Chapter 340: People Are Divided Into Two Types

"Li Doutu, do you know how many kinds of people there are?"

While strolling through a market near the ferry crossing outside Kaifeng City, Fang Youde asked the Li Jiaqing beside him.

The latter was at that moment lamenting the astonishing forgetfulness of the locals in Bianzhou, which was simply unbelievable.

A few days ago, the Yabi soldiers of the Konghe Army had just near the floating bridge at the ferry crossing beheaded and killed over a hundred gangs of thugs. The scene was extremely bloody, with severed arms and limbs scattered everywhere. Though it didn't reach a river of blood, it was about the level of a stream of blood.

Yet that incident hasn't been over long ago, and the small vendors at the market seem to have already forgotten the original event. As before, they appear to feel no change at all.

Those who should hawk their wares hawk, those who should set up stalls set up stalls, those who should purchase purchase, and it seems those over a hundred gangs of thugs died in vain. In fact, their "security fee" still has to be paid, no less than half a tael compared to before, only now handed to the Xuanwu Army.

"Two kinds, men and women."

Li Jiaqing, thinking to himself, replied offhand.

"No, people actually only differ between the living and the dead.

The living have infinite possibilities; any matter can be tried with effort.

Whereas the dead are only forgotten, unseen, unheard, unfelt, and can do nothing."

Fang Youde said coldly, making Li Jiaqing's hair stand on end.

While speaking, a middle‑aged farmer handed Fang Youde a huge pear, smiling obsequiously, and said, "It's hot, Jiedushi Fang, have a pear to quench your thirst."

Fang Youde took the pear, modestly nodded at the farmer, then continued forward, having no intention at all of taking anything in exchange for money.

Li Jiaqing took it as usual, even thinking that Fang Youde had great personal integrity!

One should know that Qiu Ba roams the market as if on parole, taking whatever he wants without any pretense of courtesy.

Fang Youde not exploiting his authority to "grab a hand" at the market is already considered lofty and upright.

As for paying, for Qiu Ba that notion doesn't exist. In the Tang, soldiers never took money out; they only received money from others!

"People only split into life and death; why does the Jiedushi speak like that?"

Li Jiaqing asked curiously.

"The chaotic era is not far off; then you will understand what this Jiedushi means today.

Facing the blade, the current classification of people into three, six, nine ranks is meaningless; then only the living and the dead matter, that is the true distinction."

Fang Youde sighed.

An Lushan is indeed dead, but the trend of this world's decay shows no sign of improvement.

The Jiaozi the court produced had a negligible effect on people's livelihood, merely cheapening things for the aristocracy.

For example, after the Chang'an Jiaozi were issued to Bianzhou, the policy immediately went awry. After circulating for a while, merchants found that the purchasing power of Chang'an Jiaozi in many Hebei prefectures far exceeded that in Chang'an itself.

Thus many 'quick‑witted' merchants did nothing else but load silk and go to Chang'an to 'snatch' Jiaozi, then using these notes and the information gap, they bought up supplies across Hebei, sharply driving up local prices.

When the Yuan dynasty issued Jiaozi, to prevent such arbitrage, they set up a 'price‑stabilization' agency in each jurisdiction to coordinate local paper‑money issuance.

To ensure merchants couldn't profit from the information gap, but people of the Tang lacked experience and were easily exploited.

No one expected the Chang'an Jiaozi to depreciate this fast! In a few months they lost more than half their value!

This sparked merchants throughout the Hebei economic zone centered on Luoyang to broadly boycott Chang'an Jiaozi, rendering them effectively non‑circulating.

Consequently the court had to open a new Jiaozi shop in Luoyang, printing 'Luoyang Jiaozi' identical in style to the Chang'an ones, to address the monetary chaos. In other words, they erected a 'currency firewall' barring Chang'an Jiaozi from circulating in Luoyang.

At the same time, the court heeded Liu Yan's advice, minting a finely crafted 'big coin' with a face value of 100 wen, whose copper content was far less than that of a 100‑wen Kaiyuan Tongbao, yet it was to be used as 100 wen.

In addition, they minted iron cash of 1 wen denomination. With Jiaozi circulating, Liu Yan wasn't at all worried that the aristocracy would mint iron cash, nor would any fool do so.

This move was essentially a compromise, creating obstacles to Jiaozi circulation, causing economic turmoil, a forced compromise—using poison to fight poison.

It was also Liu Yan's preemptive measure to abandon the Chang'an Jiaozi.

Plainly put, first isolate the area, then run multiple channels in parallel, finally perform a 'surgical' excision of the tumor.

The abolition of the Chang'an Jiaozi is already at the point of release!

Sensing the winds, Hebei merchants used every channel to exchange their Chang'an Jiaozi for Luoyang Jiaozi, even for goods, buying whatever they could, but in the end they were left holding worthless notes as they depreciated.

Massive numbers of small merchants went bankrupt, suffering heavy losses. The Tang paid a painful price in its experimentation with paper money.

This caused market disorder across Hebei cities, including Luoyang, severely disrupting commercial operations.

In Bianzhou, where the canal meets the Yellow River and trade flourishes, the monetary chaos sparked especially fierce turmoil! Fang Youde witnessed it all, leading the Xuanwu Army to maintain order, killing many desperate bandits.

He saw the market desolate, all trades halted, and felt the chaotic era was indeed near.

"Jiedushi, I come from Hebei; you were also in Hebei back then.

Now the Xuanwu Army is in Bianzhou, a battlefield of four wars. Should any wind stir, we have no strong troops, and the situation would be dire."

Li Jiaqing, unflustered, persuaded, saying that he didn't believe the military‑savvy Fang Youde couldn't see it; for insiders like them, many things are obvious.

If Hebei rebels, the Xuanwu Army will be the first to bear the brunt!

"Li Doutu, what do you think of Hebei?"

Fang Youde asked meaningfully.

Li Jiaqing was in Hebei back then, but he was an outsider, coming from the Bohai Kingdom, so he had no positional bias, and could evaluate matters more objectively.

"Jiedushi, I, your former subordinate, have nothing to hide; speak freely."

Li Jiaqing looked around and found it actually very noisy, with no one paying attention to them at all.

So he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "In my view, the Hebei aristocratic families own so much land. The court's taxes are harsh, and they restrict Hebei people from the central core. These matters have long ceased to be rumors…"

Even he, a Hu of Mohe origin, knows that with land comes the inevitable quest for greater political power to protect one's economic interests. As for the court's attitude toward Hebei, it can only be described as abstract and beyond words.

Regardless of who the Military Governor in Hebei is, ultimately he will compromise with local forces and walk the path of rebellion.

If by chance the Military Governor is an honest, straightforward man who truly wishes no trouble, the local powers will still trouble him, seeking to oust him and replace him with someone more capable of stirring things up!

Li Jiaqing, when he was in the Bohai Kingdom, had seen many similar incidents. One can only say that the Tang and the Bohai Kingdom, under the same sun, have no new things under the sun!

The Military Governor is replaced every four years; now that An Lushan is gone, Hebei people will always encounter the Military Governor they 'need', swapping out the ineffective for a functional one!

If a Military Governor's rebellion is a low‑probability event, then stacking the frequency of Military Governor changes over a longer timeline makes a rebellious Military Governor a high‑probability event. The Northern Frontier Protectorate, during the mid‑Kaiyuan era, also saw the Liu Huan treason case, didn't it?

Back then, Ji Ge was certainly not foolish!

Rebel generals emerging from border towns are commonplace in the Great Tang. Whether the rebellion can be suppressed is the golden standard for testing the nation's strength.

Li Jiaqing's words were a needle to the bone.

The chaos in Hebei was inevitable; it had already erupted during the Wu Zhou period, and it will certainly erupt again, though the exact timing and triggering event are unknown.

He was not the only one who saw this clearly.

"Even this Jiedushi has only recently figured some things out.

Holding Bianzhou can save the nation for a time. Someone's wish does not care about personal gain or loss."

Fang Youde let out a light sigh, his heart full of countless emotions, not knowing how to express them.

Is the Great Tang's problem Hebei? Yes, but not entirely.

Is the Great Tang's problem Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, Yang Yuhuan and the like? Yes, but not entirely.

Is the Great Tang's problem Ji Ge? Yes, likewise not entirely.

Is the Great Tang's problem the conscription system? Still the same: yes, but not entirely.

At this moment Fang Youde felt deeply bewildered, wondering how the Great Tang could be saved. He no longer had an answer in his heart. He had already done many things for the Great Tang, changed many matters, yet still watched the empire slip step by step into the abyss.

Did I really do wrong?

Fang Youde placed his hand on his chest and asked himself, but no one gave him an answer.

"Jiedushi, you seem to have something on your mind?"

Li Jiaqing asked with puzzlement, having noticed that Fang Youde, who was inspecting the canal today, seemed somewhat absent‑minded.

"Nothing, just worrying about the nation."

Fang Youde waved his hand and said.

"Jiedushi, when the heavens collapse, the saints hold them up; why must you bear that worry?"

Li Jiaqing asked, bewildered, not understanding why Fang Youde, at his age, still fretted over the country's affairs, as if deliberately making things difficult for himself.

"Saint… sigh, a saint."

Fang Youde shook his head, sighed, and fell silent.

……

"People fall into two categories: our friends and our enemies.

From now on, before you act, you must discern whether the person involved is our friend or our enemy.

Towards friends, adopt a friendly attitude: be fair, just, and open; do not bully friends nor force them into enemies.

Against enemies, oppose them with a clear banner, eradicate them without mercy; do not be vague about what to do, nor let our friends be confused about our stance.

And never compromise or collude with the enemy!

You see, this Jiedushi went to Kuizhi Town, and here in Tingzhou they caused such a huge fiasco that they completely ruined someone's reputation!

Don't you know where Tingzhou is? It's the rear of our expeditionary army; heading west from Tingzhou there is no major city to replenish supplies!

The rabbits haven't even started eating the grass at the burrow yet? I issued military tickets to the Qiu Ba, is it to make them forcefully buy and sell in Tingzhou? Aren't you afraid that after the expeditionary army departs, the locals in Tingzhou will rise in revolt, cutting off our grain? Then you'll starve, you heartless bunch!

The He Xi Jiazi lost this time will be fully deducted from the future funds meant to reward the three armies, not punished individually. A few people's mistake makes everyone bear responsibility!

Inside the main hall of the Tingzhou inner‑city government office, Fang Chongyong held a thin wooden stick, pointing at the whiteboard that read "Three Major Disciplines, Eight Points of Attention", and ranted at the assembled generals.

"Jiedushi, I followed you all the way to Kuizhi Town; we weren't even in Tingzhou. Must we be punished for this?"

He Changqi complained with a look of grievance.

"Idiot! Idiot! You idiot!"

A five‑colored parrot nearby flapped and squawked, trying to take off, but the iron ring on its foot kept it grounded, forcing it back onto the wooden stick where it stood.

"Uh, someone, take this beast to the back yard."

Fang Chongyong twitched the corner of his eye, helplessly pointing at a somewhat unfamiliar general whose name he suddenly couldn't recall.

The officer crossed his arms in salute, stifling a laugh, and carried the five‑colored parrot out of the hall.

"This time the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army had no one forcefully buying or selling, so they are not punished. But all other armies are treated equally; if any soldier errs, the whole unit is deemed at fault."

Fang Chongyong spoke righteously.

"Jiedushi, punishing the errant soldiers is beyond reproach. Yet punishing those who did nothing wrong seems inhumane."

Duan Xiushi continued to persuade, "Moreover, the great army is about to set out, so…"

"Thus we must let those lawless Qiu Ba know what obedience is, what the army is as a collective!"

If someone makes a mistake and his peers do not step forward to stop them, nor later report them to the superior, that is collusion, sharing the same guilt as the offender!

Let this teach them a lesson; next time they see a colleague committing a crime, they must not pretend not to see and think they are untouched!

Fang Chongyong retorted mercilessly.

At that point Duan Xiushi fell silent. Equal reward and equal punishment is not new; it has long been the common military law of any fighting force.

At that moment, Guan Chongsi entered the hall with several villagers; two people carried a large basket, several large baskets in total, all filled with the melons that Fang Chongyong was once called "Hami melon" in his past life, specialties of Xizhou, Tingzhou, Yizhou and other regions.

Tingzhou lacks neither sunlight nor water, so Hami melons are not rare. However, Ji Ge has now named the melons "Imperial Melon", a grand title. Locally they cost about ten guan each; if sent to Chang'an, the price would exceed tenfold.

"This is…"

Fang Chongyong looked at Guan Chongsi with puzzlement; he hadn't ordered the purchase of Hami melons. How were these melons so brazenly delivered to the office?

"Ambassador Fang, since you arrived in Tingzhou, you have set things right, disciplined the troops, and personally visited each household to apologize and compensate for losses.

These are a token of gratitude from the Tingzhou people, offering some Imperial melons to you and the officials of the Western Expeditionary Army to quench your thirst."

An elderly man in a brocade robe bowed to Fang Chongyong and said.

"Not allowed, not allowed; I have received the people's goodwill, but the gift cannot be accepted. Since the weather is hot and transporting it back and forth is troublesome, I will take the liberty of buying it myself."

Fang Chongyong quickly pulled a ten‑guan He Xi Jiazi from his pocket, handed it to the old man, and said, "Purchasing requires payment, otherwise one becomes a bandit. May I ask the old man's surname and given name?"

"I am the teaching official of the Tingzhou government school, Fang De!"

The old man bowed respectfully.

Ha?

The soldiers present stared at each other; they were just one word away from being able to call Fang the envoy's father—could this old man have come just to show off in our faces?

Fang Chongyong was also a bit embarrassed, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. He shoved the exchange notes into the other's hand, and, as an aside, politely asked the people who had brought melons to leave the office. After returning, he asked He Changqi: "Where did I just get to, Commander?"

"Uh, we were talking about... eating melons, right? We were just talking about eating melons!"

"It's so hot! Commander, let's just crack open all these melons now!"

He Changqi smirked, pointing at the several large baskets placed in the middle of the hall, and said: "These things sell for an exorbitant price in Chang'an; now we can eat them openly—why not enjoy ourselves?"

"What the hell with the melons! I was just trying to say that you guys got into a brawl with the Hanhai Army—this matter must be settled!"

Fang Chongyong pointed at He Changqi and shouted.

(End of chapter)