The public security, procuratorial and judicial systems sound easy, and are in line with the political philosophy of the Song Dynasty, which is to prevent incidents and control crookedness, and to check and balance each other. However, to actually implement them, it will definitely require a very long adaptation period.
Previously, the Procuratorate had always been led by the Taxation Commissioner and had no independent thinking at all. All their minds were focused on litigation.
But in fact, litigation is secondary; their authority still lies in prosecution.
The Procuratorate should be a very independent department.
Fortunately, as things kept happening during this period and various cases emerged one after another, prosecutors like Su Che gradually became more skilled.
They began to realize that the Procuratorate is actually a very powerful entity and is not anyone's vassal.
But compared to the royal court and the police station, the procuratorate was the last to wake up.
Bian Jing Law Firm.
"You two, how come you have time to come to my place today?"
Zhang Fei looked at Wang Anshi and Han Jiang in surprise.
...
...
Han Jiang said: "We are here to inform you that although we have collected another 10,000 strings of cash in fines and compensation these days, it is still difficult to maintain the financial expenditure of the police station. It can only support one month at most. Even if the subsidies from the three yamen are included, it will not exceed two months.
Moreover, due to the dismissal of the government servants, some transportation and storage tasks are temporarily difficult to carry out, and many government offices are complaining to us. "
It's only been a short time since then, is it so urgent?
not necessarily.
Those government offices are just looking for trouble to put pressure on the Ministry of Agriculture. Those powerful people are not stupid at all. This must be the financial issue.
They will certainly put financial pressure on each other.
Wang Anshi said: "Although the tax commissioner has performed very well, this is not a long-term solution. And as far as I know, other counties are currently delaying the tax commissioner's voluntary declaration on the grounds of agricultural affairs. It may be too late."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but said depressedly: "Zhang San, I dare to say one more thing. Now the two sides are competing in internal strength. When masters fight, the victory or defeat is only a matter of millimeters. At such a critical moment, you two did this. It really hurts morale."
"What critical moment?"
Wang Anshi said excitedly: "Now the enemy has barely suffered any damage. If we continue to waste time like this, there is no chance of winning. You are usually so smart, how come you can't even figure this out?"
Han Jiang also said: "You seem to have put the political decree and the law upside down. Usually, the political decree is implemented first, and then the law is used to supervise. However, you only care about the law and ignore the political decree. How can this succeed?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I understand what you two have taught me, but please rest assured that I will find a way to make up for the money."
Wang Anshi and Han Jiang looked at each other.
Wang Anshi added: "Don't count on the government. Now that things have come to this, if you want to use the national treasury to fill this hole, it is almost impossible."
Why did they accept the punishment so easily? It's because they were betting that you didn't have the money to pay their salaries and you couldn't afford to continue. If the emperor wanted to give special treatment to the police station, no one would agree. When the Legislative Council promulgated the new law, wasn't it just setting up the battlefield?
We were arrested and we all admitted it.
But if the state provides additional financial subsidies to the police department, that would be cheating and they will definitely interfere.
If the state wants to provide subsidies, the conscription law will fail.
Zhang Fei nodded: "Understood."
Wang Anshi looked at Zhang Fei for a moment, then said, "If you really can't hold on, you must tell me first."
Zhang Fei nodded and smiled, "I will never implicate Master Wang."
Wang Anshi felt a little relieved when he saw that he could still laugh. This matter also made him very anxious because it was directly related to his new policy.
But the problem is that, at present, although the Tax Commissioner has won victory after victory, they cannot see any hope of victory.
In fact, the two of them came here not to attack Zhang Fei, but to remind Zhang Fei.
Don't get carried away.
You are at a disadvantage now.
You should know that the situation is currently only in Kaifeng and Xiangfu. Although the tax police and the royal police have already gone to other counties, they have been dragging their feet over there. It happens to be spring now, and the farmers are busy with farm work and have no time to declare.
Food is the most important thing for people, and agriculture is above all else. The declaration date has been continuously postponed.
But everyone knew that they were just watching which way the wind was blowing. It could even be said that they were concentrating their forces in Kaifeng and Xiangfu counties to block the Commissioner of Taxation.
Liu Ping was fined more than a thousand strings of cash, but in fact, Liu Ping only needed to pay taxes, and they would help Liu Ping to pay for the rest. He didn't even have to pay for the spies.
Of course Liu Ping didn't care.
They are very united.
The essence of this struggle, in the final analysis, is financial, not judicial.
The purpose of the conscription law is to collect money, and their purpose is not to pay the money.
However, the criterion for victory or defeat does not lie in whether the money is collected or not, but in whether the tax commissioner can receive the full amount of money.
Han Jiang also saw some of Zhang Fei's motives, which was to establish the authority of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, but the prerequisite was that there had to be financial support, as those tax police were not here to do things out of love.
After Han Jiang and Wang Anshi left, Zhang Fei called Li Bao over.
"I was just about to come look for you." Li Baoyan said.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Has the procuratorate taken any action?"
Li Bao was surprised and said, "Your father-in-law told you."
"My father-in-law has seldom come home to live recently in order to avoid suspicion."
Zhang Fei shook his head with a guilty look on his face, and continued, "But now the procuratorate has not yet filed a lawsuit, which has made Wang Xueshi and Han Sishi very anxious. However, the situation of these five households is simpler than that of Qin Biao, and there are no additional conflicts. It is obvious that they are investigating other matters."
Li Bao nodded and said, "Yes, they have been secretly investigating the evidence of Xu Yu's illegal salt trafficking. Do you want to proceed to the next step?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Arrest Wang Hongjin."
......
Before the first five households were prosecuted, the tax commissioner struck again and arrested five more households on the charge of falsely reporting property.
Zhao Mansion.
"Master, news came from Xiangfu County this morning that Jin'er was also arrested by the tax department."
Wang Qing, the old man next to Zhao Wenzhen, said with a worried look on his face.
Zhao Wenzheng smiled and said, "Don't worry. In fact, after Liu Ping was arrested, I knew that Hong Jin might also go to jail. I sent people to warn him a long time ago. Anyway, whatever the tax commissioner says is the price. In addition, I will also let Li Guozhong and others defend Hong Jin."
The wind is light and the clouds are thin.
Wang Hongjin's false reporting of property was arranged by him. He deliberately made false reports. The elders should set an example.
As long as everyone works together and advances and retreats together, the Tax Commissioner will have no chance of winning.
Now that the Taxation Department has been attacking frequently, they are very happy. They also have connections in the Sino-Agricultural Temple and they know that the finances of the Sino-Agricultural Temple are almost unsustainable.
You are just desperate.
Giving you a thousand strings of cash is just a drop in the bucket. How many households can you check in two months?
The key point is that those five households have not filed any lawsuits before.
Take your time.
See who dies first.
However, they all overlooked one point.
This is not a war between the Tax Commissioner and them, but a war between the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial organs and them.
In fact, they had realized before that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs were enemies, but because the Tax Commissioner had stolen the limelight twice before, the Procuratorate and the Royal Court were relatively neutral.
As a result, they only focus on the Tax Commissioner, who is the big villain, and ignore the Procuratorate.
The Procuratorate, as the name suggests, is not a passive department at all. It is only responsible for prosecution. They can conduct investigation and detect on their own. Otherwise, on what basis did Fan Chunren and Su Shi sue the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures?
All the prosecutors there were transferred from auxiliary police. Although they were not all from the Upper Fourth Army like the tax police, they were all relatively professional people, including a large number of former officials, and they were all good at investigation.
......
Li Guozhong has now become the legal spokesperson for the powerful. Although he did not gain any advantage in the previous encounters, the results were still in line with their expectations.
After all, the final sentence was relatively light.
Nowadays, Li Guozhong and his colleagues go to the Taxation Department every day.
Li Guozhong just arrived at the Taxation Department today and happened to meet Su Zhe. "Hey, Prosecutor Su, it's great to meet you."
Su Zhe glanced at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
Li Guozhong hurriedly said, "It's nothing important. I just want to ask why the procuratorate has not yet filed a lawsuit against Xu Yu and others. They have already pleaded guilty."
At this point, he smiled again and said, "Of course, I also know that the procuratorate had to be busy with Chen Xiaoer's lawsuit. How about this, we pay a sum of money here first, and then we will pay whatever the court decides. Let them go home first. Mr. Xu is not in good health. I wonder what Prosecutor Su thinks?"
Su Zhe shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid that won't work. I came here today to take Xu Yu to the procuratorate for investigation."
Li Guozhong was stunned. "Take him to the procuratorate? Why?"
Su Zhe hesitated for a moment and said, "Anyway, the evidence is already solid, and I am not afraid to tell you that when we were checking Xu Yu's income, we found that they were selling illegal salt."
"ah?"
Li Guozhong was shocked. "Smuggling salt? That's not right! I just talked to Li Si
They didn’t mention this matter!”
Su Che said: "The tax commissioner is not aware of this matter, and it has nothing to do with them."
Li Guozhong frowned and said, "That is to say, this is what your procuratorate wants to investigate?"
Su Che nodded.
Just then, Li He came over and said, "Prosecutor Su is here."
Su Che took out an official document, handed it to Li He, and said, "Li Siwu, we are here under orders to take these people to the procuratorate for trial."
Li He took the document and looked at it. "Okay, I'll ask someone to arrange it right away. But I'd also like to trouble your procuratorate to settle the case of false tax reporting first. Otherwise, our tax department won't be able to accommodate so many people."
Su Che hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will tell Chief Prosecutor Xu when I return."
Upon hearing this, Li Guozhong knew that something was wrong and rushed back immediately.
Almost at the same time.
Na Qiji came to Xiangfu County with several prosecutors and a team of royal police.
The magistrate of Xiangfu County didn't even know Qi Ji, a small-time character, and asked, "Who are you?"
Qi Ji bowed and said, "In reply to County Magistrate Pang, I am Qi Ji, the prosecutor of the procuratorate. I have been ordered to come here today to investigate a case and need to retrieve the official land account books of Xiangfu County."
County Magistrate Pang asked, "On what basis do you have the right to retrieve the official farmland account books of this county? Who gave you this authority?"
Qi Ji said calmly, "Our procuratorate can exercise procuratorial power over government offices. I hope Magistrate Pang can cooperate with us."
"If this magistrate is unworthy...!"
Before he finished speaking, a yamen runner quickly came to Magistrate Pang and whispered in his ear, "Magistrator, there are more than a hundred royal police outside."
County Magistrate Pang's expression changed, and he said to Qi Ji, "You are just here to get an account book, there is no need to send so many people, right? What do you want to do?"
Qi Ji replied: "Because this is an extremely important piece of evidence that cannot be lost, Chief Prosecutor Xu specifically asked the police station to send someone to escort it."
After all, County Magistrate Pang was the magistrate of Chi County. How could he be easily frightened by them? He said to himself, "I have never heard that the procuratorate has this power. I have to ask the higher-ups first."
Qi Ji thought for a moment, nodded and said, "County Magistrate Pang can ask the higher-ups for clarification, but during this process, our people must take good care of the account books. This case is of great importance. If something goes wrong, County Magistrate Pang will probably be implicated."
"What did you say?" County Magistrate Pang frowned.
Qi Ji said: "Sorry!"
Magistrate Pang hesitated for a while, thinking that it was not a good idea to have more than a hundred royal police officers staying here. The key point was that he had just taken office not long ago and did not know the situation. If he was really involved, it would be too unfair. So he said: "I can give you the account book, but I will definitely report this matter to the higher-ups truthfully."
Qi Ji clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Magistrate Pang, for your leniency."
What I mean is, just go and ask, we are not at all helpless.
......
The sudden action of the Procuratorate caught the senior officials of the court off guard, and they were in chaos for a while.
But they did not react for a while and thought that it was the Commissioner of Taxation who was causing trouble. They cursed him for being unethical. He had agreed to only investigate the exemption tax, so why did he start investigating the trafficking of illegal salt and the occupation of government land?
This could be a life-threatening situation.
Because when the Legislative Council enacted the new tax law to reduce penalties, it was mainly aimed at the exemption tax, and it was very clear that these illegal acts were not included.
......
Meng Mansion.
Pei Wen, the Imperial Censor, quickly stepped into the hall and said to the people present: "I just received news that the Procuratorate has sent people to the Xiangfu County Yamen, Kaifeng County Yamen, and the Three Departments to collect evidence. Moreover, this is indeed an order from the Procuratorate and has nothing to do with the Taxation Department."
"I don't believe this has nothing to do with the tax commissioner. This is clearly a conspiracy. They just want to force us to pay taxes."
Meng Gansheng said angrily.
Pei Wen hesitated for a moment and said, "This is indeed related to the Taxation Bureau. This is what we overlooked before. Where did the Taxation Bureau get the evidence? I also went to the Xu family to ask. Those transactions were very secretive and few people knew about them. However, the income provided by the Taxation Bureau was clearly written. It was because of this that the procuratorate discovered the problem."
Xie Yun wondered, "Why didn't the Xu family find out at that time?"
Pei Wen sighed, "It was because everyone was paying attention to the exemption tax at that time, and the tax commissioner checked the income this time, instead of just checking the property like the previous government did. For example, if the income was not checked for the illegal sale of salt, it would not be found at all. In fact, the Qin family's income was also problematic before, but the procuratorate did not find it, and the tax commissioner did not care about it, so they did not report it at that time."
Xie Yun stamped his feet in annoyance: "I knew something would go wrong."
The people present suddenly realized where the problem lay, which was that they had seriously underestimated the ability of the Tax Commissioner.
These incomes are not allowed to be disclosed in public, yet the tax commissioner was able to find them out.
You know, it is very difficult to check income nowadays because there is a lack of deeds.
But they never imagined that the tax commissioner had made arrangements a year in advance and had the dirty information of dozens of households in his hands, and he had investigated them thoroughly.
At this time, Zhao Wenzhen came into the house again.
Meng Gansheng hurriedly asked, "Governor Zhao, what's going on in the court?"
Zhao Wenzheng collapsed on the chair, holding his forehead with one hand, and said weakly: "The evidence from the procuratorate is irrefutable, and the higher-ups support the procuratorate. No one dares to speak for Xu Yu."
He is now very panicked. His henchman Wang Hongjin has also been put in jail. It is still unknown how much evidence the Tax Commissioner has and whether the Procuratorate will pay attention to it.
They also realized that they not only underestimated the Tax Commissioner, but also the Procuratorate. In fact, the Tax Commissioner only wants money. If you pay the taxes, they will not pay any attention to you. But the Procuratorate is here to take your life. Whether you pay or not has nothing to do with them.
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