Rich mansion.
"so."
Wen Yanbo was slightly surprised and asked, "Is Zhang San doing this to force the Legislative Council to integrate all the penalty regulations and decrees?"
Fu Bi nodded and said, "He said this himself."
Wen Yanbo asked again: "Do you think he did it on purpose or accidentally?"
Fu Bi stroked his beard and said, "From a judicial point of view, what he said is indeed correct. Not only in the case of corruption, but also in other crimes, as long as they target officials, there are many regulations and decrees that contradict each other. This is indeed not applicable to the public security, procuratorate and courts. It is reasonable for them to do so."
Wen Yanbo said: "But the main reason for all this is that officials often punish officials based on their moods. As the saying goes, the power of heaven is unpredictable. If all the regulations and decrees are integrated and the punishments are unified, it will actually restrict the power of the emperor.
Even if Zhang San overlooked this, Xu Zhongtu couldn't have been unaware of it, so it's very likely that he did it on purpose."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, then looked at Fu Bi and said, "In other words, this is exactly as Mr. Fu predicted."
“It’s hard to say for now.”
...
...
Fu Bi shook his head and said, "Even if he did it on purpose, and you and I both know it, and the emperor knows it in his heart, how could he agree to it? But judging from what happened before, Zhang San has almost never failed in promoting legislation, and he is so confident this time, so he must have another trick up his sleeve."
Wen Yanbo asked, "How does Lord Fu plan to respond?"
Fu Bi said: "Zhang San did not give any hint, so I have no other choice but to report the matter to the government and see how the government decides."
Wen Yanbo nodded slightly and said, "So we still support sentencing them to death?"
Fu Bi nodded, "Only when there is controversy can legislation be promoted."
Wen Yanbo asked again: "Should we tell Junshi about this?"
"Not yet."
Fu Bi said: "Jun Shi has always had some scholarly spirit. If he knew, he might be exposed."
The sky was gloomy, but the gloom in Zhao Xu's heart had disappeared without a trace. He immediately cheered up and began to actively participate in state affairs again.
The ministers could clearly feel that Zhao Xu was radiant and energetic, and his whole spirit was different.
From this we can see that the pressure from this heavenly connection is quite huge for him.
The first thing to discuss is the expansion of the Xihe border.
After the previous defeat, Zhao Xu immediately sent the Privy Councilor Han Jiang to the northwest to take charge of the situation. Although he did not say it explicitly, he still planned to switch to a defensive phase.
But now that news of a great victory had come, Zhao Xu hesitated again, because he considered this to be his most impressive achievement and he must protect it with care.
Now, the news that the Liao Kingdom has sent a special envoy has also reached the capital through formal channels. Therefore, Wen Yanbo and others use this as an excuse, as well as the losses caused to the country by the disaster, to temporarily stop expanding the border and shift the country's focus to internal affairs.
However, Wang Anshi believed that the morale of the border troops was high. If the court directly ordered them to stop, it would be a big blow to their morale and might also delay the opportunity to fight, giving Tubo a chance to catch its breath. If they came back at that time, it would be even more difficult to deal with. If there was a chance, they should put an end to it once and for all.
But Wen Yanbo and his men were worried that if they did not issue an order to stop him, Wang Shao would be greedy for merit and advance recklessly. What would they do if they were defeated again? The key point was that they had already swallowed up such a large piece of land, which would cost a lot of money to manage. The deeper they went, the more expensive it would cost to defend it, and the finances could not afford it. It would be better to stop while the going is good and take advantage of the great victory to ease relations with the various Tibetan ethnic groups. After all, our enemy is Western Xia!
Due to the existence of the Liao Kingdom, Zhao Xu was more inclined to the conservative faction at this time. The key point was that he had planned to wait another three years and focus on domestic affairs first. However, he also took into account the opinions of Wang Anshi and others. If the Tibetan ethnic groups still refused to submit, then they would have to fight and ease the relationship. It was a two-way thing, and if one side wanted to ease the relationship, it would not be possible.
So it was finally decided to convey the order to the Privy Councilor, allowing him to make the final arrangements based on the specific circumstances, but at the same time, an order was issued to promote Wang Shao to the position of Deputy Privy Councilor.
As for the Liao Kingdom's sudden dispatch of a special envoy, both Wen Yanbo and Wang Anshi knew that the other party was here to take advantage of the situation.
After all, this isn't the first time.
However, they all said that they had to first find out the intentions of the Liao envoys. As for how to respond, they had not yet expressed their opinions.
Although everyone hated it in their hearts, they still had to be cautious, because diplomacy with the Liao Kingdom was the most important diplomacy of the Song Dynasty.
Don't be careless.
After discussing foreign affairs, the only thing left is domestic affairs.
That is, the issue of corruption.
Regarding this matter, of course, most people are still against the death penalty. In fact, if it was just one or two officials, it would be fine, after all, this was a disaster relief period, and this was too bad. The death penalty should be the death penalty, but there are dozens of people, and the amount is not large. It is too exaggerated to sentence all of them to death, and it will cause a major earthquake in the officialdom, and it will cause a major earthquake in the officialdom.
Of course all the reformists were opposed to it, including Wang Anshi and Xue Xiang. It’s not that Wang Anshi thought corruption was right, he also hated such behavior very much, but Wang Anshi knew very well that the three-foot-thick ice did not form overnight!
It is a very normal phenomenon nowadays for low-level officials to make a little money at will. The previous judicial system did not crack down on such things at all. It can even be understood as an unwritten rule that everyone has acquiesced to.
However, Wang Anshi's new policies are all about finance, and there is a lot of money to be made from it. Those executive officials will definitely take some action. As long as they are not too excessive, Wang Anshi generally will not pursue it. Otherwise, if he does not give them some benefits, they will not work so hard!
Isn't this what the Qingmiao Law of Jingdong East Road is all about?
If he is sentenced to death here, it will pose a considerable threat to his power. Who knows if he will be punished later.
This disaster relief can actually be included in his new policy.
In contrast, Sima Guang recommended officials who would not do such a thing. They were all morally trustworthy. He also knew that there were many such people on Wang Anshi's side. Of course, they demanded the death penalty to serve as a warning to others.
Fu Bi and Zhao Yan believed that the death sentence was indeed excessive, but they also agreed with Zhang Fei's statement that there were too many precedents, imperial decrees, and regulations on the crime of corruption, and they were very contradictory to each other. The procuratorate could only prosecute the death penalty, which needed to be properly integrated.
Of course, Zhao Xu would not listen to them when it comes to judicial issues, because his chief adviser is an expert in this area.
The key point is that this matter was caused by this kid, but he had no intention of caring about it before. He was looking forward to rain every day and worried about the battle in Xihe every day.
"Your Majesty, I am doing this for the greater good."
Zhang Fei said: "Now they dare to take money and food for disaster relief. There is no guarantee that they will not tamper with military pay when our army fights against Xixia and Liao in the future. For the sake of your majesty's great achievements, they must be severely punished to stop this evil trend. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs must also ensure this."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "I have thought of this, and I am also very angry about this. But if dozens of officials are sentenced to death at the same time, do you know how big the impact will be? You can kill a few to scare the monkeys, but there is no need to sentence them all to death."
He is also angry. If you want to kill a few people, he will agree with you. Although there has been no killing for decades, it is a bit too cruel. If you kill them all, it may lead to the establishment of a large prison. The two factions will report on each other, which may cause a major earthquake.
There is no need!
The cost is too high.
Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I am actually helpless. I just want to sentence him a heavier sentence to serve as a warning, but other than the death penalty, the procuratorate has no other choice."
Zhao Xu frowned and said, "How is this possible?"
There are so many precedents and regulations, but you just refer to the death penalty. Who would believe that you didn't do it on purpose?
"Absolutely."
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty, why not think about it, if the procuratorate does not prosecute with the death penalty, what kind of punishment will the procuratorate give that will convince everyone?"
Zhao Xu frowned and remained silent.
No matter what choice you make, there will always be people who will not accept it.
Zhang Fei continued, "The amount of money they embezzled was not much, but it was different. Does this mean that we need to classify the severity of the punishment? So how much is considered light and how much is considered heavy? There is no reference model. In the early days of the founding of the country, heavy punishment was the main method. After the Qingli period, it gradually became more cautious in punishment. However, there is no clear explanation for whether it is heavy punishment or cautious punishment.
The most crucial thing is that if the Royal Court makes such a ruling today, then in the future when encountering such cases, it must follow these precedents, which may cause more trouble.
I will now directly prosecute all of them for the death penalty, and the decision will naturally be handed over to Your Majesty, who can make the final decision."
I would rather not be the master. Zhao Xu said unhappily: "But you have given me a big problem!"
For this kind of thing, he is more suitable to watch than to directly participate.
Zhang Fei added: "But I have no other choice. If I don't hand it over to Your Majesty, then the public security, procuratorate and court will have full authority to decide. Anyway, there are so many precedents and so many pardons. At that time, the procuratorate and the imperial court can make whatever judgments they want. This is very disadvantageous to Your Majesty.
And this is also different from the promise I made to Your Majesty. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can do whatever they want. And this is a big problem of the old judicial system. Many cases were judged differently because those officials could refer to many imperial decrees and precedents, which led to many unjust cases. "
Zhao Xu was slightly startled, thinking to himself, he is right, if I don't make a decision, then the imperial court and the procuratorate will
decision.
Zhang Fei added: "So we must integrate all the imperial decrees, regulations, and precedents and give them a unified standard. This will not only restrict the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, but also protect the rights and interests of the country, His Majesty, and the people."
Zhao Xu said nothing.
By doing this, you are restricting the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, while also restricting me. The cage of power is getting bigger and bigger.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "I know what your majesty is worried about, but this is actually not difficult."
Zhao Xu just said: "Really?"
"It's really simple." Zhang Fei nodded, and then said, "Your Majesty can just tell the ministers that he will pardon any criminal, then wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked, "Pardon any criminals?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Your Majesty can directly pardon the crimes of officials, no matter how serious the crime is."
Break it directly.
Why would the emperor find it difficult? It's very simple. You have formulated the crime regulations clearly and clearly. If you punish corruption according to the law in the future, then why should I do that?
Are you watching from the sidelines?
Why are there so many regulations and precedents? Don’t you have any idea about this?
Wasn’t it all the emperor’s doing?
The purpose is to assert imperial power.
Since the root cause of the problem is obvious, isn't it very easy to solve it?
You just tell everyone directly that I can forgive any crime, then everything will be fine.
That is true, but not many emperors dared to say that, especially in the Song Dynasty. Isn't this telling everyone that the law is nothing in my eyes?
Zhao Xu glanced at Zhang Fei suspiciously and said, "Are you mocking me?"
Zhang Fei said with a wronged look on his face: "How dare I ridicule Your Majesty? I am serious about this."
Zhao Xu said angrily: "I have to save face too. If I say this, those scholars will chew my tongue until it is rotten."
You can do it, but you can't say it out loud.
This is a disregard for the law!
How can this convince people?
Zhang Fei immediately said: "Those gossipers are the key to causing this problem."
"Is that so?"
Zhao Xu was a little surprised.
He himself believed that he was the cause of the problem.
Can you shirk this responsibility?
Zhang Fei said: "Sometimes, some officials break the law for political reasons, in fact, for the benefit of the country and the monarch, but most of the time, such things cannot be spoken out.
When I was reading the relevant cases, I found that because everyone was reluctant to speak out, a very simple case became extremely complicated, and even forced His Majesty to issue an imperial decree directly to replace the law. That is why there are so many very contradictory precedents and imperial decrees.
But Your Majesty is the Emperor, holding the power of life and death. This power of pardon is natural and indisputable. Why don't you just state it clearly? Why make it so complicated and make the law a mess.
For example, in many cases, no one knows how to judge, so they leave it to His Majesty to make the final decision. But after His Majesty's judgment, they are not satisfied. What a situation!
In addition, if Your Majesty pardons a guilty person, it must be because Your Majesty has reasons, because crime is harmful to the interests of the country and Your Majesty himself, and Your Majesty cannot pardon a criminal casually, which actually has more benefits than disadvantages! "
After hearing this, Zhao Xu felt that what he said made perfect sense. That was exactly what was going on. Why was he trying to hide it and make everyone unhappy? He said, "That being said, those prime ministers will definitely not agree to it."
Zhang Fei said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will go and convince them."
Zhao Xu asked, "Can you convince me?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes. Because they have no better way to solve this problem."
Since you are so confident, Zhao Xu will of course be willing!
Because the emperor's words were not final at the moment, especially in the judicial field. This group of scholars and officials kept a close eye on things, and his edicts were often rejected, eventually forcing both sides to compromise.
Once he made this matter clear, he would find it much easier to deal with many difficult problems!
Zhao Xu asked again: "Then what should I do?"
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty can first ask the Legislative Council to come up with a specific plan. If it does not clearly state your Majesty's power of pardon, then your Majesty should not grant it."
Zhao Xu nodded, "Okay, then it's up to you."
Of course he enjoyed it.
So Zhao Xu asked Fu Bi to take people to repair it first, and then we can discuss it.
When Fu Bi heard this, he knew very well that this bill could only be passed if it satisfied the emperor.
But as long as these edicts and laws are integrated, the emperor will never be satisfied, as this is restricting the emperor's power.
If the emperor can't control the life and death of officials, then what's the point!
But Fu Bi was not panicked. He thought, this was all caused by you, Zhang Fei, and you have to clean up this mess. So he invited Zhao Yan, Feng Jing, Sima Guang, Xu Zun and Zhang Fei, and asked them to come and discuss what to do about this matter.
Everyone present knew that the question was directed at Zhang Fei, because they had no way to solve this problem.
It is impossible to state in the Song Dynasty's Criminal Code that the emperor must abide by the law.
That's just seeking death!
"Why aren't you talking?"
Zhang Fei, who was sitting at the end, said cautiously.
Everyone looked at Zhang Fei unhappily. Aren’t they just waiting for you to speak?
Fu Bi asked, "What do you think, Prosecutor Zhang?"
"Oh, I don't have any ideas."
Zhang Fei said: "I just think that this should not be a big problem for you. Why are you all silent?"
As he spoke further, his voice gradually became lower. This guy's acting skills have always been on point.
Sima Guang wondered, "Do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to understand?"
"Of course I really don't understand."
Zhang Fei said aggrievedly.
Sima Guang said, "Let me ask you, didn't you read those imperial edicts beforehand?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I have seen it."
Sima Guang asked, "Then you still don't understand?"
Who issued the decree? It was the emperor. If this law is amended, wouldn’t it be tantamount to abolishing the emperor’s decree? Does the legislature have this power?
Zhang Fei suddenly realized: "Oh, so you are considering this."
Sima Guang was speechless and said, "Then what do you think we are considering?"
Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "I thought you were thinking about how to integrate those decrees and laws. I am not very good at that kind of thing. In fact, I don't know how much punishment should be imposed."
This is indeed the truth. The customs of the people at that time were different from those in later generations, and he was really unsure about the severity of the punishment.
Fu Bi said: "These are not difficult, the key lies in the issue of the imperial edicts."
They couldn't say it directly, so they could only use "imperial decree" as a substitute.
“It’s so easy!”
Zhang Fei said with a smile.
Feng Jing, Zhao Yan and others looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
Is it that simple?
Is he really a genius?
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes! The government has the power of life and death, which is indisputable. If we just write down that the government has the power of pardon, wouldn't everyone be happy?"
"???"
Everyone was stunned by Zhang Fei's idea.
After a while, Sima Guang angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If the government can pardon prisoners at will, what is the point of laws?"
Fu Bi also looked at Zhang Fei in surprise.
He hadn't thought of such an idea.
You have to know that on this point, the literati and the emperor have been in constant struggle, and even if the emperor wins, it is mostly a miserable victory.
As a result, you just asked for a pardon.
How can that be possible?
Zhang Fei said: "It's better than now!"
"What's good about it?"
Sima Guang asked.
Zhang Fei said: "I have recently reviewed all the imperial decrees and precedents. Most of the disputes were not guilty, but in fact they were guilty, which resulted in the crime not being a crime. So what Sima Xueshi said before is appropriate here. This operation is really unreasonable.
But pardon is different, because before the pardon, he has been found guilty through investigation by the police, prosecution by the procuratorate, and judgment by the royal court.
The judiciary has played its role. As for the final result, the government can pardon him or not. Regardless of whether he is pardoned or not, the judiciary has determined that he is guilty. Isn't this better than before?"
quiet!
The room suddenly became quiet.
Everyone was lost in thought.
Why did the emperor use imperial edicts? It was to assert his imperial power and turn the innocent into the guilty and the guilty into the innocent. Simply put, the emperor wanted to manipulate the law, and the Su Ri'an literati were also trying their best to restrict the emperor's edicts.
However, it is impossible to achieve complete restrictions, and ultimately the winner is determined by game theory.
In this process, the law actually disappeared and became an excuse without playing any role.
This seems to be the same as the power of pardon, but in fact it is completely different, because only guilty people need pardon. The reason why they are guilty is that the judiciary has determined that they are guilty and has played its role.
The emperor can use his authority to protect this person, but he cannot change the law.
Based on this, the Legislative Council can integrate all the ordinances and decrees. Don't make any decrees, just exempt them directly. We are all sensible people, don't be hypocritical.
"No, no!"
Sima Guang said: "The purpose of justice is to seek fairness and justice and to punish those who are guilty. If the government can pardon people at will, how can we say that justice is playing its role?"
Zhang Fei spread his hands and said, "But this is the system. The emperor holds the power of life and death. This is a fact. As judicial officials, we cannot turn a blind eye to this and must seek truth from facts.
If this is not done, then this problem will be unsolvable, there will be no way to integrate the regulations, and then the royal court and the procuratorate will not be able to conduct trials and prosecutions according to the law.
At that time, it will become a situation where either the government or the public security, procuratorate and courts have the final say, and it won’t matter whether there are laws or not.
Even if the pros and cons are weighed, it is impossible for the government to pardon every sinner, only a small number of people. Most people can get a fair trial.
Now that we are stuck here, what good will it do to the country, the monarch, the people, and you and me?"
Everyone was speechless.
If you have the ability, then you can let the law override the emperor. If you can't do it, why don't you admit it? Why make it so vague? The law is not the law, so what's the point?
It's not good for anyone.
Just enjoy the justice of words.
Fu Bi suddenly nodded and said, "Prosecutor Zhang is right. This is the only solution, unless we don't amend the law."
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