Chapter 121: Money! Money! Money!

"In the tenth month of the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan, Guanzhong opened the state grain purchase program and issued a demand to Yangzhou Prefecture for three million five hundred thousand bolts of silk in exchange for grain.

In the eleventh month of the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan, the Huaqing Palace was expanded, and a demand was issued to Yangzhou Prefecture for five hundred thousand bolts of silk.

At the end of the twelfth month of the twenty-seventh year of Kaiyuan, Longyou launched a military campaign against Tibet, and a demand was issued to Yangzhou Prefecture for one million bolts of silk to reward the three armies.

In early the first month of the first year of Tianbao, Tibet invaded; for northwest military supplies, a demand was issued to Yangzhou Prefecture for one million bolts of silk to reward the three armies.

At the end of the first month of the first year of Tianbao, to replenish the inner treasury for palace expenditures, a demand was issued to Yangzhou Prefecture for five hundred thousand bolts of silk.

At the end of the second month of the first year of Tianbao, the Sage embarked on an imperial tour to Lingzhou and bestowed gifts upon the various Tiele tribes; a demand was issued to Yangzhou Prefecture for two million bolts of silk.

..."

Before Yangzhou Inspector Zheng Shuqing lay a summary of imperial court decrees — nothing else but demands for money.

He sat there blank-eyed and listless, no longer wanting to think about exactly how much money the court had demanded last year.

The so-called "silk" here was actually all a converted price; it did not necessarily mean Yangzhou Prefecture had to provide that much silk.

The goods Yangzhou had to transport to Guanzhong went far beyond silk, which could be used directly as currency.

They also included large quantities of handicraft products, among them clothing and hats, gold, silver, and bronze wares, weapons, lacquerware, jade articles, paper, and so forth.

For instance, Yangzhou felt hats, at around three thousand wen apiece, sold briskly in Chang'an and were commonly purchased by officials; or Yangzhou bronze mirrors, an essential item for women of official households, which sold for five thousand wen locally — let alone the price when transported to Chang'an for sale.

Yangzhou silk was no ordinary thing either; someone once described it in writing: "Thinner than cicada wings, lighter than swan down, yet spread out it gleams like frozen snow, layered together it rivals the colors of lingering clouds."

Due to its climate, Jiangnan was especially suited for silkworm rearing and held a natural advantage in silk textiles.

The Old Tang History says of Yangzhou: "Between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, Guangling is a great stronghold, the wealthiest under heaven." In terms of prosperity, it was second to none.

Yet poverty brings its hardships, and wealth brings its troubles.

Because Yangzhou was simply too wealthy, during the Tang dynasty it had always been the first designated target for every emperor's "imperial demands."

The so-called imperial demand was the emperor issuing an edict to requisition goods, local products, and the like from a region. These all constituted additional tax burdens; as for the regular land tax, corvée labor, and household levies, not a single bit of those could be reduced.

Zheng Shuqing's appointment as Yangzhou Inspector was primarily for this purpose. The court's inner council did not expect him to govern the locality; in fact, Yangzhou was a place where merchants gathered in great numbers and sat at the southern hub of the canal — there was no need to expend effort stirring things up, and its local customs and culture were quite different from Chang'an's.

Without the court's policies, an ordinary official would find it very difficult to accomplish anything in Yangzhou.

Whenever the Great Tang had a major undertaking requiring money, it would immediately think of Yangzhou Prefecture. Only when it was no longer appropriate to continue issuing "imperial demands" on Yangzhou Prefecture would other places be considered.

Precisely because of this, even though Yangzhou Prefecture openly collected very little in commercial taxes and the "port entry" fees were not high, the locality still found every possible way to squeeze merchants and commoners to support the state.

The money that must be paid — not a single copper could be short!

The reasoning was sound enough, but Zheng Shuqing could not understand why the court's recent "requests for funds" were so damn frequent! Could someone be deliberately messing with him?

Zheng Shuqing, accustomed to the mindset of "treacherous subjects are harming His Majesty," could not help muttering to himself.

This string of fund requests had effectively emptied the treasury that Yangzhou Prefecture had accumulated over many years. Weapons, bronze mirrors, paper — all these things, without exception, had been loaded onto canal transport ships.

The silk demanded for the state grain purchase — that had to be delivered; they could not let the Sage go hungry in Chang'an.

The expansion of Huaqing Palace — that too had to be delivered; they could not leave the Sage with nowhere to bathe and soak in hot springs.

Replenishing the inner treasury — still had to be delivered.

No matter how poor, the inner gardens could not be left poor; no matter how bitter, the Sage could not be left to suffer. If the Sage ran out of money, how embarrassing would it be if word got out.

For the Sage's imperial tour to Lingzhou, half of that batch of urgently demanded silk had already been delivered; the remaining half was presumably for those steppe barbarians.

Better to hold off on that for now.

As for the border army, being behind on spring and winter clothing was not a new occurrence anyway — let it be owed for now.

Zheng Shuqing, calculating in his mind before his desk, could not help stretching and yawning, a belly full of grievances with no one to tell.

He had originally thought coming to Yangzhou Prefecture would be a cushy posting, but instead of enjoying its worldly pleasures, he had worked himself half to death desperately raising money for the Sage.

And the job still was not done!

The court spent money like rivers and seas, while the locality raised it grain by grain. Spending more than it earned — even something made of iron could not withstand that.

The border army's food was basically sourced locally, but military pay was issued in the form of "spring clothing" and "winter clothing," rarely as direct silk or copper coins.

The border garrisons lacked the capacity to produce their own supplies — where would they get so much silk to distribute? They could only rely on continuous shipments from the Central Plains.

And the so-called "spring clothing" and "winter clothing" were not all military uniforms, nor even finished garments. Often they were simply semi-finished fabrics that a tailor could directly make into clothes. And a military pay item like "one set of winter clothing" included not only clothing but also shoes and hats.

Nor were they guaranteed to be brand new; used clothing was calculated at a depreciated price, forming its own system.

If military pay was to be issued, then specific goods had to be supplied, especially items that sold well from Yangzhou Prefecture such as silk and brocade. These were indeed difficult to procure, because although Yangzhou Prefecture had many sizable textile workshops, they had been continuously drained by the court's demands, and the stock in the treasury was not plentiful.

These workshops did belong to the state, true enough, but many of the weavers in them had come to perform their labor service in order to "learn a skill," so turnover was extremely high! Production efficiency was not great.

The court did not pay wages, so these people's enthusiasm for labor was also low; very often an entire batch of workers would be replaced every year or two.

Meanwhile, private workshops were growing larger and larger, but Zheng Shuqing could hardly lead soldiers to raid someone else's warehouse! Aside from collecting the "market tax," he still needed to use other goods to trade with the private sector — at most he could push the price down a bit.

Goods were the crystallization of labor, which meant that whether silk, bronze mirrors, or paper, all required labor to create — they could not simply appear out of thin air!

"Sigh!"

Zheng Shuqing let out a long sigh. He was waiting for the court's official document settling his accounts to arrive, and then he could escape this sea of bitterness.

As for the military pay he could not raise — heh, whoever had the ability could go sort it out. He had already lain flat and given up.

Zheng Shuqing had already figured out Li Longji's style of doing things: as long as someone put his personal affairs ahead of public business, then even if punished afterward, they would certainly not be struck down in one blow. Over the previous few months, the court had requested a great deal of funds, far more than could possibly be fulfilled.

But Zheng Shuqing had consistently "rushed to address what Brother Ji was anxious about" — Brother Ji's affairs came first! State affairs came second; what could be done was done, and what could not be done was simply set aside.

"Inspector Zheng, the court has sent an envoy."

One of Zheng Shuqing's subordinate officials said cautiously. In the study of the prefectural office, it was so quiet that the fall of a needle could be heard.

"So it has come after all."

Zheng Shuqing nodded slightly. The court had twice pressed for military funds, and Yangzhou Prefecture had delivered less than a tenth each time. It was only normal for the inner council to order him to be dealt with; if they did "not deal with" him, that would mean they were saving it to settle old and new accounts all at once!

Those consequences were not something he could bear!

Zheng Shuqing came respectfully to the main hall of the prefectural office, where he saw Niu Xiantong, a palace eunuch often dispatched to various regions to deliver edicts, holding his head high and looking arrogantly up at the ceiling beams.

Zheng Shuqing's heart sank; just from Niu Xiantong's bearing alone, he could guess the contents of this imperial edict.

It was certainly not a promotion.

"Zheng Shijun, receive the edict."

"Immortal Boy Niu said coldly, holding the imperial edict in one hand and offering it over, yet he gripped it tightly and refused to let go!"

"How am I supposed to receive the edict like this, damn it?"

"Seeing this, Zheng Shuqing first froze, then suddenly understood."

"Since ancient times, eunuchs love prestige; this one probably feels he can't let go of face without taking money."

"Zheng Shuqing secretly pondered whether to give the money or not."

"His family was well-off, and after years in office he had considerable wealth. Spending money to send off a dead eunuch was no problem at all, like splashing water."

"But while he could give a lot of money, there was also a lot he couldn't give. This is a matter of attitude."

"In order to extricate himself, Zheng Shuqing planned to, after returning to Chang'an later, submit a memorial pleading poverty!"

"If he 'rewarded' the eunuch sent by the palace to deliver the edict, how would Elder Brother Ji think?"

"Wouldn't they think he, Zheng Mou, was having a blast in Yangzhou's flashy world, with even the dirt under his fingernails being mountains of gold and silver? Hence he wouldn't be stingy in tipping eunuchs?"

"Thinking this, Zheng Shuqing changed his expression and sternly rebuked Immortal Boy Niu: 'Bold attendant! How dare you demand a bribe from the governor! When I return to Chang'an I will certainly file an impeachment against you!'"

"Hearing these words, Immortal Boy Niu was startled, completely unaware why Zheng Shuqing would say such a thing."

"Heard that this guy isn't exactly a clean official either! What are you putting on a big-tailed wolf act for here!"

" 'You don't know good from bad—just wait to be exiled to Lingnan!'"

"Immortal Boy Niu stuffed the edict into Zheng Shuqing's bosom, turned and walked away!"

"After he had been gone a long while, Zheng Shuqing's aide whispered: 'Sir, this eunuch is narrow‑minded; what if he goes back and speaks ill of you to the emperor?'"

"Do you really need this useless dog of a thing to remind you of such a trivial matter?"

"Zheng Shuqing recalled the resourceful and ingenious Fang Chongyong, who could do what others couldn't; when that fellow offered ideas beside him, it was practically divine."

"As a result, with Little Fang absent, these aides handle routine affairs well, but when faced with major issues they are utterly useless."

"It's not that I fear not recognizing talent; I fear talent being compared to talent. Fang Chongyong may be small in stature but big in scheming—his belly full of clever schemes, one after another—these ordinary aides can't even flatter him enough."

" 'Alright, alright, I understand, you may all withdraw.'"

"Zheng Shuqing waved his hand impatiently, thoroughly fed up in his heart."

"If it were merely a transfer, the postal‑station document system could deliver it as an official dispatch order, needing no special trip by a palace eunuch. Conversely, if the messenger came from the palace, this transfer order very likely reflects the emperor's will, bypassing Linfu Li."

"It's roughly equivalent to 'board the train first, buy the ticket later.'"

"Zheng Shuqing opened the silk scroll with a strange expression, and immediately saw the order that puzzled him."

" 'Report to the capital for duty, await appointment. Furthermore, hand over the treasury accounts personally to Yang Zhao.'"

"Zheng Shuqing muttered to himself."

"The name Yang Zhao is quite unfamiliar, and it didn't say what office he held before."

"If this person were important, it would be impossible for this old hand of the bureaucracy not to have heard of him before."

"If he weren't important, there would be no need to stress that the former governor himself hand over the accounts; the usual bureaucratic channels would suffice."

"The emperor's order is somewhat baffling."

" 'Just wait for Yang Zhao to come.'"

"Zheng Shuqing shook his head helplessly."

"In the sea of officialdom, one is often at the mercy of circumstances. Though it looks glamorous on the surface, the myriad risks behind it are truly hard to describe, and a careless response won't do."

"To be frank, holding office is a very troublesome affair."

"Yet he must hold this office! He cannot retreat a single step!"

"Zheng Shuqing's family resides in Xingyang, owning vast lands, having opened a ferry landing, and with many shops along the canal banks—truly immense wealth. These interests require the Zheng clan's officials to safeguard them; otherwise, within a decade everything they possess will be devoured by the new power brokers, leaving not even bone fragments."

"This is a story of advance or retreat; the person involved has no other choice."

"Although Zheng Shuqing is 'clean‑sleeved', his lifestyle is extravagant and uninhibited; he never worries about money."

"Because that money is provided by his family for his expenses, he need not dip into state funds—which would be both foolish and dangerous."

"Being an official naturally involves benefit‑transfers and social obligations; without money, how could it work!"

"Going out for drinks with colleagues costs money, holding literary gatherings costs money, maintaining food, clothing, housing, and travel to keep up official decorum costs money—all of it requires funds. Naturally, these funds cannot come from the court; taking them would make one a 'corrupt official'."

" 'Being an official is hard.'"

"Zheng Shuqing sighed ruefully, then placed the IOUs the government had issued to local wealthy households into a box, preparing to take them privately to Chang'an to hand over to Emperor Li Longji."

"These were the IOUs that Elder Brother Ji had urged him to use to borrow from local rich households in the name of the government for the renovation of Huaqing Palace."

"Presenting these to the emperor will prove he has done his utmost. As for the next governor, hehe, let's find him some amusement."

"Zheng Shuqing gave a hehe cold chuckle."

"He very much wanted to know what expression the emperor would have when the next governor files a complaint against him."

"Since holding office entails suffering, why should he bear it alone? Let's also load the next guy with some burden!"

"……"

"The name Yaoquan is unfamiliar, but later it is also known as the famous 'Moon‑Crescent Spring'!"

"Here, mountains surround it on three sides, forming the Singing‑Sand Mountain."

"A moon‑crescent‑shaped pool lies within it; the pool bottom has a living spring, clear enough to see the bottom, and there are fish."

"It is one of the few leisure‑and‑vacation spots in Dunhuang."

"Officials from the central government also chose this place as the 'guesthouse' for overseeing the construction of the Mogao Caves; one can only say these bureaucrats really know how to enjoy themselves, and no matter how harsh the environment, they never shortchange themselves."

" 'Boating on Yaoquan here is truly delightful!'"

"Upon the moon‑crescent‑shaped deep pool, Fang Chongyong was rowing a boat."

"Meanwhile, Dou Lu army commander Wang Shili sat opposite him, frowning, with no leisure to admire the scenery."

"Fang Chongyong had actually been formally appointed by the court as governor of Shazhou—something Wang Shili never imagined. Of course, the matter is settled; there's no changing it. Yet Fang Chongyong knows full well in his heart that he is not cut out to be a governor."

So Fang Chongyong very "sensibly" divided the administration of Shazhou into three parts.

The military affairs portion—matters under the Inspector's jurisdiction such as troops and military rations and supplies—he had Wang Sili send a dedicated person to liaise. Fang Chongyong served merely as a "rubber stamp."

The local civil administration portion was handled by the Prefectural Sima, and Fang Chongyong was again merely a "rubber stamp."

The local trade and commerce portion was handled by the Chief Clerk of Shazhou, though Fang Chongyong personally oversaw and involved himself in every major matter.

He had become virtually a hands-off boss.

There was no help for it—if you didn't understand something, you had to know your limits and not force yourself to play the big shot. Fang Chongyong knew his own weight perfectly well; the convoluted civil and military affairs of the locality were beyond his ability to manage.

However, since he was the Inspector, and had already been confirmed in the post, he inevitably had to handle major matters—especially major matters concerning the relationship between the locality and the court.

For instance, right now, he and Wang Sili were discussing a major matter bearing on the survival of the Doulu Army.

"The court has not supplied this year's spring uniforms, and the Doulu Army is overstaffed by three thousand two hundred men. What is to be done?"

Wang Sili asked with a frown.

Fighting he could do; raising money he could not! Without pay, the Doulu Army would mutiny!

"Is the court really this capricious?"

Fang Chongyong asked in bewilderment; he had only just heard of this matter.

Heaven knew—treating the frontier garrison soldiers like this, the people in the capital shouldn't blame anyone later when they got beaten to death and old scores and new were settled all at once.

"You are unaware, Inspector: though the frontier garrisons are never behind on rations, delaying the issuance of pay has long been standard practice. This time, what's being sent is… last year's winter uniforms!"

Wang Sili said with a bitter smile.

Damn it!

Fang Chongyong's heart gave a lurch as he silently cried that this was bad.

No wonder his predecessor Wang Huailiang had been punished for diverting the treasury funds to issue pay—the arrears had piled so high that the frontier army was on the verge of mutiny!

When he went to visit Wang Huailiang, the man, though imprisoned, wore a smile and was in excellent spirits, not the least bit feeling unfortunate.

So the trap was lying in wait here!

This fellow had escaped, leaving the next man to fill the hole!

Fang Chongyong gave a long sigh. Asking for money was just like a business seeking a bank loan: when you didn't need money, the bank was desperate to lend to you, but when you actually needed funds, you couldn't borrow a cent no matter whom you begged.

Better not count on the court.

"Rest assured, Military Commissioner Wang—tell the soldiers directly. If we can't get the spring uniforms, they can come here to Yaoquan and dismantle my old bones—just stabilize the army's morale first!"

Fang Chongyong said, taking the whole burden upon himself. Whether he could actually get the money was uncertain, but… if the soldiers of the Doulu Army couldn't hold back and mutinied, then the trouble would be enormous.

"Inspector Fang is truly worthy of being the son of Jiedushi Fang!"

Wang Sili said with a heartfelt sigh, the stone in his heart finally settling.

For the sake of secrecy, the two had deliberately gone boating on the pool at Yaoquan for their private talk, fearing that word might leak out and trigger a Doulu Army mutiny. Now that Fang Chongyong had patted his chest and given his guarantee, Wang Sili could at last sleep soundly, no longer worried about being torn limb from limb in the night by enraged soldiers.

"However, the pay required is no small sum. How does the Inspector intend to manage it?"

With his mind now at ease, Wang Sili asked in puzzlement.

Fang Chongyong waved his hand expressionlessly and said, "These are all trivial matters. Military Commissioner Wang, just go back and properly reassure the soldiers."

(End of this chapter)