The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 452 Mingxunzong

Chen Jingke then gave the general introduction to the medal.

In fact, he had never studied this thing and didn't know how it worked specifically, he only knew a general idea.

“… Medals can be divided into two types: permanent medals and special medals.”

"Permanent medals are of fixed types, divided into levels one, two, and three according to the size of the contribution, similar to the levels of merit in the military."

"Those who have made outstanding contributions to the country, society, and ethnic groups can be awarded corresponding medals."

"Another type is a commemorative medal awarded to all participants in response to a specific event. It is only awarded once and will not be awarded again."

“For example, for this Southeast Disaster Relief Campaign, we can create specific medals and give them to everyone.”

“Those who have made contributions during the disaster relief process can be awarded a permanent medal.”

"A specific medal does not need to be given any special privileges, it is just a commemorative medal."

"Permanent medals have special privileges. For example, the lowest-level medals allow people to meet officials without bowing."

"The highest level of medals can bring a salary, the court will give rewards during festivals, and it must also benefit the family, etc."

Old Zhu could naturally see the positive significance of the medal and was very interested in it, but he also had his own concerns.

"I am afraid that future generations will despise them and give out medals indiscriminately, leading to the corruption of the system."

Chen Jingke said: "If there are unworthy descendants, even if there is no medal, the system will still be corrupted."

"We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. At least it is of great use now."

Lao Zhu nodded and said, "That makes sense. You should discuss the medal matter with Xiong Ying."

"Let's first use the Southeast Disaster Relief as an experiment to see the actual effect. There's no rush for the permanent medal."

Seeing that he agreed, Chen Jingke was very happy and immediately found Zhu Xiongying to discuss the matter.

He also drew out the common medal designs from his previous life to provide him with reference.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiongying was also very enthusiastic about this and painted more than ten shapes with great interest.

You know what, each shape is beautiful and meaningful.

But Chen Jingke always felt something was wrong, and it took him a long time to react. My goodness, do you want to be a noble emperor?
When Chen Jingke thought of the posthumous title of Ming Xunzong, he could hardly hold back.

Joking aside, the two of them discussed for a long time and finally chose the most plain and simple round shape, made entirely of brass.

The front pattern uses the story of Dayu controlling floods.

Dayu was wearing a straw raincoat and holding a hoe, with a group of fighting warriors behind him and surging waves under their feet.

There is a line of small characters on the back, which reads: "The fifth year of Jianzhang in the 4090th year of the lunar calendar, flood fighting in the southeast" and so on.

As the main designer of the pattern, Zhu Xiongying was naturally very satisfied.

Chen Jingke also felt it was very meaningful.

After all, the story of Dayu's flood control is well-known, and the Ming Dynasty's sending troops to provide disaster relief was also a historical precedent.

Using this pattern has multiple meanings.

The final design was presented to Zhu Yuanzhang, who naturally had no objection and ordered the Ministry of Works to rush to make it.

When the soldiers who fought against the disaster return, a medal awarding ceremony will be held.
-
Soon, the supplementary issue of Ming Weekly was published again.

This issue contains only one article, which is an obituary written by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, commending the sacrificed soldiers.

He also reiterated that their rewards would be calculated based on the tenth level of beheading.

Rewards and the like were also sent to his home.

It was also decided to build a monument in the southeast to commemorate the event.

The names of all the soldiers who died will be engraved on the monument.

Next are the names, hometowns, life stories, etc. of the 164 soldiers who died.

It can be said that this issue of the newspaper is a special obituary.

An obituary for the whole world.

Some people disagreed, believing that those people did make contributions to disaster relief, but they did not deserve such high-level treatment from the court.

An obituary was published in the newspaper today. If a similar incident happens again in the future, should it be published again?
If someone dies in battle, should we give him a reward?

If it is not issued, will the soldiers who died on the battlefield have any objections?

But these people are only a minority. Most people realize the purpose of the court and believe that it is necessary to treat it with high standards and establish rules.

Especially among the people, they are very supportive of this obituary.

The key is that they saw different information in the obituaries.

It turns out that the Ming Dynasty’s army is not only capable of killing people, but can also be used to save people.

We are full of gratitude for the sacrificed soldiers and actively spread their deeds.

Many people purchased sacrificial items such as fireworks, firecrackers and paper money, and performed remote sacrifices at the crossroads.

The families of the fallen soldiers were also praised by their neighbors.

Officials were the ones who could best understand the intentions of their superiors. They immediately went out to comfort the families of the fallen soldiers and gave them certain financial rewards.

When this situation reached the ears of other troops, the eyes of the entire army turned red with envy.

It's just to rescue a disaster, the danger is much less than going into battle to kill the enemy.

However, he received unanimous praise from all walks of life and enjoyed unparalleled honor.

Who wouldn’t be envious?

Especially since the information they obtained was the "added version" information given by the imperial court.

Among them are how grateful the people are to the soldiers of Shenjiying, how popular the people of Shenjiying are in the southeast, etc.

This makes everyone even more envious.

What gratitude or welcome? I have nothing to do with them since I joined the army.

When the people saw them, they all stayed away from them.

Some people go too far and just shout, "The soldiers are coming! Run away!"

They have never experienced this feeling of being loved by the people.

However, the disaster relief efforts of the Shenjiying and the related publicity provided by the imperial court still allowed them to enjoy certain benefits.

Although the people were still afraid of them, they no longer avoided them as if they were snakes or scorpions.

No one calls people "Soldiers" any more, which is an insulting term.

The soldiers finally realized the benefits of protecting the people.

I also have new insights into the ideological and political courses that I could not understand before.

Many soldiers began to encourage their superiors to take the initiative to request to go to the disaster area.

We should also enjoy such treatment.

It doesn’t matter whether we are rewarded or not. What matters is that we also want to experience the feeling of being loved by the people.

But it was obvious that the court had no intention of letting them provide disaster relief.

It just strengthened the corresponding ideological education to make the soldiers familiar with the concept of protecting the people.

Of course, this is just an ideal state. In reality, many soldiers still disagree with this.

Most of them were generals.

We join the army to fight in battle and kill the enemy. This is the duty of the army.

What's the use of protecting the people and being grateful to all the people?

Fighting disasters and saving people is not doing your job properly.

Doing so would also increase the danger to the generals.

The people are grateful to you, why do you want to rebel?
However, Zhu Xiongying was personally in charge of the appeasement system, and no one wanted to offend the future emperor.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang was back in power, and the soldiers knew his tactics and dared not disobey him.

Propaganda in the military has been generally smooth.
-
When this obituary newspaper reached the Shenji Camp, the soldiers were excited.

The few people who were still dissatisfied no longer had any opinions.

In the Chinese nation, which has an orderly inheritance system and pays great attention to one's reputation during life and after death, "reputation" is extremely important in everyone's mind.

Even ordinary people who cannot read a single word know the importance of reputation.

Before making friends or getting married with someone, one would first inquire about the other person's reputation.

When saving people is considered "righteousness" and can gain "fame", the meaning is different.

Although this kind of thinking still cannot escape the words "fame and fortune", Chen Jingke's original goal was still achieved.

The people have a new understanding of the army, and the army is gradually accepting the responsibility of disaster relief and protecting the people.

Disasters will eventually pass. After more than ten days, the large-scale heavy rains ended and the floods gradually subsided.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the mission of the Shenjiying Camp is not over yet. They have to lead the local young and strong people to fill the breaches of the rivers as soon as possible.

To prevent further disasters.

The tension in the court's heart finally eased, and the next thing to do was to provide disaster relief and reassure the people.

Food is easy to say. The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of food.

It’s just that the disaster came too suddenly and there was no time to allocate resources.

Now that the disaster is over and food is being delivered, there is basically no need to worry about people starving.

The real difficulty lies in post-disaster reconstruction.

With such a large area affected by the disaster, we don’t know how many houses have been destroyed, and the reconstruction work will be extremely huge.

In previous dynasties, reconstruction was the people's own business.

Everyone returned to their registered residence and found ways to repair their houses and restore the damaged land.

No money?

You can sell the land to wealthy households, then you will have money.

Selling all the land still doesn't give enough money?
Sell ​​your children, and if that doesn’t work, sell yourself.

This is why natural disasters are hell for ordinary people but paradise for the wealthy.

The Ming Dynasty would not sit idly by. But how could the imperial court manage such a large-scale reconstruction?

So Chen Jingke made three suggestions:

"First, to prevent land annexation, the sale and purchase of land in the disaster area will be prohibited for two years, and severe punishment will be imposed if discovered."

As soon as this suggestion was made, several cabinet scholars expressed their objections.

Shang Xishao said: "I know that the Marquis of Anping is considering the long-term interests of the people, but such a one-size-fits-all approach may affect normal transactions."

"Besides, post-disaster reconstruction requires money. If we don't allow people to sell their land, we're forcing them to sell their children."

Several other cabinet scholars held the same view.

There is one thing they didn't say: this move will also offend local wealthy people.

It would be even more troublesome if they obstruct the reconstruction work at that time.

To put it bluntly, they still cannot get rid of the old ideas and believe that governing the people cannot be done without the help of the gentry and wealthy families.

We are all old foxes, so we can naturally understand their thoughts.

However, Chen Jingke also knew that his concerns were indeed justified.

Although the imperial court set up official positions such as township magistrates, local gentry and wealthy families still had strong say.

This is the actual situation and must be followed.

So he did not refute directly, but smiled and said: "Master Shang, please don't be anxious, just listen to me."

“My second suggestion is that the Gold and Banknote Bureau provide interest-free loans to people in the disaster areas.”

“It doesn’t take much, and the repayment period is five years.”

Everyone couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The Gold Banknote Bureau directly lent money to the people, which means the state issued loans to the people.

This reminded them of Wang Anshi's Qingmiao Law.

However, it is obvious that the Jinchao Bureau mortgage loan and the Qingmiao Law are completely different.

The Qingmiao Law ultimately had to rely on local government offices for enforcement, and the end result was forced apportionment.

The government began to raise tax rates in various ways, and eventually it turned into official usury.

This can't help but make people worry, will the lending by the Jinchao Bureau evolve into the second Qingmiao Law?

Before they could even express their doubts, they heard Qiu Guangan clapping his hands and sighing:
"Wonderful, it's really wonderful."

Shang Xishao couldn't help but ask, "May I ask where the magic is? Hasn't Scholar Qiu heard of the Qingmiao Method?"

Qiu Guangan smiled and said, "I knew that you must have thought of the Qingmiao Method."

"Although Lord Chen's method may seem similar to the Qingmiao method, it is actually completely different."

Shang Xishao asked: "Oh? What's the difference?"

Everyone looked at him, wanting to hear his opinion.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang was no exception. When he first heard that the Jinchao Bureau was lending money to the people, the first thing he thought of was the Qingmiao Law.

I was worried that something bad might happen.

Qiu Guangan explained: "Wang Gong's reforms were not popular. Although his Qingmiao Law was good, its execution still depended on the local government."

"These government officials were originally against the reform, so they naturally found various ways to undermine the new law."

"In the end, good laws became laws that harmed the people."

"It's different in the Ming Dynasty. We have the Gold and Banknote Bureau, so we don't have to rely on local government offices for lending."

"This will allow the people to suffer less exploitation."

"Secondly, the Gold and Banknote Bureau is responsible for lending to industry and commerce, and they are very familiar with this business."

"It can perform this task better."

This was a policy formulated to support the development of industry and commerce. The Gold and Banknote Bureau provided small loans to industry, commerce and housing.

Although there are many gray transactions, the overall effect is still good.

"Third, the Gold and Banknote Bureau's lending was equivalent to robbing corrupt officials and local wealthy people of their benefits."

"They will definitely keep an eye on the Gold and Banknote Bureau. If there is any private loan sharking, they will actively report it."

Wang Qi retorted: "What if the Gold Banknote Bureau colluded with the local government and the gentry?"

Qiu Guangan said calmly: "Don't forget the Tax Inspection Department. They are hoping that those people will have some problems with their money so that they can start to confiscate it."

Hearing the name of the Tax Inspection Bureau, everyone felt a little scalp tingling.

Even these cabinet scholars are afraid of this department.

The key point is that the Tax Inspection Department operated independently and was only responsible to the emperor.

The emperor personally took care of personnel appointments and other matters.

Therefore, those people are fearless and are willing to risk their lives to investigate tax evasion.

If the Gold Banknote Bureau really dared to collude with local government offices and gentry to lend money at high interest rates, it would first have to pass the review of the Tax Inspection Bureau.

"Even if they bribed the Taxation Inspection Department, the Imperial Guards, and the Inspectors..."

"This is a specific loan for people in the disaster area. It's a one-time thing, so it's easier to regulate."

"The court can send Jinyiwei, inspectors, etc. to supervise."

"If anyone dares to lend money at high interest rates to exploit the people, they can be easily found out."

"With so many monitoring methods, there is always one that will be effective."

As long as one of them can take effect, there is no need to say what happens next. I don’t know how many household registration books will be cleared.

At this time, Qiu Guangan said again: "In fact, the real brilliance of Chen Hou's strategy is not here, but to take this opportunity to promote the construction of internal circulation."

He then explained: “In the past, whether it was because local officials did not understand or they obstructed it, infrastructure work did not progress smoothly in many places.”

"Now several provinces in the southeast have suffered large-scale disasters, which is almost equivalent to tearing down and rebuilding."

"The imperial court ordered the Jinchao Bureau to release interest-free loans, which was equivalent to investing money in the southeast."

“As the saying goes, a blank sheet of paper is best for painting.”

"Now that we have money and people, it is a good time to implement infrastructure plans and promote the construction of domestic circulation."

Finally, Qiu Guangan said, "Lord Chen, am I right?"

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "Minister Qiu is very wise."

Everyone complained in their hearts, what a brilliant idea!

If he could name one or two, they must have been what he thought of.

Now that he has described it in such detail, there is only one possibility, that you two had discussed this beforehand and are acting as a double act.

In fact, this is true. Chen Jingke proposed this matter after first asking Qiu Guangan about the feasibility.

After all, Qiu Guang'an entered the cabinet as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and he had a deep understanding and influence on the Gold Banknote Bureau and the accounting official system.

However, after hearing this explanation, everyone finally agreed with Chen Jingke's suggestion.

If this is really done, it is indeed very feasible.

Old Zhu couldn't help but nod his head. Disaster relief and infrastructure construction were carried out at the same time.

This plan is much better than leaving the people to fend for themselves.

At this time, Chen Jingke added one more point: "Such a large-scale infrastructure will inevitably lead to soaring prices."

"In order to prevent this from happening, the court can make arrangements in advance."

"Tell all merchants in the world that if they send materials needed for reconstruction to the disaster area, they can get corresponding approval."

"With the approval slip, you can buy salt, glass, Sichuan brocade, Suzhou embroidery and other commodities."

Everyone couldn't help but nod their heads again. These products are sold all over the world and are in great demand.

Not to mention glass, the price of the four famous embroidery styles of Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangdong and Sichuan would increase tenfold when shipped to the West.

To transport to the Far West, it needs to be purchased with an equal weight of gold.

The bulk of these commodities were in the hands of the imperial court, and the remaining small portion was also controlled by a few major families.

Less than one tenth flows out.

If the imperial court really wanted to do this, a large number of merchants would transport building materials to the disaster area.

It is certain that prices will rise, but they will never rise too much.

After that, everyone discussed some details and finally reached a consensus that this method was feasible.

Li Shanchang also put forward a suggestion that this opportunity could be used to disperse and resettle some of the disaster-stricken people in vassal states.

This would not only reduce the pressure of reconstruction, but also help increase the population of the vassal states.

Naturally, everyone agreed with this suggestion.

Since the Song Dynasty, the population of the south has exceeded that of the north.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the population in the north was less than one in a hundred, and the entire Henan Province had only one million people. This shows how desolate the area was.

Although the population density was readjusted after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

But the population in the south is still much larger than that in the north.

It is entirely possible to relocate some of them during this disaster.

It met the vassal state's demand for population, eased the pressure of reconstruction, and also eased the population pressure in the south.

It can be said that one stone kills two birds with one stone.

Naturally, everyone agreed.

At the end of the meeting, Chen Jingke mentioned another thing, which was the medal.

The ministers had long known the court's true purpose and naturally would not object.

Thus, a ceremony to welcome the triumphant soldiers was quietly prepared.

At the same time, without anyone noticing, Jiang Lin sent his family away and dismissed all the servants.

Then he resolutely entered the Qianqing Palace.

(End of this chapter)