Chapter 2084: Taizong Chronicles 26: The Yellow River Port

The Emperor going on an inspection tour was a major affair. Someone like Zheng Yuan immediately began considering the travel regalia, the route, and requesting approval for the number of attendants to accompany the imperial carriage. But no sooner had he raised the matter than Liu Yang flatly rejected it—if they laid out the full ceremonial procession and made a great show of it, what would he be able to see?

Therefore, in Liu Yang's view, he would bring only two or three close ministers along. Of course, the safety of the imperial carriage could not be neglected, so he would additionally bring a hundred imperial guards, lightly equipped and simply dressed, as protection.

And so, a private inspection tour that was somewhat hasty but sufficiently sudden began. Centered on Emperor Liu Yang, a party of over a hundred riders set out on light horses, heading north. Apart from brief stops for water and supplies, they barely paused, covering nearly a hundred li in one stretch before finally stopping at the bank of the Yellow River.

Such an intense ride left even the strong and sturdy guards panting for breath, let alone Liu Yang, who had spent years in comfort and ease. However, after such a hard ride, his tightly wound spirits actually relaxed somewhat.

The palace eunuch Zheng Yuan was also gasping for breath. Though past fifty, he could still hold up—having good spirits and ample stamina was the basic professional quality for one who served others, especially one who served the Emperor.

Seeing the Emperor drenched in sweat, Zheng Yuan set aside everything else and immediately took out a red cloak to drape over him. Liu Yang did not refuse. It was high autumn, and standing at the great river ferry, it was easy to catch a chill.

Looking down from a height at the ferry landing not far below, the setting sun was sinking in the west, wisps of colorful clouds spread across the river's surface, and dappled light reflected in every pair of pupils. The bleak autumn wind did nothing to dampen the bustling scene at the ferry.

This was Heqing Ferry, the ancient Xiaoping Ford—the Yellow River crossing closest to Luoyang, and since ancient times, the key pass guarding the city. Of course, in today's Great Han, apart from its basic military function, it bore an even greater economic and transportation role.

Against the backdrop of the great development of the commodity economy in the Kaibao era, channels for the circulation of goods naturally flourished as well. Water transport in particular had undergone a great expansion, and the development of inland river shipping on the Yellow River was highly promising, especially bearing the important role of transporting resources to the capital region.

Heqing Ferry, for instance, undertook a massive volume of transshipment tasks every year. From south to north, carts and boats gathered in clouds—salt from the river, coal from Hedong, cattle and sheep from beyond the frontier—all manner of goods used this place as their anchorage. And merely by relying on transshipping supplies to the capital region, Heqing Ferry had grown into a large market town; the town of Heyin on the south bank alone had a population exceeding five thousand.

Under the autumn wind, Heqing Ferry was presenting its prosperity and bustle to the Emperor. On both the north and south banks stretched large expanses of leveled, hardened open ground, with docks and warehouses everywhere. Merchants from north and south, brokers, cargo owners, and common folk mingled together. Of course, the most numerous and busiest figures at the ferry were the boatmen ferrying vessels and the laborers loading and unloading cargo.

The closer it drew to evening, the more intense and frantic the activity became—everyone seemed to want to unload one more piece of cargo or run one more boat before the port closed at nightfall. The Yellow River's current was swift to begin with, and with the autumn flood season upon them, watching from afar those transport boats struggling against wind and waves in the gathering dusk, Liu Yang's heart could not help but clench. Yet there was little he could say—without the hard toil and sweat of these common folk, how could the nation develop?

Compared to the scene at the ferry that stirred a sense of poignancy, the market town not far to the south and north, which had risen in no very long time, presented a far more "flourishing age" aspect.

In fact, the market towns on both banks of Heqing Ferry had existed for a long time and had been developing over the past decades. But the true expansion to their present scale had only begun when the court established a bulk commodity exchange bureau here.

After all, the crowding of Luoyang was inevitable. The supply of goods by small peddlers carrying loads on shoulder poles or pushing handcarts was increasingly unable to meet the daily needs of the million officials and commoners of the Western Capital—not to mention all those powerful and noble families.

Under such circumstances, the bulk cargo distribution business that some had already begun to operate was brought into the consideration of the Finance Bureau. After memorializing for approval, the court established eight major ports in a ring around Luoyang, centralizing transshipment, centralizing tax collection, and centralizing management. Heqing Ferry was not even the largest of these, but like the other ports, it enjoyed the benefits radiating from the capital region in the process of bulk commodity transactions moving outward.

Since then, merchants from all directions no longer needed to carry their goods all the way to the outskirts of Luoyang or even into the city to sell them. At ports like Heqing Ferry, they could unload and barter. If they wished to see and appreciate the splendor of the capital, they could travel light.

Likewise, goods produced by the large and small workshops of the capital region were distributed outward layer by layer through this same route. These ports with distribution functions were playing an increasingly evident and important role in benefiting the state, the people, and the merchants.

This was naturally not Liu Yang's first time at Heqing Ferry, but every time he came, he could make new discoveries and see new changes. Likewise, only by witnessing the busy yet orderly scene up and down the port did Liu Yang gain fuller confidence in the empire he now ruled, in the face of those challenges both open and hidden.

"A boat has sunk!"

"Quick, save them!"

Amid the cries of alarm, a commotion broke out on the river that had been moving in orderly fashion. Fortunately, the clerks and soldiers responsible for maintaining order were conscientious enough to take measures at once and pulled the capsized boat's owner to safety.

The boats plying this river included those of the government, of merchant caravans, of boat guilds, and of course, plenty of private ones.

The boat that had just sunk was clearly a private one running solo. After being rescued ashore, ignoring everything else, the man knelt on the plank bridge, wailing to heaven and beating the ground before the surging river, crying out again and again, "My boat!" "My cargo!"

Though deserving of sympathy, such incidents were hardly rare at this busy ferry. The responsible official waited until the man had vented his grief, then took him to the town's bureau for questioning and investigation, while also handling follow-up matters—at the very least, the man could not be allowed to flee before the cargo owner came looking for him.

Noticing the commotion, Liu Yang sent Xu Shilian to investigate. Soon Xu Shilian returned and reported the situation.

The matter was not complicated. With only a little over a month until winter, the officials and commoners of the capital—especially the wealthy and noble households—had begun stockpiling coal. Coal merchants from Hedong had also begun shipping it to Luoyang. As one of the two major ports for goods heading south to Luoyang, Heqing Ferry naturally bore a huge transshipment demand.

The private boat that had capsized was precisely one transporting coal. Because it was overloaded—carrying double its rated capacity—it had been overturned by the wind and waves.

Hearing this, Liu Yang pondered briefly, then asked: "When such situations occur, how are they generally resolved?"

Xu Shilian replied: "It depends on the specific circumstances. For a private boat like this, with the boat capsized and the cargo destroyed, in most cases there is no choice but to compensate the cargo owner!"

Liu Yang's brows knitted slightly. "A boatload of coal is worth no small sum. This ferrying and transshipping earns only hard-earned pennies to begin with—how could he possibly afford to compensate?"

Xu Shilian said: "Your subject understands Your Majesty's compassion for the common people. But the boat capsized and the cargo was destroyed—this is indeed the boatman's fault. The cargo owner transported the coal all the way from Hedong to here—that was no easy task either. Therefore, compensation is only proper."

"As for how to compensate." Xu Shilian glanced at the Emperor and continued: "If the boatman has sufficient family assets, that is naturally best. If not, he may take out a loan, and after the boat is salvaged and repaired, continue running it to repay the debt. Failing that, he could also join a boat guild—going it alone, one's ability to withstand such risks is ultimately insufficient."

Though Xu Shilian said these words aloud, inwardly he could not help but sigh. He knew full well that none of the solutions he had proposed was easy. If the man's family circumstances were straitened, with one misstep, this boatman—one man and one boat—might be shackled to this affair for the rest of his life.

Yet on this matter, Xu Shilian could not say much. At the very least, he could not ruin the entire market order out of pity for one man. In fact, Xu Shilian also knew that there was no real fear of the man being unable to pay. Apart from that one man and one boat, his family surely had land, surely had children. Anyone who could scrape together a boat to run cargo must have some measure of means.

However much one pitied his hardship, one could only sigh at the suffering of the common folk!

"Loans!" Liu Yang seemed to seize on the key point at once, murmuring to himself, his brows knitting: "I have heard that usurious private lending has become rampant among the people, driving countless common folk to ruin and death!" Xu Shilian nodded: "To answer Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. Though the court has strict limits on private lending interest rates, inevitably there are lawless elements who, seduced by exorbitant profits, risk breaking the law. Though the authorities strike hard, there are always places they cannot reach."

"What is most to be feared is collusion between officials and private interests, profiting together!" Liu Yang said coldly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "During the tax reform process, didn't some people use lending schemes to parcel out their land holdings?"

"Even with the land no longer in their names, they still pocket that same income—or even more. And before the court and the authorities, they can claim to be cooperating with the reforms, loyal and zealous, deserving of commendation and encouragement from the court!

Some people! Are indeed too clever by half! Not content with oppressing the common folk, they would also treat the court as if it were blind and deaf, to be fooled at will!"

"Your Majesty sees with perfect clarity!" Feeling the barely contained agitation in Liu Yang, Xu Shilian opened his mouth and managed to utter this single sentence.

Glancing at Xu Shilian, Liu Yang drew a deep breath and said: "In cases such as this, could the government provide loans at low interest to help the people through their difficulties?"

At the question, Xu Shilian thought for a moment, then clasped his hands and said: "To report to Your Majesty, government lending is mostly directed at rural farming households. For agriculture, sericulture, fishing, and herding, grain, seeds, and farm tools are commonly used as loan capital. Or in years of great disaster, relief grain and funds are given to the victims."

"For business operations such as this, when encountering unexpected difficulties, people mostly seek private loans. The government has supported this, and has indeed shown great disdain for the practice of profiteering from others' distress."

"It is just that some wicked merchants and corrupt gentry, driven by excessive greed, oppress and exploit small farmers, reducing the people to poverty. And the local authorities have been lax in oversight, so that tragedies occur one after another—those ruined and destroyed beyond counting."

After hearing Xu Shilian's analysis, Liu Yang's expression shifted several times, and he said with great melancholy: "Supervision, supervision—supervise without actually inspecting. The common people suffer, all living beings know hardship. In the final analysis, it is the court's governance that has failed!"

"When Your Majesty possesses such a heart that worries for the state and loves the people, why fear that the nation will not be well governed, or the people not at peace!" Hearing Liu Yang speak thus, Xu Shilian clasped his fists with genuine sincerity: "It is only that time is still needed. Given time, the Great Han will surely see calm rivers and placid seas, and the myriad people will surely be prosperous and at peace!"

"I have no need of your consolation!" Liu Yang waved his hand, and after a moment of silence, said slowly: "In truth, I know well in my heart that even if such government lending for ordinary people's business difficulties were enacted, under the arbitrary distortions of some corrupt officials, it could well become another wicked policy for bullying the common folk!"

"Yet this vast nation, with its tens of thousands of officials—are they all wicked ministers and evil functionaries devoid of virtue, greedy and cruel?"

"Some things, one does even knowing they cannot be done—let alone this matter with its mixed benefits and harms? To give up eating for fear of choking—that I will not do. To promote its strengths and avoid its weaknesses—that is the policy that ought to be pursued!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

A trace of bitterness still could not help but surface at the corners of his mouth. Though the words came out well, Liu Yang himself was not entirely convinced. He could only instruct Xu Shilian: "Make a record of this matter. When we return to the palace, have the relevant offices deliberate on it. First conduct a trial on a small scale, observe and summarize."

"As for lending matters, the court ought to pay serious attention—especially those usurious private loans. Merely hearing of them makes my scalp tingle and leaves me unable to find peace. They must be struck down with severity!"

"Yes!"

Standing against the wind, gazing out at the ferry, Liu Yang's thoughts could not help but drift again, and he began to ponder the Great Han's relief and aid system.

As an empire rooted in agriculture, the small farmers and common folk of the Great Han had very poor ability to withstand risks in matters of land and household management. Let alone great disasters—even in ordinary years, at every farming season, there were inevitably shortages of seed grain, plow oxen, and farm implements.

On this basis, the court had also enacted a fairly comprehensive relief system. Setting aside the occurrence of disasters, to pacify the people and maintain public order, the court generally provided free relief. For farmers' difficulties in agricultural operations, it mostly adopted interest-free or low-interest lending, allowing the people to "repay the government with a small measure of grain."

These measures were not original to the Great Han. They were built upon the experience of previous dynasties, distilled and then put into practice, and on this basis, ever-normal granaries and charity granaries were established throughout the nation as treasuries for the empire to resist risk and maintain stability.

Yet this whole system had obvious flaws. Though in the early period it brought the Great Han great convenience in administration, military affairs, disaster relief, and other matters, in the present day, decades later, its defects were becoming increasingly apparent.

And when it came to the problems, in the final analysis, it was poor management—management that was difficult to do well. Many things simply could not be left to the moral integrity of powerful officials and bureaucrats, and once vigilance was relaxed, abuses were bound to accumulate.

As for the court, apart from being able to keep watch over a few "state-level" granaries, it was utterly incapable of effectively supervising the various public and ever-normal granaries scattered across the circuits, prefectures, and counties.

Although the regulations were clearly formulated, instances of them actually functioning effectively grew fewer and fewer—instead, they became a breeding ground for corrupt officials and unscrupulous local gentry to profit.

Misappropriating grain from the two granaries was merely a lighter offense; there were far uglier cases. A few years ago, one case emerged: Zhang Min, Prefectural Administrator of Huangzhou, colluded with his subordinates to steal and sell 45,000 dan of grain from the two granaries in the prefecture. Later, they falsely reported a flood, and with a few rounds of "relief grants" and "relief loans," they wiped the accounts clean. Then they petitioned the court for tax remission on account of the disaster—and tens of thousands of dan of grain were smoothly pocketed.

Of course, when such deeds were done too brazenly, discovery was inevitable. After being reported, the guilty officials in the Huangzhou case, from Prefectural Administrator Zhang Min on down, were all executed. And that incident once again showed Liu Yang the ugly, utterly bottomless faces of some bureaucrats.

And all problems, when they reached Liu Yang, seemed explainable by insufficient supervision and oversight. As for how much the court's seemingly perfect surveillance system actually accomplished—that was now a big question mark. At least in Liu Yang's view, merely keeping an eye on a few corrupt officials was clearly far from enough. The Great Han's surveillance system ought to look further downward. In that instant, such a thought flashed through Liu Yang's mind.

Recalling the many past affairs and reflecting on the present circumstances, Liu Yang's mood could not help but grow heavy once more. Lifting his eyes to the great river beyond the ferry landing, he saw dusk deepening, the autumn wind turning fierce, waves rumbling in succession, and the boats large and small moored at the dock shaking ceaselessly.

Pointing ahead, Liu Yang gave his orders: "Tonight we rest in the town. Find good boats and cross the river tomorrow. Before crossing, instruct the town's officials—autumn flood season has begun. Monitor water conditions at all times, and be sure to guarantee the safety of life and property for the merchants and people of this market town and ferry landing!"

"Yes!" Xu Shilian responded immediately.

"Tomorrow we'll go see Heqing County!" Gazing into the distance once more, across the Yellow River on the opposite bank lay Heqing County—also Liu Yang's first destination on this inspection tour.

The reason was simple: this county was considered the "pioneer county" and "model county" of the Great Han's tax reform. But at the same time, Liu Yang had also heard some less favorable rumors, and he very much wanted to see with his own eyes and hear with his own ears just what kind of flower this "model of reform" had actually bloomed.