Chapter 379: A Layman Commands the Expert

It was already night, and by a pier at a Bian River crossing a cargo boat was moored. But at this moment it was completely surrounded by troops of the Xuanwu Army. The boatman and the owner on board had been subdued, and now the vessel was an unmanned ship loaded with nitrate.

In the hold, one large wooden crate after another was stacked with small semi‑transparent stones—some clear, some white, some gray. Not only were the colors inconsistent, but the sizes and shapes varied wildly, giving them an ugly appearance.

Li Jiaqing, who knew the trade, introduced the matter to Fang Youde:

"When mining, nitrate often gets mixed with mirabilite and is hard to tell apart, so you have to extract it first and deal with it later. To make gunpowder, additional steps are required, starting with refining the nitrate."

The junior officer thought that with such a massive amount of nitrate, the gunpowder produced would certainly not be for fireworks. Moreover, claiming these were being shipped to Chang'an, he still believed they had many uses; in Youzhou, where would there be so many fireworks to set off!"

His remark hit the nail on the head.

Nitrate can also be used to make ice; Chang'an's commerce is booming, and nitrate‑made ice for cold drinks already has an industry chain. But Youzhou is a small city with limited trade, mostly livestock exchanges with the northern steppes—what would they need nitrate for?

These questions couldn't be probed further; the matter was too heavy to bear, and Li Jiaqing slyly shifted the responsibility onto Fang Youde.

There are plenty of people who don't even know where the Stone Kingdom is or how much money remains in the treasury to allocate!

All the world's troubles arise because there's profit to be made. When there's no profit, helping others is just helping oneself, and there's no need to leap and bound about.

And now An Lushan is dead, Fang Youde no longer knows what the 'future' will bring, cannot say who the 'good' or 'bad' people are, nor whether his rash actions will make the Tang situation worse.

Fang Youde's move was a double‑edged strike: on one hand it crushed an as‑yet‑unrevealed ambitious figure, on the other it bought the loyalty of his subordinates, making them die‑hardly devoted to his cause.

Youzhou is only the boat owner's speculation; the 'clever' owner knew that if he aimed for places like Bozhou or Beizhou, his life would likely end in Bian Prefecture. These nitrates are certainly for military use, and the border troops of Hebei are basically stationed in Youzhou.

Since the merit of a method needs time to verify and can't be decided now, making the method appear more 'radical' and flashy might attract more attention—could that let one get ahead?

Fang Youde crouched, opened a wooden crate filled with nitrate, confirmed Li Jiaqing's words were correct, and his heart sank.

"We'll keep half of this nitrate to make our own gunpowder; the other half we'll sell to trustworthy merchants in Chang'an. The proceeds will buy the troops of the Konghe Army some food, drink, and new clothes."

The boat owner probably sensed something was off, so he lied to protect himself; he also couldn't be sure the destination was Youzhou.

A tiny Riverine Pacification Office, petty and miserly—hardly the bearing of a high‑ranking provincial governor!

There were also a slew of copy‑cat suggestions like 'register households, equalize the people' and 'Tang army garrison'. How to put it? Ignorant people are fearless.

Instead of letting the Youzhou folks take control of these nitrates, it's better to seize them now—at least they stay in our hands. Dumping nitrate in a border town would cause a stir, but tossing it into Chang'an would barely make a ripple.

Anyway, speak as you wish; it's not treason, so say whatever you like!

He had originally planned to pick some reliable ones from inside, polish them, improve and synthesize them, then personally deliver them to Huaqing Palace for Ji Ge; instead, the desk was piled with absurdly inflated proposals.

Fang Youde let out a long sigh, turned and walked into the bedroom. This time he truly felt exhausted! The figure in the moonlight looked especially lonely.

"So, was it my mistake after all?"

After reading Liu Yan's memorial, Li Shizhi felt that, compared with other wildly radical 'tales of wonder', this person's ideas were overly conservative.

If a villain who hides his true intent dies by accident before committing his crimes, outsiders' posthumous judgment of him would likely be completely different, wouldn't it?

Li Jiaqing thought that Fang Youde was steadfast in his loyalty to the Tang, yet flexible in handling specifics—not a pedantic, rigid person.

"Hmm, there's no need to make a fuss, but we also don't have to guard it like anti‑bandit measures—people will eventually find out, and we won't fear that. Let nature take its course."

By the late Tang of the previous life, gunpowder was already widely used by the military; he understood better than Li Jiaqing what a massive stock of nitrate implied.

Charcoal powder and sulfur are easy to obtain; nitrate, however, is trickier, especially large‑scale sources, of which there are only a few.

In theory, small amounts of nitrate aren't especially sensitive; Daoist alchemists often use it, and it usually goes unnoticed.

Cold weapons like swords, spears, and halberds are abundant; every regional treasury is stacked with them, and even if the Tang doubled its army, the supply would be sufficient.

Fang Youde was powerless regarding these.

At this point, who can step up depends on which competitor shines brighter.

The issue raised by Fang Chongyong was clearly the hottest and fastest path right now!

Fang Youde brushed it off, saying that investigating the case was impossible—its scope was too large, and they still didn't know who was pulling the strings.

Thus, one memorandum after another, far from the official script, rushed to the Council Hall, to Li Shizhi's desk, to Fang Guan's desk, covering every conceivable topic!

In fact, Fang Youde had a keen sense of the Tang army's armaments, knowing exactly what was lacking and what was abundant.

"Now, could you become the second An Lushan?"

Because formulas and applications vary, gunpowder has no detailed manufacturing standard; only a few ingredients are known to be essential, such as charcoal powder, sulfur, and nitrate.

It is well known that in ancient times the barrier to acquiring knowledge was high, making the amount of information a key factor. Only those who obtained enough information possessed the mindset and perspective to steer state affairs.

In Chang'an's districts, summer ice‑drink vendors can consume a lot of nitrate; even though this half‑boat of nitrate looks abundant, spreading it across the vast city makes it negligible.

Li Shizhi had a fiery temper but wasn't particularly domineering. He also recognized the gravity of the matter and couldn't act unilaterally, so he sent the memorial to the Six Ministries for circulation. Any central official could submit their views.

Fang Youde didn't expose his selfish motives, shook his head and said:

"Then how can one get ahead on the 'track'?"

His expression remained calm, but inside he felt uneasy, no longer possessing the confident grip he once had.

Probably not; even at best, he'd just be a loyal Tang frontier commander of Hu descent.

These items lack a systematic supply in Tang logistics; workshops under the Ministry of Works don't produce them, and no large‑scale civilian supply chain exists, so they're scarce everywhere. The army doesn't use gunpowder to kill people; it's mostly for ignition.

This maneuver left Li Shizhi completely baffled.

Since a large stock of nitrate was found, just dispose of it—that's all. Whether the hidden mastermind can source nitrate elsewhere is beyond his control.

But clearly, as long as the 'lesion' remains uneradicated, the next, even the following crisis will arrive swiftly.

Is it really that irredeemable Tang traitor after all?

Li Jiaqing clasped his fists in salute, speaking with great respect. As a Jiedushi, Fang Youde was still very competent. Military law was strict but generous, and the foot soldiers had little complaint.

Huangfu Weiming died early in his previous life, never having a chance to rebel. Could he truly be an 'honest man' with no ambition who would never betray the Tang?

Thus the 'whose method is better' argument looks unworkable on the surface and needs time to verify.

National policy requires time to test; whose approach is better, whose is more appropriate—policy makers were crossing the river blindfolded, unaware of what the coming years or decades would bring.

Something suddenly clicked in his mind.

Fang Youde waved his hand and said:

"Why not use this money for something else? The court needs funds everywhere!"

"Drown the boatman and the owner on the vessel! Then have the Jiedushi move all the nitrate into Kaifeng County, sink the ship, report to the Bian Prefecture Office a cargo‑boat capsizing with everyone perished, hand over the bodies to them, and the matter will be settled."

The merit is minor, the fault can be ignored, becoming a stray piece in constructing the brilliant Great Tang.

"Jiedushi, does that mean we cannot investigate?"

Whether the national policy is good can be judged later, but a radical policy can be enjoyed right now!

When the mind is high, does the official rank come too?

"Left Prime Minister, how do you think the Hezhong Protectorate matter should be handled?"

"Jiedushi, you are indeed thoughtful. No matter where this saltpeter goes, as long as it's in our hands, it counts as sparing the sage a trouble."

I must say, this shipowner is a bit clever, yet makes the matter even more baffling.

Li Jiaqing frowned and said, feeling a bad premonition.

This question may only be answered in the future; at least Fang Youde can no longer discern the other's thoughts or which path they will take.

If An Lushan were still alive and this ship of saltpeter were his demand, then even dispatching troops across provinces to block it, Fang Youde would spare no effort.

This memorial was written by the newly appointed Minister of Revenue Liu Yan. In his memorial Liu Yan strongly opposed Fang Chongyong's proposal, arguing that the treasury is unsustainable, that maintaining the current arrangement suffices, that Great Tang cannot endure turmoil, and there is no need to establish another Military Governor so far away.

He lost his target, lost his direction, yet the world did not become as peacefully still as he expected.

From now on, if anyone asks, say the ship sank; if anyone wants to salvage, let them, we know nothing, we did nothing.

Because Fang Youde has already lost his foresight of the "future".

…

Liu Yan believes that at such a distance, without an initial ten million bolts as a base, the expenses cannot be sustained; the later stage is a bottomless pit requiring continuous investment, and it will take over ten years to see results.

Fang Youde waved his hand, having already figured out this batch.

That works too?

Li Jiaqing was startled, realizing Fang Youde's audacity was extraordinary; this horse‑stepping is self‑theft!

He originally thought they needed some disguise, to make the face look better, but Fang Youde handled it simply and brutally—crack, a single slash, clean and swift!

The idea proposed by Fang Chongyong to establish a Hezhong Protectorate west of the two protectorates of Northern Court and Anxi, after Ji Ge tossed it into the Council Hall, caused a huge uproar!

So Fang Youde could only choose the lowest‑risk, most direct method: treat a headache with a headache, a foot ache with a foot!

You sit in Youzhou; could you be like An Lushan? At first you said An Lushan would rebel, and had to eliminate him to cut off future trouble.

For example, common items like bows and arrows: the army rarely lacks bows and crossbows, but is severely short of arrows, a rare shortage.

The key is the quantity this time—an entire ship!

Sneaking around, even using several layers of white gloves—what for?

"Those who plotted this are very careful; even if we hand over this whole ship and the boatmen, we believe the court couldn't discern anything. They are merely paid cargo carriers, unaware of the employer, treating it as ordinary goods."

"'Those who offend the strong Han, though distant, must be punished' sounds far better than 'the treasury is empty and cannot support distant campaigns', right? If uninformed people choose, they'd likely pick the former."

Originally, Fang Chongyong was a lion opening his mouth wide, never expecting the court to agree; unexpectedly, many complained in the memorial that he was too conservative!

Since the Tang army is so capable, why not wipe out the Black‑clad Dashi and bring the farther western territories under Great Tang's jurisdiction?

"This matter indeed has something fishy, not very ordinary."

An Lushan is indeed dead now, but how will the histories record him, and how will later generations evaluate him?

Fang Youde muttered, his mind echoing Bai Juyi's poem:

"Zhou Gong feared daily rumors; Wang Mang was modest before his usurpation; had he died at the outset, who could know the truth of his life?"

Acquiring this many saltpeter at once is not something ordinary people can do, nor even something money can buy! The largest saltpeter mine of Great Tang lies in Hanzhong! Without official clearance and cover, this saltpeter cannot even leave Hanzhong, let alone be shipped to Youzhou.

The Yang Yuhuan who never even splashed a drop of water has long been forgotten. Even Li Longji himself probably does not remember her.

However, most central officials of the Tang dynasty, regardless of their professional abilities, have rather limited knowledge; many, aside from mastering their own field, know nothing else.

As for gunpowder and the like, they belong to the army's undefined "auxiliary logistics".

He is no longer the former Military Governor who wielded heavy troops!

Knowing the goal guarantees a way to achieve it. Running toward the goal is merely seeking to run faster; though the years are hard, hope is not absent.

Only after returning to his modest courtyard did Fang Youde recover from panic, feeling unusually empty, as if everything he had done before had lost its meaning.

Moreover, many central officials treated this "key political expansion" as a fast track to promotion and wealth. After all, Li Linfu is dead, and his faction collapsed, leaving many vacancies.

"Jiedushi, what should we do about this? The junior officer interrogated these people, and they know nothing; they received cargo from Yangzhou, planning to use Beizhou and Bozhou as transshipment points, where someone is waiting for them. Those people are probably not the final destination."

Li Shizhi set aside his last memorial and asked.

"Huangfu Weiming, Huangfu Weiming, what exactly are you scheming?"

Now, a bunch of wailing officials are no less than the 'keyboard political bureau' trolls of Fang Chongyong's past life!

The Tang army's great victory in the Western Regions turned back the separatist trend west of Congling; a heavy hand is unavoidable! Liu Yan's blind writing only focuses on money, unaware that some prestige cannot be bought.

Li Jiaqing asked, somewhat unwillingly. What agenda are they pursuing by so actively inspecting the canal's large ships, if we don't ask?

"Right Prime Minister, I think Fang Guozhong's proposal is too small, merely a warrior's stunt, lacking grand strategy, unable to display Great Tang's grandeur, truly unacceptable."

Fang Guan said calmly, his face appearing extremely confident.

(End of Chapter)