Chapter 61: The Easy and the Difficult

The next day, Fang Chongyong went to Jingzhao Prefecture and happened to catch the Jingzhao Prefect at his office.

After explaining his purpose, the Jingzhao Prefect Wei Jian laughed heartily and immediately ordered the paperwork, converting Cui Qianyou from an official slave to a private slave, and then from a private slave to an auxiliary, completing the steps without any obstacles.

As for the finer details that required multiple guarantors, they were all brushed aside, fully demonstrating what is meant by "urgent matters handled urgently, special cases handled specially, dedicated personnel handling them."

These days, slaves are treated the same as objects—not merely rhetoric, but explicitly written into Tang law.

What Fang Chongyong is arranging is essentially a "property transaction"—just pay a sum and it's done.

Turning an official slave into a private slave is like a government's ox or horse being found on the road by a respectable family and taken home; in theory it should be "returned," but in practice it can be "handled specially," such as by redemption.

This practice is common; some officials whose families were confiscated for offenses had their relatives turned into slaves, and their fates are complicated.

And after a private slave is released and becomes an auxiliary, that too follows customary procedure. Once the master consents to the "release," the process can be completed, making it a major source of private army auxiliaries for noble families.

Thus both matters are easy to handle, one could even say they require no effort at all.

However, when Fang Chongyong arrived at the Dragon Martial Army's recruitment camp outside the city and inquired about the requirements, he was suddenly doused with a cold bucket of water, as if on a scorching summer day.

He never imagined that the well‑paid Dragon Martial Army cared little about the soldiers' requisite qualities, and instead was riddled with oddball stipulations!

No respectable youth without a Chang'an household registration will be accepted!

Anyone with a criminal record will be rejected!

Private army auxiliaries are even less welcome.

As for martial skills or military strategy related to a soldier's competence, they are not considered at all.

It hardly looks like recruiting an elite fighting force; rather, it resembles a dumping ground for the privileged offspring of Chang'an.

These days the great Tang boasts abundant martial virtue and a reputation that shakes the four seas, yet no one thinks the Dragon Martial Army, stationed in Chang'an, has any battles to fight. Those who slip into its ranks hardly seem eager for glory; everyone is drawn by the generous pay.

Fang Chongyong walked around the recruitment camp inside and out and felt that this army would be utterly useless.

He realized that Li Longji wanted to reform the Ten Thousand Cavalry and cut redundant personnel, having recognized that the former Ten Thousand Cavalry had become a bloated, palace‑politics tool.

Beyond that, it serves no purpose.

Li Longji's plan to dissolve the Ten Thousand Cavalry and reorganize the Dragon Martial Army is good in theory, but its implementation faces many difficulties.

A brave army cannot be born from a coward's blood‑filled bowl!

With the Dragon Martial Army's main troops drawn from wealthy rascals and aristocratic dandyes of the capital region, what combat power can it possibly have in the future?

There are probably many sensible officials at court, but Li Longji assumes he has no problem, believing that fine equipment alone can build a strong army.

After all, Li Longji grew up in the inner palace, where intrigue thrives; leading troops in armor is completely foreign to him.

Fang Chongyong recalled the customs of the Hexi Corridor shown to him by Niu Xianke, remembering that over 90% of adult men there had served in the army.

Comparing the two, even a fool knows where quality soldiers are found.

Since Li Longji decreed that those who join the Dragon Martial Army are exempt from corvée labor and some taxes, officials and wealthy youths in the capital scramble to enlist!

The camp is nearly turning into a vegetable market.

Recruitment for the Dragon Martial Army is now scorching hot and overly prominent; the sheer attention makes internal management difficult.

Fang Chongyong has no special connections within the Dragon Martial Army and does not wish to use his father Fang Youde's name to push Cui Qianyou in, so Cui Qianyou's entry into the Dragon Martial Army fell into a deadlock.

Fang Chongyong feels his channels to the authorities are too narrow; his head is full of ideas but he has nowhere to apply them. Now he only has the reputation of being a Jiedushi's son, yet can do nothing, essentially a waste.

If Old Zheng were still in Chang'an, that would be better.

Thus Cui Qianyou can only stay at Fang Chongyong's house as an auxiliary, awaiting a turn of events. In his spare time he refuses to loaf and daily "spar" military strategy with Fang Chongyong. Though called "sparring," it is actually a detailed, hands‑on teaching of the essentials of warfare.

He teaches Fang Chongyong how to set up camps, march, and organize troops, starting from the most basic steps.

And the chance of joining the Dragon Martial Army, as days pass and the ranks become saturated, gradually becomes desirable yet unattainable.

Being the son of a Jiedushi does not grant unlimited power; there are far too many prominent figures in Chang'an. Staying here feels like a runner whose limbs have been bound—always uncomfortable.

Fang Chongyong feels a strong urge to leave Chang'an urgently.

He thinks that if he stays here any longer, he will become completely useless.

Even though his scoundrel father Fang Youde is the Jiedushi of Youzhou, relying on that alone to stir the turbulent Tang court and climb the ranks is like day‑dreaming.

The Tang golden age is like oil in a raging fire—it cannot last.

Fang Chongyong wants to plan for the future and not sink with this ship. He is waiting for Wang Zhongsi's return before heading to the Hexi Corridor, then using the chance to train at a frontier town.

Chaos is about to break out; poetry, prose, and celebratory songs are all hollow. Only the knife in one's hand is the sole tangible thing to rely on.

Fang Chongyong believes he will no longer need to mingle with scholars, that wasting time on the imperial examinations is unnecessary, and that staying in the capital to play power games with bureaucrats is pointless.

All these matters are wasteful nonsense; even if one plays clever tricks and creates a trail of lotus blossoms, when chaos erupts the elite won't survive a single fatal blow.

Military force and command, strategy and the art of employing troops, even the ability to govern a region and manage logistics, are what future survival demands—that is the direction of his effort.

As for why he must wait for Wang Zhongsi before heading to the Hexi Corridor, it's simply because the Tibetans are too fierce; Fang Chongyong fears that, unguarded at a frontier town, a Tibetan raid would finish him off.

Safety first, survival paramount.

…

While Fang Chongyong spends each morning learning warfare from Cui Qianyou and afternoons "practicing calligraphy" with He Zhizhang, his days passing blandly and tediously, the Tang heartland suddenly sees turmoil arise without any wind!

Deputy Minister of Revenue and Transport Commissioner Zheng Shuqing, after being dispatched to Luoyang for official business, inspected the grain reserves of the Han Jia Warehouse.

If you don't check, you don't know; once checked, you're shocked!

The Han Jia Warehouse's stock is down by about eighty percent! Its vacancy rate is a new low since the warehouse was built—perhaps only a little better than on the day it was first completed!

In recent years, court and officials have praised Pei Yaoqing's meritorious grain transport, and regional granaries are said to be full. Yet the Han Jia Warehouse, once the "Number One Granary of the World" during the Wu Zhou, is now more than half empty!

It's downright shocking!

Li Linfu drafted a detailed memorial, reporting to Li Longji that Luoyang's grain‑transfer stores fell far short of the required levels.

Li Longji read the memorial and erupted in fury; in his anger, he dismissed and investigated all officials previously handling grain transport.

Immediately, a court official submitted a petition stating that the cause of the Han Jia Warehouse's vacancy lay elsewhere, hoping Li Longji would retract his decree.

In governmental affairs, there often isn't a clear right or wrong; it's simply a matter of what one chooses to do and not do.

From a certain perspective, those people aren't merely being unreasonable; what they say does have some merit.

Pei Yaoqing reformed the grain transport, adopting a "segmental" system; in three years he shipped over 7 million shi of grain to Chang'an, a result that cannot be called unremarkable.

However, the development of any matter has two sides. Gains always come with losses; that is the norm.

The transport reform was achieved at the cost of the Biankou‑to‑Luoyang segment. It has long‑term and profound effects on the Tang transport layout and even on the nation's economic centre.

Only at this time the overwhelming majority did not see this point.

Such examples existed before.

In the early days, from the Northern Zhou's destruction of Northern Qi to Wei Chi Jiong's uprising in Xiangzhou against Sui, the rulers saw the terrifying power of Ye City in rallying Hebei peoples, and thus altered the Zhanghe waterway so that the Yellow River transport route no longer passed through Ye City.

Ye City, which had flourished for several hundred years since the Three Kingdoms, consequently declined. Deprived of transport, Ye City also lost its status as the northern economic centre.

After Pei Yaoqing's transport reform, because the route was diverted, Luoyang was no longer a mandatory passage, so ships willing to go to Luoyang became increasingly scarce.

In three years, the Biankou‑to‑Luoyang segment's transport fell by almost 80%!

The volume dropped from a peak of one million shi to now less than two hundred thousand shi.

The core of Pei Yaoqing's reform, besides segmental transport, was to make Biankou the hub, abandoning the previous strategy that used Luoyang as the hub.

Since transport ships no longer go to Luoyang, Han Jia Cang only ships out, never in; why should a reduced grain stock be surprising?

Amid the court's various songs of praise, the impact of this major shift was conspicuously ignored and downplayed.

This reform placed He Yin County (now east of He Yin County, Henan) and He Yin Warehouse at the intersection of the Bian River and Yellow River, Baiya Warehouse in He Qing County (50 li southwest of Meng County, Henan), and Guangyun Pond's warehouses: Ji Jin Warehouse east of Sanmen on the north bank of the Yellow River, and Sanmen Warehouse (also called Yan Warehouse) west of Sanmen.

This reform directly led to the later rise of a Bianliang‑centric transport economy, laying the basic economic pattern of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms; apart from the "experienced" Fang Chongyong, no one fully grasped its depth.

Using segmental transport for grain to Chang'an, when water conditions are suitable they ship; when unsuitable (e. g., dry season), they do not.

Its reformist thinking was revolutionary.

The reform's effect cannot be called poor, but there is a core problem: such high‑intensity grain transport is unsustainable.

The volume increased, yet the transport cost did not fundamentally drop; most of the freight still had to be paid by merchants. This is the economic price required for making Chang'an the capital.

In fact, throughout the Tang, only these few years saw grain shipments to Chang'an exceed two million shi per year.

Grain from Hebei comes from the Yongji Canal Six Prefectures, while grain from Jianghuai, because of the long river routes, often suffers ship blockages and capsizing, making transport costs extremely high. Pei Yaoqing's reform greatly affected Hebei grain transport but had less impact on Jianghuai grain.

High freight must be paid by someone, either the court or merchants.

If the court refuses to pay, the private sector will not act; no family's wealth comes from water‑borne loot.

Moreover, Jianghuai grain is now transferred to He Yin Warehouse; to move it to Luoyang would require an extra detour, and this grain cannot be transferred from Luoyang to Chang'an.

Therefore Jianghuai merchants no longer wish to ship grain to Luoyang, as the freight is too costly to be profitable. The court's current model uses a "tender" system, and government‑controlled ships do not dominate.

In other words, after merchants bring grain to Luoyang, the government purchases it uniformly and then subsidizes the freight.

According to Li Linfu's commissioned survey, each shi of Jianghuai grain shipped to Luoyang costs over 50 wen on average, while the corresponding freight subsidy is pitifully low.

The freight cost is too high and the court's subsidy too low, causing merchants to refuse to transport Jianghuai grain!

Thus, the emptiness of Han Jia Cang is not because officials refuse effort, but because many objective constraints limit their ability despite capability.

Inefficient grain transport is not merely a logistics issue but a systemic failure of the court that cannot adapt to the new economic situation!

These winding arguments sound plausible, but in Li Longji's view, he does not need excuses; he wants to know whether the matter can be accomplished.

Han Jia Cang is a strategic state reserve; if it is not full, it is dereliction of duty!

Other issues are not what this saint should worry about, are they?

As for which canal lines changed, which transport methods altered, those trivialities he does not wish to ask or hear about!

Facing the new dilemma, Li Linfu presented his prescription to Li Longji.

First, all existing transport officials are dismissed and replaced with newcomers (mostly Li Linfu's own allies), a policy of "no destruction, no establishment."

Second, in the Luoyang area a "high‑price purchase" policy is implemented: in bumper years the government buys grain from civilians at a price twenty percent above market to meet Han Jia Cang's reserve needs.

The required funds come from Jianghuai and Jiangnan.

Third, a household tax is imposed on the Yongji Canal Six Prefectures in Hebei, raising each household's tax by twenty percent, payable in grain.

Finally, grain from Jianghuai is replaced by lighter, higher‑value cloth and local specialties; these cloths are then used to purchase grain in Hebei for transfer.

In this way, transfer costs can be reduced while replenishing several strategic grain warehouses, preparing for campaigns in the Hexi Corridor and Longyou.

As for the "small problems" of grain becoming expensive and cloth cheap because Hebei grain is shipped away, Li Linfu has indeed considered them.

It is just that Hebei is the Tang's Hebei, not the Hebei of Hebei; when necessary, sacrifices must be made. The so‑called balanced interests require a holistic view, and inevitably someone must bear the loss.

Jiangnan and Jianghuai are far, the Tongji Canal often silts, making transport conditions truly poor. Even if Li Linfu wants these regions to "sacrifice," efficiency is too low!

Only Hebei has manpower, strength, and good transport conditions.

In short, Li Linfu's plan does not need to expand canal capacity in the coming years. Once the new waterways are completed and Luoyang's grain can be shipped directly to Chang'an, a full‑scale plan can be made.

Seeing this detailed memorial, Li Longji was pleased, but he still asked Li Linfu several key questions.

Li Longji asked: Will such reforms affect the grain supply to Chang'an?

Li Linfu replied that it will not, because Hebei continues to supply grain and the transfer freight is even lower.

Li Longji then asked: Does the treasury need to spend more money?

Li Linfu answered no, because taxes from Jiangnan and Jianghuai have already been converted into cloth, facilitating transfer. Thus the treasury's money is not reduced but increased!

Li Longji asked again: Will it affect the campaigns in Youzhou?

Li Linfu responded: The tax increase applies only to the Yongji Canal Six Prefectures; other Hebei areas are untouched, and the grain is earmarked exclusively for Youzhou border towns as military supplies, so no adverse impact.

Hearing this, Li Longji was completely reassured.

He issued an edict appointing the Deputy Minister of Revenue and Transport Commissioner Zheng Shuqing to oversee Han Jia Cang's grain transfer, ignoring all else and supplying solely the Hexi campaigns.

And outside Chang'an city, around the downstream area of the Ba River's Guangyun Pond, a dedicated grain warehouse was built, for exclusive use of grain arriving from Guandong.

After settling all this, Li Longji took Yang Yuhuan to Lishan's Huaqing Palace for a vacation, no longer attending to state affairs; Li Linfu handled the overall situation, first deciding then reporting. He would return at next year's Yuan Yuan Festival.

Huaqing Palace lies on the slope of the Wei River, built against the Lishan peak, grand in scale, magnificent in architecture, with pavilions and halls covering the whole of Lishan. It is famed for its high‑quality hot springs, originally called "Tangquan Palace," later renamed "Hot Spring Palace."

In the Kaiyuan era it was renamed again to Huaqing Palace; because it is on Lishan, it is also called Lishan Palace, or Xiuling Palace, etc.

In severe winter, bathing in the hot springs is truly a privilege only an emperor can enjoy.

It must be said, it was Yang Yuhuan who awakened Li Longji's second spring. Since his youth he has hacked through thorns and toppled one political opponent after another, and with great difficulty he has built this prosperous era.

Could it be that all this is meant for those unworthy sons? Li Longji obviously does not believe that 'success need not be mine.'

For him, it is his own enjoyment that takes first place. Yang Yuhuan stimulated Li Longji's desire for enjoyment, causing him to become immersed and unable to free himself.

……

"Finally we have arrived at Chang'an."

Outside Chang'an's Chunming Gate, the stalwart Wang Zhongsi fixed his gaze on the endless flow of people entering and leaving the city, and couldn't help but sigh.

Having received the sage's order, he returned from Kuizhou to Guanzhong, was appointed as Left General of the Dragon Martial Army, and charged with defending Chang'an's palace city.

This appointment… was actually not what he wanted.

"Let's enter the palace first and then talk."

Wang Zhongsi sighed; it had been a long time since he last returned to Chang'an, and he did not know whether things had remained the same or changed.