Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 488 Managing things is worse than managing people
Before the curfew began, Zhang Dai was invited to Yuwen Rong's residence. When he saw the bustling scene of carriages and horses in front of the gate, he was quite startled.

Although he had heard that the Yuwen family was lavishly gathering guests, when he actually saw the procession of carriages and horses stretching for miles along the main street in front of the gate, almost blocking the crossroads of the neighborhood, he couldn't help but marvel at the Yuwen family's grandeur. No wonder his aunt, Wu, complained that her stepson, Pei Zhen, was incapable of managing household affairs.

Judging from this spectacle alone, even his grandfather Zhang Shuo at the height of his power couldn't have achieved this. The last time the Yuwen family was this grand was probably during the Northern Zhou Dynasty. To call this a bustling scene would be an understatement; even the East and West markets probably weren't this crowded and lively on ordinary days.

Compared to the bustling scene in front of Yuwen Rong's house, not to mention Pei Guangting, who didn't socialize much, even Xiao Song's house, who was Zhang Dai's neighbor and had been prime minister for a longer time, was nothing.

Of course, the number of guests does not necessarily indicate the level of power. The popularity of Yuwen Rong's family was not only due to his own love of socializing and gathering guests, but also to another very important reason: the administrative affairs and policies implemented by Yuwen Rong were more penetrating to the lower levels.

Among the several prime ministers, Xiao Song, as the Grand Secretary and Minister of War, was in charge of imperial edicts and military affairs, which had little direct overlap with the lives of the lower and middle classes. Pei Guangting, who was in charge of the Censorate and attempted to reform the selection of officials, was even more detached from the people.

Only the finances under Yuwen Rong's control were closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood. The implementation of his policies could directly determine the burden on the people in the capital region and the whole country, and the people felt his policies most directly and profoundly.

Therefore, anyone with even a little influence in the capital region would rush to visit him. Even if they couldn't forge any deep friendships, simply visiting his tutelage and hearing a few snippets of information, thus gaining advance knowledge of adjustments and changes in national policies, was a tremendous opportunity for ordinary people.

Because there were so many guests at the gate, and Zhang Dai also had a large retinue, it was already completely dark when his party finally arrived at Yuwen Rong's gate.

As Zhang Dai had someone come forward to present his calling card, he couldn't help but think of a joke from later generations: when he entered the hall later, would Yuwen Rong ask him what kind of horse he was riding and why there was a traffic jam?

While his mounts are indeed fine horses, the key issue is that there are too many visitors on the streets, and to move freely in and out, he would probably have to take a helicopter.

As he was thinking this, another commotion erupted in the front courtyard of Yuwen Rong's house. A young man, accompanied by several powerful servants, pushed through the crowd in the front courtyard and walked straight towards the gate.

"What distinguished guest has arrived, that it has troubled the scholar to personally come out to greet him!"

Some visitors who often lingered in front of the door couldn't help but ask in surprise when they saw this scene.

The young man was none other than Yuwen Rong's son, Yuwen Kuan. Upon arriving at the gate, he saw Zhang Dai standing a few feet away from his own doorway, surrounded by his entourage. He immediately went forward apologetically, bowing to Zhang Dai as he walked, saying, "The scene at the gate is chaotic, and I am truly sorry to have troubled you, Zhang Liulang, to wait here! Please forgive me, Zhang Liulang, and come in quickly to rest for a while!"

Seeing that the visitors outside were unable to enter, while Yuwen Kuan personally came out to greet him, Zhang Dai's slight displeasure vanished. He cupped his hands in greeting to Yuwen Kuan and said with a smile, "I am already delighted to receive your invitation, Master Yuwen, and I am even more flattered that you have come out to greet me!"

The two chatted and laughed as they walked into the house. As for Zhang Dai's dozens of followers, since Yuwen Rong's house was already overcrowded, only Ding Qing and Yin Huan could accompany them. Jin Huan, along with the young man Lai Zhen and the other followers, hid in a corner and waited for their master to send servants to bring them food.

As they entered the house, the chatter continued in the neighborhood. Someone couldn't help but say, "Was the person Yuwen Dalang greeted just now Zhang Zongzhi from Zhang Yan Gong's family? Zhang Yan Gong has been out of power for a long time, yet Zhang Zongzhi still puts on such a grand show?"

"Indeed, isn't it often said that among all the powerful families in the capital region, only Lord Xiao's faction can rival them? But just now, Yuwen Dalang had a fawning smile on his face, and he even needed to flatter Zhang Zongzhi?"

In their leisure time, the people of the capital would also criticize the prominent figures in order to show that they were knowledgeable and had a deep understanding of the current situation, thus distinguishing themselves from the ignorant and uncultured people in the countryside.

But in reality, the only rationale behind their grand pronouncements is who holds power. After all, there are only a few positions, and who is in power and who is out of power is the most obvious indicator. As for deeper changes in the situation, they rarely see them and can only speculate and imagine based on rumors.

Zhang Dai is now considered a minor figure in officialdom, but as a mere eighth-rank censor, he is hardly worthy of the respect of the elders of Chang'an. In their eyes, he is nothing more than a playboy who lives off his family's wealth and status, and is hardly worthy of the son of a prime minister personally coming out to greet him.

Leaving aside the discussions on the street outside, the environment became quieter after the group passed through the front courtyard and entered the mansion.

Along the way, Zhang Dai chatted with Yuwen Kuan for a while. He had initially thought Yuwen Kuan was greedy and arrogant, but after talking with him, he found Yuwen Kuan to be cheerful and humorous, and showed no obvious malice towards him. This was somewhat different from the rumors. However, Zhang Dai also understood that one couldn't judge a book by its cover; honeyed words and a dagger in the heart weren't unique to Li Linfu. While some people are undeniably wicked, those who appear polite are not necessarily virtuous gentlemen.

The outer room was already bustling with activity, and the main hall of Yuwen Rong's house was also packed with people. As soon as Zhang Dai stepped into the hall, he immediately felt a venomous gaze directed at him.

He followed his intuition and, as expected, found Li Linfu sitting at the table.

Li Linfu's seat was relatively close to the front, indicating that he was somewhat valued by Yuwen Rong among the guests, but only to a limited extent. At least Yuwen Rong did not take their mutual animosity to heart and still invited Zhang Dai to his home as a guest.

"This humble official greets Lord Yuwen, Vice Minister Pei, and all the gentlemen. I was delayed by other matters and have come late to pay my respects. Please forgive me, Lord Yuwen!"

Zhang Dai entered the hall, first greeting Yuwen Rong and Pei Yaoqing who were seated there, then bowing to the people in the hall and saying apologetically.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Linfu turned to Ban Jingqian, who was sitting to his side, and said, "I haven't been to Taiwan for a long time. Are you all, the current officials in Taiwan, doing more work than the prime ministers?"

These words were obviously meant to mock Zhang Dai's arrogance and boastfulness. Could a mere censor be more busy and have more to do than a prime minister?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai did not shy away from the question. Instead, he turned to Li Linfu and said with a smile, "Prime Minister Li, you are mistaken. You were only interrogated in Taizhong at the beginning of the year. How can you say it has been a long time? Prime Minister Yuwen is a pillar of the state. Even with a myriad of complex matters, he can clearly distinguish right from wrong. I am but a junior, and I am easily confused when faced with a situation. How dare I compare myself to Your Excellency!"

Li Linfu was furious to have his wounds exposed in public. However, before he could retaliate, Yuwen Rong spoke first, saying, "Zhang Dai's words are sharp and his contemporaries have long recognized his talent, so there's no need for him to show off. I heard that you had a pleasant discussion with Vice Minister Pei today, and I know that you still have a lot of wisdom left to use, so I invited you to meet me. As for other matters, there's no need to say more."

Since Yuwen Rong had already said that, Zhang Dai could only bow his head and apologize again. Then he turned around and planned to find a seat at the bottom of the table, but Pei Yaoqing waved him over and invited him to sit with him.

Pei Yaoqing's appreciation for Zhang Dai was genuine. Although he noticed that Yuwen Rong's retainers seemed to have some disagreements with Zhang Dai, he did not avoid them because of this.

After Zhang Dai sat down beside him, Pei Yaoqing said to him again, "Just now I discussed what we talked about this afternoon with Minister Yuwen, and we both felt that there was much to be done. What you said about the government wasting capital to make a living is not only a bad policy that breeds evil, but also a failure to fully utilize its resources. We should learn from the Ever-Normal Granary system..."

This afternoon, Zhang Dai and Pei Yaoqing discussed many topics, one of which was a critique of the past management methods of government offices, and at the same time, they proposed an idea to expand the scope of government-run enterprises.

The core of the canal transport reform was to flexibly adjust transport capacity and fully utilize the warehousing and distribution capabilities of key checkpoints and transportation hubs, making logistics more flexible and convenient. Previously, logistics costs were raised through an additional levy on the people's transportation fees, meaning that people had to bear a freight cost on top of the regular taxes.

When Yuwen Rong served as the governor of Bianzhou, he also drew on some of the ideas proposed by Zhang Dai for the reform of the canal transport system. He initially realized the phased transportation of riverboats, Huai boats and riverboats, which improved logistics efficiency and effectively saved some transportation costs.

However, Yuwen Rong did not invest these costs in the construction of large warehouses along the way, but instead used them directly for lending and profiteering. Although this significantly boosted Bianzhou's fiscal revenue in the short term, it did not actually reduce the burden on taxpayers and instead exacerbated the exploitation of Bianzhou merchants.

Zhang Dai's idea was that the government would no longer use the capital to lend money for profit, but instead invest these funds in the construction of inland ports, and profit from providing various infrastructure services and using rent and taxes.

With the establishment of port storage facilities, we can learn from the role of Changping Warehouse in regulating grain prices and seasonal adjustments for the storage and sale of bulk commodities.

Merchants no longer needed to travel deep into the countryside to harvest their goods; they could directly pick up their goods at the port's official warehouses and then ship them to their target markets, thus accelerating the logistics cycle and improving the efficiency of trade.

Zhang Dai's approach not only drew on the operating methods of later e-commerce platforms, but also summarized the various reforms implemented by Liu Yan during the mid-Tang Dynasty, such as the canal transport system, the Ever-Normal Granary, and the monopoly system.

Governing people is not as effective as governing resources. Improving productivity, expanding production scale, increasing the supply of goods, and promoting the circulation of goods are crucial. Where there is gathering and dispersal of goods, there is profit to be made. Strengthening inter-regional interaction stimulates social vitality, allowing the costs of governance to be effectively distributed across the entire realm, rather than simply suppressing and exploiting a single enemy!
(End of this chapter)