Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The *Da Tang Xin Bao* newspaper reported: "By imperial decree of the Crown Prince, at the beginning of the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, Tang paper money will be officially implemented. Tang paper money can be exchanged for equivalent gold and silver coins at any time from the nearest bank or branch. During the issuance of Tang paper money, copper, silver, and gold coins will continue to be used normally. All government-run and privately-run chambers of commerce are prohibited from refusing to accept currency for any reason, and are also prohibited from devaluing or cheating the people..."

The role of newspapers is fully demonstrated in this issuance of Tang Dynasty paper money.

The Royal Bank of the Tang Dynasty had already secretly prepared a large amount of Tang Dynasty paper money. In order to avoid the simultaneous existence of a large number of paper money and gold, silver and copper coins in the market, which would lead to an over-issuance of currency.

The initial task of the Royal Bank of the Tang Dynasty was to exchange all the gold, silver, copper and other currencies in the official reserves of various regions for Tang paper money.

Foreign merchants sell goods to the Tang Dynasty, or if they do not wish to exchange all their goods for Tang Dynasty products, the Tang Dynasty's official merchant guild will only pay for the remaining money in Tang Dynasty paper currency.

There are bound to be some rumors circulating among the people.

This is unavoidable.

However, backed by the reputation and credibility of the Tang Dynasty's new policies over the years, and with the Ministry of Rites' vigorous promotion and refutation of rumors, the public mostly held a novel attitude towards the emergence of Tang paper money.

In villages, towns, counties, and prefectures, officials had an additional important task between the sixth and early seventh year of the Zhenguan era: to teach the people and merchants how to identify genuine Tang Dynasty paper money.

What does a Tang Dynasty banknote feel like?

What do Tang Dynasty banknotes look like in sunlight?

What would Tang Dynasty banknotes feel like if they got wet? Would they change...?

The thoroughness of the preparations was so remarkable that even Pei Ji and Xiao Yu, the veteran ministers of the Wude era who were now assisting the retired emperor in implementing the new policies in Hexi, couldn't help but feel amazed and puzzled.

Did that samurai Gou from back then possess such great abilities as he does now?

There's no way these Tang Dynasty paper currencies could be exploited. Even before speculators could figure it out, this old man had already blocked their way.

Meanwhile, the Tang Dynasty was making intensive preparations for the coming year.

The influx of large amounts of deposits from various countries resulted in a sharp increase in the number of foreign trade orders for the Tang Dynasty in the latter half of the sixth year of the Zhenguan era.

It goes without saying that regular export commodities from the Tang Dynasty included porcelain, silk, and tea.

The production lines of goods such as Tang Dynasty clothing, luxury women's products, watches, and books are so dry that they're practically smoking.

A raise!

A raise!!

Give them all a raise!!!

Female weavers in the textile industry, master craftsmen in the porcelain industry, tea frying workers in the tea industry, and merchants who have set up workshops in places such as Taiyuan, Luoyang, Chang'an, and even present-day Chengdu and Guangzhou.

The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is to wash up, and the second thing is to kowtow loudly to the memorial tablets of the Holy Crown Prince and Emperor Zhenguan that my family worships.

If the issuance of this Tang Dynasty paper money led to a surge in orders across all industries in the Tang Dynasty, this was reflected in the major workshops and factories in major inland cities such as Taiyuan, Luoyang, and Chang'an.

In Guangzhou, coastal merchants, having witnessed the immense profits from overseas, have directly caused shipyard orders and the prices of completed ocean-going vessels on the market to soar.

"Do these merchants hope to travel with the fleet to Arabia to do business?"

Li Chengqian was not too surprised when he received the news.

Li Ke nodded, but his expression still carried a hint of lingering fear: "Your Majesty, you don't know, those guys will fight for anything for money. They won the foreign trade tax in Guangzhou Prefecture, they won the escort fee for our fleet, and then there was the construction fee for Jeddah Port, the construction fee for Guangzhou Port..."

Li Chengqian simply smiled at this.

"Compared to the profits of foreign trade, which can easily be dozens or even hundreds of times higher, what are these so-called commercial taxes and numerous fees?"

He stood up, looked at the Crown Princess Qian Yingying outside the courtyard, who was holding her two children and playing with them, and smiled faintly.

"Only the First Fleet of the Great Tang Dynasty can successfully complete a sea voyage of tens of thousands of miles. With detailed nautical charts, the typhoon season will be over. We will depart from Guangzhou Port in November and arrive at Jeddah Port no later than March of the following year. Along the way, we might be able to exchange glass for gold from the natives of some small Southeast Asian countries. Not to mention, once we arrive at Jeddah Port, we will have a safe and secure profit of hundreds of times our initial investment."

"Anyone would go crazy in that situation!"

Li Ke nodded, but shook his head with a sigh: "Nowadays, the price of a large merchant ship that is more than 60 meters long has been driven up to a terrifying 300,000 guan, and there is still no market for it even if there is a price."

Li Chengqian simply said it was normal.

In the next few years, or even more than a decade.

As long as the world situation remains as it is now, the Tang Dynasty will usher in a golden age of explosive growth in all sectors.

And now, more than a decade later, those children born in the first year of the Zhenguan era have grown into the proudest and most outstanding generation of their time...

While Li Chengqian and Li Ke were still discussing what the future might hold, the Ministry of Rites was already in complete chaos.

Sifang Pavilion.

The Lin-yi envoy repeatedly vented his suppressed anger at the Tang officials before him.

His eyes were practically spitting fire, yet he spoke with such restraint and barely daring to utter a word, which only fueled the growing disdain of the officials at the Four Directions Pavilion.

"I want to see the Crown Prince! I submitted my application five days ago!"

"The King of Chu of the Great Tang Dynasty plundered thousands of acres of my fertile land in Linyi, and not just once, but three times!"

"Hundreds of my Lin-yi people have been killed, and thousands of my soldiers have died in battle! The Great Tang must give us an explanation!"

"You have repeatedly humiliated Linyi. Is this the demeanor of a superior nation? Is this the etiquette you speak of?!"

The Lin-yi envoy protested.

The performance attracted envoys from various countries residing at the Four Directions Pavilion, who stopped to watch the show.

In this world, there are countless countries that dare to call themselves a nation based on a few cities or even just one city. For example, the Southern Six Zhao Kingdoms south of the Tang Dynasty all called themselves a nation back then.

But in reality, it was just a relatively large tribal society.

The former has recently been gradually incorporated into the Tang Dynasty and submitted to the Chinese civilization.

However, in places like the Tibetan Plateau, west of the Hexi Corridor, and around Sassanid Persia, and even further west, there were even more of these small states.

Many of them were even unheard of by Li Chengqian and his descendants.

However, they submitted their credentials and pledged allegiance to the Tang Dynasty according to the normal procedures. They also recently brought their respective countries' gold reserves. Although the amount was not comparable to that of "great powers" like Tibet and Sassanid Persia, they still followed the normal procedures provided by the Tang Dynasty.

Countries that pay tribute according to regulations.

The Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty also gave them the treatment they deserved, demonstrating the magnanimity of the Tang Dynasty, a superior nation and a land of etiquette.

However... the officials of the Ministry of Rites also had their own set of etiquette when dealing with these clueless fools from Linyi.

"We are just following the rules. You are late. See... I'm off duty now. Come back and apply again tomorrow."

The official from the Ministry of Rites gave a cold laugh.

If you had just obediently handed over your gold and continued your transactions with the paper money of my Great Tang Dynasty, wouldn't it have been better if you had simply accepted it?

Now that we've been kidnapped by the King of Chu, why are you jumping up and down here with us?

Ha, it's truly fortunate that your King Fan Fanzhi of Linyi survived being beheaded by His Highness the King of Chu's personal guards...

"You, you all... I'm going to report you to the Ministry of Personnel!"

"This is dereliction of duty!"

"Our Linyi has paid tribute to you year after year, and this is how you treat Linyi?!"

The officials who were about to leave the Sifangguan suddenly stopped in their tracks. The Lin Yi envoy thought that it was his words to the Ministry of Personnel that had made the other party wary.

Before they could even feel smug, they were already feeling quite proud of themselves.

But the other party let out a cold laugh.

"If I heard correctly, the Lin-yi envoy means... that Lin-yi is very dissatisfied with our Great Tang Dynasty and therefore wants to take back the tribute it paid in the past and sever the tribute relationship?"

"If that's the case, very well! I will report this to my superiors at the Ministry of Rites. Ha, those worthless trinkets you send as tribute, what are you calling rare and precious? Aren't they just some random things you grabbed from the forest?"

"Our Great Tang Dynasty has never bothered with you before, yet you dare to spout nonsense here!"

The clerk was merely a minor official who had just been granted a rank, but the barrage of questions he fired at the envoy from Linyi instantly turned the envoy's face deathly pale.

He hurriedly and excitedly waved his hand.

"You, you're talking nonsense! That's not what I meant at all!"

"With so many people watching you, how dare you slander me?!"

The crowd, who had been watching the show, suddenly began to look around in a pretentious manner, glancing at the ceiling, the railing of the building in front of them, or chatting idly with the two people nearby.

Lin Yi's envoy: "..."

The clerk sneered, "Nonsense!"

"They really are all wolf cubs..."

In the Imperial Garden, Li Chengqian sneered. Although his gaze was fixed on Gao Yang and her companions who were holding Xiao Sizi and riding a husky not far away, Tang Jian, the Minister of Rites behind him, knew that the wolf cub His Highness was referring to was Lin Yi.

"Foreign barbarians have always been like this, and those countries in the mountains and forests of the southeast have always been unpredictable. During the previous dynasty, they did many things that aroused the indignation of the court, but after being severely beaten, they always looked timid and bowing their heads again."

As Tang Jian spoke, Li Chengqian gave a cold laugh.

"At least you could say they fear power but don't appreciate virtue, but look at the present... Does His Majesty Fan Fanzhi fear our Great Tang? He was beaten but doesn't reflect on his own mistakes, and even dares to send envoys to question me, ha..."

"After living a good life for so long, I just want to taste the saltiness of seaweed and egg drop soup..."

Tang Jian gave an awkward smile and carefully observed the prince's expression.

Seeing the other party's icy gaze, he silently sighed in his heart, thinking that the King of Linyi deserved to die.

Sure enough, the next moment, the prince gave the order.

"Since Fan Fanzhi wants an explanation, then fine, I will give him one!"

"The King of Chu attacked them and seized their grain. I gave them a chance, and Fan Fanzhi sent troops to seize it back!"

"Order the Taiyuan Arsenal to send a batch of the latest Bingzhou muskets and cannons to Guangzhou Prefecture for the Prince of Chu to deploy!"

He then let out another cold snort.

"In my private animal park, there are all kinds of rare birds and beasts, but I don't raise wolf cubs!"