Chapter 206: The First Person to Seek Aid – True Nature Revealed

Giving heavy gifts does not necessarily mean one intends to do something in return, and coming empty-handed does not necessarily mean having no demands. This was a truth that Zhang Yue deeply understood on the first day of the first lunar month after entering officialdom.

Needless to say, the King of Han, who offered the heaviest gifts, was more likely doing so to show goodwill and gain Zhang Fu’s response in Beijing rather than to help Zhang Yue with anything. Those two merchants also sought to establish good relations in advance, having learned of Zhang Yue’s strong background and hoping he would eventually become the governor of Qingzhou. It was precisely the man who appeared to come empty-handed and seemed to expect nothing in return who bowed deeply upon entering, clearly indicating he had a request.

“Your humble student, Fang Qing, pays his respects to your Excellency.”

Although Zhang Yue was new to the area, he had spent time studying the famous families in the province, so the surname Fang caught his attention. The man appeared to be in his early thirties, wearing a sky-blue silk hat, a blue robe with black trim, and black cloud-patterned shoes. His neat and tidy appearance clearly showed that he was a scholar.

Fang Qing immediately noticed Zhang Yue’s confusion and respectfully explained, “Your humble student passed the imperial examination and became a xiucai in the seventh year of the Yongle era.”

Seeing Zhang Yue nod with a smile and gesture for him to sit, he gently lifted the hem of his robe and sat down upright, his back straight as a rod. A servant brought tea, and he bowed slightly before looking back at Zhang Yue.

“Your humble student passed the examination and became a xiucai in his early twenties. I was quite proud of myself at the time. However, after failing the provincial examinations for ten years, my desire for fame gradually faded. So, upon hearing that your Excellency was a young talent who went from xiucai to jinshi in just four years, I was already deeply impressed. Yet, knowledge of classics does not necessarily equate to the ability to govern. Since taking office in Anqiu, your Excellency has eliminated two harmful elements and provided fair relief to the people, earning widespread praise. Only now do I truly admire you wholeheartedly.”

This was outright flattery, but Fang Qing delivered it with such sincerity that it naturally won Zhang Yue’s goodwill. At this moment, Zhang Yue spoke humbly and said, “The Fang family migrated from Shanxi during the Hongwu era and has built a significant business in Shandong over thirty years. It has been extremely difficult to rise from scratch to this level, especially after passing the examinations. I’ve heard that the Fang family supplied grain to Xuanfu in Shanxi to establish military settlements, which has been of great help to our Ming dynasty’s border towns.”

Before coming, Fang Qing had done thorough research, learning everything clearly about Zhang Yue’s background. Yet he never expected Zhang Yue to also be aware of his own family’s origins. At that moment, Zhang Yue revealed that the Fang family had been farming in Shaanxi all along, wiping away the last trace of slighting in Fang Qing’s heart. After exchanging more polite words, Fang Qing took out an item from his sleeve and stood up respectfully, offering it with both hands, saying, “I was sent by my family elders to pay New Year’s greetings. I was somewhat rude outside just now. This is the real gift—a sincere expression of my family’s heartfelt congratulations on your promotion and the arrival of the New Year.”

Ever since Fang Qing claimed to be a xiucai, Zhang Yue had suspected there was something special about that blank gift list. So when Fang Qing presented another list with both hands, he wasn’t surprised. After taking it, he didn’t even look at it but casually placed it on a nearby table, then said with a smile, “During festivals, it doesn’t matter how much the gift is. A light gift from afar carries deep affection. Since you’re a xiucai, even if you come empty-handed, it still shows sincerity. Many people in Shandong migrated from various places across the country. If there were more Fang families, it would bring honor to me as well.”

Although Fang Qing remained calm on the surface, seeing that Zhang Yue had no intention of looking at the gift list, he grew anxious. After giving a perfunctory reply, he gritted his teeth and said, “Sir, this gift list represents the whole heart of my family. You are young, with a bright future ahead, but my family truly hopes you’ll stay in Shandong for a few more years.”

Zhang Yue had received three generous gifts that day and had become somewhat indifferent to gifts. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows. Throughout their earlier conversations, Fang Qing had been polite and refined, more like a member of an old family than a nouveau riche who had risen quickly. But this last statement sounded anxious. Could there really be some extraordinary secret in that gift list?

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Yue was about to give a perfunctory reply when he saw Fang Qing staring at him intently, his back slightly bent forward, his face filled with pleading. He hesitated. Remembering that Du Zhen had asked Du Wan to stay and emphasized the word “new elite,” he temporarily set aside his concerns. After all, he had already angered the Han Royal Family—what was he afraid of a Fang family?

The gift list didn’t feature any luxurious decorations such as gilding or embossing; it was simply a plain white sheet. Unlike the gift lists from the Han Prince’s residence, it didn’t list countless valuable items—only a thick stack of papers. He casually picked up one and immediately felt a chill in his heart as his brows furrowed.
“What does this mean?”
Seeing that the servant who brought the tea had left and there were no outsiders present, Fang Qing immediately stood up, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt on the ground: “I humbly ask you, on behalf of the entire Fang family, to extend your help!”
Before Zhang Yue could react, he continued at once, “Sir, although the Fang family moved from Shanxi to Shandong, our roots in Shanxi have never been severed. For this reason, under the imperial salt procurement system, the Fang family supplied military grain from Xuanfu in Shanxi. Later, we also established commercial settlements in various parts of Shanxi to settle displaced people for farming, and based on our contributions, we should have received 2,000 units of salt. At the beginning of the emperor’s reign, when salt was allocated through the system in the military garrisons of Beijing, our family supplied nearly 10,000 dan of grain and should have received 6,000 units of salt. Yet, the warehouse vouchers in our hands are some ten years old at the longest and several years old at the shortest. Despite having these vouchers, we still cannot obtain salt permits or the salt itself. To be honest with you, though our family appears wealthy and powerful, it could collapse in just a short time.”
In his early years, when studying classics under Du Zhen, Zhang Yue had also heard his teacher talk about the Ming dynasty’s policies regarding salt and tea. Du Zhen had often discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the procurement system, and those words were still fresh in his memory.
The military garrisons along the border needed vast amounts of grain every year. If the court had to transport it all uniformly, the cost would be enormous. With the procurement system in place, salt merchants had to supply grain at the border to obtain salt. To cut costs, they even recruited displaced people to farm there, which was undoubtedly a good strategy for securing the border. In his early years, when Zhang Fu campaigned in Jiaozhi, the transportation of grain also relied on merchants. Yet, Fang Qing’s account of being unable to exchange warehouse vouchers for salt permits and having to wait patiently for salt was still extremely shocking.
If there were truly 8,000 units of salt—each unit weighing 400 jin—what an enormous amount that would be! With such a large stack of vouchers that could never be redeemed, which merchant would still want to supply grain to the border towns in the long run?
He took a deep breath. Seeing that Fang Qing was still kneeling, he asked in a grave voice, “You should go to the Shandong Salt Transport Administration for this matter. I am merely an assistant magistrate of Qingzhou Prefecture—haven’t you come to the wrong person?”

“My lord, in order to exchange the treasury funds for salt permits, the entire Fang family has visited the Salt Transport Administration in Shandong countless times. Finally, we managed to obtain two thousand salt permits. The administration claims that salt can be allocated once it’s sourced from the salt fields in Le’an and Shouguang, but no one knows when that will be. I heard that there are salt fields in both Le’an and Shouguang, and I thought I might take a risky chance to buy leftover salt from local households using the permits. Yet those households said that all the leftover salt had been seized by the Prince of Han and the Prince of Shouguang! Even if those unscrupulous merchants haven’t fulfilled their grain quotas, as long as they pay enough, they can obtain salt from the princes’ estates and even sell it officially as private salt. Isn’t this utterly absurd?”
In the end, it still comes down to targeting the princes!
Casually tucking the stack of salt permits back into the gift basket, Zhang Yue’s expression gradually turned cold. He had no goodwill toward Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, and even more disdain for Prince of Shouguang Zhu Zhanqi. Yet he didn’t want to engage in a futile struggle, let alone do so. Although Emperor Yongle Zhu Di seemed to despise Zhu Gaoxu deeply, could one really understand the emperor’s whims?
“This matter is beyond my control.”
“My lord, these eight thousand salt permits were merely a gift from me. I don’t expect you to help exchange them for actual salt. The Prince of Shouguang has seized hundreds of thousands of pounds of leftover salt from the local fields and has long set his eyes on our two thousand permits. That’s why he ordered his men to demand them from us. The Fang family has done its utmost for these permits, yet the Prince of Shouguang refuses to leave even a penny of profit for us and still wants us to sell them, bearing all the risks! Our family is already on the verge of collapse. Knowing of your noble character, I beg that my entire family may follow in your footsteps!”
Fang Qing glanced at Zhang Yue’s expression and felt a final glimmer of hope: “As I mentioned earlier, the Fang family is not only a prominent clan in Shandong but also quite influential in Shanxi. We have hundreds of members of all ages. With just your decision, hundreds of lives could be saved. Though I’m unworthy, my family has chosen me as their leader. No matter what your demands are, I’ll take full responsibility!”
From initial hesitation to outright submission, such a drastic change in attitude left Zhang Yue quite unsettled. It’s said that giving help in times of need is better than adding embellishments when things are already good, but could such help really be provided now? Still, this was the first person to come to him since he took office. The Fang family was known for their generosity in Shandong, so it wouldn’t matter much if he ignored them. But…

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yue already had an idea. Having received so many gifts from the King of Han, he absolutely could not get too close to him, as that man was too stubborn and would surely not come up with any clever solutions. Moreover, he eventually needed to take a stance regarding Beijing. After staring at Fang Qing for a moment, he nodded and said, “You get up and speak first.”

Although he didn’t give a clear promise, Fang Qing understood the implication all too well. Overjoyed, he quickly thanked him and stood up, but didn’t dare sit back down, remaining respectfully standing.

Over the years, the Fang family had racked their brains and tried countless methods to exchange those cash coupons for just 2,000 units of salt; the rest still required another solution. At its core, it was because the Fang family had moved from Shanxi to Shandong, lacking a solid foundation in the province. During the Jianwen era, they had even nearly been implicated, and now their situation was still precarious. Although Zhang Yue wasn’t yet a prefect and might not even become the prefect of Qingzhou in the future, his prospects went far beyond that of just a prefect!

“You Fang family are trying to snatch food right from my mouth!” Zhang Yue gave Fang Qing a meaningful look. Seeing him bow his head even lower, he temporarily set the matter aside. “Since last winter, many areas in Qingzhou Prefecture have suffered from snow disasters. Although the Bureau of Administration provides relief, the autumn grain taxes still pertain to last year’s harvest and cannot be waived. February is the deadline for paying those taxes. I am in charge of finances and grain, so a prominent family like yours must set an example. Besides, since it’s the New Year, gifts for Beijing also need to be prepared.”