Chapter 96: The Current Situation (Part 2)

Time had slowly passed from the peak of summer, but the heat still lingered in the air. In the study room of Yushan Academy, Li Pin poured two cups of tea and handed one to Ning Yi.

"State affairs, matters of the world—sometimes, those who talk too much and are full of confidence are just laughable. However, many ideas do come from this kind of idle talk. If you bury yourself in hard work without ever discussing things with others, it can also lead to a narrow perspective. In the third year of Jinghan, I went to the capital to take the imperial examination, and I placed eleventh in the imperial rankings. Unfortunately... because I angered the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Fu Ying, with some radical views in my essay, although I passed the examination, I had a hard time securing an official position. A few months later, I became disheartened and left the capital, eventually returning to Jiangning."

Li Pin spoke with a rueful smile, shaking his head as he held the teacup.

"Others seek official positions, staying in the capital for years, trying to find connections. Some leave after just a few months. I often hesitate to talk about it, as I don't want people to laugh at me. But during my time in the capital, seeing the network of interests among officials, my feelings were truly complicated. The atmosphere in the capital is very different from Jiangning. If you go there, you can feel it immediately. From the Imperial Street, you can see the grand palace walls every day. Even when you can't see the palace itself, just looking in that direction feels as if the palace is right before your eyes..."

"The officials, the seekers of power, the discussions about the grand matters of the state... It's all the same, from tea houses to brothels. Everywhere you go, you can feel the presence of the officials. On one hand, there's youthful energy, but on the other, there's a sense of decay. Everyone seems to be anxious, yet none of them seem to know what they're doing. But life must go on, so I tried various paths, thought of many ways to gain favor—perhaps by seeking out Fu Ying's political rivals—but in the end, it was of no use. I thought that with my eleventh place, there should have been some value in it, but the officials didn't refuse me outright. They just kept postponing and assigning me to positions that weren't real jobs. After a few months, I realized that this route was no longer viable."

"Why bother trying to find a loophole in someone else's system when you can't even get in? My family is fairly well-off, so if I had stayed in the capital waiting for an opportunity, it wouldn't have been because of money. I just felt there was no point. Instead, I decided to spend this time reflecting and thinking. So, I left the capital and traveled through Xu, Tang, Shen, and An states before finally returning to Jiangning. Along the way, I witnessed some floods and saw a lot of things. Since my return, I've spent the last few years thinking about the state of the world..."

He took a sip of tea, "In the past hundred years, my Wu Dynasty has had several reforms, many of which failed. But the principles were always the same: enrich the people, strengthen the military, and recruit talented officials. These three goals are a good starting point. However, the root cause of our Dynasty's weakness, why our people and military are so weak, why we cannot recruit talented officials, I have been thinking about this a lot in my recent discussions."

Ning Yi took a sip of tea and shrugged. "That reason... isn't it pretty simple?"

Li Pin, who had been waiting for Ning Yi's view, was momentarily stunned by his words. Then, he laughed and nodded. "It is simple... What you said, 'everything has basic rules, there's a root cause, if you can see it clearly, the development of things becomes clearer,' I completely agree. Actually, when I look at my Wu Dynasty, the reasons for our current state are quite obvious. Anyone who puts in a little effort can see them clearly…"

He paused slightly, then picked up a piece of chalk and drew a triangle on a small blackboard beside him. "Our dynasty was originally established through military might. In the beginning, our military power was strong, but after a few rebellions, the founding emperor realized the drawbacks of relying on military strength. He then suppressed the military and promoted civil governance, which helped our Dynasty avoid internal strife and made the country rich and prosperous for a time. But now, this has led to many problems. We are unable to resist foreign invaders. Under such pressure, we still try to maintain a strong government, but we have weakened the military, and wealth keeps flowing to the top. The military has been suppressed, and now it is even weaker. The greater the external pressure, the weaker our military becomes, and the weaker it gets, the more pressure we face. This forms a vicious cycle we can't escape..."

Li Pin exhaled, looking at the blackboard. "If we can solve the issues with commerce, if we can just balance out the weaker branches of our economy, our Dynasty will have enough resources to focus on strengthening the military. This is the problem any strategy for enriching the people must solve... If we can make the military stronger, then foreign invaders won't dare to invade, and our Dynasty will have some breathing room. This is what any strategy for strengthening the military must address. Recruiting officials is also aimed at enriching the people, strengthening the military, and ensuring the longevity of the Dynasty. Unfortunately, these are all just empty words."

He tossed the chalk aside. "If we just talk about one solution, it seems everyone has a method. Even a few strategies running in parallel would not be a problem. But our Dynasty's current 'strong government, weak branches' situation has already formed. It's like a big tree where the strong trunk consumes all the nutrients, leaving the weak branches to wither. The real problem is how to guide the trunk to naturally direct nutrients to the weaker branches."

Ning Yi thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Hmm, that makes sense. And you're talking about... getting the already powerful landlords, merchants—like our Su family—and those royal relatives and idle rich to willingly part with their money to help the common people, right?"

Li Pin smiled, not denying it. "It's a bit of idealism, but other than that, there's no other way. Of course, in reality, things must always move forward, and there's no turning back. People always say that during the reigns of Emperor Heng and Emperor Hui, my Wu Dynasty was prosperous and strong, with wealth and strength. But it's impossible to go backward. The question is, how do we guide the situation to move forward? How do we make these people willing to part with their wealth for the good of the people? If this doesn't become a continuous cycle, it's just unrealistic, and it won't achieve much. Everything must be implemented step by step, with a plan that ensures both sides benefit, so that the wealth of the strong trunk doesn't decrease but the weaker branches get some relief…"

Ning Yi furrowed his brow slightly. "You're talking about Wang Anshi's reforms…"

Li Pin turned his head and said, "Hmm?"

Wu Dynasty didn't have Wang Anshi, but decades ago, there was a Chancellor named Tan Xi, Tan Ziyong, who tried similar reforms, attempting to have the government intervene in various businesses to stimulate the economy. Ning Yi explained with a smile. "Isn't this similar to what Tan thought back then?"

Li Pin nodded. "I have indeed thought a lot about Tan Xi's reforms. They were quite enlightening. What Tan wanted to do might have been just this. However, he didn't anticipate how much resistance there would be, and his reforms failed because of it. His policies were never fully implemented, and the officials were only paying lip service. So, in the end, the focus was on cleaning up corruption among the officials…"

"That's not wrong," Ning Yi agreed. "But the method was flawed. You can't just play with the economy like that."

"Hmm? The economy?"

"Yes, the entire commercial system—the flow of goods, the flow of money, the entire system," Ning Yi explained with a smile. "Any commercial system where special privileges are allowed to interfere is not a normal system. Privilege is poison in this context—especially if it's from the government or officials."

"Do you believe the government should not be involved with profits?" Li Pin asked.

"It's not the reason you think," Ning Yi shook his head. "You want basic rules, right? The fundamental rule of the economy is greed. Merchants seek profit. The only purpose is profit, and everything else can be blurred. Greed, in many cases, is a positive force. If I work in a shop and want to buy a piece of clothing, I work hard to earn the money, or I gain recognition from my boss to earn more. That's good greed. People can use many methods to achieve it—stealing or robbing, but they'd end up in prison, which isn't worth it. So they follow the rules of the game. I did all this work, and I earned this much money, so I can buy the clothing. Good greed is greed that stays within the rules of the game..."

"The court isn't part of the game rules; they're still acting as the referees, yet you want them to join the game. In the end, nobody will be able to play anymore… As I mentioned before, merchants seek profit, and their sole purpose is profit. Once you show someone the potential for profit and teach them greed, they'll turn around and see they have a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' and a knife in their hands. If I can simply take the profit back, why shouldn't I? If it really were this ideal, wouldn't it be the same as directly asking the big landlords and merchants to give up their money?"

He paused for a moment. "Lord Tan's reforms didn't fail because the rule of law wasn't enough. People will always find loopholes. Greed is too powerful. Once that feeling arises, all they can see is profit. This feeling can make people very active, and its driving force is immense, but the key is: you'd better not let those with privileges feel that way. If their privileges aren't properly checked, in the end, nobody will be able to play…"

"As long as there's any small loophole, this rule of law will never be enough. When the privileged classes do business, it's like letting wolves into a flock of sheep. Rather than thinking about letting more privileges intervene, it would be better to remove the privileges that are already in play. Perhaps that might even have a positive effect…" He concluded with a simple point: "In short, let the referee join the game—how is this game even supposed to be played? If you talk about supervision, it will only make the originally simple task more complicated. The damage is inevitable."

Outside the window, a pair of siblings were squatting near the windowsill in the corridor, eavesdropping. The boy tapped his sister's shoulder and whispered, "Sister, sister, is he saying we should get rid of our family's business?"

"That barbarian…" Zhou Pei blinked and looked somewhat annoyed, then glanced at her younger brother. "But he's got a point. You'd better remember this and think it over. Don't believe everything, but don't dismiss it just because of who said it. Only then can you achieve great things in the future."

"Oh." Zhou Junwu nodded, then loosened the pouch at his waist, took out a sticky rice cake, and began nibbling on it. Zhou Pei glared at him in exasperation.

"Let the referee join the game…" Inside the room, Li Pin fell silent for a long while before laughing, his expression somewhat complex. "Liheng's words do hit on the core principle. If I were the referee and joined the game, indeed…"

He was a thoughtful person. Though he didn't necessarily want to give up his ideas about guiding the economy, Ning Yi's words made him think about the consequences. "I hadn't expected that, after years of pondering, Liheng could spot the hardest problem with a single glance. Perhaps this is where Liheng's approach to matters differs from mine?"

"This is indeed an interesting matter. Every year, our dynasty pays Liao several hundred thousand in tribute. However, trade profits amount to millions. In the end, we still benefit. The importance of merchants, and the benefits of commerce, is now understood not only by De Xin but by many others as well. Our dynasty is different from previous ones. We do not suppress commerce. Lord Tan's reforms, though flawed, showed the court's recognition of the importance of commerce. But…" Ning Yi thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Oh, right, I was just thinking, how is Fu Ying doing now?"

As soon as Ning Yi shifted to talk about business, Li Pin was momentarily stunned by the change of topic. After a while, he suddenly burst into laughter. "Liheng is truly impressive. Nothing escapes your notice. Fu Ying, the Assistant Minister of Personnel, was investigated for corruption in March of this year and was sentenced to exile by the Court of Judicature last month. Once this flood disaster settles, I'll probably…"

He seemed a little melancholic, but ultimately pleased. "I'll likely make another trip to Bianjing, handle some matters, and see if I can secure an official position. It's been five years, so Liheng, don't say I'm too fond of officialdom."

Ning Yi laughed too. "If that's the case, congratulations, De Xin."

"Still too early, still too early… But how did you know about this?" Li Pin asked, genuinely curious.

"Business secrets," Ning Yi replied with a casual smile. He had caught a hint from Li Pin's expression and had asked the question as a joke. Li Pin shook his head and laughed for a moment before taking a sip of tea.

"Back to the topic, back to the topic. Since Liheng understands the stakes so well, I wonder if you've thought about what middle ground there could be if only the court were to guide things?"

"Ah… That was just a joke."

"It was indeed a joke."

"Alright, since you're about to take up an official position, it's good to discuss it," Ning Yi said with a smile, nodding. "Personally, I think there is and there isn't."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's actually simple. If the court consciously elevates the status of merchants, the spirit of commerce will naturally thrive. If they want to guide things without intervening or disrupting, that's the only way…"

Li Pin frowned. "The status of merchants… this…"

"It's not about merchants seeking profit," Ning Yi took a sip of tea. "The state seeks profit too. Over these years, as commerce has developed, the status of merchants has improved compared to past dynasties. If they would just loosen up a bit, commerce would surely flourish. But this is also impossible…"

"Who's stopping it?"

"The people at the top. The court. His Majesty. The Confucians… you, me, or everyone, we all dare not loosen up…"

Outside the window, Zhou Junwu, squatting by the wall in the corridor, seemed a little stunned. "Sister, he's talking nonsense again. I'm not scared at all. Our family is in business too, and the Duke's family is doing even bigger business…"

"Shut up." Zhou Pei whispered to silence him, then thought for a moment. "I'm not scared either… he's just using reverse psychology."

Then they heard Ning Yi's voice from inside, tinged with mockery.

"If we let go, boom, the Wu Dynasty, this country… would all be gone."