Fang Guan looked at this young man, Dou Can, who was from Guanzhong. He was a descendant of a family of swordsmen and pen officials. He was just over 20 years old. After the chaos in the world, he wandered around for a while and recently came to Fengxiang Mansion.
Dou Shen did not have any honors in the imperial examination, and he was not from a wealthy family, so he had no choice but to work as Fang Guan's staff first.
Unexpectedly, the Prime Minister was about to fall. If Fang Guan fell, Dou Shen's efforts during this period would be in vain.
For his own efforts during this period and for his future future, Dou Shen thought about it for a long time and finally came up with a plan.
Seeing the young man Dou Shen stand up, Fang Guan was originally a little disappointed. What constructive suggestions could this young man who had not officially entered the official career offer?
But now Fang Guan doesn't have many useful talents among his staff, so he might as well listen to what suggestions this young man has.
Dou Shen said: "Pingzhang, do you know that the silk trade in Hexi is booming now?"
Although Fang Guan is the Prime Minister who has lost power, he is still a Prime Minister after all. He is naturally aware of the prosperity of Hexi's business today.
The imperial court had just ordered the officials left behind in Lingwu to quickly send Lingwu's inventory of silk to Hexi for sale as soon as possible.
Many silk merchants in Fengxiang Prefecture are rushing to buy silk from the imperial court. As long as they transport these silks to Hexi, they can make more than double the profit.
Silk itself was a kind of currency in this era and was officially called "light goods" in the Tang Dynasty.
Although light goods are a kind of currency, compared with precious metal currencies such as gold, silver, and copper coins, the market prices of light goods fluctuate greatly, and their quality is uneven. Therefore, by the mid-Tang Dynasty, the currency circulating in the market was still copper coins.
Mainly, the monetary properties of silk have been greatly reduced.
Even the silks given to ministers and soldiers by the imperial court were first exchanged for easy-to-carry precious metal coins.
Dou Shen said: "The silk trade in Hexi is prosperous, and the demand for silk in the Western Region is great. Why doesn't Pingzhang seek the position of Hexi Jiedushi and go to Hexi to raise military resources for His Majesty's sake?"
Fang Guan was stunned for a moment. The so-called generals and ministers, the prime minister and the military governor of the Tang Dynasty are two interchangeable positions.
Before Li Linfu, the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty would select from several major military governors, and transfer those with outstanding merits to the central government as prime ministers.
And if the prime minister grows up, he will also threaten the power of the emperor, and he will be sent to the feudal town as a military envoy.
This flow of personnel maintained the Tang Dynasty's control over various vassal towns, and at the same time ensured that the prime minister of the empire must be someone who could lead troops in war and was familiar with the situation in the vassal towns.
However, since the emperor successively appointed Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong as prime minister for a long time, this system was destroyed.
In order to control the position for a long time, Li Linfu suppressed the Han Jiedushi envoys, but instead promoted a group of Hu Jiedushi envoys, including An Lushan.
At the same time, Li Linfu also issued an order that barbarians could not be prime minister, which ensured that he could become prime minister for a long time.
The Hexi Jiedushi was one of the ten Jiedushi in the world. During the Tianbao period, he was even known as the best Jiedushi in the world.
Today's Hexi Jiedu, because the emperor mobilized the army from Longyou Road to enter the pass, his authority has been greatly reduced, but a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, so Hexi Jiedushi is still a coveted position.
More importantly, the current Hexi Jiedu is Guo Ziyi.
After Guo Ziyi joined the "Pingzhang Military and State Affairs", he often feasted and defiled himself at home, but the emperor's fear of him did not diminish at all. This time, the East Route Army led by Guo Ziyi progressed more smoothly than the West Route Army, forcing the emperor to have to
The transfer of the main force to Xiangzhou also deepened the emperor's fear of Guo Ziyi.
Fang Guan naturally knew that Guo Ziyi, the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, was in Xiangzhou, but there was no commander on the battlefield in Xiangzhou. Instead, Yu Chaoen, an eunuch, was appointed as the envoy to watch the tenth army and coordinate the army's operations. It was because the emperor had already developed a crush on Guo Ziyi.
Be wary.
Now Guo Ziyi is the Jiedushi of Shuofang and also the Jiedushi of Hexi. If he seeks the position of Jiedushi of Hexi, the emperor might really agree.
At this time, Zifang Guan became more energetic. Since he had been abandoned by the emperor, he might as well go to Hexi and become a military governor and a local emperor, and live happily.
But is the emperor willing to give himself this fat job?
I only heard Dou Shen say: "If Pingzhang wants to seek the governor of Hexi, he must have a legitimate reason."
Fang Guan stroked his sparse beard and nodded in agreement.
Dou Shen said: "So I have a plan. Pingzhang can report it to your majesty. I will change the horse into a mulberry when traveling west of Hexi!"
"Change the horse into a mulberry?"
Dou Shen nodded and said: "The four counties in Hexi, including Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei, are all places with rich water and grass. There used to be a large number of horse farms, and they were the important places for horse administration in the Tang Dynasty."
"But since the emperor failed to suppress the rebellion and Hexi was depleted, many horse farms have been abandoned."
"Now that the silk trade in Hexi is booming, why not just plant mulberry trees on horse farms in Hexi and raise silkworms and weave silk in Hexi?"
Fang Guan was stunned. Is there such a way?
He stroked his beard and asked: "But now that the horse has been transformed into a mulberry, how long will it take to see results?"
Dou Shen said: "Hexi has the reputation of being a fortress in the south of the Yangtze River. It is natural to plant mulberry trees here to raise silkworms and spin silk. The mulberry trees transplanted now can feed silkworms next year, and within a year they will become as good as
Jiangnan is a land of great wealth."
Dou Shen saw that Fang Guan was already hesitant, and he added: "Pingzhang, money is needed to counter the rebellion now, and even more money will be needed after the rebellion. Pingzhang didn't see that Wu Qi was valued by His Majesty, isn't it because he can get it in Jianghuai?"
Money?”
"If Pingzhang can manage Hexi, then His Majesty will definitely like you, and your return to the throne will be just around the corner."
After saying this, Fang Guan no longer hesitated, but he still asked the last question.
"Now the general manager of Longyou is Li Yan, King of Jianning, and the Hexi Jiedushi Mansion is in charge of Longyou. What should be done about this?"
Dou Shen showed a smile and said, "Speaking of which, let's talk about the wonders of Hexi."
"Why is this?"
"If King Jianning really takes over the entire Longyou, then His Majesty and the Prince should be worried. Pingzhang is going to Hexi now, just in time to have a fight with King Jianning. In the future, the Prince will be a big treasure, and then Pingzhang will be
I have a great contribution."
Fang Guan was also an old official, and he suddenly became enlightened after hearing Dou Shen's words.
King Jianning was the emperor's biological son and the prince's younger brother. He had also served as the deputy marshal of the world's troops and horses, and was also one of the contenders for the throne.
Now that he has been granted the title of Longyou, if he is really enthroned in Longyou, I am afraid that the most uneasy person will be the prince.
If he goes to Hexi and can restrain King Jianning, this will be a great achievement for the prince.
Now His Majesty's body is not in good condition. If he can gain favor with the Crown Prince, there is hope for him to become the Prime Minister in the new dynasty.
Fang Guan immediately said: "If you can get the Hexi Jingjie, you must worship Shen as the judge of the festival!"