It was already late at night, but Fang Chongyong still did not sleep peacefully. Instead, he borrowed a "County Chronicle" of Zhangye County and flipped through the pages under the oil lamp.
The earliest national local chronicle in China was the "Yuanhe County Map Chronicles" compiled by Li Jifu of the Tang Dynasty in 813 AD. It summarized local chronicles with different versions and formats from all over the country and unified them into a set of books.
Although that would only happen a few decades later, there are still books recording local population, geography, related history, and even strange things in the accounting offices of various state capitals. As the place where Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty held the "World Exposition", Zhangye City naturally has such official records used to "sing praises and praise virtues".
"Lang Jun, how about we leave Ganzhou? It doesn't matter whether we go to Liangzhou or back to Chang'an. It doesn't matter. There is really no need to accomplish nothing here."
Anaye on the side was not sleeping either, so she suggested cautiously.
She knew how much trouble Fang Chongyong was facing, but she just couldn't do much to help.
Hexi is different from the Central Plains. A little carelessness here can easily lead to mutiny and popular uprising. Once something like this happens, the rebels will definitely lead the Tibetan army to take over, and by then the situation will be beyond control.
It just depends on how many heads Fang Chongyong can chop off.
"This book is really interesting."
Fang Chongyong closed Zhangye's local records and sighed deeply.
Are you kidding me? Who has the ability to fill such a big hole in the Autumn Defense Order?
Fang Chongyong had a strong idea in his heart and knew his own weight. Brother Ji’s appetite is too big and he really can’t afford to serve him!
No matter how hard you struggle, it's useless!
It doesn't matter whether it's the people beside the city sending troops to save face, or the people tightening their belts and paying for food, it's all useless. Even if you survive this time, it will be even worse in the future. Maybe you might as well rebel directly now! At least die quickly.
Because once the opening to increase taxes is opened, the government will not have any burden to increase taxes in the future, and it will be fine.
This principle is like if someone finished the work of ten people yesterday, will his superior sympathize with his hard work and give him five days off?
No, no, just the opposite. This person's superiors must think that since he can do the work of ten people in a day, he must also be able to do the work of twelve people in a day, right?
What can you do? If you can do it, do more things!
Therefore, if the local officials in Hexi follow the normal way of "filling the holes", they have chosen the wrong path. The more they execute, the more mistakes they make. Fang Chongyong sees this very clearly!
Besides, after all, Datang is not from another government office!
This is the empire that belongs to Brother Ji!
Fang Chongyong will never tire himself to death until Brother Ji is exhausted from official duties! It is estimated that the local officials here in Hexi have similar ideas to him.
Ever since, Fang Chongyong's idea has always been to "break the situation", rather than to be Ji Ge's licking dog and run for Ji Ge's political orders.
From this perspective, the difficulties he faced were actually greater than those of a normal Ganzhou governor. The purpose determines the means, and his purpose is "unusual", which means that it is impossible to follow conventional routines.
"This book records a very interesting story. Do you want to hear it?"
Fang Chongyong looked at Anaye and asked.
That delicate little face is something you never get tired of.
"Just hurry up and say it... I'm so sleepy."
Anaye yawned and replied weakly.
"Speaking of this Black Water, it has a long history. Many years ago, not far to the southwest of Zhangye City, there was a lake formed by Black Water. Next to this lake, there was a Black Water Country. At that time, even Zhou Not even the emperor."
"Then what?"
Anaye was not interested in these fantasy stories and asked casually.
"Then, the Blackwater Kingdom was destroyed. A long time later, the Han army conquered Zhangye and built a new city at the lake near the Blackwater Kingdom. This city continued until the previous dynasty Sui Dynasty.
One day in the Sui Dynasty, an eminent monk came to Heishui City. He shouted peaches and pears to everyone he met, ran wildly among the crowd, and then disappeared again.
A few days later, a sandstorm hit Blackwater City, burying everything under the sand.
This story is recorded in this booklet. Of course, it is also copied from Buddhist scriptures. "
Fang Chongyong said with a smile.
There are many stories about Buddhism, and they often put gold on their faces. Just like saying that the sun will rise after you raise your hand, it is like saying that the sun will rise only if you lift it.
However, sometimes there are traces of history behind these stories, telling certain historical events from the side.
"But that has nothing to do with us."
Anaye waved her hands indifferently and was already planning to go to sleep.
Fang Chongyong held her shoulders to prevent her from leaving, looked at her attentively and said, "Hey, there are big things in small things, just listen to what I have to say."
"What article?"
"Tomorrow, let's go look for that place together. I've already found out the approximate location. It's just a ruin. Most of the buildings are in the sand. Let's go find that city. There are gold and silver treasures hidden in it."
Fang Chongyong made up a harmless lie.
Blackwater City naturally wanted to look for it, but Fang Chongyong was not looking for the gold and silver treasures, but to verify an idea in his mind.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Liangzhou Army led by Dong Zhuo was powerful in all directions, which greatly affected the political structure of the Eastern Han Dynasty and put the Eastern Han Dynasty on the fast track to its demise. Judging from the historical conditions at the time, the Liangzhou Army's armaments were self-sufficient.
In other words, there are definitely stable smelting workshops in the Liangzhou area.
However, by the Tang Dynasty, smelting in the Hexi Corridor was completely abolished! Arms all depend on external input!
There are three necessary conditions for smelting. The first is an iron ore that is not too far away; the second is that the water source is near the smelting workshop and can be cooled at any time; and the third is that a stable fuel supply is nearby. , this fuel was mostly charcoal in the feudal era.
Today's Hexi Corridor does not have large-scale smelting workshops that can provide equipment for the army! I don’t have the ability to maintain it!
The water shortage in Suzhou, Guazhou and Shazhou is so insane that there is no need to consider it at all.
Liangzhou has superior geographical conditions and has been little affected by wars. It has basically maintained the regulatory pattern since the Han Dynasty. But Fang Chongyong asked. Liangzhou has never been a large-scale iron smelting company. Wuwei City has expanded to seven cities, but there are no large-scale iron smelting workshops in it.
Only Ganzhou is a mystery. It may contain the secret of Dong Zhuo's rampage in the northwest.
Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible that in the Tang Dynasty, when science and technology had greatly developed, the Hexi Corridor could not do what it could do hundreds of years ago in the late Eastern Han Dynasty!
Fang Chongyong wanted to go to the ruins of the old city of Blackwater Country to see if there was any answer he wanted there.
"Really?"
As soon as Anaye talked about gold and silver, she no longer felt sleepy.
"Of course it's true."
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, thinking to himself: It is indeed a treasure, but it is not the kind of treasure you thought.
"If the treasure is found there, then the taxes that Ganzhou will add should not be added, right?"
Anaye asked curiously.
Hearing this, Fang Chongyong could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
The sudden appearance of a large amount of hard currency such as gold and silver will only greatly increase the market price of local goods in the short term, and then the price of everything will increase.
It can only be said that blessings and misfortunes are unpredictable, and the impact will be greater than the autumn prevention order! Fang Chongyong didn't dare to play like this.
What Brother Ji wants is to mobilize manpower and material resources. No matter how much gold and silver is dug out, it is impossible to change the basic resources of Hexi in a short time. What Fang Zhongyong wanted was not this kind of effect at all.
It's just that there is no way to say these words to Anaye, who knows nothing except medical skills and language.
…
The next day, Fang Chongyong took Atuan, Anaye and others out of Zhangye City, while Fang Dafu personally sent his son to Xihang Temple to become a monk. The ceremony was held in a grand manner. Of course Fang Chongyong cannot be present. If he were present, it would be easy to think of some strange things.
As a result, when Fang Chongyong and his party arrived outside the city, they saw Xin Yunjing leading fifty Tang army cavalry ready to go, accompanied by an ox cart dragging baggage. They had been waiting for a long time.
As soon as they met, Xin Yunjing got off his horse, came over and lowered his voice and said to Fang Chongyong: "These are veterans of the Baiting Army, trustworthy brothers. They all believe that Fang Shijun will make a fortune with his old brother.
But what mission does the envoy have this time? "
Guo Ziyi sent Xin Yunjing to help Fang Chongyong, and he was personally directing others to build the regiment training camp, which was rebuilt on the basis of the original Zhang Ye guarding and capturing camp, and it was really hard to get away.
And now Guo Ziyi is also waiting for food, waiting for Fang Chongyong to send him soldiers from the United Army. But so far, Fang Chongyong has not sent even one person over.
"Go to the old site of Blackwater Country and dig up. Tell your brothers that the things you dig out must be handed over. I won't take anything by then and will share everything with them.
But if anyone dares to hide it privately, don't blame me for being rude. "
Fang Zhongyong said solemnly.
Upon hearing this, Xin Yunjing hurriedly patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty is so generous! Don't worry, after returning to the camp, I will ask them all to take off their clothes and search their bodies, and not a single needle will be hidden."
The old rules of dividing the spoils, everyone in the Baiting Army understands that these are nothing. But Xin Yunjing didn't expect that Fang Chongyong could be so generous.
But since he went to dig for treasures, but he didn't take anything, could he just do it for fun?
"Your Majesty, the Qiuba people in Hexi have done a lot of this kind of thing. Those Hu merchants often like to bury things. After the news is leaked, we are not polite, and we have to take it when it is necessary.
However, if you don't take it with empty hands, I'm afraid that your brothers will feel uneasy if they hold it! "
Xin Yunjing persuaded with some doubts. Sometimes being too generous can lead to suspicion.
Fang Chongyong pondered for a moment and felt that it was time to release some news to "show sincerity."
"Is such that."
Fang Chongyong asked Xin Yunjing to bend down and whisper to him for a long time. When he finished speaking, Xin Yunjing looked horrified and his hands were trembling slightly!
"Your Majesty, this kind of thing, this kind of thing, is not a joke!"
Xin Yunjing lowered his voice and exclaimed.
Fang Yanei is really good at playing and very courageous. He and his gang of Qiu Ba were in front of him, and that was not enough!
The yamen coming from Chang'an was really terrifying!
"Of course I know. If it happens, how can we take this matter lightly?"
Fang Zhongyong said proudly.
Xin Yunjing nodded carefully, "Good boy, this Fang Yanei is really capable of what others cannot." He dares to do things that others dare not do!
In the past, it was just a state capital to join the army, but Fang Chongyong dared to donate "health medicine" to the emperor.
Now that he is the governor, we still don’t know how big of a deal he will do.
Under the leadership of the guide, the group headed towards the ruins of Blackwater Kingdom.
The location of the Heishui Kingdom ruins is more than 20 miles northwest of Zhangye City. Traces of the surrounding lakes seem to be vaguely discernible, but now they have all turned into long stretches of yellow sand. A Han Dynasty-style tower stood at a certain location, with only half of its head showing, and it looked no more than three meters tall.
Xin Yunjing glanced at Fang Chongyong helplessly, then sighed and said, "I don't know how many people have visited this place for a long time. Everything valuable and easy to get has been taken away."
The location of the Blackwater Kingdom ruins is no secret in the local area, and many people want to try their luck here and dig around to see if they can get anything rare.
It’s almost like opening a blind box!
"Dig it."
Fang Chongyong said expressionlessly.
He had watched documentaries in his previous life, so he could definitely dig out what he wanted here, he just needed a little luck!
"found it!"
A soldier shouted in the distance.
The man held the unearthed gold coins in his hand like a treasure and handed them to Xin Yunjing.
A Da Qin gold coin, probably from the Han Dynasty. Of course, this is normal, because the Heishui Kingdom ruins are the capital of the Xiaoyue clan. As a choke point on the Silk Road, it is not surprising to find anything here, because they may all be traded goods on the Silk Road.
Soon, a lot more things were dug out one after another.
For example, Han Dynasty-style pottery pots, Han Dynasty bronze mirrors, and even many stone tools that were often seen before the feudal era.
One after another, they were sent to Fang Chongyong and placed neatly.
Because they were buried in yellow sand, these things were well preserved, but... none of them were what Fang Chongyong wanted.
Xin Yunjing was also a little disappointed, because except for a few of these things that could be sold at a good price, the rest were not worth mentioning. For example, who would want a clay pot from the Han Dynasty?
"Your Majesty, do you still want to dig?"
Xin Yunjing came over and asked softly.
"Dig, don't stop."
Fang Chongyong sighed softly and said to Xin Yunjing: "Brother is going to recruit some people to dig, and I will give them a share of what I dig. I believe someone will come here to try their luck."
"I understand, I'll do it now."
Xin Yunjing also knew that the matter was too important to be careless.
This is a day of waiting.
During this period, Fang Chongyong had been frowning and meditating. It is easier said than done. Many times, the ideas are very good, but during the execution process, they will encounter many setbacks. At this time, whether to choose to continue going deeper or to decisively stop losses is a test of one's wisdom.
Of course, Fang Chongyong feels that his own model of "finding the process with known answers" is still much simpler than ordinary people.
When the sun is about to set, there are all kinds of things dug out here. There are many versions of the coins alone, and there are even styles that even Xin Yunjing and others cannot recognize.
"I'm going back to Zhangye City first and will continue digging tomorrow. Let's divide these things among the brothers today."
Fang Zhongyong waved his hands feebly and said.
Why can't it be dug?
He was filled with frustration.
A new boat routine that you haven't seen before is coming.
(End of chapter)
