Su Zhe is different from Su Shi. He is relatively stable. Although he believes that the authority of the imperial court is too great and the procuratorate needs to increase its presence, he will also see what the matter is. He will not be as romantic as Su Shi, who relies on his own intelligence and thinks he can do whatever he wants.
In fact, a true wise man is one who knows how to compromise with reality, such as Fu Bi, Han Qi, Wen Yanbo, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and others.
Although Wang Anshi was stubborn, his new method was actually a compromise. He knew that the three redundancies could not be solved for the time being. Fan Zhongyan had already demonstrated it once himself, and the only way was to make money.
Su Che thought that he should find out the whole story before making a decision.
"Brother, Brother Zhe, are you guys going back?"
Seeing Zhong Gu and Zhe Jizu coming into the house, Zhong Yan couldn't help but ask.
After the trial, Zhong Yan and Lu Shen had to stay in Hezhong Prefecture and wait for the court's arrangements, but many officials had already left Hezhong Prefecture.
Zhong Gu and Zhe Jizu were also planning to go back soon.
"It may be a few days later." Zhong Gu said.
Zhong Yan immediately asked, "Is it because of the case regarding the soldiers' pensions?"
...
...
Zhong Gu was surprised and said, "You also know it."
Zhong Yan nodded.
Zhe Jizu said: "Although this case is small and common, this time it is the public security, procuratorate and court who are investigating it personally. We still have to see how they will deal with this matter."
Zhong Yan asked in a low voice: "This case has nothing to do with Zhong Shou and the others, right?"
Zhe Jizu sighed and said, "He said this has nothing to do with him, but he is also worried that this will implicate him. After all, military expenditures have always been a confusing account, and now the army is also in a panic!"
Zhong Gu said: "We are worried that this is a conspiracy. If we really want to investigate it, no one knows how many people will be involved."
"Actually, I have the same concern." Zhong Yan nodded, "Why don't we go and remind Judge Zhang."
Zhe Jizu said: "I have inquired about this. At present, it is the Procuratorate that is investigating. It has nothing to do with the Imperial Court for the time being. They said that they will have to wait until the Procuratorate finds evidence before filing a lawsuit with the Imperial Court.
Judge Zhang is on our side, but Chief Prosecutor Su may not be so. This matter has nothing to do with us, so let's just wait and see what happens."
Zhong Gu said: "Actually, this is a good thing. We can also learn more about the public security, procuratorate and courts from this case."
Transport Department.
"Oh, it's Magistrate Cai who's here."
Yuan Jiang stood up and saluted, "Excuse me, excuse me."
Cai Yanqing bowed and said, "Yanqing is sorry for disturbing me by coming here."
"Where! Where!"
Yuan Jiang extended his hand and said, "Prefect Cai, please take a seat."
"Thank you very much."
After Cai Yanqing sat down, Yuan Jiang said with a half-smile, "Prefect Cai came here today to investigate a matter for the procuratorate?"
Cai Yanqing smiled and nodded, "It seems that people from the procuratorate have been here."
Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "I've been here for a long time. Our Transportation Department is not immune to any military expenditure."
The Transport Commissioner can be regarded as the finance minister of a province. The local government is responsible for the collection and payment of taxes. Once the collected money and goods enter the county warehouse or state warehouse, they will belong to the Transport Commissioner, who will then allocate them according to the central quota and local needs.
From this arrangement, we can see that it was very difficult for this area to split apart in the Northern Song Dynasty, as most of the finances were under the control of the central government.
The Transport Envoy represents the central government and is appointed on a temporary basis.
Cai Yanqing asked again: "I wonder what the transport envoy thinks of this matter?"
Yuan Jiang said calmly, "This is my predecessor's business. It has nothing to do with me. I don't need to compete with them. They just want to check some accounts. I will let them check it."
Cai Yanqing understood immediately, and although he seemed casual, he was actually quite cooperative. But he sighed, "In my opinion, it's useless to check, this is just a confusing account."
Yuan Jiang immediately asked, "What do you mean?"
Cai Yanqing said: "There is no fixed quota for military expenditures. There are huge losses in the middle. There are also various sundries that are converted to soldiers, and many government offices are involved. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack for the procuratorate to check this account."
Yuan Jiang couldn't help but frowned and said, "Let's talk about the facts. Judging from this case, there are indeed many problems in this regard."
Cai Yanqing said: "In my opinion, the real problem lies in the three redundancies. Military and political conflicts are caused by them. It is definitely not affordable to support such a large number of imperial guards with the finances of a single place. It requires central appropriations and financial support from other states and counties. The accounts are also very complicated, which will give people opportunities to take advantage of it. If the three redundancies are not resolved, nothing can be achieved."
After hearing this, Yuan Jiang could not help but remain silent.
Cai Yanqing glanced at him secretly, then glanced outside, and then smiled and said, "It seems that Chief Prosecutor Su is not as steady as Chief Judge Zhang. I'm afraid he will return empty-handed this time. I heard that many officials want to use this incident to teach the public security, procuratorate and court a lesson."
Yuan Jiang glanced at him, smiled and nodded, saying: "It's time for them to suffer a little."
Having said that, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
In fact, Cai Yanqing came to tell Yuan Jiang that although the case might seem small, there is a big pit here. Once the public security, procuratorate and courts jump into it, they may not be able to get out!
He also hopes that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can play a role, but don't jump in right away. With just such a small number of people like you, you may not even be able to find yourself if you jump in.
Royal Court.
"Alas, this couple is so pitiful. The husband fought for his country and was disabled, but when he returned home he had to sell his wife and children. This is really chilling!"
Gao Wenyin, who never asked about official business, was sitting at the table and expressing her opinions. It was obvious that she felt the same way about the case.
It’s really breathtaking just looking at it.
Zhang Fei said: "So now you know how meaningful your husband's work is."
Gao Wenyin asked anxiously, "Will Sanlang seek justice for them?"
Zhang Fei hesitated and said, "Then we need to see the specific evidence."
Xu Zhiqian suddenly said: "If we only look at the evidence, I think this is difficult."
Zhang Fei looked at her puzzledly.
Xu Zhiqian said: "In fact, the pensions for soldiers in our dynasty are still very generous. Although the treatment of some generals is hundreds of times different from that of soldiers, most soldiers can still ensure that they have enough food and clothing.
The annual salary of the imperial soldiers was about 50 guan, and the annual salary of the garrison soldiers was about 30 guan. According to the regulations during the Qingli period, if a soldier fought on the border, the salary would be divided into two parts, half for the soldier and half for his family. If a soldier was disabled due to the war and could not continue to stay in the army, there were also two options: half of the daily salary and food would be given for the rest of his life, or 30 guan would be given as a lump sum. "
Zhang Fei said: "Since this is the imperial court's regulation, it is obvious that the government did not distribute money and grain to Chen Guang according to the regulations."
Xu Zhiqian said: "According to the regulations, the government can issue silk in place of money and grain, because the government only collects a small amount of currency, and most of it is cloth, grain, wine, salt, tea, pickles, and the government issues whatever it has. As for the quality of the silk, there is no specific rule. Therefore, there are special brokers who are responsible for helping the families of these soldiers to exchange these found goods for money and grain for daily needs."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Really? Are there any specialized brokers who do this?"
Xu Zhiqian nodded, "Because many soldiers' families don't know how to sell the supplies they have, there are special brokers to help, but they also have to look at the goods. For example, salt, tea and wine are easy to sell, but these cloths are difficult to sell. The brokers also have to take a sum of money. After all the calculations, the soldiers' families often get a lot less than they actually get.
Since the government distributed cloth to Chen Guang's wife every month, it was not considered a violation of government orders.
As for the arrears of pensions, it is also common, because the annual pension amount is not fixed. If the finances are sufficient and there is a surplus in the warehouse, then it is easy to deal with. But if the finances are insufficient, it may have to be delayed. After all, part of Shaanxi’s military expenditure still needs to be transferred from the capital. "
Gao Wenyin said: "It's not that we can't pay this little money!"
Xu Zhiqian said: "The government usually prioritizes the expenses of the war on the front line, followed by the salaries and pensions of civil officials and military officers, and finally the soldiers."
At this point, she paused for a moment, "And this is not just a small amount of money. This situation may be very common. If Chen Guang asks for the money and food back, then the other soldiers will also come to ask for it."
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "No wonder even after I got the detailed information about the case, there is still no news from the procuratorate. It seems that they are also in trouble."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Zhang San, do you have any solution?"
Gao Wenyin also opened her watery eyes and looked at Zhang Fei hesitantly.
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said, "We must be very cautious about this matter. If we decide that the government should pay compensation, but the government delays by saying that it has insufficient funds, or fills the gap with rotten cloth, this will affect the authority of our imperial court."
Gao Wenyin said, "But didn't Sanlang ask the government to compensate those salt merchants last time?"
Zhang Fei said, "That's just a small amount of money, and issuing salt debts can help the Salt Administration get more. If it was just Chen Guang, it would be easy to solve, but I'm afraid it will attract more people, and the government may really not be able to pay. Alas, when it comes to money, the court may also have a different face."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Your means of making money are so powerful, why don't you help the court think of another way."
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "This is not the same thing as the salt debt. This solution is not that easy to come up with! Let's not talk about this for now. Let's see what the procuratorate will do. Maybe Chief Prosecutor Su will have a solution."
This was also the reason why he didn't want to come to the northwest before. The salt administration and military administration were all a mess, and there must be illegal activities involved. The imperial court had to enforce the law, and if the judiciary could not correct it, it would be counterproductive.
He was prepared regarding the salt debt, but he was really unprepared for this matter.
Prosecutor General Su?
Prosecutor Su is now in a state of panic.
Su Che originally wanted to see the specific situation. If the other party was willing to settle the matter peacefully, he would also be willing. After all, he also knew that the interest relationship here was very complicated, and the procuratorate currently did not have the ability to trace the root cause.
But who would have thought that none of the government offices would give us any respect. You can investigate if you want. We are just following the rules anyway. Let the imperial court make the judgment then.
But as they checked, they found something was not right.
"Attorney General, there is no way to investigate this!"
Chen Qi looked at the accounts in the room and couldn't help saying, "We need to investigate it clearly. The government did follow the rules. At that time, there were only those pieces of cloth. This is simply impossible!"
Wang Shen also said, "Moreover, the Pension Department, Military Supply Department, Transportation Department, Warehouse Department, and Grain and Material Bureau are all shirking responsibility. In the end, the investigation will definitely reach the Three Departments, because it is the Transportation Envoy who distributes the stored grain in the counties of Hezhong Prefecture according to the orders of the Three Departments, which includes military expenses. It may take a year to complete the investigation. Those people are obviously playing tricks on us."
The office that managed military pay was composed of many offices. To prove that there was only rotten cloth in the warehouse at that time and that the rest of the money and grain had a specific plan, it was necessary to check the accounts of many offices.
Both Sima Guang and Wang Anshi have raised some questions about the cumbersome public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
Because verification is not an easy task.
Su Che clenched his fist tightly and pounded it on the table, saying angrily, "If I wasn't worried about more people coming to complain and adding to the national finances, I wouldn't have given them a chance. If I really want to investigate, I will be able to find evidence within three days and file a lawsuit with the imperial court. Since they are so ignorant, we don't need to save their face."
But at this point, his clenched fists slowly loosened again, "But if we want to sue, I'm afraid we still have to discuss it with the imperial court. After all, it may cause many soldiers to come and file complaints, and the consequences may be immeasurable."
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