After Fang Chongyong came to Lanzhou, he decided not to leave for the time being. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the reorganization of the Tianwei Army, he selected a large number of warriors from these elites of Longyou, and there were more than 300 people, all of whom were regarded as ten.

Fang Chongyong divided the three hundred people into three teams, which were managed by He Changqi, Guan Chongsi, and Wang Tianyuan, and the rest followed as personal soldiers.

He didn't move for several days, and he had no intention of leaving Lanzhou at all.

Now even Wang Zhonghei can't stand it!

Fang Chongyong didn't leave, and he, the new envoy of Longyoujiedu, was embarrassed to return to Shanzhou with his troops.

So Wang Zhongsi personally came to inquire when Fang Chongyong could go to Liangzhou to take up his post.

After all, it would be good for everyone that the mess in Hexi was resolved as soon as possible.

And Fang Chongyong's answer is very simple: Ask someone to deal with the aftermath, then you must have the posture of inviting someone! Now Lao Tzu is the uncle, and the eight Tuwang Ba in Liangzhou are all grandsons!

When I was in Shazhou, Hexi for four years, did I take a dime more from these pups?

Now that there is chaos, I think of him Fang Yanei, why did he go earlier!

Fang Chongyong has already planned: if Liangzhou doesn't send someone to invite him this time, then he will write a letter to Brother Ji and ask the imperial court to redivide the Jiedu envoy defense area and move the station of the Hexi Jiedu envoy to Lanzhou! In the future, I will work in Lanzhou!

Look at the group of turtle grandchildren in Liangzhou, whether they sent someone to invite him to this great god!

Regarding Fang Chongyong's tough posture, Wang Zhongsi also felt helpless, and he didn't know how to persuade him, but he had to go to Shanzhou to take office, and he couldn't delay it any longer.

So Wang Zhongsi had to leave Lanzhou with the officer corps and the elite of the 1,000 Hedong Army, leaving Li Guangbi to command the Tianwei Army to train troops in Lanzhou, and replenish 10,000 soldiers, and at the same time let Ge Shuhan be the deputy military envoy.

This made Ge Shuhan very unhappy, but he was helpless.

If there is no proud record, if the central court and the Son of Heaven do not see that a certain general has any outstanding ability, then you have to rely on interpersonal relationships to climb up.

Li Guangbi has specific skills, although Ge Shuhan doesn't know, but he knows that the other party is Wang Zhonghe's hardcore cronies, similar to a righteous son.

That's enough.

As long as Wang Zhongsi is the envoy of Longyou Festival for one day, then Li Guangbi's career in the army will not have any trouble.

Sure enough, Fang Chongyong could still sit still, but the people on the west side of the river couldn't sit still!

Ten days later, an "uninvited guest" came to Lanzhou to visit Fang Chongyong. and presented the deed of a high-gate mansion in Wuwei City, as well as the title deed of hundreds of hectares of fertile land outside the city near the Macheng River.

Fang Chongyong, who felt that he had been fully "respected", opened the door to welcome the guests, and introduced the visitors to the study of the government to discuss important matters.

……

"The last general, An Chongzhang, the deputy envoy of the Chishui Army, see Fang Jieshuai......"

This middle-aged man who was nearly forty years old wanted to be introduced again, but he saw Fang Chongyong waving his hand and said, "You are the son of the An family, you don't need to say more, sit." ”

Fang Chongyong pointed to the cushion next to the table and said.

In Liangzhou, the An family was a large local family and also had influence in the court. Although the An clan in Liangzhou is not a one-handed cover, at least it is an existence that people dare not underestimate.

However, even so, the one who can be called "Childe" by Fang Chongyong must not be an ordinary An's.

In fact, the An Chongzhang in front of him is the direct descendant of the An family who participated in the politics of the Tang Dynasty with the four towns of Hexi as a "gift".

Specifically, he is the great-grandson of An Xinggui, one of the "Top Ten Heroes" during the Wude period.

In the early years of Tang Wude, An Xinggui, who was born in Liangzhou, used his family power to participate in the operation to eliminate Li Liang, the king of Liang, and successfully got on the bus.

Later, he was worshiped as the Shangzhu State, the Right Military Candidate General, and the Duke of Rongguo. The family has guarded Liangzhou for generations, and later defeated the Turkic army in Liangzhou, and served as the general of the right Xiaowei and the Duke of Liangguo.

The Chishui Army was his descendant back then.

And the An Chongzhang in front of him is An Xinggui's great-grandson.

If the rest of the An family came to Lanzhou, Fang Chongyong might not take it seriously.

But An Chongzhang's identity is different, the relationship between his family and the Tang clan is "ancestral" from the Wude period, and many of the family members are serving as civil officials in Chang'an, which can be regarded as opening up the "green channel" from the local Haoqiang to the center.

This face Fang Chongyong can't help but give.

"You're so kind, come and see what I have to bring."

Fang Chongyong patted the stack of house deeds on the table, and said very enthusiastically.

Hearing this, An Chongzhang was speechless, he could only bow with his hands crossed, and according to his father An Zhongjing's instructions, he said 1510:

"Fang Jieshuai, the scale of the Hexi caravan is getting smaller and smaller now, and all kinds of chaos are emerging one after another.

And the previous tax exemption policy of various customs passes can no longer be implemented.

The caravans in the Western Regions, that is, west of Shule Town (Kashgar, Xinjiang), no longer come to Shazhou for some reason.

In a word...... Hexi needs you to hurry up and preside over the overall situation. ”

An Chongzhang said very implicitly, and the actual situation was much more chaotic than he described.

Specifically, the trade routes in the Western Regions are scattered, no one is integrated, and there is no appropriate way to deal with them. All kinds of forces, including the assassins and government offices of the states in the Hexi Corridor, the Hu merchants in the Western Regions, the local heroes of the Han people, the settlements next to the Hu people's cities, the border army of the Tang Dynasty, etc., are all playing their own games without coordination.

It's no surprise that there are fewer and fewer things, and everyone wants to make a little more money for themselves, so it's becoming more and more difficult to maintain trade routes.

"Why don't the merchants of the Western Regions west of the Green Ridge come now?"

Fang Chongyong asked suspiciously, this question had been pressed in his heart for a long time.

On the surface, this kind of "trade blockade" by the big Hu merchants in the Western Regions can indeed gain the upper hand in a short period of time. However, judging from actual needs and historical experience, the trade blockade is a seven-wound punch that hurts others and oneself, and cannot be maintained for a long time.

The demand for trade along the Silk Road was too great to be resisted by laws and regulations alone.

So the current situation, in addition to the bankruptcy of the "Ponzi scheme", there must be a deeper reason.

"This, the last general doesn't know, so he can only wait for Fang Jieshuai to enter Liangzhou and then find a way to inquire."

An Chongzhang said helplessly.

"After a while, this section commander will also move his family to live in Wuwei City and deal with this matter thoroughly. Stay in Liangzhou for a long time.

I believe you should have no objections, you can believe in the sincerity of this section commander, right? ”

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile.

Hearing this, An Chongzhang was overjoyed, and hurriedly nodded his head and saluted.

"I went back first to inform others of the meaning of this section commander, and said that in a few days, I would lead the troops to Liangzhou.

Anyway, it's been so long, and it's not bad for a day or two, right? ”

Fang Chongyong said slowly.

"Jieshuai, a certain father gave a death order, so that the last general must return to Liangzhou with Fang Jieshuai.

If the marshal doesn't go to Liangzhou, he doesn't have to go back. ”

An Chongzhang's face was embarrassed, and at the risk of offending Fang Chongyong, he said stubbornly.

"Okay, I'll arrange a place for you to live in Lanzhou City, and you can live here for the time being."

Fang Chongyong sighed lightly, knowing that the piece of kraft candy in front of him couldn't be shaken off. An Chongzhang was nearly forty years old and still came out to ask for help, but it was really because the situation on the Hexi trade route was not optimistic.

Otherwise, he didn't want to come to Lanzhou to see other people's faces.

"That'...... The last general will not bother Fang Jieshuai. ”

An Chongzhang bowed solemnly, and then cautiously withdrew from the study, not daring to leave anything to chance.

After he left, Fang Chongyong let out a sigh and sighed silently.

He spread out a large piece of paper and planned to write a letter to Brother Ji, but after thinking about it for a long time, he didn't know how to write it. Just like many cancers in his previous life could not be cured, he can't solve the fundamental problems of Datang now.

At any time, the problems arising from development can only be solved by development!

Datang's systemic contradictions can also only be solved by continuous development.

The limit that can be achieved by any crooked move is nothing more than to delay the bomb explosion and buy time for possible subsequent reforms. This objective law is also applicable even in the era of advanced science and technology in Fang Chongyong's previous life.

It doesn't matter how people play, or how many tricks they play. Wealth and food can't be conjured out of thin air, no matter how you look at it, it's a game of drumming and passing flowers, and whoever falls on it is unlucky.

The method that Fang Chongyong thought of before was actually equivalent to "exchanging space for time", and the operation method was very complicated, but the principle was extremely simple.

The problem of Datang's central finance is that he said in his previous life that he had broken his ears about "insufficient liquidity", commonly known as the government running out of money.

In fact, the total amount of wealth at the social level of Datang is still very large, but the distribution is extremely uneven. In particular, many powerful people and local tycoons can be said to be full of brains and pockets.

But these wealthies are held by the powerful and do not participate in social circulation. The imperial court, or those in power, also need to use some unconventional means to collect all the money in the hands of the elites, and then allocate it by the central government, so as to delay the outbreak of the social crisis.

To put it bluntly, this set is to make up for the deficiency in the way of heaven and lose more than enough, and the state came forward to kill the pigs, and used the money obtained by the powerful to build the country in the form of government finance.

Or build canals and roads, or use them as military expenses.

According to Fang Chongyong's plan: to push up the price of luxury goods through artificial means, so that the Chang'an magnates follow suit, the first step of the plan was completed.

At this time, the state should act as a backstage to release these luxury goods, and exchange the silk and copper coins in the hands of the powerful into luxury goods with inflated prices, so as to alleviate the shortage of money in the central government.

However, Ji Ge did not facilitate this window period to fill the financial gap, but used the money to repair the Huaqing Palace, to reward cronies, and to maintain the huge expenses of the royal family as a whole.

For example, the daily expenses of the 60,000 palace maids and the huge group of eunuchs.

It's as if the money was conjured out of thin air and doesn't cost anything at all.

Moreover, one of the side effects of Fang Chongyong's move is that it will allow the powerful to join the smuggling of luxury goods in the trade route in the form of "shares", and they are both buyers and shareholders. While these people participated, they also advocated the trend, which was quite a bit of "acting for the tiger".

It's just that after a long time, most of the money these people get from smuggling channels will come from their own people, which is the so-called "eating themselves". So they have to keep pulling new people into the gang, otherwise the game of drumming and passing flowers will not be able to continue.

The groups that joined the gang ranged from merchants from the Western Regions to Jige, which was very broad.

Originally, this process would have taken many years to complete, but Brother Ji's greed and chaotic actions, and the greed of the Chang'an magnates, accelerated the process invisibly. After the madness, in the hands of the magnates, there are only a lot of expensive luxury goods in the Western Regions that are extremely expensive, priceless and unpopular, and have no use!

What about the things from the Western Regions, which can't be eaten or worn? Who would buy thousands or even tens of thousands of Egyptian gold masks to wear for themselves?

At this point, the dual-track price system is inevitable, as is the price reduction of luxury goods and the boom of the second-hand market, so it is not surprising that the price monopoly has collapsed.

In later generations, similar inflated items can be orchids and tulips, tea, jewelry, and even bitcoins, which are invisible and intangible, and have no effect at all!

Ponzi schemes, drumming and passing flowers, flowers are similar every year, and people are different every year.

The inherent fraud techniques that have been passed down since ancient times are faced with all kinds of greedy and "smart" players in various countries and periods.

It's tried and tested again and again!

In the past, Fang Chongyong set up a game, let Ji Ge sit in the village, and opened a pig killing plate.

Now the question is: there are no more new pigs to kill, is the next step to kill?

The answer is yes.

If the contradiction cannot be resolved, then it must be transferred. Otherwise, the retribution will be poured back on the person who sits in the bank.

Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong picked up a pen and wrote on paper:

“……

The matter in Hexi was caused by the fact that the hearts of the people in the west of the Green Mountains were not attached, and the big and small Bolu defected to Tibet. Or due to the political turmoil in the land of Persia.

Weichen suggested suspending the special supply of noble goods in the Western Regions, and after the rest of the country, he would rectify the trade routes and restrain the merchants.

After the canal is repaired, the energy source will continue to divert water. Weichen has no family assets and cannot afford to worship the saints, so he can only stabilize Hexi.

Weichen thought that the matter of the Western Regions was planned to be divided into three steps.

Step 1:

Stabilize the hearts of the people in Hexi, restore customs duties and local commercial taxes, and clean up bad debts.

Step 2:

……”

Even if he will offend Brother Ji, a lot of truths must be explained to this emperor who is so happy.

Ponzi scheme, no one can save it, so it can only be cut off to survive.

After writing the fold, Fang Chongyong called Cen Shen over, handed him the sealed fold and said:

"Judge Cen has worked hard to go to Chang'an, and he must hand over this secret fold to Gao Lishi with his own hands.

The stakes are high, and there must be no room for error. ”

Fang Chongyong said with a solemn face.

"Why is the festival marshal worried, so he set off for Chang'an."

Cen Shen said with a salute in his hand.

Fang Chongyong waved his hand weakly and said:

"I'm not in a hurry for these two days. By the way, you have served in the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, do you have any acquaintances, help me inquire about the countries of the Western Regions west of the Green Mountains, and those places further away, has there been any changes in the past two years. ”

"This is easy to do, just write a letter to Qiuzi Town, and it will take a month to send a letter to Liangzhou."

Cen Shen said disappreciatively.

"Well, be careful on your way."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, he always felt that something had happened in the Western Regions, otherwise the Ponzi scheme would not have been so sloppy that it could not be used so quickly.

After Cen Shen left, Fang Chongyong lay on the couch in the study like a dead fish, staring blankly at the oil lamp on the table in a daze.

He wondered in his heart: I don't know if Brother Ji chose to come out of the "sweet dream" after reading his letter, or fell into a new "sweet dream" and continued to sink?

It's probably the latter!

At this moment, the door of the study was pushed open, and Pei Xiu sneaked in quietly like a thief, her face was tangled and not the same as the previous big grin.

"What's wrong?"

Fang Chongyong asked suspiciously.

"Ah Lang, the concubine hasn't had her menstrual period for a long time. Today, I quietly looked at the medical officer in the city and said that I was happy. ”

Pei Xiu said with a difficult face.

She didn't want children, but I don't know if it was because of the frequency of sexual intercourse, and she finally got hit.

I don't know when it happened, in short, Fang Chongyong's child didn't run.

"Born! I raise! ”

Fang Chongyong put his arm around Pei Xiu's shoulders and said.

"Really?"

Pei Xiu was overjoyed, and her hanging heart finally fell.

"Of course it's true."

(End of chapter)