When Zhang Fei went to Jianghuai for inspection last year, Feng Nanxi told him that there would be a fierce battle at the end of the year.
It is not unexpected that this situation occurred.
The future of the Commissioner of Taxation is definitely not bright, and is bound to be full of ups and downs. This has been the case throughout history, both in China and abroad. The root of most conflicts lies in taxes.
Because no one likes paying taxes.
This is human nature.
However, in the eyes of most people in the past, the Tax Commissioner and the public security, procuratorate and courts were all in the same nest, and they attacked the two indiscriminately. This even led to many prosecutors and police chiefs believing that the Tax Commissioner was in the same system as themselves.
However, with the popularization of public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, they have gradually won the hearts of the people, which has also led them to distinguish between the two.
Because they found that the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments are to protect their rights and interests, while the tax commissioner is to demand their wealth, which is not the same thing.
The change in their views also led to a change in the mentality of judicial officials, such as Qi Hui, Fan Chunren, Su Shi and others, who actually did not want to be in cahoots with the Commissioner of Taxation.
After all, they belong to the same class as the literati. What the hell is the Tax Commissioner? He is made up of only a bunch of evil officials, from the chief to the minions, all of them are of the lowest class.
...
...
This makes the whole thing extremely complicated, because the Commissioner of Taxation is subject to the control of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. If the royal court is not supportive, the work of the Commissioner of Taxation will be difficult to carry out.
Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei had long been prepared for this. Although Zhao Xu personally governed the country through official system reform, he did not weaken Wang Anshi's power in the court. Xue Xiang and Lu Huiqing were both promoted.
In addition, there is the position of Grand Court President, which can be said to be the position that belongs to Zhang Fei.
Otherwise, why didn't Zhao Xu promote Zhao Yan in the first place? In fact, he was just waiting. The main reason was that Zhang Fei was too young, and it was inappropriate to promote him directly to the position of chief judge. Secondly, Zhang Fei had to train newcomers in the procuratorate, because it was easy to train a judge, but more difficult to train a chief prosecutor.
But now, Zhao Xu felt that he could not wait any longer.
He established this chief judge to check and balance Fu Bi, Sima Guang, Zhao Yan and others.
In addition, the plan against Western Xia is full of dirty deals, and it is very urgent to have a chief judge to cover it and support the plan.
When they returned home, Xu Zun had also returned. Zhang Fei told them truthfully that Zhao Xu was going to promote him to be the chief judge.
"Grand Judge?"
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei with surprise and joy, "Is that the chief judge of the Supreme Imperial Court?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian asked doubtfully again: "Can you take on this?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This chief judge was appointed directly by the government without going through the three provinces and six ministries."
Xu Zun was not surprised by this, but his brows were furrowed. "Is it because of the tax commissioner's matter?"
"Yes."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked, "What do you think, father-in-law?"
"This is not easy to do!"
Xu Zun sighed and said, "I heard that in Jianghuai, many people blocked the door of the Tax Commissioner with coffins, causing a huge commotion, and there were almost no ministers in the court who supported the Tax Commissioner.
Not only that, the Censorate has also intervened. Didn't they set up the Judicial Supervision Office before? So they are also actively preparing evidence to accuse the Tax Commissioner of abuse of power and violent law enforcement, and even compare the tax police to cruel officials like Lai Junchen.
The reason for all this is that many landlords and ministers no longer regard the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs and the tax commissioner as one, but instead hope that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can curb the atrocities of the tax commissioner and protect their rights and interests. "
Xu Zhiqian suddenly realized something and asked hurriedly, "Does the government want you to support the tax commissioner?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian frowned and asked, "Why doesn't the government directly support the tax commissioner?"
Xu Zun frowned and said, "Why do you keep asking questions?"
If you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to realize that although all the people in the Taxation Bureau were arranged by Zhao Xu, he was almost invisible in the tax law.
All of them are supported by the two government regulations offices and the public security, procuratorate and courts.
Zhao Xu never said that he would collect taxes from anyone. He was actually very low-key.
The reason is simple. If he asks the literati to collect taxes, he will be making an enemy of the entire literati class. Moreover, he is the largest landlord. How can he have the nerve to ask for this?
Zhang Fei glanced at Xu Zhiqian who was being scolded, and then said to Xu Zun: "Father-in-law, don't worry too much. In fact, from another perspective, if the chief judge can do this, it can fully demonstrate the authority of the chief judge. I think this is a good opportunity."
Xu Zun said: "Aren't you afraid of offending everyone?"
The underlying meaning is that if you can’t even afford to offend the emperor, how can you afford to offend him?
Zhang Fei said: "I hope they know that I am the one they cannot afford to offend."
Xu Zun opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Fei with a little surprise.
Zhang Fei said: "Otherwise, I can't continue to be the chief judge."
Xu Zun stroked his beard and nodded.
The reason why Xu Zun was surprised was because Zhang Fei used to hide behind others, trying to please everyone and be good at dealing with people. Through a series of complicated operations, he forced them to solve the problems in the imperial court and work hard on the judgment to meet the interests of all parties.
Zhang Fei suddenly became hard, which made him a little uncomfortable.
But what he didn't know was that the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems have now passed the stage of being dormant, and they are no longer what they used to be. They no longer need to be wary of various forces, but instead should let various forces be wary of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
We can no longer look at the law in the same way as before.
Although Zhao Xu never explicitly expressed his support for the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, he was very direct in the matter of the chief judge. He did not notify anyone or discuss it with anyone. He simply issued an imperial decree to promote Zhang Fei to the position of chief judge.
This really caught everyone off guard.
It also left everyone dumbfounded.
In fact, most people know that Zhang Fei’s final destination will definitely be the Grand Court President, but they believe that he will be promoted step by step, at least until Zhao Yan retires.
This is the right way.
Given Zhao Yan's status and position, sitting in front of Zhang Fei
The key point is that Zhao Yan is old and he can't stay that long.
But I didn't expect it to come so suddenly.
Rich mansion.
"Mr. Fu, can the chief judge make such a hasty appointment?"
Wen Yanbo said to Fu Bi with a confused look on his face, "Zhang San was just on an inspection tour outside for less than a year, and he didn't make any contributions during that time. But he was promoted to Grand Chamber President right after he came back. This... This is simply unreasonable."
Gilded tours were very common in history. For example, if the emperor wanted to promote someone, he would send him to the border to gain military merit so that he could have a legitimate reason to do so.
But a gilded journey like Zhang Fei's has never been seen before in history.
You know, in the eyes of many people, Zhang Fei didn't even pass the inspection, so how could he inspect like this?
It's just paddling.
In Wen Yanbo's opinion, this was not a gilding trip at all, but a smearing trip. It would be better to promote him directly and not let him go out for inspection.
Fu Bi smiled and said, "It's not hasty at all. The government deliberately didn't discuss this with you first, because according to the system, the chief judge is appointed directly by the government."
The emperor did this to tell them that this was imperial power, and if he had to discuss it with them, what kind of imperial power was that?
Wen Yanbo frowned and said, "Then the next chief judge will probably be a eunuch. We still need to impose restrictions on this. The position of chief judge is extremely important and cannot be taken so lightly."
Fu Bi stroked his beard and felt that what Wen Yanbo said made sense. He nodded slightly and said, "We will discuss this matter slowly later. After all, there is no problem with the selection this time. Zhang San will become the chief judge sooner or later. This is a matter of course."
The decree has already been issued. If they oppose it, it will undermine the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial system. This was the original stipulation. If they go back on their word, Zhao Xu can also go back on his word.
Wen Yanbo asked again, "Mr. Fu, what do you think the government is doing by appointing Zhang San as the chief judge at this time?"
Fu Bi laughed and said, "Why do you ask when you already know the answer?"
Wen Yanbo frowned and said, "But according to the system, this lawsuit must be taken up one level at a time. Can it reach the highest imperial court?"
Fu Bi said, "A lawsuit is a matter between two parties. Currently, the case is in the hands of Zhao Yuedao. As long as the final judgment is unfavorable to the Commissioner of Taxation, the Commissioner of Taxation will definitely sue the Supreme Court, because the Commissioner of Taxation can only rely on the Imperial Court, and the government has never stepped forward to protect the Commissioner of Taxation."
Wen Yanbo said, "But if the case is brought to the Supreme Court, in addition to the Chief Judge, one judge will have to be appointed from each of the Secondary Courts, the Political Affairs Hall and the Privy Council, to participate in the trial."
Fu Bi said: "But at present, the five second-level imperial courts are still empty. Now we have to transfer court presidents from the capital to the local areas. Where can we find people in the second-level imperial courts?"
Wen Yanbo looked at Fu Bi and asked, "What do you think of this, Mr. Fu?"
Fu Bi said, "Let's wait and see. Like you, this is also the first time I've met this chief judge."
Whether there is a grand president or not is really two different things. This is the first time Fu Bi has encountered this and he doesn't know how to deal with it.
Yesterday Sima Guang received news that Zhang Fei had returned, and was preparing to discuss with Zhang Fei how to deal with this issue.
Unexpectedly, after that night, he became the chief judge.
this..
Sima Guang was speechless. This was really reaching the sky, but Zhang San was not yet thirty years old.
How to upgrade?
Given Sima Guang's character, he would not go to Zhang Fei to discuss the matter before the final judgment.
But he was still very worried.
Hundreds of lives were lost, including some prominent scholars and officials. The impact was so bad that the literati basically disliked the Commissioner of Taxation.
This is equivalent to pushing Zhang Fei to the forefront.
Ministry of Revenue.
"Master, the emperor has appointed Zhang San as the chief judge at this time, and he must be hoping that the judgment will be in favor of the tax commissioner."
Lu Huiqing said to Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi nodded slightly.
Xue Xiang said: "In this case, should we give Zhang San some support?"
Lu Huiqing immediately said: "The three officials should not be impulsive. Now the whole court, both civil and military officials, are disgusted with the tax commissioner, and even the government dare not give clear support. If we rashly support him, it will only bring disaster. Now the three officials and the grain transport are undergoing reforms, and we still need their cooperation.
Besides, although Zhang San has always supported the new policy, he has always had a good relationship with Sima Xueshi and others. This is an internal issue between them, and they will solve it properly. "
Wang Anshi thought about it and said, "Ji Fu is right. We should not intervene in this matter lightly. If Zhang San really needs it, he will come to me on his own initiative."
This matter is too unpopular now. Even if they want to support it, they cannot support it openly. Otherwise, they will definitely get into trouble. You have to know that they are the chief executives. They need to support everything.
Not only them, everyone is very cautious about this matter.
Including Zhao Yan.
Now this case has been in Zhao Yan's hands, and Zhao Yan is also confused by it. He is thinking about the future, not the current case. In fact, everyone is fighting for the future, not as simple as punishing a few tax police. So how to make the judgment make things turn for the better.
It's really hard to decide.
If the Commissioner of Taxation is sentenced severely, how will taxes be collected in the future?
But if we don't give the tax commissioner a severe sentence and people get killed at every turn, that won't do!
There must still be constraints.
To this day, Zhao Yan has not figured out a solution. However, Zhang Fei's appointment as the chief judge has made Zhao Yan feel much more relaxed. He does not think that Zhang Fei has taken his position. Even in terms of merit, Zhang Fei deserves the title.
Now he knew very well that no matter how he judged, the case would eventually be brought to the highest imperial court.
He simply sentenced the tax commissioner to a heavy sentence. First, it would not cause trouble for him, because it was in line with everyone's wishes. Second, it would give Zhang Fei many reasons to overturn his own verdict. Third, it would also be a warning to the tax police that the imperial court might find them guilty.
Therefore, on the fifth day after Zhang Fei returned, Zhao Yan immediately gave the verdict.
More than 30 tax police officers were convicted of manslaughter due to abuse of power and violent law enforcement, and the tax collectors were ordered to clean up their internal affairs to prevent such incidents from happening again.
The charge is very serious, manslaughter, and considering the identity of the deceased, it is definitely a capital crime.
When this verdict came out, the ministers were very excited. At least it proved that the majority of judicial officials were on their side. Everyone had not forgotten their roots and they were of the same class.
Just as everyone expected, the Commissioner of Taxation was not satisfied and filed a lawsuit directly to the Supreme Court.
Now all the pressure is on Zhang Fei.
Everyone's eyes were also on Zhang Fei.
You are just a commander without troops now, how dare you go against the world's condemnation?
Most people believed that Zhang Fei might just withdraw his strength and not go too far.
After all, the law cannot hold everyone responsible!
With so many people opposing it, the Tax Commissioner is innocent, but he is damned guilty.
This is a political law!
The consensus of the people is the highest law.
These intellectuals also began to exert pressure through articles.
Xu Zun's family felt extremely overwhelmed. Even when Xiaotao and her friends went out to sell vegetables, they were pestered and asked all kinds of questions. The atmosphere was simply suffocating.
However, the results surprised everyone.
After nearly a month of review, Zhang Fei suddenly published the Supreme Court's verdict in newspapers. First of all, he expressed his deep sympathy for these tragedies, but also expressed his deep regret.
But that was all, and then he directly overturned Zhao Yan's verdict, stating that the Tax Commissioner had not made any fault in law enforcement and that those tax police were not guilty.
At the same time, he stated in his judgment that the fundamental cause of this tragedy was that everyone felt that the tax was too high, so they were dissatisfied and blocked the Commissioner of Taxation. He also gave an example, saying that ordinary people had never had any conflicts with the Commissioner of Taxation and were very enthusiastic about paying taxes. He even suggested in the name of the Chief Justice whether the court should reconsider the tax law.
Finally, he once again warned the people not to clash with the tax commissioner again, and if they encountered injustice, they should immediately seek help from the royal police, the procuratorate, or the royal court.
This verdict immediately caused an uproar.
However, it was different from what everyone expected. Although the final judgment not only did not severely punish the Commissioner of Taxation, but also did not even hold him accountable for any fault, many common people, wealthy families, and businessmen changed from opposing the Commissioner of Taxation to supporting the judgment of the Chief Judge.
Yes, yes, yes!
He is worthy of being the Chief Judge. He hits the nail on the head. His judgment is much wiser than that of Chief Judge Zhao in Gyeonggi Province.
The root cause is that taxes are too high, not that the tax commissioner is too harsh.
If you have the ability to lower the tax rate by half, I guarantee that no one will cause trouble and everyone will pay the tax in full.
All the civil and military officials in the court were so angry that they vomited blood.
I have never seen such a shameless person.
MD!
Wasn’t it you who created the warehouse tax?
Now you think the tax is too high.
God is you, and ghost is you.
Why don't you just die!
We are desperately reminding everyone that when it comes to the tax law, this brat is the real culprit!
He made all of them.
He is pretending to be a good guy here again.
Don’t be fooled!
However, after this reminder, a considerable number of people suddenly thought that the Tax Commissioner was right, the tax law was not wrong, and the Chief Justice was wise and powerful, because they suddenly realized that if the tax rate for the landowners was lowered, they might have to pay more taxes.
It will be back to the same as before.
Why do we not have conflicts with the Commissioner of Taxation, but only the big landowners and the powerful have conflicts with the Commissioner of Taxation? That’s because the Commissioner of Taxation is on our side!
this..
The ministers were completely depressed.
People’s hearts are no longer the same as they used to be!
It’s hard to lead the team!
"This brat is more cunning than a fox."
Wang Anshi threw the newspaper on the table. "He turned the issue from a judicial one into an administrative one."
Xue Xiang worriedly said, "Don't cut taxes lightly. The reason why the court dares to issue tax coins and reform the grain transport system is entirely because of the increase in tax revenue. If we cut taxes, the finances will soon be unable to bear it."
Lu Huiqing frowned and said, "But in this way, the pressure is transferred to us again."
Adjusting tax rates definitely falls within administrative power.
Wang Anshi said: "If they want to reduce taxes, then we should reduce the number of people, salaries, and privileges. Under the current system, this is the only way."
Now we cannot exploit the people at will. If they have no money, they really have no money.
Whoever wants to cut taxes will be responsible.
Not convinced!
The ministers were so angry that their mouths were crooked. How could they possibly accept it?
Originally, they planned to rely on public opinion to put pressure on Zhang Fei, but they forgot that the emergence of newspapers meant that they no longer had an absolute monopoly on public opinion.
The current trend of public opinion has changed.
This killer weapon doesn't work anymore.
But above the highest imperial court, there is only the emperor.
So the Censorate took the lead and went to the emperor to make a fuss. Their reason was that according to the system, this kind of case should have two chief judges selected from the second-level imperial court to jointly hear the case, but now the chief judge Qiankun was making arbitrary decisions, which was not in line with the system. At the same time, they also said that so many scholars and officials had died, but the imperial court was still protecting the Commissioner of Taxation. Wouldn't you, the emperor, say anything?
Zhao Xu was actually happy to see this situation, as it showed that the judicial power was still in his hands.
So a meeting was held in Chuigong Hall.
"Grand President."
"I am here."
"I promoted you to be the chief judge because of your high attainments in law and your contributions to the development of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. However, the first case you judged caused dissatisfaction among the civil and military officials in the court."
Zhao Xu questioned with a frown.
Zhang Fei replied: "Your Majesty, I have also ruled according to the law."
Jiang Zhiqi immediately said, "So many people died, but the murderer is still at large under the judgment of the Grand Court. How can this be considered a legal judgment?"
Zhao Xu also pretended to be puzzled and said, "Yes! If the tax police collected taxes according to the law, how could so many people die?"
Zhang Fei said: "According to the confessions and evidence provided by Yangzhou, the main conflicts occurred in two stages. The first was the seizure of the suspect's property.
According to regulations, the Commissioner of Taxation does not need the approval of the Royal Court before he can directly seal up the property. This is to avoid alerting the suspect and causing him to transfer his property.
But this is just a seal, not confiscation.
The tax police could not take away even a single needle or thread, but many people, including some of the deceased in this case, prevented the tax police from entering their homes to seal their doors, which led to conflicts.
However, in the eyes of the Tax Commissioner, this behavior may be a delaying tactic of the other party. On the one hand, they are blocking the tax police from entering, and on the other hand, they are transferring valuables, which is why they are so anxious.
Secondly, when confiscating property, at this point, it must be an order from the royal court. However, there were also many people who prevented the tax commissioner from enforcing the law.
All evidence shows that it was the other party who first blocked the way, which led to the tragedy, rather than the tax police actively provoking the conflict. "
Wen Yanbo stood up and questioned, "Does it have to kill someone in order to collect taxes? Besides, the other party is all old scholars, women and children. Isn't there anything wrong with the tax commissioner's actions?"
Zhang Fei said: "Mr. Wen may have some misunderstandings about the tax commissioner. The tax police and the royal police cannot be confused. The royal police are responsible for protecting the rights of the people, but the tax police are only responsible for the tax law. They don't care about other things. They don't care whether the other party is an old scholar, a woman or a child."
As he spoke, he took out a tax bill and said, "On the tax bill, it is also clearly stated what the people need to do when facing the tax police."
Wen Yanbo retorted: "But you are the chief judge, not the tax collector. You should consider the rights of the people. Do you think human lives are worthless in the eyes of the chief judge?"
Zhang Fei said: "What Lord Wen said is very reasonable. I have also carefully considered this point. From the perspective of the imperial court, we must prevent such things from happening again."
Feng Jing said, "So you think that if you protect the tax commissioner, this kind of thing won't happen again?"
Zhang Fei said: "First of all, I am not shielding someone. I am just judging according to the law. Secondly, I think this judgment can effectively prevent such things from happening again."
"I'd like to hear your opinion."
"How to prevent such situations? The Royal Court faces two choices. One is to strictly control the Tax Commissioner. The other is to handle the matter impartially and maintain the authority of the Tax Commissioner.
After I carefully studied this case, I believe that the latter can prevent such things from happening again.
The conflicts are caused by the other party's obstruction. If the tax commissioner is strictly restricted, they will definitely become more aggressive. The tax commissioner must complete the tax collection task, so such conflicts will definitely continue to occur and will become more frequent.
But if they knew that a conflict with the Commissioner of Taxation would do them more harm than good, they would naturally not dare to conflict with the Commissioner of Taxation again.
Regarding this point, Jingjidi and Jingdong East Road are the best proof. At first, the tax commissioner encountered many troubles in these two places, including many conflicts. However, due to the supervision of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs and the support of the court, there are no such conflicts in these two places now, and everyone lives in harmony. "
Feng Jing rebuked: "You are simply talking nonsense. Everyone is just under the pressure of the tax commissioner, not living in harmony."
Zhang Fei said: "That's better than losing an innocent life. Moreover, I have written very clearly in the verdict that the cause of this tragedy is not the tax commissioner, but whether the tax is too high?
Because the reason is that they evaded taxes, were discovered by the tax commissioner, and then refused to pay taxes. There are many reasonable scholars among them. Why do they do this? It must be because they think the tax is unreasonable! "
“The most unreasonable thing is the warehouse tax, but isn’t that the bill you submitted?”
Feng Jing immediately questioned.
“I submitted it.”
Zhang Fei nodded, "I think it is reasonable and beneficial to the country and the people, and it is still the same now. But they think it is unreasonable, and the two are not contradictory.
So I wrote the whole cause and effect of the incident into the judgment in a very fair manner. I did not brush it aside just because I proposed it. I think I was impartial. "
The ministers were all dumbfounded. If this isn’t shameless, then isn’t this selfless?
Really worthy of his Erbi origin.
Zhang Fei added: "Moreover, if you think the tax rate is unreasonable and too high, you can change the tax rate, but you should not blame the tax department for collecting taxes according to the law.
If the problem is not solved fundamentally and the tax commissioner is severely punished, it will only make things more complicated.”
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