There was a light rain in the capital division, and as soon as the wind blew, the drizzle on the Imperial Gate Square moved in bursts, like a cloud of white mist.

The scene on the square gave Zhu Gaoxu an ominous feeling. Many green umbrellas rise and fall with the bowing of the early dynasty etiquette, and this scene reminds Zhu Gaoxu that there are also many umbrellas for the funeral of the underworld boss in the movie.

In the later period of the Hongwu Dynasty, Taizu was sympathetic to the officials of the imperial court, and allowed each official to bring an entourage into the palace in the early morning of a rainy day, so as to provide an umbrella for the officials to protect themselves from the rain. This rule has continued to the present, and so there is the scene in front of you.

Zhu Gaoxu tried his best to simplify the etiquette, and did not say anything else except for lines such as "flat body". After the morning pilgrimage was over, he immediately got up from the chair under the yellow umbrella and came to the imperial gate. Subsequently, the officials of the various yamen also went to the Fengtian Gate, and at this time they wanted to say some abstract governance principles, which was called "listening to the government at the imperial gate".

In the spacious and tall imperial gate, everyone is talking about military and political affairs seriously. At this time, the eunuch Wang Gui came from the wall, he bent down and walked around to the throne on the steps, whispered in his ear next to Zhu Gaoxu, and then put some documents on the table.

Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, raised his eyes and looked at it, and what he said did not stop.

Zhu Gaoxu listened to Hu Hu's loud performance there, listened to Wang Gui's whisper, and then opened the recital and documents in front of him.

After a while, Hu Hu's matter was already finished, and he retreated to the side of the team. The hall was quiet for a while, and many officials had noticed the details of Zhu Gaoxu's side.

Zhu Gaoxu roughly read the two books and some confessions, he thought for a while, and suddenly said loudly and angrily: "How can this be reasonable! ”

Without waiting for the ministers to react, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly swept the things on the case, and the "crackling" flew to the bottom of the steps, and then stood up angrily and brushed his sleeves away.

There was a dead silence in the imperial gate at first, but when Zhu Gaoxu walked to the back door, he gradually heard a noisy discussion behind him.

He walked outside the door, glanced at the rain curtain in the air, and didn't think about where he was going to go after he brushed his sleeves away.

Zhu Gaoxu was not very angry just now, no matter what, what happened in the port of Hakata in Japan suddenly intensified the contradictions between the two countries, and the "necessity" of using troops mentioned by Qi Tai obviously increased several times.

But Zhu Gaoxu couldn't be happy, mainly because he felt that he shouldn't be happy. That Qian Xili is a jinshi handpicked by Zhu Gaoxu, nominally a protégé of the Son of Heaven, who studied hard for many years before receiving the favor of the Holy Grace, and suddenly became more and more auspicious, which is simply a tragedy; and Yao Fang, he is not only Concubine Xian's brother, but also helped a lot when Mu Sheng was asked to raise troops. How did Zhu Gaoxu laugh? If he showed a look of joy, even he felt a little too much.

It's a strange feeling of "pinching your nose and not being able to sneeze", and I don't know whether it's joy or sadness.

However, it is good that this is the case, and now Zhu Gaoxu feels that he is still very calm.

At this time, his Luan driver was sent to the north of the imperial gate by a group of people. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu got into a sedan chair, asked the eunuch to lead the team, and went straight back to the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Gaoxu fidgeted back and forth in the Dongnuan Pavilion, and after pondering for a long time, he ordered Wang Gui: "Summoning Qi Tai and Gao Xianning to meet ...... And Hu Hui. ”

Wang Gui bowed and said, "The slave and maid obey the order." ”

When the three of them emerged from behind the partition door, Zhu Gaoxu was standing next to the chair, facing the wall, looking at several maps hanging on it. When he heard the voices of the ministers, he turned and said, "Settle down." ”

When they got up, they stood in front of the royal case, and they were all silent. Qi Tai handed over the things in his hand, and the eunuch Wang Gui stepped forward to take it and carefully put it on the imperial case. Those papers were the pieces and documents that Zhu Gaoxu swept to the ground in anger.

After a while, Qi Tai spoke: "None of the dynasties are willing to conquer Japan; During the Hongwu period of this dynasty, the Japanese mission had a spy and was involved in the Hu Weiyong case, and Taizu did not send troops. Only the Yuan Dynasty sent troops to attack, but unfortunately it was unsuccessful. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened.

Qi Tai continued: "The minister checked the old files of the Great Treasury and found that the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty seemed to be also for gold, silver and other precious minerals. At that time, there was internal fighting in the Yuan Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty was not completely destroyed, but the royal family of the Yuan Dynasty had become increasingly arrogant and extravagant. The imperial family purchased a large number of luxury items from various countries for the enjoyment of the clan and concubines, and these things could not be paid for by the grain and goods obtained from taxes, so the Yuan Dynasty royal family needed a large amount of gold and silver, and heard that Japan had state-owned gold and silver mines, so they became convinced. ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately responded: "In this way, there are similarities between the motives of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty and that of the Yuan Dynasty. But my life with my concubines is not extravagant, and I want silver to mint coins. ”

He quickly became interested and said: "All systems are subject to technology. The circulation problem of banknotes like Daming Bao banknotes has shown that banknotes are not yet mature.

When Jianwen cut the domain, the king of Xiang was charged with printing counterfeit money, and this major crime is not known to be true or false; But in such a major event, Jianwen Junchen chose this clear eye, proving that the treasure banknote can be imitated. Although there are a number of anti-counterfeiting technologies, they still cannot prevent counterfeiting, especially in remote areas and foreign domains.

In addition, the credit of the treasure banknotes is constantly declining, the value is depreciating too quickly, and the problem of random printing and distribution, it is by no means a year and a half to form a strict management system. I have consulted with Xia Yuanji and other household ministers many times, but I do not see the slightest possibility of a solution. ”

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment, and then said, "So after a long period of careful consideration, I have determined the fact that treasure money cannot be used as a valid primary currency. We still have to start from the precious metals that have been used for 2,000 years, and use gold, silver, copper and other precious metals to mint coins, which is the solution to the monetary problem.

Gold and silver themselves cannot be eaten or clothed, and I have no obsession with it. But without these things, the resources and potential of our dynasty cannot be stimulated.

Japan does have a large amount of silver, which is the closest and easiest source of coinage. Compared with metal coins that only use copper coins, silver coins have the advantages of high value and easy transportation, which can supplement the shortcomings of copper coins. I believe that if we can alleviate the economic deflation caused by the chaos and scarcity of money, it is entirely worthwhile to start a war. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "This is the basis for the implementation of the new policy. ”

Qi Tai Zhengse asked, "The minister asks the saint, what is the new deal?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, his eyes swept over Qi Tai, Gao Xianning, and Hu Hu's faces, all three of whom could be regarded as confidants. Zhu Gaoxu finally said: "It can probably be called imperialism. I hope that you will share your worries and not let me do this great thing alone; I don't have three heads and six arms, that can't be done. ”

The three of them looked at each other, as if they were a little dazed.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's a long story. In short, a large amount of money is used as capital to become a medium in various industries and military and political systems; Refine the division of labor internally, attach importance to technology, and develop industry and commerce. Expansion of foreign colonists to obtain raw material supplies and overseas markets. This road will certainly enrich the country and strengthen the army. I hope that the Ming Dynasty will become the first world power in ancient times. ”

Qi Tai and the others were silent, obviously unable to comment on this strange remark.

Qi Tai's attitude seems to have softened: "The population and land of the Song Dynasty are not as good as those of the Ming Dynasty, but its towns and cities are prosperous in commerce and trade, and it is reported that the annual income of the Song Dynasty's treasury is as high as hundreds of millions of yuan; Compared with my current cash income of millions a year, it is not the same. ”

Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief: "We can do better than the Song Dynasty, after all, the technology is different." For example, firearms, how different are firearms from burning sticks in the Song Dynasty? The technology of firearms of the Ming official army is no longer the same thing. ”

He looked at the silent Hu Hui: "Hu Butang's political views are in line with many scholars. However, I believe that no matter how the words of the saints are edified, it is difficult to fill the gap of human desires. This does not need to be expounded by the sages, it is an axiom, but anyone with a little experience can understand the reality.

On the one hand, the ideal of the princes is to keep the people from hunger and cold, and to maintain a minimum of survival. On the other hand, the powerful and wealthy will certainly find ways to satisfy more desires.

If we do not develop the economy and increase the total amount of wealth in the world, how can the demands of those above be satisfied? They can only try to exploit and oppress from the common people; The more wealthy people there are, the greater the land annexation, and the greater the burden on the people at the bottom. As a result, the ideal of 'no hunger and no cold' has become a utopian dream.

When it is difficult to return, the soldiers and civilians who cannot survive will rise up, the warlords will fight, and the farming dynasty will start reincarnation, which is a good result. The worse outcome is that the foreign clan will take the opportunity to join the Kou, and we will become the fourth-class people like we did in the Yuan Dynasty again. ”

Hu Hui bowed and said: "The saint is far-sighted, but the minister is stupid. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "There is also the military system of the imperial court, from the government military system, the recruitment system, and the guard system, tossing and turning, there has been no way. Methods that can guarantee combat effectiveness are easy to cause warlords to divide their territories; It can prevent the military generals from sitting on the throne, but the army will quickly degenerate, like serfs. But if the New Deal succeeds, we will be able to find a new system of strengthening the army.

capitalization of the military supply system, effective payment of military salaries, and sufficient funds for bereavement pensions and retirement subsidies; If the commander-in-chief of the army wants to stand on his own feet without the state system, it will be difficult to climb to the sky. Military generals do not have so much capital, pay military salaries for soldiers, and do not have a complete supply of military supplies to ensure the operation of the army; The sergeant's loyalty was no longer to the general, but to the imperial court. Once an army is not recognized by the state, the men and horses under its command will soon be paralyzed.

With sufficient national strength, the imperial court could maintain the training and reorganization of the army and avoid a rapid decline in combat power. ”

Gao Xianning bowed and said: "The ministers may not be able to fully understand the Sacred Heart, but they must have understood that the Holy One wants to conquer the Japanese kingdom and has a long-term plan. ”

Qi Tai said: "If you conquer Japan, you will not fall into a dilemma, and you can get silver, this matter will also be beneficial to the imperial court." ”

Hu Hu pondered for a while, clenched his fists and said: "The Holy Sage, the new policy of martial virtue, but it is different from Wang Anshi's reform in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty changed the law because the court was unable to make ends meet, and it was a last resort. We still need to think about the long-term plan for changing the law. ”

Qi Tai seconded: "It is necessary not only to let the important ministers of the court agree with the truth, but also to find the evidence from the sage classics over time." The reform of the law still has to be carried out by the officials and scholars at the top and bottom as a whole. ”.