Like losing one's parents.

When the ministers in the court learned that the Political Affairs Hall finally adopted Zhang Fei's suggestion, everyone was in despair, as if the sky had fallen.

The third fire was finally lit by Zhang Fei.

This didn't stop it?

Why is that?

Wen Yanbo was also reflecting on himself. At this point, he suddenly felt that he was really messing around and had lost all his face. It was really not worth it!

Power?

But in the end, isn't it still the Political Affairs Hall that makes the decision?

On the contrary, if Zhang Fei had made these suggestions in the palace before, it might really have affected the power of the Political Affairs Hall.

It can also be seen that the power has always been in their own hands.

...

...

Are you jealous?

That was impossible, because if the target was Zhang Fei, the time for jealousy would have long passed. He was in his twenties and already a master of his generation, and this was exactly what literati were most jealous of. As for the Grand Court President, Wen Yanbo had already known that Zhang Fei would become the Grand Court President sooner or later, so there was nothing to be jealous of.

Party strife?

What the hell is this?

As Zhang Fei said, there are two court presidents in the capital. Zhao Yan is on the conservative side, and the other judicial officials are all their friends. Wang Anshi did not give much support to Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei is a lonely man, and even if he wants to engage in factional struggles, he does not have the conditions to do so.

Is that because he doesn't agree with this suggestion?

But in the end, this policy was formulated based on Zhang Fei's suggestions. If they really did not agree with it at all, it would be impossible to compromise.

Think about it.

Wen Yanbo gradually figured out the essence of the matter.

In fact, times have changed.

In the past, when something like this happened, both sides would definitely argue constantly, because power was more dispersed before, and everyone was more willing to point out the problems with the other party's policies rather than easily put forward their own policies.

Because if something like this goes wrong, the responsibility will be huge.

But now it is not feasible. The division of power is very clear. If you don't solve it, it's your problem. There is no perfect policy, so the Political Affairs Hall must weigh the pros and cons instead of picking and choosing. Moreover, the pace is obviously getting faster. If there is a problem, it must be solved immediately, which tests the decision-making ability of the prime minister even more.

This is exactly what the Song Dynasty lacked the most in the past. Everyone was still very accustomed to the slow-paced political ecology.

This is where the problem lies. They are not willing to accept this reality and are even very resistant to it in their hearts, rather than wondering whether the policy is right or wrong.

Their previous plans for governing the country are not very suitable for the current system, but they are unwilling to admit this, which results in everything becoming very twisted in their hands.

In fact, each of Zhang Fei’s suggestions is very consistent with the current system, and therefore touches the most vulnerable part of their hearts.

It's not out of jealousy, but out of self-esteem.

It’s like you are very good at long jump. The result is not that you can’t jump higher than others, but that everyone likes to watch running more, so everyone starts running instead.

He must be very disappointed inside, but based on human nature, he will not compromise easily and he must still want to prove that long jump looks better.

However, what made them even more disappointed was yet to come. Just after the household registration system was improved, the Supreme Imperial Court gave the final judgment on the Xizhou case.

The behavior of the Xizhou merchants was deemed not guilty.

At the same time, the Supreme Imperial Court also suggested that the Xizhou government only need to issue a notice to inform those merchants that Xixia is now strictly prohibited from trading with Xizhou. If you go to Xixia to trade again, there will be very great risks. If you must go, then you have to be responsible for it yourself.

Without special reasons, Xizhou merchants cannot be prohibited from going to Xixia to trade.

It can only be suggested, not prohibited.

After much hassle and hesitation and suffering humiliation, the Political Affairs Hall finally launched this policy, the purpose of which is to restrict such behavior.

If Lu Dajun and others hadn't said that the border was very chaotic, they wouldn't have been so anxious.

As a result, you only spent one night and then made a ruling that was contrary to our policy.

What a contrast!

Are you deliberately humiliating us?

Or is this your third fire?

The key point is that your judgment makes no sense, so how can it not be illegal?

Everyone, including Fu Bi, was confused, so he sent someone to invite Zhang Fei to the Legislative Council.

"Mr. Judge, please forgive my ignorance. I wonder what the reasons are for your judgment?"

Fu Bi asked humbly and curiously.

Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang, Zhao Yan, and Lu Gong were also present, and they looked at Zhang Fei with confusion.

Zhang Fei replied with a serious expression: "In response to Mr. Fu, I am doing this based on the law of the rule of law."

"Really?" Fu Bi asked, "I'd like to hear more details."

Zhang Fei said: "First of all, the household registration system just promulgated by the Political Affairs Hall does not explicitly prohibit this kind of behavior. My judgment does not violate the court's system."

“Who said that?”

Wen Yanbo immediately retorted: "It is clearly written above that foreign merchants must abide by the temporary law and need a certificate to enter and leave Xizhou. Although it is only Xixia that unilaterally prohibits trade with our country, and we have not prohibited it, merchants in Xizhou also need a certificate if they want to trade with Xixia.

The government can use this as an excuse to prohibit merchants from entering Xixia to trade, but in your judgment, you said that merchants should not be prevented from entering Xixia to trade without necessary reasons. "

They were also very shrewd, because the court had not decided to ban trade with Western Xia at the moment. The key point was that even Wen Yanbo believed that it should not be banned. If Western Xia wanted to ban it, then we would also ban it. What would happen then?

But now the Xizhou merchants were fighting with the border guards of Western Xia, which might very well lead to a war, and they thought it was unnecessary.

So how to restrict it? Just think of this certificate. If I don’t let you pass and you try to enter again, you will be breaking the law. This is how restrictions can be imposed.

However, Zhang Fei's verdict said that unless you have necessary reasons, for example, the other party is a spy or has violated the law in the local area, etc., otherwise, you should not stop them. Under this verdict, the government cannot easily prohibit merchants from entering Xixia to trade. If you do not have sufficient reasons, the merchants can sue you. This is what the chief judge said.

Aren't you doing the opposite of what we are doing?

Zhang Fei said: "I have just said that this is because of the concept of the rule of law. As we all know, Xizhou's finances are completely supported by trade. Otherwise, the court would have to pay millions of guan every year. Xixia is a major trading partner with Xizhou. In other words, any restriction on trade with Xixia will harm the interests of Xizhou's people, thus affecting the country's finances."

Zhao Yan suddenly said, "Mr. Lu and Mr. Fan wrote to me, saying that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are difficult to manage because the system and laws are not perfect. You said the same thing before. The court has just improved the system in this regard. Wouldn't your judgment make the Xizhou imperial court at a loss again?"

"Won't."

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "In fact, whether it is prohibited or allowed, it is all possible. It is only necessary for the court to give a clear statement, and then it will be easy to manage. For example, now, the Xizhou imperial court does not need to care about those merchants trading with Xixia.

The government has already given advice that it is very dangerous there, and if you want to go, you will be responsible for it yourself, and this is the most that can be done."

Zhao Yan said, "But Judge Lu also mentioned in the complaint that it was precisely because of the lack of control and Xixia's prohibition of trade that Xixia border soldiers often clashed with Xizhou merchants, causing chaos on the border."

Zhang Fei said: "It was Xixia who created the chaos, not the merchants of Xizhou. They just wanted to do business, which was their livelihood, but because Xixia banned it, their way of survival became dangerous, so they hired people to protect their business. Although it was chaotic, it was not the fault of the merchants of Xizhou. On the contrary, they were trying to maintain the prosperity of Xizhou, and we should encourage them."

Is this ok?

But if you think about it carefully, it seems to be the case. This is mainly because Xizhou is a very special place that relies entirely on trade. Agriculture alone cannot support so many people.

If it is based on the local interests of Xizhou, then it should not be stopped.

Sima Guang said bluntly: "But if this continues, it may lead to a war with Xixia. Then Xizhou will suffer a lot. How can this be considered as protecting the interests of Xizhou?"

Fu Bi, Lu Gong and the others also nodded.

This is actually what they are most worried about. The country is currently thriving, and who would want to go to war at this time?

Zhang Fei asked in return: "If Xixia demands that our dynasty pay 4 million strings of coins every year, and if we don't pay them, we will go to war, do you think we should agree?"

Sima Guang said: "Of course this should not be agreed to."

"That's it."

Zhang Fei said: "The means to prevent war should not be to fear war. This matter is not our fault, but Xixia's. They were the first to provoke trouble. They unilaterally banned trade with our dynasty without any reason, which caused great losses to Xizhou. We have been very restrained. In the end, the government did not intervene. This was the choice of Xizhou merchants themselves.

If they declare war on our country because of this, then even if we sneeze, they may declare war on us. This is not a way to end the war.

We in the imperial court must safeguard the rights of the country and the people. The people of Xizhou have the right to survive. I oppose any policy that would rather trap our own people to death than compromise with the other side. "

Sima Guang frowned and said, "Who said we should trap our own people to death? I mean we should consider the overall situation. Now is not a good time to fight against Xixia."

Zhang Fei said: "First, I did not say that we would go to war with Xixia. Sima Xueshi just said that Xixia might start a war. Secondly, I wonder what countermeasures Sima Xueshi has to protect the interests of Xizhou while ensuring that there is no conflict with Xixia."

Sima Guang asked: "If we don't trade with Xixia, will Xizhou be trapped to death?"

Zhang Fei said: "Not trading with Xixia will hurt the interests of many merchants in Xizhou. In addition, can Sima Xueshi ensure that if we compromise, the Tibetan tribes of Zuosiluo will not follow suit?

We cannot make any concessions when it comes to our survival interests. Once we give in, the other side will definitely press further. On the contrary, if we hold firm, they will be afraid.”

Sima Guang frowned and thought in silence.

Wen Yanbo suddenly said, "But this is a military and national affair. The Grand Court President should still follow the opinions of the Political Affairs Hall and the Privy Council."

Zhang Fei immediately said: "I am only ensuring the basic right of Xizhou people to survive. If I were the prime minister, I would suggest sending troops to help them earn a living."

Everyone was shocked. Is it so fierce?

Why didn’t I realize before that you are so strong?

Wen Yanbo asked, "What if the Council of State issues an order prohibiting trade with Xixia?"

In fact, he didn't care that much about this matter. He was more interested in understanding the power structure between the Council of State and the Imperial Court.

Zhang Fei said: "I said at the beginning that I sentenced it this way because the Political Affairs Hall did not order it to be banned. If the Political Affairs Hall had ordered it to be banned, then I would definitely not have sentenced it this way."

After that, he changed the subject and said, "But if the people of Xizhou appeal, the Political Affairs Hall had better come up with sufficient reasons to prove that this ban is necessary and in the interests of the country and the people."

Wen Yanbo frowned and said, "That is to say, no matter what decision the Political Affairs Hall makes, it still has to seek the consent of the Grand Court President."

"Of course not."

Zhang Fei said: "I have made it very clear that if the Political Affairs Hall issues a ban, our Imperial Court will abide by it without hesitation. After all, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are supposed to abide by the law and system.

But if many people want to complain about this and provide evidence to prove that there are problems with this policy, then our royal court certainly cannot turn a blind eye. This is also the responsibility of our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.

Only by doing so can we prevent treacherous officials like Li Linfu from taking power, plundering the people's wealth for their own selfish desires and disregarding their lives. This is also what our ancestors pursued."

Zhao Yan nodded slightly after hearing this.

He felt that what Zhang Fei said made more sense. He made such a judgment at that time because the Political Affairs Hall did not issue a ban. If the Political Affairs Hall had issued a ban, he would have abided by it.

He just said that if any citizen appealed, he would also conduct a trial.

If the case cannot be tried, then the Political Affairs Hall can do whatever it wants. What is the point of the public security, procuratorate and courts?

There is a check and balance relationship between the two.

Wen Yanbo nodded secretly, and at the same time he had already made some calculations in his mind. He felt that if a lawsuit was filed, the Political Affairs Hall would most likely lose, because the people of Xizhou would certainly be able to prove that this ban had caused them heavy losses, but the Political Affairs Hall could not prove it. If it did not do so, Western Xia would definitely launch a war.

Fu Bi suddenly asked: "In the judgment of the Grand Court, it was specifically mentioned that this judgment also applies to the public security, procuratorial and judicial regions?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes, although the temporary law has given people more freedom to migrate, they still need to register and be approved before they can leave their registered place of residence.

Now that trade has become more frequent, many small wealthy families have joined in. However, the interim law does not provide detailed provisions on why and who cannot migrate. The government offices in charge of migration may take the opportunity to make things difficult in order to make money.

My ruling is a supplement to the migration law. The government cannot restrict people from migrating without reason, especially when people are trying to make a living. If officials make things difficult for them, people can appeal based on this ruling. "

After hearing this, Wen Yanbo and the others were slightly stunned. It turned out that there was such a hidden trick in this judgment, which they almost overlooked!

Fu Bi said: "But the reason why the court restricted migration is mainly to ensure national stability. Based on this ruling, the people can basically migrate freely. Will it be difficult for local prefectures and counties to control it?"

"That was in the past."

Zhang Fei explained: "Now that we have the Royal Police, we can handle these migration issues. As long as they abide by the temporary regulations, that is, register with the household registration."

Fu Bi nodded thoughtfully.

Again, times have changed.

In the past, there were only a few small yamen runners who could not do anything about it. They could only try their best to prohibit it and prevent the people from running around, making it easier for the government to manage it.

But things are different now. The Royal Police are everywhere on the streets and the management system has been improved. Public order can be maintained without a one-size-fits-all approach. Things that were not possible before can now be done.

However, the regulations in the temporary law must be followed, which means registering at the relevant government offices, because the Royal Police also needs to rely on household registration for management. Now that there is no Sky Eye, the only proof is the household registration.

It can be seen that this judgment is not only for the people of Xizhou, but more for promoting business development.

Of course, judging from the current transportation conditions, even if given more freedom, most people will not easily leave their hometowns. If they want to leave, it is probably because they have no choice.

It will not cause large-scale migration of people, but will make it more convenient for those merchants.

After Zhang Fei left, Sima Guang asked, "What do you think?"

Wen Yanbo said: "There must be something wrong here. If I am not mistaken, they should want to take advantage of the conflict between the Queen Mother of Xixia and the King of Xixia to create chaos within Xixia and weaken Xixia."

Sima Guang frowned and said, "But is this in accordance with the rules? This has not been discussed by the Council of State and the Privy Council."

Fu Bi smiled and said, "This was planned by Judge Zhang himself. How could it be against the rules? So far, it has been all merchants fighting against Xixia soldiers. In fact, Fan Zhen and his men must know this in their hearts, but they have no evidence, so they are eager to appeal. Now his judgment has opened the door for this."

Wen Yanbo suddenly said, "In fact, it is because we are not familiar with this system that we always act passively and are led by Zhang San."

Sima Guang asked, "What does Duke Wen intend to do?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Regarding this strategy, I don't think there are too many problems. As the saying goes, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy, so we can suggest that Your Majesty take advantage of the conflict between the Queen Mother of Western Xia and the King of Western Xia and formulate relevant policies to weaken Western Xia."

Lu Gong's eyes lit up.

Now the emperor and Zhang Fei are acting in secret, but if the Council of State proposes this strategy, wouldn’t everything be under their control?

Fu Bi nodded and said, "This is a good idea. This way, we can take back the initiative, but I think it's better to pretend to be confused about this matter."

Wen Yanbo asked, "Why?"

Fu Bi said: "What happened now has not affected the country's overall strategy, but if the Political Affairs Hall requires this, it will be very different. This may cause local officials to misunderstand and the court will change its strategy again.

In addition, in this situation, the imperial court is able to move forward and backward freely. If the policy is drawn up by the Political Affairs Hall, it may face many obstacles if it wants to retreat at that time. "

This so-called overall strategy is actually focused on improving internal affairs. Even if Xizhou merchants are allowed to trade with Western Xia, it is to protect the interests of merchants and is actually still an internal affair. However, if the Political Affairs Hall issues an order to formulate a strategy against Western Xia, local officials will definitely think that a war is about to break out.

Sima Guang nodded and said, "Mr. Fu is right. We need to be cautious about this matter. Wang Jiefu will definitely support it. If we also support it, it may really prompt us to launch a war against Xixia."

Everybody supports it, it would be ridiculous not to fight.

Wen Yanbo thought about it again and again, then nodded and said, "Okay! Let's continue to pretend to be confused about this matter, but from now on, I must take the initiative to act, otherwise, I will always be controlled by others."

Wen Yanbo also did what he said. Although he did not bring the matter to the table in the end to regain the initiative, he still reported to the emperor, stating that in view of the situation on the Xizhou border, he required the border defense generals to prepare for defense to avoid surprise attacks by Western Xia. At the same time, he strictly ordered the border defense generals not to go into battle without authorization.

Zhao Xu accepted Wen Yanbo's suggestion very readily.

Because according to their strategy, they are currently focusing on defense. They are just sending troops into Western Xia territory in the name of merchants to fight. Advance and retreat are not the key. The key is to experiment with new firearms and prepare for dealing with the Liao Kingdom in the future.

However, in the eyes of others, although Wen Yanbo's memorial was adhering to the original strategy of focusing on internal affairs, the border states would naturally focus on defense, and there was nothing wrong with that.

But this was also a tacit approval of the Grand Judge's decision. The Grand Judge's decision was that merchants should not be prevented from entering Xixia to trade. The Political Affairs Hall did not stop him from doing so, but instead required him to be well defended. Isn't this a guarantee for the Grand Judge's decision?

Wrong!

All wrong!

At first everyone thought that the household registration system was Zhang Fei’s third fire. Now it seems that this judgment is Zhang Fei’s third fire!

After all, the household registration system was formulated by the Political Affairs Hall, and Zhang Fei was just reporting on the matter and giving his own suggestions.

They were the ones who were being self-indulgent, shouting for fighting and killing, but Zhang Fei ignored them at all.

However, this judgment of his made the Council of State Affairs take a back seat.

This shows the authority of the Grand Court President.

Because of his judgment, everyone has to cooperate.

However, Zhang Fei's judgment also injected a shot in the arm to the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial system.

The morale of the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial organs was greatly boosted.

The Grand Court President is so powerful, so why should we be afraid of the powerful and the literati? If you dare to break the law, I will arrest you.

When there was no chief judge, people actually didn't care that much. At that time, everyone thought that as long as the trend continued, everything would be fine. The chief judge might just be the icing on the cake, specializing in hearing some very complicated cases.

However, after the appointment of the Grand Court President, everyone realized how important the Grand Court President was. The public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in the past were completely soulless!

As one thing grows stronger, another weakens. Finally, the powerful people in the court acquiesced to this rule. That's how it is. Don't challenge the authority of the Grand Court President lightly. He is just that awesome.

Life is like that. When you can't resist, you can only enjoy it silently.