Chapter 1121
Reform
The dragon banknotes were intended for nationwide circulation, so it was impossible for them to be issued only within Henan province.
Just as Henan was undergoing comprehensive reforms, Xue Shao sent people to the local areas to ensure that each county had at least one Daming Money Shop. However, these money shops were deserted and had no customers at all.
After all, Henan was the only place where the use of imperial banknotes as salaries was mandatory.
But the world is never short of brave people, nor is it short of intelligent people.
Soon, some people discovered a business opportunity in the exchange frenzy in Henan.
Initially, clever people from Henan went to other places to buy up banknotes at low prices with silver, transported them back to Henan, exchanged them for dragon banknotes at the Daming Bank, and finally exchanged the dragon banknotes for silver...
By repeating this process, they earned a considerable profit from the price difference.
Then, people from other places noticed this business opportunity during these acquisitions and joined in the buying and selling.
Both the paper money and the dragon paper money are lightweight, but silver coins are very heavy. Transporting the paper money to Henan and then exchanging it for silver coins would incur a considerable transportation cost, and there was still a risk of being robbed.
At this time, middlemen deeply felt the inconvenience of using money.
Driven by the pursuit of profit, they squandered the money.
They could either exchange the dragon notes for goods to take back and resell for a profit, or leave with the dragon notes and return to their hometown to find the Ming Dynasty bank to tentatively exchange them for silver.
Under these two measures, Henan's economy has grown rapidly, and Daming Qianzhuang, a money shop across the country, has finally come into the public eye, with its reputation soaring.
Finally, people began using dragon banknotes to buy and sell banknotes in various places...
When taxes were collected at the end of autumn, Henan implemented a new tax reform. The people had more money and grain left over, and their lives improved. Not only in Henan, but also in the surrounding areas where people had not paid attention to the reform, they felt the difference.
As a result, after learning about it, more and more people were looking forward to the arrival of the court's reform policies, and even the gentry and high-ranking officials could not stop it.
The monetary reform came before the tax reform.
After repeated testing in various places and extensive newspaper coverage, people finally began to believe in the value of the dragon banknotes.
Dragon banknotes officially replaced gold and silver, becoming the main currency in circulation along with copper coins.
With the development of transportation, the Ming Dynasty's commerce experienced a new surge.
As the proportion of commercial and customs taxes in the national treasury increased, the resistance to the imperial court's reform of agricultural taxes decreased.
At the end of the second year of the Henan tax reform, Zhu Qiyu finally issued an edict to carry out tax reform nationwide. As a result, the poll tax was abolished and merged into the agricultural tax, which was halved. Starting from January of the eighteenth year of the Jingtai reign, officials, gentry and common people paid grain taxes together.
Also in that year, Emperor Jingtai fell ill. On the seventh day of the third month of that year, Emperor Jingtai secretly ordered someone to invite Pan Yun and ask her to go to Jiangnan immediately to bring back the Crown Prince who was inspecting Jiangnan.
Zhu Qiyu's face was ashen. He looked at Pan Yun, his eyes filled with both resentment and relief: "Grand Preceptor, is my time up?"
Pan Yun stood quietly by his bedside, watching him without saying a word.
Zhu Qiyu then understood.
He forced a laugh and comforted Pan Yun in return: "I knew long ago that you must have extended my life. Since the twelfth year of Jingtai, you and Zhang Zhenren have held the spring sacrifice every year. After the spring sacrifice, I feel relaxed, sleep better at night, and have a longer breath. But every winter, I feel short of breath and have palpitations. Six years is enough."
He looked at Pan Jun with teary eyes: "The Crown Prince is too young. I hope the Imperial Preceptor can assist him as he assists me, helping him to govern the world." "Even if he does not have Your Majesty's talent, he is my student. So as not to tarnish the reputation of my Sanqing Mountain, I will do my best."
Zhu Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her expectantly.
Pan Yun then turned around and went to Jiangnan to bring the Crown Prince back.
It took a little over an hour to get to Jiangnan, and another little over an hour to get back.
The emperor was fast asleep, but in his dazed state, he heard unusual voices and movements inside the room. Startled, he suddenly opened his eyes.
Empress Wang, who was sitting by his bedside wiping away tears, was overjoyed to see him wake up and quickly stepped forward to ask with concern, "What does Your Majesty need?"
Zhu Qiyu's slightly cloudy gaze passed over her and looked behind him: "What's going on outside?"
Empress Wang wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes: "It's nothing. The people below are too rough. I've already reprimanded them."
Zhu Qiyu looked at her with a calm and resolute gaze. Empress Wang paused for a moment before saying, "There are some ignorant people in the palace who have broken the rules..."
She turned her head to look at the incense burning beside her and said softly, "The Imperial Preceptor will be back in half an incense stick's time."
"The Imperial Guards are under Chen Huai's command, but what about him?"
Empress Wang: "General Chen's horse was startled and he fell off the horse while he was patrolling the streets this morning. The army is temporarily under the command of Shi Heng."
Zhu Qiyu: "Shi Heng's ambition is too great. He has fallen out with the Imperial Preceptor and Yu Qian one after another. I used him to restrain Yu Qian and the Imperial Preceptor, but I did not expect him to have such thoughts. He even dared to interfere in the matter of succession. Cough cough..."
When the Empress saw that his face was red from coughing, she quickly helped him up and gave him a sip of water.
Zhu Qiyu took a sip of warm water, which calmed the agitation in his throat. His gaze was icy: "It's a pity that Xue Shao is on good terms with the Imperial Preceptor; otherwise, he would be the best person to restrain Yu Qian. Among the scholars of Jiangnan, there are many who secretly oppose reforms, and no one can compare to Xue Shao. As a result, there is no one who can restrain them. If it weren't for the fear of delaying the reforms, I would have already dealt with Shi Heng..."
Zhu Qiyu swallowed his harsh words and said coldly, "Leave him to the Crown Prince to establish his authority."
Empress Wang comforted him, saying, "The Crown Prince entered politics at the age of thirteen and took charge of reforms at the age of fifteen. He is mature and has considerable influence in the court. Your Majesty can rest assured."
"How can I be at ease?" Zhu Qiyu leaned back, his whole demeanor softening, his eyes glistening with tears. "My elder brother ascended the throne at the age of nine and has been known for his intelligence since childhood. Although he seems to have wise ministers like the Three Yangs assisting him in court, he still faces many difficulties, to the point that he has to resort to eunuchs like Wang Zhen to seize power. The complexity of human nature cannot be summarized in words. The Crown Prince is good in every way, except that he trusts the Imperial Preceptor too much..."
Empress Wang held his hand tightly and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Advisor desires immortality. I believe she will not harm the Ming Dynasty."
"The Grand Preceptor wants the will of the people, but if the will of the people rests with the Grand Preceptor, is the Ming Dynasty still the Ming Dynasty of my Zhu family? If the Crown Prince has a conflict with the Grand Preceptor in the future, wouldn't she be able to replace the emperor whenever she wants?" Zhu Qiyu tightly grasped Empress Wang's hand and said softly, "Empress, tell my son to first establish his authority by taking down Shi Heng, and then replace Yu Qian with Xue Shao to sow discord between Xue Shao and the Grand Preceptor. I don't believe that if he becomes the Grand Secretary, he can still allow the Grand Preceptor to interfere in state affairs with impunity."
"In recent years, there have been many conflicts between Yu Qian and the Imperial Preceptor, but for the sake of reform, they have temporarily put up with it. Once the reforms in Jiangnan have begun to show results, you can let him handle the matter accordingly. However, Yu Qian has done a great service to the country, so he can be spared, but not killed."
The Empress agreed.
Since Qian was treated this way, the Imperial Preceptor would naturally be treated the same way.
For some reason, the Empress breathed a sigh of relief.
The noise outside grew louder and louder. A eunuch, sweating profusely, rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Second Prince requests an audience with Your Majesty." (End of Chapter)