is at work. As long as the people live a prosperous life and the treasury is full, all their conspiracies and tricks will seem insignificant. On the contrary, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs may collapse completely at the slightest disturbance. The success of Hezhong Prefecture lies in the fact that the burden on the people is getting lighter and lighter. The Legislative Council must pass some laws and regulations that are beneficial to the people's livelihood, so that law enforcement will be relatively easy."

Sima Guang thought for a while, nodded and said, "You have a point. Okay, I will go to discuss it with Mr. Fu. But you have to be careful. Now everyone is watching the police, procuratorate and courts. The slightest mistake may lead to disaster."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "No one is perfect. No matter how careful you are, you will make mistakes. The only way to shirk responsibility is to follow the rules. Then, no matter you are right or wrong, you won't give others a reason to criticize you."

Sima Guang chuckled and said, "You are making a crooked argument!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But to achieve this is much more difficult than not making mistakes!"

Sima Guang nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei originally did not want to urge the Legislative Council to pass his precedent in Hezhong Prefecture, but now the other side is speeding up, and the Legislative Council has to catch up.

But he just didn't expect it to come so soon, so he didn't have to panic.

Because before he entered the officialdom, he had already considered how to deal with the issue of imperial power. If he did not think this through and rashly implemented the rule of law, it would be no different from chronic suicide.

The solution is actually simple. It's nothing but finance. As long as the finances are good, Zhao Xu will be able to make certain sacrifices. Otherwise, whatever you do will be undermining the imperial power.

It's so realistic!

This is also why Zhang Fei promised Lu Huiqing that he would never conflict with the new policy, because he did not have administrative power, and he emphasized the separation of politics and law. He had to go through Wang Anshi to improve the finances. Wasn't the Enterprise Law promulgated by him through Wang Anshi? He would not undermine the new policy.

Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, the enemies in his previous life, were indispensable to him.

After Sima Guang left, Xu Zhiqian came into the hall and asked worriedly, "Zhang San, is the current situation very serious?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Yes, but it's all within expectations. This is an unfair fight. After all, they only need to pour a basin of carbon ash into the pond, and the water will immediately become turbid. But if you want to make the water clear, it will be very difficult."

Xu Zhiqian nodded gently, "Then how do you plan to deal with it?"

Zhang Fei said: "I can only respond to their moves and be prepared for a protracted war. The attacks on the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will never stop because human nature is greedy."

Originally, Zhang Fei planned to take a few more days off, but after this incident, he had to return to the procuratorate immediately to stabilize the morale of the troops, and Xu Zun also suggested so.

Procuratorate

"I heard that the courtyard has been very lively these days!"

Zhang Fei, who had just returned from vacation, chatted with Qi Ji and Wang Gong with a relaxed look on his face.

“It’s more than just lively.”

Qi Ji seemed to force a smile and said, "Our procuratorate is really walking on thin ice right now!"

"Really?" Zhang Fei asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"

Qi Ji said depressedly, "After the lawsuit was over, many people came to ask for advice, as if our procuratorate could make decisions for them no matter what. And then when the news about the tax bureau taking over the taxation department came out, the people attributed all the credit to our procuratorate and praised it."

Zhang Fei said: "This is a good thing!"

Qi Ji waved his hand and said, "This is not a good thing. The people have high expectations of us now, but it is hard to say whether we can really eliminate the injustice in the world. If we can't do it, we may be cursed by the people."

Wang Gong laughed and said, "Not only that, the powerful people in the capital already hate us to the core, and they are definitely plotting ways to deal with us."

Qi Ji asked, "Prosecutor Zhang, the tax commissioner in Qizhou has encountered so many problems, let alone our capital. There is almost no rich and powerful person who does not evade taxes. And those eunuchs, if the tax commissioner investigates them, should we arrest and sue them as well?"

Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "Eunuchs also evade taxes?"

Qi Ji glanced outside the door and whispered, "I heard that the nobleman Lan Yuanzhen must have at least hundreds of hectares of land in the capital, but I have never heard that he has paid taxes."

They don't even have JJ, why do they need money? Zhang Fei muttered to himself, and then said, "This is the tax commissioner's problem. If they produce evidence, we will sue them. If they want to blame someone, they can blame the tax commissioner. Why blame us?"

Wang Gong said: "But if the tax commissioner shows leniency, someone might sue the tax commissioner for favoritism and abuse of power. How should we deal with it?"

Qi Ji nodded repeatedly.

I can’t sleep just thinking about it. This is so difficult.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If there is evidence, then we can appeal. We should not be influenced by public opinion outside, nor should we scare ourselves. If we are upright, we have nothing to fear. They are breaking the law, so we don't have to be afraid of them. What kind of logic is this?"

"Prosecutor Zhang is right."

Then Xu Zun walked in.

The three of them immediately stood up and saluted.

After Xu Zun sat down, he continued, "As long as you set an example and discipline yourself, you don't have to be afraid. The rest of the problems cannot be blamed on you. I will take full responsibility."

Qi Ji and Wang Gong were immediately ashamed, but they were also greatly encouraged.

Xu Zun added: "The most urgent task is to expand the staff of our procuratorate. With the current manpower of the procuratorate, it may not be able to cope with what happens next. What suggestions do you have for this?"

Qi Ji and Wang Gong couldn't help but look at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "I'm really not good at this."

Wang Gong said thoughtfully: "In the past, the judicial power of our dynasty was actually relatively chaotic. For example, the Transportation Department also had a special judicial trial, not to mention the Criminal Justice Department. Now the judicial power belongs to the public security, procuratorate and courts. These offices are not very useful. It is better to recruit talents from these offices first, or even suggest that the court dismiss these offices, so that the judicial power can be integrated."

Xu Zun nodded and said, "That makes sense. The reason why our government is slow to implement policies is because there are too many officials and the power is too dispersed. In this situation, if we don't integrate the judicial power, it will be very disadvantageous to us. Okay, I will discuss this matter with Sima Xueshi tomorrow."

Due to the special military, political and administrative system of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo Bianliang became particularly special, and it was like two transitional areas compared to local prefectures.

The conflicts of interest here are so complicated that they are far beyond the reach of Hezhong Prefecture.

Now that the other party has put the tax issue on the table, the public security, procuratorate and courts may face very complicated tax cases. Among the public security, procuratorate and courts in Beijing, only the police station has completed the expansion of its staff.

This is because Zhao Xu wanted to build the Royal Police into an armed force. He was very supportive of the expansion of the police station. Now the Royal Police replaced the powers of many patrolmen and slowly confined the imperial guards to the barracks.

However, the Imperial Court and the Procuratorate did not expand their staffing on a large scale, and they had always been operating on two parallel tracks. The old judicial system had also been in operation, and many officials had judicial power.

However, the Tax Commissioner can only liaise with the public security, procuratorate and courts, which also need to seek to integrate judicial power. Otherwise, there will be a mess of accounts.

This is indeed an urgent task.

Because the other party will not give the public security, procuratorate and courts too much time. In fact, there is no need to think too much about dealing with them. After all, the entire court is systemically corrupt, and there is too much material.

Second watch.

Meng Mansion.

"What's the urgent matter that Director Meng wants us to come here so late at night?"

Xie Yun asked anxiously.

Pei Wen also looked at Meng Gansheng in confusion.

Now that the battle has begun, they are also on high alert.

Meng Gansheng smiled and said, "I heard something very interesting today and I want to share it with you."

Xie Yun and Pei Wen looked at each other, both confused.

Let's come over late at night and share something interesting?

Are you that energetic?

Xie Yun asked: "What's interesting?"

Meng Gansheng said, "This afternoon, Xu Sheng, the judge of transportation in Daming Prefecture, returned to Beijing to wait for his transfer. He invited me to dinner in the evening. During the dinner, he told me a very interesting story. Cheng Fang, the chief water conservancy officer of Hebei Province, wanted to impeach Cheng Yi, the deputy commander of the militia of Daming Prefecture, for inciting the Yellow River sailors to disobey the emperor's order and commit treason."

Pei Wen was shocked when he heard this. "Really? How come I have never heard of this?"

They in the Censorate are very well-informed.

"Just listen to me first."

Meng Gansheng said: "At the end of last year, Cheng Fang wanted to mobilize the Yellow River sailors to build the river, but according to the system of our dynasty, the Yellow River sailors could not be mobilized to build the river, so Cheng Yi refused to carry out Cheng Fang's order. As a result, Cheng Fang wrote to the court. As you all know, Cheng Fang is a eunuch that the emperor trusts very much. So the emperor personally ordered to mobilize 800 Yellow River sailors to help him build the river.

But it was freezing cold at the time, and the sailors could not stand Cheng Fang's tyranny, so they discussed and fled to the city together. Many officials in Daming Prefecture were afraid of offending Cheng Fang and did not dare to open the city gates. It was Cheng Yi who ordered the city gates to be opened and the sailors were allowed into the city.

Because of this, Cheng Fang held a grudge against me, hence the previous words."

"That's impossible."

Xie Yun said: "Daming Prefecture is right next to us. If Cheng Fang really wanted to impeach Cheng Yi, the memorial should have been sent to the capital long ago. It is impossible for us to know nothing about it."

Meng Gansheng said, "Have you forgotten that some time ago, an imperial censor impeached Cheng Fang for his atrocities in Hebei, disturbing people's livelihood and making the people along the river miserable? And Zhang San had just returned to the procuratorate at that time, so Cheng Fang didn't dare to sue him. He was just trying to scare people."

After hearing this, Xie Yun asked, "So, Director Meng asked us to come here to tell us this?"

Meng Gansheng asked: "Don't you think this is interesting?"

Xie Yun shook his head. There was nothing surprising about this story. It was just a struggle between eunuchs and foreign officials. This kind of thing happened every day.

Meng Gansheng sighed, "Why is Cheng Fang the Minister of River Defense in Hebei?"

Xie Yun said: "It seems that Wang Jiefu recommended him, because Cheng Fang has made great contributions to the management of rivers in Daming in recent years, and Wang Jiefu's new policy also requires the construction of water conservancy projects."

Meng Gansheng asked: "Whose man is Cheng Fang?"

Xie Yun said: "He is a eunuch, so he is naturally a member of the government."

Meng Gansheng asked again: "Do you know who was the censor who impeached Cheng Fang before?"

Pei Wen said: "It seems to be Sheng Tao."

"There is one more thing you may not know."

Meng Gansheng said: "At present, Han Xianggong is in charge of Daming Prefecture. Cheng Fang is doing evil things in Hebei Road. How could Han Xianggong not know about it? According to Xu Sheng, Han Xianggong actually hates Cheng Fang very much, but he is just keeping it to himself for the sake of the emperor and Wang Jiefu's face."

Pei Wen suddenly asked, "Doctor Meng wants to report this to the procuratorate?"

Meng Gansheng stroked his beard and smiled, "The relationship here is very complicated. If the procuratorate were to handle it, it would definitely be very exciting."

Xie Yun frowned and said, "But if we want to sue the procuratorate, we have to provide evidence. The procuratorate is different from the censorate. Cheng Yi just let the escaped sailors into the city. This cannot be considered an illegal act. I don't think the procuratorate will take any action."

Meng Gansheng waved his hands and said, "You can't say that. The court has clearly stipulated that sailors cannot be called in to repair the river, but the emperor personally called in sailors to serve Cheng Fang. How will the public security, procuratorate and court handle this matter? If the emperor's order comes first, those sailors will be considered to have deserted their duties, and Cheng Yi will be guilty of harboring a suspect."

Pei Wen raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said, "If we can get this case to the procuratorate, it will be a good show. Cheng Fang is the emperor and Wang Jiefu's man, and Cheng Yi was just recommended by Sima Junshi and his men. Moreover, Sima Junshi has long disliked Cheng Fang. As long as this matter is exposed, it will definitely cause disputes. The procuratorate has to enforce the law impartially, and no matter how it is judged, it will offend people."

"That's right." Meng Gansheng nodded and said, "Now we just need to think of a way to let the procuratorate investigate this matter. As long as the procuratorate intervenes, all the things Cheng Fang did will be exposed, and the final point will be to..."

Xie Yun's expression changed, "Don't let others know about this."