Now that Zhao Xu was going to meet Zhang Fei, there was no need to be so secretive. After all, Zhao Xu had praised Zhang Fei more than once in class. Strictly speaking, Zhao Xu was Zhang Fei's student.
There's nothing wrong with summoning Zhang Fei into the palace and asking him about this academic matter.
"I never thought that a small voluntary declaration would cause my ministers to panic and there would be complaints in the imperial city."
When he saw Zhang Fei, Zhao Xu praised him again and again.
Although Zhang Fei had explained this to Zhao Xu in advance, he still did not expect that this voluntary declaration would be so powerful and leave so many people at a loss.
So far, we have only heard complaints, but no impeachment memorials.
This is very rare.
Zhao Xu couldn't help but give a thumbs up for this.
Zhang Fei said very modestly: "You are too kind, my Lord. Everything is difficult at the beginning. This is true for us, and even more so for them. But the only thing that remains unchanged is the human relationship. So in a few years, they will be able to thrive in this voluntary declaration, and it will not be much different from now. This kind of thing has happened many times in history."
Zhao Xu thought for a while, nodded and said: "That makes sense. Throughout history, there has not been a method that can be perfect. So, it seems that there is no long-lasting method in this world?"
...
...
Zhang Fei pondered for a moment and said, "That depends on how the government defines this long-term method."
Zhao Xu asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "If the long-term laws of the government refer to unchanging laws and regulations, then there is no such thing. Because the law is ultimately the defensive side, there must be a spear before there is a shield. If no one steals, naturally no one will steal the law.
The law is not afraid of being attacked, because it will definitely be attacked. The only thing to be afraid of is that after being attacked, it will not be repaired in time. For example, the collapse of the equal-field system in the Tang Dynasty was because the country did not formulate remedial measures in time, which ultimately made it impossible to remedy the situation.
The government stipulates that the law should be revised every three years, which is actually to prevent this. It is precisely because there is no perfect law that the key to the law is to make persistent revisions day after day, year after year. If the long-term law is regarded as the persistence of the law, then I think it is right. It is not because the law is so good, but without the law, the country will definitely not exist. "
“Persistence is the key.”
Zhao Xu nodded slightly, and then said with emotion: "This is exactly the most difficult thing."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "That's why no one has done it yet."
"This is all because of us, the unworthy descendants!"
Zhao Xu said as if he was pointing to something.
Zhang Fei's expression changed involuntarily, thinking, are they going to make this big?
Zhao Xu glanced at Zhang Fei briefly and said, "Zhang San, do you know why I suddenly summoned you today?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, "Is it because of that Zongzheng Temple Governor Zhao?"
Zhao Xu was slightly stunned and asked, "Have you guessed it?"
Zhang Fei said truthfully: "I didn't at that time, but after Li Bao left, I did think that it might be the emperor's order, because for something like this, Li Bao would not have failed to report it to the emperor first."
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, "That's right! I asked him to ask you, but your answer surprised me a little."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "To be honest, sir, I have always been making a lot of noise but doing little. You could say I ask for a high price but pay it back on the spot."
Zhao Xu chuckled twice: "You are being modest. The fates of Wang Wenshan, Wang Hong, and Gu Ji are still fresh in my memory."
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "Except for Wang Hong, I never pushed Wang Wenshan or Gu Ji to death. I never took the initiative to provoke them. Instead, they tried to kill me everywhere."
"That's true."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly and asked again: "Then do you know why I want to do this?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I'm really not sure about this."
Zhao Xu asked again: "Didn't you ask your father-in-law?"
Zhang Fei said: "It's not too late yet."
In fact, he asked after he returned, but discussing the royal family is still a sensitive matter. Zhang Fei couldn't figure out what Zhao Xu was thinking, so he would not give Xu Zun out.
Zhao Xu nodded, his expression changed, and he said quite seriously: "Our dynasty inherited the Tang system and stipulated that the royal family members outside the five mournings would stop receiving salary and grants, and instead be given land, so that they could establish their own roots and no longer appear in the royal family genealogy. This is in line with the etiquette, and Taizu also warned about this.
But to this day, many descendants of the clan who are outside the five mourning periods still stay in the capital, enjoying the generous salaries, which makes them not strive for progress and indulge in pleasure, while also placing a heavy burden on the national finances. "
Zhang Fei asked cautiously, "Does the emperor want to reform the royal family?"
Zhao Xu nodded with a firm look in his eyes. "I have sent people to calculate that if no reform is carried out, the burden caused by this royal family will increase exponentially in a few years."
Zhang Fei nodded in understanding.
In fact, the Song Dynasty was not burdened too heavily at the time. Compared with the Ming Dynasty, it was nothing but a dwarf compared to a giant. It was not worth mentioning at all. It’s just that the princes of the Ming Dynasty were all in the local areas, and the emperor could not see them and was not bothered by them. But the royal family of the Song Dynasty was basically supported in the capital, and the emperor could directly feel the financial pressure.
And what is different from the Ming Dynasty is that Zhao Kuangyin had thought of this point long ago and had taken precautions in this regard when he first enacted the law. As far as the national system is concerned, it is illegal to support too many members of the royal family.
Of course, there is another reason that Zhao Xu did not mention.
His father, Song Yingzong, was actually a member of the royal family who ascended the throne because Renzong had no son. But it was also because of this that other members of the royal family felt very unhappy. They believed that it should not have been his father's turn and that his father had not ascended to the throne in a legitimate way. In addition, his father was in poor health and had a cowardly personality, so he was often bullied by members of the royal family. Although his father tried to appease the royal family again and again, he was met with more dissatisfaction in return.
Since he was a child, Zhao Xu witnessed how these clan members bullied his father, and this was bound to affect his authority. In addition, the clan members brought a huge burden to the finances, and he needed money to fight wars. All these reasons combined made him very eager to carry out clan reforms.
"But this is a family affair of the government." Zhang Fei said with a little hesitation.
"How can this emperor have family affairs?"
Zhao Xu smiled bitterly and said, "I tried to test it when I first ascended the throne, but many ministers in the court were against the royal family reform."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but wonder, "Why do they object?"
"Ritual system!"
Zhao Xu sighed, "They believe that doing so will undermine the Confucian way of loving one's relatives. They even advocate the restoration of the Western Zhou dynasty's clan system. If the Western Zhou dynasty's ritual system is to be restored, all clan members outside the five mourning periods will be counted in."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei was speechless about this. It was natural for the emperor to protect the royal family, but he was puzzled when he asked the ministers to protect the royal family.
Zhao Xu smiled and said, "It seems that you really don't understand this."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I really don't understand."
Zhao Xu said: "Don't you always say that the world is bustling with people because of profit? The world is bustling with people because of profit."
Zhang Fei suddenly opened his eyes, "They are afraid that the system of favoritism, which is closely related to them, will also be affected."
Zhao Xu nodded: "That's right. If I want to reform the clan system and weaken the treatment of clan members, how can they not worry?" The clan system and the system of imperial favors are actually of the same origin. We all belong to the ruling class. It is only possible that you have more and I have less, but you cannot have what I don't.
If all your relatives can enjoy the benefits, then it’s not too much for our son to enjoy some of the benefits.
On the contrary, if the welfare of the royal family is reduced, the emperor will certainly weaken the system of imperial favors.
This is inevitable.
"really!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "In fact, the money is a small matter. The key is that it will make people lose their ambition, so that although there are many officials in the country, there are no talents to use, and the truly capable people will not get the opportunities they deserve."
"Well said!" Zhao Xu nodded, and then said: "However, your legal system has given me hope. You should know the five levels of punishment?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "As an informant, don't you know this crime?"
Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "I usually go to see Song Xingtong when I need it."
"You can't even memorize something?" Zhao Xu also thought it was too outrageous.
You are a master of your generation, but you don’t even know such a famous crime.
Zhang Fei whispered, "I can look it up, why should I memorize it?"
"......?"
Zhao Xu shook his head speechlessly and explained, "If relatives offend each other, and the inferior offends the superior, the punishment is heavier than that of ordinary people. The closer the relationship, the heavier the punishment. If the superior offends the inferior, the punishment is lighter than that of ordinary people. The closer the relationship, the lighter the punishment. The reason for this rule is what you said about the unity of rites and laws.
But your law of law is to separate the ritual from the law, with the ritual only serving as a reference. This will weaken the ritual system, and I will have the opportunity to reform the royal family."
The unification of rites and laws is the biggest stumbling block to the royal family reform. When they oppose it, they certainly cannot use the system of favoritism as a reason.
These rites and laws are actually governing the country by rites and ethics. The ten evil crimes are all derived from rites and ethics.
Although there are five mourning mourning rules, Sima Guang, Ouyang Xiu and other ritualists believe that the royal family should set an example and go beyond the rules of etiquette.
The royal family should do better.
However, the emergence of the law of the legal system gave Zhao Xu a glimmer of hope. According to the law of the legal system, the law must be
It needs to be followed, and etiquette is just for reference.
This gave him a reason to reform the royal family.
Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "I absolutely support the government in doing this. This system of generous salaries will not only increase the burden on the country, but will also make the royal family lose their ambition to make progress. Aren't those big families that have fallen into decline all because their descendants are greedy for pleasure?"
Zhao Xu nodded: "That's exactly what I thought. I often encourage them to take the imperial examinations or even go into business, but the results are minimal!"
Who would be willing to work hard when you can just lie down and eat?
Zhao Xu added: "This conscription law has violated the interests of the royal family. Although the royal family is not included, many of their relatives are included. As far as I know, they have left many fields in the homes of their relatives or servants. Therefore, I hope to use this matter to open the door to the reform of the royal family and at the same time demonstrate my determination to reform the law."
I'm going to start with my own family members, and I just want to ask you if you're afraid.
In Zhao Xu's view, this strategy killed two birds with one stone.
Zhang Fei hesitated a little and said, "But both Scholar Wang and Scholar Sima have warned me not to overdo it, so as not to make too many enemies and end up losing more than I gain."
"This is why I asked you to come."
Zhao Xu said, "Besides, you don't have to worry about Wang Xueshi. I have already discussed this issue with him, and he also supports me in carrying out the royal family reform."
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said, "I think the government should keep this idea hidden for the time being. After all, the conscription law has caused a lot of complaints. If the two things are put together, they will definitely be used by others to divide the royal family and make the government vulnerable to attacks from all sides. It may really be more harm than good."
Zhao Xu frowned slightly and nodded slightly, thinking that Zhang Fei asked him to take a break.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei changed the subject and said, "But if the government agrees, we can include the governor Zhao in the conscription law to serve as an example to others. By the way, we can also highlight the burden of the royal family system on the finances through the lawsuit. That is feasible and can also establish the authority of the judiciary."
Zhao Xu perked up, "What are you going to do?"
Zhang Fei said seriously: "Teach them a lesson, so that they can deeply understand what the law of the rule of law is."
......
In Zhang Fei's plan, this voluntary declaration was actually a battle for the Tax Commissioner to become famous, so it was definitely a warning to others, but he really didn't think of using the royal family as a target.
He didn't know much about the situation of the royal family of the Song Dynasty.
Because the main problem of the Song Dynasty was the three redundancies, the royal family was only a relatively minor issue.
But he never expected that Zhao Xu wanted to drag the royal family into it as well.
this....
This is certainly a good thing. It is a bit far-fetched to say that if the emperor breaks the law, he will be punished the same as the common people. But if he can make it so that royal family members are punished the same as the common people, then the effect of establishing authority will be much better than he planned!
But this requires redeployment, and when it comes to targeting members of the royal family, it cannot be done so casually.
Fortunately, there is still enough time. Although Li Bao and his team have found out that some people lie about their financial affairs, if it is just false reporting, the crime is not serious and the procuratorate may not even take care of it, let alone impose a fine.
Tax evasion must be an established fact before they can be prosecuted.
The tax has not been determined yet, so it is still too early to make any decisions.
Even the ministers only complained verbally. After all, nothing had been decided yet, and it was too early to file an impeachment petition!
Therefore, the statistical work was carried out quite smoothly, and the people were very cooperative. I have never seen such a gentle statistical household. Although there were some minor bumps in the middle, they were not serious.
On the seventh day after the statistical work started in Kaifeng County and Xiangfu County, after the newly appointed auxiliary police gained some experience, Zhang Fei began to make plans for the entire Kaifeng Prefecture.
After all, he had to complete all the statistical work before the summer tax so that he could collect the first exemption tax when the summer tax was levied.
So he selected 300 core members from the police station, the earliest batch of police officers, and took 3,000 auxiliary police officers, including 800 civilian personnel, to go to the remaining fourteen counties to conduct financial statistics.
The remaining 200 backbones led the 2,000 newly recruited auxiliary police officers and the spies of the Bian Jing Law Firm to continue to conduct statistics in Kaifeng and Xiangfu counties.
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