Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 185 It's not Li Er, the Tang Dynasty is really doomed this time
"Lord Baolin, I see that you are seriously ill. Do you want to rest for a few days? Do you need the imperial physician to nurse you back to health?"

Changan Newspaper.

Li Ming pushed Hou Baolin with disgust, trying his best to keep the snot-covered face at arm's length.

However, after a year of development, Hou Baolin seemed to have awakened his military bloodline, and his height suddenly increased. Li Ming was actually a little unable to hold on to him.

"Brother Ming, what have you been busy with recently? You haven't come to the newspaper office, and the brothers haven't seen you."

Hou Baolin's speech is much more fluent than when he was in primary school last year. He is now a completely grown-up kid.

My nose is still runny, and I suspect that my allergic rhinitis is a bit serious.

Hou Baolin is not like other older children, she has only just started her education.

Moreover, it can be seen from his grandfather Hou Junji that their Hou family is obviously not a family of geniuses who "read poetry and books at a young age".

Therefore, Hou Baolin could not work like a slave (crossed out) and contribute directly to the country's news and communication industry like other friends, and he also studied in a private school.

However, Hou Junji also intended to build a closer relationship between his grandson and the young leader, so that he could show up at the Chang'an Newspaper Office from time to time after studying.

"Oh, there is always something to do." Li Ming scratched his head in distress.

This is not an excuse, he has indeed been busy handling government affairs remotely recently.

Liaodong (including Goguryeo) is easier to deal with.

It has a complete organizational structure, with Wei Daijia in charge, assisted by the three young men Zhangsun Yan, Fang Yize, and Yuchi Xunyu, as well as a professional official system built from scratch.

Basically, we can do this: on the basis of resolutely implementing the general policy, give full play to subjective initiative and mobilize the work enthusiasm of all levels.

The industrial and agricultural production in Pingzhou and Yingzhou grew steadily. Xue Rengui was actively developing members of the Red Turban Army in the two military governorates, and the swallowing of Goguryeo was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

Everything looks in good order.

If you only look at the local reports in Liaodong.

However, outside of the financial statements, there are always two off-field factors that bother Li Ming.

One is a small matter. The postal service between the capital and Liaodong was becoming increasingly slow, and waiting for a month had become the norm.

Because Liaodong sends reports to Li Ming every day, although there are delays, in theory he should receive it every day.

However, the current situation during this period is: no letters for a few days, and then only a few days.

Apparently the postal staff packed several days' worth of letters together and delivered them all at once.

This saves effort, but also loses timeliness.

Li Ming even found the official in charge of the post office, his immediate superior, to lodge a complaint.

That is, Brother Li Zhi.

The postal service was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War of the Secretariat, and the Minister of War Li Shiji was Li Zhi's first close minister and number one henchman.

Li Zhi actually asked and gave timely feedback on the reason:
The Ministry of War of the prefectures and counties near Yanshan Mountain abolished the monthly salary of the couriers in the form of currency and distributed rice as stipend instead.

This led to some postmen who had enough land but lacked money to resign, which greatly affected the efficiency of letter delivery.

In addition to this small matter, there is another big thing that bothers Li Ming.

It is obvious that there is something wrong with the economies of Hebei and Shandong.

Liaodong has always been doing business with the neighboring brother states and counties of the Tang Dynasty (crossed out).

Not to mention copper and iron products and minerals, the total trading volume suddenly dropped sharply this month.

The transaction amount was also falling, but it was only the "gold" amount that fell. Mainland buyers were still using the Tang Dynasty's hard currency such as rice, millet, and cloth to pay for goods.

Not only copper and iron, but also other goods exported to brother states and counties, whether private or official, were almost always paid in kind.

We are back to the era of barter.

Although this caused Liaodong's grain and cloth warehouses to overflow, it also left behind the hidden danger of "low grain prices hurting farmers", which could not last long.

When Liaodong purchased goods from the mainland, it suddenly discovered that the purchasing power of the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" in its hands had exploded.

The value doubled overnight, one penny was worth several pennies, and you could buy things for free.

This is obviously abnormal in an agricultural society with stable productivity and in ancient times when precious metals were used as currency.

And this can be linked to the previous "little thing" -

The prefectures and counties in the Youyun area bordering Pingzhou were unable to pay the postmen's wages in cash, so they paid them in rice instead, which led to the resignation of a large number of postmen.

"We have to buy a lot of ironware from Liaodong, but we can't afford the copper coins.

"What happened in Hebei recently? Why is there a sudden shortage of metal?"

Li Ming sat in the newspaper office and asked reporters who should have been well-informed.

The reporters shook their heads, saying they didn't know.

Because this newspaper is called "Chang'an Newspaper" instead of "Datang Newspaper", its sources of information are mainly limited to the city of Chang'an, and it is not clear about the developments in other regions.

"There are many businessmen from other places in Chang'an. Have you asked?" Li Ming knocked on the table.

"Uh..." Facing the president's question, editor-in-chief Pei Xingjian replied somewhat ashamedly:
"We really don't know much about the affairs of peddlers..."

After all, we are not like Li Ming who has the third eye and has not been influenced by Liaodong, so our thoughts are still deeply influenced by the times.

Apart from the propaganda tasks assigned by Li Ming, the focus of material selection was subconsciously arranged in the order of "emperors, generals and ministers" and "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans".

Therefore, the content of newspapers mainly focused on the movements of the imperial court, and paid little attention to the movements of the streets and neighborhoods, especially in the commercial sector.

"Alas... I'm not blaming you." Li Ming started blaming:
"Ordinary people love to watch stories about palace fighting, and it is convenient for you to get materials from the palace. Based on cost-benefit calculations, there is nothing wrong with this decision.

"But you should also pay more attention to the people, do your part... be the eyes, ears and voice of the court, and provide a basis for governing the country."

"Your teaching is..." Pei Xingjian nodded hesitantly.

Behind poor little Pei, Di Renjie and Lai Junchen stood straight.

Li Ming waved to them.

The two men curiously lowered their heads, and ended up getting slapped in the face.

"Even if editor-in-chief Pei Xingjian is 90% wrong, don't you have any responsibility at all?" Li Ming asked back.

Lai Junchen still had a greasy smile on his face:

"Hey, Master Ming, we are different.

"Our work is really limited to the 'court'."

Only limited to officials appointed by the imperial court...Di Renjie added in his mind.

Okay, okay, you’re trying to shirk responsibility by playing bureaucracy, right? Li Ming left the newspaper office angrily and returned to the streets of Xishi.

He realized that there were indeed blind spots in his intelligence work.

The Liaodong Intelligence Committee is mainly responsible for external affairs. Since the various committees are responsible for reporting on the local economic and social conditions in Liaodong, he knows them well.

Chang'an's Anti-Counterrevolutionary Committee mainly targeted the bureaucratic system. It was an intelligence agency that collected intelligence on officialdom and carried out infiltration and assassinations.

What's he still missing?
He also lacked an agency to collect social and economic intelligence outside Liaodong.

Although he could see the big data of counties and prefectures across the country in Fang Xuanling's Shangshu Province, he could also write letters to ask Cui Mingan, the governor of Youzhou.

But the data reported by grassroots officials outside Liaodong, haha, can only be "for reference only".

Whether it is accurate or not is another matter, but it is definitely not timely enough, and the data may all be from last year.

But some important market information, such as the trading prices of common metals such as copper and iron, changes rapidly.

The annual iron output of the Tang Dynasty was only one or two million jin, or a total of one or two thousand tons. Any slight fluctuation in trading could lead to drastic price fluctuations.

In addition, due to the inconvenience of transportation between different places, the markets in various places are essentially semi-closed. The smaller the market capacity, the more drastic the price fluctuations.

This will obviously have a great impact on local production and life.

In order to respond and prevent such incidents in advance, it is necessary to obtain timely key economic data information from various regions.

“It’s just that until I take over the country and carry out comprehensive reforms, it will be impossible to get real-time and accurate national data.

"As a second choice, I should start with the people, collect information about people's livelihood in the villages and towns, and make qualitative rather than quantitative judgments on the dynamics of social and economic development..."

While thinking, Li Ming strolled on the streets of West City surrounded by armored guards.

"Brother Ming~Brother Ming!"

While thinking, Li Ming vaguely heard someone calling him.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers in the front row began to stir.

The guards caught a man and pinned him to the ground with his hands behind his back.

"What happened?" Li Ming immediately became alert.

The soldiers stood guard on both sides of Li Ming and said solemnly:
"Your Highness, a suspicious Turk suddenly approached, and he seems to be plotting something bad!"

Turks, coming again? ... Li Ming's heart was in his throat.

"Hey, Brother Ming, it's me! Zhishi Buzhen~"

The suspicious Turkic man, who was pinned to the ground by a pile of armored soldiers, took his last breath and uttered a weak cry.

…………

"Oh my, if Master Ming hadn't rescued me in time, I would have been crushed to death..."

At a roadside tea stall, Zhi Shisili was drinking tea to calm himself, and from time to time he would glance at the majestic guard with lingering fear.

"Oh, I've always felt that Brother Ming was from an extraordinary background, and sure enough..." Zhishisili smacked his lips.

As a black market merchant who sold stolen goods for Li Ming at the beginning, he always adhered to the tacit understanding of this business.

Do not take the initiative to inquire about the details of your trading counterparty.

Li Ming looked at this industry dark lamp, which was thinner and more dilapidated than the last time they met and always missed the target accurately, and said abruptly:
"Brother Zhishi, are you bankrupt again?"

Zhishisi's face flushed red, veins popped out on his forehead, and he argued:
"Spending money doesn't count as bankruptcy! ... How can a businessman's affairs count as bankruptcy!"

Then came the talk of “others are panicking, but I am greedy” and “value investing”, and the tea stall was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"What are you busy with recently?" Li Ming asked.

The eyes evaded when the person lost his step:

"I was invited to the Dali Temple for questioning. I was asked some questions about the tribe's past."

Oh my, Fang Xuanling and his team have tracked down your case.

Li Ming was a little surprised.

I remembered that Zhishi Buzhen was also a member of the Ashina Jieshe tribe.

On the eve of the Jiucheng Palace incident, it was this old man who leaked the news.

"That's not what I'm asking." Li Ming exposed Zhi Shibuzhen's excuse:

"Why did you go bankrupt again this time?"

Zhi Shi Buzhen suddenly became embarrassed and his face turned red.

Finally, he lowered his head and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth:

"I'm so stupid, really..."

Listening to the Turkic brother's complaints, Li Ming's expression gradually became sympathetic.

Some time ago, I heard that the iron price in Yangzhou had risen.

With the spirit of a gambler who wanted to make a fortune, the brother sold all his face, borrowed some money from a bank, bought a batch of steel, and spent money to transport it to Yangzhou.

Unexpectedly, it is true that the price of iron in Yangzhou has risen a lot, but the price of copper has risen even more.

If you directly exchange iron for copper coins locally, the total amount of money you get will be less than the cost, which is a huge loss.

Helplessly, Zhi Shi Buzhen had to abandon copper coins and instead accept two other common physical currencies in the Tang Dynasty - rice and cloth.

As a result, the south was hit by continuous rainfall that occurs once in a century.

The rice was moldy and the cloth was eaten by insects, and the remaining cloth of slightly higher value was somehow transported back to Chang'an.

As a result, the cloth market in Chang'an was taken advantage of by a certain comrade Li Ming who wished to remain anonymous by hoarding goods last year, which led to a surge in the number of silkworm farmers who followed suit. This year, the supply has skyrocketed and the price has plummeted.

It perfectly fits the agricultural product spider web model in economics.

In order to repay the high-interest loan from the money house, Zhi Shi Buzhen had to sell the cloth for meat.

After all this back and forth, after deducting the costs of shipping, interest, etc., Brother Zhishi still owed a lot of debt.

"you……"

Li Ming couldn't help but hold his forehead.

In a sense, Brother Zhishi was actually very well-informed and had sensed the business opportunities in Yangzhou very early on.

This can be seen from the fact that the Jiucheng Palace incident was tipped off in advance.

It’s just that my brother’s idea is really... too unlucky.

So, luck is also the sum of strength...

"Wait, you said Yangzhou is also short of copper and iron?" Li Ming was horrified.

"Yeah, it happened a few months ago." Zhi Shibuzhen nodded hatefully.

Damn it, I clearly seized the business opportunity and there was nothing wrong with the operation, so why did I lose so much money...

Damn it, why...

boom!
There was a dull thud, like the sound of a hard brick hitting the tea table.

Zhi Shibu was really startled and looked carefully.

Li Ming slapped a shiny silver brick on the table.

Well, it’s made of silver, silver bricks…

"Give it to you to pay your debt, and keep the rest for yourself."

Li Ming pushed the brick to the other side.

Zhi Shibuzhen's breathing suddenly became rapid and he was almost fainted with excitement.

"No, Brother Ming, Master Ming...you..."

Why is this little bastard, who always takes advantage of others, so generous today?
"No, compared to the information you provided, this is nothing..."

Li Ming spoke absentmindedly and hurriedly jumped off the chair, already sweating profusely.

"Wait, Brother Ming... Master Ming! Where are you going? I... I'll treat you to a meal."

Zhi Shibu was almost unconscious due to the sudden happiness, and he forced himself to say a few polite words using the "Chinese-style courtesy" he had learned in the past few years of doing business.

Li Ming didn't even turn his head:

"Go back to the palace!"

Things are getting serious! Things are getting serious!

I originally thought that the shortage of copper and iron was limited to the Youyun area adjacent to Hepingzhou.

Unexpectedly, it has spread to Yangzhou in Huainan!
This is already half of the Tang Dynasty!

Moreover, Yanyun is close to the resource-rich Yanshan Mountain and Taihang Mountain, while Yangzhou has convenient water transportation links with Ma'anshan, which is rich in steel.

There should be no shortage of copper and iron in both places!
But it's still missing!
In the end what happened?
Following this trend, this bizarre metal shortage will sooner or later spread to Guanzhong and the capital, and sweep across the country!
…………

In the Lizheng Hall of Taiji Palace, Li Shimin locked himself in the study in a rage.

Provoked by Fang Xuanling's report, his good mood of the past few days was ruined again.

"If the assassin didn't act on impulse, and wasn't seeking revenge for Ashina Jieshe...

"So someone instructed him?"

Li Shimin was a very smart man and he quickly thought of this.

"Who ordered them to kill Li Ming?

"Li Chengqian? Li Tai? Li Zhi? Or are they three brothers working together?"

He talked to himself with some annoyance and sarcasm.

Is this the reason why Li Ming was in a hurry to escape from Chang'an?
He thought that one of the three brothers wanted to kill him?
He suspected that Li Chengqian, who had the biggest change among the three, was the most suspicious?
Or is it that Li Ming is just taking advantage of the situation to play out a self-torture trick to make me suspicious of Li Chengqian and alienate the relationship between father and son?
Then what was Li Tai doing?
Why was Li Tai in such a hurry to go to Luoyang?
Is it really to renovate his Prince Wei's Palace?
Who would believe that? He doesn’t need to build the house himself!

Besides, why not make the repairs at any other time, but now when the competition for the reserve is becoming increasingly fierce?

Did Li Tai not want to be assassinated, so he surrendered and begged for mercy from his brothers in advance?
Or is it to add insult to injury to Li Chengqian and make me more suspicious of Chengqian, even at the cost of my own future?
Alas, among the four, Li Zhi is the most honest.

But he didn't move for a long time. Was it too late for him to see the problem?

"Hey, hey, hey! Annoyed, annoyed!

"None of these bastards are easy to deal with!"

After Fang Xuanling opened the box, Li Shimin's thoughts scattered in all directions like a wild horse.

Sometimes he thinks that none of the four kids are good people, and sometimes he thinks that his own children would not kill each other.

He jumped back and forth from side to side, making him so confused that he wanted to pull his hair out.

"Is raising a child so torturous, Father..."

Li Shimin couldn't help but mutter.

Just then, Li Ming rushed into the study, sweating profusely.

Behind this lawless little prince, the eunuchs hurriedly chased after him, like puppies in trouble, lowered their heads and glanced at His Majesty, saying angrily:
"Your Majesty, the Liaodong governor requests to see you..."

"I saw it, you don't need to tell me."

Li Shimin quickly gathered his composure, regained his former dignity, and used his eyes to drive the confused eunuchs away.

Only the father and son were left in the study.

Li Shimin looked at his youngest son who was running towards him panting and sighed:
"It's not that I can't understand your troubles, but you are a little too vigilant.

“As a younger brother, you shouldn’t doubt your brother so much, it’s disrespectful.

"I will further strengthen your guard, but if you want to leave the capital and go to Liaodong, no. And using this as an excuse to discredit your rivals is even worse."

Li Ming was stunned:
"what are you saying?"

He pretends to be innocent and looks quite convincing... Li Shimin sneered:
"Don't you suspect that your brother is against you? Do you want to put pressure on me based on this?"

"Who cares about those petty palace fights!" Li Ming waved his hands irritably:

"Something big has happened! This time the Tang Dynasty is really doomed!"

(End of this chapter)