Chapter 894 Father and Son
The tooth soldiers successively presented the prey they hunted to Guan Yu. Guan Yu greatly appreciated these loyal and brave tooth soldiers and distributed gold coins to the outstanding ones.
These were cast at Yecheng Mint.
Since this dynasty, the emperor has often given gold, but more often than not, gold was contributed by local princes to the emperor, and was specially used as gold for sacrifices.
Of course, gold has not been able to circulate in the market and become currencies like copper coins and cloth. The main reason is that current commercial activities are still too small. There is no circulation demand among the people for gold that can represent greater value.
But Zhang Chong understands how important the stability of the currency value system is.
Coming from a later generation, he didn't know why gold coins appeared in the West during the ancient Roman period. These gold coins were often cast with the heads of the emperors at that time, but in China, gold was not circulated as currency until much later.
So he didn't know why at first, so he consciously improved the utilization rate of gold.
After various wars, Zhang Chong would have a batch of such gold coins minted to reward meritorious soldiers, but at that time these gold coins would be minted with inscriptions about the war.
Therefore, these gold coins are more commemorative coins, and the meritorious officials who obtained the gold coins are unlikely to sell this glorious commemoration.
Therefore, after Zhang Chong established Dingding in Hebei and successfully developed locally, he established the Mint.
He specifically asked the goldsmiths to use Byzantine gold coins as templates, add his own image as the coin emblem, and then start casting gold coins.
In fact, Zhang Chong only found out after he captured Kyoto that the Han Dynasty had already started trade with the Byzantine Empire.
This process actually lasted until the fifth to eighth year of Yanxi, when civil strife broke out in the rest of the middlemen, and the trade route from the Persian Gulf to Byzantium was cut off, and the trade between the two parties began to come to a standstill.
But in the previous process, a large amount of Byzantine gold coins still flowed into the Han Dynasty, and they were accumulated in Taicang in Kyoto.
You must know that what the Han people called the Silk Road at that time could be called the "Golden Road to Samarkand" by the Byzantines. There, they used gold to buy silk from the Han Dynasty.
It was this batch of Byzantine currency in stock that gave the coiners in Yecheng an idea, and then they began to mint the first batch of gold coins in Datai. Because the gold coins had the portrait of King Zhang, they were also called "King Zhang" currency".
The gold coins that Guan Yu rewarded these outstanding tooth soldiers were just such a batch. They were the rewards he received when he went to Sheqiu Xingying to meet Zhang Chong.
In fact, the current situation is also the same, because gold needs to enter the mint to become gold coins, so Zhang Chong actually controls all gold coins, and there is no circulation on the market.
Zhang Chong wanted to bring gold coins into circulation. In the absence of a central bank, he could only do it through rewards and salaries to officials and remuneration to government contractors.
Here, the ten tooth soldiers who got the gold coins looked at the exquisite gold coins with curiosity. They were about to thank Guan Yu when they heard Guan Yu say with a smile:
"Go and call Dalang over."
The big man is Guan Ping.
Guan Ping and Tai Shici joined the Pingliao sequence before, and were later incorporated into the Zhonghu Army. They arrived at Sheqiu with Zhang Chong not long ago.
When Guan Yu came to Sheqiu to meet Zhang Chong, Zhang Chong asked Guan Ping to go back with his father.
In fact, Zhang Chong didn't need this method at all, but he had to make such a signal.
In fact, there is always a shortage of people who are lucky enough to be around the superiors. Do the superiors think that it is enough not to show it?
Those who live and work close to those in power always have a way of seeing or even guessing his preferences, so they will deliberately cater to them.
And something like this also happened around Zhang Chong.
Just because Zhang Chong once expressed dissatisfaction with Guan Yu's move to divide the fields again, some negative news about Guan Yu began to appear around him intentionally or unintentionally.
For example, domineering, bossy, and arbitrary.
No one had ever mentioned these things before, but as soon as Zhang Chong criticized them once, these things began to appear in a surge.
Not only Zhang Chong could notice it, but Guan Yu also had a clear feeling.
Ever since the king expressed his dissatisfaction with his work, Guan Yu clearly felt that there had been various resistances to his work in the Taishan area.
Of course, the army still obeys Guan Yu, and there has never been any opposition. These are mainly local officials from the central and southern Shandong region.
Therefore, once there is suspicion between the upper and lower parties, all kinds of noises will appear, but Zhang Chong understands that the solution can only be found here.
So he sent his attendant Guan Ping to Guan Yu's shogunate to express to everyone that his trust in Guan Yu had never changed from beginning to end.
In fact, Zhang Chong did not know that on the night they parted, Guan Yu cried on his way back to Fenggao that night.
Yes, this Hedong hero who never shed a tear when he shed blood cried.
Only when one is really in Guan Yu's position can one understand him, and understand how touching the unconditional support from above is when so many people are questioning and opposing you, and even being malicious towards you.
When he ordered the tooth soldiers to call Dalang over, Guan Yu dismounted and found a place to tie up the curtain.
This kind of curtain was actually used by marchers, and was specially used to surround the shogunate to block sight.
But in fact this kind of curtain has no roof.
Guan Yu sat on the grass, thinking about the next battle. It would not only be a turning point in the fate of the people of the world, but also a turning point in the fate of him and the thirty thousand officials under his command.
He didn't have much worry about Zang Ba in the city, but Cao Cao, who had been dormant like a crouching tiger behind him, made Guan Yu irritable every time he thought about it.
The essence of worry and fear is still unable to accept the tragic ending.
Guan Yu recalled that when he was still charging into battle beside the king, the king had high expectations for himself at that time.
Even thinking about it now, Guan Yu sometimes still didn't understand why the king could trust him so much when he saw him for the first time.
I don't understand why the king has higher expectations for me than I do.
It seemed that in the king's eyes, he, Guan Yu, was born to be a commander.
This also made Guan Yu more confident for a time, especially since he made great military exploits whether in the Northern Expedition to Xiang Kingdom or as a commander in charge of Mount Tai.
At that time, even he believed that he was born to be a commander, and his victory was as simple as eating and drinking.
Until he was defeated by Cao Cao, the Taishan base that had been resting for many years was almost destroyed in his hands.
If Hei Fu of Heji hadn't decisively and timely supported him at that time, I'm afraid Guan Yu would have really fallen down and never been able to get up again.
It was precisely after this defeat that Guan Yu realized that there was no such thing as a born famous commander, he was just one who was lucky enough to survive countless deaths.
Just like now, even if his reason tells him that the battlefield is like Yiqi, they have already played chess before, and now it belongs to Cao Cao's home court. Guan Yu cannot control which side his chess piece will be played on.
What Guan Yu should do at this moment is to calm down and prepare for the worst. On the other hand, he should defeat Zang Bajun in the city as soon as possible and strive to win the initiative. But this is rational after all. At this moment, when he is alone, how come Guan Yu's heart is not shaken at all?
He doesn't know where fate will take him?
Perhaps it was at this moment that he had some recognition of Huang Tian, whom he had never believed in before.
He couldn't help but pray in his heart:
"Supreme King Huang Taiyi, if we really belong to the righteous side, then bring us victory!"
As he thought about it, the sun had already reached the top of Guan Yu's head.
While he was thinking about this, the warm sunshine warmed Guan Yu, and he felt relaxed.
As if he was wandering in the mother's body, all the pressure was relieved from his heart and he fell into sleep.
I don't know how long it took, but Guan Yu suddenly heard a movement and opened his eyes suddenly.
Danfeng's eyes showed murderous intent, but soon disappeared without a trace. It turned out that the noise was caused by his son Guan Ping.
At this time, Guan Ping was holding a banana leaf to shield his father from the sun above his head.
After seeing his father wake up, Guan Ping subconsciously smiled at his father.
This scene was forever engraved in Guan Yu's mind.
At this moment, Guan Yu suddenly realized that the son who had been walking around his knees had grown up.
Thinking of this, the corners of Guan Yu's eyes became a little moist.
But in order to maintain the dignity of his father, Guan Yu coughed slightly and said to his son:
"Dalang, what's so funny?"
Guan Yu saw his son still holding the banana and blamed him:
"Don't you think your father is too old to be exposed to the sun? You are the only one who is troublesome!"
In fact, Guan Yu still felt sorry for his son, but he could never say such things. Like Sun Jian, they treated his son the same as they treated their subordinates.
His son is just a soldier under his command!
But Guan Ping was still so cheerful. He sat next to his father with a bright smile:
"Father, I'm glad that my father is still so alert. He is indeed my eldest wife's first-class warrior."
It is precisely in this way that Guan Ping once again asked a long-standing doubt:
"Father, you said before that the king is the best warrior in the world, with the courage of heaven and man. At that time, I couldn't think of what the courage of heaven and man was, but since that time in Shangdang, the king and that man Lu Bu’s battle really made me realize that only heavenly beings can be so brave.”
So, he asked his father:
"Well, handsome father, who is more powerful between you and the king?"
It was this sentence that made Guan Yu chuckle. It seemed that his son had not grown up yet and was still obsessed with such problems.
If it were in the past, Guan Yu would have replied to Guan Ping in a preaching manner, telling him what martial arts means to defeat ten thousand enemies, which is the art of war.
But this time, Guan Yu seriously answered Guan Ping for the first time:
"From the time he was born, my father was stronger than his peers. Before he even reached the championship, he had defeated all the invincible opponents in the same county. Later, my father determined to serve the country and joined the army in the northern Xinjiang. In the north, my father was the bravest of the three armies. With his With the horse on his crotch and the sword in his hand, he is invincible across the northern border. ”
Guan Ping listened very carefully. His father had never told him this before, so he knew nothing about his father's previous experiences.
In fact, Guan Ping has lacked the role of a father in his life for a long time. Guan Yu is an idol, a commander, and a hero to him, but he is rarely a father.
Because of this, he was particularly nostalgic for this moment, wishing his father could talk more.
Time, time, please slow down a little bit.
As before, Guan Yu once again did not notice his son's emotions and was still telling his own story:
"It was precisely because of this martial arts that my father survived the Northern Expedition that year. After that, my father left the army and began to travel around the mountains and rivers. It was a coincidence that that year I went to Jinan and Mount Tai. It was also there that I met the king and all the old brothers.”
"Before that, my father was arrogant and thought that no one in the world would be his rival in the face of the storm. But after seeing the king and joining the Taishan Army, my father understood what Crouching Tiger is. Hidden Dragon.”
"Even at that time, the only people who could fight with me were Dian Wei and Li Damu. The king at that time was already able to defeat the three of me. At that time, I understood how big this world is."
"Later, as our army grew in size and more and more heroes joined in, you would realize that it was not that you were too strong before, but that you were too young to see the heroes of the world. Later, no matter what Zhao Yun and Ma Chao are both brave for a moment, and they will never be inferior to me."
"After that, I heard about a few more characters, such as Zhang Fei, who was under Liu Bei's command back then. Although he has died in battle, his performance in the battle is not weaker than my hero. But you know, Dalang, for In my father’s heart, apart from the king, who really makes me think that he can defeat me?”
Without thinking, Guan Ping blurted out:
"Is that Lu Bu?"
Guan Yu nodded and sighed:
"Yes, it was Lu Bu who died in the hands of the king. The king at that time was no longer the same. If he changed places, my father might not even have the thought of fighting, but Lu Bu had the courage Launching a desperate charge against the king, he is much stronger than his father.”
Maybe Guan Ping didn't want his father's image to be dim, so he argued:
"Father, maybe it's because Lu Bu is ignorant and fearless? After all, he doesn't know how brave the king is."
Guan Yu shook his head again and said this to Guan Ping:
"Dalang, you haven't mastered your martial arts yet. When you are 50% as good as a father, you will understand what it means to decide the outcome at just one glance."
As if he wanted to explain this feeling in one word, Guan Yu forced himself to think of one:
"Position!"
"Then the situation is different."
At this moment, Guan Ping did not fully understand what his father said, but he was confident that he would eventually understand it one day.
Having said this, Guan Yu hesitated for a moment, and finally said the reason why he was called:
"My father wants you to go to Ju County to recruit Zang Ba and the others on my behalf."
At this moment, Guan Ping was stunned when he heard his father say the word "surrender".
But at the next moment, he answered his father without hesitation:
"My son is willing!"