Chapter 177: Change for the Better
“Academician Sima, that fellow is so detestable. Why not fine him until he loses everything?”
After leaving the hall, Shen Huaixiao quietly suggested this to Sima Guang.
The Emperor had only told Sima Guang to handle it, without specifying the exact punishment.
Sima Guang’s approach to Zhang Fei’s case matched his personality – he remained calm without extreme reactions, and leaned more toward the conservative side, unlike Wang Anshi who openly supported Zhang Fei wholeheartedly.
Sima Guang glanced at Shen Huaixiao and chuckled, “Even if we fine him everything, we can’t take away that plaque! As long as he has that plaque, he can appeal. Why take such extreme measures and cause His Majesty to lose face?”
This last point was key. Shen Huaixiao nodded sheepishly, “You think things through more thoroughly.”
He had actually hoped to push Zhang Fei into a corner, ideally dragging Wang Anshi down with him. Wang Anshi’s earlier stance on giving Zhang Fei a minor punishment had disappointed him.
But he had underestimated Wang Anshi’s self-control.
After he left, Wang Anshi quietly approached. “How much will the fine be?”
Sima Guang said, “At least a thousand strings.” Wang Anshi nodded slightly.
Sima Guang looked at him, “Are you afraid?”
Wang Anshi snorted, “What would I be afraid of?”
Sima Guang wouldn’t miss this chance to tease Wang Anshi, “If you’re not afraid, why didn’t you speak up for Zhang San earlier?”
Wang Anshi said, “I did speak up. You’re the one who kicked him while he was down!”
“You’re truly shameless! I’m done talking with you. I have matters to attend to.”
Sima Guang gave Wang Anshi a look of deep disdain before leaving.
Wang Anshi heaved a long sigh, his face showing worry as he muttered, “The road ahead is long and far, I shall search high and low.”
This incident hadn’t frightened him – he had seen such tactics before. But it served as a warning that this would not be easy.
He needed to proceed step by step, not rush things, as his power at court wasn’t strong enough yet.
Sima Guang first ordered the Kaifeng County to release the men, then commanded the Bianjing Law Firm to cease all copyright tax calculation business, since the copyright tax calculations were a cooperation between the City Tax Bureau and the firm serving the government. His stance was clear – tax calculations were allowed only in service to the government, not for personal gain at the government’s expense. Additionally, there was a fine of one thousand strings.
This was truly a slap in the face, bringing Zhang Fei down from heaven to earth.
However, this incident revealed Zhang Fei’s weakness – no matter how eloquent he was, he was still just an unruly commoner. As long as they could silence Wang Anshi, Xu Zun alone couldn’t support him.
So what if they beat him?
This punishment undoubtedly boosted morale at the imperial court. The previous consecutive lawsuits had seen the court’s elite unable to defeat Zhang Fei in open court, causing them to lose face and morale.
This time they had taught Zhang Fei a harsh lesson, making them realize that while lawsuits were Zhang Fei’s specialty, there was no need to compete with him in court.
Beat them!
That’s what should be done to unruly commoners.
Only one office felt ashamed – the Kaifeng Prefecture.
“Prefect Lu, we’ve truly lost face this time,” Li Kai kept shaking his head and sighing.
Lu Gongzhu, while reading official documents, asked, “What do you mean?”
Li Kai said, “Look at Magistrate Wang – he beat first and talked later. What could Zhang San do but accept his punishment? We were too lenient, which caused him to disrespect us. Next time he dares to file a complaint, we should beat him first too.”
Lu Gongzhu glanced at him briefly, “Don’t be hasty to judge, let’s wait and see. Didn’t the Director Wang from Agricultural Affairs Bureau also beat first and talk later? What was the result?”
Li Kai was startled: “He wouldn’t dare make trouble again, would he?”
Lu Gongzhu said, “Who knows? At least His Majesty hasn’t taken back the plaque, showing he still supports him.”
Li Kai shook his head, “I don’t believe he’ll dare cause trouble again. Though His Majesty didn’t take back the plaque, he ordered him to stop the tax calculation business, showing that His Majesty isn’t on his side. I don’t believe he’s not afraid of death – the consequences of pursuing this further would be more than a mere pen-in-cap could bear.”
Lu Gongzhu fell silent with furrowed brows.
Indeed!
After all, the court had issued an order punishing the Bianjing Law Firm. Though not fatal, it was a warning for Zhang Fei to stop pursuing this matter.
This concerned national policy after all.
At the Bianjing Law Firm.
The men had been released, but a deathly silence hung over the place.
“Is everyone alright?” Zhang Fei asked the defeated group who could only stand, his face showing guilt.
“We’re fine,” only Qiu Zhengwen answered.
The others remained silent.
How could they not blame Zhang Fei? Many pen-in-caps had warned him this would anger the imperial court, but he had been so confident. Not only were they arrested and beaten, but he had pushed all responsibility onto them.
Zhang Fei said, “This time I failed to think things through. The responsibility is all mine, so I’ll give each of you a hundred strings for medical expenses and a month’s paid leave to recover.”
The pen-in-caps’ eyes flickered at hearing this – a hundred strings and a month’s paid leave? Well, maybe the beating wasn’t so bad then.
But Qiu Zhengwen felt uncomfortable, “But Brother San, hasn’t the imperial court fined us a thousand strings? Do we have that much money?”
Huang Meng and the others looked nervously at Qiu Zhengwen – this guy was a traitor. Why should they, as mere workers, worry so much about their boss’s concerns?
This was what they deserved.
“This small amount of money is nothing.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said, “Moreover, I will add this compensation policy to your contracts. If something like this happens again in the future, we will compensate you according to the contract.”
Fan Li heard this and objected, trembling as he said, “Brother San, are we really going to keep doing this?”
When these words came out, everyone became tense.
Money was certainly important, but if they lost their lives, it would all be for nothing! Zhang Fei noticed everyone’s anxiety and smiled, “I’m doing this just as a precaution. With this compensation policy, perhaps everyone can feel more at ease.”
Fan Li nodded slightly – if it was to reassure people, then that was acceptable.
The others had even fewer objections – this was protection after all! Just then, Li Si entered the back hall, “Brother San, Academician Wang has arrived.”
Everyone felt somewhat relieved hearing that Wang Anshi had come – yes, yes, they had support in the imperial court too.
Zhang Fei stood up and said, “You all go back and rest well for a while, forget about those unpleasant things.”
“Yes, we’ll take our leave then.”
The group of pen-in-caps supported each other as they limped out of the back hall.
Zhang Fei watched this scene with nothing but anger in his heart.
He couldn’t just let this go.
After they left, Zhang Fei invited Wang Anshi to a private room in the back courtyard.
“You were too reckless this time, I can’t give you much support,” Wang Anshi said with apparent guilt when he saw Zhang Fei.
Actually, he certainly needed to address land reform, but he wasn’t prepared at all now, and he couldn’t risk his political career for Zhang Fei.
But feeling somewhat indebted to Zhang Fei and worried this young man might act impulsively and ruin things, he thought it over and decided he should talk to him.
Zhang Fei said with a wronged expression, “If I were truly being reckless, you wouldn’t be saying these things to me. I was just trying to help some farmers. Many officials have done the same thing, and I wasn’t even investigating those landlords’ taxes.”
At this point, he suddenly frowned.
Wang Anshi sighed, “That may be true, but your timing was terrible. No one dares to meddle in this matter now. If something goes wrong, no one can bear that responsibility! So don’t scheme about this anymore, just keep a low profile for a while.”
He understood Zhang Fei’s personality – he always repaid both kindness and grudges. He was worried Zhang Fei might act impulsively.
There was no way to reason in this matter – they wouldn’t even let you take it to court, so your usual methods wouldn’t work.
But after speaking, Wang Anshi noticed Zhang Fei hadn’t responded at all. Looking over, he saw Zhang Fei frowning, seemingly lost in thought, so he called out, “Zhang San?”
“Ah?”
Zhang Fei snapped back to attention and casually replied, “What do you mean by that, Academician Wang?”
Wang Anshi asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Zhang Fei hesitated briefly, then said, “I’m reflecting on why the imperial court punished me this time.”
Wang Anshi said irritably, “Isn’t this obvious? Tax collection is crucial to the state, it cannot fail. If the matter goes to court and results in delays to tax collection, no one can bear that consequence.”
“No, no, no!”
Zhang Fei shook his head, “That isn’t the key point.”
How could I not know the key point in such a simple matter? Wang Anshi was both amused and annoyed: “Then tell me what it is.”
“Money!”
Zhang Fei said, “Isn’t it all about money in the end?”
Wang Anshi asked puzzled, “Isn’t that what I meant?”
“But that’s not the key point,” Zhang Fei shook his head and said, “My crucial mistake in this matter was that by helping those farmers calculate taxes, it would make those tax collectors afraid to collect taxes. If they’re afraid to collect taxes, the government won’t get tax money, the government’s revenue will decrease, and if it becomes serious, it will affect the entire country’s operations. Therefore, no one dares to support me.”
Wang Anshi nodded, “That’s exactly it!”
“Then I can change for the better!”
Zhang Fei suddenly became excited and said, “I can help the government collect taxes, work together with the government to gather money – wouldn’t that work?”
Wang Anshi was stunned, “How could you, a mere pen-in-cap, help?”
Zhang Fei said, “I can report those big landlords for tax evasion, make them pay their full taxes. This would create tax revenue for the government – surely they can’t say I’m hindering tax collection then!”