Xu Zhiqian's confusion is completely understandable.
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were fighting each other in the court, but after leaving the imperial city, they both came to find Zhang Fei.
This phenomenon is very strange.
But the answer is just as Zhang Fei said, who would refuse an excellent free laborer?
Although he thought he was already sitting at the poker table, he was the only one who thought so. In everyone's eyes, there were only two protagonists in the world today, namely Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.
He was just an excellent waiter.
What he provided was just technical support. Due to his status and age, his political ideas were not exposed enough, so this scene was not that strange.
If the Equalization of Transport Law was just a trial run by Wang Anshi that marked the beginning of his reform, then the Recruitment Law was Wang Anshi's official start to the war.
When the Equalized Transport Law was first promulgated, Sima Guang was still advising everyone to wait and see. Apart from a few arguments with Wang Anshi in private, he did not openly oppose Wang Anshi in any formal occasions.
At that time, Fan Chunren and Su Shi were mainly opposed, and as a result, both of them were demoted.
...
...
This is because the Equalization of Transport System only involved the tribute system and the crackdown on some unscrupulous businessmen. On the technical and moral levels, Wang Anshi still had his way.
However, as soon as the conscription law was announced, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others expressed their opinions directly.
We don't agree.
Because this law involves people all over the world.
But how to stop it? Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo came to Fu Bi at the same time.
Can it be stopped through legislation?
"Right now, that's not possible."
Fu Bi glanced at Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang, then shook his head with a wry smile: "Although the Song Dynasty Criminal Code also includes some tax laws, the government will not allow us to amend the tax law because it will conflict with the court's decree."
You are really overthinking this. How could the emperor give up his taxation power?
Logically speaking, tax laws should belong to the Three Departments and the Secretariat, and are definitely government orders.
This is not within the power of the Legislative Council.
Sima Guang said: "According to the concept of the law of the rule of law, it is to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people. Can legislation provide protection for the people?"
Fu Bi hesitated for a moment, "We can only modify the penalties for tax evasion, but this cannot be modified lightly. If the judiciary cannot deter the people, then many people will evade taxes without fear, which will increase the burden on the government."
Wen Yanbo frowned and said, "So, neither the judiciary nor the legislation can stop Wang Jiefu from doing what he wants?"
Fu Bi stroked his beard and said, "What I can think of right now is to divide tax-free households through legislation."
“Tax-free household?”
Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo said in unison.
Fu Bi nodded: "In the past, tax-exempt households were divided according to the level of civilian households, but the concept of the legal system is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, which are not divided by level, so human life is also a legitimate right of individuals.
If a person's income is only enough for him to survive, in this case, if they are still required to pay taxes, it will be an infringement of their legitimate personal rights.
Moreover, in history, most of the officials forced the people to rebel, that is, they drained the pond to catch all the fish and forcibly collected taxes, which forced the people into a desperate situation and caused unrest, which also seriously harmed the interests of the country and the monarch.
Based on this, we have sufficient reason to legislate on this.”
Sima Guang nodded and said, "Remember Zhang San's first class? He drew the line between the law of the legal system and the law of Confucianism on top, and the line of the law of the legal system was below it. As long as the line of the law of the legal system is not touched, the law of the legal system will have no right to interfere with the law of Confucianism and the law of Legalism."
Fu Bi laughed and said, "It seems that Zhang San's teaching method is more profound."
Wen Yanbo said, "But there is some truth to what Wang Jiefu said in his article. The drawbacks of the corvée system have caused the common people to prefer to mutilate themselves to obtain the status of the fifth-lowest class household to avoid the corvée. This has led to a low enthusiasm for farming, and the number of poor households has increased year by year. If tax-free households are established, I am afraid that this situation will become even more serious."
Fu Bi said: "This can only set the tax-free households low enough. I even think that Wang Jiefu will not break this bottom line. This can only prevent officials from exploiting the people on this basis."
Sima Guang said: "But determining tax-exempt households will also bring a lot of burden to the government."
Fu Bi said: "This can only be implemented with the cooperation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. The law of the legal system only gives the people the power to protect their legitimate rights and interests, but this power must be better implemented under the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."
Sima Guang said in distress: "But the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs must be implemented by people. I must let those officials with good moral character and like-minded people to implement the law, such as Fan Chunren and Su Shi. I cannot directly order the local judicial system to be changed to public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
At present, most local government offices are run by clerks, and those clerks do not receive salaries. If we continue to let them run the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, it will only destroy the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems."
He really had a lot of grievances. In fact, many officials in the court questioned him, saying that after all the work on your judicial reform, there were only two pilot projects, one in Dengzhou and the other in Yangzhou.
And you only sent two prosecutors.
Can this supervise the new policy?
In fact, the specific framework of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems has already taken shape. If the legal system is added, it will be like adding wings to a tiger.
But Sima Guang was a very traditional Confucian. He attached great importance to the moral level of officials and was very cautious in employing people.
Fu Bi nodded and said, "Yes, one of the reasons why the police can be successful is that they can get a stable income and do not need to exploit the people to maintain their livelihood."
At this point, he comforted Sima Guang and said, "Take it slow, so as not to lose more than you gain."
Xiangguo Temple.
I saw an old monk with a white beard and wearing a red cassock walking quickly towards a vegetable garden in the northwest corner.
When they arrived at the gate of the vegetable garden, two young monks at the gate immediately bowed and said, "Abbot."
This white-bearded old monk is none other than Huiming, the abbot of Xiangguo Temple.
Huiming asked, "Can we stop arguing?"
The two young monks looked at each other and then at Huiming.
Huiming closed his eyes and sighed: "I will come back in a quarter of an hour."
"yes."
As soon as Huiming left, a young monk came back into the vegetable garden.
After a while, I saw a sedan chair hurriedly coming out of the courtyard.
Not long after the sedan chair left, Huiming came to the vegetable garden again.
I saw a fat, big-eared, broad-shouldered, and red-faced monk standing in the courtyard, with his hands clasped together, "Zhi Zheng greets the abbot."
This person is Master Lu Binlu.
Huiming looked at Lu Bin and asked, "Are you still awake now?"
Lu Bin immediately said, "Wake up. Please come in, host."
Huiming could smell the smell of alcohol and sex even when he was standing in the courtyard. "Forget it, let's talk here. Do you know why I'm in such a hurry to find you?"
Lu Bin hesitated for a moment, "Conscription Law."
Huiming asked again: "What do you think?"
Lu Bin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Abbot, I don't think the money is that much, so why would we have a conflict with Wang Jiefu?"
Huiming frowned and said nothing.
Lu Bin scratched his bald head and said, "It will be the lean period soon, and the people are in urgent need of food. Usually, food prices will rise at this time.
If we lower the price of grain and sell it, we will earn a lot of copper coins in a short period of time. If we can unite with other big landlords to lower the price, copper coins will become scarce in the countryside, and when the court collects the exemption money, there will inevitably be problems. "
Huiming said, "I'll leave this matter to you."
"yes."
"I'm leaving first."
"Abbot, take care."
When Huiming reached the door, he suddenly turned around and said, "Don't hang around in the yard in broad daylight. It's not good if people see you."
Lu Bin nodded and said, "Yes."
After Huiming left, Lu Bin scratched his bald head anxiously, "Even though I'm hiding in this temple, I still can't get away from these trivial matters. Sigh."
Then he shouted outside: "Yunyun! Yunyun!"
A young monk came in and asked, "Master, what do you want?"
Lu Bin said, "Go and call that woman back. I'm really mad today."
"yes."
Outer city, west of the city.
In a large mansion, only crackling sounds could be heard coming from inside.
This house was the ominous place that Zhang Fei rented and planned to live in, but was ambushed by Wang Wenshan.
Now it has become the accounting department of the Bian Jing Law Firm. After all, land in the inner city is extremely expensive, so the accounting department has no choice but to move to the outer city.
Although it is a law firm, the accounting department has become the most core department of the firm because the most profitable business of the firm is the tax calculation business.
Now there are more than a hundred people.
Eighty percent of them were recruited from government offices as clerks.
"Yu Jiang meets Mr. Sanlang, Mr. Fan."
But a middle-aged man in his forties came into the hall and bowed to Zhang Fei and Fan Li who were sitting in the main seats.
"Mr. Yu, please take a seat."
Zhang Fei stretched out his hand and led him to the seat next to him.
"Thank you very much."
Yu Jiang sat upright, his sitting posture was exactly the same as Sima Guang's.
Zhang Fei asked, "I heard that Mr. Yu was a bailiff in Kaifeng County before?"
Yu Jiang nodded: "That's right."
Zhang Fei asked again: "I wonder what matters Mr. Yu is in charge of?"
Yu Jiang said: "I was previously in charge of determining the grades of civilian households in the government office."
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "I heard that the bailiffs who do this job are all very rich. Why did Mr. Yu come to me?"
A level determination may directly affect the life and death of the people. This kind of thing is very profitable, especially in Kaifeng Prefecture, where you can live a comfortable life by drinking some soup.
Yu Jiang said: "I just don't want to be in the same boat with those people, so I am rejected by them, so I choose to work here."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Mr. Yu, have you ever thought about revenge?"
Yu Jiang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about it."
Zhang Fei said: "What if I give Mr. Yu a chance to retaliate?"
Yu Jiang said: "I just have different ideas from them and we don't make plans together, but we have no grudges against each other. Besides, they don't receive salaries. If they don't do this, how can they make a living? I won't do anything illegal."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "If breaking the law becomes a habit, then legality becomes illegal."
Yu Jiang looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
Zhang Fei said: "You should know that the court is going to issue a conscription law soon."
Yu Jiang nodded.
Nowadays, reading newspapers has become an indispensable entertainment in the lives of literati.
Zhang Fei added: "The court will re-evaluate the household registration level of the people at that time. Mr. Yu should know that there are many tricks in this rating, and our firm will also develop business in this area to ensure that the people receive a fair assessment.
I will then set up a special team to handle this matter, and I intend to let Mr. Yu be the team leader. I wonder if Mr. Yu is willing to do so?"
Yu Jiang frowned and said, "I'm willing to do that, but will I offend a lot of people if I do that?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I don't want to offend them, I want to eliminate them."
(End of this chapter)
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