Although in history, Zhao Xu also carried out official system reforms in order to rule the country personally, that was mostly his personal will and was mainly for the purpose of centralizing power.
Therefore, the reform at that time was not thorough. It only completed the central reform and weakened the power of the prime minister, but did not involve the local official system.
But at this moment, it was not just his personal will, but also the situation.
It really won't work if we don't change it.
The reason is that the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems are very complete. The court president and the prosecutor-general have both title and power, and the division of responsibilities is very clear.
But the administrative system remains in the same state.
Especially after the abolition of the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures, everyone became even more confused.
The issue of the procuratorate interfering in other people's affairs raised by Deng Wan was actually caused by this problem.
Because everyone is used to being conservative, steady, not making comments, and not making mistakes.
Even if they were given another chance, no one except Wang Anshi would propose a bill to address the double taxation, which would be a thankless task.
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...
Here, the responsibilities and powers are unclear and everyone is in disarray, while over there, the responsibilities and powers are unified and everyone is united.
This leads to a phenomenon where the judiciary is pushing the administration forward.
Many officials are also aware of this problem. To fight against the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, we must either make them become like us, or we must become like them.
Otherwise, there is no way to win.
There are bills coming one after another, and on the administrative side, everyone is looking at others. How can this go on?
Of course, there is the Business Administration to provide a backup, so it does not mean that there will be large-scale layoffs, there is still room for maneuver.
Another point is that in history, when the Yuanfeng Reform took place, the party struggles in the court were at a white-hot stage, but at this time the party struggles had died down and the fights really could not continue.
The members of the reformist faction certainly hope for such a change. They have always been the ones who do the work, and if it were to be changed now, most of them would simply combine name with power.
The conservatives had no reason to object. The previous integration of the judicial offices was initiated by the conservatives, and it was impossible for them to overturn their own reform ideas.
Therefore, in this reform, Zhao Xu did not bypass the prime minister, but discussed the result with the prime minister, and it was unanimously recognized by everyone.
From this point of view, Zhao Xu did not actually weaken the power of the prime minister. On the one hand, because of the emergence of new checks and balances, namely the Legislative Council and the public security, procuratorate and courts, Zhao Xu was too lazy to split up the three provinces.
If I am unhappy with your policies, I can still veto them through the Legislative Council.
On the other hand, there is the route that Zhang Fei set for him, which is to govern the officials first before governing the country.
Although he did not weaken the prime minister, he controlled the three most powerful official groups in the country.
Police Station, Taxation Bureau, and Song Dynasty Security Bureau.
What Zhao Xu was most worried about now was actually the shadow left by the drought, so he was very cautious this time. After finalizing all the reform contents, he immediately sent officials from various walks of life to inspect the local areas and guide them in carrying out reforms.
In terms of administration, Wang Gui and Cai Que were the main leaders.
As for the Business Office, Wang Anshi still recommended Shen Kuo, who was in Qingzhou, to lead the team.
On the judicial side, the team is led by Zhang Fei and Cao Dongdong personally.
The promotion of public security, procuratorial and judicial organs is too rapid, and it is time to conduct an inspection. There is no better candidate than Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei’s first stop was Daming Prefecture.
After all, Hebei is a severely affected area, and both he and Sima Guang are most worried about the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems here.
Compared with Wang Gui and Cai Que, Zhang Fei and Cao Dongdong chose to travel in disguise, because Wang Gui and Cai Que went out with the emperor's order to guide the local governments to carry out reforms, while Zhang Fei went to see how the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were being popularized. Everyone had different purposes.
But when he entered Hebei area, he found that it was completely different from what he had imagined.
The first feeling is that there are too many Royal Police here, and they all seem to be well-trained, not ugly. You can often meet Mounted Police on the road, which made Cao Dongdong so excited that he almost revealed his identity several times. You are all my people!
Moreover, the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems here are more popular than Zhang Fei had imagined. Although many counties do not have procuratorates, but only imperial courts, there has never been an idle imperial court. In every county Zhang Fei passed through, the imperial courts were all trying cases, and there were even long queues outside. However, nine out of ten were loan sharking cases. In any case, Zhang Fei did not encounter a single criminal case.
But no matter what, this is enough to prove that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Hebei.
This is a big surprise.
Of course, those judges all performed well and were able to apply the forced labor law very skillfully.
After more than a month of undercover investigation, they finally arrived at Daming Prefecture. There was no sign of a severely affected area here, and the city was very prosperous.
It was not until they arrived at the imperial court and met Cheng Yi that Zhang Fei and his companions revealed their identities.
"Judge Cheng, the construction of Hebei's public security, procuratorial and judicial systems is much better than we expected," Zhang Fei said sincerely.
"Where! Where!"
Cheng Yi cupped his hands and was about to explain when Cao Dongdong suddenly interrupted, "How many imperial policemen do you have in Hebei? It seems there are more than in the capital."
Cheng Yi nodded and said, "It is indeed more than in the capital. Currently, there are more than 50,000 royal police officers in the entire Hebei region."
"so much?"
Cao Dongdong opened his eyes wide.
Cheng Yi nodded and said, "It's mainly because after the Palace Marshal came two years ago, the imperial guards who stayed in Hebei were gradually transformed into royal police."
Cao Dongdong asked again: "What if the northerners attack us?"
Cheng Yi said: "Every three months, they will target the sudden southward movement of northerners. The royal police from each county will rush to the military camp to gather and accept the dispatch of the commander. So far, it seems that the effect is quite good."
Then he added: "It is also thanks to so many royal policemen and the police chiefs trained by Superintendent Cao that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have been able to be popularized so quickly. Otherwise, it would still be very difficult!"
"No! No!" Cao Dongdong was immediately very proud.
This is indeed one of the secrets to the success of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. First of all, in the Song Dynasty, all officials who passed the imperial examination had to be well versed in the law, and there was a sufficient reserve of talent in the judicial field.
Secondly, there are a large number of professional soldiers, so converting the imperial guards will not increase national costs, and may even reduce costs.
It just so happens that the Imperial Guards also have this need, because the Imperial Guards have long been corrupt, and the cost of rectifying the internal situation is too high, so it is better to start from scratch.
Zhao Xu initially asked the palace commander Song Shouyue to go to Jingdong East Road to give it a try. The result was outstanding. The imperial guards were transformed into royal police, and their discipline and combat effectiveness were improved.
Song Shouyue wrote to Zhao Xu again, suggesting that it would be better to train the troops in the name of the royal police.
Of course, Song Shouyue also made an indispensable contribution to this. The current Royal Police Training Manual was written by him personally.
Zhang Fei has also read it. The most emphasized thing in it is discipline, which is of course very correct.
Zhang Fei asked, "I wonder what kind of problem Judge Cheng is facing?"
Cheng Yi said: "When we first came here, the most problems we encountered were debts. It is still the same now. We make judgments based on the precedents of Prosecutor Zhang, which has caused many landlords and gentry to be dissatisfied and deliberately cause trouble. They specifically look for some rogues who ignore the judgment of the imperial court and continue to commit crimes by borrowing usury."
Cao Dongdong said disdainfully: "Is that all you're doing?"
Cheng Yi said: "Superintendent Cao, don't underestimate this method. If there are not enough royal police to stop it, the people will think that the royal court's judgment is invalid. Over time, no one will take the royal court seriously. This is actually the foundation of our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."
In the final analysis, it is all won through fighting. Convincing people with virtue is just a way to fool children.
Cao Dongdong blinked, and suddenly looked at Zhang Fei and said, "Zhang San, why didn't we encounter this situation when we went to Hezhong Prefecture?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Of course not. You've been kicked out before, too. Besides, it was our first time out of the house, and no one knew what the public security, procuratorate, and courts were like. And the usury law was passed on me."
Cheng Yi added: "Also, the famine did help us a lot."
Zhang Fei asked curiously, "Did the famine help you?"
Cheng Yi nodded and said, "The famine forced many people to leave their villages to beg, and the court decided to use work as relief, which brought the people together. When they left their villages, the only thing they could rely on was the public security, procuratorate and courts, which quickly won the hearts of the people. Later, word of mouth spread, and now more and more people trust the public security, procuratorate and courts."
Zhang Fei nodded, "So that's what happened."
Cheng Yi added: "Of course, the most important thing is the rule of law of Zhang's prosecution. Otherwise, no matter how many royal police there are, it will be useless. Because the rule of law is to defend the legitimate rights and interests of everyone, whether it is the landlords or the people. I think this is the real reason why the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can succeed."
"Thank you!"
Zhang Fei asked again: "What is the current disaster relief situation in Hebei?"
Cheng Yi nodded and said, "Not bad. Seventy percent of the credit should go to Minister Lu. He first released a large amount of government farmland and exchanged it with the land deeds of some disaster-stricken people, allowing them to continue farming, which was equivalent to transferring the loss to the government.
But later I learned that the reason he wanted to replace those fields was mainly to take the advice of the Water Conservancy Institute and plant trees along the river to consolidate the river.
They are now planting a large number of mulberry trees along the river and building silk shops, and the silk they obtain can be traded with people in the north.
He also recruited a lot of people to develop military equipment, and the military equipment supervision in Hebei Province expanded
It is more than ten times bigger, and the armaments of both the Royal Police and the Imperial Guards have been improved."
This is actually very courageous. Ordinary officials would not dare to directly use government land to exchange for the land of the people affected by the disaster.
No wonder the Liao Kingdom has been quite nervous recently. They must have discovered that Lu Huiqing was manufacturing weapons on a large scale in Daming Prefecture. Zhang Fei asked again, "Then I wonder what improvements Judge Cheng thinks the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs need?"
"Originally, what we lacked most was this Provisional Law. Now that we have it, what we lack most is prosecutors. In fact, the selection of the chief judge is easy, but the key is the prosecutor. Many talented, honest and upright officials are not qualified for the job because it involves a lot of skills. Perhaps only talents like the Su brothers can be qualified immediately." Cheng Yi replied.
Zhang Fei added: "The capital is already stepping up the training of prosecutors. This will take some time, but when I came here, I found that many court presidents performed very well without prosecutors."
"But if one link is missing, it will always be difficult to achieve perfection, and if the judge has bad intentions, it will be difficult to deal with. And..." Cheng Yi suddenly glanced at Cao Dongdong, "Superintendent Cao, don't blame me for being direct."
Cao Dongdong was surprised and asked, "What does this have to do with me?"
Cheng Yi said: "Although the success of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs is based on the Royal Police, the biggest hidden danger at present is that the Royal Police is too large. In the long run, the Royal Court and the Procuratorate may not be able to check and balance the police station."
After hearing this, Cao Dongdong said immediately: "Judge Cheng, don't blame me for being direct. We, the Royal Police, run around for you every day, but you are always trying to guard against us. You literati are really as narrow-minded as the rumors say."
Cheng Yi just smiled and didn't argue with him.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't blame Judge Cheng. He has been quite angry recently because the Censorate wants to build a Judicial Supervision Department to specifically supervise the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."
Cheng Yi asked happily, "Really?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Moreover, the Royal Police is also divided into different groups. For example, the most powerful armed force within the police station is directly under the command of the Ministry of War, and ordinary police chiefs cannot command them."
"Then..."
After glancing at Cao Dongdong, Cheng Yi finally did not say the word "OK".
It can only be said that the ancestral laws of the Song Dynasty were deeply rooted in their bones. These literati were always thinking about how to check and balance power.
Cheng Yi was very worried. If tens of thousands of royal policemen committed crimes, would our imperial court be able to subdue them?
After having a simple meal in the imperial court, Cheng Yi took Zhang Fei to attack the Water Conservancy Institute. Cao Dongdong did not go with them. He went to the police station to direct the work.
I saw that there were more young students in this water conservancy school than in the Imperial Academy.
"I didn't expect this water conservancy institute to develop so well?"
Zhang Fei couldn't help but be surprised.
Cheng Yi said, "Most of the people here are from Hebei."
Zhang Fei looked at Cheng Yi in confusion.
Cheng Yi sighed, "Hebei has always suffered from floods, and the people here dream of solving the flood problem in their hometown. When they heard that the court was going to build a water conservancy school here to deal with floods, these Hebei students came here one after another, hoping to contribute. Now there are more than a thousand people in this school."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then the financial pressure is not very great?"
Cheng Yi said: "There are many gentry and wealthy people who support it, so basically no money is needed from the court. Of course, this also shows that this water conservancy institute is serious about helping Hebei control floods, rather than sparing the people's efforts for the sake of political achievements."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly.
The ancients' feelings for their hometown were actually far more important than their loyalty to their country and monarch. Hebei has been really troubled by floods in recent years, which are even worse than when the Liao army marched south. Therefore, the people of Hebei are looking forward to solving these problems.
"Zhang San!"
Suddenly, a shout was heard.
Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw Lu Huiqing walking towards me.
"Minister Lu."
Zhang Fei bowed.
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "I was just wondering when you would arrive, but I never thought you would be here already."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I just got here a while ago."
Lu Huiqing glanced at Cheng Yi next to him again, "Judge Cheng is here too."
Cheng Yi bowed slightly and said, "You guys chat first, I'll be leaving now."
After saying that, he nodded slightly and left.
Zhang Fei looked at Lu Huiqing in confusion.
Lu Huiqing said coldly: "This person is hypocritical and a hypocrite."
Zhang Fei asked, "What do you mean?"
Lu Huiqing said: "Since he came to Daming Prefecture to serve as the chief judge, he has been recommending Luo people to serve as public security, procuratorial and judicial officials here. Now in Hebei Province, seven or eight out of ten chief judges in various counties are from the Luo party. If this is not forming a clique for personal gain, what is it?
What's even more abominable is that in order to win people's hearts, he did not hesitate to collude with those wealthy families, secretly discrediting the new policies of my mentor, and said that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs could protect their interests, in order to gain the support of those wealthy families. Fortunately, I am here, otherwise, humph. My mentor's reputation would be in jeopardy!"
Zhang Fei just smiled and said, "But Judge Cheng was just praised by Minister Lu."
Lu Huiqing was not grateful at all and snorted, "Of course he said that. When he first came to Daming Prefecture, he directly borrowed your precedent and turned the people's debts into installments. This caused great dissatisfaction among the local landlords, resulting in no one borrowing money from Daming Prefecture for a time.
Many people were immediately in crisis, and it was only because I opened the granaries and lent money to the people in the name of the Green Seed Law that they were able to get through the difficult times. But when the debts came due, if the people couldn’t pay them back, this guy gave them a longer repayment period. In fact, many people were not unable to pay back, but he still asked them to pay back a little every month, and said that the court should not focus on profit. This is simply too much.”
After hearing this, Zhang Fei was very curious and asked, "Can Minister Lu tolerate this?"
"I."
Lu Huiqing said, "Let's go inside and talk."
After entering the house, Lu Huiqing sat down and said, "The reason why I endured this anger is also for the sake of the overall situation."
Zhang Fei nodded in understanding and said, "It seems that Minister Lu is walking on thin ice here!"
Lu Huiqing nodded and said, "I suggested to my teacher several times not to include Hebei's flood control in the new policy, but unfortunately my teacher did not listen to my advice. I am here to quarrel with Cheng Yi, and I am afraid that someone will attribute the chaos in Hebei to the new policy."
During the Xining Party Struggle, he was the first to rush to the front. He believed that only by continuing to fight could he win the hearts of the people and seize real power.
Can he tolerate Cheng Yi?
But he had no choice, he was there to clean up his mess, so he was really working diligently in Hebei, and at the same time he was also trying every means to distance water conservancy from their New Party.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But Minister Lu's hard days are coming to an end. I believe he will be returning to Beijing soon."
Lu Huiqing asked in surprise: "How do you know?"
Wang Anshi's letter had been delivered, asking them to prepare to return to Beijing, and also telling him that Zhang Fei would come here.
Zhang Fei said: "The position of Minister of Revenue is extremely important now, but Minister Deng is simply not qualified for the position, so Minister Lu has to go back."
Lu Huiqing was quite happy to hear this and said, "I heard that the court has undergone earth-shaking changes in the past two years."
Zhang Fei just nodded.
When Lu Huiqing left, the Regulations Office for the Two Prefectures was still there, but now it is gone.
However, the two of them have not yet become close enough to discuss such matters.
Zhang Fei added: "I heard from Judge Cheng that under the governance of Minister Lu, the people of Hebei are gradually recovering."
"It's still early."
Lu Huiqing sighed, "Man can never conquer nature. Besides, Hebei is not only facing floods, but also northerners. If we want to restore the people's strength here, there is only one way, that is, the court continues to spend money here."
Zhang Fei said: "After Minister Lu returns to Beijing, he will also be responsible for the finances of Hebei."
Lu Huiqing said: "The only solution I can think of is to develop armaments in Hebei. After all, armaments are also needed by the country, and the military equipment bureau can be built in a place far away from floods."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly: "This is also a solution."
But he knew very well that Lu Huiqing was the most staunch supporter of Wang Anshi's new policies, and he suggested that the ultimate goal of developing armaments was to fight war.
This is a political belief and cannot be lost easily.
Of course, this matter is not his responsibility. He came here with only one purpose, to inspect the public security, procuratorate and courts.
He stayed in Daming Prefecture for about a month, discussing some specific cases with Cheng Yi and other judicial officials.
To his surprise, all the content of his class was compiled into a book by Cheng Yi and others. The law of the legal system really became a new idea and was highly praised by the literati in Luoyang.
Many people who saw Zhang Fei claimed to be his students, and the key point was that those people were much older than Zhang Fei.
This made Zhang Fei feel a little embarrassed.
Gone! Gone!
Afterwards, he rushed to Jingdong East Road again, but this time he did not patrol along the way, but went straight to Dengzhou in the east.
Dengzhou, the imperial court.
There was a woman dressed in men's clothes standing in the court, speaking eloquently. She seemed to be telling a story about a man accusing a charlatan of killing his wife with fake medicine.
"Zhang San, no wonder you came to Dengzhou, it turns out you came for the beautiful women!" Cao Dongdong suddenly realized.
Zhang Fei said unhappily: "She is Fang Yun."
"Fang Yun?"
Cao Dongdong was stunned for a moment before he said, "Is that the little sister you often mentioned?"
Zhang Fei nodded, his eyes never leaving Fang Yun.
She has shed her youthfulness and become more mature and charming.
Although Zhang Fei only spent a few days with Fang Yun at the Xu family, he has always been very concerned about Fang Yun. He wrote letters and sent some money every year. He also asked Feng Nanxi to send someone to secretly protect Fang Yun.
Because in a sense, Fang Yun is his only relative here.
Suddenly there was a sound of a gavel.
Zhang Fei was awakened by the shock and looked at the presiding judge again. Zhang Fei also knew the presiding judge, it was Liu Zhi.
Liu Zhi said, "Although the defendant used the talisman as medicine to treat the victim, it was also the victim's own will. At the same time, the law does not stipulate that talismans cannot be used as medicine. The Legal Aid Department does not have conclusive evidence to prove that the victim died from taking the talisman, and the defense has witnesses who can prove that they were cured by taking the talisman provided by the defendant. Therefore, this court declares the defendant not guilty and releases him on the spot."
Suddenly, the plaintiff cried out, "It's not fair, it's not fair, Judge, my wife was really killed by this charlatan, please help me."
Liu Zhi looked at Fang Yun helplessly, then stood up and left.
Fang Yun looked frustrated, and looked at the man lying on the ground crying with sympathy.
A fat Taoist priest stood up over there, looked at Fang Yun provocatively, then left the imperial court with his Erbi.
After hearing this, Cao Dongdong said, "Zhang San, your little sister is not very capable! She actually lost the fight."
Zhang Fei said: "Stop talking nonsense and let's go."
Several people quietly left the imperial court.
"Aren't you waiting for your little sister?"
Cao Dongdong asked.
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's find a place to stay first."
Soon, they found a hotel to stay in, and then Zhang Fei found the contact of the tax commissioner here.
"I, Li Han, have met with Prosecutor Zhang."
"Finally someone has arrived."
Zhang Fei smiled.
"ah?"
Li Han looked at Zhang Fei in confusion.
"nothing."
Zhang Fei asked, "Do you know about the case about the charlatan that was heard in court today?"
Li Han nodded and said, "I know. That charlatan is very famous in Dengzhou and has many followers. It's not the first time that he has caused a death, but he always blames his followers for being insincere instead of saying that there is something wrong with his spell."
Zhang Fei asked, "The Imperial Court doesn't care?"
Li Han said: "This is difficult to control. Many villages have this superstition. The key is that it is difficult to prove it by law. It is true or false. Some people will die after taking the medicine. As long as the medicine itself is not poisonous, it is difficult to say clearly. Then the talisman must be non-toxic."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Help me investigate the details of the Taoist priest, including his family, but don't alert the enemy."
Li Han immediately said, "I know."
For their tax commissioner, this kind of thing is really an overkill.
Three days later.
Legal Aid Department.
Fang Yun sat at the desk, flipping through letters. They were all written to her by Zhang Fei, teaching her some litigation skills.
Suddenly, someone said, "Don't read it. I didn't write this trick."
Fang Yun raised his head suddenly, as if he couldn't believe it, and rubbed his eyes again, "Brother Sansan."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I'm not dreaming."
Fang Yun was immediately overjoyed and stood up, "Third brother, why are you here?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Since you don't want to go to Tokyo, I can only come to see you."
Fang Yun was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help showing guilt on his face. He lowered his head and remained silent.
Zhang Fei knew clearly that although he had helped Fang Yun get rid of the crime, she knew the truth very well. She was unwilling to move to the capital, fearing that it would have a negative impact on Zhang Fei's reputation.
Moreover, Zhang Fei also asked Fan Chunren about Fang Yun's situation. Fan Chunren told Zhang Fei that Fang Yun had been studying law hard and later joined the Legal Aid Department to help the people of Dengzhou in the hope of being forgiven.
Zhang Fei smiled again and said, "I just came here on business and came to see you by the way, but when I came, I saw that you lost the lawsuit."
Fang Yun said with a dejected look: "Third brother, am I really useless and unsuitable to be a lawyer?"
Thanks to Xu Zhiqian, women working in this profession are called lawyers.
Zhang Fei said: "You performed very well in court. You just lost because there is nothing to prove whether the superstition is true or false."
Fang Yun asked: "Is it really impossible to seek justice for those victims?"
“It’s not impossible.”
Zhang Fei smiled.
Fang Yun asked, "Third brother, do you have a solution?"
Zhang Fei said: "When it comes to lawsuits, the most taboo thing is to get stuck in a rut. Since there is no way to prove whether the talisman can cure diseases, then as an Erbi, you must give up and think of a solution from another angle. And that charlatan relies on the theory of gods and ghosts. This is a matter of faith. You have to find a way to prove that his faith is false, and then he is just cheating money, which leads to murder."
Fang Yun asked anxiously: "How to prove it?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Lead by example."
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