Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 118: Carrying the coffin to send off
Zhang Dai didn't go out for a stroll today. He took a nap until noon, then got up, washed up, ate breakfast, and then read books and did exercises.

After finishing the homework left by Zhang Shuo, it was still early when a servant came to report that an official from the inner palace had come to visit. It was Li Guang, the official in charge of the Eastern Capital's guards, who had been arranged by Consort Wu Hui to help out the day before.

Besides himself, Li Guang also brought several male and female palace servants. Upon seeing Zhang Dai, they bowed and said, "By order of Consort Hui, we will serve under you from this day forward. These Xi people each have their own skills, and you may use them all."

In ancient times, both men and women who committed crimes and were confiscated by the authorities were called slaves, while those with few skills or talents were called xi.

The Xi Guanling was in charge of all the artisans and craftsmen in the palace. However, during this period, the number of palace officials was exceeded. They were called Lixing or Tongzhengyuan, and often seven or eight people shared one position. This was simply because the senior eunuchs formed cliques and made promises of official positions, resulting in an overstaffing.

Although Li Guang was officially employed, he did not hold any specific responsibilities within the palace. Therefore, he was sent by Consort Wu Hui to assist Zhang Dai. Zhang Dai naturally dared not employ palace servants or eunuchs, so Li Guang was essentially sent out to handle official business, and the palace servants were considered his subordinates.

In addition to reporting, Li Guang said, "Consort Hui knows that if you, my lord, are to carry out the charity work in Yifang, you will need a place to store and transport materials. Fortunately, the Right Treasury of the Taifu Temple has a vacant residence in Wenluofang, which is located next to the canal and is convenient for entry and exit. Now, it is granted to you to assist in the work."

Although the emperor emphasized that Consort Wu Hui should not have too much of a presence in this matter, Consort Wu Hui still took it very seriously and even prepared the venue for the event.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was also delighted. He took the land deed presented by Li Guang and discovered that the residence covered an area of ​​nearly thirty acres. He couldn't help but admire his aunt's generosity.

The canal connects to the waterways outside the city, flowing through the neighborhoods and into the city, reaching Xintan. Both banks are bustling areas where people and goods gather, making the land incredibly valuable. If one could open a warehouse or inn on either side of the canal, they could simply sit back and collect money.

Although Zhang Dai only had the right to use this inn and could not sell or rent it out for profit at will, having such a wharf warehouse to use would still bring him great convenience.

Zhang Dai made this suggestion to Consort Wu Hui not only to promote her or help the disaster victims, but also to use this opportunity to build a capable and efficient personnel team that would obey his orders.

Once such a team is established, it can not only handle this one thing, but also be used for other personnel plans in the future, from small-scale business activities to large-scale ones.

So he first arranged for Zhang Yi to take a few of his servants and go with Li Guang to Wenluofang to take over the residence, and Li Guang and the others were temporarily settled there as well.

Setting up textile charity workshops in disaster-stricken areas is no small matter, especially given the rapid spread of the disaster. The faster the efforts are implemented, the more people can be helped. Especially now that autumn is approaching, it won't be long before many disaster victims are facing hunger and cold.

Zhang also stated last night that if the outcome of his audience with the emperor today is positive, he would offer some personnel assistance. While this year's disaster is undoubtedly a natural calamity, it was exacerbated by the Fengshan ceremony. Providing some assistance to the disaster area would not only accumulate merit but also avert further calamity.

As evening fell, Zhang Shuo and his son returned. When Zhang Dai came out to greet them, he saw that his father's expression was somewhat unfriendly, and he looked at Zhang Shuo with some confusion.

Before he could speak, Zhang Jun stepped forward and said, "A-Liu, Zongzhi, your grandfather values ​​you the most. Please beg your grandfather not to send me to a post in another prefecture! My wife is pregnant and about to give birth, and my two children are still young. If I go away, I don't know when I will be able to return..."

Hearing his pitiful words, Zhang Dai quickly asked, "Where is Father going?"

"Your grandfather requested that I be appointed as the Prefectural Governor of Zhengzhou!"

Zhang Jun dared not disobey his father again, but his tone was full of dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai rolled his eyes. Damn it, he was so happy for nothing. He thought this guy was going to be exiled somewhere, but it turned out he was just a short walk from home.

Zhengzhou and Henan Prefecture are separated only by the Sishui Pass. Moreover, as one of the six powerful prefectures, an ordinary person would be overjoyed to be appointed here. However, Zhang Jun looked like he was about to die. This guy was purely spoiled by his father!
"Does Father not understand Grandfather's good intentions? Now that our family has lost power, it is difficult to escape the infighting in the court. But if we go to a major state, personally handle affairs, accumulate experience and reputation, and become known as a capable minister, our official career will surely be smoother and more prominent next year!"

At this point, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a little envious of his father: "Father is not yet forty years old, and he has already been appointed as the assistant governor of Xiong Prefecture. Who can match him in this regard? Moreover, although Zheng Prefecture is close to the disaster area, it has not suffered much damage. As long as he can work diligently and help the surrounding prefectures to properly deal with the disaster, he will surely be highly regarded in next year's performance evaluation. What is there to worry about but not being able to return to the capital?"

Although Zhang was disappointed in his son, he still hoped that he could achieve something in his career, and his request for him to take up a post in Zhengzhou was based on this idea that Zhang Dai had mentioned.

Zhang Jun lamented all the way, refusing to take up the post of prefectural assistant and only wanting to stay in the court. Naturally, he did not understand this meaning. Zhang Dai, on the other hand, immediately understood Zhang Shuo's intention upon hearing it, which made Zhang Shuo even angrier.

He pointed at Zhang Jun and said angrily, "Is this an appointment bestowed by the Emperor, allowing you to pick and choose? The imperial decree has already been issued. Even if you suddenly die of illness tonight, your son will be sent to Zhengzhou in your coffin tomorrow! If you have no achievements to show after entering the prefecture, there's no need to say who your father is; you're just a good-for-nothing without parental guidance!" After being glared at and scolded by his father, Zhang Jun finally became obedient.

When he was appointed as a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat, he considered himself the successor to his father's position and dared to disobey his father. But now that he has been exiled to another prefecture and his return depends on his father's will, he naturally dares not argue or provoke him anymore.

Previously, Zhang Shuo had been careful to save face for Zhang Jun in front of the younger generation, but as more and more of this guy's shortcomings were exposed and the gap between his descendants widened, especially after the last time the grandfather and grandson beat up Zhang Jun together, Zhang Shuo became too lazy to hide it anymore.

He dismissed Zhang Jun and told him to go back to his room to pack his belongings and prepare to take up his post. Then he led Zhang Dai into the study and, after they were seated, said, "Yin's son-in-law, Li Cheng, has been appointed as the Commissioner of Henan for the Recovery of Stolen Goods, Patrol of Dikes, and Management of Mulberry Trees. He is to recover the stolen goods accumulated in various prefectures since the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era and use them as capital for the management of mulberry trees. You folks who do good deeds, help with disaster relief, and provide assistance should also be subject to his arrangements. When he comes to say goodbye tomorrow, you can discuss your plans with him in detail."

Li Cheng was the son-in-law of Yin Xingzhen, Zhang Shuo's brother-in-law, and also a financial official who served as a judge under Yuwen Rong for many years.

When Zhang Dai heard the titles of various envoys, he always felt they were somewhat improper. In the early Tang Dynasty, envoys were appointed for various matters and dismissed after the matter was resolved. There were many titles of envoys, and many of them clearly indicated what kind of work they were doing.

Li Cheng's duties included patrolling the dikes, which was a natural thing after a disaster. However, the fact that he linked the recovery of stolen goods with the management of mulberry trees was somewhat unexpected.

Zhang Dai guessed that the central government's finances were also extremely tight after the Fengshan ceremony. The previous heavy rains had disrupted the transportation of taxes from various prefectures. After thinking for a long time, he remembered that in order to maintain a facade of peace during the preparations for the Fengshan ceremony, criminal cases in various prefectures were not thoroughly investigated. Now, those backlog cases were being reopened, and the stolen goods found in these cases were being used to support disaster relief.

This kind of haphazard approach of scrambling to solve problems and robbing Peter to pay Paul was actually quite common in the early Tang Dynasty, giving it a strong impression of being a makeshift operation.

Ultimately, the reason is that the Tang Dynasty's administrative structure and financial system, while seemingly dignified, were actually somewhat detached from reality.

Now the imperial court has specially set up an envoy to supervise and promote this matter, which is much more convenient.

If Zhang Dai were to arrange for people to go to the disaster area to build those memorial arches, he would have to negotiate with local officials and obtain government support. Given the different situations in different places and the lack of a unified standard, the process would naturally be slow.

But things are much easier now. All we need to do is connect with Li Cheng, the special envoy, and then Li Cheng can request resources from the local government to cooperate. This way, things can be rolled out more efficiently in the disaster area, allowing more disaster victims to receive aid more quickly.

"What help do you need? Just tell me, whether it's a person or a thing. Your grandfather accumulated half a lifetime's worth of wealth, but he didn't give it to the younger generation. Who else will he pass it on to?"

Zhang Shuo looked at Zhang Dai with a kind expression and said that he had been troubled for a long time, and although his comrades had also tried their best, they still could not win him the opportunity to return to the court. But now Zhang Dai had only visited a relative and helped him get this done.

Recalling the astonished looks on the faces of the court officials when he entered and left the capital, Zhang felt as sweet as if he had drunk honey. Even if this kid asked him now whether his heart was red or black, he would be happy to take it out and let his grandson admire it!

Zhang Dai certainly needed manpower, especially some talented people skilled in calligraphy and mathematics. He also had to prepare for the imperial examinations, expedite the construction of the memorial archway, and the 500,000 strings of cash invested by the Lady of Yunyang County couldn't just sit there; it needed to be withdrawn and spent as soon as possible.

So he asked for a few clerks, and Zhang readily agreed, saying that his family had relatives and students skilled in these things, and if his grandson needed them, he could simply send them over.

“In my spare time, I would like to visit the famous temples and ancient monasteries in the capital region. Does your father know any eminent monks or Dharma masters who can act as guides?”

He was a manager, setting up weaving workshops for disaster relief and formulating a profit-sharing plan. However, investing in temples and selling insurance for palace servants were his own business, which Zhang Dai naturally cared about more.

He plans to take advantage of his free time to visit the temples in Luoyang, investigate their respective operations, and choose a suitable one to invest in in order to officially start his own business.

“One may dabble in matters of monks and Taoists to nourish one’s mind and character, but one should not become overly obsessed with them or distance oneself from one’s artistic talents.”

Zhang first offered a reminder, then after thinking for a moment, he said, “Great monks and virtuous masters are mostly studying Buddhism and practicing Zen to understand their true nature. Who has the leisure to take you to visit temples? Master Yi Xing is a famous monk in the country, and all the monks in Luoyang’s temples admire him. I will ask him for a Buddhist scroll for you tomorrow. With it, you can freely visit all the temples, and no one will dare to stop you.”

"Third Thich Nhat Hanh? Is he the high monk who compiled the new calendar?"

Zhang Dai was shocked to hear this. He just wanted to find someone in the industry to help him understand the inside story, but he didn't expect his grandfather to bring out such a big shot for him!
(End of this chapter)