Chapter 5378 The Future of the Censorate

Chapter 5378 The Future of the Censorate
Faced with problems on both sides, the top two officials of the Censorate looked at each other, feeling quite helpless.

Sun Chuyue sighed: "Although there are problems everywhere, the biggest problem right now is what stance the Censorate will take?"

To bring up the topic of "judicial independence" at this moment would be utterly foolish.

The judiciary should indeed be independent of the administration, and all decisions should be made in accordance with the law, without bias... However, the primary function of any central government office is to "uphold imperial power," which is the legal tradition of Confucianism and the foundation of imperial power for thousands of years, and cannot be shaken.

How could one possibly remain detached from "position"?
For example, regarding the matter of changing the heir apparent, one must either stand with His Majesty and agree to depose the Crown Prince and establish a new heir, or stand with the Eastern Palace to protect the legal system and maintain the legitimacy of the calendar. There is absolutely no possibility of standing in the middle and helping both sides. If someone were to do so, they would instantly become the target of both sides' attacks, be destroyed in one fell swoop, and then try to replace them with their own people.

Even the Censorate could not remain detached from worldly affairs.

Furthermore, because government offices like the Censorate possess judicial and law enforcement powers, they naturally become a tool for both sides to vie for influence...

Liu Xiangdao remained silent, lost in thought.

Logically speaking, supporting His Majesty is an unshirkable responsibility, and whether or not to change the heir is His Majesty's family matter; how can his subjects interfere?
However, His Majesty's excessive leniency has diminished his authority, while Fang Jun, Ma Zhou, Liu Rengui, and some members of the imperial clan have joined forces to wield immense power, enough to rival the imperial authority.

Both sides have their strengths and weaknesses, and the outcome remains to be seen.

The so-called choice of "stance" is the convergence of interests, so which side has greater interests for itself?
Hesitant and undecided, he asked, "What's your opinion?"

Sun Chuyue did not hesitate much and resolutely said, "We should support the Crown Prince and uphold the rightful ruler."

Liu Xiangdao raised an eyebrow: "Tell me your reasons."

"If His Majesty ultimately succeeds in changing the heir apparent, in order to maintain imperial power, all previous new policies will most likely be abolished, especially those concerning the court institutions and the system of governance. Conversely, if the Crown Prince is enthroned, Fang Jun and his cronies will certainly continue to implement new policies, weakening imperial power, so that the foundation of governance lies in the system and the law, rather than in the wisdom or folly, likes or dislikes of any individual."

This last sentence is precisely the reason why the new policies were so highly regarded by officials and military officers.

No one wants to have their future, rise and fall, or even life and death in the hands of the emperor, with everything decided solely by his whims. They would much rather have their actions governed by clear and unambiguous laws, so that if they do wrong, they will be punished without complaint; and if they do right, they will have no worries about the consequences. What should and should not be done is clear and unambiguous.

Just do what you're supposed to do; as long as the law allows, no one can punish you.

If you do things you shouldn't, you don't need to worry about being framed when the incident comes to light.

The saying "the law does not apply to high-ranking officials" may seem like a defense of the ruling class, but in reality, most of the ruling class may not have endorsed it. This is because, like "the prince is subject to the same laws as the commoner," it is nothing more than a pie in the sky drawn by imperial power. Anyone who actually believes it is a fool.

The real truth is that "imperial power is supreme, and life and death are decided by the emperor"...

Therefore, when imperial power is fully established, these things will never be possible.

Liu Xiangdao remained silent for a moment before asking, "Are you referring to the new policy regarding the Censorate that Fang Jun previously advised against? Do you really believe he would do it?"

Sun Chuyue said, "The Censorate became the highest judicial office of the empire, possessing powers including prosecution, supervision, and investigation, as well as supervision over civil and administrative litigation..."

He became more and more excited as he spoke, his face flushed and his eyes shining: "The most crucial point is that the Censorate after the reform will be renamed the 'Supervisory Bureau,' exercising its supervisory power independently based on the 'Great Tang Code,' free from interference from any administrative office or individual!"

"If such a day truly comes, you, as the Grand Censor, and I, as the Vice Censor-in-Chief, will both be remembered in history and our names will be celebrated for generations to come!"

When a country's highest judicial authority operates based on the law, rather than the control of imperial power, it will be an unparalleled and tremendous advancement!

The person who made this great achievement possible can be described as having an unprecedented and unparalleled legacy.

Liu Xiangdao was also filled with enthusiasm, but he was not a passionate young man like Sun Chuyue. His thoughts and considerations were much more profound: "Even though this is the great cause I am pursuing, the risks involved are too great, and I have to consider it carefully."

Sun Chuyue replied, “What is without risk? There is risk in everything we do. The size of the risk is not important; what matters is whether high risk can yield high returns. If this matter succeeds, the gains will be enough to make us willing to take any risk.”

How should Confucianism guide people's conduct in the world?

To establish merit, to establish words, and to establish virtue.

Establishing a doctrine is extremely difficult. Confucianism has developed from the sages Confucius and Mencius to the present day, and its theory has already reached a certain level of perfection. To make a breakthrough, one must be a person of extraordinary talent. And how many people in this world can be called unparalleled geniuses?

The concept of establishing virtue is too broad and difficult to quantify. Moreover, it often requires a lifetime of tireless effort to achieve, and cannot be evaluated until the day of death.

In contrast, the simplest thing is to perform meritorious service.

While achieving something truly groundbreaking and unprecedented is incredibly difficult, the chances of success are high if the right timing, location, and people are all in place.

A tremendous achievement is right before us.

Sun Chuyue continued, “Since the establishment of the Censorate during the Qin Dynasty, its power and responsibility have only been to supervise officials and report on matters based on hearsay. It has no judicial power. In the present dynasty, although a prison has been set up to handle special cases and lawsuits, the power and scope of authority are all above that of the higher authorities. Therefore, the prosperity of today is the prosperity of the Censor-in-Chief, not the prosperity of the Censorate.”

Why does the Censorate currently hold such power and responsibility that it overshadows the court and obscures the authority of officials?
All of this is because Liu Xiangdao was strongly recommended and entrusted with great trust by His Majesty. As a result, the status of the censors and officials who speak out has soared and their influence has spread throughout the court and the country. However, if His Majesty loses his trust in Liu Xiangdao one day, or if he replaces the censor-in-chief, the censorate may not still have the same power as it does today.

Ultimately, the root cause lies in the fact that the Censorate lacks independent judicial power and can only be subordinate to imperial power...

"In the future, with the reforms and new policies, the power and responsibilities of the Censorate will be based on the Tang Code, and no one will be able to shake its position. Unless the Tang Code is amended or the empire collapses, the power of the Censorate will perish along with the country."

Even after a change of dynasty, subsequent countries still had to follow the established practices.

This last sentence completely moved Liu Xiangdao.

Who could resist the temptation to become the "founding father" revered and respected by countless censors of later generations?

"Gather people to draft a memorial impeaching Xu Jingzong for his various illegal acts during his time at Zhenguan Academy. After you and I sign and affix our seals, send it along with the other materials to the Imperial Study for Your Majesty to review and decide."

Generally speaking, as the highest supervisory body, the Censorate's procedures for delivering memorials depend on the nature and content of the memorials.

When handling matters such as impeachment, the Censor-in-Chief or the Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate would usually submit the memorials directly to the emperor for a decision.

For major cases or matters involving the impeachment of officials of the fifth rank or above, the Grand Censor or the Vice Grand Censor would "escort the memorial," which would be sent directly to the emperor. This was the highest level of impeachment memorial.

Sun Chuyue exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, sir!"

Liu Xiangdao instructed, "The wording of the memorial must be precise. Its purpose is solely to impeach Xu Jingzong. We must not allow the scope of the repercussions to expand."

While Xu Jingzong's guilt is undeniable and irrefutable, anything that escalates to this level transcends the matter itself and becomes a political event. If the repercussions are far-reaching and involve numerous individuals, the pursuit of "stability" could very well lead to the matter being swept under the rug, even if the situation is egregious.

The gains and losses in politics cannot be encompassed by mere "right and wrong" or "black and white".

"Don't worry, Prime Minister, I know what to do."

"Go quickly, don't delay... Also, send someone to arrange a meeting with Fang Jun in a secluded place."

Since the decision was made to impeach Xu Jingzong, it was tantamount to betraying His Majesty. Naturally, he had to gain as much benefit as possible from Fang Jun, at the very least, he had to get the promises he wanted.

"Here!"

Sun Chuyue accepted the order, turned around and left the duty room. He first sent someone to the Duke of Liang's mansion to visit Fang Jun, and then summoned the "penmen" in the Censorate to a room to begin carefully drafting impeachment memorials.

An hour later, a brand new impeachment memorial was produced.

Sun Chuyue brought the memorial to the duty room and asked Liu Xiangdao to review it. Liu Xiangdao read it carefully word by word and line by line. After a moment of deliberation, he felt that there were no omissions. Only then did he sign, affix his seal, and stamp it with the official seal of the Censorate. Afterwards, Sun Chuyue went into the palace to deliver it to the Wude Hall.

"Has the person who was supposed to meet the Grand Commandant returned?"

"I just got back. The Grand Commandant has invited you to have a vegetarian meal at Xuanqing Temple in Leyouyuan at Shenshi (3-5 PM)."

"Leyouyuan, Xuanqing Temple?"

Liu Xiangdao frowned and pondered, feeling as if he had heard of this place before, but he couldn't quite place it.

Sun Chuyue whispered a reminder: "This temple was built by His Majesty as a blessed land for Princess Jinyang to practice vegetarianism and Taoism."

Liu Xiangdao then remembered, and then suddenly realized.

Rumors about Fang Jun and Princess Jinyang circulated widely and never ceased. Even the death of Qiu Shenji was framed by some as a means of attack. Princess Jinyang, who was over the age of marriage, was still unmarried and faced "difficult marriage," largely due to these rumors.

Now Fang Jun has invited him to meet at the place where Princess Jinyang practices vegetarianism and Taoism. His intention to "expose his own shortcomings" is self-evident and shows his sincerity.

Looking at the sky, it was already past 1:00 PM. Although Fang Jun had asked him to meet at 3:00 PM, he couldn't arrive at the exact time; he should arrive a little earlier.

"Pack your things, let's go together."

"Here."

Sun Chuyue agreed.

Randomly, the top two officials of the Censorate came out together from the Censorate and walked along the sixth horizontal street in front of the gate, past the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, to Zhuque Avenue. Then they parted ways. Sun Chuyue took the impeachment memorial and went north to Chengtian Gate to enter the palace for an audience, while Liu Xiangdao took a carriage and went south out of Zhuque Gate, heading straight for Leyouyuan in the southeast of Chang'an City.