Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 47 Wu Ru 61 Dong Dai
When he returned, Fang Chongyong remained silent, and the magnificent scene of the Hexi Corridor was always in his mind.Niu Xianke's narration made him feel that what he had to do was not simply to fool Zheng Shuqing or the court, and that would be the end of the matter.

This may be related to the survival and development of Han people in Hexi.

"Do you think things are difficult? A certain person also finds it very difficult. Hexi's military system is corrupt. I'm afraid that if things go on like this, there will be big troubles."

Seeing that Fang Chongyong was silent, Zheng Shuqing couldn't help sighing.

"This...that's all."

After thinking about it, Fang Chongyong felt that Zheng Shuqing had always been "not very smart", and telling the other party a lot of ideas was nothing more than chicken and duck talking.

Hexi's military system is also called collapse?That is almost the best place to maintain the military system of the entire Tang Dynasty!
If there is a problem with this place, then Datang Pills!

Fang Chongyong didn't even know what to say about Zheng Shuqing.This person can be an official, but his ability to do things is very average.

Because of the extensive farmland in the Hexi Corridor, the soldiers in Fanshang were unable to return to their hometowns, so they could only settle in Hexi and have children, which were passed on from generation to generation.

Therefore, although their descendants are not government soldiers today, but participate in "foreign soldiers" such as "soldier recruitment" and "earth regiment", but because of the nature of the army station and the attribute of "large land and sparse population" in Hexi, Its essence is still the same as the original Fubing.

Of course, this is the version with weakened treatment, so don’t think about rewards or anything like that.

After the basic equipment is purchased, it is handed over to the military for safekeeping. Most people have their own fields, and their family members live not far away. Fans can offset part of the labor.

One person flees and the whole family suffers, self-sufficiency and self-contained system, coupled with the land annexation in Hexi, suppressed by high-intensity wars and a high proportion of military families, this makes all soldiers in Hexi can only unite as one and fight for survival!

If Hexi can't produce a strong army, it will be an aggressive and strange thing.

Lao Zheng's dog brain has always been metaphysical, so we can't expect too much from him.

"If you are in trouble, it's not that you can't think of a solution. In a situation like this in Hexi, I feel helpless..."

Zheng Shuqing said with concern.

At this time, the two of them had passed through the Chunming Gate and entered the city of Chang'an. The drums of the curfew were already beating, and the city gate was about to be closed.

"Someone is just lamenting that the ancestors overcame obstacles and risked their lives to open up the Hexi Corridor and open up the road connecting the Western Regions in order to survive. Now that there is something going on in Hexi, it is natural to do our part.

Zheng Shilang, don't worry. "

Fang Chongyong bowed to Zheng Shuqing and said.

"It's easy to say, and there will be a big thank you after everything is done. You don't have any servants to serve you. I have quadruplets of maids at home. I will send them over in two days."

Zheng Shuqing said with a painful face.

"Uh, even if you send someone to deliver it, I won't need it."

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing helplessly, not knowing how to evaluate it.

Quadruple maids, Mr. Zheng really knows how to play!A table of mahjong is enough!

"Well, I forgot about this. But it doesn't matter. When you are older, I will find you again.

There are so many things, if you haven't tried it, you don't know the fun.Don't be so repulsive, these entertainments will be encountered after you become an official, so it's good to get used to it first. "

Zheng Shuqing patted Fang Chongyong's shoulder meaningfully, and left on his own.In front is the Xingqing Palace, so we should avoid suspicion.

Returning home exhausted, Fang Chongyong saw that Fang Dafu and the others looked worried.

"Why do you all have such expressions?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Xu Yuan who talked the most on weekdays and asked.

"Xiao Langjun, someone from the palace came to inform you today, and there is no need to go to the Imperial College."

Eh?
"You won't go if you don't go?"

Fang Chongyong was taken aback for a moment, he never expected that Li Longji would be so casual in his work!
"Uh, that's not true. The eunuch said that the Imperial College must be fourteen years old to enroll, and the gentleman is not qualified. Although the saint opened his mouth, he was still rejected by the Imperial College."

Xu Yuan said with an embarrassed expression.In fact, they all know that there is this rule, but thinking about Fang Chongyong's background is not very common, maybe there is a special case?I didn't expect it to be useless.

But think about it, Guozijian is the private land of traditional literati like Zhang Jiuling, and it is not uncommon for Li Longji to be hard-pressed. Fang Chongyong understands this very well.

"If you don't go, don't go, I'm happy to relax."

Fang Chongyong sighed, anyone who was played like this would feel very upset.

"By the way, the eunuch also said that he will assign a teacher to teach Xiao Langjun. Whatever Xiao Langjun wants to learn, he will teach."

Xu Yuan leaned over and whispered.

"understood."

Fang Chongyong nodded, and told Fang Dafu to clean up a special study room.He himself dragged his tired body back to the bedroom, spread a large paper on the table, lit a candle, and thought hard.

Zheng Shuqing had to do what Zheng Shuqing asked him to do, otherwise he would offend Immortal Niu as well.Besides, after traveling to this world, you can't live like a maggot, just eat and wait to die.

With Liangzhou in Hexi as the center, it must be a long-term and comprehensive war to use troops against Tubo.From the information Niu Xianke learned, the short-term war against Tubo is completely different from the long-term war in terms of material preparation.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is hypoxic!

This idea was spinning and jumping back and forth in Fang Chongyong's mind.

Because the lack of oxygen cannot be overcome, there is an obvious "geographical contour line" between Tang Jun and Tubo.As the altitude rises, the Tang army will no longer be able to defeat the Tubo soldiers, which is insurmountable.

This point, it is doomed that Datang will face Tubo, and they can only wait for the opponent's domestic chaos, otherwise, even if there is an occasional big victory, the Tubo will eventually come back.

If Zheng Shuqing wants to rise to the top, he cannot get the key point wrong.Making money is the means, and ensuring the logistics of the Hexi war is the goal.

Fang Zhongyong picked up a pen and wrote a line on the paper:

Armaments cannot be self-produced.

This is the biggest flaw and weakness in the situation in the Hexi Corridor.

The wood, metallurgy, and forging materials needed to manufacture armaments cannot be provided there.The reason is simple, the ecological environment cannot bear it.In fact, the economy of the Hexi Corridor has made many concessions due to the constraints of the ecological environment.

This problem is also Chang'an's problem.

Due to the limitation of the ecological environment, during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, there was no large-scale weapon production base in Chang'an City, and it mainly relied on transportation from other places.Weapons and equipment were originally stored in the arsenal under the east wall of Taiji Palace.

Armaments cannot be eaten or worn. When the country is stable, there is no need to arrange to occupy natural resources near the capital.The central organization "Ordnance Supervision" is responsible for managing the production and dispatch of armaments.

Niu Xianke did a good job in Hexi. Many people, including Zhang Jiuling, thought he was just an excellent "warehouse manager".

Although this view contains discriminatory elements, it cannot be said to be completely unreasonable.At the very least, the inability to produce armaments on his own made him, a local official, much less valuable.

Fang Chongyong continued to write on the paper: The government's transportation capacity should fully guarantee the consumables in the armament, such as bows, crossbows and arrows, and continue to be imported into Liangzhou, while the rest can be postponed.

This has little to do with Zheng Shuqing's authority, but it can definitely add points to his position as Minister of Household Affairs.

Fang Chongyong continued to write on the paper:
Silk in Hexi lacks high-end printing, dyeing, and blending techniques. Only white silk can be exchanged with Hu merchants in the Western Regions, but the market price is low, far inferior to Sog Tejin.

Sogdian brocade, a Chinese silk, is woven in Persia. It is sold at a high price in Chang'an.

In the future, in Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places in Hexi, Gaochang cotton, which is common in Anxi Duhufu area, can be promoted, and cotton fabric can be used instead of white silk.

If the people are rich, the country is strong, and the people of Hexi will definitely serve with all their might.

After writing this, Fang Chongyong felt a burst of emotion in his heart.

The rent adjustment system hindered the development of the commodity economy, especially in Hexi. This is one of the reasons why the silk industry in the Hexi Corridor was destroyed by the war and never recovered.

Because it is a product of the distortion of the unreasonable economic system in the Tang Dynasty, once this external force no longer exists, the market competition of survival of the fittest will naturally extinguish it.

With the deepening development of the commodity economy in the Tang Dynasty, the system of renting and mediocre taxes became increasingly overwhelmed.

Zuyong tune requires farmers to weave cloth, and silk products, as "hard currency", can be used as currency.Therefore, the natives of Hexi, no matter whether silk fabrics have market competitiveness or not, they have to follow this rule.

If they don't spin yarn, how can they pay the rent?Obviously, sericulture and spinning are the most cost-effective!

As for social labor productivity and market competition, the decision makers who formulated this system at that time did not consider it.

However, the cruel fact now is that due to the limited size of the Hexi Corridor and the harsh external natural environment, the scale of the silk weaving industry is also limited.The limited scale determines the upper limit and limited growth potential.

It was not obvious in the Han Dynasty, but Liangzhou silk was still famous.However, in the Tang Dynasty, with the upgrading of textile industry technology, the silk produced in the Hexi Corridor, which had lagged behind in the industrial upgrading, no longer had any competitiveness in the domestic market competition of the Tang Dynasty!
Either, these silks were handed over to the government as part of the rent adjustment; or, they were sold cheaply to Hu merchants in the Western Regions, mainly Sogdians. These Hu merchants sent the original silk fabrics produced in the Hexi Corridor to Persia and even Dashi for secondary processing. , into "Sogdian Brocade".

Then the Sogdian brocade was sold back to the Tang Dynasty, and it was enthusiastically sought after by the dignitaries in Chang'an.

This is why Dunhuang in the western section of the Hexi Corridor became the first turning point for Hu merchants in the Western Regions, because they wanted to bring the raw materials and rough-processed products from the Tang Dynasty back to the Western Regions for "secondary deep processing."

This is the source of the so-called "silk produced on the Silk Road".The local people in Hexi did not get any benefits from the silk trade.

Changing silk to Gaochang cotton, Gaochang cotton cloth is competitive in Chang'an, and Hexi changing silk to cotton cloth is the call of the times. It is imperative to relax the mediocrity and adjust the content.

"It's all nonsense anyway, as long as the saint is happy after seeing it. If Old Zheng can become an official, I will be considered as a man of responsibility."

Fang Chongyong sneered, his purpose of writing these words was not entirely to make the people of Hexi live a better life, the most fundamental thing was to get Zheng Shuqing promoted.

The purpose determines the means. It’s okay to make suggestions. If you want a solution, I will give it to you.

As for execution, what execution can he talk about as a half-old kid?
Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong continued to write on the paper:
Although Liangzhou and Ganzhou are full of grain, they are surrounded by powerful enemies.Once there is a disturbance, farming cannot be sustained, and the people become soldiers and recruit soldiers. Food and fodder are wasted and are not always guaranteed.

A "permit" system can be established in Chang'an West City. If Hu merchants in the Western Regions want to transport goods out of the city, they must transport grain and fodder to Liangzhou and Ganzhou to obtain a permit.

Grain transporters can go out of Chang'an with a certificate to trade, and after trading grain and fodder with the government in Liangzhou, they can take other goods out of the customs to the Western Regions.Those who do not transport grain will not be granted a license, and can only trade in Chang'an City.

In this way, there will be no shortage of food and fodder in Liangzhou, and there will be no hindrance to military supplies.

Hu merchants in the Western Regions are quite free, let them bring their goods, and by the way, let these people put eye drops on Tubo, and play with the economic blockade or something.

Fang Chongyong thought maliciously.

Sogdian merchants were also suppliers of Tubo, and many of them were cheap goods.When Datang closed his mouth, those Sogdian merchants could only stand on Datang's side, hoping that the war would end soon.

Because Datang played the dual roles of an absolute supplier and a policeman on the Silk Road.Tobo played the role of the Godfather and the robbers.

When Datang was defeated, the Silk Road died, and everyone died along with it.

Tibet was defeated, and the Silk Road continued. Everyone pretended that nothing happened, and there were others to play the role of robbers and consumers.

At this time, it is of course difficult for most people to understand this point, but Fang Zhongyong can easily understand it thoroughly from the known historical trends.

In the past history, after the decline of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo realized that there was no profit to be made, and then thought of building a textile center by itself.

As a result, this belated game had not been played for a few years with the help of the Sogdians. The serf uprising that swept across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau smashed Tibet into pieces, and it never rose again.

The country of Tubo probably didn't even realize what it had been busy with for hundreds of years until it perished.

"There is still one thing missing now, where does the money to reward the three armies come from?"

While thinking, Fang Chongyong wrote on the paper: "The Department of Weaving and Dyeing can be ordered to develop imitation Sogdian cloth in Chang'an, and produce and sell it in Yangzhou, Luoyang and other places. The money obtained will be used for military supplies."

This is a really good idea, but it's hard to say whether Li Longji will listen.Fang Chongyong wrote it down on paper with the attitude of doing his best and knowing the destiny.

He looked at the completed melody, and there were only a few suggestions in it.

To sum it up, there are sixteen words: dedicated to military supplies, changing silk into cotton; permission to transport grain, and imitating cloth to raise money.

"Why should I be so careless? Shouldn't this be something Li Longji has to think about. Sleeping and sleeping, staying up late won't grow taller."

Fang Chongyong hurriedly washed and got into the silk quilt.

……

The next day, Fang Chongyong didn't wait for Zheng Shuqing who was "urging the manuscript", but instead waited for a young man in a Taoist robe, who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, and looked like a Taoist fairy who didn't eat the fireworks of the world.

"My lord, Li Mi, was ordered by a sage to come here as a teacher."

"Oh oh oh……"

Fang Chongyong quickly led Li Mi into the study.

After the two parties sat down, Li Mi smiled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, you can ask anything you want, and you can learn anything you want to learn. I will tell you what I know, and if I don't know, I will not speak."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, suddenly remembered what happened in Hexi, and couldn't help asking: "How about Hexi?"

"There is nothing wrong with Hexi, except for Tubo."

Li Bi cherished his words like gold, and uttered these ten words.

"What about Tubo?"

Fang Chongyong continued to ask.

"Five like 61 Dongdai."

Li Mi said succinctly.

Fang Chongyong was choked to death by him, but he didn't dare to ask what he meant, not wanting to expose his empty head.

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

(End of this chapter)