Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 398 South of Chang'an City
The layout of Chang'an City was characterized by the east being noble and the west wealthy, and the south being less developed and the north more substantial. High-ranking officials and nobles usually lived in the east of the city, where the terrain was relatively higher and the living environment was more comfortable. The west of the city, centered around the West Market, was home to a large number of wealthy merchants, and there were many families with immense wealth.

The imperial palace and government offices were located in the north of the city, so the people were happy to settle in the northern neighborhoods. The south of the city, especially the southwest, was far from the city's core area. Although there were many neighborhoods there, there were not many residents, and those who settled there were mostly poor people.

The craftsmen Chen Dong introduced lived between Tonggui Ward and Guiyi Ward in the southwest of Chang'an City, which could almost be called the most remote place in the city. The journey from Yongle Ward, where the Zhang family lived, to Tonggui Ward was more than ten miles long.

A distance of more than ten miles is nothing in the vast Tang Empire, but in the capital city of Chang'an, it is a completely different world.

Chang'an was such a vast city that Zhang Dai, who had come to Chang'an to serve as an official and live there in the autumn of the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, rarely set foot in the area west of Zhuque Avenue, and never ventured into the southwestern neighborhoods.

After passing Zhuque Avenue and traveling two blocks west, the streets and alleys became noticeably desolate. The roads became potholed, and the drainage ditches on both sides of the streets were often clogged, with sewage overflowing and forming puddles on the streets, giving the streets a sour and rotten smell.

The walls and alleys here are very low, and many of the rammed earth walls have collapsed, allowing a direct view of the area inside: crooked alleys, dilapidated houses, large tracts of idle land, and even people plowing and turning over fields right inside the neighborhood.

Although it is in the city, this neighborhood looks more dilapidated than the area outside the city. After all, there are many large-scale villas in the southern suburbs of the city, and their architecture and scenery are much more beautiful than here.

"This is Tonggui Ward, and to the south is Guiyi Ward!"

Chen Dong, who was leading the way, pointed to the collapsed gate of the ward and turned to Zhang Dai to say something.

Zhang Dai and his entourage, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, stood out conspicuously, yet also seemed out of place. Some of the local residents were drawn to them, watching them warily, their eyes often filled with hostility.

"You son of an official, get out! There's no room for anyone here..."

Zhang Dai rode his horse toward the gate of the ward when suddenly a clod of earth was thrown at him from the side. He dodged the attack and saw a ragged, unkempt young man pointing at him and angrily cursing him.

"You little rascal, behave yourself! This young master isn't here to seize land and build a garden; he's here to rescue your brother!"

Upon seeing this, Chen Dong's face immediately darkened. He pointed at the boy who had attacked Zhang Dai with clods of earth and shouted at him. Then, he looked at Zhang Dai with an embarrassed expression and explained, "Most of the land here is unclaimed. Occasionally, nobles from the capital region come here to build gardens because they prefer quiet places. Some of the original residents of the neighborhoods have had their land seized and their homes destroyed. The residents are alarmed and afraid to see the nobles."

Hearing this, Zhang Dai slowly nodded, then raised his hand to summon back Ding Qing, who had ridden forward to teach the boy a lesson. Upon seeing Chen Dong, the boy's stubborn and angry face turned to sorrow, and he howled as he stepped forward, saying, "Uncle is finally back! Those thugs are wicked! They took all the money my father brought back and even kidnapped my sister..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dong's expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted angrily, "On what charges did they arrest people!"

“They said my family had stolen money and that we had to pay back more than ten strings of cash. If we couldn’t pay, they would enslave my family!”

The boy walked up, sobbing, and his words were also unclear.

Chen Dong quickly led Zhang Dai and his party into a residential courtyard in the neighborhood. Although it was called a courtyard, it was actually very dilapidated. The mud-plastered grass walls were newly covered with a layer of neatly trimmed dry grass, barely enough to cover their heads.

Zhang Dai hadn't expected that the craftsmen had put so much effort into building his house, while he himself lived in this simple thatched hut. This wasn't due to laziness; even with their solid building skills, they probably couldn't afford the materials to repair the house.

Chen Dong looked around the house and found only a little girl in a corner, dressed in tattered clothes and with timid eyes. He then went out and asked the boy, "Where is your mother? Was she also taken away?"

“Mother went to Huangzigang in the south ward to till the land. She’ll get two pancakes if she works until late. My sister and I haven’t eaten yet…”

The boy, with a mournful face, held a clump of roots he had dug up from who-knows-where in his hand and walked to the door, stuffing them one by one into the little girl's mouth.

Go buy some food!

Seeing this scene, Zhang Dai could hardly believe that this was Chang'an during the prosperous Kaiyuan era. He turned around and instructed Yin Huan that they had seen a pastry shop on their way.

“My brother-in-law’s family is too poor to offer anything to Sixth Brother. Please wait a moment while I go to the south ward to fetch my sister-in-law and ask her what happened.”

Chen Dong searched inside and out, only managing to pull a straw mat from the bed. Not wanting to lay it directly on the floor for Zhang Dai to sit on, he could only awkwardly say to Zhang Dai, "Go, and come back quickly!"

Zhang Dai waved his hand and said that after Chen Dong left quickly, he would stroll around the courtyard.

This Tonggui Ward is quite large, but more than half of it is vacant, especially around the central cross street, which is completely deserted. The residences are mainly located around the ward walls. These houses are generally not large, and those with relatively intact fences and wooden doors are considered to be from well-off families.

In the northeast corner of this neighborhood, there is a garden villa surrounded by high walls. Standing outside, you can see tall locust and willow trees scattered throughout the garden. Around this garden villa, there are also several courtyard houses built of blue bricks. This is probably the wealthy area of ​​the neighborhood.

A long fence surrounded these residential buildings, separating this area from the commoners' quarters. There were even several servants patrolling with canes, preventing outsiders from getting close to the residential buildings.

The arrival of Zhang Dai and his entourage also attracted the attention of some other residents. Many people stood at a distance, watching them and whispering among themselves, but dared not approach. However, a few bolder young men were drawn to the fine horses and mustered their courage to enter the alley, looking at the tall, magnificent steeds with envy.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Dai beckoned them closer and then asked, "Yesterday, Jinwuwei guards entered the neighborhood to arrest people. Do you know why?"

Seeing Zhang Dai, who was only a few years older than them, dressed in fine clothes, riding a spirited horse, and surrounded by a retinue, the boys felt somewhat uneasy. After a moment of silence, one of the boys mustered his courage and said, "If I were to speak, could you, young master, allow me to touch that white horse?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded and gestured for his servants to bring his mount closer. The young man immediately said, "My mother told me that these people are embezzling government funds!"

"Chen Erhu said! If you don't know, don't bark like a dog. My uncle and his men didn't embezzle government funds; they were framed! They worked for a high-ranking official, who wanted them to put in a lot of effort and paid them a lot of wages, but then regretted it and felt bad, so he reported them to the authorities to have them arrested!"

Another boy angrily rebuked him, and Zhang Dai, upon hearing this, was both amused and exasperated, saying, "You're talking nonsense too!"

“You’re all wrong! In previous years, when my father enlisted in the long-term conscription, the government didn’t give him enough as a reward. He made up the difference by taking back the government money. But now, for some reason, the government is investigating the return of the money and has taken my father and the others away.”

The boys chattered amongst themselves, but one of them seemed to have some credibility. Zhang Dai waved him over and asked, "Are you also a Long March soldier who worked in another village and was captured?"

The boy nodded, then looked worried and said, “They said my family has received interest for several years too much as a gift, and we need to pay more than ten strings of cash. My father’s travel allowance for returning home will not be issued until the autumn. Even if we pay the travel allowance, it won’t be enough to make up for the debt! My mother went out of the city to find my maternal uncle’s family, hoping to raise money to redeem my father.”

The capital of the various government offices had been discontinued as early as the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era. Zhang Dai was not very clear about the specific operating procedures and did not understand how the resettlement allowances for these long-term soldiers were related to the capital of the government offices. Now, more than ten years later, they were bringing up old accounts again, which was somewhat strange.

A while later, Chen Dong hurried in from the outer room, followed by dozens of men, women, and children. Upon arriving before Zhang Dai, they all knelt and bowed, repeatedly pleading, "Young Master, you are benevolent! We beg you to save us..."

"Don't panic, tell me what happened!"

Zhang Dai raised his hand to signal everyone not to panic or shout, and then began to question them one by one. As they recounted their stories, he gradually learned what had happened.

It turns out that this batch of Long March soldiers were mainly recruited in the early years of the Kaiyuan era. After being conscripted, they were given a reward of thirty to fifty strings of cash according to the place they were stationed in, which was used as travel expenses and settlement allowances for going to the border.

Part of this reward was directly given to the soldiers to go to the frontier, while the other part was distributed to their families in installments over the years. After all, in the early years of the Kaiyuan era, the situation was newly stabilized and everything needed to be rebuilt, so there were not many resources available for frontier defense.

The problem arose with the portion of the allowance that was later paid in installments. Initially, it was allocated from taxes, but as the budget became tight, some unplanned income was diverted, including the interest on the government's capital.

When the imperial court investigated past expenditures, it discovered this batch of misappropriated interest money. However, it could not trace back to the original relevant orders. Therefore, this part of the money was listed as a recovery item. Various departments summarized the amount of missing interest money and submitted it to the Ministry of Finance, which then handed it over to the Imperial Guard for recovery.

These Long March veterans who have been captured are each burdened with debts ranging from several strings of cash to over a dozen strings of cash. If they do not pay off these debts, they will continue to be detained.

However, judging from their living conditions, it was clear that they could not afford this debt. After all, the Long March soldiers were not the local militia, and they did not have much wealth. Many of them were even from impoverished families, which is why they wanted to enlist to defend the border and try to make a living.

Although Zhang Dai had little contact with the imperial court's finances and was not clear about the specific operation of the public funds, he could still vaguely sense from these people's descriptions that the government was exploiting soldiers.

(End of this chapter)