Wang Anshi and Sima Guang had both tried to recruit Zhang Fei before, but Zhang Fei never expressed his opinion and declined for various reasons. The reason was that he hoped to get the support of both conservatives and reformists.
In the end, his foundation is still too weak, but his ambitions are huge. He must get the support of both reformers and conservatives before he can achieve anything.
Having said that, it’s really hard to choose between these two factions.
At present, Wang Anshi's faction is obviously in power, but lacks administrative rectification. If one follows Wang Anshi, there will be a lot of troubles afterwards, and he will be involved in them if he is not careful.
Although Sima Guang's faction does not have the upper hand for the time being, the conservative faction is rich in talent, has strong military forces and a deeper foundation.
The best way is to take both.
Zhao Xu just needs to hide behind and cover for him.
......
In front of the procuratorate.
"Brother, are you okay?"
...
...
Seeing Su Shi coming out of the door, Su Zhe immediately went to greet him, looked at his brother, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine. I'm so sorry for making my third brother worried."
The words were spoken to Su Che, but Su Shi's gaze drifted to Sima Guang beside him, as if he was also speaking to Sima Guang.
Fan Chunren bowed to Sima Guang and said, "I am so sorry, Chunren has disappointed everyone."
He admitted the blame, and after being interrogated by Xu Zun, he realized that everything he did was not what a qualified prosecutor should be, and he was willing to take any responsibility for it.
Sima Guang sighed, "I can't blame you. To be honest, I didn't think about this either. This incident has benefited me a lot. The public security, procuratorial and judicial system is much more difficult than we imagined. If we want to defend the law, we must give up many things."
Upon hearing this, Fan Chunren frowned.
During this period, he has been thinking about this issue.
This is very different from traditional legalism.
When it comes down to it, Legalism is still about the way of governing a country. If we stand from the Legalists' standpoint, there is actually nothing wrong with what they said.
Legalism itself is a political stance and political philosophy.
But with the establishment of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, this law has become the bottom line of governing the country, rather than the way to govern the country. If you want to pursue the way to govern the country, don't stay in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, go to the Political Affairs Hall.
When you work in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, you defend the law.
The law must be put first in everything, and one cannot let one's own position influence one's own choices. Once subjective position guides the judiciary, the problem will be really serious and will inevitably repeat the same mistakes.
Seeing Fan Chunren's frustrated expression, Sima Guang could not help but ask, "But do you still have the confidence to continue serving as the prosecutor?"
Su Shi immediately said, "Yes."
"elder brother."
Su Zhe quickly stopped Su Shi with his eyes.
He felt that his brother's personality was really not suitable for the strict public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
Su Shi said seriously: "If I retreat now, what can I accomplish in the future? This lesson will be in vain."
Fan Chunren nodded and said, "Zizhan's words make sense, and this lesson makes me want to continue to serve as the prosecutor."
When he realized that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs were defending the bottom line, he was full of longing for them.
Because this has never happened before.
Even though Bao Zheng was an impartial and just person, he had a clear political stance on many issues. He even wanted to fly to Dengzhou to take up his post immediately.
Sima Guang nodded and said, "Remember, you are going to build the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, and it has nothing to do with the new policy."
Su Shi smiled and said, "I think that our trip here can be regarded as helping Wang Jiefu to reform the law."
Sima Guang was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled and said, "I feel relieved if you think this way."
Su Shi immediately said with a look of resentment: "In fact, I have always thought so, but Wang Jiefu refused to listen to my advice."
Sima Guang sighed, "If he is willing to listen to advice, it is not your turn to persuade him."
Su Shi looked at Sima Guang and said, "Isn't it the same for Sima Guang?"
"......?"
.......
On the second day, the Political Affairs Hall immediately issued a decree to announce the result of the case.
This is why Zhao Xu invited all the prime ministers to participate in the meeting. If he issued the order unilaterally, it would definitely attract a lot of opposition.
Because in the eyes of many people, this was Wang Anshi's way of attacking his political enemies and Wang Anshi was playing dirty. If the procuratorate still had the power to investigate the Regulations Office of the Two Governments, they would have gone there long ago.
Many ministers were very dissatisfied with this result.
But if all the prime ministers agree, at least the situation can be stabilized.
And with Fan Chunren, Su Shi, Gu Ji and others about to leave Beijing, Wang Anshi really got a dream start.
You have to know that this is a process of gain and loss.
Because of this case, many officials began to side with the reformists, and the balance of power between the two sides began to change.
Wang Anshi is currently short of manpower, because the equalized transport system requires a large amount of manpower to support it. Before, all places had kept the same tax collection every year, which did not require many people. But now, not only does he have to collect taxes based on the situation, but he also has to go to various places to buy low and sell high. Compared with before, the number of officials needed may be more than ten times.
This is also why Su Shi thought that Wang Anshi was acting too hastily and that this move would aggravate the problem of redundant officials.
But Wang Anshi didn't care about these at all. After all, his philosophy was to open up sources of income. He believed that this could make more money for the country. He appointed almost everyone who came, and he didn't care about investigating everyone thoroughly. As long as they supported the new policy, it was fine. This led to more people turning to the new policy.
Because it was so easy to get a job here, they went to try to please Sima Guang, but Sima Guang would ignore them.
This is actually related to the political philosophies of both parties. Conservatives pursue righteousness first, so they attach great importance to personal moral character. If we have different ideals, we cannot work together.
The reformists, on the other hand, put profit first and don't care that much about personal morality.
That's why, in the end, the reformists collapsed from within, while the conservatives remained very united.
In any case, Wang Anshi was very happy at this time, and in a short while, his army became strong and powerful.
......
Zhang Fei arrived at the east gate in a carriage. Just as he was about to leave the city gate, he met Sima Guang walking back slowly.
"Mr. Sima."
Zhang Fei jumped off the carriage and asked, "Has Mr. Fan left?"
"Just left not long ago."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "Since there were too many people seeing him off, I didn't join in the fun. If you want to chase him, you will catch up in no time."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Forget it. I don't want to be scolded."
In fact, he didn't come here on purpose to send her off, but he wanted Fan Chunren to take a letter to Fang Yun and take care of her there.
Sima Guang asked back: "Are you still afraid of being scolded?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Instead of being scolded, I might as well leave it to Gu Si."
Sima Guang chuckled and said, "Do you remember where we had our first detailed discussion?"
"South Gate?"
"Yes, it was sent to Wang Wenshan."
"It seems so."
"If I offend you, there will be no good consequences!" Sima Guang said with a smile.
Zhang Fei shook his head: "They didn't offend me, but they bullied me and even wanted to kill me. If they didn't leave, I might be the one to die."
Sima Guang did not comment, and then asked: "Did Wang Jiefu come to see you?"
Zhang Fei said, "It was Lu Huiqing who came to see me."
Sima Guang asked: "When do you plan to set out?"
Zhang Fei said, "It will take at least until next year. I still have a lot of things to deal with here. Besides, there is nothing to do if I go there now. After all, the new law will not be implemented there until next year."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "I don't care when you go, but it will definitely be a fierce battle, so you must be extremely careful."
Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Scholar Sima?"
Sima Guang chuckled twice. "Look at the kind of people Wang Jiefu has found. Almost all of them are opportunists. Once such people are given important positions, they will definitely stir up trouble everywhere and do whatever they want. They will never abide by the law. You will be busy then."
If everyone is a gentleman, then my entire plan will become meaningless. Zhang Fei laughed and said, "I just like to promote good and eliminate evil."
[The problem of slow update of new chapters has finally been solved on the app that can change sources. Download huanyuanapp here to change sources and check the latest chapters of this book on multiple sites at the same time. ]
......
In fact, the court did not order them to leave Beijing immediately, but Fan Chunren and Su Shi were eager to take up their posts.
Gu Ji stayed at home for a few days before leaving Beijing today with great reluctance.
Halfway through the journey, before leaving the city, I heard someone outside the car say, "Manager Liu, I heard there's news again today."
A flash of anger appeared in Gu Ji's eyes. He slightly opened the curtain and saw a scholar asking the owner of a tavern. After hesitating for a moment, he ordered the servant to ask for one.
After getting the newspaper, Gu Ji was a little hesitant to open it because he was afraid that the content of the article might be related to him.
Gu Ji mustered up his courage, opened it and breathed a sigh of relief.
It turned out that the newspaper did not mention this at all, but said that a charity organization would hold a charity football match, and the two participating teams were the General Police Station and the Guards Horse.
Whenever anyone scores a goal, the charity will donate 100 strings of cash to provide winter supplies to the poor.
At the same time, the charity will donate one thousand strings of cash to the government office of the winner.
"Charity?"
Gu Ji frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly called out, "Qing'er."
"Grandpa, what do you want me to do?" Gu Shaoqing rode over hurriedly on his horse.
Gu Ji said: "Go back immediately and ask someone to donate 50 hectares of land to this charity."
Gu Shaoqing was surprised and asked: "Grandpa, why...why is this happening?"
When Gu Ji saw Gu Shaoqing's expression, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it, I won't leave today. I will go and make the arrangements myself."
Gu Ji had no idea what would happen on this trip to Yizhou.
In this precarious time, he also needs to leave himself a way out.
However, Gu Ji is by no means the only one who thinks so.
Even officials who were about to leave Beijing, such as Shen Huaixiao and Du Xiu, chose to donate part of their land to charities.
Wang Anshi won a great victory, but at the same time they lost power. They were really panicked and they had to leave a way out for themselves.
At the same time, many wealthy businessmen think so too.
Coincidentally, autumn taxes were being levied recently.
Land donated to charity is indeed tax-free.
The amount of land donated to charities has surged in recent days.
Soon it broke through one thousand hectares.
In addition, this issue of the newspaper showed such a large donation and such a huge momentum that it had never been seen before. This charity organization was in the limelight.
They directly stole the limelight from the new policy.
......
Guard horse.
Wang Chao stormed into the room and angrily questioned a general, "Why didn't I know about the competition between our guards and the police department? Can anyone explain it to me?"
One of the generals said, "It was Cao Yanei who found Xu Yuhou and borrowed some people to go over. It was just a game of football. We didn't dare to disturb Marshal Ma for such a small matter."
"It's just a small matter!"
Wang Chao's eyes widened. "Have you forgotten how embarrassed we, the guards, were when the police station was established? Now we have to look at the faces of the police officers even when we walk. They are clearly using this competition to humiliate us, the guards."
"That's not the case. I heard that they all practice together, without any discrimination, and our people even have an advantage."
"Really?"
Wang Chao asked.
"Most of those policemen were former yamen soldiers, and among them, only Cao Yanei and Ma Xiaoyi are good. But the people we sent out are masters of Cuju, at least they are not inferior to them in this field."
"If I can win......!"
Wang Chao said, "Go and get Xu Yuhou here. I want to ask him in person."
"yes."
.......
The Imperial Palace.
"Has the official heard about the charity football match?"
Queen Mother Cao suddenly asked Zhao Xu.
Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, nodded, and asked again: "How did the Empress know about this?"
Empress Dowager Cao said, "It was Dong'er who told me."
Zhao Xu asked, "Madam, do you want to go and see it?"
Empress Dowager Cao chuckled and said, "Dong'er wanted me to go and take a look, but I didn't agree to it at the time. But today I read the news. I've never heard of such a charity competition before. It sounds quite interesting. Besides, it's just charity, so it doesn't hurt to take a look!"
"Grandson will have someone arrange it later."
Then Zhao Xu asked again, "Does the Madam also read the news?"
"look!"
Empress Dowager Cao said, "I read almost every issue, and your mother does the same. It's become a habit. It shouldn't be that this news paper is only distributed in restaurants. Every time, Cao Ping has to go to the restaurant to get it. It's a bit troublesome."
This newspaper was very popular in the harem. Empress Dowager Cao and Empress Dowager Gao, for example, were bored sitting in the palace all day long. For them, reading a newspaper and learning about the people's affairs was a rare pleasure.
It was precisely because Empress Dowager Cao was a fan of the News that she became interested in this charity competition, a kind of love for the person and the people in it.
When Zhao Xu heard this, he immediately said, "Don't worry, Madam. From now on, every issue of the News and Celebrities News will be delivered to the palace first."
......
This charity organization was growing bigger and bigger, and the Bian Jing Law Firm was almost unable to bear it. Its own business had been affected. Of course, Fan Li was unhappy about this.
Today, Zhang Fei and a group of major donors came to the headquarters of the charity.
This place was donated free of charge by Baifan Building to charity organizations. It is right between the two buildings.
“It’s quite spacious.”
Zhang Fei looked around for a while, then praised Fan Zheng: "Fan Dalang's work is reassuring!"
Fan Zheng hurriedly said, "This is as it should be. Sanlang is willing to place the charity organization in our Baifan Building. It is our honor and we dare not neglect it."
As he spoke, he glanced at the other donors.
Zhang Fei subconsciously glanced around and saw that the donors looked a little strange, so he couldn't help asking, "What's the matter?"
Everyone looks at me and I look at you.
Zhang Fei asked again: "What exactly is going on?"
Ma Tianhao said casually: "It's like this, you see now that the store is ready, the staff must also be arranged."
Zhang Fei wondered, "Hasn't the personnel already been found?"
Ma Tianhao laughed and said, "There is also the board of directors."
Zhang Fei immediately understood, "No need to be so anxious, right?"
The original contract had already stated that a board of directors would be set up to be responsible for decision-making. If it was stipulated that Zhang Fei had the final say, it would be tantamount to donating the money to Zhang Fei, which no one would agree to.
It is precisely because this contract is very standardized that everyone is willing to give it a try, but no one trusts Zhang Fei unconditionally.
It’s just that the number of these people is increasing, and no one quite understands it, so basically Zhang Fei has the final say.
Chen Maoqian said, "Sanlang, it's not us who are anxious, but... it's you who seem to be obsessed with football. You get 100 guan for each goal scored, and you also donate 1,000 guan to the winner's government office. This... this money is not yours, but you can't spend it like this!"
The others also nodded.
One thousand strings of cash is really a lot.
The cost of this game can buy an ordinary house in Beijing.
You have to know that they donate to charities, but they don’t really want to do charity.
Zhang Fei was both angry and amused and said, "Didn't you hear the noise outside?"
The timber merchant Zhou Yan said, "Everyone can do this by losing money to gain publicity! In the past, some people used Cuju matches to raise funds, but no one has ever raised so much money. The key is that this business is not profitable."
"We haven't made any money yet, but we have already donated a lot of money."
"Yes! If you invest the money in a type workshop, we will all be happy with it."
"Yes, yes, yes. I heard that many people want to print newspapers recently. This business must be profitable."
"You can rent a carriage and a horse, too."
......
Everyone was talking about something, and the bottom line is, why do you have to play football when you can do something else? It's really a waste of time.
Zhang Fei was really drunk. He snorted, "I thought you were all very far-sighted, but I never thought that you were all short-sighted. I am curious about how you made your money."
"We earn our money from what's in front of us. Once you get further away, you'll naturally be able to pick it up."
"you.......!"
Zhang Fei said helplessly: "We agreed before, give me a chance, I will prove it to you."
Fan Yong said awkwardly, "But Sanlang, you are just spending money to gain publicity. Even if someone comes to see it, it... doesn't mean anything."
"That's right!"
"You're doing this just to attract people so that we can agree to hold this football match."
......
Everyone had made it very clear before, let Zhang Fei give it a try.
But now, everyone thinks this attempt is unfair. If everyone likes to watch it, then it should be them who pay, not you.
Many people think that Zhang Fei's behavior is a deception. He deliberately creates the impression that everyone loves to watch football, so as to trick them into agreeing to invest money.
These businessmen are all as smart as monkeys. They secretly formed a council to check and balance Zhang Fei.
It can be seen that the laws of the Song Dynasty ancestors have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Zhang Fei also knew what they were thinking and was very angry about this. What business doesn’t need publicity?
This is outrageous.
Just as he was about to refute them, a servant suddenly came into the room and whispered something in Fan Yong's ear.
Fan Yong nodded and said to Zhang Fei, "Sanlang, do you have any tickets?"
"No."
Zhang Fei snorted.
Fan Yong said awkwardly, "After all, we spent money, but you didn't even give us a ticket. This is unreasonable."
Zhang Fei said coldly: "You are not interested, why do you need the ticket? Don't waste it."
Just at this moment, another servant ran in and whispered something in Ma Tianhao's ear.
Ma Tianhao was overwhelmed after hearing this. He looked at Zhang Fei and laughed, "Zhang San, Brother Fan is Brother Fan, and I am me. I am more interested. Otherwise, I would not support Xiaoyi to play in the game. No matter what, you have to save a few tickets for me."
"Zhang San! Zhang San! Are you in there?"
Cao Dongdong's voice came from outside.
Zhang Fei quickly responded, "Yes."
Immediately, I heard hurried footsteps and saw Cao Dongdong running in, "Zhang San, I have good news for you."
Zhang Fei asked: "What good news?"
Cao Dongdong said: "My aunt and the emperor are coming to watch the charity game."
"Officials!"
Everyone said in unison.
Zhang Fei said: "This requires careful preparation."
Cao Dongdong said: "My father said that we need to change the venue, so let me ask you to discuss it."
"Now?"
"Um."
Cao Dongdong added: "Also, remember to leave fifty tickets for me."
Zhang Fei said: "No problem."
"Wait a minute!"
Fan Yong hurriedly said, "I asked you for a ticket, and you said you didn't have one. Now Yanei wants fifty, and you...!"
Zhang Fei stretched out his hand, pinched his fingers, and said, "I just calculated that Yanei would come to ask me for tickets, and now there are really no more. Besides, we are on different paths and cannot work together. At worst, I can go alone to play this game, and I will pay for it. Come on, Yanei, let's go and have a good discussion. Damn! I'm so angry."
Cao Dongdong asked: "Who made you angry?"
"A bunch of idiots."
"......?"
A group of businessmen looked at each other in bewilderment. We pay money and still get scolded.
you...!
Ma Tianhao suddenly shouted, "Zhang San, wait a minute, you can't lose my ticket."
Fan Yong also chased after him, "And me."
Chief Justice of the Northern Song Dynasty
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
