Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 411 Righteousness Reaching the Heavens, Saving Thousands and Helping Ten Thousand

"Zhang Lang is a man of great righteousness, helping those in distress! If it weren't for Zhang Lang's chivalrous act, we disciples would likely not have seen the light of day again. Thank you, Zhang Lang! From now on, if Zhang Lang ever needs our help, we will do our utmost to help!"

When Zhang Dai arrived at Tongguifang in the south of the city again, as soon as he reached the gate, a group of men, women, and children in the neighborhood warmly greeted him and knelt down around him.

The last time he came here, it was that half-grown boy who threw clods of dirt at him. This time, he didn't say anything, but just bowed and kowtowed in front of the horse, making the ground dust fly up.

Zhang Dai was worried that the boy might have hit his head and become mentally unstable, so he quickly dismounted, pulled the boy up, and then addressed the other residents: "You all don't need to be so polite. The court officials are acting unfairly, and their demand for the reward is unreasonable! It's only right to right injustice when you see it, and you shouldn't hold a grudge. There are always righteous people in the world who will uphold justice! From now on, this matter will no longer bother you, and you can live in peace. If anyone still tries to harass you with this, just come and tell me!"

Everyone was still shaken, and upon hearing Zhang Dai's promise, they couldn't help but express their gratitude repeatedly. Some even wept with joy, saying, "We truly don't know how to repay such a great kindness from Zhang Lang! We only wish to be his servants for all eternity..."

"That's not necessary. You can all just focus on making a living."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai waved his hand and smiled, then beckoned to Chen Dong, who was standing in the crowd, and asked him, "Have you discussed the matter I gave you the other day with your fellow villagers?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dong nodded quickly and said, "There are 327 households in the north and south wards, all of whom are willing to donate their land to help the master build his estate. They do not ask for any profit or share, but only for a house or two to live in."

The gap between the rich and poor in Chang'an was enormous, and it was evident in every aspect of life. For example, in the noble neighborhoods in the north of the city, an acre of land could be worth hundreds of strings of cash, while land in the south of the city could not be sold for any price at all.

Even a vagrant from another state, if he wished to register his household in the prefecture or county, could obtain a certain area of ​​land in the south of the city according to the number of people in his household, which he could use to build a house. However, although the land was free, he would have to bear the taxes and corvée labor after registering his household, as well as the various expenses of living in the city.

They didn't even need to register their household registration; they could secretly claim land and build houses on vacant lots in the neighborhood. However, these houses were not protected, and they had nowhere to seek redress if they were encroached upon or damaged.

In short, the southern part of Chang'an was sparsely populated and the residential plots in the city had almost no commercial development value. Families with some wealth would not buy property here, not only because of its remote location, but also because of the poor security environment, with theft and robbery occurring frequently.

Zhang Dai had already gained the trust and gratitude of these people by helping them out of their predicament. Now, he has taken the initiative to propose building large-scale residential properties here, which will not only improve their living environment but also enhance the security of the area. The people of these neighborhoods are naturally happy to follow suit.

Most of these families were those of conscripted soldiers. The men in these households were serving on the frontier, and the family members left in the city, even if they had fallen into abject poverty, dared not easily flee, fearing that they would implicate their family members who were guarding the frontier.

Before Zhang Dai stepped in to help them, most of them were barely making ends meet as laborers or tenants. Now that Zhang Dai was willing to invest in the renovation of the community and recruit them to work, providing them with a livelihood, when Chen Dong returned to promote the cause, he immediately received an enthusiastic response from the residents.

Zhang Dai was delighted to hear that the people of the neighborhood supported the plan, so he went into the neighborhood with Chen Dong to hear how it was planned.

"When building a residence, if one wishes to gather people, there must be water. Although Tongguifang is located in a low-lying and damp place, and the springs are all bitter brine, if one wishes to obtain water, an open channel must be used to draw water. However, there is a nobleman's garden residence to the east of the ward, so it is not possible to dig a channel to draw water from Yong'an Canal. Therefore, if one wants to build a large residence, Guiyifang in the south is more suitable."

After receiving his orders, Chen Dong returned and conducted a thorough investigation. He then pointed to various places in the neighborhood and explained them to Zhang Dai.

Whose mansion is that?

When Zhang Dai last came here, he noticed the villa area in the east of the neighborhood, and now he couldn't help but ask a question.

Chen Dong looked in the direction Zhang Dai pointed and immediately replied, "That place was originally the garden residence of Princess Xincheng, daughter of Emperor Taizong. After the princess's death, it was taken over as an official garden and later reclaimed by the Duke of Pengcheng, Wei, to build the Wei family's family visit garden."

Princess Xincheng was the youngest daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang and the younger sister of Emperor Gaozong. She remarried to Wei Zhengju of the Wei family in Jingzhao. Soon after, Princess Xincheng died suddenly, and Emperor Gaozong, in his anger, had Wei Zhengju executed.

Wei Zhengju's nephew, Wei Huan, married Princess Yongshou, daughter of Emperor Zhongzong. Wei Huan then presented his daughter to the current emperor as Consort Wei. This Pengcheng Duke's Homecoming Garden was likely built for Consort Wei's homecoming.

After listening to Chen Dong's words, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh that the Wei and Du families of Chengnan were indeed powerful and influential, with numerous branches and people everywhere!
Wei Heng, who had just been tricked by Zhang Dai, belonged to the Xiaoxiaoyao branch of the aristocratic family. The Wei brothers, who had previously failed to buy land, belonged to the Yun branch. Wei Jian, who was even earlier ousted by Zhang Dai, belonged to the Pengcheng branch, the lineage of Wei Zhengju. Wei Xuxin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the former Grand Counselor were cousins, belonging to the Nanpi branch. Therefore, in the medieval period, there existed a field of study called genealogy, which researched the lineages of these aristocratic families. These guys were incredibly prolific, practically like rats, laying litters wherever they dug a hole. Without establishing genealogies for research, it would be impossible to know who was who.

If it were just any ordinary member of the Wei family, Zhang Dai wouldn't need to deliberately avoid them. Although the Wei family was a local power, their various branches and houses weren't a unified whole, and frankly, there weren't many truly influential families among them.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was very effective in suppressing the powerful clans of Guanzhong and Guandong. Unlike the reigns of Empress Wu and Emperor Zhongzong, when prime ministers were appointed in droves, such as Wei Anshi and his nephew, and Wei Siqian and his son, who took turns serving as prime minister, it was as if they were playing a game.

Of course, there were many prime ministers at that time, and it was not uncommon for the Council of State to have more than a dozen. However, apart from the early years of his reign when the regime was not yet stable, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang usually only had two or three prime ministers during the Kaiyuan era.

The Wei Family Imperial Garden was built for the emperor's concubines to visit their families. Zhang Dai certainly didn't dare to break through the garden to divert water, so he could only follow Chen Dong's advice and enclose land in Guiyifang to the south.

Guiyifang was in a similar state to Tongguifang, but even more desolate. There was a hill sloping from north to south, called Huangzigang. On the hill was a forest with various trees such as willows, elms, and locusts, while below the hill were cultivated farmlands.

The origin of Huangzigang dates back to the Sui Dynasty. When Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, built Daxing City, he ordered his sons to build residences in the south of the city because the southern wards were deserted.

At that time, Yang Xiu, the Prince of Shu, was deeply favored by the emperor, so he built a residence in Guiyifang. The entire area of ​​Guiyifang was the residence of the Prince of Shu at that time. The hill in the area today is the site of the central hall of the Prince of Shu's residence, which was built by piling up earth. Therefore, it is called Huangzigang (Prince's Hill) by the people.

However, after Yang Xiu was killed by Yuwen Huaji during the chaotic period at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Shu Prince's residence was quickly abandoned. The mansion was demolished, and the area was taken over as an official garden, belonging to the Crown Prince's Family Temple. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, it became the property of Jianfu Temple. After Jianfu Temple was destroyed, it was taken over and divided by nearby temples, resulting in its current state.

"The garden on Prince Hill is the property of Zishan Temple, and the land below the hill belongs to various temples such as Dazhuangyan Temple and Dazongchi Temple. The land is completely barren, with only the tenants of the residents earning a little income. I have already inquired with the supervising monks of the various temples and found that the land can be exchanged for the houses of the residents in the northern ward."

Chen Dong then said to Zhang Dai that Guiyifang was even more dilapidated than Tongguifang. At least Tongguifang still had houses belonging to various families, so the temples didn't mind exchanging them.

But the monks weren't fools. Chen Dongxuan immediately added, "There is a nursery of Zongchi Temple in the southeast of the town. There are pear tree seedlings that have been planted for several years and are about to be transplanted. Therefore, Zongchi Temple is asking for tens to hundreds of dollars per seedling."

"The garden of Sojiji Temple? It's all pear trees?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai immediately became interested and quickly asked another question.

Chang'an City was home to many historically significant temples, each with its own substantial temple estates in addition to serving as religious sites. The southwest of the city was dotted with abandoned workshops, where numerous large temples also existed.

Yongyang Ward, located in the southwesternmost corner of the city, was divided between Dazhuangyan Temple and Dazongchi Temple. Dazongchi Temple owned a pear orchard, which, along with the apricot orchard of Daci'en Temple in the southeast, was known as a famous garden in the south of the city. The pears produced by Dazongchi Temple's pear orchard were sweet and juicy, and the pear blossom honey was even used as tribute.

When Zhang Dai learned that the Zongchi Temple Garden was located here, he was naturally very interested and planned to choose a suitable place to set up a small pear orchard, like going to Wangchuan to be Wang Wei's neighbor, and making them envious when the pear blossoms were in full bloom or the fruit was plentiful.

After receiving Chen Dong's affirmative answer, Zhang Dai said with a smile, "It's no problem to give them money for the seedlings. By the way, ask if there are any monks in the temple who are skilled in horticulture and are willing to leave the temple to live in their homes. We'll build five hundred houses in the neighborhood, each with a hall and two rooms, and each half an acre of land. How much do you estimate it will cost?"

"The main hall and buildings can all be constructed with rammed earth, and the soil can be taken from the nearby Prince's Hill. Only the beams and frame are indispensable. The cost of materials for one house is about twenty strings of cash, and five hundred houses would require ten thousand strings of cash. All men and women from the households can work. They will be provided with a little food, and there is no need to calculate the wages..."

Before Chen Dong could finish his calculations, Zhang Dai spoke up first: "Why not calculate the wages? The wages still need to be calculated. After the cost of the materials and labor is calculated, go to the mansion to get my warrant and collect the money from the West Market shop to start the work."

More than 500 standard residences, with the cost of materials alone, would only amount to 10,000 strings of cash. The cost of building a single living room in the homes of many powerful and wealthy people would probably be more than that. Even including labor costs, it would only be a little over 20,000 strings of cash, enough to own a community in Chang'an that could accommodate several thousand people. This was a very worthwhile business.

Zhang Dai still did not invest directly, but instead used the money from the West Market pawnshop, which he opened after arriving in the capital. The capital used was the sum that the Princess of Yunyang had entrusted to him.

(End of this chapter)