Chapter 17: Sir, Times Have Changed

How do I see it?

Zeng Gong and Wang Anshi both turned their gazes toward Su Ze.

Su Ze felt somewhat troubled.

“Brother Jiefu, you must be referring to the Three Excesses: redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenditures.”

Wang Anshi clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Three Excesses, Brother Su, your talent is remarkable! Your summary of the Three Excesses is excellent!”

Only then did Su Ze recall that the concept of the Three Excesses in the Northern Song was actually proposed during the Ming dynasty. Although contemporary scholars criticized these issues, they never explicitly used the term “Three Excesses.”

Well, since even Fan Zhongyan’s famous phrases had been borrowed, it didn’t matter much.

Yet Su Ze said, “In my view, these aren’t the real problems.”

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong exchanged glances and adopted a humble posture, inviting him to elaborate, “Please enlighten us further.”

Su Ze began, “Let’s start with the redundant soldiers. Our army today far surpasses that of previous dynasties, but there are reasons for this.”

“In the Han and Tang military systems, there were recruited soldiers, garrison soldiers, and hereditary soldiers; but ultimately, all were recruited soldiers.”

“Although our dynasty also employs recruitment, it is fundamentally different from the Han and Tang methods.”

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong weren’t deeply versed in military matters and had never heard such an explanation from Su Ze before. They found it refreshing and listened attentively.

Su Ze continued, “The recruited soldiers of the Han and Tang were all sons of good families. These young men brought their own weapons and horses—essentially, they were scions of powerful clans who enlisted with their retainers to seek advancement through the military. The combat relied chiefly on these troops.”

“I say fundamentally recruited soldiers, only that the Tang’s garrison system recruited by granting land, while the Han recruited through official ranks and titles.”

“As for forcibly conscripted common soldiers, those were merely fillers.”

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong nodded; Su Ze’s words made sense. Han and Tang armies, even a few thousand strong, were highly effective; tens of thousands could pursue and defeat enemies. Those who could fight equipped with their own arms were elite troops.

The Han and Tang aristocratic families were well-versed in both civil and military affairs, and the boundary between these roles was not so rigid.

Su Ze said, “Our recruitment is quite different.”

“Emperor Taizu gathered troops in Bianjing to learn from the lessons of the Five Dynasties, preventing the rise of rebellious military governors.”

“Today, while the imperial guards include capable soldiers, they also absorb many displaced people, vagabonds, and local ruffians. These are the redundant soldiers. But if all these were dismissed, what would happen then?”

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong remained silent.

Su Ze sighed, “People say our Song has redundant officials, but they fail to realize the times have changed.”

Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong humbly asked for his guidance.

Su Ze explained, “In the Han and Tang periods, a city of fifty thousand was considered large. The local gentry and powerful families were widespread in the countryside. County magistrates could rely on good relations with these clans to collect taxes and assign corvée labor.”

“Setting aside the flaws of these gentry, at least local governance was manageable.”

“But after the turmoil of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, these powerful families have mostly vanished. As the saying goes, ‘The swallows that once nested in the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into common households.’ Today, the government struggles even to find a single influential family in a county. With only two or three senior officials and a dozen clerks in the county government, how can one govern effectively?”

“Not to mention the more complex administration of a prosperous market town compared to a rural township.”

The Northern Song finds itself in such a period: the retreat of the old aristocracy, the absence of a new class of medium landlords to fill the void, and the proliferation of Manichaean sects, secret societies, martial arts schools, and village associations sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain.

The aristocracy was no good, nor were the landlords; but that doesn’t mean these secret societies and cults were benevolent.

Social governance is a contest: if you don’t occupy the space, others will.

Though “Water Margin” is a Ming novel, its depiction of rampant gangsters and bullies in Northern Song cities accurately reflects common realities of the time.

These “social organizations,” together with the rising landlord class consolidating landholdings, steadily erode the government’s tax base, causing a cascade of problems.

Thus, the current issues cannot be summed up or resolved simply by invoking the “Three Excesses.”

Nor will cutting redundant officials and soldiers alone restore the treasury.

Those redundant officials and soldiers, well-versed in internal court operations and wielding some military power, once displaced, will join these “vibrant social organizations” to sustain their families. The Northern Song might well collapse before the Jin even advance south.

Moreover, as society progresses, more people are needed to participate in governance.

In the feudal period, a county government might have only a few dozen officials, but modern governance involves hundreds or thousands.

Population growth plays a part, but the expanding and complex nature of governance functions is also a factor.

Take, for example, street vending — setting up shops along roadsides.

Tang cities designated special commercial zones managed by city officers, and Chang’an had night curfews. These markets operated only a few hours and were easily overseen by a handful of officers.

Today, however, Bianjing allows street-side shops and has lifted night curfews, drastically increasing the difficulty of urban governance.

Shops must be taxed, and public order and fire prevention require personnel to manage.

This is why the position of acting magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture has become a hot potato among officials. Over the years, only Fan Zhongyan escaped public scorn, perhaps joined later by Bao Zheng.

In Su Ze’s eyes, the problems of Emperor Renzong’s reign stem from “the times having changed.”

After the recuperation under Taizu, Taizong, and Zhenzong, Emperor Renzong’s era was plagued by frequent natural disasters, causing the administrative, taxation, and military systems to fall out of sync with the times. The Qingli Reform sought to address these, but ultimately failed.

By the Xining Reform, social issues had become acute. Wang Anshi’s drastic reforms were like administering strong medicine to a critically ill patient, provoking factional strife that contributed significantly to the Northern Song’s downfall.

Had reforms been slower and gentler during Renzong’s time, perhaps the Northern Song might have endured.

Su Ze’s words plunged Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong into deep reflection. Neither had served in office, and neither had considered issues from the perspective of system builders.

Yet Su Ze’s historical perspective, pointing out the inapplicability of Han and Tang experiences to their own dynasty, brought fresh insight and explained many contemporary problems.

As they pondered, night gradually fell.

Wang Anshi’s mother, Madam Wu, sent his younger siblings with dishes once more. The three men resumed their deep discussion and agreed to meet again at the end of the ten-day period.

Only then did Wang Anshi reluctantly see Su Ze off.

Returning home, Su Ze felt as though the day’s events had been a dream.

He petted Yan Zhixue, who had come over to act cute, then eagerly closed his door, extinguished the candlelight, climbed into bed, and picked up a book, ready to enter his own Peach Blossom Spring.