Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 273 He didn't know he was wrong.

Lu Beigu's heart skipped a beat, and he carefully looked at the face of the woman who was arguing with the clerk.

Those eyebrows and eyes do indeed resemble his by about six or seven points!

The hardships of life had etched fine lines around her eyes, and her cheeks had lost their plumpness due to the cold, giving her the appearance of someone who had lived a life of hardship for a long time.

But when she frowned in anger, the stubbornness in her eyes felt strangely familiar to Lu Beigu.

Just then, the tall, thin clerk saw that the woman not only refused to comply but also dared to talk back in public, and he lost face.

"If you don't eat the toast, you will be punished with alcohol!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked hard at a thick wooden board propped up at the shop entrance, which was the cutting board the woman used to display fresh tofu.

With a loud crash, the wooden plank overturned, and the tofu blocks on it instantly fell to the ground, rolling around in the cold mud and sewage, becoming completely covered in filth and utterly broken.

The woman cried out in alarm and tried to save him, but she slipped and almost fell.

"stop!"

Lu Beigu could no longer contain himself.

He pushed aside two onlookers, rushed to the tofu shop, stood in front of the woman, and glared angrily at the two clerks.

Zhang Zai followed closely behind and stood beside Lu Beigu.

"Huh? Where did you come from? Trying to be a hero and save the damsel in distress?"

The fat clerk looked Lu Beigu up and down in his silk robe, seemingly unconcerned, but a hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.

They are all people who mingle in the streets and alleys. They are very perceptive and like to judge whether someone is someone they can't afford to mess with just by looking at their clothes and demeanor.

Lu Beigu's attire and demeanor immediately made the two clerks feel that he was no ordinary person and not someone to be trifled with.

But at this moment, relying on the fact that this was their territory, they remained arrogant.

"This is a government fee! If you know what's good for you, get out of here and don't cause yourself any trouble!"

"Government fees?" Lu Beigu's voice was icy. "I've heard that the newly issued 'New Market Regulations' of Kaifeng Prefecture explicitly prohibit all illegal levies and miscellaneous fees. Do you have official documents with the official seal of the Kaifeng Prefecture government for the 'exemption fee,' 'mat fee,' 'cleaning fee,' and 'lamp oil fee' that you mention? Do you have tax items approved by the Three Departments? If so, show them to me!"

Lu Beigu didn't say much, but he directly pointed out the crux of the matter.

Wang Anshi's core aim in reforming the Hongqiao Market was to eliminate the long-standing problem of these clerks inventing pretexts to exploit merchants. However, the "New Rules for Market Regulation" had only been in the works for a long time before it was promulgated, and no one knew the severity of the measures until they were actually applied to these grassroots clerks.

Even these low-level clerks thought that Bao Zheng and Wang Anshi in Kaifeng Prefecture, like Zeng Gongliang, were there to gain experience and then get promoted.

Little did people know that these two were both iron-fisted figures who dared to reform!
As for why it took until today, after Lu Beigu wrote his article "On the Gains and Losses of Officialdom Since the Han and Tang Dynasties" last month, for the Kaifeng government to finally formulate reforms targeting clerks.

That's because Kaifeng Prefecture was, after all, the capital of the Song Dynasty. As the most important place, many things, once they involved too many people, were simply beyond the control of the Kaifeng Prefecture government itself.

In fact, without the strong support of the two prime ministers, Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi, and Han Qi, it would have taken at least a month to formulate regulations for market transactions. Considering the administrative efficiency of the Song Dynasty's bureaucratic system, this was already considered a remarkably fast process.

The two clerks were stumped by the questioning.

They only heard about the "New Rules of Market Regulation" yesterday, but none of them took it seriously.

After all these years, officials have come and gone in the Kaifeng government office. Some of them are eager to make a name for themselves when they take office, but these low-level clerks still do what they're supposed to do and collect their dues as they please. No one has really been able to completely change this trend.

The fat clerk's eyes darted around as he argued, "What do you know! This is an old rule of the Rainbow Bridge Market! It's been done this way for years!"

"Old rules?"

Lu Beigu's gaze swept over the onlookers, including vendors and ordinary people.

"Neighbors, has anyone seen any official documents issued by the court years ago that permitted them to collect money under these pretexts? If so, please step forward and testify, and I will immediately apologize to both of you! If not..."

His voice suddenly rose, carrying an aura of righteous indignation.

"That is using the name of the government to extort money!"

A stir ran through the crowd. "Yeah, we've never heard of any document like this before."

"It's extortion!"

"This young master is right!"

The chatter, though not loud, reached the ears of the two clerks clearly.

Their faces turned extremely ugly, especially the tall, thin man, who was enraged and had his hand on the iron ruler at his waist: "Kid! I think you're tired of living! How dare you slander a police officer? I'll teach you what discipline is today!"

As he spoke, he made a move to pull out the iron ruler.

"you dare!"

Zhang Zai shouted angrily and took half a step forward to protect Lu Beigu.

He was a man of noble character, and he would have taken care of this matter even without Lu Beigu. Moreover, Lu Beigu had just helped him a great deal, so he couldn't just sit idly by.

Lu Beigu was not intimidated. He walked forward and shouted at the two clerks, "Come on, if you've got balls, come and fight me. Fight all the way to the Kaifeng Prefecture. I want to see if you can beat up the face of the Imperial Academy!"

The clerk hesitated for a moment.

Just then, a deep shout came from outside the crowd.

"stop!"

The crowd was forcibly pushed aside by the officers to make way.

Wang Anshi, dressed in an official robe with a sable fur coat over it, was staring coldly at the two clerks in front of him.

He did not come alone; he was followed by several yamen runners from Kaifeng Prefecture dressed in black robes and carrying fire and water sticks.

"Wang Wang gave me some pointers."

The fat clerk's legs began to tremble; he had recognized this newly appointed high-ranking official when he was on duty.

He was really unlucky today. If he had known that Wang Tidian was coming to inspect Hongqiao, he would have kept a low profile no matter what.

But now they've run into the line of fire, becoming the two chickens to be killed as a warning to others. What to do?
Wang Anshi ignored them completely, nodded slightly to Lu Beigu, walked straight to the tofu shop, and bowed to the still-shaken woman.

"I, Wang Anshi, the official in charge of the various counties and towns within the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, would like to apologize on behalf of the Kaifeng Prefecture."

Then, Wang Anshi turned around and looked at the two clerks: "What are your names? Which department do you belong to? What are the names of the money you collected? Do you have any official documents signed by the government?"

The tall, thin man tried to argue, his lips trembling: "Wang, it's our mistake, we...it's not true."

"Mistakenly remembered?"

"To damage the property of vendors in the street, intend to beat a scholar, and still try to argue your way out of it in full view of everyone?"

Without further ado, he ordered the constables behind him: "Seize him! Take him back to the yamen for thorough interrogation! Investigate all the ill-gotten gains he has received over the years and order him to return them in full to the victimized merchants! His actions are heinous, so punish him severely according to the law!"

"Yes!"

Two fierce-looking constables immediately stepped forward, cleanly and efficiently removed the iron rulers and name tags from the men's waists, then tied their hands behind their backs and took them away.

"Please spare my life, Lord Wang!"

"I know I was wrong! I'll never do it again!"

Cries of agony and pleas for mercy rang out, but Wang Anshi ignored them.

He knew very well that the other party didn't admit their mistake; they just knew they were about to be finished.

Wang Anshi turned to the minor official following behind him and said, "Post the notice!"

(End of this chapter)