Chapter 762: Rules and Talent

Throughout history, taxes and corvée labor have always existed, but a situation like that of the Ming Dynasty—light taxes but heavy corvée—was rather rare. Nowadays, aside from provinces and counties with extremely high taxes such as Suzhou and Songjiang, the tax burden on farmland in the vast Central Plains is extremely light. The annual tax owed for civilian farmland is only one-thirtieth of one shi, which is three sheng, three he, and five shao. However, compared to the light taxes, the corvée labor is overwhelming. Just the construction of canals and the renovation of Beijing during the Yongle era resulted in countless deaths and injuries. Moreover, regular tasks such as transporting tax grain, supplying military craftsmen, pursuing fugitives, and transporting military rations—all of these made people fear corvée labor as much as tigers.

Building a new dock in Huangpu Town could be considered either miscellaneous corvée work or government employment. Since the floods had already passed at that time, the government usually only provided three meals a day without paying wages, so initially very few people volunteered. It wasn’t until Zhang Yue offered a monthly wage of 1,500 wen, the same as that of sedan chair pullers in the city, that many people signed up. Since the government couldn’t afford that much money at the time, the 200 volunteers were temporarily given IOUs, with promises that they would be paid 5,000 wen per three months.

During the three-month construction period, they were provided with three full meals a day and a meat meal every five days. Coupled with Zhang Yue’s good reputation, the craftsmen and commoners patiently waited. Before the dock’s completion ceremony, the government notified them to gather at the dock for the event, saying there would be delicious food and drinks at noon. Naturally, they went there happily. Indeed, after watching the ribbon-cutting ceremony and lion dances and seeing large ships arrive, the 200 people were taken to a pre-erected straw shed where twenty large round tables were set up.

Each table had a jar of aged wine and eight bowls of dishes along with four dishes served in basins. More than half of the eight large bowls contained real meat dishes—braised pork elbows, soy-glazed pig heads, three-flavor river fish, stewed old hens, preserved vegetable pork… The dishes in the basins were also all greasy meat dishes. After the crowd sat down in a mess, they drooled at the sight of these dishes. After patiently waiting for the speeches to end, they immediately began to feast. At the table farthest to the east, a middle-aged man snatched a chicken leg, glanced at the other dishes, tore off a piece of chicken meat, chewed it, and then spoke in a muffled voice.

“I originally thought I’d just be called here to do some work and bask in the sun. I expected to be given two steamed buns each as payment, but who would have thought there would be such good food and wine? The government is really generous!”

An older craftsman beside him shook his head and said, “It’s not the government being generous; it’s Lord Zhang who is kind-hearted, remembering our hard work! There have been others who repaired rivers and bridges before, but who ever had such good food as we did for three months? Not to mention getting paid for our work!”
“Uncle Qin is right. I still remember the first time we had meat—such big meat buns, each person could get four, and I was too reluctant to eat them, so I took them home for my mother! Even without pay this time, it’s still not a loss!”
“That’s true. Five thousand coins in three months—how much is that? The government better not give us it in the form of treasure notes!”
“Since Lord Zhang has promised, he probably won’t deceive us, right?”
As the table was filled with noisy chatter, suddenly someone in the front warned everyone to be quiet. In no time, the large shed fell silent. The experienced craftsman glanced ahead and immediately said in a mix of surprise and joy, “Brothers, it’s the officials bringing the wages! I see them carrying a heavy bag!”
Normally, five thousand coins would equal five taels, but since the issuance of treasure notes during the Hongwu era, coin production in the Ming Dynasty gradually decreased. Although coins were minted several times during the Yongle era, they were kept locked in warehouses, allowing the ropes holding them to rot without ever being used. The copper coins in circulation among the people were often worn out or even unusable, and their quantity was extremely limited; most people used the imperial treasure notes as change. A treasure note worth one guan was only worth five coins in the market, and even then, there were differences between new and old ones.
Yet what came out of that bag were genuine strings of copper coins! The men who had been waiting for three months forgot that there was still plenty of food and drink on the table. Their eyes shone as they stared at the bag, while those in the front stretched their necks, fearing that the officials in charge of the money might cheat them. When someone sharp-eyed saw a stern-looking young man standing at the front with his hands behind his back, the news quickly spread from the back to the front, and everyone felt reassured.
Yu Qian came from a poor family. Even as a student, he had heard of the corrupt practices below. After entering officialdom and inspecting various regions, and now serving as an imperial censor in Guangdong, he had seen many greedy and shameless people. So when his servant reported that the local officials were starting to distribute wages to the workers, he immediately left his seat and came here. As soon as he stood there, he intimidated the corrupt clerks and officials who were scheming. With such a strict censor in charge, who would dare play tricks?

Zhang Yue arrived a few steps later than Yu Qian. As soon as he got there, he saw the figure standing with hands behind its back and couldn’t help but smile bitterly, thinking that this person was truly meticulous to the extreme. He stepped forward and greeted Yu Qian. The workers at the front, who were cheering over their wages, had already seen him and knelt down in a rush. This action immediately alerted those behind them, and in no time, all twenty tables arranged on both sides had people bending down. Seeing this, he quickly raised his hand, and a loud-mouthed official behind him promptly gave an order. It took some time before people gradually stood up.

“It took three months to pay everyone their wages before, causing trouble as you couldn’t take any money home. Now that this debt has finally been settled, you can rest assured, and so can we.” Seeing smiles on everyone’s faces, Zhang Yue knew that his efforts had calmed everyone’s concerns. Smiling, he said, “In the future, the government will have projects like building bridges, renovating government offices, and repairing river dikes, and we will recruit workers for those tasks. Although it won’t always be as urgent as this time, and the wages may not be as good, I can guarantee one thing: we will never let you work hard for nothing!”

Everyone below was already listening intently to see what the governor had to say. Upon hearing his last sentence, someone took the lead in cheering, and others joined in enthusiastically. Soon, the area was filled with cheers. After it finally quieted down, Zhang Yue calmly said, “Some fields are planted with three-season rice, some with two-season rice, and some with both rice and wheat. The summer harvest is in two months, so it’s just in time for you to go back and harvest. After this meal, you may disperse. I wish everyone a good harvest this summer with favorable weather!”

After another round of cheers, Zhang Yue nodded and left. As for whether the wages distributed by the official had been deducted, he wasn’t worried at all. After all, that man known for his fairness was right there. Sure enough, not long after he left, a servant rushed up to him and said, “Young master, Censor Yu is going around asking questions at each table.”

Zhang Yue stopped for a moment before continuing on his way. “With someone as meticulous as him around, there’s no need to worry too much.”

In the eyes of others, Zhang Yue was also meticulous in his work. After bringing down several silver chests from the ship, he immediately summoned the merchants from Foshan Town. After carefully settling the payments, he exchanged 800 taels of silver for 1,000 strings of coins that the merchants had prepared in advance. Once all wages were distributed, he went back to Caiyun Tower to check on Chu Pangzi, who was settling accounts with the merchants, then returned to a separate courtyard in the west. Upon entering the main room, he saw his father standing beside several accountants whose abacuses were clicking noisily.

“Dad, you’ve really worked hard this time.”

“I just watched from the side; there was no need to engage in much socializing, so how could it be considered hard work?”

Zhang Zhuo straightened up and called Zhang Yue out of the room. They sat in a nearby room, where he said with a smile, “This time you didn’t impose extra burdens on the sea merchants. Even though you knew there was no money to borrow, you still decided to rebuild the dock, which relieved many people. However, those merchants who owed wood, bricks, and tiles to the local authorities were quite worried at first. Behind the scenes, many complained that it was like giving things away for free, and even many workers thought they wouldn’t get paid. Actually, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for our family to cover the costs first—why must we follow in the footsteps of our predecessors by relying on borrowing?”

“Although our family is wealthy, public and private matters should be separated. If we set a precedent of covering costs ourselves, what about those who are already poor? It’s better to establish rules that must be followed. This way, the government can also exploit merchants less in the future. By the way, have the payments to the merchants from Foshan Town been fully settled?”

“Almost. Aside from the value of items like rhinoceros horns and ivory, the provincial administration still has a surplus, enough to handle some other matters.”

“Places like Zhaoqing, Guangzhou, and Chaozhou have all requested funds for building dikes and sluices. The bridges that were damaged last year also need repair. Additionally, the county schools in various counties are in need of repairs due to disuse over time. There are plenty of places where money can be spent. Fortunately, about 20% of the farmland in these regions has been converted to three-season or two-season rice cultivation. Thankfully, Master Liu has gradually trained dozens of apprentices; otherwise, we might not be able to keep up with the workload. He keeps nagging me every time he sees me about how the timing of harvesting the first season of rice affects the subsequent seasons. Although I no longer farm, I’m almost becoming an expert at making things up.”

“Good. In the future, you’ll farm and I’ll do business. Even if we don’t become officials, we won’t starve!”

Father and son looked at each other and laughed heartily for a while. It was only after that that Zhang Zhuo let out a long sigh and said, “A few days ago, I went through many ancient books and found a great character. Instead of using Duan Wu’s original name, why not use the character Yu? The ‘Tai Xuan·Yuan Gao’ states, ‘The sun shines brightly during the day, and the moon shines brightly at night.’ This character Yu implies illumination, which fits perfectly with Jing Guan’s given name Ye. What do you think?”
Zhang Yue had always found it extremely troublesome to choose names by citing ancient texts. Now that his father had presented a well-reasoned argument, he read “Zhang Yu” twice and found it pleasant to pronounce, so he naturally didn’t raise any further objections. After all, his father was clearly very enthusiastic. The father and son talked for a while longer, but Zhang Zhuo was still concerned about the accounts outside, while Zhang Yue couldn’t just leave the officials in charge unattended. So they left the room to go about their respective tasks.
That summer, as Zhang Yue had said, the weather was favorable—there were fewer storms than in previous years. Aside from a few areas where strong winds knocked down trees and houses, most places remained unharmed. The rice harvests across the province were excellent, exceeding three or even four shi per unit, with less successful harvests still reaching two shi. Everyone from top to bottom was overjoyed. The prefectures and counties that had struggled with autumn grain supplies the previous year were now celebrating triumphantly. Meanwhile, the provincial administration, pleased with the good harvest, busied itself preparing for the autumn examinations of the year.
According to tradition, every year when autumn examinations were held, the provinces would request the imperial court to assign a Hanlin official to oversee them. In the northern and southern direct provinces, high-ranking scholars from the Hanlin Academy such asImperial Lecturer orImperial Lecturer were usually sent, while other provinces had officials assigned based on distance and complexity. As the provincial governor, Zhang Yue had already submitted a joint petition with Xiang Shaoyuan. Yet when he learned who would be coming this time, he was greatly surprised.
The one assigned to supervise the autumn examinations in Guangdong was none other than Shen Can, a HanlinImperial Lecturer known as “Young Scholar Shen”!
Since the Hongwu era had abolished the imperial examinations for over a decade, throughout subsequent dynasties, the high-ranking officials in the imperial court were not all graduates of the imperial examinations. In the Grand Secretariat, there was Yang Shiqi; in the six ministries, there were Xia Yuanji, Lü Zhen, Fang Bin, and Wu Zhong—all of whom had either been recommended or came from the student corps. Although many in the Hanlin Academy were graduates of the imperial examinations, some also had other backgrounds. Among them, the Shen Du and Shen Can brothers were particularly famous. Shen Du was renowned throughout the land for his golden inscriptions on jade tablets, while Shen Can’s cursive script was unparalleled in the imperial palace. However, his reputation as a writer was not as great as that of his calligraphy.

The Guangdong Imperial Examination Hall was only restored last year, and now that the triennial provincial examinations are approaching, countless people are trying every means to get inside—some to assess the quality of the examination rooms, some to learn about the examiners’ character, and even more to see if they can find shortcuts… Some even target Zhang Yue’s close associates. That evening, after Zhang Yue hosted a banquet to welcome Shen Can from afar, the two sat down in the study when suddenly there was a pounding on the door.

Frowning, Zhang Yue stood up. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Fang Jing, Li Guoxiu, and Rui Yixiang carrying a load of items. While he was still puzzled, Fang Jing peeked inside and seeing Shen Can sitting there, he lowered his voice and said, “Brother Zhang, we heard that Scholar Shen is staying here. All the candidates for the provincial exams have brought their ink scrolls to your office. There’s no end to the commotion at the back door. Not only that, Li and Rui went out this afternoon and brought back just this much… We three can’t handle these, so we brought them to you.”

Shen Can finally saw the items carried by the three men outside. Though he had always served as an official in the capital, he was no stranger to such matters. Knowing the three were not outsiders, he invited them in. After they placed down the ink scrolls and left, he picked up one and flipped through it. After a while, he put it down and took another, examining several before shaking his head.

“The phrase ‘golden scripts and jade books’ may sound honorable, but if everyone tries to imitate Shen’s style, it won’t be a good thing at all!” With that, he lost interest in the neatly written ink scrolls and said to Zhang Yue, “When I arrived, I heard that Imperial Concubine Sun is pregnant, due next spring. If there are good news during next year’s imperial examinations, the emperor will surely pay extra attention. You’ve achieved remarkable results in Guangzhou, but beyond that, selecting more candidates in the imperial exams will also be your merit as a high-ranking official. So, for this provincial examination, you must carefully choose some talented individuals!”