The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 516 Volume Gold!

Since Lu Bu followed the emperor's order to rush to the Hehuang Valley, nothing actually went wrong.

This land is actually not as unfamiliar to the Han people as they imagined.

As early as the Wang Mang period, there were already Donghai, Nanhai and Beihai counties in the country at that time, so Xihai County was established at Xihai (Qinghai Lake), and many Han people were relocated there. However, because of the war, they were forced to abandon this place and it became the home of the Qiang people.

In the spring of the 102th year of Emperor He's Yongyuan reign ( AD), the Shaohe Qiang rebelled, but were defeated by soldiers from Anding County. As a result, there were no more Qiang bandits in Xihai and the areas of Xiaoyugu and Dayugu.

At that time, Cao Feng, the prime minister of Youfufeng Yumihou, reported to the emperor that the land in Xiaoyu Valley was fertile and had the benefits of fish and salt from the West Sea. He said that the West Sea county should be re-established here, and an area should be demarcated to open up military farms, isolate the road connecting the Qiang and Hu tribes, and grow grain to develop the border.

Emperor He of Han, Liu Zhao, adopted his suggestion, repaired the old Xihai County, sent the Western Commander of Jincheng County to garrison Xihai County, and appointed Cao Feng as the new Western Commander of Jincheng County, stationing troops in Longqi City. As a result, the Later Han Dynasty expanded the farming in the Qinghai Lake area, and stationed 34 barracks along the river. It was not until the Yongchu period of Emperor An of Han that the Qiang rebelled and were abolished...

Now that the major Qiang threat has been quelled, even if there are small Qiang tribes that do not respect the Han Dynasty, they will not cause major disasters.

When Lu Bu arrived at Longqi City, the seat of the former Xihai County, he was relieved to see that although the place was in ruins, there were large tracts of fertile land that could be cultivated.

"It would be a blessing for Wansheng to be able to obtain this fiefdom!"

Compared with the Western Regions and Liaodong, the distance between Longqicheng and Chang'an is ridiculously short!
The Hehuang Valley is not within the original territory of Kyushu, but it is the closest and best land to Kyushu.

"Your Majesty really favors Wansheng."

After understanding the situation and confirming that there was no danger here and that he could let Liu Wansheng come here to establish his fiefdom at any time, Lu Bu immediately planned to return home.

However, some nearby Qiang tribes that had not yet been fully assimilated into the Han culture heard that Lu Bu was coming, and they all warmly invited Lu Bu to a banquet!
The Qiang people generally worship the strong.

Lu Bu himself is the most powerful general in the world today. He also left an indelible psychological shadow on the Qiang people in the Battle of Jincheng that year. Naturally, he gained the respect of these Qiang people.

Lu Bu had no choice but to go to the appointment.

In addition, Lu Bu himself was a Han Chinese from the border area and had a generous personality, so the two sides quickly became friends.

Before leaving, these Qiang chiefs gave Lu Bu a large number of cattle and sheep as gifts, but Lu Bu refused.

"I still have to go to Chang'an to report to the emperor. How can I drive such a large herd of cattle and sheep back?"

The Qiang chieftains suddenly realized what was going on, and immediately took back their cattle and sheep, and presented gifts to Lu Bu again.

"These are just decorations for us, but I heard that the Han people like them, so please take them with you."

Lu Bu didn't agree with it at first.

Nowadays, Chang'an is developing rapidly. What is there that Chang'an doesn't have but has in the Hehuang Valley?

But when he got it in his hand, Lu Bu was extremely surprised: "How can there be such a thing?"

A piece of gold nugget as long as your forearm!
gold!

Lu Bu held the pad in his hand and felt that it weighed at least several dozen kilograms!
The weight of this piece of gold is enough for a family of five to live happily and worry-free in Chang'an for the rest of their lives!
"There are still many of these on the western mountain. Please don't hesitate to give me more, General Lu!"

There are a lot more?

Lu Bu is no longer calm!

There is actually a gold mine near the Hehuang Valley?
hiss……

Lu Bu suddenly gasped.

But in order to ensure the authenticity of the news, he still rode his Red Hare to that place in person!
After verifying that there was indeed a gold mine here, Lu Bu did not dare to stay and immediately rushed towards Chang'an!

"Your Majesty! I just went to take a look at the gold mine, so I was delayed a little."

Even if Lu Bu didn't understand, he knew what the appearance of the gold mine meant.

So Lu Bu was very nervous and worried...

"Fengxian is worried that I will confiscate Wansheng's fiefdom?"

Liu Xie smiled slightly.

There are so many treasures in this world, how can he hold all of them in his arms?
Even though the sudden appearance of a gold mine in the Hehuang Valley was indeed a pleasant surprise, Liu Xie knew that gold was not important at all.

What is important, in essence, is the productivity of the people.

Gold cannot be eaten or drunk. If it is kept at home, it is just a piece of beautiful stone.

For Liu Xie, the emperor of a country, the discovery of a gold mine was worth celebrating, but he was not so crazy as to affect the national policy of establishing a state for the sake of a gold mine.

"Well, that's good. When the time comes, tell Wansheng to bring some craftsmen who are good at gold panning with him. This will also be a source of income for his kingdom."

When Liu Xie saw Lu Bu coming back and confirmed that there was indeed no danger in the Hehuang Valley, he knew that it was time to start promoting this national policy.

"The grand court meeting of the ninth year of Jian'an is coming soon, and this matter will be finalized at the grand court meeting."

"but……"

When Liu Xie heard that Lu Bu had discovered a gold mine, he unconsciously thought of something.

"Call Xun Lingjun and the Minister of Revenue Zhang Ji." The two came to the emperor's side and saw that Lu Bu had returned. They also understood what he meant: "Your Majesty, are you going to start planning to build the Wansheng Kingdom?"

"That's not the case. Wansheng is in charge of the planning and construction of the project... If the government gets involved, what's the point?"

The purpose of establishing states was to save costs for the imperial court, allowing the Han Dynasty to emulate the Zhou Dynasty and slowly control and digest those lands where the Han people did not have an advantage.

If the imperial court were to work tirelessly to support each vassal, what difference would that make from setting up counties?
The Han Dynasty is currently struggling to support Ningzhou in the southwest and Liaozhou in the northeast. Where does it get the energy to govern every place?
"What I want to tell you is the golden matter."

gold?

When the two learned that Lü Bu had discovered a gold mine in the Hehuang Valley, their eyes sparkled with gold, and then they looked at the emperor like hungry wolves...

"hiss……"

Liu Xie looked at the two of them helplessly and decided to give some popular science knowledge to the two senior officials who were in charge of the finances of the Han Empire.

“The essence of gold is money, and the essence of money is general equivalent.”

"For example, it is mentioned in Mozi: Buying, knives and grains are traded. If the knife is light, the grain is not expensive; if the knife is heavy, the grain is not cheap."

"Wen Ruo, you have read many classics, so you should understand what this sentence means."

Ever since Liu Xie had given some hints to Liu Biao, Yang Biao and others, and completely abolished the trend of thought of "harmony between heaven and man", the academic circles of the Han Dynasty actually had a retro trend of thought.

The classics of various philosophers were no longer taboo, but were extremely popular.

Among them, "Mozi" has become a must-read classic for officials and scholars of the Han Dynasty because it has many similarities with "Lunheng".

As the Minister of the Chancellery, Xun Yu naturally understood what the emperor meant by this sentence.

"When buying grain with knife coins, knife coins and grain become each other's price. When the price of knife coins is low, the price of grain cannot be said to be expensive even if it is high; conversely, when the price of knife coins is high, the price of grain cannot be said to be cheap even if it is low."

"..."

This sentence seems ordinary.

But after the emperor explained the nature of currency, Xun Yu and Zhang Ji suddenly realized something!
In the process of trading knife coins and grains, there is actually no logic that one is more valuable than the other.

As a currency, the knife coin only serves as a measure to measure the value of grain.

The value of grains is determined by human production.

If the cost of human production is high, the price of grain will naturally be high, and the corresponding price of knife coins will be high.

If the cost of human production is low, the price of grain will naturally be low, and the corresponding price of knife coins will be low.

From the beginning to the end, knife coins as currency have no value in themselves and have never determined the value of goods.

What really determines the value of goods is human production from the beginning to the end!

"hiss……"

The two of them suddenly realized!

The emperor's words were like a bolt from the blue, shattering the social nature that they had been exposed to every day but had never thought about in detail!

At the same time, Xun Yu finally figured out a problem at this moment -

Son of Heaven, why should you put people first?

After all, the emperor hates the idea of ​​communication between heaven and man the most. It is impossible that he chooses his lover because he is afraid of punishment from heaven.

Because the essence of this world has always been people!
A tiny seedling appeared in Xun Yu's mind, and it felt like it was about to break out of the shell, but it was suppressed by something.

Xun Yu felt weak all over at this moment, and he wished he could go to Taibai Academy immediately to have a chat with the famous teachers and scholars who were studying "Lun Heng" there!
But Zhang Ji did not have such profound insights as Xun Yu.

He nodded, not quite understanding, and then asked the emperor: "Since the emperor is not here to open up a gold mine, then why did you summon us?"

"De Rong, you are the Minister of Revenue, and you have also been the Jingzhao Yin who supervised Chang'an. Have you noticed that it is always inconvenient to do business nowadays?"

inconvenient?
Zhang Ji cautiously probed: "May I ask, Your Majesty, which government order or system has gone wrong?"

“It has nothing to do with the decree.”

Liu Xie asked Zhang Ji: "Don't you think that carrying a large amount of money for business is actually very inconvenient?"

"For bulk cargo, there are dozens or even hundreds of carts of copper coins, and gold is too valuable. Most merchants dare not transport gold, for fear of encountering robbers on the road and losing everything."

"Especially since we can foresee that trade between Chang'an and the Western Regions, Shu, Liaozhou, and even Jiangdong will become more frequent in the future, do we have to let people carry a lot of money around?"

Zhang Ji suddenly realized that this was indeed a problem!
It's just that Zhang Ji doesn't do business on weekdays, so he turns a blind eye to this problem that troubles merchants...

"Does Your Majesty have any solution?"

There was hope in Zhang Ji's eyes.

If this problem can be solved, the trade and prosperity of the Han Dynasty will surely rise to a higher level!
(End of this chapter)