Arriving on the second floor, there was only a small room with four windows, but the decoration was very elegant. At this time, there was a person sitting in the room, none other than Emperor Shenzong.
He was sitting at a small square table. On the table were a pot of wine and four very exquisite dishes, all of which were loved by Zhang Fei, including the delicate-looking little palace maid next to him.
"Zhang Fei, a humble citizen, comes to see His Majesty."
Zhang Fei bowed.
Zhao Xu smiled and said: "You don't need to be polite, just sit down."
The hand is directed towards the opposite side.
He had never wanted to reveal his identity before, just hoping to maintain a kind of communication between friends with Zhang Fei. He and Zhang Fei were about the same age, and they hit it off. This kind of relationship was very rare for him.
Even though his identity is exposed now, he still hopes to continue to maintain this relationship.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
This was not the first time that Zhang Fei sat across from Zhao Xu. He smiled and sat down opposite Zhao Xu. He looked around and said, "This seems to be the first time that I have been a guest at His Majesty's house."
Being a guest? Zhao Xu liked this statement very much and laughed: "I have wanted to invite you for a long time, but I just haven't found the opportunity."
During the conversation, the maid next to them had already poured them a glass of wine.
Zhao Xu raised his glass and said: "Congratulations on winning this lawsuit."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Zhang Fei quickly raised a glass to greet him.
After finishing the drink, Zhao Xu put down the glass and said, "At first, Fan Sijian asked Xueshijian Wang to come to the court to testify on the spur of the moment. It really made me break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, you became calm and made Fan Sijian and the others use their magic."
It’s so satisfying to not open it!”
Zhang Fei wanted to eat some vegetables to drink, but when he heard the emperor's question, he hurriedly picked up the food and said: "To be honest with you, your majesty, this is actually much better than I imagined, even better than the ancestral method last time."
The lawsuit will be much easier."
"Yeah?"
Zhao Xu said in surprise.
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Last time, it was the juror who was questioning me. The status is not equal, so I have more worries. This time at least I have an equal relationship with Fan Sijian. On this basis, Bachelor Wang
The difference between making a confession or not is simply whether he loses in a very embarrassing or slightly embarrassing way."
Zhao Xu smiled and said: "So no matter what, he loses."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Because this is a matter of theirs. Unless they use despicable means, they will not be able to win."
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "As for Fang Yun, I have sent people to secretly investigate, but the other party has also done a very thorough job. No clues have been found yet, but I have sent people to secretly protect Fang Yun. In this regard,
You don’t have to worry too much.”
Zhang Fei quickly cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhao Xu smiled and said: "I didn't expect you to be such a person who values love and justice. In fact, Fang Yun just saved your life, and you helped her clear her name. This can be regarded as repaying her life-saving grace."
.”
Zhang Fei smiled bitterly and said: "It would be great if the results of matters of friendship can also be calculated through calculation."
"It makes sense." Zhao Xu nodded with a smile, and added: "It's strange to say that every time I hear you litigate, I always benefit a lot, even better than the debates of the ministers."
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said: "This may be because those ministers in front of Your Majesty all discuss gains and losses in terms of morality, while I discuss morality in terms of success and failure in court. It's just the opposite, so Your Majesty feels something is different."
“Determining morality based on success or failure?”
When Zhao Xu heard it for the first time, he thought it made no sense, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it made some sense, so he asked, "How do you say this?"
Zhang Fei replied: "Because the law is born out of morality, it is also the bottom line of morality. Many times some immoral things are not illegal, but illegal things must have a moral violation, so they should be treated as laws."
When laws conflict with each other, morality becomes ruthless.
And litigation is a pure struggle of interests. We are not trying to convince the other party, nor are we exploring the truth, but we are trying to use the weapon of law to subdue the other party. This is like two armies confronting each other. There is only victory or defeat, but in the end we defend the
It’s just morality.”
Zhao Xu thought for a while, nodded and said with a smile: "Your explanation is quite refreshing. I'll toast you again."
"It's my turn to offer this cup to Your Majesty."
"Same."
Drink it.
Zhao Xu added: "Before, in court, you stated that the establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government would be subject to judicial supervision. In my opinion, they will definitely pay attention to this litigation practice and strive to use the law to prevent Wang Xueshi's reform.
, can you guarantee that you can always win?”
Zhang Fei was startled, hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "No."
Zhao Xu raised his arms on the table, leaned forward, and asked, "What should we do?"
"This..." Zhang Fei seemed a little confused. He was so immersed in the lawsuit just now that he even forgot about the emperor. It was all because of Fan Chunren. He disrupted my rhythm by interrogating me. Now it's really bad.
.
Zhao Xu saw his troubled expression and smiled slightly: "I can only chat with you about this problem. I hope you can tell me everything you know."
What he wanted to ask was actually very simple. Can the judiciary restrict me? As an emperor, if I have to rely on you to issue policies, it means that the imperial power has been greatly weakened!
Fan Chunren's words just now attracted his attention.
This emperor wants to follow the Legalist line. What he pursues is not that the law is disrespectful, but that he respects the emperor and subordinates his ministers. This is a very important political thought of Legalism.
Centralization strengthens power.
But at present, this Legalist has different ideas from Zhao Xu. If the lawsuit continues like this, he will also be subject to judicial supervision.
"yes!"
Zhang Fei nodded, dealt with it, and thought, if he doesn't explain this issue clearly, I'm afraid he won't go on firmly. Anyway, now I am just a commoner, and I don't have any power. He will listen to what I say.
Just listen and it won't have any impact on him. If I become an official in the court in the future, I may never be able to say these words.
After weighing for a while, Zhang Fei nodded and said: "You have to admit if you lose."
Zhao Xu frowned slightly, this was not what he wanted.
Zhang Fei then said: "If you don't recognize it, your country will be destroyed."
Zhao Xu was surprised again: "How can you say this?"
Zhang Fei asked: "Your Majesty, do you know why Qin prospered and why it fell?"
Zhao Xu pondered for a moment: "Those who prosper by the law will die by the law?"
The demise of a country is definitely not a reason. Usually, the answer to this question must be combined with the context. He was not answering Zhang Fei, but guessing that Zhang Fei wanted to say this.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "To be precise, the Qin Dynasty prospered because of the law but not the nobility, and at the same time it died because of respecting the emperor and humble ministers. This is why none of the people who respected the legalists in the past dynasties lasted long."
Die because of respecting the king and humble the people?
This seemed to be a direct message to Zhao Xu not to follow the path of Legalism.
But this is obviously very contradictory to Zhang Fei's previous views.
Zhang Fei had previously emphasized that Legalism was the only way to enrich the country and strengthen the army.
Zhao Xu asked: "What is the explanation for this?"
Zhang Fei replied: "If the law defends the bottom line of morality, then the monarch defends the bottom line of the law. Once the monarch breaks the law, the country will perish.
Because the law is actually the least restrictive to the monarch. Ordinary people break the law mostly for money, beauty, and even power. But the monarch has all these at his fingertips. Generally speaking, it is difficult for the monarch to break the law.
.
Unless you rob the women of the people by force and send people to plunder the people's property, how can the country survive as a monarch? Throughout the past dynasties, whenever a country becomes weak, it always starts with the monarch breaking the law, and there has never been a case where the law was destroyed.
The phenomenon of national survival.”
Zhao Xu shook his head when he heard this: "You only know one, but not the other. Every move I make is under their surveillance, but I may know nothing about their actions. How can you be right?"
I have the least restraint.”
Zhang Fei smiled.
Zhao Xu asked: "Isn't my answer sincere enough?"
The implication is that I hope you can talk openly and honestly with me. I can't talk to anyone else about this.
Zhang Fei scratched his head and said unclearly: "If the monarch is subject to judicial supervision, then do they still need to keep an eye on the monarch's every move?"
Zhao Xu immediately fell into silence.
Censors and admonishers are indeed annoying sometimes, but the problem is that the emperor is not subject to judicial constraints. As long as no one is watching him, the emperor can do whatever he wants.
If the emperor breaks the law and the common people are guilty, and the judiciary is independent, the imperial censor and admonishment officer can be dispensed with. Kaifeng Prefecture is enough.
After being silent for a while, Zhao Xu said again: "Having said that, if I lose this lawsuit, will I have to give up the reform?"
In fact, what he wanted to ask was exactly what Zhang Fei had just answered, whether the judiciary would override the imperial power.
Zhang Fei said: "If it is as I said, this lawsuit should not exist, because His Majesty has the power to establish the Second Government Ordinance Department, which is completely in line with the court regulations. They relied on their power to take the establishment of the Second Government Ordinance Department to court."
of."
Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "You don't understand what I mean."
Zhang Fei also wanted to say: "Your Majesty did not understand what I meant."
Zhao Xu was surprised and asked: "Then what do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "As I just said, the monarch is the last line to defend the country's laws. In other words, the law has the smallest restriction on your majesty, followed by the ministers, and the greatest restriction on the people.
But the law is like a rope that traps everyone in it. It is tight and unified. Therefore, when the hemp rope tightens on His Majesty by one point, the ministers will tighten by five points, and the people will tighten it by five points.
It’s a matter of ten points. And His Majesty’s previous concerns were based on a one-point tightening on himself. In this case, this lawsuit cannot exist.”
In the final analysis, this lawsuit was caused by a power struggle and was not entirely based on justice.
Zhao Xu pondered for a while and asked: "How can you be sure that if you tighten the restraint on the monarch by one point, you will tighten the restraint on the ministers by five points?"
Zhang Fei said: "If an ear pen dares to sue the monarch, and the prosecution is successful, then no one will dare to sue the prime minister. On the contrary, if an ear pen sues the prime minister, it does not mean that he can sue the monarch. Legally speaking, the monarch
Has the most judicial immunity."
Zhao Xu retorted: "I have not violated the law, but many officials have violated the law. What do you say?"
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said: "Does your Majesty know about the merchants' taxes?"
Zhao Xu nodded: "Of course I understand."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Does Your Majesty know that many officials are fishing in troubled waters?"
Zhao Xu nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei said: "Why doesn't the court care?"
Zhao Xu fell silent.
Zhang Fei said: "The imperial court wants to expand fiscal revenue, but at the same time it is unwilling to spend too much in remuneration. How is this different from robbery? But if Your Majesty restrains himself and does not want this illegal income, this phenomenon will inevitably be reduced on a large scale.
"
Zhao Xu sighed: "I don't want to either, but the current finances cannot make ends meet."
Zhang Fei said: "If Your Majesty takes the lead in robbing because of this, the consequences will be certain. The past dynasties have also told us the outcome. This is just a vicious circle! The phenomenon of overtaxation occurs based on the situation of loosening one point.
In fact, Your Majesty gained much more from it than any of them, but their combined income may be more than Your Majesty, or at least similar. It can be seen that the looser the restraint on His Majesty, the more His Majesty will lose. In the end,
The country is destroyed and the family is destroyed.”
Combined with current events, Zhao Xu understood it as soon as he heard it. His face felt hot, he picked up the wine glass, took a big sip, and sighed: "I know what you mean, but how easy is it?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "In fact, the road is very difficult to walk. Otherwise, why would there be a Tang Taizong in so many years? But this is at least a way to survive, and that road must be a dead end."
Zhao Xu asked: "But respecting the emperor and degrading his ministers is a Legalist idea."
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and then said: "Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, he actually combined Confucianism and Legalism. He did not give up many ideas of Legalism. This is because if Legalism is combined with respect for the emperor and subordinates, it will definitely
It is a dead end, and all countries that do this will, without exception, be destroyed as a result."
Zhao Xu wondered: "Why is this? This was advocated by Han Feizi, the founder of Legalism."
This was an extremely important reason why he supported Legalism, which was to assert imperial power. Wang Anshi's reform also incorporated this idea into it. This was also an important reason why Zhao Xu supported Wang Anshi.
If the imperial power is not upheld, it will be impossible to expand its territory externally and reform internally.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "So Han Feizi lost completely!"
Zhao Xu said: "But Da Qin...!"
He wanted to say that Great Qin won, but Great Qin died in the second generation, which seemed unconvincing.
Zhang Fei said: "The core idea of Legalism is actually that the law should not be noble and the rope should not be bent, so that the country can be effectively governed. But this obviously has a sharp contradiction with respecting the emperor and subordinates, and the two are incompatible, so Confucianism must be introduced
The concept of “Jun Jun Chen Chen” is integrated with Legalist thinking, because “Jun Jun Chen Chen” is relatively gentle.”
This Confucian concept of monarch and ministers does not completely respect the monarch, but cleverly uses morality to restrict the monarch, which means that the monarch should behave like a monarch and the ministers should behave like ministers.
This is why when ministers try to dissuade the emperor, they often use Yao, Shun, and Taizong as examples. In fact, this is the idea that an example must be set for what a monarch should be like.
But respecting the emperor and humble his ministers is simple and crude. In the universe, I am the only one who is respected.
But this does not mean that it has returned. The combination of Confucianism and Legalism cannot make changes.
Zhao Xu was very confused after hearing this.
Zhang Fei continued: "The reason why I support Your Majesty in following the Legalist line is because the country is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, and power must be used to turn things around."
Zhao Xu was completely confused, "Aren't you contradicting yourself?"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "If your Majesty chooses with moderation, you can make all contradictions work for your Majesty."
Zhao Xu asked: "How to choose with moderation?"
Zhang Fei said: "It is very simple, it is to give part of the power to the judiciary. Throughout the dynasties, many people believed that the monarch would naturally benefit from less constraints on the imperial power.
But in fact, it is just the opposite. The monarch will benefit most if the imperial power is more restrictive, because the monarch can use this restriction in exchange for five points of restriction from the ministers. Although everyone becomes weaker, the ministers will lose more, and the imperial power will naturally
Just get justice."
Zhao Xu frowned and said, "Give justice?"
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty can also understand that if it is handed over to the state, this part of the power handed over will become public power."
"Public power? State?"
"Yes."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "But as long as the public power is properly controlled, the monarch's power can be extended."
"How do you say this?" Zhao Xu asked.
Zhang Fei explained: "From a purely legal perspective, the monarch has both legislative power and legal interpretation power. Even if the judiciary restricts the monarch, the monarch can still achieve all the goals he wants to achieve, and the restrictions are more severe.
few.
Just like in the case of establishing the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, if everyone only talks about the law, His Majesty only needs to change the name, and then he will be invincible. The other party is the one who does not talk about the law.
Therefore, when Fan Si admonished them on this matter, they often talked not about legal principles but about morality.
If it doesn't work, Your Majesty can add a few more presiding judges to try. The ancestral law can give many explanations, and each explanation is reasonable. Your Majesty can obtain the explanation you want through legal means."
After hearing this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
Zhang Fei's theory indeed opened a door for him.
In the past, it was a zero-sum game between monarchs and ministers. Everyone wanted to increase their power, but no one ever thought about reducing their power together.
As long as you lose more than me, the gap between us will be even greater, and the imperial power will naturally be extended. Then what is considered is how much power should be put in a cage, which is most beneficial to the monarch.