Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 171 Starving People
In the twelfth month of the second year of Qianfu, bandits invaded and plundered more than ten prefectures, reaching as far as Huainan, with some numbering over a thousand and others several hundred.

Therefore, the emperor issued an edict ordering the military governors and supervisors of the five armies of Huainan, Zhongwu, Xuanwu, Yicheng, and Tianping to launch a campaign to arrest and apprehend the enemy.

……

In the twelfth month of winter in the second year of Qianfu, there were still eighteen days until the New Year.

Zhao Huai'an, who had just been appointed as the deputy commander of the punitive expedition by the shogunate, led 1,500 cavalry and infantrymen from the eight districts of his yamen, along with 3,000 men and their wives and dependents, out of Ding County. They took a boat and sailed north along the Huang River into the Huai River, and then went downstream into Shouzhou.

There, Yan Zhang, the governor of Shouzhou, also led 500 personal guards, along with 1,000 state troops and supplies, and waited at Yingkou.

After Zhao Huai'an's fleet joined him, they headed north against the current along the Ying River.

They were to meet the supply ships waiting in Yingzhou, and then continue north to Xiangcheng in Chenzhou, where the Zhongwu Army's three thousand elite troops were stationed.

They received orders from Song Wei, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, to wait here for the Huainan army heading north, especially the Baoyi Army of Guang Prefecture, and then all the armies would continue along the Ying River to the Kaifeng camp in Bianzhou.

There, they will be responsible for clearing out the remaining bandit forces that have lingered in Puyang and Caozhou.

Right now, Zhao Huai'an is leading the fleets of Guang and Shou prefectures to Ruyin, the capital of Ying prefecture, to await the grain ships from Ying prefecture.

……

The cold winds of December bring decay to all things.

Standing on the deck at the bow of the ship, Zhao Huai'an looked at the warehouses stretching along both banks and sighed that Yingzhou was indeed a major town on the Grand Canal, and was truly prosperous.

But looking at the Yingzhou boat trackers pulling the boats along both banks, seeing how thin and bony they were, Zhao Huai'an was truly afraid that these people would not catch their breath and die on the shore.

However, Zhao Huai'an didn't say anything. Just by looking at how hard the boatmen were working, he knew how important this wage was to them.

The Huai River truly is a dividing line between North and South, not only in people's minds but also in terms of climate and destiny.

Yingzhou is located just north of the Huai River, separated from Shouzhou to the south by only a river. Yet, while Yingzhou suffered a locust plague, Shouzhou remained unscathed.

It seems even the ferocious locusts cannot fly across the wide Huai River.

Zhao Huai'an set off along the Huai River, deviating from the Huainan route, so he didn't experience any disasters along the way. However, after joining up with the Shouzhou army and heading against the Ying River into Yingzhou, the situation changed drastically.

Originally, the banks of the Ying River should have been the most prosperous area in the prefecture. Both the fields and shops thrived thanks to the Huai-Ying Canal, which was second only to the Bian River.

But all Zhao Huai'an saw along the way was devastation, with fields and houses destroyed and no one around. Occasionally, he would see some starving people wandering around, staring blankly at the fleet with their green eyes.

Upon seeing these people, Zhao Huai'an immediately thought of his junior advisor, Lu Wenyuan, who described the cannibalistic starving people in his letter as being just like this.

At this moment, the abstract concepts of "in chaotic times, people are worse off than dogs, human life is worthless, and people can even exchange their own children to eat" finally came to life.

So when Zhao Huai'an felt pity for those boatmen who couldn't even get enough to eat but still had to work so hard, he knew that compared to those people in the countryside outside the city, they were already lucky enough.

Although this good fortune is only temporary, without food replenishment, they won't survive for long with such strenuous physical labor.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an looked at Du Cong, the Salt and Iron Commissioner of Yingzhou, who was smiling beside him, and asked:
“Old Du, I, Zhao Da, can’t stand seeing people suffer. After all, I also came from a poor background. Here’s what I’ll do: you tell those boatmen down there to give each of them an extra piece of meat at noon, and I, Zhao Da, will pay for it.”

Du Cong's expression hardened, and he said righteously:

“Little Zhao, since you call me brother, how can I let you pay for this? Wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to Yantie? Besides, I, Old Du, make friends based on first impressions. It’s fate that I can befriend you, Zhao Da. It’s what Buddhism calls karmic connections.”

He became displeased when he saw that Zhao Huai'an was about to speak again:

“Little Zhao, I, Old Du, never talk about money when making friends. Tell me, who in the world is richer than our Salt and Iron Commissioner? So, you should keep your little bit of money to support the army. You governors, don’t be fooled by your splendid appearances in public. I know all about your sins behind the scenes. After all, my good-for-nothing elder brother is a governor.”

Zhao Huai'an was quite embarrassed by what Du Cong said. In other people's eyes, he and his brother, as governors, were just good-for-nothings who suffered. But what was shameful? It was that what old Du said was actually damn right.

They also have salt and iron commissioners in Guang Prefecture, but how can those commissioners compare to the salt and iron commissioner from Ying Prefecture before them?
This Du Cong, also known as Du Yantie, not only controlled the production, transportation, and sale of salt in Yingzhou, but also collected salt taxes. Iron mining, smelting, and even ironware production all passed through his hands. Therefore, theoretically, the armor and staffs of Yingzhou were also produced by Du Yantie. Furthermore, he also controlled the development of copper, silver, and gold mines, and even coinage.

This was already quite a powerful authority, but that was only their primary responsibility. Those in charge of salt and iron transport along the canal and trade routes also had the responsibility of coordinating the distribution of goods on the canal to ensure the supply of goods to Chang'an.

In other words, Du Cong also took on the role of transshipment worker in the Yingzhou canal transport section.

But that's not all. Because these people control the granaries in Yingzhou, they also bear the responsibility of disaster relief and regulating grain prices. In fact, with just a word from them, the grain circulation in Yingzhou can be shaken.

Now that the various towns in the Central Plains are suppressing bandits, Du Cong is also responsible for transporting grain and supplying the military needs of the Kaifeng camp.

If it were all about money and supplies, that would be one thing, but they can even interfere in local government affairs.

Because they had an envoy in charge of salt and iron, they were essentially special envoys of the emperor, who could monitor corruption among local officials, tax collection, and even intervene in local lawsuits in special circumstances.

But if you don't have the authority to manage salt and iron, even dogs won't pay attention to you. Take Guang Prefecture, for example. It's just an old official in charge of salt and iron in the prefecture. If it weren't for his official rank, he wouldn't even know that he was in charge of salt and iron.

Therefore, in general, important positions like the Salt and Iron Commissioner were usually held concurrently by local military governors. For example, Zhao Huai'an's Huainan military governor concurrently held the position of Salt and Iron Commissioner, which combined military, political, and financial functions.

But what's scary is that Yingzhou is a very special place; it doesn't have a military governor, or even a prefect.

This place is remotely governed by the military governor of Yicheng Army in Zhengzhou and Huazhou to the north. He holds the official title of Prefect of Yingzhou, but he never actually comes.

This situation occurred when Zhao Huai'an arrived in Yingzhou. The person who greeted them was Du Cong, the Salt and Iron Commissioner. At that time, he was about to lose his temper, thinking, "Is the Prefect of Yingzhou so arrogant?" He was about to teach this Prefect a lesson.

Then Zhang Guinian pulled him aside and whispered an explanation. Only then did Zhao Da realize that Du Cong was not only a benefactor but also a top-tier local figure. Whether Zhao Da could get enough to eat when he arrived at the Kaifeng camp would depend entirely on this old man Du's attitude.

No wonder people call me Little Zhao; they really don't consider themselves outsiders.

……

At that moment, listening to Du Cong's boastful words, Zhao Huai'an pinched his nose and smiled as he agreed.

And Old Du truly kept his word, summoning one of his men and giving the order.

But what Zhao Huai'an didn't expect was that after the salt and iron official disembarked, he immediately rode his horse to the shore and shouted:

"You are fortunate. Zhao Dalang, the prefect of Guang Prefecture on board, is kind-hearted. Seeing your diligence, he has given you mutton for lunch. Aren't you going to thank him?"

The boatmen who were busy pulling the boat were stunned when they heard the news. If it weren't for the shouts from the side, they would have thought they were hallucinating from hunger.

But they wished they could exchange the mutton for millet, so that one more person could survive in the family.

These people dared not ask for more; they could only kowtow to Zhao Huai'an on the boat and extol the benevolence and righteousness of this governor.

Amidst his weak cries, Zhao Huai'an's lips twitched slightly. He had originally intended to do what he could, to give these boatmen an extra bite of meat to help them recover.

But now that these salt and iron enthusiasts are calling him out in public, it makes it seem like Zhao Da is trying to gain fame, and in a way that's incredibly stingy.

Sigh, Zhao Da really can't afford to lose face like this.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an called over Du Zongqi, the Minister of Revenue, and asked him to unload 100 shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice from the boat so that the boatmen could collect it.

Du Cong, who had been laughing, immediately understood that his subordinates had done something wrong when he saw Zhao Huai'an doing this. He looked a little embarrassed and this time he didn't offer to pay for the rice himself.

When Bao Yidu's husbands and soldiers began to harvest rice by the hair on both sides of the dock, these exhausted boatmen cheered and shouted:

“Lord Zhao saved my life; he is truly benevolent.”

Several large, burly men, emaciated from hunger, stared intently at the large ship flying the "Hu Baoyi" flag.

……

Seeing the genuine smiles on the faces of the people below, Zhao Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief.

He himself was weak and powerless and could not change the overall situation of the world, but he would help as much as he could, even if it was just a little bit or a short time.

After all, starving to death now and having a full meal with family for half a month before starving to death, although the outcome is the same, are completely different for those of them directly involved.

They really care about this little bit of rice!

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an was actually smiling, Du Cong, who had been silent, sighed.

“Little Zhao, you are truly benevolent. Indeed, the army did not call you the wrong name, but ‘Hu Baoyi.’ I know what you are thinking. You brought the grain, so I will not say anything. However, the rice in the city’s granaries cannot be used for disaster relief; it is meant to supply the army at the front. It is tragic for these people to starve to death, but if the affairs of the military and the country are neglected, it will be a catastrophe. So it’s not that I, Old Du, am heartless, but rather that I have to choose the lesser of two evils.”

Zhao Huai'an smiled, crossed his arms, and praised:

"Old Du is indeed loyal to the country."

Hearing this, Du Cong looked at the boatmen cheering for the grain below, shook his head, and then said to Zhao Huai'an:

"Xiao Zhao, the grain ships here will be here for a while. I've prepared a banquet for you in the city. Remember to come later."

With that, Du Cong disembarked from the boat, looking rather dejected.

Zhao Huai'an watched the official's retreating figure. Although he didn't agree with Old Du's methods, the man knew he was an official of the imperial court, not a boatman's official.

But Du, do you think that if you don't fill the people's stomachs first, the bandits will be quelled? Do you think that by feeding the disloyal soldiers of the various vassal states, they will be more focused on suppressing the bandits? Have you not heard that nurturing bandits is a way to increase one's own power?
On the contrary, if you distribute rice to the disaster victims, they will thank you.

Shaking his head, Zhao Huai'an didn't want to think about things that couldn't be changed anymore.

At this moment, Pei Desheng, an official from the shogunate who had been waiting, came over and said something to Zhao Huai'an.

Zhao Da, already in a bad mood, cursed upon hearing this:
"You want me to go to a meeting? Has Yan Zhang gotten himself into a frenzy after a few drinks? Does he really think his position as the envoy to recruit people is anything special? I consider him nothing!"

Then he said to the embarrassed Pei Desheng:
"He can either come himself, or I'll have someone invite him. You can go ask him which one he prefers."

Knowing his lord's temperament, Pei Desheng quickly took the order and left.

Watching Pei Desheng leave, Zhao Huai'an called out to him and cursed:

"Xiao Pei, you shouldn't go either. What kind of bastard is Yan Zhang? He's started bossing us around now. No way, I'm in a bad mood anyway, I'll take it out on him first."

After saying this, he shouted to the officers on the ship:
"Come on, let's go see if this guy surnamed Yan has grown an extra head today!"

The generals laughed loudly, then surrounded Zhao Huai'an, their armor clanking as they headed straight for a large ship behind them.

(End of this chapter)