Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 408: I dare not forget about my country despite my humble position

Despite being thoroughly humiliated by Zhang Dai, Wei Heng had already agreed to the matter with his cousin Yuwen Rong, so he could only suppress his anger. After returning home, he instructed his servants to take his calling card to the residence of Duke Dou Xiguan of Bi and invite Dou E to a gathering.

Soon his family returned in a hurry, bringing back Dou E's reply, saying that he was busy with something and that if he wanted to see him, he should wait at home the next day, and that he would come to visit when he had time.

Wei Heng knew very well that Dou E's pretense was an act of revenge for the earlier dismissal of him, and he was naturally furious. However, the situation had changed; Zhang Dai was now acting arrogantly and domineeringly in the Ministry of Personnel, posing a significant threat. To resolve this problem, he had no choice but to back down slightly.

So the next day, Wei Heng asked the provincial governor for another day off and stayed at home to wait for Dou E's visit.

Fortunately, Dou E stopped putting on airs and led a group of servants to the Wei family in the morning.

"I have already witnessed Master Wei's audacity the other day. Is he trying to show off again by inviting me to his door today?"

Although Dou E arrived at Wei Heng's house, his tone remained harsh, still harboring resentment over Wei Heng's previous rude attitude.

"I invited you to my home today to apologize for what happened the other day. I was careless and biased, and misunderstood you, which led to my rudeness. After reflecting on it, I am filled with remorse and am eager to apologize to you in person. I hope you can forgive and forget about this matter!"

Seeing Dou E's reaction, Wei Heng bowed deeply to him and smiled.

Dou E was overjoyed to see Wei Heng's attitude become so humble this time. He also greatly admired Zhang Dai. He never expected that Zhang Dai would completely control Wei Heng in such a short time, making him adopt such an attitude of being able to take whatever he wanted.

"I have no deep friendship with Master Wei, so why should I laugh off your previous grievances of driving me away with your harsh words!"

He gave a cold snort, wanting to test Wei Heng's patience and bottom line.

Wei Heng cursed these arrogant and domineering playboys in his heart countless times, but still said in a deep voice, "The reason for the previous grievance was simply that the deal did not go through. Since Young Master Dou is interested in buying my family's villa in the south of the city, if your mind is still unchanged, you may sit down and discuss the matter politely. But if Young Master Dou has changed his mind and has no further interest, please take your seat and allow me to entertain you with food and drink."

Seeing Wei Heng's remarkable patience, Dou E was somewhat satisfied. He immediately sat down casually and said with a smile, "There's no need for food and drink. I stayed at Pingkang Beili last night and had plenty of food and drink. Let's just talk about business. Since Master Wei is willing to sell your garden villa, what price would you be willing to sell it for? Let's not talk about those jokes from the other day."

"Before we discuss the deal, I would like to ask you, Dou Lang, you said a few days ago that you would work with Zhang Dai, but now you have come here alone. Are you fully authorized to represent him and ensure that once we have reached an agreement, there will be no further changes?"

Before making a quote, Wei Heng confirmed with Dou E again.

Upon hearing this, Dou E immediately nodded and smiled, "Of course! Zhang Liu and I are like brothers, sharing finances and working together, and we are very close. No matter what troubles you, Master Wei, as long as you can fulfill our wishes, you will surely get what you want too!"

“That garden and villa were passed down from our ancestors, and it is truly unfilial of us to sell it off. However, I am currently busy with official duties and serving the king, and I really have no time to devote myself to private matters. I cannot attend to both public and private matters, and it just so happens that Dou Lang is fond of this garden and has inquired about it several times. If I refuse him outright, I am afraid that people will laugh at me for being heartless.”

Regardless of the reason for selling inherited property, it is somewhat shameful. Wei Heng first tried to salvage the situation, then said to Dou E, "The villa in the south of the city has over a hundred rooms, covering more than two hectares, and there are also more than ten hectares of vacant land outside the estate. It can be considered large among the estates in the south of the city. If you are truly sincere, young master Dou, I will now offer it for 16,000 strings of cash. What do you think, young master Dou?"

Dou E raised an eyebrow upon hearing the figure. He had previously haggled with Zhang Dai several times to reduce the price from 30,000 strings of cash to 20,000 strings, but now Zhang Dai had somehow managed to force Wei Heng to lower the price to 16,000 strings.

To be honest, this figure was already close to Dou E's original bottom line. He had recently inquired about the prices of properties in various parts of the city. The price of 16,000 guan for Wei's Xiaoyao Garden was indeed not too expensive. He originally wanted to negotiate down to 15,000 guan and then buy it.

But now that Wei Heng had voluntarily lowered the price so much, Dou E's thoughts changed. Remembering Zhang Dai's advice to try to lower the price as much as possible, he felt even more confident.

"Although the estate is quite large, most of it consists of barren hills unsuitable for cultivation. The hills are covered with thorns and brambles, and there is nothing else to be found. I would like to ask Master Wei, what business should you undertake to make a living without losing the price of 16,000 strings of cash? And what are your plans, Master Wei, that give you the confidence to set such a high price?"

After a moment's thought, Dou E spoke without any politeness.

Upon hearing this, Wei Heng frowned, then said in a deep voice, "This price is naturally not a small amount, but I believe that since Dou Lang intends to buy my family's property, he should have carefully inquired about the prices of properties in the vicinity, and should also know that the price I have set is not a fraud. Given the current market price, this price is already very fair. As for what Dou Lang intends to use this for, forgive my limited wisdom, I cannot guess."

"It seems that Master Wei's invitation today is still just a joke to me."

Dou E was full of confidence. After hearing this, he didn't say anything more. He stood up, cupped his hands to Wei Heng, and said, "Farewell!"

"Young Master Dou, please wait. May I ask what your price is?" Wei Heng called out as Dou E got up and walked out.

Dou E did not answer his question directly, but said with a smile, "I'd better go to the West Market first and ask how much firewood is today. How much miscellaneous firewood can I buy with 16,000 strings of cash!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Heng knew that Dou E was not sincere at all, belittling his own estate to the level of firewood. Therefore, there was no point in further negotiation. Although he also wanted to settle things peacefully, the premise was that both sides got what they wanted, not that Dou E would be given away for free. So he remained silent, simply frowning and coldly watching Dou E leave his house.

Dou E had assumed that Wei Heng, having already lowered his stance so much, would surely call him back to continue negotiating the price. However, the man remained silent and let him leave, forcing Dou E to walk away, leaving him quite displeased. Confident in Zhang Dai, he decided to get his revenge on their next meeting!

Even after Dou E left, Wei Heng remained resentful. Since he couldn't back down and settle the matter peacefully, he decided to find another way to drive Zhang Dai out of the Ministry of Personnel. So he changed into his official robes again and headed towards the capital.

In the capital, after the morning court session, Zhang Dai immediately went to the Ministry of Personnel to continue his work.

It was no longer a secret that he had come to the capital to investigate old debts. Along the way, when he encountered officials from the Ministry of Personnel, many of them greeted him with smiles and asked about the progress of the matter and how much of the old debts could be recovered.

Most of them didn't object to the Secretariat's interference in the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, since they couldn't possibly work in the Ministry of Personnel for their entire lives. However, if Zhang Dai could recover a considerable amount of old debts and distribute them to them, the money and salary they would receive would be substantial!

Zhang Dai responded to everyone's greetings and inquiries along the way. Knowing that so many people were silently paying attention to his work, he threw himself into his new work with renewed vigor after returning to the provincial hall.

Given that the records provided by the Ministry of Personnel were too incomplete and simplistic, and that no amount of searching would yield much benefit, Zhang Dai wrote another application with two requests.

The first request is for the Ministry of Personnel to provide more relevant records and information. The second request is for a complete list of all past officials in charge of collecting money in the various departments of the Ministry of Personnel, and for them to be summoned for questioning if necessary.

After he finished writing the application, he sent it to the Ministry of Personnel.

At this moment, in the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel, Yuwen Rong sat with a serious expression, accusing Wei Xuxin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, of "the Prime Minister's abuse of power and the supervision of the five departments have already hampered the work of the Ministry. Now it's even more outrageous that a mere eighth-rank official has been placed in the Ministry of Personnel. What are you all trying to do? If you can tolerate even this, Vice Minister Wei, why keep this position and give it up?"

"If Vice Minister Yuwen feels I am unfit for this post, he may recommend a more capable person to the court! The current predicament stems from poor financial management. If the treasury were full and sufficient, why would you, sir, have sent an envoy here?"

When Wei Xuxin heard Yuwen Rong accuse him of being weak and easily bullied, he was furious and immediately retorted without any politeness.

The argument between the two had silenced everyone in the provincial government hall, and no one dared to speak. When the official from the Ministry of Personnel arrived outside the hall, he immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere and hesitated, unsure whether to go in.

What brings you here?

Wei Xuxin recognized that this was a clerk from the Secretariat who had come with Zhang Dai, and immediately asked him in an annoyed tone.

"Zhang Shiyi, feeling inconvenienced by the affairs, has again submitted a petition to the Left Chancellor Wei, hoping that..."

Upon seeing this, the official from the Secretariat went in, bracing himself for a moment, and presented Zhang Dai's letter to him with both hands.

But before he could finish speaking, as he passed Yuwen Rong, the letter in his hand was snatched away by Yuwen Rong.

After reading Zhang Dai's application, Yuwen Rong's expression changed drastically. He shouted angrily, "Outrageous!" Then, holding the letter in his hand, he quickly walked out of the main hall and headed towards the hall where Zhang Dai was.

"Zhang Dai has come here to stir up trouble. What exactly is his intention? You mere brat, with little wisdom but grand schemes, have acted recklessly and arrogantly. If you cause the financial affairs to fail because of you, what crime will you be punished?"

Upon arriving at the hall, Yuwen Rong slammed the letter back onto Zhang Dai's desk, his face contorted with rage as he shouted, "All important matters are to be decided and handled by the ministers. You are but a lowly official; get out of here!"

Zhang Dai was taken aback by Yuwen Rong's strong reaction. He paused for a moment, then stood up and said, "Minister Yuwen, you are mistaken. Ministers and officials, however lowly, are commendable only for their loyalty! Although I am of humble rank, I have never forgotten my loyalty to the emperor and my concern for the country! How could you, Minister, be born with a noble robe?"

(End of this chapter)