Judge of the Song Dynasty

Camaraderie among colleagues?

It can only be said that Wang Wenshan did not understand Wang Anshi, or perhaps, at his level, he simply could not comprehend Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi aimed for the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people; he simply didn’t care about these trivial matters.

Of course, this was also one of the reasons for Wang Anshi’s ultimate failure in reform.

Imperial politics involved personal connections and favors!

But then again, was it that Wang Anshi lacked emotional intelligence, or was he just pretending not to understand?

The suffering of great men is beyond comprehension.

After obtaining the contract template from Zhang Fei, Wang Anshi did not hastily issue decrees. Instead, he went to meet with Emperor Zhao Xu.

“Your Majesty, I have been busy with the property tax recently. I discovered that the previous miscellaneous taxes involved over a dozen offices, resulting in an excess of officials and even instances where several offices were collecting taxes from one household. This bureaucratic issue not only harms the finances but also jeopardizes the stability of the realm!”

Emperor Zhao Xu furrowed his brow. “Do you have a solution?” Wang Anshi replied, “Other than consolidating taxes, I suggest consolidating the personnel involved as well. Therefore, I propose the establishment of a new office solely dedicated to handling all tax matters within the capital city.”

Zhang Fei’s plan only discussed consolidating tax types, but in terms of government departments, he didn’t delve much into it. Crucially, he didn’t understand it well, as the administrative structure of the Northern Song Dynasty was truly chaotic, complex to the point that those not specialized in history couldn’t comprehend it.

Take Xu Zun, for example.

When he served as a prefect in Dengzhou, his official title was Adjudicator of the Court of Judicial Review. Being a prefect, in simple terms, was a temporary managerial role, a mere errand.

Now that he had returned to the Court of Judicial Review, his formal title had changed to Regional Inspector of Dengzhou. Regional Inspector was a nominal title, but his actual job was to be the Chief Judge of the Court of Judicial Review. Again, this was technically a temporary managerial position.

In any case, whatever formal position you held, you would never do what that position was supposed to do.

No dynasty was worse than the Northern Song in this regard.

It can only be said that the Zhao imperial family, having experienced the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, feared it like a tiger! During that period of history, internal upheavals were commonplace. Hence, the Song dynasty implemented a bureaucratic system of complex checks and balances to avoid the pitfalls of the past.

But now, this had severely affected the operation of the country.

It was time to make a change.

Lu Huiqing was an expert in this field. With tax types consolidated, personnel should also be consolidated. With personnel consolidation comes the consolidation of power.

For reform to happen, there must be power.

However, he planned to take it in two steps. First, consolidate miscellaneous taxes, observe the ministers’ reactions, get it approved, and then use this as a reason to propose the consolidation of personnel.

If taxes are consolidated and personnel are not, it doesn’t make sense!

The ambitious Emperor Zhao Xu naturally wouldn’t be confined to limited reform. He immediately agreed.

Although they were emperor and minister, they were also teacher and disciple, and confidants. They had long agreed with each other on the issue of excess officials.

An excess of officials was also a significant problem in the Song Dynasty’s system.

If everything was unified under one department, responsibilities would be clearly defined, and efficiency would significantly improve.

When Wang Anshi introduced more reforms later, he would also require personnel adjustments. After all, if the bureaucracy was too unwieldy to implement his reforms, then there was no point in him writing his reform policies.

Wang Anshi used this matter as a practice, a warm-up.

After obtaining Emperor Zhao Xu’s approval, Wang Anshi rewarded Lu Huiqing by assigning this new office to Lu Huiqing, giving him some political achievements as a foundation for the future.

It also served as a message to others: follow me, and I won’t mistreat you.

The Ma family.

“Ah, Lord Liu, you have wronged me. You see, I’m just a small businessman. What would I know about court matters? The only reason I agreed to that kid is to make money, nothing else.”

Ma Tianhao expressed regret and fearfully spoke to the middle-aged man sitting beside him.

This middle-aged man was an official of the Bureau of Agricultural Affairs, Liu Shiping, responsible for managing the granaries. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fiɾe·net

The Bureau of Agricultural Affairs’ granaries department often worked closely with pawnshops. It was much like the relationship between the Shophouse and Residence Office and realtors.

Liu Shiping said, “Whether you know it or not doesn’t matter. The key is that you better not have any dealings with Zhang San in the future.”

Ma Tianhao immediately said, “Even if you didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t have any dealings with him anymore.”

Seeing his straightforward answer, Liu Shiping couldn’t help but pause. “What about property transaction?”

Ma Tianhao immediately said, “Lord Liu, I didn’t hire him on retainer, nor do I have any ventures with him. I just bought a contract from him.”

Liu Shiping asked, “You bought a contract?”

Ma Tianhao nodded, “He said that with this contract, I can get legal guarantees from the imperial court. Once those guarantees are given, I have no more business with with him.”

Liu Shiping then asked, “How much did this contract cost?”

“Five hundred strings!”

“Five hundred strings?!”

Liu Shiping was shocked. “Mogul, did he make you drink some kind of potion of confusion?”

Ma Tianhao said, “Lord Liu, think about it. If I can get the government to be my backer, what’s a mere five hundred strings?”

Liu Shiping had a headache!

That Zhang San has made another five hundred strings?

This made their encirclement effort seem totally ridiculous.

But there was nothing he could do. Both sides had already ended their cooperation. What else could he demand?

Liu Shiping could only return empty-handed.

But as soon as he left, someone came out from the back room. It was none other than Zhang Fei.

He had just delivered the contract template to Ma Tianhao today and they happened to run into Liu Shiping.

Ma Tianhao scrutinized Zhang Fei and said with a smile, “Collaborating with you is truly extremely risky. Before this has even been publicized, the other side has already come knocking. I really don’t know how a pen-in-cap like you has managed to offend so many officials.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “Mogul, rest assured. This matter will be resolved soon. We’ll have many more opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

Ma Tianhao asked, “Is it related to the Fan family?”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Don’t worry about that now. Winning the current battle is the most important. The court will officially announce the decree soon. You need to move quickly, start making profits early, and attract more merchants to join.”

Ma Tianhao laughed, “You can rest assured. I’m already negotiating with the White Crystal Inn to join in.”

“The White Crystal Inn?”

Zhang Fei was curious, “Isn’t that a restaurant and inn?”

Ma Tianhao smiled, “You’re underestimating the White Crystal Inn. In our Bianjing, there are two business which has lots of real estate transactions—one is Xiang-guo Temple, the other is the White Crystal Inn. According to our drafted contract, if the property loan is not repaid, the house must be sold off. I’m cooperating with Bai Fanlou in this matter and persuading them to join. Mogul Fan also seems quite interested!”

What a savvy businessman. Zhang Fei smiled, “It’s a pleasure to work with you, Mogul.”

Ma Tianhao chuckled, “Working with you is really keeping me on my toes!”

“Haha!”

Even though Ma Tianhao kept complaining about the risks, he was not particularly concerned. Now that Zhang Fei’s contract had the backing of the law, the threats from Wang Wenshan and others were like jokes.

If you have the ability, go threaten Zhang Fei!

Threatening me only proves that you are helpless against Zhang Fei.

For Ma Tianhao, it was now even more important to strengthen ties with Zhang Fei.

The Wang manor.

“That cunning old fox, Ma Tianhao, is clearly just placating me. What does he think he is? Doesn’t he know the grudge between me and Zhang San? Alright, let’s see how he fares in my hands in the future.”

Wang Wenshan angrily slammed the table, cursing loudly.

Chen Yu tried to persuade, “Teacher, there’s no need to be angry. They are just common hoodlums, and not all their actions are legal. Sooner or later, we’ll catch them with something.”

Wang Wenshan exclaimed, “You don’t know. Today, the court released news again, saying that Wang Anshi is going to establish a new office specifically for handling city taxes.”

“Establish a new office?”

Chen Yu sighed, ” Wang Anshi is really up to no good!”

Consolidating miscellaneous taxes was a change in the law, but consolidating personnel meant consolidating power. There was a qualitative difference!

There’s a saying in officialdom: don’t be afraid of the law, be afraid of power!

In that case, they really have to suffer! Once Wang Anshi controls the city’s tax affairs, who can escape?

“This must be Zhang San’s idea. He’s clearly retaliating against us.”

The more Wang Wenshan thought about it, the angrier he became. He had wanted to find another opportunity to act against Zhang Fei, but unexpectedly, Zhang Fei bit back first, and it really hurt. Once this policy was implemented, he would undoubtedly lose a significant income. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. “No, I must show him a bit of color.”

“Teacher, absolutely not. Although Zhang San is not a concern, but behind him is Xu Zun, a person not easy to deal with.”

Seeing Wang Wenshan’s expression, Chen Yu knew that he was planning physical violence.

Currently, with Wang Anshi covering for Zhang Fei, their power could not reach him. So they had to resort to other means. This was quite common in the Northern Song Dynasty. To deal with troublemakers, a good beating was the most direct approach.

“Am I someone easy to deal with then?” Wang Wenshan snorted in anger.

Chen Yu frowned but remained silent, evidently not approving of such an approach.

Wang Wenshan glanced at him and continued, “But rest assured, I don’t intend to harm him. I just want to teach him a lesson, make him understand that Bianjing is not a place for him to stay. As long as we are careful, leave no evidence, he won’t have anything against us.”

Chen Yu knew that Zhang San had become Wang Wenshan’s obsession. After all, Wang Wenshan came from a prestigious family and had been treated with respect since childhood, eventually reaching the high position he held now. Yet he was humiliated by a mere commoner. If Zhang Fei wasn’t harshly punished, Wang Wenshan would find it hard to alleviate his hatred, and he even felt embarrassed to show his face.

After contemplating for a while, Chen Yu said, “Actually, this approach might work.”

Wang Wenshan asked, “What’s your idea?”

Chen Yu said, “If Wang Anshi really establishes a new office, it will surely upset many ministers in the court. However, because Wang Anshi has the trust of His Majesty, it may be difficult to change this. We can take advantage of this to redirect their anger toward Zhang San. If Zhang San is attacked at this time, many ministers will likely applaud, although Wang Anshi may intervene. If he does, we can focus all the resentment against Wang Anshi on Zhang San and then leverage the support of the ministers who oppose Wang Anshi. That way, we might have a chance of gaining the upper hand.”

Wang Wenshan’s eyes lit up. “This plan is brilliant.”

Last time, they did something similar. Regarding the restraint of litigation, both Wang Anshi and Sima Guang opposed it, but there was nothing they could do. Regarding the reform of property tax, Sima Guang and Chen Shengzhi supported Wang Anshi, making it difficult to turn the situation around. But if they brought Zhang Fei into the mix, the nature of the situation would change.

This was actually a commonly used tactic in the political arena.