Judge of the Song Dynasty

Xu Zun was not one who socialized much, but it was not easy to invite Wang Anshi to a social call either. Now that he was at the peak of his career, there were many who wanted to invite him for a meal. But in terms of personality, he was even more stubborn than Xu Zun. If it weren’t for the fact that the other party was Zhang Fei, he might not have agreed.

Although he had only met Zhang Fei once and hadn’t exchanged a single word with him, Zhang Fei had left a very deep impression on him.

Especially when Zhang Fei had left Sima Guang stumped. That scene was etched in Wang Anshi’s mind. Thinking about it made him happy and gleeful.

Now hearing that Zhang Fei wanted to offer him advice made him curious and somewhat excited.

When Wang Anshi and Xu Zun arrived back at the Xu residence, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian were already seated and waiting.

After a round of greetings, Wang Anshi teased Zhang Fei, “I’ve seen quite a few pen-in-cap, but I’ve not seen someone cause such a ruckus before. You didn’t even know to tone it down a bit; no wonder the imperial court has to have restrictions for pen-in-caps.”

Luckily, Sima Guang wasn’t present. If he were, he would retort against Wang Anshi and say, “You cause more of a ruckus than him; how do you have the nerve to criticize others?”

However, Zhang Fei said, “Academician Wang, you’re mistaken. It’s not that I want to cause a ruckus. It’s just that some societal problems have reached boiling point. Even if I don’t step forward, someone else would. My only problem is that my status is too lowly and weak.”

The implication was that he was not at fault; the fault lay with the authorities.

Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in shock. Wow! This is truly a man who dared to face Sima Guang in court; he’s doing the same against Wang Anshi!

Wang Anshi, unexpectedly, was not angered by Zhang Fei’s response. Instead, he burst into hearty laughter.

Xu Zun, on the side, smiled without saying a word.

Zhang Fei’s words seemed impolite, but they struck a chord with Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi was indeed the someone else who was willing to step forward!

Because he also believed that these problems needed to be resolved immediately; otherwise, the country would be in danger.

Just in time, the food arrived.

Seeing the dishes, Zhang Fei felt incredibly honored He realized that both he and Wang Anshi were treated equally as guests.

Even with Wang Anshi around, there were actually just two more simple dishes than usual.

Zhang Fei finally understood why Wang Ye had to bring his own wine and food when coming here.

Wang Anshi paid no attention to it, not even giving it a glance. He asked Zhang Fei, “I heard you want to offer me advice?”

“Yes,” Zhang Fei nodded.

Wang Anshi inquired, “What advice do you have for me?”

Instead of answering directly, Zhang Fei counter-questioned, “I wonder if Academician Wang is aware of the housing prices in Bianjing?”

Housing prices? Wang Anshi was slightly surprised and laughed, “Do I need to be aware of the housing prices in Bianjing? Don’t you see that both Lord Xu and I are renting houses?”

Zhang Fei continued to ask, “Then, do you have any intention to buy a house?”

Wang Anshi simply shook his head, “I haven’t considered that at all.”

Given his grand ambitions, buying a house was a complete waste of time.

Meaningless.

In this regard, Wang Anshi was genuinely focused on improving the empire. This was the only matter on his mind, and he acted accordingly. This was crucial. Many others like the poet Su Shi claimed to want to improve the country but was filled with resentment and self-pity.

Zhang Fei contemplated for a moment and asked, “If housing prices were extremely cheap, would you consider buying a house?”

“Perhaps,” Wang Anshi casually replied, then curiously asked, “You were supposed to offer advice. Why ask about this?”

Zhang Fei replied, “That is because the advice I’m offering is closely related to the housing prices.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Anshi immediately lost some interest.

It was too insignificant in the greater scheme of things.

In terms of the economic structure of the Northern Song Dynasty, whether housing prices were high or low didn’t really affect the overall situation. Nonetheless, since Zhang Fei had brought it up, Wang Anshi decided to listen.

After waiting for a moment and seeing that Wang Anshi didn’t ask any further, Zhang Fei knew he must be quite disappointed. Nevertheless, he continued, “I heard that during the early days of the founding of the country, Lord Pan once levied property taxes on the people to supplement military expenses due to the war with Southern Han.”

Lord Pan referred to Pan Mei, a general and statesman in the early years of the Song dynasty. Zhang Fei got this information from Xu Zhiqian, as he wasn’t professionally trained in history and generally wasn’t aware of such details unrelated to the law.

Wang Anshi nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei continued, “From this, it can be seen that property taxes can be quite substantial. In our dynasty, the stamp duty for land and houses is the same: four percent, but the price of ordinary farmland near Bianjing is about five strings, and even the most expensive is only ten strings.

However, a very ordinary small courtyard is approximately worth five thousand strings. Looking solely at the stamp duty, the two are incomparable.”

Wang Anshi chuckled, “Although that may be true, the volume of housing transactions is much less compared to land, and those large landlords buying land are dealing with thousands of acres. In comparison, the stamp duty collected for land would be much higher.”

Zhang Fei said, “Academician Wang is correct, but if the government could stimulate housing transactions, the income from the stamp duty could be quite substantial!”

Wang Anshi asked, “So, the strategy you’re offering today is this kind of property tax?”

Zhang Fei nodded, “Exactly. I have a strategy that can greatly stimulate housing transactions, providing a substantial increase in revenue for the government.”

After saying this, he looked towards Xu Zhiqian.

Xu Zhiqian immediately handed over the prepared document, “Please take a look, Uncle Wang.”

Wang Anshi took it and joked with Xu Zhiqian, “Qian’er, you’re involved too!”

Xu Zhiqian was momentarily stunned, unsure whether to nod or shake her head. She was worried that this would affect Xu Zun.

Zhang Fei understood her concern and said, “Because I lack writing skills, I had to trouble Lady Xu to write on my behalf.”

Wang Anshi frowned at this, “You lack writing skill? You should practice more. It’s not proper to always have others write for you.”

As a top scholar and literati, this was something that mattered to him.

In fact, Wang Anshi didn’t appreciate Xu Zhiqian’s calligraphy either. If you’re worse than her, that’s unacceptable.

Of course, this might also be because Wang Anshi had higher expectations for Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei awkwardly said, “I do practice, but my talent is lacking. No matter how much I practice, I can’t improve.”

“Useless!”

Wang Anshi disdainfully glanced at Zhang Fei. It’s so simple; how can you not improve? You must just be lazy.

Despite the disdain, he still took the document seriously. After a while, he was surprised, “Annual interest of only seven percent? And repayment over ten years?”

With a simple sentence, Wang Anshi’s understanding of lending was completely overturned. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel_fіre.net

Seven percent annual interest! In this day and age, annual interest was usually a hundred percent, with monthly interest rates reaching 8-9 percent.

This difference was too significant!

Plus, the debt could be repaid over ten years.

A very good deal!

Zhang Fei explained, “Although the interest rate is low, due to the large amount, the overall profit is still substantial. Take an ordinary courtyard in Bianjing as an example. Currently, the total price is around six thousand strings. Assuming a one-third down payment, the borrowed amount is four thousand strings, with a repayment period of ten years. The total interest will amount to fifteen hundred strings.”

Wang Anshi couldn’t help but take in a sharp breath.

Over a thousand strings in interest.

That’s not a small amount!

“No, this doesn’t make sense!”

Wang Anshi suddenly said, “Your interest is not right; it should be more than that.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “It’s correct. I have provided a very fair calculation, and it’s written below.”

Fair calculation? Wang Anshi quickly read it but looked embarrassed after a while.

Xu Zhiqian knew exactly what Wang Anshi was thinking, as she had experienced it herself. She signaled towards Zhang Fei with her eyes.

Zhang Fei pretended not to notice and waited silently.

Since Zhang Fei did not say anything, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t interject. After all, Zhang Fei had only told her the general plan but didn’t explain how he was going to persuade Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi glanced several times, clearly showing his displeasure. He cleared his throat and said, “What’s the thinking behind this calculation?”

In simple terms, he couldn’t understand it.

Zhang Fei used an equal repayment method for the calculation, where the monthly repayment amount was the same for the entire loan duration, making it more convenient for the parties. But it also made the calculations more complicated, and the interest would be slightly higher.

However, the total was much less than what Wang Anshi had in mind. One crucial reason was that the principal decreased each month.

This was unlike the conventional lending practice, where the total interest would be calculated. For example, with a ten percent interest rate, borrowing a hundred strings means an annual interest of ten strings. Even if repaid monthly, it would still be this much.

But Zhang Fei’s formula was a monthly repayment, subtracting the repaid principal.

Zhang Fei explained this to Wang Anshi.

“I see!”

Wang Anshi nodded and said, “This is indeed much fairer than the current interest calculation method.”

Then, he asked in surprise, “Did you come up with this yourself?”

Zhang Fei nodded, “This is where my expertise lies.”

Wang Anshi was slightly stunned, realizing that Zhang Fei had left him confused on purpose. He gave him a slight glare, “I can tell!”

Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips, thinking that this person was indeed one get back at every slight.

Why didn’t Zhang Fei explain earlier? He wanted to retaliate for Wang Anshi’s criticism of his writing.

My writing skills may be lacking, but your math skills are at the same level as my writing skills.

Xu Zun just shook his head with a smile.

However, Wang Anshi didn’t mind; on the contrary, he appreciated Zhang Fei even more. He was indeed someone with skills. Although the interest calculation was complex, it was principled, and the formula was designed extremely cleverly. The government had something to learn from this.

Zhang Fei stopped there and continued, “Although the total interest is high, the burden on the debtor is not significant because it is spread out over many years. With this amount, the monthly repayment would just be over forty-six strings. Those who can afford to buy this property, would definitely be able to afford this amount without impacting their lives adverselyh.”

This plan genuinely had nothing to do with the common people; Li Si, for example, almost lost his life over ten strings.

This policy was mainly targeted at officials.

Zhang Fei calculated the interest based on an official’s salary, but due to the additional benefits officials received beyond their salary in the Northern Song Dynasty, it wasn’t appropriate to explicitly state it. In fact, it didn’t need to be spelled out; Wang Anshi understood what officials made better than Zhang Fei.

Officials who had the status to live in a six-thousand-string property could easily repay forty-six strings per month.

“So, it’s not much,” Wang Anshi nodded slightly, then suddenly said, “But with such low interest, such a long repayment term, and such a large loan sum, who would dare to make such a loan!”

Zhang Fei said, “This is the reason why I am offering this strategy to you. If the government could set a rule that the related property will be auctioned off to compensate creditors if the debtor defaults, then there won’t be such concerns.”

After fully considering Xu Zhiqian’s opinion, he ultimately chose auctioning for repayment instead of directly confiscating the property.

Even though the latter seemed more favorable to Ma Tianhao and the other lenders, don’t forget that many property buyers would be officials. If they adopted the latter approach, any default case would stir up resentment and concerns among officials. Additionally, in this era without smartphones, repaying money was also quite cumbersome. Over time, various problems could arise.

Since the property buyers were individuals with status and power, fairness was crucial.

Wang Anshi wasn’t an ordinary scholar. Although arithmetic wasn’t his strong suit, he was quick-witted in financial matters. Unless the capital was moved, the property prices in Bianjing would only rise, not fall. Initially paying one-third was manageable; if they couldn’t repay, they could use the property as collateral. Creditors wouldn’t incur losses.

However, there had to be legal rules in place to support such a transaction.

Yes! If they could ensure the recovery of the property, the deal would indeed be a safe and profitable one. Wang Anshi pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “Why go through all this trouble of partnering with private lenders? The government can handle it on its own, just like the Shophouse and Residence Office handles public housing.”

“What?”

Zhang Fei was suddenly dumbfounded.

He suddenly felt like he had walked into a lion’s den and served himself up onto the lion’s platter.

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