The one who was going to take up the post in Hezhong Prefecture was Zhang Fei, but the busiest person during this period was Sima Guang.
The main reason was that Sima Guang believed that his sudden inspiration was not well thought out, and this move not only concerned Zhang Fei, but also judicial reform and the important town of Hezhong.
But the matter has been decided, and all he can do now is to try his best to make amends. As long as it is not immoral, he will do his best to meet all of Zhang Fei's requirements.
For example, Zhang Fei wanted to understand the officialdom in Hezhong, so he immediately looked through various personnel files and asked his colleagues about the personalities of the officials in Hezhong, etc.
Sima Guang did think that this was also one of Zhang Fei's shortcomings.
According to past practice, any official who went to the Hezhong region to hold an important position must be an official with extremely strong qualifications, and they basically knew the main officials of the Hezhong Prefecture without asking.
Zhang Fei is a complete rookie and probably doesn't know anyone.
If you are not familiar with them, you will definitely not be able to get by.
"Wow, so many?"
Zhang Fei held the thick stack of official titles, and he looked at Sima Guang and said, "Sima Xueshi, I just want to know about some of the main officials, the ones with authority."
...
...
Sima Guang sighed and said, "The responsibilities and powers of our dynasty are quite chaotic, and it is common for four or five officials to be in charge of one matter, which is why there are so many redundant officials."
Zhang Fei blinked and said, "That means these officials all have authority."
Sima Guang nodded.
".!"
Zhang Fei was speechless for a while, then flipped through the book casually and read, "What happened in Han Temple?"
Sima Guang explained: "Han Sishi is the governor of Hezhong Prefecture, but this position is usually a nominal one. Military power is usually in the hands of local militia commanders, but if there is a war or natural disaster, the court will appoint envoys such as the Recruiting Envoy, the Appeasement Envoy, the General Manager, and the Propaganda Envoy to take over the military and civil affairs. There is no war or natural disaster there for the time being, so there is no permanent envoy.
Currently, the power of Hezhong Prefecture is mainly in the hands of two people. One of them is Cai Yanqing, the prefect of Hezhong. He is the nephew of the famous prime minister Cai Qi, but he did not enter the officialdom by favor of the emperor. Instead, he was a successful Jinshi. His attainments in law are no less than your father-in-law. He serves as the chief of the Jingdong Road. He is upright, smart and capable, a rare all-rounder.
You are going there mainly to take over judicial power from him, but from what I know about him, he will not make things difficult for you, and he is an official you can rely on."
An official who could serve as the prefect of Hezhong Prefecture, regardless of whether he was loyal or treacherous, must have been extremely capable, because Hezhong Prefecture was directly related to the logistics of the Northwest Army.
Zhang Fei nodded and looked at Cai Yanqing's specific information carefully. He really had all kinds of halos. He was from a family of officials and was a child prodigy. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in his teens. He got full marks in the law examination. At the age of thirty, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Jingdong Road and the Procurator of Kaifeng Prefecture. When he was nearly forty, he was the Prefect of Hezhong Prefecture. At the same time, he was in charge of the logistics of Qinfeng Road, that is, the Qinfeng Road Transport Envoy.
This political achievement has been smooth sailing and flawless.
It's so scary!
Family education in the Song Dynasty was still very good. It was very common for two or three generations to become generals or prime ministers. The key was that they were really capable and talented, and they were not good-for-nothings who got to their positions by relying on connections.
Even the treacherous minister Cai Jing climbed to the top through his political achievements, and his brother Cai Bian was also the prime minister.
Sima Guang added, "The other one is the Transport Envoy. It was originally Xue Xiang, but not long ago Wang Jiefu transferred Xue Xiang to be the Transport Envoy. This position is temporarily vacant, but Wang Jiefu has recommended Yuan Jiang to take it. But this position is generally in charge of the finances of a route, especially the salt administration. The salt administration is related to the northwest and the central government, and is usually managed by people sent by the court, never by the local prefect. In this regard, you should negotiate with Wang Jiefu yourself."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But I'm not facing just the two of them."
Sima Guang said: "Yes, what can be written here is just the tip of the iceberg. I can't explain the specific situation of the local area. What I can advise you is to do your own thing well. At that time, the judicial power will be completely handed over to the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."
Although they were the two with the most power, given the system of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many local officials who could check and balance them.
Zhang Fei has to face the entire system.
However, this is not because of Zhang Fei as a person, but because of the power of justice. If it were any other position, it would not be so difficult. Justice really involves everyone and everything.
The two were chatting when Xu Zun came back.
"Zhongtu is back."
Sima Guang stood up and bowed.
Xu Zun returned the gift.
Zhang Fei also bowed to Xu Zunxing.
Xu Zun nodded and said, "Jun Shi is here too. I have something to discuss with you."
Sima Guang asked, "What's the matter?"
Xu Zun said: "Su Ziyu plans to go first."
Sima Guang was surprised and asked, "Why?"
Xu Zun smiled bitterly and said, "This is because Su Ziyou doesn't want others to think that the public security, procuratorate and court are one government agency. The imperial court, the procuratorate and the police station are not subordinate to each other and they check and balance each other. Therefore, he doesn't want to wait for Zhang San to go together."
"That's fine."
Sima Guang nodded and suddenly looked at Zhang Fei again.
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "Even if I have an opinion, he won't listen to it."
"That's true."
Sima Guang smiled and nodded, then said to Xu Zun: "Then your procuratorate can decide for itself."
Xu Zun looked at Zhang Fei again, "When do you plan to go?"
"No hurry! No rush!"
Sima Guang hurriedly said, "Zhang San is different from Su Che. He has no experience as an official. It is better to wait until everything is ready before going."
Although Zhang Fei served as a doctor in the Imperial College, he was actually just a teacher and had zero experience in officialdom.
When Xu Zun saw that Sima Guang was more worried than his father-in-law, he smiled and nodded.
Zhang Fei is even less anxious.
After Sima Guang left, Zhang Fei immediately threw the information to Xu Zhiqian.
"What's this?"
Xu Zhiqian took it and asked curiously.
Zhang Fei said, "Please take note of the list of officials from Hezhong Prefecture that Scholar Sima sent to you just now."
Xu Zhiqian nodded and asked, "Have you finished reading it?"
Zhang Fei said: "It gives me a headache to look at it, and I don't really understand it either. Just let you know."
The powers and responsibilities of the Northern Song Dynasty are so obscure and difficult to understand that they have to be left to the locals to understand.
Xu Zhiqian frowned and said, "You are too lazy to even read the news that Scholar Sima has worked so hard to find. How can this be possible?"
Zhang Fei said unhappily, "If I do everything, then what is the point of you being the chief clerk? I am your immediate superior now."
Xu Zhiqian's eyes lit up. Yes! I am also the chief clerk now.
When she followed Xu Zun around before, she wanted to help, but sometimes Xu Zun didn't let her. This time, she was given a real position, which was what she had always dreamed of, so how could she complain?
Zhang Fei glanced at her secretly, feeling proud of himself, hehe. I finally found your weakness. When there is work, I'll be your secretary, and when there is nothing else, I'll do it.
"Zhang San! Zhang San!"
"Ah? What?"
"What are you thinking about?" Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei curiously.
"Nothing?"
Zhang Fei quickly shook his head.
Xu Zhiqian asked expectantly, "When do you plan to leave?"
Zhang Fei said: "It will take some time for Zhong Yan and Lu Chen to rush to Hezhong Prefecture, so we are not in a hurry."
Xu Zhiqian said, "Then we can go there earlier to prepare!"
Zhang Fei said with a smile: "I have to start my new job with a lot of things to do, but if Zhong Yan and Lu Chen are not here, where can I start my new job?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a few howls coming from outside.
"Zhang San! Zhang San!"
"Third brother! I'm back!"
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Is Xiao Ma back?"
"So soon?"
Zhang Fei said: "I'll go out and take a look first."
"Um."
When they arrived at the front yard, before they could see clearly, Ma Xiaoyi rushed over and looked at Zhang Fei with big watery eyes, "Third brother, when are you going to leave?"
"It will probably take more than a month."
"What?"
Cao Dongdong said excitedly: "It's only more than a month, why don't you wait until next year to go."
Zhang Fei snorted, "If you want to go earlier, just go by yourselves. It doesn't matter to me when you go to the police station."
Cao Dongdong said with saliva flying: "Do you think I am willing to wait for you? It was Daddy who insisted that we go with you."
Ma Xiaoyi said: "Third brother, if you have any unfulfilled wishes, tell me and I will help you fulfill them."
"Go, go, go! I'm going to take up my new post, not to die. I still have some unfulfilled wishes."
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, "I still have to wait for the official's order."
As soon as the official showed up, the two boys immediately wilted.
Cao Dongdong snorted, "It's really boring."
Just at this moment, Niu Beiqing's voice rang out from the door again, "Third brother, Grand Secretary Wang is here."
"What a coincidence."
Ma Xiaoyi said depressedly.
Cao Dongdong said: "Xiao Ma, let's go first and come back tomorrow."
"Hey! Third brother, let's go first."
The two of them immediately slipped out the side door.
Zhang Fei shook his head speechlessly and went out to greet him.
Seeing Zhang Fei, Wang Anshi immediately joked: "You are such a big fuss when you go out!"
Zhang Fei said: "They just wanted to watch the fun. All the people who went there were calves."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "This newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger!"
Zhang Fei said: "It's a pity that the next sentence is not that a calf can defeat a tiger."
Wang Anshi laughed.
After arriving at the front hall and sitting down, Wang Anshi said again: "You are very smart, I am not worried that you will act rashly. But!"
He hesitated to speak, Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "I am new to the officialdom and don't know much about it. I hope Mr. Wang can give me some advice."
Wang Anshi glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Do you still remember the case of Wang Hong?"
Zhang Fei was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "I remember."
Wang Anshi said, "I remember that at the beginning, the court supported Wang Hong and did not allow you to do that taxable business. Do you know the reason?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Because of the finances, if we can't collect taxes, it may cause bigger problems."
"good!"
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "Finance is the most important thing. The finance of Hezhong Prefecture is related to the military situation in the northwest. In many things, you have to consider the overall situation. Remember not to lose the big picture because of the small. If a lawsuit of yours leads to an incident on the northwest border, even if your judgment is correct, you will not be punished."
Zhang Fei understood immediately and said, "Master Wang, please rest assured. If it concerns logistics or salt law, I will discuss it with Doctor Yuan first."
The young man is teachable! Wang Anshi smiled and nodded, saying, "I have also mentioned the matter of salt notes to Doctor Yuan. If you have a better suggestion, you can discuss it with him directly. He will definitely consider it as appropriate."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I understand."
In fact, Wang Anshi came here to instruct Zhang Fei on this matter. Simply put, the judiciary must serve the government's orders, and finance and military affairs must be given priority.
Because Wang Anshi also knew that the profit from salt was so high that exploitation was inevitable in the process, but he had to put the overall situation first. If he had no money, big problems would arise.
He was worried that Zhang Fei was brainwashed by Sima Guang.
However, Zhang Fei is not a pedantic person. He certainly knows that national interests should come first.
The tax commissioner secretly gathered intelligence, and it was certain that much of it was obtained illegally.
After all, Zhang Fei was a member of three factions, and the key point was that both Wang Anshi and Sima Guang believed that Zhang Fei was more inclined to their side.
In fact, Zhang Fei and Zhao Xu are in the same boat.
However, Zhao Xu did not tell Zhang Fei anything, because Zhao Xu knew that Sima Guang and Wang Anshi would tell him what he should tell them, and he probably hadn't thought it through as thoroughly as they did.
He just summoned Zhang Fei into the palace before he set off and personally carried out the ceremony for him. He also decided to convert the royal palace in Hezhong Prefecture into the Hezhong Prefecture Imperial Court.
At the same time, he personally appointed Zhang Fei as the chief judge of Shaanxi Road, which not only made him the governor of Hezhong Prefecture, but also the highest judge of Shaanxi Road.
If this arrangement is not made, there will be no authority to hear the Suizhou case.
This also shows Zhao Xu's expectations for Zhang Fei's visit.
However, Zhang Fei delayed for more than twenty days. It was only when he saw that the scorching summer was about to come that he prepared to leave Beijing for his post.
It was not yet dawn that day!
Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi rode their tall horses and rushed to the door of Zhang's house, roaring.
"We're about to set off, can't you two just be quiet?"
Zhang Fei went out of the door and complained feebly. These two guys had been pestering him every day these days, urging him to leave early, otherwise he might have to leave later. Suddenly, he saw a resentful man beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xiaochun, are you here to see us off?"
Cao Dongdong chuckled and said, "Xiaochun, come with us."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei couldn't help but look at Fu Shichun in surprise.
With tears in his eyes, Fu Shichun sighed to the sky, "I made the wrong friends!"
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