Shenzong issued an edict to maintain the old agreement.
In places where deed tax is to be paid in arrears, taxes must be paid in accordance with the law.
This immediately aroused fierce opposition from many ministers in the court. They believed that this would not help ease the situation, but would further aggravate the situation and cause more public resentment.
But Shenzong remained unmoved.
The reformists led by Wang Anshi naturally fought back in the court. What was wrong with the court collecting taxes according to the law?
You are so excited, are you also evading taxes?
He even reported to Emperor Shenzong that he wanted to investigate the taxation of those ministers in the court who opposed the court's taxation.
Of course, Shenzong remained silent on this matter.
If this is investigated, there will be no end to it.
This made Fu Bi and other old ministers of the Qingli period worried, as if the Qingli factional struggle was already imminent.
...
...
They knew very well why Wang Anshi refused to give in, and they also knew why the other side was so aggressive.
There is no solution to this problem.
Sima Guang, a conservative, did not make any comments on this matter. He was always busy with legal aid matters.
Very smooth.
In fact, not everyone agrees with this. Many people have reservations about it, or even oppose it.
This is clearly intended to encourage litigation.
The notorious Erbi Zhangsan is still vivid in our memory.
Instead of suppressing litigation, it breeds it.
Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?
However, the timing is perfect; between these two evils, choose the lesser one.
Now everyone is united in their determination to fight against Wang Anshi. If this matter is stirred up again and everyone's attention is distracted, Wang Anshi may succeed.
Furthermore, Sima Guang occupied the moral high ground. Even if litigation was not popular, just like before, the common people who could not afford to hire someone to write a petition would still suffer a loss. This was not fair. The common people who could not count or read were already at a disadvantage in litigation.
Now the court can provide this kind of help to the people without spending a penny and also gain a good reputation. Why not do it?
This was also supported by Zhao Yan, Wen Yanbo, Fan Chunren, Su Shi, Su Zhe and others.
Very easy.
Wang Anshi was so envious that he cried. They were both reforms, so why was there such a big difference?
Hanlin Academy.
Sima Guang, who was on his last shift, sat in the house, reading books on litigation.
Although he had decided to promote legal aid and give litigation a legal status, he still had some reservations. He looked up the views of past dynasties on litigation to see if he could avoid the drawbacks brought about by litigation.
Suddenly, the door opened from the outside.
Sima Guang looked up and saw Wang Anshi walking in angrily.
The two of them looked at each other.
One of them lowered his head and continued to read, while the other turned his face away proudly.
What a perfect understanding.
After a while, Wang Anshi came forward and sat opposite Sima Guang and asked, "Why are you here?"
Sima Guang replied without even looking up: "The Political Affairs Hall is too noisy."
Wang Anshi looked around and said sarcastically, "Isn't it noisy here?"
Sima Guang closed the book and said, "It's getting a bit noisy now."
Wang Anshi glanced at Sima Guang and asked, "You have been quite quiet recently. Are you planning some conspiracy in secret again?"
Sima Guang chuckled twice: "You may not be able to stop this open plot, do you still need a conspiracy?"
Wang Anshi asked: "What conspiracy?"
Sima Guang asked: "Do you really want to collect this summer tax now?"
Wang Anshi nodded: "Not bad."
Sima Guang said: "If someone secretly instigates those clerks to exploit the people and stir up greater public resentment, what will you do?"
Wang Anshi said with disdain: "How dare they do this under the emperor's feet."
Sima Guang laughed and said, "Don't forget that it was you who forced them to pay the taxes. The tenants couldn't pay the taxes, so they had no choice but to resort to any means."
Before Wang Anshi started his reform, he had already thought of this day.
Using history as a mirror, we can understand the routine.
Wang Anshi said: "Sima Junshi, you are also the Minister of State Affairs. You knew they would do this, but you waited for me to laugh at you. Isn't this considered as bending the law for personal gain?"
Sima Guang said, "Remember I told you a long time ago that governing a country starts with governing officials. If the officials are not governed properly, good laws will turn into bad laws. What's more, your law is not even a good law."
Wang Anshi said, "Let's wait and see."
After saying this, he got up and left.
After leaving the Hanlin Academy, Wang Anshi immediately called Lu Huiqing and ordered him, "You should immediately lead the officials to inspect and urge the payment of summer taxes. Don't let anyone interfere."
The reason why he set up the Regulations Office of the Two Ministries and the position of the Officer in Charge of Assessing Interests was to guard against this move. He expected that there would be problems in the implementation, but this was not part of his plan and he forgot about it for the moment.
Lu Huiqing understood immediately, "Master, are you worried that someone will take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble?"
Wang Anshi nodded.
Lu Huiqing said: "Master, rest assured, I will not give them a chance."
When Lu Huiqing was about to leave, Wang Anshi suddenly called Lu Huiqing again, "Wait a minute."
Lu Huiqing turned around and asked, "Master, do you have any other instructions?"
"No, no!"
Wang Anshi shook his head repeatedly and said, "We can't do this!"
Lu Huiqing asked, "What do you mean, Master?"
Wang Anshi said: "I have promised before that the people will not be taxed and the country will have more money. The new law does not have the support of the landlords. If there is no public support, it will not be successful."
Lu Huiqing immediately said, "But this matter has benefited many people. They don't have to bear the taxes that do not belong to their land in vain. In comparison, the taxes borne by the tenant farmers are not worth mentioning at all. Besides, they are also tax evaders, so it is only natural to let them pay taxes."
Wang Anshi sighed, "That's true, but if we collect taxes, we will be standing against the people, which is absolutely unacceptable."
At this point, he shook his head and sighed: "It's also my fault. I was too anxious and overlooked this point."
Lu Huiqing said: "But changing orders every day will cause endless troubles."
"I know that too. Taxes must be collected."
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "But don't go and collect the taxes yet. First, take your people with Kaifeng Prefecture to conduct a comprehensive survey to find out the current plight of the tenants. Is this instigated by someone behind the scenes, or are they really living in difficulty? We have to find a way to charge these landlords for this money."
Provoked by Sima Guang, he calmed down instead. The idea of his new law was to reduce the burden on the people, while increasing tax revenue from the rich and landlords to fill the national treasury.
Tax shifting is something he must prevent. If he forces the people to pay taxes in order to gain authority, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
This is absolutely not possible. His new law must win the support of public opinion.
He would never let that happen.
Although Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu firmly supported Wang Anshi on the surface, he now had another choice.
There are three people sitting at this card table.
That night, Zhao Xu secretly ordered someone to summon Zhang Fei into the palace.
Zhao Xu asked directly: "What do you think about this matter?"
Zhang Fei replied: "I think if this matter is not resolved, Your Majesty will always be trapped here."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "You are right. This is exactly what I am worried about. If I make a move, they will threaten me with the people. In the end, I can only follow the policy of light taxes and levies. However, the court is light in taxes and levies, but the landlords are getting worse. What's the point? I will never do this."
This is also an important reason why he supported Wang Anshi but not Sima Guang. If the imperial court imposed light taxes and levies, the state's tax revenue would inevitably decrease, which would give the landlords more room to exploit the country. This would result in the landlords becoming richer and the imperial court becoming poorer. Wealth is linked to power.
Without money, even the army can’t be deployed.
Then he looked at Zhang Fei and asked, "Can you provide a solution?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and replied, "I have recently read all the laws related to tenant farmers, but without exception, they all favor the landlords. If we want to punish them, we can only punish the white deed, which is illegal. But the court has already stated that as long as the deed tax is paid, we will forgive them."
From a legal perspective, the government and the landlords are one and the same. For example, the Song Dynasty Criminal Code clearly states that if tenant farmers fail to pay taxes, the government will intervene to collect them on their behalf.
After hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but frown.
Zhang Fei glanced at Zhao Xu and thought, if I can't help him solve this problem, I'm afraid I won't be qualified to sit at this poker table in the future.
The fact that Zhao Xu came to see him proved that he was still at the card table and could be relied upon.
But if he could not share Zhao Xu's worries, Zhao Xu would naturally distance himself from him.
He thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, I have two plans. One can solve the short-term problems and the other can solve the long-term problems. I wonder which one Your Majesty would like to hear first?"
Zhao Xu was overjoyed and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Let's listen to the recent performance first."
Zhang Fei said: "The key to your concern right now is that the right to public opinion is controlled by them. In fact, many tenant farmers have been exploited by landlords, but they have never caused such a commotion. But now that the court has taken action, and it is collecting taxes according to the law, public opinion is like a torrent. If your majesty cannot control public opinion, it will be difficult to reverse the current situation."
Zhao Xu nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then said, "But I only have one mouth, how can I win over them?"
Zhang Fei said: "I have a plan that can help Your Majesty regain the power of public opinion, or at least fight them to a draw."
Zhao Xu hurriedly said, "Hurry up and tell me."
Zhang Fei said: "It's just printing and distributing tabloids."
"Printing a tabloid?"
"right."
Zhang Fei asked, "Your Majesty, have you ever heard of movable type printing?"
Zhao Xu thought for a moment before saying, "I have heard of it."
Zhang Fei said: "My genuine bookstore has been researching this technology recently. It is now mature and can print articles quickly."
Zhao Xu heard this and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "This is useless. Public opinion must be reasonable. Even if you print the article on paper, they will be able to refute you completely."
You have to know that he has the best group of civil servants. If you compare your writing skills with them, you must be crazy.
It would be better to sue.
Zhang Fei said: "So this is a risky move, specifically writing about topics that they dare not debate."
Zhao Xu asked: "For example?"
"For example, the literati are useless."
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
"Ahem, what I mean is that it is useless to write about the literati. They are selfish and are the thieves who steal the country. We cannot rely on the literati."
".?"
Zhao Xu was sweating profusely when he heard this. "If you write like this, will they let you go?"
Zhang Fei said: "I didn't say I would post it!"
Zhao Xu asked: "Who will deliver it then?"
"Who else would dare to make this happen except your Majesty?"
"I'll send it?"
Zhao Xu couldn't help but look livid, "Aren't you trying to harm me?"
Zhang Fei said: "How dare I? I mean, this has to be done secretly, and they can't find out. Your Majesty, only you have the ability to do it. I can only provide some technology and ideas."
Zhao Xu glared at him immediately.
If he were caught, he would be finished. He had offended all the scholars in the world and might even lose his throne.
However, it feels quite satisfying to scold those scholars and officials.
After thinking it over, Zhao Xu came up with a clever plan, "How about this, I'll give you the people and the money, but you still have to do it."
"ah?"
(End of this chapter)
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