“Nanzhao has copper?” Xu Jingzong didn’t hear what Yun Ye said afterward. He only heard Yun Ye say Nanzhao had copper. Great Tang had very few copper mines—there was a bit in Longyou, a bit in Jiangxi Southern Circuit. Recently, iron mines had been discovered in Liaodong with a small amount of associated copper ore. Yi’an and Yongxing counties were the places in Great Tang that produced the most copper ingots, yet they still couldn’t satisfy this vast empire’s demand for copper. Since ancient times, the Central Plains had a deep affection for copper, believing its color represented nobility. For sacrificial ding vessels, the most noble weren’t gold or jade implements, but bronze implements. During the Spring and Autumn period, the Warring States period, and even the two Han dynasties, the metal represented by the character for gold was copper.
“Yes, Nanzhao’s copper mines are very large, even exceeding the total of all our dynasty’s copper mines. And their production site happens to be right in Meng Shezhao’s territory. There’s another advantage there—the roads are ready-made. The roads opened when Zhuge Liang crossed the Lu River are still in use today. The ancients said it well: elephants die because of their tusks, and men who carry jade are guilty of their crime. With such a huge copper mine, even if Meng Shezhao didn’t attack Great Tang, he must attack. He can’t survive because His Majesty wants copper.”
After the Yun family’s caravan returned from Nanzhao, they said copper had recently become terribly cheap in Nanzhao. They hoped the family head would allow the caravan to purchase some to bring back. The ritual vessels at home needed to be replaced with larger ones. After the steward reported this news, Yun Ye immediately realized that the copper mines there had already become known to the court. Li Er wanted Meng Shezhao’s head and wouldn’t allow surrender—the purpose was to monopolize the copper mines. He didn’t want to share his interests with anyone, nor did he need to.
“In that case, you should invite those big shots over. What are you doing looking for these young people? What the hell do they know?”
“Old Xu, pay attention to your demeanor. You’re a scholar. Don’t become vulgar as soon as you hear about a few coins. Think about it—could those old fellows show it? Coming to my home, eating and drinking for free, then slapping their butts and leaving—even beating a dog with meat buns isn’t done this way.”
“Furthermore, I really want to find out who gave His Majesty this idea. Look, after the copper mines are discovered, they’ll immediately be mined. The court will use the copper ingots stored in the national treasury to begin massively minting copper coins, forcibly driving down the copper price. At that time, those who exchanged for copper coins at high prices will suffer great losses. Only the court will benefit. So my family exchanged all our copper coins for silver. His Majesty eats the meat, and we can at least drink some soup, right?”
“The banks are short of currency. The Yun family deposited all their money into banks—this is called sharing the country’s worries. As for whether I deposited silver or copper coins, what does that matter? What’s important is this intention. The Yun family has always been this patriotic.”
Xu Jingzong wiped the spittle Yun Ye sprayed on his face and cupped his hands in admiration, saying: “Marquis Yun’s patriotic heart can shine before the sun and moon. Please allow the Xu family to follow all the way.”
Yun Ye laughed slyly and said: “While His Majesty hasn’t issued a gag order to me, I can still tell you. Once His Majesty reacts and issues a gag order, I won’t reveal a single word.”
Xu Jingzong cupped his hands again in thanks, pointed at Duan Hong who was looking around for someone, and said: “The gag order has arrived. This old man will go over there to get some food to take back. My old wife hasn’t eaten a single bite yet. How pitiful…”
Duan Hong saw Yun Ye and immediately walked over, cupping his hands and saying: “His Majesty wants this servant to ask you—you didn’t say anything improper, did you?”
“Say what improperly? I spent the whole evening explaining to my brothers that I don’t have cut-sleeve inclinations. That doesn’t count as improper talk, does it?”
Duan Hong turned his face and saw prawns, his favorite thing. He found a plate and filled a large plateful, then said to Yun Ye: “His Majesty said if you dare discuss Nanzhao matters carelessly, just wait to go to Nanzhao as mine supervisor. Anyway, you stayed in Nanzhao for quite a long time. You’ve adapted to the climate there, right? His Majesty’s words have been delivered. This servant needs to eat something properly.” After speaking, he took his plate and found a place without people to start chewing heartily.
Xu Jingzong walked home with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune. The old servant carried a huge food box in his hands. Upon reaching the gate, Ma Jiuhu jumped out and called softly, “Uncle by marriage.”
“Uncle by marriage, your nephew saw you conversing with Marquis Yun for a long time. If it’s about making money, could you help your nephew out?”
“What money-making business? We are all important ministers of the state. How can we be so calculating about mere money? You spend all day carousing on the boulevard—you just don’t know how to single-mindedly serve the country. You waste being the son of a noble family, not having half a heart of loyalty and respect.”
Ma Jiuhu’s warm face had met a cold backside. He cupped his hands awkwardly to show he’d learned his lesson and hurriedly returned to the banquet. Xu Jingzong snorted mockingly. When I, this old man, was down on my luck, where was this nephew of yours? Now you come around. The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the safer it is. Why should I tell you?
The person who could give the Emperor this idea couldn’t be one of those old ministers. It could only be a young person. The old people hadn’t yet learned to use economic leverage as a weapon to deal with those greedy old thieves. The greatest possibility was that it came from his own circle of friends. To be valued by the Emperor at such a young age, one couldn’t do it without some talent. Who was this catfish?
Yun Ye now liked this question. Di Renjie brought a cup of hot tea to his master’s hands and said quietly: “No such person was discovered. This disciple went through all the students at the academy who liked banks and circled four people: Shen Gonghai, Yuan Jia, Zhu Zong, and Yao Si. These four are all outstanding students from the academy’s third class. Previously, they served as probationary officials in the Ministry of Rites and Ministry of Revenue, but two years ago, they disappeared from sight. These four are good friends who share life and death. Back then at Yanlai Tower, they once caught the attention of the Bai Qi Si. This disciple used your token to access the already sealed Bai Qi Si archives. Finally, I discovered they appeared in Yaozhou and Rongzhou, all as record-keeping officials. They are the most suspicious.”
Yun Ye laughed, laughed very smugly. He prepared to ignore this matter from now on, treat himself as an outsider, and coldly watch the development of the situation. Success or failure—it depended on their methods. Since Di Renjie said they appeared in Rongzhou and Yaozhou, then it was ten-tenths certain these four fellows were stirring up trouble. Their methods were far stronger than people like Ma Zhou. They hid in the dark while the Emperor appeared in the open, silently scheming against those heartless wealthy people. Li Er’s eye for people was extremely accurate. He wouldn’t rashly sacrifice such people.
Since his own students had made a move, let him, the teacher, evaluate their abilities. Should he create some difficulties for them or not?
“Renjie, the money my family has deposited in banks is yours to use as you wish. If you feel it’s not enough, borrow some from the Niu family’s funds. See if you can earn enough money for yourself. Xiao Wu’s expenses won’t be small. If you want to support her, you’ll need to earn a lot of money. This is an opportunity. You fellow disciples can compete with each other. All the money earned this time is yours.”
“Master, you want to sabotage their plan?” Di Renjie looked at his master uncomprehendingly. He also believed those heartless rich people needed to receive a painful lesson.
“I’m not thinking of sabotaging it, just adding a bit of difficulty for them. You’d better operate covertly. You should be very familiar with how banks work. No problem, right?”
Di Renjie laughed, bowed to his master, and happily found a plate to get food. With himself plus Xiao Wu, he didn’t believe they couldn’t outmaneuver those four fools.
The desert dance, after being adapted by the Heavenly Demoness, became passionate and unrestrained, with less lewdness and more rigor. The barbarian girls, accompanied by intense hand drums, made their buttocks and bellies shake in ten thousand variations. The Great Tang country bumpkins watched with their hearts and spirits transported. The enchantment and mystery of the snake dance left people even more dumbfounded. A woman’s body could actually be flexible to such an extent, as if boneless.
It wasn’t just the male guests exclaiming. On the other side of the screen, those female guests were the ones really shouting. Xue Wanche watched with a flushed face. The snake dance most aroused men’s primal desires. Since returning to Chang’an, he had been in a state of abstinence. Now being bewitched like this, for such a frivolous playboy, it was simply torment.
Fang Yi’ai also had a face full of dark lines because he heard Gao Yang on the other side of the screen loudly commenting on this dance. She seemed to still be angry at Yun Ya. No matter what movement the dancing girl made, she would ask if Yun Ya could do it.
“Oh my, so shameless! Yun Ya, look—she’s touching her butt to her head. Can you do it? Back at the academy, you practiced this move. Why don’t you try it too?”
“Gao Yang, shut up. Watch the song and dance properly. Such a beautiful dance still can’t shut your mouth.” The one speaking was Xiangcheng. This made Fang Yi’ai breathe a sigh of relief. With Elder Sister Xiangcheng there, the two probably wouldn’t start fighting again.
Many nobles cast reproachful glances at Yun Ye. What are you doing? Having such good things, why did you have to bring wives? If it were just men sitting in a circle watching, how much better would that be than pretending to be proper now?
The Yun family had stated early on that their dancing girls were only responsible for dancing and adding to the excitement—other matters would not be entertained. Everyone didn’t understand. Barbarian girls were just playthings. Those familiar with Yun Ye knew he couldn’t possibly keep them as private favorites. Such wasteful behavior wasn’t right.
With the rise of Great Tang’s national power, foreigners truly had no status in the eyes of Great Tang people. Barbarian girls were equivalent to playthings, equivalent to gold and silver. This concept had been branded into the bones of Tang people. Treating them as people was what was strange.
When a man went out on a trip and brought back one or two beautiful barbarian girls, it was like buying two pet cats. If there was a fierce wife at home, within a few days their bodies would appear in mass graves, eaten by wild dogs. When the male master discovered the barbarian girls were gone, he would just go to the human market to buy one or two more, then repeat the cycle.
When a Tang person died, it was a major incident. When a barbarian girl died, no one would investigate. In fact, no one would care about the life or death of one or two pets.