Whether Zhang Fei appears or not, for Zhao Xu, this reform of the official system is imperative. It is conceivable that the reason why Wang Gui submitted this memorial must have been instructed by Zhao Xu.
There are three main reasons.
First, the emperor has grown up and has his own ideas. He wants to make his own decisions and no longer wants to hide behind Wang Anshi.
Secondly, Zhao Xu wants to realize his political ideals, and his political ideals are actually two wars, against Xixia and against Liao. Of course, the main one at present is against Xixia, and he cannot see that he can win it for the time being. The hope of the Liao Kingdom.
But in any case, to do this, the whole country must be united so that the entire country can act according to its own will. In other words, it must take control of power. Both Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty were prepared for this.
It’s just that Tang Taizong himself was a military genius, so his preparations were relatively easy.
The third is to streamline officials, improve efficiency, and reduce financial expenditures to lay the foundation for future mobilization.
Of course Zhang Fei knew about Yuanfeng’s restructuring, which had a very significant impact on the system of later generations, but it was partially obscured by Wang Anshi.
But now that’s changing.
Historically, before Yuanfeng’s reform, Zhao Xu broke the old order through Wang Anshi, and then he personally came out to lead the reform. In other words, he already had power at that time. What about Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and other opposition parties? Clear them all out, including Wang Anshi.
It’s different now. The DPRK and China are now in a state of balance of power. Wang Anshi has not dominated the ruling and opposition parties. Not only have Sima Guang and the others not been demoted, but they have also gained greater power.
And this is all because of the emergence of the Public Security Bureau.
However, the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate also provided Zhao Xu with another path for restructuring.
That is to use the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate to carry out official reform.
In fact, no matter how the official system is changed, the essence is still the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister.
The Taizu Taizong system, Zhenzong and Renzong decentralized power, resulting in two situations in the current Northern Song Dynasty court. The first is that the organization is bloated and the efficiency is very slow. Second, the power of the prime minister is too great, because the officials of the three provinces currently do not have real power and all obey the political affairs hall. The prime minister will discuss matters with the emperor, and the emperor cannot directly give orders to the three provinces.
The combination of these two points resulted in no nod from the prime minister, and the emperor’s decree would not be circulated in the three provinces for how long.
This is why the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was established. Here was Wang Anshi. During this period, all the new government orders went to the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, which was equivalent to bypassing the Government Hall and the three provinces.
But the establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government must be only a temporary structure. Otherwise, Wang Anshi’s power cannot be controlled at all. A group of prime ministers have the final say over there, but he alone has the final say here.
This is only a temporary plan. If the power of the prime minister is weakened, the reform of the official system will still be adopted.
But if the organization is streamlined, the power of the prime minister will be further expanded, because the power of the prime minister is getting bigger and bigger, and the bloated organization is also restricting them.
How to limit the power while streamlining the organization really needs to be done.
Historically, Zhao Xu, who held great power, simply and crudely returned to the three-province system. Currently, it is the second-government system, that is, the Government Hall and the Privy Council. Returning to the three provinces would be equivalent to dividing the Government Hall. It was divided into three and placed in the three provinces, so that the three provinces faced the emperor directly, which indicated that the emperor would come to the front and directly participate in government affairs instead of going through the prime minister, and at the same time streamline the organization.
But it turns out that if the power is only divided, the efficiency will not be improved, but will be reduced. The reason lies in the division of power.
In the past, all decisions came from the Political Affairs Hall, where all the prime ministers discussed matters together. The three provinces directly took orders from the Political Affairs Hall, so they could respond quickly to emergencies.
It is divided into three, each taking care of its own thing. If there is a slight flaw, it has to be handed back, not to mention arguing with each other, and it starts over and over again.
To put it simply, if Wang Anshi approved the decree, could Sima Guang pass it by him?
In addition, Yuanfeng’s restructuring did not involve deep plowing at the local level. The central government made several changes, and the local level had to deal with it for a long time. Can this efficiency be high?
Is this a case of having your cake and eat it too, or is Zhao Xu’s original intention to centralize power and improve administrative efficiency?
Only Zhao Xu knows this.
However, now with the birth of the Public Security Bureau, a new kind of checks and balances has been born within the country.
It is the separation of politics and law.
We will definitely not follow the historical process, and the future will become unknown.
Although Zhang Fei also understood the administrative system, what he understood was the system of that era. If he copied it, the result would definitely be a head-scratching move. This could only be done by Zhao Xu and the prime ministers.
He will wait and see for a while. If it is not conducive to the public prosecution and law, he will make comments.
On the other hand, Zhao Xu couldn’t wait, because there was a large-scale rotation of officials this year, and he wanted to take advantage of this rotation to start moving to the front desk.
After talking with Zhang Fei, Zhao Xu invited Wang Anshi.
“Sir, please look.”
Zhao Xu handed a memorial to Wang Anshi, “This is from Wang Yuyu of the Hanlin Academy. I think it makes sense. What do you think, sir?”
Wang Anshi took it with both hands, sat on the chair, opened it and took a look, his brows gradually darkened.
After a while, Zhao Xu asked: “Sir, do you think it’s inappropriate?”
Wang Anshi put the memorial together and said with a little disdain: “I think the current reform against redundant officials has been completed very well. Many officials have already joined the business administration, so there is no need to rush it.”
It was still an educational tone.
Zhao Xu frowned secretly, but did not show it. He smiled and said: “I am not acting too hastily, but seeing that the integration of the Judicial Office has been so successful, I heard from the people in the Imperial City Division that the Judiciary Officials can even travel faster than officials from the three provinces, so why not use it in other government offices?”
Wang Anshi said: “I don’t deny it, and I am not against this. I just think that the situation is getting better and rashly return to the three provinces and six ministries system of the Tang Dynasty. This is unpredictable. What is the situation of the Tang Dynasty? The situation is very different from that of our dynasty. Take the Third Division and the Ministry of Household Affairs, for example. Given the size and authority of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it is impossible to replace the Third Division. For the same reason, the Ministry of War cannot replace the Privy Council.
In the opinion of the minister, each government office should be allowed to perform its duties first, and then redundant government offices should be cut down, and then the system should be standardized according to the specific situation. There is no need to follow the “Liu Canon of the Tang Dynasty”. ”
Zhao Xu was silent for a while, then nodded, “Sir, what you said makes sense.”
After a pause, he asked again: “There will be a large-scale rotation of officials this year. What do you think, sir?”
Wang Anshi was stunned for a moment, “Just rotate as usual.”
The prime minister came and went, and he was still in the political hall, but he was still able to handle affairs.
Zhao Xu frowned and said: “But the reform has not yet been completed. If the councilors and political affairs officers are rotated as usual, the reform will be delayed. It is better to restore the powers of the six ministries first and let the councilors and political affairs officers continue to reform and reform in the six ministries.”
Wang Anshi was slightly startled. He just objected. You are going to restore the six parts again. Didn’t you turn a deaf ear to my words? He glanced at Zhao Xu and suddenly realized that this was not an ordinary conversation. He immediately became cautious and nodded. The head said: “That’s okay.”
Zhao Xu’s words have a hidden meaning. This is for reform. If you don’t agree, there will be problems with the reform.
Zhao Xu asked again: “Sir, have all the new laws been promulgated now?”
Wang Anshi’s heart skipped a beat, and he said truthfully: “Currently, there are still mainly the laws to protect the armor, the laws to protect the horses, and the law to change the market, which have not yet been promulgated.”
Zhao Xu said: “The armor protection method will be put on hold for now. I think we can use the Royal Police to train an elite division for me.”
Wang Anshi has already seen through this point, so he has never promulgated the law of armor protection, so he nodded and said: “I obey my order.”
Zhao Xu sighed again: “Now I want to streamline the officials and reduce the harm of redundant officials. However, there are people in the court who have been talking about setting up the Ordinance Department of the Second Prefecture. They think that besides the Second Prefecture, there is another Second Prefecture. This Where can we start talking about streamlining government agencies? At present, the obstacles to the New Deal between the DPRK and China are no longer as great as before. I believe that Mr. Sir can implement the new law even in the Political Hall.”
Wang Anshi ran towards Zhao Xu with 10,000 straw and mud horses, but he immediately said: “The establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was originally established temporarily, and now it is time to abolish it.”
Zhao Xu smiled slightly and said: “I am very grateful to you for your understanding of justice. But you don’t have to worry. You can recommend officials to the Ordinance Department of the second government to enter the three provinces and six departments, including Sinong Temple and Taifu Temple. , will also be merged into the Ministry of Household Affairs and continue to reform.”
“I obey.”
Wang Anshi cupped his hands.
In fact, as early as half a month ago, Wang Anshi had a premonition that this would happen. He felt that Zhao Xu would no longer obey his words, but he did not expect that it would happen so quickly and so violently.
Even the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was abolished.
Having said that, of course the Ordinance Department of the Second Government must be abolished. It was originally a temporary organization, but he did not expect it to come so soon.
After leaving the house, Wang Anshi felt a sense of loneliness in his heart. He looked up and sighed, waving his sleeves and leaving.
Only an hour later, Sima Guang came to this hall again.
“Recently, some ministers have used judicial reform to impeach the prime minister, exercising power, nepotism, and excluding dissenters.”
The first words he said frightened Sima Guang out of his mind, “Your Majesty, I was wronged. I don’t know who wanted to frame me.”
Zhao Xu replied: “It’s Cai Que, the censor.”
“Cai Que?” Sima Guang was stunned, and then asked: “I wonder what credentials he has?”
This came so suddenly that he couldn’t even react!
Zhao Xu said: “He said that Xianggong led the judicial reform at the beginning and threatened to separate politics and law. However, the public security, prosecution and law were always controlled by Xianggong, and Xianggong participated in political affairs. Therefore, he believed that this was not the separation of politics and law at all, but the intention of Xianggong to monopolize Public Security Bureau.”
After saying that, he handed the memorial to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang stood up and took it with both hands, returned to the chair, opened it and read it. After a while, he closed the memorial and said, “Your Majesty, Cai Yushi’s words are reasonable. It is true that because of the minister, he did not complete the memorial. To achieve the separation of politics and law, I do not want to monopolize the public prosecutors and the judiciary, nor do I have any selfish intentions.”
One thing to say is that Sima Guang did hinder the separation of politics and law to some extent. Sima Guang belonged to the Political Affairs Hall, the first administrative department of the Political Affairs Hall. At the same time, he controlled the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Law, and he also shouted the slogan of separation of politics and law. , making it difficult for other administrative departments to intervene in the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Law. Isn’t it just you, Sima Guang, who is in charge of the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Law alone?
But this was also what Sima Guang wanted. When he was in the Criminal Court, he almost didn’t interfere with the public prosecutor’s office, and not a single case went to the Criminal Court.
He has a clear conscience and freely admits that this is indeed a problem.
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, “Of course I believe in my husband.”
Sima Guang blinked and hurriedly raised his hands and said: “I am willing to leave the trial court to show my innocence.”
Zhao Xu said: “But now the judicial reform has not been completed, and we still need to take charge of the overall situation!”
Sima Guang is a little confused, so what do you want?
After pretending to think about it, Zhao Xu said: “Let’s do this. This time the officials will be rotated, the Prime Minister will go to the Ministry of Punishment first and continue to preside over the judicial reform. At the same time, the Court of Punishment and Dali Temple will be named after the imperial court and set up a large court. He will preside over the daily affairs of the judiciary for a long time, thus completely separating politics and law.”
Sima Guang cupped his hands and said: “Your Majesty is wise, I fully agree.”
But after saying that, he was stunned again, Ministry of Punishment? Doesn’t the Ministry of Punishment have no authority? Why is it related to the Ministry of Justice?
“It just so happened that Wang Yuyu of the Hanlin Academy recently sent me a memorial. I agree with it very much. I wonder what your opinion is?” Before Sima Guang could react, Zhao Xu showed Wang Gui’s memorial to him.
Sima Guang took it again, and after reading it, he said truthfully: “I have always been in favor of streamlining the organization, deleting repetitions, and eliminating redundancy. However, the situation in our dynasty is very different from that of the previous dynasty, and there is no need to follow the “Liu Canon of the Tang Dynasty” Setting up three provinces and six ministries may result in more losses than gains.”
Hearing this, Zhao Xu was puzzled as to why the two old enemies had such unanimous views on this matter. They were really confused. He said, “I also asked Wang Yuyu why he had to follow the “Liu Canon of the Tang Dynasty”. Wang Yuyu Answer me, if the system is not explained clearly, the disaster of redundant officials cannot be eliminated. He also took the establishment of the Ordinance Department and Shipping Department of the second government as an example, thinking that this was the result of no system. Many officials were laid off here, but over there Many more officials have been added, and this back and forth is equivalent to no layoffs.”
Sima Guang nodded straightly and said: “Wang Yu’s words are reasonable. The Department of Regulations for the Establishment of the Second Government should indeed be abolished. If this department exists for a long time, it will definitely destroy the imperial system.”
Zhao Xu asked: “Does this mean that you support Wang Yuyu’s words?”
“This.”
Sima Guang had a look of struggle on his face. The emperor tied these two things together. If you don’t agree with my restructuring, the Ordinance Department of the Second Government will not be withdrawn. His tone suddenly softened and said: “Your Majesty. I think that if this is to be the case, we should proceed step by step and not act too hastily.”
“What you say makes sense.”
Zhao Xu nodded with a smile and said: “This time the officials are rotated, some of the powers of the six departments will be restored first.”
Sima Guang hesitated and said: “That’s okay.”
As soon as he walked out of the palace, Sima Guang immediately realized that the emperor was about to take over power, because this kind of thing had happened countless times in history.
Soon, word spread about this matter. Both conservatives and reformists could not help but remain silent, and they did not even dare to discuss the matter publicly. It can be seen that the power was no less than a magnitude 10 earthquake.
They had expected that this rotation would be a big show, but they never expected that it would be so exciting.
In an instant, Wang Anshi was relieved of his administrative power, and without the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, everything had to be done according to the rules.
At the same time, Sima Guang was also relieved of his judicial power.
Once the Trial Court is changed into the Supreme Imperial Court, and only has the Chief Justice, it will be like the Privy Council, completely separated from the control of the Political Hall, and become a pure judicial institution. If Sima Guang is not the Chief Justice, he will not be able to Then continue to preside over the daily affairs of the Public Security Bureau.
Most of the two major forces in North Korea and China were lost in an instant.
This is really terrible.
Only the elite Tang fans were ecstatic. You must know that there were a group of literati in the Song Dynasty who admired the Tang Dynasty very much, including Zhao Xu himself, who was also a little fan of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. They were all eager to restore the Tang system.
This group of elite Tang fans began to build momentum, demanding the restoration of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries system in accordance with the “Tang Liu Dian”.
In addition, there were some opportunistic officials who quickly flattered the emperor when they saw this situation.
Fufu
Fu Bi couldn’t help but sigh: “What a good trick!”
Before, their target had always been Wang Anshi, but they never thought that the little emperor’s methods could be so ruthless, and he would do whatever he said.
“When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit.” Wen Yanbo said: “Today the six ministries will be restored, and tomorrow the three provinces will be restored.”
Although it is not finished, it actually implies dividing their power.
The power of the prime minister is the source of power of the scholar-bureaucrat group.
This will break the balance between the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling the world.
Wen Yanbo looked at Fu Bi again, “Fu Gong, maybe you are right.”
Fu Bi was startled, then frowned and said calmly: “Do you want to make the same mistake again?”
As usual, every time there was a major earthquake in the DPRK, Zhang Fei was like an outsider, focusing on his own affairs.
Recently, he has been busy with the matter of student loans. Recently, he came to Baifan Building to have final negotiations with Fan Yong.
This time Fan Yong and other businessmen did not struggle too much. They mainly questioned one point, that is, how to ensure their own benefits. Zhang Fei also told them that various examinations would be set up to try to lend money to those with more qualifications. high students.
At the same time, let them calculate the interest based on the current wages of the bookkeeper and the caterer, and calculate the interest based on the worse result, so as to ensure that they can repay it when the time comes.
After graduation, if you can’t enter the Imperial College or become an official, you should be able to work as an accountant.
After several discussions, Fan Yong and other businessmen agreed. In fact, compared with the previous big deals, this is just a small amount of money!
“Alas, this court really treats our charity foundation as a small treasury, inexhaustible and inexhaustible.”
Fan Yong said with emotion.
Zhang Fei suddenly stood up and looked up.
Fan Yong was stunned and followed his gaze, but saw a plaque hanging above his head – The best is like water.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: “Think about it, why the charity foundation can spend so much money.”
Fan Yong smiled awkwardly, “That’s true.”
How could this charity foundation develop without the support of the imperial court?
Zhang Fei added: “What’s more, investing in education is a business that is guaranteed to make a profit. Some people want to invest money in it, but they are not qualified yet.”
“That’s true.”
Fan Yong nodded.
“Okay!”
Zhang Fei said: “You can arrange this matter, I will go back to the procuratorate first.”
“Sanlang, walk slowly.”
Back at the procuratorate, I saw many unfamiliar faces inside.
“Prosecutor Zhang is back, and the students from the Imperial College are here to report.”
Wang Gong came forward and pointed at the dozen or so unfamiliar faces.
The dozen or so people immediately came forward and said, “The student has seen the teacher.”
“Wait a minute.”
Zhang Fei said in surprise: “When did I become your teacher?”
One of them said: “Students in the Legal Academy are learning the legal system of the teacher, so they should be respectfully called the teacher.”
All are disciples of the law.
These proud men of heaven have long memorized “Song Xingtong” by heart. When they entered the Imperial College, they mainly studied the legal system and studied the cases of the imperial court.
It is natural for them to call Zhang Fei teacher.
“It’s up to you.”
Zhang Fei added: “No matter what your names are, there is no less work to do.”
As he said that, he looked at Qi Ji again, “Inspector Qi, find some work for them, and arrange for them to inspect the prison first.”
Qi Ji smiled and nodded.
This is really a good job!
Zhang Fei asked those students again: “Do you know why I arranged for you to inspect the prison?”
More than a dozen people shook their heads.
Zhang Fei said: “What is the concept of legal system?”
“Defend everyone’s legitimate rights and interests.”
“So do prisoners have legitimate personal rights?”
“Have it.”
After thinking for a while, they mustered up the courage to answer.
Zhang Fei said: “Of course we have it, because if we don’t defend the legitimate rights and interests of prisoners, then we can’t prevent unjust cases from happening.”
“Students must keep the teacher’s teachings in mind.”
“Let’s call me Prosecutor Zhang here.”
“Yes, teacher.”
“???”
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to care, “Go and get ready.”
These students left with Qi Ji excitedly. They had work to do as soon as they came up. They were so happy.
These students have not yet smoothed their edges and are full of ambition. They are really motivated.
After they left, Wang Gong suddenly said: “Prosecutor Zhang, have you heard about the trial court?”
Zhang Fei asked: “What’s the matter?”
Wang Gong frowned and said: “It is said that the imperial court plans to convert the Sentencing Court and Dali Temple into imperial courts. If it is true, then our public prosecutors and law will be completely independent from the administration.”
Zhang Fei was startled and thought to himself, what is supposed to come will come after all. But he asked: “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”
Wang Gong was stunned, “I still want to ask you.”
Zhang Fei said: “How could I know.”
Wang Gong pondered for a while, “Logically speaking, this is of course a good thing, but without Sima Xianggong to take charge of the overall situation, it is difficult to control the balance, and everyone feels a little guilty!”
It is said that politics and law are separated, but if there is a complete separation, it is inevitable that there will be some worries. Is it really possible to sue the prime minister to the imperial court?
With Sima Guang here, if the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate cross the line, the Trial Court can still dismiss them. Moreover, if the higher authorities want to find someone, they will first look for Sima Guang. They will not interfere too much with the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Law. On the contrary, they do not have too much pressure.
In other words, now the public security bureau, procuratorate, and law must bear all responsibilities themselves.
Although the separation of politics and law is what Zhang Fei pursues, he is reluctant at this moment because he thinks it is too fast, at least until the expansion of Southeast Sixth Road is completed, but he Don’t let the dragon hide in the water all the time.
The key is that he suspected that Zhao Xu did this in advance before the Public Security Law was fully implemented. He may also have doubts about the Public Security Law.
It would be more difficult for the emperor to control it personally if the public security law was formed. From this point of view, at this moment, it is indeed a very important window for the emperor.