Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 60

On this day, the Khitan prisoners of war were finally escorted to Chang'an by five hundred soldiers from the border town of Youzhou.Li Longji, who sang and sang with Yang Yuhuan every night, was overjoyed when he learned of the incident, and ordered to reward the meritorious soldiers.

If one person is captured alive, he will be rewarded with ten bolts of human silk; for those who beheaded, five bolts of silk will be rewarded.

This reward is very generous, because it can be said that each of these soldiers has gained a lot of fat.

You know, now is no longer the era when the early Tang Dynasty made contributions.The land that can be acquired by the Tang State has also been acquired and consolidated long ago.It is far more difficult to obtain military merit than before.

The existence of the Fubing system in name only is largely due to the fact that fighting has become unprofitable and has become an "evil thing" purely for errands.

Even if they can occasionally defeat the enemy at the border and gain nothing, the grassroots soldiers will not get much benefit.The central government of the Tang Dynasty often used honorary officers and titles to pass the time.

As for rewards for military merits, the imperial court gave titles very readily, but gave money very stingily. To sum it up with an idiom, it is a typical example of "good mouth is not enough".

As introduced in "The Song of Mulan", the military merits of the Tang Dynasty also implemented the "Twelve Turns" system.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, if the battle was "twelve ranks of military merit", then the reward after the war would be "a reward for hundreds of thousands of strong men".

What is "turn"?
The general with the most outstanding performance in each battle can get the "three-turn" meritorious service.

The forces of both sides have reached a certain scale (battles that are too small will not count). If you annihilate (kill prisoners) 40.00% of the enemy's forces in a battle with fewer enemies, you can obtain the "Fifth Turn" meritorious service.

The superiors are responsible for calculating the number of rotations for other general levels and what role they play in battle.The merits of many battles can be accumulated. If you make up eleven ranks, you can be granted the Zhu Kingdom.

However, in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, this situation completely changed.

No one knows exactly how many "Shangzhu Kingdoms" there were in the Tang Kingdom during this period, and the proportion is not easy to count.For example, Jiangnan and Shu are the pockets of the imperial court, and there are very few people serving in the military, so the proportion is naturally pitifully low.

However, the situation in Hexi is that among local men, including those who have never served in the military, the number of people with the title of "Shangzhu Kingdom" exceeds 20%, nearly a quarter!
It is conservatively estimated that more than one of the five males is from the Shangzhu Kingdom. This kind of reward is not only not worth boasting, it even has a sense of humiliation to some extent.

With this great victory in the Youzhou vassal town, as a rule, Fang Youde would handle the rewards and pensions for these 500 people by himself. He would calculate the twelve military merits and give them to some honorary officers, and that would be it.Being able to ask for a reward without "entering the capital without an imperial edict" is a huge honor.

Of course, Li Longji may not agree every time, but who knows that he has just acquired the wife of his son, King of Life and Longevity Li Xuan, and he is having fun.

Fang Youde's military exploits became the capital for him and his "daughter-in-law" to brag about his civil, political and martial arts.

This was the luck of the soldiers in Youzhou Border Town, because they met a Jiedushi who was different from the previous commanders and had the life, death and interests of the soldiers at heart.

This is also the misfortune of the soldiers in the border town of Youzhou, because no matter how much military exploits they have created, they still need a powerful figure to fight for their interests. How many "fang virtuous" are there in the current Datang?
When Li Longji is in a good mood, how much is there?
What if the great sage of the Tang Dynasty happens to be in a bad mood when repaying his merits?
Of course, thanks to the fact that there are only 500 soldiers who receive rewards and need pensions, if there are more, Li Longji may also cover his pockets and just fool around.

Just as the scholars of Chang'an Winery were praising the great victory in the border towns and the majesty of the Tang Dynasty was shining in all directions, not everyone was so rejoicing. For example, the only son of the Youzhou Jiedushi who made immortal contributions... .

In the study room of Fang's house at the back door of Xingqing Palace, Fang Chongyong looked helplessly at Zheng Shuqing who was empty-handed, and asked feebly: "Are you here to mock me on purpose?"

"Why should I come to taunt you?"

Zheng Shuqing asked with a strange face.

"I thought I was already famous."

Fang Chongyong sighed, and described his experience of "dropping out of Veyron" to the other party.

"Are you saying that you entered the Imperial Academy and were rejected because you were not old enough? Then you entered the Hongwen Hall and were expelled from school because of your father's advice?"

Zheng Shuqing was surprised. It was the first time he heard about such an outrageous experience, and it was considered a good experience.

"Yes, and then he gave me a Qianniu Guards Lieutenant General, a nine-year-old Qianniu Guards Lieutenant General. Do you think it's ridiculous or not?"

Fang Chongyong's face almost didn't have the words "life without love" written on it.

What did i do wrong!I am still a child!
Fang Chongyong felt that the passing of the year was unlucky, and it seemed that everything he did recently was unlucky.

"Well, Ruizhong is eleven months old and was crowned king when he was less than a year old. I feel that your experience is not too outrageous.

Uh, but you were named Qianniuwei Zhonglang General, shouldn’t there be the word “inspection” in front of you? "

Zheng Shuqing comforted him kindly, but these words sounded like mocking no matter how you looked at them.

"is it?"

Fang Chongyong was taken aback, Gao Lishi came to deliver the decree, the decree was too long, he didn't remember it, so he just remembered the general Qianniuwei Zhonglang.He took down the silk book from the bookshelf to look at it, and sure enough, the word "review" was clearly written on it.

"Originally, in this dynasty, the previous dynasty's body preparation will be changed to Zhonglang General, with two guards on the left and right, under the fourth rank, in charge of judging affairs, promoted to serve in the palace, and passed on official rescue. He is a great official. It can be called a With high weight, many soldiers in border towns can't reach this position even if they work hard for a lifetime.

However, if the word "check" is added in front of it, it will be completely different.

The inspector Qianniuwei Zhonglang is equivalent to being specially approved by a sage. He has not passed the review in the outer court, but only has a name in Qianniuwei and does not need to perform his duties.Basically, nothing can be done.Who knows how many Qianniuwei Zhonglang generals there are now..."

The more Zheng Shuqing talked, the darker Fang Chongyong's face became.

"Don't be angry, the monthly salary is 560 seven, which is eleven."

Zheng Shuqing, the Minister of Household Affairs, is "skilled in business", and his official salary is readily available.

Okay, you can do nothing and just sit back and get the money, although it's a bit small.

With a salary of less than two hundred guan a year, the income is not enough for the status of General Qianniuwei Zhonglang.It can be seen that Qianniuwei Zhonglang must have extra income to support his family.Otherwise, the basic expenses in Chang'an will be a problem, and this little money is not enough to go to a better restaurant for a meal.

"That's why you came to me? I don't have Red Lotus Spring here anymore. I want you to make your own red yeast and brew it yourself."

Fang Chongyong couldn't stand being output by Zheng Shuqing's face!
"Don't, don't, it's a good thing to come to you this time."

With a mysterious expression on his face, Zheng Shuqing took out an invitation card from his cuff.

"Three days later, in order to celebrate the victory in Youzhou Border Town, the saint will set up a stage to hold an opera, song and dance performance in the Liyuan. With the invitation, you can go in and watch. There are not many opportunities like this."

Li Longji is going to hold a concert?

Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, and then he took the invitation. The seat number was even written on the back.

The ancients were not fools. If they didn’t write down their seat numbers in advance, then all the dignitaries would be there, and tickets were issued too much for various reasons. Wouldn’t there be a fight over the seat issue?

The seat itself is not a problem, the problem is that the face cannot be picked up if it falls on the floor.

Therefore, it is impossible to pretend to slap your face in order to compete for a seat. These days, these trashy things have been fully considered when preparing for the performance.

Zheng Shuqing's family is well-off, this kind of people no longer care about those so-called "small details", but regard face as the top priority.

Wanting to understand this situation, Fang Chongyong pushed the invitation back and sighed: "We are all so familiar, there is no need to be so polite, just talk about what you have to say."

"Is such that."

Zheng Shuqing was not polite to Fang Chongyong at all. He took out a very bright silk fragment from his sleeve and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"Sogdian Brocade? Mr. Zheng, your efficiency is really..."

Fang Chongyong was shocked.

It can only be said that everyone understands what kind of work efficiency was like in the feudal era.

If you don’t want to procrastinate, it will take a long time to go through the process; if someone deliberately messes up, it is very common for a small matter to be handled for several months.

"You don't understand. This is what the sage asked to do. Can you please hurry up? It's just...the imitated Sogdian brocade is still different from the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions, alas!"

What is the specific difference, Zheng Shuqing can't tell the reason, of course, it is only because of the lack of oral expression ability.In fact, when he put the fragments of the two kinds of fabrics on the table, anyone can intuitively judge which one is the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions and which one is imitated by the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, the first time Sogdia Brocade was "disassembled" was in the early Tang Dynasty, but the direction of attention and the purpose of realization were different.Moreover, the Sogter Brocade from the Western Regions is constantly being updated.This can be regarded as a kind of business competition between palms across the air.

According to Fang Chongyong's original understanding, the so-called "imitation" means completely copying the other party's style.But in fact, this kind of thinking is just wishful thinking.

Copying is not something that anyone can copy, nor can it be copied casually.

After all, the styles of fabrics are not words and paintings, but also incorporate the thoughts of painters and craftsmen. Some techniques are even passed down from generation to generation, and become unique secrets that are passed on from son to daughter.

Every fabric comes out, in fact, it is the craftsmen who "write" their ideas on the fabric.The artisans didn't understand the meaning of the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions, so the imitation products had no essence and were just crude imitations.

The dignitaries in Chang'an are used to seeing good things. How can they tolerate this kind of big deception?
At that time, Zheng Shuqing will not only fail to make meritorious service, but will be punished by Li Longji!
Lao Zheng was not a fool. He knew it would not work, so he asked the craftsmen to give it a try and imitate Sogdian Brocade according to his own ideas.

The good news is that this imitation Sogdian brocade looks better than the original.

This is also easy to understand. Datang crushed the West Asian region in terms of silk fabrics industry and raw materials.Silkworms are artificially fed and have sufficient nutrition. The silk they spit out is thick and long-fiber, with a bright and shiny luster.

The bad news is, it's a little... a little bit less Sogdana-like.

The reason is actually quite understandable.

Zheng Shuqing described to Fang Chongyong the news he had learned from the textile workers.

The silk produced in the Western Regions in the past was not only domestically produced in the Tang Dynasty, but also "wild silk" produced in various countries in the Western Regions.Wild silkworms are native silkworms that have not been artificially domesticated and screened for generations.

The silk that comes out is thin and short.

However, there is always a wrong approach. The Sogdian brocade made from mixed silk in West Asia has a different style.

In order to ensure high profits on the Silk Road, countries in the Western Regions imposed a strict technical blockade on Tang's sericulture technology.Although Fang Chongyong couldn't understand this matter, the fact is that the country that is most afraid of silk technology being mastered by West Asia is not Datang.

Regarding the technology of various best-selling products in the Tang Dynasty, the country that was most concerned about was not the Tang Dynasty itself, but other countries on the Silk Road.

These countries are responsible for the "technical fence".

In addition, the paintings in West Asia are famous for their square and hard style, while the fabric patterns of Tang Dynasty are famous for their round and full styles. The two styles are different. If you simply copy them, you will only draw tigers but not dogs.

Therefore, those craftsmen under Lao Zheng's command cannot say that it is not good, but it is not "Sog Te Brocade", so I really need to say something!
This situation is like saying that Li Longji was going to play the electronic piano, but there was no electricity in the Tang Dynasty, so the craftsmen could only make pianos.The piano is very good, but does it have the broken tone of the electronic piano?

Could it be that Li Longji is just being cheap and just likes the tune of the electronic piano?
Hard to say.

This is also one of the reasons why Zheng Shuqing ran to Fang Chongyong to call for help.

"I think the imitation Sogdian brocade is better than the original."

Fang Chongyong held the two pieces of fabric in his hand and gestured.

"It doesn't matter what you think. It doesn't work for you. It depends on what the saint thinks."

Zheng Shuqing retorted, and looked eagerly, hoping that this little prodigy from the Tang Dynasty would have some ideas, even bad ones.

"Saint, saint, saint, how can you never say anything away from a saint? You were not raised by a saint..."

Fang Chongyong was halfway through his words, but stopped because those three words were too insulting.Even if he already had a relatively deep personal relationship with Lao Zheng, he couldn't speak so openly.

"You, you just don't understand my Tang Dynasty's officialdom at all."

Zheng Shuqing sighed, did not care about Fang Chongyong's gaffe, and continued:
"You think the left minister, the right minister, the minister, the governor, and the censor are all great, right? They hold great power and can decide the life and death of ordinary people, right?
In fact, there is only one rule for the operation of the Tang Dynasty, and that is, whatever the saint wants to do, he must have it.Other than that, it's all fake, just pasted up for outsiders to see.

It's like you didn't enter the Imperial College before, but in fact the sage felt that your family was treated so harshly.There are more than 2000 students in the Imperial College, and in any workshop in Chang'an City, where can you not find a few Imperial College students?

The students who come out of the Imperial College, even if they will be appointed officials after passing the imperial examination in the future, they will be nothing more than..."

Zheng Shuqing pointed at himself and said, "It's just a dog of a saint."

“And many people are not even qualified to be dogs and can only be manipulated like ants.

Later, you were admitted to Hongwen Hall under special circumstances. I originally thought you were going to have a successful career, but now... I can't understand it anymore.

Don't talk nonsense, just tell me what to do now, alas. "

"Of course there is a way."

Fang Chongyong already had a solution.

"Okay, how long will it take for it to take effect!"

Zheng Shuqing's face was filled with excitement. He now wished he could call Fang Chongyong daddy.

"Just today."

Fang Chongyong said three words calmly.

　Begging to follow up, I almost went to Sanjiang this week, just a little bit, a little bit, a little bit that you don’t even dare to think about.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)