Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 202: Nothing is more important than money
"Grandson greets Grandpa Huang."
"Hahahaha~~ No need to be polite, come here quickly. You pissed off the Prime Minister on your first day in office, you're really ruthless."
"Grandpa Emperor, I have been in Nanjing for many years. I don't know much about Lord Ye, but I certainly don't have any prejudice against him. Who would have thought that he would argue with me on the first day I became regent? I have no choice but to let him down for a while."
"Humph, what are you complaining about? Just based on the congratulatory message he gave Grandpa on the first day of the new year , if it were during the time of Taizu or Chengzu, not only himself, but also his three clans would be in trouble. Alas, it's a pity that we, the descendants of the Zhu family, are getting worse with each generation. It really disgraces the reputation of our ancestors."
After saying this, Wanli gently put his hand on Zhu Youdong's shoulder and said, "Luckily, we have you, otherwise we would have almost forgotten the joy of being a king."
"Grandpa Emperor, you and all the previous emperors are well versed in the word 'benevolence'. As for my grandson, well, I guess my posthumous title will be 'Yang' or 'Li'."
"How can it be so tragic? My great uncle was so naughty in the past, but he also became a 'Yi' in the end, didn't he?" After saying this, Wanli said seriously, "Grandpa's dear grandson, I heard that you announced in Xinghua Palace that the Tongzhengsi will still send all memorials to the Qianqing Palace in the future? This is really unnecessary. Since Grandpa has handed over the state affairs to you, he must give up the power. Don't have any scruples in your heart. Don't tell me, after Grandpa didn't have to worry about any state affairs these days, his dizziness has improved a lot, and his spirits have been boosted a lot. So, you really don't have to send it in the future."
"Grandpa Royal, it's my grandson's business whether to send it or not, and it's your business whether to read it or not. Let's put it this way, the Ministry of Public Administration will still send you memorials in the future, and it's up to you whether to read it or not. But from now on, every issue of the State Council meeting minutes will be delivered to you personally."
"Well, okay." Nodding with satisfaction, Wanli said, "Tell me, who do you want to replace the seal holder and the pen holder of the Imperial Household Department? You can decide for yourself as the ministers of the outer court. As for the eunuchs, they will all follow your opinion. Grandpa also knows that only by getting the right people can a king truly control the world."
"Grandpa Royal, I think that stability is the most important thing for the inner court. Of course, I am not hypocritical. I have a few candidates, please approve them."
"What do you mean by permission, kid? Well, tell me what you mean."
Well, you took the initiative to let me serve as regent without me forcing you. I am willing to believe that you really want the best for me. However, although you have been the emperor for forty years, you were a puppet in the first ten years, and you were strongly controlled by the civil officials in the last thirty years. But after all, you are an emperor who has sat on the throne for forty years. If I suddenly do anything without asking you for instructions, no matter how open-minded you are, you will definitely be unhappy. If you are unhappy, I will also be uncomfortable. So, no matter what, whether you really don't care about things or not, I will always insist on asking for instructions early and reporting late.
"Grandpa, the eunuch Wang Kun who guards Nanjing has been with my grandson in Nanjing for six years. He is very careful and loyal to my royal family. I want him to join the Imperial Household Department as the eunuch in charge of writing and the commander of the Eastern Depot."
"Well, Wang Kun was one of Grandpa's childhood playmates. He's a reliable person. Okay, let him come back."
"Grandpa, the eunuch Liu Shimin of the Imperial Household Department is a rare eunuch who is proficient in military affairs. I want to transfer him to the Imperial Horse Department to be the eunuch commander. I want to reorganize the army in the future, and the Tengxiang Four Guards must also be well reorganized. This way, we can prepare for a rainy day."
This Liu Shimin, except for the trip to Mubang with Sun Chengzong that year, has always been working in the palace. He has almost no intersection with Zhu Youdong's faction. So Zhu Youdong dared to bring him up: this is a person with real ability, and it doesn't matter if they are close.
"Sure. Oh, Dong'er, Grandpa has already said that it's up to you to do whatever you want."
"Otherwise, I will try my best to handle the affairs of the outer court myself, but I must explain the affairs of the inner court clearly to Grandpa Huang."
"Hey, kid." Wanli poked Zhu Youdong's forehead and said with a smile: "These two are actually my grandfather's people. Where are your people? You have to arrange them in early so that they can be familiar with the situation and take over in the future."
"Hasn't my grandson finished talking yet? Grandpa Emperor, as for the eunuchs around me, I want to send Cao Huachun to the Silijian as a chamberlain, and Wei Zhongxian to the Neiguanjian as a seal-holding eunuch. Wang Chengen is still young, so let him continue to follow me."
"Yes, sure. Where are the Royal Guards?"
"The Imperial Guard will naturally send Tian Ergeng to the Northern Pacification Office in Beijing."
"Sure. Hey, Wang Zhizhen has been in charge of the Jinyiwei for many years as a deputy commander, but he has never been promoted. How about this? Let Wang Zhizhen be the commander of the Jinyiwei first, so that he can be compensated for his hard work over the years. Then let Tian Ergeng be the governor of the Northern Pacification Division first, and then promote him after he is familiar with the situation."
"Yes, grandson thanks Grandpa Huang."
"Hmm." Wanli stretched his fat body a little on the wide seat and said, "Next, where do you plan to start breaking through?"
"Grandpa Emperor, my Ming Dynasty has a lot of problems right now. But the most important thing is people and money."
"Talent?"
"Uh, no. It's population and finance and taxation."
"So that's why you conducted a population census in Nanjing?"
"Yes, Grandfather Emperor. If we don't know how many people there are in the country, I will have no reliable basis for doing things. The country also doesn't know how to collect taxes and how to arrange corvée labor. Of course, we don't know how to support the army and how to comfort the people. In short, if we don't know how much wealth there is, we can't do anything. To find out how much wealth there is, we must learn from Taizu and start with the population and rebuild the household registration, yellow book, and fish scale map of the country."
"Hey, Dong'er. This is the biggest reason why Grandpa wants you to be the regent. The previous emperor and Grandpa have seen so many problems, but they don't have the courage to uncover them or the means to solve them. Just for this reason, Grandpa will hand over the country to you. If you were not so young now, Grandpa would really be ready to abdicate."
"Grandpa Emperor, the population census has just begun. It is still unclear whether it will be successful."
"It doesn't matter. If the investigation fails, it will only maintain the status quo. If we don't investigate, the Ming Dynasty won't last long. Well, I understand the people. What about the money?"
"Grandpa Emperor, there are too many problems with the financial and taxation system of our Ming Dynasty. We must reform it completely. The most urgent task is to establish a new currency."
"Currency change?"
"Yes, Grandpa Emperor, the official currencies of our Ming Dynasty are Baochao and copper coins. Baochao is basically the same as waste paper , so let's not talk about it. And what about copper coins? Their value is too small. So whether it's the people or the officials, they actually use silver as currency on a daily basis. But our Ming Dynasty has never minted silver or gold coins!"
In fact, it is not only the Ming Dynasty, but also the Qing Dynasty in the historical dimension: the general equivalents on the market are obviously mainly silver, but there is no silver coin. In the 18th century, the British came to China and were surprised to find that every Chinese business family hung a few scissors in the shop. And ordinary people must carry two things with them when they go out: a small scale and mud. Scissors are of course convenient for cutting silver for payment. The scale is to prevent the merchant's scale from having problems. As for the mud, it is used to collect too fine silver flakes, and when it reaches a certain level, it can be melted into a silver ingot.
"Well, Dong'er, the capital required to mint coins is huge. Do you have enough money?"
"Ah, it's definitely not enough. My grandson's total assets are less than five million taels. This matter can only be started after the census is over and my grandson has saved up ten million taels of silver."
"Yes." After standing up with difficulty and pacing repeatedly, Wanli seemed to have made up his mind: "Dong'er, Grandpa's inner treasury still has 8,357,400 taels of silver. Grandpa will round it up for you and give you 5 million first. Is 10 million taels of silver enough?"
"Grandson thanks Grandpa!" This is really a thank you from the bottom of his heart: "The royal family has 10 million taels, the Ministry of Revenue will give another 5 million, and grandson will borrow another 5 million from the shareholders of Daming Maritime Trade. 20 million taels as a base should be enough!"
