Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“Father, I feel like you've become more and more stern over the years. It's just a matter of putting something on account, right? There are plenty of officials in the capital who dine on credit,” Fang Chenyu asked.

Fang Zheng Yi grunted, picking up a piece of kidney and putting it in his mouth.

“A small matter... a small matter at the top becomes a huge issue below. Those above influence those below. In recent years, the country has prospered, and the common people have gradually become wealthier. As a result, extravagant spending is on the rise.”

“Everyone pays lip service to the idea of being prepared for danger in times of peace, but when true peace arrives, few can remember it. Your father was terrified of poverty in the past. Outside many large restaurants, the swill buckets are filled with chunks of meat. It cuts me like a knife to see it.”

“The people of the capital have grown accustomed to this, believing that they're rich and have money. More and more factories are opening up outside, and stocks are rising year after year.”

“But the country is vast, and there are too many impoverished areas, too many places where government orders don't reach... In reality, everyone is a frog in a well, only able to see the small patch of land in front of them. It's fine for ordinary people to think like that and waste a little, but those in the court and businessmen like you who run factories can't think that way,” Fang Zheng Yi earnestly advised.

“In recent years, your mother has asked me why I don't eat at home every day, why I go out to restaurants that offer different dishes every day, and why I always pack up the leftovers to bring home.”

“The reason is simple. Your father is a moral example for all scholars and officials in the world... If I do it, the officials below will follow suit. If the officials follow suit, the wealthy households will follow suit... If everyone does this, the atmosphere will change, and once the atmosphere changes, a consensus and a moral code can be formed.”

“Once a consensus is formed, I can set rules to avoid many unnecessary wastes. I often taught you when you were young that the power of one person is not as great as the power of the collective, but there are always conditions to that principle... In some matters, your father alone is worth more than ten thousand people.”

“Officials eating without paying is a terrible habit, and Wei Qing isn't the only one. I'm just using him as a typical example. Now, factories are being established everywhere, and you know how difficult it is to circulate funds. A few meals may not seem like much, but the unpaid debts to the factories could bankrupt countless people.”

“It takes a hundred years for the court to accumulate a reputation, but it wouldn't take three months to ruin it.”

Fang Chenyu took a sip and sighed, “Father, you don't have to carry everything on your own shoulders, do you? You have so many people under you...”

Fang Zheng Yi smiled slightly, smoothing the hem of his robe.

“When your father was your age, I was far less accomplished than you. All I thought about was romance, enjoying the scenery, flying hawks, and walking dogs, living a comfortable life.”

“But as I grew older, my responsibilities increased, and my mentality changed... Now, His Majesty can be said to have fully delegated power to me. It can be said that your father wields the authority of the emperor.”

“Do you know what was the first major thing your father did when he returned to the court in recent years?”

“What?”

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard moved into the Exchange to fully monitor the stock market. The stock market is a new thing, a gold mine. All the nobles, officials, and wealthy households wanted to come and get a piece of the pie with only a superficial understanding. As soon as the Exchange in the South opened, it immediately became popular throughout the country. In just two years, your father used this to uncover evidence of crimes committed by the vast majority of officials in the country, and half of them deserved to be beheaded!”

“But you also know what happened in the following year. Your father personally presided over a comprehensive revision of the Great Jing Law, with over 30% of the articles being added or amended, reducing the power of officials and returning power to the people, and establishing property laws and patent laws. Everything was passed within a year, without any resistance. Throughout history, even the emperors with the greatest authority have not been as efficient as your father.”

“So, there was such a thing behind the scenes...” Fang Chenyu's hand, which was reaching for a dish, paused in mid-air, momentarily speechless by this top-secret information from the court.

“Do you know why your father did all this?”

“Why?”

“To create a world where the law is supreme. Only when the law is greater than the heavens can everyone be free from oppression by the powerful and retain their dignity. Law was initially a tool created by strongmen to plunder the wealth of the people, but the creation of this tool also restricts the strongmen themselves. Your father has exhausted his efforts to turn the spearhead around and point it at the strongmen.”

“This is the only protective weapon for ordinary people, but the people don't understand the law and don't value it. The establishment of Dongjiao University with campuses across the country, with the law school being far larger than others, is also to let the law penetrate people's hearts and change the old ways.”

Fang Zheng Yi smiled.

“There are many people in the court who are dissatisfied with your father. As beneficiaries, they thought I would stand with them, and they completely misunderstand what I'm doing. But even so, no one dares to say anything bad about your father, not because they fear my power, but because they can't find any fault.”

“Those corrupt officials who were discovered through the stock market, your father basically didn't touch them, at most giving them a minor punishment as a warning. But more than thirty officials were beheaded, and more than twenty of them were recommended by me. Among the laws formulated above and below, there are several articles on splitting the authority of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and there are also many that restrict your father himself.”

“Every blade is cutting at my own hands... Your father wields great power, yet no one in the court dares to say that your father is autocratic, forms cliques for personal gain, or even opposes me... What is this? This is skill!”

“Your father doesn't expect them to understand, but it won't be long before they understand my good intentions. The potential of tens of millions of people across the country has been unleashed. Although the power in their hands has diminished, they still have great advantages, and they will be able to gain even more from this explosion of wealth.”

“The common people love to say that capital likes to make quick money, but who doesn't love to make quick money? That's just nonsense.”

“But clever capital and families actually look down on quick money and are particularly cautious about it. You who run factories also know that establishing technological barriers is the only way to surpass competitors and extract profits for a long time. What capital loves most is this kind of business, a trickle that stretches on endlessly for centuries.”

“It's like the common people eating. If they don't know whether they will live or die tomorrow, they will definitely eat all the food in their stomachs today. But if they are sure that they can live peacefully for the next few years, they will start saving food, or trading grain, or producing goods. Another function of strict laws is to prevent individual will from causing inconsistent orders, and to give ordinary people and capital a reliable expectation, so they can create wealth with peace of mind.”

“With sound laws, tending towards stability, and predictable expectations... the whole country will usher in a feast of wealth. Decades later, basic survival needs like being well-fed and clothed may no longer be people's worries, and personal fulfillment will be the biggest problem.”

“That world will no longer need people like your father to exist. The saying 'sages don't die, thieves don't stop' is the same principle.”

Saying this, Fang Zheng Yi seemed to remember something, and his eyebrows raised: “But I expect the mediocre masses to always have a habit of creating gods, and the fools of later generations should not let me go. What your father cares about most in this life is his humanity and emotions, and only this most simple humanity can transcend history and let people know that the ancients and the present are of one heart. No one is perfect, and any image of a god will eventually be shattered, and must be shattered.”

“What's the difference between deifying me and whipping my corpse... When I die, I must disguise my image well, first grant them their wish, and then in the grave use the dirtiest and most vulgar words to curse these thoughtless, opinionless, good-for-nothings who rely on their ancestors to save face... Finally, one day, I'll stab them in the heart, so they know what it means to be a rogue...”

Looking at his father speaking happily, Fang Chenyu was dumbfounded.

“Father... you... this...”

Fang Zheng Yi smiled, put down his chopsticks with a myriad of emotions, looked at his son, and suddenly said seriously and earnestly.

“Just kidding, let's get back to your question, why does your father have to take things on himself... It's simple, because only your father can do this, and only your father has the ability to do it.”

“How many times have I vaguely seen someone beckoning to me when I wake up from a dream. The person's face is very blurred, and I couldn't figure it out... But as the world changes, that face gradually became clear, and I finally saw his face.” Fang Zheng Yi's slightly yellow eyes showed a glimmer of water.

Fang Chenyu said nervously: “Who is he?”

“Seeing him made your father recall the first day he came to this world, and realize that perhaps everyone comes into this world with a destiny, and reaching today is the destiny that your father should gladly accept.”

“That person is me... the future me.”

.....