Chapter 697 of the Main Text of the Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty: Soft Landing This hearing really started high and ended low!

Just when it seemed that a big fight was about to begin, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse and ended in a dull manner.

After Wang Gong announced the end, the officials were all stunned.

That’s it?

That's it!

What kind of hearing did we attend?

For the whole afternoon, I heard a few small soldiers and clerks complaining about this.

Is it interesting?

However, Queen Mother Cao seemed very satisfied with this. With the help of Zhao Xu, she slowly stood up and said with a chuckle, "This hearing is really unique. A group of prime ministers are sitting and listening to a few river patrol soldiers talking about reason. It's interesting! It's interesting!"

Zhao Xu added: "And the Queen Mother and the Emperor."

...

...

"Yes, yes, yes, I have forgotten about myself and the emperor." Empress Dowager Cao smiled and nodded.

Although she only said a few words casually, Zhao Xu knew very well in his heart that Queen Mother Cao was actually not in favor of large-scale construction in Hebei. After all, her husband was forced to issue a self-criticism edict for the sake of flood control, and her grandson did it again. Who could bear it!

However, Empress Dowager Cao had already seen that Zhao Xu wanted to use this hearing to gradually adjust policies and avoid paying huge political costs. Because of the special profession of emperor, the political cost of admitting mistakes would definitely not be small.

But you can't say this. If you say it, it will mean that the harem is interfering in politics.

Zhao Xu was also very grateful for this.

Judging from this hearing, he also knows that adjusting policies is inevitable, but in fact he is already somewhat powerless.

On the other side, Zhang Fei did not pay attention to the complaints of those officials. He had already packed up his things and prepared to go home for dinner.

After he got off the stage, he first came to Fu Bi and Han Qi, bowed and saluted, "Thank you both for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come here. This is really a great support for our procuratorate."

Han Qi laughed and said, "You are still as cunning as before. This didn't trap you, and you even managed to make a comeback."

Zhang Fei was very confused and said, "I am stupid and don't understand what Mr. Han meant."

Han Qi pretended to be dissatisfied and said, "You are not stupid, but you think we are old and confused. Now that things have come to this, who can't see what tricks you are playing? You are still pretending here."

Zhang Fei said seriously, "I am not playing any tricks. I am just following the rules of the procuratorate."

Han Qi was stunned, glanced at Fu Bi again, and coughed: "I almost forgot that you are not a little Erbi, but a prosecutor."

Zhang Fei immediately smiled and begged for mercy: "Fortunately, Mr. Han remembered."

Han Qi burst into laughter.

It's enough to be clear in your mind. If you tell it out loud, Zhang Fei will definitely not admit it. If Zhang Fei admits it, that would be a violation of the system.

Fu Bi, who was silent on the side, glanced at Han Qi and felt a little unhappy. He also supported the East Flow, while Han Qi supported the North Flow. After this hearing, the North Flow faction, which had been suppressed before, was obviously the biggest beneficiary.

Of course, this is only the current situation, but no one can tell what the specific results will be.

In order to avoid suspicion, Zhang Fei only talked with Han Qi for a moment and then left with Xu Zun and others.

Arriving outside the temple, Zhang Fei whispered, "Father-in-law, I'll go back first, so that Zhiqian and the others won't worry."

Xu Zun nodded and said, "You go back first. I'm treating everyone to dinner tonight, so I'll be back later."

Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "I'm so sorry!"

Xu Zun chuckled and said, "No need, I can hide."

"Uncle Zheng?"

Sima Guang came to Cheng Yi's side and saw that he was still sitting in the witness stand, lost in thought, so he called out again, "Uncle Zheng?"

"ah?"

Cheng Yi came back to his senses, stood up quickly, and said with a folded hand, "What can I do for you, Sima Xianggong?"

Sima Guang asked: "The hearing is over, why are you still sitting here?"

Cheng Yi was stunned for a moment, "Your subordinate, your subordinate is thinking."

"What are you thinking about?" Sima Guang asked curiously.

Cheng Yi said: "Think about the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."

Sima Guang was confused and asked, "Public security, procuratorate or court?"

Cheng Yi nodded and said with a smile: "To be honest with you, Lord Sima, I accepted your recommendation this time because of the public security, but unfortunately, when I took up the post, Zhang Sanlang happened to be in Shaanxi. Today I can be said to have seen the public security, the procuratorate and the court."

Sima Guang asked with a smile: "Then what do you think?"

Cheng Yi thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I just feel that it is both familiar and unfamiliar. The knowledge in it is even more profound. I have to go home and think about it carefully."

Sima Guang smiled and said, "Then you better hurry up. Maybe when you return to Daming Prefecture, you will be an official in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."

"Mr. Wen, why didn't you say anything just now?"

Sheng Tao asked Wen Yanbo in confusion.

Wen Yanbo glanced at him, then closed his eyes and remained silent.

Sheng Tao looked at Lu Gong standing beside him with a feeling of grievance.

A smile flashed across Lü Gong's eyes, and he hurriedly helped, "How could a person of Wengong's status argue with those river patrolmen? It can only be said that Zhang San is too cunning. He arranged it this way deliberately to silence Wengong and his men, fearing Wengong's knowledge."

Wen Yanbo secretly opened his eyes and glared at Lu Gong.

Sheng Tao was not convinced. He thought what Lu Gongzhu said made sense, and questioned again, "The public security, procuratorate and courts claim to be fair, but I don't think so!"

Lu Gong hurriedly said: "That's not unfair, but!"

He also didn't know how to resolve it.

Wen Yanbo was not stupid either. Although he also understood the art of flood control, those river patrol soldiers had more than ten or twenty years of experience, and their confessions were all based on their experience.

He was not afraid to humble himself and refute them, after all, the people who heard him were all high-ranking officials in the court. But he was afraid that he would not be able to win the argument, which would be very embarrassing.

Because the host was Zhang Fei, as soon as Wen Yanbo opened his mouth to refute, Zhang Fei would definitely ask him questions until he got to the bottom of it, and he would definitely not be able to answer in the end.

But when the news got out, it was Wen Yanbo, a veteran of three dynasties, who could not win the argument with a few river patrol soldiers, but in fact he was facing Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei had just returned home when Xu Zhiqian, who was pregnant, came up to him and asked anxiously, "How is it?"

Gao Wenyin, who was also pregnant, handed over a handkerchief.

"Thank you ma'am."

Zhang Fei took the handkerchief and said to Xu Zhiqian, "We'll talk about it tonight. You guys hurry to the backyard first, or someone will come looking for trouble."

"who?"

Xu Zhiqian said in surprise.

Zhang Fei shrugged helplessly and said, "Who else could it be except Master Wang?"

As expected, just after sending Xu Zhiqian and Gao Wenyin to the backyard and arriving in the hall, before he could even sit down, he saw Wang Anshi walking in angrily.

When he saw Zhang Fei, he said, "It seems you already knew I would come to find you."

"Master Wang, please take a seat."

Zhang Fei stood up and said very respectfully.

Wang Anshi waved his sleeves and said, "Do you know what you are doing? You are hinting to the court to abandon the East Flow and switch to the North Flow. Do you know how much impact this will have on the court?"

"Of course I do."

Zhang Fei said: "That's why I did this."

Wang Anshi was stunned, and asked with bulging eyes: "You knew you were still doing this?"

Zhang Fei did not answer but asked, "Why is Master Wang so nervous?"

Wang Anshi said, "You know it clearly."

"Yes, I know very well."

Zhang Fei said: "Because it was Wang Xueshi who initially supported the East Flow against all odds, and it was Wang Xueshi who demanded the development of water conservancy and implemented his own water conservancy law. If the East Flow plan fails, the new policy will also be in jeopardy."

Wang Anshi gnashed his teeth and said, "So you are trying to harm me."

"On the contrary, I want to save Scholar Wang."

Zhang Fei said: "Na Luojian has already said it very clearly just now. No matter how strong your dam is, as long as God sends a few more rains, there will still be a flood. Natural disasters are nothing to be afraid of, but human hearts are scary.

Whenever there is a flood, all the responsibility is put on Wang Xueshi. I don’t understand why Wang Xueshi wants to put the pressure on himself to deal with such a thing.”

Wang Anshi said: "Your statement can be applied to any situation. According to your statement, I will do nothing and become like that old thief Sima, all talk and no action."

Zhang Fei said: "That's not what I meant. The Qingmiao Law has problems, but they can be remedied. The Junshu Law has problems, but they can also be remedied. But the consequences of natural disasters cannot be remedied, and they are bound to happen.

I have always been a strong supporter of the Farmland Irrigation Law. I even think that this is the essence of not increasing taxes on the people and allowing the country to have abundant resources. However, I strongly disagree with Mr. Wang's betting of the new policy on water control, which is bound to be a failure.

According to our investigation, the river in Hebei has continued to burst in the past two years. Although it has not caused a major flood, it is an important signal. "

"Don't think I can't tell what you're thinking."

Wang Anshi snorted, “In your words, the river defense works over there are being promoted using the methods of the Legalists, which is bound to conflict with your legal system, so you came up with this plan, eager to include river defense works in the legal system.

You are really daydreaming. The river defense works will certainly increase the burden on the people, but they can also benefit more people. If you hope to manage the river in a fair way, then we can tell you that these works cannot be moved for ten thousand years.

When Fan Wencheng went to Jiangnan to control floods, he encountered many obstacles. Even though Fan Wencheng finally overcame all objections and improved the local river, benefiting countless people, it was still not fully implemented because the large landowners who were damaged by the construction still opposed it.

Zhang Fei said earnestly: "Mr. Wang really guessed wrong this time. I really didn't think about the law of the rule of law. If I thought so, I could choose to open a trial and directly hold all those who were at fault to account. Wouldn't that further enhance the authority of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs?

I am helping Mr. Wang, so that he can continue to promote the farmland irrigation law and continue to manage the river, but at the same time leave the dangerous riverside, so as not to risk the complete failure of the new policy to promote this project. "

Wang Anshi was confused. He held power but was not responsible. How could such a good thing happen? He asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Master Wang, please take a seat."

Zhang Fei gestured with his hand.

Only then did Wang Anshi sit down.

Zhang Fei said: "Mr. Wang is in a hurry to come here mainly because of the confessions of the patrol officers behind him, because their confessions are all unfavorable to the East Flow Plan."

Wang Anshi said nothing, obviously agreeing.

He didn't care much about Cheng Fang's previous confession, because the censors often said those words, and Zhang Fei clearly pointed out that there was no written law that could determine that Cheng Fang was guilty.

Zhang Fei said, "But I swear to heaven, I have no idea what kind of confession they will make. I just asked people to find a few of the most experienced officers from the relevant fortifications. If their confessions are all favorable to the East Flow Plan, will Master Wang still look for me?"

Wang Anshi said: "The key is their confession, which is very unfavorable to the Dongliu Plan."

"But this is not the point." Zhang Fei said.

Wang Anshi was surprised and asked, "Isn't this the key point?"

Zhang Fei said: "The key is that these people use their own skills and experience to make their testimony. Isn't this what Master Wang is pursuing?

The people are not taxed more and the country has more money, and the farmland water conservancy technology is improved to create more wealth. In comparison, Cheng Dujian's governance is a mess. He just relies on the human sea tactics. I can do it too, but it can't give the government enough surprises.

If a few people can repair the dam without harming people’s livelihood, that would be a surprise.”

Wang Anshi was shocked and asked, "How is this possible?"

Zhang Fei asked, "Is Master Wang questioning himself?"

".!"

Wang Anshi was suddenly extremely embarrassed.

Zhang Fei continued, “On the surface, Beiliu is the biggest beneficiary of this hearing, but in fact, Wang Xueshi is the biggest beneficiary.

Do those officials really understand the dispute between the East Flow and the North Flow? They don't understand. He just gives his own judgment based on his own experience. This cannot prove that the East Flow plan has failed.

But this shows one thing: river defense technology is the key to everything.

Mr. Wang should quickly write an article to highly praise these officials, and link the goal of not increasing taxes on the people and enriching the country's finances with technological innovation.

Whether it is flowing eastward or northward, technology and experience will be used to speak. In this way, Master Wang will be able to escape from the current predicament and stand in a higher and safer position to promote river defense fortifications.

This will gain the support of many people, and no one on the other side can refute it. The reason why Duke Wen was unwilling to testify just now was very simple, because he could not refute those officials. His knowledge of the flow of water in Hebei was definitely not as good as that of Uncle Dong. Once he refuted, it would easily expose that he was just talking big.

But Duke Wen was very smart and he did not argue.

By the same token, once Mr. Wang has mastered all the technology and talents, the opposition will become a clown.

Mr. Wang can build a water conservancy school in Daming Prefecture, which has suffered from floods, to attract talents from all over the world and achieve absolute mastery of technology, so as to achieve the goal of not increasing taxes on the people and providing abundant financial resources for the country, while ensuring that the new policy will last forever.

Because technology is always correct, the opposition would not choose to use backward stone sticks just because Master Wang used a better iron rake.

If technology becomes the driving force of the New Deal, it will be invincible.”

Wang Anshi was silent for a long time, the anger on his face gradually disappeared, and he said: "But the Dongliu Plan shoulders the heavy responsibility of defending against Liao."

Zhang Fei said: "When I was in Hezhong Prefecture, I had a brief conversation with a local official who was familiar with water conservancy.

He said that the silt in the Yellow River is due to the destruction of the upstream river channel, which causes a large amount of silt to flow down the river. And the fact has proved that the flooding of the Yellow River is due to the excessive silt in the downstream. If you want to completely cure it, you must control the upstream, but who controls the upstream? "

Wang Anshi was startled. "Xixia."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I told this story to prove that there is no sufficient theoretical support for the East Flow to Defend against Liao. It is far less convincing than the saying 'To cure floods, we must destroy Xixia', because if we can cure the upper reaches, the sand in the water will definitely decrease.

That's called a reason.

The eastward flow of the river to defend against the Liao is just a joke. Does the eastward flow of the river guarantee that the Liao Kingdom cannot move south? In fact, historical books have proved that what can really defend against the Liao Kingdom is the complete Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, not that extremely unstable river channel. If the river channel over there overflows and the water flows to our side, the Liao army can come over without any effort!

The so-called Dongliu to defend against Liao was just a way to comfort myself out of fear of the Liao army. I am the one who fears war the most, but Dongliu does not give me even a glimmer of security. "

Wang Anshi frowned, then suddenly raised his head and said, "You are doing this to stay out of it, calm down the storm, and not offend either side."

Zhang Fei laughed directly, "So Mr. Wang thinks that he has not been offended by me now?"

Wang Anshi's expression froze and he looked a little confused.

Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "In fact, I have offended both sides now. The only one who supports me is the former prime minister who is determined to retire.

Bachelor Wang should be very clear that Bachelor Sima and others also support the Eastward Flow, but they think it should be implemented slowly. They may value the role of the Eastward Flow Plan in defending against the Liao more than Bachelor Wang.

The difference is that they are now staying out of the matter and attacking Mr. Wang without any risk. It is impossible for the public security, procuratorate and courts to convict Cheng Yi.

Moreover, according to Sima Xue Shi and his colleagues' plan, they would not make any mistakes because they would not do anything. If a flood occurred, they would think that the government had not implemented benevolent policies.

At that time, all we can see is that they reduce taxes, exempt corvée labor, and think about the people. They are invincible, so Wang Xueshi thinks, who am I helping? "

Wang Anshi was extremely embarrassed by these words. After thinking for a long time, he stood up and said, "I'll go back first."

He needs to calm down now. The interests here are too complicated and Zhang Fei is too talkative.

"I'll take Master Wang."

After Wang Anshi had just left, Xu Zhiqian, who had been eavesdropping nearby, came out and said with a slightly tired look, "Can't you discuss this with Wang Xueshi in advance? Every time Wang Xueshi gets so angry that he blows his beard and glares. If you had been so eloquent, he would have turned hostile long ago."

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Since I do this every time, I must have my reasons."

"What's the reason?"

"It's just not feasible to discuss this with him in advance." Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Only when you push him to this point will he think about how to change, and only when you propose a change plan at this time will he be likely to accept it."

Xu Zhiqian nodded and asked, "Is it the same for Scholar Sima?"

Zhang Fei nodded.

Xu Zhiqian asked again: "Will Scholar Sima come later?"

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "No! Scholar Sima has always attached great importance to rules. Before the procuratorate makes a decision, he will not come to see me to avoid giving others a reason to criticize him.

Wang Xueshi advocates the principles of the Legalists and uses power to modify the results. In his opinion, this is just normal operation. "

Zhang Fei was right in his guess. It was impossible for Sima Guang to come to Zhang Fei for consultation. At that time, he was discussing countermeasures with Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Lu Gongzhuo and Liu Shu.

This result was indeed beyond their expectations. They hoped to target Cheng Fang and the entire Hebei river defense works, but they never expected that Cheng Fang was not targeted, and instead, Beiliu got a glimmer of hope.

But this is not what they want.

Zhang Fei was obviously the culprit, and Liu Shu was quite dissatisfied with this. He believed that Zhang San had secretly helped Cheng Fang to escape punishment by relying on his knowledge of the law.

"You can't blame Zhang San."

Sima Guang sighed, "After all, Cheng Fang is a government official. This is actually a very difficult situation for the public security, procuratorate and courts. He chose to let the river patrolman end this hearing. He must still want to calm this storm."

Liu Shu said: "Cheng Fang has done so many evil things. If the public security, procuratorate and courts cannot restrain him, who will trust them?"

"That's wrong."

Fu Bi said: "Zhang San is not shielding Cheng Fang, but solving the problem. Why the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs cannot punish Cheng Fang, in fact, Zhang San has made it very clear that it is due to the imperfection of the system. Only by improving the system in this regard can we truly restrain Cheng Fang.

Otherwise, even if the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs punish Cheng Fang today, the government can replace him with someone else, which is meaningless. The whole hearing is to find out the shortcomings of the court system. "

Sima Guang nodded and said, "Mr. Fu has a point. In fact, this case is also a good medicine. Cheng Fang himself did not take bribes or pervert the law. He just wanted to gain merit without caring about the people. This is of course wrong. But in the past, such cases can only be judged by success or failure. If it succeeds in the end, even if many people die, even if you and I think it is wrong, the court will not care.

If we can improve this system, we can protect the interests of the people in the process, and this is the long-term solution.”

Wen Yanbo suddenly said, "I have seen the mystery here, but I don't understand why he wanted me to go up and embarrass myself in the end. Does he think I am easy to bully?"

"???"

This matter has not yet passed! Sima Guang said embarrassedly: "It may be because Fu Gong and I have both been there."

Wen Yanbo pointed at Lu Gong and said, "Uncle Hui has never been up there."

Lü Gong felt that he was innocently implicated, and hurriedly said, "Maybe Zhang San thinks I'm not smart enough, and he's afraid that we'll really start a debate. After all, you, Wen Gong, are mature and calm."

"Bah!"

".!"

Palace.

"The students agree very much with Zhang San's opinion."

"What?"

Wang Anshi looked at Lu Huiqing in surprise.

Lu Huiqing said: "Students have said before that flood control is a difficult task. The more time passes, the more we seem to be unable to cope with it, and thus we lose the overall situation."

Wang Anshi said: "It is precisely because most people in the court think like you and are afraid of taking responsibility that this problem has not been solved."

Lu Huiqing said patiently: "So I didn't stop you at first, but Zhang San's plan now allows us to unload this burden and use the business law and farmland water conservancy law to manage the river more easily and effectively. Why do you have to worry about it?"

Although his ideas are very similar to Wang Anshi's and he is also ambitious, he is more calculating. He had no choice before because the Dongliu Plan was tied to the New Deal, and they had to protect Cheng Fang and could not afford to make any mistakes. But that doesn't mean he supports the plan. He has always believed that this would greatly increase the burden of the New Deal.

If Zhang Fei could allow them to land safely, he would certainly be willing to abandon this plan. Considering the political cost, this would be a very bad deal.

Position yourself on the ground and allow the opponent to attack you.

Wang Anshi was slightly embarrassed and asked, "Do you think it's okay to take it off?"

Lu Huiqing nodded and said, "I think it is completely possible. It is impossible to change such a big plan of the court just based on the words of a few river patrol soldiers.

At the same time, judging from the hearing process, it is difficult to convict Cheng Fang. As long as we promote the use of talents and technology to solve river problems at this time, and then take the opportunity to improve some policies.

It is entirely possible to continue to hold the power to manage rivers in our hands, but at the same time we do not need to bear too much responsibility. At least the implementation of the entire new policy will not be affected by floods.

The key is that this can also reduce the burden on the government's shoulders. After all, Cheng Fang is an official!"

Wang Anshi raised his eyebrows and hesitated for a moment. "Go and discuss with Zhang San first about how to write this article. In any case, keeping one more trick will be more beneficial to us."