Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 143 Busy and Tired

Each minister has his own difficulties. For example, Fu Youde is in a very difficult situation now.

After the new day began, Zhu Yunhuan got up early to prepare for the court session. As expected, Fu Youde took the initiative to resign and asked Zhu to remove him from his position as the head of the Five Military Commandery.

Some people were surprised. After all, Fu Youde is now considered a leading figure among the founding nobles and one of the genuine founding dukes.

But some people would not think it was surprising, because Wuyuan's affairs were no longer a secret. Based on the Ming officials' understanding of Zhu, they all knew that he was an emperor who did not like his officials to have too much power.

After the morning court session ended, Zhu Yunhuan returned to Wenhua Hall and summoned Yu Xin again.

The Minister of Revenue Yu Xin is one of the frequent visitors to the Wenhua Palace, mainly because he has a lot of things to do now.

"Please take a seat." Zhu Yunhuan still admired Yu Xin, so he said, "Watch out from now on. When such a pillar of society as Minister Yu comes, please take a seat and serve tea. This is how the Ming Dynasty respects talents."

Zhang Fusheng quickly apologized, as if it was his fault for not watching the seats and serving tea.

As for Yu Xin, he looked so grateful that he seemed to be moved, but what he was thinking in his heart was another matter. We were all smart people and actually everyone knew what was going on.

Zhang Fusheng was definitely innocent. Whether Yu Xin came over, or Lan Yu or Chang Sheng came over, he would not take the initiative to offer a seat or tea. He would only do so after the emperor or the grandson had a clear order.

If he ever served tea to important officials without permission, it basically meant that he would be kicked out.

Zhu Yunhuan opened his mouth again and said, "You all must know that I am very dissatisfied with the treasure notes. In the future, when the imperial court issues treasure notes, you must keep a record of how many were issued and where they were sent. You must keep a record of every single one of them for me!"

Yu Xin immediately replied, "I understand, and we will never make any more mistakes."

Everyone knows about the mess of Baochao, and Zhu Yuanzhang was actually responsible for it. But the emperor would never make mistakes, so now the only one who can take the blame is Yu Xin, the current Shangshu.

The good news is that some mercy has been shown and there is no need to use lives to fill the gap, so Yu Xin feels quite fortunate.

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and said, "This is because Hu Ni had ill intentions and made a big mistake. This is a lesson for us. We must never be careless about money in the future!"

Hu Weiyong, who is now in heaven, does not need to feel wronged at all, because this was the case in the past. When the emperor wanted to do something big or deal with someone, he did not need any other excuses. Just using Hu Weiyong as an excuse was enough.

Yu Xin was also a smart man, and he immediately said, "Your Highness, the legacy of the Hu rebels is quite deep, and I dare to ask Your Highness to eliminate the legacy."

Since the crime is being pinned on Hu Weiyong, it would be better to do it thoroughly. This is the most correct approach.

This was also a way for Yu Xin to protect himself. In the final analysis, he was worried about being punished later. If he put the blame on Hu Weiyong now, he wouldn't have to worry too much about the emperor or the grandson abandoning him.

Zhu Yunhuan also agreed with this and said, "Well, think about it carefully. Hu Weiyong has always been a disaster. He has been issuing banknotes without authorization and causing harm to the people over the years. This is an unforgivable crime."

Zhu Yunhuan had no psychological barriers to making a dead man bear more crimes.

Yu Xin did not have any psychological barriers. The main reason was that Hu Weiyong was too special. Any crime could be justified. Everyone felt extremely at ease.

This is how things are done. They are not good men and women. In many things, their hands are evil and their hearts are even eviler.

Yu Xin obviously knew what to do. He must make a big deal out of it, speak out these things in the court, and make a final decision on them.

"Pay attention to the Baochao Division as well. Be strict now." Zhu Yunhuan warned Yu Xin very seriously, "Hurry up and get this done. In the past, we didn't count how many Baochao we issued, but now we not only need to record them, but also verify as many numbers as we can."

Yu Xin certainly knew that many people were working hard for this matter because the emperor and the crown prince attached great importance to it.

The natural result of this is that no one dares to take it lightly, and everyone is trying to "trace the source" of the treasure notes that have been issued, and dares not be careless in the slightest.

After Yu Xin left, Zhu Yunhuan looked at Xia Yuanji and asked, "Grand Secretary, has your grandfather summoned you in the past two days?"

Xia Yuanji immediately replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty summoned me yesterday to discuss the treasure banknotes."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and nodded, saying, "This is the lifeline of the country. If it is not done well, it will exploit the people and compete with them for profit. You should pay more attention to this matter. You should know how much treasure notes to issue. In the future, treasure notes should be equivalent to copper coins. The court cannot issue them and then deny them!"

This is the biggest problem. The Ming Dynasty's treasure notes are now depreciating, mainly because the court does not recognize them. Therefore, the depreciation is so severe that it has almost lost its legal tender effect. Zhu Yunhuan continued, "I think the treasure notes should be exchanged for copper coins and silver, and their true value should be stabilized. The more treasure notes the court issues, the more gold and silver in the treasury can be exchanged. This is the way to avoid defrauding the people's hard-earned money."

Whether it is the silver standard or the gold standard, these are all things that Zhu Yunhuan needs to consider. The most important thing is to tie the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes to something valuable.

It seems that silver is actually better and most realistic nowadays.

As for financial means and so on, it is definitely too early to mention it now, and Zhu Yunhuan really doesn't understand these things.

So we should take it step by step so as not to take too big a step.

The matter of Baochao can only be done step by step, but we can start some preliminary work now.

For example, the excessive printing of Baochao should be stopped, and the number of Baochao issued and the number of Baochao recalled should be clearly recorded. Next, a series of changes will inevitably be made. For example, when collecting taxes in the future, Baochao can also be regarded as a direct and valuable currency.

If the imperial court does not recognize the currency, then it will be useless even if it is changed. This is also the most fundamental solution.

It is not possible to change it all at once now. After all, a sudden policy change may not necessarily be a good thing.

After a busy day, I returned to the East Palace and Zhu Yourong came to me and said, "Little brother, my sister-in-law asked you to arrange some people to deliver the books."

Zhu Yunhuan asked, "What kind of books do you want? If not, you can just arrange it yourself."

Zhu Yourong said unhappily, "I am just a princess. I have some influence in the Eastern Palace, but who will recognize me outside the Eastern Palace? If I go to the main hall or Wenyuan Pavilion, can those people control me?"

Zhu Youling also chimed in, "That's right, let alone asking people to arrange things. It's hard to say whether we can get to those places."

There was nothing wrong with this statement. Even though Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling were the elder sisters of the Crown Prince, everyone knew that the Crown Prince was very kind to his two elder sisters. But rules were rules. If the two princesses wanted to take away books or arrange something in the main hall, basically no one would listen.

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Okay, you guys help me with these things. I've been busy these days. I'll write a handwritten order tomorrow, and someone will do it then."

Zhu Youling quickly asked, "Little brother, can your handwritten order control the people under you?"

"Yes!" Knowing what his sister meant, Zhu Yunhuan deliberately said, "If it really doesn't work, I will go and ask for an imperial decree, and I will definitely get it."

Although they felt that Zhu Yunhuan was a bit exaggerated and boastful, Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling also believed it. Their younger brother was a very capable person and was very favored by the emperor's grandfather. He would definitely be able to do these small things well.

"You also have to do something. If you want to leave the palace, just leave. I'll give you the palace token." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Even if you don't have the palace token now, you can still leave. Marquis Wu Ding and I have a good relationship."

Zhu Yourong said with some pride, "Of course! It's convenient for us to leave the palace now. We were planning to stay at my aunt's place for a few days."

"She can stay there for two days now, but she won't be able to do that once she gets married." Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but complain, "She was in such a hurry to get married that she lived in the Eastern Palace for two years and left without a second thought. It would have been fine if she just left, but she almost emptied the Eastern Palace!"

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling didn't say anything either. The younger sister-in-law didn't empty the East Palace, but she did take away a lot of things.

Although they were heartbroken, Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling had also witnessed the power of role models, and they planned that when the time came for them to get married, they would definitely take some things with them.

Those who stay in the East Palace all belong to my younger brothers. Anyway, I have everything I need, so I will never be short of it. If you take them away, they will be yours, and you can keep them for your children and grandchildren in the future.

After chatting for a while and returning to the study, Zhu Yunhuan thought about it and decided to pick up the pen to start writing a letter, which could be regarded as a letter delivered by a carrier pigeon.

"Let my eldest sister take it out tomorrow." After sealing the letter, Zhu Yunhuan handed it to Zhang Fusheng, "You can also arrange for someone to ask the Crown Princess about what books, craftsmen, and Hanlin scholars are needed. Just let her know. She is doing important things and cannot be delayed."

Zhang Fusheng naturally remembered all of this. The things that the Crown Prince ordered were naturally very important matters and needed to be done well.

He got up before dawn but went to bed late at night. Zhu Yunhuan felt that he couldn't keep going like this. There were too many things to do every day, and there might be more and more in the future.

If he didn't get some things done, he was worried that he would be exhausted to death before he even ascended the throne.

This is not an exaggeration; it is the truth. There are simply too many political affairs, and basically all of them fall on the emperor and the crown prince. How could they not be exhausted?

(End of this chapter)