Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 298 Seeking Truth from Facts
“Buying a horse again?”

In early September, when Bai Minzhong collapsed at home due to a cold, Liu Jilian in the Longyou Protectorate also learned of Gao Pian's desire to purchase horses.

In Liu Jilong's opinion, most of the mules and horses had been sold, except for more than a thousand left for breeding, the rest were gone.

Facing his doubts, Gao Jinda took the initiative to explain:
"The person who came is Liang Zhan again, but this time he wants to buy military horses and riding horses."

"Haha..." Liu Jilong sneered.

He himself did not have enough of both types of horses, both military horses and riding horses, and even if he had enough, he would not sell them to Gao Pian.

The reason why mules and horses were sold in the past was mainly because they did not have much impact on the war, but military horses are different from riding horses.

The horses in Longyou are tall, and the size of the riding horses is comparable to the military horses of the Uighurs, Tatars, and Tibetans.

Although there is no shortage of horses for today's grand ceremonies, most of the horses used are Tibetan horses.

If Liu Jilian sold the Longyou riding horses to Gao Pian, Gao Pian could immediately use the riding horses as military horses, which would have a great impact on the war.

If Gao Pian were allowed to end the war quickly, how could he use the war to seize the population of Xichuan?
Not to mention that the longer the war between the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao lasts, the closer the death knell of the Tang Dynasty will be.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong decisively rejected this opportunity to make a fortune.

"Tell Liang Zun that we have no riding horses or military horses, but we have enough draft horses, each worth twenty strings of cash."

Liu Jilian's answer was as Gao Jinda expected, but he did not persuade Liu Jilian because the spices from Longyou had just been sold in Chang'an.

The original estimate of 820,000 strings of spices was raised to 930,000 strings because the palace stepped up its purchases of spices.

However, the situation in Chang'an was similar to what they expected. Few people were willing to sell their gold, and they only exchanged more than 7,000 taels of gold.

Because of this, it becomes somewhat difficult for tooth merchants to return to Longyou.

Two horse-drawn carriages were enough for more than 7,000 taels of gold, but more than 800,000 strings of copper coins would require 7,000 to 8,000 horse-drawn carriages to transport.

With such a large amount of money being transported, who knows if anyone would take the risk.

Thinking of this, Gao Jinda said to Liu Jilong: "General, the 840,000 strings of cash we have in Guanzhong..."

"Bring the gold back first." Liu Jilong ordered:
"Also, you arrange for Yu Conghui, Wang Tao, Ren Ze and other ivory merchants to go to Chang'an and take away these copper coins in batches."

"It's hard to take copper coins with you, so let's buy some goods."

"With so many caravans under their command, they can be divided into 100 groups, each carrying money to Hedong, Hebei, Henan, Shannan, Jiannan and other roads. It will be very easy to deal with them."

Liu Jilong gave a plan, and Gao Jinda nodded and said, "Then should we still purchase the original 300,000 tons of goods this time?"

"How many copper coins are left in the treasury?" Liu Jilong did not answer directly, but first asked about Longyou's own situation.

Faced with the question, Gao Jinda just pondered for a moment, and then replied: "Two hundred and forty thousand strings of cash, basically all left over from last year."

"In addition, there are more than 187,000 kilograms of copper ingots that have not been used to mint coins, which can be used to mint about 27,000 strings of coins."

With the correct adjustment of the proportion of black gunpowder, Longyou's mining technology and capabilities have basically approached that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There are quite a few copper mines in Longyou, at least in this era.

Because of this, the amount of copper ingots mined each year reaches more than 600,000 kilograms, which can be used to make nearly 100,000 strings of coins.

This is because the quality of the copper ore discovered in Longyou is not high. If the quality is higher, perhaps more can be produced.

"It would be great if I could get the big gift..."

After hearing Gao Jinda's description of their copper production and coin minting, Liu Jilong's mind inevitably flew to the great gift thousands of miles away.

With the mining technology mastered by Longyou, if they could win the great gift, they could harvest tens of thousands of taels of silver and millions of kilograms of copper every year, which could be used to make tens or even millions of strings of money.

For the Central Plains dynasty with a huge population, this amount of copper production was not enough to cover the monetary growth brought about by the annual increase in population.

The gold and silver from the great voyages of discovery led to inflation in Europe because the population was too small and the market size was too small.

In the Central Plains Dynasty, this amount of gold and silver input was nothing compared to the population of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Of course, when it comes to mineral deposits, Japan, which currently has a population of only a few million, is undoubtedly the place closest to the Central Plains Dynasty and has the largest silver reserves.

But those were too far away. Although Liu Jilong was still young, facing the upcoming chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty, he didn't know whether he could finish what he wanted to do within his limited life.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong's thoughts gradually flew away.

A few days later, Liang Zun in Pandi County, Wuzhou, also got the news...

"Not selling?"

Liang Zun's face turned dark, thinking that it was just as the commander had expected.

However, after hearing the offer for the draft horses from the Longyou officials, Liang Zun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, the commander had anticipated this. With the money we brought, we can buy enough draft horses."

"But if you can, you still need to work hard..."

After his thoughts came to an end, Liang Zun looked at the person in front of him.

Wang Sifeng, the governor of Wuzhou, looked ordinary at first glance, but his solid physique and age of thirty showed his ability.

Although the Longyou Army was mostly run by young and strong men, people like Wang Sifeng who served as a provincial governor at around 30 years old were still a minority after all.

Wuzhou is a county on the commercial route of Longyou facing Shannan West Road and Jiannan Road, so Liu Jilian would not choose an ordinary person to guard it.

"Envoy Wang, my commander ordered me to buy military horses and horses for riding. Commander Liu will have to sell some anyway, so let me complete the task."

"If I can buy a few riding horses or military horses to deal with, I am willing to buy a large number of draft horses."

Liang Zun discussed with Wang Sifeng who was sitting opposite him, but Wang Sifeng poured tea slowly and then said:
"This is the military order of my commander-in-chief. Not only me, but even Envoy Chen, Envoy Zhang, and Envoy Li would not dare to disobey."

"but……"

Wang Sifeng paused, then refilled Liang Zun's cup of tea and said with a smile, "If the number of draft horses purchased is large enough, it is not impossible to sell some riding horses."

He didn't mention military horses, which means there's no hope for them.

However, for Liang Zun, the horses from Longyou were also considered to be extraordinary horses.

If you bring them to the army and feed them well, they can also be used as military horses.

"To be honest, my lord, we are in need of horses in Dongchuan. We need both riding horses and draft horses."

"If I can buy a thousand riding horses, I will buy seven thousand draft horses."

"For the price of the horse, I am willing to pay this amount..."

Liang Zun showed four fingers, representing the number forty.

You have to know that a few years ago, even military horses could not be sold for this amount, and a riding horse would only be a dozen strings of cash.

Nowadays, there is chaos everywhere and trade routes are blocked, which leads to the high price of horses.

In the past, even if Longyou did not sell horses, Liang Zun could go to the Shuofang Army to buy horses.

But the problem is that with Liu Jilian's expulsion of the Liangzhou Uighurs and Ganzhou Uighurs, Shuofang Town lost the opportunity to trade with the Hu people.

If you want to buy horses now, you can only go to Tiande Army, Zhenwu Army, Datong Army and Youzhou Town to buy Turkic horses and Tatar horses.

Turkic and Tatar horses are very strong but not very tall.

The Hu people only knew how to raise horses, but they did not have the resources to raise military horses. Only the Han people had the resources to train military horses.

Because of this, the Hu people only had a lot of horses, but their military horses still had to rely on the vassal states such as Hexi, Longyou and Youzhou.

Even vassal states like Tiande, Zhenwu and Datong did not have enough resources to raise too many military horses.

Hexi and Longyou are in collusion with each other. If Longyou does not sell, Hexi will definitely not sell either, and he cannot go to Hexi.

If you don't buy horses from Helong, you can only go to Youzhou Town to buy horses.

The journey to Youzhou is long, and it may take two years before we return.

With the speed at which the emperor is replacing military governors now, Liang Zun doesn't know who he will buy a horse for when the time comes.

So as long as we can buy a good horse, we have to pay no matter how high the price is...

"If this is the number, I can ask the next section commander..."

Wang Sifeng glanced at the amount he offered, then nodded and looked at the Chief Secretary of Wuzhou not far away.

"Dou Changshi, send a fast horse to tell the commander about this matter."

"Yes!" Dou Changshi bowed in response, and Wang Sifeng also looked at Liang Zun:
"I have already ordered the chef to prepare the meal, and I would like to invite Liang Yaya to stay for the feast."

"Obedience is worse than respect." Liang Zun responded with a smile, feeling aggrieved in his heart.

An hour later, Liang Zun, having eaten and drunk his fill, walked out of the Pandi County Government Office and rode his foreign horse.

Although it was also a military horse, this foreign horse was still slightly inferior to the horses ridden by the elite cavalry from Longyou who were patrolling the city. While thinking, Liang Zun kept looking at Pandi County while leaving the city and returning to the camp.

In an era when ordinary people lived in mud houses with thatched roofs, there were too many brick and tile houses in Longyou.

Even in a county town like Pandi with a population of less than 10,000, most of the houses on both sides of the main roads are brick and tile houses.

However, if you look closely at the alleys along the main road, you can still see many thatched-roof earthen houses.

Liang Zun carefully observed the faces of the people on the streets of Pandi County and felt that each of them was full of vigor and smiles.

This kind of appearance is hard to find in other places.

Even in the wealthy capital area, most people have pale faces and thin bodies, while the people of Pandi are strong and robust.

If Liang Zun was still observing with a scrutinizing gaze, then the dozen or so cavalry and infantrymen behind him were observing with envy.

Except for the more than 3,000 guards who followed Gao Pian from Lingnan Road, most of the other more than 30,000 new and old soldiers in the Dongchuan army chose to join the army because they could not survive.

During the few days they stayed in Pandi, they learned about the prices in Pandi and were very envious.

With their annual military pay of twenty strings of cash, they could save up enough money for a few years to buy dozens of acres of private land in Pandi, build a brick and tile courtyard house with two entrances and exits, and become a wealthy family.

But if you were outside, even in the Taiping area in the north of Dongchuan, you could only buy a dozen acres of land, build a thatched-roof earthen house with two entrances and exits, and become a rich farmer.

Rich peasants and wealthy households, the former still need to work physically, while the latter only need to collect rent.

Compared with the war-torn outside world and soaring prices, Longyou was like a paradise, which made people like them who came from poor backgrounds very yearning for it.

Pandi County was not big, with a circumference of only two and a half miles, and it was built on a narrow river valley, so Liang Zun and his party quickly walked out of the county.

When they walked out of the city gate and crossed the stone bridge over the moat, as far as their eyes could see were the farmlands extending southward along the mountains and the Qiang River.

Pandi has a dangerous terrain and a small amount of arable land. The same is true for Fujin County in the middle reaches, but Jiangli County in the upper reaches has a sufficiently flat river valley.

Six out of ten of the arable land in Wuzhou are in Jiangli County.

Because of this, nearly half of the more than 30,000 people in Wuzhou live in Jiangli County, 30% live in Pandi County, and 20% live in Fujin County.

Now is the autumn harvest season, so the grain from Jiangli County is being shipped down the Qiang River by boat, creating a spectacular scene.

Liang Zun and others were walking on the official road and could see Pandijin not far away.

Although it is called "Tianjin", its scale is comparable to that of a market town.

The main reason why Pandi, with its small land area and large population, still has so many people is Pandi Jin.

There is a heavily guarded dock next to Pantijin, where hundreds of boatmen build ships. The grain ships that arrive at Pantijin every day need to be transported to the Changping Warehouse in the city by porters and coachmen.

These efforts have enabled thousands of people in the city to live and work in peace and contentment.

As for the other people, most of them had someone in their family joining the army and they had to support the entire family.

With this division of labor, nearly 10,000 people in Pandi County were able to make a living, and they lived well, which made outsiders envious...

"Are there more refugees coming?"

In the team, a captain behind Liang Zun couldn't help but speak. Upon hearing this, Liang Zun looked into the distance.

But I saw a row of thatched huts built beside the official road in the distance, and a large number of people were gathered in front of the huts.

When they approached, more than ten armored soldiers were maintaining order, and seven or eight officers were in charge of registering people in the straw hut.

What they were facing was a group of refugees numbering three to four hundred people.

These refugees were dressed in rags and had unusually large bellies, but where their bones were visible they were extremely skinny and their cheeks were deeply sunken.

People like this either eat too much Guanyin soil and tree bark, or have worms in their stomachs.

Seeing Liang Zun's Dongchuan soldiers, the refugees became a little agitated. But when they saw that Liang Zun and his men did not do anything to them, they gradually calmed down and lined up obediently.

Even a blind person can see that these people most likely escaped from Dongchuan. However, Dongchuan now needs help from Longyou, so naturally they cannot make things difficult for them.

What's more, even if they were brought back to Dongchuan, Dongchuan now does not have the surplus food and energy to settle them down.

However, their appearance gave Liang Zun a means to counterattack Longyou.

Liang Zun turned to look at a captain behind him and instructed him:
"Go tell Envoy Wang that we encountered people similar to those from Dongchuan fleeing on the road. Please identify them carefully."

"Yes..." The captain didn't understand, but still turned his horse around and galloped towards Pandi City.

A quarter of an hour later, Liang Zan's words were reported to the captain, and Wang Sifeng did not make things difficult for him.

"This Liang Zun seems to be planning to use the matter of the refugees from Dongchuan as an excuse to exchange for a horse."

"Don't worry about it, just report to the commander!"

Dou Changshi was worried, but Wang Sifeng didn't care.

It is true that Dongchuan has the ability to stop the refugees from fleeing north, but if the refugees have nowhere to go and gradually gather in various counties in Dongchuan, Gao Pian of Dongchuan will not be in a good situation either.

If tens of thousands of refugees without means of livelihood riot, he will then have to face internal and external troubles.

In a disguised way, Longyou's move to appease refugees also helped the government offices in Xichuan, Dongchuan, Shannan West and other places.

As long as they pacify the refugees, they will have a goal and a place to go, and will not gather in various states and counties to cause riots.

If there had not been Longyou's appeasement, these refugees would have gathered in the mountains and become bandits.

At that time, troops from each town will be needed to go out of the city to suppress the rebellion, and rewards and food supplies will be inevitable.

Whether it is Lu Jun, Xiahou Zi, Cui Shenyou, or the current Gao Pian, Lu Jun, and Cui Xuan who will take office in the future, they all understand this truth.

As for the refugees fleeing to Longyou, will Longyou become stronger as a result?

That is the court's business, they only need to take care of their own little piece of land.

The reason they had such thoughts was that they saw the situation deteriorate and gradually developed other thoughts.

However, their thoughts are actually very beneficial to the development of Longyou.

What Wang Sifeng could see, Liu Jilong could naturally see as well.

"Don't worry, they don't dare to do anything to the refugees..."

As the news from Wuzhou was delivered to the Protectorate, Liu Jilong, who was handling government affairs in the central hall with Liu Bilie, also told Gao Jinda and Cui Shu about his thoughts.

"Aye, what are refugees?"

The four-year-old Liu Bilie looked up at his father, while Liu Jilian was holding him in one hand and holding the letter sent from Wuzhou in the other.

Seeing Liu Bilie asking, Liu Jilong also looked down at him: "A group of poor people who are oppressed by officials."

"Poor guy..." Liu Bilie blinked, obviously not understanding what this meant.

In response, Liu Jilong patted him gently and said in a gentle tone: "In this kind of weather, if they have no food to eat, no clothes to wear, and someone beats them, do you think they are pitiful?"

"Is this what pity means?" Liu Bilie seemed to understand, then echoed:

"They are really pitiful, why doesn't Aye give them clothes and food?"

Liu Bilie was too young and he couldn't even tell the difference between Longyou and the world.

In his eyes, the world seemed to only have Didao City, and he did not see such pitiful people in Didao City.

So after hearing Liu Jilong talk about the pitiful side of this group of people, he felt that it was his own father who didn't care about them.

"My dear, those people are not under the jurisdiction of the military commander. Even if the military commander wants to distribute clothes and food, he has no place to distribute them."

Gao Jinda liked Liu Bilie very much, so he tried to explain to him with a smile.

However, Liu Bilie was too young to understand what this meant, so he could only look at Aye and say, "When will they be under your control, Aye?"

Liu Jilong took a deep breath and said, "Soon. In two years, they will be under Aye's care."

"If Aye takes care of them, they won't starve, right?"

Liu Bilie smiled, and Liu Jilong nodded: "With Aye here, they won't go hungry."

“But if Aye is gone, will they starve when it’s your turn to take care of them?”

Liu Bilie quickly shook his head: "No, I have a lot of food. I will eat half of it and share the rest with them."

In Liu Bilie's understanding, "refugees" are not a group, but an individual.

If he is willing to share half, then this person will not starve.

Liu Jilong looked at him, gently put his arm around his shoulders, and said in a complicated tone:

"I hope you can keep your promise..."

(End of this chapter)