Chapter 100: An Era of Transformation

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Zhen Qian despised the Tang dynasty’s ward market system, yet he had to admit that it greatly contributed to urban planning and public security. Despite numerous inconveniences and restrictions on residents’ lives, given the social structure of the time, it was remarkably advanced.

Where there is demand, there is supply. Although Luquan County had an official market, many small shops within the wards functioned much like the convenience stores of later eras.

As the carriage approached the west gate of Luquan County, the towering city walls came into view. The size of the county town could be gauged from the walls, parapets, battlements, gates, and barbicans.

Tang dynasty city walls were not very tall. Aside from border defense outposts, even the walls of the capital, Chang’an, stood only six meters high, incomparable to the twelve-meter-high walls of the Ming and Qing dynasties. This was closely related to military technology; as siege weaponry advanced, wall heights increased accordingly.

All four gates of Luquan County featured barbicans, part of the defensive system of strategic military towns. Usually built outside the city gates—though occasionally on the inner side—these semicircular or square guard forts were designed so that their gates did not align with the main gates, preventing direct assault from battering rams and similar siege weapons.

At the city gate stood several constables clad in black uniforms, inspecting those entering and leaving the county. Of course, not everyone was checked; those dressed smartly were naturally “ignored.” Small farmers entering the city often suffered under their extortionate demands, which had become routine. Any resistance might result in beatings or, in severe cases, being labeled a vagrant or bandit and locked up for days—an all-too-common occurrence.

Zhen Qian’s carriage drew no obstruction. It stopped at the gate, and he poked his head out the window. “Is Head Constable Hao on duty today?”

A constable hurried over eagerly, flattering as he took a hundred-wen copper coin from Zhen Qian. “This is for the brothers’ wine money, to warm us up in this bitter cold…”

“I bring their thanks from Zhen the Young Master…! Head Constable Hao is away on business. Shall I notify him for you?”

“No need! Just tell him I asked for him when you see him!”

Following his philosophy to treat others kindly—after all, it is easier to deal with the king of hell than with troublesome ghosts—Zhen Qian maintained good relations with Luquan’s constables. Though not intimate friends, the wine and meat were never lacking.

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“Farewell, Zhen the Young Master!”

Amid a chorus of compliments, Zhen Qian’s carriage entered Luquan County.

The county magistrate’s surname was Feng, a branch of the prominent Shandong Pinglu family, and he had a good relationship with Zhen Qian. Thirty percent of the winery’s profits were given as shares to the county office. Before the New Year, Zhen’s household always sent the year’s dividends to the county government—and this year was no exception.

Considering Zhen Qian was new to the area, Magistrate Feng did not impose any additional burdens, maintaining the status quo as usual.

The salary system for Tang officials was fraught with flaws. Officials in various prefectures and counties were not paid directly by the government but through interest generated by public office capital funds.

This public office capital, also known by names such as “various capital funds,” “various interest capital,” or simply “official capital,” was currency used by government offices to “lend and redeem” for profit.

Originally well-intentioned, the system was corrupted over time and became synonymous with high-interest lending during the Tang dynasty. Public office capital began in the Sui dynasty and flourished under the Tang. At first, central and local officials were given capital funds to lend out and use the interest for public expenses. However, by the fourteenth year of the Kaihuang era (594 AD), officials such as Su Xiaoci, Minister of Works and Duke of Anping, criticized local administrations for abusing the system, causing public nuisance, moral decay, and severe social harm.

Although public office capital somewhat alleviated the problem of officials’ salaries and administrative expenses, reducing state financial burdens, its drawbacks became increasingly apparent.

First, in its monetary nature, as time passed, administrative functions weakened, leading departments to act independently and exploit the system for personal gain.

Second, the system facilitated corruption. The public office capital system opened a new path for merchants to enter officialdom, contrasting sharply with the traditional imperial examination route. As long as interest payments were made in full for twelve months, money collectors could participate in Ministry of Personnel selections and be granted official posts. Clerks and minor officers might also receive promotions after a year of profit payments.

Third, the system’s privileges troubled the populace. The public office capital was intended to support virtuous officials and prioritize state needs without exploiting the people. Yet, with interest capital seeking profit, legal merchants focused on capital acquisition. At the dynasty’s start, reforms aimed to curb abuses by collecting capital and interest to regulate wealthy families, but practical implementation by local clerks and officials resulted in heavy interest collections, bankruptcies, and widespread distress. Though small borrowers enjoyed light interest rates, those who could not repay suffered greatly.

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Fourth, collusion between officials and merchants was rampant. Many wealthy merchants became money collectors, colluding with government officials to exploit official capital, lending private funds under the guise of official capital, using government authority to enforce collections, and amassing illicit profits. Leveraging official power, they terrorized rural communities, making the public office capital system a major social scourge.

Fifth, exploitation intensified. The enormous interest payments were not taken from the collectors’ own pockets but from the hard-earned wealth of laborers. This only accounted for government-operated official capital. In reality, collectors added private capital “backed by official funds.” The government’s heavy interest charges coupled with merchants’ profiteering inflicted incalculable harm upon the working populace.

Though public office capital partially solved officials’ salary and administrative funding issues and eased state expenses, its expansion exposed ever more glaring faults.

Many may be unaware of the role of public office capital and thus its detriments, but most know of Wang Anshi’s reforms in the Northern Song dynasty. Wang’s reforms aimed to increase court revenue by transforming private loans into official loans. The historical consequences are clear: public office capital was essentially government-backed usury. Under oppressive authority and collusion between officials and merchants, the number of bankrupt small farmers increased, accelerating land consolidation.

Zhen Qian understood this well. He was also a beneficiary of the system. Many self-cultivating farmers, due to various pressures, sold their children or suffered family separations, creating a growing population of vagrants.

Although aware of the advantages and drawbacks of the public office capital, as a great landowner and large slaveholder, Zhen Qian had no desire to change the status quo. After all, as the saying goes, “One does not manage affairs beyond one’s position.”

The wheels of history would not turn for the sake of one man. The Tang economy was neither as open as the Song nor as prosperous as the Ming and Qing. Historically, the economic dominance of the Jiangnan region emerged only during the Song dynasty. Maritime trade was still in its infancy, and goods traveling to and from the Western Regions could not reach every household. From a historical perspective, Europe had not yet entered the Dark Ages; the Crusades were still three centuries away; Central Asia remained strong; Islam had just arisen; the Mongol Empire’s scourge had yet to sweep across Eurasia; the Americas were still in indigenous stages; and the great age of maritime exploration had not yet begun. Everything was in the making.

Zhen Qian had arrived, and everything was about to change...