The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 131 The Royal Merchant Wants Something

When the crown prince arrived, Shandong officials naturally did not dare to neglect him and set off to meet him.

Zhu Biao had already expected this and informed all local government offices in advance.

Don't come unless you're summoned. Just take care of the place and cooperate with the work of the Monetary and Banknote Bureau.

Even so, when he first arrived, the chief envoy of Shandong also led hundreds of officials and gentry to pay homage.

Zhu Biao looked at the chief envoy and sighed secretly.

It's not because of the chief minister, but because of other things.

According to regulations, there should be three top leaders of the Chief Secretary.

They are the left and right envoys in charge of administration, and the envoys in charge of justice.

However, due to the Hu Weiyong and Zhao Mao cases, there were a large number of vacancies in the posts, leaving only one chief envoy in the Shandong Chief Secretary.

This situation can easily cause the chief executive to have too much power, which is not conducive to political stability.

But it was really hard to fill such an important position for a while.

Low-level officials can be appointed by selecting civilian talents, while high-level officials must undergo systematic training.

The main reason is that the gap is too big and there are not enough people.

This is also the reason why he is unwilling to go on a killing spree.

But now it is meaningless to say this. We can only strengthen supervision and fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

Soon Zhu Biao settled in and started working.

Of course, he would not say his true purpose. On the surface, he was here to implement the Baochao New Deal.

No one would doubt it at all.

Secretly, people were sent to inquire about public opinion about the Yellow River.

As for the people's reaction, there was actually not much reaction.

More than 220 years have passed since the Yellow River diverted the Huaihe River into the sea. During this period, there were successive wars and great migration of people.

Nowadays, people's impression of the Yellow River is only that of its old path.

People who live near the old course of the Yellow River are still spreading some legends that are not known to be true or false.

They don't know what will happen if the Yellow River exists.

It might be better, but who knows.

Besides, it’s not the ordinary people’s turn to worry about such a big thing.

The people above are saying that we need to change the route, can we still object?
Instead of worrying about this, it is better to worry about what to eat for a meal.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew very well that it would be difficult to get people to agree before seeing the exact benefits.

As long as they don't object, things are [-]% done.

Now it depends on the reaction of the gentry class, they are the key point.

They have read books and have certain knowledge.

The key is that the people below can be coerced, and the officials above can be linked up.

Unless they are settled, nothing will be possible.

The reaction of the gentry was polarized. Those who lived near the old course of the Yellow River were firmly opposed.

Because their land is here, the Yellow River will return to its old course and destroy their fields.

And what if it gets out of control?At that time, life will be ruined.

Those far away from the old course of the Yellow River are beating gongs and drums to welcome the return of the Yellow River.

With water from the Yellow River for irrigation, their dry fields immediately turned into high-quality irrigated land.

And they can also enjoy the convenience of water transportation on the Yellow River.

As for the Yellow River getting out of control?My home is far away, so it's not a big problem.

There is really no reason to disagree.

But overall, there are still more people who support returning to the old ways.

The reason is very simple. After all, there are only a few people living on the old course of the Yellow River.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao felt even more relieved.

The majority supports it, and the opinions of the minority can be ignored.

And the reason why these people oppose it is just because they want benefits.

As long as the court allocates a piece of land for them elsewhere, they will be more active than anyone else.

A few hard-line elements also have methods. In the Zhao Mao case and the counterfeit banknote case, a complete set of evidence can be tailor-made for them.

As a benevolent crown prince, he allowed them to choose one of the two.

But there is another group that cannot be ignored, and that is scholars.

And as Zhu Biao expected, this group has the most complicated opinions.

Some people think that the Yellow River should return to its old course and regain its former glory.

There are objections, it is too dangerous and no one can afford this responsibility.

There are also people who are stubborn and think that what both sides say is reasonable.

But the good news is that most of the people who oppose it are worried that the risks are too great, rather than opposing the return.

This made Zhu Biao completely relieved.

At this point, things are almost clear.

But Zhu Biao still did not express his position, or in other words, as the crown prince, he would not express his position before the court officially issued an order.

But not expressing a position does not mean that you cannot reveal a little bit of your tendency.

After that, he set off for Henan. On the way, he sighed:
"It would be great if the Yellow River still exists. You can reach Henan from Shandong by boat in one day, eliminating the need for long journeys."

Never underestimate the ability of lower-level officials to guess the thoughts of their superiors.

After this sentence spread, officials in Shandong who were initially ambiguous expressed their support for the return of the Yellow River to its original path.

With the official statement, public opinion gradually shifted towards returning to the old ways.

Even the people who cared least about this matter began to discuss it.

Zhu Biao's words also spread to Henan first.

So after he arrived, the public opinion in Henan was unanimously in favor of the Yellow River returning to its original path.

Officials here also tried to find out more about him.

Zhu Biao naturally knew their purpose and said deliberately:
"Whether the Yellow River changes its course or not is not up to us. We need professionals to explore and provide evidence."

As soon as this statement came out, the officials understood everything.

His Royal Highness wants detailed data.

And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince represents His Majesty, which means His Majesty wants data.

We don’t have this thing, but we can find someone to explore it.

That's it.

Find someone who knows river affairs right away to take care of it.

After that, Zhu Biao stopped talking about the diversion of the Yellow River. This step was enough, and any more would be superfluous.

Next, he focused on the new policy of Baochao.

Time has entered June, and it’s time to issue new banknotes.

Whether the Baochao New Deal will work or not depends on this.

No matter how big the matter is, you have to make concessions for it.
-
The timeline goes back half a month.

After completing the layout of diversion of the Yellow River, Zhu Yuanzhang took people to the warehouse of the Baochao Lifting Division.

Treasure banknotes of various denominations are stacked neatly, like a hill.

Even though Chen Jingke is well-informed, his legs are a bit weak.

It's all money.

But fortunately, I can stand on my own without holding a chair, so there is no shame.

He looked at Zhu Xiongying and Xu Yungong next to him.

I found Zhu Xiongying a little excited, but everything else was fine.

If you think about it, you will understand the reason. Grandson, I have never seen anything like this before.

Xu Yungong was not so calm, judging from his rolling Adam's apple and slightly trembling hands.

You can see how excited I am.

This made Chen Jingke feel more balanced. I am not the only one who is embarrassed.

"Old Xu, how do you feel?"

Xu Yungong rolled his eyes at him, but still said honestly:
"I finally understand why there are so many corrupt officials."

"Seeing so many treasures, I can't control myself."

Chen Jingke lost his intention to joke and said:

"Yeah, before I came here, I thought I could treat money like dirt." "But seeing so much money in front of me, it would be a lie to say I can't be moved."

"Hey." Zhu Yuanzhang's joking voice came:
"Looking at the virtues you two have, you can't help it?"

"Why don't I take you to see the peeled day lilies to wake you up?"

The two shook their heads violently:
"No, no, no, we are already awake when we see His Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said: "Haha... don't be poor. Whether the Baochao New Deal can be achieved in one fell swoop, you have to help me keep an eye on it."

Xu Yungong replied: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the people who will escort the treasure banknotes have been properly arranged to ensure that there will be no problems."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "I can rest assured that you will do the work. Let's get started."

Xu Yungong gave an order, and the officials in the warehouse began to count the treasures and move them outside in categories.

Outside the warehouse, thirteen teams composed of members of the Forbidden Army and the Inspection Department were ready.

They are responsible for transporting the treasure banknotes to [-] provinces and handing them over to the local banknote bureaus.

Then the Monetary Bank of China will issue these treasure banknotes according to established methods.

According to Zhu Biao's plan, these banknotes will be issued priority in several provinces around Yingtianfu.

The reason is simple, it is the richest and most densely populated.

As long as it can be circulated here, it will be easier to handle elsewhere.

Therefore, [-]% of the treasure banknotes in the warehouse are sent to these places.

The remaining [-]% ​​will be sent to remote areas.

Along with the treasure banknotes shipped out, there are two new laws:
[-]. Government offices, shops, and individuals are not allowed to refuse to accept treasure banknotes, and violators will be punished.

[-]. New banknotes can be exchanged for old banknotes at the original price for half a year. The old banknotes will be completely stopped on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The imperial court could not issue treasure banknotes only through the Golden Banknote Bureau, there were other ways.

For example, officials' salaries, rewards from the court, etc.

Entering June, all officials received their own salaries, half of which were grain and half of which were new banknotes.

Zhu Yuanzhang also gave many rewards.

It was a mixed blessing for officials to receive the new banknotes.

I am happy to have received my salary, but I am worried that no one knows what the new banknotes are like.

What if it’s not as good as old banknotes?

Speaking of old banknotes, Baiguan felt even more bitter.

In the past, when they got treasure money, they would spend it immediately and would not save it at all.

As a result, salt merchants entered the market three months ago.

The value of treasure money is getting higher and higher day by day.

The original price at first turned into a price that was [-]% higher than the face value within a few days.

After a few days, the price increased to [-]% higher than the face value.

At the back, someone even shouted for twice the price.

Salt merchants are certainly not stupid. They do this because the profits from salt are too high.

Even if they buy Baobao at twice the price, they can still make a lot of money.

Salt merchants swept away [-]% of the treasure banknotes on the market, which greatly reduced the resistance of the imperial court to implement the New Deal.

But Baiguan kept scolding his mother, why didn't he launch the new policy earlier?
Why don't I save my treasure money? If I save it, my net worth can be doubled.

But this is not the most uncomfortable thing.

What is really uncomfortable is their outrageously low salary.

I can barely support my family, and the valuable money will depreciate, so I can't save it even if I want to.

Now that the court has issued new banknotes, we don’t know what will happen.

No matter, at least the new currency has not depreciated yet, so spend it quickly and exchange it for supplies.

So there was a scene like this. On the second day after officials were paid their salaries, many slaves appeared in the streets and alleys, carrying new money to buy like crazy.

Among them, Yingtianfu is the most popular.

When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about this, his face turned blue with anger, but he also knew that he could not stop it.

Due to the laws of the imperial court, various shops did not dare not accept new banknotes.

When they got it, they were shocked.

This new treasure note is incredible.

Before, they had only heard about the new treasure banknotes in publicity, what would change color, what would definitely not be copied...

The common people took it as a joke.

But now that they saw the real treasure banknotes with their own eyes, they knew that everything in the propaganda was true.

This treasure note actually changes color.

How is it made?Amazing.

And the quality of the paper is also good. It makes a clattering sound when shaken, which is so nice.

They couldn't help but have the idea that such a magical treasure banknote might really be able to maintain its value.

But... forget it, no matter how good the treasure is, it is still paper. Who dares to bet on whether it will depreciate.

Spend it quickly, don't waste it on your own hands.

The next person who got the treasure also made the same choice, fearing that it would fall into his own hands.

Something unexpected happened, and this move actually stimulated the development of business to a certain extent.

However, this kind of rapid circulation is not the norm. If the court has no way to protect the bottom line, the new banknotes will inevitably depreciate.

It is useless to rely on decrees.

At this time, the effect of Zhu Biao's months of preparation was revealed.

As mentioned before, June is the time to pay summer taxes.

After the people got the treasure money, they immediately went to the Yamen to pay taxes.

Then I found that the tax collectors accepted it according to the face value without any embarrassment.

Some people went to the Treasury of the Monetary Bank of China to exchange supplies and found that they could still buy them according to the face value.

Moreover, the quality of supplies provided by the Monetary Bank of China is better than that of ordinary shops.

Then a large number of people began to go to the Bank of China to exchange supplies.

The new banknotes that had just been circulated returned to the court again.

There is still a lot of supplies missing from the imperial warehouse.

The officials were secretly having fun while waiting to see how the court would end.

But what they didn't know was that Zhu Yuanzhang smiled.

"Yingtian Mansion issued 1000 million guan of new banknotes, but only more than [-] million guan came back to the court."

"There are still more than three million banknotes left among the people, which means that some people have already recognized the new banknotes."

"I just don't know what the situation is like in other places."

Chen Jingke also breathed a sigh of relief. The first step had been successful, but it was far from the time to be happy now.

The big game is yet to come.

Naturally, the Monetary Bank of China cannot keep these more than 600 million new banknotes in its hands, but must find ways to spend them.

How to spend it?
It's very simple, buy local specialty products.

Then transport it to other places and hand it over to the foreign banknote bureau.

Similarly, foreign banknote bureaus will also deliver their specialty products to the local area.

Foreign goods filled the vacancies in the warehouses, waiting for people to come and exchange them.

It was stumbling at the beginning, because after all, the people still didn't trust Baoqian.

As soon as I saw that the person purchasing the goods was holding precious money, I wanted to scold my mother in my heart.

But as transactions happen again and again.

The common people found that they could exchange supplies from the warehouse every time, and even exchange them for supplies from other places.

Slowly my mentality changed.

With the cycle of transactions, people's credibility in Baobao gradually increases, and more and more people are willing to temporarily hold Baobao.

Zhu Yuanzhang read the treasure banknote reports from various places every day.

Seeing Bao Chao's reputation accumulating day by day, he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.

Besides that, there was another thing that made him happy.

In this transaction, the Bureau made huge profits.

This gave him an idea: "Can the Financial and Banknote Bureau be allowed to continue doing business? This will alleviate the economic pressure on the court."

Chen Jingke was shocked and quickly stopped him: "Your Majesty, you must not do this."

(End of this chapter)