Chapter 98: To Govern a Country, First Govern its Bureaucrats
Caught in the act?
What act?
Xu Zhiqian, who took a moment to react, felt the urge to chase Zhang Fei across nine streets.
But it was too late, as Wang Ye had already entered.
Zhang Fei had always had a good impression of Wang Ye and was genuinely pleased to see him coming to congratulate him, especially since he hadn’t sent out any invitations. This event was sudden, so he was very happy and immediately went out with Xu Zhiqian to greet him.
“I originally planned to congratulate you on your new house, Zhang San. I didn’t expect today to be a double celebration. Congratulations, congratulations!”
Wang Ye cupped his hands repeatedly and waved, and two servants came forward carrying several boxes of gifts. “Just a small gift, not worth mentioning.”
“You’re too kind! Too kind! Senior Brother Wang, you’re really too kind.”
Zhang Fei, who hadn’t drunk much today, reverted from calling Wang Ye “little brother” to “senior brother” and continued, “Actually, I’m already very happy that you could come today, Senior Brother Wang. These gifts are really too much, please come inside and sit.”
At this moment, Xu Zhiqian suddenly said, “Senior Brother Wang, Zhang San, I just remembered something I need to do, so I won’t be staying to accompany you two.” Wang Ye nodded slightly. “Junior Sister, please go ahead.”
Zhang Fei teased, “If you leave, who will pour the wine?”
Xu Zhiqian wasn’t annoyed but instead smiled and said, “I don’t dare to take on that task again, lest your new bride gets jealous.”
“You better go!” Zhang Fei waved his hand.
Xu Zhiqian smiled, nodded slightly to Wang Ye, and left.
Wang Ye laughed heartily, entered the hall, and looked around, “Zhang San, have you hidden your bride?”
Zhang Fei said seriously, “Senior Brother Wang, do you think with my looks and abilities, I would need to hide her?”
“Of course not! Of course not!”
Wang Ye laughed and nodded, then said, “The poem you wrote last night truly stunned the capital, especially those last three lines. In just three lines, you captured the agony of longing, as if experiencing it firsthand. Truly an exquisite poem, I admire it greatly.”
Zhang Fei chuckled, “It’s nothing. I’ve lived for over twenty years and happened to come up with a few good lines. It’s to be expected.”
“I disagree.”
Wang Ye quickly said, “Many people spend their entire lives writing tens of thousands of poems and essays, yet not a single line is remembered. This shows that your talent far surpasses theirs.”
As he said this, he paused slightly, “Zhang San, you said before that you couldn’t pass the imperial examination, but it turns out you were just being modest.”
Writing a good complaint document had nothing to do with passing the examination, but writing good poems certainly did. Currently, the examination was not based on the formal structured essay, so literary talent was very important.
Being able to write such exquisite lines means he couldn’t be that bad.
He’s truly a fan of mine; his flattery skills are quite something. Zhang Fei said awkwardly, “It’s different. A good poem can be a fluke, but achieving passing the civil examination requires real skill. They can’t be compared.”
Wang Ye smiled slightly, “Though what you say is true, if it were anyone else, I might agree. But coming from you, I can’t agree. I think you simply have no desire to become an official, which is why you don’t want to take the examination.”
Zhang Fei was taken aback, “Why do you say that?”
Wang Ye laughed, “Our mentor told me. He once wanted to recommend you for an official position, but you declined.”
Zhang Fei exclaimed, “He even told you that?!”
Wang Ye quickly explained, “Zhang San, you may not know, but I once spoke with our mentor about you, expressing my belief that someone with your talent shouldn’t be confined to a bookstore but should be in high office. Our mentor agreed and mentioned this to me.”
“I see.” Zhang Fei nodded.
Seeing that Zhang Fei didn’t want to say more, Wang Ye asked, “Why don’t you want to become an official?”
Zhang Fei replied, “Didn’t our mentor tell you?”
Wang Ye nodded, “He didn’t go into detail. He just said you felt that even if you entered the imperial court, you wouldn’t be able to achieve anything.”
“That’s exactly it.” Zhang Fei nodded.
Wang Ye said, “But I think that whether in the imperial court or in a bookstore, you need real skill to achieve your position. With your talent, you’d definitely make a mark in the imperial court.”
Zhang Fei laughed, “Unless I can gain the emperor’s trust, there’s no way I could make a mark.”
Wang Ye asked, “What do you mean?”
Zhang Fei explained, “In our dynasty, even building a latrine requires approval from three to five governmental departments, and it still might not get built. I’m a nobody. What could I do? Stay there for two or three years, lose all my spirit, and enter old age prematurely? What’s the point?”
Wang Ye blushed slightly and sighed, “What you say is true. Bureaucratic inefficiency is a major problem in our dynasty.”
But then he changed his tone, “However, there is an excellent opportunity now.”
Zhang Fei asked, “What opportunity?”
Wang Ye said, “I’ve heard that Academician Wang is planning reforms and is recruiting talented people. To be honest, I’m also planning to follow Academician Wang in these reforms.”
“Really?” Zhang Fei was surprised.
Wang Ye nodded and whispered, “Absolutely. And I heard from our mentor that Academician Wang greatly appreciates your talent. Why don’t you join me in following him and serving the country? This is a great opportunity!”
Zhang Fei frowned in thought.
He was also considering entering the officialdom, but he hadn’t decided how to approach it.
Seeing his hesitation, Wang Ye didn’t dare to disturb him and quietly waited.
After a long while, Zhang Fei shook his head, “I think not. For now, I just want to manage my bookstore well.”
A trace of doubt flashed in Wang Ye’s eyes, “Why? It’s such a good opportunity, you’re just going to let it go?”
Zhang Fei only said, “Thank you for your kind offer, but I really have no plans to become an official at the moment.”
Wang Ye pondered for a moment and asked, “Could it be that you don’t think highly of Academician Wang’s reforms?”
As he said this, his hands clenched into fists.
Zhang Fei laughed, “Reform is no trivial matter. For someone like me, a commoner, it’s too much to bear.”
Wang Ye’s eyes flickered a few times, then he lowered his voice, “If you have any thoughts, could you share them with me? I promise I won’t tell anyone. To be honest, what you said makes me a bit scared too.”
Zhang Fei and Wang Ye got along well at first sight, and seeing him so earnest, Zhang Fei feared he might get caught up dragged into a dangerous political storm. After some hesitation, he said, “I do agree with Academician Wang’s ideas and views. I… I just think the timing is a bit off.”
Wang Ye immediately asked, “What about the timing?”
Zhang Fei said, “When we talk about legal reform, which is more important: the reformation process, or the new laws?”
Wang Ye said, “The new laws are more important, of course.”
“Wrong!”
Zhang Fei said, “The reformation process is more important.”
Wang Ye asked, “Why?”
Zhang Fei explained, “Throughout history, many wise ministers have proposed beneficial suggestions for the country, but only a few have managed to turn their suggestions into laws and implemented them.
The key is not just saying what should be done, but whether it can be done. Reforms fail not because of the proposed new laws but because of the inability to implement the changes.”
Wang Ye nodded slightly, “You have a point, but I’ve heard that Academician Wang has the emperor’s trust, similar to how Shang Yang had Duke Xiao of Qin’s support during his reforms.”[1]
Zhang Fei evaded the issue, “Of course. I didn’t say he would fail. The emperor’s support does make many things easier. But to govern a country, one must first govern its bureaucrats. And that would take at least ten years.”
In the Ming dynasty, Zhang Juzheng’s reforms had learned from the failures of Wang Anshi. Most people only remember the Single Whip Law,[2] but the success of Zhang Juzheng’s reforms lay in the first four years when he implemented the Assessment Law.
The Assessment Law was a law for governing officials, creating a standard by which officials and bureaucrats could be assessed for performance. It allowed the central government to extend its control to localities, enabling Zhang Juzheng’s later policies to reach the grassroots.
But would Wang Anshi have succeeded if he had the Assessment Law?
Zhang Fei doubted so!
Because the Ming dynasty was already highly centralized, and Zhang Juzheng was acting as regent, holding all the power.
In contrast, the Song Dynasty only took centralization a step further than the Tang Dynasty, breaking the noble clans into individual scholar-officials. However, it was not a family business but a joint-stock company, where the Emperor and the scholar-officials co-governed the realm, rather than the Emperor having the only say.
Zhang Fei believed that more time was needed to improve the bureaucracy, and even ten years was considered short.
This was why he hesitated and wavered; he felt that the current political environment did not yet have the soil for reforms. The local officials did not listen to Wang Anshi, so no matter how good the seeds were, they couldn’t grow anything in the desert.
As for the issues with the new policies, Zhang Fei thought they were secondary. Anyone who implemented reforms would make adjustments along the way. Things written on paper would always encounter various problems when applied in reality, and timely modifications would suffice.
Even if Zhang Fei had a birds-eye perspective of history, his suggestions would certainly encounter numerous issues in implementation.
This required a well-managed bureaucracy.
Bureaucratic management was of utmost importance.
“Ten years?”
Wang Ye asked in surprise.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, “You also mentioned just now that there is an excess of officials, which makes governance rather troublesome.”
Wang Ye shook his head and said, “This statement is incorrect. I believe Academician Wang is also aware of this principle. His reforms surely include reforming the bureaucracy.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said, “To govern the country, one must first govern the bureaucrats. The key in that saying lies in the word ‘first.’ This order is irreversible. You cannot proceed with both substantive reforms and bureaucratic reforms simultaneously.”
Wang Ye gradually appeared a bit uneasy and hurriedly said, “Zhang San, your words are truly enlightening. Therefore, I believe you should enter officialdom. With your assistance, Academician Wang would surely succeed.”
After talking for so long, it was all in vain. Brother, this was not a matter of who is working on it, but a matter of timing! Even I wouldn’t succeed! But Zhang Fei just smiled and nodded, saying, “Let’s wait and see. I advise you to also observe for a while longer. You are still young and have plenty of opportunities, so don’t rush.”
He was already considering entering officialdom. It was said that this Wang Ye came from an official family and was about the same age as him, so he thought of bringing Wang Ye to his side, so that he could have a sidekick.
Back to just observing? Wang Ye asked again, “Zhang San, do you have a method for governing the bureaucracy?”
Zhang Fei was taken aback, then laughed and said, “Not being in that position, I haven’t thought about it.”
[1] The Shang Yang reforms were legalist reforms that have been credited with making Qin a powerful albeit tyrannical state that went on to unite China.
[2] The Single Whip Law was a reform during the Ming dynasty (later than the current timeline) whereby the people’s complex tax and labor obligations were simplified into a single payment of silver. This dovetailed with the influx of silver from European trade at the time.