Handan.
A carriage moved slowly along a bustling street. Inside sat Luo Jing, who was touring Shandong. As he gazed at the flourishing prosperity before him, he nodded in satisfaction.
As one of the most prosperous commercial cities in the realm, Handan offered a valuable point of reference for conditions throughout the land.
Several years earlier, after the court stripped the imperial clansmen of their fiefs, it established Coin Supervision Offices throughout the commanderies and kingdoms, specifically to watch for conspicuously inferior coins circulating in their markets. Once offenders were discovered, they were hauled before the authorities and, according to the severity of their crimes, faced heavy penalties, confiscation of their property, or even exile.
With such strict oversight, although those inferior coins could never truly be eradicated altogether, the bewildering variety of counterfeiting methods had largely disappeared from sight.
"My lord, of the dozens of commanderies and kingdoms throughout the realm, the vast majority now use the Tianhan Coins minted by the court. When I visited the Grand Director of Commerce a short while ago, he said that the court's annual revenue had increased enormously last year. The profits from minting coins are truly frightening. One can imagine how much those princes and lords earned in years past."
Luo Jing did not answer him. Instead, he said, "Over these past years, His Majesty has lightened punishments, practiced benevolence, and reduced agricultural taxes. Although this has greatly restored the economy among the people, such lenient governance must have led to serious land consolidation. Yet resolving this problem is impossible. I hope this visit can alleviate it somewhat."
With that, he lowered the carriage's window curtain. Silence settled inside, broken only by the steady clop of hooves as they moved forward.
"Send messengers in every direction to summon the powerful gentry