Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 399 The Shadow of a Prosperous Age
Although these people were involved, they had very limited access to information and were completely unaware of the full picture. They could only relay what they heard from the soldiers and the village head to Zhang Dai.

They never imagined that the rewards they received for their men serving on the frontier, which were distributed over several years and were not enough to cover the family's daily expenses, would suddenly become a debt after many years and be demanded back in one lump sum!

These people, whether tenants or servants, had no property or savings. A few dozen strings of cash might only be the cost of a meal for a wealthy family, but it could drive them to ruin and death.

Zhang Dai was arguably the only person they could contact who had the ability to help them, so they all knelt around him, kowtowing and begging.

Just then, another group of people came from outside, and they looked like a bunch of thugs and ruffians.

The leader, a short man in his forties with a goatee, strode into the alley and shouted, "Since you're all here, it saves you the trouble of filing a complaint. The government isn't so easily appeased when it comes to debt collection. If you don't pay the full amount, none of you men will escape punishment!"

Fortunately, a wonderful opportunity has presented itself. The nobleman Xue Gong and Magistrate Wang of Zhaoxingfang are building a new garden and urgently need servants to manage it. If any of you have men or women with spare labor, you can sell yourselves to the Xue family. This will not only allow you to exchange some money for your men but also save on food. Isn't that wonderful?

The man had a gloating look on his face, but when he arrived at the gate and saw Zhang Dai and his party, his expression froze.

"This is the village head, named Liu Yi."

Chen Dong whispered to Zhang Dai, his eyes filled with anger as he looked towards the man.

Zhang Dai was naturally very displeased to hear that people were taking advantage of the misfortunes of the families to kick them while they were down, forcing them to sell their children.

Seeing Zhang Dai's extraordinary bearing and the strong, capable men around him, Liu Yi, the village head, knew he was no ordinary person. So he straightened his expression, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "May I ask which family's distinguished student you are, sir? What brings you to this village? I am the village head, and if there is anything I can do to help, I will certainly not refuse!"

"As the village head, how dare you force the people of this neighborhood into slavery? Whose laws are you following?"

Zhang Dai stepped forward and looked in this direction, asking in a deep voice.

Upon hearing the question, Liu Yi's face turned awkward. However, seeing that his side had the upper hand, he became somewhat embarrassed and angry, saying, "This is a matter of local custom. What right do you, a young man, have to question me!"

"Seize this villain!"

Zhang Dai pointed at the village head and gave instructions to Ding Qing and the others.

Ding Qing and Jin Huan each led several men around the people in the courtyard and rushed straight to the opposite side, while Yin Huan led the remaining men to protect Zhang Dai.

There were twenty or thirty guards around him. Although they seemed to outnumber him, they had not been trained in combat skills and were no match for Ding Qing and his men. After a brief struggle, they were quickly overpowered. There was no way for him to escape. Ding Qing grabbed him with his long arm and pulled him under his arm, then threw him into the courtyard.

"You dog-like wretch who preys on the villagers, yet you still dare to act arrogantly in front of me? You must be blind as a dog!"

Zhang Dai stepped forward with a horsewhip in hand and lashed it across the struggling village headman. He lashed him more than a dozen times, leaving the village headman's face covered in welts and blood, and his clothes torn. The village headman cried out in pain and begged for mercy.

This man had always been keen on oppressing the villagers, and almost everyone in the hamlet had been oppressed by him. Now, seeing him fall pitifully under Zhang Dai's whip and beg for mercy, the hamlet residents were overjoyed and cheered.

"Send this scoundrel to the Chang'an County government and tell the magistrate that I personally witnessed him forcing people to sell themselves into slavery. If Chang'an County does not severely punish him, I will certainly report this to my superiors!"

Zhang Dai took off his personal fish-shaped tally and handed it to Ding Qing, then gave him instructions.

As the head of a village, the village head has the responsibility to maintain the normal production and life of the villagers. Forcing people to sell their children into slavery, thus reducing the population under his jurisdiction, is a very serious violation of the law and dereliction of duty.

Of course, in most cases the imperial court's power does not penetrate deep into the countryside, and these people will not be severely punished even if they prey on the people and keep men as slaves. But now that Zhang Dai has caught them red-handed, he will naturally not be let off!

"My lord is mighty! He has vanquished the village thief!"

When the onlookers saw Ding Qing and several men taking the man away, while the henchmen of the neighborhood police scattered like birds in terror, they couldn't help but clap and cheer.

As for the families of the Long March soldiers whose relatives had been arrested, they were filled with hope upon seeing Zhang Dai's boldness and imposing presence.

However, Zhang Dai did not give them any guarantees, because he had not yet figured out the whole story. It wasn't that he doubted their accounts, but it was clear that these people in the neighborhood didn't have a complete understanding of the situation, and he needed to investigate further before making any plans.

So he first had Yinhuan distribute the sesame cakes and other food he had bought to the hungry villagers, so that they could fill their stomachs first. The older women and the women were somewhat reserved when they saw the food, and they handed it to their own children first. As for the children who had been hungry for a long time, their eyes lit up when they saw the food, and they took it with both hands and began to eat it heartily.

However, these dry rations were inevitably hard and dry, and the children's throats were narrow. When they swallowed a big mouthful, they immediately choked, their faces turning red and their eyes rolling back in their heads.

"Quickly, quickly fetch water to mix with the medicine!"

Seeing the children choking in pain, someone immediately shouted.

Chen Dong's sister-in-law said with a sob in her voice, "All the money and valuables in the house have been taken away. How can we afford to fetch water anymore!"

Upon hearing this, a neighbor immediately rushed back to their home, filled a bamboo tube with water, and hurriedly poured it into the children's mouths. After finally managing to flush down the food stuck in their throats, the children began to vomit painfully.

Is it still very inconvenient for people in the neighborhood to get water?

Seeing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a pang of pity. He hadn't expected that his kind act of giving food would almost cause the starving child to choke to death. He looked at Chen Dong and said in a deep voice.

"The terrain around here is low-lying, and the wells in the neighborhood are all bitter brine. The neighborhood headman does not allow the neighborhood people to choose other places to dig wells. The neighborhood people either buy water from the Buddhist temple in Dunyi neighborhood, which costs five or ten coins a bucket, or they draw water from the canals outside the city, which is more than ten miles away."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dong said with a worried expression, "Chang'an is a good place, but poor families are struggling everywhere. Originally, there was still water from the open channel of Yong'an Canal in East Street, but Xue Gong dug a canal to divert water for garden construction in Zhaoxing Ward. Fearing that the canal would dry up, he forbade the residents of the ward from drawing water at will."

"Who is Lord Xue?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai asked again. Hearing that the powerful families were building reservoirs and ponds while the common people had nowhere to get water, he felt quite uneasy.

"Xue Gongwang Xin was appointed as the Prefect of Ruzhou, and was the maternal uncle of the current Emperor's younger brother, Prince Xue."

Chen Dong quickly answered again.

Although Chang'an is a large city, it also has many powerful and wealthy families. Even in this slum in the southwest corner of the city, some people have encroached on land to build gardens, encroaching on the already scarce resources for survival and causing various inconveniences to the people. As a result, these people are still traveling and serving as officials, and they don't live in these gardens at all, leaving them idle. It's infuriating to even think about!
Of course, Buddhist temples aren't exactly benevolent either. Taking advantage of their religious aloofness and their manipulation of believers, they exploit them in every way imaginable. Just look at the impoverished living conditions of these people, yet they sell a bucket of water for ten coins—they'll squeeze every last drop of flesh from a mosquito's leg! If the Buddha truly possessed supreme supernatural powers, he would first and foremost have to deliver these wicked disciples from suffering!
“Their families have all had their able-bodied members arrested by the government, and they probably don’t have the spare strength to go out of the city to fetch water. I’ll leave you a few strings of cash so they can fetch water from the nearest Buddhist temple in the coming days. You can also help the families that are in particularly difficult circumstances.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dai said to Chen Dong that he wasn't so overly compassionate as to cause trouble for no reason, but he found it hard to remain indifferent to injustice and hardship he witnessed.

He could alleviate someone's great distress with just a small act of kindness, so why wouldn't he do it? Everyone has a compassionate heart, and he's not someone who only knows how to scheme and cause trouble.

Seeing that it was already evening and the place was relatively remote, Zhang Dai assured these people that there was progress and that he would send someone to inform them immediately. Then he led his entourage away from there.

After leaving this place, Zhang Dai felt rather heavy-hearted.

Today he saw another side of Chang'an City, a shadow that even its great splendor could not cover, where a group of poor people struggled to survive!

Their poverty is not due to laziness, but rather because no matter how hard they work, they find it difficult to escape their impoverished situation. Even a resurfacing of an old incident from many years ago can immediately bring them immense disaster.

On the way, Ding Qing and his companions returned from the Chang'an County government office. In addition to handing back Zhang Dai's personal fish tally, they also brought back a receipt from Chang'an County for receiving the prisoner, along with a letter from the registrar of Chang'an County, indicating that they would carefully investigate and handle the matter, and would go to Zhang's family to inform him of the verdict.

Seeing this reply eased Zhang Dai's mind somewhat. Although his power was still relatively weak at the moment, and some structural problems were difficult to overcome and eliminate immediately, he had been making efforts nonetheless, and some people and things were developing in a positive direction under his impetus.

When he got home, the street drums signaling the curfew and the clearing of the streets had already sounded. Meng Haoran's luggage had already been moved to the Zhang family's house, while he himself was in Pingkangfang seeing off several friends who had failed the imperial examinations and were leaving the capital.

Although this Meng Shanren was known as a recluse, he was an out-and-out social activist. Wherever he was, he could quickly make friends with the people of the time and become one with them, which was a remarkable talent.

Zhang Dai was quite looking forward to seeing what would happen when Wang Changling, who had taken Meng Haoran's life, met Meng Shanren.

Unfortunately, his grandfather Zhang Shuo was still in the province tonight dealing with the examination matters, so Zhang Dai had no way to inquire about the relevant matters. He could only wait until the next morning to return to the capital and ask the relevant departments.

(End of this chapter)