Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 368 The tributes are making noise
The next morning, when Zhang Dai left Lü He's house, he still felt a bit sore in his waist and legs. He needed Yin Huan's help to get on his horse. He couldn't help but sigh that becoming brothers-in-law with Gao Lishi was not only a matter of fate, but also a real physical job!
Lu He, who slept late in spring, was now too lazy to even brush her eyebrows. She leaned against the window and waved goodbye, saying languidly, "Sixth Master, please go now. I have no energy left to go downstairs to see you off. If I am impolite, when I come again in the future, I will lie here naked, awaiting your punishment!"

The smiling young woman spoke in a very seductive tone. If Zhang Dai lost control even slightly, he might be lured back into the brothel. However, he still had many things to do today, so he could only wave goodbye to Lü He and then ride his horse out of the brothel.

When he arrived on the street, he looked south and saw that the workers at his own construction site had already begun to work diligently, while Pei Zhen was squatting on the construction site watching the work being done.

This fellow was indeed well-mannered, and perhaps also worried that his father might send people to arrest him, so after enjoying the song and dance performance last night, he didn't stay overnight at the brothel, but returned home instead. As for Li Xia and the other boys, they were quite unrestrained, playing around until who knows how late last night, and are still fast asleep in the brothel.

"My family has prepared money and silk, which can be delivered to your house now. Would you like to find a broker from a local pawnshop to accompany you?"

Upon seeing Zhang Dai approaching on horseback, Pei Zhen immediately stepped forward and said, after a pause, "I have already told you what you intend to do. I also instructed you to tell you that anything that requires water and soil to nourish it will not be able to be grown immediately and will inevitably require careful cultivation. Your intention is good, but remember not to be impatient or eager for quick success. Even if you encounter setbacks, do not be discouraged. If this undertaking succeeds, you will be a great sage who greatly benefits the people of Guanzhong!"

"Thank you for your encouragement, Vice Minister Pei!"

Zhang Dai was well aware that building a large-scale tea garden involved many aspects, such as site selection, land reclamation, and soil and water improvement. Even in later generations, the Guanzhong Plain was not known for its tea production, so it would be quite difficult to establish one from scratch. He had never lacked perseverance and willpower, and once he set a goal, he would proceed step by step.

He raised at least 100,000 strings of cash for this project, enough to cover expenses for a considerable period. Moreover, even if the tea gardens in Guanzhong were not yet productive, he could purchase tea from other tea-producing areas for export and earn profits to subsidize the tea gardens in Guanzhong.

Currently, the trade with the Turks is mainly controlled, both openly and covertly, by powerful families in the Guanzhong Plain, making it difficult for outsiders to intervene. The goods used in the trade, the transportation routes, and even the market share in the Western Surrender City are all firmly controlled by certain groups.

However, if Zhang Dai's tea garden is established and a clear vision is drawn up to alleviate the current conflict between people and land in Guanzhong, then it can be directly implemented at the court's decision-making level to include tea in the list of goods for the mutual trade and to secure a supply quota.

In short, many things cannot be achieved immediately or overnight, but it is essential to maintain a positive vision and expectation in people's minds—what is commonly known as "promising a bright future." If enough people believe in it and enough resources are invested, then this vision will naturally transform from imagination into reality.

"As for brokers, they are unnecessary. Since we are working together, we should trust each other, and of course I trust Pei Lang!"

In the Tang Dynasty, coins were distinguished by quality, and the value of coins of different qualities varied considerably. Similarly, silk fabrics also differed in workmanship and weight. Therefore, when it came to major financial transactions, careful inspection and verification were often necessary.

However, since Pei Zhen was willing to invest even before the matter was fully settled, Zhang Dai naturally wouldn't fuss over such a trivial matter and wouldn't need to invite a middleman to act as an intermediary.

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhen said no more and immediately went home to instruct his family to start transporting the money and silk that had already been loaded onto the carts. Zhang Dai followed behind him toward his home, saying with a smile, "It would be impolite not to enter the house. I will go in first to pay my respects to my aunt."

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhen stopped in his tracks and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's better not to for now. My mother has some reservations about this. She doesn't think we young disciples can pull off anything significant. So... please come visit again in a few days."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai understood immediately and decided not to provoke anyone at this crucial moment. He waved to Pei Zhen, indicating that he would go home and wait.

As soon as Zhang Dai stepped out of Pingkang Ward, he noticed that the atmosphere on the street was somewhat unusual. Pingkang Ward was located in a strategic location, with the East Market to its east. Normally, when the morning bell rang and the curfew was lifted, many pedestrians would emerge in the nearby streets and alleys.

But even though the sun was already quite high today, there were still few pedestrians on the streets outside the market. Even the merchants who usually lined up outside the East Market to enter the market in the afternoon had disappeared, and the wide streets were very empty.

"Could something major have happened?"

Zhang Dai couldn't help but speculate. Just then, the sound of galloping hooves could be clearly heard coming from the Zhuque Gate Cross Street north of Pingkang Ward. This made him even more certain that something unusual must have happened. He immediately reined in his horse and turned north, saying, "Let's go take a look!"

Before they even reached Hengjie Street, they saw a large number of Jinwu Guard soldiers patrolling the street, and even the Northern Army's flying cavalry had been dispatched.

Zhang Dai reined in his horse at the north entrance of Dongshi Street. After a brief look around, he saw Jiang Xingwei leading a group of dozens of Imperial Guards riding out from the direction of Xingqing Palace. He immediately waved and asked, "General Jiang, what has happened here?" Jiang Xingwei looked solemn. Seeing that it was Zhang Dai calling out, he rode closer and said with his hands clasped, "I am not sure what has happened either. I was not supposed to be on duty this month and was resting in the camp when suddenly a military order came into the camp, summoning us to quickly enter and exit Gongxi."

I vaguely heard it's related to the election, or perhaps some candidates for the imperial examinations have gathered and caused a disturbance. It's certainly not a good thing. If Sixth Brother isn't on duty today, he'd better go home early. Should I send a few soldiers to escort him home?

"No need for that, you go ahead and do your work!"

Zhang Dai had a large retinue, so he didn't need the Imperial Guards to protect him. He waved to Jiang Xingwei to head towards the Taiji Palace in the west, and then stood on the street for a while. He noticed that although there was a tense atmosphere on the street, there were no concrete signs of unrest. This showed that even if there was some disturbance, the situation was still under control.

He didn't press on to investigate further, but instead turned and went home with his entourage. When he returned home, his family told him that not long ago the emperor had sent a troop of armored soldiers into the house to summon Zhang Yue to the palace for a meeting, and to escort his grandfather to Xingqing Palace.

Zhang Yue is now in a semi-retired state, yet he is still summoned to the palace to discuss matters. This shows that even if the situation is under control, its nature is likely quite serious and requires more rigorous and thorough handling of the aftermath.

Zhang Dai was also unaware of the specific situation, so he stayed at home and waited for Pei Guangting's family to bring money and silk to his home.

Twenty thousand strings of cash was a considerable sum. Even if transported by multiple oxcarts, it would require several trips and would directly fill several large warehouses of the Zhang family. If the Zhang family mansion hadn't been spacious enough, there probably wouldn't have been anywhere to store such a large amount of money and silk.

By the time the money and silk had been transported, it was already evening. Zhang Dai had just finished taking inventory when a servant from the front hall came to tell him that he had returned home.

Zhang Dai had been puzzled all day, but upon hearing this, he rushed to the front hall to greet him. Accompanying him was Zhang Dai's uncle, Zheng Yan, and both of them had obvious joy on their faces.

Zhang Dai stepped forward to greet the two men, suppressing his doubts as he accompanied them to the hall and sat down. Only then did he finally manage to ask, "Father, what exactly happened in the city today? How serious is it?"

"The matter itself wasn't serious, but it was blown out of proportion by those with ulterior motives. This morning, the provincial examination results were released, and the candidates waited in the southern province to see them. Someone declared that because the court was selecting more and more people and the selection process was becoming increasingly complicated, it intended to restrict the number of candidates from various provinces, starting with reducing the number of Jinshi and Mingjing candidates selected through regular examinations. After the results were released, those who failed the exams started to make a fuss. Coincidentally, there were also selections taking place in the selection office today, and both the candidates and those being selected were causing a disturbance, making quite a mess of things in the southern province..."

Upon hearing this question, Zhang sighed and said...

Zheng Yan, standing nearby, added, "There has indeed been discussion in the provincial and municipal governments about restricting the selection of candidates from various disciplines, but nothing has been finalized yet, and there has been no explicit order regarding the selection of officials. This year's provincial examinations will proceed as usual, with 25 candidates passing the imperial examinations and 210 passing the classics examinations, which is not significantly different from previous years. The disappointed students are making a ruckus because of this, and even the official in charge, Lord Guangping, was nearly injured by them!"

"Do you know who stirred up trouble among the people?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai hurriedly asked, "Twenty-five people passed the provincial examination. This is definitely a deliberate suppression and restriction of the number of successful candidates. You should know that only thirteen people passed the provincial examination in the year he took the exam."

The number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations each year is only twenty or thirty, which is within the normal range. The fact that the candidates made a fuss about this must mean that someone was stirring up public sentiment and spreading some dubious information. Those who failed the imperial examinations and were disappointed were easily agitated and naturally felt indignant and resentful of the injustice.

Zheng Yan shook his head and sighed, saying, "The situation was chaotic at the time, making it quite difficult to investigate the truth. In particular, although the Duke of Guangping was being questioned by the crowd, he still upheld a magnanimous spirit, stating frankly that the matter was also due to the negligence of the selection officials, which led to the public's anxiety, and that the crowd should not be thoroughly investigated and blamed. He also resigned to take responsibility..."

"The number of people involved is over several thousand. If they are all thoroughly questioned by the Ministry of Justice, it will probably take several months to resolve. Now that the provincial examination is already in turmoil, if the selection process is also affected, this year's selection may be canceled. It is easy for many people to gather but difficult to disperse. Song Jing taking the blame himself shows that he understands the bigger picture. However, if the head of the selection department resigns because of the disturbance caused by the group of people, who will dare to take charge of the selection department in the future? This matter can only be dealt with later."

Zhang Shuo first sighed, then looked at Zhang Dai and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, so don't comment on it. Especially since many people in the capital region regard you as a leading figure among the younger generation, and some may want to use you to criticize national affairs, you must be careful with your words these days, and also be cautious in your social interactions, and avoid associating with many popular figures!"

(End of this chapter)