Chapter 235: Counting History

Counting History's Top Ten Corrupt Officials, No. 6: Yuan Zai

Era: Tang Dynasty (mid‑Tang, during Emperor Daizong's reign)

Lifespan: circa AD 713 – AD 777

Origin: humble family from Fengxiang

Posts: Deputy Director of the Secretariat, and Chancellor (co‑minister of the Secretariat)

Traits: rose from a humble background to chancellor, rose rapidly, greed swelled, wealth could rival a nation, especially famed for hoarding massive amounts of pepper

The humble rise, a seat among the imperial pillars.

Power tilted the court and realm, wealth rivaled that of nobles.

Gold and silver countless, pepper fragrance fills the courtyard.

When he dies his name shatters, only mockery remains.

The scene opens to the mid‑Tang period, the post‑An Lushan Rebellion era of widespread ruin awaiting revival and power reshuffling.

Yuan Zai, a native of Fengxiang, Qishan.

Born in poverty, his family had no surplus wealth, truly a "rising from a cold, modest home".

Yet he was gifted and knew that studying was the only way out, so he worked hard, read extensively, especially mastering the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

In the backdrop,

Young Yuan Zai, in a dilapidated village school, thinly clothed but with bright eyes, warming his hands to write in the cold winter, warding off mosquitoes while reading at night in summer, studying with great diligence.

At the beginning of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era, Yuan Zai entered officialdom by passing the Daoist examination (Daoju), stepping into the bureaucracy.

He was shrewd and capable, adept at gauging the emperor's will, and possessed genuine administrative talent, so amid the chaotic times he rose and fell repeatedly, eventually advancing step by step.

The scene shifts,

Yuan Zai gained experience in numerous local and central posts, handling duties methodically, showing deference to superiors, and employing smooth tactics with colleagues.

After Emperor Daizong (Li Yu) ascended the throne, he urgently needed capable ministers to stabilize the situation and counterbalance the eunuchs.

Yuan Zai's talent and his humble background (lacking powerful clan support, appearing easy to control) caught Daizong's eye, earning him an extraordinary promotion.

Within a few short years, Yuan Zai rose like a blue cloud, attaining the posts of Deputy Director of the Secretariat and Chancellor, becoming a genuine prime minister, with power swaying the court and realm.

In the scene, Yuan Zai, clad in a purple robe, stands at the front of the hall, receiving Emperor Daizong's trusting gaze, full of vigor.

Below, the hundred officials wear complex expressions—some envy, some jealousy, some disdain.

However, once the taste of power is sampled, especially for someone like Yuan Zai who clawed out of extreme poverty, the corrosion accelerates astonishingly.

Ascending to the chancellorship, with great authority in hand, the greed for wealth, pleasure, and status that Yuan Zai had suppressed for years erupted like a volcano.

He swiftly transformed into a massive glutton for greed.

The scene's tone abruptly shifts toward extravagance and darkness.

Yuan Zai's corruption was unabashed, even somewhat self‑righteous.

He openly sold offices and titles, pricing them clearly according to the position's lucrativeness and location.

"In the Jianghuai region, the Imperial Carriage Office, all loyal officials are removed, replaced by the greedy."

Anyone seeking an office in the prosperous Jianghuai area or key capital departments could not succeed without bribery.

Those he appointed and promoted were mostly his own kind—unrestrainedly greedy and adept at scheming—so he filled many crucial court positions with his faction.

In the scene, Yuan Zai's prime‑ministerial residence becomes a 'wholesale market for offices', with all sorts of people bustling about; his son, son‑in‑law, and trusted steward handle reception, bargaining, and collection of money.

Yuan Zai, in a secret chamber, watches the long price list and buyer roster, smiling with satisfaction.

In the hall, some obviously unworthy, gluttonous officials occupy key posts, while the upright and incorrupt are pushed into idle posts or remote posts.

Not only selling offices, Yuan Zai never turned away bribes that came to his door; the more, the better.

The 'filial respect' of local officials, the 'requests' of wealthy merchants, even the 'facilitation' of litigants—so long as the money was sufficient, there was nothing he dared not accept or act upon.

Historical records state his 'public sale of offices and bribes, unprecedented in recent years'—

Open bribery and receipt of bribes reached this level; in recent years no one could match him.

In the scene, boxes of gold and silver, bolts of silk, and antiques are continuously carried in through side and back doors of Yuan Zai's residence.

Yuan Zai's storeroom grows ever larger; the house‑staff guarding it must rotate shifts, because the items are too many to inventory.

With his sky‑splitting wealth, Yuan Zai began to indulge to the extreme.

In Chang'an's most bustling Da Ning Lane and An Ren Lane, he erected two ultra‑luxurious mansions, with pavilions, towers, carved beams, painted rafters, water‑fed ponds, stacked rocks forming hills; their grandeur and finesse even surpassed many princes' palaces.

That was not enough; in the eastern capital Luoyang he also built an even larger garden‑style private residence, channeling the Luo River into the grounds, mimicking royal garden layouts, whose scenery left many visitors in awe.

The scene switches to Luoyang, a garden like a fairyland, its scale not inferior to a royal retreat.

To what extent was Yuan Zai's lifestyle extravagant?

His residence housed countless stunning beauties gathered from across the land, these women 'of heavenly bearing and national beauty', whose attire and expenses even exceeded those of palace concubines.

He recruited musicians and dancers; the music they performed was called 'Exotic Heavenly Melodies', said to be more beautiful than the palace's music.

The splendor of his entertainments and the luxury of his indulgence left many court officials who visited his mansion speechless, privately remarking 'this is not fit for a minister.'

The backdrop displays the scene of the time:

Yuan Zai hosts a banquet in a massive hall, delicacies flowing like water, stunning dancers twirl, and the music drifts ethereally.

The guests are entranced, Yuan Zai sits high at the head, proud and satisfied.

However, what truly made Yuan Zai 'immortalized in history' and a timeless joke was not gold, silver, or jewels, nor beauties and mansions, but a special 'wealth'—pepper.

The focus shifts to Yuan Zai's most central, heavily guarded storeroom.

Opening the heavy door, no dazzling gold light appears, but a dense, spicy, distinctive aroma assaults the senses!

Inside, piled like mountains, are not gold or silver but bags upon bags of black granules—pepper!

During the Tang period, pepper was not an ordinary seasoning.

It originated in Tianzhu (India), traveled thousands of miles along the Silk Road, was scarce, and its price was as high as gold.

Pepper is a luxury that only top‑tier nobles and the rich can afford, often used to display status or as an expensive gift.

The scene shows a caravan from the Western Regions,

The camels carry tiny leather bags, crossing desert and snow‑capped mountains, transporting the precious pepper to Chang'an, where it is traded in the East‑West Market by the gold price.

Yet in Yuan Zai's warehouse, the seized pepper amounted to eight hundred shi!

In the Tang dynasty, one shi was about 79 kilograms, so eight hundred shi equals a full 63,200 kilograms—over sixty‑three tons!

They filled several massive storerooms!

These peppers are Yuan Zai's "private stash," accumulated over years by abusing his authority—controlling trade, taking bribes, and seizing by force.

He probably thought this preserved value better than gold and silver and showed his status more.

The image is striking:

Countless jute sacks pile up like a mountain, filling the entire view.

The steward, ledger in hand, frowns and says to Yuan Zai:

"Prime Minister, the newly acquired three hundred shi of pepper simply cannot fit in the storehouse…"

Yuan Zai waves dismissively, "Clear out the adjacent silk‑storage warehouse!"

The wicked who act repeatedly will bring about their own ruin.

Yuan Zai's arrogance and greed finally provoked Emperor Daizong's great displeasure and vigilance.

Daizong initially employed him to counterbalance the eunuchs, but Yuan Zai grew too powerful, corrupt and manipulative, posing a threat greater than the eunuchs.

In the twelfth year of the Dali era.

Daizong finally resolved, and with the help of Prime Minister Chang Gun and others, launched a sudden crackdown, capturing Yuan Zai and his followers in one stroke.

In the sky‑screen display, the imperial guards suddenly surround Yuan Zai's residence; soldiers, like wolves and tigers, rush in and drag the drinking, reveling Yuan Zai out.

The once bustling prime‑ministerial mansion instantly descends into chaos.

The raid's outcome shook all of Chang'an, leaving Emperor Daizong dumbfounded and then raging with anger.

Beyond the mountain of gold, silver, jewels, antiques, calligraphy and silk, the eight hundred shi of pepper became the greatest satire and mockery.

In the scene, the officials conducting the raid stare at the mountain‑like pepper, their faces as if they have seen a ghost.

The news reaches the palace; Emperor Daizong Li Yu is first stunned, then so angry he smashes the Jade Ruyi in his hand to pieces.

"Fraud! My prime minister, does his household run a pepper shop?!"