As the post-earthquake reconstruction work has been completed, people have moved out of the shantytowns where victims were temporarily accommodated.
The city has regained its former vitality.
In the early morning, people gathered outside the market. They saw a new currency exchange office opened in front of the market, with a steel scale hanging high at the door.
Anyone who wants to exchange it can take it, weigh the new coins, and without taking into account the wear and tear caused by long-term use, each thousand coins is equivalent to four pounds and two taels, which is absolutely true.
This behavior not only exists in Chengdu, but also in various counties and counties in Yizhou.
Therefore, the Yonghe Five Baht was also called "Fuchu Qian" by the people in Sichuan, and was very popular among the people.
However, any reform will attract opposition from vested interests.
Although Cheng Han coined Xing Han coins, private coinage was not prohibited.
Now Huanxi banned the circulation of other currencies in Yizhou and prohibited private minting, which immediately caused dissatisfaction among the wealthy families.
However, the heads of Fan Bi and others are still hanging on the city tower and have been dried. The military power in Shu is nominally controlled by Zhou Fu, but the prefects and generals in various places are all members of the Huan family and take orders from Huan Xi.
The wealthy families did not dare to fight violently, so they had to find other ways. However, Huanxi refused to take hard and soft measures. He was determined to standardize the monetary system in Sichuan.
Seeing Huan Xi's resolute attitude, the powerful people in Shu had no choice but to obey. After all, not all powerful people were making money.
Huan Xi also sent his entourage to inspect the surrounding areas to detect any minor officials taking advantage of the money during the exchange process.
For this reason, Huan Xi went on a killing spree and executed more than ten petty officials who took advantage of the opportunity to commit corruption. The people applauded him and all Yizhou officials were afraid to obey.
The chaotic currency market in Yizhou was brought into order under Huanxi's reforms.
But the problems Huan Xi has to face don't stop there.
Huan Xi left all the tasks of caring for the refugees, rebuilding Chengdu, encouraging farmers to teach mulberry trees, building water conservancy projects, etc. to Xi Chao.
Xi Chao's talent is enough to drive him, and he himself is focused on handling the incident of the monk coming out of the mountain.
The Hu people are southern barbarians who live on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
With the civil strife in Chenghan, the population in Shu dropped sharply. It was during Li Shi's reign that the Li people were able to leave the mountains and go northward to the counties of Yizhou.
They have no subordinates, but there are more than 100,000 households distributed in the Yizhou Valley. They are disobedient and often conflict with the local people.
This problem is more serious than the economic problem. If it cannot be properly handled, Yizhou will never be peaceful again.
Huan Xi never thought of driving the Hu people back to the mountains. There were hundreds of thousands of households and they couldn't be driven away.
Moreover, if they come out of the mountains, they can effectively fill the population of Yizhou. The key lies in how to conquer them.
While Xi Chao appeased the refugees and organized the resumption of production, he offered Huan Xi a plan:
"To conquer the beastmen, you must first establish trust, and then teach them and change their customs. Why doesn't my lord follow the story of Lord Shang?"
When it comes to establishing trust, the story of Shang Yang’s efforts to establish trust before the reform can be said to have been passed down through the ages.
Huan Xi smiled happily and said:
"Jingxing coincides with me."
In the third year of Yonghe (AD 347), at the end of September, Huan Xi was escorted by Deng Xia's troops and inspected various counties in Shu County. Among them, he went to inspect a Xiu tribe.
Niuchang County (now Jianyang, Sichuan) was originally part of Qianwei County and later returned to Shu County.
In a valley in the west of the county, there is a tribe of tribesmen gathering together. Today, the governor of Shu County, Huan Xi, came to the tribe in person. The clan leader was flattered and naturally entertained them warmly.
A young Tien man hunter went up to the mountain early to hunt and missed the grand gathering in the tribe. He did not return to the village with his prey until Huan Xi left the settlement.
On the way back to the village, he accidentally caught a glimpse of something shining in the sun in the bushes.
"Hey! What is this?"
Orion was curious, so he came closer and leaned over to take a look. He saw that someone had left a jade pendant here.
The young Orion had no idea of just picking up the gold. He quickly picked it up and put it in his arms, not forgetting to look around for fear of being looked at.
Returning to the tribe, he learned that a nobleman had come today, and he was cheering and cheering. The young hunter felt that it must be the nobleman's entourage who had dropped the jade pendant.
Come to think of it, the noble man often forgets things and has no time to go to the remote countryside. When he returns home, he gives the jade pendant to his wife like a treasure.
The wife exclaimed:
"Where did you get this?"
The young Orion did not tell the truth and said with a smile:
"I picked it up while hunting in the mountains."
The wife was so happy that she quickly put it on her waist and kept asking her husband if it looked good.
Orion naturally praised her repeatedly, but his wife still put the jade pendant away. Although she wanted to show it off to others, she was still afraid that the owner would find it.
At the same time, Huan Xi, who was temporarily living in Niuchang County, suddenly discovered that he had lost a family heirloom jade pendant.
Huan Xi sighed to Magistrate Niuchang with a sad face:
"That jade pendant is not valuable, but it is a family heirloom. It was passed down from my grandfather to my father, and my father gave it to me. Today I have lost my grandfather's relics. How can Huan see his father again?"
"I would like to ask the county gentleman to post notices everywhere for me. If I can find the jade pendant, Huan is willing to reward me with a hundred thousand yuan."
How could Magistrate Niuchang County dare to neglect what his immediate superior had told him? He immediately posted notices all over the county. For a time, not only the people in Niuchang County, but also the people in neighboring counties, took notice and went to look for this coin. The so-called family heirloom jade pendant.
After all, one hundred thousand dollars is not a small amount. Those five bahts stacked together weigh as much as 240 kilograms.
Among them, many people came with jade pendants in an attempt to get through.
For these people, Huan Xi did not make things difficult for them, but instead gave them money to go back.
The news that Huan Xi offered a reward of 100,000 yuan to find the family heirloom jade pendant finally reached the Lun people tribe located in a remote rural area.
When Orion heard the news, he thought of his jade pendant, which he had picked up on the day the nobleman came to visit. He hurried home and saw that the doors and windows of the house were closed. Orion worriedly rushed forward and slapped the door panel. .
The wife’s panicked voice came from inside the house:
"who is it?"
Orion couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, and he hurriedly said:
"I'm back, open the door quickly."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened a crack. When the wife saw that her husband had come home, she quickly pulled him in and quickly closed the door.
The room was dark, but there was candlelight. As soon as Orion entered the door, he saw the jade pendant on the table.
The wife asked nervously:
"Tell me the truth, where did you get this jade pendant?"
Orion no longer concealed it anymore and told the truth that he picked it up on the way back to the tribe.
After saying that, he was about to take the jade pendant and go to the county town to receive the reward, but his wife grabbed him:
"Not to mention whether this jade pendant is real or not, if you go alone, what should you do if those Jin people don't admit it? They will kill you and take the jade pendant away. Not only will you not receive the reward, but you will also You have to lose your life.”
Orion wondered:
"Are you going with me?"
His wife rolled her eyes at him and said:
"What's the use of me going? You should find the clan leader and take everyone to the county seat so that you can take care of you.
"Even if that noble man refuses to admit his fault, with so many pairs of eyes looking at him, he will not commit murder and seize jade. He will be given some reward more or less.
"When the time comes, we will give some of it to the clan members, and we will be able to keep some benefits for ourselves."
Orion suddenly understood. He took the jade pendant and was about to go out to find the patriarch. His wife stopped him again:
"You want to go alone?"
Orion is confused?
"Didn't you ask me to find the clan leader?"
The wife said helplessly:
"Go and call all the neighbors and relatives, and let's go find the clan leader together."
When Orion rushed to the old patriarch's home with his relatives and friends, the patriarch thought something had happened until he heard what happened from Orion. The old patriarch took the jade pendant, looked at it carefully, and said:
"This is not a good jade, how could it be a family heirloom of a noble person."
But Orion emphasized that he had picked it up on the day the noble man came to visit. After thinking about it, the old patriarch decided to take dozens of young men to the county town.
The next day, the old patriarch led everyone to Niuchang County. The county was overcrowded with people who came to offer jade pendants to Huan Xijin.
Huan Xi had no choice but to mobilize troops from Chengdu to maintain public order and prevent riots.
There was a long queue in front of the library. The old patriarch looked at the people in front of him, each and every one of them presented the jade pendant with great expectation, but he had no choice but to take the money and leave in frustration.
But the old patriarch didn't know that the people around them were also paying attention to them, and it wasn't just the strange clothes of the people.
They either come alone, or at most they invite three or two friends to go with them. Unlike these beasts, dozens of people came together.
When it was the young hunter's turn, he took out the jade pendant from his arms with trembling hands and handed it to the clerk at the door.
The clerk glanced at the jade pendant and said with a smile:
“If you want to try your luck, you should invest some money.
"The items offered by others are all made of high-grade jade, but the material of your jade pendant is clearly low-grade jade, and you dare to come here to cheat."
Everyone in the audience burst into laughter, and someone mocked:
"These bastards just have low vision and don't know how to choose good ones if they want to fool around."
The young and strong men all glared at that man angrily. If the building was not heavily guarded, they would have fought with fists and kicks.
Although they have only been out of the mountains for a few years, they have interacted with Han people a lot and can speak Chinese to a certain extent.
The old patriarch implored from the side:
"This jade pendant was indeed picked up by the nobleman on the roadside during his visit. I also asked the official to present it to the nobleman for inspection."
The junior official sighed helplessly, who asked Mr. Huanfu to say it first, and all the jade presented must be seen in person.
"Okay, just wait."
The clerk agreed and turned around to enter the mansion.
Huan Xi was sitting in the front hall, talking to Magistrate Niuchang.
When the clerk presented the jade pendant with both hands, Huan Xi's eyes lit up. He snatched it away, looked at it carefully, and said happily:
"This is my family heirloom!"
Not to mention the petty officials, even the magistrate of Niuchang County was dumbfounded. He could see clearly that this jade pendant was not of high quality.
But Magistrate Niuchang reacted quickly and congratulated him quickly:
"Congratulations to the Lord, the jade inherited from the family has returned to its original owner."
Huan Xi responded and immediately ordered Deng Xia:
"Yingyuan, hurry up and order someone to get the reward."
When Deng Xia and his bodyguards pushed the 100,000 coins on the cart, Huan Xi ordered the clerk to guide him, and he wanted to go out to meet the person who returned the jade pendant.
Niuchang County Magistrate said flatteringly:
"The Lord of the Palace has a distinguished status. There is no need to go out to meet him. Just call him over."
Huan Xi was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. He performed the scene with great pains. Naturally, the bigger the audience, the better. How could he perform it with the door closed?
Without Huan Xi's urging, the clerk hurriedly led the way, and although the county magistrate made the mistake of flattering him, he still followed.
