Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1321 Reorganization and Trade

On June [-], the Zhengshitang planned to set up Jiannan Road, Shao Shude approved, and Tai Changqing Guo Yu was appointed as the governor.

Guo Fu is also a lover of nature, and the day after he was formally appointed, he hosted a banquet for guests and friends in Beiping Mansion, not low-key at all.

Both Tai Changqing and the governor are third-rank officials, but it is a matter of opinion which one is better.

Local high-ranking officials who want to transfer to the center and have ambitions for the position of prime minister will often stare at the position of the chief official of the Nine Temples and make a transition.

Those who feel that it is hopeless to go further tend to become a local governor. After all, there is a lot of money and power.

It is difficult to say clearly the advantages and disadvantages of Beijing officials and local officials.

Lao Guo knew that he could not be a prime minister, and he was not that material, so why not go to Jiannan Road and enjoy the fun of being unambiguous.After all, if you are in the capital, you are too close to the prime ministers, he might come to your yamen just after turning a corner on the road, which is really depressing.

There is another unspeakable reason.

Jiannan Road was brought down by the King of Qin, and he must have arranged many officials there—Duan Ning, King Qin’s chief aide, is currently Chengdu Yin.

"Zen man Hui Kong pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom." Hui Kong saluted.

If you are old and weak, your natural ability to resist is weak.But it's not that Shao Sheng doesn't give them a way to live. Although the state soldiers' treatment is low, it's still a way out.

Moreover, the relationship between the top and bottom of the Youguo Army is relatively harmonious, and there are very few military disturbances. Ding Hui does not hate the soldiers, but wishes them well.

What he meant was very clear. The once-in-a-year trade is actually a life gamble.Japanese monks, envoys and other officials who came to Tang Dynasty often returned to Japan on Tang merchant ships, but the shipwreck rate was terribly high. There are many records in Japan, and it is shocking to look at.

For older soldiers, being a state soldier can even prolong their careers, which is not necessarily all bad.

Of course this is nothing.Emperor Heicheng also married three half-sisters, and his father even married three younger sisters, which is not a problem.

"I heard that Venerable Master Hui'e once returned to the country with Buddha statues on Mount Wutai. I can ask someone to give you two Buddha statues on Mount Wutai, as well as a hundred volumes of scriptures translated by eminent monks, and you can take them back to the country." Shao Shude asked a condition.

There are few metal currencies in circulation. If someone casts a large number of Buddha statues and copper ware, causing a shortage of money in the market, and adding a bumper harvest of grain, such a ridiculous price will appear.

"Your Majesty, Taichangqing is in charge of the country's rites and music, the suburban temples, and the community. What can I do?" Ding Hui was a little surprised.

"Is the Prince Zhenrufa who entered the court with Master Hui'e in the Xuanzong Dynasty still alive?" Shao Shude looked at the Japanese monk and saw that he was young and not tall, but he was really obese. so good?
Prince Shinrufa is the son of Emperor Heicheng of Japan and was once established as the crown prince.

Ding Hui was a little surprised, and said, "It's very good to have such an arrangement."

******
On the first day of July, Shao Shude received Song Le who had come from Luoyang in the back garden of He Zhai.

Shao Shude felt that the amount of silver imported into the Ming Dynasty might not be as much as Japan.After all, the silver from the two governorships of Mexico and Peru was mainly sent back to Spain through the Flota fleet (home port of Seville) and the Gajaanes fleet (home port of Cadiz). The size of the fleet is very large, and each fleet has more than ten ships, usually more than 30 ships. The tonnage of a single ship is far greater than that of the Manila fleet, and it is shipped every year.

In the fourth year of Datong in Japan (809), Emperor Heicheng abdicated to the emperor's younger brother Prince Kanno due to physical discomfort.

"Why didn't they tell me? If you want to go back to Luoyang, tell me sooner. I haven't seen a single memorial." Shao Shude said.

Couldn't the last 1 people survive?Ding Hui sighed, and said: "Your Majesty does all important things that benefit the country and the people, and I would like to obey the holy orders."

"That being the case, I obey the order." Ding Hui replied with a little excitement.

"Only one ship in two years?" Shao Shude asked in surprise.

"It doesn't matter." Shao Shude said: "For some miscellaneous matters, I have my assistant to assist."

"Master Song is worrying too much, worrying too much." Shao Shude laughed and said, "By the way, there are Japanese monks visiting today, Master Song might as well listen to it together."

Both Liu Po ​​and Wang Yanwen belonged to the original Longwu Army.The army has been turned into a government soldier as a whole, taking root in Anton Mansion. The two have been idle for a while, and now they are reactivated.

The [-] imperial guards he mentioned here are old and weak, which is actually related to disarmament.

"The storm is dangerous." Huikong shook his head and sighed, and proclaimed a Buddha's name.

"Now the son of Emperor Uta reigns." Huikong replied.

Li Cunxin is a veteran of Hedong.After the destruction of Youzhou Town, he fled back to Jinyang and became "unemployed".

"Vietnamese silk, celadon, Buddha statues, medicinal materials, spices, books." Hui Kong said.

Shao Shude was silent, this monk's obsession is so deep.I heard that there are still many Indians in the "Hall of Fame" of Mount Wutai, and they came here and never left, wanting to see Manjushri.Damn, if you have business acumen, this cliff is a pilgrimage tourist attraction.

"What does Mingzhou export?" Shao Shude asked.

"What did you bring back from Japan?"

"Aren't all cultivation the same?" Shao Shude said with a smile.

"Before leaving office, there are still things that need to be resolved." Shao Shude said again: "I want to reorganize the Youguo Army."

Later, as the trade volume increased day by day, and China's demand for Japanese goods decreased, the export volume increased greatly. Japan had to use gold and silver to make up the trade deficit, which stimulated its domestic silver mining.After the demand came up, silver mining technology gradually improved. With the development of Dasen Silver Mountain (Iwami Silver Mountain), silver production increased year by year, becoming one of the main sources of silver in the Ming Dynasty.

As for who would succeed Tai Changqing after Guo Fu left office, the prime ministers tacitly did not mention it.Obviously, this was decided arbitrarily by the sage Gan Gang in Jinyang.

After finishing speaking, he explained again. It turned out that the emperor became a monk and abdicated to his son, so he was called "Fa Huang".

After all, this is a relatively mild way of disarmament.That is, no one is forced to be dismissed, and the number of troops is gradually reduced through battlefield losses and natural discharges.

Shao Shude didn't expect that such an old-fashioned person like Song Le could swear, so he laughed.

The three thousand old and weak members of the Youguo Army are only relatively old and weak.In fact, these days, there are very few vulnerable troops.These 3000 people are still enough to suppress localities.

Shao Shude was overjoyed, and immediately summoned Lu Siye to send an order to Hangzhou, asking Qian Liu to send 20 merchants and sailors from Mingzhou who had been to Japan to Haizhou to listen to the order.

In many tombs since the Northern Dynasties unearthed in later generations, a large number of Eastern Roman gold coins were found buried with the owner of the tomb, which shows the tightness of precious metals at that time.

Of course, if he encounters this opportunity to form a state soldier, he will not let it go.

This time, he planned to ask Ping Haijun to send a ship to return to Japan with the cargo and Master Huikong.

But the scale of this trade is not large. The Manila sailing team departs from Acapulco on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean every two years, crosses the Pacific Ocean, arrives at the Cavite Shipyard in Manila to repair and maintain the ship, and then goes north. By the Kuroshio route, return to Mexico.

It's nothing to say, let's have a big feast and celebrate.

Wufu just doesn't know how to hide his emotions.The titles of Taichangqing and Marquis of Shifang County have settled Ding Hui. Seeing how happy he is, Shao Shude is also very satisfied.

Ding Hui was still a little sad.

Prince Kanno ascended the throne as Emperor Saga.Emperor Saga reciprocated, and made Prince Gao Yue, the son of Emperor Heijo, who was already the Supreme Emperor, as the crown prince.

After a while, Pugu Chengen led Monk Huikong over.

"I will weed out another [-] old and weak from the various ministries of the Forbidden Army." Shao Shude said again: "With this [-] people, Zelu and Hedong Bafu prefectures will have the backbone of state soldiers, and the rest will be replenished slowly."

Prince Toutuo devoted himself to worshiping the Buddha and followed Hui'e into the Tang Dynasty. This is recorded, but that's all.

"After defeating Khitan, I will teach Luoyang." Shao Shude put away his smile and said, "Truth."

On June 28, Shao Shude summoned Ding Hui in He Zhai and asked him if he would be willing to be Tai Changqing.

Japan, in fact, made outstanding contributions to the currency reform of the Ming Dynasty, which was beyond the reach of the Spaniards.

"Your Majesty!" Seeing Shao Shude's sinister smile, Song Le felt even more angry, and said loudly, "It's nothing to do with the soldiers of the imperial army taking turns to accompany them. Most of the families of civil and military officials are in Luoyang. They have been there for several years, what do they look like?"

He doesn't care if Japan resumes sending envoys to Tang Dynasty or Xia Dynasty.He prefers that the trade between the two countries can reach a new level, the more the better.

This monk is very knowledgeable, but he can't talk about business!Shao Shude was a little surprised, and said, "Why don't you fly directly to Daxia? There are also white porcelains under my rule, and Qinghe silk is a famous product in the world, which is far better than Yue Ling. The mage may return to the country to report something, so that merchants from your country can come directly to Haizhou. Goods, as much as you want."

"I obey the order." Ding Hui replied.

"I have rewarded so many beauties..." Shao Shude was stunned.

Ding Hui was quite moved when he heard the words.The meaning of the saint is to let me...

The Manila sailing team generally only has 1-2 boats, which are held once every two years and stop in the middle.

Shao Shude and Song Le looked at each other, and asked again: "Japan is rich in gold and copper?"

Shao Shude laughed again.This made him feel at ease.

"Your Majesty, Zen people only know how to pay respects to the Buddha, but not businessmen." Hui Kong replied, "However, in Mingzhou, your country, every two years, a ship will sail to our country, carrying a lot of goods."

Lao Guo is a smart person. He felt that after taking office, it was inevitable to deal with these people.If it is done well, it may be possible to establish a relationship with the King of Qin, which will be of great benefit to future generations.

In fact, there should be more than that, but Huikong only knows these categories.Of course, it is similar in fact. These are indeed the main export commodities, accounting for the bulk.

The Youguo Army was originally adapted from the Liang Army stationed on Zhang Quanyi's territory. When it was the largest, it exceeded 3000 people, but now it only has about [-] people.

"Your Majesty, Zen people want to practice in Mount Wutai, but they don't want to return to the country." Master Huikong looked embarrassed.

Shao Shude nodded.

"There are some mines, but there is no way to smelt them in China, and the output is not good. We can only sell placer gold and the like to Mingzhou merchants at a low price." Huikong replied.

He remembered that Japan has always been rich in gold, silver and copper.However, before the beginning of the 14th century, because the trade volume with China was limited, and most of them were in the form of barter, the demand for gold and silver was not large, so it did not stimulate the expansion of gold and silver production in Japan.

"The former envoy of the Longwu Army, Liu Wei, served as the envoy of the Youguo Army, and Kong Qing served as the deputy envoy. Li Lin, the envoy of the Tianxiong Army's left wing, served as the Marquis of Du Yu, and Wang Jiao, the envoy of the right wing of the Wuwei Army, served as the envoy of Youyi. Wang Yanwen served as the envoy of the left wing, and Li Cunxin served as the envoy of the right wing." Shao Shude stated the arrangements of the six senior officers in one breath, obviously he had a plan in mind.

He is overjoyed that the old brothers who have worked hard together for many years and even supported each other have not been dismissed like a shoe.One must be conscientious to be a man, and the Youguo Army has brought him wealth and power, so he certainly doesn't want the Youguo Army to end up being dismissed.

The answer is still good.Shao Shude wasn't sure if Ding Hui really understood what he said, but his attitude was very good, and he was very satisfied, so he said: "The Youguo Army has [-] people, first select [-] old and weak, and serve as state soldiers on Hedong Road .”

"The remaining 5000 people in the Youguo Army will be allocated [-] people to each branch of the Forbidden Army. Each department of the Forbidden Army will transfer [-] people to join the Youguo Army." Shao Shude continued: "The number of the Youguo Army is still reserved as the tenth branch of the Forbidden Army." The entire army has a full strength of [-], with an actual strength of [-]."

His only talent in music is singing.But not all songs can be sung. Tang Wuzong's favored concubine Meng Cairen is good at "He Manzi", he can't sing, he can only sing elegy.

In the early Tang Dynasty, if there was a good harvest of grain, the price of dou millet would even drop to two or three renminbi, and history books believed that it was a peaceful and prosperous age.But in Shao Shude's view, this is serious deflation.

Huikong thought about it silently, it seems pretty good?If you go back, you can come again.So he replied: "Zen people would like to obey the orders of His Majesty the Emperor."

Given a choice, Japanese merchants would rather go via Silla than direct flights.And this was actually the normal state of Sino-Japanese trade during most of the Tang Dynasty.It is not that there are no Japanese merchant ships that sail directly to Datang, but they are relatively few. The bulk of the Sino-Japanese trade profits are made by the Silla people, who are second-hand businessmen, and neither Japan nor Datang have much.

Without enough precious metals, it would be very difficult or even impossible to develop a larger handicraft industry or a simple machine industry.

But it doesn't matter, Wang Rong has more than 1000 wives, and there will be another wave of rewards next.

Shao Shude smiled.

It has been trying to reduce the number of troops in the Imperial Army before, reducing the number of ministries from 3 to [-].But to this day, not all troops have completed the drawdown, and this time just happened to fill in these redundant people.

The simplest example is commodity prices.

"I obey the order." Song Le responded.

"In the next one or two months, we will start substantive reorganization. Ding Qing can let go of the affairs of Taichang Temple first, and it is important to assist the Privy Council to handle this matter well." Shao Shude urged.

Another major source of silver in the Ming Dynasty was Mexico, that is, Spain's Manila sailboat trade.

Later, Emperor Pingcheng was too fond of his mother-in-law Yakuko Fujiwara, and under her instigation, he wanted to reset, but failed.The crown prince, Prince Gao Yue, was abolished and became a monk. He became Prince Zhenrufa, also known as Prince Toutuo.

"Your Majesty, when will you teach Luoyang?" Song Le frowned, and said, "The main officials of the Political Affairs Hall, the Privy Council, and the six ministries and nine temples have all gone to Beiping. Luoyang has become an empty shell. The officials are staring at each other, and they can't make decisions about big things—"

Song Le regained his mood, and cupped his hands and said, "If that's the case, the old man will have nothing to say. Although the country has three capitals, Tokyo is really important. Your Majesty can't put the cart before the horse."

"Your Majesty has won many victories in Hebei, and has newly conquered Hedong. His prestige is growing day by day. The prime ministers Chen, Xiao, Pei, Zhao, and Lu are silent. Can you count on others?" Song Le asked rhetorically.

"Mainly placer gold and copper, and there are also swords, fans, dried seafood, etc., to a lesser extent."

To serve as the envoy of the right wing of the Youguo Army is a bit condescending in terms of his qualifications.But considering his recent situation, it's not too bad. In short, if love comes or doesn't come, it doesn't come and pull it down.There is a shortage of official positions, and Shao Sheng wants to give his own people more opportunities.

"Practice diligently in Wutai Mountain, die in China, and be a Chinese in the next life, so you will have to live in Wutai Mountain forever." Master Huikong said.

"Your Majesty, Prince Zhenrufa passed away 40 years ago." Hui Kong replied.

With the high rate of shipwrecks, Mingzhou merchants continued to go to Japan one after another, and merchant ships from Japan also came to Mingzhou, which shows the high profits.

Before Emperor Heicheng ascended the throne, he married Fujiwara Omeko, the daughter of Fujiwara Momokawa, as his concubine, and died later.Then he continued to marry Fujiwara Momokawa's nephew, Fujiwara Rosa, and Fujiwara Yakoko's daughter as his concubine, and Fujiwara Yakoko also entered the palace with her daughter.Later, there was a matter of the mother and daughter serving one husband together, that is, the scandal of Emperor Heicheng's infidelity.

Shao Shude nodded lightly. He was not very interested in the messy affairs among the Japanese royal family. He only wanted to make money, so he asked: "In the past, Japanese merchants relied on Silla as a relay. Now Silla is in chaos, and trade has been greatly reduced. Do you have any ideas in Japan?"

There must be more than one person. On average, there are more than two for one person—not enough?

The local armed forces in Hedong can't be said to have disappeared, but they have also suffered serious weakening.It is impossible for the imperial court to station a large number of forbidden troops in Hedong for a long time. After all, it is still necessary to establish a regular armed force at the state level, that is, state soldiers.

"Your Majesty—" Song Le stomped his feet, and was about to continue spraying, but was stopped by Shao Shude.

Kong Qing was an old subordinate of Ding Hui and a member of the old Youguo army.He served as deputy envoy, which was a comfort to Ding Hui.

"The compilation will be completed in late August, and then—" Shao Shude smiled, and said: "Ding Qing will follow me to the north and go to Daizhou to be buried for the King of Jin."

Of course, on the whole, in the late Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion, Japan began to change its attitude towards Silla due to factors such as Silla pirates ravaging Japan and Silla's fragmentation. Tang merchants gradually rose and ate some of Silla's merchants. .And these Tang merchants mainly came from Mingzhou, the territory of Qian Liu.

This is for Ding Hui to use his remaining energy to stand on the last post.

This is ignorance of Japanese history. There are no records in the former Tang Dynasty, let alone him.

Wang Jiao is a general of the Mesozoic generation in Kansai who grew up.

After finishing speaking, he observed Ding Hui's expression habitually - the old professional is used to it.

Li Lin is Shao Sheng's favorite student, with a background in martial arts.

Shao Shude has promoted book-keeping currency in Fangshi for 20 years, and now the price of grain in Luoyang is basically maintained in the range of [-] to [-] yuan, [-] to [-] yuan per bucket, and the state of money shortage among the people has been greatly alleviated.

But this is not enough.

The industrial revolution cannot happen without a price revolution.With the monetary system in a mess, it is impossible for you to want to develop industry.

He decided to personally promote the summer and Japanese trade, and he must work hard to continuously import precious metals to China.Then stimulate related mining and smelting industries in Japan, allowing them to mine more gold, silver and copper.

(End of this chapter)