The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Wang Dagui said: "Dazhuang, you may not know it when you are working at the dock. Many people in the city are talking about it today."

"And if you say it from beginning to end, it's probably not false."

Hu Dazhuang still couldn't believe it.

"I feel that the current emperor is very kind to us people. He shouldn't let us lose so much, right?"

Hu Dazhuang remembered that the former Ming government troops fled, and some of them went to Pingkangfang to rob them, but the Yi army arrived in time, captured and killed the defeated troops, and did not harm the people.

After the Tai army took over the city of Nanjing, they used work for relief every day and saved many hungry people outside the city.

What touched him the most was that the Da'ei government later rectified the docks and severely cracked down on the Jianghu gangs who occupied the docks and collected protection fees.

It also stipulates the minimum wage for coolies, making their days of doing work much easier.

Hu Dazhuang was grateful to Emperor Qianyuan and the new court from the bottom of his heart.

Uncle Li, who was cleaning people's faces on the street, said: "Dazhuang, this court is just like people, it will change."

"The Da'ei imperial court has been good to us people in the past two years, but that doesn't mean it will always be good to us."

"Just like that Ming Dynasty, the life of ordinary people was not that bad at the beginning, but changed year by year."

"You see that there are more officials in Da'ei Yamen than before in the Ming Dynasty, and they support more officials. How much money does it cost to pay officials every year?"

"The imperial court ran out of money, so it naturally had to find a way to get it from the hands of the common people. Just like when Lord Chongzhen was short of money for war and had to come up with three paychecks one after another."

"Oh, we little people have always been destined to suffer!"

Second Uncle Li cleans his face on the street, meets many people, and is a good talker.

This statement sounds quite reasonable.

Hu Dazhuang's confidence in the Da'ei imperial court was shaken. Thinking of the more than 20 guan of money at home, he asked urgently: "Then what can we do?"

At this time, Wang Dagui lowered his voice and said, "I heard from some people that they are going to protest in front of the Yamen together tomorrow."

"The current Long Live Lord is, after all, the founding emperor of the country. In the past, he was kind to us people, and he must have taken his reputation into consideration."

"As long as we let the court know our plight, maybe the ban on the use of Qianming copper coins will go away."

Uncle Li looked suspiciously and asked, "Wang Dagui, are you going?"

"Why don't you go?" Wang Dagui said, "This matter is related to whether our family's money can still be used!"

Second Uncle Li said in the tone of an experienced person, "It is never good to fight against the government."

"How can we call it a fight against the government? This is just like filing a complaint. We are justified. What are we afraid of?"

Wang Dagui said and looked at Hu Dazhuang.

"Dazhuang, are you going?"

Hu Dazhuang was as his name suggests, quite strong, but he was quite in awe of the government. Although he was worried about his family's money, he still hesitated and said: "I'll think about it."

"Think about it, come find me after breakfast tomorrow, and let's work together - this can only happen if there are a lot of people."

"Ah."

When Hu Dazhuang returned home, he found his parents looking sad. Apparently they had also heard that the imperial court would ban Qianming copper coins.

This made Hu Dazhuang decide to go to the government office with Wang Dagui tomorrow to protest.

However, while eating dinner, I suddenly heard the sound of gongs and familiar preaching sounds coming from outside.

"He's the propaganda officer in the village." His father, Hu Youde, said, "Come on, let's go out and listen to what they have to say."

Since the establishment of the Da'ei imperial court, the city has been divided into compartments, squares and alleys.

For example, in Pingkangfang, there is one chief, two deputy chiefs, one picket officer, one propaganda officer, and one epidemic prevention officer.

What their common people fear most are pickets.

Because pickets are not only responsible for handling minor neighborhood disputes, but also taking care of sanitation and other matters.

If the situation is serious, you may be given a few words of reprimand or a fine of several cents.

If the crime is serious but cannot go to the tribunal, he may be punished with hard labor for a few days.

As for the people who are closest to everyone, they are the propaganda officers and the epidemic prevention officers.

The propaganda officer not only told everyone about the various policies and laws of the court, but also found people to help with family matters in his spare time.

If any family encounters difficulties, the propaganda officer will even find a way to help solve it.

As for the epidemic prevention workers, they are a bit like doctors, but their skills seem to be not as high as those of the wandering doctors and barefoot doctors in the past.

They talk about a variety of principles, most of which are related to epidemic prevention.

For example, wash your hands frequently, don’t drink boiled water, etc.

At first, everyone worked hard, but later they found that there were indeed fewer illnesses, and they naturally became enthusiastic about the epidemic prevention workers.

Today, there was a lot of news that the imperial court would ban the copper coins of the previous dynasty. Everyone was already panicking. When they heard what the propagandist was going to say when he beat the gong, they naturally paid close attention.

Hu Dazhuang followed Hu Youde out and saw Xuan Zheng and Xiang Zheng standing in the widest open space in the middle of the alley.

While beating the gong, he said loudly, "We are going to talk about the new money. Come and listen, folks, to avoid being deceived by random rumors!"

Not long after, almost all the heads of households in the alley gathered around.

Most of them are men.

But there were also a few maidens in the family, and it was women who came forward. Either holding their children or standing on the periphery of the crowd with their elders.

Everyone looked at the propaganda officer quietly.

This is a good habit developed over the past two years.

The propaganda officer of Pingkangfang is a poor scholar named Xu He, who is almost thirty years old.

It is said that in the pre-Ming Dynasty, he did not even pass the Tongsheng entrance examination, and he used to write letters for others on the street.

Later, he passed the examination organized by the Da'ei government and became a propaganda official.

He was a stumbled official at first, but he has become more proficient and presentable over the past year.

Xu He, a commoner from every family in Pingkangfang, knows each other now.

Seeing that all the family members were here, he said: "I also heard some rumors on the street today that the imperial court will ban the copper coins of the Ming Dynasty."

"I went to the xuanzheng in the room to ask about this matter. It happened that the xuanzheng asked us to go to the county government for a meeting, so we came back a little late."

"What did the county government meeting say? It was about new money and old money."

Xu He used to like to talk a little bit with people outside his family, or use elegant words in books to show off his "knowledge" to the villagers.

But since he became a propaganda officer, this problem has gradually changed.

Just like right now, everything he says is in plain language.

Just a few words made everyone's attention more focused.

"The imperial court is indeed going to issue new coins, including silver coins and copper coins. Copper coins are definitely better than the money of the previous Ming Dynasty. This is a fact."

These words caused a slight commotion in the crowd.

Because it is the same as the first half of the statement "The imperial court will ban the old money from the Qianming Dynasty".

But out of the trust they had developed in Xu He over the past year or two, they did not yell immediately.

Xu He continued, "However, some people in the market today say that the imperial court will directly ban the private copper coins of former Ming officials, but they are spreading rumors and causing trouble!"

At this time, Wang Dagui couldn't help but said, "Since the court is issuing new money, can we not use old money?"

Xiang Zheng glared at Wang Dagui.

Xu He looked directly at Wang Dagui and said: "Brother Wang, the old money of the Ming Dynasty, whether official or private, is mostly bad money. When used, our small family will suffer losses, so it must be banned."

"But the imperial court will never directly ban it as the rumors say, turning everyone's money into scrap metal."

"Although the notice has not been issued yet, based on the meeting held by the county government today, I can tell you for sure."

"After the imperial court issues new money, it will allow everyone to exchange old money for new money." Wang Dagui couldn't help but speak out again.

"Scare, Xu He, do you think everyone is a fool? If the court allows old money to be exchanged for new money, isn't it going to suffer a big loss?"

"Wang Dagui!" Xiang Zheng scolded, "Once or twice, you really don't follow meeting discipline, do you?!"

Wang Dagui curled his lips, but said no more.

Xu He then said: "The old money from the previous Ming Dynasty was of poor quality. Even if the court wanted to do good for everyone, it was really impossible to exchange it one for one - because the court didn't have that much money."

"However, it will be exchanged at a slightly overpriced price. What is a slightly overpriced price?"

"For example, if five bad coins are actually worth two new coins, the relevant government office may give you three new coins in exchange."

"In this way, although everyone suffered a loss in terms of numbers, they actually took advantage."

"After all, if you use bad money to buy something, it will cost more than a thousand yuan to be consistent, right?"

Many people nodded secretly after hearing this.

They, ordinary people, actually still use copper coins in their daily lives.

Although the reputation of Ming copper coins collapsed, they had no choice.

If you use copper coins to buy something, you will have to judge the price based on the quality of the coins, which is very troublesome.

And in this kind of transaction, it is often the weaker party who suffers.

In order to avoid losing money, ordinary people are not even willing to enter such large shops.

Even if I have to go, I will appear timid and cautious.

Xu He paused for a while, seeing that most of the people seemed to understand what he said, before continuing.

"I am telling you this just to tell you not to believe the rumors spread by people with ulterior motives."

"The imperial court is issuing new money this time. As long as everyone cooperates, we will definitely not suffer too much."

“Even if the old money from the previous government is banned, it will take quite some time until everyone has exchanged the old money before it can be implemented.”

"So, everyone just needs to pay attention to the relevant notices issued by the government, or wait for my notification. Don't believe those unreliable rumors."

Xu He asked again and again, and then answered a few questions from the people before heading to the next alley.

The Hu family father and son returned to the house.

Hu Dazhuang asked, "Dad, Brother Wang invited me to protest in front of the government office tomorrow. Do you think I should still go?"

"What are you going for?" Hu Youde glared at his son, "Didn't you listen to what the propaganda officer said? The news spread outside is unreliable."

"Besides, when have we, the common people, ever been able to negotiate with the government? We also believe in Emperor Qianyuan. Regarding old and new money, just listen to the propaganda officer's notice."

"Eh."

Hu Dazhuang responded and smiled.

In fact, he didn't want to go to the government office to protest.

I had this thought before, purely because I was worried that my family’s money would not be used.

Hu Youde took a sip of hot water and said, "After work tomorrow, tell the foreman of the dock and say you quit."

"Quit?"

Hu Dazhuang was puzzled.

Hu Youde said: "It's not a problem for you to always be at the dock fighting against the enemy. It's hard to find a wife. Your seventh uncle's work team has expanded and they need to recruit apprentices. You should give it a try and learn the skills of a bricklayer."

Hu Dazhuang didn't understand even more, "How can I make money as an apprentice? Besides, I'm nineteen."

"Can dad harm you?" Hu Youde glared again, "Your seventh uncle's work team now works for the government all year round. The government requires apprentices to also be paid, which is not low."

"Being able to learn a craft and being paid for it is something that is hard to find even with a lantern. If it weren't for your father and me, your seventh uncle wouldn't even want you!"

"Really?" Hu Dazhuang's eyes widened, but his face was full of surprise, "The government is so good, but it still cares about the affairs of the Seventh Uncle Public Works Team?"

Hu Youde sighed, "The government in Damei is indeed much better than that in Ming Dynasty."

···
Dexing Building.

A relatively ordinary restaurant in Nanjing city.

Just because it is located more than a hundred steps away from the Jiangning County Government Office, business is pretty good.

This day.

Wang Enwen, Yang Dechou, and Zhao Zhi came here early and sat in a private room facing the street on the second floor.

After asking the waiter to serve wine and food, the three of them got ready to watch a show.

Yang Dechou looked at the crowds of people on the street, imagining the scene of those ignorant people and mud-legged people gathering at the gate of the county government to protest in a while. He couldn't help but laugh at first, and the wrinkles on his face became darker.

"Brother Wang, what do you think the Jiangning County magistrate will be like when he learns that many people are protesting?"

Fatty Zhao Zhi laughed and said, "Why don't you think about it? You must be shocked and angry."

The lean middle-aged Wang Enwen also laughed, but said: "Don't be too happy yet - although we have arranged things, it is hard to say whether today will develop into the scene we need."

"The scene will definitely not be small." Yang Dechou said, "We have spent so much money and invited so many people to spread the news, there is no reason why we can't succeed!"

Wang Enwen smiled complacently, but asked cautiously, "Your friends in the Yamen didn't send any news today, did they?"

"No, he said everything at the county government is business as usual."

"That's good."

Wang Enwen was relieved.

It happened that the waiter served wine and food.

The three of them ate and drank while waiting.

As a result, when they were almost finished eating, the streets were still as peaceful as before, with people coming and going.

You can't see the people gathering in front of the county government office at all!

Yang Dechou couldn't help it at first and asked: "Brother Wang, what's going on? Those people you're looking for don't know how to take money and don't do anything, right?"

"Not working?" Wang Enwen frowned, obviously dissatisfied with his accomplice's questioning, "Yesterday there were rumors in the streets that the imperial court would ban Qianming copper coins. It's not like you didn't hear it."

"Then why is there no movement in front of the Yamen?"

Wang Enwen also felt strange and said, "I'll ask someone to inquire and see if something happened."

Because the three of them were "watching a show" here and would say some taboo words, the servants sent them to stand guard outside the box.

So, Wang Enwen said that he was about to get up and go out.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got up, the private rooms were pushed away.

Several people wearing smart brocade clothes broke in.

"Who are you?!"

The three of them were shocked and angry. They acted like country squires and shouted questions.

The tall man in the lead had a cold expression. He glanced at the three of them and asked, "Wang Enwen, Yang Dechou, Zhao Zhi?"

Wang Enwen already realized that something was wrong and approached the window.

Yang Dechou was suspicious and remained silent.

Zhao Zhi was the slowest to react and said, "Sir, I am Zhao Zhi, what's wrong?"

"What happened to you has happened, come with us."

After the tall man finished speaking, he showed his waist card.

There are three large scarlet characters engraved on it - Xiuyiwei! (End of chapter)