Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian's private statement was soon spread at his instruction.

Officials in the capital were naturally very excited when they heard the news.

The Ming Dynasty had been established for more than 200 years, and finally there was news that the emperor wanted a salary increase.

How could the officials not be excited when they learned about this!

Although, many officials often received private allowances that far exceeded their salaries.

Even the double and triple salaries mentioned by the emperor were not as much as the regular money they could receive.

However, as a legal income, salary has a different meaning.

Especially after the emperor implemented the property declaration requirement for officials, its importance became even higher.

During the property declaration, the emperor mostly acquiesced to the collection of regular money. As long as the amount was not too large, it would not be considered as greed and cruelty.

But it is illegal income after all, and it may be picked out when the time comes and used as reason for dismissal from office.

Therefore, officials nowadays attach great importance to legal income.

In particular, the punishment for the eunuch party included confiscating illegal income. Except for income with clear legal sources such as salary and dowry, all other income was confiscated and put into the treasury.

This made officials feel a sense of crisis and they paid more attention to their salaries.

It can be said that Zhu Youjian chose a good time, so that his statement on salary would achieve the best effect.

The most obvious feeling is that officials no longer feel sympathy for those officials who were eliminated in the Ji Si Beijing Inspection.

Because even according to the standards of officialdom, those people can be called corrupt and cruel officials.

The so-called lament that the emperor was too harsh on his officials and that the officials had a hard time making a living only popped up for a moment and then quickly disappeared without a trace.

Most officials believed that the emperor was considerate of them and understood their difficulties.

Zhu Youjian knew the difficulties faced by Ming officials, but he still had to impose restrictions where necessary.

He can now accept the regular money, but he cannot allow it to expand indefinitely and he must curb the greed of officials.

Therefore, when he formally dismissed the officials who were punished during the imperial examination, he once again emphasized that gifts of more than 100 taels of silver were subject to gift tax.

Money such as regular money is also included.

If officials do not want to be punished for tax evasion, it is best for them to pay taxes on this part of the money and report it to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

This can, to a certain extent, curb the spread of corruption and prevent the situation from worsening.

This statement shocked everyone in the court and the public. Combined with the statement about salary, they realized the current emperor's means -

Not every emperor could make the decision to dismiss nearly two hundred people at once.

Adding to the hundreds of people dismissed from the Ministry of Revenue a few years ago, more than 30% of the Beijing officials were replaced.

It can be said that this Ji Si Jingcha was a political trend that brought about great changes in the officials in the court and the distribution of power.

The Donglin Party benefited the most from this, because most of them still had some persistence. Compared with the eunuch party, their ethics were much better.

However, their tendency to unite against dissidents and their power in party struggles still made Zhu Youjian feel wary, and he did not intend to use more Donglin Party members.

He preferred the neutral faction and the Jinshi selected in the first year of Chongzhen.

So he once again resorted to the method of acting, temporarily appointing unqualified officials to act for high-level positions.

As long as they can do a good job in the next six months, they will be awarded with seniority during the official selection in August and officially be transferred to a real position.

As a result, a large number of Jinshi candidates who passed the imperial examinations in the second and fifth years of the Tianqi reign were employed to fill vacant positions.

It can be said that these officials have come at a good time. As long as they have the slightest ability, they can be promoted quickly.
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After dealing with all these, time quickly entered March.

At this time, the eldest son of the emperor was already one month old, and Zhu Youjian decided on a name for him, Zhu Cilang.

This is named according to the naming method set by Zhu Yuanzhang. Ci is the generation name and 烺 is the fire element.

These two words together do not form a phrase, and there is no need to avoid them in the future.

In accordance with convention, Zhu Youjian showed favor and privilege to ministers both inside and outside the court, and all the grand secretaries in the cabinet were generally granted the title of Gonggu.

What is particularly noteworthy is that Liu Zongzhou, the Chief Censor, was granted the title of First-Rank Prince Taibao and was also given the position of Zhanshi in the Zhanshi Mansion.

This was the first official appointed by the emperor after he incorporated the Zhanshifu into the inner court.

It is obvious that he intended Liu Zongzhou to be the prince's teacher and teach him in the future.

This made the ministers very envious of Liu Zongzhou and they once again realized the emperor's trust in Liu Zongzhou.

This means that the future crown prince will be handed over to Liu Zongzhou.

At the same time, some people also thought of the re-creation of rituals and music that Liu Zongzhou was in charge of, and believed that the emperor made this arrangement in order to continue the re-creation of rituals and music.

From now on, Liu Zongzhou will be the prince's teacher, and the prince will naturally have to uphold the rituals and music he established.

Zhu Youjian ignored the speculations from both the court and the public.

Although he did have this idea, Zhu Cilang was only one month old.

The education of the prince is something that will happen in a few years, not to mention future arrangements.

He is just expressing his attitude now, showing his support for Liu Zongzhou——

Even if he died, the reconstruction of rituals and music would continue with the support of his descendants.
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In addition to adding titles and privileges, Zhu Youjian also issued a series of rewards.

These rewards were naturally paid in newly minted silver dollars from the Ministry of Revenue Bank, and officials were asked to take the lead in using them.

It should be said that although the first batch of silver dollars may have some design flaws, their appearance is quite exquisite.

The craftsmen who made them were all skilled masters, and the inspection was also very strict, in order to establish the value of the silver dollar.

Most officials in the capital knew that silver dollars were related to silver dollar coupons, and they also attached great importance to this matter which concerned their salaries.

After they got the silver dollars, they all praised:
Whether it was the four words "One Yuan Silver Coin" on the front, the plum blossom pattern on the back, or the serrations on the edge, they all felt very novel.

I think its appearance is better than the silver coins on the market.

Moreover, compared with one tael of silver, the silver content of one silver dollar is a real one tael of silver. After adding a little copper, the total weight is close to one tael and one qian.

Therefore, in actual use, it can usually be exchanged for one tael and one qian of silver, or even a little more.

This made silver dollars more popular among officials, because the court gave them rewards and salaries based on one or two taels of silver.

Merchants in the capital also welcome silver dollars because their silver content is fixed and there are no counterfeit coins.

They could use it directly without checking the color or weighing it. As a result, after the silver dollar came out, the price of silver dollars soon appeared in the market, which was generally more favorable than using silver bars.

Many businessmen and citizens also called for the issuance of more silver dollars in newspapers.

The Baoyuan Bureau of the Ministry of Revenue Bank tried its best to produce it, and every batch was used by the Ministry of Revenue when expenditures were made.

Zhu Youjian's previous plan to mint 10 million silver dollars for re-issuance was also disrupted by this phenomenon.

He could only urge the Royal Mint to produce silver dollars and sent all the idle craftsmen in the palace there.

Lu Xiang, who had made great contributions in printing, was also sent to the Royal Banknote Printing Factory to be responsible for printing silver dollar notes, especially special paper, ink, and printing technology.

After the Printing Research Institute was established for more than a year, and due to the development of the newspaper industry and the collection of a large amount of patent fees, the Printing Research Institute tried many technical routes and accumulated a lot of technologies.

These technologies may have cost issues when used for newspaper printing, but some of them are very suitable for printing banknotes.

Lu Xiang found a kind of mulberry paper which was relatively expensive but had a flexible texture and came from a very small source, and he decided to use it as the paper for printing banknotes.

This paper has a strange color and can only be made by cutting trees in specific locations and seasons.

Zhu Youjian speculated that there might be some minerals or trace elements in that area that caused this phenomenon.

So he set up a guard post in that place, and asked the Jinyiwei to supervise and strictly control the production area.

This can minimize the risk of printed banknotes being leaked to the outside world and used to make fake silver dollar notes.

As for the ink used for printing, it is also special ink, and the fonts and patterns used are different, so multiple overprints are required.

In addition to overprinting, advanced technologies such as watermark and intaglio are also used, and the plates are carved by skilled craftsmen.

The entire process was kept strictly confidential to prevent the silver dollar notes from being counterfeited.

If counterfeit currency is found on the market, the Jinyiwei's Economic Intelligence Department will be dispatched immediately to solve the case within a specified period of time.

It can be said that although the silver dollar note was a small piece of paper, it mobilized all aspects of the court. The achievements of Zhu Youjian after he ascended the throne were fully demonstrated in this incident.

Both the technology and the cooperating yamen and guard posts were the results of his reforms after he ascended the throne.

In the previous imperial court, it would have been difficult to implement.

This made Zhu Youjian quite pleased, and he felt that the court finally had what he wanted, and that he could resolutely carry out the things he had entrusted.

He had now anticipated that after the issuance of silver dollars and silver yuan certificates, the main force of counterfeit currency production would shift from making inferior copper coins to making inferior silver dollars and counterfeit silver yuan certificates.

It is necessary to mobilize the entire court's power to crack down on and curb the proliferation of counterfeit currency.

At the same time, because the first batch of silver dollar notes were inevitably not printed perfectly, Zhu Youjian also adopted a practice that was not common in later generations, which was to add an expiration date to the silver dollar notes.

Each silver dollar certificate must be used within a certain period of time. Before the expiration date, go to the bank to exchange it for silver dollars or new silver dollar certificates.

After this deadline, you can only go to Shuntian Bank or Yingtian Bank and exchange it after strict inspection by relevant personnel.

The validity period of the first batch of silver dollar notes is three years. Whether it will be extended in the future depends on the flexibility of the paper and the coloring strength of the ink. Only when it is ensured that it will not be damaged or faded for a long time can the validity period be gradually extended.

This will inevitably bring some inconvenience, and it is also the reason why Zhu Youjian incorporated the financial industry.

He needed these shops spread all over the country to help the court promote silver dollars and silver yuan coupons.

Compared to the Baochao, the silver yuan certificate issued by Zhu Youjian was smaller. The Baochao, which was one foot long before, was reduced to six inches. The width was also reduced a lot, only three inches wide.

This makes silver dollar notes more convenient to carry and saves a lot of paper.

Silver Yuan Notes, like Silver Dollars, are divided into primary currency and subsidiary currency.

The denominations of subsidiary coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and 50 cents.

The denominations of the main currencies are one yuan, two yuan, five yuan, ten yuan, twenty yuan, fifty yuan, and one hundred yuan.

One hundred yuan is the largest denomination, corresponding to a silver dollar.

Fifty yuan is half a cover, and there is a corresponding roll.

When an individual uses a silver dollar exchange voucher to exchange for silver dollars, the maximum limit for a single day and time is one hundred yuan.

If the price is higher, the bank or silver shop can refuse and agree on another time to exchange the money, or charge an expedited fee to avoid a run on the bank.

This was a special policy Zhu Youjian gave to money houses and silver shops to avoid bank runs in small money houses and silver shops because there were too few silver dollars deposited at the counters.

Zhu Youjian also had a policy for large money houses and silver shops, which was to allow the issuance of silver bills, which had a status similar to bank drafts and checks.

The minimum denomination of silver notes was 100 yuan to avoid competition with silver dollar notes. There was no limit on the maximum denomination, and as long as the bank could afford it, it could be issued.

Compared with silver dollar coupons, no expedited fee is required for silver bills, no matter how much is exchanged. However, money houses and silver shops can also formulate special policies and charge a certain storage fee.

At the same time, silver bills and checks also have the function of remittance. Zhu Youjian has asked Shuntian Bank to explore bills of exchange and carry out remittances between different cities, as well as inter-bank remittances with Yingtian Bank.

The armboard communication system that was gradually improved around the capital was also favored by the financial industry. It was also granted permission to use it for a period of time for a fee when the military situation was not critical.

These measures have been welcomed by the financial industry.

But some other measures made them not so popular.

That is, the court reviewed the restrictions on interest rates, emphasizing that the monthly interest rate should not exceed three percentage points and should not exceed one principal and one interest.

The court also specifies the "unending calculation after the expiration of the year and month" policy, prohibiting usury such as lamb interest and thunder god blast. The court will not support interest exceeding 3% per month, 36% per year, or 100% total interest.

It also clearly stipulates that the loan must have a set term and total interest, and the term and total interest cannot be automatically accumulated upon maturity, and only the principal can be calculated as interest.

If a financial practitioner is found guilty of violating the law, the Financial Association will kick the offender out and the entire industry will boycott him.

It can be said that this move is the most ruthless, turning laws that were previously difficult to implement into industry regulations.

If someone illegally lends money at high interest rates, he or she must be careful of being backstabbed by his or her peers, losing the right to speak in the financial industry, or even being kicked out of the industry.

Overall, Zhu Youjian still imposed many restrictions on the financial industry, and clearly required them to comply with the court's tax policies in levying taxes.

Many of these financial industry practitioners are wealthy people. The asset tax enacted years ago was largely aimed at them.

Now, in order not to violate the court laws and to join the financial association, they can only bear the pain and pay the corresponding asset tax.

In the future, their accounts will also be supervised by the Congressional Finance Committee, and the Taifu Temple Taxation Bureau, the Supervisory Office Integrity Bureau, the Jinyiwei Economic and Intelligence Department and other government offices will also have the right to check their accounts after obtaining permission. They can even freeze the accounts of certain criminals and confiscate their property.

Anonymous accounts are therefore strictly restricted, and all account openers must have proof of household registration and even a guarantor.

These measures have made a big difference to those working in the financial industry.

All they can do at this time is to cooperate and implement the court's policies.

If anyone wants to do something strange at this time, the Ministry of Revenue, which is eager to issue silver yuan notes, will let them know what it means for civil officials to be in power. (End of this chapter)