The abolition of the Treaty of Chanyuan and the Qingli Agreement was undoubtedly an announcement to the outside world that the Song Dynasty would embark on the road to empire.

Although success or failure is still unknown, the goal is very clear.

However, due to the previous relationship between Song and Liao, as well as the situation of the Song Dynasty at the time, there were still many pro-Liao factions within the Song Dynasty, and even the kneeling tribe. They firmly believed in their bones that they could not go to war with the Liao Kingdom and would definitely not be able to defeat the Liao Kingdom. In the best case scenario, both sides would suffer losses.

The three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight.

The political ideas of these people are no longer in line with the current political environment of the Song Dynasty and must be dealt with. Otherwise, they will become a major hidden danger.

In fact, this is also part of the whole plan. The Song Dynasty Security Bureau has been quietly collecting evidence of these people's crimes.

And they didn't guard against this at all.

This is why, when Zhao Xu announced the abolition of the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Security Department of the Song Dynasty immediately took action.

early morning.

When Zhang Fei, Xu Zhiqian, and Gao Wenyin brought their two children to the living room, Xu Zun and his son were sitting there reading newspapers, waiting for them to eat.

...

...

This made Zhang Fei feel a little embarrassed, and he couldn't help but complain to Zhang Xing, "It's all your fault for being lazy in bed. Look, grandpa and the others are waiting for you to eat."

Zhang Xing pouted and said aggrievedly, "Daddy, you are the one who stays in bed."

Xu Zunben was already used to it, but when he heard his grandson's words, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Zhang San, don't talk nonsense in front of the children in the future. Whether the child can keep his word when he grows up depends on whether the parents can set a good example."

Zhang Fei's face turned red when he heard this. He held his forehead, as if he was too embarrassed to face anyone.

Zhang Buzhi tightly grasped Gao Wenyin's hand and trembled as he said, "Grandpa, actually, my brother and I stayed in bed late."

Zhang Xing's face was tense, and he said excitedly: "Second brother, how could you betray me?"

Xu Zhiqian was speechless. How could she raise such a brat? Or was it hereditary?

Xu Zun then realized that he had been trying cases for so many years, but he was actually deceived by a little kid. This was not a good thing according to the family rules, and he would not be able to get a good future. He immediately called the two brothers forward, taught them a good lesson, and then handed them over to Gao Wenyin and took them aside to have breakfast.

"Brother-in-law, you seem to be quite free recently?" Xu Lingxiao suddenly asked.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I have always been relatively free."

".!"

Xu Lingxiao said: "Didn't they say that many people from Hedong would come to file a lawsuit?"

Zhang Fei said: "For cases like this, the chief judge only needs to give a precedent, and then the local court will judge according to my precedent. It just so happens that the Ministry of Justice has recently built a public security, procuratorial and judicial organs in Taiyuan. The remaining people in Hedong can directly go to Taiyuan to sue, and the court will be responsible for paying the compensation."

Xu Zun said: "I heard that the Ministry of Justice intends to implement the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in all border states this time."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "This is a great opportunity."

How to implement public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in border states has always been a difficult problem, and the imperial court has been cautious about this because there are still warlords in border states. For example, in order to implement public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in Yanzhou, Fuzhou and other places, they had to compromise with the generals of the Western Army in advance, and the chief judge and the chief prosecutor were all recommended by them. However, since we have entered a state of preparation for war, the royal police have entered the border states in an all-round way. At this time, the imperial court is promoting public security, procuratorial and judicial systems in border states to maintain local stability, and the local warlords cannot say anything.

Xu Lingxiao said again: "Didn't they say that the Song Dynasty Security Department has been arresting people everywhere recently?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "We are not arresting people, but asking them to go back for investigation. I don't know if the case will be brought to the Supreme Court by then, because according to the system, this kind of case is tried in the Second Level Court, and it will take a long time before the trial. There is nothing I can do."

Xu Lingxiao said: "But this matter has made everyone panic."

Zhang Fei said: "In fact, with the public security, procuratorate and court here, they don't need to panic too much. The imperial court will still conduct a fair trial. Considering the previous relationship between our dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, ordinary correspondence is actually nothing. The main thing is to look at the content."

Xu Zun reminded his son again, "It's OK for you to know about this, but don't talk nonsense outside. This is not a trivial matter."

Xu Lingxiao nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I understand."

After breakfast, Zhang Fei prepared to go out. Although he had some free time, he couldn't always take a vacation.

But as soon as he got outside the door, he suddenly saw a group of guards guarding his family's two carriages.

"What's going on?"

Zhang Fei was a little confused.

Long Wu and Niu Beiqing also shook their heads.

The chief guard stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Grand Court President, we are here under orders to protect the Grand Court President's safety."

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and said, "I thought someone was protecting me in secret all along, is there no one?"

The chief guard said, "In reply to the Grand Court President, secret protection is no longer enough now."

Zhang Fei nodded slightly, without asking any more questions, and said with a cupped hand, "Thank you very much."

"I dare not. This is my job."

The captain of the guards clasped his fists.

During this special period, in order to get better protection, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian had to ride in a carriage each.

When he got on the carriage, Li Bao was already waiting inside.

"Little Leopard, you drove my wife to another carriage just because you wanted to be alone with me?" Zhang Fei said half-jokingly.

Oh my god? What I fear most is being alone with you. Li Bao said with a smile: "Of course not. The reason why I let Sanlang and your wife sit in separate carriages is so that if there is an emergency, Sanlang can get off the carriage more calmly. But I can also better protect Sanlang by sitting here."

"Is it necessary to make such a big fuss?" Zhang Fei sat down and said with a wry smile.

Li Bao said, "Don't be careless, Sanlang. There are countless Liao spies in our country, and we can't catch them all in a short time. In addition, the Song Dynasty Security Department has been fully deployed recently, so it is inevitable that some people will be desperate and you, Sanlang, will definitely be their primary target. Therefore, His Majesty's palace guards are here to protect Sanlang's safety."

Zhang Fei felt that what Li Bao said made sense. In the current situation, he really needed more protection. He asked, "What about my family?"

Li Bao said: "Don't worry, we have arranged people to protect you. The people around your house are all our people, including Fang Yun in Dengzhou, who is also under our secret protection."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "How is the situation at the Great Song Security Department?"

Li Bao said: "No one bowed their heads. They all shouted that they were thinking about the government and the country, and cursed you, Sanlang, as a treacherous villain. They even predicted that it would not be long before His Majesty would regret it."

Zhang Fei smiled easily and said, "It's just like what I thought."

Ministry of Revenue.

"Ji Fu, how is the arrangement?"

Wang Anshi asked Lu Huiqing who had just returned to Beijing.

Lu Huiqing let out a long breath, and said with a slightly tired look: "To be honest with you, Master, I don't know if the arrangements are in place. We can only do our best to fill up the granaries in the major towns and transport a large amount of firearms and gunpowder.

But no one knows how this war will turn out, so I can't guarantee that we are fully prepared."

We haven't fought a war with the Liao Kingdom for many years, so everyone is unsure.

Wang Anshi sighed: "Give it your all, that's enough."

Lu Huiqing said: "But..."

Wang Anshi saw that he was hesitant to speak, so he smiled and said, "Is there anything you dare not say?"

Lu Huiqing smiled bitterly and said, "Nowadays, people from the Song Security Department are everywhere, who dares to speak nonsense?"

Wang Anshi laughed and said, "You mean to say that now is not the time to go to war with the Liao Kingdom."

Lu Huiqing nodded and said, "Although the situation in Xixia is better than we thought, it still contains 100,000 elite soldiers of the Western Army, and there are still 400,000 troops in Xixia. If they join forces with Liao and fight with all their might, we may not be able to resist.

Besides, at home, the reforms have already begun to show results, but the country still does not have much surplus. Once the war starts, it is very likely that the rules set before will be broken. If we wait another two years, even if they attack from the north, south and west, we will not be afraid, but we are short of this breath!"

Wang Anshi sighed, "In fact, I also think that now is not the time to start a war."

Although the emperor wanted to abolish the Treaty of Chanyuan, they did not say anything, but they all believed that going to war at this time was not in the interests of the Song Dynasty.

"Then why?"

Lu Huiqing asked in confusion.

Wang Anshi said, "You have to ask Zhang San. He should know better than us whether it is appropriate to go to war at this time. So I guess he must know something that we don't know."

Lu Huiqing said: "Although I am not in the capital, I think so too, but I still can't figure out what the mystery is."

Wang Anshi said: "Sima Junshi and I have both tried to test him, but he did not reveal much. However, based on his statement, he should be certain that the Liao Kingdom would not dare to invade."

"How is this possible?"

Lu Huiqing said incredulously.

Just at this time, Xue Xiang came.

"How are things over there?" Wang Anshi asked immediately.

Xue Xiang said: "It's okay here. The tax currency is still stable, but the cost is also very alarming. This year, an additional 8 million strings of cash have been spent because of this. Fortunately, we have borrowed a lot of money through national debt, and have not touched the treasury for the time being. In addition, with the entry of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs into Huguang and Shu, we can print more tax currency."

Wang Anshi nodded and said, "Fortunately, we have made preparations in advance. As long as the treasury has money, we can respond to all changes with the same attitude."

Even though Zhang Fei seemed to be having an easy time sitting in the seat, he who manages the household does not know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. The two major financial institutions, Xue Xiang and Lu Huiqing, were very busy.

Because the Song Dynasty was currently undergoing a transformation from a corvée system to an employment system, and the national treasury was also moving towards monetization.

In the past, no matter what they did, they directly conscripted laborers. Now they have to spend money to hire people, and everything has to cost money. Although on the one hand it has accelerated monetization, on the other hand it has also become very unstable because this is not a regular adjustment and they have to keep an eye on it every day.

During this period, Xue Xiang and Lu Huiqing only slept two or three hours a day at most.

At present, the Political Affairs Hall has a clear division of labor. Wang Anshi is in charge of finance, while Wen Yanbo is in charge of military affairs and justice.

Legislative Council.

"Now that things have come to this, there is nothing to worry about."

Wen Yanbo shook his head and said, "I don't think we will lose. The national treasury is still very full, and the counties in Hebei have been arranged one after another. As long as the Liao army goes south, they will immediately adopt the strategy of clearing the walls and fields. The people will rush to the fortress at the first time, and their money will be deposited in the Jiekupu.

As long as we can hold the fortress, the Liao army won't be able to hold out for long. Don't they have to spend money to fight? In terms of financial resources, we are not afraid of the Liao Kingdom."

Sima Guang said: "We just feel that now is not the best time to start a war. Once the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are spread all over the country, we will not be afraid of the Liao Kingdom."

Wen Yanbo said unhappily, "That's your fault, you've been so slow. It's been so many years, and the police, procuratorate and courts have only just entered Shu and Huguang."

"No wonder Junshi!"

Fu Bi waved his hand and said with a smile: "Junshi's arrangement is the most appropriate."

Wen Yanbo was surprised and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Fu?"

Fu Bi stroked his beard and smiled, then changed the subject, "In fact, it is better not to fight if we can. Once a war breaks out, the situation may be out of control. There are still many people in the court impeaching the Song Security Bureau, believing that they are framing innocent people and accusing loyal officials. The reason they say this is that they predict that the Liao Kingdom will definitely join forces with the Western Xia army to attack the border. As long as the front line cannot be defended, the pressure on the government will double, and it will be hard to say what will happen then."

Sima Guang said: "But according to Zhang Fei's statement, he should have a way to prevent the Liao Kingdom from attacking."

Fu Bi said: "I thought so too, but I didn't expect that he would have a way to stop the Liao Kingdom from sending troops."

Wen Yanbo shook his head and said, "We must not expect the Liao Kingdom to be lenient. As long as we can win, all these problems will disappear into thin air."

In fact, there are undercurrents in the Song Dynasty. After all, making such a major change in such a short period of time will definitely cause many problems.

Otherwise, Zhao Xu would not have sent so many palace guards to protect Zhang Fei.

All of this is not settled yet.

Those who are currently invited to have tea by the Security Department of the Song Dynasty may become loyal ministers or heroes in the future, as long as the results prove that Zhao Xu’s choice was wrong.

So for the time being, those people are still very confident and not panicking at all. They insist that they are right, because even if they think about it with their toes, they know that the Liao Kingdom will definitely not give up and will definitely use the whole country's strength to attack the Song Dynasty.

If they lose the fight, they are framed, it's that simple.

It's time to leave the office.

Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi walked slowly out of the imperial city.

"I remember that at first, Mr. Fu was very dissatisfied with Junshi's procrastinating character."

Wen Yanbo suddenly said.

Fu Bi smiled and said, "I knew you would ask this question."

Wen Yanbo asked: "What is the mystery behind this?"

Fu Bi asked, "Only one person supported Junshi in this matter."

"Zhang San."

"You know?"

"I was there too," Wen Yanbo said.

Fu Bi said: "But at that time we all thought that Zhang San was just flattering Junshi. After all, he still needed to rely on Junshi."

Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "Isn't it?"

"Probably not."

Fu Bi shook his head. "Do you think the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems can achieve today's results because of them, or because of the Su brothers, Chunren and others?"

"No matter how good the system is, it still needs people to implement it." Wen Yanbo asked again: "Is it just because of this?"

Fu Bi shook his head again and said, "We also talked about this at the beginning. It is extremely difficult for the public security, procuratorate and courts to overcome that hurdle."

Wen Yanbo's expression gradually became solemn.

Fu Bi continued, "If you encounter that obstacle, do you think Zhang San can overcome it?"

Wen Yanbo thought for a long time and said, "He will probably choose to go around it."

Fu Bi smiled and said, "What if we can't get around it?"

Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said, "He doesn't have the ability."

Fu Bi nodded and said, "Although the chief judge has gained enough authority through these judgments, his real strength is far inferior to that of Wang Jiefu back then. Even Wang Jiefu now has no foundation in the court. Everything he has is given by the government."

Wen Yanbo asked, "So Lord Fu believes that he intends to use Fan Chunren and others to check and balance him?"

"Most likely."

Fu Bi said, "Don't mention Wang Jiefu. Even if you are Wen Kuanfu, you would recommend people who share the same ideals as you. But Zhang San is different. Even Shangguan Jun, Cai Bian and others were recommended by Junshi. The only people around him are his wife and father-in-law. This is totally unreasonable."

Wen Yanbo took a deep breath and said, "Yes! This is totally unreasonable."

Fu Bi said: "In fact, from the beginning to the end, he has always stood with the emperor, and his power was also given by the emperor, but the people around him were not his own people, but arranged by Sima Junshi.

The people recommended by Sima Junshi are all loyal and upright. None of them will obey his orders blindly. If there is anything wrong with his judgment, it will be questioned and opposed by Fan Chunren and others. What do you think he wants?"

"I see."

Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "But can Chunren and his people alone provide checks and balances?"

Fu Bi said: "This is only one reason. Secondly, he also told Fan Chunren and others about the method. The cases he judged were all very special. If you look through the history books, it is not difficult to find that these cases are not uncommon. It's just that in the cases, the government often stood on the opposite side of the law. Now, due to the special circumstances, the government stood on the side of the law, but the government will eventually return to that side.

Third, he has been constantly emphasizing a concept. "

Wen Yanbo said: "Defend the legitimate rights and interests of the people."

Fu Bi said: "Now this sentence has been deeply rooted in people's hearts."

Wen Yanbo said: "No wonder Mr. Fu wanted to write the legal concept of the legal system under the laws of our ancestors."

Fu Bi smiled and said, "The laws of our ancestors can only restrict powerful officials, and the laws of the legal system can restrict them. Especially after the case of the people of Hedong was judged, the concept of the legal system was even more unforgettable, and this also provided a basis for checks and balances for Fan Chunren and others in the future."

Hearing this, Wen Yanbo became even more suspicious and said, "Could this be your own association, Mr. Fu? This is really incredible."

Fu Bi said: "If we could have discovered it in advance, perhaps he would not have succeeded. The chess pieces in his hands always landed in inconspicuous places."

At this point, he paused for a moment, "And this is also the reason why I don't agree with going to war with the Liao Kingdom now. Once a war breaks out, the emperor will definitely want to control everything, which may disrupt his plan. Therefore, I am sure that he will find a way to stop the Liao Kingdom from moving south in a large scale."

Today, the entire Song Dynasty is still shrouded in the suspicion of war, which has also affected the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty. Basically all government offices are preparing for war.

The anti-war and pro-Liao forces continued to struggle, and even hoped that the Liao Kingdom would send troops.

Only in this way can it be proved that they are loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Fei and his colleagues knew this clearly and did not urge the Song Security Bureau to file a lawsuit.

However, the results surprised everyone.

Because from a war perspective, early spring and late autumn are the best times to send troops. In winter, it is not suitable for large-scale combat.

However, the end of autumn had already passed, and there was no movement within the Liao Kingdom.

Is he preparing to launch a big move at the beginning of spring?

It is possible.

But the best opportunity had actually been missed. The Song Dynasty was constantly improving its defensive fortresses in the border states, and morale was very high.

Moreover, the tax revenue of the Song Dynasty is still increasing this year, and the main growth area is actually the entire Hebei region.

The reason is that in this mobilization, the imperial court directly spent money instead of conscripting laborers, which gave Hebei great motivation.

Food prices in Hebei have generally risen this year because the Food Agency has been buying large amounts of food locally, and farmers' incomes have increased. At the same time, more soldiers and royal police have poured into Hebei. However, due to currency reform, they can get more currency rather than goods, and they also need to buy them, which has brought prosperity to Hebei's business.

The hotels along the way were full every day, and the Ordnance Inspectorate also boosted the coal and iron industries.

However, the increase in tax revenue drove the sales of government bonds, and government bonds drove the development of savings business. The three major savings agencies swallowed up most of the government bonds themselves, and used these bonds to develop savings business, attracting more funds, so they had to buy more government bonds.

However, the pro-Liao faction still believed that this was just a mirage. In the early spring of next year, the Liao army would march south and everything would be wiped out.

Finally, spring arrived.

Whether to fight or not depends on this quarter.

result.

Not only did the Liao Dynasty not send a large army south, but the Liao emperor suddenly ordered the closure of all channels of communication with the Song Dynasty, including the sea, and strictly prohibited going out to sea.

The Liao Kingdom's deployment in Youzhou was mainly defensive.

this..

The pro-Liao faction in the country was immediately shocked.

What's going on?

how so?

If you don't even start a war, does that mean the Liao emperor has passed away?

This shouldn’t be a technical adjustment.

It’s over!

It's all over!

They began to panic and no longer insisted on being stubborn like before, but instead cried out that they were innocent in front of the Song Security Bureau!

They began to have a bad feeling that their good days were coming to an end.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were ecstatic. They were not opposed to breaking with the Liao Dynasty, but they thought the timing was not right and the Song Dynasty needed some time to stabilize its internal affairs and develop its economy.

If there is no war this year, it will definitely be a perfect victory, both diplomatically and militarily.

But how is this possible?

Unbelievable.

There is no reason not to fight against the Liao Kingdom!

So they went to ask Zhang Fei, but Zhang Fei said he didn't know anything. He was just the chief judge and these matters were not his responsibility.

Of course they knew that Zhang Fei was the mastermind, but given Zhang Fei's identity, it was hard to say.

They could only run to the emperor for help with a shameless face.

At this point, you have to tell us the truth so that we can make preparations.

This confused us all.

Zhao Xu then proudly told the prime ministers the secret, including the secret of Dengzhou Dibaoyuan.

Originally, the Dibaoyuan published those articles in an attempt to sow hidden dangers within the Liao Kingdom and slowly infiltrate it, but unexpectedly, there was an unexpected surprise, that is, Yelu Yixin, an important official of the Liao Kingdom, was also using these articles to seek power.

It happened that the Liao army invaded Hedong at that time, so Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei decided to change their strategy and collect evidence of Yelu Yixin's crimes, and also use Western Xia as evidence. They packaged the evidence together and waited until after the great victory at Waqiao Pass. Then they immediately submitted this perfect evidence to Yelu Hongji through the ministers who opposed Yelu Yixin.

According to the evidence, Yelu Yixin, who was strong against the Song Dynasty, hoped to trigger war and arouse the people's war-weariness, thus undermining the foundation of Yelu Hongji's rule. He then used stories from the Song Dynasty to create public resentment and thus seize power and usurp the throne.

However, according to information obtained by spies from the Song Dynasty, many ministers in the Liao Dynasty had already suspected that the death of the crown prince and the execution of their queen were related to Yelu Yixin.

Then as long as this evidence is submitted, Yelu Hongji will definitely try to eliminate Yelu Yixin first.

This was indeed the case. When Yelu Hongji saw the evidence, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and immediately sent his close minister Yelu Liang to investigate secretly.

It turned out to be true. There were many stories about public security, procuratorial and judicial systems among the people of Liao Dynasty, and all of them came from overseas and were related to Yelu Yixin.

This frightened Yelu Hongji. Although he had never experienced this kind of mixed warfare and it had never happened in history, the bloody example of Western Xia was very close.

Why is Western Xia in such a desperate situation now? It is not because it was beaten by the Song army, but because of its own internal chaos, and the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are playing a role in fueling the situation.

Once the war breaks out, if the war goes unfavorably and becomes a difficult battle, the Liao Kingdom is likely to split internally.

In addition to the power of the Song army's firearms, Yelu Hongji was not sure that he could quickly achieve a great victory over the Song.

Even if he was sure of success, Yelu Hongji did not dare to send troops, because there was nothing more precious than imperial power in this world.

He must have found ways to stabilize his rule first.

This is why the Liao Kingdom suddenly chose to close all contacts with the Song Dynasty, in order to prevent the Song Dynasty from continuing to infiltrate, and then set about cleaning up the court and eliminating the bad ideas among the people.

This bought the Song Dynasty the most precious time. In another one or two years, they would no longer be afraid of the Liao Kingdom.

After the Liao Kingdom decided not to send troops, Zhao Xu also began to eliminate pro-Liao forces in the country, of course, he also did so through the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.

However, the case was not presided over directly by the Grand Court President, but was handed over to Zhao Yan for trial.

However, according to regulations, these cases are not heard in public.

After investigation, except for the Liao spies, eleven people were sentenced to death, more than eighty people were exiled to wild places such as Qiongzhou, and more than two hundred people were stripped of their official positions and demoted to commoners.

This scale is extremely rare in the history of the Song Dynasty.

But it was still relatively merciful, and basically in line with the Song Dynasty's tolerance towards literati. In fact, Zhang Fei never thought of breaking this convention. He rarely sentenced people to death because the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were also based on this tolerance, even if it was only tolerance towards literati.

It is precisely because of this concept that we can further demand tolerance towards the people.

Those eleven people indeed leaked state secrets to the Liao Kingdom. They were pure guides. Their domestic interests were granted by the Liao Kingdom.

Must be sentenced to death.

The more than 80 people who were exiled simply said that maintaining friendship with the Liao Kingdom was in their interest, so they deliberately created chaos in order to prevent the court from abolishing the Treaty of Chanyuan. Among them were many military generals and meritorious officials.

As for the more than 200 people, they were definitely pro-Liao. They were not guilty, and the imperial court did not sentence them, because they only had correspondence with some Liao officials, and they still hoped to avoid war and maintain friendship.

This was allowed in the past because the emperor also needed these people to maintain relations with the Liao Kingdom and avoid misunderstandings.

But now they only have side effects, so Zhao Xu found this excuse to deprive them of their official positions.

Those who replaced them were all hard-line officials, and they were the kind of officials who emphasized restoring the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties.

At this point, the tone for the struggle for hegemony has been set.