The Most Powerful Young Master of the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 50: The Medicine Must Not Stop

Being a civil official in the Song Dynasty was quite a cushy job; if you were powerful enough, you could even threaten the Empress Dowager—as Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, for example, had both done. Han Qi was particularly thick-skinned and did this more than anyone else. If one was poor enough, embezzlement wasn’t really a crime. For instance, the renowned statesman Teng Zijing was embroiled in a major financial scandal. While serving as Prefect of Qingzhou and concurrently as Consolation Commissioner of the Huanqing Circuit, a Censor accused him of abusing his position to spend 160,000 guan of public funds on feasting and entertainment. Teng Zijing did not deny this; in fact, before the central government sent investigators to audit the accounts, he burned the expense ledgers. He did this to prevent a major scandal that might implicate another group of high-ranking officials who had participated in the feasting. The 160,000 guan during Teng Zijing’s time, in terms of purchasing power, would be equivalent to just under 200 million in later eras. For an institution at the level of a standing committee member of a provincial party committee in a border military region to spend 100 to 200 million on public funds would certainly be a problem, but in the Song Dynasty, it wasn’t considered a major issue. The main reason was that he acted arrogantly by burning the accounts and resisting the investigation. So how did the Song Dynasty handle him? He was demoted to “Prefect of Fengxiang Prefecture,” a demotion of half a rank. This is where the Song Dynasty’s policy of sparing the lives of civil officials—and the immense power that came with it—truly shone. But there was one absolute red line: there could be no miscarriages of justice. Otherwise, the punishment wouldn’t be as simple as demotion—it would result in a tattooed face, just like Di Qing’s. Taken together, these points summarize the political characteristics of the Song Dynasty. Every system has its pros and cons. The Song Dynasty’s judicial rigor and solemnity were somewhat similar to the later-era logic of “better to let a thousand guilty go free than to convict a single innocent person.” This logic is sound. But in practice, it also became a shackle that prevented officials from effectively curbing thugs and hoodlums. Consequently, the Song Dynasty—with its relative freedom—had the highest number of thugs, robbers, and bandits in history; essentially, only the United States of later generations could rival it. One of the reasons for this was the “litigious thug” phenomenon, which made judges afraid to easily investigate problematic individuals. This is also why the United States is rife with drug-addicted Black men running around with guns, firing away. Since the rule of law is in place and freedom prevails, a Black man can stand freely on the street with a gun tucked in his pocket. Even if you know he’s a robber and drug dealer, what can you do about him? Investigating him or restricting his movements requires a dozen or so judicial approvals, including—but not limited to—political maneuvering involving Black bureaucrats. Conversely, it takes only a split-second for a Black person to pull out a gun and shoot a passerby. In the Song Dynasty, this was called “conservative politics,” which was divided into two types: moderate and extreme. Sima Guang was an extreme conservative; he would rather let these people run amok to the point of affecting the livelihoods of the entire Shuzhou Prefecture, but without “legal certainty,” Sima Guang would not intervene. Thus, this became the first ideological clash between the Great Sage and the Great Demon King within the borders of Shuzhou. Oh, I digressed. The little brat pulled the porcelain vial from his chest right there on the spot, took a look at it, and chuckled, “Feeding these people medicine is the way to go. You can’t stop the medicine, or else… it’s game over.” Speaking of medicine, there was someone waiting for it right at the mouth of the alley. It was a woman carrying a two-year-old child; in her haste, she bumped into Wang Bang. The little child in the woman’s arms was coughing incessantly; just as they collided, the child coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto Wang Bang’s clothes. The woman looked very flustered, while Wang Bang felt a bit dazed; besides, since he couldn’t stand the sight of blood, a chill immediately ran through his chest. Ma Jinsi was quick-witted. As soon as he saw what had happened, he pointed at the woman and sneered, “You insolent harridan! Assaulting a young man in broad daylight and bumping into the magistrate’s son—don’t you even watch where you’re going? Don’t think your child spitting out that much blood makes this a tragic scene. Grandpa has seen plenty of situations like this—and I’ve even orchestrated quite a few myself.” The woman was instantly startled. Clutching her child, she knelt on the ground and pleaded, “It was utterly wrong of me to offend the magistrate’s son. Please forgive me, please forgive me.” Wang Bang’s face darkened with displeasure; he leaped to his feet and slapped Ma Jinsi hard on the back of the head. Old Ma leaned in loyally and whispered, “Young Master, you don’t know the ways of the marketplace. This is a classic case of staging an accident. I’ve seen this kind of thing plenty of times—basically, as soon as they stick their butts out…” Seeing Wang Bang giving him a suspicious look, Ma Jinsi stopped short. Wang Bang stepped forward to take a closer look. The woman looked somewhat nervous and clutched her child a little tighter, anxious about what fate might hold for her. Damn it, given this situation—in broad daylight and in full view of the market crowd—even if it really was a staged accident, Wang Bang would have to take the blame. If he handled it poorly, neither Sima Shengren nor the Great Demon King would ever let him off the hook. Setting those two aside, Zhang Fangping was still in Shuzhou, and Old Zhang was even more of a man who cared only about results, not reason. Moreover, Wang Bang had built his career on his reputation—and he couldn’t afford to lose that. So, with a devious thought in mind, Wang Bang chuckled slyly, “Young lady, this young master isn’t an official, nor am I the law. You don’t need to kneel before me. Get up quickly—we can discuss any terms you have.” The woman froze for a moment. Ma Jinsi immediately caught on and grinned wickedly, “Exactly! The young masters from other families would usually say with a lecherous grin, ‘As long as you please Grandpa, I’ll guarantee your whole family a life of luxury and wealth.’ However, my young master isn’t that despicable.” Wang Bang nearly collapsed; he was at a loss for words regarding Ma Jinsi’s manner of speaking. The woman thought with horror: Ma Jinsi really does have his feet on the ground. He’s spoken the true thoughts of the young masters. Indeed, the young masters of the Great Song Dynasty today love to spout this sort of talk the most.