No war in the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 50 Three Major Disadvantages

Su Ze brought Feng Shiyuan into his room, gave some copper coins to the servant of Zhang Mansion, and asked him to help pack some wine and food from the restaurant at the entrance of the alley. Then he took Feng Shiyuan to talk about the store and house affairs in Bianjing City.

What Su Ze said was indeed correct. The person who knew the most about shop and house affairs in Bianjing City was Feng Shiyuan, the former official of Kaifeng Prefecture, who later became the head of the Bianjing Shop and House Guild and the black glove through which Lu Gongbi made money.

Feng Shiyuan also felt grateful for Su Ze's kindness and told him everything he knew.

"When the Department of Housing was first established, the late emperor was appreciative of the difficulty of living in Bianjing City, and provided government-run rental housing to ensure the safety of the people. However, over the decades that have passed, numerous problems have accumulated."

Su Ze nodded. This is true for any system. Regardless of whether the original intention of establishing the system is good or bad, it will eventually be distorted and deformed during the implementation process. If you are lucky, it will become a channel for officials to share the spoils. If you are unlucky, it will become an evil law for officials to harm the people.

Su Ze asked:

"Mr. Feng, please have a good talk with me about the problems with this store and house business."

Feng Shiyuan was somewhat touched. No matter he was a clerk in Kaifeng Prefecture or the head of this shop and house guild, Lu Gongbi and other yamen officials never treated him as a human being.

Feng Shiyuan knew that it was Su Ze who brought down Lu Gongbi, but at this moment he could not feel any hatred towards him.

Now feeling the long-lost respect from Su Ze again, Feng Shiyuan said seriously:
"The first drawback is the long-term overdue rent, which has led to huge repair costs for the old building, causing the store and house business to be unable to make ends meet."

Su Ze nodded. The store and house affairs were originally established to benefit the people, but any measure that benefits the people will inevitably be taken advantage of by dignitaries during implementation.

There are also cases of people driving BMWs and living in low-rent housing in modern times, let alone in the feudal era.

But regarding the housing maintenance expenses, Su Ze asked:
"Doesn't the shop have a team of five hundred craftsmen assigned to its left and right wings? Why are the repairs so expensive?"

Feng Shiyuan said:
"This is the second drawback I want to talk about. These five hundred craftsmen are often sent to build houses for the powerful and wealthy in the capital. A few years ago, the government requisitioned these craftsmen to build houses for important officials in front of the Right Wing Gate of the Imperial City. Sometimes they are even conscripted to build private residences for powerful families. The labor is heavy, and many have deserted in recent years."

"So whenever the shop needs to repair the house, we have to spend money to hire people, and we often ask the craftsmen from our shop guild."

Su Ze now understood what a mess the store and house affairs were.

Feng Shiyuan said:
"This is a common problem for officials in Bianjing. There are so many powerful families in the city, and there are always endless errands to do. Back then, when criminals were serving in Kaifeng Prefecture, they often encountered such things. This is not just a problem for the store and house officials."

"For so many years, the only people who were able to hold back the powerful and prevent the Kaifeng officials from being enslaved by them were Prime Minister Fan and Prime Minister Zheng during their tenures."

Mr. Fan is Fan Zhongyan, and Mr. Zheng is Zheng Jian, who expelled him from Kaifeng Prefecture. Su Ze asked:
"Listen, Mr. Feng doesn't hate Mr. Zheng?"

Feng Shiyuan lowered his head and said:
"It was Mr. Feng who violated the law first, and Mr. Zheng was acting impartially. How can we blame him?"

Su Ze saw that he had touched upon Feng Shiyuan's past. At this time, the servant from Zhang's residence came to buy some wine and food. Su Ze temporarily stopped the topic, and after serving the wine and food, he said to Feng Shiyuan:
"Eat something first, and then Mr. Feng will tell me slowly."

Because Bao Zheng was the presiding judge, Feng Shiyuan was not tortured in the Dali Temple Prison, but he couldn't expect to eat well in the prison. He wolfed down a few mouthfuls of food before continuing:

"The third drawback is that these houses are old and overcrowded, leading to serious rat infestations and widespread plagues. Some houses have been inhabited for generations, and the owners have illegally expanded them, which often leads to fires. Once a fire breaks out, the innkeepers are held accountable. Lü Yanei, Lü Gongbi's previous job as the official in charge of the Zuoxiang inn, was due to a fire and was exiled from the capital."

Fires were indeed common in Bianjing. Su Ze remembered that several fires were depicted in the original version of Along the River During the Qingming Festival. For a megacity with a population of one million and such a high population density, it would be strange if fires didn't occur.

Starting from the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the expansion of the city and ecological environment problems, the forests outside Bianliang City could no longer provide sufficient fuel.

The Northern Song Dynasty set up special coal mines, and poor families in the city of Bianliang would use coal for heating.

Coal is coal. Due to improper storage and transportation of coal, countless fires and carbon monoxide poisoning incidents occurred. Several fires occurred in the city of Bianjing almost every winter. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, a fire even burned half of the imperial city.

Su Ze now understood why Zhang Yaozuo advised him not to take this position.

This store has all three of the heavy responsibilities, great risks, and complicated affairs.

Su Ze said again:
"Mr. Feng, are you familiar with all the properties owned by the store?"

Feng Shiyuan said confidently:

"There are over 20,000 properties in the store and property management business. I can't say I remember them all, but I know the locations of most of them."

Su Ze couldn't help but glance at Feng Shiyuan. Sure enough, anyone who was chosen by Lu Gongbi to be the black glove was not an ordinary person.

Feng Shiyuan, who came from a family of officials with a long history, had been exposed to the overt and covert rules of the government since childhood. He even understood the internal operating rules of a government office better than the officials themselves.

This is also the reason why Su Ze asked the emperor to pardon him. Now Feng Shiyuan's property has been confiscated and his backing has collapsed. It can be said that he has nothing, which is just right for him to use.

Without such a capable assistant, he would not be able to understand the internal rules of the yamen after taking office, and might even be deceived and misled by his subordinates.

A major problem in local governance during the Song Dynasty was the overly frequent transfer of officials. This was the case for many local officials. After taking office, they spent half a year getting to know the situation, and just as they were beginning to prepare to take action, the transfer order from their superiors arrived half a year later.

In order to pass the examinations, some officials simply handed over all government affairs to clerks, and considered their job done as long as they could collect the money and grain required by their superiors.

The store and house affairs department manages more than 20,000 public rental properties, which is even more complicated than governing a county. Su Ze needs Feng Shiyuan as an entry point.

Su Ze said again:
"I heard that the Imperial City Administration couldn't find the leasing records for the 3,000 stores and housing properties that Lü Gongbi gave you back then."

Feng Shiyuan said:
"These property accounts are all in Feng's head."

Su Ze couldn't help but look at Feng Shiyuan. He still underestimated his ability.

Su Ze said:

"Since that's the case, these three thousand houses have been taken over by the store and residence business. Let's start with these three thousand houses. The day after tomorrow, you take me to Bianjing City to see these houses."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)