Although Wang Anshi had a stubborn character, he was not rigid or pedantic.

In fact, anyone who is committed to reform is very open-minded. How can a rigid and pedantic person actively seek change?

Wang Anshi's stubbornness mainly came from two aspects. First, he was very smart, and smart people would definitely be more willing to believe in their own judgment.

Second, regarding political stance, throughout history, those who have undertaken reforms must have firm faith in their beliefs, because everyone knows that this will lead to many troubles, and if you don’t persist, things will soon come to nothing.

Wang Anshi did not disagree with Zhang Fei's policy of saving the country through a roundabout way, paying taxes in the form of donations. In fact, his reform was also a way to collect money, which was exactly the same thing.

He just thought it was unreliable.

Donations are voluntary, while paying taxes is compulsory.

Since they all donated voluntarily, why don't they pay taxes on their own initiative?

However, the confidence shown by Zhang Fei and his previous success finally impressed Wang Anshi.

In fact, Wang Anshi knew that those taxes were difficult to collect, and he was not sure about it at all, so why not let Zhang Fei give it a try.

...

...

Of course, Zhang Fei finally did not agree to enter the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures.

However, for Wang Anshi, he recruited Zhang Fei only because he wanted to have more helpers, not because he couldn't do without him. Now that Zhang Fei has promised to help him with all his strength, that's enough, and he didn't force Zhang Fei.

But Lu Huiqing doesn't see it that way.

After learning that Zhang Fei finally rejected Wang Anshi, he couldn't help but feel suspicious, "Master, the reason why Zhang San is afraid to join the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures is because he doesn't firmly support us. He still hopes to maintain his relationship with Sima Xueshi."

The implication is that Zhang Fei wants to be a fence-sitter and be influenced by the wind.

Wang Anshi was of course aware of the good relationship between Zhang Fei and Sima Guang, and said with a smile: "That being said, you should not forget that he is still just a commoner and has no ambition for fame. Why should he take these risks for us? If I were him, I would not be willing to do so either. Just like the first time I worked with him to get the mortgage, we were helping each other, and this was reasonable."

Lu Huiqing frowned and said, "But if Zhang San finally chooses to join Sima Xueshi, it may cause trouble for us."

Wang Anshi glanced at Lu Huiqing and asked with a smile, "Ji Fu, you seem to be very afraid of Zhang San?"

Lu Huiqing said truthfully: "Based on the previous lawsuit, our two government regulations department will be subject to judicial supervision, and Zhang San's talent in the judicial field is unparalleled, and his methods are very clever. If he surrenders to Sima Xueshi, it may cause us a lot of trouble."

Wang Anshi hesitated for a moment and said, "Now his attitude is that he is willing to help us with all his strength, but at the same time he is unwilling to get involved. This shows that he will not completely stand on Sima Junshi's side. Why should we force him to choose sides?"

Lu Huiqing nodded slightly, "Master, what you said makes sense."

Wang Anshi said: "Find someone to put pressure on Kaifeng and Xiangfu counties to avoid another Wang Hong rebellion when collecting the autumn tax. Otherwise, the offenders will be punished."

Lu Huiqing nodded and said, "Yes."

......

Zhang Fei recuperated at home for two days and then hurried back to the office.

"Huh? What happened? Why is there no one here?"

When Zhang Fei arrived at the office, there was no one even at the counter.

"It's great that Sanlang is here. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't be able to handle it all by myself!"

Suddenly, Fan Li came walking quickly from inside.

Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "I can see that."

After the two of them came to the back hall and sat down, Zhang Fei asked, "Old Fan, what's going on in this store?"

Fan Li said, "You forgot that the autumn tax collection is imminent and the people need to calculate their taxes. Our store has been fully staffed, but we are still very busy."

Zhang Fei said: "Didn't I tell you before to recruit more people?"

“Always recruiting!”

Fan Li said: "Now we have nearly 200 people just calculating taxes, and most of them are clerks from the government, but it is still not enough. Because since we only calculate agricultural taxes, no one will compete with them. With our prices, who dares to compete with us? Therefore, Li Guozhong and his men all set their sights on commercial taxes."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But we will only be busy for the first two years. Once we understand the situation of these lands, we can just sit back and collect the money."

Fan Li laughed and said, "Now everyone understands this principle, so everyone is working very hard to grab as many customers as possible. They even hire people to help them."

The key to the tax calculation business is not the tax calculation, but whether you can compete with the government. Now Zhang Fei has proved that he has this ability.

As a result, the tax calculation business has become a stable job, and people spend a little money to get some protection, which is totally worth it.

As long as the client's land situation is clear, wouldn't it be easy to collect money in the future, just like collecting protection fees? Although land transactions are frequent, the firm can also provide services. Not only can it make money, but it can also continue to control the client's land situation in its own hands.

As a result, many people come to the firm not to litigate, but because they are keen on providing legal services.

Suddenly, someone outside said, "Why is there no one here?"

Fan Li was slightly startled. "It seems to be the voice of Sima Daxueshi."

The person who came was Sima Guang.

Zhang Fei quickly invited Sima Guang into the inner hall, and Fan Li also very tactfully went to the counter to watch.

"Why is your store so empty?"

Sima Guang asked curiously.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Now that the autumn tax collection is imminent, everyone has gone out of the city to help the people calculate taxes."

"I see."

Sima Guang smiled and nodded. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid taxes nowadays. Your charity will benefit greatly."

Can we chat? Zhang Fei laughed and said, "You can't say that. We do charity for the sake of charity, not to avoid taxes."

Sima Guang chuckled and said, "You didn't say that, but you did it. Tell me the truth, did you ask Wang Jiefu for help?"

Zhang Fei was stunned. "What...what do you mean?"

Sima Guang said: "Yesterday, Wang Jiefu repeatedly emphasized in the government hall that this year's autumn tax should be strictly supervised to avoid another incident like Wang Hong's, which would damage the government's prestige."

"Isn't this... normal?"

"normal?"

Sima Guang laughed and said, "Recently Wang Jiefu has been working day and night on his new law, so he has no time to think about this matter. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was you who did it."

Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "Even if it is, this is also the responsibility of Master Wang, there is no problem!"

Sima Guang suddenly glanced at Zhang Fei, "Wang Jiefu didn't recruit you to the Regulations Office of the Second Prefecture."

Zhang Fei shrugged slightly and said, "I did mention it, but...but I didn't agree."

Sima Guang nodded. They had talked about this matter last time. Although he always felt that Zhang Fei was hiding his thoughts, at least Zhang Fei did not deceive him. He did not accept Wang Anshi's invitation. He suddenly took out an article from his sleeve and said, "Take a look. Is it feasible?"

"Thank you, Grand Secretary Sima."

Zhang Fei took the article with both hands, took a look at it, and said excitedly: "Mr. Sima's article is really well written."

Sima Guang said: "But you must remember your original promise. If your charity organization does not fulfill its duties and instead uses it to accumulate wealth, I will never forgive you."

This article was written by Sima Guang for a charity organization, implying that wealth should be shared among the people.

There is no lack of praise, which is tantamount to an endorsement.

If this charity does not live up to its name, Sima Guang's reputation will also be affected.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Master Sima, please rest assured. I will do better than what Master Sima wrote. It will never be worse. If I am not sure, I would not dare to ask Master Sima for help."

"That's more like it." Sima Guang nodded and smiled again, "You are probably the only one in the world who can ask me and Wang Jiefu to help do the same thing at the same time."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Why don't you think about it this way, Grand Secretary Sima? This can be regarded as Grand Secretary Wang cooperating with you. Maybe we can see miraculous results."

Sima Guang snorted, "Forget it! Wang Jiefu and I are not the same kind of people."

Zhang Fei muttered quietly: "Then when I served...!"

Sima Guang's eyes widened.

......

After getting Sima Guang's article, Zhang Fei immediately rushed to the printing workshop, handed the article to Hou Donglai, and started printing immediately.

"By the way! Lao Hou, how are you doing with the workshop?"

"I've found it. I'll take you to see it some other day."

Hou Donglai was slightly stunned when he said, "But if we sell movable type, there will definitely be tabloids trying to steal our business."

The news comes out every two days, it's really easy to make money.

As a businessman, Hou Donglai naturally wants to monopolize.

It is better to be happy alone than to be happy with others.

Zhang Fei said: "If they can steal our business, they can steal it whether we have movable type or not. Besides, the imperial court has already mastered this technology, so it cannot be hidden."

Hou Donglai glanced at Zhang Fei and said, "Then I also want to invest some money in that workshop."

He is not stupid. If there are too many tabloids, the newspaper business will be affected to some extent, and the profits will be transferred to the workshop over there.

Zhang Fei said: "That workshop belongs to a charity organization. You can choose to donate money. You should know the rules of the charity organization."

Hou Donglai hesitated for a while and said, "Sanlang, we are businessmen after all, and we still want to make money."

Zhang Fei also thought about it, "You don't have much money, so you should keep it and accumulate it. This game is not suitable for you to play for the time being."

Others are investing thousands or tens of thousands of coins in it, and if you only throw in a few hundred coins, your son can only work as a handyman.

.......

After many days, Sima Guang's article was published again in the Mingshi Newspaper.

But times have changed. In the past, the Celebrity Newspaper relied on these celebrities to attract attention, but now everyone cannot live without this newspaper. No matter who writes it, everyone loves to read it.

If it's not well written, people can just laugh at it for fun.

On the surface, Sima Guang's article seems to praise the charitable organizations for their proactive donations to the Jinzouyuan to improve printing technology, thereby introducing the idea of ​​sharing wealth with the people.

Praise Zhang Fei, Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi. As rich people and children of officials, they have a sense of social responsibility. After making money, they are willing to donate to the court and the people. Isn't this the concept of sharing wealth with the people?

Isn’t this the ultimate meaning of Confucianism?

Isn't this what the scholars pursue? If they are poor, they should take care of themselves; if they are rich, they should help the world.

Isn't this co-ruling the world?

Of course, Wang Anshi was also slightly satirized.

This article immediately sparked a huge heated discussion.

Famous scholars with extremely high moral qualities, such as Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and Zhao Yan, spoke highly of this article.

This is what they expect as well.

But Gu Ji, Lin Dan and Li Zhan, the vested interests among the conservatives, also expressed great appreciation for this.

Although they hated Zhang Fei to the core, they also knew very well who their biggest enemy was.

When these people compete with the reformists, they usually use the common people as a cover, saying things like hiding wealth among the people and competing with the people for profit.

And this charity turns this idea into an objective existence.

Of course they support it.

"Oh, you! How stupid I am! I am really stupid!"

Fan Yong slapped his forehead and said, "What do Cao Yanei and Xiaoyi know about charity? It must be Ma Laosi and Cao Shuai who made the decision. There must be a reason. Why didn't I think of it at the time? If Sima Xueshi mentioned our Baifan Building, it would be worth a thousand gold!"

At this point, he immediately said to Fan Zheng: "Zheng'er, donate some money to charity immediately. We also need to gain a good reputation. We are not short of money now, but we are short of reputation."

Fan Zheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Dad! I have learned about this charity before. It is not a simple charity. They only donate part of the profits, and the remaining money will be used for business to ensure that there is enough money for charity.

Their children can also hold positions there, and whoever donates more money can hold a higher position, while also being able to avoid taxes. "

Fan Yong asked, "What do you think?"

Fan Zhengdao said, "I think that donating a sum of money may not bring me the reputation that my father wants, and the imperial court has been very strict in tax inspections recently. Therefore, I think that why not donate a piece of land like the Cao family and the Ma family, and avoid taxes while I can manage this charity. This will not only avoid the risk of tax inspections, but also closely link our Baifan Building with charity, which will be of great help to future generations."

Fan Yong frowned and said, "But if we donate the land, it won't belong to us anymore, and we can't use the money to do our own business."

Fan Zhengdao said, "Dad, have you ever thought about why Zhang Sanlang donated money to the Jinzouyuan to develop printing technology?"

Fan Yong asked: "Why?"

Fan Zhengdao: "Because the technology can be taken back for our own use, and currently all the talents are concentrated in the court. We can also donate sugar, salt, wine, and other technologies that are beneficial to our business. Then we can use these technologies to make money back."

Fan Yong frowned and said, "But other people can use the technology, too."

Fan Zheng said: "I think this aspect can be discussed. After all, the money is donated by us, and those people have to listen to our suggestions seriously."

Fan Yong thought for a while and asked, "How much do you plan to donate?"

Fan Zhengdao: "We must have more than the Cao family and the Ma family so that we can gain control of the charity."

Fan Yong asked: "But will Zhang San agree?"

Fan Zheng said: "I will talk it over with him. If they don't agree, then we won't donate."

Fan Yong nodded slightly: "You decide."