The Most Powerful Young Master of the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 34: Clutching His Chest, He Collapsed to the Ground

A letter from home arrived by fast horse. After Wang Anshi beat up Chen Shu, fearing he might suffer a setback on someone else’s turf, he had already packed his bags and fled, escorted by Old Liao along a back road back to Shuzhou. Otherwise, upon hearing that the situation was looking grim, Yu Jing—the Prefect of Guizhou and Military Commissioner of the Guangnan West Circuit—who deeply disliked Wang Anshi, would have accused Old Wang of acting like a thug. Yu Jing held a rank equal to Old Wang’s and was a major figure in the war zone. As a military commander—even if he was a scholar—he was still a force to be reckoned with. So it wasn’t that our master feared Yu Jing; rather, Old Liao was worried that Yu Jing was a formidable fighter. If they actually came to blows over there, Wang Anshi might end up hospitalized—sharing a room with Chen Shu, no less—and that would be an awkward situation. So, after completing the grain delivery mission, Old Liao sneakily ditched the escort team and took Old Wang with him, riding off on light horses at full speed. Of course, it’s great that my “Demon King” dad is safe, but once he gets back, my good times will be over. Not only that, but before my dad had even entered Shuzhou, envoys arrived from the Capital City bearing the emperor’s bestowal of a title: “Child Prodigy of Shuzhou.” Wang Bang still hadn’t figured out what the hell this title was good for, but since it was an imperial bestowal, who cares? He’d just treat it as being halfway to becoming an official. Grandma and Wu Qiong’s mom were grinning from ear to ear. For days on end, they indulged in the luxury of eating four eggs a day, spending their time thanking heaven and their ancestors, saying, “Our family’s descendants have caught the Emperor’s eye.” And that was it. There were still no accusations against Sima Guang, nor any signs that he would be transferred. Clearly, a power struggle had already erupted within the imperial court, with Zhang Fangping emerging as a formidable force. Earlier, when Wang Anshi was appointed Deputy Magistrate of Shuzhou, Wang Bang saw only one possible explanation: the emperor had long since taken a dislike to Sima Guang’s character. But since Sima Guang hadn’t done anything wrong, the emperor chose not to remove him; instead, he heeded Zhang Fangping’s advice and sent the “Great Wang” to Shuzhou to see how things would turn out. In fact, when Wang Bang submitted his secret chicken-rearing formula, his motives were despicable. Wang Anshi’s son had submitted the strategy based on the principle that “food is the foundation of the people’s existence.” Had the emperor approved it, politically speaking—even if the emperor wouldn’t have punished Sima Guang directly—it would have been standard practice to transfer Sima Guang from Shuzhou and allow Wang Anshi to implement his policies freely. Yet that did not happen. Everywhere, Wang Bang pulled out his abacus and, with a few clicks, calculated: it must be because of Pang Ji. His faction had clearly fallen out of favor, but since they weren’t overly aggressive and hadn’t committed any major errors, the emperor—who was shrewd but indecisive—continued to prioritize balance and save face for Grand Tutor Pang. This reveals not only Zhao Zhen’s benevolence and even-tempered nature but also that he was a man who valued loyalty and kept his word. After all, Grand Tutor Pang was one of the key figures who helped Zhao Zhen assume full control of the throne. Back when Zhao Zhen ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager had been ruling from behind the curtain. Eventually, the Empress Dowager’s health failed, and on her deathbed, she left instructions for another Empress Dowager to continue ruling from behind the curtain, refusing to relinquish power. Empress Dowager Liu’s oversight was a bit too broad—after all, as an elderly woman, she tended to view the younger generation as children who would never truly grow up, so she wanted to “guide them a little further.” Zhao Zhen, eager to take action and seize power, was naturally as impatient as a young monkey. Empress Dowager Liu’s actions were not illegal; they were based on the “East Gate Deliberation System” within the Song Dynasty’s system of ruling from behind a curtain. However, Pang Ji made a blunder by stepping forward to declare this inappropriate, arguing that the emperor was now mature and that the power of the Song Dynasty should be handed over to the Song Emperor. He even publicly burned the section of the legal code containing the “East Gate Deliberation System.” Later, when Zhao Zhen took full control of the government, he naturally took a liking to Old Pang; however, Bao Zheng disliked this lawless and disorderly fellow and was always looking for an opportunity to bring Pang Ji to justice. When later-generation screenwriters adapted the story of “Judge Bao,” they often—whether intentionally or not—portrayed “Grand Tutor Pang” as an antagonist. Sigh. In Wang Bang’s view, none of them were actually bad people—they just loved to stir up trouble, that’s all. “But, hmph… Old Pang is probably about to fall. I’d guess Bao Zheng will soon pull out a big move that’ll have Old Pang Ji jumping up and down in frustration.” Wang Bang found it amusing as he muttered to himself—who cares who’s taking down whom, anyway? Once Pang Ji is taken down by Bao Zheng, Sima Guang won’t have much room to maneuver. Of course, every situation has its pros and cons. Once Old Pang is taken down by Bao Zheng, there’ll be no more bigwigs left to back Di Qing. Then Ouyang Xiu and his gang of idiots will start jumping all over Di Qing. Right now, Chancellor Pang Ji is backing Di Qing. Actually, on this military campaign, everyone is opposing Di Qing—but it was Old Pang who recommended Di Qing to the emperor in the first place. So if Old Pang were still around, and if Di Qing hadn’t executed Chen Shu, there’d be virtually no pressure. To summarize, the three most powerful figures in the Song Dynasty right now are: Pang Ji, Chief of the Chancellery and Minister of the Secretariat; Zhang Fangping, Commissioner of the Three Departments; and Bao Zheng, Chief Censor. For the time being, these three essentially call the shots. Since the Song Dynasty has not yet undergone institutional reform, the powers of the Chancellery are not yet at full strength; they are roughly equivalent to a combination of an Organization Department and a Supreme Court, while the Council of State is akin to a military commission operating at half strength. Consequently, Grand Tutor Pang holds the top position in name only. As for the Three Departments, it had effectively sidelined some of the powers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, while also encroaching slightly on the authority of the Council of State. It was equivalent to a combination of later-era institutions such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the People’s Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the General Logistics Department of the Armed Forces—a massive, all-encompassing ministry akin to a “demon-slaying version of the State Council.” It held overall control over the empire’s economic and fiscal powers; for example, Wang Anshi, as Transport Commissioner of Huaixi, could bypass Pang Ji and report directly to Zhang Fangping. The Commissioner of the Three Departments, also known as the “Finance Chancellor,” held a rank one half-grade lower than that of the Deputy Secretary of the Chancellery of the Imperial Court and was on par with the Council of State. As for Old Bao, he was essentially the equivalent of a disciplinary commission, and his rank was, in theory, half a level lower than Zhang Fangping’s… Wang Bang calculated that Wang Anshi, escorted by Old Liao and traveling light on a fast horse, would soon return to Shuzhou. So, on that sunny afternoon, Wang Bang clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground in full view of everyone. No one understood what was happening. His beautiful mother and grandmother were so frightened they didn’t know what to do, frantically shouting, “Someone, please come quickly! Call a doctor!” “Heaven envies talent! My young master is so gifted—he’s even been named a child prodigy by His Majesty—yet his hidden ailment is growing ever worse.” The outspoken Xu Langshan sighed in distress. The shrewd Geng Tianji, however, suspected the boy was faking it. Lately, he’d been hanging out with a gang of hooligans and getting into all sorts of trouble, even driving Old Master Sima next door so mad he couldn’t sleep. Although Shuzhou hadn’t actually gotten any worse because of him, once the master returned, Sima Guang would surely come to complain to him. So, regardless of whether Wang Bang had actually done anything wrong, the mere fact that he had shown disrespect to his teacher by consorting with thugs was reason enough to hang him upside down and flog him to death. Now a crowd had gathered in the room, watching Wang Bang with concern. Sneaky types share certain traits. For instance, when Wang Bang and Geng Tianji locked eyes, they could communicate most of what needed to be said with just a glance. Geng Tianji sensed something fishy, while Wang Bang wore an expression that seemed to say, “I’m just putting on an act—what are you going to do about it?” This left Geng Tianji at a loss for words. Then the bookkeeper ran through the possibilities in his head: Right—my master is well-versed in medicine; feigning illness won’t fool him. But this kid isn’t trying to hide it from Wang Anshi; he’s just trying to fool his mother and grandmother. When the two women make a scene, and since Old Wang is very fond of his son, he won’t beat him to death. Having worked out the plan, Geng Tianji twirled his mustache and said, “Madam, Madam, when the master returns, he’ll need a quiet environment for the diagnosis. We’ll all have to step out. Otherwise, if the diagnosis is incorrect or the medication is wrong, the young master will suffer.” “Right, right,” Wu Qiong’s mother and grandmother nodded repeatedly, completely taken in by his words. Wang Bang really wanted to get up and strangle Old Geng right then and there. Unfortunately, since he was pretending to be sick this time, he had no intention of speaking, so he did his best to act “speechless” throughout the entire performance. He didn’t want to ruin his own reputation now. The beautiful mother sat on the edge of the bed, weeping as she said, “My son has the talent of a chancellor; he is the hero who will save the common people of the Great Song Dynasty. Alas, heaven does not grant our wishes—his health is simply poor. From now on, we must increase the food at home and give him some good meals.” Geng Tianji rolled his eyes and thought to himself, “Your son has embezzled all the eggs. He even roasted three chickens—clearly he was sneaking a snack—yet he falsely accused those chickens of being a ‘restless minority,’ claiming that once the black sheep were purged, there would be even more eggs.” Of course, even though Geng Tianji thought this, he didn’t dare say it out loud. Given the current situation, not even the Great Demon King would dare to go too far—otherwise, even Old Wang’s head would be smashed to pieces. Wu Qiong would really do that, and Old Wang was genuinely afraid of her.