Chapter 338: Brother Ji's Iron Fist

Early that morning, in Chang'an's Taiping Fang, the line of people had already stretched onto Chunming Gate Street, and it kept getting longer.

These people were all there to queue to exchange Chang'an Jiaozi for silk.

But rumors said that if you were just an ordinary person, no matter how early you got up to queue, you would never get to the front!

Many who didn't believe it tried, and indeed it was so.

However, privately there were many "middlemen" and "scalpers" who would suddenly approach queue‑liners and tell them that they could take Chang'an Jiaozi and half the amount of cloth by face value, and exchange it for an equal amount of Hexi Jiaozi.

Hexi Jiaozi could be freely exchanged for silk, and how they handled it was irrelevant.

Of course, if the Hexi Treasury's storeroom ran out, one would have to wait, but it could eventually be obtained.

At first glance, this seemed to lose half the wealth. In reality, shops selling cloth in Chang'an have basically stopped accepting Chang'an Jiaozi. Even many other businesses refuse it whenever they can!

Many merchants hold piles of Chang'an Jiaozi in their hands and simply cannot spend them!

Why is this happening?

Because the court's reputation is terrible; it had promised to exchange silk at a one‑to‑one face‑value rate. When the time came, either there was no stock, or the cloth was of such poor quality that it was unusable.

The unspeakable fact is that officials and nobles have been manipulating this trade; after the first batch of silk reserve was exhausted, the second batch was far smaller and could no longer meet daily exchanges.

Heaven knows how many Chang'an Jiaozi the court actually printed! The cost of these is almost nil! The second batch of Jiaozi was huge, far more than the first, yet the reserve for the second batch turned out to be even smaller than the first!

But within just a few months, the circulation of Chang'an Jiaozi already showed problems, far worse than Fang Chongyong had originally estimated.

Moreover, the disadvantage of silk as a monetary equivalent is now becoming evident.

Gold and silver are judged only by purity, not by quality. Silk, however, is graded by quality, and sometimes the grades are hard to distinguish. Even abundant low‑grade cloth is unwanted by officials; they only want the value‑preserving "Jiaozi" and do not wish to exchange for silk.

In other words, this "silk‑based gold" also comes in tiers, with the possibility of inferior cloth passing as superior.

All this has sown a hidden risk for the current difficulty in exchanging Chang'an Jiaozi.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

"Market closed today! Market closed today! Time's up! No need to queue!"

A low‑ranking clerk lifted a gong and drum, shouting hoarsely.

He walked along the queue, beating the gong and shouting. Those who heard his call looked as if they had lost their parents.

The court's window for exchanging silk is getting shorter! It used to be two shi (two hours), now it's barely over one shi!

"Everyone, I see many silks still in the shop; we go in, take them, and leave. Dropping the Jiaozi on the counter doesn't count as looting!

With many of us, the authorities won't prosecute!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

"Grab!"

"Give me back my hard‑earned money!"

"Charge in, we have numbers, go for it!"

Rioters emerged from the queue, a large crowd pushed aside the Jinwu guards maintaining order, broke through the blockade into the Jiaozi‑exchange shop, with a reckless mindset, grabbed the cloth and bolted.

Put the Jiaozi on the counter?

Heh, since I can get it for zero yuan, why spend money? Even if Chang'an Jiaozi is hard to use and many places don't accept it, it's still money!

Because the crowd of looters was too large and Taiping Fang is cramped, the in‑and‑out crowd shoved each other, and soon chaos erupted with cries and wails. As for the few Jinwu guards, seeing the situation turn bad, they ran off to beat people!

"Jinwu Guard on duty, all civilians step aside!"

A booming shout rang from afar!

Left Jinwu Guard Zhonglangjiang Zhang Guangsheng, leading over a hundred Jinwu guards, ran from the southern city to Taiping Fang near the Imperial City's Zhuque Gate; upon arrival they were panting. Seeing the explosive looting scene before him, Zhang Guangsheng had no idea how to bring it to an end.

During his patrol of Chang'an's outer city, such a huge incident occurred, and a tirade of scolding was inevitable.

"Grab everyone holding cloth, release the others!"

Zhang Guangsheng shouted decisively!

Behind him, Jinwu guards wielding sticks, like herding ducks, dispersed the crowd. After the uninvolved people left, a dozen or so bodies, bloodied and mangled, lay on the ground, their fate unclear.

Someone still clutched a roll of silk tightly in their arms, others were clearly children, and the ground was splattered with gruesome blood stains.

Zhang Guangsheng looked at the captured people not far away, perhaps dozens, all caught red‑handed.

But more fled in the chaos; catching them was as hard as climbing to heaven.

The robbery of the Chang'an Jiaozi shop would soon become known throughout the city, inevitably sparking a new wave of queues for silk. A great upheaval seemed unavoidable.

Zhang Guangsheng recalled that Fang Chongyong had once told him about this phenomenon, called "jì duì", and the situation was extremely dire.

"Langjiang Zhang"

Suddenly, a voice with a smile sounded in Zhang Guangsheng's ear; he turned and saw a young official in a scarlet robe, chubby and pale.

"Ah, it's Sicao Liu!"

Zhang Guangsheng "suddenly understood", and pretended not to know why the person had come.

In fact, the Sicao named Liu Yan, who was the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Revenue's "Jiaozi Department", oversaw the issuance of Chang'an Jiaozi.

He bears responsibility for today's chaos; his visit here is indeed a matter of official duty.

At this moment, Liu Yan felt no embarrassment, while Zhang Guangsheng felt extremely awkward.

"Langjiang Zhang, what do you think of the Chang'an Jiaozi?"

Liu Yan asked calmly, without a hint of emotion.

Zhang Guangsheng, without thinking, patted his head and replied, "Who would use that bird thing!"

He immediately regretted saying it, for it was undeniably slapping Liu Yan in the face.

"Langjiang Zhang need not worry; I myself use Hexi Jiaozi daily, after all this kind of Jiaozi holds its value, so I don't have to trouble myself."

"Although the Chang'an Jiaozi is under my direct control, I don't, like others, constantly receive heavy gifts, so I cannot go without Hexi Jiaozi. On the day my salary is disbursed, I will use my position to exchange Chang'an Jiaozi for Hexi Jiaozi."

"I can understand your thinking, Langjiang Zhang."

Liu Yan said with a smiling grin, very talkative, and made no attempt to avoid that "public secret".

Chang'an jiaozi have been issued for several months, already depreciated by half, still depreciating, and no one can endure this speed.

So on the day the court distributes salaries, almost all officials simultaneously spend their Chang'an jiaozi. They are officials, so they don't need to, like merchants, pay a piece of silk as a "handling fee" to exchange for Hexi jiaozi; there are officials who "reclaim" the Chang'an jiaozi in their hands.

Officials "lead by example"; it is a grave crime to be the first not to use Chang'an jiaozi. But holding Chang'an jiaozi makes it impossible to maintain a respectable life, forcing one to be corrupt, accept bribes to get by.

Liu Yan does not want to take bribes, so he uses his connections to exchange Chang'an jiaozi for Hexi jiaozi. This is also a flexible maneuver "within the system".

"The chaos of Chang'an jiaozi, Liu Si Cao, won't you do something about it?"

Zhang Guangsheng asked, a little confused.

Even a fool can see that Chang'an jiaozi has a big problem!

"Someone suggested that I, the official, submit a memorial to the Sage to reclaim the issuance right of Hexi jiaozi, and I refused. Do you know why?"

Liu Yan did not answer directly, but talked about Hexi jiaozi; his words today seemed unusually many.

Zhang Guangsheng shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Now the market has two kinds of jiaozi circulating in parallel, and Hexi jiaozi is the one that flows smoothly. But in any case, the court has a substitute, and the common people do too.

If the issuance right of Hexi jiaozi is reclaimed, Hexi jiaozi will soon become the current Chang'an jiaozi.

In that case, wherever jiaozi exist, the market will be in chaos, all trades will wither. If jiaozi one day become waste paper and barter returns, who can bear that responsibility?"

Liu Yan sighed lightly. Many times, policy is just choosing the lesser of two evils; if you're not in that position, you won't know how difficult it is.

Now the Ministry of Revenue's Jiaozi Office and the Hexi Imperial Reporting Office still have some PY transactions, internal "currency swaps", at least guaranteeing that certain people and certain industries within Chang'an city have smooth jiaozi circulation.

For example, officials' salaries can be directly "internally exchanged"; this is already an "open secret".

But if the Ministry of Revenue grabs Hexi jiaozi as well, there will be no alternative, and surely a storm will arise!

Liu Yan is very cautious; Chang'an jiaozi is beyond rescue, so he simply does not rescue it, putting the greater picture first. As long as commercial operations can continue and finances can stay afloat, that's fine.

"Liu Si Cao, you're listening to this big brute ramble on, what good does it do? I can't understand these complicated principles!

I can use money, but I can't print money!"

Zhang Guangsheng asked with a puzzled face.

Liu Yan leaned in, lowered his voice and said:

"I have heard that Officer Zhang has close private ties with Fang Jiedushi. I have a letter here; could you discreetly deliver it to Fang Jiedushi, asking him to help me examine ways to improve the jiaozi.

This Chang'an jiaozi is depreciating too fast; I can't cope any longer. Please, Fang Jiedushi, must help."

After speaking, he pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Guangsheng.

So you also know you're scared!

Zhang Guangsheng gave Liu Yan a strange look; if this man now shouted "Chang'an jiaozi is my doing", he might be beaten to death on the spot.

If Chang'an jiaozi collapses in the future, Liu Yan being demoted is a minor matter; he might be directly taken down by Ji Ge.

"Alright, but Fang Jiedushi is now in the Western Regions, hard to find; I'll send someone to try to deliver the letter. If it can't be delivered, don't blame me."

Zhang Guangsheng took the letter, said nothing further.

Liu Yan was unperturbed, crossed his arms, bowed once and left. Honestly, staying here, watching the Chang'an jiaozi he once planned become a despised commodity, left him feeling uneasy.

He has been issuing as few jiaozi as possible.

Yet the Sage today wants to print money for military expenses, tomorrow for rewards, and only prints money without reserve funds; what else can be done?

Liu Yan can't conjure money either!

If he hadn't stubbornly kept the jiaozi shop open, refusing to fully refuse silk exchanges, the credit of Chang'an jiaozi would have collapsed long ago!

On another front, to pay officials' wages, the Ministry of Revenue each month allocates part of the silk to the Hexi Imperial Reporting Office to exchange for Hexi jiaozi, which actually reduces the circulation range of Chang'an jiaozi.

The usable "reserve" becomes even smaller!

Over time, Liu Yan dares not even imagine what will happen!

He only wishes nothing untoward occurs during his term.

The Sage's birthday banquet is imminent, requiring money. Before, the Ministry of Revenue had to devise ways to get money; now it doesn't, just printing money. It seems to simplify steps, but actually drinks poison to quench thirst.

What should be done?

He does not know.

Liu Yan left with a forlorn expression; the baby in his heart is bitter, yet cannot speak it.

The next day, the incident of the jiaozi shop being mobbed was submitted to Ji Ge's desk in the form of a memorial. Minister of Rites Chen Xilie reported, "Chang'an ruffians robbed the jiaozi shop, causing severe damage, extremely destructive, especially heinous, recommend severe punishment, handle promptly."

Ji Ge's annotation: "Execute on the spot, discard the corpse; within ten days south of the city no one may collect it, to serve as warning."

Another decree ordered Left Jinwu Guard Zhong Langjiang Zhang Guangsheng to strengthen patrols of Chang'an's East Market and West Market. Those who refuse to accept Chang'an jiaozi shall be treated as robbers, subject to the Jinwu Guard's great prison.

This order is also called by people the "Jiaozi Order".

Once this news spread, from civil and military officials down to common folk in Chang'an, everyone was in an uproar. Previously, issuing jiaozi was mandatory, but because it could be exchanged for silk, its practicality ranked first.

Now the court explicitly bans refusing Chang'an jiaozi and severely punishes violators, which plainly amounts to open robbery!

After receiving the concrete news, before Zhang Guangsheng began implementation, most shops in Chang'an's East and West Markets had already closed, deciding to lie low.

If refusing jiaozi is a crime punishable by prison, then I can simply not open my doors for business, right?

No one's goods are washed ashore by the tide!

Afterwards, taverns, brothels, and shops in each ward of Chang'an began shutting down one after another, silently resisting the court's greedy plundering.

Since the East and West Markets and the taverns and brothels were mostly extinguished, small vendors throughout the city could not survive; eventually, even a seller of sesame cakes could not be found in any ward.

Everyone knew the Jinwu Guard was investigating jiaozi matters, and each chose to close shop.

Almost overnight, all trades in Chang'an city withered. People clutched their wallets tightly, fearing the Jinwu Guard would forcibly seize the Hexi jiaozi or silk in their hands and exchange it for Chang'an jiaozi.

Like a sudden thunderclap on flat ground, the "first Chang'an commercial crisis" spread at an unimaginable speed under the intense enforcement of the "Jiaozi Order". The once vibrant Chang'an city instantly became a "dead city" of desolate trades.

Learning that the "Jiaozi Order" was being resisted by all trades, Ji Ge was incensed, thundered, and ordered Zhang Guangsheng to tighten patrols, sparing no corner.

Of course, a cow won't drink water if you force its head; you'll get half the result for double the effort. Zhang Guangsheng persisted for over ten days, catching not a single hair, while Ji Ge's Xingqing Palace could not even purchase daily necessities.

This seemingly omnipotent emperor had to vent to Li Linfu, complaining that Li Linfu should periodically rectify problems appearing in the circulation of Chang'an jiaozi.

And although the edict of the "Jiaozi Order" had not been recalled, the Jinwu Guard also ceased investigating the refusal to accept Chang'an's Jiaozi, which was tantamount to Ji Ge holding his nose and tacitly accepting a slap in the face dealt by Chang'an merchants.

Chang'an City once again regained its former vitality, still the Great Tang capital loyally devoted to Ji Ge.

……

The outer city is three li long and two li wide; the middle city is two li long and one li wide; the inner city is half a li long and half a li wide! This is the standard of Gold-filled City under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate's Tingzhou Prefecture City: a classic Horse City wrapped by an outer city, which in turn wraps an inner city, three layers nested.

Although the city walls are nothing special, behind Gold-filled City lies the East Dam River, and ahead stretches an endless expanse of wheat fields! It is now the autumn harvest; a glance reveals nothing but drooping wheat ears, vast swaths of golden yellow.

"I, the ambassador, now understand why this place is called Gold-filled City."

Fang Chongyong rode on horseback, pointing at the wheat in the fields with his whip as he spoke to Bian Lingcheng. The abundance of Tingzhou truly lives up to being the future provincial capital of Xinjiang!

From Kucha to Yanqi is several hundred li, and from Yanqi to Tingzhou is eight hundred li; they have traveled a thousand li on this route. If they weren't on horseback, one could hardly imagine it!

"Issue the order: anyone who tramples the wheat fields shall be killed without pardon."

Fang Chongyong gave orders to He Changqi beside him.

"You idiot! You idiot!"

From inside the supply wagon pulled by the horse beside Fang Chongyong came a strange, hoarse cry.

"Ambassador Fang, this five-colored parrot of yours is quite spirited; aside from cursing people, it won't say anything else."

Bian Lingcheng couldn't help but make a teasing remark. He secretly thought, such a precious item had better not be presented to the sage, lest the parrot utter something inappropriate again.

Starve it for three days and it will behave; it's just being troublesome out of spite.

Fang Chongyong said calmly, not at all considering the trouble Bian Lingcheng mentioned to be any trouble.

He had already sent Duan Xiushi to Gold-filled City to contact Fu Meng Lingcha. Next, they would find a place outside the city to set up camp, wait for Fu Meng Lingcha to come out, and that would suffice. Or they could go directly to the marshal's tent at the Anxi Expeditionary Army's encampment.

Fang Chongyong had traveled a thousand li, enduring wind and dew, and now urgently hoped to find a secure lodging to rest his feet.

Just then, he saw in the distance a cavalry unit emerging from the gate of Gold-filled City, heading toward him.

Upon meeting, Fu Meng Lingcha dismounted, immediately came up beside Fang Chongyong, lowered his voice, and said, "Ambassador Fang, the Anxi Expeditionary Army has encountered trouble!"

"Trouble?"

Fang Chongyong stared, not knowing what sort of trouble these ruffians in Tingzhou could still stir up.

"Let's talk after we enter the city."

Fu Meng Lingcha said with a weary expression, having long awaited this lord's arrival; at last, his wish has been fulfilled.

(End of chapter)