Zhang Fei really never expected that the deal between Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi was so clichéd and unoriginal. It was still the most traditional interest binding.
Although Wang Anshi did this in order to prepare for a future attack on Western Xia, the court was indeed full of doves, including Fu Bi and Han Qi, who did not agree with going to war in a short period of time because they had experienced war and knew how much impact war would have on the country. At the same time, they believed that the Song court was not qualified to launch a war at all.
It is almost impossible to obtain the unanimous consent of the prime ministers. There is nothing wrong with saving some money privately for emergencies.
But Zhang Fei believed that Wang Anshi must have had some ulterior motives, using this kind of interest binding to make the emperor more inclined to the new policy.
But if this matter were to become known to others, it would be very troublesome. If it were to be confirmed, it would have a huge impact on both the emperor and the new policy.
Because this phenomenon is very bad.
Even in feudal society, the state's money could not be arbitrarily diverted to the emperor for use. This was no different from corruption and bribery.
Therefore, at the beginning of the case, Zhao Xu did not tell Zhang Fei about this matter, including whether to let the procuratorate take over the case. He did not even ask. It is estimated that he also had considerations in this regard, because under the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, many things cannot be hidden.
However, as the Censorate demanded an investigation into the inner treasury, Zhao Xu could no longer remain calm. In addition, the struggle between the two factions became increasingly fierce, and he could no longer control himself, so he quickly called Zhang Fei over.
Zhang Fei couldn't help rubbing his forehead with a headache, "Your Majesty, things may not be that simple."
...
...
Zhao Xu hurriedly asked: "Why do you say that?"
Zhang Fei glanced at Zhao Xu and said, "If Your Majesty stands on the side of Wang Xueshi and punishes those censors, I guarantee that they will use our procuratorate to continue the prosecution and may even expose this issue. The matter has come to this point and they have no way out."
If he loses, not only the conservatives, but also the Censorate will not be able to accept it. They will definitely try every means to stop the emperor. There is no need to guess, as we all know, they will definitely use the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
Zhao Xu frowned when he heard this, and felt a chill on his back. "Yes! They can also file a lawsuit through the procuratorate."
If that were the case, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs would really suffer.
Therefore, Zhang Fei is also very anxious now.
If we continue like this, we might lose everything.
Zhao Xu also began to get anxious. He did not want to abandon the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs for the sake of the new policy. He asked, "Do you have any way to deal with it?"
Zhang Fei frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
As far as this matter is concerned, he is not clear about Zhao Xu's attitude, because so far, Zhao Xu has not favored Wang Anshi, and there must be a reason for this.
Zhao Xu showed a worried look on his face. After a while, he sighed and said, "To be honest, I wanted to stop the Censorate from investigating this case at first, but I also think that this is not groundless, so I also hope that the Censorate can investigate it and see what is going on.
The results of the subsequent investigation by the Censorate also made me very worried. The six southeastern routes are the financial center of the country and cannot afford to lose anything. If Xue Xiang really did evil things there and made the people suffer, I would not protect him. "
This shows that the Censorate's method was effective and successfully aroused the emperor's inner concerns. He also wanted to know the truth of the matter.
One of the most crucial reasons is that Zhao Xu did give Xue Xiang great power, even including the power to appoint and dismiss some officials.
Now the Censorate has produced some evidence to prove that Xue Xiang is nepotism and excludes dissidents, which of course makes him a little worried.
But he also benefited from it, so now he is in a dilemma.
Zhang Fei had no idea for the time being, and said, "Your Majesty, I want to first understand the details of the interrogation by the Censorate before I can think of a solution."
He is a lawyer by training, so he is not very good at making fantasies out of thin air. Political struggle is also not his forte. He must see information before he can come up with a solution.
Zhao Xu didn't waste any words and agreed immediately.
That day, he asked someone to copy a copy of the interrogation record of the Censorate, and then ordered Li Bao to secretly send it to Zhang Fei.
These books are confidential and cannot be leaked.
Three o'clock in the morning.
In Zhang Fei's bedroom, a bright candlelight was lit again, which was rare.
The couple seemed to have returned to the time when they first met, tirelessly reading through the interrogation materials of the Censorate.
After all, there were more than a hundred witnesses, and the table was full.
Xu Zhiqian was so excited that she was immersed in it and couldn't extricate herself. She had long forgotten about her newborn son.
"If what's written here is true, then... then Duke Wen and the others are not wrong. This equal distribution method still has many problems, especially it is prone to corruption. This is really not much different from what Mr. Su said at the beginning. This method only sounds reasonable, but it is difficult to supervise when it is implemented."
Xu Zhiqian pouted slightly. She had always been very supportive of Wang Anshi and trusted the new policy, but these testimonies made her have some doubts about the equalization system.
"It shouldn't be fake."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "The equal distribution method has been implemented in the six southeastern routes for so many years, it is impossible that there will be no problems. If we can't even find more than a hundred victims, then this policy must have been thought up by a god. But how many people do they represent? Only in this way can we judge the success or failure of this policy."
Xu Zhiqian said: "Their experiences were not due to oppression by officials due to special circumstances, but were caused by policies. If what they said is true, then there must be many people who have the same experience as them."
Zhang Fei nodded and did not deny it. He suddenly asked, "By the way! Will the interrogation of the Censorate help those witnesses to polish their confessions?"
Xu Zhiqian hesitated for a moment, "There will be some changes, but they are limited to transcribing some lengthy oral statements into concise sentences, but it will not change the meaning at all, and will not cause any ambiguity."
After that, she looked at Zhang Fei and asked, "Why? Do you want to start with the confession? The Censorate will never let such a mistake go, especially when facing a case like this, not to mention that there are Prime Minister Zeng and the Privy Councilor watching."
“Not really.”
Zhang Fei handed a document to Xu Zhiqian, "Take a look at this person's identity and confession."
Xu Zhiqian took it and looked at it carefully. "Any questions?"
Zhang Fei said: "Take a closer look."
Xu Zhiqian read it again from the beginning and shook her head, "I still don't understand what you are talking about."
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes, "Did you become stupid from giving birth to a child?"
Xu Zhiqian was not annoyed. Instead, she burst out laughing and glared at Zhang Fei fiercely, "If it's true, it's also your fault!"
Zhang Fei laughed hastily, then said seriously: "This man is a fruit farmer, but look at his answer, it is very organized. If the Censorate hadn't polished and sorted it out, it wouldn't sound like the answer of a fruit farmer at all."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But not every farmer is honest and simple-minded and doesn't know how to talk. This is just a confession, and he is not asked to write anything."
"What about these people?"
Zhang Fei placed several more documents in front of Xu Zhiqian.
Xu Zhiqian read them one by one and said, "Yes! Their answers were clear and concise, but this is inconsistent with their status."
At this point, she added, "Maybe they specially selected some smart people to come to the capital to file a complaint."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "It's possible. I'll teach you by the way."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But if these are all facts, it doesn't matter even if someone taught you."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "That depends on what our purpose is."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "If we want to appeal for those corrupt officials, these are indeed irrelevant, but if we want to defend the new policy, we can make a fuss about this point."
Xu Zhiqian blinked her beautiful eyes, "You mean to dig out the intentions of those who taught them behind the scenes, so as to question their real purpose of filing a complaint."
"That's right."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I believe those people are definitely not doing this out of kindness."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But first you have to think about how to transfer this case to the public security, procuratorate and court."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I have already thought about this step. Now the problem is how to fight this lawsuit."
I added in my mind that I also need to launder the emperor's money. Really, I have told him tens of thousands of times, professional, professional, professional, even money laundering is not left to professionals, it's really annoying!
Establish regulations offices in the two prefectures.
"Jiefu."
Zeng Gongliang sighed softly, "If what those people said is all true, it will be very disadvantageous to you, and I can't stop Wen Yanguo."
Although he supported Wang Anshi's reform, he was very cautious. He would not take sides easily or get involved.
Then Chen Shengzhi was even more cunning and refused to come because he knew Zeng Gongliang was more cautious than him.
Currently, officials in the DPRK and central government are putting a lot of pressure on him.
Wang Anshi said very patiently: "Prime Minister Zeng, even if what those people said is all true, I can guarantee that this is by no means the whole picture of the matter.
Let alone the new policy, even if we are talking about criminal cases, it would not be difficult to find a hundred corrupt officials in the six regions of the southeast.
Their purpose was not to enrich the people and strengthen the country, nor to suggest that I improve the New Deal. Instead, they targeted me, Wang Jiefu, and the New Deal, with the intention of driving me out of the court.
Therefore, they ignored the money and grain that the court saved due to the equalization of transport, and ignored the benefits that the equalization of transport brought to the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Is this really fair? "
It must be said that Wang Anshi's eloquence was first-rate. He did not deny the words of the people, but he questioned the real purpose of the Censorate.
Zeng Gongliang seemed a little hesitant and stroked his beard. "Even so, the difficulty now is how to solve this case. I can't stop Wen Yanguo all the time."
Wang Anshi said, "But it is impossible to interrogate more than a hundred people in just a few days."
Zeng Gongliang said: "But it can't be delayed for too long."
Wang Anshi nodded, knowing in his heart that Zeng Gongliang would never sacrifice himself for him.
As soon as Zeng Gongliang left, Deng Wan arrived.
"Prince Wang, the emperor has not made a decision yet. Does he believe what they said?" Deng Wan expressed deep concern.
Wang Anshi was silent for a while, and said: "The government will be affected to some extent, but the government will never be easily deceived by them. The grain in the granary of the capital is not fake.
Xue Xiang worked tirelessly to fill the national treasury and improve the financial situation. If the government punished Xue Xiang just because of what a few people said, then who would dare to share the government's worries in the future?
I will go tonight to persuade the government to make a decision as soon as possible."
There was a hint of worry in his tone. The emperor did not directly side with him, especially at the beginning, letting Wen Yanbo preside over the case did make him a little unhappy.
Compared with the past, the support has obviously been reduced a lot.
Deng Wan hesitated for a moment and said, "Prince Wang, I have a plan that may be able to dispel your doubts and cause internal strife among the other side."
Wang Anshi hurriedly asked, "What's your plan? Tell me quickly."
Deng Wan said: "The judicial reform was initiated by Sima Xianggong, and is known for its fairness and justice. In the past, they hoped that every case would be handled by the public security, procuratorate and courts, rather than the Censorate. But in this case, they insisted that the Censorate should handle it.
We can use this as a reason to conclude that the reason they dare not let the public security, procuratorate or courts try this case is because they want to fabricate a prison break and frame someone else."
Wang Anshi thought about it, then suddenly frowned and said, "But what if they agree to hand the case over to the public security, procuratorate or court?"
"impossible!"
Deng Wan said: "First of all, the Censorate will not agree. If the case is handed over to the public security, procuratorate and court halfway through the trial, it means that the Censorate is not fair and they are inferior to the public security, procuratorate and court.
Secondly, the public security, procuratorate and courts only try specific cases, but they obviously want to use this to attack Mr. Wang, and most of them believe that Zhang San will favor Mr. Wang.
Finally, among them, there are a small number who support the public security, procuratorate and courts, such as Mr. Fu, Mr. Zhao, Prosecutor General Xu, etc. As long as we say this, these people will inevitably suggest transferring them to the public security, procuratorate and courts, which will inevitably divide them.
As long as they have a dispute, Wang Xianggong can persuade the emperor and the matter will be accomplished. "
Wang Anshi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded repeatedly, "This is a good plan, this is a good plan, let's do it as you say."
"I will never let Mr. Wang down."
Since Lu Huiqing was away, Deng Wan came here very frequently. After all, there would be a big wave of personnel changes soon, and he also hoped to seize this opportunity to get a chance for promotion.
After getting Wang Anshi's nod, Deng Wan immediately organized his men and began to impeach the Censorate for framing and slandering loyal officials, claiming that the other party was intentionally avoiding the public security, procuratorate and courts.
This move really caught the conservatives off guard.
Because everyone knows that the vast majority of the reformists hate the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and they joined the reformists because of them. So Wen Yanbo did not expect that the other party would find such a reason to attack them.
It was sternly refuted immediately.
Who is intentionally avoiding the public security, procuratorate and courts? You are all talking nonsense. Cases like this one involving government corruption were first investigated by the Censorate, so they should be handed over to the Censorate.
Having said that, why should we hand it over to the public security, procuratorate and courts?
Deng Wan and his friends also argued that if that were the case, many cases in the past should not have been handed over to the public security, procuratorate or courts, but should have been handed over to the Censorate. Why didn't you say that before?
If you want people to be convinced, you should hand it over to the public security, procuratorate and courts for open trial. The Censorate acts secretly and cannot be seen in the light. Who knows if there is any trickery? We just won't accept it.
What's more, this reason actually gave Zeng Gongliang and others an opportunity to delay. Zeng Gongliang used this to persuade Wen Yanbo, either to hand the case over to the public security, procuratorate or court, or to have another public trial.
At the same time, it has actually caused controversy within the conservative faction. Some people within the conservative faction actually agree with the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
They felt that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs performed so well and handled many complicated cases in a convincing manner, while also avoiding internal friction. They believed that it was better to let the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs conduct the trial than the Censorate.
When the officials of the Censorate heard this, they were unhappy. What do you mean, that my Censorate is not as good as the public security, procuratorate and courts?
If anyone said so, they would think that the other person was on Wang Anshi's side.
This has caused great discord among the conservatives!
The prime ministers had to step in to solve internal problems.
Government Affairs Hall.
"Since the other party is not convinced, why not let the case be tried by the public security, procuratorate and courts, so that they will be convinced. It will not work if it drags on like this!"
Zhao Yan said.
"If we do this, where will the Censorate be placed?"
Wen Yanbo immediately refuted: "Even if I agree, other officials in the censorate will not agree."
Zhao Yan looked directly at Sima Guang, "Jun Shi, don't you have anything to say?"
You are the one who initiated the judicial reform, but you don't support it yourself. Then the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs will become a joke.
Fu Bi also looked at Sima Guang.
Sima Guang looked at Zhao Yan in embarrassment, and after a short silence, he spoke up: "I also think that this case is not suitable for the public security, procuratorate or court to try, because the public security, procuratorate or court can only determine whether the officials involved have violated the law, but cannot hold the culprit responsible. They can let those petty officials come out to take the blame, while if the Censorate tries it, they can trace the source and solve the problem once and for all."
He believed that since the case was not handed over to the public security, procuratorate or courts in the first place, transferring it now would only create more problems and cause more dissatisfaction. He had no choice but to go all the way because there would be no problem in letting the Censorate handle the case.
Zhao Yan said: "We can also let the public security, procuratorate and courts review the case, and then we can discuss the responsibility of the shipping envoy with the government."
First, make a judicial conviction, then discuss administrative accountability. We should deal with them separately.
Wen Yanbo said: "Why bother with this?"
Seeing that Wen Yanbo's attitude was so firm, and seeing that Fu Bi and the others were silent, Zhao Yan did not want to say anything more.
However, the Censorate was no pushover. They knew very well that the key to convicting Xue Xiang was to impress the emperor.
They also have a trump card for this.
The censors submitted memorials one after another and provided relevant evidence, pleading with the emperor to approve the investigation into the accounts of the inner treasury.
It can be seen that they knew some of the dealings between the Shipping Department and the Emperor.
Once this matter is exposed, the Shipping Department will be spurned by all officials, and you will be just the emperor's pawns.
Seeing that something was not right, Zhao Xu hurriedly summoned Zhang Fei into the palace.
"Your Majesty, I have already thought of a solution."
"Yeah?"
Zhao Xu couldn't help but be overjoyed, "Tell me quickly, what good plan do you have?"
Zhang Fei said: "A few days ago, I remember I mentioned that even if His Majesty supports Wang Xueshi, they may still prosecute through the procuratorate."
Zhao Xu nodded. "If they do this, our plan may fail completely!"
Zhang Fei asked, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about it the other way around?"
"Think the other way around?"
Zhao Xu didn't understand.
Zhang Fei nodded. "Assuming that Your Majesty supports the decision of the Censorate, Wang Xueshi can also sue the Censorate through the Procuratorate."
Zhao Xu blinked, "But I know Duke Wen. If he wasn't sure, he wouldn't be so determined. Can you still win this lawsuit?"
"For now, we can only say there is a chance."
Zhang Fei said, "But your majesty needs to send someone to Jiangnan right away to find out who supported these 100 people to file a complaint in Beijing, and what their purpose is. According to the testimony of the Censorate, there must be someone behind these witnesses. As long as we find these people, I can save Scholar Wang and the Transport Commissioner."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "But what about the money?"
Zhang Fei said: "I also have a plan for this. Your Majesty still has more than one million strings of cash in Xihe, right?"
After hearing this, Zhao Xu felt dizzy.
You. What do you want to do?
Zhang Fei said: "If the other party can produce evidence, then we can put this account on the Xihe frontier. The accounts over there were problematic to begin with, but they just couldn't find them. Now that we include this account, it will just make up for these problems, and we can even put more on it.
When they find out that this money was all used to expand the border in Xihe, and that Your Majesty also invested hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, they will certainly be speechless. "
Zhao Xu's heart was bleeding. He had to spit out all the meat that he had already swallowed. He was unwilling to do so!
Zhang Fei advised: "Your Majesty, even if you don't do this today, you will definitely invest the money in the war in the future. Moreover, if you do this now, it can also reduce the financial burden of the northwest and lay the foundation for the elimination of Xixia in the future."
"You're right. This money has to be used somewhere after all."
Zhao Xu sighed, his voice choking with sobs, and asked again: "But I also want to know the specific situation of the six southeastern routes. I don't want them to mess around there."
Zhang Fei said: "The best way to resolve this issue is to hold a hearing."
"good!"
Zhao Xu immediately said: "This hearing is great! At the hearing, I can clearly know how the policy is being implemented."
Zhang Fei said, "The most critical issue now is time. We still have some people over there, but it will take at least a month to send a fast horse to notify them to investigate. Your Majesty has to delay for a while. If it doesn't work, explain everything to Wang Xueshi and let the Censorate make the decision first. Wait for them to attack the Shipping Envoy and Wang Xueshi."
Zhao Xu suddenly remembered something, "How can I convince you, sir?"
If Wang Anshi loses the case, he will not be allowed to explode on the spot.
Zhao Xu also felt a little uneasy!
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "We can only tell the truth. Tell Wang Xueshi about the account. If they sue him at the procuratorate and expose this matter, it will be very disadvantageous to your majesty."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly, "That's the only way."
(End of this chapter)
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