Being able to serve as the prefect of Hezhong Prefecture, there is no doubt about Cai Yanqing's ability, but he has always kept a very low profile. Although he already knew about Zhang Fei and Yuan Jiang's activities, he did not know what their ultimate goal was.
What.
Therefore, he is still more willing to be a bystander and do his part. After all, the current direction of development of things is for the better, and he is happy to enjoy the results.
And just as Cai Yanqing rushed to the Transportation Department to inform Yuan Jiang of the news, Cao Yi also hurriedly came to the government office.
"what happened?"
When Wei Yingfang saw Cao Yi, he was also very confused and asked: "Why did they suddenly make up their minds and adopt our suggestions?"
Cao Yidao: "This is because the squires from all counties have stood up, which prompted the big landowners to choose to adopt our suggestions."
Wei Yingfang frowned slightly at first, then suddenly laughed: "Hu Tu! Hu Tu! We only thought about profit, but never thought that when the people go to the Royal Police to pay taxes, this will do the greatest harm to the squire."
"exactly."
Cao Yi nodded: "Many squires were furious about the police station's actions without consulting them. At the same time, the previous trial made the villagers more willing to go to the imperial court or even the royal court when they encountered disputes.
The police, this made the squires feel a great threat.
Now, in the name of cracking down on usury, the country squires have stated that no one can lend more than one and a half cents in their own village, otherwise they will be dealt with according to the patriarchal law."
Wei Yingfang smiled and said: "This is indeed a clever plan. In this way, the squire will become the most relied upon person by the villagers."
Cao Yi nodded: "Yes, compared to the imperial court and the government, the villagers are more accustomed to following the virtuous and respected country gentry. The most important thing is that they established this clan system, which can not only weaken the public security law, but also severely damage the Qingmiao Law
.”
Procuratorate.
"Before we came to the public prosecutor's office, we didn't see them doing this. This was clearly Xiang Zhuang's sword dance with the intention of Pei Gong."
Wang Shen said slightly excited.
Chen Qi coughed: "You can't say that. Those squires have always been opposed to the Green Crops Law. There is nothing wrong with them doing this."
Wang Shen said: "But they did this not to deal with the Qingmiao Law, but to deal with our Public Security Bureau. They wrote the interest into the patriarchal law. This intention is very obvious. In the future, will the patriarchal law or the law be the main one?
?”
Chen Qi frowned. This was indeed not good for the public prosecutor. She couldn't help but look at Su Zhe who was silent and said, "Prosecutor Su, how should we respond?"
Su Che was looking up information about military pay. He was startled for a moment, glanced at the two of them, and asked, "Did they break the law?"
Wang Shen and Chen Qi looked at each other and shook their heads.
As long as the patriarchal system does not conflict with the law, it is of course allowed.
The interest rate of 1.5 cents is far lower than what the court stipulates.
Even if the court doesn't want to, it would be hard to say shamelessly that you can't set such a low interest rate because it will disrupt market rules.
The key is not to say this now.
"Then we have nothing to do with it."
Su Che shook his head and said with a smile: "I don't know if you have noticed, but President Zhang has always emphasized that the judiciary does not interfere with administration. From my understanding, maybe the more we want to control, the more we will lose.
If it depends on the size of the official position and the size of the power, why should we let the prefect and the envoy to testify in court?"
Wang Shen asked again: "What about the Green Miao Method?"
Su Zhe pondered for a while, "In my opinion, this is far better than the Qingmiao method. Let's not talk about the other things. If the court makes money by relying on the Qingmiao method, I wonder if the court will still be willing to put the money and grain in Changpingcang.
Interest-free loans to the people?
Anyway, I think these two cents cannot solve the people's problems. What the people really need is Changpingcang, which can provide them with assistance when they encounter disasters."
He still admired Chang Pingcang more and believed that the court should provide interest-free loans to those people in need. Only in this way can land annexation be stopped and society can be stabilized.
As for the squire taking over the matter, he had no objection.
Imperial Court.
"Will the villagers believe the lies of those squires?"
Zhang Fei frowned and looked at Cai Jing, then asked: "Is there any coercion in this?"
Cai Jingdao: "It is said that the squires who came forward this time are not the heads of households who can be compared with others. They are all officials who have retired from the court and are highly respected in the countryside."
Zhang Fei asked: "Is it true virtue or false virtue?"
Cai Jing nodded and said: "Most of it is true. Many officials retire and return to their hometowns, and they will benefit the countryside and give some help to the villagers. Moreover, interest rates of 1.5 cents are not uncommon in the countryside. They, the squires, lend money, among which
Some pay 1.5 cents, or even lower, because they have generous remuneration and are unlikely to be short of money."
Zhang Fei sneered: "But loan sharking was rampant before, and we never saw them stand up and say a word."
Cai Jing hesitated for a moment and said: "Things in this village are not that simple. They must have helped some people, but after all, this is not their duty, and there must be people behind those big landowners, and they are also powerful people. No one can do this
There is always a response. But this time, for many reasons, they are united."
Zhang Fei sneered: "So this is why they stood up to resist the Qingmiao Law?"
Cai Jingdao: "The Qingmiao Law is not respected by many gentry, but they are eager to stand up this time, not because of the Qingmiao Law, but because of our Public Security Law. They believe that the Public Security Law has destroyed rural management and patriarchal laws, and will make the countryside disunified.
."
After saying this, he paused for a moment and said, "This also involves a struggle for power. These retired officials do not completely ignore government affairs. Many of them still rely on their influence in local areas to interfere in government affairs and at the same time interact with court officials.
We kept in touch. Many prefects and county officials came to take office in the local area, and we have good relations with them."
"In the final analysis, it's about interests and power, not kindness." Zhang Fei chuckled.
Cai Jing nodded: "Students think so too."
Zhang Fei asked again: "How effective do you think their clan system can be?"
After all, he is a foreigner and has never been in the village. He actually has no idea about the deeper power structure in the village.
But Cai Jing knew very well that they all came from the countryside and said: "The student estimates that most people will still choose to believe those squires. In comparison, the royal police are outsiders, while the villagers are our own people. They have lived together for generations."
."
This generation made Zhang Fei very depressed and sighed: "I really underestimated them, thinking that I could get rid of them overnight."
In fact, the Young Crops Law is only secondary. The key is the plan to use the Royal Police to break down the fortress of the countryside.
If the squire succeeds, it will be equivalent to building a stronger fortress in the countryside.
His plan is definitely going to run aground.
Cai Jingdao: "Although they are actually targeting us, they are still targeting Qingmiaofa on the surface. Why don't you tell Master Wang about the news and ask him to use decrees to stop them?"
Zhang Fei said: "If government decrees can solve everything, then what else do we, the public prosecutors and the judiciary, have to do?"
Cai Jing added: "If this is the teacher's plan, then we can use laws to block the government's decree. The government's decree is to suppress the patriarchal clan, and the teacher's decree is to make the final decision for the clan. Then our laws will be able to further control the clan."
"
Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, and he immediately said: "But our public prosecutors are relatively passive, and someone has to initiate a lawsuit."
Cai Jing said simply and clearly: "Students think that many people are happy to see the dispute between the Public Security Bureau and the Youth Law."
Zhang Fei glanced at him and thought to himself, he is indeed a treacherous minister of Cai Da. He is indeed talented in this area.
However, he still seemed a little hesitant. In fact, he had used this move before, but what he was considering was different from Cai Jing's.
At this moment, Shangguan Jun's voice sounded outside the door, "Teacher, are you in there?"
"come in."
With a creak, Shangguan Jun opened the door and entered the room. He said with a serious face, "Teacher, a farmer just came here and voluntarily withdraws the lawsuit."
"so fast!"
Zhang Fei couldn't help but sigh.
Shangguan couldn't help but glance at Cai Jing.
Cai Jing nodded slightly, hinting at the teacher's reason for this.
Then Shangguan Jun said again: "I heard that the squire in their village has mediated the dispute between this person and the landlord."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then do you know how they mediate?"
Shangguan Jun said: "It is said that all the remaining interest was waived, and the teacher's method was used to spread his debt over two years."
Zhang Fei was surprised: "Really? Those landlords are so generous?"
Shangguan Jun said: "For these big landowners, they mainly want to annex the land, rather than caring about the interest money. Even if they don't reconcile, our imperial court will not award the land to them. In addition, this
The yeoman farmer has already paid a lot of interest, so even if the remaining interest is waived, the big landowner will not suffer any loss."
Cai Jingdao: "This is actually the teacher's trick. They were pursuing interests before, but now they are fighting for power. The longer the debt period, the longer the people will rely on them. Not only can it prevent us from entering the countryside, but it can also prevent young people from entering the countryside."
It’s impossible to drag him to death.”
Zhang Fei asked: "Is this my trick? Why didn't I know?"
Cai Jing reacted suddenly and said hurriedly: "Sorry, teacher, the student made a mistake."
"As a judicial officer, you still have to be careful when speaking and provide evidence."
Zhang Fei then said to Shangguan Jun: "Shangguan, go and tell them that our imperial court strongly encourages them to reconcile privately, and highly approves of everything the squires have done for the villagers. I hope they will not forget their original intentions and help the villagers solve problems in all aspects."
Difficulties, if there is a need, our imperial court is also willing to provide help to them."
Shangguanjun pursed his lips and said, "Teacher, they are all dedicated officials, so they may not be too grateful for our high praise."
Zhang Fei clicked his tongue: "It's just a polite word, do you need to be so serious?"
"yes."
Shangguan Jun said: "Student, please go down now."