Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Qi Heng wanted Wang Anshi to wait for the right opportunity. Once he proposed reforms at the morning court, the emperor would certainly not allow Wang Anshi to stay in Bianjing in order to dispel the concerns of the conservatives.

Even if the government doesn't do this, the conservatives will still target him.

Qi Heng didn't know if he could persuade Wang Anshi, but he still wanted to give it a try.

Fortunately, the next morning court session is a few days away, so he still has time.

……

The next day, Qi Heng brought Buwei to the Su family.

Because of the participation in the provincial examination, the Sheng family's private school has also temporarily suspended classes and will not resume classes until the results of the provincial examination are released.

In Zhuang Xuejiu's words, they can't concentrate on learning in class anymore.

Moreover, the academic pressure has been immense this past year, so I need to relax appropriately.

As Su Shi mentioned yesterday, his family had arrived in Bianjing a few days ago.

Because I was busy buying a house and settling down, I didn't go to see him.

The house the Su family bought was not far from the place they had rented when they last came to the capital. Qi Heng found Su Shi's house according to the address Su Shi had given him.

Buwei went up and knocked on the door, and the gate opened shortly afterward.

"Who are you looking for?"

The gatekeeper glanced at Qi Heng and Buwei, noticing Qi Heng's extraordinary bearing and luxurious attire, and respectfully inquired.

"My name is Qi Heng, and I am a good friend of Brother Zizhan. I have come to see him on business, so please inform him!" Qi Heng said.

"Please wait a moment, young master!"

The gatekeeper hurriedly went in to report, and soon Su Shi and Su Zhe came out to greet them in a flustered manner.

"Yuanruo, what brings you here?" Su Shi asked in surprise.

After exchanging greetings, Qi Heng said, "I have some business with Brother Zizhan. I apologize for coming without prior notice!"

"It's alright!"

Su Shi smiled and said, "Yuanruo, please come in!"

"It's just a few words, let's talk outside."

Qi Heng arrived without prior notice and empty-handed, so he was too embarrassed to enter.

Upon hearing this, Su Shi hesitated for a moment, then walked aside with Qi Heng. After a short while, he approached Su Zhe and said, "Ziyou, Yuanruo and I have some business to attend to and may be back later. Please inform your father."

"Brother, please go ahead. I will inform Father myself!" Although Su Zhe had doubts, he did not ask any more questions at the moment.

After watching Su Shi and Qi Heng get into the carriage and leave, he pondered for a moment before turning around and going inside.

……

"Why did Yuanruo suddenly want to visit Wang Duzhi?" Su Shi asked curiously.

Qi Heng just told him that he wanted to visit Wang Anshi and asked him to help introduce him.

Although Su Shi was not familiar with Wang Anshi, he had met Ouyang Xiu a few times and could be considered to know him.

He was puzzled about Qi Heng's visit to Wang Anshi, but he didn't feel comfortable asking too much at the moment.

"I want to persuade Wang Duzhi to give up his petition for reform!" Qi Heng said.

Upon hearing this, Su Shi frowned slightly and asked, "Is Yuan Ruo so resistant to reform?"

He had known Qi Heng for a long time, and he did not require Qi Heng to share the same ideals as him.

Even if Qi Heng does not support the reform, it will not affect the two of them being friends.

But Qi Heng knew perfectly well that he supported the reforms, yet he still asked Qi Heng to help introduce him to Wang Anshi.

This was something he found hard to accept.

He respects Qi Heng's views and hopes that Qi Heng will respect his views as well.

"It's not rejection!"

Qi Heng looked out the window and saw a large tree by the roadside. He asked, "Zizhan, when do you think it's time to plant a tree?"

Su Shi didn't understand why Qi Heng was asking this, but he still replied, "Naturally, it's at the beginning of spring!"

"I think there are only two good opportunities to plant trees: one is before, and the other is now."

Qi Heng smiled and asked, "What does Zizhan think?"

Su Shi was taken aback, but quickly realized that Qi Heng was using a tree as a metaphor for reform.

This means that the longer the problem is delayed, the more serious it will become, while the sooner it is addressed, the greater the chance of success.

"If that's the case, why try to dissuade Wang Duzhi?" Su Shi asked, frowning.

"Zizhan!"

Qi Heng said seriously, "You also said that trees should be planted after the spring, although it is not necessarily impossible to plant trees at other times of the year."

But the saplings are quite valuable, so it's better to wait until next year than to take the risk.

Although it's a bit late, isn't it safer?

Only in this way can we be more confident that the trees will grow into towering giants, rather than planting trees for the sake of planting trees!

Su Shi pondered Qi Heng's words carefully, and after a long while, he looked up and said, "Are you saying that now is not a good time for reform?"

"That's right!"

Qi Heng nodded and said, "You said that Liao and Xia each have their own drawbacks, and it is a good opportunity for reform, but what about the internal problems?"

Have you ever considered what the key to the success of reform is?

Su Shi fell into deep thought again, but could not find an answer for a long time.

He supported the reform, but deep down he was not confident about its success or failure.

This is not the same thing as his future opposition to reform.

At that time, the reforms not only failed to solve the long-standing problems, but also exacerbated the burden on the people.

But now, he sees reform as a way to solve long-standing problems, and even though he knows it will be fraught with difficulties, he still supports reform.

Success or failure is one thing, but if he knows he should do something and doesn't do it, he can't get over his own conscience.

Qi Heng asked him what the key to the success of the reform was, and he suddenly realized that he had never thought about this question at all.

It wasn't that he believed the reform would definitely succeed, but rather that he knew from the beginning that it was impossible, so he hadn't considered the issue.

"What does Yuanruo think it is?" Su Shi asked.

"It's a person!"

Qi Heng said, "The drawbacks themselves originate from people, and the key to the success of the reform also lies with people!"

"But the majority of people in the world are still stuck in the past. Even if Wang Duzhi gives up now, will he have many people supporting him in the future?"

Su Shi said, "Yuanruo, some things are not that we don't know we need to wait for the right opportunity, but that we can't wait."

How many years have passed since the failure of the new law? Everyone knows about the deep-seated problems, yet no one has ever suggested reforming it again.

If this continues, I'm afraid no one will ever think about reform again.

Wang Duzhi probably knew that his memorial to the emperor would not be adopted, but he wanted to tell the world that there were still people who wanted to solve the deep-seated problems, and there were still people who wanted to reform and strengthen the country!

"Perhaps."

Qi Heng nodded, about to say something, when Buwei outside said, "Young Master, we've arrived!"

"So close?" Qi Heng was somewhat surprised.

"Scholar Ouyang and Vice Minister Wang both live in the southern part of the city, and they are not far from each other," Su Shi said.

"Brother Zizhan, could you please help me send a visiting card?" Qi Heng said.

"It's nothing, but I'm very curious about how you persuaded Wang Duzhi!"

Su Shi laughed and said, "When you formally pay your respects tomorrow, you must invite me along!"

Knowing that Qi Heng wasn't trying to persuade Wang Anshi because he opposed the reforms, the slight resentment in Wang Anshi's heart dissipated.

"Definitely!" Qi Heng nodded.

The two got out of the carriage. Qi Heng gave the visiting card to Su Shi, who went up to speak with the gatekeeper for a few words, handed over the visiting card, and then returned.

Let's go!

Qi Heng gestured for Su Shi to get into the carriage: "I'll treat you to some wine!"

"Then we'll have to go to Guangyuntai," Su Shi said with a smile.

"Brother Zizhan..."

Qi Heng wanted to say that it was a brothel, but then he suddenly remembered that Su Shi seemed to have written a lot of poems about brothel women, and that he had even taken a brothel woman as a concubine.