Han Qian kept Feng Yi and Kong Xirong at the residence for breakfast. When the sun climbed high, Yang Qin, Feng Xuan, and others ran over from the warehouse to pay their respects.
By this time, Gao Bao and Feng Zhang, who had spent the night enjoying themselves at the Wanhong Pavilion, had also returned. Their eyes were puffy with deep bags underneath, and their steps were unsteady, suggesting they hadn’t rested well the previous night. Yet their spirits remained good—after all, they were full of vigor, though the young ladies who served them had suffered.
Walking into the courtyard, Yang Qin asked with confusion, “There are thirty or forty people at the alley entrance, all armed with blades and armor, their eyes filled with ill intent. Should I call some men over from the warehouse?”
“It’s nothing. Under the Son of Heaven’s feet, would they really dare draw their blades to kill?” Han Qian smiled dismissively, ignoring the situation outside the residence and merely asking Yang Qin and Feng Xuan about the progress of unloading their cargo.
Feng Yi and Kong Xirong’s hair stood on end. They hadn’t expected that not only had the several household guards failed to return, but the manor had dispatched even more people to block Lanting Alley. It seemed that today, they were determined to capture him and take him back.
Han Qian finished the last bit of rice porridge in his bowl along with some salted duck egg, patted his belly with satisfaction, strapped to his waist the straight-bladed saber whose edge had a chip knocked out of it, and said to Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren, “Let’s go meet up with His Highness first!”
The fleet couldn’t raise sails within the city and would move slowly. Han Qian still led a group of people to meet up with the Third Prince first, then ride horses out of the city to the garrison military headquarters.
This way, they could reach Taowu Market before noon and handle some matters there, whereas even if everything went smoothly for the fleet, it wouldn’t arrive at Taowu Market until after noon.
Fan Dahei accompanied Yang Qin and Feng Xuan in escorting the ships by water, while Lin Haizheng, Gao Shao, Tian Cheng, Zhao Wuji, and others clustered around Han Qian as they led their horses out of the courtyard.
An extra carriage had been prepared for the two women, Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren, to ride in. A pile of matters had accumulated at the workshop that required Zhao Ting’er and Xi Ren to accompany Han Qian to stay at the villa for a few days to handle them.
As Han Qian and his group rode their horses toward the alley entrance, the thirty or forty people blocking it showed no intention of yielding. Leading them was a young man of about thirty years, mounted on a white horse, his eyes fixed on Han Qian and his party.
“Elder Brother, His Highness has summoned me. I’ve been to the Marquis of Linjiang’s manor—if His Highness has no further instructions, I’ll return home…” Feng Yi called out somewhat uncertainly.
Only now did Han Qian see Feng Wenluan’s legitimate eldest son, Feng Liao, for the first time. Looking at his slightly elongated face, he indeed bore some resemblance to Feng Wenluan. Dressed in casual attire with a long saber at his waist, he appeared less sinister than Feng Wenluan and more heroic and upright.
When Great Chu was first established, Feng Liao had been selected as a member of the Feng clan to join the Imperial Guards. He later followed Emperor Tianyou in subjugating King Yue, Dong Chang. Afterward, to strengthen control over conquered territories, Emperor Tianyou left Feng Liao and a group of literate military officers from the Imperial Guards to serve in local positions.
Feng Liao had been tempered in local administration for several years, serving successively as a recording clerk and county magistrate. He had also been serving as magistrate of Haitang County for over two years now. Han Qian hadn’t expected him to be in Jinling at this time—he didn’t know whether Feng Liao had temporarily returned to Jinling to report on his duties or if there was another appointment.
Like Li Zhigao and Chai Jian, Feng Liao was the successor the Feng family focused on cultivating. Whether serving in the Imperial Guards or being tempered through years of local administration, he truly possessed a steady bearing that was difficult to oppose.
However, Feng Liao paid no attention to Feng Yi’s explanation. His eyes fixed on Han Qian as he asked, “What must I do for Director Han to release Feng Yi and Xirong back to us?”
Han Qian sat silently on his purple-maned horse, not expecting the Feng family to openly attempt to “ransom people” from him. He had no desire to become too deeply involved in succession disputes.
Although he had successfully escorted his father to take office in Xuzhou, the twists and dangers along the way had spread back to Jinling, causing more people to grow fearful and reluctant to become too entangled with the Marquis of Linjiang’s manor.
Han Qian studied Feng Liao carefully, thinking that Feng Liao had been tempered both in the military and in local administration, experiencing many power struggles. Even though he had brought so many people to block the alley entrance—which might well be the Feng manor putting on a show for Ning’an Palace—he couldn’t be easily bluffed away.
“I was just about to request positions as revenue collectors for Feng Yi and Kong Xirong before His Highness. Brother Feng, you’ve brought people to block the alley entrance—you’re really making things difficult for me!” Han Qian gripped the reins and said to Feng Liao with a laugh.
“Revenue collectors?” Feng Liao examined Han Qian with puzzlement for several moments, but after only pondering briefly, he nodded and said, “That position isn’t difficult to arrange. They should be able to handle it well. My grandmother hasn’t seen Feng Yi and Xirong for two days and misses them. If Director Han has no other matters, then please let Feng Yi and Xirong return with me first.”
Only then did Han Qian pull on the reins, moving his purple-maned horse to the side to clear the way, calling for Feng Yi and Kong Xirong to go.
“We will not fail His Highness,” Feng Yi said in a lowered voice as he passed by Han Qian.
“As long as you have that intention, I guarantee His Highness won’t fail you either,” Han Qian said with a smile, gesturing for them to go back first.
“Young Master, what terms did you negotiate with Elder Brother Feng?” Zhao Ting’er watched as Feng Yi and Kong Xirong departed with Feng Liao, unable to guess what Han Qian and Feng Liao’s brief exchange had truly meant.
Han Qian sighed lightly and explained through the carriage window to Zhao Ting’er what a revenue collector was.
When the previous dynasty was first established, warfare continued for thirty or forty years. Tax revenues were depleted, and even officials’ salaries couldn’t be secured. Despite the suspicion of competing with the people for profit, Emperor Taizong still established public treasury capital in the various departmental offices and prefectures and counties, appointing revenue collectors to generate profit through interest to supplement insufficient official funds.
In the middle and late periods of the previous dynasty, the public treasury capital was merged into the Ever-Normal Granaries. Ever-Normal Granaries and their personnel were established in prefectures, counties, and major commercial thoroughfares to buy cheap and sell dear across the realm’s commerce, both stabilizing prices and profiting thereby.
When Emperor Tianyou established the Chu state, all systems followed the previous dynasty. Under the Salt and Iron Transport Commission, he also established an Ever-Normal Granary Bureau. Additionally, to compensate for insufficient military provisions, he specially decreed that the northern and southern headquarters armies could establish Ever-Normal Granaries in their garrison areas to store and sell goods from across the realm.
The Ever-Normal Granary Bureau established by the Salt and Iron Transport Commission still somewhat fulfilled the functions of stabilizing prices and distributing goods. It was also the main body through which the Salt and Iron Transport Commission collected salt profits and levied commercial taxes on tea, iron, lacquer, horses, and such. Therefore, the Salt and Iron Transport Commission was a department with far greater power and scale than the Ministry of Revenue or the Financial Commission among Great Chu’s various departments.
However, how could the Southern Headquarters Forbidden Army and Northern Headquarters Imperial Guards have the energy to do this? The armies mostly just handed the principal directly to those serving as granary directors and bureau supervisors, then stipulated how much interest they must pay annually—in reality, this was closer to the role of revenue collectors established in the early years of the previous dynasty.
This was Great Chu’s characteristic military commercial enterprise.
Emperor Tianyou’s decree allowing the armies to establish Ever-Normal Granary directorships aimed to raise funds to reduce the court’s burden of maintaining the military. Therefore, each army could appoint eight to ten Ever-Normal Granary directors without restrictions on the appointees’ backgrounds or status. Moreover, as long as the annual interest payments met the standard, they would be granted low-ranking merit offices.
This was an important pathway to obtaining noble titles and official positions in Great Chu, besides grace appointments, recommendations, and imperial examinations.
However, since Feng Yi and Kong Xirong were already seventh-rank merit officials at this time—merely lacking substantive official positions—and to prevent merit offices from becoming too widespread, it was impossible to obtain middle or high-ranking merit offices by contributing money and grain to the military. Therefore, serving as revenue collectors for the Dragon Sparrow Army held no significance for Feng Yi and Kong Xirong.
When Han Qian said in front of Feng Liao that he would recommend Feng Yi and Kong Xirong to serve as revenue collectors for the Dragon Sparrow Army, Feng Liao thought that as long as the Feng family contributed a sum of money annually, Feng Yi and Kong Xirong could avoid becoming too deeply involved in Dragon Sparrow Army and Marquis of Linjiang manor affairs. But Han Qian would not be satisfied with just that.
Han Qian had someone summon Fan Dahei and instructed him, “Take the eight hundred loads of Xuzhou tea unloaded into the warehouse yesterday and arrange for people to deliver it to the Feng manor. Say this is the four million coins of principal for Feng Yi and Kong Xirong’s service as revenue collectors for the Dragon Sparrow Army!”
Salt, iron, tea, cloth, rice, medicine, timber, lacquer—these were among the few bulk trade goods of the era.
Xuzhou had many mountains and little arable land, with a long history of tea cultivation. Only because of nearly a century of regional warlordism had areas like southern Hunan and central Guizhou become increasingly isolated, making it difficult for tea merchants to reach them, severely suppressing tea production.
One must know that during the early and middle periods of the previous dynasty, tea leaves transported from southern Hunan, central Guizhou, and other areas into the Central Plains numbered as high as one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand loads annually.
In the past, Xuzhou could also sell out about ten to twenty thousand loads of tea annually. But after nearly a century of suppression, even though Wang Yu had vigorously promoted it after taking office, in recent years Xuzhou could only export about two to three thousand loads of tea annually.
All industries in Xuzhou awaited revival and reorganization. Han Qian could only start from the simplest aspects.
Han Qian had purchased eight hundred loads of Xuzhou tea at three thousand coins per load. But in Jinling, valuing them at five thousand coins per load as principal to credit to the Feng family couldn’t be considered greedy.
Han Qian would not be satisfied with the Feng family merely paying one or two million coins annually. He still intended to use the Feng family’s warehouses and shops distributed throughout Jinling and surrounding prefectures and counties as a major outlet for marketing Xuzhou products.
Han Qian had no idea what Jinling’s situation would be like in two or three years. At this time, it was simply impossible to go to great lengths to build large and small warehouses on a massive scale within and outside Jinling city and in surrounding prefectures and counties, let alone directly operate shops. Nor could he disperse his limited available personnel to deal with hundreds or thousands of small and medium medicine and tea merchants.
Han Qian’s plan was to leverage the Feng family on one hand, while on the other, use sufficiently low prices to attract small and medium medicine and tea merchants to come for wholesale purchasing.
After arranging these matters, Han Qian still proceeded according to the original plan, first heading to the Marquis of Linjiang’s manor to meet up with the Third Prince and his party.
After hearing about Feng Liao bringing people to intercept them, Chai Jian, Li Chong, and the others were naturally indignant.
Han Qian saw that both Third Prince Yang Yuanpu and Li Zhigao had gloomy expressions and said, “Establishing the Dragon Sparrow Army is not enough to earn His Highness much prestige in the court. In many people’s minds, whether the Dragon Sparrow Army can fight is still a very big question mark, isn’t it?”
“Are you saying we should fight for an opportunity to deploy troops this time?” Li Zhigao asked Han Qian.
Han Qian nodded. At Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s current age, the best way to establish prestige was through military merit.
Given the Feng family’s cautious reaction, if the Dragon Sparrow Army continued to remain garrisoned in Jinling, the role it could play would become increasingly limited. But as long as there was an opportunity to march out to reinforce the borders—even without major military achievements to contend for—if they could lead the Dragon Sparrow Army as a flanking force advancing north from the western route, they could accomplish many things in the localities.