Do you know: I am Qi Heng

How can a person with principles fight against a group of people without principles?

Qi Heng did not try to persuade Wang Anshi, for as the saying goes, "It is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

If a person's thoughts are so easily swayed and changed, they will not achieve great things.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Wang Duzhi is so confident in his ideas, but they are just your ideas after all."

Nobody knows whether any problems will arise once the policy is implemented at the local level.

This matter concerns the people and cannot be taken lightly. Does Chief Minister Wang agree?

"That's right, it concerns the people, so we must be extremely cautious. These were all formulated after I had carefully understood the situation of the people while I was working in local areas!"

Wang Anshi agreed with Qi Heng's words, but he remained extremely confident in the new laws he had formulated.

Did Wang Duzhi truly understand the real situation of the people?

Qi Heng said calmly, "As far as I know, the imperial court has a rule that local officials are not allowed to go to the countryside unless it is for official business!"

Wang Duzhi shouldn't dare to disobey the court's rules. Your so-called understanding must be based on sending people to the countryside to investigate, right?

There is a rule in this dynasty that officials are not allowed to go to the countryside unless it is for official business.

The purpose is to prevent officials from disturbing the people when they go to the countryside, since officials are often accompanied by crowds when they do.

Moreover, it's quite normal for those in charge of townships to go to great lengths to curry favor with officials.

This rule is good, but in reality, there are not many official matters that require officials to personally go to the countryside.

After this rule was established, officials, in order to avoid offending the taboo, became even less likely to go to the countryside.

Given Wang Anshi's character, he would not do anything that violates the rules of the court.

"That's right, but I sent many people to the countryside repeatedly to understand the people's conditions, and the results were all the same," Wang Anshi said.

"That's something someone else saw and then repeated to you. Its accuracy is questionable, and their ability to see is limited. Moreover, their perspectives are limited, so they might not be able to spot some issues!"

Qi Heng said, "Whether Wang Duzhi's method is suitable or has any drawbacks, why not try it out in the localities yourself? You'll see immediately!"

When officials govern a region, they actually have a high degree of freedom.

The imperial court had two core requirements for local officials: first, to collect taxes, and second, to ensure local security and stability.

As long as these two points can be guaranteed, one is a qualified official.

The imperial court had its own rules for taxation, which local governments could not change, but there were no corresponding regulations for other aspects.

It all depends on the official's own ability and methods.

Of the new laws formulated by Wang Anshi, apart from a few related to the military, only the Fangtian Equal Tax Law could not be used independently.

The former is sensitive, while the latter changes the tax system; under-collecting taxes will lead to accusations, while over-collecting taxes will result in impeachment for exploiting the people.

However, laws like the Green Sprouts Act can be implemented independently.

The core of the Green Seedling Law is to help people get through the lean season and ensure that they are not delayed in spring planting due to a lack of seeds and farming tools.

This is actually part of maintaining local stability and ensuring that the people pay their taxes in full.

The imperial court would not concern itself with the specific methods used.

Since we can't persuade him, let's send Wang Anshi to a local area and give him a hard time.

It's better for Wang Anshi to go to a local post than for him to resign directly.

"Alright, if I have the opportunity, I will go there!" Wang Anshi said.

The reason he didn't think of trying it out locally was twofold: firstly, it required the approval of the imperial court, and secondly, he was confident in his new law.

Qi Heng's words have now given him a wake-up call. If he can promote this in local areas and achieve some success, he will be even more convincing.

By then, those in the court who oppose it will not have enough reason to oppose it.

It can even win some support because it is effective.

"In that case, I won't disturb Chief Wang any longer!" Qi Heng stood up and bowed.

"I won't see you off!" Wang Anshi said calmly.

Upon seeing this, Su Shi quickly stood up, bowed, and left with Qi Heng.

"Why isn't Brother Zizhan saying anything?"

After Qi Heng got into the carriage, he noticed that Su Shi hadn't said anything and asked with some confusion.

"I've been pondering what Yuanruo said earlier," Su Shi said, coming back to his senses.

Qi Heng smiled and asked, "What does Brother Zizhan think of what I said?"

"have no idea!"

Su Shi shook his head with a wry smile and said, "My family is considered a large family in Meizhou. We have a lot of land, which my mother manages. Although I haven't deliberately looked into it, I have a fairly good understanding of it through what I've seen and heard."

I previously thought that Wang Duzhi's new law was indeed a policy to benefit the people, but Yuan Ruo's words just now have made me waver.

"What is the cause of your wavering?" Qi Heng asked.

"I'm reminded of something that happened during my previous study abroad trip."

Su Shi said: "When I was traveling, I once passed a river. There was no bridge across the river, so some local people set up a ferry crossing along the river to make a living."

However, due to the competition for customers, the two villages upstream and downstream got into a dispute, which even escalated into a fight.

Despite several attempts by the government to mediate, conflicts continued to occur frequently.

To solve this problem, the newly appointed magistrate solicited donations from wealthy local families to build a bridge over the river.

However, the bridge suffered damage several times during its construction, all allegedly done by the villages upstream and downstream.

"It should be!"

Qi Heng said, "The bridge has been repaired, and the two villages are no longer in conflict, but the people who rely on the ferry crossing for their livelihood have lost their livelihood."

"That's right!"

Su Shi nodded and said, "Ziyou said the same thing back then. Now that I think about it, Wang Duzhi's new law is like building a bridge. Although it can indeed solve the problem, no one can be sure whether it will create other problems."

"It is said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Brother Zizhan, you can understand this. Your hardships of studying abroad have not been in vain!" Qi Heng said with a smile.

"Yuan Ruo is too kind!"

Su Shi said with admiration, "I have traveled and studied, but I didn't understand it at first. However, Yuan Ruo has been staying in Bianjing all this time, yet he was able to think of these things and even come up with a method to try them out in the local areas. I am ashamed of my inferiority!"

"Haha, Zizhan is overpraising me!"

Qi Heng laughed heartily; being praised by Su Shi was quite pleasing.

"Although I did not leave Bianjing, many answers can be found in books."

"Um?"

Su Shi asked in surprise, "Yuan Ruo, could it be that you've read some rare and unique classic?"

"No!"

Qi Heng shook his head and smiled, "Brother Zizhan, have you ever thought that the rules and regulations established at the beginning of each dynasty were not problematic at the time?"

Those rules and regulations hadn't even been tested, so why didn't they create any new problems?

Su Shi pondered for a moment and said, "Is it because the laws and regulations established at that time were all based on the laws and regulations of the previous dynasty?"

Not entirely!

Qi Heng said, "Because the world has experienced great chaos and the order has collapsed, both ordinary people and wealthy officials hope for stability."

Secondly, during times of war and chaos, both the founding emperor and the meritorious officials at the beginning of the dynasty witnessed the true suffering of the common people.

The people were willing to accept it, and the imperial court's regulations were very much in line with the situation at the time, plus the circumstances you mentioned.

These factors combined resulted in the situation where most of the laws and regulations established by the imperial court at the beginning of the dynasty were quite applicable.