Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 334 Using one's own spear against one's own shield
When you are significantly ahead of your opponent in a competition, what should you do to recover as much as possible?
Instead of wallowing in self-pity or striving to catch up, one should do everything possible to find the opponent's mistakes, create obstacles for them, and hinder their progress. Although this approach is unethical, it is effective, and countless people throughout history have achieved brilliant success through it.

Upon hearing Zhang Shuo's question, Zhang Dai sighed inwardly. Indeed, his grandfather, as well as many successful people, would not waste a lot of energy and time on internal conflicts.

Many people complain that no matter how diligent and hardworking they are, they can't achieve success. But in reality, these people are just instinctively working like beasts of burden. If they really want to succeed, they need to ask themselves: Have they tripped up or held back their competitors?

"Today, Li Linfu from Pingkang Ward claims that he exchanged his property in another ward for this property, and the difference can be paid annually as he is registered in the clan..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Dai was filled with resentment, wishing that Li Linfu was not the brother or descendant of the current sage, otherwise he could have caught this toad and squeezed him until he pissed!

“There is a procedure in the Jingzhao Prefecture for selling off officials’ properties. Magistrate Yuan is a cautious and mature man, and at this delicate time, he would not give others a handle for such a trivial matter.”

Pei Guangting, who was standing to the side, also sighed and said that regardless of whether he had the idea of ​​becoming prime minister before, he was greatly moved after listening to Zhang Shuo's analysis of the situation not long ago.

Hearing that Yuan Qianyao had already begun to arrange helpers and build momentum for Yuwen Rong, and considering the considerable gap between them, he couldn't help but feel worried, wondering if there was any way to quickly close the gap between them.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dai said, "Essential procedures are not necessarily correct. Otherwise, why would later generations need to revise and add to the laws after the sages established them? Even if the procedure is impeccable in handling this matter, the procedure itself is wrong!"

Thinking of Li Linfu's smug look this afternoon, Zhang Dai felt a surge of displeasure. He continued, "This residence of Li Songgong in Pingkang Ward is vast and strategically located in your ward. I only wanted to buy a dozen acres to build a villa, but it cost tens of thousands of strings of cash. This shows how high the price of the entire residence is."

But now, with just a change of identity, someone can manipulate the system and acquire this property at a low price. This demonstrates the arbitrary nature of the court's valuation of stolen goods. It's not just this idle house in Pingkang Ward; who knows how many other stolen properties have been arbitrarily disposed of by officials, and how many powerful figures have lined their own pockets!

In my opinion, the imperial court should establish a fixed value for all items involved in embezzlement. This would facilitate the assessment and prosecution of criminals and also improve the supervision and disposal of stolen goods. For example, this vacant residence in Pingkang Ward should have its value determined after the embezzlement is appraised. The authorities should only be allowed to sell it and not arbitrarily adjust the price for personal gain!

Zhang Dai harbored deep resentment over the fact that the land in Pingkangfang had been snatched away. In particular, the thought of the girls in Pingkangfang smiling and asking him if he wanted to settle down there made him even more uneasy.

Therefore, he not only wanted to use that old debt to cause trouble for Yuan Qianyao, but also planned to submit a memorial to the emperor, suggesting that the court introduce a standard for valuing stolen goods, so as to directly disrupt Li Linfu's deal.

After hearing Zhang Dai's words, Zhang Shuo looked somewhat embarrassed and remained silent.

However, when Pei Guangting heard what Zhang Dai said, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face. Then he looked at Zhang Dai with admiration, clapped his hands and said, "Sixth Brother's idea is excellent. People should abide by the rules and things should be done in a proper manner. If the rules are not followed, problems will inevitably arise."

Starting small and building large, establishing rules and regulations for future generations—this is far superior to mere momentary talent. Liu Lang's insightful observations and far-reaching vision not only surpassed his peers but also deeply inspired many experienced individuals.

If Pei Guangting's earlier echoing of Zhang's self-praise was somewhat insincere, after hearing Zhang Dai's words, his appreciation for him became undisguised, and his praise became much more sincere.

"This matter has likely already been discussed extensively, and my idea is merely a summary of various opinions. If it can be implemented in this way, we should proceed with planning as soon as possible!"

Zhang Dai was naturally delighted to receive Pei Guangting's sincere praise.

However, he didn't come up with this rule himself. Firstly, in the judicial system of later generations, there were a series of regulations and procedures for pricing stolen goods and auctioning them off. Secondly, he was just echoing what others had said; a few years ago, Pei Zhouxian had made similar remarks when he was handling a case in Bianzhou.

Another crucial point is that during the Kaiyuan era, the court's work on judicial valuation of stolen goods was proposed and overseen by Li Linfu during his tenure at the Censorate. A unified standard was established for various types of stolen goods involved in cases, which served as a basis for judicial conviction and sentencing.

However, a few years ago, Li Linfu had only recently become the Censor-in-Chief when he was ousted by Zhang Dai, leaving no one to oversee his duties. It was precisely because of this that Li Linfu was able to exploit a legal loophole upon his return to the capital and acquire the large mansion in Pingkang Ward at minimal cost.

Unfortunately, he ran into Zhang Dai again. Zhang Dai naturally couldn't just stand by and watch Li Linfu gain such a huge advantage, especially since it was snatched from his grasp. So, he had to quickly find a way to plug this loophole. He would use Li Linfu's plan to sabotage Li Linfu's good deed. Although Li Linfu might not know this now, Zhang Dai was quite pleased. When it came to the handling of economic crimes and embezzled funds and goods, Zhang said he had no position or qualification to speak. However, he had now settled down safely and naturally had to support his grandson's work. Therefore, after a moment of silence, he said, "Tomorrow, have your uncle, Zheng, come to our house so we can work together to draft a memorial. Make sure your arguments are well-founded and your reasoning is thorough. After the memorial is submitted, the authorities can then use it as law."

Zheng Yan was serving as a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, which was a perfect fit for his profession. He could provide Zhang Dai with a wealth of case studies and old regulations for reference.

"However, the timing of submitting a memorial can be considered; there is no need to be too hasty."

Pei Guangting then spoke up again, looking at Zhang Dai as he pondered, and said, "Sixth Brother just mentioned that he owes the Genji tens of thousands of kan? It concerns the Genji's son's request for a pardon and transfer, so his family probably wouldn't dare to deny or delay. However, tens of thousands of kan in cash—it would be difficult for any family to directly obtain such a large sum of money, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing Pei Guangting's words, Zhang and his grandson both smiled reservedly, saying, "You think it's difficult because you lack experience."

Loan interest rates in the Tang Dynasty were very high; even princes could not avoid accumulating debt after taking out high-interest loans.

Although the imperial court has recently stipulated that the interest on loans should not exceed the principal, meaning that interest should stop increasing once it reaches the principal amount, in reality, it is still very high. Moreover, many lenders forcibly collect the principal and interest after the interest reaches its peak, and then lend again, thus maintaining the rapid growth of interest rates.

Even if Zhang Dai didn't play these tricks with the Yuan family, a debt of 30,000 guan would still accrue interest of over 1,000 guan per month, accumulating to over 20,000 guan in interest by now. The total amount, including principal and interest, would be 50,000 guan, which is indeed not something an ordinary family could come up with directly.

"When the Genji family comes looking for us again, Rokuro can insist that the debt must be settled within the next few days, and can say directly that it was all because of a rift with Li Genu. If the Genji can hand over the land, the debt can be wiped clean!"

Pei Guangting's eyes gleamed as he continued, "If Genji agrees to this opportunistic plan for the sake of convenience, then the former residence of Duke Li Song can be used to assess the value of the stolen goods, and it will be just right to report the matter to the emperor at that time!"

Upon hearing Pei Guangting's words, Zhang Dai immediately became excited and continued along Pei Guangting's line of thought: "If Genji uses a dozen acres of land to settle my debt of tens of thousands of strings of cash, then the price of this house will be accurate. If the house that Li Linfu receives is not worth this price, then the Prefect of the Capital is guilty of favoritism and corruption! We can hold Prefect Genji accountable based on this, and at the same time, we can order Li Linfu to make up the difference!"

Sitting at the table, Zhang watched the two of them meticulously planning the steps and goals of the matter, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "You young people really have a broad mind when it comes to playing dirty tricks!"

Not to mention the underhanded schemes between Pei Guangting and Zhang Dai at the Zhang family mansion, the banquet at Yuan Qianyao's home in Xuanyangfang did not last long either.

Both Cui Mian and Yuwen Rong were strong-willed individuals, and despite Yuan Qianyao's efforts to mediate and ease tensions, the atmosphere remained tense. Cui Mian and several other officials stayed overnight in the Yuan family's guest rooms, while Yuan Qianyao continued his discussion with Yuwen Rong in the main hall for quite some time.

Yuan Jie, who was sitting in the audience, saw his father and Yuwen Rong chatting enthusiastically. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to interrupt them, but still didn't dare. It was Yuwen Rong who noticed his strange appearance and asked with a smile, "What is it that makes you hesitate to speak, Ninth Brother?"

“This, this… Just now Zhang Dai came to our door and said that he wanted my family to repay the debt that he had agreed to with my brother last year. Otherwise, he would take the case to the authorities and make my brother unable to pay it!”

Yuan Jie held it in all night, but finally couldn't help but blurt it out.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianyao's face immediately turned angry, while Yuwen Rong said in a deep voice, "What debt? Explain yourself!"

He was in Weizhou, Hebei at the time, so he naturally didn't know much about this matter.

Yuan Jie immediately recounted the origin of the debt. When Yuwen Rong heard that Yuan Fu had been forced to write the IOU in order to ask Zhang Dai to find his servant to inform him, he frowned and felt somewhat ashamed and annoyed, and resented Yuan Fu for being so clueless.

However, Yuan Qianyao had shown him great favor, and since he would need Yuan Qianyao's help in coordinating personnel matters in the court if he wanted to become prime minister, he naturally couldn't express his dissatisfaction. Instead, he looked at Yuan Qianyao and said in a deep voice, "I deeply regret that Bianzhou couldn't be saved back then. Now that trouble has arisen again, how does Lord Yuan intend to deal with it? If there is any inconvenience, I will do my best to help!"

(End of this chapter)