Rule over Ming Dynasty

In the capital city in December, the northern country is covered with snow and silver.

The Taiye Pond in the center of the West Garden has been frozen, and the royal garden is also covered in white snow. Only the yellow roof of the palace in the west is still exposed.

A group of important officials from the imperial court walked in from the palace gate, wearing fur coats, braving the snowflakes falling from the sky, and stepping on the snow that was too late to be swept away. Everyone's face looked solemn.

After they followed the eunuch to the imperial study, they shook off the snow on their bodies under the eaves in front of the door, and then respectfully walked inside to pay homage.

The floor heating in the royal study has been fully activated. Not only is there a steady stream of heating rising from the ground, but there is also a faint scent of sandalwood floating in the air.

The highest meeting of the Ming Dynasty has always been arranged here, and now they are here to solve the problems encountered by the empire.

In the process of implementing the imperial decree, it is inevitable to encounter some obstacles, and the current resistance appears in Jiangnan. Whether it was agriculture or commerce, Jiangnan was a top priority area for the empire.

"Xinghua County has not posted any silver dollar decree so far!"

"There are no silver coins in the market in Huizhou Prefecture yet!"

"A famous scholar in Chun'an called the new money fake money and called on the scholars to reject it!"

……

The Hongzhi Dynasty launched the most far-reaching measure this year, officially abolishing the silver standard that had been prevalent in the empire. As a result, it encountered unprecedented resistance in Jiangnan.

The city of Beijing was at the feet of the emperor. The imperial court governed the entire elite class, and the people here had a certain say. Therefore, the abolition of the silver standard achieved remarkable results.

Although it is unavoidable that ordinary people still use silver transactions, the vast majority of transaction settlements are switched to copper coins and silver dollars. It can be said that the new currency has completely replaced the status of silver.

The benefits of silver dollars are actually obvious, not to mention that store scales are prone to shortfalls, and the impurities of silver coins are different, and the final loss in fire consumption is very different.

The current silver dollar has a fixed face value and is directly bound to low-face value copper coins, which undoubtedly greatly enhances the fairness of both parties in the transaction.

It was just that the silver dollar was flowing smoothly in the capital, but it was difficult to implement it in the prosperous Jiangnan area and encountered heavy resistance.

At this point, the conflict between the imperial court and the Jiangnan landlord class unexpectedly broke out at this moment.

The reason is that the influence of the Ming Dynasty in Jiangnan has been greatly weakened, and the abolition of the silver standard by the imperial court has indeed violated the core interests of the landlord class.

The country has been in power for more than a hundred years, social classes have long been solidified, and the vast majority of wealth has been controlled by a few people.

They have accumulated a large amount of silver for generations, and now they have to abolish the silver standard just because Japan has large silver mines and there are many silver mines overseas. How can they be willing to do so?

It would be better for the imperial court to abolish the silver standard in other places. After all, many areas are extremely poor, as long as the imperial court can guarantee the purchasing power of silver dollars.

The Jiangnan region is completely unacceptable. Since the dynasty has been restraining land annexation, silver is an important form of wealth for them.

Now that they have finally accumulated such a rich family fortune, how can they allow the countless silver to depreciate significantly and even become uncirculated?

As for whether Japan would plunder the social resources of the Ming Dynasty because it owned a large number of silver mines, this was not something they cared about, or it was not important at all.

For this reason, the abolition of the silver standard has greatly violated the core interests of the Jiangnan landlord class. Now almost the entire landlord class is preventing the circulation of silver coins.

Zhu Youtang sat in the attic as a spectator as usual. After accepting the kneeling ceremony of these important officials, he asked Liu Jin to indicate that they could enter the meeting.

"It is indeed very difficult to implement new money in Jiangnan!"

"It must be done even if it is difficult. Are our products going to be wiped out by the Japanese and barbarians?"

"We can't put a knife to their necks to force them to use silver coins. What's the difference between this and Beilu?"

……

The main content of today's top meeting is to discuss the obstacles to the implementation of the new currency in Jiangnan. Although they realize the importance of abolishing the silver standard, they are unwilling to use force.

In theory, the court can indeed solve this problem through force, but in the actual implementation process, it is easy to create large resistance forces.

When previous dynasties encountered financial crises, they usually thought of issuing large sums of money to solve the problem. However, issuing large sums of money from one to a hundred often aggravated the collapse of the monetary system and even prompted the landlord class to defect.

Now they want to use force to force all the landowners in Jiangnan to use new coins. Not to mention whether they can do it, even if they can do it, they will have to face unpredictable turbulence.

The most important thing is that once the dynasty completely loses the support of the people and loses the entire Jiangnan region, it will inevitably face the fate of regime change.

Although Xu Qiong is not as prestigious as Liu Ji and Yin Zhi, he is a staunch imperialist: "Empty talk will harm the country, but hard work will make the country prosperous! Stop complaining here. How should our court promote new money in Jiangnan next? Today There must be a workable solution!”

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and Jia Jun, the Minister of Industry, knew that complaining would not help, but facing this difficult problem, they couldn't help but feel a headache secretly.

According to the current situation, the landlord class in Jiangnan has begun to unite, and it is extremely difficult for the imperial court to abolish the silver standard through decrees.

"Although we have encountered obstacles, our court naturally continues to require the entire Jiangnan to implement silver dollar settlement. From the Chief Secretary to the government, to the prefectures and counties, we require all local officials to advocate the people to use the new money and prohibit the circulation of silver in the market!" Shangshu of the Ministry of War! Liu Xuan was well versed in the art of running an army and immediately took the lead in expressing his stance.

Since his thoughts turned from hypocrisy to reality, he has also realized that the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers in the army are nothing more than power and money. Now the local officials who have read the books of sages must be the same.

As long as the imperial court controlled the future of local officials, those local officials would not dare to disobey them, but would obediently implement the Ming Dynasty's abolition of the silver standard.

Jia Jun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, felt a slight movement in his heart, and asked seriously: "Liu Shangshu, this direction is not wrong, but how to apply pressure at all levels and how to make the people in Jiangnan accept the new money?"

"Of course local officials who fail to implement the plan will be held accountable! Any state or county that is not proactive will not only have to be dismissed from their posts, but also the prefects will be punished!" Liu Xuan, Minister of the Ministry of War, avoided the following problems, but held on to the local officials. Positivity makes a fuss.

Li Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was in charge of the promotion of hundreds of officials, but he shook his head gently and said: "Liu Shangshu, the implementation of the new currency in Jiangnan is not effective. Although some officials are slacking off, but now they want to be like Song Cheng, who prays for the people. There are also many officials. Take the county magistrate as an example. There are auxiliary officials, clerks and yamen in a county. Once the people below do not work, the magistrate will not be able to accomplish anything even if he wants to work!"

"Li Shangshu, why do you seem to be excusing local officials with your words?" Liu Xuan, the Minister of War, frowned, but he questioned Li Yu's motives.

Zhou Jing, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and other officials had no experience as local officials. Now that they heard Li Yu's remarks in favor of local officials, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, knew that some of the officials present were too idealistic, so he said seriously: "Although the magistrates and counties are glamorous, our Ming officials are all wandering officials. They only take a few followers to take office in the local area, and even the local officials are not allowed to do so." I can’t even understand the dialect. On the other hand, the officials and government servants are all locals, and these people are usually related to the local big clans and squires. Therefore, the poor implementation of the new currency cannot be blamed on local officials for their slack administration! We can only find out The real cause of the disease is the best way to treat it!"

Although he has no experience as a county magistrate, he has served as a local supervisory censor, an inspector in Shandong and a chief envoy in Shaanxi. In addition, he has listened carefully to the work reports of the officials below since he served as the Minister of Personnel.

Based on his actual work experience and the situation reported by the officials below, he realized the importance of government officials and servants. Once these people unite, they can even easily evade the power of the county magistrate.

The abolition of the silver standard this time was not implemented smoothly in Jiangnan, and the new currency has been unable to open up the situation. If this is the case in only a few places, then it is natural that the local officials are negligent in their administration. However, the widespread problems in the entire region cannot be entirely blamed on the inaction of local officials.

Although it is incredible, in some remote areas, county magistrates are actually afraid of local officials, and they even dare not accept cases related to officials.

For example, a rather mysterious case occurred in Xin'an County below Guangdong. The official responsible for selecting the executive was beaten to death by his colleague Lu Rongzu. As a result, the magistrate of Xin'an did not dare to take care of the case. It was not until the relatives of the victim complained to the Guangzhou government that he was punished.

"Since the officials and government officials are the culprits, then we will hold the officials and government officials accountable!" Xu Qiong immediately expressed his stance after receiving the information revealed by Li Yu.

Before Li Yu could express his position, Liu Xuan looked bitter and said: "Mr. Xu Ge, the officials and cadres here are as slippery as oil, not to mention that the base is too large, and they don't necessarily care about that job!"

Officials in the Ming Dynasty usually obtained their jobs after working hard for decades. There are also many officials who want to fulfill their ambitions and are responsible for the rise and fall of their clan, so their future is their lifeblood.

It's just that the officials and government officials are all low-level people who work for a living. If someone pays enough money, they won't care at all whether they will be dismissed from their posts by the court.

Because of this, the imperial court was able to coerce local officials into doing things with the promise of their future, but it was very difficult to do so when thousands of clerks and cadres were involved.

"This...then what should we do?" Xu Qiong found out that this was really the case and said dumbfounded.

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and Jia Jun, the Minister of Industry, exchanged silent glances. Although Xu Qiong was loyal enough to the emperor, his vision and talent were still lacking. Faced with such a thorny problem, how can a dignified cabinet minister give up his job?

"When I measured the acres of land in Huguang, I encountered countless obstacles. However, I was respected by His Majesty. As the governor of Huguang, I was above all other officials in Huguang. I also had the power to directly dismiss middle-level and low-level officials and officials. Xiaoxiao dares to be angry but dare not speak! Since it cannot be implemented in Jiangnan through decrees, I think I can send imperial envoys to Jiangnan to take charge of the abolition of the silver standard and the implementation of new currencies." Liu Zhong combined his experience in Huguang , also put forward his own proposal.

"This method seems to work!"

"The introduction of new currency is no different than measuring acres of land. New currency requires cooperation from others!"

"No matter how difficult it is, an important minister should be sent to Jiangnan to take charge of the overall situation!"

"The capital is too far away from the south of the Yangtze River. We really have to send ministers there to take charge of the overall situation. Those who obstruct it can also be punished on the spot!"

……

Officials such as Liu Xuan, Secretary of the Ministry of War, learned of Liu Zhong's proposal. Although the introduction of new coins was indeed not as simple as measuring acres of land, it was supported by most people.

In the attic, the fragrance of tea lingers.

Zhu Youtang took the teacup delivered by Han Youying and silently tasted the tea in his hand.

In fact, he intended to send important ministers to Jiangnan to take charge of the overall situation, but the situation in Jiangnan was much more complicated than many people thought, and the existing resistance was extremely difficult to push forward.

Although he has been in the capital, he has been silently paying attention to the movements in Jiangnan, but he knows that the big families in Jiangnan are slowly uniting to fight against the court's new currency.

"Your Majesty, I would like to discuss the matter of a senior minister going to Jiangnan to take charge of the implementation of the new currency!" After the speeches of the senior ministers present, the first assistant Liu Ji asked Zhu Youtang in the attic for instructions.

Liu Jin glanced at Zhu Youtang, and then said in a unique voice: "Your Majesty, please accept the request of the ministers. I wonder who can do it?"

As soon as these words came out, the crowd suddenly became quiet.

Everyone knows that this is an opportunity, but it is also a challenge.

If they can handle things well, then they can naturally return to the court as Liu Bu Shangshu like Liu Zhong, and even be welcomed by His Majesty in person.

But if they mess up the matter, not only will they not be able to return to the capital, but they may also lose their official positions and say goodbye to their official career completely.

Many people were originally eager to give it a try, but when they thought of the power of the powerful families in Jiangnan, they couldn't help but retreat, but they knew how difficult it was.

Wu Yu, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue, hesitated for a moment, but took the initiative to ask for help and said: "New coins are the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. Now I am afraid that I am the only one who is most suitable!"

Lu Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and other ministers couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Wu Yu took the initiative to ask for help.

Although it would be a great fortune, the probability of failure was too high. Instead of taking a big gamble on this position, it would be better to wait for the transition of a local governor.

"Wu Shilang is commendable for your courage, but your qualifications are too young and you have no reputation in the Jiangnan officialdom. I'm afraid you will shock those young people!" Li Yu, the Minister of Staff, glanced at Wu Yu, who had just entered middle age, and said softly. He shook his head.

It's not that he wants to target Wu Yu, but that Wu Yu has been promoted from a doctor in the household department to a minister in the household department, and his current qualifications and reputation are too weak. If you go to a general governor's position, there is no problem, but it is not enough to see in Jiangnan.

You know, Jiangnan is home to martial arts, officials, Confucian scholars and aristocratic families. Wu Yu, who was a small fifth-rank official a few years ago, simply couldn't resist them.

"This matter can't be handled by the minister, right? Each of us ministers is in charge of one department, and we are too busy every day. Who can get away?" Liu Xuan, the minister of the Ministry of War, suddenly noticed that Li Yu was looking at him, and he suddenly felt ridiculous.

Lu Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and other officials realized that Li Yu wanted to send officials at the ministerial level to go, but the matter was just as Liu Xuan said, and he was simply unable to cope with the situation.

cough cough...

Wang Yue, who was sitting next to him, had been enduring the itchiness in his throat, but suddenly it reached the critical point and couldn't help but cough.

Although he has always refused to accept old age, he still had some physical problems during these days of pampering in the capital. Especially this winter, it’s easy to run out of energy.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel looked at Wang Yue behind Liu Xuan, and finally sighed secretly: "Secretary Wu's qualifications are still relatively young, and now the Six Ministers cannot leave, so Lv Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, is more suitable!"

I?

Lu Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, was secretly happy that he had escaped a disaster just now, but he did not want to be recommended by Li Yu, the superior minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and suddenly pointed at his nose as if he had eaten a hundred flies.

Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, and other officials found that there was nothing wrong with Li Yu's idea, so they nodded in agreement.

No……

Lu Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, was on the verge of tears at the moment. Although on the surface he was still trying to maintain his image of not being afraid of trouble, in his heart he was hoping for changes.

Unlike other officials with a prosperous official career, they have served as Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple in Nanjing for many years, but they know how deep the water in the south of the Yangtze River is. Not to mention that he was a small left minister of the Ministry of War, even if he was the minister of the Ministry of War, he would be drowned.

But he was destined to be disappointed, because he was usually too arrogant and established an upright character, but his qualifications and reputation were very high, so he was unanimously recommended to the emperor by everyone.

"Now that the new year is approaching, I am not a mean king. There is no need to rush to Jiangnan! Lu Wen can make preparations first, and I will make a decision after the new year!" Zhu Youtang said calmly when facing the candidates recommended by the important ministers below. .

The abolition of the silver standard is related to the rise and fall of China. The candidate he has in mind is not the minister. Since the six ministers cannot leave at all, his real intention is the cabinet minister.

As the chief assistant, Liu Ji was naturally not suitable to be sent to Jiangnan. Xu Qiong's vision and ability were not enough to win this position, so in fact only Wang Yue and Yin Zhi were left.

What he cared most about was Wang Yue, but Wang Yue was already quite old and had obvious health problems, so he couldn't bear to let this veteran minister bear this pressure anymore.

But now that the New Year has come, no matter how impatient he is, he has to let people celebrate the New Year before setting off, and he wants to carefully consider the candidates during this period.

Finished!

Lu Wen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, was completely dumbfounded. Although he got a break during the Spring Festival, he knew that his career would be ruined by his appointment after this year.

Wang Yue had now developed a pair of fiery eyes, but he took a deep look at Lu Wen and knew that he might have to deal with the matter by himself.

Yin Zhi noticed Wang Yue's reaction, and thought of this colleague who had silently served the empire and the people all his life, he also made a decision in his heart.

"Haha... our merchant ship has returned successfully!"

“I don’t have to pay taxes when I come back this time. It’s really great!”

"It's so easy to make money now. This year I'm going to be the groom in Cuihua House every night!"

……

Compared with the worries in Beijing, as the fully loaded ships successfully returned home, the entire Jiangnan family was celebrating.

Although a large part of the cake of maritime trade was stolen by the capital through cotton cloth, their porcelain, silk and books were all coveted overseas, and they also received generous trade returns.

What's more, they also found silver mines on Kyushu Island this time. The thing is exactly as the tyrant said, there are indeed many silver mines in Japan, and they will share the silver mine pie with Japan's Otomo family.

Time quietly came to the end of December, and something unexpected happened.

The gold fleet heading from Luzon to the capital encountered a storm, and one of the gold ships ran aground. As a result, it encountered a merchant ship returning from Japan and its escort ship.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang, who was resting in the palace, received the latest information, and immediately gritted his teeth and said: "Immediately send word that Wang Yue and Yin Zhi will come to see you. I want Jiangnan to know what color it should be!" (End of Chapter)