In the end, Zhao Xu still did not completely abolish the three divisions, nor did he implement the three provinces and six ministries system to the end, which made many ministers heave a sigh of relief.

In fact, neither Wang Anshi nor Sima Guang were in favor of doing this. They believed that doing so would be more efficient and would lose the checks and balances on the emperor.

There is no need to think about whether one department has more power or three departments have more power.

As for why Zhao Xu did not take this step, everyone actually understood it tacitly. It was not because they were willing or not, but because the drought made Zhao Xu afraid.

The change in the national strategic policy can also be said to have cooled down the party struggle in the court to a certain extent.

Because this strategy is obviously more in line with the ideas of conservatives, but the reformists have not vigorously opposed it, because this internal affairs is still based on Wang Anshi's New Deal, which does not mean that the New Deal will be abolished.

Unlike historical records, when Wang Anshi was in power, he drove all conservatives out of the government and the opposition. Regardless of whether their suggestions were right or wrong, they would never be adopted. Vice versa, after the conservatives came to power, they directly abolished all the New Deal, regardless of whether

Good or bad, all must be abolished.

It becomes a zero-sum game.

The change that led to this situation is that there is now a third force in the DPRK, which is the public security, prosecution and law.

The Public Security Bureau originally belonged to conservatives, but with the separation of politics and law, some people among the reformists and conservatives were firmly opposed to the Public Security Bureau.

This directly broke the boundaries of party struggle, and a very clear consensus emerged between the two parties.

In addition, the Public Security Bureau controls the power of trial and emphasizes fairness and checks and balances on power.

The banknote issue mentioned by Su Shi actually reflects that the party struggle is weakening. In the past, they would have been desperately opposed and determined not to let Wang Anshi get angry.

But now Su Shi is asking how to check and balance the public security organs, prosecutors and the law.

The Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate have blocked both sides. Now Sima Guang is not worried that Wang Anshi will act randomly, and Wang Anshi is not worried that his own policies will be deliberately sabotaged.

There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, but now that the three powers are fighting for hegemony, it has become a game of vertical and horizontal alliances, and it is impossible to reach the point of life and death.

Of course, the Public Security Bureau cannot completely eliminate party strife. It can only be said that it has slowed down this phenomenon at this moment.

Although this edict on the reform of the official system was the last edict issued by Zhao Xu this year, Zhao Xu did not take a vacation because there was one more thing that he had not yet given an answer to.

It's the "Provisional Law".

The reason why he waited until now was because Zhao Xu wanted to give Zhang Fei more time to see it, and Zhang Fei was also the last minister Zhao Xu summoned this year.

"Have you read the "Provisional Law"?" Zhao Xu asked.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "To be honest with Your Majesty, I have only read it roughly once, but I have always been involved, so I can be considered relatively clear."

Zhao Xu nodded and did not argue with him, "In fact, during this period, people wrote to me almost every day, not wanting me to pass this "Provisional Law."

Zhang Fei immediately asked: "But because of the eight-decision system?"

Zhao Xu nodded.

This "eight discussion system" can be said to be the core of the entire feudal law. It is called: one discussion about relatives, two discussions about family ties, three discussions about virtue, four talks about ability, five talks about merit, six talks about nobleness, seven talks about diligence, and eight talks about guests.

Generic rules.

"Kin" refers to a certain range of relatives of the royal family; "Gu" refers to some of the emperor's past; "Xian" refers to a wise man and gentleman who the court considers to have "great virtues"; "Neng" refers to "a man of great talent" who can organize an army and come here

In political affairs, one is an assistant to the emperor and a teacher of human ethics; "Gong" refers to those who "have made great contributions"; "Noble" refers to those who are ministerial officials of the third rank or above, casual officials of the second rank or above, and those who have the first rank of nobility; "Qin" refers to those who have made great achievements

"Industrious" person; "guest" refers to "those who inherit the ancestors and become the guests of the state".

Only the "Ten Evils" will not be forgiven.

For the rest of the crimes, the principle adhered to is "big crimes must be discussed, small crimes must be pardoned."

The main basis for people often saying that "the punishment is not good enough for scholar-bureaucrats" is from this law, which is also inherited from the Tang law and is not the stone tablet erected by Taizu as rumored.

It was this law that maintained the entire feudal ruling class.

However, in this "Provisional Law", Fu Bi deleted the Eight Councils system from the official statutes and included it in the pardon bill. In other words, whenever the scope of the Eight Councils was involved, the criminal punishment must be handed over to the emperor.

instructions.

This is what the powerful people care about.

Because the emperor can pardon, but he can also not pardon. After all, the law no longer protects their privileges, which breaks the principle that the punishment cannot be used to punish scholar-officials or the powerful.

However, some ministers believed that this would protect them from arbitrary punishment by the emperor, and many honest officials believed that this would benefit them.

Therefore, it can be passed at the Legislative Assembly.

Zhang Fei said: "I think Fu Gong has made it very clear in his comments, and I very much agree that the legal system protects the interests of the monarch, the country, and the people.

Throughout the ages, traitors and traitors have been punished not because of how well they hid themselves, but because the judiciary at that time was not protecting the interests of the monarch, the country, and the people, but the interests of the monarch and them. Therefore, their crimes were often punished.

Cover it up so that they expand and eventually lead to catastrophe.

This also includes foreign wars, for example, embezzling military pay, passing off inferior goods, killing good people and defrauding merit, etc.

Therefore, in the discussion, Duke Fu clearly stated that it is necessary for the Imperial Court to let His Majesty clearly know the stakes involved so that His Majesty can make the wisest decision. Otherwise, His Majesty may not be aware of them.

How much harm will be caused by what you do.”

Zhao Xu frowned and said: "But if there are no such eight discussions, it will undoubtedly increase the pressure on me to pardon."

When he mentioned the pardon law before, he did not mention the eight-member system. He was thinking that those people could still be pardoned based on the eight-member regulations.

But Fu Bi and the others are all academics with a lot of knowledge. The emergence of the pardon bill is to abolish the eight-member system, and it is impossible to retain both.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhang Fei said: "I have also considered this, but it will also increase the pressure on them to break the law, which can reduce their illegal behavior and make them more cautious.

Your Majesty can use the power of pardon more calmly.

I have read through the past cases concerning the Eight Councils. In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Eight Councils system was rarely used. It was not until the past 40 years that it began to appear frequently.

But what follows is that more and more violations of the law occur, and the judiciary is trampled on to the extreme. And their illegal behavior actually endangers the interests of the country, the monarch, and the people.

In other words, the more lawbreakers there are, the greater the losses will be for the country, the monarch, and the people. In fact, this can be seen by comparing the national strength in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the past two decades. The judiciary at that time was relatively fair, and relatively

Generally speaking, the national power is relatively strong.

The conclusion we draw is that if they do not need to accept the trial of our Imperial Court of the Song Dynasty, then they will have to accept the trial of the Northern Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu clenched his fist and punched the low table in front of him.

Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Zhao Xu glanced at him and said, "What crime do you have? Not only that, you are right. Some people would rather accept the trial of the Northern Dynasty than the imperial court."

This last sentence really hurt Zhao Xu's heart deeply.

Thinking about the past few decades, every negotiation with the Liao Kingdom was blatant extortion and no respect for the treaty signed by the two countries. However, the Song Dynasty could only compromise.

The reason is that the country is weak and cannot defeat the opponent.

But no one dares to argue with reason or defend their own interests. Now they are just making irresponsible remarks here.

This is really unreasonable.

It was precisely because of Zhang Fei's words that Zhao Xu finally made up his mind to pass this "Provisional Law".

Is it the pardon law or the maintenance of his power?

But now the Song Dynasty is surrounded by powerful enemies, and he is unwilling to accept the status quo. He has no choice.

Zhang Fei knew very well before that if the pardon bill was not established, the eight-member system would definitely not be touched, because this is the core of feudal law, but it is still far from time to abolish the eight-member system.

You must know that this eight-member system was completely abolished in the late Qing Dynasty.

A replacement must be found.

In other words, this "Provisional Law" does not say that the principles of fairness and equality must be observed, and its core content is still preserved.

Because even with the eight-member system, the final decision-making power is still in the hands of the emperor, but the pardon bill can make the judiciary fair, just and equal on the surface.

If you are guilty, you are guilty, and you must also accept civil penalties.

...

At this time, snowflakes were falling from the sky.

A heavy snowfall brings an end to this year.

This year is really a year full of drama, from drought to disaster relief miracles, from the defeat of Xihe to the great victory of Xihe, from the brothel ambassador to the hero's return.

Everything has been reversed.

It is precisely because of this dramatic reversal that this year has become a decisive year.

The adjustment of the country's major policies and the upcoming promulgation of the "Provisional Law" will lay a solid foundation for the future.

I have to mention that Wang Anshi and Sima Guang also felt that the burden on their shoulders was much lighter. As the party struggle ceased, their goals gradually moved closer.

For Wang Anshi, the adjustment of policies does not mean that he will abolish his New Deal. Not only that, but it also values ​​his New Deal even more.

For the conservatives, not to mention, all their worries will be temporarily put on hold. At least the emperor has decided not to use foreign troops in the near future and focus on domestic affairs.

This is what Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Sima Guang are pursuing.

In fact, most of Wang Anshi's reforms were aimed at domestic affairs, but they are still very different from today's majoring in internal affairs. The difference is that everyone knows that Wang Anshi's reforms were to promote foreign wars, so conversely, Wang Anshi must quickly serve the country.

Collect money, accumulate wealth, and prepare for war.

This is extremely contradictory to the ideas of conservatives, and is also the reason why Fu Bi, Sima Guang, and Han Qi opposed it.
To be continued...