Chapter 214: Absolutely No Backing Down
Reform was easy to talk about.
Uneven distribution of wealth seemed simple enough – just even it out and be done with it.
But the problem was that you were dealing with people, not objects.
It was like an equation – with just one variable X, things were much simpler. But add another variable Y, and the difficulty increased exponentially.
As you changed things, others would change too, causing events to unfold differently than planned.
The imperial court could implement reforms because it controlled means of production. Similarly, landlords could make changes because they too controlled means of production.
The result was that those without means of production suffered.
Having received nine years of compulsory education, Zhang Fei understood these principles clearly. In history class, he could criticize Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, and others.
It was easy to discuss things lightheartedly when viewing from the outside, but maintaining composure became difficult once directly involved.
Currently, he could hardly do more than Xu Zhiqian. The law could ensure tax payment but couldn’t force people to surrender their means of production – only new laws could accomplish that.
After searching around outside unsuccessfully for Zhang Fei, Lu Huiqing returned to the Reform Planning Commission.
Upon his return, he immediately got into an argument with Su Zhe.
Su Zhe wasn’t recommended by Wang Anshi – he was personally appointed by Emperor Zhao Xu.
“You know perfectly well what’s really going on, Su Zhe. Are these complaints truly arising from the common folk?” Lu Huiqing snorted.
Su Zhe replied: “It’s precisely because the imperial government lacked thorough consideration when issuing this policy, failing to account for tenant farmers, that others could exploit the situation. But I believe this could have been avoided. Isn’t this exactly what our Song Dynasty’s ancestral laws meant by ‘comprehensive order as precaution against malfeasance’?”
Lu Huiqing dismissed this: “That’s purely theoretical. I bet no matter how thoroughly you consider things, you’ll still encounter problems.”
Su Zhe said: “With thorough consideration, we could at least avoid major issues. Even when problems arise, we could adjust immediately rather than being forced to compound our mistakes as we are now.”
His political philosophy aligned more closely with Sima Guang’s, emphasizing careful planning before action and avoiding action without absolute certainty.
He certainly knew someone was causing trouble behind the scenes, but he believed it was their incomplete planning that had left loopholes for others to exploit, now forcing them into a difficult position where they could only compound their mistakes.
“What mistakes?” Lu Huiqing said. “There was nothing wrong with this. People are just interfering, trying to force the withdrawal of the new laws. But they’re dreaming – I won’t let them succeed.”
Su Zhe shook his head: “This isn’t governing – it’s just being combative.”
Lu Huiqing retorted: “Struggle is part of governance.”
Su Zhe smiled bitterly: “If you focus all your energy on fighting, how can you properly govern the country?”
Lu Huiqing countered: “If you weren’t arguing with me now, would I be wasting my breath?”
Su Zhe nodded: “Fine, fine, I won’t argue with you anymore.”
He turned away to focus on his own work.
Unlike his brother Su Shi, who could argue endlessly, he knew when to stop and didn’t need to fight until there was a clear winner or loser.
Lu Huiqing stormed out angrily. With all the troublesome matters outside, he didn’t need more problems from within his own camp.
As if he didn’t have enough troubles already.
Just as he reached the door, a clerk approached: “Inspector Lu, Zhang San requests to see you.”
Lu Huiqing immediately asked: “Where is he?”
The clerk replied: “I had him wait in the west chamber.”
Lu Huiqing immediately headed toward the west chamber.
It turned out that upon returning to the city and learning that Lu Huiqing had been searching everywhere for him, Zhang Fei had come straight here without even going home first.
”Inspector Lu.”
“Do you know why I’m looking for you?”
Lu Huiqing had no patience for riddles and asked directly.
Zhang Fei nodded with a bitter smile: “To be honest, Inspector Lu, I went out this morning because of this matter too.”
Lu Huiqing quickly asked: “Do you have any solutions?”
Zhang Fei sighed: “I’ve reviewed the contracts between the tenant farmers and landlords. If those farmers were willing to litigate, they would definitely have a case. But the key issue is that the farmers won’t want to file suit. The reason is simple – if they sue, they might lose their livelihood, and I can’t provide them with new means of survival.”
Lu Huiqing looked at Zhang Fei and said: “You should know what caused all this, right?”
Zhang Fei nodded: “That’s why I immediately went to investigate when I learned about it. Although I can’t offer much help right now, I believe we can’t back down on this matter. In any event, the number of people involved is limited, so it won’t cause major chaos.”
Lu Huiqing grunted in agreement: “My mentor and I both understand this point. The problem is that many people at court are gossiping.”
Zhang Fei asked: “The landlords are clearly in the wrong here. What excuse could they possibly have to defend them?”
Lu Huiqing chuckled: “You don’t understand! Those people may not be good at anything else, but they excel at criticism. They can find any reason to complain. The most infuriating argument is that we were unprepared and made hasty decisions based on a single case, leading to public resentment. Since when did collecting lawful taxes require preparation? What a ridiculous joke.”
Zhang Fei asked further: “How do they justify the landlords’ actions?”
Lu Huiqing snorted: “They avoid the main issues, generalize based on exceptions, and use special cases to claim landlords aren’t benefiting, saying they’re passing all tax benefits to the tenant farmers.
These critics will always find reasons to complain. If I were to criticize them, I could find a hundred reasons too, but I don’t have time to waste words with them.”
Zhang Fei said: “But these reasons aren’t convincing enough.”
Lu Huiqing smiled bitterly: “They’re not convincing indeed. They rely solely on shouting the loudest.”
Shouting the loudest? Zhang Fei frowned slightly, thinking it was unfortunate his Authentic Books Store wasn’t operational yet, though he doubted they would allow him to publish anyway.
Seeing him lost in thought, Lu Huiqing asked: “Do you really have no solution?”
He still hoped Zhang Fei could solve their problems, as they didn’t have the energy to waste on this.
After some thought, Zhang Fei said: “Could we provide some subsidies to those tenant farmers?”
Lu Huiqing asked in surprise: “What do you mean?”
Zhang Fei explained: “Since the treasury’s revenue has increased from collecting contract taxes and other levies, we could use some of that money to subsidize the tenant farmers.”
Lu Huiqing said: “What kind of solution is that? Aside from the fact that the national treasury is already strained and can’t spare the funds, even if our finances were good, could you sustain such subsidies? If you provide subsidies, the landlords would definitely raise rents, so the subsidies would just end up in their pockets.”
Zhang Fei nodded sheepishly: “You’re right. I was being too naive.”
In the palace.
“Your Majesty, these are contracts I got from tenant farmers. They tell a very different story from Censor Lin’s claims. Only a few landlords pass the tax benefits to farmers. Most split the benefits with farmers, and some even keep all the benefits for themselves.”
“This is outrageous.”
Emperor Zhao Xu let out an angry snort: “These censors are supposed to be my eyes and ears, helping me understand the people’s conditions. If they deceive me, wouldn’t I become blind and deaf?”
As emperor, he wasn’t very familiar with the situation and had been fooled by Lin Dan’s contract, not realizing it represented only a minority of cases.
These censors were being extremely cunning.
Wang Anshi seized the moment and said: “Your Majesty, I initially thought it might have been due to insufficient preparation by the court, but after investigation, I found that someone is deliberately sabotaging this, aiming to obstruct my reforms. I believe we must not back down on this matter. The government must proceed according to the previous decree, and the summer tax cannot be waived. If we let them taste success, they will find every possible way to oppress more common people and create more public resentment to pressure the court.”
Zhao Xu nodded and said with determination: “Let’s follow your suggestion. Ignore what those people say.”
“I obey your command.”
After receiving the emperor’s order, Wang Anshi immediately rushed to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office, since the executive power lay in their hands.
“Anshi!”
Lu Gongzhu sighed: “Our original intention was to make those landlords pay their due taxes, but now they’ve shifted all of it to the tenant farmers. Shouldn’t we reconsider this matter?”
Being on the front lines, he clearly understood the situation. Perhaps someone was sabotaging things, but ultimately the tenant farmers were bearing the burden.
The contracts were in black and white – there was no way to force the landlords to bear the tax burden.
What was the point of doing this?
Was it purely to collect money for the state?
Wang Anshi countered: “If these taxes were truly being borne by the tenant farmers, why would they act this way? Why would they pressure the court to withdraw the decree? In fact, those evading taxes with informal contracts are the majority, while the affected tenant farmers are the minority. Once they see that we won’t budge, they’ll naturally give up.”
Lu Gongzhu said: “Of course I understand. I’m just worried that the harder the government pushes, the harder they’ll push back, and in the end, it’s the tenant farmers who’ll suffer. After all, the land is in their hands. When the court collects more taxes, they just need to add it to the rent. Shouldn’t we first find a way to solve this problem?”
Wang Anshi was nearly in tears: “I will find a way to solve this problem, but… sigh… it needs to be done step by step. We haven’t even completed the land survey yet. If I rush into reforms, you’ll criticize me again for insufficient preparation. But if we can’t even complete the land survey and collect the contract taxes, how can we make any changes?”
He was truly anxious – people kept saying he was too radical while pressuring him to solve problems. What did they want from him?
He wanted to reform the land system, but the time wasn’t ripe yet. However, they could start the preparatory work, and surveying the land was a necessary step.
Seeing his difficulty, Lu Gongzhu nodded: “Alright! I know what to do.”
At the Shen residence.
“Just now, His Majesty issued an edict not to waive the summer tax.”
Tang Ji happily told Shen Huaixiao and the others.
Shen Huaixiao chuckled: “Just as we expected.”
Cao Han said: “This Wang Anshi has no way to retreat, he’ll certainly see this through to the end.”
Shen Huaixiao said: “Then it’s easy to handle. With His Majesty personally issuing the edict, those below won’t dare to slack off. This gives those low-level clerks an opportunity.”
Cao Han laughed: “After what Zhang San did last time, the clerks in both Kaifeng and Xiangfu counties became somewhat hesitant and didn’t dare extract money. Now that the opportunity has come again, they’ll certainly fish in troubled waters to recover their previous losses.”
Tang Ji said: “When that happens, those censors won’t let Wang Anshi off easily.”