Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "Let's not change the military system for now. The military has too many problems. It's a powder keg even more troublesome than redundant officials. Once ignited, the consequences will be disastrous. Let's first improve the official system, then carry out political reforms, and finally reform the military."
"Well, this is the best and safest way."
Zhao Zhen was relieved to hear that Zhao Jun had no immediate plans to reform the military system. He then asked, "Are only the Three Departments going to be reformed? Are there any others?"
"The judiciary must also be reformed to ensure judicial independence and the separation of powers."
“Judicial independence and separation of powers?”
"Yes."
Zhao Jun nodded and said, "So-called judicial independence means that the power to make laws should be separated into a separate department. The separation of powers means that the power of review and arrest should be separated into one department, the power of trial should be separated into one department, and the power of supervision should be separated into one department."
"Tell me more."
Zhao Zhen said.
"The original powers of censorship, arrest, trial, and supervision in the Song Dynasty were extremely chaotic. The Kaifeng Prefecture could arrest people and judge cases, and the Dali Temple could also judge and review cases. The Ministry of Justice was completely useless and had no effect at all."
Zhao Jun said, "This is extremely unfair to the judiciary and can easily lead to wrongful convictions. This is especially true for local officials. A county magistrate has the power to investigate, arrest, and judge. This is too much power. For the people in the county, the life and death of the county magistrate is in the hands of the county magistrate. Isn't this outrageous? Therefore, the Censorate was established in the Ming Dynasty to ensure judicial fairness."
"So how do we do that?"
"The Ministry of Criminal Justice will be renamed the Ministry of Justice. This will be used to revise laws and regulations for various departments, formulate development plans for judicial administration, and organize their implementation. Revised laws will be submitted to the Constitutional Council and the government for review. Once approved, they become law!"
“Is this judicial independence?”
"Yes, the Dali Temple should be transformed into a court, focusing on trials. Following the example of the Ming Dynasty, the Criminal Court should be abolished and replaced with the Metropolitan Procuratorate, focusing on supervision. This way, local government offices will only have the power to investigate and arrest, not to judge. They will also be subject to supervision, which will reduce the incidence of false and wrongful convictions."
"Everywhere?"
Zhao Zhen opened his eyes wide and asked, "Do we need to set up subordinate offices in every place?"
"What else?"
Zhao Jun shrugged and said, "That's how it is in our later generations. We have the Supreme Court at the central level, the High Courts at the provincial level, the Intermediate Courts at the municipal level, the grassroots courts at the county level, and even our townships have branch courts of the grassroots courts. This can greatly resolve the legal difficulties of the people."
Zhao Zhen looked at several prime ministers and saw the shock in their eyes.
This organization can actually go down to the countryside?
It's really exaggerated.
"But if that's the case, with so many agencies in each county, how many people would that require?"
Zhao Zhen hesitated and said, "Your descendants are like this because there are too many people. If the Song Dynasty does this, won't it only exacerbate the problem of redundant officials?"
Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "No, these institutions already existed in the counties when our country was founded. At that time, the area was 9.6 million square kilometers and the population was over 500 million. The Song Dynasty had an area of 2.8 million square kilometers and a population of 120 million. The proportions are actually similar."
The Song Dynasty was a typical period of large population and limited land. Although the population density in the heartland of the Central Plains was much higher than that of the Song Dynasty when the country was founded in later dynasties, after the Song Dynasty experienced an agricultural revolution, it was possible for each county to have a branch office.
Moreover, we can say that we are making preparations in advance. In a few years, the ships going out to sea will bring back high-yield crops. These crops will have undergone decades of local adaptation, and perhaps there will be a population explosion in the future.
By then, it will be a natural thing for each county to carry out judicial refinement.
"Hmm."
Zhao Zhen thought about it and felt that this seemed to be dividing the power of local officials and had nothing to do with the imperial power, so he nodded and said, "Let's do it."
"In that case, wouldn't the county magistrate have no power at all?"
Lu Yijian wondered, "Isn't the power of arrest in the hands of the county lieutenant? Without the power of trial, what else can the county magistrate do?"
"Executive power."
Zhao Jun shrugged and said, "Focus on the development of the county. From now on, we just need to implement the imperial decrees and avoid any unnecessary trouble."
My goodness, wouldn’t the power of a county magistrate, who holds the power of life and death, be reduced a lot by doing this?
Everyone looked at each other.
But it does seem to make sense.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the power of a county magistrate was extremely great. There were even stories of a county magistrate who ruined a family and a prefect who wiped out an entire clan.
Dividing their power is not a bad thing.
Anyway, as long as their power is not divided, it’s fine. As for what happens to the lower-level officials, it has nothing to do with them.
"Anyway, the judicial system of the Song Dynasty was already confusing, with all those messy institutions. After the reform, the county lieutenant was responsible for arresting, the county's inspection bureau conducted reviews and filed lawsuits, and the court accepted the case."
Zhao Jun said, "Then, at the prefectural level, we will establish a prefectural-level investigation and arrest department, separating the powers of the original prefects and magistrates. The prefectures will also have prefectural courts and censorial offices. Finally, we will separate the judicial offices at the prefectural level, thus achieving the separation of judicial powers at the county, prefectural, prefectural, and finally central levels."
This method is not unique to our country in later generations. It started in the ancient Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the establishment of the Censorate in the Ming Dynasty, the judicial power was separated into three parts. It was composed of the Censorate, the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, which were similar to the procuratorate, courts and public security bureaus in later generations.
As a result, the judicial system in the Ming and Qing dynasties was far less chaotic than that in the Song Dynasty.
"When Song Ci was the Chief Justice, he uncovered so many unjust, false, and wrongful cases. But there was only one Song Ci in the Song Dynasty, so it was obviously impossible to rely on one person to ensure judicial justice. Only the system could do it."
Zhao Jun finally looked around at everyone and said, "The system must be clean, responsibilities must be clear, and accountability must be assigned to individuals. This way, when the Song Dynasty implements new policies in the future, such as promoting cotton planting, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other grains, or carrying out national reforms and construction, there will be fewer obstacles and more smooth progress!"
After hearing this, everyone felt it was enlightening and thought-provoking.
There is only one chapter today. I think I have contracted the latest Mycoplasma pneumonia. I have been feeling unwell, coughing constantly, and have signs of fever. I may need to go to the hospital tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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