Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 253 Everything Goes Well in Caozhou
"Liu Yan, are you Guorui Liu Yan?"

Zhang Dai looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Although Liu Yan was young, he was well-mannered. Upon hearing this, he bowed even deeper and lowered his head: "Lord Yan is too kind. I am humbled by such praise! Zhang Lang is truly loyal and upright, a real savior of the nation! I am grateful and admire him for bringing such valuable goods into the country and spreading his virtuous deeds to the local people!"

"You two are both rare young talents, outstanding in your hometown and promising talents for the nation. Your virtuous character is already well-known, and you will surely benefit the country even more next year!"

Li Daosui listened to their exchange and chuckled as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He couldn't say for sure about himself, but Liu Yan in front of him was definitely one of the top ministers of the Tang Dynasty, just like Li Mi, the Marquis of Ye. Liu Yan's contribution to the continuation of the country after the An Lushan Rebellion was truly indispensable!
Looking at the dignified and polite young man Liu Yan, Zhang Dai couldn't help but shift his gaze to Nan Jiyun, who was diligently distributing porridge in the crowd, and felt as if he had traveled through time.

Even though it was still the early period of the Tang Dynasty, famous figures from the mid-Tang period, such as Nan Jiyun who defended Suiyang to the death and Liu Yan who turned the tide, all came into his view one after another, which stirred up his emotions.

Although Caozhou is suffering from the disaster and people are struggling, they still hold onto hope amidst their grief.

After receiving porridge and rice to fill their stomachs, some of the disaster victims, upon learning that Zhang Dai was the true savior, came in groups of three or five to meet him in person, bowing and saying, "Last year the weather was terrible, and all farming was ruined. We were able to survive thanks to your generous porridge and rice. After the autumn harvest, we will definitely bring it back to express our gratitude!"

Zhang Dai nodded repeatedly in response to these heartfelt words of gratitude. He had already made numerous arrangements and plans in Luoyang last year, but the feeling was vastly different from being on the scene directly providing rescue. Every smile and every expression of gratitude from the people filled him with immense satisfaction.

Xue Yi, who had previously complained about the appalling conditions and his desire to return to Luoyang, was no longer in tears. Instead, he mingled in the porridge distribution line, loudly demanding order while repeatedly ordering the state officials to distribute more porridge.

Yingnu, dressed in men's clothing, stood outside the crowd, looking somewhat nervously on tiptoe as she peered into the crowd. Zhang Dai stepped forward and asked with a smile, "Do you remember where you live and the names of your family? May I ask Magistrate Li to search for them for you?"

“This is my own private matter, how dare I trouble the governor of the prefecture! I was still young when I was abducted. I only remember that there was a river bend behind the village, my mother liked to go into the peach grove to sweep the flowers to make rouge, and I had a brother named Gou'er…”

Yingnu frowned, and could only come up with these thoughts. Seeing that Zhang Dai also looked troubled, she quickly forced a smile and said, "It's just an unrealistic wish. We were separated back then, and our fate was over. Now that I've returned to my hometown and seen my fellow villagers being rescued, I feel I have made a contribution. Consider it an act of filial piety."

Hearing the girl's open-mindedness, Zhang Dai patted her on the shoulder to comfort her. In ancient times, communication was inconvenient, and it was not easy to find relatives who had been separated for many years, especially without a clear target. Bringing her here could be considered as fulfilling a long-held wish in the girl's heart.

The porridge distribution outside the city attracted even more people, numbering in the thousands, including men, women, and children. Judging by the scale of the distribution, it seemed that the porridge would not be finished even after nightfall. Therefore, Zhang Dai and his group went into the city first.

The weaving workshops in Caozhou were located in the city, and in terms of living conditions alone, they were the best among all the prefectures. The workshops employed more than 1,500 people, all of whom, as Li Daosui had said, were weavers from within Caozhou.

In addition to regular taxes such as rent and tribute, each prefecture also had to pay a portion of local tribute annually, which was basically the specialty products of the prefecture. As Li Daosui said, Qi Wan and Lu Gao were high-end silk fabrics from the Qi and Lu regions. Caozhou was located west of the road, so it also had to pay tribute of some silk fabrics.

These fabrics were not usually purchased from the market, but were woven by skilled craftsmen organized within the state and presented as tribute. The so-called weavers were the families who produced such tribute items.

Due to limited manpower, Zhang Dai only arranged for Li Guang to bring some goods to Caozhou to build weaving workshops, and did not arrange for anyone to manage them afterward. Therefore, the weaving workshops here were actually entrusted to the state government.

Upon his arrival, Zhang Dai discovered that the prefectural government had managed the weaving workshops quite well. The weavers' lives and production were orderly, and the accounts were kept very clear. Clearly, the prefectural government was not just going through the motions, but was genuinely taking care of it.

"Zongzhi, come in and see for yourself. This place houses all the artifacts created since the establishment of the weaving workshop."

Li Daosui led Zhang Dai to the warehouse of the weaving workshop and showed him the fruits of the weavers' labor. The first thing that caught his eye was a large, heavy piece of fabric, bright reddish-yellow in color, with many winding lines. When Zhang Dai went closer to take a look, he found that the text of the Tao Te Ching was embroidered on the fabric!

"This 'Tao Te Ching' quilt cover can be taken back to Luoyang by Zongzhi and presented to the Sage. There are also other items such as the 'Maitreya Sutra' prayer curtain made for Consort Hui, which were all made by the weavers with gratitude and piety. They also need to be presented to the Emperor through Zongzhi's hands!"

As Li Daosui introduced things to Zhang Dai, his eyes were bright and full of anticipation.

Zhang Dai frowned slightly when he saw these meticulously woven products. His original intention in building the weaving workshop was to enable the weavers to support themselves and help the young. The cloth produced by the workshop was to be directly invested in the workshop to maintain its daily expenses.

However, Li Daosui recruited a group of skilled craftsmen to engage in these flashy but impractical projects, which undoubtedly went against his original intentions. He understood Li Daosui's intentions, hoping to gain more attention through this flattery. If it pleased the emperor, he might be able to allocate more relief supplies to Caozhou, which would be much more profitable than simply weaving brocade to cover expenses.

However, given the widespread disasters in Henan and Hebei, the imperial court could only mobilize so many personnel and resources in the near future. What was needed in one place would be scarce elsewhere. The establishment of the Yizao Textile Workshop was a self-rescue plan undertaken under these circumstances.

Li Daosui turned it into a sycophantic, superficial project. Even if it secured more aid, it distorted the true purpose of the matter. If all the prefectures made this their profession, the realities would be ignored, and whoever could flatter the best would benefit the most—isn't that absurd?

Now he understood why Li Daosui had brought all the weavers into the weaving workshops. It wasn't to make the workshops more profitable, but to preserve the high-quality production capacity within the state and prevent these skilled weavers from leaving.

Realizing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He didn't directly express his dissatisfaction, but instead praised Li Daosui's ingenious idea. He then said, "This time when we enter the prefecture, we bring 10,000 shi of grain and enough money and silk. Apart from paying the government to help with disaster relief, we will use the rest to build a large mulberry forest, hoping that the weaving workshops can benefit the people even more."

Although Consort Hui was reluctant to interfere in state affairs, knowing the severity of the disaster suffered by the people of Caozhou, she still wished to do her utmost to help them. Therefore, on my journey, Consort Hui generously donated her entire dowry. This benevolent heart is not afraid of being known, so I also wish to commemorate this event with a stele within the territory. What does Lord Dai think?

"To erect a monument? Shouldn't this be reported to the imperial court?"

Upon hearing this, Li Daosui's expression changed slightly. Flattering Consort Hui in private was one thing, but to have it recorded on a stone tablet was something he hesitated about. After all, as a member of the Li Tang imperial family, whose clan had experienced the turmoil of the reigns of Empress Wu and Empress Wei, he was naturally wary.

"That is only right. It is a beneficial matter to enter the prefecture, and we would not want to make things difficult for Lord Dai. The inscription has already been drafted, but we will still need Lord Dai to write a letter to request instructions."

Zhang Dai handed an inscription to Li Daosui and then took out a rubbing, saying to him, "There are some appropriate aspects to this matter. A rubbing has already been made in Bianzhou and returned to Qi. However, Lord Dai is more cautious in his dealings, and I dare not take advantage of his kindness to deceive him. It is not too late to make the rubbing after everything is settled."

"So, Bianzhou is already... Actually, there's no need for such a roundabout way, since everyone knows about Consort Hui's kindness."

Li Daosui took the rubbing and glanced at it quickly, his expression changing slightly. Everything in Caozhou was in disarray, and he didn't want to stay a moment longer. Naturally, he didn't want to offend Consort Hui at this crucial moment. Seeing that his old colleague Yuan Fu was so enthusiastic, he went along with it.

If Li Daosui were truly a good official wholeheartedly serving the people, Zhang Dai wouldn't want to deceive him like this. However, seeing that this fellow was using his weaving workshop's affairs to curry favor, he felt no qualms about it. Everyone has their own agenda; let's seek common ground while respecting differences.

His erection of the monument and emphasis on the existence of Consort Wu Hui was also a way to bypass the prefectural government and build a new weaving workshop. This new workshop could be left to the government to operate, while he would use his own money and effort to build another new workshop to help ordinary women and children.

Although Li Daosui was cunning, he was very supportive of his disaster relief efforts. He quickly designated a piece of land outside the city as a site for building a new weaving workshop and dispatched state officials to search for impoverished women and children within the territory and send them there. He was much more proactive than the perfunctory Bianzhou state government.

In addition, he designated a large area along the Bian Canal within his territory as a site for planting mulberry trees, and also provided Zhang Dai with a crucial support: allocating more than a dozen government-built cargo ships to the Caozhou textile workshops for the purpose of transporting goods along the Bian Canal. Currently, with everything in Caozhou at a standstill, these ships have been idle for a long time.

In this way, Zhang Dai not only had boats but also the qualifications to operate them. He only needed to recruit enough boatmen to immediately form a transport fleet that operated along the Bian Canal!
Li Daosui's act of facilitating this effort was undoubtedly intended to make it easier for Zhang Dai to transport supplies to Caozhou to help with disaster relief. And this did indeed provide Zhang Dai with great convenience. Although Caozhou was not as centrally located as Bianzhou, it was still of great importance in Henan's logistics and transportation network, connecting Qingzhou and Yanzhou to the east and Xuzhou and Sizhou to the south.

Moreover, local protectionism regarding canal transport resources is very serious. Unless one is a powerful local family or has a strong background with the government, it is generally difficult to get involved.

Even though Wang Yuanbao was wealthy and had been a merchant for many years, he only set up some warehouses and properties in various states, but did not have his own logistics and transportation team. This was because he did not have strong support from local governments and could not get a share of the profits from the canal transport.

While his patron Wang Maozhong was indeed a figure in the court, he was practically nothing in the provinces. No one would fear the Northern Imperial Guards leaving the capital to surround and kill him. If that were to happen, the world would likely have descended into chaos long ago.

With Li Daosui's support, Zhang Dai can start by building a logistics team in Caozhou, and gradually develop it into a complete network as its influence in other areas deepens.

After all, Yuanfu couldn't possibly die in Bianzhou. Once he leaves office, he could try to secure some positions in the Bianzhou prefecture.

With a fleet in hand, recruitment naturally became necessary. So, on the eve of his departure from Caozhou, Zhang Dai invited Nan Jiyun to formally discuss matters with him.

(End of this chapter)