Chapter 1120
Reform
Chapter 1120 Reform (Part 3)
Zhu Qiyu suppressed his resignation and sincerely tried to persuade him to stay.
To be honest, Chen Xun breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes still a little hot. Although he genuinely wanted to resign to save his life, he had served the Ming Dynasty and the emperor for decades, and he would be very sad if he was not persuaded to stay.
Having been persuaded to stay once, Chen Xun's second resignation was much more sincere. At least he had been persuaded to stay once, which made him feel better both mentally and in terms of saving face.
To everyone's surprise, Zhu Qiyu tried to persuade him to stay for the third time. He even held his hand and asked if he had done something wrong, otherwise why would his beloved minister want to resign?
Chen Xun then realized that the emperor genuinely did not want him to resign, and he quickly explained, "My health is not as good as before. Although I am willing to serve the emperor, I cannot..."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qiyu immediately summoned the imperial physician to treat Chen Xun.
The imperial physician wrote a long prescription for Chen Xun, indicating that although Chen Xun was ill, it could still be treated.
Chen Xun looked doubtful and took the prescription back to find his good friend.
The good friend, the imperial physician, hesitated after looking at the prescription, but Chen Xun pressed him repeatedly before he finally said, "This prescription is potent; it can relieve the immediate problem, but it can only relieve the immediate problem."
Chen Xun instantly understood that the Imperial Medical Academy was taking advantage of the emperor's desire to use him, so they disregarded his health and forced him to take potent drugs.
Chen Xun laughed in exasperation.
But he quickly realized that the emperor's insistence on keeping him was primarily due to the need for his support in reforms, and that it was better to remain still than to act rashly: "I've become Xue Shao's shield!"
His good friend also advised him: "Between future and life, life is more important. Besides, if you retire now, it can be considered a successful retirement. When it comes to predicting the future, only Master Zhang of the Celestial Master's Mansion can be compared with the National Preceptor. Why do you listen to Xu Youzhen's instigation?"
He didn't know what kind of medicine Xu Youzhen had given his friend, and how could he trust him so much?
In his view, Xu Youzhen could hardly be called a good person.
He was a royal physician, skilled at reading people's expressions. In his view, Xu Youzhen valued profit over righteousness and was not easy to offend, but even less likely to become close friends with him.
He whispered his advice: "You said it yourself, it was the Imperial Preceptor who reminded you of your health problems. It's clear that the Imperial Preceptor is thinking of our past relationship. In that case, why don't you ask Tao Yanbai and Master Miaohe from Sanqing Mountain to treat you? In terms of medical skills, the two of them are no less skilled than the head of the Imperial Medical Academy."
"Now it's not a matter of getting medical treatment, but that His Majesty won't let me go. I want to resign, but I can't. I can't just follow the example of the famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties and just resign and leave, can I? My son is still serving as an official in the court."
He was afraid of offending the emperor and implicating his son.
His friend glared at him and said, "You, you're usually so shrewd, how come you're so confused about this? His Majesty only asked you to be the guardian stone, so just do it. Leave the reforms to Xue Shao. In my opinion, Xue Shao is much more virtuous than Xu Youzhen. Even if there are reforms... he won't shift the responsibility onto you."
Chen Xun pondered. He had Pan Yun and Yu Qian above him, and Xue Shao below him. Although he was cunning, he trusted the three men's character in this regard and felt that even if the emperor wanted to use him as a shield to protect these three important figures.
These three won't put the blame on him.
Chen Xun thought about it more and more and felt that his friend's suggestion was reliable. He decided to keep it for the time being and use it as a health-preserving mountain-guarding stone.
After Chen Xun understood things, his mind opened up, and he didn't need to take medicine anymore; even his pulse improved.
When he went to court again, he gradually handed over his work to Xue Shao. When the emperor asked, he would say that he was not in good health and then push Xue Shao out to answer.
Although he still opposed the issuance of dragon banknotes deep down, he no longer expressed it in court, nor even in private.
Xu Youzhen had been waiting, and when he saw Chen Xun actually hand over the power to Xue Shao, he was dumbfounded.
Zhang Liuzhen, who came to the capital to preside over the spring sacrificial ceremony, stood at the corner of the hall watching the endless stream of court officials leaving the hall. His gaze swept over Xu Youzhen and then quickly moved back, carefully examining his face before looking at Pan Yun: "Why do you keep such a treacherous person in the court?"
Pan Yun: "There has never been a shortage of treacherous people in the court."
"But the emperor dislikes him. He doesn't dislike the others. If you hadn't wanted to use him, the emperor would have ousted him from the court long ago."
Pan Yun: "Three years ago, the Yellow River flooded. If it weren't for him, the Yellow River would have breached its banks, and I don't know how many people would have died. This person's character is not good, but he is talented. He neither loves fame nor wealth, but only power. If used well, he is a good knife."
She sighed and said, "There aren't many officials who are capable of balancing the Ministry of Works and local authorities, and who are also capable of managing the river."
Pan Yun frowned and said, "He is talented and capable, but unfortunately, he is dishonest. Otherwise, he would surely have been promoted to a high-ranking official position."
Pan Jun thought for a moment, then smiled and turned to find the emperor.
The next day, Xu Youzhen was promoted, not only taking up an official position in the Crown Prince's Palace, but also being sent to Henan to assist the Crown Prince in his reforms.
Xu Youzhen was overjoyed when he learned that the Imperial Advisor had strongly recommended him to the Emperor. He quickly gathered all the money in his house and went to the market to have a pure gold statue of Pan Gong made as a gift for her.
Because his family had limited wealth, the statue of Pan Gong was only the size of a palm, but it was solid and heavy in the hand.
Pan Yun liked it quite a bit, but still had the young Taoist boy return it to him, and told him: "I recommend Lord Xu because I believe that Lord Xu can help the Crown Prince improve the reforms and benefit the people."
The young Taoist said, "Lord Xu, please do not disappoint the Imperial Preceptor."
Xu Youzhen agreed with a touched expression, and left holding the small golden statue.
Seeing her reluctant expression, Zhang Liuzhen couldn't help but laugh and said, "Since you can't bear to part with it, why not accept it?"
"You yourself said he's not a good person. If I accept it, believe me, he can make it back from the people of Henan." Xu Youzhen may not love money, but if his power requires money, he will not hesitate to take money from the people.
They'll just be more restrained in order to go further.
It was precisely because of his self-control and his talent that Pan Yun continued to employ him.
The Crown Prince's team has already begun reforms in Henan.
Thanks to the development of the newspaper industry, information flowed quickly, and the imperial court's policies could reach every place rapidly.
Henan, located in the heart of the Central Plains, is a flat plain where information can be easily disseminated.
Officials and the general public alike could receive specific information about the court's reforms immediately.
In Henan, the majority of people support the reforms.
This brings us to the rapidly developing newspaper industry.
Newspapers were not Pan Yun’s original creation. Official gazettes have existed since ancient times. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, small newspapers have been popular among the people. However, after hundreds of years, due to the small number of literate people and the high cost of paper and printing, they have not grown into large and powerful newspapers, but have only been popular in a small circle.
After Pan Yun secured funding for paper and printing costs from the Ministry of Works and facilitated the establishment of the first major newspaper by the Ministry, the newspaper industry began to flourish.
This is also thanks to the solid foundation laid by Zhu De. The literacy rate among the people is much higher than before, and with the large-scale establishment of community schools, newspapers are even more profitable.
After that, more and more newspapers were established, but the foundation of the newspaper industry was basically in the Ministry of Works and the royal family.
Coincidentally, among the six ministries, Pan Yun had the closest relationship with the Ministry of Works. The other ministries were wary of her, but she was the only one who was an invisible minister in the Ministry of Works.
Needless to say, she had a close relationship with Empress Wang and would do whatever she was told.
After more than a decade of preparation, it's finally time to reap the rewards in the battle for public opinion.
Henan's new policies and reforms are in full swing.
After the gentry were required to pay taxes together, the imperial court lowered the tax rate in Henan. Although there were still differences between prefectures and counties, the crown prince had done a survey and found that the tax rate was generally 30% to 50% lower than before, with a general rate of around 40%.
This meant that farmers could pay about 40% less in taxes after the new tax reform. Therefore, the farmers of Henan didn't care whether the gentry and officials agreed; they wholeheartedly supported it.
The Central Plains has always been a grain-producing area, with many families engaged in farming and studying. Who doesn't have poor relatives suffering hardship?
Therefore, there were not many gentry who truly opposed this policy; those who expressed their opposition were mostly large landowners and powerful families whose interests were greatly impacted.
In these places, the implementation of the new policy has been somewhat difficult.
But the Crown Prince was prepared, and new policies were issued one after another.
The first measures implemented were reducing corvée labor and issuing dragon banknotes.
The Ministry of Revenue established a bank called Daming Money Shop, which was dedicated to issuing dragon-patterned banknotes.
It basically follows the same pattern as the previous issuance of paper money. The difference is that this time, the imperial court is very restrained and strictly limits the value of the dragon paper money.
The Crown Prince personally stated that the exchange rate of Dragon Notes for copper coins, gold, and silver would be stable, and there would be no over-printing or over-issuance like with Treasure Notes.
Everyone... just listened. Anyway, everyone used silver notes from various money shops, but no one went to the Great Ming Money Shop to exchange them for dragon banknotes.
Therefore, while the reduction of military service was carried out smoothly, the issuance of the dragon banknotes progressed like a tortoise, barely moving no matter how hard you tried.
The Crown Prince didn't mind, and changed the salaries of Henan officials, from himself down to the lowest clerks, to 80% in paper money and 20% in silver.
This means that an official with a monthly salary of ten taels would receive eight taels of dragon paper money and two taels of silver each month.
The Henan officials who received their salaries were in tears, wondering why they were the ones suffering.
When Zhu Yuanzhang issued paper money, he did the same thing, first using the paper money to pay the officials' salaries.
To be honest, when the paper money was first issued, everyone was quite excited. Many people believed in Zhu Yuanzhang and the imperial court, so officials readily accepted it, and it could be used by the people.
But later, Zhu Yuanzhang became unrestrained, printing paper money whenever he had the money, and printing even more when he was short of money.
The banknotes were falling from the sky like rain; who would dare to use them now?
Because they were deeply disappointed by the Treasure Notes, no merchants in the private sector were willing to accept the Dragon Notes this time.
The Crown Prince was not in a hurry, but he ordered that all properties under the name of the royal family and the court must accept imperial banknotes, otherwise it would be considered a crime.
However, this law only applies to the royal family and the court, not to the common people.
Upon hearing this, the officials, remembering that they also had to pay taxes this year, tentatively took out their official banknotes and went to the yamen to pay their family's taxes in advance.
The government office that received the imperial edict: ...
The Crown Prince was overjoyed upon hearing this and ordered all local government offices not to refuse the imperial banknotes.
Then, he took ten cartloads of copper coins to the Daming Money Shop to exchange them for imperial banknotes, then used the banknotes to buy cloth at a cloth shop under the imperial court, and then to buy grain at a grain shop run by the government...
Because the ten cartloads of copper coins were so eye-catching, many people followed to watch the spectacle, and everyone saw that the cloth shops and grain stores had accepted the dragon coins.
The people were excited: "I saw it clearly! Ten cartloads of copper coins only got this thick stack of dragon notes. He put them in his pocket and left. The prince then used those dragon notes to buy cloth and grain, and donated them all to the orphanage."
"He is the crown prince; how dare the cloth shops and grain stores refuse him?"
“But after the Crown Prince, some people also used the dragon paper to buy cloth and grain, and they were able to buy them, and the price was the same as that of silver.”
“I saw it too. It was published in the newspaper. It was written in great detail and there were even pictures.”
"Only shops owned by the royal family and government offices accept imperial banknotes; other shops don't."
But this is indeed the beginning.
Over the years, Empress Wang and Empress Qian devoted themselves to their careers, managing numerous businesses within the royal family, not to mention the industries monopolized by government agencies.
Salt and iron alone provide ample resources for people to consume.
The officials who received the imperial banknotes weren't stupid. Some had their family members buy things at these shops to spend the banknotes; others, less ethical, would force the banknotes on their servants or subordinates, who then had no choice but to find ways to spend them...
Half a month later, the newspapers were still full of stories about who had spent money at which stores.
There were also stories written and published in monthly magazines, the most eye-catching of which was a story about a businessman.
The merchant was in the business of selling cloth from Kaifeng to Runing. Because the business was so large, he was always on edge every time he carried money from Runing to Kaifeng.
Before this trip, he specially exchanged his money for dragon banknotes and traveled with a few companions. After arriving in Kaifeng, he successfully purchased cloth and transported it back to Runing.
This story doesn't hold up to scrutiny, because both Kaifeng and Runing had money shops, and banknotes were popular among merchants. Even without imperial banknotes, he could use banknotes from other money shops.
This story was written specifically to advertise the Dragon Banknote, but it was very effective.
In particular, the Crown Prince soon issued another order, stating that from today onwards, the branches of the Ming Dynasty Money Shop in Henan would begin accepting the exchange of Baochao for Longchao, and would provide interest rates.
"Five hundred cash in precious paper money for fifty cash in dragon paper money?"
"My family has precious paper money!"
In the Ming Dynasty, which household didn't have a few banknotes?
Without considering anything else, everyone immediately ran home to get their precious notes and exchange them for dragon notes. Taking advantage of the fact that the government shops now accepted dragon notes, they quickly used them all.
Anyway, salt, iron pots, and kitchen knives won't spoil if left out, and we can buy more grain and cloth.
If this is the case for ordinary people, it goes without saying that it is even more true for officials and banks.
Don't have too much stock.
The prince and his entourage were prepared, and after exchanging the dragon notes, they went to the official shops to buy things.
Just as the money exchange was filled with people exchanging precious banknotes for dragon banknotes, the Crown Prince sent someone to the money exchange with a stack of dragon banknotes.
In front of a large crowd of people, the money shop counted out boxes of silver and ten boxes of copper coins according to the customer's request.
The crowd fell silent, and then some people began to tentatively exchange precious paper money for dragon paper money, and then exchange dragon paper money for silver.
The money changer only glanced at the man before exchanging the money for him.
The whole city was astonished, and as a result, even more people lined up to exchange their money. Long queues formed in front of the money exchange every day, a common sight throughout Henan.
The newspapers gave this matter extensive coverage, which led to wider dissemination and gave people some confidence in the dragon banknotes.
So one day, someone went out to eat without money and took out a fifty-cash dragon note to pay the bill. The merchant hesitated for a moment but then accepted it. Thus, the barrier was broken and the dragon note officially began to circulate among the people.
Xue Shao controlled the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury, pouring countless amounts of silver and copper coins into Henan, finally getting the dragon paper money circulating among the people of Henan, but that was not enough.
(End of this chapter)