Chinese New Year

Chapter 1437 Sample
In mid-September, the first batch of military reports, delivered by messengers at great personal risk, finally arrived in Shuofang County.

Shao Xun was at this moment climbing the Gaoque Old Fortress, overlooking the magnificent scenery.

Through the mountain passes, one battalion after another of warriors marched south, returning to Henan.

They had just finished their military training exercise on the grasslands.

Tribes from near and far came, tens of thousands of people gathered to hunt gazelles, foxes, rabbits, boars, and deer.

Shao Xun gave away a large amount of silk and received countless prey, including several golden eagles. It felt like he could set up an eagle farm to raise eagles for amusement.

In high spirits, he also went down to the field to ride and shoot, hitting more than ten prey, which drew cheers from the Hu and Han soldiers. But as one knows, the aging of one's physical functions is inevitable; after all, he was fifty-three years old.

If he hadn't been the emperor, but a military general, perhaps he could have been like Li Siyuan, who at the age of fifty, facing an overwhelming Khitan cavalry, cursed loudly, threw his helmet to the ground, spurred his horse into the enemy ranks, and with his iron mace in hand, swept away all who stood in his way, capturing a troop commander alive before returning.

But he eventually became emperor, and his martial arts training became less regular. Moreover, he couldn't see through the illusions of women and couldn't resist their allure, losing much of his vitality in their deceit.

We need to change this in the future!

However, when he turned around and saw the beautiful women behind him, each dressed in either pure white or fiery red fur coats, their faces flushed, he forgot all his previous thoughts and pulled Zhuge Wenbao into his arms, feeling extremely satisfied.

The young woman was twenty-three years old. She cried out in pain the first time she was with her, but now she had developed a mature and alluring charm that was incredibly tempting. However, even Zhuge Wenbiao was somewhat dissatisfied, which made Shao Xun suspect that the two sisters were about to turn against each other.

"Your Majesty..." Zhuge Wenbao seemed oblivious to his sister's displeased gaze, and softly called out.

The other concubines all looked over and covered their mouths, giggling softly.

Shao Xun released his grip.

The pack of she-wolves was becoming increasingly difficult to handle, so he took a few steps outside and asked Shao Zhen to fetch the military report, which he then studied repeatedly.

The Southern Route Army has now arrived in Khotan and is stationed outside the city.

They encountered a sandstorm on the way, got lost briefly, and almost perished.

When they were almost at Khotan, Commander Li Bai fell seriously ill. The generals all discussed turning back, but Li Bai insisted on advancing despite his illness and finally reached Khotan.

King Yuchi Poluo of Khotan led a group of vassal city-states to surrender and handed over the banners and insignia of all dynasties since the Han Dynasty. Li Bai bestowed upon him new banners and insignia, as well as the gold seal and purple ribbon of "King of Khotan, Upholding Righteousness" from the Liang Dynasty.

Shao Xun was quite pleased to see this news.

Khotan was a large country, weaker than Kucha but stronger than Yanqi. Their surrender meant that the entire southern route had changed hands—the southern route actually consisted of only Shanshan and Khotan.

In his report, Li Bai stated that once he recovered somewhat from his illness, he would conscript troops from Khotan to sweep through the surrounding areas and force them all to submit.

Shao Xun was quite impressed; he seemed very energetic!

To be honest, he benefited from the Han Dynasty; otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to win over people with only three thousand soldiers.

In addition, the actions of the Liang Dynasty were also a way of maintaining this system of tributary relations. Perhaps when a later dynasty reclaimed the Western Regions, it would also feel that it had benefited from the Liang Dynasty's policies.

It has been stable generation after generation, that's just how it is.

Besides the Southern Route Army, another detachment was the Northern Route Army led by Zheng Long. They numbered only 20,000 cavalry, yet they advanced with overwhelming force, stirring up countless bloody storms.

The rise of the Rouran was probably interrupted by him. With this westward flight, the tribal alliance that Yujiulü had painstakingly built was crumbling. At least the tribes in the northern desert would become disloyal. Perhaps some "fools" would still listen to Yujiulü, but his prestige had been greatly diminished, and his words would certainly not carry as much weight as before.

Besides Zheng Long, some nobles from the Tuoba Xianbei also privately wrote to Shao Xun, requesting that troops be sent to the northern desert to eradicate evil completely.

Shao Xun has not yet replied. We can consider this matter in the future, but not now.

The Rouran originated in the northern desert and expanded westward into the Western Regions. Their current pattern is to graze their livestock in the western part of the northern desert during the summer and migrate south to the eastern part of the Western Regions in the autumn. After this tribe was driven out, there is no possibility of unification between the southern and northern deserts in the short term.

A dynasty with a fragmented grassland neighbor must have been incredibly fortunate.

Compared to the two flanking forces, the main force in the central route spent most of its time traveling. By mid-August, Yang Qin's troops had only reached Jiaohe and Gaochang, and it was still unknown when they would engage Yanqi.

Shao Xun thought for a moment and realized that if Yanqi did not surrender, Yingcheng would be difficult to conquer if it held firm.

If he were to take command, the best approach would be to seize the local people from the oases and force them to fill in the ditches. If they rely on Yang Qin's small force and try to launch a direct assault, they might only be able to capture Yanqi before running out of steam.

Of course, he didn't need to teach me this; it was all just basic practice.

"Your Majesty, please teach me archery!" A soft voice called out from not far away.

Shao Xun snapped out of his daze and saw Zhuge Wenbao holding a small bow, looking pitiful. He immediately went over to him.

Wen Bao is currently very popular, and Shao Xun still dotes on her. So he came up behind her and patiently taught her—or rather, flirted with her.

The other women couldn't bear to watch any longer, so they all went off in groups to admire the magnificent scenery of the grassland.

******
By late September, Shao Xun was already preparing to leave Shuofang County.

This prefecture was a tributary prefecture, and its governor was He Xi Ti Ren, who came from Nuozhen Shuicha. It had two counties and a registered population of over 10,000, but in reality, the number was far greater because the population of many tribes could not be accurately counted.

Shao Xun has taken the matter of checking household registrations in stride.

After all, in the 21st century, the household registration system is not accurate in most countries of the world, let alone now.

The actual population of Shuofang County should be around 20,000, but reporting more than 10,000 is already quite generous.

However, Shao Xun had a secret weapon against them.

He has ordered the Imperial Household Department to survey the banks of the Yellow River and its tributaries, plan the public land for digging ditches, and then build water pumps to facilitate farmland irrigation. As the saying goes, the Yellow River brings a hundred harms, but benefits only the Hetao Plain. The essence of the Hetao Plain lies in the former, latter, and western plains, with the northern part being the latter, where agricultural conditions are self-evident.

I don't believe you barbarians won't be attracted by the profits of farming. Even as a supplement to herding, it would greatly improve your living standards and significantly enhance your ability to withstand natural disasters.

However, a complete shift to agriculture was neither realistic nor necessary. In fact, until the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, the area still practiced a combination of farming and animal husbandry. The Tanguts, Uyghurs, and Turks did everything, but none of them were purely engaged in farming, because a single agricultural model was too risky.

"I don't know why, but I really like this place." On the earthen platform by the Yellow River, thousands of soldiers and civilians were busy building the granary city and the river wharf. Shao Xun had a felt carpet laid out, sat down, and said casually.

"You won't like it after living here for a while," Shan Yinan said, sitting next to Shao Xun and smoothing her wind-blown hair.

"What's wrong? Not happy?" Shao Xun chuckled.

Shan Yinan nodded frankly and said, "I feel a little uncomfortable because you've been telling me stories less often."

Shao Xun smiled like a dog; she has me in her heart...

“Have another child for me,” he said.

Shan Yinan was a little overwhelmed and changed the subject, saying, "Have you thought about what King Zhao has proposed?"

“Oh, that matter? My mind is made up. I will grant you two coin-minting furnaces,” Shao Xun said.

The matter mentioned by Shan Yinan stemmed from a letter he received yesterday: King Zhao requested that silver coins be minted in Gaochang.

Shao Xun casually asked Shan Yinan a few questions, and she said it would be best to ask her aunt, Yang Xianrong. However, Yang Xianrong was too lazy to come; she was probably soaking in the hot springs at Lishan right now, enjoying a carefree life without having to put up with any troubles.

Shan Yinan said that this was feudalism, and Gaochang was also a vassal state of Daliang, so it was forbidden to privately mint coins.

Shao Xun agreed wholeheartedly, but he was also very willing to support Sanlang's idea. So he bestowed two mints upon him, allowing him to create a silver coin design. This silver coin would become the legal tender of the Great Liang Dynasty, although it was highly unlikely that many would be minted in the Central Plains. This new silver coin would most likely only circulate in the Western Regions.

"It seems you've made your decision. What more can I say?" Shan Yinan said.

Shi Meiren cautiously approached with two little followers and brought them some tea.

Shan Yinan glanced at the three of them. Shi avoided her gaze, while Ying and Wang lowered their heads guiltily.

The Empress's power was formidable, and while Consort Shi was not afraid, the two women were.

The harem of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which consisted of only a few people, has now been divided into three factions.

There are three factions: the Zhuge sisters, the Shi Meiren faction, and Shan Yinan's own faction. Shan Yinan used to be very popular, but recently the Zhuge sisters have been the most popular.

Not far from where they were sitting, Duan, who had given birth to a son for Shao Xun, gradually resigned herself to her fate. She was part of a faction with her daughter-in-law Kezhuhun, her sister-in-law Murong, Gao, and Gongsun. They were numerous and powerful and should not be underestimated, because Shao Xun actually dared to share a bed with Duan and spend the night with her.

As for the other minor factions, they are no match for them.

“If Sanlang can revitalize Gaochang through minting coins, I will definitely have him write down the details of the process and his insights, and send them to Luoyang for the Crown Prince to see,” Shao Xun said.

In fact, he had already replied to the third son and offered some practical suggestions.

For example, he suggested setting up an institution like a "currency exchange" in Gaochang, which would not recognize foreign silver coins brought by merchants from the Western Regions, and would not recognize silverware either.

To do business in Gaochang, one must first exchange silver bars, silver ingots, silverware, and even various gold and silver coins for silver coins minted locally in Gaochang before they can be used.

There's a prerequisite here: you need to determine the purity of the gold and silver in the hands of the foreign merchants, and then determine an exchange rate.

During the Renaissance, Europe was filled with city-states, each minting its own silver coins. They also did not recognize the currencies of other city-states circulating within their own territories—though they certainly circulated privately, they were officially suppressed.

A foreign merchant ship sailed by, carrying a lot of foreign silver coins. The first thing to do was to exchange them at the currency exchange. At that time, a random inspection and testing method was used to determine the purity of the silver coins and to give the exchange rate.

Over time, people get a general idea of ​​what each country's currency is like. In Amsterdam, where the financial industry is highly developed, exchange rates for various currencies are regularly provided, making it the most authoritative data and saving a lot of testing steps.

Later, when news spread that France had begun minting inferior silver coins due to the war, the exchange rate of the French livre in the Amsterdam market immediately plummeted.

Countries were vying to mint silver coins and trying every means to prevent foreign silver coins from circulating within their borders. They also prohibited the circulation of silver bars, ingots, bricks, and beans, all for the purpose of seigniorage.

To put it simply, currency is a general equivalent, and using gold and silver as currency is already quite generous. Unfair currency would be paper money, or even something like the Jiangnan merchants during the Yuan Dynasty who amassed huge profits by trading seashells in Yunnan, nearly causing the province's economy to collapse.

Shao Xun's advice to his son was to let him have some seigniorage income, even if it was not much money, but he should have a concept of it.

Furthermore, the prevalence of Persian silver coins in the Western Regions didn't look good on them.

In addition, the price ratio of gold, silver, and copper should also be noted.

The price ratio of gold, silver, and copper varies between different countries and even between different regions within the same country.

Compared to foreign countries, gold was cheap and silver was expensive in ancient China for a long time. Most of the time, the gold-silver ratio was within 1:10, with 1:5 being the most common, and even 1:2 was not uncommon.

But other places are different, which creates arbitrage opportunities.

It's just that the maritime industry wasn't developed then, making it difficult to do. But historically, during the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch bought large quantities of copper in Japan to use as ballast for their ships back to Europe, and also bought gold in the Ming Dynasty, and even bought copper coins in the Ming Dynasty to sell to Annam and Japan. In short, they made a fortune by taking advantage of the interest rate differences on precious metals in different countries, truly obsessed with money.

Shao Xun has a wealth of ideas on how to transform the country through finance and commerce, but due to practical limitations, it is difficult to achieve. Gaochang is a good local example, and he will observe it for a long time.

At the end of September, he left Shuofang and returned to Guanzhong via Hexi.

Meanwhile, Yang Qin's vanguard cavalry also arrived near Kucha, conducting reconnaissance and harassment while quietly awaiting the arrival of the main force.

(End of this chapter)