After some thought, he still felt that he didn't have a good grasp of the overall situation. Although he had read the Song Dynasty history several times, these minor details wouldn't be mentioned in books, let alone something as trivial as this matter of common people reporting it. Especially with regard to Fang La's Manichaeism, both the Ming and Qing dynasties were severe in their crackdown on it, leaving behind very little information, making it impossible to judge how these people became connected to a famous general like Zong Ze during the Jingkang period. It couldn't be that they would use Jin Yong's novels as evidence, could it? Thinking of this, he himself found it laughable - who knows what level Fang La's master had reached in his Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi divine skill?
Xiao Huan was just pouring wine from one side when he saw Gao Qiang standing alone with a foolish smile on his face. He couldn't help but purse his lips, and gently tapped the wine jug on the table, instantly startling Gao Qiang out of his reverie. Laughing, he said: "Gao Qiang, did you encounter something good today when you went out? You seem so happy!"
Highly anxious and bitter smile: Good thing? Don't be ridiculous! It's easy to run into a beauty, only to watch her slip away from under my nose, and still go to that thorn in the eye, Zhao Gongzi. Who knows what changes this will bring to the court's politics again? The people around me can't even be called over for discussion, Yan Qing and others are all from middle to lower backgrounds, and even the strong ones like Lu Qian and Yang Zhi are only small military officers. They don't understand the intrigue and struggle in the upper echelons of politics at all. This kind of high-level, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, especially when it involves national monetary policy, is not something that can be handled by anyone who hasn't been immersed in officialdom for many years and is also a true high-level intellectual. I'm afraid even my old man, High Commissioner Gao, would fall short in this regard.
After some thought, a name suddenly popped into Gao's mind: Wen Yanbo! How could he have forgotten this man? On that day, Wen had advised his own father to firmly follow Cai Jing, showing extraordinary insight and a learned demeanor. It would be most suitable to ask him about this matter. Although Gao himself shared similar views with the "hero", that was only because he had read history beforehand; the two were not comparable in terms of their understanding.
He immediately ordered a servant to invite Mr. Wen, and the servant's legs were quick, and in no time he brought Mr. Wen back. Gao Qiang hurriedly stood up to greet him, saying that today was a leisure day with nothing to do, thinking of Mr. Wen's demeanor, specially ordering someone to invite him to come and drink wine. Mr. Wen naturally thanked him repeatedly, saying that after traveling far and returning, he should have set up wine to welcome the wind, but instead came to disturb the official residence, feeling ashamed.
Since there were outsiders present, Xiaohuan didn't dare to serve them personally, so she replaced two maidservants to pour wine and serve dishes. The two of them clinked cups and exchanged pleasantries, after three cups they started talking freely. Gao Jian said some stories about Hebei province and its customs, which made Wen Rengzhang seem very knowledgeable, he could relate everything to some principles, listening to him Gao Jian was secretly delighted, thinking that this time he had probably found the right person.
As they chatted, Gao Qiang intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation towards Manichaeism. Wen Runchang listened and furrowed his brow in thought before saying: "Yes, Manichaeism originated from Persia and was introduced to China during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian when a Persian monk named Budda brought its scriptures, the 'Two Principles Sutra', to the Central Plains. From then on, the teachings of Manichaeism were passed down in China, where it is commonly known as Mingjiao due to its reverence for the Bright Lord..."
Lala said a bunch of things, and Gao heard them all before. The Mingjiao teachings are "Two Schools Three Interfaces Theory", most believers eat vegetarian food to suppress demons, like wearing white clothes and so on. It seems that they have all been seen in some martial arts novels. He thought to himself: Is this really useful?
But it's not very useful to listen to these, after all, I need to understand the current situation of the Fang family and the impact of the abolition of the ten-cash system on the current court politics. Fortunately, Gao Gang got an opportunity to interject and told several Mingjiao disciples about the case of the ten-cash system disturbing the people in Bianliang, omitting some minor details such as the beautiful maiden, using a concise writing style.
Cai Shanggong's move to mint ten-cash coins was a reluctant measure. The current dynasty is prosperous, especially in commerce, which surpasses previous dynasties. Copper cash is needed everywhere, with over 3 million strings of copper cash being minted every year, yet it still doesn't meet the demand. Another unavoidable aspect is that copper cash is extremely heavy, with each string weighing nearly three catties. Merchants won't travel without profit, and their goods are often worth over a thousand strings of cash. Think about it, sir, merchants rely on human labor to transport goods, and our dynasty lacks mules and horses. Just transporting the copper cash itself is a major headache.
"It was Cai Xiang's strategy to circulate the ten-cash coin, but it wasn't a well-thought-out plan. In this dynasty, copper coins were minted in large quantities; during Emperor Zhezong's reign, there were already orders for two-cash and three-cash coins in Jinghu, and five-cash coins were circulated in Shandong during the Yuanyou period. These precedents existed before. However, Cai Xiang was too hasty to achieve results, and this move was overly rushed; its disadvantages have become apparent while its benefits are yet to be seen, what a pity."
Gao heard this and immediately understood that in the Song Dynasty, this was probably a new thing. Everyone only noticed the phenomenon but didn't have a systematic summary. If it were placed in modern times, it would be simple: isn't it just inflation? The copper that could originally cast three coins became ten coins, on the surface, the amount of currency issued increased. If everyone followed the rules and used it, there wouldn't be any problem. Unfortunately, everyone has a brain, who wouldn't take advantage of such an obvious loophole? As long as you exchange three large coins for thirty small coins, re-melt them, and recast them into ten large coins, you can get three times the profit, which is really astonishing. I remember in middle school textbooks, there was a sentence that said if there's a 300% profit, even the most honest person would take risks. With such a big loophole in front of you, it's probably strange if no one privately casts large coins.
As a result, small coins disappeared from the market and large coins increased sharply, and the total amount of currency also surged. Prices naturally rose accordingly, and those who were unfortunate were the ordinary people who had nothing to do with coin casting and worked hard to pay taxes. It seems that abolishing the use of copper coins is inevitable, and now we need to consider how to prevent this matter from being used by Zhao Ting's party to attack Cai's party.
Gao Jiang expressed this idea to Wen Rui Zhang, who responded with repeated praise: "The official's mind is clear and his thoughts are meticulous. He is indeed a talented person, I admire him extremely!"
Gao thought to himself, "You're quite knowledgeable, so go ahead and flatter me, it won't cost you anything." He pretended not to hear the official's words. Wen Tuanzhang praised him for a while, but seeing Gao only smiling and saying nothing, he too found it dull and returned to the main topic: "In my humble opinion, since this matter can't be avoided, Lord Cai might as well order a few of his subordinates to echo his words, or even have one of his trusted advisors take the initiative to speak up and take all the blame upon himself. Then this matter can be easily glossed over."
Highly strong and resolute, how could the other side have already launched a fierce attack, and yet still want to add insult to injury? After careful consideration, he couldn't help but slap his thigh: "This plan is brilliant!" Since Zhao Ting's party came to power, their consistent policy has been to strongly deny the legitimacy of Cai Jing's policies. With these ten major crimes being so glaring, even if there were no Mingjiao sect members making accusations, they would still be targets for impeachment sooner or later. It's better to go with the flow and push all the responsibility onto Cai Jing alone, thereby grasping the initiative in one's own hands, avoiding giving Zhao's party an opportunity to expand their attacks and weaken Cai's party's power.
The more Cai Jing thought about it, the more wonderful it seemed. Firstly, Cai Jing had already resigned as prime minister and there was no obvious violation of the law in this matter. Zhao's family and Cai Jing were also on good terms, so they would not be demoted again. Secondly, Zhao's party was caught off guard and by the time they reacted, the imperial decree abolishing the ten-cash system had already been issued, making it impossible to take advantage of the situation again. Thirdly, if this trusted aide of Cai Jing performed well, he could gain the emperor's trust and create an opportunity for the revival of the Cai party.
This move first presents the memorial, and it is a plan that kills three birds with one stone. In terms of chess terminology, it is called "one move ahead, every move ahead".
"Mr. Wen is really tall!" Gao Jianming was so excited that he couldn't help but give a thumbs up and say this classic line.
Unexpectedly, Wen Ruan Zhang was indeed a master of flattery and immediately followed up with: "The official is really high! High official ah!"
He laughed loudly, raised his wine glass and clinked it with Wen Rengan's, then drank it all in one gulp, feeling especially pleased.
The two of them drank again, and suddenly Gao Qiang thought of two more things: "Mr. Wen, I don't know if you've heard about the case of Zong Zezong, the governor who was toured by a dragon?"
He just casually asked, but unexpectedly, Wen Ruanzhang's performance was astonishing: "Zong Ze, are you the one who is also known as Qu Rulin, a jinshi in the sixth year of Yuan You, and later served as the county magistrate of Guantao County, Daming Prefecture?"
Gao was shocked, and this person could be called Bai Xiaosheng directly. How did he know everything? Wen Ranzhang smiled slightly and said: "Don't be surprised, sir. I have failed the imperial examination many times, but fortunately, I was taken in by your respected father, General Temple. So I paid attention to the personnel of various places in this dynasty. Every year, I pay attention to the scholars who are selected in the imperial examination, and I record them with a pen. Therefore, I remember them. If you have leisure time, come to my humble abode and take a look."
Gao was surprised again: he didn't expect his father, Gao Fu, to be so experienced and have a talent like this in charge of the archives. He thought to himself that he had gained something. But thinking about it again, what's most important for officials in the old dynasty is interpersonal relationships. Often, a small clue can reveal someone's factional stance, and people like Cai Jing and Zhao Ting are probably very familiar with these things. They can recite the rise and fall of anyone's career at will. His father had even hired a PhD to do this kind of thing at home, which shows that his own abilities weren't up to par. No wonder he could only be a sycophant official.
However, I have always admired Mr. Wen's memory. Gao Gang said with a smile: "Mr. Wen, let me test you again. Do you know who is currently the deputy envoy of courtesy and the military affairs of Ansu?"
He suddenly remembered the loud-mouthed Zhang Suizhuan from that day, so he casually asked and unexpectedly gained something: "The official is indeed discerning, and surprisingly, he even noticed this person? This Mr. Zhang Shuye is the grandson of the famous minister Zhang Qi of the previous dynasty, who was appointed as a recorder in Lanzhou by imperial favor. He examined the geography and topography, built a city in Xi'an, and eliminated the troubles of the Qiang people in Lanzhou, which can be said to be both civil and martial. I admire him extremely, thinking that he will surely become a famous minister of our dynasty."
Zhang Shuye! This name is all too familiar, the governor of Jizhou in Water Margin. When Liangshan was pacified, this guy made great contributions. However, as for how he actually was in history, Gao Qiang can't remember, only that it seemed like Song Jiang and his gang were defeated under this Governor Zhang according to historical records. After hearing Wen Rui's evaluation, it seems that this guy indeed has some skills, so it wouldn't be bad to get acquainted with this young Master Zhang Shuye.
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