Chapter 180: Operating a Tavern Like a Masterpiece

Time swiftly passed to May, and construction of the five cities east of the Yibop Sea had begun. Geoluo immediately dispatched 20,000 troops from various units, plus 5,000 laborers recruited from Beiting, ensuring sufficient manpower and smooth progress in building the cities. That afternoon, after inspecting the five cities, Li Qing’an returned to Beiting City. As soon as he entered the city gate, he urgently asked Wang Changling, “Where is the coin-making furnace sent from Chang’an?”

He had received word along the way that the coin-making furnace transported from the Ministry of Works in Chang’an had already arrived in Tingzhou. He spurred his horse and rushed back to Tingzhou at full speed.

In the Tang Dynasty, military governors generally held multiple positions, depending on the emperor’s trust in them. For example, in addition to being the deputy military governor and governor of Tingzhou, Li Qing’an held a series of other titles. Among the most important was that of Censor-in-Chief, which granted him oversight powers. He also served as the Commissioner for Agricultural Development and Transportation, thereby controlling the economic lifelines of Beiting. Additionally, he held positions as supervisor of craftsmen and head of the coin-minting authority, the latter allowing him control over coin production, including the right to mine and smelt metals.

It was because of these titles that Li Qing’an could wield significant military and political power in Beiting. Of course, he did not possess all powers—such as the most crucial power of appointing officials, which still had to be handled by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Civil Administration.

The decision to add coin-minting sites in Beiting was the result of an agreement between Li Linfu and him. Considering the distance of Beiting in Anxi and the difficulties in transporting copper coins, Li Linfu agreed to set up a coin-making furnace in Tingzhou. The coins produced there were intended to meet the needs of Beiting and Anxi, playing a vital role in the region’s economic prosperity.

Wang Changling quickly replied, “They’ve been here for ten days already!”

At that moment, a soldier led a low-ranking official over in a hurry. He bowed and said, “I am Lu Bai, deputy head of the metallurgical department under the Ministry of Works. I humbly ask for your kindness, sir.”

He was merely a ninth-rank official assigned to Beiting to assist Li Qing’an in managing the coin-making furnace, essentially acting as a technical supervisor.

Although his position was low, Li Qing’an still needed his help. He smiled and replied, “Ah, it’s Deputy Head Lu. Welcome to Beiting. I wonder if you plan to stay here long-term or just come temporarily to provide guidance?”

“Sir, according to the appointment letter, I’m to stay for one year. I hope you’ll continue to look after me in the future.”

Lu Bai had no formal training and was not related in any way to the prestigious Lu family of the Tang Dynasty. His family had been poor for generations; he only became an official after serving as a minor clerk for twenty years and accumulating experience. This was the first official in his family’s five generations, so he cherished his position as a ninth-rank official greatly, which showed in his subservient attitude toward those in power, even bordering on flattery.

“Sir, please follow me to see the coin-smelting furnace.”

He led Li Qing’an quickly to an unused courtyard near the city wall, which served as the temporary site for coin minting in the Beiting region. There were over a dozen buildings. Coin minting was actually a series of processes—copper refining, mold making, melting, pouring into molds, polishing, sorting, and threading coins—all taking place here. There were more than thirty craftsmen. Since copper supplies from Beiting were difficult to transport, mining and smelting had to be done locally, which required thousands of people. Thus, the imperial court’s approval for coin minting in Beiting was essentially giving them a large industrial operation.

Li Qing’an entered the courtyard and glanced around. In a corner, he saw a dark copper-smelting furnace already built, with tools scattered around, along with dozens of copper melting crucibles and stone bases for pressing coin molds.

Only then did he realize that the so-called furnace was actually an earthen kiln made of bricks and mud, not an iron furnace as he had imagined.

Li Qing’an stepped forward to examine it closely. In an iron box nearby, he saw over a dozen iron coin molds, or working molds. He picked up one and saw that it was quite old, covered in rust, and not standard in shape. When he tried to scrape off some of the rust, large pieces came off immediately—the rust was severe. Almost every mold was in the same condition. Frowning, he muttered to himself, “How can they be so worn out?”

Lu Bai blushed slightly and hurriedly explained, “These are old coin molds discarded by the Longyou Mint a few years ago. After being stored for several years, they’ve become severely rusted. Now we use mother coins to cast coins by sand casting. These molds are only used for testing.”

Seeing that Li Qing’an’s frown hadn’t eased despite his explanation, he murmured, “Sir, I’m not sure if I should say this, but…”

“Go ahead.”

“Sir, actually, both coin molds and mother coins can be made by oneself. As far as I know, many people privately cast copper coins that are even better than those from official mints. The key is that Beiting has the authority to mint coins. As for the molds, it’s not necessary to use only those made by the authorities.”

Li Qing’an immediately understood what he meant. There was no difference between government-run and privately run coin-making techniques; the key was whether it was legal or not. He had also heard that the cost of coin-making was usually only seven hundred wen, and many people privately minted copper coins to reap huge profits. Some of these private coins were even more exquisite than official ones, though there were also inferior coins made from insufficient copper. The Tang Dynasty’s Kaiyuan Tongbao coins had no anti-counterfeiting techniques; the only means of prevention was severe punishment—commoners who privately minted copper coins faced the death penalty.

In reality, many powerful elites also secretly minted private coins to make huge profits. As long as no one reported them, the imperial court could only turn a blind eye. But Beiting was different. It had no readily available copper, so it had to mine and smelt copper, which made it impossible to operate discreetly. Once mining started, it would be immediately noticed. Therefore, having the right to mint coins was particularly important for Beiting. Li Qing’an could now openly and on a large scale mine copper and mint coins.

As for privately changing molds or master coins, it wasn’t a big issue. Instead, Lu Yecheng’s practical approach surprised Li Qing’an greatly.

Li Qing’an smiled slightly and asked, “When will we be able to produce the first batch of coins?”

Lu Bai quickly replied, “We tried two batches the day before yesterday, producing one hundred guan of coins. Please follow me.”

Lu Bai took Li Qing’an to a warehouse guarded by several soldiers at the entrance. Inside, two large bamboo baskets were placed in the center, filled with yellow copper coins. Two craftsmen with bare chests were busy threading the coins—stringing together individual coins one by one. One thousand coins made up one guan. Of course, this wasn’t the most primitive method. Threading each coin individually was not only inefficient but also prone to errors. Usually, the coins were placed into wooden molds, with one thousand coins per mold. Once a mold was filled, it was threaded together to form one guan.

Lu Bai pointed at the baskets and continued, “The Tang Dynasty minted 320,000 guan of coins each year, with 99 coin-minting offices. Each office produced around 3,300 guan per year. In fact, as long as there is enough copper, we could mint 20,000 guan per year.”

At this point, he glanced at Li Qing’an’s expression and quickly added with a smile, “Of course, the amount of coins to mint is determined by the Ministry of Works. If Governor Li wants to mint a little more, that’s also possible.”

He knew that this border stronghold was not like the inland prefectures, which had fewer restrictions and oversight. The amount of coins minted was actually decided by the military governor. He had heard that Youzhou’s actual coin-minting volume was three times the quota set by the Ministry of Works, with no problems at all. Moreover, in the remote Beiting, it was said that the power of supervision lay in the hands of the military governor. In this case, it was up to Li Qing’an himself to decide how many coins to mint.

The quota assigned by the Ministry of Works to the Coinage Bureau in Beiting was 10,000 guan per year, plus another 5,000 guan for Anxi. In reality, Beiting only received 5,000 guan per year, which was sufficient to cover daily administrative expenses. Additionally, cloth could also serve as currency to supplement the shortage of copper coins. Since the army mainly needed food supplies and did not consume much in terms of money or cloth, the court’s allocation of only 10,000 guan for coinage was actually a financial restriction aimed at preventing military governors from recruiting private troops.

Yet in practice, this quota was merely a formality. Military governors in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty forged their own coins even without the right to do so. Moreover, since Li Qing’an had been granted the right to mint coins, he certainly wouldn’t settle for just 10,000 guan per year. Without revealing his intentions, Li Qing’an simply smiled and asked, “If I wanted to produce some gold and silver coins, do you have any molds?”

“Gold and silver coins?” Lu Bai was taken aback. He quickly replied, “Yes! We have them!”

He rushed inside, fetched a small wooden box, and handed it to Li Qing’an, saying, “Lord, these are the master coins I obtained from the Ministry of Works—ten of each in gold, silver, and copper. Since you are in charge of the coinage bureau, these should be under your custody.”

Li Qing’an took the box, opened it, and saw thirty exquisitely crafted master coins inside. The coins were slightly thicker than ordinary ones, with deep and elegant inscriptions and fine, slender characters, and the copper was smooth and whitish.

He closed the box and handed it to Wang Changling beside him, saying with a smile, “These are needed every day, and it’s inconvenient to keep them with me. Let the military advisor take care of them!”

Wang Changling accepted them. Li Qing’an nodded and smiled again, saying, “We’ll start minting coins tomorrow. There are 80,000 jin of copper in Beiting’s warehouses, along with wax and lead. I’ll also send 300 soldiers to assist in the process. Is there any problem with Assistant Lu?”

Lu Bai understood what Li Qing’an meant—he was essentially sending people to learn coin-making skills. Not daring to refuse, he quickly said, “No problem at all. Please send them to help.”

……

The arrival of the coin-making craftsmen filled Li Qing’an with pride. With the right to mint coins, he could produce them on a large scale. 10,000 guan per year was certainly not enough, but the key was that he also had the right to mine. There were large copper mines in Yizhou and gold and silver mines in the Jinshan area. Once the machinery started operating, money would flow in abundantly.

Of course, a shortage of labor for mining was still a major issue, but he wasn’t worried about that. If there weren’t enough Han people, the barbarians could fill the gap.

Li Qing’an had been inspecting the construction of the five cities for a month and hadn’t returned home. Longing to be with his family, he left the coinage facility and headed back to his residence.

Walking on the streets of Jinman County, it seemed there were more people than before—busy and lively. Li Qing’an couldn’t help but think of Chen Zhonghe, the county magistrate of Jinman County. It was said that he had resigned from his post and gone to Chang’an to file a complaint against him, determined to do so without looking back, even abandoning his mother, wife, and children. He couldn’t help but feel emotional—although capable, he was after all just a scholar. Under the plan to restore Suiye, how could Li Longji possibly listen to his complaints?

“Hurry! Hurry! If we’re late, they’ll be sold away!”

As he neared his own residence, he suddenly heard the low cries of several women behind him. Li Qing’an turned around and saw three or five young women of Hu ethnicity, carrying money bags, rushing forward eagerly, each with a look of anticipation in their eyes.

Li Qing’an found it strange—what were they going to buy?

After turning a corner, he was stunned. In the distance, his residence’s gate was crowded with young women, all competing fiercely over something. He saw clearly that many of them were holding long dresses and measuring them against their bodies.

“Everyone, stop fighting! These dresses are top-quality from Chang’an’s Western Market. Look at the craftsmanship, the silk—something you won’t find in Beiting.”

A melodious voice came from afar. Through the gaps between the women’s heads, Li Qing’an saw Ru Hua. She stood on a raised platform, sleeves rolled up, hair tied in a bun, revealing her long, snow-white neck. Her pretty face appeared especially rosy in the sunlight.

“Sis, your dress costs three guan—yes! Not a single coin less. It’s already very cheap. I paid three guan when I bought it. It’s never been worn before. Look at how bright the color is. I won’t charge you an extra penny. Alright! Xiao Lian, help me collect the money.”

Xiao Lian stepped out of the crowd, took a bag of money from one of the women, and began counting it seriously. Li Qing’an was even more surprised. He also saw Yu Nu, the maid in charge of the dance costumes, helping out as well.

Just the three of them were busy selling a pile of long dresses and some daily necessities, all brought from Chang’an. Li Qing’an gently waved his hand, pointing toward the side door. His bodyguards understood and headed there. He dismounted from his horse, walked slowly with his hands behind his back to the main gate, and stood on the steps, smiling at the scene.

By then, Xiao Lian had finished counting the money and handed the dress to the woman. The woman examined the dress carefully before leaving happily.

Xiao Lian turned to go back with the money when she suddenly spotted Li Qing’an. Her eyes lit up with joy. She was about to rush over, but Li Qing’an raised his index finger, silencing her, and pointed at Ru Hua.

“Okay!” A clear, melodious laugh came from the crowd. “Two guan and five hundred wen—let’s make the deal. Xiao Lian, collect the money from this lovely lady.”
Rúhuà had closed another deal. Urged by others, Xiao Lian had no choice but to turn around and collect the payment.
“Hey! Lady, how much is that tea set?”
A woman took a fancy to a set of porcelain. Rúhuà immediately smiled and said, “Sister, you have good taste. That’s top-quality white porcelain from Dayi. It’s only available at the old Zhang’s shop in Chang’an’s East Market. I only have three such sets. If you like it, you can take it for ten guan.”
Li Qing’an stared at the tea set. He suddenly remembered that they had bought one similar set when they moved to their new house in Chang’an. He recalled it costing six guan back then, yet this lady was asking ten guan.
Ten guan seemed a bit expensive for this woman, but she was too fond of it to give it up. After hesitating for a moment, she called out, “Lady, how about eight guan?”
Rúhuà replied with a smile, “Sister, I hardly make a profit on these. Such high-quality white porcelain can’t be found in the Beiting market. It’s sold in the porcelain shop next to the taverns in Xianyang, but the quality is much worse, yet they charge twelve guan. Sister, if you don’t believe me, go and check it out.”
Then she turned to another woman and said with a smile, “That’s a gold-embroidered pleated skirt. Every woman should have one as a treasure. I bought it for five guan and five hundred wen and will sell it to you for six guan—only making a profit of five hundred wen.”
The woman who wanted to buy the porcelain was tempted but found it a bit too expensive. After all, ten guan was a large sum. Rúhuà turned back and said with a smile, “Sister, how about this? Nine guan for the porcelain, plus a pack of high-quality tea worth five hundred wen. What do you say?”
The woman’s eyes lit up, and she finally nodded. “Alright, let’s make the deal. I don’t have that much money with me. Please keep the porcelain for now. I’ll go get it. By the way, is silver okay?”
“Yes, nine taels of silver.”
The woman pushed her way through the crowd, mounted a small donkey, and hurried off to get the money.
At this moment, Rúhuà finally saw Li Qing’an. She was overjoyed and jumped up, forgetting about her business. She jumped down from the table and rushed toward Li Qing’an.
Hugging his arm, she coquettishly said, “Brother, when did you return? Why didn’t you send someone to tell me first?”
Her affectionate behavior drew laughter from the women behind her. Li Qing’an gently wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled, “Where is Rúshī? Why isn’t she here to help you?”
“She’s too shy to come!”
Rúhuà whispered in Li Qing’an’s ear with a smile, “Her monthly period has started, so she can’t go anywhere.”

Li Qing’an understood and smiled, saying, “Shopkeeper Ru Hua, please go back to your work. Report your business situation to the master tonight.”
Ru Hua rolled her eyes at him and pouted, “What ‘Shopkeeper Ru Hua’? That sounds so awkward. My surname is Li—Shopkeeper Li.”
“Oh, right. Shopkeeper Li, go ahead and work!”
“Alright! I’m off. I’ll come back to keep you company tonight.”
Ru Hua winked at him playfully before going back and climbing onto the large table. She smiled at the women who were rushing to buy something, saying, “Don’t rush! One by one!”
“Miss Li, how much is this colorful robe? My daughter is getting married, and I want to buy her one, but I can’t find it anywhere in the county,” asked a woman excitedly, holding up a long, colorful robe with jade pendants at the bottom.
Ru Hua smiled and said, “Sister, you have great taste. That robe is made of top-quality Shu silk. It costs twenty guan in the East Market of Chang’an. I’ve only used it once, so I’ll charge you eighteen guan. There’s also a store called Jinshan Silk Shop in the east of the city that sells it. You might as well check it out. Let me tell you, they don’t offer it for less than thirty guan, and the best they’ll go for is twenty-eight guan. I’ll keep this one for you so you can compare before making a decision.”
Li Qing’an had never seen Ru Hua possess such business acumen before. In his impression, she had always been a lively and outgoing girl, somewhat similar to Mingzhu, but she didn’t have Mingzhu’s status. She was a pet raised by An Lushan for the nobility, with no chance to go outside since childhood. It was only in these past two years with him that she had begun to interact with the outside world. Yet, she was incredibly quick-witted and skilled at selling goods, despite never having been taught. It could only be explained as her having a natural talent for business.
Li Qing’an looked at her with new respect. Then, his brows furrowed slightly as he noticed Ru Hua’s attire. She wore a bright red pomegranate-patterned skirt, but a thin top. It was already getting hot in May, and most women were wearing shirts—summer garments that appeared after the Han Dynasty. These were sleeveless shirts without linings. Tang Dynasty shirts usually had wide collars and large sleeves, made of gauze, as light as mist and as thin as cicada wings, allowing a faint glimpse of the skin beneath.
Ru Hua was wearing just such a shirt. Under the sunlight, her two full and round breasts could be clearly seen. As she moved her arms, her breasts bounced flexibly, like white porcelain or jade bowls. Looking at the other women, they were similar, but they lacked Ru Hua’s pure and graceful beauty.

Li Qingan could also appreciate other women, but his own woman’s chest was so clearly exposed, which always made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He looked at the narrow scarf in Ruhua’s hands and suddenly remembered something used by women in later generations.