Fortunately, this is not a trial, but a hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to clarify the essence of the whole matter, not to convict anyone, and Zhang Fei will not act aggressively.

Cheng Fang couldn't answer this question, so Zhang Fei didn't bother with him, and asked again: "Cheng Dujian, you just said that the sailors are short of food and clothing, and deputy envoy Cheng has to bear general responsibilities. What about the other two?"

Who will bear half of it?”

Cheng Fang was startled and said hurriedly: "The other half will have to be borne by the government and the transportation department in Hebei."

Zhang Fei asked: "Why is this?"

Cheng Fang said: "This is because the transportation department is mainly responsible for the food and clothing, followed by the local government. However, during this process, they always push back and block the distribution of food and clothing, finding various reasons to delay the distribution of food and clothing. Our family has no way to do this.

!”

Zhang Fei nodded and asked: "Since the sailors were short of clothes and food at that time, had Cheng Dujian ever thought about shortening the construction period, or waiting until there was enough food and clothing before starting work on a different date?"

Cheng Fang hurriedly said: "The river fortification is an urgent matter. If it is delayed, who will be responsible?"

Zhang Fei said: "Could Dujian Cheng explain in detail how urgent it is to dredge the Sangu River? What would have happened if it had not been dredged last year?"

Cheng Fang said: "If it is not cleared in time, there may be a risk of flooding. Isn't this urgent?"

Zhang Fei lowered his head and read the copy and said: "According to the information received by the procuratorate, this river fortification, that is, widening the river, salvaging sediment, etc., is mainly for renovation, I wonder if it is?"

Cheng Fang nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "But judging from the conditions of various rivers in Hebei, there are at least five rivers that need to be renovated. If I say that Cheng Dujian's reason can be applied to all rivers with such problems, does Cheng Dujian agree?

?”

Cheng Fang thought for a while and then said: "I don't agree, because Sangu River is responsible for the eastward flow plan and should bear the brunt of it and be the top priority."

Zhang Fei said: "But if it was a different river, wouldn't Cheng Dujian be so anxious?"

Cheng Fang nodded and said, "Of course."

Zhang Fei lowered his head and glanced at the copy, and said: "But according to the information I learned, Cheng Dujian was so eager to renovate any river, recruiting a large number of river servicemen, mobilizing a large number of side soldiers, and relying on human sea tactics.

Quickly regulate river channels.”

Cheng Fang fell into thinking again.

Zhang Fei waited for a while and then asked: "Since this fortification is so important and a top priority, why didn't Supervisor Cheng prepare it in advance? In my personal opinion, food and clothing should be the most basic.

It is said in the art of war that before the three armies move, food and grass should go first. I wonder what reason Cheng Dujian had for moving the three armies first?"

Cheng Fang remained silent.

Zhang Fei did not press the question, but turned to the question: "Deputy Ambassador Cheng just now said that the sailors were returning home on the run. If they were not comforted, things might change. Do you agree with this?"

Cheng Fang thought for a while and replied: "I think Deputy Chief Cheng is making a fuss out of a molehill. This problem is not that serious."

Zhang Fei asked: "How did Deputy Cheng Cheng respond at that time?"

Cheng Fang said: "What we mean, Deputy Ambassador Cheng's response is correct, but his statement is a bit exaggerated. Moreover, if Chanzhou could have sent clothes and food to the river earlier, this situation would not have happened. If

Clothing and food are under our family's control, that is our family's responsibility, but these clothes and food are not under our family's control."

Zhang Fei couldn't help but ask again: "Why didn't Cheng Dujian communicate well before starting work? It's like Cheng Dujian first appealed to His Majesty to ask Your Majesty to allocate water soldiers to Cheng Dujian."

Cheng Fang fell into silence again.

Zhang Fei nodded, "Thank you very much, Inspector Cheng."

After saying that, he looked at Wang Gong again and whispered: "Please ask Bachelor Wang to come out and testify. He seems a little anxious."

Wang Gong subconsciously glanced at Wang Anshi, who was gasping for air. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he spoke, asking Wang Anshi to come forward to testify.

After hearing this, Cheng Fang felt completely deflated and slumped down on his chair.

horrible!

This is really scarier than the rumors say.

If you specifically ask someone something you don't understand, how will they answer you?

And Wang Anshi was just worried about Cheng Fang's IQ, not in a hurry to play. When he came to the front, he didn't have his usual self-confidence at all. Instead, he came to the court wearing a mask of pain and sat down with Cheng Fang.

On the edge.

Looking at this pig teammate, my heart goes cold.

After the first attempt, he secretly swore that he would never testify in court again. There was no pleasure at all like a court argument, only a strong smell of constipation. Anyway, he was being beaten passively and was not allowed to fight back.

It’s really terrible!

Zhang Fei turned over another page of copy, glanced at it for a few times, then raised his head and looked at Wang Anshi with a smile, "First of all, I would like to thank Bachelor Wang very much for taking time out of his busy schedule to attend this hearing."

"This is my duty."

Wang Anshi responded lightly, but he was very cautious in his heart, and his eyes secretly paid attention to Zhang Fei's expression changes.

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "The main reason for inviting Bachelor Wang to attend this time is to clarify one thing, and that is the issue of Cheng Dujian's power."

Having said this, he lowered his head and glanced at the copy again, "According to our procuratorate's investigation, it was on Wang Xueshi's suggestion that the imperial court established the Hebei River Water Conservancy Department, and Supervisor Cheng was in charge of the entire Hebei water conservancy project."

Wang Anshi nodded and said: "Yes."

Zhang Fei said: "Master Wang, can you explain why we set up this river water conservancy department?"

Wang Anshi said: “Because the Dongliu Plan is a large project involving dozens of states and counties, in the past, each state was responsible for its own affairs and supervised each other, which often restricted each other, delayed construction, and caused floods.

They were unable to suppress it in time, and if something went wrong, they would shirk responsibility from each other, and the court would not know how to hold it accountable. In this situation, it would be difficult to meet the needs of this project, so the River Water Conservancy Department was established in the hope of coordinating everything."

Zhang Fei said: "I wonder what the authority of the River Water Conservancy Department is?"

Wang Anshi said: "It is to build river channels."

Zhang Fei said: "Regarding the recruitment of labor, the deployment of generals, and the allocation of clothing and food, do these belong to the authority of the River Water Conservancy Department?"

Wang Anshi pondered for a while and said: "It should be said that the establishment of the River Water Conservancy Department was based on the needs of river fortifications, and issued orders. The prefectures along the way would then recruit laborers, mobilize money and grain, and regulate the rivers according to this plan.

Among them, the Metropolitan Water Superintendent, the Transportation Department, the Supervisory Censor, and the local general magistrate can supervise the fortifications. In the past, if they disagreed, it would be difficult to start the fortifications. Nowadays, the main task is to establish the River Water Conservancy Department. But

Avoid this phenomenon.

Here, I would like to explain one more point. Most of the fortifications in our dynasty are mainly responsible for soldiers from various places. Generally, they do not call for labor to prevent people from delaying their farm work. However, river fortifications are an exception. Since river fortifications often require more manpower and material resources,

The laborers on the riverside will still be recruited to do it, and the sailors are not included. The River Water Conservancy Department does not have the right to call in sailors. This needs to be decided by Your Majesty and the imperial court."

Zhang Fei asked: "Can the River Water Conservancy Department make a plan on its own, or does it need to be reported to the court?"

Wang Anshi nodded and said: "Of course it needs to be reported to the imperial court. Only with the imperial court's permission can the River Water Conservancy Department be able to issue tasks to states and counties."

"Thank you, Bachelor Wang, for explaining it to us in detail."

Zhang Fei said: "But one thing I still want to know is, are there any restrictions on the process of recruiting labor in local government?"

Wang Anshi thought carefully and said: "There is no fixed time limit for husband's service. There are some days and some years. However, there is a saying among the government and the people that those who are deployed before spring plowing are called Chunfu because the fortifications are urgent.

He who adjusts his hair is called a anxious man.

There are also regulations that those who are conscripted within 500 miles from the place of service are "official husbands" and must engage in this corvee; those within 500 to 800 miles from the place of service can pay for the service.

At the same time, our dynasty is different from the previous dynasties. Our dynasty also stipulates that the husband's grain is two liters per day, which was already set during the Taizu period."

Among the two taxes of the Tang Dynasty, there was a provision for a maximum of forty days of service, but there was no such provision in the Song Dynasty, especially for river service, which was very vague.

Zhang Fei said: "According to what Wang Xueshi said, the number of laborers to be recruited and the duration of labor are all based on the needs of the river defense fortifications."

Wang Anshi nodded and said: "It can be said that it is just that there are too many labor conscriptions, and it is not an emergency. It needs to be reported to the court first."

Zhang Fei said: "In non-emergency situations, the number of labor conscripts needs to be reported to the court."

Wang Anshi thought for a while and said: "There are no specific regulations on this. Generally, the states and counties along the river will recruit slave laborers every year. If the number exceeds the usual number, it should be reported to the court."

Zhang Fei asked: "If it is not reported to the court, does it violate the system?"

Wang Anshi hesitated for a while and said: "Actually, it is not a violation of the system, but our court has a complete supervision system. But if someone provides evidence to impeach the Minister of River Defense for abusing people's power, the court will immediately send people to investigate. If such a thing does exist,

phenomenon, they will be criminalized.”

Zhang Fei said: "Does the imperial court have a system to judge what constitutes an abuse of people's power?"

Wang Anshi said: "This mainly depends on whether the local people are destitute due to hard labor."

Zhang Fei asked again: "How can we say that the people are in dire straits?"

Wang Anshi looked at Zhang Fei unhappily, saying, "You are just trying to make excuses." "Does Prosecutor Zhang not understand that the people are in dire straits?"

"I know."

Zhang Fei nodded and asked: "But I want to know clearly how to determine whether the people in a county are in dire straits. For example, in a county, if everyone can't eat, the people are in dire straits, or if half of the people can't eat, then the people are in dire straits."

Everyone present was confused by this question.

Even Zhao Xu was thinking about how to deal with the desperation of the people.

Wang Anshi also thought for a long time, "There is no judgment in this regard. It is usually made by local officials based on the situation."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Scholar Wang just now said that labor is called for based on the needs of the fortifications. Can the court accurately determine how much labor should be required for a certain fortification?"

Wang Anshi shook his head and said: "No! Because it is difficult to judge."

Zhang Fei asked: "How much to widen, how much to dig, and how much each servant can do every day, can't experienced officials give an estimate based on this?"

Wang Anshi said: "River defense fortifications are very complicated. It often takes one or two months to recruit labor. Coupled with the weather and soil quality, it is difficult for the river defense minister to give an estimate."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Regarding local finance and river defense finance, is there a clear authority relationship?"

Wang Anshi said: “The main responsibility for river defense finance is the Transshipment Department, and the Transshipment Department also has the authority to supervise river fortifications. As I just said, before the establishment of the River Water Conservancy Department, if the Transshipment Department feels there is a problem, it can refuse to allocate funds.

Money.

But this has also led to many times when the transshipment department has become the culprit for delaying river fortifications. That is why I suggested that your majesty set up a river water conservancy department. Even now, if the transshipment department thinks there are problems with the fortifications, they can immediately write to the court. The only requirement is that
To be continued...