Chapter 37: The Charisma of the Greatest Man in the Song Dynasty

Li Chang'an was busy, his efforts as frantic as ants scurrying before a rainstorm.

The greatest genius of the Great Song Dynasty, the most magnetic figure of the Yingzong era, Su Shi, had posted a public notice announcing the formation of an academic society. The moment the news broke, Bianjing was in an uproar.

Who? Su Zizhan? Doing what? Starting an academic society? To be able to study alongside Su Shi, to seek his guidance day and night, perhaps even to become his friend? It was a must-attend event; one would pay any price to get in. After all, it wasn't as if one could dig Li Bai out of his grave, could they?

Immortality and cultivation were extravagant and unrealistic dreams, but leaving one's name in history and achieving a legacy that would last for generations—that was something truly attainable. Ask yourself: without Li Bai, how many people would remember Wang Lun? One didn't need Su Ge to write a poem for them; it was enough that, centuries later, people would mention Su Shi and say he once founded an academic society. One could easily doctor a family genealogy later, claiming to be an intimate friend of the master. Everyone was well-versed in the art of basking in the glow of a sage.

By the day the news spread, the roads near the official residence were completely paralyzed. The Kaifeng Prefecture dispatched dozens of yamen runners, who could only stand by and sigh in frustration.

"Is Su Zizhan handing out gold?"

Soon, the event spiraled into a festival. The people of the Song were fond of excitement—they would invent a holiday for something as trivial as a prince’s birthday. Su Zizhan taking on students, Su Zizhan opening a school, Su Zizhan getting married...

"Wait, isn't Su Zizhan already in his thirties with children who are nearly grown?"

"Don't ask me, just buy a copy of the collected works of Master Su. It’s not expensive, only thirty wen..."

"Get your Sichuan brocade here! Sichuan brocade, the very kind Su Zizhan loves most!"

In the end, those who hadn't received an invitation began to doubt the truth of the situation. "Is Master Su really getting married? Is it to a princess or a duchess?" "Is the *List of Influential Figures* returning to the public eye? Surely they aren't making all this noise just to recruit people to study, are they?"

Su Shi only occupied a corner of the official residence, a space of three or four rooms, yet the entire courtyard was packed with scholars who had come to seek his reputation. The other officials living there eventually gave up and decided to just help Master Su. They set up tables, ground ink, sharpened brushes, and began registering, interviewing, and collecting documents.

Soon, the official residence meant for visiting dignitaries in Bianjing had transformed into an examination site.

"I am Chen Lu, courtesy name Gongjin, from Linzi, currently a candidate for the Hanlin Academy. I have long admired Master Su. I am skilled in agriculture, and my family owns a hundred qing of land..."

"I am Cai Jing, courtesy name Yuanzhang, from Xianyou, currently a student at the Imperial Academy. My primary classic is the *Book of Documents*, and I am quite capable in poetry. Here is my portfolio..."

Cai Jing was a busy man, balancing his studies with a watchful eye on societal shifts. Yesterday, he had signed up for the Economic Research Bureau being established by the Southeast tycoon Qian Weiming, and today he was attending Su Shi’s recruitment. In the Great Song, one could not succeed without connections. He knew his own background was of little help, and as someone from a remote region, he had to learn to lower his status.

The registrar filled out a form, asked Cai Jing for his address, and gave him an interview slot. Indeed, in a Great Song where the literacy rate was less than 3%, Su Shi’s recruitment was already overcrowded.

Hearing that Su Shi was in trouble, the Ministry of Rites waved its hand, ordering all idle junior officials to go and assist. Since the official residence could not hold them, they would vacate the Confucian Temple. The society would not be a private one; Master Su was the banner of the Ministry of Rites, and they would provide the endorsement. They allocated a space, provided all the paper and ink, and even stuffed in a group of young scholars to enhance their training.

The Ministry of Revenue, seeing this, realized the Ministry of Rites was poaching their talent. Su Zizhan had recently published *Studies on Land* and *Eight Chapters on Agriculture*; he was clearly a talent for the Ministry of Revenue and should eventually lead it. Why go to the Confucian Temple? It was spacious but lacked offices. The Ministry of Revenue had no shortage of space; they chose the best tavern, cleared it out, and set it up as an office for Master Su. One could not study on an empty stomach, so they sent over three thousand catties of white rice and hundreds of catties of cured meat. They promised a monthly budget of two hundred guan, provided the Ministry of Revenue received the society's research results first.

The battle for talent was imminent, and even the palace was stirred. The Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Emperor Zhao Xu were all inquiring: Was Su Shi really divorcing his wife to remarry? Did the royal family have the honor of taking him as a son-in-law? Oh, he was starting an academic society? Researching what? New policies and administrative reforms? That was fine, all good things. They had to support it. Since so many scholars were gathering, they surely needed a venue—the royal family had seven or eight gardens. Tell Su Shi he could pick any place he liked, as long as it wasn't the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The only requirement: could he add a few members of the imperial clan to his group?

Wang Fu, having come from a prominent family, had seen it all—she had even endured the scene of a thousand people seeing off her father-in-law after his passing. Yet, coming from a small town, she had never experienced such an onslaught. Was there nothing for the scholars of the city to do? Why were they all running to her home? Her husband had a long face—what exactly was so attractive about him?

She couldn't stay at home; there was no room to move, and she had lost track of her son three times in one morning. Her two uncles weren't there, and there were no relatives to help. She decided to take her child and go find her "little long-faced" husband; otherwise, the society wouldn't be formed, and she would lose her child in the process.

Upon reaching Li Chang'an's place, Wang Fu took one look and immediately told the carriage driver to head to an inn. This place was no better than her home; there were more people here than at the Daxiangguo Temple. One might have thought some great master was about to preach.

Li Chang'an sat high on a platform, speaking with merchants one by one. The Huimin Bank was accepting "Green Sprout" loans at an interest rate of one and a half percent. As long as one had the official government papers, they would accept as many as possible, ensuring no merchant suffered unnecessary losses. But there was a condition: all who deposited money at Huimin Bank must join the Chamber of Commerce. This was not a financial association, but a guild composed entirely of small business owners, specifically designed to cope with the new reforms.

First, all members must subscribe to the soon-to-be-published *Great Song Economic Weekly*. Second, when hiring shop assistants, they must give priority to the various talents trained by Li Chang'an. Third, they must accept the coordinator's guidance to avoid malicious competition, purify the market environment, and improve service levels.

Li the God of Wealth was Li Chang'an; everyone had nothing to worry about. If he could turn a down-and-out person into a tycoon, would he scam them? "Long live President Li!" The "Green Sprout" loan had a two percent interest rate, and now that the "Immortal Li" was covering one and a half percent, they could surely scrape together the remaining half percent. They would go home and paint a portrait of Immortal Li and offer incense daily. Without him, their families would be bankrupt. As for the newspaper subscription, as long as they had a bowl of porridge left, they would support Immortal Li’s venture. As for hiring, that went without saying—as long as they could get them, they would prioritize those trained by the Immortal.

Fortunately, this estate of the Duke of Cao was in the East Suburb, or the roads there would have been paralyzed as well.

For five consecutive days, the imperial court debates were filled with the clash of steel, and the city of Bianjing was turned upside down by these few young men. The ministers finally had to compromise. With the Empress Dowager regent and the Emperor still young, who dared to wield sole power? Did they want to be Wang Mang? If not, then they would sit down and discuss, dividing the power and sharing it among everyone.

Finally, Empress Dowager Cao nodded in agreement, and Emperor Zhao Xu issued an edict: Everything was approved. The ministers would work together to prosper the Great Song!