It is entirely understandable that lenders require proof of assets before releasing funds. The issue is that, in this day and age, such proof must be issued by local government offices. For example, the four departments of the Tax Bureau, where Zhao An’s previous unit was located, were specifically responsible for issuing property deeds. Land deeds, meanwhile, were handled by the Revenue Department. Both the Tax Bureau and the Revenue Department reported directly to the Magistrate.
In other words, as long as the Magistrate gave his consent, there was no problem at all in churning out a stack of fake asset certificates. After all, both the Revenue Department and the Tax Bureau relied on the Magistrate for their livelihood; failing to follow his orders would be no different than smashing their own rice bowls. Moreover, asset verification in this era was not networked; the only way to check the validity of an asset was through the property deeds issued by the local Yamen. There were no other channels for verification.
Given this, Zhao An naturally intended to exploit this information gap, using every available means to "swipe" the Old Ancestor’s credit card until it reached its limit. Had it not been for the fact that his current position made it impossible to guarantee the "legitimacy" of such income or explain its source to superiors, Zhao An would have tapped not only the Imperial Household Department’s banks but also every private commercial lender he could find. He imagin…
Chapter 124