Early in the morning, in Taipingfang, Chang'an City, the crowds in line have all lined up on Chunmingmen Street, and there is a trend of continuing to lengthen.

These people all came to line up and exchange Chang'an Jiaozi for silk silk.

But rumor has it that if you're just an ordinary person, no matter how early you get up to line up, there's no way you're going to get in line!

Many unbelievers have tried, and it is.

However, there are also many "middlemen" and "scalpers" in private, who will find the person in line and tell him that he can accept Chang'an Jiaozi and half the amount of cloth in denomination and exchange it for the same amount of Hexi Jiaozi.

Hexi Jiaozi can freely exchange silk silk, and it doesn't matter how he gets it.

Of course, if the warehouse of the Hexi Concert Institute is out of stock, you will have to wait, but you can wait anyway.

At first glance, playing like this may seem like losing half of your wealth. But in fact, the shops selling cloth in Chang'an City basically don't accept Chang'an Jiaozi anymore. Even many shops in other industries will not accept if they can!

Many businessmen have a lot of Chang'an Jiaozi in their hands, and they can't spend it at all!

Why is this so?

Because the reputation of the imperial court is too poor, it was said before that it could be exchanged for silk silk, and it could be exchanged for one to one according to the denomination. As a result, when it was the turn to redeem, it was either out of stock, or the quality of the cloth was so poor that it could not be used at all.

It is an unspeakable fact that the dignitaries and nobles put their hands on this business, and after the first batch of silk silk used up as a reserve, the quantity of the second batch was much less than that of the first batch, and it was no longer able to meet the daily exchange.

God knows how many Chang'an Jiaozi were printed by the imperial court! The cost of this thing is almost nothing! The second batch of Jiaozi is very large, much more than the first batch, and as a result, the reserve of the second batch is even less than that of the first batch!

However, in just a few months, there have been problems with the circulation of Chang'an Jiaozi, and the situation is far more serious than Fang Chongyong's original estimate.

Moreover, the disadvantages of silk as a monetary equivalent are also beginning to appear at this moment.

Gold and silver don't care whether it's good or bad, just look at the purity. However, silk silk is divided into quality, and sometimes the quality is not easy to divide. The quality of the cloth is too low, even if the quantity is large, the dignitaries will not want it, they only want the value of the "Jiaozi", and do not want to exchange the silk silk.

In other words, this "silk standard gold" is actually divided into grades, and there is a possibility of shoddy.

This has laid a hidden danger for the poor exchange of Chang'an Jiaozi.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

"Closed today! Closed today! Time's up! No more queuing! ”

A soapman shouted with a gong and drum.

He walked along the crowd in line, banging the gong and shouting. The people who heard his shouting were all mournful.

The time for the imperial court to open the exchange of silk silk is getting shorter and shorter! There used to be two hours, but now it's almost an hour!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I see that there are still a lot of silk silks in the shop, let's go in and take it and leave, and putting the Jiaozi on the counter is not considered a robbery!

There are many people, and the government will not ask for guilt! ”

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

"Rob!"

"Pay me back my hard-earned money!"

"Rush in, there are a lot of us, fight!"

A mob appeared in the crowd in the queue, and a large number of people pushed away the Jinwu guards who were maintaining order at the scene, broke through the barrier and came to the shop that exchanged Jiaozi.

Drop off the coat on the counter?

Hehe, since I can buy it for zero yuan, then why spend money? Even if Chang'an Jiaozi is not easy to use, many places do not accept it, but it is also money!

Due to the large number of people looting and the area of Taipingfang is not large, the crowds in and out push each other, and it didn't take long for a big mess and crying. As for those Jin Wuwei, seeing that the situation was wrong, they ran to shake people!

"Jin Wuwei is doing things, and the idle people are waiting to avoid it!"

There was a loud shout in the distance!

Zhang Guangsheng, the general of Zuo Jin Wuwei, led more than 100 Jin Wuwei, trotted all the way from the south of the city to the Taiping Fang near the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Imperial City, and they all gasped for breath when they arrived at the place. Seeing the explosion in front of him, Zhang Guangsheng didn't know how to end.

When he was inspecting the outer city of Chang'an, such a big thing happened, and a scolding was inevitable.

"Grab all the cloth in their hands, and let the others go!"

Zhang Guangsheng immediately shouted!

Behind him, the guards of the Golden Go, armed with sticks, dispersed the crowd like ducks. After the unrelated people dispersed, there were more than a dozen bloody bodies lying on the ground, not knowing whether they were dead or alive.

Some people still hold a roll of silk silk in their arms and don't let go, some people are obviously children, and the ground is full of hideous blood marks.

Zhang Guangsheng looked at the people who were arrested not far away, there were probably dozens, and they were all stolen and seized.

But more of them are taking advantage of the chaos to escape, and it is difficult to catch it.

The robbery of Chang'an Jiaozipu will soon be heard in the streets of Chang'an City, and it will definitely trigger a new round of queuing up to get silk silk. A big mess seems inevitable.

Zhang Guangsheng remembered that Fang Chongyong had told him about this phenomenon before, which seemed to be called "run", and the situation was very bad.

"Zhang Lang will work hard."

Suddenly, a smiling voice sounded in Zhang Guangsheng's ears, and when he looked back, he saw that it was a white and chubby young official wearing a scarlet official robe.

"Ah, it's Liu Sicao."

Zhang Guangsheng "suddenly realized" and deliberately pretended not to know why the other party came.

In fact, this Si Cao named Liu Yan is the Si Cao of the newly established "Jiaozi Division" of the Ministry of Households, in charge of the issuance of Chang'an Jiaozi.

Today's chaos is hard to blame. The other party is also here for official purposes.

At this moment, when the two met, Liu Yan didn't feel embarrassed, but Zhang Guangsheng felt embarrassed.

"What does Zhang Lang think of Chang'an Jiaozi?"

Liu Yan suddenly asked quietly.

Zhang Guangsheng didn't think about it, patted his head and replied, "Who used that bird!" ”

He regretted it as soon as he said it, because this was undoubtedly a crazy slap in the face of Liu Yan.

"Zhang Lang doesn't have to worry about it, the official is also using Hexi Jiaozi every day, after all, this kind of Jiaozi maintains its value, and the official doesn't have to worry about it.

Although Chang'an Jiaozi is single-handedly run by the official, the official does not receive heavy gifts on a daily basis like others, so it is not possible to use Hexi Jiaozi. On the day of the fate, the official would take advantage of his position to replace Chang'an Jiaozi with Hexi Jiaozi.

Zhang Langjiang's thoughts can be understood by this official. ”

Liu Yan said with a smile, he was very talkative, and he didn't shy away from the "open secret".

Chang'an Jiaozi has been depreciating by half for a few months, and it is still depreciating, and no one can stand the current speed.

Therefore, on the day of the distribution of the imperial court, almost all officials will invariably use Chang'an Jiaozi. They are officials, so naturally they don't have to be like businessmen, they have to pay a sum of silk silk as a "handling fee" in exchange for Hexi Jiaozi, and there is a special person to "recycle" the Chang'an Jiaozi in their hands.

Officials "lead by example" and take the lead in not using Chang'an Jiaozi is of course a heinous crime. But with Chang'an Jiaozi in hand, there is no way to maintain a decent life, so you have to be corrupt and accept bribes to make a living.

Liu Yan didn't want to take bribes, so he chose to use his connections to exchange Chang'an Jiaozi for Hexi Jiaozi. It is also a kind of flexibility "within the system".

"Chang'an Jiaozi chaos, Liu Sicao doesn't care?"

Zhang Guangsheng asked a little confused.

Fools can also see that there is a big problem with Chang'an Jiaozi!

"Someone suggested that the official play to the sage and take back the right to issue Hexi Jiaozi, but the official refused, do you know why?"

Liu Yan didn't answer this question directly, but talked about Hexi Jiaozi, and his words today seem to be extraordinarily much.

Zhang Guangsheng shook his head and said, "I don't know." ”

"Now there are two kinds of Jiaozi in the market, and Hexi Jiaozi is the one with smooth circulation. But in any case, the imperial court has a substitute, and so do the people.

If the issuance right of Hexi Jiaozi is withdrawn, then Hexi Jiaozi will soon become today's Chang'an Jiaozi.

In this way, where there are friends, the market will be chaotic and all industries will be depressed. Jiaozi will one day become waste paper and return to barter, who can afford this responsibility? ”

Liu Yan sighed lightly and said. In many cases, the policy is just the lesser of two evils, and if you don't sit in that position, you won't know how difficult things are.

At present, there are still some PY transactions between the Jiaozi Division of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Hexi Jinju Academy, and the internal "currency swap" at least ensures the smooth circulation of Jiaozi as currency for some people and certain industries in Chang'an City.

For example, if an official's salary or something is available, it can be directly "exchanged internally", which is already an "open secret".

However, if the household department drags Hexi Jiaozi into its hands, then there will be no alternative, and there will inevitably be turbulent waves!

Liu Yan is very cautious, if Chang'an Jiaozi is not saved, he simply does not save it, everything is based on the overall situation. Business operations can be sustained, finances can be sustained, then that's fine.

"What's the use of Liu Sicao talking so much with this big boss? I can't understand these complicated truths!

A certain person can only use money, not print money! ”

Zhang Guangsheng asked with a confused expression.

Liu Yan leaned over, lowered his voice and said:

"I heard that Zhang Lang will have a very personal relationship with Fang Jieshuai, there is a letter here, can you give it to Fang Jieshuai in private, and ask him to help the official refer to the improvement method of Jiaozi.

This Chang'an Jiaozi has depreciated too quickly, and the official is already a little unbearable, so please ask Fang Jieshuai to do a favor. ”

After speaking, he took out a letter from his cuff and handed it to Zhang Guangsheng.

It turns out that you know that you are afraid!

Zhang Guangsheng looked at Liu Yan with a strange expression, if this person shouted "Chang'an Jiaozi was made by this official" now, he would be beaten to death on the spot.

In the future, Chang'an Jiaozi will collapse, and Liu Yan's demotion is a trivial matter, and it is very likely that he will be directly scolded by Brother Ji.

"That's okay, but Fang Jieshuai is in the Western Regions now, it's hard to find, a certain person will send someone to deliver the letter as much as possible, in case it can't be delivered, then don't blame me."

Zhang Guangsheng took the letter and said noncommittally.

Liu Yan didn't care, and bowed with his hands and left. To be honest, he stayed here, watching the Chang'an Jiaozi he planned single-handedly become a tamper who hated dogs, and he felt very uncomfortable.

He's already trying to make as few friends as possible.

However, if a saint wants to print money for military expenses today and money for rewards tomorrow, what else can he do if he prints money and does not give it to the reserves?

Liu Yan can't make money!

If he hadn't insisted on opening Jiaozi's shop and didn't completely refuse to exchange silk silk, Chang'an Jiaozi's credit would have collapsed long ago!

On the other hand, in order to pay salaries to officials, the household department also transfers a part of silk silk to the Hexi Jinju Academy every month in exchange for Hexi Jiaozi, which is actually reducing the circulation scope of Chang'an Jiaozi in disguise.

There are fewer "reserves" available!

What will happen in the long run, Liu Yan doesn't dare to think about it!

I hope that I will have nothing to do during my tenure.

It's about to be a saint's birthday feast, and it costs money. In the past, the household department had to find ways to make money, but now it won't, just print money. It seems to simplify the steps, but in fact, it quenches your thirst.

What to do?

He didn't know either.

Liu Yan left with a lonely face, the baby was bitter and couldn't speak.

The next day, Jiaozixing's robbery was sent to Ji Ge's desk in the form of a fold. Chen Xilie, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, played that the rogue robbed Jiaozixing in Chang'an, which had a very bad impact and was extremely destructive, especially bad, and it was recommended to punish it severely and deal with it quickly.

Brother Ji instructed: Kill and decide, and abandon the corpse in the south of the city for ten days, so as to set an example.

Another decree was issued to let Zuo Jinwu Wei Zhonglang General Zhang Guangsheng strengthen the inspection of Chang'an East City and West City. Those who refuse to accept Chang'an Jiaozi are guilty of the same crime as robbery and are sent to Jinwuwei Prison.

This order is also known as the "Jiaozi Order".

As soon as this news came out, Chang'an was in an uproar from the civil and military officials to the small people in Shengdou. In the past, although the issuance of Jiaozi was mandatory, because it could be exchanged for silk silk, its practicality ranked first.

Now that the imperial court has explicitly forbidden the refusal to accept Chang'an Jiaozi and severely punished the violators, this makes it clear that there will be a robbery in the open!

After getting the exact news, Zhang Guangsheng has not yet started to implement it, and most of the shops in the east and west cities of Chang'an have begun to close their doors, determined to avoid the edge for the time being.

If you don't accept the crime, you will go to jail, so it's okay if I don't open the door to do business, right?

Whose goods are not brought by the waves!

After that, the wine shops, green buildings, and shops in Chang'an also began to close down one after another, quietly fighting against the ugly looting of the imperial court.

Since most of the East Market and West Market and the Qinglou of the wine shop have been extinguished, the various small merchants and hawkers in Chang'an City cannot survive alone, and in the end, there is not even a single person selling Hu cakes in the workshop.

Everyone knows that Jin Wuwei is investigating the affairs of Jiaozi, and they all choose to close their stores and close their businesses.

Almost overnight, Chang'an City was depressed. People covered their wallets for fear of being caught by Jin Wuwei's people, and forcibly exchanged the Hexi Jiaozi or silk silk in their hands for Chang'an Jiaozi.

The "first Chang'an commercial crisis", which was like a thunderstorm on the ground, spread at an unimaginable speed under the effect of the "Jiaozi Order", which was greatly picketed by the government. Chang'an City, which was originally vibrant, suddenly became a "dead city" with a depression in all industries.

Knowing that the "Jiaozi Order" was boycotted by all walks of life, Brother Ji was furious and furious, and ordered Zhang Guangsheng to hurry up and inspect and not let go of any corner.

Of course, if the cow doesn't drink water, if you just hold the bull's head, it will only do half the work. Zhang Guangsheng persisted for more than ten days in a row, but he didn't even catch a single hair, but in the Xingqing Palace, where Brother Ji was located, he couldn't even buy the materials needed for daily use.

He, the seemingly omnipotent emperor, had no choice but to complain to Li Linfu, asking Li Linfu to rectify the problems in the circulation of Chang'an Jiaozi from time to time in the future.

And the edict of the "Jiaozi Order", although it was not withdrawn, Jin Wuwei no longer checked the refusal to accept Chang'an Jiaozi, which was equivalent to Ji Ge pinching his nose and acquiescing in being slapped in the face by the Chang'an traders.

Soon, Chang'an City regained its former vitality again, and it was still the capital of the Tang Dynasty that was loyal to Brother Ji.

……

The outer city is three miles long and two miles wide; The middle city is two miles long and one mile wide; The inner city is half a mile long and half a mile wide! This is the specification of Jinmancheng, the capital city of Tingzhou under the rule of the Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate, the classic three-layer nested structure of the outer city of the horse city and the outer city of the inner city.

Although the city is not unusual, behind Jinmancheng is the Dongba River, and in front is a dense wheat field that cannot be seen at a glance! At this time, it was the autumn harvest, and as far as the eye could see, it was all low-hanging ears of wheat, and patches of golden yellow.

"This ambassador knows why this place is called Jin Mancheng."

Fang Chongyong rode on a horse and pointed to the wheat in the field with a horsewhip and said to Bian Lingcheng. The abundance of Tingzhou is worthy of being the capital of Xinjiang in later generations!

Qiuzi to Yanqi hundreds of miles, Yanqi to Tingzhou eight hundred miles, they have walked a thousand miles along the way, if you don't ride a horse, you can't imagine it!

"If the order goes down, those who trample on the wheat fields will be killed."

Fang Chongyong instructed He Changqi beside him.

"You idiot! You idiot! ”

In the heavily laden carriage beside Fang Chongyong, there was a strange and hoarse cry.

"Ambassador Fang, you five-colored parrot is quite spiritual. He won't say anything other than swearing. ”

Bian Lingcheng couldn't help but tease. He thought to himself, this kind of "precious thing", it is better not to sacrifice it to the saint, lest this parrot say something that should not be said!

"It's honest after three days of starvation, and it's all cheap."

Fang Chongyong said indifferently, not thinking that the trouble that Bian Lingcheng said was a trouble at all.

He had already sent Duan Xiushi to Jinmancheng to contact Fumeng Lingcha. Then find a place outside the city and set up camp, and wait for the husband to find out. Or you can go directly to the camp of the Anxi Expeditionary Force.

Fang Chongyong walked a thousand miles, slept in the open air, and now desperately wants to find a stable house to rest.

At this moment, he saw from a distance a troop of cavalry coming out from the gate of Jinmancheng, coming towards his side.

As soon as they met, Fu Meng Lingcha turned over and dismounted, and then came to Fang Chongyong's side, and said in a low voice: "Ambassador Fang, the Anxi Expeditionary Force is in chaos!" ”

"Mess?"

Fang Chongyong was stunned, he didn't know what else could happen to this gang of Qiu Ba in Tingzhou.

"Let's talk about it when we enter the city."

Fu Meng Lingcha said helplessly, he was looking forward to the stars and the moon, and now he finally looked forward to this master!

(End of chapter)