Chapter 397: Gold Panning by the Chu River

In mid-November, Li Qing’an experienced double joy. The first was the news from Chang’an that the imperial court had officially renamed the Anxi silver coins as Tianbao silver coins, recognizing them as the legal currency of the Tang Dynasty. Li Qing’an understood this was the result of a monetary war, with Hu Peiyun playing a pivotal role. It was his careful planning that led to Li Yu’s disastrous attempt to issue silver coins, forcing him to accept the fact that the Anxi silver coins had already gained acceptance among the people.

This meant he now held the key to the Tang Dynasty’s currency. All he needed to do was gradually increase the supply of silver coins, and sooner or later, they would replace copper coins as the primary currency.

But what brought Li Qing’an even greater joy was the second piece of good news: he finally had his own child. On November 12th, the year he turned thirty, his first child was born.

Ru Shi gave birth to a daughter who weighed seven jin at birth. Her face shape and features resembled her mother—oval face, large eyes, thin eyebrows—while her nose and mouth were like Li Qing’an’s, with a slightly upturned upper lip and distinct contours. As they had decided in advance, the baby was named Li Siduo.

Overjoyed at having a child, Li Qing’an prepared tens of thousands of cakes and festive eggs according to the customs of Suiye to distribute among the families there. He also invited several famous singing and dancing troupes from the Shi and Kang kingdoms to perform in Suiye City, allowing its soldiers and civilians to share in his joy. Three days after birth, the baby smiled for the first time, and her smile touched everyone. Unfortunately, there were no cameras in that era to capture her image forever, but this didn’t deter Li Qing’an. He hired the most famous painter to capture the baby’s smile on canvas, and the painting was placed on his desk so he could see it every day.

Early in the morning, Li Qing’an quietly went to the baby’s room. The baby’s bedroom was next to Ru Shi’s room, and a nurse was taking care of her. He thought he would see his daughter sleeping peacefully, but to his disappointment, the baby was no longer in the room. At that moment, laughter came from next door. When Li Qing’an entered the room, he realized he was too late—the baby was in Ru Hua’s arms, along with her other “mothers”: Mingyue, who was heavily pregnant, as well as Wu Yi and Ru Hua. They were gathered around the baby, discussing her appearance.

Ru Shi lay half on the bed, her face filled with happiness. She suddenly noticed Li Qing’an peeking at the door and said with a smile, “The baby’s father has come!”

“Look at you, wanting to come in but too shy to do so?” Mingyue teased gently.

“I’m afraid I’ll disturb her.”

Li Qing’an raised his hands and stepped in quietly. He stretched his neck to take a look and said with a smile, “Wow! She’s sleeping like a pig—impossible to wake her up!”
“Come! Daddy wants to hold you.”
Li Qing’an reached out to take the child, and Ru Hua handed her over, repeatedly reminding him, “Big brother, be careful. Make sure to support her head—be careful!”
“I know, I’ll support her head.”
Li Qing’an carefully took the child in his arms. Gently, he rubbed her delicate little face with his beard and said affectionately, “Hey! Little one, why don’t you open your eyes and see your daddy?”
“Should we report that the husband has a child to the court?” Ming Yue asked with a smile from the side.
That suddenly reminded Li Qing’an. He handed the child to Ru Shi and sat by the bed, saying to everyone, “I do want to confer a title on her. The emperor once promised me that my children, whether legitimate or not, could be granted titles. Since I’m a prince, she should naturally be a county princess. But what kind of county princess? Let’s come up with a nice title using a place name from Anxi.”
Everyone fell into thought. Ming Yue said with a smile, “How about calling her Princess Jinman? That title sounds both wealthy and auspicious.”
“It’s good, but I have an even more elegant title in mind,” Li Qing’an shook his head, rejecting that title.
Ru Hua suddenly laughed and said, “Then call her Princess Qing’an! Isn’t there a Qing’an County in the north? We can include her father’s name too.”
“No! No!” Ru Shi quickly waved her hands. “How can we use the father’s name? That’s absurd!”
At that moment, Wu Yi smiled slightly and said, “Then big brother, come up with a title! I guess you’ve already thought of one.”
Li Qing’an’s face turned red. He had indeed thought of one, but he was too embarrassed to say it. Since Wu Yi had guessed his thoughts, he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly and said, “Actually, Princess Jinman isn’t bad either, but it seems a bit common. How about Princess Julan?”
The room fell silent. They all knew something about Li Qing’an’s past, and they also knew who Julan was. Ming Yue secretly shook her head. It was rare that her husband still remembered that unfortunate woman. She gave Ru Shi a subtle glance, who understood and nodded with a smile, saying, “I agree that the child should be called Princess Julan. What do you all think?”
“You’re the mother. If you agree, we have no objections. We can use Princess Jinman for my daughter in the future.”
Ming Yue gave Li Qing’an a half-smiling look and added, “Let’s stop talking. Ru Shi is still in her postpartum period! We shouldn’t disturb her too much. Everyone, go back first!”
The three women left, leaving only Li Qing’an and Ru Shi in the room. Li Qing’an moved closer and asked concerningly, “Have you felt any better these past couple of days?”

Rushi bowed her head and kissed the child, smiling and saying, “After resting for a few days, I feel much better. It’s not like after giving birth when I was completely exhausted.” At these words, a hint of apology flashed in Rushi’s eyes as she whispered, “Big brother, I’m truly sorry for not being able to give you a son!” Li Qing’an shook his head and said, “What are you saying? As long as you and the baby are safe, I’m happier than anything. Besides, I adore my precious daughter—don’t you know that? All fathers love their daughters.” “But…” “There’s no but!” Li Qing’an interrupted her. “It’s not up to you to decide whether it’s a boy or a girl. Rest well during your postpartum recovery, and next year, give me another child—this time it will definitely be a boy. When he grows up, I’ll make him the King of Anxi. Does that sound good?” “Mm!” Rushi nodded gently. “Big brother, go ahead and take care of your duties!” Li Qing’an glanced at the clock in the corner of the room; it was already late, so he stood up and said with a smile, “I have an important meeting today. I’ll be leaving now. You rest well.” “Big brother, kiss the child.” Rushi picked up the child, and Li Qing’an bent down to kiss her little face, smiling and saying, “My little treasure, grow up quickly. Daddy will dress you in the most beautiful diamonds in the world.” He kissed Rushi again and whispered in her ear, “And you too, my dear one—get well soon so we can try to have another child.” Rushi nodded shyly, and then Li Qing’an turned and left. … Li Qing’an rushed to the government hall. When he reached the door, he happened to meet Wang Changling, who was also there for the meeting. “General, I happen to have something important to report to you first.” Wang Changling took out a document from his folder and said, “This is the plan you mentioned last time for establishing the Anxi University. Since time is of the essence, I plan to use the general’s former residence and make a few modifications before it can be put to use. I was wondering if the general agrees.” The purpose of establishing the Anxi University wasn’t to enroll students for schooling but to provide rotational training for military and civil officials in Anxi, somewhat similar to party schools in later times. The main goal was to ensure that these officials aligned politically with him. Especially this month, after Liu Yan joined his side, there were continuous reports from the northern region. More than twenty important officials from Hexi and Longyou, including Pei Mian, the military commander of Hexi, Du Hongjian, the judicial officer, and Cui Yi, the imperial censor, came to Anxi seeking employment. Of course, this was related to them being sidelined by Cheng Qianli. The arrival of such high-ranking officials made Li Qing’an even more eager to establish the university.

Li Qing’an nodded and said, “There’s no need to consult me on these matters; you’re in charge of implementing them entirely.” As they spoke, the two entered the conference room. Today’s main topic was discussing mining and coin casting. Several key officials were already there—Duan Xiushi, Cen Shen, Hou Yiyun from the Trade Bureau, Zhang Chao from the Coining Bureau, and Liu Yan, who had just been promoted to head the Finance Bureau. Everyone gathered together.

Once seated, Zhang Chao carefully took out a wooden box and placed it flat on the table, smiling as he said, “Following the general’s instructions, the silver coins have been cast. Please take a look, General.”

Li Qing’an perked up immediately and stepped forward. The silver coins were a brilliant idea—there was a large disparity between silver dollars and copper coins, so a transitional currency was needed, similar to later-era ten-yuan and twenty-yuan coins. Silver coins were the best form of currency, but the court didn’t have enough silver to issue large quantities. Using silver-containing coins didn’t work either, as the public wouldn’t accept them, and more importantly, it made counterfeiting easy, leading to serious consequences. The silver coins could prevent such fraud.

Zhang Chao opened the lid, revealing two compartments filled with two types of pure silver particles. One compartment contained silver coins worth fifty coins, while the other contained those worth twenty coins. These so-called silver coins were actually standard-shaped silver fragments. The fifty-coin silver coins were pentagonal, about the size of a peanut, while the twenty-coin ones were triangular, roughly the size of a corn kernel. They were polished to a high shine. Li Qing’an grabbed a handful and felt their good texture.

Zhang Chao explained, “These silver coins are hard to counterfeit. If lead or brass is mixed in, their weight will increase immediately. You can tell if they’re genuine just by giving them a light shake. So far, five hundred jin have been cast, and we plan to send another thousand jin to the Central Plains once we reach that amount.”

Liu Yan, who had been working hard to understand the situation in Anxi, was completely unaware of the silver coin project. He picked up a few coins in surprise, examined them closely, and couldn’t help but praise them, asking, “How were they polished to such a degree that there’s not even a trace of edge?”

Zhang Chao replied with a smile, “We put the rough silver coins and iron balls into a large urn, then use water power to rotate the urn up, down, left, and right. Over time, the rough edges of the silver coins get polished smooth by the iron balls. Moreover, since these coins will be used frequently and passed around often, they’ll remain smooth. So there’s no need to worry about that.”

Li Qing’an nodded and smiled, saying, “Good. Proceed as planned. Ship them to the Central Plains in a month. Let the court experience our silver dollars first, and then try the Anxi silver coins. Who knows? The emperor might even rename them the Dali Silver Coins.”

Everyone laughed.
“I think it’s entirely possible.”
Wang Changling said with a smile, “The reason the imperial court can’t defeat us is that there are no large silver mines in the Central Plains, so they can’t use pure silver. This is our unparalleled advantage—we not only have large silver mines but also gold and copper mines. As long as the imperial court recognizes gold and silver as currency, in just a few years, the entire currency of the Tang Dynasty will be under Anxi’s control. At that time, people and supplies will flow continuously to Anxi.”
When gold mines were mentioned, the conversation turned to today’s topic: the discovery of gold sand upstream in the Suiye River. The Turks and Turkic peoples had long found gold sand in the riverbeds upstream of the Suiye River, but it hadn’t received much attention until the Anxi Military Governorship was moved to Suiye, where specialized mining troops were established. Only then was it discovered that the gold sand mines upstream of the Suiye River were of extremely high quality. Moreover, several large silver and sulfur mines were found where the river flowed into the Suiye Valley, offering great mining value.
Considering the need to establish different sources of silver, the Anxi Government decided to start exploiting the silver mines in northern Suiye while also panning for gold in the Suiye River. Their meeting today was to discuss specific details of mining.
“The key issue is a lack of labor!”
Wang Changling continued, “We’ve just established more than a dozen workshops for weaving, spinning, ceramics, brewing, and so on, plus a few more for weapons production. All these require a large workforce. Fortunately, Xin De sends a large amount of grain, freeing many laborers from farming. But mining the silver mines in Suiye will require at least tens of thousands of laborers—this is likely beyond our capabilities.”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before saying, “In that case, the prisoners from Tocharistan can be used to mine the silver mines in Suiye, while the labor shortage there can be filled by people from Xin De.”
With that, he added with a smile, “If possible, I could even bring a thousand elephants as porters. But I need to go and inspect the mines myself, just to take a look around the Suiye Valley.”
Seeing the hope in Liu Yan’s eyes, Li Qing’an remembered his promise to him and said with a smile, “Deputy Governor Liu, why not come along too?”
……
The Suiye River, also known as the Chu River, originates in the mountainous areas north of Talas. It flows through deserts and wastelands upstream before entering the Suiye Valley and eventually flowing into the Sea of Heat. It is over 500 li long, with nearly 200 li flowing through the Suiye Valley, making it the most important irrigation source there.

The Suiye Valley is a vast valley, over a hundred li wide at its widest point and more than twenty li wide at its narrowest. Snow-capped peaks line both sides of the valley, and the towering mountains prevent cold winds from invading, making the Suiye Valley exceptionally warm and humid. Dozens of tributaries, large and small, flow into the Suiye River. With abundant water, fertile land, and dense forests, the Suiye Valley has become a vast and prosperous region.

Originally, the Turks and Tuyuhesh people lived here scattered. After a large number of Han people migrated westward, the Turks and Tuyuhesh people settled in the areas around Helie City and Dong City. As a result, more than a dozen Han settlements of varying sizes emerged in the Suiye Valley, ranging from a few thousand households to tens of thousands. There were also over ten thousand troops stationed there, along with their families, all distributed throughout the valley. After nearly two years of development, new towns began to appear, and five new county towns were established in the Suiye Valley. Large fields and villages could be seen everywhere around these towns.

That noon, Li Qing’an and his group of over a thousand people arrived in Chuhé County, located about eighty li away from Suiye. Chuhé County was also a new county, established just the previous year, with a population of over three thousand households, making it a medium-sized county by inland standards.

They were still ten li away from the county town. They followed a tributary of the Suiye River. Not far away was a gentle slope covered with mulberry and tea trees, forming patches of mulberry orchards and tea plantations. Although it was winter, the valley was very warm, and the river water had not frozen. It was shallow and flowed gently, allowing people to walk across the riverbed.

“General, look over there!” Liu Yan exclaimed excitedly, pointing at a tall water wheel hidden among the trees in the distance. The beautiful scenery along the way made him unable to help but mutter to himself, “This place is even more prosperous than Guanzhong.”

“It’s not only more prosperous than Guanzhong; it also has things that the farmers in Guanzhong can only dream of having,” Li Qing’an said, pointing at the large mulberry groves on the slope and the nearly four hundred mu of fertile land around the water wheel. “All of this belongs to one family. I remember them; their surname is Wei. I inspected them last year. They were refugees from Hedong, a family of seven. On their way to Anxi, the elderly couple almost starved in Hexi. Now they have settled here peacefully. Their youngest son serves in the army in Beiting under Cui Qianyou. As military households, they don’t have to pay any taxes or deliver grain, nor will there be land annexation.”

“What if they’re not military households?” Liu Yan asked curiously.

“If they’re not military households, then the tax rate is thirty percent, with exemptions for the first three years. If they don’t farm, they have to pay a household tax of one hundred coins per year. But if they have children, the Anxi government even subsidizes them with one guan per month. Pretty good, right?”

Liu Yan was stunned for a while before sighing deeply. “Such a wonderful opportunity—why doesn’t the General go to the Central Plains to promote it? A large number of immigrants will surely come, so there’s no need to worry about a shortage of labor.”
“Next year! After spring begins next year, I’ll organize Cheng Qianli to reopen the Hexi Corridor and recruit more immigrants.”
A few farmers by the river were repairing ditches. Seeing a large group of cavalry passing by, they put down their work and looked up curiously. Li Qingan suddenly recognized one of the old men and urged his horse forward, smiling, “Elder Wei, do you still remember me?”
The old man stared at Li Qingan for a while before suddenly kneeling down and kowtowing. “I didn’t know the General was here. I am guilty!”
The other farmers also knelt down in fear and kowtowed, saying, “We didn’t know the General had arrived.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m just passing by.”
Li Qingan ordered his guards to help them up, then turned to his soldiers and said, “Everyone, rest here for a while.”
The soldiers dismounted to rest. Li Qingan also dismounted and sat down on a flat rock. He then smiled at Liu Yan standing nearby and said, “Magistrate Liu, come and sit for a while.”
Liu Yan walked over and sat down. At that moment, a rather pretty girl brought a bowl of water to Li Qingan. Li Qingan took the bowl and smiled, “Elder Wei, I remember this is your granddaughter, right? Last year she was still a little girl with yellow hair; now she’s grown up.”
The girl blushed and hid behind her grandfather. Elder Wei sat on a rock and chuckled, “Girls change a lot by the age of eighteen. She’s fourteen now and is planning to go to the Suiye Silk Weaving Workshop next month.”
“How? She could even find a workshop in advance?”
“A few days ago, some officials from Suiye came to recruit workers. Dozens of workshops were hiring, and my granddaughter chose the silk weaving workshop herself.”
Li Qingan wasn’t aware of this and usually didn’t inquire about such matters. He asked out of concern, “Was it specified how much wages she would earn?”
Elder Wei took out a document from his bosom and handed it to Li Qingan. “This is the contract. My granddaughter will work at the Suiye workshop for two years, with me, the magistrate of Zhang County, acting as guarantor.”
This kind of contract was similar to labor contracts in later times, but it wasn’t Li Qingan’s idea. Generally, workshops in the Central Plains would sign contracts in advance, detailing wages, accommodation, etc., usually for three years, with local officials acting as intermediaries and all parties signing the contract.
However, the workshops in Suiye were all government-run and managed by the Craft Bureau, using the same standard format for contracts. Li Qingan had personally participated in drafting them, so he was very familiar with them. Liu Yan, on the other hand, saw such a contract for the first time and curiously stepped forward.

Li Qing’an pointed at the salary listed in the contract with a hint of pride and said with a smile, “See? Ten silver coins per month, one day off every ten days, free food and lodging. How does that compare to the workshops in Chang’an?”
Liu Yan sighed bitterly and replied, “As far as I know, those who work well in the Western Market get up early, work late, endure hard labor without rest, and at most earn two hundred wen a day, or six guan a month. A girl like her would at most earn three guan. Ten silver coins, at black-market rates, is equivalent to thirteen guan—even I don’t earn that much.”
Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “Of course. Do you know how hard it is to recruit workers in Suiye? If you don’t offer a high salary, who would want to come? Not to mention workers, even my own maids earn fifteen silver coins a month, with four days off a month, and I still have to pay for it myself.”
Liu Yan sighed, “The wages in the Tang Dynasty are the highest, but food prices are the lowest. Before I came here, some people advised me that Anxi was a barren and poor place. Complete nonsense!”
Elder Wei also interjected, “Actually, I didn’t want my granddaughter to go to Suiye. I have twenty mu of mulberry groves and ten mu of tea plantations of my own. The mulberry groves will start producing leaves next year, and we can start raising silkworms. We need people at home, but my granddaughter likes the hustle and bustle of Suiye. There was no other choice but to let her go. Sigh! I’m really worried!”
“Please rest assured, sir. If your granddaughter encounters any difficulties, she can come to me. If I’m not here, she can also turn to my wife.”
Li Qing’an handed a business card to the girl. Holding it, she suddenly blushed and said, “General, how about I work as a maid in your household?”
Li Qing’an was taken aback before bursting into laughter. He raised the contract and said, “That won’t do. If Wang Jiangniu finds out that I’m stealing workers to be maids, he’ll post big posters all over the city cursing me to death.”
At that moment, several horses rushed over from afar and stopped nearby. Several officials dismounted and rushed toward them, holding their robes. Elder Wei recognized the young official at the front and said with a smile, “General, it’s our County Magistrate Zhang.”
Li Qing’an also recognized him. That young county magistrate was Zhang Zhihe, Li Mi’s nephew.
Half a year ago, he had written a poem that spread from Suiye to Chang’an, causing a sensation.
“White egrets fly before Xisai Mountain, peach blossoms and flowing water, plump mandarin fish. Green bamboo hats, green raincoats—no need to return in the gentle wind and light rain.”
He described the beautiful scenery beyond the Great Wall and in the south.