Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 125 Why Did the Yuyang War Drums Originate?

Although Zhang Shuo hated Yuwen Rong to the core, Zhang Dai didn't harbor much resentment towards him and wasn't averse to contacting him. Moreover, what he was doing now was the same as the task Yuwen Rong was undertaking—both were aimed at providing relief to disaster victims and controlling the disaster.

Hearing Li Cheng say this, Zhang Dai nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, "I still have a surplus of money and silk, but the procurement of supplies is still not progressing quickly. If there are any usable items left in the treasuries of various regions within the capital region, I can purchase them here at market prices!"

Although Luoyang is a thriving commercial center, the supplies used for disaster relief are often basic necessities, which are not strongly associated with commodities and are therefore difficult to acquire in the market.

For items like spinning wheels and looms needed by a weaving workshop, you could easily make a dozen or twenty, but if you need tens of thousands, where would you find so many in such a hurry?

The Tang Dynasty's tax system of rent, labor service, and taxation involved collecting taxes in kind. In addition, the local tributes from various prefectures were also based on local resources. As a result, the official warehouses stored a wide variety of surplus and waste materials. These warehouse materials were scattered among the warehouses of various government departments, making them difficult to count. Some of them had accumulated over many years and eventually became waste.

Even for the most urgent disaster relief supplies, the government will use designated warehouses to transport them, which improves efficiency, facilitates oversight, and saves administrative costs. Other government departments not directly involved will not be requisitioned or dispatched.

Zhang Dai, having money to spare, set his sights on the surplus funds in the treasuries of various departments. Li Cheng, besides his official post, also served in the Ministry of Revenue, essentially acting as a spy within the enemy camp. His annual expenditure accounting required dealing with various departments, making him the most suitable person to handle this matter.

After Zhang Dai demonstrated his strength, Li Cheng no longer regarded him as a fool. Upon hearing this, he quickly nodded and said, "This is a small matter. Recently, Vice Minister Yuwen also ordered all departments in the court to send copies of the treasury records to the Ministry of Revenue so as to integrate the altered records."

After I return, I will make a copy of the ledger and send it to you. You can use this to visit the various government offices. Their treasuries have surplus stockpiled and have no use for it. If you take the money to buy it, they will be eager to get it!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but admire Yuwen Rong's competence as a finance official. He was able to thoroughly investigate the imperial granary and financial system, which naturally made him more efficient in his work.

Unfortunately, his successors went astray, no longer focusing on government financial management, but instead trying to plunder the people's money. The only one implemented by Li Linfu, the "Long-Term Decree," certainly made considerable efforts in the administrative aspects of expenditure, but the side effects and costs were enormous.

The "Changxingzhi" refers to the annual expenditures and accounting entries such as "rent and labor service, labor service, grain purchase, miscellaneous expenses, spring gifts, and tax rations." The relatively stable items were fixed, and the system was adapted to changes in circumstances to ensure convenience, so as to achieve the goal of making the system known and the administration consistent.

Historical records indicate that originally, the annual expenditure accounting required more than 500,000 sheets of paper. After the promulgation of the "Changxing Decree," each prefecture only needed one or two sheets. This seemed to be a remarkable achievement, and was therefore often praised.

The question is, what kind of era was it from the late Kaiyuan period to the Tianbao era?
Social development began to stagnate, various contradictions accumulated rapidly, the flow of people and the annexation of land intensified, the political ecology was very different from that in the early and middle periods of the Kaiyuan era, the situation on the frontier was changing rapidly, and military investment increased year by year.

Take Fanyang, where An Lushan was located, for example. After entering the Tianbao era, the various changes that occurred every year, and the resulting variables reflected in the finances, could not be explained in just one or two pieces of paper each year.
An Lushan's thousands of adopted sons were dragged down the river. Their armor, weapons, and military supplies must have cost countless sheets of paper.

The government's fiscal budget report, which requires 500,000 sheets of paper to produce each year, can be made so concisely in a single document. What does this tell us?
This shows that all kinds of social changes that could have been reflected in the fiscal budget were intercepted at the local level by a single "Long-term Decree"!
Local counties and prefectures, as long as your administrative affairs fall within the scope of the imperial edicts, do not need to report to the emperor. Just implement and manage them according to this established procedure.

The amount of information exchanged between the higher and lower levels of administration has decreased sharply, while the activities of those who exploit others have become unusually active.

What is the "Long Journey Edict" equivalent to? It's like being given an anesthetic injection, allowing the fat pig of the Tang Dynasty to be slaughtered at will, without knowing how to resist.

Therefore, by the Tianbao era, it could be seen that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, along with the central court officials, were frighteningly slow to perceive changes in the world.

They had no idea what kind of Tang Dynasty it was now, and were still immersed in the dream of "both public and private granaries being full". As a result, "the drums of Yuyang shook the earth, shattering the 'Rainbow Feather Garment Dance'!"
While the imbalance between local and central power structures in the Tang Dynasty cannot be entirely attributed to the "Changxingzhi" (a set of edicts), its emergence caused the government's fiscal expenditures to lose their original objectivity, specificity, and comprehensiveness.

Furthermore, the military governors of various towns often held multiple positions and wielded various powers, turning these places into black holes!
The Tang Dynasty that Li Linfu inherited was by no means a dying dynasty on the verge of collapse. He served as prime minister for nineteen years, enough time for Yuwen Rong to be reincarnated and become a hero.

In the end, the country fell into such a state, and some people still think that Li Linfu was painstakingly trying to cover up the truth. Isn't that insane? The only thing this guy was better than Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was that he died when he was supposed to.

As for the world now, if he doesn't die when he should, Zhang Dai will find a chance to kill him. If good things can come in pairs, that would be wonderful!

Of course, these are all long-term plans. Right now, he still needs to try his best to raise enough supplies to send to the disaster area in Henan.

Hearing that Zhang Dai had this need, Zheng Yan, who was standing nearby, also spoke up and said, "Many of the Ministry of Justice's granaries have been storing stolen goods for a long time. Zongzhi, what do you need? You can compile a list, and I will help you check it."

Zhang Dai was even more delighted upon hearing this; indeed, having connections in the court made things much easier. Born into an official family, he had access to a wealth of social resources. Of course, Zhang Dai wasn't seeking personal gain; he simply hoped this advantage would more effectively advance disaster relief efforts.

As dusk approached, Li Cheng took his leave after reviewing Zhang Dai's plans and preparations, while Zheng Yan accompanied Zhang Dai to the Zhang family mansion in Kangsufang.

“My uncle is my elder brother. If he has any requests, and if I can do them, I certainly won’t refuse!” Zhang Dai said with a smile when he saw him hesitate. He was happy to get along well with all of Zhang’s relatives and friends, except for Zhang Jun and his wife.

“Since you, Zongzhi, have said so, then I will not hesitate any longer. Although we are elders, I have failed to take care of you in the past. Now that my son is strong, he has come to ask for my help, and I am truly ashamed. But apart from Liulang, I cannot find any other more suitable candidate for this matter.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yan said, "Zongzhi should know Wang Yuanbao from Chang'an. He is currently handling the flying money business for various powerful families, and it is said that this matter was actually due to your brilliant plan, Zongzhi."

Nowadays, the practice of "flying money" (a metaphor for bribery or corruption) is no secret in the two capitals. However, apart from the few families involved, others are unaware of Zhang Dai's position within it. He holds shares on behalf of Consort Hui, a fact known only to his grandfather and other family members.

"I do have some connection with Wang Er. Does my uncle need his help?"

Zhang Dai then said with a smile.

"It's like this, recently my family wanted to buy property in Nanshi, but seeing that Wang's Pawnshop was doing poorly, we made some plans. Stockpiling goods, hiring staff, and various other expenses have added up to tens of thousands of strings of cash..."

When Zheng Yan talked about this, his expression became somewhat embarrassed again.

The family you're talking about, you're not yourself, are you?
Seeing his appearance, Zhang Dai secretly complained to himself, and when he heard this, he understood what was going on.

Recently, seeing Wang Yuanbao's difficult situation, the businessmen of Nanshi were all eager to take advantage of his misfortune and divide up his investments in Nanshi. However, they did not expect that the flying money incident would bring Wang Yuanbao back from the brink of death.

The preparations of these merchants from the southern city naturally fell through. Some of the more aggressive ones had already made significant initial investments, and now they were facing the prospect of losing everything. Clearly, Zheng Yan's family, or rather he himself, was facing such a predicament.

“My family has stockpiled a lot of flashy items, and with prices already plummeting, they’ll be even harder to sell quickly if we don’t go to busy downtown areas. So I’d like to ask Zongzhi if he could ask Wang Yuanbao to let us rent a shop from him for short-term business?”

Zheng Yan's official position was obtained suddenly during the Fengshan ceremony, and his network of connections was not particularly deep. Now that his father-in-law had just returned to the court, he was even less likely to pay attention to Zheng Yan's trivial matter of losing money on an investment. Only after learning about the relationship between Zhang Dai and Wang Yuanbao did he bite the bullet and ask for help.

Seeing Zhang Dai's thoughtful expression, he quickly said, "This is not a family matter, and we should not trouble Zongzhi. If things can be accomplished, I will also instruct my family to provide enough rent money so as not to cause you any trouble, Zongzhi. If it cannot be accomplished, there is no need to force it, but I am still very grateful to you, Zongzhi, for your kind words."

Zhang Dai's status in the Zhang family rose steadily through his own efforts, to the point that even the elders had to politely ask him for help. This satisfied his vanity and also gave him hope of one day taking over the family affairs from his father.

“Since my uncle has spoken, let’s not talk about whether it will work out or not. I am away on official business, and my grandparents are already worried about me. I can’t let my aunt’s return home be without joy, and that would only add to their worries.”

After thinking for a moment, he said to Zheng Yan.

"It wasn't me, it was me... Anyway, thank you Zongzhi, thank you Zongzhi! If your cousins ​​were as outstanding as you, how proud our parents would be!"

Zheng Yan wanted to salvage his reputation, but ultimately gave up on that effort. His eyes were full of joy and gratitude as he looked at Zhang Dai, and he said repeatedly, "After returning home, I will also have several of my children follow in your footsteps. Even if they cannot learn a little bit of your talent, if you can remember their obedience, it will be a great opportunity for the young men to be helped in the future!"

He escorted Zhang Dai all the way back to the Zhang family mansion before refusing to stay and leaving in a hurry, seemingly to go home and take stock of the family's property.

Zhang Dai had just returned home when he was greeted by a trusted servant of his wife, Madam Zheng, who bowed to him and said, "Sixth Brother, you must be tired from your travels. Madam has prepared a meal for you. Please come and eat when you return."

"Don't go!"

He waved his hand and headed towards Jicui Tower. Going to Zheng's for dinner? He was joking, he was afraid of being poisoned!
However, when he returned to Jicui Tower, he found that Madam Zheng had already made her prediction and was waiting outside the tower with several maids and servants carrying food boxes, all with smiles on her face.

"Liu Lang is back! The food and wine that were just prepared are still warm. They were just delivered and are ready to eat."

Although the smile on Zheng's face was somewhat superficial, her demeanor was still quite amiable, and she even took the initiative to step forward to greet him.

(End of this chapter)