Judge of the Song Dynasty

Wang Anshi’s ultimate goal was reform.

This policy was just a trial, and he did not place much importance on the revenue of the City Tax Bureau. What he cared about more was whether this low-interest approach could affect the overall political environment as well as the consolidation of power within the City Tax Bureau.

But now…

Wang Anshi found that things were not so simple. He felt it was necessary to pay attention to the City Tax Bureau.

It wasn’t just him. With the introduction of housing loans, buying houses had become the hottest topic in Bianjing. In no time, it became a phenomenon.

It exploded immediately!

There wasn’t even a buffering phase.

For several consecutive days, whether it was the Chen family or the Ma family, both were bursting at the seams. Even the City Tax Bureau was forced to open early. Inside, there was nothing but public officials processing paperwork, indifferent to the piercing cold northern wind.

After all, it was about making money!

Currently, there were no real estate developers, and housing couldn’t grow rapidly based on demand. It was clear that no one had anticipated it being so explosive.

These were transactions worth thousands of strings of cash!

At the same time, many officials were involved.

This naturally caught the attention of the imperial court.

So, some officials suggested to Emperor Zhao Xu that they release some land for building houses.

Isn’t the government short of money?

Sell houses!

It’s definitely profitable!

From the current transactions, there was an obvious shortage of houses.

The reason was simple; many people could afford houses, and the demand exceeded the supply.

In fact, officials of the Northern Song Dynasty were indeed top-notch in financial matters. They all had a broad perspective because the economic structure of the Northern Song was very complex. Commercial taxes were already surpassing agricultural taxes. If you didn’t understand this, you couldn’t survive in the officialdom.

Most important meetings in the Northern Song were almost always discussing one topic: finances.

From the monarch to the ministers, there was a consensus that the economy was of paramount importance.

Emperor Zhao Xu was also intrigued by this. Currently, land prices in Bianjing had begun to rise. The imperial court held a considerable amount of land, and the stamp duty had amounted to two hundred thousand strings. If the government sold houses itself, the gains would be unimaginable!

So, he called for a small meeting to discuss this matter.

The ministers participating in the meeting were mainly the chancellors and the Hanlin academicians.

“I object.”

Sima Guang was the first to speak. “Your Majesty, have you ever considered why this situation has arisen? It’s because in the past, most people couldn’t afford houses. That’s why, after the introduction of housing loans, property transactions have reached such astonishing levels. This demand is the result of decades worth of accumulation and won’t continue like this forever.

Nowadays, most of the people buying houses are court officials, landlords, and the wealthy elite, not ordinary citizens. If the court also builds and sells houses, it will further drive-up housing prices. Bianjing will no longer have affordable housing, and it will force the common people to live on the streets. Is this what Your Majesty and all of you want to see?”

He strongly opposed the government engaging in business activities, considering it tantamount to ‘competing with the people for benefits’, even more shameful than raising taxes.

However, Wang Anshi countered, “Scarcity makes things valuable. The high housing prices are due to a shortage of houses. If the government builds houses, it can alleviate housing prices and increase revenue for the court. It’s a win-win situation. Haven’t you noticed that construction of houses has already begun near the Xiang-guo Temple? Even if the government ‘competes with the people for benefit’, it is competing with the wealthy, not the poor.”

His philosophy was diametrically opposed to that of Sima Guang. He believed that the government should play a leading role in economic development. The notion of ‘competing with the people for benefits’ was nonsensical; they were competing wealthy merchants and landlords, not ordinary people.

Those selfish, profit-seeking businessmen didn’t understand national development. Of course, the government had to take the lead to expand the pie.

Sima Guang immediately responded, “I’m not against the government building houses, but they should be rented as public housing for ordinary people. If the government builds and sells courtyard houses, it’s obvious that the court won’t continue building public housing. How will the common people live then?

Moreover, the land in Bianjing is limited, so caution is necessary. Releasing land within limits to build public housing can solve the housing problem for the people, ease housing prices, and not infringe on the interests of businessmen.”

Emperor Zhao Xu was familiar with this pair of opponents and asked Tang Jie, the Finance Commissioner of the Three Financial Bureaus, “What is your opinion, Accounting Chancellor?”

The Three Financial Bureaus were in charge of the finances of the Northern Song. It consisted of the Salt-and-Iron Monopoly Bureau, the Census Bureau, and the Tax Bureau.

The head of the Three Financial Bureaus, the Finance Commissioner, was also colloquially called the Accounting Chancellor. Since this wasn’t a formal meeting, the address was relatively casual.

Tang Jie immediately responded, “I think Academician Sima’s opinion is more reasonable. Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation are the daily necessities of the people, and they must not be underestimated. The court must treat this matter with caution; otherwise, it will lead to a disaster.”

Many officials immediately stood up in support of Tang Jie.

But there were also many who supported Wang Anshi’s viewpoint. They believed that these houses would eventually be built. Since there was demand, why not build them now? Why should they benefit the wealthy? After all, the imperial court was currently in need of money.

Wang Anshi glanced at Sima Guang, seeing him resolute and ready to confront him. Thinking about the establishment of the City Tax Bureau where Sima Guang and others didn’t oppose him, he realized that housing prices were not the core of his reforms. Hence, he chose not to continue the dispute.

Emperor Zhao Xu could only put it on hold for now and see how things developed.

Some were happy while others were worried!

The Ma and Chen families were enjoying great success these days, but the Fan family’s bookstore suffered setbacks in this housing-buying frenzy.

The eight notaries each had their specialties. Though not explicitly defined, there was an unspoken understanding. For example, Li Guozhong specialized in handling disputes and contracts involving large shipments of goods.

The Fan family, on the other hand, dealt with real estate transactions and some pawnshops.

With the real estate market booming, both contracts and disputes increased.

The Fan family should have made a fortune, or at least had a thriving business.

In actuality, however, it was a desolate scene in its bookstore with barely any customers.

It was even colder than usual.

After the Ma family suddenly abandoned the Fan family, many wealthy merchants believed there must be a reason, and they started turning to other businesses.

Fan Li felt this was unacceptable, so he immediately sought out the leader of the notary industry, Li Guozhong, expressing his grievances.

You’re not keeping to our tacit understanding; you’ve taken away all my customers.

But how could Li Guozhong and the other notaries willingly give up the advantage they had gained? They tactfully expressed that they didn’t snatch his business; it was the customers who came to them. They couldn’t turn them away, could they?

Back at the Fan family home.

Fan Li raged, “This is unreasonable! This is outrageous! Whenever there’s an issue, I, Fan Li, am the first to support the Li family. Now they tell me, the customer’s choice has nothing to do with them. They are truly going too far.”

Fan Li couldn’t contain his anger, throwing teapots and teacups on the floor.

His household steward said, “Master, since they’re treating us unfairly, why not go to Lord Chen to seek justice?”

Fan Li replied, ” Lord Chen won’t bother with this matter.”

The household manager reminded, “Master, haven’t you forgotten? Not long ago, when Lord Chen wanted to deal with Zhang San, our bookstore contributed a lot.”

Fan Li nodded slightly but then said, “But the one who contributed the most at that time was Li Guozhong.”

Just then, a servant entered the hall, saying, “Master, someone just delivered a note.”

Handing over the note, Fan Li read it, “It’s from him.”

Early the next day, Fan Li took a sedan chair to the docks. There was a boat moored there. After scanning the surroundings, he boarded the boat.

Once on board, the boat departed from the docks.

“Why did you call me here?” Fan Li asked the young man in front of him.

The young man was none other than Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei smiled, “I know you’ve encountered some difficulties recently. Perhaps I can help you with your troubles.” Follow current novels on novel•fire.net

Fan Li gritted his teeth, “I’m afraid the troubles my Fan family is facing are all caused by you.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Why would you say that, Mogul?”

Fan Li said, “My bookstore just encountered trouble, and you come knocking on my door. Moreover, after you collaborated with Ma Tianhao, he immediately distanced himself from me. Can you dare say this has nothing to do with you?”

Seeing Zhang Fei’s note, he immediately understood everything.

Zhang Fei, however, smiled, “Is that important?”

Fan Li sneered, “Don’t act like I don’t know what you’re planning. Now that the court prohibits you from litigating cases in court, you just want to use my bookstore to break free from the court’s constraints. You won’t succeed.”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “There’s no great enmity between us. Would you rather both of us lose than cooperate for mutual benefit.”

Fan Li retorted, “You are scheming against me. Why should I cooperate with you?”

Zhang Fei laughed, “Didn’t you initiate hostilities against me first?”

Fan Li coldly said, “Since there is deep-seated animosity between us, there’s nothing left to discuss.”

Zhang Fei said, “If you cooperate with me, I can make you a leader of the legal industry.”

Fan Li frowned slightly but remained silent.

Zhang Fei continued, “You should understand. I now have business dealings with various wealthy merchants in Bianjing. If I join your bookstore, all these dealings will belong to the bookstore. You should know how much profit there is in this.”

Fan Li asked, “You would be so generous?”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “If I gain control of your bookstore, I can make even more.”

Fan Li questioned, “Are you trying to buy my bookstore?”

Zhang Fei asked, “Are you willing?”

“Of course not.”

“That settles it.” Zhang Fei said, “I hope to join your bookstore and establish a cooperative relationship with you. However, there’s one condition: on the surface, you are in charge, but in reality, I want to gain control of the bookstore.”

“That’s impossible.” Fan Li immediately rejected, “You can forget about it.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Isn’t what you want from running a bookstore simply wealth and status? Once I join your bookstore, you will obtain both.”

Fan Li said, “But you will also bring countless troubles.”

Zhang Fei replied, “Even with the troubles I’m facing now, I’m earning a lot, and I have the support of Academician Wang. Do you want these troubles? Yes or no?”

That’s right! Last time, despite all the trouble they caused, they didn’t manage to defeat him. Instead, he turned the tables and caused me heavy losses. I really don’t know what those officials are doing. After some struggle, Fan Li said, “I can let you join our bookstore, but I will have the final say.”

Zhang Fei smiled.

Fan Li frowned, “Why are you smiling?”

Zhang Fei said, “Having the final say isn’t something you declare, but about one’s abilities. Can you have the final say in front of Mogul Fan and the other moguls? If you can’t, who will have the final say?

Rather than being oppressed by me in the future, it’s better for us to state clearly who is in charge. Having clear roles will prevent any discord between us, enabling us to cooperate for mutual benefit.”

Finishing his words, without waiting for Fan Li to nod, he pulled out a contract and placed it on the table, “Sign this contract. Even as the second-in-command, you will overtake Li Guozhong and the notaries. Just be subordinate to me. It’s not something embarrassing; in the future, everyone in this line of work will be subordinate to me.”