Is this still controllable?
Why did Xu Zhiqian find it a little hard to believe it?
Before, Zhang Fei said that he could control it, so Xu Zhiqian believed him, because before everyone was arguing about the judiciary, which was Zhang Fei's strong point, but now it is different, and now it has returned to the traditional political struggle.
Zhao Xu certainly wanted to protect the royal family, but the problem is, if you want to protect them, you have to protect them all. You can't just protect the royal family. After all, everyone has committed the same crime.
The key point is that the ministers-general will not agree to it.
Based on past experience, these ministers are very happy to deal with these royal relatives.
It's interesting to say.
On the one hand, they opposed the royal family reform, but on the other hand, they kept a close eye on these royal relatives.
In fact, the two are not contradictory.
Opposing the Grand Master's reforms is about etiquette, that is, the way of kinship. The clans in the countryside and the royal clan are of the same lineage. If the clan carries out reforms, it may affect the clan relations among the people.
...
...
Supervising the royal family is related to the court system and national laws.
But no matter what, at this point, how can Zhang Fei, a small spies, control it?
Especially since Zhang Fei has been busy with the new house recently and had no time to argue with Chen Maoqian, he didn't pay any attention to these things at all.
Zhang's house, backyard.
"Brother Bao! Here are two hundred and twenty strings of cash. Please count them."
Li Si and Niu Beiqing pushed two large carts of copper coins to the door and handed them to Li Bao.
These furnitures were all made by Li Bao. Now that all the furnitures have been delivered, it is natural that he has to pay the balance.
Li Bao laughed and said, "It's not the first time I do business with you. Why should I count? Just treat me to a drink when we move."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "That depends on how good your furniture is. If it's not good, you'll have to drink a penalty drink."
Li Bao said: "Sanlang, don't worry about this. There will be no problem."
“I only look at the results.”
"OK."
Li Bao nodded and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
Zhang Fei said: "I'll take you out."
As he walked out the door, Zhang Fei asked, "Have you found the evidence?"
Li Bao shook his head and said, "The Procuratorate has done a very good job of keeping secrets. We haven't found anything yet. Fortunately, we have been paying attention to the Xu family. We have found some clues from them. The evidence is mainly about the relationship between Wang Hongjin and Zhao Wenzheng, and how Wang Hongjin transported the money to Zhao Wenzheng. In addition, regarding the land, the account we provided to the Procuratorate only reported 50 hectares, while the Xu family provided 100 hectares, but there should be overlaps with our evidence."
Zhang Fei nodded. "Go and find out all of Wang Hongjin's daily expenses, including how much land he has bought privately and how many concubines he has."
Li Bao nodded and said, "I understand."
.......
However, as the news that the procuratorate was investigating Zhao Wenzhen spread, the censors and imperial censors became active, each of them staring at the emperor and the procuratorate with wide eyes.
For a time, the court was in a state of panic.
Zhao Wenzhen, the person involved, was so angry that he was bleeding from all seven orifices. He went from being a big shot to being a nobody. Many members of the royal family were blaming him. Why did you get involved? Let them do whatever they want. Wouldn't it be better for us to just sit back and enjoy the results?
You see, now we are all implicated.
As for those court officials, it is possible that they were the ones who leaked the news.
"Governor Zhao, I, Meng Gansheng, swear to heaven that I did not do this. Otherwise, my whole family will die miserably."
Meng Gansheng raised his right hand high, looking as if he was going to dig out his heart and show it to Zhao Wenzhen.
Zhao Wenzheng snorted, "Even if it wasn't you who did it, can you guarantee that it has nothing to do with other people?"
Meng Gansheng quickly put down his hand. "I can't guarantee this, but it's possible that the tax commissioner did this. They did this to sow discord. Look, after this news came out, has anyone taken advantage of the situation?"
The news spread quickly, but no one in the court said anything.
Sima Guang and his colleagues were also making preparations in secret, mainly because the procuratorate was still investigating and no one could say anything.
Zhao Wenzheng was not stupid, of course he didn't believe it in his heart, but now that things had come to this, he could only pretend to be stupid. He would settle the score later. After all, everyone was really in the same boat now. He sat down and said, "So what do you think we should do now?"
Meng Gansheng said: "Reform and change the law."
"Reform and change?"
Zhao Wen Zheng looked stunned.
Meng Gansheng said: "Let's talk about the facts. It's no secret that the government farmland was occupied and salt was sold illegally. It's just that the tax commissioner targeted us and found evidence against us.
We first pointed out the malpractice of private salt in government-owned fields and suggested that the government reform the law, preferably to make this illegality legal. In this way, even if the procuratorate finds evidence, it will be useless. "
Zhao Wenzheng's eyes lit up, "Will the government agree?"
Meng Gansheng said: "Many people in the court are involved in these businesses. If we really investigate thoroughly, who knows what we will find out. The emperor knows this well! As long as the emperor wants to change, and we give him full support, even Sima Xueshi and his men can't stop him."
Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said, "You guys can come and talk this time. I won't show up again."
Meng Gansheng said: "Of course, I won't bother Governor Zhao. Even if Governor Zhao wants to ask for it, no one else will agree. Governor Zhao is currently under investigation. If you say this, it will only make things worse."
......
Sinong Temple.
"Forty thousand strings of cash."
Han Jiang smiled and said to Wang Anshi: "In just a few days, another 40,000 strings of cash have been paid. This time we can breathe a sigh of relief financially."
Wang Anshi said: "If they pay the money now, aren't they afraid of falling into a trap?"
Han Jiang said, "I have also inquired about this matter. It seems that they used some privacy law of the Taxation Department to reach some kind of agreement with the Taxation Department. As long as they reported the truth, the Taxation Department would naturally not sue them to the Procuratorate. And if the Procuratorate does not have evidence, it has no right to retrieve these accounts from the Taxation Department."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "That guy has thought it through very carefully. He even thought of a way out for them."
Han Jiang said: "But these are just some landlords and wealthy gentry. The powerful officials in the court have not compromised yet, and there is still a large sum of money that has not been collected."
Wang Anshi said: "They are now hoping to drag the royal family into the water and force the government to compromise."
Han Jiang sighed: "I am worried about this too."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "Don't worry about it. In the eyes of the government, enriching the country and strengthening the army is the most important thing. If we let them get away with it, then the tax commissioner will lose his greatest support, and the conscription law will be in vain."
Just at this moment, Lu Huiqing suddenly walked in, first bowed to Han Jiang, and then said a few words in Wang Anshi's ear.
"Just as I thought." Wang Anshi nodded with a smile.
Han Jiang asked: "What's the matter?"
Wang Anshi said: "Some ministers have submitted memorials to the government, hoping to reform the corrupt policy of private salt production in government-owned fields."
Han Jiang was stunned for a moment, "What are you going to do?"
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "It must be said that these problems should be dealt with. Why not go with the flow?"
Both he and Han Jiang are very familiar with these routines.
After the news of the Procuratorate's investigation into Zhao Wenzhen was revealed, everyone discussed it behind the scenes. There was no huge uproar, as there was when they discussed it like they did with Wang Anshi.
This was actually another hint to the emperor that many of the royal family members were not clean and this could not be investigated.
Now give the emperor another reason.
Zhao Xu did not disappoint them. As soon as they submitted the report, Zhao Xu immediately discussed the matter in Chuigong Hall.
"What Meng Zhiyuan said is very true."
After Meng Gansheng finished speaking, Wang Anshi immediately stood up and echoed: "The official salt administration does have many drawbacks and should be reformed."
When Meng Gansheng and others saw that Wang Anshi supported them, they couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
Immediately, Chen Shengzhi and Zeng Gongliang both expressed their support.
This scene was so funny, because Meng Gansheng and others had opposed the conscription law at first, but now Wang Anshi supported them.
It can be seen that these ancient political parties only stood together because of temporary ideas or interests and had no organization at all.
Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others guessed that it must have been Zhao Xu who instructed this.
After hearing this, Zhao Yan was furious and immediately stood up and said, "Why did the Guantian Salt Administration have malpractices? It's because the law was not strictly enforced. The fundamental problem is not the law. What's the point of amending the law?"
Wen Yanbo immediately stood up and said forcefully, "Prime Minister Zhao is right. It is precisely because the court tacitly allowed them to sell private salt and occupy official fields that the official field salt law was abolished. If the law is not strict, there will be no governance. Amending the law will not solve the problem."
A large number of censors and imperial censors stood up, all of them were filled with righteous indignation and were determined not to agree.
We don't know about your little tricks.
Wang Anshi said: "But now that things have come to this, the salt law has been abolished and there are many people who violate the law. How can people respect the law? It would be better to revise the law and then use the public security, procuratorate and courts to enforce the law, killing two birds with one stone."
Meng Gansheng and others nodded frequently. They had never supported Wang Anshi so much before.
Sima Guang smiled and said, "According to your opinion, the procuratorate, the imperial court, and the police station should all wait for the new law. If the new law is not issued, there will be no need to enforce the law and they will be allowed to occupy official land and sell private salt."
At this point, he glanced around and said with a smile: "You all should know that reform is not a joke. It still needs to go through a lot of supervision and it will take at least half a year."
What this means is that even if we agree to amend the law, it is too late, so you should forget about it.
Zhao Xu glanced at Sima Guang and said, "Mr. Wang."
Wang Anshi hurriedly said, "I am here."
Zhao Xu said: "Regarding the revision of the bad policy of private salt in government fields, let's temporarily hand it over to the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures."
"I obey your command."
After the court was adjourned, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were the last to slowly come out of the hall.
"The purpose of their proposal this time is to oppose your conscription law. Are you still speaking for them?" Sima Guang looked straight ahead and spoke slowly.
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "This just reflects my selflessness. As long as what they say makes sense, I will certainly support them."
Sima Guang looked at him with contempt, "You call this selflessness? You call this omnipresent."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "For the country and the people, I have been omnipresent. If I ignore the people of the world just because of my personal morality, wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty?"
Sima Guang said: "If the whole world is filled with thieves, not to mention you, Wang Jiefu, even if Duke Zhou and Guan Zhong were alive, they would be powerless to save the situation."
Wang Anshi said: "This is wrong. Just because Duke Zhou and Guan Zhong were powerless to save the world doesn't mean I, Wang Anshi, can't do the same."
Sima Guang pointed at Wang Anshi and said, "You are so shameless. I am ashamed to serve in the same palace with you."
After saying that, he strode away.
Wang Anshi laughed, "You ignorant old man, do you really think the government will ignore the new policy and protect those royal family members? There must be something fishy going on here!"
......
Although it was eventually stopped by Sima Guang and others, this meeting surprised the dignitaries in the court. At least Zhao Xu's attitude was as they expected. He still had to consider the face of the royal family and the overall situation.
On the second day of the meeting, Zhao Xu secretly summoned Lu Jiawen.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"Quickly, excuse me."
Zhao Xu smiled and said, "I heard that you have solved several cases recently, and the people praised you. With rising talents like you, our Song Dynasty will surely prosper!"
Lü Jiawen was flattered and said quickly, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I am just doing my duty."
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, saying, "It's not easy for you to do your job well at your age, and the recent cases are very difficult!"
Lu Jiawen glanced at Zhao Xu secretly but said nothing. He still couldn't figure out what the emperor was thinking.
Zhao Xu was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Have you heard anything about the case involving the governor Zhao of Zongzheng Temple recently?"
Lu Jiawen nodded.
Zhao Xu asked again: "What do you think?"
Lu Jiawen hurriedly said, "The procuratorate has not yet filed a lawsuit, so I am not sure."
Zhao Xu asked, "What I want to ask is why this case happened at this time?"
Lu Jiawen hesitated for a while and answered cautiously: "I think they want to use the royal family to cover up their crimes, disrupt the judiciary, undermine the new policies, and even...!"
Zhao Xu asked with a smile: "Even what?"
Lu Jia asked, "Even threatening Your Majesty."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "You are right. I think so too. However, the new policy concerns the major issues of the country. I will never let them succeed."
At this point, he sighed, "But since it involves the royal family, I am a little embarrassed." He then looked at Lu Jia and asked, "Does Judge Lu have any solution?"
Lu Jiawen thought for a moment and said, "I have a plan, but I wonder if it will work."
Zhao Xu hurriedly said, "Tell me quickly."
Lu Jia asked, "First try Xu Yu's case to deter those who refuse to pay the exemption tax, and put the case of Governor Zhao on hold for the time being."
Zhao Xu was overjoyed when he heard this, "Just as you say."
......
The imperial court had already tried Xu Yu's case clearly, but Lu Jiawen was eager to exercise the power of the imperial court. He was also worried that the verdict would be overturned, which would be very embarrassing. He was also observing the movements in the court.
After all, the situation is confusing at this moment.
The key is not knowing what the emperor was thinking.
Now that he had the emperor's nod, Lu Jiawen had no more scruples and immediately opened a trial for Xu Yu's case.
The evidence is irrefutable.
According to the law, he should be sentenced to death. In ancient times, the crime of selling private salt was very severe. However, since the Xu family had been officials for generations, there were many examples of people who were not sentenced to death for selling private salt.
Therefore, Xu Yu was finally sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane, ten years in prison, and a fine of 3,600 strings of cash.
There were also house searches in the Northern Song Dynasty, but they were usually targeted at corrupt officials, and the emperor had to speak up. However, Xu Yu was not an official, so according to the law, his house could not be searched.
But even so, the verdict still shocked the government and the public.
Ten years in prison is a serious crime second only to the death penalty.
This...is this going to be real?
Does the emperor ignore his royal family?
But the evidence was irrefutable and they could not ignore the judiciary, at least not publicly. They could only hint to the emperor that everyone was guilty.
Now that the verdict has been made, we can only watch...what else can we do? This is a public trial, the evidence is all out in the open, and it’s reported in newspapers every day. We can only accept it!
Later, Lu Jiawen judged three more cases in a row, including the one against Qin Biao, who was arrested and finally sentenced to two years in prison and fifty strokes of the cane. However, he was eligible for redemption and had to pay 800 strings of cash.
This is not the fault of the procuratorate, because the evidence provided by the tax commissioner was not very comprehensive. At that time, Zhang Fei was just testing the waters and had only hidden a few illegal incomes in it. The procuratorate's ability to investigate is far inferior to that of the tax commissioner.
This also serves as a reminder to everyone.
It seems that the procuratorate is the most ruthless one, but...but all the key evidence is in the hands of the tax commissioner.
At this point, no one dares to bet that the tax commissioner does not have his own evidence.
Pay taxes!
Pay your taxes now!
If you pay the taxes, the tax commissioner will not investigate you. If he does not investigate you, he will not go to the procuratorate to sue you. If he does not provide evidence, the procuratorate will not be able to investigate.
Except for the Bian Jing Law Firm, all other bookstores exploded. They did not dare to pay taxes openly and could only send people to pay secretly. However, no one dared to believe Zhang Fei in such a life-threatening matter!
But Fan Li was so envious that he didn't get the money, which was such a loss!
The tax department was a direct explosion.
Everyone is so busy that they are dizzy and have no time to spare for investigation.
There was no further action during this period.
Um!
This may also be a way to deal with the tax commissioner. I will kill you with money.
But.
As the conversation went on, everyone suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Qin Biao was tried for the second time and was sentenced, but why is there still no progress in Zhao Wenzhen's case?
There is a problem with the procuratorate.
Upon asking, I found out that the Procuratorate had already formally prosecuted Zhao Wenzhen, but the royal court was still hearing the case...
Understood!
I understand completely!
You little emperor are so greedy!
Here, Xu Yu and others were sentenced to intimidate everyone and make them pay taxes, but over there, Zhao Wenzhen just kept delaying the trial, waiting for reforms, right?
You want everything!
This really drove everyone crazy.
That's not how it works.
You can judge, but you have to be fair!
What kind of emperor is this? He is simply a double standard emperor!
The ministers were all furious.
They attacked Lu Jiawen crazily. After all, they had no evidence to prove that it was the emperor who ordered it, so they could only make trouble for Lu Jiawen.
Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others were also very dissatisfied.
In fact, Lu Gongzhe also saw that his grandson was playing tricks, but he was too lazy to bother with him, so he directly reported to Zhao Xu together with Sima Guang and others, stating that the imperial court was not qualified to try the case of the royal family, and according to rules and regulations, it had to be handed over to Kaifeng Prefecture for trial.
The rest of the officials followed suit.
Everyone knows Zeng Gong's character, but no matter whether you, the emperor, want to or not, as long as it is handed over to him, he will definitely deal with it according to the law.
At this moment, Zhao Wenzhen was extremely panicked. He had endured the betrayal at the beginning because he knew that everyone was in the same boat, and if anything happened to them, he would be finished too.
Just like now, Meng Gansheng doesn't care about him at all, and the ministers are united.
How could the little emperor bear it?
"Mr. Zhong, what do the officials say?"
The white-haired Zhao Wen Zheng asked Lan Yuanzhen nervously.
Lan Yuanzhen said: "The government has been supporting you for a long time."
Zhao Wenzheng nodded and said, "I know, I know, this is all my fault! Ouch!"
At this moment, he regretted his decision!
Lan Yuanzhen sighed, "This matter is irreversible. The emperor has already decided to let Kaifeng Prefecture try this case. It is meaningless for you to go to the emperor for this matter."
Zhao Wen Zheng suddenly felt dizzy.
Lan Yuanzhen hurriedly supported him and said, "Governor Zhao, you have to ask someone else for help."
Zhao Wenzheng was about to cry, "If the government couldn't save me, who else could?"
Lan Yuanzhen said: "There is someone who may be able to save you."
"who?"
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
.
Zhao Wenzhen grabbed Lan Yuanzhen's sleeve tightly.
Lan Yuanzhen said: "Zhang San."
"Zhang San?"
Zhao Wenzhen almost bit his tongue.
Lan Yuanzhen nodded and said, "Things are different now. Now the procuratorate is suing you, and you can also find an informant to defend you. Currently, the most powerful informant in Song Dynasty is Zhang San. If you can ask him for help, you may still have a chance of survival."
Yes! Why have I never thought of looking for Zhang San? Zhao Wenzheng woke up as if from a dream, but then asked: "But will Zhang San help me?"
Lan Yuanzhen chuckled and said, "I've dealt with Zhang San several times. He loves money and women. As long as Governor Zhao gives enough, he will definitely help you."
Zhao Wen Zheng couldn't help but feel hope in his heart. I have nothing else but money and women.
[Please do not transcode the reading (similar to Baidu) or the content will be lost]
.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
