Zhang Fei had discussed this commercial tax plan with Zhao Xu very early on, but had never mentioned it to Wang Anshi because Wang Anshi would never listen to him at the time. He had his own set of ideas.
That is financial management.
It’s not that Wang Anshi was wrong, but he knew that raising taxes was very difficult, and the key was that it might not be collected. If it was collected, the result might be worse.
The tax collectors will certainly do their best to punish the people, which will cause great resentment among the people, and this will provide an excuse for the conservatives.
Wang Anshi did not dare to compete with the powerful and gentry, nor did he dare to increase taxes.
The only thing you can do is manage your finances and collect the money in roundabout ways.
However, taxation is always the focus of finance.
The financial foundation of a country is taxation, no matter how you change it.
Now that the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments are equipped with the tax department, the supporting system has become very complete.
At the same time, Wang Anshi's power was greatly restricted. Without the Regulations Office of the Two Ministries, he could no longer implement policies as before.
...
...
This also made him very depressed.
But in Zhang Fei's view, the time was ripe, so he put forward this suggestion to Wang Anshi for the first time.
Because in the end Zhang Fei still had to go through Wang Anshi to carry out commercial tax reform, he did not have the strength to do so on his own.
......
Now that the powers of the six ministries have been determined, it can be said that the emperor has decided to reform the official system. The next meeting will definitely be to discuss the issue of personnel selection.
The officials became extremely busy and were moving around everywhere.
Wen Yanbo was exhausted from dealing with the situation, so he returned to the Censorate today to take a break.
Jiang Zhiqi, who was reviewing official documents in the room, saw Wen Yanbo coming and immediately stepped forward and bowed.
After Wen Yanbo sat down, Jiang Zhiqi suddenly said, "Mr. Wen, I recently discovered something."
Wen Yanbo asked, "What's the matter?"
Jiang Zhiqi asked, "Does Lord Wen know that the Procuratorate is currently suing the Imperial Court for tax evasion?"
Wen Yanbo nodded, "I heard about it."
Jiang Zhiqi said: "But in the past few days, all of them are wealthy businessmen and landlords, and no officials are involved. I think there must be something fishy here."
Wen Yanbo glanced at him and said, "You mean officials can't pay taxes according to the law?"
Jiang Zhiqi's expression froze, and he said hurriedly: "I don't mean that, but according to what I know, there are indeed many officials who have not paid taxes according to the law."
Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and suddenly chuckled, "Don't rush to impeach me. Go to the tax department and ask how many officials are secretly paying back taxes."
Jiang Zhiqi frowned and thought for a moment, "Duke Wen means that because of this reform, those officials are afraid to go to court?"
"That must be the case."
Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "This year's rotation of officials is very different from the past. Not only do we need to restore most of the powers of the six ministries, but we also need to abolish many government offices. They should try to avoid unnecessary complications at this time. I'm afraid you're the only one working diligently here."
Jiang Zhiqi smiled awkwardly, then bowed and said, "Mr. Wen, you are too kind, but we, the censors, are working diligently, and we are also striving for performance, right? I still have to go to the tax department to ask."
Wen Yanbo chuckled: "That makes sense! It makes sense!"
......
Royal Court.
"Another perfect day, call it a day."
Zhang Fei turned around and said to the trainee prosecutors, "I'll leave these documents to you guys to deal with. I'm going home directly."
"yes."
All the students nodded.
After saying that, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian walked out of the imperial court.
Wang Hui glanced at Zhang Fei, then whispered to Zhou Zheng, "Brother Zhou, has Prosecutor Zhang always been so carefree?"
They had been in the procuratorate for some time, but apart from meetings and lawsuits, it was rare to see Zhang Fei on weekdays. Moreover, Zhang Fei would disappear after the lawsuit, so it was always Zhou Zheng who led them.
They have received traditional education and have never seen an official like this who does not follow the rules at all.
Zhou Zheng nodded and said, "Prosecutor Zhang is mainly responsible for handling lawsuits. After handling a big lawsuit, he may have to rest for several days, but he also occasionally holds meetings with us to point out our shortcomings in court. But you must not learn from Prosecutor Zhang, unless you have Prosecutor Zhang's ability to win every battle."
All the students nodded.
.....
When they were almost in front of the gate and saw that there was no one around, Xu Zhiqian trotted over and caught up with him, whispering, "Zhang San, didn't you notice that the tax commissioner didn't accuse any officials, dignitaries, or relatives of the emperor this year?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Because as long as the tax department investigates them, regardless of whether the tax department has evidence or not, they will immediately pay the back taxes and fines."
Xu Zhiqian asked, "Is it because of the reforms in the court?"
Zhang Fei nodded, "It is said that the tax bureau has already collected tens of thousands of strings of cash in fines."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But those with serious circumstances will have to go to jail."
Zhang Fei said: "They are still testing the waters. Even if they want to evade taxes, they are calculating it. Or they transfer the taxes to their businessmen and use them to test the tax commissioner. Given the situation this year, we will definitely focus on the businessmen."
Xu Zhiqian nodded and asked, "But if we don't go to court, how can we prevent the tax commissioner from interfering?"
The tax commissioner does not have to prosecute in court. They will only prosecute if the circumstances are serious and the person has to bear criminal responsibility. Ultimately, it is up to the royal court to decide whether to sentence him to jail or allow him to pay to atone his sins.
If it is not very serious, the tax commissioner will first issue a ticket. If the other party admits the crime, the case will not be taken to court. However, if the other party does not admit it, the case will still be brought to court.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Zhang Fei said: "First of all, tax collection is related to the performance of the tax commissioner and the rewards of the tax police, so they will definitely not slack off.
Secondly, the tax police can also sue the tax commissioner through the procuratorate. Many tax police actually do not have official positions. They are there just to collect fines. In other words, they are supervising the tax commissioner at all times.
Finally, our procuratorate and the three departments will also conduct inspections against the tax department. "
As they were talking, they had already arrived outside the gate and suddenly saw a cloud of dust blowing towards them.
"Depend on!"
Zhang Fei exclaimed and quickly moved forward to stand in front of Xu Zhiqian.
Suddenly, a burst of "tsk tsk" sounds came from behind, "As expected of our Zhang Dar's pen, he even came to the imperial court to show affection and love."
Xu Zhiqian didn't see clearly who was coming, so she quickly stepped back, looking very nervous.
She cherished this job so much that she tried to keep a distance from Zhang Fei when she was outside. As long as there were officials present, she would keep her head down and walk silently behind him.
But Zhang Fei was quite familiar with this voice. He rolled his eyes and turned around, only to see Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi, who had just dismounted, looking at them ambiguously.
The dust just now was also brought by them.
Zhang Fei was furious. Damn it, he caused such a mess and even frightened Zhiqian. He immediately said, "Yanei! The Chief Superintendent is not here, and you are acting like this."
Cao Dongdong was confused and said, "What nonsense? I just said one sentence."
Zhang Fei waved his hand. "Let me ask you, what's going on with this dust? The cleaning of the city is the responsibility of your police station. The key is that you are asked to pay people to deal with it. What are you doing?"
Cao Dongdong jumped up on the spot and pointed at Zhang Fei angrily, "Xiao Erbi, don't wrongly accuse me!"
Zhang Fei said, "Little lord, don't be so arrogant. I can sue you in one turn."
Point your thumb back when you speak.
Ma Xiaoyi hurried forward and said, "Third brother, you really wronged me this time. This has nothing to do with our police station."
Zhang Fei asked, "Whose business is that?"
"God!"
Ma Xiaoyi pointed his hand toward the sky.
Zhang Fei asked: "What do you mean?"
Ma Xiaoyi said, "It hasn't rained for more than two months, how could there be a lot of dust?"
Xu Zhiqian glanced at the sky and said, "Yes! It seems like it hasn't rained since the end of autumn."
Ma Xiaoyi said, "That's right. My brother and I have thick skin, so it's okay. But Xiaochun has delicate skin, and his face is all cracked. Now he doesn't even dare to go out."
“I see!”
Zhang Fei looked a little embarrassed.
“Go, go, go!”
Cao Dongdong, who had finally gotten his injustice, came over angrily, holding Zhang Fei's arm and walked inside, "Aren't you going to sue me? Go now, turn around now."
"Yanei, please don't provoke me."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "There is nothing that I, Zhang Dar'er, cannot prosecute."
Cao Dongdong was startled and stopped immediately, "What are you going to sue me for?"
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "To threaten the prosecutor."
Cao Dongdong said excitedly: "Don't confuse right and wrong, it's obviously you who are threatening me."
Zhang Fei said: "But everyone only saw you grabbing my arm."
Cao Dongdong quickly let go, and then said confidently: "Go ahead and sue! I spend hundreds of strings of cash every year to hire a judge to fight for me."
"What a coincidence! The flood washed away the Dragon King Temple."
Zhang Fei laughed, put his hand on Cao Dongdong's shoulder, and whispered, "My wife is here, can't you give me a little face? How can you be a brother?"
Cao Dongdong immediately understood and said, "So that's how it is. If you had told me earlier, I would have understood this."
"It's OK as long as you understand."
Zhang Fei coughed and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ma Xiaoyi said hurriedly: "We came here specifically to have a drink with Third Brother."
Zhang Fei couldn't help but look back at Xu Zhiqian.
Xu Zhiqian immediately said: "You go, I'll go back first."
To be honest, Zhang Fei was almost sick from the recent lawsuit and wanted to relax. He nodded and said, "Okay! I'll let Long Wu take you back first."
After seeing Xu Zhiqian off, Ma Xiaoyi immediately said, "Third brother, get on my horse and I'll carry you."
"Why are you carrying so much dust? Let's just walk. We're not in a hurry."
"oh."
"If we walk, this place is closer to Piaoxiang Tower." Cao Dongdong said with a turn of his eyes.
Zhang Fei said calmly, "Baifan Tower."
“It’s really boring.”
"Oh right!" Zhang Fei asked, "It hasn't rained for more than two months, aren't you worried?"
Cao Dongdong was surprised and asked, "Why are you panicking?"
Zhang Fei asked: "Aren't you afraid of disasters?"
Cao Dongdong said: "There's nothing to panic about. Even if there really is a disaster, there's nothing we can do!"
Their family has enough food to last for many years.
Ma Xiaoyi said unconcernedly, "It's dry now, so even if it rains, it's probably just a few light showers, not necessarily a natural disaster."
"That's true."
Zhang Fei nodded, and suddenly thought, no! According to historical records, there was a severe drought during the Xining period, and Wang Anshi was dismissed because of it. It couldn't be this year. Oh no, if it really happened this year, wouldn't the emperor be embarrassed!
He suddenly realized that something seemed wrong.
"Third brother, why don't you leave?"
Ma Xiaoyi suddenly saw Zhang Fei stop and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Nothing, let's go!"
As Zhang Fei walked, he thought to himself, should I go and talk to the emperor about this? But what would happen if I did? Xiao Ma was right. If something bad happened, no one could stop it. And if there was no disaster, the emperor would probably blame me. After all, the emperor had just come out to preside over the government. I should wait until the emperor noticed it himself. However, I had to find a way to deal with it, so as not to affect my plan and make it suffer together.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
......
At this time, Zhao Xu was busy with state affairs. He personally presided over this reform, unlike before when Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and others were doing the work. He only listened to opinions and results and did not pay attention to weather issues at all. Besides, there was little rain from late autumn to the end of the year.
But now the person standing next to him was no longer Wang Anshi, but Wang Gui, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy.
"Regarding the position of Privy Councilor, what do you think of Wang Shao?" Zhao Xu asked Wang Gui.
Wang Gui was stunned for a moment and said, "Wang Shao is currently developing a border in Xihe and cannot come back."
Zhao Xu hesitated for a moment and said, "But some people in the court think that although Wang Shao has made great contributions, his reward is small, and his military power is too great. I..."
"His Majesty!"
Before Zhao Xu could finish, Wang Gui interrupted him and said, "The Xihe area is not stable yet, and the expansion of the Xihe border is only the first step in the northwest strategy. Changing the commander in chief is a big taboo on the battlefield. The emperor can confer a higher title on Wang Shao as a reward."
Zhao Xu asked again: "Shall I send a military supervisor?"
Wang Gui immediately said: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that there is now a military imperial court? If anyone really thinks that Wang Shaosheng has ulterior motives, they can bring evidence and go to the imperial court to accuse him. In addition, the taxation of the Xihe area is also in the hands of the Ministry of Grain and Oil.
Your Majesty, didn't you set up these offices and systems so that the commander-in-chief could concentrate on fighting without worrying about rumors outside?
If Your Majesty sends a military supervisor at this time, it will only make Wang Shao timid, and Xihe's border expansion will probably end here."
"That's what the Grand Maester said."
Zhao Xu patted his forehead lightly and said, "I...I forgot that I had asked people to build a public security, procuratorial and judicial system in the local area."
At this point, he suddenly looked at Wang Gui and said, "Why not let the Grand Secretary serve as the Privy Councilor?"
Wang Gui said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I support Wang Shao to stay in Xihe for the sake of the overall situation, not because I covet the position of Privy Councilor. I recommend Han Jiang to be the Privy Councilor. Currently, the court mainly deploys troops in the northwest, and Han Jiang has been in the northwest in recent years and knows the local situation well."
Zhao Xu nodded.
At this moment, Lan Yuanzhen suddenly appeared at the door, "Your Majesty, Mr. Ouyang passed away in Qingzhou a month ago."
"What?"
Zhao Xu stood up suddenly, his eyes full of sadness.
Soon, Zhao Xu issued a sacred decree, announcing the news of Ouyang Xiu's death, suspended court for three days, and bestowed the posthumous title of "Wen Zhong" on Ouyang Xiu.
However, most officials in the court were indifferent to this and took this opportunity to find ways to compete for official positions.
Ouyang Xiu's big talk offended too many people.
Only Fu Bi, Han Qi, Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang gathered together to remember Ouyang Xiu and wrote articles and eulogies for him.
......
In the next few important meetings, all of them were about discussing the selection of candidates for the two ministries, three departments and six departments.
The reformists and conservatives also engaged in fierce confrontation.
But what was being fought over was not the six ministries, because according to the powers of the six ministries, as long as Zhao Xu was not stupid, he would not let Lu Huiqing be in charge of the Ministry of Justice and Liu Shu be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.
The key game was in the three positions of Sansi, Privy Council and Censorate. In addition, Wang Anshi also planned to build momentum for Zeng Gongliang and make him the president of the court.
However, Zeng Gongliang did not want to be involved in it anymore. It was a foregone conclusion that Zhao Xu would step to the forefront, but this would also disrupt the balance in the court. Zeng Gongliang did not want to ruin his old age, so he was determined to retire on the grounds of old age.
At the same time, Chen Shengzhi also requested to retire on the grounds of illness.
In fact, they were making way for Zhao Xu.
In the end, Zhao Xu still let Zhao Pin serve as the Chief Justice. In fact, no matter from which aspect, there was no more suitable candidate. Moreover, Zhao Pin was known as the Iron-faced Censor, but he was able to serve as prime minister in the court for such a long time. Even though he was very opposed to the new policy, it can be seen that his relationship with the emperor was still relatively stable.
But then something awkward happened.
No one could be found to take up the second and third level imperial courts.
It’s not that the Song Dynasty lacks talented people, but that these talented people don’t really understand public security, procuratorial and judicial affairs.
What’s even more terrible is that Sima Guang had already decided to transfer the key members of the capital area to the six southeastern routes to build public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
The court presidents who stayed behind were all adjutants with too little experience, so it was really hard to find a single one.
Therefore, someone proposed not to set up a second-level imperial court first, and then promote Zhang Fei to be the chief minister of the capital.
It is not difficult to see from this proposal that many speculative officials began to flatter the emperor.
But he was rejected by Sima Guang because the procuratorate was training new people and Zhang Fei was going to be the president of the court, which would greatly reduce the power of the procuratorate.
Someone else recommended Xu Zun, but he was immediately refuted by Wen Yanbo.
If Xu Zun becomes the court president, the chief prosecutor will definitely be Zhang Fei. It's not that Zhang Fei is not qualified, but you, the father-in-law and the son-in-law, one is the chief prosecutor and the other is the court president, and the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are monopolized by your family.
Xu Zun himself did not agree. My son-in-law is so capable that he can win even if I am not the presiding judge. If I am the presiding judge, he will win every day. If this is not a shady deal, it will become a shady deal.
In the end, it was decided not to set up any positions for the time being, and Zhao Pin would still be in charge.
From this we can see that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, with all the talented people outside. The capital cannot even elect a court president with a little experience.
What’s even more interesting is that those who suffer from floods will die from floods, and those who suffer from drought will die from drought.
There are so many vacancies in the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs that it is difficult to find people to fill them, but the competition for official positions in the two governments, three departments and six ministries is very fierce.
After a whole month of repeated debate, the candidate was finally decided.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
The most controversial position among them is the Sansishi position.
Wang Anshi recommended Xue Xiang, but Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and others were strongly opposed.
In the end, he was captured by Xue Xiang.
This was mainly because Zhao Xu also favored Xue Xiang. This was actually because Xue Xiang performed very well in the last hearing and won Zhao Xu's appreciation.
The Privy Councilor was Han Jiang, who was appointed by the emperor himself.
What is very different from the past is that there was no fixed number of Tongpingzhangshi before. It could be three or four, or four or five.
But this time only two will be set up.
One is Wang Anshi and the other is Wen Yanbo.
Moreover, according to regulations, an honorary title must be added after the title of Tongpingzhangshi. This title is used to distinguish between prime minister, deputy prime minister and last prime minister.
The Grand Secretary of Shobunkan was the Prime Minister.
To study national history is the next step.
The Grand Secretary of Jixian Hall is the last prime minister.
Before that, Fu Bi, Zeng Gongliang, Wen Yanbo, Zhao Pin and Chen Shengzhi served as co-prime ministers. The first was Fu Bi, Zeng Gongliang and Wen Yanbo were second-in-command, and Zhao Pin and Chen Shengzhi were last-in-command.
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were vice-chancellors and vice-prime ministers.
This time there are only two, and no honorary titles.
He also took back the positions of co-prime ministers of Fu Bi and others, because he wanted to appoint Fu Bi as the chairman of the Legislative Council, and to separate politics and law, so Fu Bi naturally could no longer stay in the Council of State.
This is Sima Zhao's intention, and everyone knows it.
That is the left and right Prime Ministers.
It's just that this is a transitional stage and it's not stated explicitly.
Wang Anshi was a little dissatisfied with this. He would rather face his old enemy Sima Guang than Wen Yanbo. Firstly, Wen Yanbo was more conservative. Secondly, Wen Yanbo was more scheming. Thirdly, there was a difference in generation between them, so when Wang Anshi met Wen Yanbo, he had to address him respectfully.
The Chief Censor was taken down by Fu Bi's son-in-law Feng Jing. This was actually a kind of compensation for Fu Bi, and also a disguised way of strengthening the authority of the President of the Legislative Council, because according to the system, the President of the Legislative Council, the Minister of Justice and the Chief Censor presided over the Legislative Council.
Now Sima Guang is definitely the Minister of Punishments, and the Chief Censor is his son-in-law, so the checks and balances on Fu Bi are minimal.
Of course, this is also to ensure that the Legislative Council can legislate more smoothly in the initial stage.
At the same time, six assistant prime ministers were appointed to be in charge of the six ministries respectively.
The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel are no surprises.
Lu Gong was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.
Sima Guang was in charge of the Ministry of Justice.
Lu Huiqing was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.
As for the Ministry of Works, Zeng Gong was in charge.
Originally, Wang Anshi planned to let Zeng Gong be the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture and in charge of the Ministry of Works. However, he didn't know that Zhao Xu was determined to reform the system and it would be impossible for him to be the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture and in charge of the Ministry of Works. So Wang Anshi recommended Zhang Dun to be the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture.
However, Zhang Dun did not have enough qualifications and was directly rejected by Wen Yanbo and others. In the end, Wang Anshi's relative Wu Chong was appointed as the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture.
However, few of Wang Anshi's relatives supported him. Wu Chong also opposed the new law and highly praised Ouyang Xiu's ideas.
The Minister of War was Cao Ping, who was in Xihe. This position must have been appointed by Zhao Xu, because the Ministry of War was in charge of the royal police.
The Ministry of Rites was handed over to Wang Gui.
These six ministers were all deputy prime ministers and could enter and leave the government hall at any time. In fact, they served as a check and balance on the two co-prime ministers.
As for those abolished government offices, those with outstanding abilities were appointed as assistant ministers in the six ministries, while others were transferred to local areas.
At this point, the appointment and removal of all officials have been arranged.
Zhao Xu was ready to show his skills.
However, a light snowfall for half a day was like a wake-up call, and Zhao Xu fell into deep confusion.
It is said that auspicious snow means a good harvest. It had not rained for three months and people were looking forward to a heavy snow.
As a result, it snowed lightly for half a day, and by the afternoon, the ground was dry.
This is definitely a bad omen!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
