So panicked!
The two people who were conspiring were both in a panic at this time.
Damn, this is a bit too much.
If something goes wrong, no one can take the responsibility.
But it seems quite exciting.
Young people just like excitement.
Zhang Fei said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, if we are caught, it will be the end of me!"
The implication is that if you are the emperor and they are caught, they can't do anything to you.
But Zhao Xu thought, I am the emperor, I cannot take the blame, it will cause trouble, so he replied seriously: "I can protect you, but can you protect me?"
"?"
...
...
Zhang Fei's eyes turned, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. What I meant is that if it is printed and distributed in the palace, it will be absolutely safe."
No one dares to check inside the palace!
Zhao Xu glared at him fiercely, "You"
As soon as he said this, he seemed to realize that his voice was a little too high. He looked around guiltily and whispered, "Are you crazy? Printing tabloids in the palace, and I want to clear myself of the matter later. This idea was yours, so of course you have to do it. It's settled."
Please! I have a legitimate job. I was planning to be a serious media tycoon. This tabloid is just giving you advice. It has nothing to do with me. Zhang Fei immediately wanted to back out and said, "Your Majesty, why don't we reconsider it."
Zhao Xu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Don't think about it, just do it."
In fact, he had a lot of opinions about the literati and had long wanted to scold them, but he didn't have the courage to do so. The key point was that it would not be good for anyone to fall out with them. Zhang Fei's strategy inadvertently touched him. Even if it couldn't solve the problem, it would be good to vent his anger!
Before Zhang Fei could refuse, Zhao Xu asked again: "What strategy can solve the long-term concerns?"
Zhang Fei looked at Zhao Xu depressedly, knowing that he must have taken the blame, and couldn't help but sighed, I really brought this upon myself! He replied: "If those tenant farmers really want to appeal, I can also file a lawsuit, but the key is that the tenant farmers dare not file a lawsuit because if they file a lawsuit, they may even lose their livelihood."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei said: "According to the laws of our dynasty, cultivated land is a permanent property. The land belongs to the landlords, and this cannot be changed. If we cannot ensure the livelihood of the tenant farmers, they will always be subject to their control."
Zhao Xu asked: "How can we ensure the livelihood of the tenant farmers?"
Zhang Fei said: "We can only rely on business, encourage its development, and create more livelihoods, so as to weaken the constraints of the landlords on the court."
The issue of means of production still has to rely on economic principles, and the law cannot solve this problem.
Speaking objectively, landlords are also human beings, and human nature is selfish. If they can earn more, why not earn more? If they can take less risk, why not take less risk?
If everyone were like Xu Zhiqian, there would be no landlords.
Zhao Xu shook his head and snorted, "Compared to the landlords, those wealthy businessmen are no less capable than them. They are also untrustworthy."
The landlords are already a headache, and now a wealthy businessman has come out. Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Zhang Fei said: "That being said, our dynasty's control over commerce is far better than that over agriculture. At the same time, the risks commerce brings to the country are far less than agriculture. It is much simpler to start from the commerce aspect."
Due to the private ownership of land, the Song Dynasty state controlled only one-tenth of the country's land, and the rest was controlled by the ruling class including landlords, powerful people, and military officers.
None of them are easy to mess with.
Land reform is really harder than climbing to the sky.
On the contrary, the control over business was extremely strict, because the Song Dynasty had a powerful monopoly system and basically all bulk commodities were state-owned.
This resulted in the Song Dynasty's tax revenue being 70% for commercial taxes and only 30% for agricultural taxes, which was a unique case in the entire feudal society.
Zhao Xu thought it made sense and asked, "In your opinion, how should we start from the business side?"
"legislation!"
Zhang Fei immediately replied: "Only by passing laws can we ensure that we can both encourage the development of business and firmly control those businessmen at the same time."
He would certainly still take the legal route, but there would be too much resistance to agricultural reform. There were too many privileged classes, and the court lacked control in this area. In Zhang Fei's opinion, it would be difficult to move forward.
Business is different.
Salt, iron, wine, etc. are all in the hands of the court. The court is the boss. There is a lot of room for legislation and a lot of room for improvement.
If the imperial court passes legislation to promote business and then makes adjustments to agriculture, there would be nothing much for us to say.
This is also the question that Zhang Fei has been considering recently. Which direction should the legal system go first to maximize the benefits? Without benefits, there is no reason to promote the construction of the legal system.
Zhao Xu nodded thoughtfully.
Zhang Fei added: "Your Majesty should learn from the court's wrong decisions in agriculture this time. You should not grant too many privileges. It is best not to grant any privileges at all and do everything according to the law.
At the same time, the phenomenon of tenant farming must be avoided in business. In terms of labor employment, the court should legislate to properly ensure the interests of workers, rather than only consider the interests of landlords as it does with tenant farmers. This can also limit the growth of merchant power.
When business expands and there is an urgent need for manpower, the court will turn around and rectify agriculture. In this way, if such a situation occurs again, tenant farmers will dare to sue the landlords, and they will be able to find a livelihood even if they do not farm. "
Hearing this, Zhao Xu said doubtfully: "But agriculture is the foundation of the country. If everyone stops growing food, it may cause a crisis."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry about this. The landlords are also seeking wealth. No one wants to part ways. This provides the conditions for negotiation. It won't be like today, where the landlords are rampant and the court is helpless."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "In other words, we won't rectify agriculture for the time being?"
Zhang Fei said: "In my opinion, there is no way to rectify it for the time being."
Zhao Xu frowned and said, "But now, regarding the issue of tenant farmers, the arrow is on the string and must be fired."
Zhang Fei said: "Didn't I say before that we can use tabloids to morally blackmail those scholars and officials, and let them take the initiative to quell this incident. We can just put up with it for now and deal with it when the time is right."
"Moral kidnapping?"
Zhao Xu laughed and said, "Your statement is quite interesting."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I just learned this from them. Don't they always treat Your Majesty like this?"
Zhao Xu was stunned, and suddenly realized that I was the victim. He nodded and said, "Let's use this trick to morally blackmail them."
He immediately showed great interest in the tabloid.
Pulling Zhang Fei, they began to plot how to handle this matter.
This matter has a strong sense of revenge, but the risk factor is also extremely high. Once discovered, Zhao Xu will definitely sacrifice his rook to save his king. He will never admit that he did it, which will really affect his ruling position.
During the conspiracy, he tried every possible way to ensure that the matter could not be traced back to him and that he could be completely cleared of any involvement.
Zhang Fei was clear in his mind. He knew that this matter must be handled well. Otherwise, he was not sure whether Zhao Xu could save him from death. He repeatedly emphasized this safety factor.
The people must be reliable and the place must be hidden.
And you can't just stay in one place, you have to move to another place after each shot.
The capital area is the power center of the literati and it is very difficult to hide.
The next morning.
Bian Jing Law Firm.
"ah!"
"Were you a thief last night?"
Sima Guang looked at Zhang Fei who was yawning and couldn't help but ask.
"No!"
Zhang Fei blinked vigorously, "I was so engrossed in reading that I forgot to take a rest."
He didn't rest at all and talked with Zhao Xu until dawn last night.
Sima Guang certainly didn't expect that Zhang Fei had colluded with the emperor. He stroked his beard and said, "Is it Song Xingtong?"
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment: "Why did Grand Secretary Sima say that?"
Sima Guang chuckled and said, "Wang Jiefu must have asked you for help to see if he can sue those landlords."
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and did not deny it.
On this matter, he and Wang Anshi were on the same front.
Sima Guang asked: "Have you thought of a solution?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and sighed: "It's not that we can't sue. I've seen some contracts that have serious problems. But after the lawsuit, where are those tenant farmers going to make a living?"
"Look! Look!"
Sima Guang shook his finger, "You can figure this out, but Wang Jiefu is stubborn and doesn't care about the consequences. He is not as good as you."
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "I don't deserve this. Besides, it wasn't Grand Secretary Wang who started this."
Sima Guang glanced at him and said, "Yes! I almost forgot that you were involved as well."
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and did not answer.
Sima Guang added: "Since you can't help with this matter, then you should handle the legal aid matter well and take good care of your people. Don't give others a chance to criticize you. Otherwise, I will not forgive you."
He came here today for this matter. The government had already made arrangements and was just waiting for the law firm to send someone over. He was also more cautious and only sought legal assistance from the Silusi for the time being.
The lowest level courts only deal with minor disputes, so legal aid is of little significance.
As for criminal cases, he believes that evidence is still needed.
First, if someone is dissatisfied, they can continue to appeal and rely on the Erbi to fight for the case. After much thought, it is most appropriate to try it in the Silusi.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Master Sima, please rest assured. I have been preparing for this matter and there will be no mistakes or omissions."
Sima Guang nodded slightly and suddenly asked, "Is it true that this tenant farmer issue cannot be brought to court?"
Zhang Fei was stunned and looked at Sima Guang in surprise.
Sima Guang whispered, "Can you help those tenant farmers sue the court?"
Zhang Fei looked at Sima Guang in shock.
Let me sue the court?
Sima Guang looked disdainful and said, "What's that expression on your face? It's not like you haven't done it before. Didn't you help the historians sue the court?"
Zhang Fei had never thought of suing the imperial court. He thought about it carefully for a while and said, "Does the Grand Secretary Sima mean that I can help those tenant farmers to be exempted from taxes through appeal?"
Sima Guang nodded and said, "In this way, we can ensure that the court can exempt the tenant farmers from taxes while collecting taxes according to the law."
Zhang Fei thought for a long time, shook his head and said, "No."
Sima Guang asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Fei said, "Grand Secretary Sima, this land does not belong to the tenants, but to the landlords. The court does not collect taxes based on the people, but based on the land. If I represent the tenants to sue, there is no reason to exempt the land tax, unless I represent the landlords. But this tax is based on their tax evasion. If I want to win this lawsuit, I must first deny that this is tax evasion, but this is what I have decided."
"That's true. This matter was caused by you." Sima Guang nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "In fact, it is quite reasonable for the court to forgive the past and only ask them to pay taxes for this year."
Sima Guang sighed and said, "So if we want the country to be stable, we still have to reduce taxes and levies!"
Zhang Fei said: "The court's light taxes and levies cannot solve the tenant farmers' problems. Light rents and levies are the solution."
Sima Guang said: "If the court does not set an example, how can it expect others to do so?"
Zhang Fei pursed his lips tightly and said nothing.
Sima Guang glanced at him and said, "If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to pretend."
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "I just think that the court setting an example in this matter of renting may not be very useful. After all, not every minister is as honest and simple as Sima Daxueshi, who does not own land at home."
Sima Guang was speechless for a moment.
Who has the most tenant farmers? Aren’t they the royal relatives and high-ranking officials in the court?
How many tenant farmers can be supported by people like Shi Tingjun and Geng Ming who work hard to buy property?
If we want to set an example, the scholars and officials must set an example first.
This can only be achieved through moral kidnapping.
Because the law is completely biased towards them, and at the same time the legislative power is controlled in their hands. You should know that Wang Anshi also belongs to the scholar-official class.
They have a royal bomb and four 2s in their hands, and they only have one chance to win, and that is to seize the initiative, then make four flying cards, and play them all in one go, leaving them no chance.
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
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