Judge of the Song Dynasty

Authentic Books Store.

It was already the second watch of the night, but the Authentic Books Store was still brightly lit.

Hou Donglai entered the room, wiping away sweat, and said to Zhang Fei who was sitting inside: “Zhang San, don’t worry. With Academician Sima’s article, printing another hundred or so copies won’t be a problem.”

“That’s good!”

Zhang Fei nodded. “Have they sent the money?”

Hou Donglai said: “It’s all been delivered. White Crystal Inn and Pan Inn even sent an extra hundred strings.”

Zhang Fei was slightly startled. “Why did they send extra?”

Hou Donglai said: “They’re afraid it won’t be enough, and if they have to send money over at the last minute, it would be very troublesome. So they simply left a hundred strings here with us first. When needed, they can just send someone over to collect the newspapers.”

These days, several hundred strings required an ox cart to transport. White Crystal Inn and Pan Inn didn’t care about this small amount of money – what they wanted was efficiency.

They could never again allow situations where their establishments “didn’t have newspapers while others did.” “Truly worthy of White Crystal Inn – what deep pockets!” Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then suddenly looked at the energetic Hou Donglai. “Old Hou! You must not have slept a wink last night, right?”

“It seems… it seems so. I only dozed off for a bit in the morning.”

Then Hou Donglai asked: “Why do you ask?”

Zhang Fei said sheepishly: “I just noticed you don’t seem tired at all.”

Hou Donglai chuckled: “In my whole life, I’ve never done such profitable business. I’m so excited – I probably won’t sleep tonight either.”

By the end, his eyes had disappeared into his smile.

Not only him, but craftsmen like Bai Ban and Hong Zhong were all the same – the more they worked, the more energized they became.

To have a business where people came to your door fighting to give you money – how interesting was that!

There had been occasional newspapers on the market before, but compared to their newspaper, there was simply no comparison!

One important reason was that those newspapers were all handwritten copies with extremely limited quantities, while they used movable type printing – the larger the volume, the more they earned.

As it happened, demand was truly substantial. If they continued selling like this, they would truly strike it rich!

What was the point of sleeping?

Zhang Fei said: “You still need to pay attention to rest these next couple of days. I have another task for you.”

Hou Donglai quickly asked: “What task?”

Zhang Fei said: “I plan to split this Authentic Books Store in two, separating it into a Type Workshop and a Printing Workshop. One workshop will specialize in producing movable type, while the other will be responsible solely for printing.”

Hou Donglai found this baffling and asked: “Why is this?”

Zhang Fei said: “First, our space here is limited, and the surrounding property prices are extremely expensive. There’s no need to manufacture type blocks here.”

Hou Donglai nodded: “That’s true. Not only is it expensive, but you simply can’t rent anything.”

Zhang Fei continued: “Second, movable type can also make money. We can sell type to other workshops.”

Upon hearing this, Hou Donglai cried out: “Zhang San, that absolutely won’t do!”

Zhang Fei smiled: “Are you worried they’ll steal our business?”

“Exactly!” Hou Donglai said.

Zhang Fei said: “Do you know the saying ‘when a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely destroy it’? If we remain the only printing workshop in the capital, then we’ll be finished.”

Hou Donglai nodded with half-understanding.

Zhang Fei added: “But for now, we won’t sell our type yet, since we haven’t made much money yet.”

Hou Donglai nodded repeatedly, showing his agreement.

Zhang Fei said: “The task I’m giving you is to find workshops.”

Hou Donglai said: “I understand. Tomorrow I’ll ask around at the realtors.”

Zhang Fei said: “Then get some rest early tonight.”

“Yes!”

When Zhang Fei returned home, it was already the third watch of the night.

But no matter what time he came back, it was always Gao Wenyin who opened the door for him.

“I remember saying many times that if I come back late, you don’t need to wait for me.”

Zhang Fei said with a trace of apology.

Gao Wenyin, as always, only smiled shyly, then said: “The water has been kept hot, and the food has been kept warm too. Would you like to bathe first, or eat something first?”

Apology aside, Gao Wenyin’s thoughtfulness was truly irresistible. Zhang Fei thought for a moment: “I’ll take a bath first.”

Gao Wenyin said, “I’ll go prepare it right away.”

“Oh.”

Zhang Fei suddenly seemed to remember something. “Has Nanxi come back?”

Gao Wenyin said, “He returned in the evening.”

Zhang Fei nodded, then said to the weary Li Si, “Li Si, go tell Nanxi to wait for me in the reception hall, then go find Xiaotao.”

“Yes!”

After responding, Li Si suddenly asked, “Brother San, what should I find Xiaotao for?”

Gao Wenyin also looked at Zhang Fei curiously.

Zhang Fei smiled. “To have her make you something to eat, of course. What else?”

Gao Wenyin quickly said, “Everything’s already prepared.”

In her eyes, there was no distinction between master and servant, so she usually prepared meals for Zhang Fei, Li Si, Long Wu, and the others.

After soaking in a bath and washing away all the sweat, his spirits improved considerably.

When he arrived at the reception hall, steaming hot dishes were already laid out on the table, and Feng Nanxi was standing in the hall.

“Nanxi! Sit!”

Zhang Fei pointed to the opposite side, then sat down himself.

Feng Nanxi didn’t stand on ceremony with Zhang Fei and sat across from him.

“You did well with this matter.”

Zhang Fei nodded approvingly.

Feng Nanxi quickly said, “It was all Li Bao and the others…!”

“There’s no need for such polite words in front of me, and I’m not speaking politely either.” Zhang Fei interrupted him, then asked, “Do you know who you’re working for now?”

Feng Nanxi hesitated. “I don’t dare guess specifically, but it must be someone of considerable standing.”

“His Majesty!”

Zhang Fei said directly.

Feng Nanxi was immediately stunned.

Zhang Fei said, “To be more specific, it’s the Tax Affairs Bureau that the court has just established. I think your cautious and meticulous work style is very suitable for this job. Are you interested in joining the Tax Affairs Bureau?”

Feng Nanxi was completely dumbfounded. “Can I really do it?”

Zhang Fei nodded. “It just depends on whether you’re willing.”

Feng Nanxi smiled embarrassedly. “Of course I’m willing.”

Compared to being the Zhang family’s steward, joining the Tax Affairs Bureau was obviously much more interesting.

Zhang Fei continued, “At the same time, I also want to bring in Shi Tingxiu.” Read full story at ɴovelfire.net

Feng Nanxi asked in surprise, “Why?”

Zhang Fei said, “Because the Tax Affairs Bureau needs to establish very extensive connections. I hope to use Tingxiu’s network and his character of making friends widely to expand the Tax Affairs Bureau’s reach. You would handle internal affairs, and he would handle external ones.”

Feng Nanxi frowned. “But Tingxiu values loyalty extremely highly. I’m afraid he wouldn’t be willing to exploit his own brothers.”

Zhang Fei smiled. “I value precisely this quality of valuing loyalty in him. I won’t ask him to betray anyone. As for exploitation, that’s not really the case. All we need is information. Brothers should help each other, and if his brothers are in trouble, we’ll provide assistance too.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Nanxi thought it was feasible and asked, “Should we ask sister-in-law first?”

Zhang Fei said, “No need, lest she worry. This matter shouldn’t be known by too many people. I haven’t even told Zhiqian.”

Feng Nanxi nodded. “I understand.”

He knew that Wang Anshi’s new laws were about to be announced, and they would certainly create a huge political storm. He needed to position himself quickly and grab as many cards as possible to ensure he wouldn’t be helpless when facing this storm.

The next morning.

Wang Anshi left early and came again to the small tavern closest to the Imperial City.

“Academician Wang, what would you like to eat today?” the proprietor asked.

“Two steamed cakes and a bowl of porridge.”

After Wang Anshi spoke, his eyes glanced around and saw that everyone was holding a newspaper. He couldn’t help but ask quietly, “What are they reading?”

The proprietor quickly said, “Newspapers. New ones came today.”

“Newspapers?” Wang Anshi asked, “Not the official bulletin?”

The proprietor shook his head. “My shop didn’t receive any official bulletin today.”

“How do those people do their jobs?” Wang Anshi muttered quietly, then said, “Bring me a copy of the newspaper to look at.”

“Yes!”

Soon, a newspaper was delivered to Wang Anshi.

When Wang Anshi opened it, he immediately knew it was written by Xu Zhiqian. After glancing at it briefly, he understood roughly what it was about.

It was nothing more than analyzing the previous lawsuit to discuss the court’s legal reforms.

Using judicial matters to explain politics.

These viewpoints held absolutely no appeal for Wang Anshi.

But others were reading it with great interest.

He heard the discussion at the neighboring table: “What this newspaper says really makes some sense. If landlords today can use tenant farmers to create popular resentment to prevent the court from lawful taxation, couldn’t they use popular resentment tomorrow to commit murder and arson?”

“Exactly! I completely agree with that statement. The court’s revision of this law actually respects the principle that law should not be divorced from human sentiment. Previously, those major landlords exploited tenant farmers to gain the court’s sympathy, which put the court in a difficult position. If this continued, the court would eventually stop sympathizing with those tenant farmers.”

“And what they said about ‘the law cannot punish the masses’ is also very correct. Nowadays, the number of tenant farmers is increasing daily, and we cannot let those landlords control tenant farmers. Otherwise, no matter what they do, they could use ‘the law cannot punish the masses’ to escape punishment. Only the judicial system can protect the rights and interests of tenant farmers.”

“That Academician Sima is really something. Just this one legal statute – why is it taking so long to revise? Why hasn’t it been promulgated yet?”

Wang Anshi secretly looked down on those officials with disdain. So you people only understand these principles now – I really don’t know how you became officials.

“Sima Guang!”

Wen Yanbo had just arrived at the palace gates when he happened to encounter Sima Guang, so he quickly called out.

Sima Guang stopped in his tracks and bowed with cupped hands. “Good morning, Lord Wen.”

Wen Yanbo walked over and said, “Sima Guang, have you finished revising that legal statute?”

Sima Guang replied, “Almost done.”

Wen Yanbo said, “I think you could use this as a topic and first publish the revised legal statute in the newspaper.”

Sima Guang said gloomily, “Lord Wen, it’s been a whole day since this happened. Could you please stop bringing this up? I’m really begging you.”

Wen Yanbo hurriedly said, “I’m talking to you about serious business, not teasing you. Do you know that another issue of the newspaper came out today, and it’s also attracting quite a bit of attention?”

Sima Guang said listlessly, “What does that have to do with me?”

Wen Yanbo said, “This issue of the newspaper used that previous lawsuit to explain from a judicial perspective why the law needed to be revised. When I was having breakfast earlier, I noticed that many people, after reading this newspaper, were all complaining about why you haven’t finished revising this legal statute yet.

This shows that yesterday’s heated discussion wasn’t entirely due to your article – the newspaper also deserves credit. That young lady from the Xu family’s article was honestly just mediocre, but it still attracted everyone’s attention, which shows how remarkable this newspaper is!”

Sima Guang frowned. “What do you mean?”

Wen Yanbo said, “After you finish revising this law, use it as a topic to write another article explaining the court’s philosophy on legal reform, print it in the newspaper, print many copies, and preferably have it distributed to other regions. This way, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

Sima Guang seemed somewhat hesitant and said, “Why don’t you write it?”

Wen Yanbo replied, “I’m not the one who revised it, so how can I write about it?”

Sima Guang waved his hand and said, “But I really don’t want to be in the spotlight again. Forget it, forget it.”

In his view, it was enough. As long as those landlords didn’t dare use tenant farmers to threaten the court, that would suffice.

Wen Yanbo said with frustration at his lack of ambition, “You!”

The two chatted as they entered the palace, when they suddenly saw many officials standing in front of a palace wall.

Wen Yanbo said, “It looks like an official bulletin has been posted.”

This wall was specifically used for posting official gazettes, which generally published news about disasters occurring in various regions – something officials had to read.

When the two walked over to look, they discovered it wasn’t about any disaster, but rather an article written by Wang Anshi, mainly discussing the Corvee Labor Law, with some mention of the Balanced Delivery Policy.

Wang Anshi knew that the Corvee Labor Law was what the people were most concerned about, while the Balanced Delivery Policy mostly involved major wealthy merchants and had only indirect relationships with common people, so he wanted to use the Corvee Labor Law to win popular support.

However, the article didn’t directly reveal his corvee exemption provisions, but rather explained the background and theory of his reforms.

After Wen Yanbo finished reading and saw many officials around them copying it down with their brushes while praising it continuously, he couldn’t help but stroke his beard and sigh, “I have to say, this Wang Anshi’s writing is indeed superior to yours and mine.”

Sima Guang snorted, “Nothing but words to bewitch the people – not worth mentioning.”

After saying this, he walked away. He certainly couldn’t admit defeat verbally.

Wen Yanbo suddenly had a flash of inspiration and chased after him, chuckling, “So you don’t dare write another article because you’re afraid of being outshone by Wang Anshi!”

Sima Guang said, “Would I be afraid of him?”

Wen Yanbo said, “Your article only came out yesterday, and today Wang Anshi has posted his article in the official gazette. He’s obviously trying to compete with you. Too bad he didn’t expect that you wouldn’t dare accept the challenge.”

Sima Guang said, “Who says I don’t dare?”

Wen Yanbo said, “Then write another article and see whose gets more attention.”

“I will.”

Sima Guang felt extremely unconfident. He wasn’t blind – Wang Anshi’s article was indeed better written than his.

Natural talent was such a painful thing.

Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and laughed, “Alright, alright, I understand your predicament. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone else. Let’s just pretend I never brought this up.”

Sima Guang was an old fox who could keep his composure in all matters, except when it came to Wang Anshi.

He could lose to anyone except Wang Anshi. The key issue was that Wang Anshi had published his article today, clearly targeting him.

Sima Guang’s head grew hot with anger. “What predicament? I simply don’t want to steal the limelight. If I’m to write, I’ll write. Why should I fear him?”

Wen Yanbo quickly said, “Sima Guang, calm your anger. Don’t force yourself.”

Sima Guang snorted, “Lord Wen, don’t provoke me. It’s just writing an article – how forced could it be? Besides, helping the people better understand the new laws is part of my duty.”

Hard work could compensate for lack of talent – it didn’t mean he couldn’t beat natural ability.

At almost the same time, Wang Anshi also entered the Imperial City. He went straight to the Palace Communications Office, which was responsible for the official bulletin.

“Director Xing, didn’t you say the bulletin could be distributed first thing this morning?”

He questioned an official named Xing Zhi.

Xing Zhi nodded repeatedly, “Yesterday our Palace Communications Office worked through the night to copy your article fifty times, and we’ve already sent them all out.”

Wang Anshi was speechless and said excitedly, “The private newspapers all use printing, but the court’s Palace Communications Office still uses copying?”

Xing Zhi said awkwardly, “Our Palace Communications Office official bulletin has always been hand-copied. After all, we don’t need too many copies. If we used printing, we’d first have to carve the printing blocks, which would be even more troublesome. Without several good days, it simply couldn’t be done. Copying is much faster – it can be sent out today.”

After hearing this, Wang Anshi couldn’t say much more. If he wanted it published today, carving blocks definitely wouldn’t be in time. He could only leave the Palace Communications Office in frustration.

Halfway along, he happened to encounter Lu Huiqing.

“Mentor.”

When Lu Huiqing saw Wang Anshi, he quickly walked up to him and said excitedly, “Mentor, that article you wrote was truly excellent.”

Wang Anshi said gloomily, “Was it?”

Lu Huiqing said earnestly, “I swear to heaven, even if that article had been written by Academician Sima, I would still applaud it enthusiastically.”

Wang Anshi muttered quietly, “But I haven’t heard anyone discussing it.”

Lu Huiqing exclaimed, “Right now everyone is busy copying the article – who has time to discuss it? Wait a day or two, and it will definitely spark heated debate.”

After hearing this, Wang Anshi’s eyes lit up. He thought to himself: That’s right! If Sima Guang’s article hadn’t been printed in quantity and delivered to people’s hands, who would read it? My article, though only fifty copies, can be copied into five hundred copies. Why bother with printing?

That’s exactly how it is.

He smiled.