The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can be what they are today entirely due to the struggle between the reformists and conservatives, which is also the basis of the entire "Hidden Dragon" plan.
Simply put, Zhang Fei created a demand based on their struggle, and then used the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs to meet this demand.
Without this environment, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will have no place to stand.
If there were no benefits, Zhao Xu would not agree to sacrifice part of his power and be put in a cage.
It is precisely because of this that the public security, procuratorate and courts did not mediate the conflict between the two factions, let alone resolve the conflict between the two factions fundamentally. It was more of a check and balance. Zhang Fei would not resolve this conflict. If it was resolved, the public security, procuratorate and courts would become the target of public criticism.
Everything has two sides, and this approach has caused the current crisis, because the conservatives hoped that the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments would defeat the reformists, but the sailor case and the Imperial City Bureau case deeply disappointed many people within the conservative faction.
Such a good opportunity, it is obvious that the other party was at fault first, but the other party was not hurt at all. Don't use the emperor as an excuse. In the past, many censors also punished ministers trusted by the emperor. The key question Zhang Fei asked was obviously to protect the emperor and take care of Wang Anshi by the way.
Core members of the conservative faction were unhappy with this.
However, in their eyes, Xue Xiang was even more disgusting than Cheng Fang, and they already knew that Wang Anshi ordered Xue Xiang to return to Beijing with the purpose of making him the Three-Division Envoy.
Therefore, this time they are determined to resist the Procuratorate and demand that the Censorate be responsible for the trial. However, the Censorate also feels threatened by the public security, procuratorate and courts. If this continues, the Censorate will be replaced by the Procuratorate. The two sides hit it off.
...
...
Needless to say, the reformists hate the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs very much. In their view, the trial results of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are always in favor of the conservatives.
You have to know that the benefits gained from the new policy were all the result of the secret manipulation of Zhang Fei and Wang Anshi. On the surface, there was no apparent relationship between it and the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. It was more like the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs exposed the shortcomings of the new policy, and Wang Anshi then made countermeasures. This was particularly obvious in Hezhong Prefecture. On the surface, Yuan Jiang and Zhang Fei were incompatible.
Trial Court.
"The Censorate has already sent people to take over those who filed the complaint. It looks like this case will definitely be handed over to the Censorate for trial. There will be no changes." Pei Wenyan said.
"why is that?"
Meng Gansheng asked curiously, "Why didn't they hand the case over to the procuratorate this time?"
Suddenly returning to the Censorate made them a little uncomfortable. Didn’t the conservatives strongly promote the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs?
Pei Wen said: "It seems that because of the Imperial City Division case, Liu Shu and others have doubts about the Procuratorate. Many of them think that once the case is handed over to the Procuratorate, the result may be to keep things quiet and fail to bring down Xue Xiang. Zhang San and Wang Jiefu have always had a very good relationship, so they are now more and more distrustful of Zhang San, and this time they will not let Xue Xiang go no matter what, so they will never hand it over to the Procuratorate."
Meng Gansheng nodded slightly: "This is not a bad thing for us!"
Xie Yun said: "Perhaps our previous actions were all wrong. We always wanted to provoke a fight between them and the public security, procuratorate and courts, but as long as it reaches the imperial court, Zhang San almost always has the final say. In fact, the best way is to make everyone distrust the public security, procuratorate and courts, and the public security, procuratorate and courts will naturally disappear."
"That makes sense."
Meng Gansheng nodded and said, "After all, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are the places to solve problems, but we always create problems and ask the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs to solve them. This makes the authority of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs grow step by step."
At this point, he suddenly seemed to remember something, "If this case is handed over to the Censorate, can Wang Jiefu still protect Xue Xiang?"
Pei Wen said: "Based on the current situation, the Censorate must have evidence. Xue Xiang is in charge of the six routes, so it is impossible that there is no problem at all. However, the success of the equal distribution system is also an indisputable fact. The granary in the capital is the best proof. The government is also very satisfied with this. Wang Jiefu is certainly likely to save Xue Xiang."
Zhang Fei, who had been on vacation for many days, finally felt a little embarrassed and started to go back to work at the procuratorate, but he only handled some daily affairs.
"Another day passed without any surprises."
Zhang Fei stood up and stretched. "It's time to go home and eat."
Wang Gong laughed and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, you are like two different people in and out of court!"
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
Wang Gong said: "In court you are aggressive, but outside of court you seem to be indifferent."
Qi Ji on the side also said: "Yes! Originally everyone thought that the case concerning the Shipping Department would be handed over to our Procuratorate, but we never thought that until now, our Procuratorate has not even been mentioned."
They originally thought that Zhang Fei came back for the case of the Shipping Company and had been waiting for Zhang Fei to mention this matter, but it turned out that Zhang Fei was just slacking off at work.
Zhang Fei was curious and asked, "When you encountered this kind of case before, you were afraid to avoid it. Now that you didn't hand it over to our procuratorate, you are saying this. What do you want to do?"
Qi Ji smiled awkwardly and said, "To be honest with Prosecutor Zhang, we really don't want to try this case, but the higher-ups didn't even mention it. Is it possible that we did something that made them unhappy?"
I can refuse, but you can't ignore us!
This is embarrassing.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You are really overthinking it. Even if they are not satisfied, so what? Our procuratorate is not trying to please the higher-ups. It's just that this case has always been investigated by the Censorate, and it was also the Censorate that first revealed it. The key is that it is more appropriate to hand this case over to the Censorate. There is nothing wrong with that.
Now we have to save enough energy to prepare for the autumn tax. This is the key, and this is what the court values most. How much money can the shipping envoy make? Can it compare with the tax commissioner?"
"That's true."
Qi Ji and Wang Gong nodded at the same time.
Today, the Commissioner of Taxation is a real favorite in the eyes of the emperor. As long as the procuratorate cooperates well with the Commissioner of Taxation, he will never fall out of favor.
"If there is nothing else, I will leave first. I have to go back to take care of the children now."
"Haha, I almost forgot that Prosecutor Zhang is already a father."
"Goodbye."
"Slow down."
In front of them, Zhang Fei still had to pretend that he didn't care, but at the same time he had to stabilize the morale of the troops and maintain everyone's confidence in the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments.
At this time, the weather had turned cold, and Xu Zun had not made any plans to drink with his friends, so the father-in-law and son-in-law went back together in a carriage.
Inside the carriage.
Zhang Fei asked: "Father-in-law, what is the situation in the court now?"
Today, Xu Zun went to the court to inquire about the news.
Xu Zun said: "Those people have not yet entered the capital, and the Censorate has already sent people to take over. Even the Royal Police have not been called in. It is obvious that they will never hand this case over to the Procuratorate. Moreover!"
He frowned, "Xue Xiang may be in real danger this time. The people who filed the complaint have not yet arrived, but the memorial impeaching Xue Xiang by officials from Jiangnan has already been sent to the capital. It is clear that they have a plan in advance. This time they must use this case to bring down Xue Xiang."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but wonder, "What on earth did Xue Xiang do to make them hate him so much? From what I know, Xue Xiang's political achievements have always been very impressive. Could it be because of jealousy?"
"Of course not."
Xu Zun shook his head and said, "It's mainly because Xue Xiang is good at calculating and taking advantage of opportunities. He puts profit first, and he has a tainted moral character."
Zhang Fei asked hurriedly: "What stain?"
Xu Zun said: "Once, Xue Xiang was on a business trip. He was in an inn and fought with a commoner for a room. As a result, the commoner died that night due to being frightened. Because of this incident, he was regarded by many ministers in the court as a greedy, cunning and mean person who was eager for success.
Afterwards, whether he was transferred to the northwest to manage horse affairs or appointed as the transport envoy, he was impeached by many people. Since the emperor and Wang Jiefu trusted Xue Xiang very much, many censors were demoted to the capital by the emperor because of impeaching him, and the grudges became more and more serious.
In addition, his grandfather Xue Yan was promoted by the then Prime Minister Ding Wei, who happened to have a bad reputation in the court.
Therefore, in the eyes of many ministers, if an official like Xue Xiang is promoted, the court will be filled with villains, and the impeachment of Xue Xiang has never stopped. "
“It turns out this is so complicated.”
Zhang Fei nodded slightly and asked, "I wonder what the government's attitude is?"
Xu Zun rubbed his beard and said, "You also said that it would be more reasonable to hand this case over to the Censorate. Since no one has suggested that the public security, procuratorate or court should try this case, the government can only hand it over to the Censorate."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Father-in-law, do you think Duke Wen and his men can succeed?"
"This old man is not very clear."
Xu Zun shook his head and sighed again: "But judging from past examples, Xue Xiang will be overthrown by them sooner or later, because they will never stop attacking Xue Xiang.
This actually reminds you that many problems in the court cannot be judged solely by the success or failure of political achievements. If the means are shameful, even if you succeed, it will bring you endless troubles.
Fortunately, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs adopted an open trial, and when you advocated the rule of law, you only suppressed the Legalists and did not belittle the Confucians. This is also why you avoided the dilemma that Xue Xiang encountered. "
Zhang Fei nodded: "I will definitely keep my father-in-law's teachings in mind."
In fact, what Xu Zun said is a question of mainstream values, because Confucian values are still the main ones in the current court, and they are very powerful and unquestionable, especially within the conservative faction.
Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang, Zhao Yan and others all firmly supported Confucian values.
Xue Xiang's style of doing things did not follow Confucian values. He seemed to be more like Sang Hongyang, who emphasized profit first and did not care about the big principles. It didn't matter if the cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat. Although Zhang Fei often pursued profit, some of his business principles, the core of which was integrity, were in line with Confucian values, and Fu Bi and others also agreed.
But Xue Xiang is different. He will definitely be rejected and it will be impossible to stop.
Just imagine, if officials who do not adhere to Confucian values come to power, it will definitely undermine Confucian values, which will harm the interests of many officials.
This is why, in fact, in politics, hypocrites are often more popular than real villains. When there are only two choices, you must choose the hypocrite, unless you want to overthrow the mainstream values.
What is a hypocrite? It is someone who appears to support mainstream values, so he will not be very destructive to mainstream values. But a real villain is consistent in his words and deeds, and will not pretend to believe in them, so he will be very destructive.
The reason is simple. If you promote a hypocrite, you can say that you have been deceived, because after all, he rose to power by holding up the banner of Confucianism.
But if you promote a real villain, you are destroying the mainstream values of Confucianism. At that time, everyone will put interests first, and whoever makes more money will become the prime minister. Then Confucianism will be finished.
This is why Xue Xiang is unpopular in the court.
In fact, Zhang Fei was much more independent than him, but after Emperor Taizong of Tang's idea of virtue as the main and law as the auxiliary, law and morality were actually inherited from the same source. No matter how principles and interpretations were added, they were still based on Confucianism.
If Zhang Fei removed unfilial piety from the ten evils, he would be completely finished.
Ayun's lawsuit at the time involved mainstream Confucian values, but Zhang Fei won by filial piety and defeated magic with magic. Although many people were unhappy about this, they would not say it.
At night.
"What are you looking at?"
Xu Zhiqian quietly came to the bench and tilted her head to look.
Zhang Fei looked back and asked, "Why did you get out of bed?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "I'm not a patient, why can't I get out of bed."
Then she asked in surprise: "You are reading the Analects?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes! Is that not possible?"
Xu Zhiqian was shocked for a moment, then said, "It's not that I can't, it's just that you seldom read these Confucian classics."
Zhang Fei sighed, "It's not that I rarely read it, it's because I don't understand many Confucian classics, and only the Analects can be understood by me."
"???"
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes slightly and sat down again. "I see you are just bored. Is it because this case has not been handed over to the public security, procuratorate or court?"
Zhang Fei put down the book and said with a smile: "Of course there is also this reason."
Xu Zhiqian frowned and said, "This Sima scholar is really something. You have helped them so much, but they actually want to abandon the public security, procuratorate and courts. They are really ungrateful."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "You can complain like this, but you must not think like this."
"Why?"
Xu Zhiqian asked curiously.
Zhang Fei said: "Because we have never been helping them, but practicing our own political ideas. In this case, they have their own interests, which is actually normal. They are actually doing the same thing as us."
"I don't agree with this. Things can be good or bad."
Xu Zhiqian shook her head indifferently and said, "Then how do you plan to deal with it? By the way, have you gone to the government?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I haven't figured out what to do yet. The key is that I don't know what the government is planning, but my father-in-law thinks that in this situation, it is not convenient for the government to forcibly hand over the case to the public security, procuratorate or court.
Moreover, if I rashly go to the government and ask them to hand over the case to the public security, procuratorate or court, it may create a false impression that the public security, procuratorate or court is above the administration and that everything must be decided by the public security, procuratorate or court. This power is a bit too much. Unless the government comes to me, we should just wait and see what happens. "
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Will this affect the public security, procuratorate and courts?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I am also evaluating it now. There will definitely be an impact, but as long as we are still tied to the Taxation Bureau, it is unlikely that we will disappear immediately. However, we must pay attention to the subsequent impact of this case."
At times like this, we must remain calm, because the rule of law has too much power to check and balance power. If he is a little bit strong, it may arouse everyone's vigilance.
He was ready to give up the case, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep a low profile for a while.
Because he believed that this case would definitely intensify the conflict between the reformists and conservatives, and as long as neither side fell, his plan would not be considered a failure.
The silence of the public security, procuratorate and courts also made the ministers in the court very satisfied. This proved that the public security, procuratorate and courts still had some sense and would not interfere in other people's affairs. They would deal with the case based on facts. There was nothing wrong with handing the case over to the Censorate for trial. It was even more reasonable. However, this caused the two sides to start fighting in the traditional way.
At this time, those who had filed complaints had been sent to the Censorate, a total of more than 130 people. Zhao Xu asked for Wen Yanbo to be appointed to preside over the case, and at the same time asked Zeng Gongliang and Chen Shengzhi to participate in it to maintain a balance.
He could not allow the conservatives to take full responsibility for hearing the case, and Wang Anshi would not agree to that.
Under the leadership of Wen Yanbo, the Censorate did not rush to make a judgment, but instead conducted the trial slowly. However, some evidence unfavorable to Xue Xiang was revealed almost every day.
For example, exploiting the people, competing with them for profit, eliminating dissidents, and promoting cronies to positions.
The conservatives used this as an excuse to impeach Xue Xiang every day, and even dragged Wang Anshi into the matter.
This was a strategy, because the final decision-making power still lay in the hands of the emperor. Their goal was to make the emperor believe these facts, that Xue Xiang had committed numerous evil deeds and acted lawless in the southeast region, making life miserable for the people. They repeatedly emphasized every piece of evidence, and the emperor had to believe it even if he didn't want to.
Wang Anshi was no less impressive. He talked with the emperor alone every day, emphasizing the growth of finances and the success of the Equalization of Transport System. He said that the warehouses in Bianjing had never been as prosperous as they were today. The facts were right in front of you, but you didn't believe them and instead believed their lies.
At the same time, Deng Wan and others impeached the other party, framed loyal and good people, and excluded dissidents. They believed that those people were accused and could not be trusted. The Jiangnan region was now prosperous and peaceful.
But judging from the situation, it was not very advantageous for Wang Anshi, because Wang Anshi wanted to make Xue Xiang the Three-Division Envoy, not just to keep Xue Xiang. But if the situation continued like this, how could Xue Xiang be the Three-Division Envoy?
If Xue Xiang could not serve as the Three-Division Envoy, Wang Anshi would have lost.
However, the final decision-making power always lies in the hands of the emperor. Although the other party has provided a lot of evidence, Zeng Gongliang and Chen Shengzhi will not easily let Wen Yanbo make a judgment unless the emperor gives the order.
However, the conservatives also began to put pressure on Zeng Gongliang and Chen Shengzhi. They knew that Zeng Gongliang and Chen Shengzhi were not like Lu Huiqing and Deng Wan, who were completely tied to the new policies. They all had their own political considerations, including their descendants.
They also have to consider their own families and their own reputations.
This was actually the evil consequence brought about by Zhang Fei. In history, Wang Anshi almost eliminated all the core members of the conservatives, but he still lost in the end. This shows how powerful the conservatives are. What's more, because of Zhang Fei's arrival, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, and Fu Bi all stayed in the court. Their attack this time was very powerful.
Wang Anshi was also a little anxious. He hoped that the emperor would make a quick decision and expel the officials who impeached Xue Xiang from the capital.
You, the emperor, must become stronger!
The Imperial Palace.
This was the first time Zhao Xu summoned Zhang Fei since the case broke out.
"I heard that you have been very free recently?"
Zhao Xu asked.
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and said, "It's not that we are very idle. We are also preparing to sue the Taxation Department."
Zhao Xu said: "So you didn't pay attention to the Shipping Department case."
Zhang Fei said: "There is also attention."
Zhao Xu asked: "Why don't you try to get the public security, procuratorate and court to try this case?"
Zhang Fei replied, "Because this is a case that the Censorate has been investigating, and it is more suitable for the Censorate to try. Unless they take the initiative to hand the case over to the public security, procuratorate, or court, there is no reason for us to get involved. I believe that the government did not assign the public security, procuratorate, or court to take over this case before, because of this reason."
"You are right. I originally thought they were going to hand it over to the public security, procuratorate and courts, but I didn't know they would let the Censorate to try it. I have no reason to object."
Zhao Xu sighed and added: "But now things have become very tricky and may affect our plans."
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "That shouldn't be the case. The news I know so far is still quite anxious."
Zhao Xu seemed a little hesitant. After a while, he said, "But recently the Censorate has requested to investigate the accounts of the inner treasury."
Zhang Fei still didn't understand and looked at Zhao Xu in confusion.
Zhao Xu said: "At the beginning, the equal distribution method was opposed by many ministers. I overcame all objections and spent 5 million strings of cash and 3 million shi of rice from the inner treasury to provide the shipping department with the purchase capital."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I know that."
Zhao Xu asked, "Then should I have a portion of the profits from the equal distribution system?"
Zhang Fei blinked, "So. So Your Majesty!"
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "In the past three years, the Shipping Department has gradually given me a surplus of one million strings of cash."
This surplus is the money that local officials pay to the emperor in the name of tax surplus. This is a legal act, and there is nothing wrong with the emperor collecting tribute. If Zhao Xu is worried about this, it proves that the one million strings of cash should not belong to him.
The Northern Song Dynasty's inner treasury was not the emperor's own private treasury, it was used by both the emperor and the country. Moreover, tributes from various places were also divided between the emperor and the country.
Zhang Fei asked quietly, "Does Master Wang know about this?"
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Sir, you also hope that this money will not go into the national treasury. It will be more convenient to use it for war. Now many ministers in the court still do not want to use foreign troops."
No wonder Wang Anshi was so confident, it turned out that he was tied to the emperor. Zhang Fei asked again: "Do Duke Wen know about this?"
Zhao Xu sighed, "It's not clear yet, but if they want to investigate the inner treasury, I'm afraid they know something. However, things have come to this point. If I support you, I must severely punish those officials who impeached Xue Xiang. This will inevitably break the balance in the court and affect our plan."
A muffled sound came from Zhang Fei's throat.
He never expected that there was such a connection here.
It's really like when it rains it pours!
Sorry, I posted late. I have had rhinitis for the past few days. It was particularly severe today. My head felt like it was being stabbed by needles. I don't know what the weather is like over there, but here we have frequent changes in temperature.
(End of this chapter)
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