Chapter 391: Currency War (Part 1)

The meeting ended, and the three left. Li Qing’an sat alone in the room, needing to rethink his strategies for dealing with Hexi. He had been pondering this issue since his return from Xindu. The incident in Hexi was an unexpected setback in his rise to power. Although it caused him losses—losing the provinces of Gansu and Gansu along with 20,000 troops—and ruined his plans to invade Tianzhu, it served as a mirror, revealing his weakest point.

His bureaucratic foundation was too weak to effectively control the regions; everything relied on military force. As a result, when he was away from Anxi, the local authorities there lost control over Hexi. Now that Hexi was in danger, where might the next crisis strike? Beiting, Kucha, or Hezhong? Li Qing’an felt overwhelmed.

This sense of inadequacy wasn’t due to a lack of military strength—on the contrary, he had sufficient military power. It was his soft power that was lacking. To put it vividly, he was like a physically imposing man who appeared tall, strong, and muscular, but had poor internal stamina, unable to sustain effort. His coordination and agility were also insufficient, leaving him helpless once his weaknesses were exposed.

This time, Li Yu played his cards brilliantly. As an emperor, he replaced the commander of Hexi, swapping the obscure Li Fei Shouyu for Cheng Qianli, who had connections to Anxi. On the surface, nothing changed—Hexi still nominally belonged to Anxi and was under Li Qing’an’s jurisdiction. But actual control had shifted. As a result, there was widespread support for Li Yu within and outside the court, with public opinion leaning in his favor. Meanwhile, his own administrative apparatus was utterly powerless during this incident in Hexi, forcing even his wife to step in.

Their failure to effectively control Hexi was Li Qing’an’s greatest weakness. Without a strong administrative structure, relying solely on force was not a sustainable strategy. Strength both internally and externally was the true path to success.

What he lacks most now is talent. After Li Yu ascended the throne, many officials and scholars borrowed from the Central Plains gradually returned to the Central Plains, mostly citing reasons such as missing their families, the great distance between Anxi and the Central Plains making life inconvenient, and so on. Li Qing’an also knew that Anxi’s remote location made it difficult to attract talent; this was actually just a superficial issue. The real problem was his lack of legitimacy. Despite having the strongest military force, despite being the Prince of Zhao of the Tang Dynasty, and despite having been recognized after the establishment of the dynasty, this recognition was merely due to Li Yu’s fear of his strength, not an inherent right. His influence over the scholars in the Central Plains was not strong enough, and the imperial bureaucracy and traditional powerful families had not truly accepted him.

This was the real reason why no large number of talents from the Central Plains came to join him—his lack of legitimacy prevented him from attracting many outstanding intellectuals to Anxi. There were rumors that it was because Yan Zhuang was jealous of talent and could not tolerate capable people, which prevented talents from coming to Anxi. Li Qing’an did not agree with this view; Yan Zhuang could not stop scholars from being eager to join him—Liu Yan was the best example. The fundamental reason was that the people of the Central Plains did not trust him and held prejudices against both him and Anxi.

From this perspective, he was grateful for this incident, as it allowed him to calmly reflect on his own shortcomings. Otherwise, he didn’t know when he would have realized his problems. However, the shortage of talent could not be resolved in just a day or two; it required time, especially as he entered the power center of the Tang Dynasty and worked to dispel people’s prejudices against him.

This had to wait. His top priority now was to teach Li Yu a lesson before the Arab armies launched a large-scale counterattack. He had to make Li Yu understand that offending him would mean achieving nothing.

He had already thought through a plan to teach Li Yu while on the road, and now was the time to carry it out.

Li Qing’an casually picked up a thick volume—it was the latest report on coin minting in Anxi. Since seizing the Bosi Mountain silver mines, he had ordered the expansion of the coin minting furnaces. The number of furnaces had soared from three to fifty-eight. Hundreds of skilled craftsmen were recruited from the Central Plains, along with apprentices and laborers, bringing the total number of people involved in coin minting to over four thousand. A special coin minting department was even established, second only to the weapons department in importance.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of silver brought from Bosi Mountain were transformed here into exquisitely crafted Anxi silver coins, which were then sent to the Central Plains in exchange for countless goods.

Over the past two years, as many as 1.5 million silver coins have been sent to the heartland of the Tang Dynasty. More than half of them have entered the market, while over 400,000 remain in various Anxi banks. There are nearly another million silver coins in the Suiye Treasury. Transporting these one million silver coins to Chang’an indeed requires careful consideration.

At that moment, a guard reported, “General, the head of the Anxi administration has arrived.”

“Let him in!”

The door opened, and Chang Jin entered Li Qing’an’s room. Last year, Li Qing’an established the Anxi Intelligence Agency—the Anxi Internal Affairs Bureau—under his direct control. In fact, the Anxi Internal Affairs Bureau evolved from the Han-Tang Society. After Li Huichun’s death, Li Qing’an completely reorganized the Han-Tang Society, transforming it from a private secret organization into an official Tang government department. The Hidden Dragon Society did not interfere with Li Qing’an’s reorganization; on the contrary, they supported the Han-Tang Society in playing a greater role, provided that it served Li Qing’an.

Chang Jin was the first head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, overseeing 8,000 members of the Han-Tang Society across the Tang Dynasty, all under Li Qing’an’s direct authority.

“Your subordinate pays respects to the General!”

Chang Jin bowed. Li Qing’an put the report back on the table and said with a smile, “The intelligence you sent from Hexi this time was very timely. You deserve praise.”

Chang Jin replied with some shame, “We failed to obtain any intelligence about Li Yu’s secret orders, which led to Meng and Luo’s rebellion. Your subordinate is not worthy of such ‘praise.’”

“That is indeed a shortcoming of the Internal Affairs Bureau. We need to obtain intelligence from the palace. An Lushan did this very well. You need to make more efforts.”

“Your subordinate will follow orders and send a message to Hu Yunpei immediately.”

Li Qing’an smiled and then handed a command to Chang Jin. “I have a very important task to assign to the Internal Affairs Bureau. It is of great significance. Follow the requirements in my letter precisely—there must be no carelessness or slackness.”

Chang Jin took the letter and carefully placed it in his bosom, then bowed and said, “If the General has no other matters, your subordinate will take his leave.”

“Wait!” Li Qing’an called him back.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Is anyone in the Hidden Dragon Society investigating Li Deng?”

Chang Jin sneered and said, “No one cares about Li Deng’s fate. He killed Li Huichun, and no amount of death can atone for his crimes. It is Luo Pinfang who is trying to find out where his wife is. After all, she is his own daughter, and he is very worried.”

“Tell him for me that she is also my birth mother. I followed her wishes and settled her and her son in a small town in the south. She is living well and in peace. She no longer wishes to get involved in matters related to Suiye, so please ask him not to worry.”
“Yes! I will convey this to Luo Pinfang.”
After a pause, Chang Jin whispered, “As for that Li Dang, it would be better to get rid of him to avoid future troubles.”
Li Qingan shook his head. “He’s already crazy. There’s no point in it. Let him live and spend his remaining years with his mother!”
Chang Jin sighed secretly and said, “Then I shall take my leave!”
“Go! The task I’ve entrusted to you must be handled immediately without delay.”
“Yes!” Chang Jin turned and left.
At that moment, Li Qingan took out a silver coin and spun it on the table. Watching the spinning coin, a mocking smile appeared in his eyes as he muttered to himself, “Li Yu, you’re oversimplifying things.”
He immediately wrote another letter in his own hand, sealed it, and handed it to his bodyguard, saying, “Send someone to Beiting right away and deliver it to Cui Qianyou!”
……
The guifang in the Tang Dynasty, the precursor to modern banks, flourished during the mid-Tang period. They charged fees for storing money and interest for lending, making them one of the most profitable businesses in the Tang Dynasty. Those who could run a guifang had considerable influence and backing, along with substantial capital and large amounts of savings. Even when the imperial court was short of funds, it had to borrow from these guifangs. Thus, although the guifangs were commercial entities, their influence on government affairs could not be underestimated.
Guifangs existed throughout the Tang Dynasty, but among its seven major guifangs, aside from the Baiji Guifang in Yangzhou and the Yangji Guifang in Chengdu, the headquarters of the other five were located in Chang’an, with the Wangbaoji Guifang being the most prominent.
The Wangbaoji Guifang was founded by Wang Yuanbao, a wealthy man from Chang’an. It was rumored that the Zhang Yun family provided backing for it. It had branches in all fourteen major cities of the Tang Dynasty and possessed enormous capital. The headquarters of the Wangbaoji Guifang was located in the East Market, not far from the Anxi Guifang.

But the mansion of Wang Yuanbao, the head of Wang Baoji Store, was located in Pingkangfang and covered an area of 30 mu. The Tang Dynasty imposed many restrictions on merchants, such as prohibiting them from riding horses, holding official positions, or taking part in the imperial examinations. However, these rules were not absolute; the ruling class would occasionally show tolerance toward merchants to promote economic development. For example, during the Zhenguan era, when Yan Shigu served as Deputy Secretary, he appointed wealthy merchants as proofreaders. Although this position was not high-ranking, it was considered an important one, usually reserved for those who had passed the imperial examinations. Another example is during Wu Zetian’s reign, when Zhang Yizhi hosted a banquet in the inner palace and invited merchants like Song Bazhi to play games there. Though they were later criticized, they had at least entered the palace and shown off their influence in front of Wu Zetian. Merchants not only entered politics but also the military; for instance, Liu Congjian, the military governor of Zhaoyi, appointed merchants as military officers.

Especially after the prosperous Kaiyuan era, with its thriving economy, Emperor Li Longji was more tolerant of merchants. Wang Yuanbao, a wealthy merchant who originally did not qualify to live in a mansion covering 30 mu, received special permission from Li Longji to do so. He even donated money to earn the title of Senior Light Chariot Colonel. That evening, Wei Jinseng, the manager of Wang Baoji Store in the Eastern Market, rushed to Wang Yuanbao’s mansion with surprising news: his employees had discovered that Anxi Store was secretly transporting goods—large boxes of items were loaded onto ships every night, and this had been going on for several days. Although Anxi Store was not very large, it was the sole issuer of Anxi silver coins, making it the second-largest store in the Tang Dynasty. Any unusual activity there caught Wei Jinseng’s immediate attention.

Wang Yuanbao was around 60 years old, with dark skin and a very fat build. His tall stature made him resemble a giant black bear. Though unattractive, he was extremely shrewd. While indulging in luxurious living, he was also good at making money, ensuring his wealth remained abundant and his family’s fortune intact. He was also willing to spend heavily to secure influential backers. For example, when Zhang Yun’s mother celebrated her 70th birthday, he gave her a Guanyin statue carved from top-quality jade, standing over ten feet tall. The lotus throne alone was made of hundreds of pounds of gold and inlaid with five dou of precious gems, making it invaluable. It was thanks to Zhang Yun’s support that Wang Yuanbao, despite his great influence, remained low-key. Officials across the country respected his store greatly. Four years earlier, when Li Linfu needed money to celebrate the birthday of the imperial concubine and the imperial treasury was short of funds, Li Linfu borrowed 300,000 strings of coins from Wang Baoji Store in the name of the court and repaid them within the agreed time, demonstrating Wang Yuanbao’s considerable influence.

Wang Yuanbao was slowly sipping a bowl of bird’s nest porridge while attended by a concubine. After hearing the report from the chief clerk, he fell into thought and learned some insider information about the court. The court was seizing Gansu and Suzhou provinces, blocking the route for silver coins from Anxi to move eastward. It was said this was to prepare for the issuance of 80,000 guan in silver coins—50 coins to one yuan, which amounted to 4 million guan. Could it be that the shops in Anxi were transporting goods for this purpose?
“Do you know what they’re transporting?”
Chief Clerk Wei Jinseng replied hastily, “It should be valuables. My men saw copper coins rolling out of wooden boxes.”
“Then where did they go?”
“Reporting to my master, I sent people to follow them. They left the city along the Grand Canal; their whereabouts are unknown.”
Wang Yuanbao thought for a moment and said, “Ignore this matter. We can’t afford to provoke Anxi. Let’s act as if nothing happened.”
“But I’m worried about the court issuing silver coins. I’ve received news from the Ministry of Works—originally, the new coins were 1 part silver to 9 parts copper. Later, due to a shortage of copper, it was changed to 1 part silver to 6 parts copper and 3 parts lead, essentially just a silver coating. Yet these coins are still valued at 50 to one. The consequences will be severe! Shouldn’t we take measures too?” Wei Jinseng said anxiously.
Wang Yuanbao was also worried. The court issuing silver coins was likely to be used to pay officials’ salaries or to buy grain in the Jianghuai region. It might also involve forcing shops to exchange copper coins for silver, allowing those shops to lend out the money, or converting customers’ deposits into silver at a 1:50 ratio. If that happened, his Wang Baoji Shop would be the first to suffer. But he had no good solution—except to close down, which would trigger a run and destroy his shop.
At that moment, a servant came to report, “Master, Lord Xing San has arrived and wants to see you.”
Lord Xing San was Xing Su, the wealthy man from Chang’an who had been saved by Li Qing’an years ago. He was sworn brother to Wang Yuanbao and ran the largest tea shop in Chang’an, with Wang Gong’s support, making him a prominent figure in the city.
“Invite him in!”
The servant hesitated for a moment and said, “But Lord Xing San also brought a guest.”
“What kind of guest?” Wang Yuanbao asked curiously. Xing Su never brought strangers without reason. If he did, he would inform them in advance. What was going on today?
“I asked, but Lord Xing San refused to say. He only said it was very important. The guest also has their face covered, so we can’t see their appearance.”
“Important!” Wang Yuanbao felt a stir in his heart. The visitors must be important. He immediately ordered, “Take them to the guest room. I’ll be there right away.”

He then said to Wei Jisheng, “Go back first. Keep an eye on the situation at Anxi Cabinet Shop, but don’t get too close. Report to me immediately if anything changes.” Wang Yuanbao then got into the soft sedan chair and headed to the guest rooms.