I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 238 The most stubborn person in the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi was not afraid of three things!

"The City Yiwu Yamen was struck by lightning!"

"The City Yiwu Yamen went against the will of heaven and was struck by lightning!"

"The Municipal Yiwu Yamen was struck by lightning for violating the interests of many businessmen and going against the will of heaven!"

……

Nowadays, people have always believed that natural disasters are warnings of human mistakes.

Less than half a day.

The news that the city's Yiwu was struck by lightning spread throughout the streets and alleys of Bianjing City.

It even reached the court.

Zhao Zhen and all the other ministers thought this was an ominous sign and a warning from God about the city's affairs.

At the same time, twelve big businessmen from a chamber of commerce in Bianjing City took action.

They went on strike one after another and asked the court to terminate the market change law.

Near noon.

Nearly a hundred merchants have gone on strike, and merchants have gathered in front of the Yiwu Yamen.

The strike directly left many workers with nothing to do.

They all swarmed in and blocked the entire street.

Although there is a market in the southern suburbs of Bianjing City, you don’t have to worry about eating and drinking.

However, there are millions of people in Bianjing City, and many people who are struggling have no land and rely on merchants to support their families.

If you miss three to five days of work this month, the whole family will go hungry next month.

……

Within the city's business.

Wang Yaochen, Su Liang, and Wang Anshi were surrounded inside.

"This group of businessmen are really good at speculation, and they actually used this as an excuse to cause trouble!" Wang Yaochen said angrily.

Wang Anshi frowned and said: "The troublemakers are all profiteers who buy at low prices and sell at high prices. When they see that we are starting to make concessions, they take advantage of it!"

"This is a good opportunity to undermine the reform. These businessmen will naturally not miss it. Maybe they were also instigated by some officials who opposed the reform and wanted to threaten us with a strike." Su Liang analyzed.

At present, there are still many people who oppose the reform, and they will certainly not miss this good opportunity to cause trouble.

Wang Yaochen let out a long sigh.

"Oh, reform is really difficult. Not only are there man-made disasters, but there are also natural disasters. It's really unsatisfactory! Where is the lightning strike? It has to strike down the tree in the courtyard. If what I expected is true, the officials and the two governments will The princes will definitely also advocate the termination of the Market Change Law. If this natural disaster is serious, it may even affect the prosperity and decline of the Song Dynasty!"

"It cannot be terminated! It must not be terminated! We have already made concessions. Once terminated, those big businessmen will have no taboos and will do whatever they want in the future. It will be difficult for the court to devise reform strategies to restrict these annexed houses!" Wang Anshi said He said with a serious face.

"Jiefu, it's hard to go against the will of the people! The noise caused by this matter is too great. Why don't we stop for a while and we can improve it, otherwise if we let these people continue to make trouble, things will only get worse and worse!"

"I'll convince them!"

After saying that, Wang Anshi strode outside, and Wang Yaochen and Su Liang quickly followed.

……

Outside the Yiwu Yamen, there were many businessmen and workers.

These big businessmen were familiar with the laws of the Song Dynasty. Although the gate of the Yiwu Yamen had collapsed, no one broke in.

Breaking into a government office privately is a serious crime.

But when they went on strike here, it was not considered a violation of the imperial decree.

When the businessmen saw Wang Anshi striding towards them, they couldn't help but stand up straight.

In the past few days, the person who blocked their financial path was this unscrupulous city affairs official.

They hated Wang Anshi with great hatred.

At this moment, Wang Yaochen and Su Liang also walked out, and several soldiers from the Imperial City Division immediately followed them to prevent any accidents. Wang Anshi came to the businessmen and said loudly: "I am Wang Anshi, the city's Yiwu official. What do you want to do when you gather a crowd to surround the Yamen?"

At this time.

A thin middle-aged man about forty years old wearing a long gown came out.

This person was specially hired by businessmen. He has a sharp tongue and is especially good at reasoning.

"Wang Tiju, we are going on strike. This is not what we want. We just want Wang Tiju to submit a memorandum to the officials, immediately terminate the Municipal Yi Law, and cancel the Municipal Yi Wu Yamen!"

"The Market Change Law is a strategy to stabilize prices and enrich the country and the people. It is currently being tried and implemented normally. Can it be canceled just because you people are fooling around? It's ridiculous!"

The middle-aged man in long gown took two steps forward.

"We propose to terminate the Municipal Trade Law and abolish the Municipal Trade Office for three reasons."

"Firstly, since my dynasty, Taizu Taizong, I have attached great importance to the affairs of merchants. The status of merchants in our dynasty is much higher than that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. Now, the imperial court has enacted the Market Change Law in Kaifeng Prefecture, which is actually a strategy to plunder merchants. This law violates the ancestral system of the imperial court. Didn’t Wang Tiju see that some merchants had no choice but to leave Kaifeng Mansion, and some merchants gave up their business and started a treasury? This policy violated the ancestral law, persecuted merchants, and monopolized the market. If things go on like this, our court will Merchant trade will inevitably turn from prosperity to decline, I dare to ask who can shoulder this responsibility!"

"Secondly, this policy goes against the will of the people. Less than a month after the implementation of the Market Change Law, it has aroused public resentment. The workers sitting here have nothing to do because of the Market Change Law. In the long run, the people will have doubts about the imperial court. Opinion. Officials have always been good at listening to public opinions, but this policy is to pursue their own will and completely ignore the suffering of the people. If this continues, the people may become thieves or have no choice but to rebel. I dare to ask who can bear this responsibility!"

"Thirdly, last night, lightning struck the Yiwu Yamen of the city. It was a warning from God. If we go against the will of heaven, our Song Dynasty will definitely encounter natural disasters. If things go on like this, it will definitely affect the national destiny. I dare to ask who can bear this responsibility!"

"Wang Tiju, I advise you to rein in your horse, otherwise you will become the sinner of the Song Dynasty. Even if the history books do not write down your actions that go against the will of the people, the people will still curse you for thousands of years!" road.

After the middle-aged man in a long gown finished speaking, the businessmen behind him all puffed up their chests and sighed in their hearts that these three reasons were well explained.

Violate the laws of our ancestors.

Ignore the voices of the people.

Go against nature and go your own way.

These three crimes are extremely lethal and cannot be borne by a scholar-bureaucrat.

Wang Anshi sneered: "The way to reform naturally cannot follow precedents. You oppose the market change law only because it infringes on your interests, but your interests come from exploiting the people. This law is beneficial to the court and the bottom traders. That’s it, I, Wang Anshi, have a clear conscience!”

"You...you, you actually want to break the ancestral system, go against the will of the people, and go against the laws of heaven. It is really treasonous!" The middle-aged man in a long gown pointed at Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi looked around, raised his voice and said: "There is no fear of changes in the sky, no laws for our ancestors, and no sympathy for people's words. How can a philistine like you, who is buried in the stench of money, understand the way of reform?"

"Heaven...changes are not enough to fear, ancestors...ancestors are not enough to teach, and people's words are not enough to be compassionate. You...do you know what you are talking about?" The corners of the mouth of the middle-aged man in a long gown trembled.

The middle-aged man in a long gown looked back at the businessmen and workers and said, "Everyone, have you heard this?"

"This king Tiju actually thinks that there is no need to follow the imperial court's ancestral rules, listen to the opinions of the people, and even think that God's will should not be ignored. Is this... this... a scholar-official of our dynasty? He is insulting the sages. Insulting the great ancestor of our dynasty, Taizong, he is not trying to change the law... he... he is trying to change the dynasty!"

The literati's mouth is like a knife.

It is most vividly reflected in this moment.

His explanation directly condemned Wang Anshi to death.

not far away.

Wang Yaochen was also shocked into a cold sweat by these words.

When these words reach the court, it will inevitably cause an uproar and even bring great disaster to Wang Anshi.

"Let's go to Dali Temple and sue this treacherous Wang Anshi!" The middle-aged man in a long gown suddenly caught Wang Anshi's hand.

Immediately, the businessmen and workers rushed towards Dali Temple.

Wang Yaochen and Su Liang quickly walked to Wang Anshi's side.

Wang Yaochen said anxiously: "Jiefu, quickly follow us and go to the officials to plead guilty and explain. What you said is really too rebellious. It will be too late by the time the people sue you to the imperial court!"

Wang Anshi shook his head.

"Ji Xiang, brother Jing Ming, this is what I say from my heart, and the reform should be like this. If you take into account the ancestral system, divine punishment, human words, etc., then the reform will never be accomplished. If the officials punish me, just punish me alone, trouble you two We must protect the market transaction laws!”

Su Liang excitedly patted Wang Anshi on the shoulder and said: "Jiefu, what you said is very good. I, the reformer of the Song Dynasty, should have such courage!"

"Crazy, crazy, both of you are crazy. This matter is getting bigger and bigger, and if we continue to stir up trouble, it will be over!" Wang Yaochen was so anxious that he couldn't understand what the two of them were thinking at all.

(End of this chapter)