Repaying Debts and Banks
The title of Marquis of Lantian was the latest honor bestowed upon Yun Yan, a young man who had risen from obscurity to high nobility in just eight months before his 18th birthday. Who could have imagined this? This is probably the fastest promotion record since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin was filled with curiosity about Yun Yan, wondering what kind of young man could win such a prestigious title as Marquis of Lantian from him. A potato wrapped in silk was placed on the right corner of his desk, and every time he looked at it, Li Shimin felt happy, thinking that the Tang Dynasty was indeed blessed with good fortune, and even rare grains like this potato could appear. What couldn't be achieved? Looking up to past sages, from Qin Shi Huang's declaration as emperor to himself, a total of 54 people had sat on the throne, dominating the world. He believed he wasn't foolish, with brave generals and wise strategists at his side, and with this rare grain to aid him, how could he not explore the boundaries of becoming an eternal emperor?
Just as Li Er was immersed in the boundless warm current of happiness, he didn't notice Empress Changsun holding a letter with a gloomy face hidden behind the heavy curtains. Looking at her husband's happy face, Empress Changsun felt that the letter in her hand weighed a thousand pounds, and she couldn't bear to interrupt her husband's rare moment of happiness. Since the incident at the Xuanwu Gate, he hadn't slept soundly for two years, and every time he fell asleep, he would repeatedly confess his sins to Crown Prince Zhao, with tears streaming down his face. Each time, it was only when she held him in her arms and hummed a lullaby from their childhood that he could calm down and fall asleep peacefully. Now, as her husband reclined on the throne, basking in the warm sunset, he seemed so quiet and content, without any of those deep-seated fears. Success or failure, it's all because of Yunyan - hopefully what Yunyan said was wrong, not true. Will the locusts come? Will the locusts that filled the sky in the prophecy come? Empress Changsun wanted to tear up the letter, hoping she had never received this letter from her son. The fine lines on her hands stood out, and her whole body trembled as she forced a smile onto her face with great effort, walking slowly out of the curtains...
"Yun Ye won't speak nonsense, even if this thing really happened, it wouldn't bring him any benefit, only disaster. I don't believe a disciple of Qi Ren would not understand this principle." Li Er was as calm as the Empress had imagined, only with a hint of seriousness.
"I also think so, among the Longyou army, there are people like Wuji, who know the rules and have a good understanding of things. They wouldn't be unaware of the severity of misreporting this matter, but they chose to believe it, so I think the authenticity of this matter is at least 80%."
"The first reaction of the officials was to stockpile grain, and they ordered the six counties on the west of the Wei River to surrender their stored grain to Chang'an. Wu Zetian also began to collect grain in Hexi. Fortunately, there had been two consecutive years of good harvests in Longyou, so there was an abundance of grain, and it was estimated that stockpiling 500,000 dan of grain would be feasible. The Right Chancellor's men have already begun transporting grain to Chang'an. At present, storing grain is the top priority. I have never doubted Wu Zetian's loyalty, nor do I doubt the loyalty of the officials. They did not submit a memorial to me, but instead chose to write to you through Gaozong, which means they did not want to stir up controversy in the court at this time and destroy the hard-won peace. Therefore, I choose to believe Wu Zetian and the officials, and also believe in Yún Huī's prediction. Summon Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui to come into the palace and discuss matters! I do not believe that a mere locust plague would be enough to make our great Tang dynasty unable to cope."
As soon as Xiaohuangmen's figure came out of the palace gate, Empress Changsun said to Li Er: "Your Majesty doesn't want to see your Blue田Hou? Ask him what makes him say such words that shock the world? Don't you want to take a look at what he looks like? Aren't you curious about his immortal master? I'm very curious, and I don't know if he has three heads and six arms."
"Does the Empress still remember what that little one said last time: 'A rare treasure is hard to bear, isn't it?' Is it saying that the time has come for me to pay the price for this rare grain?"
The couple looked at the potatoes back and forth, with a look of satisfaction on their faces, as if the arrival of the locusts was no longer a disaster, but just the price to be paid for something they had bought.
Yun Ye didn't know that Li Er had already planned to pay the price and was prepared for an emergency. He didn't plan to pay the price again, Li Fulu's fat face was scrunched up like a bun, they had clearly agreed on a price of eight cents per dou of grain, but Yun Ye only offered six cents, no matter how he explained himself, he insisted on six cents and even said that if it wasn't enough, he would use his official robes as collateral to get him ten million stones of grain. Li Fulu was about to go crazy, what do you want my official robes for, I'm not a marquis, besides, the grain isn't even mine, why should the grain merchants make money from six cents?
"Lord Hou, please be kind, I have already escorted 5,000 dan of grain here, all borrowed from local grain merchants. I need to return 400 guan of copper coins to them, this is a business transaction, not a tax. If we can't get back the 400 guan, I will have no choice but to transport the grain back. Otherwise, what's going to happen to the reputation of the government?"
Yun Yan gazed at the tall grain stacks, also worried. Forget about 400 taels, he couldn't even pay 4 wen now. Who would have thought that a noble county marquis like him would be stuck because of 400 taels? His mother's... 400 taels of copper coins would fill two carts if transported by horse carriage. The Liangyou region was originally short on money, and most people were still in the era of bartering. Grains, copper coins, silk, silver, and even women were used as hard currency in some places. He had spent all the 500 taels he had embezzled himself, but it was like a drop in the bucket. At this moment, he deeply missed the four major state-owned banks that would be cursed by later generations. If only they could transport silver to him, even if they charged extra transaction fees, he would agree. Ah? Banks? He was a genius! Yesterday, that damned landlord had said that anyone who owed one coin would be beaten to death at the military camp gate. His son was still in the capital waiting for money; if he kept the 200 taels owed to the landlord and gave it to his son in the capital instead, wouldn't that solve the funding problem? Liu Fu Lu urgently needed the money to pay this year's taxes. Since they were both serving the country, couldn't the money be offset by the Ministry of Revenue using grains in the capital later? That would also save him from escorting it.
The cause and effect were clearly explained to Liu Fulu, who seemed somewhat moved but also a bit uneasy about Yun Yan. The look on Yun Yan's face when he blew up earlier was really unsettling. I, old Liu, am devoted to the country, if I were to be deceived by this unreliable young master, where would I go to reason with him?
The crown prince, as the crown prince, is there a better collateral in the world? Anyway, the Great Tang Dynasty belongs to his family, yours is his, mine is his, and his is still his. Yun Ye felt that Li Er's family was most suitable for the profession of a bandit, pulling out Xiao Xianger as collateral without any guilt.
He stated the current difficulties, no money to pay for others, but the Guanzhong disaster is imminent. Transporting 5 million stones of grain from Longyou to Chang'an is a systematic project that cannot be completed in less than half a year. We can't rush it, fortunately, there is the wise and brave Crown Prince sitting in Longyou, giving us space to operate. Explaining the operation process of modern banks one by one to the Crown Prince. Li Chengqian still had stars in his eyes, while Huang Zhen, who was responsible for counting grain, had golden light radiating from his eyes.
