Longzang

Chapter 909 I don’t even want to act anymore

In fact, ever since Wei Yuan founded Qingyuan, Li Chengfeng and the people of Zhao have been interested in it, and the King of Zhao has also discussed the matter of issuing paper money for Zhao.

However, issuing currency involves far too many factors, and the internal mechanisms are extremely complex. Qingming relies on its unparalleled grain, brocade, forged armor, cloth, and minor cultivation pills as backing to force its trading partners to use Qingyuan.

The Zhao state was self-sufficient, and the use of its currency was not very widespread. In addition, there was a lack of relevant talent, and the ministers were all confused about issuing paper money. They did not understand why they would do something unnecessary when they already had silver.

At the time, the King of Zhao was preoccupied with dealing with the Western Jin Dynasty and had no time to spare, so the matter was left unresolved. Li Chengfeng, on the other hand, was busy biding his time and only thought about the matter; he never expected that Zhang Sheng would bring it up himself.

Li Chengfeng was inwardly excited, but outwardly remained calm, saying, "I wonder what the regulations are for issuing currency?"

Zhang Sheng said, "The new currency is just a piece of paper. For it to be accepted by people, the most important thing is trust. Your Highness can place a batch of immortal silver or necessary goods in the bank, so that those who have Bishui coins can exchange them freely. As long as they can actually exchange for goods, trust will naturally be established."

Secondly, there's manufacturing and distribution. The key to manufacturing is durability and resistance to counterfeiting; these are minor details, so I won't elaborate. Distribution can be done through money shops. I see that Bishui is mostly populated by soldiers' families and artisans. If we simply distribute military pay in the new currency and order all merchant caravans to use it, a large part of the distribution will be achieved.”

Li Chengfeng tentatively asked, "What about trading with Qingming?"

Zhang Sheng said, “Of course I have no reason not to trust the Fourth Prince, so Bishui coins can be exchanged for Qingyuan at a one-to-one exchange rate. Initially, we will exchange 50 million Qingyuan. After that, the exchange can be handled by the two banks. If Bishui Bank is not familiar with the business, I can send some people from Qingming Bank to give them guidance. Once Bishui Bank can operate independently, these people can come back.”

Li Chengfeng thought about it carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. In particular, he suddenly realized that the 50 million Qingyuan he obtained could be placed in a bank, just like the Immortal Silver, for everyone to exchange. Wouldn't that be equivalent to having an extra 50 million in credit guarantees?

But Li Chengfeng never believed in free lunches, so he remained seated and said, "I am deeply grateful for Master Zhang's help. I just wonder if there is anything Master Zhang needs, so that I can do something to help him."

Zhang Sheng pondered for a moment, then said, "The Fourth Prince's power is immense, which is the greatest benefit to Qingming. However..."

Li Chengfeng and his trusted advisors knew the real drama was about to begin, so they all pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

Zhang Sheng said, "Currently, the Zhao Kingdom has severed ties with Qingming, with only Bishui as its port, which is quite inconvenient. I would like to establish several trading posts within the Zhao Kingdom and organize several caravans to facilitate the flow of goods. However, the trading posts and caravans need to be able to move freely within the Zhao Kingdom, so I would like to establish them in the name of the Fourth Prince."

Li Chengfeng immediately looked troubled. Within the nine kingdoms of Great Tang, there were numerous checkpoints levying taxes on traveling merchants. These checkpoints could be established by anyone from the royal families to county magistrates and prefects, and the types of taxes were numerous. A king's birthday celebration could result in a hundred or so additional taxes levied across the land. A prince's one-month celebration could also bring in a dozen or so more taxes.

Li Chengfeng said, "It's not that I'm making excuses, but sometimes my name isn't very useful. If we're on the Crown Prince's territory, it's better not to use this name at all."

"It's alright, we can go wherever we want."

Seeing Zhang Sheng's words, Li Chengfeng said to his men, "Pass on my order to prepare ten sets of documents for the trading post and three sets for the caravans immediately, and have them all done today. Master Zhang, do you think this is enough?"

Zhang Sheng nodded: "That's enough."

"Regarding the Azure Water Coins..."

Zhang Sheng said, "Tomorrow I will have Qingming Money House set up shop in Bishui. There will be enough manpower to guide Bishui Money House. Your Highness only needs to prepare the printing method. Once Bishui currency is officially issued, I will exchange 50 million Qingyuan for you first."

The rest are the details, which Li Chengfeng and Zhang Sheng don't need to worry about personally; the servants will handle them.

Li Chengfeng became much more enthusiastic and wanted Zhang Sheng to stay a few more days. Zhang Sheng declined, saying, "I still need to make a trip to Yuyang County."

Li Chengfeng was taken aback: "What is there in Yu Yang that is worth worrying about?"

Zhang Sheng said, "The nine western counties of Yuyang are now thriving again and have a large population. I plan to go there and take some homeless people in."

Li Chengfeng was dumbfounded. Yuyang County was currently filled with migrants filling unclaimed land, so where would these refugees come from? Judging from Zhang Sheng's words, even if there were no refugees, they would create them.

The Azure Nether army then set off, slowly making its way towards Yu Yang County. Not long after they left, scouts reported to Li Chengfeng that shortly after leaving the Azure Water Realm, the Azure Nether soldiers changed into variegated clothes and then raised the banner of the Nether Dragon Gang.

Li Chengfeng's expression was strange. These Qingming warriors who came were all in full heavy armor. Why did they change their clothes?

The scouts reported that they had simply thrown on some tattered clothes over their armor and marched towards Yuyang County. Li Chengfeng felt a strong urge to cover his face; his teacher, Wei Yuan, wasn't even willing to take acting seriously anymore.

He hesitated for a moment, glanced at the looks on the faces of his advisors, and said, "Report to my father..."

Not long after the messenger who reported to the court left, Li Chengfeng received another secret report, saying that another cavalry force, numbering in the tens of thousands, had appeared, bypassed the Bishui border, and was pursuing Zhang Sheng northeastward. Judging from the uniforms and banners of this cavalry, it should be the troops of Li Zhi, the military governor of Zhenshan.

Li Chengfeng's face darkened. He said, "When did Li Zhi amass 50,000 cavalry? That kid..."

He paced back and forth in the hall, going around dozens of times before finally saying, "Gather the troops! Follow him and see what he's up to! I told Father long ago that this guy is rebellious by nature and will never settle down. But Father wouldn't listen and even gave him such a good position."

A moment later, horns sounded in Biyue City, the army regrouped, and then followed Zhang Sheng and Li Zhi away.

In Yuyang County, Cui Shutong was teaching a class of dozens of young men, including his nephews, nieces, and younger members of his clan. Due to his repeated defeats in battles against Qingming, Cui Shutong had lost much of his power to the Prince of Zhao. Although he still held the title of Garrison Commander, his influence was far less than before.

In his spare time, he likes to teach the children in his clan and talk about history.

Just as the conversation was getting into place, a servant hurried into the study and whispered, "Your Excellency, there is important military news. A band of fierce bandits has appeared outside the prefecture and is only a day's journey away from us."

Cui Shutong remained expressionless and asked, "A notorious bandit? How notorious?"

"More than 10,000 men, all heavily armored cavalry, and dozens of tanks, including ten main battle tanks that could carry a hundred men and were equipped with heavy artillery."

Uncle Cui's hand trembled, and the book fell to the ground. He said, "Main battle tanks? You're telling me this is banditry?!"

The servant whispered, "Master, the rule you set was that anyone who came carrying the banner of bandits was a bandit. This group is carrying the banner of the Dark Dragon Gang."

"The Nether Dragon Gang? When did such a gang exist? Never mind, summon all the generals and begin the court proceedings!"

A moment later, all the generals had arrived at the garrison commander's office. Cui Shutong, already in armor, was looking at the map with a grim expression. He currently had a total of 80,000 troops in Yuyang County, but after deducting vacancies and the elderly, children, and disabled, he only had 50,000 left.

Facing Qingming's 10,000 fully heavily armed elite troops with 50,000 border soldiers, even though Cui Shutong was very confident in the border troops he had personally trained, he was still uneasy and dared not say that victory was certain. It wasn't that he was cowardly or afraid of battle, but rather that he had suffered too many crushing defeats in the past.

After Wei Yuan was appointed as the Southern Military Advisor, Cui Shutong secretly incorporated his troops into the Sixth Princess's army, intending to test Wei Yuan's abilities. However, before he could even assess Wei Yuan's capabilities, his troops were completely annihilated. Those who escaped couldn't even explain how they lost. They only said that there was fire and roaring all around, and then their brothers mysteriously vanished, without even seeing the faces of the Qingming warriors.

But with their enemy already at their doorstep, it would be unreasonable not to fight. Seeing the ashen faces of his generals below, Cui Shutong was enraged and roared, "These ruthless bandits have gone too far! Issue my order: prepare the army for battle! Tomorrow, the entire army will launch an attack and fight the enemy!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a voice rang out in the hall: "Good! That's the kind of spirit we want!"

Upon hearing this voice, the generals hurriedly stood up and knelt down to greet him.

King Zhao strode in and said, "Of course we must fight this battle, but not in this way. I have thirty thousand iron cavalry with you. Do you dare to fight?"

The Zhao cavalry was already renowned throughout the land, and their 30,000 troops far surpassed Cui Shutong's 50,000 border soldiers. Moreover, the Zhao cavalry had recently been equipped with short-barreled firearms for protection, further enhancing their combat strength.

Cui Shutong said in a deep voice, "Your subject will fight to the death to repay the emperor's kindness!"

King Zhao laughed heartily, stepped forward to help Cui Shutong up, and said, "What do you mean by a death battle? That's too unlucky. I'm waiting for your good news in this battle so that the barbarian bandits can witness the might of my Great Zhao's iron cavalry! Old Cui, you were once a cavalry commander, can you still ride a horse now?"

Cui Shutong's expression was complicated as he said, "The art of archery and horsemanship has never been neglected for a single day!"

"Very well! Tomorrow, in the decisive battle, I will take command of the central army in your stead! To bolster our prestige!"

(End of this chapter)