Judge of the Song Dynasty

Although Fan Chunren had the halo of his family background, he currently held no official position and was merely a commoner, while Zhang Fei was just a government runner.

These two men had actually driven away Commander Ma, one of the Three Military Divisions’ commanders.

One could imagine that they must have relied on the law.

In fact, whether it was 007 or Zhang Fei, they were both passing the buck to each other, but both pointed to one thing: the rules.

The rules were set this way, so they could only execute them accordingly.

If you’re not satisfied, you can appeal!

The most difficult aspect of Sima Guang’s judicial reform was actually not the top-level design, but the bottom-level law enforcement, which was extremely challenging.

It required ensuring fearlessness toward the powerful and wealthy, while also maintaining the ability to avoid oppressing the common people.

Simply put, it meant achieving “no distinction between close and distant relations, no difference between noble and humble, all decided according to law.”

Young Master Wang had provided Sima Guang with excellent material. Therefore, from the beginning, he had no intention of intervening. He even hoped that Wang Anshi and Cao Ping would also refrain from intervening, just to see whether the entire system could withstand these powerful nobles.

The result delighted him greatly.

However, Cao Ping certainly couldn’t escape involvement.

This concerned the power struggle between the infantry and cavalry forces.

After leaving the Patrol Office, Wang Chao went straight to the Cao residence and grabbed Cao Ping for a furious tirade.

“Even setting aside our relationship, the infantry and cavalry have always minded their own business. Now your people have arrested my son on my cavalry guard’s territory. If you don’t give me an explanation for this matter, we’re not done.”

“Commander Ma, please calm down.”

“If it were you, could you calm down?”

“If it were me, I absolutely wouldn’t get angry.”

“Huh?”

Wang Chao looked at Cao Ping with surprise.

Cao Ping sighed, “You’re coming to me about this, but I have no solution. If you really can’t swallow this insult, then go settle the score and arrest Dong’er too. You can punish him as you see fit, and I absolutely won’t say a word.”

Wang Chao was stunned by what he heard.

Even tigers don’t eat their cubs, yet you’re playing this extreme one-for-one exchange so ruthlessly.

It wasn’t necessary to go this far.

“Really?”

Wang Chao seemed frightened.

Cao Ping spread his hands: “I can understand why you are so furious, but I’m truly powerless. I can only compensate you with a son.”

Wang Chao was completely confused, “Those patrol constables are all your people. Can’t you control them?”

Cao Ping said, “I can control them, but I dare not.”

“Why?”

“At this point, can’t you see it yet?” Cao Ping sighed heavily again. “Would I be so foolish as to create so much trouble for myself? Don’t you know that I also had to pay money for vehicle registration? You can inquire about this – I spent quite a bit of money on that registration.”

Wang Chao frowned, “Are you saying this is His Majesty’s intention?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Cao Ping raised his hand and continued, “But you can only go to His Majesty about this matter. I’m truly powerless to help. If you can’t swallow this insult, then arrest Dong’er. I absolutely won’t resent you for it.”

Wang Chao began to feel uneasy.

What was the situation that Cao Ping would even sacrifice his own son?

This was no small matter.

The Three Military Divisions were different from the Chamber of State Affairs, because the emperor’s control over the Three Military Divisions far exceeded his control over the court.

His expression immediately softened considerably. He sat down and said in a low voice, “Deputy Commander, you’re the one in the know. Give me some advice.”

He was unclear about what the situation actually was.

After pondering for a long while, Cao Ping said, “Now that Fan Chunren has intervened in this matter, unless Qun’er confesses, it will inevitably go to court. You either have Qun’er confess or go to litigation.”

Wang Chao was unwilling, “I’m the Commander of the Imperial Cavalry Guard, and my son committed this minor offense, and he still has to go to court? How embarrassing would that be!”

Cao Ping chuckled, “That was before. Nowadays, no one would find it embarrassing. Didn’t Wang Anshi and Sima Guang both go to court? Oh, and Dong’er was also taken to court by an instructor back then.”

Meanwhile, after parting with Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang hurried to the palace without stopping.

“Why do you urgently seek an audience with me? What urgent matter do you wish to report?”

Zhao Xu looked at Sima Guang with confusion.

Sima Guang said, “Your Majesty, I have come to seek an audience today regarding the matter of the patrol constables.”

“Patrol constables?”

Zhao Xu was slightly taken aback.

Sima Guang nodded and said, “Today on the street, I happened to witness numerous patrol constables erecting warning signs on the roads, prohibiting certain carriages from traveling on some streets.”

The more Zhao Xu listened, the more confused he became. Such a trivial matter could alarm Sima Guang? He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you find this inappropriate?”

Sima Guang replied, “Whether such prohibitions are warranted, I have not investigated and dare not speak rashly. However, this action certainly lacks proper authorization.”

“Lacks proper authorization?” Zhao Xu asked curiously, “What do you mean by that?”

Sima Guang said, “Your Majesty initially only permitted the installation of license plates on carriages, but never indicated they had the authority to erect warning signs.”

Zhao Xu laughed, “At that time, I wasn’t referring solely to warning signs, but to overall street management.”

Sima Guang replied, “While that may be true, Your Majesty at the time emphasized the matter of license plates, using them to reduce manure on the streets. Whether the patrol constables have the authority to erect warning signs is entirely different from license plates, and someone will surely impeach the Patrol Office over this matter.

Furthermore, according to existing regulations, traffic within the city is managed separately by the infantry and cavalry divisions. Now this matter is entirely under infantry control, and Your Majesty has not explicitly stated whether the infantry has full authority over urban traffic management.

This will certainly cause controversy. Your Majesty should prepare for unforeseen circumstances to prevent the situation from becoming increasingly complex.”

Zhao Xu nodded slightly, feeling that Sima Guang’s words made sense.

This matter had been triggered by a pile of manure, not through the traditional legislative process of review by the emperor, the Chamber of State Affairs, the Ministry of Punishments, and the Three Military Divisions, step by step, before promulgation.

In this matter, Zhao Xu had merely gone with the flow. When everyone complained about increasing manure in the city, he found someone to handle the issue, which resulted in these license plates. He had only expressed support and ordered Cao Ping to oversee the matter.

Now there were additional warning signs. Did Cao Ping have such authority?

This was definitely controversial, because in the Song Dynasty, it wasn’t the case that one word from the emperor could grant unlimited power to someone. Even the emperor had to follow proper procedures and couldn’t act arbitrarily.

Traffic control involved too many issues. Should the cavalry also fall under infantry management?

These matters were unclear.

“Your words are reasonable. I have not considered this matter thoroughly.”

Zhao Xu nodded and asked again, “In your opinion, how should this matter be improved?”

Sima Guang said, “In my opinion, Your Majesty could divide the patrol constables into two parts. Fire guards would only be responsible for fire incidents, temporarily maintaining the original system. Meanwhile, the patrol officers could be separated out to establish a police department, separating military and public order functions, with the police department specifically managing urban traffic and public security.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xu suddenly understood. So Sima Guang had come for this matter! He chuckled and said, “Isn’t this your judicial reform?”

Sima Guang nodded sheepishly, “Yes.”

After a moment’s contemplation, Zhao Xu said, “This matter has already been discussed, and I agreed to it at the time. It was only because you felt the timing wasn’t yet mature. Since you now believe the timing is ripe, this matter shall be entrusted to you.”

“I obey your command.”

Sima Guang bowed respectfully and added, “Since this is the case, I believe we should implement the Prosecution Office as well.”

Zhao Xu nodded slightly and asked, “Should we recall Remonstrator Fan?”

Sima Guang quickly replied, “Not for now. I recommend Su Shi to serve as deputy of the Prosecution Office, and he can manage it temporarily.”

He had also seen the necessity of the Legal Aid Office. Without the Legal Aid Office supervising from the side, this matter would be difficult to succeed.

“Su Shi.”

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded. With the Su brothers returning to the capital, he had been planning to make good use of them. One important reason was that these two brothers were young and could accompany him for a long time. “Very well! Let it be as you suggest.”

Sima Guang bowed and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly not fail in this mission.”

This old fox Sima was truly cunning. Previously, he had thought these license plates were unreliable because they essentially meant reaching out to demand money from the people and officials, which would be very difficult to accomplish. But now, seeing the results, he could only say, well, how wonderful.

The brilliance lay in the Legal Aid Office.

In that case, he had to quickly claim all the benefits and transform them into written regulations. After all, Zhang Fei himself had said this was all for his benefit, so he could only say it would be ungracious to refuse.

After Sima Guang left, Zhao Xu sat in his chair deep in thought, murmuring to himself: “Separating military and police?”

After a while, he suddenly instructed the eunuch beside him: “Go prepare. I want to visit the Xu residence.”

“Yes.”

Meanwhile, Wang Anshi returned to the Reform Planning Commission and informed Lu Huiqing of the matter, then laughed: “Although they lost, I can see that Sima Guang is definitely happy about losing. While we also gained benefits, he picked up quite a bargain!”

Lu Huiqing listened with a furrowed brow, saying nothing.

Wang Anshi glanced at him. “Why aren’t you speaking?”

Lu Huiqing started, then said: “Mentor, it now appears that Academician Sima’s judicial reform is truly not to be underestimated. Although legislative power is in our hands, law enforcement is entirely in his. Whether the new policies can be implemented will depend entirely on his mood. This is truly terrifying.”

Wang Anshi stroked his beard and said: “Actually, I’ve given this matter careful consideration. But when the New Policies are promulgated, they will inevitably face implementation issues. We cannot completely control every locality, and problems will certainly arise. Rather than being controlled by others, it’s better to have control in Sima Guang’s hands. At least he follows rules and won’t act recklessly against me.”

Lu Huiqing said: “But he will certainly find fault with our new policies. Zhang San once said there are no perfect laws in this world, and I very much agree with this point. If Academician Sima continuously uses the judiciary to attack our new policies, this will cause tremendous impact to the new policies. If he also has the power to refuse implementation, that would be even more troublesome. We must guard against this!”

He had always had reservations about judicial reform, and seeing that judicial matters were becoming increasingly numerous, representing ever-greater power, he felt very wary.

Wang Anshi frowned in contemplation.

Actually, he was now somewhat confused, because he didn’t know what judicial reform would look like once completed. The police, prosecution, and judiciary working separately but in concert were things that hadn’t existed before.

“Then in your opinion, how should we respond?” Wang Anshi looked up at Lu Huiqing and asked.

Lu Huiqing said: “It may now be too late to oppose judicial reform, and currently the Prosecution Office is definitely controlled by Academician Sima. You could arrange supporters of the new policies in positions as judges. This way, we could reduce the judicial impact on our new laws.

For example, that Lu Jiawen has always been very supportive of you. You could promote him to Chief of the Records Office. Plus you have already recommended Zeng Gong to serve as Acting Prefect of Kaifeng. This way you could control Kaifeng’s prison and punishment system.

The same approach could be used in the localities.”

Wang Anshi said: “Kaifeng is manageable, but in the localities, where do we have so many talented people?”

Lu Huiqing said: “Academician Sima is recruiting additional litigation talent at the College of National Scions precisely for his judicial reform. But among the college students, many actually support you. You could also promote some talents who support the new policies from among them.”

Wang Anshi nodded slightly.

“Damn those Dragon Guard soldiers! I swear, their grip strength is really something. It still hurts now. Ouch.”

Zhang Fei, getting down from the carriage, rubbed his arm and grumbled complaints, thinking he’d have Gao Wenyin massage it later.

But just as he reached the gate, Xu Zhiqian pulled him to her house.

“This humble commoner Zhang San greets Your Majesty.”

“No need for ceremony.”

Zhao Xu waved his hand, then pointed to the seat opposite. “Sit.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Zhang Fei was quite accustomed to sitting across from Zhao Xu and sat down.

Zhao Xu smiled: “It seems you’re doing quite well as a patrol constable – even making Academician Sima envious.”

“Academician Sima is envious?” Zhang Fei was startled. “Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?”

Zhao Xu immediately told Zhang Fei about Sima Guang’s suggestion.

After hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately laughed and said: “At the time, I used precisely this point to entice Academician Sima.”

Zhao Xu smiled slightly. “Anyone can say such things, but the key is whether you can truly train a force that enforces the law strictly. Otherwise, Academician Sima wouldn’t have accepted your favor.”

Zhang Fei laughed sheepishly. “Actually, I didn’t do much. The key lies with the Legal Aid Office. If patrol constables don’t enforce the law strictly, they too can be brought to court, and no one will save them. Combined with a little incentive, this is how we achieved today’s modest success.”

Zhao Xu smiled. “Don’t be so modest. If it’s so simple, why can’t others do it while you can?”

Zhang Fei quickly said: “Without Your Majesty’s support, I couldn’t have done it either.”

Zhao Xu said: “If I continue to support you, could you help me train an elite force?”

“An elite force?” Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then said: “Your Majesty isn’t planning to send me to serve as an official in the Three Military Divisions, are you? I really can’t do that – I truly don’t know how to lead troops in battle.”

“Rest assured about that. I wouldn’t bear to send you to the Three Military Divisions either.”

“Then what does Your Majesty mean?”

“Alas.”

Zhao Xu sighed. “Our dynasty not only suffers from the internal troubles of the Three Excesses, but also faces external threats from Western Xia and the Liao state. But you should understand the problems within the Three Military Divisions – the relationships there are extremely complex. To be honest with you, I myself lack confidence in being able to properly reorganize the Three Military Divisions.”

Zhang Fei said cautiously: “Does Your Majesty mean to use the patrol constables as a reserve force?”

“Exactly so.”

Zhao Xu gave Zhang Fei an approving look. “This is thanks to Academician Sima’s reminder. He suggested separating military and police functions, but if they’re not separated, then the military is the police, and the police is the military.

Therefore, I plan to transfer large numbers of Imperial Guards from the Three Military Divisions to form a powerful police force. When the time is right, I intend to resolve the external threats as well.

Since this judicial reform all originated from your hands, I hope you can help me establish a complete set of police force regulations and train an elite force for me.”