Chapter 278: Hidden Crisis

Yang Huahua, unable to handle alcohol, was helped away by her maids. Li Qing’an remained seated at the table, sipping his wine slowly. Before him lay two silver coins and one gold coin—things Yang Huahua had shown off earlier. She had also been granted the right to mint coins; in fact, it was the Yang family that had obtained this right.

It was then that Li Qing’an learned that the day before yesterday, Li Longji had granted five people the authority to mint coins. Besides the Yang family, these included Gao Xianzhi, the military governor of Jiannan, An Sishun, the military governor of Shuofang, as well as his sons Li Mao and Li Lin. It was said that Li Longji also planned to give the right to mint coins to several of his brothers and other princes and princesses with fiefs of over 2,000 households.

Li Qing’an stared at the silver coins before him. Next to them was an Anxi silver coin. Comparing them, the Anxi coins were thicker, whiter in color, and contained a high proportion of silver. In contrast, the Yang family’s coins were thinner, heavier, darker in color, and not as finely crafted—clearly mass-produced. Of course, their darker color wasn’t due to oxidation; since the coins had only been introduced a few days ago, oxidation was impossible. It simply meant their silver content was low.

Li Qing’an put down his wine cup, drew out a dagger, and cut open a Yang family silver coin. Inside the layer was bright yellow copper. Judging by eye, the ratio of silver to copper was about six to four. He threw the coin back on the table and sighed softly.

It could be said that his proposal to introduce silver coins had been a mistake. Just a few days later, the inferior coins minted by the Yang family were already in circulation. What was the difference between this and issuing large coins to plunder the people’s wealth? He had hoped that Li Longji would use strict laws to punish those who illegally minted coins. But since Li Longji himself had granted the right to mint coins, well, he had no intention of blaming Li Longji. As the emperor, it was his right to reward his subjects. Yet if left unchecked, the proliferation of inferior coins would bring severe disaster to the people of the Tang Dynasty. It was he, Li Qing’an, who had suggested introducing silver coins. In the end, people would only blame him, ruining his reputation completely. With these thoughts, Li Qing’an lost all interest in drinking. He needed to go to the palace immediately to see Li Longji.

……

In Xingqing Palace, Li Longji had already dealt with matters related to Prince Qing and Prince Di. It had only been a little over an hour, yet he already felt tired, with recurring headaches. Just as he was about to return to his chambers, a eunuch rushed over and reported, “Your Majesty, Li Qing’an is outside the palace, saying there is an urgent matter he must report to you.”

Li Longji was slightly startled. What urgent matter could it be? Could something have happened in Anxi? He immediately perked up and ordered, “Have him come in to see me.”

After a moment, Li Qing’an was hurriedly led by an eunuch into a side hall of Xingqing Palace, where Li Longji was slowly sipping a bowl of ginseng tea.
“Your servant Li Qing’an pays his respects to Your Majesty!”
“Minister Li, what matters?”
“Your Majesty, I discovered something unusual today. I believe it’s urgent, so I’ve come to report it immediately.”
Li Longji set down his ginseng bowl and asked, “What is it? Speak!”
Li Qing’an took out a few silver coins and placed them on the eunuch’s plate, saying, “Today, I found inferior silver coins in the market, which worries me greatly. I urge Your Majesty to take this seriously!”
The eunuch brought the plate to Li Longji. He picked up a few coins—each one had been cut open but still had a thin layer of metal attached. There were five coins in total: those minted by Anxi and Shaofu Jian were shiny and well-made, while the other three, imitating Shaofu Jian’s style, clearly contained other metals such as copper or lead.
“I thought it was some major issue! Inconsistent quality in coins has always existed in the market. What’s there to be so alarmed about? You’re overreacting, Minister!”
Li Longji didn’t take it seriously. Having ruled for forty years, he had seen this situation many times before. Back then, due to a shortage of copper, inferior copper coins flooded the market, causing him great concern. He had strictly ordered that no one should mint coins privately and prohibited private mining. But over time, he realized that these inferior coins didn’t cause much harm, so he gradually reinstated the old system of private mining and government taxation.
More importantly, the government discovered that these coins came from the estates of powerful nobles and royal families. Li Longji knew it must have been the nobles in Chang’an who minted them for huge profits. The cost to produce one coin was only 750 wen, so the profits were enormous. How could the powerful in the land resist such opportunities? He couldn’t do anything but turn a blind eye.
Now that this problem had arisen with silver coins as well, he knew exactly who controlled gold and silver—most of it was still in the hands of those noble families. Only they could be responsible for minting inferior coins. What could he do? Issue another decree banning it? He didn’t know how many decrees he had issued against land annexation—had any of them worked?

And it’s just inferior silver, not counterfeit money—just with a lower silver content. There’s nothing can be done about it; the Tang Dynasty’s silver production was already low. If they didn’t reduce the silver content, how could they produce more silver coins? In fact, even before Li Qing’an proposed issuing silver coins, Li Longji was already considering issuing larger coins. He had no choice—after the failure of the household soldier system, he had to adopt a conscription system. The government had to bear the costs of food and pay for soldiers. At the beginning of the Kaiyuan era, the annual military expenditure was only two million guan, but by the end of the era, it had risen to ten million guan. Last year, it even surged to fifteen million guan. Meanwhile, the total taxes collected by the Tang Dynasty in a whole year were just over twenty million guan, not including Li Longji’s own expenses. The finances were extremely strained, with income falling far short of expenses.

Just as Li Longji was preparing to issue larger coins, Li Qing’an suggested issuing gold and silver coins, which suited Li Longji’s wishes and could help solve part of the financial shortfall.

Now that Li Qing’an wanted strict control over the issuance of silver coins, how could Li Longji not be annoyed? All the wealth in the world belonged to the Li family. Issuing silver coins could increase the court’s wealth and solve the immediate difficulties—so why not? As long as it wasn’t done to an extreme and as long as the common people could survive, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

“Minister Li, this is just a trivial matter. I’m quite tired. Let’s discuss it another day!”

With that, Li Longji got up, ready to leave. Li Qing’an hurried forward two steps and said, “Your Majesty, please hear me out.”

“What else do you have to say?” Li Longji’s tone was already impatient.

“Your Majesty, silver coins are not like copper coins. A counterfeit copper coin causes little harm and little loss to ordinary people. But counterfeit silver coins are just as harmful as larger coins. If Your Majesty does not enforce strict controls, everyone will rush to mint silver coins. The Tang Dynasty’s silver production is already low—where would they get enough silver to make coins? It will only lead to an increasingly lower silver content and an oversupply of silver coins. By then, even if the government sets one silver coin equal to a hundred wen, it may not be worth ten wen in the market. This will cause severe chaos in the currency system, lead to soaring prices, and make the people lose trust in silver coins. This will cause significant losses not only to the court but also to Your Majesty. Please reconsider.”

If it had been ten years ago, Li Longji might have listened carefully to Li Qing’an’s advice and then convened the prime ministers to discuss countermeasures. But now, aged and weakened, he lacked the energy for such intricate matters and was utterly tired of them. Before Li Qing’an could finish speaking, he waved his hand decisively and said, “You’re worrying needlessly. The problem hasn’t even arisen yet—why think so much? I have a clear idea in mind; nothing serious will happen. Besides, I’ve already agreed to allow the imperial relatives to mint coins so that they can help maintain the currency system. Can such matters be resolved with just an order from me?”

Seeing that Li Longji wouldn’t listen to him and refuse to impose strict controls on coin minting, Li Qing’an had to settle for less and said, “Your Majesty, trade between Anxi and the Arabs is very active, and the existing small silver coins are not sufficient to meet the needs. The Sogdian and Arab merchants have repeatedly requested that Anxi mint silver ingots. Even the soldiers want small silver coins for easier carrying. I dare not mint them without permission, so I humbly ask Your Majesty to allow Anxi to mint seven-qian small silver coins based on the existing silver currency, for use in trade with the Arabs and for military expenses.”

Li Longji had lost patience. He didn’t realize the significance of the seven-qian silver coins Li Qing’an was referring to. All the silver-producing provinces of the Tang Dynasty minted silver ingots as tributes—usually 25 taels per ingot or 50 taels per silver bar. Last year, Yang Guozhong had even ordered 100,000 taels of silver bars to be sent as tribute from Lingnan. In his view, seven-qian silver coins were just smaller—what was the problem? So he nodded in agreement.

“I approve of the matter of the seven-qian silver coins. But the silver you present to me as tribute must be in the form of 50-tael silver bars. Do you understand?” When it came to his own interests, Li Longji was absolutely clear.

“I accept your decree!” Finally getting Li Longji’s approval, Li Qing’an resolved to mint silver coins different from those of the Tang Dynasty.

Perhaps recalling that Li Qing’an had to pay him 100,000 jin of silver each year—1.6 million taels, equivalent to 1.6 million guan in currency—which could greatly improve his difficult situation, Li Longji’s expression softened slightly. Smiling, he said, “Minister Li, tomorrow will be the formal court session, and I will announce a series of important matters, many of which concern you. Go back and rest early so that you can attend the session full of energy tomorrow.”

“I thank Your Majesty for your grace. I take my leave!”

“Go.”

Li Qing’an left Xingqing Palace. Although he hadn’t convinced Li Longji to impose restrictions on the currency, Li Longji had agreed to his plan to mint ‘small silver coins’ for military expenses and trade with the Arabs. That was still a gain! Breaking away from the Tang Dynasty’s currency earlier would spare him from being dragged down by it.

It was already afternoon. Just as Li Qingan stepped out of Xingqing Palace, a carriage came toward him. A middle-aged man got out of the carriage, and Li Qingan recognized him as Du Gu Haoran, Du Gu Mingyue’s father.
“It turns out to be Uncle Du Gu!” Li Qingan hurried forward, greeting him with a smile. “When did you return?”
“Hehe! It’s Qi Lang. Long time no see.”
Du Gu Haoran clearly was very satisfied with his son-in-law. He chuckled and patted Li Qingan’s shoulder, saying, “I returned last night. Just now, an official from the palace came, saying the emperor wants to see me.”
He glanced at Li Qingan from head to toe and smiled, “Not bad. We’ll soon be one family. Since we’re destined to be related, I hope we can take care of each other in the future.”
“I heard from your aunt last time that you’ve been appointed as the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. Congratulations, Uncle!”
“Oh! It’s the emperor’s grace. Well, I’m afraid the emperor is waiting, so I must go in first.”
“Alright, then I won’t keep you any longer.”
The two parted. After taking a few steps, Du Gu Haoran suddenly remembered something and called out to Li Qingan.
“Qi Lang, I almost forgot. You don’t have any other plans for tonight, do you?”
“No, Uncle. Is there something?”
Du Gu Haoran smiled and said, “There’s a family dinner tonight. It’s just the Du Gu family. One reason is to welcome me back, and the other is to let you meet Mingyue. You must come.”
“If you invite me, how could I refuse?”
Li Qingan replied cheerfully, “I’ll definitely be there tonight!”
……
Today, the day off from court was not only a time for officials to relax at home but also a chance for them to visit each other and build relationships. Especially since there would be a grand court meeting the next day—the first since the New Year’s ceremony this year—rumors suggested important announcements would be made. Officials went from house to house, trying to find out what might happen.
For the Du Gu family, another important event was scheduled for the next day’s court meeting: Du Gu Haoran would be officially appointed as the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, marking a significant turning point in his career.
Of course, the Du Gu family was also busy preparing for Li Qingan and Mingyue’s marriage. Since Li Qingan’s family had no elders, and although Gao Lishi offered to help, he wasn’t an elder in Li Qingan’s family, so it wasn’t appropriate to ask him for too much help—only some ceremonial assistance. Thus, most of the preparations had to be handled by the Du Gu family. Lady Pei was nearly overwhelmed with work. Fortunately, the first three of the six marriage rituals—requesting the hand in marriage, asking for the bride’s name, and seeking auspiciousness—had already been completed, which is why Mingyue had officially become Li Qingan’s fiancée.

Next is the gift-giving ceremony, where the groom’s side sends gifts to the bride’s family. Last year, on the birthday of the Imperial Concubine, Mingyue was granted the title of Lady of a Commandery. Gao Lishi and his wife then represented the groom’s side and sent gifts such as pigs, sheep, and wine to the Du Gu family. After that comes the date-setting, which is determined by the bride’s family. Lady Pei had already set the date, having received her husband’s approval the previous night. Therefore, today the Du Gu family invited Li Qing’an to a banquet, essentially to inform him of the specific wedding date.

To some extent, this was already a family banquet, inviting the future son-in-law to dine—a common practice. But in reality, the Du Gu family attached great importance to this evening’s banquet. On one hand, Li Qing’an held a high position and great power as the Military Governor of Anxi, so treating him as just another relative would be inappropriate. On the other hand, Du Gu Haoran wanted to show off his future son-in-law within the family, making today’s banquet particularly grand.

Dusk was approaching, and the banquet was almost ready. Members of various branches of the Du Gu family would arrive one after another. Lady Pei was extremely tired; she straightened up and took a deep breath. Her future son-in-law was coming tonight, so she couldn’t afford to be careless in her preparations.

According to the Zhou rituals, Mingyue was not allowed to see Li Qing’an before the marriage. However, in the Tang Dynasty, attitudes were more open, and it was common for men and women to gather, dine together, and go out together. More importantly, Lady Pei knew that winning over Li Qing’an would be very helpful to her husband, so she agreed to let her daughter meet him.

At that moment, a maid stepped forward and said, “Madam, your husband asks you to go to his room.”
“Okay! I’ll be right there.”
Lady Pei gave a few more instructions before heading toward the inner chambers.
……