Do they dare?
They really dare!
The key is that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have execution capabilities far beyond those of current government agencies.
As soon as this decree was issued, all the court guards and royal police were dispatched the next day. As far as the political system of the Song Dynasty is concerned, this is really rare, and it can even be said to have never been seen before.
Even if the emperor gave an order, it would have to be circulated in the Secretariat for ten days or half a month first.
This caught the powerful people off guard.
We didn't even have a chance to resist before you came in directly, and the key is that you didn't even buy insurance.
It's not bullying.
The officials who were slow to realize the situation reacted immediately and ran to the government hall to inquire about the situation.
How come the court's policy becomes illegal?
...
...
Is there any justice in the world?
Is there still any law?
"well!"
Wen Yanbo sighed, "It's useless for you all to come here and argue. In fact, the Grand Court President had already discussed this matter with me and Jiefu. We both rejected it sternly at the time, but the Imperial Court still wanted to do this, so we had no choice."
Wang Anshi standing by also nodded aggrievedly.
We tried our best!
"What do you mean? Does it mean that the chief judge of the Song Dynasty has the final say now?"
Zhao Wen Zheng shouted immediately.
Wen Yanbo shook his head and said, "That's not the case. It's just that based on the system of separation of politics and law, it is difficult for the Political Affairs Hall to interfere with the decisions of the imperial court."
Jiang Zhiqi said: "But the separation of politics and law does not mean that the imperial court can do whatever it wants."
Wen Yanbo glanced at the Chief Censor Feng Jing and the Minister of Justice Sima Guang and asked, "Have the Chief Censor and the Minister of Justice gone to the imperial court to ask?"
Feng Jing and Sima Guang nodded at the same time.
Sima Guang said: "The chief judge believes that he did not interfere with the policy. It was just that the promulgation of the new tax law caused the previous system to become unreasonable. He asked the Political Affairs Hall to make adjustments, but the Political Affairs Hall was unwilling to do so. Therefore, the imperial court could only issue a ban. However, how to make specific adjustments is the power of the government, but it cannot conflict with the law."
Feng Jing said embarrassedly: "According to the new tax law, there is indeed a clear provision that the total tax is calculated, and the things that are now banned were previously classified as commercial taxes. It is difficult for us to refute this!"
Zhao Yan has been in the public security, procuratorial and judicial sectors for so long that he has long understood the tricks involved. If he orders a change in the system, it would be considered administrative interference, but he only bans it, and it is only temporary. Anyway, if you don't change, I will keep banning it.
There's nothing wrong with that.
At this moment, they finally realized what true separation of politics and law is.
It's just so painful.
The officials were so angry that they were speechless.
Who asked you to talk about reason and power?
The key point is that the emperor did not say anything. Regarding the war on the western front, the emperor only discussed it with important ministers, and no one knew what the emperor was thinking.
At this moment, they really missed the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems led by Zhang Fei.
It is true that there is no harm without comparison.
At least Zhang Fei will truly take their interests into consideration and will not go to extremes, always leaving room for them.
Unlike Zhao Yan, the "big villain", who didn't even know his own last name after gaining a little power.
This is simply lawless!
However, as in the past, whenever this happened, Zhang Fei seemed to have disappeared and was very low-key. But this time was different. A group of new people came to the procuratorate, and they were all energetic. Unlike Qi Ji and Wang Gong, they were all old hands in the officialdom and only wanted to settle things peacefully when encountering problems.
They think it's not lively enough.
Now, people like He Zhizhong see that the imperial court and the police station are so glorious, but the procuratorate seems to be on the outside, and they all feel very disappointed.
Procuratorate.
In the conference room, Zhang Fei looked around at the group of chicks with their heads drooping in front of him and asked with a smile, "It looks like you're all too frustrated."
He Zhizhong immediately raised his head and said, "Prosecutor Zhang, the Royal Court and the police station are all very busy right now, why is our procuratorate doing nothing?"
Zhang Fei asked: "Then what do you want to do?"
He Zhizhong was stunned for a moment, and hung his head: "Students don't know."
"Then why are you asking?" Zhang Fei asked again.
".!"
He Zhizhong lowered his head silently.
Zhang Fei then asked the others: "What do you think our procuratorate should do?"
Wang Hui suddenly said, "Students think that we should monitor whether the Royal Police and Court Police are carrying out the orders of the Royal Court."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "Anything else?"
No one spoke.
Zhang Fei waited for a while and said, "Wang Hui is right. We must monitor the Royal Police in the process of performing their duties, especially laws like this that involve many ordinary people.
But first, we have to find out whether the imperial court's decree is legal. The power of our procuratorate is to uphold the law in accordance with the law. Anyone who breaks the law is trampling on our procuratorate.
Therefore, you must investigate whether the prohibited charges are illegal, and if they are all illegal, whether there are any omissions. "
Having said that, he glanced at Xu Zhiqian beside him.
Xu Zhiqian immediately distributed copies of the copy to He Zhizhong and others.
He Zhizhong and others immediately picked up the copy and read it excitedly.
Zhang Fei added: "This is your latest mission. Investigate all government offices that charge fees to the people. At the same time, ask them whether the court police and the royal police have bent the law for personal gain while performing their duties."
Just at this moment, Li Si suddenly appeared in front of the door, "Third brother, Director Cai is here."
"Tell him to wait for me in the lobby."
"yes."
After Li Si left, Zhang Fei asked He Zhizhong and others, "Did you understand everything?"
"clear."
He Zhizhong and others nodded excitedly.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Then you should understand now why I assign tasks to you now?"
Everyone was confused again.
Zhang Fei said unhappily, "If you were assigned these tasks at the beginning, and nothing happened at the time, what would you investigate? To watch those royal police enforce the law? We are not guarding the house. The main power of our procuratorate is actually to strike back. Do you understand?"
"clear."
"The meeting is adjourned!"
After saying this, he and Xu Zhiqian went out.
Arriving at the lobby, Cai Jing immediately stood up. Zhang Fei quickly waved his hand, signaling him not to be polite. "Cai Jing, your class of students is easier to lead. This group of newcomers really irritates me. They are all like wood, not smart at all."
After saying that, he picked up the teacup again and took a big sip.
Cai Jing said shyly, "Master, you are too kind. Actually, we often made you angry in the beginning."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei thought about it, coughed twice, and put down the teacup. "By the way, what do you want from me?"
Cai Jing said, "Master, have you heard that no one has been going to the grain store to sell grain recently?"
"Yes."
Zhang Fei said: "That's because everyone is full of confidence in the warehouse tax, so they are waiting for the big landlords to release the grain, and then the grain price will definitely fall."
"That's right."
Cai Jing said: "I think we should give the fallen dog a beating at this time, lower the grain prices of grain shops, give the people more confidence, and make those big landlords panic. Maybe those big landlords can still hold on, but most of the main households may not be able to hold on. Once they release the grain, the big landlords will not be able to hold on for long."
Zhang Fei said: "But have you ever considered that part of the grain in the capital is transported from other places. If the grain price is too low, it will affect the grain merchants in other states and counties to sell grain to the capital."
Cai Jing said: "I have also considered this, but the current grain reserves in the capital are amazing. As long as they release the grain, there will definitely be no shortage of grain this year. On the contrary, some places in Hebei and Huainan also have insufficient grain reserves. We can raise the grain price in those places to attract grain merchants. As long as we calculate the grain price and transportation cost, we can control the grain in the hands of grain merchants through the grain price."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "Go and tell Master Wang and the three envoys about this plan. After all, they are not clear about your abilities yet, so you need to show yourself now."
Cai Jing was delighted and immediately said, "Thank you for your guidance, teacher. I am very grateful."
The landlords were in a state of panic, but the businessmen were having a great time.
Although the Northern Song Dynasty did not emphasize agriculture over commerce, it emphasized officials over commerce. The government still had very strict control over merchants. When everything was in ruins, strict regulations were helpful to the development of commerce, but nowadays, they have become an obstacle to the development of commerce.
Because the more you manage, the more places the government will make money.
In fact, Zhao Yan, Fu Bi, and Sima Guang all disliked too much government control, which is why Zhao Yan issued this decree immediately after he came to power.
Wang Anshi was just the opposite. He wanted to control everything, but he was not talking about faith. He just wanted to make money. The principle was the same. He didn't care how he made money. However, the emergence of the Commissioner of Taxation changed his mind. As long as the Commissioner of Taxation could collect all the taxes, then he didn't care.
More and more merchants began to accept tax coins.
Not only that, prices began to fall, especially handicrafts, because the government no longer took a 10% cut, the merchants' costs were reduced, and prices naturally went down.
You know, we are still in the midst of a drought, and it's really a miracle that prices are falling instead of rising.
Three Divisions
"Mr. Wang, what did the emperor say?"
Seeing Wang Anshi coming, Xue Xiang immediately went up to him and asked.
He knew that today Wang Anshi and Han Jiang were going to discuss matters with the emperor.
Wang Anshi said: "Today the emperor only talked to us about the Xihe War, and has already appointed a privy envoy to the northwest to take charge of the war."
Xue Xiang said: "That means the government does not intend to withdraw troops from Xihe."
Wang Anshi nodded.
Xue Xiang asked again: "What about the warehouse tax?"
“Nothing was said about it.”
Wang Anshi frowned slightly and said, "But I think the government has definitely made up its mind to support the warehouse tax, but for now, there is no need for the government to ask for it, because both the imperial court and the Legislative Council are following the rules."
Why did Zhao Xu never make a statement on this matter? It was not because he did not want to show off, but because war was a matter that could not be won, so he could only rely on Wang Shao and others, so he had to leave room for himself.
"Yeah?"
Xue Xiang couldn't help but look delighted.
Wang Anshi nodded.
Xue Xiang said: "If that's the case, we have to quickly adjust the relevant policies according to the imperial court's decree."
Wang Anshi said, "Don't do that for now. The powerful people in the court are still not convinced. If you make adjustments now, you will become the target of public criticism. Do you think there are not enough people in the court who are impeaching you?"
Xue Xiang nodded awkwardly.
Just then, a clerk appeared at the door and said, "My lord, Director Cai wants to see you for something."
Xue Xiang was stunned for a moment, "Director Cai?"
Wang Anshi said: "Yes! After Cai Jing took office, I also had some discussions with him."
Xue Xiang immediately ordered the clerk to invite Cai Jing in.
Seeing Wang Anshi was also there, Cai Jing was even more delighted and quickly bowed, "Cai Jing greets Prime Minister Wang and the Three Officials Envoy."
Wang Anshi glanced at Xue Xiang.
Xue Xiang said, "No need to be so polite. What do you want to report to Director Cai?"
Cai Jing immediately told the two of his plan.
Xue Xiang nodded and said, "If we can do that, then of course we can. They have been betting that we don't have enough food. Now that we have reduced our purchases, it will be able to undermine their confidence."
Cai Jing immediately said, "The Food Bureau is a government agency that deals with business. Moreover, the food is currently borrowed from the national treasury and cannot be sold. Of course, the price must be adjusted, which is reasonable."
Xue Xiang's eyes lit up, "Yes! You are the Food Agency, not the government."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "Isn't this what Zhang San taught you?"
Cai Jing nodded and said, "Yes, in Hezhong Prefecture, I once helped my mentor deal with such matters."
Wang Anshi asked again: "Who came up with this plan?"
"This is what I thought of." Cai Jing said.
Wang Anshi asked, "Didn't Zhang San teach you?"
Cai Jing said hurriedly, "I haven't told my mentor about this yet, because he is more concerned about the separation of politics and law. He has previously told me that when I return to Beijing this time, I should not go to him for advice on everything as I did before, so as to avoid giving him something to blame."
"Well, this seems like Zhang San's style."
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "But if someone asks you outside, what will you say?"
Cai Jing hesitated for a moment and said, "I would say that this is my decision. As the Director of the Food Bureau, I have the right to make this decision."
Wang Anshi nodded with satisfaction, "Let's do it this way."
"As you command."
After Cai Jing left, Xue Xiang said, "This Cai Jing is really a talented person."
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "How can the disciple of Zhang San be a good person?"
Xue Xiang laughed and asked, "But what happened recently, is it related to Zhang San?"
"I haven't looked for Zhang San yet."
Wang Anshi said: "If it was Sima Junshi, then it must be Zhang San who came up with the idea. Sima Junshi does not have the courage to do so. But if it is Fu Gong, that is not necessarily the case."
I muttered to myself that it was time to meet Zhang Fei.
The next day, Wang Anshi came to Zhang's house.
"You were the one who convinced Mr. Fu?"
Like Zhao Xu, Wang Anshi also asked Zhang Fei directly.
Fu Bi's sudden appearance really left many people confused.
Why is this?
Zhang Fei is definitely a suspect.
Zhang Fei smiled helplessly and said, "Master Wang really flattered me too much. With my character, can I convince Lord Fu?"
Wang Anshi knew Fu Bi's character, he hated evil and was very opinionated, so it was unlikely that he would be fooled by Zhang Fei, so he just tried to test him and said, "Yeah! You can only fool Sima Junshi, that idiot."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Master Wang is joking."
Wang Anshi looked at Zhang Fei and said sourly, "You are now independent and don't need my care. I may need your help in the future!"
It's not like you haven't asked before. Zhang Fei immediately said, "What's the point of saying that, Master Wang? I have always supported Master Wang's new policies because I agree with Master Wang's ideas. It's not that I want to use Master Wang to get promoted or make money. This has never changed and will never change in the future."
Wang Anshi nodded, without any doubt, because in his eyes, Zhang Fei was not a person who coveted power, and this was his attitude all along. He added: "But now the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have fallen into the hands of Lord Fu and Prime Minister Zhao. This matter is not easy to handle!"
Both of them were against the New Deal.
Zhang Fei said: "I don't think so. On the contrary, I think that with Lord Fu and Lord Zhao protecting Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang can now implement his policies more calmly."
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "Will they protect me?"
Zhang Fei said: "Of course. Because they can only manage whether it is illegal or not? For example, the Qingmiao Law does not violate the law. Only using the Qingmiao Law to make money is illegal. Therefore, the new policy can be better implemented."
Wang Anshi still had some doubts.
Zhang Fei was clear in his mind and said, "Of course, I will continue to provide advice to Mr. Wang in this regard to ensure that the policy will not be defined as illegal by the Royal Court or the Legislative Council."
Only then did Wang Anshi smile and nodded.
Now Zhang Fei’s role in his life is getting bigger and bigger. Zhang Fei is his biggest force within the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
He came here today to ensure his relationship with Zhang Fei.
For Zhang Fei, the more independent the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs were, the more he had to strengthen his relationship with Wang Anshi, because due to the separation of politics and law, he could only implement policies through Wang Anshi.
After chatting with Zhang Fei for a while, Wang Anshi stood up and said goodbye.
As soon as I went out, I met love at the corner, oh no, I met Sima Guang.
Sima Guang glanced at the gate of Zhang Fei's house and said with a smile, "Are you here to curry favor with Zhang San?"
"Whatever you think."
Wang Anshi did not deny it, but retorted sarcastically: "Junshi, you see, after all these years of hard work, you are still not as good as an article by Fu Gong and an order by Zhao Xianggong.
And from this, it can be seen that you always talked about justice and fairness before, but in fact you did it to deal with me. This is called justice by Mr. Fu. He not only defended the warehouse tax, but also defended the tax bill that Xue and I proposed to them. Aren't you ashamed?"
“Why should I be ashamed?”
Sima Guang said confidently: "I know myself better than you. I have never said that I have done a good job in these years. I have always believed that I am not competent. Let alone Fu Gong, even if I compare myself with Su Zizhan and Fan Yaofu, I am not as good as them. Unlike you, you act as if you are the only smart person in the world and you are the only one who is right."
The implication is that Fu Bi does a better job than me, and that's as it should be, because I'm not as good as him.
Wang Anshi was dumbfounded. This was meaningless. After a while, he waved his sleeves and said, "Yes! Why should I argue with you?"
After saying this, he walked away.
On this point, he really could not refute Sima Guang.
Sima Guang had indeed always been recommending talents and was happy to be a mentor, so he had never thought about holding a high position. This time, he was originally wanted to be promoted to be the prime minister, but he refused and recommended Wen Yanbo instead, saying that Wen Yanbo was incompetent.
He was not being modest. He really thought that he was not capable enough, at least not as good as Wen Yanbo and others. He even knew that his talent was not as good as Wang Anshi's.
When he evaluated Wang Anshi, he did not say that Wang Anshi was incompetent or that Wang Anshi had poor morals, but that Wang Anshi did not know how to judge people and was surrounded by villains.
"Do I want to fight with you?"
Sima Guang snorted and went straight to Zhang's house.
Zhang Fei was not surprised at all about Sima Guang's arrival. This pair of enemies have always had a tacit understanding.
"Is Wang Jiefu here to curry your favor?"
Sima Guang was also straightforward.
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, and said quickly: "Of course not, why would Master Wang curry favor with me?"
Sima Guang said: "Of course not. Now that Mr. Fu has stepped forward, he must be afraid. He must win you over."
Zhang Fei said awkwardly, "It's not like he was trying to win me over."
Sima Guang snorted, "I know your relationship with Wang Jiefu best, but times have changed. Now politics and law have been separated, and the procuratorate is completely independent, just like the imperial court. You no longer need to rely on anyone.
As a prosecutor, you are
The makers of the procuratorate and the law should set an example. You can no longer work with him in secret as you did before. If people knew about it, the public security, procuratorate and courts would suffer a heavy blow. "
This is why he came to find Zhang Fei, because he expected Wang Anshi to come back to find Zhang Fei, but he believed that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs had become completely independent, and Zhang Fei should distance himself from Wang Anshi.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Sima Xueshi should have full confidence in me on this point, because I have always been the most disciplined person."
"That's right."
Sima Guang nodded.
Zhang Fei suddenly said: "I think that the current pressure is all on Sima Xueshi."
Sima Guang asked hurriedly: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the personnel arrangements of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. Currently, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are expanding so rapidly, and their power is increasing. If the personnel arrangements are not made properly, there will be big problems."
"I know that. I am also very cautious. However," Sima Guang said with emotion, "This time, the dispute over the warehouse tax has made me see many people clearly. To be honest, I also think that the warehouse tax is a bit radical, but their reaction is beyond my expectations!"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I think this is understandable. It may be a little uncomfortable at first, but you will get used to it slowly."
Sima Guang said: "It seems that you have already won the game."
Zhang Fei shook his head and smiled, "Mr. Sima's information is a little outdated. We have already passed the stage of being certain of victory. Now it is time to beat the fallen dog."
The next day, the grain shop with the grain agency suddenly announced that the price of grain would be reduced from 40 wen per dou to 38 wen.
If it’s not much, just reduce it by two cents.
But just these two cents made those powerful landlords unable to sleep or eat.
On this day of great disaster, food prices fell instead of rising.
Are you bullying us because we don’t have tax coins?
If those powerful people and landlords hold the tax money, they will definitely buy it all and play the same trick on us.
Don’t we know how much food is in the warehouse?
Who are you trying to scare here?
Those powerful landlords jumped out and started a war of public opinion, saying that this was a conspiracy and that the imperial court simply did not have that much grain.
In order to increase newspaper sales, legitimate bookstores hired an agency to calculate the accounts. Based on the 50% penalty tax, they knew how much the grain price would have to be reduced to be equal to the penalty tax.
When people saw this, they saw that there was still room for decline!
wait!
It is better to eat less now than to buy food easily. The more you buy now, the more you will lose!
Therefore, apart from the grain shops, the entire capital market became unprecedentedly prosperous.
Because the amount of money increased, but not all of it entered the grain market, even ordinary people were no longer in a hurry. With one hundred coins a day, they only needed to buy a bushel of grain, which was enough to eat for two or three days.
As food prices fall, they are less anxious and no longer store food at home, because everyone knows that food prices will continue to fall and it will not be too late to buy then.
They can have a lot of spare money to buy other goods.
Coincidentally, due to the royal court's ban, the prices of other goods are also falling.
When these two things collide, the market will be so prosperous.
Coach Ma, Wang Chao and others are all laughing. With the increase in currency, the Football League has benefited greatly. Farmers didn't watch football before, but now they work in the suburbs and watch it in their free time.
The first ones to be unable to bear it were the small and medium-sized households. They knew better than anyone that the big landlords controlled almost half of the grain in the capital area. The key point was that their grain reserves were very terrifying, and this time they were going to release all of it. This kind of thing had never happened in history. If the big landlords released the grain in the end, the grain price would surely plummet, and they might not be able to sell their own grain even if they wanted to.
They must be the first to release the food from the warehouse.
Baifan Building.
In a large private room, there were four or five middle-aged men in satin robes, looking at Fan Yong eagerly.
"Brother Fan, we brothers are counting on you."
"Don't ever say that."
Fan Yong said: "I also have to pay warehouse tax."
"But you can use it to make wine!"
"This year is a very special situation. The Quyuan is now banned from brewing koji. We can only brew wine based on the amount we bought at the end of last year. I bought the grain for brewing wine from you last year. The excess will be subject to a 300% liquor tax. I might as well pay the warehouse tax."
“They may not find out.”
"You all know the methods used by the tax commissioner. How many people have been fined to the point of losing their entire fortunes? Who would dare to gamble?"
"Then you are just watching someone die without helping him."
"I'm not standing by and watching, I just can't do anything. You can sell the grain in the market. There's no problem selling it now that there's a drought."
"If we release all the food, the price of food will definitely plummet, and we will suffer huge losses."
"this."
Fan Yong said: "Then you can only ask one person for help."
"who."
"Director Cai of the Food Bureau, now only the Food Bureau does not have to pay warehouse taxes, and according to the law, within the capital area, the Food Bureau can only purchase food at a minimum price of thirty-five coins. I just don't know how much food the Food Bureau can purchase."
There is no way.
These small and medium-sized households could only go to Cai Jing.
Brother! Take us in.
Cai Jing did not make things difficult for them, because the price of grain was restricted and could only be purchased at thirty-five cents, which was to ensure that the Food Agency would not manipulate the price of grain.
But he did not buy all of them. Instead, he bought one third or half, and let them sell the rest in the market themselves.
And it’s not tax coins, it’s purchased directly with copper coins.
Because they always have to prevent tax money from flowing directly into the hands of these landlords.
When these household owners saw that we came to them to beg them for tax, they refused to give us tax coins but copper coins. How strong must these tax coins be!
These small and medium-sized households began to surrender, which immediately triggered a domino effect.
In this way, the food available on the market will last until early autumn.
When a wave of punitive taxes arrives in early autumn, the court will be able to hold on for a while.
The dignitaries in the court looked dejected. They even suspected that the emperor was keeping silent on purpose in order to give them hope and then reap the rewards in the final wave.
You guys are so cruel!
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