Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 283 Authority under the sharp edge

"Oh my god, you were cannibalizing yesterday. You go to Huamen Tower to find Hu Ji tonight. I won't serve you anymore."

The next morning, while Anaye was getting dressed, she complained to Fang Chongyong beside her.

Last night, she was torn apart by her man. She cried, yelled, and begged him for mercy. In the end, her mind went blank and she was at the mercy of the other man.

Afterwards, I was so exhausted that I fell into a deep sleep and woke up at dawn, leaving various unexplainable marks on my body.

Fang Chongyong said nothing and put on a linen coat with patches on it. Coupled with his dark and strong muscles, he looked very much like a farmer's boy from a village in Hexi who had just returned from the fields.

"Alang, why are you dressed like this?"

Anaye asked with a confused look on her face.

Fang Chongyong is indeed relatively low-key on weekdays, but if he only looks at his clothes, outsiders can tell at a glance that he is no ordinary person.

After all, the bureaucracy of the Tang Dynasty had strict requirements on how to wear clothes and accessories. No matter how reluctant Fang Chongyong was, he could not act independently.

But now, Fang Chongyong not only wears a white robe and linen clothes, but also puts on a simple gray soft hat. The material and style are very ordinary. He looked more like a small farmer carrying local products from the fields to sell vegetables at the market in Wuwei City.

People dressed like this are not unique in Liangzhou, they are everywhere in the streets.

“Wearing splendid clothes, holding the power of life and death in their hands, reciting gorgeous poems, and holding a stunningly beautiful girl in their arms, this is what a powerful person is.

I may not be able to avoid the other ones, but putting on a farmer's boy's clothes will make the daddy smell less intense. "

Fang Chongyong sighed with emotion, and then took out a set of gray robes. Judging from the style alone, it seemed that there was no distinction between men and women. He threw it into Anaye's arms and said, "Put it on quickly and come with me to the market."

"What are you doing at the market?"

Anaye asked curiously.

She was so drunk last night that she didn't know where to go. The two of them had trouble going to bed very late. She just wanted to stay in bed today and didn't want to go anywhere.

"What else can you do? Let's see the military power of our Heavenly Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

Fang Chongyong's tone was sarcastic and he teased.

Anaye didn't waste any time and quickly put on her robe and hat to cover her beautiful face. The two of them went out of the backyard of the Hexi Jiedushi Yamen together, and when they came to the Yamen gate, they saw that Cen Shen and others had been waiting for a long time.

Behind Cen Shen, there were hundreds of Chishui soldiers in bright armor, armed to the teeth. The bright light armor in the sun looks so majestic, dazzling, and full of oppression. They guarded dozens of empty flatbed trucks, one of which contained several black wooden boxes.

Seeing Fang Chongyong dressed in such a low-key manner, Cen Shen was stunned for a moment, then bowed and saluted with his hands crossed and said: "Jie Shuai, we are ready, shall we go to the market now?"

"Let's go! Go to Huamen Tower first!"

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand and said calmly, showing no signs of joy or anger.

"Here!"

Cen Shen took the order and left, but Fang Chongyong did not stay in the team. Instead, he followed Anaye far behind, separated by a considerable distance, and did not go with Cen Shen and the others.

"Alang, why don't we go with the big army.

It looks so majestic from a distance! "

Anaye leaned over and asked softly.

"I won't tell you yet. You'll find out later."

Fang Chongyong explained nonchalantly.

Soon, this team of several hundred people marched to the Huamen Tower. Cen Shen came over to ask for instructions, but Fang Chongyong said nothing, just waved his hand gently. So Cen Shen led dozens of Qiu Ba and entered the Huamen Tower aggressively.

Then there was a mix of yelling and beatings, which could be heard from a distance.

It is not difficult for outsiders to imagine the chaos inside Huamen Tower.

After a while, Cen Shen came out of Huamen Tower with a gloomy look, and Qiu Ba followed him out carrying stacks of silks. Then Yang Yan, who had always been a transparent person, took out an account book from his arms and wrote something on it.

Then, he opened the black wooden box and calmly handed the boss of Huamen House a few beautifully printed Jiaozi while he was furious and baring his teeth. Then the large army marched away, heading towards the only and huge market in Wuwei City.

There are a large number of fat... Hu merchants gathered there.

Anaye's little mouth opened into an "O" shape. It was hard to believe that Fang Chongyong actually used such a rough method to promote Jiaozi circulation.

She also imagined what it would be like for the locals in Liangzhou to use jiaozi without silk, and she also thought about what clever method Fang Chongyong, who had always been resourceful, would use to make the merchants who come and go here willingly accept jiaozi.

Unexpectedly, Fang Chongyong's method was so simple and crude, without any pretense.

To step on a horse is to grab it directly!

At this moment, the unlucky Huamenlou shopkeeper saw Fang Chongyong from a distance. He hurriedly ran over, sweating profusely, and complained in shock: "Fang Jieshuai, this exchange of money for silk, do you think this is..."

"You can exchange it back in a month, why are you panicking?

In the future, the five states in Hexi and even as far away as Chang'an, Luoyang, Yangzhou, and Chengdu will all use Jiaozi. Will you use it then? "

Fang Chongyong scolded calmly and expressionlessly.

"What Fang Jieshuai said is..."

The shopkeeper of Huamenlou said nonchalantly, and he had no choice but to return to the restaurant he ran to greet the guests without even daring to fart.

"Alang, you are robbing me openly."

Anaye suppressed the shock in her heart and whispered softly.

"Wrong, it's better than robbing.

Many times, the powerful people above instruct the people below to do things, and they don't pay attention to such good-looking food and appearance.

They will do whatever is the fastest, easiest, and most effective.

You see, I could obviously grab it directly, but in the end I still left a piece of jiaozi that can be used for trading. Isn’t this a pretty sight?

I am a bandit bully in official uniform, and even you were taken over by me with my power.

Otherwise, if I want to get my hands on you, I have to be like those young men from Wuling in Chang'an and grab it regardless of appearance.

So, don’t have the illusion that you are a saint and a good person. All I do is just to make a living in this world. "

Fang Chongyong crossed his arms, looked at the team in front of him that was getting further away, and said with a long sigh.

"Alang, there's no need to talk about yourself like that, I'm not forced by you."

Anaye retorted, but Fang Chongyong waved his hand to indicate that he should stop talking nonsense.

"Let's go, let's go to the market now."

Fang Chongyong pointed to the large troops in front that had already moved away and said.

……

Fang Chongyong's main battlefield for promoting Jiaozi was the largest market in Liangzhou City and the largest market in Hexi. The Chishui Army dispatched thousands of people and blocked the seven districts that made up Liangzhou City. Every city gate is inspected.

Also blocked was the "wild market" near the city gate.

What Fang Chongyong explained was: Silk with more than five pieces of cloth is absolutely not allowed to leave Liangzhou and must be exchanged for a deal!

Each person can leave with up to four pieces of silk. This trick is called "fishing with a big mesh".

Confiscate the bulk silk first, so that there is no bulk silk in the market to be circulated as trading goods.

After a period of time, another piece of Jiaozi will be issued as a supplement to the existing currency in circulation to fill the last loophole.

In the market in Liangzhou City, the soldiers of the Chishui Army carried bright horizontal knives in their hands and searched every shop door to door. As long as there is silk, all will be taken away compulsorily and exchanged for equal amounts of jiaozi.

Whether they are Hu merchants or Han merchants, they are all treated equally.

Ever since Cen Shen led Qiu Ba and others into the market to start the "collection operation", the market suddenly became chaotic.

There are those who cry, those who fight, and those who curse. Unfortunately, the Chishui Army has blocked several gates of the market so tightly that not even a fly can fly out. Most of the merchants who spent a lot of money in Huamen Building on weekdays could only watch as Cen Shen and his men took away their silks. "Alang, compared to these people's methods of robbing silk and silk, you were as gentle as water when you tossed me on the bed last night."

Anaye leaned into Fang Chongyong's ear and complained softly.

The food appearance of the government officials is not ordinary ugly!

She really didn't expect that Fang Chongyong would be so tough in promoting Jiaozi. There were even people who refused to exchange and called on their subordinates to resist, but were hacked to death by the Tang Army's Qiu Ba!

Fang Chongyong had no expression on his face and just watched coldly as Cen Shen and others forcibly exchanged the money under the protection of the Chishui Army.

Those crying, cursing and even killing have all become the background.

Fang Chongyong didn't think that if he explained the benefits of Jiaozi to the merchants in Hexi, those people would be willing to exchange silk for it. The issuance of banknotes is ultimately maintained by institutional regulations and violence.

Since that's the case, it's better to be more direct and use the knife to speak. At least efficiency can be guaranteed first.

If a person only has waste paper in their hands, then they must hope that others also have this kind of waste paper, and they are not the only ones.

If everyone has waste paper in their hands, then waste paper is no longer "waste paper", but a hard currency recognized by everyone.

The essence of money is, after all, just credit.

The essence of credit is authority, and authority needs to be maintained with a sharp knife. Without the guarantee of force, there is no so-called credibility.

The chaotic market gradually became quiet. The merchants who had been forced to take away the silk fabrics looked at Cen Shen and others with gloating eyes as they put knives on the necks of other merchants and took away the silk fabrics from those people's hands.

Everyone seemed to be slowly accepting their fate, and they believed in the government's promise that "silk can be redeemed in one month." Cen Shen directed the people of the Chishui Army to go to the warehouse, move out the silk stored there, and put it on the flatbed truck that had been prepared long ago.

Seeing such a scene, Fang Chongyong called Yang Yan who was keeping accounts aside and gave him a face-to-face instruction:

"The price of silk will definitely rise sharply in a short period of time. There must be many people using Jiaozi to trade silk at high prices in the black market. They are probably sold to Hu merchants from the Western Regions. Because the locals in Liangzhou actually don't like to wear silk clothes.

Tomorrow you lead someone to open a shop selling silk next to the government office. You will not accept payment and will only accept barter at high prices.

You don't have to worry about cracking down on black market transactions. "

Fang Chongyong said with a sneer.

Within a month, he would never allow Jiaozi to return to Jiaozi shop. If he wanted silk, he had to exchange it in kind. In the future, the silk trade in the Western Regions will be dominated by bulk commodities led by the government, driving retail investors out of the market.

Want silk? It’s also possible, high-priced physical transactions! If you are willing to cut off your flesh, please do so. Fang Chongyong welcomes this very much.

In fact, the official dominance of the silk trade was what the Tang Dynasty officials had been pursuing for more than a hundred years since the founding of the country.

It's just that there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, but the results are not very good. Controlling the orderly export of silk was itself one of the national policies of the Tang Dynasty. Starting from Taizong, all emperors had highly consistent policies in this regard.

Fang Chongyong's move actually included the planned economy into monetary policy, and went a step further on the basis of continuing the national policy of the Tang Dynasty.

"What Fang Jieshuai said is absolutely true. The silk and silk business should be controlled by the government. It is a pity to let these silks circulate and be lost in the market."

Yang Yan said with emotion.

Only those who understand money understand the secrets of Fang Chongyong's routines. Those who don't understand are just talking nonsense.

"Well, go ahead. Be sure to collect all the silks in the market today and exchange them for handouts."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and asked Yang Yan to go do something.

Liangzhou and Shazhou both carried out forced exchange of Jiaozi today. The border troops began to block the passes and strictly controlled the outflow of silk. The three states in the middle of the Hexi Corridor, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Guazhou, will proceed sequentially starting tomorrow.

No matter which state, on the day the silk was collected, a Jiaozi shop would be set up in the state capital, and Jiaozi would be issued, and the Jiaozi exchange business would be launched.

Fang Chongyong needs a month to observe the circulation of Jiaozi in the Hexi Corridor. If everything goes well, Jiaozi's savings and loan business will be opened in one month, and M1 currency will be slowly expanded into M2 currency.

One of the biggest advantages of issuing Jiaozi in the Hexi Corridor is that the locals hardly wear silk. Even those who do wear silk are only a very small number of powerful people, accounting for a very low proportion of the population. Far inferior to Guanzhong and the Central Plains region.

The biggest use of silk here is to trade goods from the Western Regions as hard currency for Hu merchants to take away the silk.

The five states in Hexi from the early Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the Xixia Dynasty in the Song Dynasty were essentially armed toll stations at key nodes of the Silk Road!

Fang Chongyong's choice of entry point is extremely clever. Yang Yan understood this very well and admired it very much.

Of course, ordinary people like Anaye don't understand it, and there's nothing we can do about it. Ordinary people's understanding of national policies lags behind, and this is true in any era.

"Alang, if you were to wear the official robe of a military governor today, would you be beaten to death by those merchants?"

Anaye pointed to a merchant who was trying to get along with the Chishui Army Qiuba, and asked in a low voice.

"That's not true. Merchants don't have the courage. But it's probably inevitable that the locals will throw eggs, melons, fruits, rocks, etc."

Fang Chongyong looked around and said with a guilty conscience.

Anaye nodded thoughtfully. Today's brutal scene really gave her some insight into how dark this world is.

Those who have power can do whatever they want.

Fang Chongyong took Anaye to the drum tower where the bells were ringing in the market. From early morning until the sun set, and until the merchants in the market left like mourning for their heirs, the Hexi Jiedushi took a deep breath.

At this moment, he was looking out of the city from the Drum Tower. At the end of his field of vision, the yellow sand was like the sea and the setting sun was like blood. It looked desolate and tragic.

Fang Chongyong felt an indescribable feeling of exhaustion in his heart.

The Chishui Army Qiuba enforced the law strictly today and showed no mercy. In fact, it was not because these people were loyal to Fang Chongyong, nor was it their unconditional obedience to the military orders of the Jiedushi. At least it was not the main reason.

The most critical answer to this matter is: Qiu Ba of the Chishui Army was told that in the future, the imperial court would no longer issue silk clothes for spring and winter clothes, but would instead use Jiaozi. The grain and fodder distributed before will remain unchanged.

Therefore, when these people collect silk from others, they are actually benefiting themselves. For the Qiu Ba people of the Chishui Army, it was obviously more cost-effective and less risky to clean up local merchants than to mutiny due to dissatisfaction with the imperial court's use of Jiaozi as military pay.

In other words, if Jiaozi becomes waste paper in the future, then the Jiaozi obtained by the Chishui soldiers will also be waste paper.

On the other hand, if Jiaozi circulates smoothly in Hexi, the Chishui soldiers will also benefit more. Because after switching to Jiaozi, they actually got a "salary increase" on the premise that they could exchange it in full.

How do these Qiuba, who are armed to the teeth, choose? In fact, the answer is obvious.

This was also one of Fang Chongyong's "prescriptions" for the court's payment arrears.

Solve liquidity first, then resolve inflation!

Whether Jiaozi can be circulated smoothly is related to the vital interests of the Qiu Ba in the army. Anyone who obstructs this matter will have trouble with these tough and determined Qiu Ba people. Therefore, it is not surprising that this time the soldiers of the Chishui Army stared at those cunning merchants as if they were on guard against thieves.

The pawnshops that opened almost simultaneously in Liangzhou City were also important auxiliary means for circulating exchanges and collecting physical objects.

If the actions of the Tang Army in the Western Regions were to use sharp swords to wipe out bandits, then the smooth issuance and circulation of Jiaozi were used to forge the hilt of the sword.

The more comfortable the hilt of the sword is in his hand, the more freely Fang Chongyong can wield it during his expedition to the Western Regions.

"Alang, what are you thinking about?"

Anaye saw Fang Chongyong in a daze, pulled his sleeves and asked.

"Do you think I'm a good person?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile, but did not answer Anaye's question.

"Not in bed, but out of bed."

Anaye said with a sly smile.

"You know what the heck, I can be a bad guy even when I'm out of bed."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand indifferently and walked down the stairs to the market where only Cen Shen and others were left. The usually neat and lively market seemed to have been ransacked by bandits. It was in a mess, with inexplicable dried blood stains left on the ground.

"Go back to the government office to count the collected silks and register them in a register."

Fang Chongyong gave instructions to Cen Shen and led Anaye out of the market without looking back.

At this moment, no one expected that a magnificent new era would be kicked off by someone so calmly.

(End of this chapter)