Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 333 Debt Collection at the Door

"What are you looking for, Ah Lang?"

Seeing Zhang Dai rummaging through the study, finding a large number of documents piled haphazardly on the desk, Aying quickly went over to ask him questions.

As Zhang Dai rummaged through the trunk, he frowned and said, "It's an IOU from last year. I put it away after bringing it home. Could it be that I left it at home in Luoyang and didn't bring it with me?"

"Last year? Which year? This study only contains documents from recent years; the rest are kept in another room."

Upon hearing this, Aying quickly added that Zhang Dai's daily poetry and prose writings, as well as his correspondence with colleagues and relatives, were all collected and organized by her. Every year, a considerable amount of paper was used, so she collected them in categories.

"It was brought back from Bianzhou in the middle of the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era!"

Zhang Dai usually doesn't care about such trivial matters, but he has a good memory of time. Now that he's about to do something big, he's naturally very anxious: "It's an IOU that Yuan Qianyaozi wrote for me. I'm going to find it and do something big!"

"The fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, it was right here!"

Ah Ying immediately turned around and went out to the side room next door. After opening the door, she began to search through the chests and cages one by one.

Zhang Dai followed him in and saw dozens of boxes and cages of various sizes filled with paper documents piled on the wooden frame. He couldn't help but marvel at how capable he was at making paper!
Is this the one?

Soon, Aying rummaged through the chest marked with the corresponding year and month and found a contract, which she handed to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai took it and saw that it was the IOU that Yuan Fu had written to him back in Bianzhou. He had originally intended to take the IOU to the Yuan family to collect the debt, but not long after that year, Yuan Qianyao was implicated by his son and dismissed from his post as prime minister, and then returned to Chang'an to serve as the governor of the capital.

Afterwards, although Zhang Dai also followed the emperor back to the capital, in addition to his own work, he also had to cooperate with Gao Lishi to reform the flying money system and build the flying money system in Bianzhou from scratch. He was so busy with other matters that he put this matter behind him.

He was still furious after being provoked by Li Linfu this time, which reminded him of this incident. Since Yuan Qianyao had helped Li Linfu steal his thunder, he certainly couldn't let Yuan Qianyao have it easy; it was time to settle this old score!

"Ah Ying is truly my wonderful wife!"

Zhang Dai carefully put away the slightly worn IOU, pulled Aying close and kissed her hard, then went out the door with a grin.

Yuan Qianyao's family lived in Xuanyangfang, south of Pingkangfang, where most of the Yuan family members also lived.

Considering that the other party had a large number of people and that his visit was not out of goodwill, Zhang Dai brought all thirty-odd able-bodied men from his household with him. Led by Ding Qing and a few others, they followed behind him in a grand procession towards Xuanyangfang.

Xuanyang Ward was also a prestigious ward in the city. Zhang Dai and his entourage entered the ward in a grand procession, which did not attract much attention. The ward residents were used to the arrogant and domineering behavior of the rich and powerful.

Upon arriving at the gate of Minamoto no Kōyō's house, Zhang Dai sent someone to announce his arrival, but was told by the gatekeeper that the master was not home. Fearing that the Minamoto family might send troops to block his house, Zhang Dai did not go inside, but instead led his entourage to wait under the shade of a tree beside the gate of the Minamoto residence.

As the sun began to set, Yuan Qianyao, accompanied by his entourage, returned home from outside the ward. Accompanying him were Yuwen Rong, Cui Mian, and several other court officials.

When Yuan Qianyao and his party arrived at the gate of their house, he was taken aback when he saw Zhang Dai. However, seeing that Zhang Dai did not come forward to pay his respects, he did not ask any questions.

Yuwen Rong, however, pointed at Zhang Dai and said, "Zhang Zongzhi has come here on business?"

“I did come to visit Lord Yuan on business and have been waiting for a long time. I did not expect that Lord Yuan would return with all the distinguished guests.”

Seeing that their entourage consisted of nearly a hundred people, Zhang Dai immediately straightened his posture, stepped forward, bowed, and said, "I wonder if Lord Yuan has the time to wait for me for a moment?"

Yuan Qianyao was not very willing to talk to Zhang Dai, and pointed to his son Yuan Jie who was following behind, and instructed him: "You entertain Zhang Liulang."

After saying this, he went straight home, and Yuwen Rong and the others followed him into the house.

Zhang Dai observed their procession, a thoughtful expression on his face. He had just discussed the selection of the prime minister with his grandfather the previous night, and now, seeing Yuan Qianyao and Yuwen Rong hosting a grand banquet at home, it seemed they were making a concerted effort to bolster Yuwen Rong's chancellorship!
Moreover, Cui Mian is a promising candidate for the position of prime minister. Under such circumstances, his frequent visits with Yuwen Rong are likely an attempt to explore whether there is room for cooperation and mutual progress between them.

However, the two lacked complementarity in both personality and interests, and instead had considerable conflicts. Without the mediation of Yuan Qianyao, it would have been difficult for them to reconcile.

While he was still pondering, Yuan Qianyao's son, Yuan Jie, came forward and said in a lukewarm tone, "The main hall is about to entertain distinguished guests and cannot receive outsiders. What brings Zhang Dai here? Please come into the main hall and tell him."

"It's nothing important, and there's no need to go to the front hall. I'm not here to express any sentiments, just to settle an old debt." Seeing Yuan Jie's attitude, Zhang Dai was too lazy to come and explain in detail. In any case, judging from today's situation, even if he came to the hall to discuss the matter, Yuan Qianyao probably wouldn't have the time or energy to resolve it.

"Old debts? What old debts? When did my family ever have any financial dealings with your family?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jie immediately frowned and said...

Zhang Dai didn't waste any more words with him. He directly took out the IOU that Yuan Fu had personally written and displayed it in front of Yuan Jie. Just as Yuan Jie was about to take it, he took it back and said, "Back then, your brother Yuan Fu made me pay 30,000 strings of cash in Bianzhou. It's all in black and white, which is irrefutable proof. If your family doesn't know about it, they can write a letter to ask your brother..."

"How dare you bring this up! This is clearly your..."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jie immediately glared and shouted angrily. He had also heard his brother say that Zhang Dai had taken advantage of his misfortune and forced him to write an IOU for 30,000 strings of cash.

The family was naturally indignant about this, but since several years had passed and Zhang Dai had never come to their door to demand the return of the IOU, they had put it out of their minds. They never expected that this guy would come to cause trouble again today with the IOU.

Upon hearing Yuan Jie's words, Zhang Dai's face immediately darkened: "This IOU is not only written by your brother himself, but also stamped by the magistrate and the Ministry of Justice back then. How dare your family deny it? Because your brother was incompetent in the state, my money and silk were greatly extorted by the state officials. Your brother agreed to this debt, and this serves as proof."

If your family dares to deny it, I will take the matter to the authorities. Now that Li Linfu has returned to the capital, your brother will likely soon be considered for a transfer. If your family dares to deny it, he can forget about crossing the mountains to the north for the next few years!

During the Tang Dynasty, officials who were demoted or exiled could receive a general amnesty if they participated in a ceremony or received a special favor. At that time, officials exiled to distant places could be relocated to places closer to the capital, a practice known as "liangyi" (量移).

Yuan Fu was exiled in the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, and now it is the seventeenth year of the Kaiyuan era. With some efforts from his family, he could be included in the list of those granted amnesty. Even if he cannot return to the capital immediately, he can be moved to an inland region. However, if he is implicated in other matters, the exile will be punished even more severely.

Zhang Dai hadn't initially wanted to be so definitive, but Yuan Jie's indifferent attitude and his blunt assertion that the IOU was extortion made him decide to cut off all pretense. "If I don't teach him a lesson, he might think I owe him money!"
"you dare!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jie was immediately filled with shock and anger, and pointed at Zhang Dai, shouting angrily.

"Whether I dare or not is none of your concern. But if your family wants to settle this matter quickly, then you'd better hurry. This has been dragging on for years, and I don't want to delay any longer, lest it cause inconvenience for both of us!"

After saying this, Zhang Dai did not linger any longer. He mounted his horse and did not stop despite Yuan Jie chasing and shouting behind him. He returned to his home in Yonglefang to the sound of the street drums signaling curfew.

When he returned home, he found his grandfather hosting a banquet, and the guest was none other than Pei Guangting. When Zhang Dai entered and saw this scene, he couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "Good heavens! Are they each preparing to groom successors and continue their power struggle?"

"We were just talking about you with Vice Minister Pei. Where did you go? Why did you only return at night?"

Zhang Shuo gestured for Zhang Dai to sit in the seat below Pei Guangting, and asked with a smile.

Zhang Dai did not hide anything. After taking his seat, he said, "Last night, didn't I tell my father that I planned to build a villa in Pingkangfang for people to stay when traveling between the two palaces? The matter had been settled, but unexpected complications have arisen."

Li Linfu, a nephew of General Li, taking advantage of his status in the imperial clan and his close relationship with the Prefect of Jingzhao, has forcibly seized this property and forbids anyone else from inquiring about it. I was indignant, so I brought up old grievances and went to his house…”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo first laughed heartily, then said to Pei Guangting, "This boy is far-sighted and thoughtful, as can be seen from this. Although his ideas do not cover the big picture, they are often ingenious and surprising. I also enjoy discussing matters with him in my spare time. If Liancheng does not consider his young disciple too impetuous and short-sighted, he can often invite him to his school for instruction!"

Pei Guangting was not one to indulge in grandstanding, but when he heard Zhang Shuo's unabashed praise of his grandson, he nodded and said, "I have heard much about Zongzhi's reputation and talent. Even my youngest son often sighs that he is not as good as him and wishes to associate with him. If you can bring talented people into my household, it will make my hall shine."

What was Genji's response to this?

Zhang Shuo then turned to look at Zhang Dai and asked with great interest.

"The Yuan family is also full of guests today. Magistrate Yuan is entertaining Cui Sanqi, Yuwen Shilang and others at his home, and has no time to entertain me, a mere junior. He has only sent his sons to handle the matter. I just said goodbye and left quickly. I plan to settle this matter another day."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo and Pei Guangting both frowned slightly, then exchanged a glance, clearly realizing that Yuan Qianyao was trying to build momentum for Yuwen Rong and find allies.

This was precisely the topic they had just discussed, and they hadn't even formed a preliminary plan yet, while Yuan Qianyao had already begun to push things forward. Moreover, Yuwen Rong had been gaining considerable momentum in recent years, so it seemed they were clearly falling behind.

"Did Li Linfu acquire the residence from the Jingzhao Prefecture? Is there any inside story behind this?"

After frowning and pondering for a moment, Zhang asked again.

(End of this chapter)