activa-t Chapter 3 Zhang Family
Chapter 3 Zhang Family
The next day at dawn, before it was fully light.
Zhao Yun had already led six county soldiers to the South Gate intersection.
Li Zhao arrived half an hour later than Zhao Yun.
He came from the back alley, with two oxcarts behind him.
Twenty shi (a unit of dry measure).
Li Zhao's expression remained unchanged: "There will be even more refugees today, so prepare plenty."
Zhao Yun didn't speak, but turned around and gave the orders.
Sure enough, as soon as the morning light appeared, a long queue had already formed at the entrance of Nanmen Street.
The news of the porridge distribution spread yesterday, and refugees from the south and west of the city flocked in, even those from outside the city entered.
Zhao Yun stood by the porridge pot maintaining order when a county soldier leaned over and whispered something.
"Zhao, there are about twice as many people today as yesterday."
Zhao Yun glanced at the end of the long queue; it had already turned the corner.
"Following the rules, one bowl per person, and we'll cook more if that's not enough."
Half past 9 AM, a small sedan chair made of blue cloth turned from North Street.
Two sedan chair carriers and one attendant.
The follower was a thin man in his thirties, wearing a silk shirt, with a purse hanging from his waist, and he walked with his chin slightly raised.
The sedan chair stopped in front of the soup kitchen.
The skinny man lifted the sedan curtain, and out came an elderly man around fifty years old, with a round, fair face and a smiling expression. He was wearing a gray-blue robe, and he looked like a fine man.
Zhao Yun knew this person.
Zhang He, the steward of the Zhang family in the east of the city.
The Zhang family is the most powerful family in Pingyuan County. They own thousands of acres of fertile land and hundreds of tenant farmers. They have a say in half of the county's grain price fluctuations.
Zhang He got out of the sedan chair, glanced at the porridge pot, then at the line of refugees, and his smile deepened.
"General Zhao, thank you for your hard work."
Zhao Yun cupped his hands in greeting but didn't respond.
Zhang He didn't mind and asked with a smile, "Is Li Mingting here?"
"At the county temple."
"Then this old man will go and pay a visit."
Zhang He cupped his hands in greeting, got into the sedan chair, and headed towards the county temple.
Zhao Yun stood there, watching the sedan chair turn the corner of the alley, his brows furrowed.
He turned to the county soldier beside him and instructed, "Go to the county office and inform them that someone from the Zhang family has arrived."
……
The main hall of the county temple.
When Li Zhao received the letter, he was organizing the bamboo slips for the military settlements.
Sun Fu greeted Zhang He as he entered from the corridor.
"Li Mingting." Zhang He greeted everyone with a bow and a broad smile as he entered.
"Excuse me, excuse me. I have come here today with a matter I would like to ask the Ming court."
"Manager Zhang, please have a seat," Li Zhao gestured.
Zhang He sat down, his gaze sweeping across the main hall.
When the previous magistrate was in office, there was a silk screen hanging in this hall and a bronze incense burner on the table, but now there is nothing there.
"The Ming court is honest and incorruptible; I admire that," Zhang He said with a smile.
"Steward Zhang, please speak frankly."
Zhang He stopped laughing and said seriously, "Mingting, this old man has come on behalf of my master to ask a question."
"Speaking."
"The whole county knows about the porridge distribution at the South Gate intersection. I've done the math; it was ten shi yesterday, and I'm afraid it will be even more today."
Zhang He paused, looking at Li Zhao's expression.
"I know a little about the state of the county's granary. When the previous Ming emperor left office, there were less than 500 shi of grain in the granary."
"This old man would like to ask, where did the rice used by the Ming court for distributing porridge come from?"
Li Zhao chuckled and picked up his pen again.
"Steward Zhang is asking this on behalf of Lord Zhang. Is he worried that the county doesn't have enough grain, or that it has too much?"
Zhang He's smile faltered for a moment.
"The Ming court is joking," Zhang He coughed lightly. "Naturally, they are worried about insufficient supplies. With the number of refugees increasing daily, if the food supply cannot be met, I fear there may be unrest."
Li Zhao looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Don't worry, Steward Zhang. I know the situation regarding the county's rice and grain supplies."
He took a scroll of bamboo slips from beside the table and pushed it in front of Zhang He.
"This is the porridge distribution account for this month; the income and expenses are clear. Also—"
Li Zhao paused.
"I plan to cultivate land in the southeast of the city to settle displaced people. A formal proclamation will be issued on this matter in a few days. Since Steward Zhang has arrived, you may pass on a message to Lord Zhang first."
Zhang He glanced down at the bamboo slips.
The accounts were neatly written, but he still had doubts about the grain merchant from Bohai County.
The Zhang family's influence extended throughout half of Jizhou, and no grain merchant had ever dared to bypass local bigwigs and supply directly to the county government.
"Reclaiming wasteland in the southeast of the city..."
Zhang He raised his head, and a smile returned to his face.
"The Ming court has the courage. It's just that the land has been abandoned for two years, and the ditches are silted up, so it will probably be difficult to reclaim it."
"To be honest, the land deed for that wasteland is still in the hands of my master."
"During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the tenant farmers who originally cultivated the land either died or fled. Although the land was abandoned, the land deeds remained with the Zhang family. If the Ming court wants to cultivate it, it will likely have to go through this process."
After Zhang He finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
The main hall was quiet for a few moments.
Li Zhao looked up at Zhang He.
"Does Steward Zhang mean that the Zhang family is unwilling to give up that land?"
"Not at all."
Zhang He quickly waved his hand, his smile becoming even more amiable.
"The Zhang family has lived in Pingyuan for generations. The Ming court is advocating for the people, how could my lord not support it? But..."
He changed the subject, his gaze falling on the bamboo slips containing account details on the table.
"However, the source of the rice used for the porridge distribution by the Ming court is not very clear. I, a grain merchant from Bohai County, have also heard that such quality millet is not commonly seen in Bohai County."
Zhang He put down his teacup and leaned forward slightly.
"The Ming court is also aware that the world is not at peace these days. If grain of dubious origin falls into the wrong hands and is used against us, it will not do the Ming court any good."
Li Zhao leaned back in his chair, looking at the smiling old steward in front of him.
When the previous magistrate was in office, the Zhang family earned more than ten thousand coins a year by taking advantage of the 30% difference in grain prices.
The more refugees there were, the higher the price of grain became, and the fuller the Zhang family's warehouses became.
Now that Li Zhao has suddenly started distributing porridge with grain of dubious origin, it's as if he's directly smashed the Zhang family's rice bowl.
Zhang He's visit wasn't to inquire about grain; it was clearly to gather information.
Li Zhao suddenly smiled.
"Manager Zhang, you just said that grain of dubious origin has been used against me by those with ulterior motives, which is bad for my reputation."
"Yes."
"Then I'll ask Steward Zhang a question too." Li Zhao stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Zhang He.
"Does Steward Zhang know what the current situation is?"
Zhang He paused for a moment, then subconsciously replied, "Naturally...a chaotic world."
Li Zhao slammed his hand on the table and scolded.
"Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang, and the emperor moved west to Chang'an. The warlords in Guandong were divided, and the war in Ji Province was incessant. General Gongsun was ordered by the court to govern a region and fought with Yuan Shao at Pan River."
"Pingyuan County is under the jurisdiction of General Gongsun. Last autumn's harvest was poor, and a dou of rice cost eighty coins. The Zhang family sold their grain in the twelfth lunar month for one hundred and twenty coins a dou. This spring, the price has increased by another twenty percent."
"The Zhang family in the east of the city owns twelve granaries, and last year they stored no less than three thousand bushels of new grain. They have more than four hundred tenant households outside the city, who pay sixty percent of their rent every year, even in the event of a disaster."
These figures, coming from Li Zhao's mouth, were clearly beyond Zhang He's expectations.
Li Zhao has been in Pingyuan County for two years and has always been law-abiding, but now he seems like a completely different person.
Zhang He stood up and gave a dry laugh.
"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but Your Majesty has overstated the matter. The price of grain is a result of the current situation."
"The current situation?"
Li Zhao snorted coldly.
"General Gongsun is engaged in fierce battle with Yuan Shao. All counties under his jurisdiction need to stabilize the people's hearts and stockpile military provisions."
The Zhang family, the wealthiest family in Pingyuan County, did not think of serving the general, but instead took advantage of the chaos to hoard grain and drive up grain prices.
Outside the city, starving refugees lay everywhere, yet the Zhang family's granaries were overflowing.
"Let me ask you this: are the Zhang family's actions truly helping General Gongsun stabilize his rear, or are they waiting for Yuan Shao to attack so they can surrender the city and offer grain?"