Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 267 Cutting flesh to mend a wound, living beyond one's means

Lu Beigu's last words were already very straightforward.

Ultimately, even the best policies require people to implement them. Whether this method will work depends entirely on whether Zhang Fangping can withstand the pressure from the two prime ministers and even the government, and whether he can uphold his bottom line.

Judging from Zhang Fangping's previous official career, he is certainly capable.

But even Zhang Fangping himself couldn't be sure how long he could stay in the position of Commissioner of the Three Departments.

So he fell silent, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the rosewood armrest, producing a dull "tap-tap" sound.

The hall fell silent once again, with only the faint sound of wind and snow howling outside the window.

The fire in the charcoal brazier seemed to have dimmed a bit at this moment, and the light and shadow flickered on Zhang Fangping's tired but resolute face.

"Easier said than done?"

Fan Xiang sighed heavily: "The court spends money everywhere, and the imperial treasury is not inexhaustible. Once there is an emergency elsewhere, this 'special treasury' will become the target of everyone's criticism. Without the strong support of the Emperor and the two Grand Secretaries, this plan may not be able to last."

What Fan Xiang didn't mention was, if we take a longer-term view, how can we ensure that this 'accounting figure' remains accurate? How can we ensure that this 'special reserve' won't be eroded and misappropriated by the next, and the one after that, corrupt officials after Zhang Fangping's departure? How can we ensure that today's ingenious strategy of 'amplifying credit' won't become the root cause of tomorrow's 'credit collapse'?

No one can guarantee these things.

Fan Xiang couldn't guarantee it, Zhang Fangping couldn't guarantee it, and even the officials couldn't guarantee it.

It may sound absurd, but that's the reality of the world—no matter how powerful a person is, they can't guarantee how things will turn out in a few years, or even what their own fate will be.

The only thing that can be guaranteed is the present moment.

Zhang Fangping stopped typing, closed his eyes wearily, and leaned back in his chair, as if the analysis he had just given had exhausted his energy.

The wind and snow outside the window seemed to intensify.

After a long while, Zhang Fangping slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the documents on the coffee table, each one representing a mountain of problems.

"To cut off flesh to heal a wound, to live beyond one's means."

Zhang Fangping's voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying a desolate quality reminiscent of "a hero's end."

To be honest, the Song Dynasty's finances were indeed on the verge of collapse during the Jiayou era.

Zhang Fangping himself didn't know how long he could hold this position as Commissioner of the Three Departments.

Perhaps, once the financial crisis is salvaged, he will be discarded like a used tool.

Or perhaps, if he doesn't perform well next year, the Song Dynasty's finances will collapse, and he will have to step down.

After all, Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi wouldn't have allowed Zhang Fangping and Fan Xiang, this pair of partners, to return to power unless they had absolutely no other choice. Politically, this would actually be disadvantageous for Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi, even though they had appointed Guo Shenxi, who had a past grudge against Fan Xiang, as the Vice Minister of Revenue to act as a check and balance. Guo Shenxi had previously impeached the Privy Councilor Gao Ruona for secretly instructing Fan Xiang to start border conflicts, and Fan Xiang had been demoted because of this.

There's a reason behind this, and it's inextricably linked to factional strife.

Gao Ruona was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Tiansheng era and passed away last year. During his lifetime, he was very close to Song Xiang, Song Qi and others. He had previously persecuted Ouyang Xiu, who hated him very much and wrote a letter to Gao Ruona to satirize him. Guo Shenxi was a Jinshi in the eighth year of the Tiansheng era, the same year as Ouyang Xiu and Fu Bi.

Currently, Zhang Fangping is the chief official of the Three Departments, with three deputies: Fan Xiang, the deputy commissioner of salt and iron, is his close friend; Guo Shenxi, the deputy commissioner of the Ministry of Revenue, was placed there through Fu Bi's connections; and Zhou Zhan, the deputy commissioner of the Ministry of Finance, is a technocrat who has worked his way up in the Three Departments system for many years.

Zhou Zhan was born with a strong memory and a talent for calculation. Historical records state that "he could recognize the names of all the clerks and officials at a glance, and he was easygoing and had little dignified demeanor." When he served as the Salt and Iron Judge, the accounts of the Three Departments were so vast that many clerks and officials relied on this to deceive their superiors and subordinates. Zhou Zhan, with his photographic memory and excellent calculation skills, personally led a team to check the accounts. In one year, he sorted out a full seven thousand volumes of accounts, clarifying the vast amount of accounts of the Three Departments. He was practically a human computer.

Zhou Zhan was also particularly organized. After being transferred from the Salt and Iron Commissioner to the Ministry of Revenue Commissioner, he personally presided over the formulation of the working regulations for the three ministries. He sorted out the work processes for hundreds of matters and made them into precedents, so that officials could follow them.

Subsequently, Zhou Zhan was transferred to serve as the Huainan-Jiangzhe-Jinghu Transportation Commissioner, where he performed exceptionally well in this important position.

In the large-scale personnel reshuffle of the first year of the Jiayou era, Zhou Zhan, based on his accumulated merits over the years, was successfully transferred from the position of Commissioner of Transportation and Logistics of Huainan, Jiangzhe, and Jinghu back to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Revenue. The position of Commissioner of Transportation and Logistics of Huainan, Jiangzhe, and Jinghu was taken over by Gao Liangfu.

In conclusion, in December of the first year of the Jiayou reign, the court had reached a delicate balance centered on the "former officials of the Qingli era," thanks to the Emperor's deliberate efforts.

In the Council of State Affairs, the two prime ministers, Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo, dominated the administration of the entire empire. Among the two vice ministers, Wang Yaochen and Wen Yanbo were in cahoots. Zeng Gongliang, who was promoted to the Council of State Affairs because of Liu Hang's demotion, was a Jinshi in the second year of Tiansheng. Although his words did not carry much weight, he was not on the same page as Fu, Wen, and Wang.

As for the Privy Council, of the two Privy Councilors, Jia Changchao, who inherited Lü Yijian's mantle, was at odds with the other Privy Councilor, Han Qi. Of the two Deputy Privy Councilors, Cheng Kan was Wen Yanbo's relative by marriage and would definitely side with Han Qi, while Tian Kuang was one of the few truly knowledgeable civil officials in the Song Dynasty. He had presided over the work on the northwest front and personally suppressed the famous Baozhou Mutiny. He was a technical bureaucrat in the Privy Council.

The Three Departments will not be discussed further.

It can be said that Emperor Renzong's art of checks and balances had reached a level of consummate skill. Not only did he arrange for opponents in various places to prevent the "former officials of the Qingli era" from gaining complete control over any one place, but he also had technical bureaucrats in various places to ensure that the operation of the country would not be delayed due to factional strife.

In this way, both sides would have to rely on Emperor Renzong's trust to secure their positions.

But the reality is that politics can provide checks and balances, but the economy cannot.

No money is no money.

No one has the Midas touch, but the problem of "lack of money" is a real issue. The available solutions are either to deplete reserves, to overdraw on the future, or to use both.

Zhang Fangping's immediate problem is not "how to stay in the position of Minister of the Three Departments for a long time", but "how to ensure that the Song Dynasty's finances can weather the crisis next year".

It is already December of the first year of Jiayou. If the finances collapse next year, the second year of Jiayou, then he will lose his position as the Minister of the Three Departments.

Therefore, he had no choice.

"However, given the current precarious state of the nation's finances, even if it's like drinking poison to quench thirst, this cup of poison must be drunk."

(End of this chapter)