Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 403 Cultivating Good Karma Yields Good Results
Yuwen Rong is arguably one of the busiest ministers in the court right now. Firstly, the nation's current financial situation is indeed far from optimistic, urgently requiring increased revenue and reduced expenditure to maintain domestic and international operations. Secondly, he is building momentum for his appointment as prime minister, and the main method for this is naturally to actively resolve various financial crises.

In order to facilitate timely and effective coordination and resolution of various personnel issues, Yuwen Rong simply stayed at the Ministry of Revenue's office during this period. He even stayed at the office to perform his duties instead of accompanying the emperor on the Shangsi Festival.

The current political situation in the court is turbulent, and those at higher levels feel this most acutely. At this juncture, it's a matter of either moving forward or falling behind.

Yuwen Rong knew that although he was highly capable, he also had many enemies. If he could not make great strides and advance further at this time, he would probably not have a better opportunity for a long time to come.

Especially after Yuan Qianyao, his former superior who had sheltered him from the storm, was completely ousted from the court, Yuwen Rong's desire to advance became even more urgent, to the point where he could not afford to make a mistake.

Therefore, in addition to handling official business, he would gather his trusted subordinates in the Ministry of Revenue every evening to listen to their reports, brainstorm ideas, and then assign new tasks.

Today was no exception. After finishing his official duties in the evening, Yuwen Rong got up and went to another hall, where more than ten people were already sitting and waiting.

Since the ninth year of the Kaiyuan era, Yuwen Rong has presided over various important tasks such as land surveying and household registration, and has recruited and appointed many judges and envoys.

After being tempered by various tasks, those with outstanding abilities gained Yuwen Rong's appreciation. After he entered the court, he successively placed these people in more important positions, and they all became his important assistants in managing the finance department.

"You've worked hard, Vice Minister!"

As soon as Yuwen Rong stepped in, someone suddenly stood up from his seat, darted to the door, and bowed to Yuwen Rong with a respectful and concerned expression.

This man was Li Linfu. He had finally gained Yuwen Rong's forgiveness and had been given a new appointment a few days ago, serving as the Assistant Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, replacing Yuwen Rong, who concurrently served as the Minister of State Ceremonies, in handling the affairs of the Court of State Ceremonies.

The position of Honglu Cheng was only a sixth-rank official, far less prestigious than Li Linfu's previous positions. However, after experiencing a major setback in his life, he was given a new appointment, which could be considered a good start for him.

Seeing Li Linfu's attentive attitude, the others did not want to be left behind, so they all stood up and came to Yuwen Rong to pay their respects.

Yuwen Rong was very satisfied with everyone's attitude. He went straight to the top of the annex and sat down. Then he asked everyone about the progress of various matters.

Sitting at the table, Li Linfu watched Yuwen Rong and the others interact, feeling a deep sense of envy. Although they were all officials in the court, their positions, powers, and statuses differed greatly.

The officials present, all holding positions in the Ministry of Personnel, were far superior to him, the Assistant Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. Although Yuwen Rong concurrently served as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, the affairs of the Court of State Ceremonies were by no means his most important matters.

Therefore, even when Li Linfu attended the meeting, he basically just sat there blankly, and there was nothing important for him to report.

Zhang Jingyu, the Left Assistant Secretary of the Capital Province, began to report on a matter he was following up on: "The Imperial Guards have come to the province to report that the families of the arrested border guards have been coming to pay their debts one after another. In addition, other counties and townships under the Capital Prefecture are also pursuing the debts separately. The collection should be completed before May."

"After the recovered money and silk are received, distribute them to the relevant departments as soon as possible before the Dragon Boat Festival, and do not keep them in the ledger."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong solemnly instructed, "Several thousand strings of cash is not a large sum, but it can demonstrate his financial management and emergency response capabilities. Right now it's only a few thousand strings of cash, but if he puts in more effort, it will be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in extra income, which can properly deal with various financial difficulties!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingyu nodded in agreement, while Wei Heng, the assistant secretary standing to the side, hesitated to speak.

"What do you wish to say, sir?"

Upon seeing this, Yuwen Rong asked what was going on. He cared about his several cousins ​​from the Wei family, and even wrote several memorials to return his official positions to them. The affection between them was very deep.

"Zhang Yan and his grandson Zhang Dai came to the capital to inquire about this debt collection matter. I had a feeling that something was amiss, but I haven't seen them take any further action..."

Wei Heng frowned slightly as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, before Yuwen Rong could even speak, Li Linfu couldn't help but say, "Zhang Liu is cunning and treacherous; he should not be underestimated. Minister Yuwen has been quite active lately; why is his disciple specifically asking about this matter? We must be wary!"

"Though this young man is cunning, he is not worth worrying about. How can he possibly decide matters of national importance?"

Yuwen Rong was also somewhat dismissive of this, coldly scoffing, "Zhang's annual performance evaluation might cause some unease among the people. But if he thinks he can hold onto power as long as he has in previous years, he's dreaming. Does he think I don't know he's secretly colluding with the Pei family? Zhang Dai is his grandson, perhaps wanting to act as a henchman for the Pei family. If he wants to use this to cause trouble, he's trying to force the Pei family to shut themselves off from the provincial government, further highlighting the financial difficulties they face." Personnel arrangements might be concealed during the planning stage, but once things are in motion, many events will quickly be noticed by those with ulterior motives.

Therefore, the interaction between Zhang Yue and Pei Guangting was no longer a secret. Pei Guangting had previously been highly praised by Song Jing for his performance in the Ministry of Personnel examination. With the support of these two senior officials, Pei Guangting had become very active recently and had become a strong contender for the position of prime minister.

Therefore, Yuwen Rong naturally thought that Zhang Dai's actions must have been instigated by Pei Guangting, who wanted to find his oversights in various matters in order to help Pei Guangting target his competitors.

It is indeed unreasonable to demand old debts from border people, but the original purpose of this matter was to benefit the provincial officials. If Pei Guangting were to question this, it would only arouse the dissatisfaction of the officials in the southern provinces and greatly diminish the momentum that he has recently built up.

"That being said, Zhang Dai is indeed too wicked, and one could easily be harmed by his treacherous schemes if one is not careful. If this fellow makes any further moves, Wei Lang should still be on guard!"

Having suffered several major losses, Li Linfu regarded Zhang Dai as his nemesis. Therefore, he quickly reminded Yuwen Rong, hoping that Yuwen Rong would take this man seriously and use his resources and strength to strike at Zhang Dai.

However, Yuwen Rong remained unconcerned and quickly moved on to the next topic. Wei Heng, seeing Li Linfu's deeply wary expression, became more cautious about the matter.

After everyone finished reporting their tasks, some stayed at their posts to continue working, while others went home and left the capital.

As soon as Wei Heng returned home, a family member hurriedly came forward and said, "Your Highness, Bi Gong's son, Dou E, sent a servant to deliver a letter this morning, asking when Your Highness will be free so that he can come to visit in person."

"Is this about the Xiaoyao Garden in the southern suburbs again?"

After asking a question and seeing his family nod in agreement, Wei Heng pondered for a moment before saying, "Have him come over tomorrow afternoon."

He himself is not short of money, and has never thought of selling his property. The Xiaoyao Garden in the southern suburbs was built by his father when he was alive, and now it has been passed down to him. In his spare time, he will occasionally go there to stay for a few days and reminisce about his father.

When Dou E came to inquire recently, Wei Heng's offer of 30,000 strings of cash was a polite way of refusing him. Dou Xiguan, the Duke of Bi, was notoriously greedy and despicable, a fact known to everyone in the capital. Frankly, Wei Heng didn't particularly enjoy dealing with his family either.

However, Dou E's repeated visits, which seemed very sincere, changed his mind. Although Xiaoyao Garden was an estate left by his father, his father had left behind many things, including more than just this one garden.

The location of Xiaoyao Garden isn't great either; the surrounding hills offer nothing of value, and the annual maintenance and repairs of the garden and villas cost several hundred strings of cash. If he could get a good price, he wouldn't mind selling it. The money could be kept for emergencies or used to develop assets in better locations elsewhere.

As for what Dou E wanted to do with the villa, Wei Heng wasn't too concerned. As long as this sucker could come up with the money, the deal was worth it.

The next afternoon, Wei Heng returned home early after finishing his provincial affairs, but Dou E finally arrived late, not until nearly evening.

This naturally made Wei Heng somewhat unhappy. He was already quite busy with official duties, and he had deliberately postponed some tasks until tomorrow. However, Dou E, this playboy, had no sense of time at all. So Wei Heng secretly planned to be more assertive when negotiating the price later.

Although he thought this to himself, he still greeted Dou E with a smile and welcomed him into his home. After they were seated, he spoke first, "Please forgive me for my hesitation regarding the matter you mentioned the other day. Xiaoyao Garden was my late father's estate, and it is difficult to part with it now, both emotionally and logically..."

“Master Wei, there’s no need to deceive me. I’ve visited you repeatedly with utmost sincerity. Moreover, I’ve inquired quite thoroughly about your villa. It’s located in a desolate area, and even you yourself don’t frequent it, leaving it to languish on the hillside. My willingness to pay for it is to alleviate one of your burdens. To try and fob me off with some excuse is simply dishonest!”

Upon hearing this, Dou E chuckled and said, "Master Wei, you don't need to underestimate my youth and ignorance. You only see me asking questions, but you don't know that I have powerful backing behind me!"

Do you know Zhang Dai and Zhang Zongzhi? He works with me and wants to buy your villa together. His grandfather, Zhang Yan, is in charge of this year's imperial examinations in Beijing, and Master Wei's future depends on him. If Master Wei is willing to form a good relationship with us, he will surely reap good results through Zhang Yan!

"Zhang Dai? He also worked with Dou Lang?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Heng's expression immediately changed, and he then turned serious, looking at Dou E with a cold smile: "Why did Yuan Jiu die the other day? Has Zhang Dai forgotten? Now he wants to usurp his grandfather's power to seize my property. He has a lot of nerve!"

Although my villa is situated on a desolate hill, it is not for that person. If he has the guts, he may come and seize it! But to let him set foot here is to show that I, Wei, am cowardly! Dou Lang, please return; do not linger here, lest you harm our harmony!

(End of this chapter)