Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3603: Golden Flow Scroll Beacon Settles the Nine Worlds

March of the tenth year of Taixing.

Chang'an Market.

At the hour of Chen, amid the rumbling sound of the market opening drum, merchants poured into the market like flowing water.

The war between Heluo and Heluo did not affect Chang'an's commerce, or rather, it promoted Chang'an's commerce to some extent.

The war expanded the demand, and this demand spread through these Hu people.

Compared with the Chinese people who prefer farming, these Hu people, due to cultural, geographical and technological reasons, have commerce as their main industry.

Especially in ancient Central Asia.

Central Asia is located at the intersection of East Asia, West Asia, South Asia and Europe, and has become a must-pass place for land trade between the East and the West. Caravans can connect China, Persia, India and the Mediterranean region through Central Asia, forming a natural trade hub. At the same time, the gift of nature, along the Hexi Corridor all the way west, the scattered oases provide supply points for long-distance caravans, and gradually form a stable trade route. This geographical feature has prompted Central Asia to develop a long-distance transportation system.

What’s interesting is that it is precisely because of these strip-shaped and dot-shaped oasis geography that the population along this trade line often stops at the city-state system and cannot form an effective alliance on its own. Even foreign empires are often unable to control the far end of the long arm. This also makes the political decentralization of these city-state systems reduce trade barriers and ensure the freedom of commercial activities.

Food is always the first need of human beings, but food alone obviously cannot satisfy human beings.

Today, ceramics, silk fabrics, lacquerware, and other handicrafts produced in Chang'an have become scarce commodities in Central Asia and even in further areas. All kinds of materials transported from Central Asia seem to be able to be consumed in Chang'an, which has prompted more people from Central Asia to embark on the road to Chang'an.

Sogdians, Daqin people, and Parthians mixed in the market.

The exchange rate between currencies becomes a problem.

The Qingyin shop in Chang'an has almost become one of the first places these merchants go to after arriving in Chang'an, especially the Qingyin shop in the market, which is extremely crowded.

Merchants from all over the country would exchange their gold, silver and copper coins for Cavalry gold and silver coins, or exchange them for certificates similar to flying money, and then go to the market to purchase goods.

The gold and silver coins of these Hu merchants were exchanged for the gold and silver coins of the Huqi according to the quality of their gold and silver coins...

It seems reasonable.

But in fact, the Qingyin Shop has the right to audit, spot check, re-inspect, and even bargain. Therefore, on the whole, if the Hu merchants use the currency of other countries to purchase goods in China, they will suffer a loss before they buy anything, whether in terms of fire consumption or bargaining. Although the amount is not much, the accumulated amount is enough to make these Hu merchants feel distressed.

Therefore, these Hu merchants were more inclined to use the gold and silver coins of the Cavalry directly, so that they could greatly avoid invisible losses in the purchasing process, which naturally led to the promotion of the gold and silver coins of the Cavalry, gradually replacing the currencies of other countries and circulating in the Western Regions and Central Asia.

As the Han national strength, or the power of the cavalry, increases, this phenomenon will become more and more obvious.

If the Hu merchants wanted to obtain the gold and silver coins of the Cavalry, they could either exchange them with goods or bring gold and silver bars to cash them directly, which would be more cost-effective than using other countries' currencies to convert them into exchange rates...

Therefore, even though General Fei Qian did not require these Hu merchants to adopt any particular method to promote the Hu Cavalry gold and silver coins, these Hu merchants spontaneously chose a solution that met Fei Qian's needs.

This is the power of civilization, the war of economy.

The premise of all this is that Fei Qian, and the political group he represents, must achieve continuous victory and stand at the highest peak...

Just as the Hu people gathered in the Qingyin Shop, waiting for the shop assistant to use the touchstone to preliminarily measure the purity of the gold and silver, they suddenly heard a noise on the street.

The messenger carrying Akabane on his back rushed through the street, while the soldiers and inspectors in charge of patrolling and standing guard were shouting loudly, asking pedestrians and vehicles to make way and clear the road.

"What's going on..." The Hu merchants asked each other, and soon they got the answer.

On the street, as the messenger ran, some chaotic sounds gradually merged together!
"Great victory! Great victory! Great victory in Heluo!"

……

……

In the corner.

The news of the great victory in Heluo reached Qinglong Temple.

A group of petty officials held high the proclamation, shouted a great victory, and marched into the Qinglong Temple.

The blue-shirted students gathered in groups of two or three, discussing and gesticulating with each other, as if they were about to make decisions.

Most of the young men had excited expressions and looked proud of themselves, but a few older Confucian scholars gathered together and whispered something like "When the traitor Dong entered Luoyang, he also said that he would purge the treacherous and corrupt officials." Then other students heard it and immediately started arguing with each other.

Some people say "a strong army means peace for the people", some say "a protracted war will lead to the defeat", some curse "as pedantic as Di Shan", and some scold "as good at talking about military affairs as Zhao Kuo". Everyone has their own points of argument.

Among the onlookers, a certain minor official mixed in the crowd and took the opportunity to raise his arms and shouted: "We should petition for the Nine Gifts to honor the master... Ah, to honor the military achievements of the cavalry!"

……

……

At noon, at the Dongque Tavern.

Discussions about the Heluo War are the hottest topic at the moment.

There is no hot search list at the moment, so if ordinary people want to get some news, they either go to a tavern or squat under a tree on the street...

One advantage of staying in a tavern is that you can hear storytellers making up stories on the spot. When you hear the storyteller speaking and singing as he describes how Zhang Liao "beheaded 30,000 people and recovered the old capital" in Luoyang City, a group of people will raise their glasses and cheer, but this will cause the old men passing by to shake their heads and sigh.

"Hey, old man, the cavalry won a great victory in Heluo, why are you sighing?"

The curious person grabbed the old man and insisted on getting to the bottom of things.

The old man couldn't shake it off, so he could only reply, "In the disaster of war, the common people are worthless, how can you mourn for your broken bodies..."

"Ah! You, old man, are so ignorant! This is a blessing!"

"That's because the knife or the gun didn't hit your head..."

……

……

Afternoon.

Fei Qian and Fei Zhen sat together to eat dinner.

Chinese parents are most likely similar.

When you haven’t seen your children for a long time, they become your darlings and so cute. But when you stay with them for no more than three days, they immediately become like naughty kids. Why?
The same is probably true for Fei Qian and Fei Zhen.

But for Fei Qian, Fei Zhen not only has the identity of being his own naughty child, but also has the title of heir.

Therefore, there are some things that Fei Qian cannot do as he pleases.

For example, beating children on rainy days...

It is not easy to raise a child, and it is even more difficult to raise a child to become an heir.

Especially for someone like Fei Qian, there are many secrets that cannot be told, and even if they are told, it may not be useful, because the child may not understand, and those who understand may not be able to do it right...

Life is not an exam, there is no standard answer. Even if there is an answer temporarily, if you only copy the standard answer every day, you may be at a loss when you suddenly find that there is no answer to copy.

So Fei Qian wanted Fei Zhen to think more. However, children would usually copy answers when they could, and children have the desire to break the rules and try the will-o'-the-wisp in their genes. It is unlikely that children will know how to control themselves, so Fei Qian had to keep a close eye on them. During these days in Chang'an, he kept Fei Zhen with him almost every day.

Doing this also has an advantage, which is that the officials under him not only do not feel strange, but feel very relieved. When they see Fei Qian and Fei Zhen sitting in the lobby, or entering and leaving the government office, they have no objection and even look happy.

Nowadays, thanks to Fei Qian's improvement of Han cuisine, cooking methods have developed greatly, at least in Chang'an, and many dishes that might have only appeared in the Tang and Song dynasties have appeared. Also, because of communication with the Western Regions, some new spices and condiments have also been used in cooking.

Because of the deepening of farming and the application of fertilizers, the land yields more per mu, which makes farmers willing to use their land to grow seasoning crops such as onions, ginger and garlic, instead of being limited to food crops. Onions, ginger and garlic, these three seasoning crops that are not very picky about the land, were first developed in the Chang'an area, and even dishes with onion as the main ingredient appeared.

For example, the taste of the scallion-sprinkled rabbit is somewhat similar to the later stewed rabbit with scallion oil.

All of this made Fei Qian feel that the path he was taking was correct...

At least the direction is correct.

It’s a very simple truth that ordinary people will only think about eating well, dressing well and having fun when they have money and free time.

If people work 996 or 007 all day long, even if they want to consume occasionally, the boss will not allow them to do so. They want to hear ding ding and Xin phone calls all at once, and they have to punch in and out within a time limit to take a breath or go to the toilet. How can they have the mood or time to consume?

What's the use even if you shout louder or more excitingly?

Among the people in Chang'an, more dishes and better tastes began to become popular. Not only when they were full, Fei Qian could feel a kind of vitality spreading out...

This is also the "task" that Fei Qian left for Fei Zhen in the past few days.

After finishing the meal, Fei Qian brought up this topic again...

"Have you finished writing?" Fei Qian glanced at Fei Zhen, "Then read it..."

Fei Zhen took out a few pieces of paper from his sleeve, overlapping them and crisscrossing them, obviously trying to find the order of the paragraphs in the article, and then looked at Fei Qian.

Fei Qian gestured with his hand.

"Hmm..." Fei Zhen subconsciously shook her head, but halfway through, she secretly raised her eyelids, and then her neck stiffened, "Husband... Hmm, this husband..."

Fei Qian lowered his head, suppressed his laughter, and pretended to stroke his beard, as if he didn't hear Fei Zhen's hesitation.

"Uh, cough cough..." Fei Zhen moved his shoulders and arms again, then raised his head. His voice was a little soft at first, but it got louder as he recited, "When the Wei River surges, the Jing River flows majestically, the fertile soil is covered, and the crops are abundant. The Long River is covered with golden waves in the three auxiliary areas, and the fields are covered with blue waves in the eight rivers. When the Zheng and Bai Canals are connected, the millet is pouring like pearls; when the Longshou Plateau is wide, the wheat seedlings are covered like brocade. The government granaries are well stocked, and the people's kitchens are well prepared. This is truly the virtue of nurturing people, and it also shows the merit of encouraging agriculture. "

"Then the key to diet is to balance. In the past, Chao Gong wrote a memorial saying that when it is cold, one does not need light and warm clothes; when it is hungry, one does not need delicious food. Therefore, emergency measures are not the way to long-term treatment. Now, in the market, there are cold noodles made of locust leaves and steamed cakes made of elm seeds, which are food to fill hunger, but there are also deer fetuses, orangutan lips, camel humps and carp tails, which are real luxury delicacies. The gap between the upper and lower classes is so great that the rich spend the delicacies of mountains and seas, while the poor eat wild vegetables. Then the people's morale will be perverted and the customs will be corrupted."

"Therefore, we should implement the law of equalization, establish a granary of constant price to equalize the abundance and scarcity, and set up a market of five equal prices to equalize the high and low prices. This is the responsibility of officials, to bring beans from the army into the gardens, and encourage people to plant cucumbers in the suburbs. In the past, the Marquis of Bowang dug a hole and got alfalfa and grapes from the Western Regions. Now, officials should work hard and teach people to plant cabbages, yam, onions and ginger in the villages. Let old women pickle leek eggs in jars, and children pick duckweed in the ponds."

"As for the art of cooking, it is also related to education. Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, and adjusting the cauldron is like managing a county. It is appropriate to let the three elders manage the ritual of drinking in the village, and the doctors teach the recipe of mixing the five flavors. We should follow the example of Yi Yin carrying the cauldron to talk about soup, and use cooking to illustrate the way of governance, and follow the example of Yi Ya identifying water to help the people, and use food to observe the people's feelings. Let the people know that spring leeks and autumn cabbages have their own time, and summer sauces and winter meats have their own suitability. Then the people will drink virtuously and eat harmoniously, and they will naturally be filial to their parents and get along with their neighbors. "

After reading it, Fei Zhen secretly raised her eyelids again, glanced quickly at Fei Qian, then drooped her eyelids and waited quietly.

Fei Qian was a little helpless when he saw this, "You didn't write all of it, did you?"

Fei Zhen was honest and nodded.

"Who helped you change it?" Fei Qian asked, "Is it your second mother again?"

When Fei Zhen was asked to write an article about diet, Fei Qian had told her not to ask Cai Yan for help. So if Fei Zhen was deliberately disobeying, this problem would not be as simple as revising the article...

Fei Zhen shook her head repeatedly, "No, it's not Second Mother!"

"Not your second mother?" Fei Qian was a little curious, "Then who is it?"

Could it be Huang Yueying? That's unlikely.

After all, Huang Yueying prefers to use wood and iron blocks rather than pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

Fei Zhen suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and was reluctant to say anything, only saying that he was definitely not asking Cai Yan for help.

Fei Qian was skeptical, but since Fei Zhen was sure that he was not looking for Cai Yan for help, at least he did not violate the agreement with Fei Qian, so Fei Qian did not say anything, but just wondered whether the requirements should be stricter next time, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was no need. After all, Fei Zhen's main development direction in the future was not poetry and prose, and he did not ask Cai Yan because once he did, he would probably throw up his hands and give up completely, not wanting to do anything and let Cai Yan do everything for him.

It would be better for Fei Zhen to find other people. After all, a leader cannot do everything by himself, and he also needs to find people to do some things...

However, most of Fei Zhen's articles are pretty good, but a small part has some problems.

"Zhang Wenyuan conquered Luoyang. You know about this... right?" Fei Qian asked.

Fei Zhen nodded, and his eyebrows immediately danced with joy, "I know! The old capital of the Han Dynasty! Behead 30,000 people!"

After all, he is still a half-grown boy. When talking about his study content and test scores, he is timid and humble. But once he talks about stars, idols, playing ball, dancing, etc., he immediately becomes energetic and in high spirits.

Fei Qian smiled and did not scold him. Instead, he took the letter from the side and handed it to Fei Zhen, "Take a look first."

The Letter of Revelation was written by Zhang Liao, in which he basically narrated the entire process of the Battle of Luoyang according to the passage of time and the development of events.

"Beheaded 30,000 people" and the like are basically empty words, made up by the common people. You can just listen to them and not take them as the truth, let alone use them as the basis for Zhang Liao's major achievement in the battle of Luoyang.

In the Battle of Luoyang, what surprised Fei Qian was not the speed at which Zhang Liao attacked Luoyang City, nor the collapse of order in Cao's army, but the "awakening" of the ordinary soldiers in Cao's army.

Of course, using the word "awakening" might be a bit biased. After all, these Cao army soldiers were not really aware of "class" or felt "exploited". It was just a spring-like rebound produced under special circumstances.

But this is already an improvement.

Although some Cao army soldiers surrendered before, most of them surrendered along with the military schools or generals, or they were directly removed from their organization or surrendered when they were captured.

Just like in a flock of sheep, most of the sheep would tremble with fear when they heard the sheepdog barking, and then one or two sheepdogs could drive hundreds of sheep to move in and out of the pens. The sheep in the flock would only bleat and bury their heads under the buttocks of other sheep.

Then suddenly a sheep jumped out and butted the sheepdog with its head. No matter how loudly the sheepdog shouted, it still refused to retreat or give in...

In other words, the reason why Luoyang City was conquered so quickly this time was not because of how powerful the artillery sent by Fei Qian was, nor because of how brave Zhang Liao was personally, but simply because among the "flock of sheep" in Luoyang City, a sheep that defied the sheepdog unexpectedly appeared, which accelerated the decline and collapse of Luoyang City.

This "sheep" is like a catalyst.

History is always strikingly similar.

Fei Qian sat at the top with a gloomy look in his eyes.

The changes of feudal dynasties, loyalty and betrayal, rise and fall are always repeated.

The theory that the people are more important than the monarch is not something that has only been proposed for a day or two. It has been constantly proven, concluded, and put into practice. However, after the establishment of the feudal dynasty, it fell into a similar pit again.

Those intellectuals who think highly of themselves and feel good about themselves, when they read similar words and see similar lessons, most of them feel bored, and wonder why such a serious problem is repeated every time, but still repeated?
Were the rulers and people of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period different in class from those of the Qin and Han Dynasties, or other feudal dynasties in later generations?
From the macro to the micro, from the court to the people, is there no one who understands and no one who wants to change? Why do we have to record it in history books every time, and why do we have to repeat the rise and fall of dynasties and fall into similar pits?

But that's what happens.

Then, this time, Fei Qian saw a different "sheep" on the edge of the pit...

So Fei Qian asked Fei Zhen, "What have you learned from watching the battle in Luoyang?"

Fei Zhen replied, "Zhang Wenyuan used his strategy with courage, the soldiers worked together, and the craftsmen provided support."

Fei Qian nodded, "What else?"

"Anything else?" Fei Zhen's eyes widened.