History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 29 Gao Pian's Administration of Shu
The wounds of war need to be healed.

At that time, Gao Pian recovered Jiaozhi and was appointed as the governor of Jinghai. He vigorously developed the Jiaozhi region, hired craftsmen to dig coastal reefs, dredged the grain transport from Annan (now Hanoi, Vietnam) to Yongzhou (now Nanning, Guangxi) and Guangzhou, and ensured the safety of grain and grass transportation. He also rebuilt the outer city, laying the foundation for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam today. So when Vietnam broke away from the Central Plains dynasty and established itself, its early monarchs also revered Gao Pian as the "King of Gao", and Gao Pian became the ancestor of Vietnam.

Now, Gao Pian was the governor of Xichuan and had driven away the invading Nanzhao army. Naturally, he had to continue to manage the Xichuan region.

However, his performance in Nishikawa was not so brilliant.

Gao Pian was very superstitious about witchcraft and liked to play tricks. Before each battle, he would hold all kinds of strange prayer ceremonies in the military camp, such as burning paper people and paper horses, throwing beans into the night sky (the legendary one who could call the wind and rain, and turn beans into soldiers), etc., to tell the soldiers that we have the blessing of the gods and that the heavenly soldiers and generals are secretly helping us.

In fact, many generals would take advantage of their soldiers' superstitious nature and give them some psychological hints before going into battle to strengthen their belief in victory.

However, most generals were "using" while Gao Pian was "being used". Gao Pian was not fooling people, he really believed in these crooked ways and he was very devout in his belief in ghosts and gods. This also foreshadowed his tragic ending in the future.

When chasing the Nanzhao army, Gao Pian used these tricks in the army. The local officers and soldiers were puzzled. So Gao Pian explained to them, "The soldiers of Bashu are timid and cowardly, and they are not capable of taking on important tasks. I am asking the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens for help and sending heavenly soldiers as the vanguard."

Some subordinates told him that the discriminatory attitudes and remarks against the soldiers from Shu deeply hurt the self-esteem of those brave Shu soldiers.

Gao Pian's eyes widened, "Brave Shu soldiers? If they were brave, would they have mobilized me?"

Gao Pian was arrogant and disrespectful not only towards Nanzhao, but also towards his own people.

Born into a prominent family, he had the halo of victory on his head and the support of the imperial court. He looked down upon the world and the world. His current role was to be the builder of Xichuan, but he was obsessed with the role of a liberator and even regarded himself as a conqueror. Many of his actions attracted considerable controversy.

For example, he, who had no knowledge of finance, brought the economy of the Xichuan region to the brink of collapse.

He ordered that commercial transactions must be conducted with "sufficient money".

"Mo money" is also called "bai qian", which means one hundred coins (copper or iron coins). Ten "bai qian" is "zumo", which means one thousand coins. "Zumo money" has different names in different historical periods. The most well-known ones are "yi diao" and "yi guan".

At that time, private transactions mostly used "short money", that is, using less than a thousand coins as a thousand coins.

At first glance, it seems to be a commercial fraud, but in fact, it is a high manifestation of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese and a perfect solution to a financial problem.

Gao Pian is obviously a novice in the financial field. Below we will do a simple analysis to help him recognize his mistakes.

In fact, the reason for the emergence of "short money" is very simple, that is, there is a shortage of currency in circulation in the market. With the prosperity of the economy, there is a lack of sufficient currency in the market, which cannot match the rapid development of the economy. Note that it is not a lack of purchasing power, but a lack of currency in circulation. This is what we now know as "money shortage" and deflation.

"Money shortage" is not a new concept in modern finance. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, ministers had already called this problem "money shortage" in their memorials to the emperor:
"Money is hard to come by, grain and silk are getting cheaper, and people are in dire straits. This is called a money famine."

It’s the same concept as the current “money shortage”.

This has been an eternal problem that has plagued mankind since ancient times. The ancient Chinese people’s high wisdom was perfect in solving this problem: creating virtual currency.

The currently popular concepts of "blockchain" and "virtual currency" are just rehashes of old ideas. The Chinese had already applied them as early as the Han Dynasty.

The specific method is also very simple, that is, everyone agrees to recognize "short money" and jointly stipulates a ratio. For example, "eighty to one hundred", use eighty coins as one hundred coins, and create twenty coins of circulating currency out of thin air. If twenty coins are not enough, then create thirty coins, that is, "seventy to one hundred".

The widespread circulation of this "virtual currency" benefits from official recognition. The government endorses it and also recognizes and uses "short money" in taxation and salary distribution.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Muzong of Tang, it was stipulated that 920 wen should be used as wen. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, it was clearly stipulated that for any commodity transaction exceeding wen, only half of the payment could be made in cash, and the other half could be replaced by a piece of silk, using administrative intervention to force the "short money".

"Duanmo Money" became a legal "virtual currency", effectively alleviating the "money shortage" problem and, to a certain extent, the financial problem of deflation. "Duanmo Money" was simple and easy to use, and had significant effects, so it was used until the early years of the Republic of China. Because metal currency (such as copper) has inherent limitations on metal production, there is an unbreakable ceiling for circulation, and in actual applications, it also has disadvantages such as being inconvenient to carry.

It was not until the widespread use of paper money that "short money" officially withdrew from the stage of history.

It is a pity that the ancient Chinese did not abstract financial issues and did not regard finance as a separate subject. Finance rarely has a place in the classics, history, and miscellaneous books.

Gao Pian, on the other hand, could not possibly understand the profound truth. He only knew that four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, and forty is forty. One thousand wen is one thousand wen, and eight hundred wen is eight hundred wen. How can eight hundred wen be regarded as one thousand wen? Are you trying to cheat? No way! Change it!
Gao Pian was not the first person to abolish "short money". As early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang issued an edict to abolish "short money" and stipulated that "full money" must be used. The result was counterproductive. People hid their money, further tightening the market liquidity and causing a sharp shortage of money. Later, people used 35 coins to represent 100 coins, which was even shorter than before.

History has provided Gao Pian with a lesson. Using crude administrative means that are contrary to objective trends to intervene in the market will only make the market situation worse.

However, Gao Pian repeated the same mistake and caused the economy of the Xichuan region to collapse overnight.

In today's terms, Xichuan's stock market, bond market, futures market, foreign exchange market... all collapsed, triggering systemic financial risks overnight, artificially causing deflation, and Xichuan's economy returned to prehistoric civilization.

Xichuan was hit by a severe economic depression. The people could hardly guarantee their basic living needs and were in dire straits. "Money was scarce, grain and silk were as cheap as dirt, and the tea and salt markets were deserted."

Gao Pian adopted a high-pressure policy of harsh laws and severe punishments, attempting to continue using administrative means to force the economy back on track. His idea was fanciful, brutal and ruthless.

The economic crisis has caused complaints from the people of Bashu.

There is also a historical legacy in the area: the last time (870) Nanzhao invaded, the former Luzhou governor Yang Qingfu recruited a death squad to resist Nanzhao. Anyone who joined the death squad was promoted and given corresponding treatment. This is how a group of brave warriors were recruited to defend Chengdu at all costs, and finally won the Chengdu Defense War.

After Gao Pian took office, he confiscated the letters of appointment of the death squad and cancelled their positions and benefits, citing the financial constraints and empty treasury as the reason.

They risked their lives and survived near-death experiences to receive this treatment. This is a promise made by court officials, it represents the government, and it is legal.

I would like to ask Gao Pian, if we need a suicide squad again in the future, who will believe your promise?
Gao Pian's reasoning was simple. "That was Yang Qingfu's promise to you, not me. Go ask him for the money. I won't take over and I won't acknowledge this debt."

The Suicide Squad was furious. We were tricked!

As a result, the local troops also began to resent Gao Pian.

Next, Gao Pian has a third move:
He ordered the roster of officials under the jurisdiction of Xichuan to be brought, and he worked tirelessly to carefully review the mountain of personnel files. All those who were promoted from "clerks" to "officials" were dismissed.

Officials are official civil servants who have passed the imperial examinations; clerks are temporary workers who do not have any special requirements such as academic qualifications. Usually, clerks cannot become officials.

However, due to the special situation of Xichuan, which was frequently invaded by Nanzhao, some officials were promoted to officials during the war. This was a historical legacy and a special situation in a specific historical period. The court also recognized it.

However, Gao Pian refused to acknowledge any of them and dismissed them all. He said, "A temporary worker is a temporary worker, a non-staff worker is a non-staff worker, four is four, ten is ten..."

The local people were dissatisfied with him, the local army was dissatisfied with him, and the local officials were dissatisfied with him.

It can be said that Gao Pian, who had just been parachuted into Xichuan, had lost his foothold in Xichuan.

Danger was approaching step by step, but Gao Pian was completely unaware.

(End of this chapter)