Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 229: The 42nd Year of Wanli
"Your Highness, I am honored to see you and would like to extend my congratulations to you on the New Year."
"Congratulations, everyone. I also wish you all a happy new year."
On the fourth day of the first lunar month in 1614, all government offices of the Ming Dynasty began to return to work, and Zhu Youdong also convened the first state council meeting of the year in Xinghua Palace.
Before Zhu Youdong arrived, the ministers attending the meeting suddenly discovered that there was an extra chair on the opposite side of the meeting table where the crown prince sat...
According to the rules set by Zhu Youdong, he sat at the head, and on both sides were the three cabinet ministers, the six ministers, the left and right censors, etc. Other vice ministers, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, the Imperial Household Department, etc., had to sit in the second row.
This arrangement was a kind of satisfaction for the civil officials. In the past year, everyone had become accustomed to this seating arrangement.
But today?
After Zhu Youdong entered the room and the emperor and his subjects greeted each other, he personally took Cao Sanxi's hand and put him in the new position. Many conservative civil officials suddenly felt that their stomachs were rebelling!
A businessman who was not even a scholar actually sat at the most noble conference table in the entire empire!
It’s impossible not to vomit, but I have to endure it!
"Everyone, let me introduce you to President Cao. You all know him. After a year of preparation, our Ming Royal Bank will officially open after the Lantern Festival. A central bank that has the right to mint and issue coins is extremely important to a country's economy. Even if you don't understand it for the time being, you will understand it soon. Therefore, starting today, President Cao Sanxi will regularly attend the State Council meetings."
After Zhu Youdong finished speaking, Wen Tiren, Xu Honggang, Xu Guangqi and others stood up first: "We obey your orders."
Then Li Sancai and others also stood up: "We obey your orders."
"Okay, let's get started. Today's meeting is the first meeting of the 42nd year of the Wanli reign . According to the notice sent to everyone before the New Year, please ask the heads of each department to report on the work of the past year. Well, President Cao, let's start with you."
"I obey your command!"
As a businessman, he actually stood at the core of this huge empire and had his own place in the open. Even though Manager Cao had handled tens of millions of silver over the years, he was still a little excited at this moment.
However, he quickly adjusted his mood and began to report loudly: "Your Highness, everyone, last year, the Ming Royal Bank was in the preparation stage. After a year of hard work, the bank has now established branches in six major cities including Beijing, and built silver vaults and tax grain storage warehouses. We can open for business at the same time as long as the emperor's decree is issued!
Secondly, the bank has built mints in six major cities and minted about 30 million coins of various denominations. The front of the coin has a bust of the emperor and the four characters "Wanli Tongbao", and the back has the denomination and scenery. Specifically, the back of the gold coin has Chengtian Gate, the back of the No. 1 silver coin has Mount Tai, the back of the No. 2 silver coin has Hukou Waterfall, and the back of the copper coin has Fengyang City Tower...
At present, the workers, staff, and managers of the bank's major mints, silver vaults, granaries, and business outlets have all arrived. The guards of various facilities have also been recruited and trained. A total of nearly 20,000 impoverished military households have been absorbed, and the burden on the nine border towns has been reduced... In short, as long as the court gives an order, the Ming Royal Bank can immediately begin to perform its duties."
"Good!" Zhu Youdong stood up and said, "My Lords, I hereby promulgate the first, second, and third edicts of the Regent for the 42nd year of the Wanli reign."
"Your Highness, please give us your instructions."
"First, the Ming Royal Bank will open in six cities, namely, the two capitals, Chengdu, Wuchang, Xi'an, and Guangzhou, starting from February 1st of this year.
Second, from this year on, the only official currency of the Ming Dynasty is the four currencies minted and issued by the Ming Royal Bank. Starting from this year, three years later, when collecting currency taxes, provinces can no longer pay taxes in silver or copper coins, but only in the official national currency. From the 45th year of the Wanli reign, domestic transactions are no longer allowed to directly use silver and gold as currency.
The third is that starting from this year, the taxes collected by the state, no matter what kind of taxes, will no longer be sent to the warehouses of various departments, but can only be sent to the warehouses of the bank. Specifically, the northern Zhili, Henan, and Shandong provinces will be sent to the bank's warehouse in Beijing. Shanxi and Shaanxi will be sent to Xi'an. Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces will be sent to Chengdu, and Huguang and Jiangxi will be sent to Wuchang. Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian will be sent to Nanjing. Guangdong and Guangxi will be sent to Guangzhou..."
After hearing Zhu Youdong's three orders, Li Sancai and the others felt a little pain in their mouths...
The first order is self-evident, it is a done deal. The second order is a good thing, the currency issuance is the key to whether the country's finances can be effectively reversed, I support it. But the third order...
The officials of the Ming Dynasty understood how much damage it was to the country that more than a dozen departments were collecting taxes and building warehouses. But no one dared to speak up about it: How could they explain it to their subordinates when they returned to their departments? If your subordinates did not support you, how could you continue to be a superior?
Those who can sit in this conference room are not fools. They know very well that although the current requirement is that all departments should collect taxes and hand over the monetary and in-kind taxes to a warehouse for safekeeping, His Royal Highness has no intention of changing everyone's power to collect taxes for the time being. However, the household registration check is in full swing across the country! First, we need to clarify the income of each department in the accounts, and then we need to clarify the population and land there - who doesn't know what His Royal Highness is going to do in the end?
There is no doubt that if this thing succeeds, it will be of great benefit to the country! But what about individuals?
However, we are now facing the tyranny of the Grand Prince, and we really have no way to resist. Well, it's good that the Grand Prince is the villain, and we can save a lot of trouble. Besides, didn't the Grand Prince promise that he would give everyone a raise after these things are done?
Anyway, since I can't resist, then...
"That's all for the bank for now. Next, let's move on to the Ministry of Industry."
"Yes, Your Highness, everyone." Xu Guangqi stood up and said, "The Ministry of Works had three main tasks last year. First, the regulation of the Yellow River and the Huai River. As of December last year, 90% of the entire project had been completed. This year's flood season, unless it is a once-in-a-century flood, there should be no major floods along the Yellow River and the Huai River. Second, the cleaning of the craftsmen's register has not been completed yet, and will continue this year. Third, the construction of the mausoleum for Prince Huiren has been completed, and a total of 150,000 taels of silver were spent. The many burial objects sent by the palace are not included in this number.
This year, the Ministry of Industry’s focus is to continue to clean up the register of craftsmen and rebuild the work system of each workshop under the Ministry of Industry, especially for firearms. The Qin Dynasty’s system of ‘keeping the name of the worker’ must be restored, and quality requirements must be put forward for the workers and supervisors involved in the specific manufacturing...”
"Last year, the Ministry of Justice mainly followed the order of His Highness and revised the new Ming Code with reference to Western Roman law. This work will continue this year..."
"Last year, the Ministry of War was mainly engaged in the preparations for the construction of the Ming Imperial Military Academy. At present, all civil engineering works have been completed. Veteran generals such as Ningyuan Bo, Ma Shuai, and Liu Shuai have already taken up their posts at the academy. The first batch of 500 students enrolled last September... In addition, I would like to point out that the rebellion of the chieftains in Xichang, Sichuan, which began in the 40th year of the Wanli reign, was suppressed by the army led by General Ma Chengzhao of Sichuan Town last year. According to the instructions of His Highness, the various places in Xichang are trying to implement the policy of converting the chieftains into officials. The Ministry of Personnel will explain the specific results later.
The main task of the Ministry of War this year is to prepare for the construction of the Ming Royal Naval Academy. The work of selecting the site and relocating the people on the land has been completed. It is expected to officially start after the Lantern Festival. "
"The Ministry of Rites completed the joint examination and palace examination of the Guichou year last year. The top three in the first class were Zhou Yanru, Zhuang Qixian, and Zhao Shiyin... At the same time, according to the instructions of His Highness, a total of 48 textbooks in four categories, namely "Chinese", "Mathematics", "Study of Things", and "History", were revised and recommended for use in community schools, academies, and private schools across the country."
"Your Highness, everyone." Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Xu Honggang stood up and said, "The main task of the Ministry of Revenue last year was to assist the population census team to conduct a nationwide household census and re-register. Last year, the population census of six provinces, namely Northern Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, was completed. The Ministry of Revenue plans to complete the population census of the remaining nine provinces and Liaodong this year and rebuild a clear household registration system for our Ming Dynasty!"
"Last year, the Ministry of Personnel's main work was to follow His Highness's instructions and draw on the teaching materials of Fangshan School to compile four new books, Philosophy, Science, World History, and Economics. They were distributed to all official officials of the court and required to study them seriously. A written test was added to each promotion assessment, and the test content was the content of the above four books... Regarding the matter of Xichang's transformation of native officials into official officials, the Ministry of Personnel has selected some Juren to serve there. However, in addition , there were not enough Juren who took the initiative to respond to the imperial edict, so we also selected six Xiucai. At the same time, the Ministry of Personnel also promised these six Xiucai that three years later, when they participated in the provincial examination, they would be given priority to be admitted as Juren under the same conditions..."
"Last year, the work of the Metropolitan Censorate was mainly based on the instructions of the Crown Prince, and the work rules of the censors were adjusted. Starting this year, if the censors can produce real evidence to impeach a minister, the impeached person will be automatically suspended and investigated. Feng Wenyan said that it is true. The impeached minister does not need to be suspended and can write a self-defense at home... Last year, the Metropolitan Censorate found 42 corrupt officials and recovered 357,300 taels of stolen money..."
"Very good, very good!" After listening to the reports from various departments, Zhu Youdong stood up and said, "Everyone, you have made great achievements last year. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for your hard work!"
"I dare not. It's all because of the Crown Prince's good governance."
"Thank you. Then, my Lords, this year's work focuses on three items."
"We respectfully ask for your instructions, Your Highness."
"First, the population census must be completed this year, and I want to see the most authentic data.
Second, all state departments must do their utmost to ensure the opening and operation of the Ming Royal Bank. The silver-currency exchange work in various places must remain stable. I will make it clear here that if anyone dares to use a large amount of silver to exchange for the newly issued currency at this juncture to embarrass me, humph, I don't mind being a bandit, killing people, confiscating property, and exterminating the clan!
This is the third one."
Zhu Youdong stood up, walked to the world map behind him, raised a long stick, and hit the location of the Japanese archipelago with a snap: "This year, or next year, we must prepare to fight a battle in the waters near Osaka, Japan!"
