Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 28: Fighting for Money and Transporting Rice

Zhang Luo stayed at Zhou Liang's house for a while and then said goodbye and left, preparing to return to the city to visit the South Market again. He was accompanied by Ding Qing, who stayed there last night, and Zhou Lang, who was going into the city to buy medicine for his mother.

"The day before yesterday, my father and mother had a heated argument, which only eased up this morning when my husband came to visit."

After spending so many days together, Zhou Lang no longer considered Zhang Luo a stranger. After leaving home, he couldn't help but whisper about his parents' argument. He said worriedly, "My dear, do you think it would be dangerous for Ayeruo to continue like this?"

Zhang Luo heard his question, thought for a moment, and then asked, "So, do you think what you did was right or wrong?"

Zhou Lang lowered his head after hearing this, and after a while he shook his head and said, "I dare not judge my father's right or wrong, but after listening to what my husband said, I feel that since the matter is so difficult, it is better to find more help first instead of rushing to do it. If no one is willing to help, then whether to do it or not seems to be useless..."

"Even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will go! You are brave and courageous, and you stand up for what is right. Even if you are isolated for a while, you will surely have many supporters in the long run!"

Zhang Luo added in a deep voice, "Zhou Liang is indeed an outlier among the crowd. Others like Zhang Luo and even his son Zhou Lang don't understand or even agree with his behavior. Even if it's a major issue, there are many people more powerful and capable than you. Why are you so anxious? Does it make you look good? What official titles or rewards have the court given you?"
But it is precisely because of the existence of such people that morality can be concretized, and people as social creatures can be widely organized under the call of such moral examples.

A society without moral role models would be extremely hopeless. The cost of trust between people would be incredibly high, and any social behavior based on group collaboration would stagnate.

Good role models and bad role models all have their meaning and can always bring people together into groups.

Even the remnants of An Lushan had to build a Four Saints Temple to appease the people, and the two filial sons An Qingxu and Shi Chaoyi received incense. It is not surprising that the Wei Palace soldiers in later generations became so famous. After visiting so many temples, they naturally learned superb skills: Even my own father can fight with such a knife, so what kind of a bastard are you, the Jiedushi?

As for the Li Tang royal family's tradition of rolling out names at Xuanwu Gate, it was even more well-known, so much so that even if they themselves didn't want to bother with it, the eunuchs and servants would not agree.

Putting aside these jokes, Zhang Luo just silently blessed Zhou Liang's choice in his heart.

It would be best if this persistence could pay off, but if not, I can only hope that Zhou Liang’s influence is insignificant and that he doesn’t attract too much attention, just like a wave in the Yi River, swept away by the wind.

After taking a long walk outside the city and talking with Zhou Liang for a long time, when Zhang Luo arrived at the South Market again, the market had already been open for quite some time.

As they arrived at the city gate, Wei Lin, the escort they had hired yesterday, hurried over to meet them. An anxious look on his face, he stepped forward, grabbed the reins, and said to Zhang Luo, "Sir, are you going to deposit money into Wang's shop today? It's best not to. The money you've already deposited should be withdrawn as soon as possible!"

Zhang Luo's expression changed slightly when he heard this. He was already suspicious and asked quickly, "What's wrong with Wang's shop?"

Although the 1,500 strings of cash he deposited in the cabinet was not all of his assets, it still accounted for a very high proportion and was a major reliance for his future actions. If any accident really happened, he would certainly be at a loss.

"Yesterday it was you who asked my husband to save his money in the safe, and today it's you who is trying to stop him again! What are you planning, dog slave? If you have any bad intentions, be careful or I'll beat you until your teeth come out of your ass!"

Ding Qing's foot injury had improved recently and he had become as strong as an ox again. Upon seeing this, he jumped off the old horse that Zhang Luo had ridden before and walked towards Wei Lin with his fists raised.

He had been well-fed and strong since childhood. He had also learned some fighting skills while playing with Ah Lang and his dogs and horses. When fighting with others, he was no less capable than an adult.

"Sir, please calm down, please calm down. Let me explain in detail! I didn't know about this before, and it was only because of your instructions that I asked my old colleagues and found out that something was wrong..."

Wei Lin was afraid that Ding Qing would really beat him until his teeth fell out of his buttocks, so he ran around Zhang Luo's mount to avoid Ding Qing's pursuit while explaining.

Zhang Luo waved his hand to signal Ding Qing not to move, then raised his hand and turned his horse to the left side of the road where there were fewer people, and signaled Wei Lin to continue speaking.

"My colleagues at the municipal office told me that Wang's shop, though seemingly large and well-funded, has been operating poorly since its inception. It's mostly run by wealthy clients, with few paying into it.

Even if Wang Yuanbao is a wealthy man with a mountain of gold, he would still find it difficult to support himself if he continued to spend like this. That's why he treated a distinguished guest like you so courteously yesterday. But if you really put all your wealth into this, you might have trouble withdrawing it in the future!"

Taking advantage of Ding Qing not chasing him anymore, Wei Lin told him all the news he had heard. Then he said with a look of annoyance, "Before, I only saw that this shop was very impressive and heard that the commission was not high, so I recommended it to you. I really didn't know it would be like this..."

Zhang Luo heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that it was just that. He had just seen Wei Lin in such a hurry that he thought something serious had happened.

Wang's shop wasn't doing well, something he'd foreseen yesterday. He didn't have ten thousand strings of cash to save anyway, and even if he did, it would have to be spent gradually over the next few days. He didn't care how the shop fared in the future. "The Wang Yuanbao I saw yesterday was no ordinary man. Furthermore, he didn't have a family fortune to his name, and he'd made his fortune through profiteering. But judging by what he's doing in Luoyang, he seems clumsy and lacks skills. Do you know why?"

Zhang Luo was still a little confused, and looked at Wei Lin and asked.

"I also asked my colleagues at the Municipal Office about this matter. They told me that Wang Yuanbao's lavish spending of millions to build a shop in Nanshi was not just to earn the commission from the deposits made by local residents, but more importantly, the rental income from Jiangnan!"

Wei Lin's attitude was quite sincere. After learning that his suggestion might cause losses to his employer, he tried to find a way to remedy the situation. Last night, he almost shamelessly visited all the colleagues in the municipal office he could find and inquired about the inside story of Wang's Shop in detail.

"Jiangnan rented property?"

After hearing this, Zhang Luo couldn't help but feel even more curious. How could Wang Yuanbao, a mere businessman, dare to interfere in the taxation system of the Tang Dynasty?

Wei Lin nodded, then lowered his head to sort out what he had learned, and then continued, "Jiangnan is far away, and all the tribute materials must be transported by river canals. The labor tax is relatively light, but the transportation of rented goods is extremely difficult..."

Before the implementation of the Two-Tax System in the Tang Dynasty, the main form of taxation was rent, labor service, and tribute. The labor service and tribute were collected from textiles, silk, linen, etc., while the rent was collected from millet and grain crops.

However, under the logistics and transportation conditions in ancient times, it was extremely difficult to transport large quantities of money and goods.

Zhang Luo had accumulated more than 2,000 strings of cash and silk, but he was worried about how to store and transport it. Not to mention the transportation of a country's taxes and materials, which was a heavy burden even if the whole country worked together.

In particular, the collection and transportation of taxes had relatively strict procedures and time restrictions, which made grain transport an important issue related to the national destiny in the Tang Dynasty.

In this context, the Jiangnan region, which was far away from the ruling core, came up with a compromise method, which was to use cloth instead of the rice that should have been paid when collecting rent. After all, cloth was much easier to transport than corn.

There is a saying in "Records of the Grand Historian" that "grain cannot be bought and sold over a thousand miles", and nowadays there is a saying that "it takes a bucket of money to transport a bucket of rice", which shows how high the cost of grain transportation is.

The practice of using cloth to pay rent in Jiangnan wasn't a Tang Dynasty invention; it had roots as early as the Southern Dynasties. However, cloth wasn't legally required to be rented, so after it arrived near Luoyang, local grain was purchased to pay the rent.

In simple terms, Jiangnan accepted money instead of rice, and the people would buy rice in Henan to pay for the goods. Although cloth is not money, it is used as money in this process. After all, there is a lot of bad money in Jiangnan, and even if it is collected, it cannot be spent.

Wang Yuanbao spared no expense in building a shop in Luoyang, aiming to sell these cloths that were used as rented goods in Jiangnan.

These cloths could not be put into the government warehouse, and purchasing grain locally was not something that could be done overnight. Keeping them on the canal ships would not only occupy the canal resources, but also pose a huge safety hazard. Temporarily storing them in the storehouse was a good choice.

The amount of cloth transported by the Jiangnan Canal every year is an astronomical figure. If you can get a share of it, you will naturally make a fortune.

After learning about all this, Zhang Luo couldn't help but sigh at how bold people are and how fertile the land is. Compared with the ancients, he still lacks some experience in exploring business opportunities on the ground!
This plan sounds good, but now Wang's Shop is struggling to survive and is obviously in trouble.

Sure enough, Wei Lin then continued, "Since this spring, Henan has had little rain, and the water in the Bian Canal is shallow, making it difficult for grain ships to pass. The grain ships from the south of the Yangtze River are still stranded in Huainan, with no timeline for their northward advance. If we can't reach the Yellow River from Bian during midsummer, it will be difficult to ship grain to the Eastern Capital in time after the flood season.

Therefore, many speculated that, fearing potential criminal consequences for missing the deadline, the grain transport ships from Jiangnan might be buying up rented rice along the way, and that the amount of cloth entering the capital this year might not be very high. Wang Yuanbao's business has been extremely expensive, and if the revenue this year doesn't meet expectations, the shop might struggle to survive. Such a beautiful business would surely attract many... "

That's right. Owning such a large industry in such a prosperous area of ​​Nanshi, even without considering the magnificent buildings on the ground, the land alone is a valuable asset.

Not to mention the merchants in Nanshi who were waiting to see Wang Yuanbao get into trouble, even Zhang Luo was very excited after hearing it. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart if it was possible for him to get a piece of the pie?

At the same time, he also increasingly realized the profound influence of time on all walks of life in ancient times. For example, Zhou Liang had worried about the hidden dangers in Luonan before, and Wang Yuanbao had misjudged the time and failed in his investment, and was about to lose all his money. The impermanence of time played a big role.

This factor has such a direct and important impact on people's lives and various industries. It is no wonder that the ancients had a deep reverence for the so-called destiny. Even emperors sometimes had to reflect on themselves because of the so-called natural disasters. This cannot be explained by simple superstition.

There were records of people making cloth in exchange for rent in Jiangnan during the Tang Dynasty as early as the early Tang Dynasty, but it was not until the 25th year of Kaiyuan that an official decree was issued allowing cloth to be used instead of rent. The background was the huge increase in military supplies in various border areas, the successive years of good harvests in the north, and the large-scale promotion of the Helian system. The demand for rented rice in Jiangnan decreased, but the demand for money and silk increased greatly. The relevant policies and specific impacts will be described in detail later.

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(End of this chapter)