Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 160 Three Divisions
When the Li family was escorted to Ding County, Zhao Huai'an was inspecting the newly built barracks with his staff.

Walking next to Zhao Huai'an was Du Zongqi, the clerk of the state shogunate. Yes, this former state registrar had transformed into a clerk of the shogunate after passing the loyalty test, and was still in charge of the shogunate's special financial expenditures.

At this moment, Du Zongqi was introducing the achievements of the barracks construction to Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord, according to your regulations, we have built two houses for each soldier to house their families. Currently, our army has 3,600 registered soldiers, so we need to build 7,200 houses. We have already acquired 2,000 houses, and there are four more phases under construction."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, climbed the earthen slope, looked at the leveled land, and asked:
"Is there any particular reason for building it on this slope?"

Du Zongqi was a diligent worker with a proactive learning attitude. Although he wasn't a professional official in charge of construction before, since being appointed to this position, he often chatted with the experienced subordinates. Therefore, when asked about this, he confidently replied:
"My lord, the military headquarters is building houses for officers and soldiers for long-term deployment, so they must also serve the functions of defense and self-protection. Our company has been surveying the land near Ding County and found that the northwest side, near the Huai River ferry, is flat and has no natural defenses. However, to the east of the ferry, near the Huang River, which is where we are now, there are many hills and slopes, which are perfect for building barracks."

"The establishment of this camp here not only controls the waterways of the Huai and Huang Rivers, but also protects the county seat, making it a fortified city. Moreover, due to its high vantage point overlooking the river plain, building fortifications, placing watchtowers, and storing provisions here would make it a strong fortified village."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, acknowledging the work of Du Zongqi and his team.

In fact, when it came to choosing a site, these shogunate officials gave him several places to decide on, but he could tell at a glance that although they had given him three places to choose from, the only place that was truly suitable for building a large-scale barracks was the area in the northeast of the city.

So, while it seems like Zhao Huai'an is the one making the choice, it's actually just a formality for our Zhao Da.

After so long, to be honest, he'd gotten used to the way these clerks operated; they were all seasoned veterans.

But oil doesn't matter; he's using a horse racing system anyway, where the capable rise and the incapable fall.

In addition, he kept bringing in energetic young staff members from outside. At this time, the entire shogunate actually only had one type of people: those who got things done. The atmosphere from top to bottom could be summed up in one word: stagnation!

Get all of you ready to get back to work, Zhao Da! Zhao Da is so busy he's practically running around all day, and you think you can just lie down?

He was very kind to the military, but he dealt a heavy blow to the officials.

Zhao Huai'an implemented many policies in Gwangju, but in essence, they were all based on the principle of prioritizing the military, concentrating all power in the military, and serving the military in everything.

Take the barracks being built now, for example. There are thousands of rooms, and the manpower and timber used are no small amount of money.
But this money must be spent. Only when the men below have no worries can the brothers fight tenaciously on the battlefield and risk their lives for Zhao Da!

As Zhao Huai'an and his staff walked uphill, he pointed to the slope:
"This area needs to be leveled to make it suitable for large-scale troop movements, and gravel needs to be added so that troop movements can be quick even on rainy days."

Upon hearing this, Du Zongqi quickly took out a brush and wrote it down in his notebook, but the clerks behind him who were actually doing the work looked embarrassed and dared not speak.

Zhao Huai'an saw this and understood what they were worried about, so he relaxed:
"Just level this section of the marching road."

The clerks quickly calculated the labor costs and food expenses in their minds, and since the remaining balance could cover the expenses, they nodded.

Seeing his subordinate nod, Du Zongqi felt reassured, put away the paper and pen, and continued to explain to Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord, look at this place. It is situated on high ground, which not only serves to defend against enemies but also to prevent flooding. Every year during the plum rain season, there is a risk of flooding in the Huainan region. Our military camp is located here and is close to the two rivers, making it very vulnerable to flooding. Therefore, our company has dug trenches around the slope to prevent flooding and to guard against enemy attacks."

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an had already climbed the earthen slope and saw that a large number of barracks had been built. Listening to Du Zongqi's description of the trenches, he also looked down the slope and indeed saw two earthen ditches. He immediately praised Du Zongqi, saying:
"Old Du, not bad, you deserve a lot of praise for this. We engineers are different from other companies. We need to consider special circumstances the most. Otherwise, if we build nice-looking houses but don't consider floods, what if there is a big flood and all of them are ruined? It is not easy for the state to build such a big project. It is the hard-earned money of the people of Guangzhou. We must cherish it."

All the officials, including Wang Duo, Zhang Guiling, Xue Hang, and Pei Desheng from the shogunate, nodded and remembered this.

Zhao Huai'an nodded, but in his heart he didn't think these people would really remember. In the end, in their eyes, the people were sheep and they were the shepherds.

That's why Zhao Huai'an brings this up so often; the more he talks about it, the more these people naturally take it to heart. After all, these are the people the leaders value most.

Then Zhao Huai'an noticed some holes behind Qiu and asked:

"What's there?"

Du Zongqi was just absorbing the spirit of the leader's speech when he suddenly heard this. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained:

“This area is suitable for burial in the nearby villages, so there are many burial mounds on the slope, but we have already cleared them all to prevent the soldiers from contracting diseases.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an, who had just been smiling, immediately turned sour, kicked Du Zongqi, and cursed:

"Who gave you permission to desecrate ordinary people's graves?"

Du Zongqi's face turned pale instantly. In a flash, his mind cleared, and he shouted:

“My lord, we didn’t shovel them. We were relocating graves for people in the nearby villages and we even gave them compensation.”

Zhao Huai'an, still somewhat skeptical, asked:

"Really?"

His imposing presence was overwhelming; a single question was enough to force Du Zongqi to tell the truth. But before he could speak, Zhao Huai'an nodded himself.
"Hmm, that works. Remember, without the people, there is no army; without the army, there is no us. So we have to look at the essence. Here's what we'll do: erect a memorial archway in my name for the people in the nearby villages to thank them for their contributions to the prefecture. The archway should be erected high, right on their village road, so that merchants and travelers along the way can see it."

Du Zongqi was a bit dumbfounded. Judging from the name, he roughly knew that this archway was a gate outside the city's market area, but he didn't know its exact form. So he whispered a suggestion:
"Why not build a spirit path stele and write down the deeds of the villagers on it, so that everyone can understand it?"

Zhao Huai'an shook his head:
"We also need a spirit tablet, but don't make it too complicated. Have the state find a stonemason to carve a tablet to explain this matter clearly. Hmm, you can't handle this."

Then Zhao Huai'an called out to Zhang Guinian beside him:

"Old Zhang, I'd like to trouble you with your pen to write an inscription. Make sure you grasp the spirit of the text."

Zhang Guinian bowed respectfully, sang "Yes," and began to conceive how to write the inscription.

Since the magistrate specifically emphasized the spirit, it is natural to highlight the close relationship between the people of the state and the government. Countless famous poems flashed through my mind, and I already had an idea.

After giving this instruction, Zhao Huai'an then said to Du Zongqi:
“Just erecting a spirit path stele won’t do. That involves etiquette and is too troublesome. Besides, it’s too ordinary and won’t attract the attention of merchants and travelers. We’ll use a memorial archway. I want it to be tall so that more people will know about the virtue of the villagers in giving up the land. So, it must be tall to demonstrate virtue. You don’t understand memorial archways, but I’ll have the prefecture build one and bring it over. You’ll be responsible for coordinating the relations between the villagers here.”

Whether it was Du Zongqi's imagination or not, he felt that the governor emphasized the word "coordination" slightly.

At this moment, Du Zongqi had only one thought in his mind: to quickly repay the villagers and get this matter settled.

Sigh, working under Magistrate Zhao, one really can't slack off at all.

Zhao Huai'an was full of energy. He walked around the barracks and gave his opinions on many things. Du Zongqi and the group of clerks wrote down every single one of them.

Looking again at the Huangshui River at the foot of the slope, Zhao Huai'an noticed there was no dock there, so he said to Wang Duo:

“Old Wang, the army’s finances and logistics are guaranteed by your budget. This place is neither close nor far from Ding County, but we still need to rely on waterways to supply thousands of soldiers and their families. You should build a dock down here, and supplies from Ding County can be transported directly through the Huangshui River. Also, we need to find a place to build a grain depot here, so that some of the grain we buy from outside can be transported here for storage.”

Wang Duo stepped forward and quickly wrote this down.

Since entering Guangzhou, Zhao Huai'an has not yet reorganized the army, but he has integrated the support organizations under his command.

Now it is basically divided into three teams: military, civilian, and financial.

All the staff members on the army side belong to the commander's office. These people are directly in charge of the army's soldiers, food, armor, and horses. They are Zhao Huai'an's right and left hands in maintaining the operation of the army.

As for Gwangju, which consisted of one prefecture and five counties, it was basically still operating under the original prefecture and county administration. The power that the original shogunate had seized from the local areas was still delegated to the various departments of the prefecture and counties. Only above the prefecture was a shogunate council specifically responsible for issuing and receiving official documents.

Finally, there's the finance department. This is the only position that Zhao Huai'an has completely transferred from the local area to the shogunate. In other words, from now on, the tax collection and grain distribution of each prefecture and county will be handled by personnel dispatched by the shogunate, whose organizational structure is subordinate to the shogunate but independent of local administration.

Then Zhao Huai'an divided the financial team into three parts: expenditure, transportation, and auditing. Unlike the imperial court, which divided its finances into three departments—salt and iron, expenditure, and household—Zhao Huai'an's financial team, although also divided into three, was based on their functions.

The Ministry of Finance has the greatest power, specifically responsible for the entire shogunate's financial budget, revenue, and expenditure. However, these officials are only responsible for statistics; the actual collection of taxes and transportation are handled by the Transportation Office, while the last two cases are all handled by the Audit Office to verify the accounts.

Zhao Huai'an designed this system of three departments based on one principle.

Those who manage money don't touch money; those who touch money don't manage accounts; and those who manage accounts don't touch anything.

For example, Zhao Huai'an's construction of barracks this time can be said to be the largest project and single fiscal expenditure in Gwangju in recent years.

How much will this cost?

Two thousand rooms have been built so far. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the cost of materials used is about 17,690 guan. The price could have been halved, but Zhao Huai'an ordered that the barracks must use wood and that mats, straw, and bamboo should not be used as substitutes.

So just the cost of materials alone was about nine strings of cash per room, and each official was generally allocated two rooms. This is why Zhao Huai'an directly gave eighteen strings of cash to more than three thousand baoyidu and yicong.

But this money was well spent! Normally, if we give this little bit of money to the soldiers, the brothers will shout "Your Excellency is benevolent and righteous!" and that's it.

But if the same amount of money were spent on building houses for them, they would remember Zhao Huai'an's kindness every moment.

This is how you use money wisely.

However, this is all Zhao Huai'an can do for now. He wants to build stilted barracks for each of his brothers and their families, but the shogunate has too many expenses and simply cannot afford it.

Moreover, by taking it one step at a time, making progress and improvements year after year, isn't that what makes life seem better? If you try to achieve everything at once, how can you improve later?

However, he had also inquired and found that the cost of building a tiled house nowadays, including materials such as timber, bricks, tiles, reeds, bamboo, bamboo strips, and lime, would be over eighteen strings of cash.

All I can say is that Zhao Huai'an is working towards that goal.

Currently, the cost of building barracks is the biggest expense. As for labor costs? If Zhao Huai'an hadn't insisted on paying the villagers for their work, the lower-ranking officials would have simply collected them for free.

Although the Two-Tax System was implemented in the Ming Dynasty and no longer required corvée labor, in reality, it was commonplace for local governments to make ordinary people do manual labor.

Even the people in his own office were simply conscripted, given a small salary, and then dismissed. It just goes to show how incredibly comfortable it must have been to be an official in the Tang Dynasty.

If those above use them, everything costs money; if they use those below, everything has to be free.

Even with Zhao Huai'an adding the wages, the price for building the camp only increased from nine to ten strings of cash. Moreover, because of the wages, the villagers worked even harder, shortening the construction period considerably.

Alas, our ancestors of the Tang Dynasty were too simple and honest. In my previous life, Zhao Da heard a story that truly described a troublesome commoner.

It is said that when the US military was building the First Highway in Afghanistan, they hired local mountain people to repair the road for one dollar a day.

One dollar is a lot of money for the Afghan mountain people, so what did they do? They repaired the road during the day and then came down from the mountain at night to dig up the road they had just repaired.

And so, they kept digging and repairing, and the road was only partially completed when the Americans were driven away.

Compared to those Afghan mountain people, our ancestors of the Tang Dynasty were so sensible it was heartbreaking.

……

So far, Zhao Huai'an is quite satisfied with the barracks. Although it's not the best, it's a cozy little home for the soldiers.

Zhao Huai'an knew the true nature of the warriors of this era. He didn't need to know from his previous life; just from his experience in the Tang Dynasty for a year, he knew what kind of bastards these warriors were.

But Zhao Huai'an still believed that no matter how much of a warrior he was, he was still a human being, and he had a soft spot, especially for a group like Baoyidu that had not yet been corrupted by the big dye vat.

Why did he insist on building barracks for the officers and soldiers and letting their families live there? It was because this was home.

Zhao Huai'an knew exactly what the military was like: it was rife with violence! Corporal punishment, whipping, and beheadings were commonplace. Any normal person in such a state would either go insane or become ruthless.

Moreover, military life offers no privacy whatsoever, which makes soldiers feel like animals, merely risking their lives for the wealth and power of their superiors.

But if family members are next door, or there is a camp where they can stay, then the situation is different.

No matter how tiring the training is, when he gets back, he sees his wife busy washing clothes and his children running around the camp. Any man with a sense of responsibility will not feel bitter. He will only think, "I'll climb up the ladder with all my might!"

Moreover, with family members nearby, both officers and soldiers felt at ease, knowing that no matter what, they still had family members by their side, and thus they would think more carefully before acting.

Many problems can be resolved simply by thinking them through a little more; big problems can be minimized, and small problems can be avoided altogether.

Therefore, military dependents act as a lubricant within the military.

In addition, Zhao Huai'an had another reason that he couldn't say: the soldiers were always feeling stifled, especially those who trained in physical strength, whose hormones were rising and who were extremely thirsty.

With his wife by his side, he always had a way to vent his frustrations. Otherwise, if he got too frustrated and encountered something unpleasant, he would mutini and attack the county town to release his anger.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an was determined to fix up the barracks and calm the brothers down.

……

By this time, Du Zongqi had almost finished introducing the barracks, and Zhao Huai'an was very satisfied.

Those below should be praised when they deserve it.

Du Zongqi was filled with trepidation, and then handed over the completed account books to Zhao Huai'an for review.

Zhao Huai'an flipped through the ledger and handed it to Xue Hang, who was in charge of auditing, instructing him to check it back and stamp it and put it into storage if there were no problems.

At this moment, surrounded by numerous advisors and generals, Zhao Huai'an stood in front of the barracks, ready to give everyone a valuable presentation:
"There are no small matters in the army, let alone major issues involving food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Only by ensuring that our brothers live well, are warmly dressed, have money to save, and have enough to eat will they stop lying to us. We can fool them by using less of this or that, since no one will notice. But nobody is stupid, especially the lower-ranking officers who use these things every day. Do they not know whether they are good or bad, or whether they are short or not?"

“If you fool the brothers, they will fool you on the battlefield. If you encounter a good one, they will throw down their knife, kneel on the ground, and then move on to another place. But if you encounter a bad one, they will just push you over and send you to the enemy. Then you will cry and regret it, wondering why you were greedy for a few dollars.”

"So, whether it's to our brothers or to you, I, Zhao Da, have only one thing to say: treat others with sincerity. Let's take the lead, think of our brothers, and treat them like our own. Even if there are scoundrels among you, when the time comes, we'll use military law to behead them, and that's what they deserve!"

"And that's just how I, Zhao Da, do things. I'll treat you well first. If you have a conscience, then naturally you'll work hard and we'll share the wealth and honor. But if you're a heartless person, then I, Zhao Da, also have a knife in my hand. If I were to kill you, don't complain."

His words prompted the generals and staff to applaud and shout their loyalty.

Anyone who eats the magistrate's rice and then smashes the magistrate's pot, the brothers will kill him without the magistrate even lifting a finger!
Zhao Huai'an nodded, then glanced around the barracks and said to Du Zongqi:

"Keep building these houses. After we finish clearing the mountain, there will be more than just four phases!"

What could Du Zongqi say? He could only cheer for the magistrate's ambition.

After leaving some officers and soldiers to guard the barracks, Zhao Huai'an and others returned to Ding County, where he would oversee the reorganization of the army.

Sigh, I'm so busy every day.

(End of this chapter)