Chapter 408 Maintaining the Flexibility of the Law
Now that it has been decided to implement the recruitment law in Kaifeng Prefecture, who should implement it.
Reform is a reform, and the system cannot be changed.
The establishment of a temporary agency, the Ordinance Department of the Second Government, cannot end it in person.
Fortunately, Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi were prepared.
Ever since the bosses of Sinong Temple and Taifu Temple were driven out of the capital by Zhang Fei, this seat has been vacant so far, and no one has been arranged to take it. This was reserved for the New Deal.
Because the two temples did not have much power before, and the financial power was all controlled by the third division, and Wang Anshi could not control the third division, the way was to start a new one.
Wang Anshi was interested in the Ersi warehouse management system. His reform was centered around financial management. If there was not even a warehouse, how could it be managed?
Therefore, he suggested to Zhao Xu that Sinong Temple should preside over the recruitment law, and then recommend Han Jiang to be the judge of Sinong Temple affairs.
This Han Jiang was from a top-notch family in the Northern Song Dynasty. His great-grandfather Han Chujun was named Duke of Zhou.
His grandfather Han Baoshu was granted the title Duke of Chen.
His father, Han Yi, was also granted the title of Duke of Ji by the prime minister, with the posthumous title of "Zhongxian".
He himself was also very ambitious. During the Renzong period, he was a Jinshi and did not rely on Zuyin to become an official. However, during the Yingzong period, he served as a powerful magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, and later became a political advisor. He has been running the army in the northwest. Last year
His younger brother Han Wei, who just came back, was also a famous prime minister in the Song Dynasty.
Anyway, his family is really full of prime ministers.
Moreover, he had reformed the draft law at the local level. Although it had some results, it was only a minor revision and did not address the root cause. Wang Anshi's draft law also drew on his experience.
The key is that Han Jiang has a very good personal relationship with Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo.
If he were promoted, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and the others would feel a little relieved. Previously, when Xue Xiang was promoted, it would be very troublesome. He was impeached every day, and Wang Anshi would argue with them every day for Xue Xiang.
If Han Jiang presides over it, this situation will be greatly improved.
Sinong Temple.
"Jiefu, in my opinion, your recruitment method is the general trend. However, it is also our wish to eliminate the bad governance of our dynasty for hundreds of years. But..."
After a lot of flattery, Han Jiang said tactfully: "It's just that with the remaining money, the household division should be reconsidered."
Although Wang Anshi recommended him to the position, he was not grateful to Wang Anshi. Before Wang Anshi, he had already been involved in political affairs. He had his own ideas and supported the reform, so he was willing to agree to Wang Anshi.
But he disagreed with the specific regulations.
Wang Anshi was unhappy. With the finances like this, how could we go to war with Xixia and Liao? Do you think our Song Dynasty only had internal problems? External problems were even bigger.
But he did not show it, but said with a smile: "Try it first, and if there are any problems, we will make adjustments."
Han Jiang nodded and asked: "The new law does not involve hired labor. Do you really plan to hand it all over to the police station?"
Wang Anshi snorted: "You should know better than me how corrupt the government is today, and the police station has just been established and has not been polluted yet. Sinong Temple is responsible for promulgating laws, managing money and materials, and dismissing existing police officers.
, as for the employment aspect, it is left to the police station.”
Although the finances of the recruitment law are allocated to the police department, it cannot be said that the police department manages the money itself. This must still be managed by a specialized department.
Han Jiang frowned and said, "But this job involves many affairs. Can the newly established police station handle it well?"
Wang Anshi laughed and said: "Let's give it a try. The officials seem to be very confident about this and have ordered the police station to prepare for it."
After Han Jiang heard this, he said no more. The emperor had already made his decision.
In a squad room not far away, there were five or six officials sitting.
But when he saw Xu Tai, the Taicang Ling of Sinong Temple, standing at the door, he looked outside and saw no one around, so he closed the door.
Turning around, he said to the five or six colleagues sitting inside: "The officials have decided to implement the recruitment law in Kaifeng Mansion first."
"I told you that Sima Junshi and the others couldn't be stopped, but you just didn't believe it."
"You can't say that. The officials obviously favor Wang Jiefu more. If there is no evidence, Sima Junshi and the others will not be able to do anything."
"That's right. The government insists on using Wang Jiefu. Even if we object with words, it won't change anything. We have to provide some evidence."
"evidence?"
"Wang Jiefu made this recruitment law obviously to make money for the country, so why don't we help him and see how many people are willing to pay this money."
Although the matter has been decided, it does not mean the end. On the contrary, it means that this war without gunpowder has just begun.
Compared to the equal loss method, this recruitment method offends many more people.
You are so straightforward about taxing our official households. Although it is only half, if you can tax half, then you can tax double in the future.
Officials will definitely fight back. This is a matter of interest, and they will never sit back and wait for death.
It's just that the decision-making power is in the hands of the emperor. If the emperor wants to do this, they have no choice, but they are also good at using facts to teach the emperor how to be the king of a country.
Fu Bi is very familiar with this situation. He knows what may happen next, and his previous experience has also told him what the consequences of this party struggle will be. This path will definitely not work, so although he does not agree
, but he did not speak out to directly oppose it. He is now placing all his bets on the rule of law.
What's hateful is that this kid Zhang Fei is really good at it. After attending that class, he really ignored it.
I haven't been there even once in more than two months.
Fu Bi could only come to ask for advice in person.
Xu Zun felt quite embarrassed when he saw Fu Bi coming to the door in person, "Don't blame me, Mr. Fu, my son-in-law is young and ignorant."
Fu Bi waved his hand and said, "How can you blame him? The official handed over this matter to me, and it had nothing to do with your son-in-law. It's just that I encountered some problems recently and wanted to ask your son-in-law for advice."
"Don't dare! Don't dare!"
Zhang Fei, who was standing next to Xu Zun, said quickly: "How can Zhang San be so virtuous? This is really embarrassing for this junior!"
Fu Bi chuckled: "When did you become so humble?"
Zhang Fei replied: "Usually."
Fu Bi was stunned for a moment, then laughed and pointed to the table and chair next to him, "Don't stand either. Sit down. Sit down."
"Why!"
Zhang Fei then sat down.
Fu Bi's smile faded and he said, "The main reason I came here today is to ask you about the relationship between the tax law and the legal system."
Zhang Fei blinked and said: "This junior has already said this in class."
Fu Bi said: "But you only talked about the relationship between rights and obligations. What I want to ask is, when the common people only have food rations left at home, can they refuse to pay taxes?"
Zhang Fei and Xu Zun looked at each other.
I probably guessed in my heart that the purpose of Fu Bi's trip was to use legislation to protect the people from being exploited by the recruitment law.
But this problem is really more acute.
Zhang Fei didn't dare to speak out in class.
The power of taxation is imperial power.
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said: "In fact, it stands to reason that if the people only have rations left and the court wants to take them away, this is obviously not in line with the concept of the rule of law and is unreasonable."
Fu Bi nodded: "That's exactly it."
Zhang Fei said: "But collecting taxes is a very difficult task. If it is clearly stipulated that under what circumstances the people can refuse to pay taxes, this may also bring a lot of trouble to the government.
Because the people can also hide money and food, and then complain to the government about their poverty, but the government does not have so much manpower and material resources to investigate clearly, which may make the national finance even worse."
Fu Bi nodded repeatedly: "You are right. When I discussed this matter with the judicial officials and students, I also took these issues into consideration. This taxation is a major national matter and should not be acted upon rashly. However, this situation should be avoided and cannot be
Killing the goose to get the eggs and depleting the lake to catch the fish, forcing the people to rebel will also make the finances worse."
He hoped to use the legal system to prevent the excessive exploitation of the lower class households by the draft law. However, when the legislation was being enacted, the judicial officials expressed that this was not possible because it would cause great trouble to the government.
If the country cannot collect taxes, the country will be doomed. The risk is too great.
Fu Bi didn't come up with a good solution, so he could only come to Zhang Fei for help.
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and said: "Fu Gong seems to be still immersed in the idea of virtue as the master of punishment and supplementation, and has not changed his concept to virtue as the master of law and assistance."
Fu Bi asked hurriedly: "How do you say this?"
Zhang Fei said: "I once said in class that morality governs and the law assists, the legal system is the basis for criminalization, and the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules are the basis for criminalization.
Tax evasion is an illegal act, because this is what the law states. If you want to change the conditions for criminalization, it is not impossible. The key government may not be able to do it, and you have to consider practical issues. Then you can only look at the crime.
consider."
Fu Bi nodded frequently upon hearing this.
Zhang Fei said: "Suppose a common man is caught by the government for tax evasion and finds that he has an elderly person to support at home, this can be a reference to filial piety.
Or maybe he has a child who is crying for food, or maybe he has been disabled and his family is poor because he went to battle to kill the enemy and protect his family and country.
The rich man added these conditions under the tax law, and judicial officials can refer to these conditions when hearing the case, and then give him a lenient treatment, or even directly exempt him from taxes."
Fu Bi's eyes lit up and he asked again: "Is it just a reference?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "It is just a reference, not a rigid standard. Only in this way can the flexibility of the law be maintained. The court can not only guarantee the authority of the law, but also ensure that the law is nothing more than human feelings."
Many regulations cannot be finalized. Otherwise, in some special cases, no matter how the judgment is decided, it will be wrong.
Fu Bi doubted, "If it's just for reference, then it's all up to the officials to decide."
Zhang Fei said: "In the end, we still have to rely on officials to enforce the law. Maintaining the flexibility of the law only ensures that officials can give different judgments based on the actual situation. Of course, officials may also give very bad judgments, which is inevitable."
The law is never perfect.
However, this also provided help for the Erbi lawsuit. Without these conditions, the lawsuit would not be able to be fought, but if it is possible, Erbi can use this to help the people reduce their charges."
"I see."
Fu Bi nodded and said, "But this relies heavily on the Erbi. Ordinary people can't even pay taxes, so how can they afford to file a lawsuit against the Erbi?"
"This depends on the establishment of the Legal Aid Department."
"The Legal Aid Department is free of charge, so how many people would be willing to go?"
"If the imperial court and bookstores like us have to recruit people from the Legal Aid Department, for example, if you want to enter the Procuratorate, you must first look at your performance in the Legal Aid Department. For example, if you want to come to our Bianjing Law Firm, you must also
Show the results of the Legal Aid Department. In this way, many talented people in this field will be willing to go to the Legal Aid Department and try their best to litigate cases for the people.
We big bookstores are also willing to donate money to the Legal Aid Department, because this will provide us with talents, but the court also needs to allocate a little money to at least ensure that the Erbi of the Legal Aid Department will not go hungry.
The cost of raising ten Erbis from the Legal Aid Department is much lower than that of one judicial officer. However, the role these ten Erbis can play is much higher than that of one judicial officer. This is a very large sum of money.