Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 77 Guanlong Nobles
Zhang Dai had truly witnessed the arrogance and domineering nature of the old money families in Guanzhong this time. He used to think that Li Linfu was two-faced and treacherous, but now he just felt that this guy hadn't killed enough.

Judging from Wei Jian's fierce and violent manner in killing the horse to vent his anger, anyone who didn't know better would think that this guy had suffered some great injustice. But it turned out that he had only offended this guy because he hadn't been able to show off his power here.

Since the Li Linfu incident, Zhang Dai no longer expected to get along well with his relatives and friends, but this way of deepening the hatred still baffled him. He just felt that these guys were really crazy.

The Guanlong aristocratic group was a rather unique entity in the political landscape of the Tang Dynasty, and their history can be traced back to the Western Wei period.

At that time, Yuwen Tai, a powerful minister of the Western Wei Dynasty, established a military system of government troops based in Guanzhong, with six pillars and twelve generals as the main body. He united a group of military nobles in Guanzhong and used this as the basis for his regime to complete a counterattack. Ultimately, the Sui Dynasty, which inherited this system, completed the unification of the country.

The Tang Dynasty was also established based on this origin. After the change of dynasties, these Guanzhong military nobles also integrated with each other and their relationship became closer.

By the time of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, although the foundation of the Fubing system had long since collapsed, these Guanlong nobles had evolved into political and aristocratic families, continuing to play their role in the Tang Dynasty's political landscape.

These people played a crucial role, especially in the various coups before the Kaiyuan era.

Jiang Jiao, Li Linfu's uncle and Wei Jian's father-in-law, was a supporter of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and followed him in launching the Xiantian Coup to eliminate Princess Taiping's power.

These people often used regional origins and marriage alliances to form a complex web of relationships, which is somewhat similar to that of the Kanto aristocracy. This was a common method used by medieval political families to maintain social relations and influence.

However, they were not a monolithic group; fierce struggles existed among them. For example, Jiang Jiao, a favored minister from the beginning, was persecuted to death by Wang Shouyi, the elder brother of Empress Wang, for his involvement in the deposition of the empress. Li Linfu, on the other hand, framed Wei Jian during the Tianbao era, almost leading to the extermination of his entire clan.

The Wei clan of Jingzhao was among the most elite of the Guanzhong aristocracy, especially after the Tang Dynasty, when the Wei clan was very important as both court officials and meritorious relatives.

Take Wei Jian for example. His elder sister was the Princess Consort of Xue, and his younger sister married Prince Zhong, Li Jun, who later became Crown Prince Li Heng. He himself married Jiang Jiao's daughter, which vividly demonstrates the intricate interpersonal relationships among the Guanzhong aristocracy.

Given his family background and interpersonal relationships, it's perfectly normal for Wei Jian to be arrogant and haughty.

While the Guanlong aristocracy certainly had a very superior background and starting point, which guaranteed them a lower limit far above the prevailing social norms, their upper limit was honestly not that high.

Even after Changsun Wuji, almost no strong representative emerged in this group who could unite all parties and govern from the central government. Most of them lived off the legacy without any real understanding of it.

While the Guanlong aristocracy cannot be regarded as a community sharing the same breath and fate, even just the complex networks of relationships they each possessed were enough to make ordinary people hesitant to offend them.

Of course, this is under the condition that there is no serious conflict of interest. In the previous incident with Li Linfu, Zhang Dai was afraid of offending Li Linfu because if he did not work hard, he would suffer a miserable end.

This time, Wei Jian was simply out of his mind, and he didn't take Zhang Dai seriously. He might even be defending his relative Li Linfu. It wasn't that Zhang Dai provoked him.

Since things have come to this, there's no point in dwelling on it. At least Wei Jian has given up his mount, so Zhang Dai hasn't lost out. As for being more careful in the future and needing to cultivate his network to gain more support, there's no need to be anxious about it.

However, Zhang Dai was somewhat curious about Wang Yuanbao's association with Wei Jian. Although they were both from Chang'an, their social statuses were vastly different, so their association was quite unexpected.

Just then, broker Wei Lin was at home, so Zhang Dai called him over and asked, "How is Wang Yuanbao's counterfeit shop business going?"

"With the Bian Canal blocked, it is difficult for goods from Jianghuai to travel north. Previously, Wang Yuanbao went to Bianzhou to clear the blockage, and the group of followers originally thought that there might still be a chance for things to turn around."

But now the court has undergone personnel changes, and another official has been appointed as the prefect of Bianzhou. Everyone in the capital says that Wang Yuanbao's efforts have failed, and that he has been harmed by both heaven and man; his foundation is probably in jeopardy!

As a powerful figure passing through Luoyang, Wang Yubao attracted much attention from the city's elite. Wei Lin was also familiar with his situation and, upon hearing this, quickly said, "Currently, the Jia families in the southern market, each with their own capital, are all vying to invest in the market administration, hoping to seize the opportunity when Wang's store is sold off."

I recall that you recently expressed your intention to buy property in the southern part of the city. If your mind hasn't changed, then we can begin planning it!

Zhang Dai had previously learned that Wang Yuanbao's investment was about to suffer a huge loss, which had inspired his plan to reform the canal transport system. He never expected to hear of it again, only to find that the man's impending financial ruin was about to become a reality, and that the reason was closely related to him.

He had only recently heard from his grandfather about Yuan Qianyao's son, Yuan Fu, being appointed governor of Bianzhou. Unexpectedly, the merchants of the Southern Market had already reacted, preparing to carve up a piece of the fat sheep that was mired in trouble, Wang Yuanbao. Sure enough, where money is, people flock. It seemed Wang Yuanbao had indeed encountered considerable difficulties; after his fruitless efforts in Bianzhou, he returned to Luoyang to smooth things over, possibly thus gaining access to Wei Jian's patronage.

Zhang Dai had been interested in Wang Yuanbao's business before, and now that he saw Wang Yuanbao getting involved with Wei Jian, and since he had just become enemies with Wei Jian, he wanted to learn more about him and see if he could find some weaknesses in Wei Jian's personnel management so that he could take some precautions.

However, when he asked for more details, Wei Lin couldn't explain it clearly. He belonged to the lowest class in Nanshi. He used to have some information channels because of his position as a clerk in the municipal government, but now his situation was getting worse and worse, and he could no longer contact his former colleagues.

"In short, keep a close eye on the situation at Wang's store. If there are any unusual developments, let me know immediately."

Knowing that Wang Yuanbao had created a huge mess in Nanshi, Zhang Dai's appeal to Wei Jian might be an attempt to engage in some illegal money-for-power manipulation.

He certainly wouldn't make enemies everywhere, but once he had a grudge, he wouldn't simply back down or try to settle things peacefully. If he could learn some of Wei Jian's background, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Wei Lin, "If Wang Yuanbao is truly in dire straits and has no other choice, you can ask him to come see me."

He recalled his previous plan to conduct money exchange between the two capitals, and thought he could discuss the feasibility with Wang Yuanbao. However, he still needed to confirm the relationship between Wang Yuanbao and Wei Jian.

If Wang Yuanbao came as summoned, it would mean that he had failed to establish connections with Wei Jian. Although he himself was not as well-connected as the old money-grubbers of Guanzhong, he was a native of Luoyang and naturally had more ideas and resources to solve problems than a mere merchant like Wang Yuanbao.

Wei Lin was overjoyed to receive a new job from Zhang Dai. After thinking for a moment, he knelt down in front of Zhang Dai and bowed his head, saying, "Young master, I am pleased to ask if you need any servants in your new home."

I recently lost my job at the city government and have been running around the market all day trying to make ends meet. My wife is the only one at home. Because I am so eager to make money, I have come to dislike the brokers in the southern market. Those scoundrels take advantage of my absence to harass and intimidate me. If you, sir, could take my wife in, I would be extremely grateful. I would not ask for any wages, just two meals a day..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but glance at An Xiaochen outside the hall. His situation had just improved, but he had run into an alliance of people playing the victim, each more pitiful than the last. An Xiaochen had at least sold his concubines and servants, while Wei Lin simply couldn't even protect or support his own wife.

At this moment, another question remained in Zhang Dai's mind: what his father, Zhang Jun, had mentioned about separate registrations and different types of property when they were at home.

Zhang Jun's words today also showed that this guy still has a strong desire to control himself. Right now, Zhang Dai can still ignore it because of his grandfather's support, but when his grandfather passes away in the future, under Zheng's instigation, his father will definitely not let him have an easy time.

Take the example of setting up a side business. If he were to quietly build up a business outside, there's no rule out the possibility that the couple might sue him for stealing their property.

To prevent this from happening, he cannot have any fixed assets in his name.

Either marry a wife who brings a generous dowry, or entrust your assets to an unrelated person. The broker Wei Lin in front of us is a good choice, provided that we prevent him from smuggling his assets away.

Upon hearing Wei Lin's request, Zhang Dai's heart stirred. After a moment's thought, he said, "There aren't any heavy matters at home, but it's not as convenient as staying at home. If your wife doesn't mind the hardship, she can come here and serve under my maid."

"How could we dare! It is our honor that you would employ us, my lord!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Lin immediately bowed and said that he was in a hurry to send his wife over, indicating that he was indeed in dire straits in the city.

Seeing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but marvel at the abundance of human resources in Luoyang. As long as one's circumstances allowed, people would flock to them. In this light, his previous request for Zhang Yi to hire servants and slaves from the Luoyang county government was completely unnecessary. If they were simply open to welcome people, his villa would be overflowing with people in no time.

As evening fell, Wei Jian's family members came to the door again, placed fifty bolts of silk outside the door, and then shouted, "Our master is spending money to support Zhang's slave!" After saying this, the group left.

Zhang Dai was truly at a loss for words regarding this absurd behavior. In any case, An Xiaochen and Ding Qing both had only minor sprains, and after some treatment, they were much better. So he stopped worrying about it, thinking that Wei Jian was still not completely devoid of conscience and was using this to honor his adoptive parents. He then ordered someone to bring in the fifty bolts of silk and distribute them to the two of them.

Such matters are indeed unsettling, so after thinking for a moment, Zhang Dai instructed someone to send another invitation to Wang Han. Previously, the guards of the Prince of Qi's residence were stationed there, making it inconvenient to host a banquet; now, they could thank Wang Han for his megaphone.

(End of this chapter)