"It's ...... the tenth day of the first month"

On the tenth day of October, when Zhu Ciran stood on the Chang'an Gate of the Forbidden City and looked into the distance and felt the flying snow, he opened his mouth and muttered softly.

After muttering, he asked behind him without looking back: "Uncle is leaving, don't you feel uncomfortable?" ”

His words came out, so that the two people behind didn't know how to answer.

Today is the day of the moon, so early in the morning, Zhu Ciran sent people to Zhu Cihong and Li Dingguo.

Eleven-year-old Zhu Cihong's face is as white as jade, although he is a northerner, he has a southern face and is very handsome.

He is now at the head of Chang'an Gate, with a thin layer of snow under his feet, and he is wearing a azure round-necked robe, with a cloak and a fox fur around his neck.

Faced with Zhu Ciran's inquiry, he had a difficult face, but he still opened his mouth to answer:

"My father wrote me a letter, and when I think about it, it's only been five or six years, so I don't have to be afraid to part."

"And what do you think?" Zhu Ciran turned around and asked, but Zhu Cihong hesitated, but after a while, he was resolute and resolute: "It's only been five or six years!" ”

"......" Looking at Zhu Cihong's appearance, Zhu Ciran was silent, letting the cold north wind rub on his face, until his cheeks and nose were red, he slowly spoke:

"You're better than me......"

After saying that, Zhu Ciran turned around and walked at the head of the city of Chang'an Gate, seeing that the posture was about to circle around the city.

Zhu Cihong and Li Dingguo, who had never spoken, accompanied him, and followed Li Yongzhen and more than a dozen dragon and tiger guards in the distance.

"In the future, the expenses in the Jingqi Palace will be paid by the East Palace."

Zhu Ciran walked deep and shallow in the snow, and Zhu Cihong could only express his gratitude when he heard this, but did not refuse.

It is true that the State of Qi has the strength to support the Jingqi Palace, but Zhu Cihong knows that this is Zhu Ciran's way of expressing his guilt, and it is impossible for him to refuse.

"Since October, the drought has receded and the situation has been very good, but the snow disaster has also followed."

"I heard more than a foot of snow falling in Guangdong and Qiongzhou, and I don't know how many crops died in the fields."

Zhu Ciran was full of worries about various things since October, and Li Dingguo knew that Zhu Ciran was asking himself, so he also opened his mouth to answer:

"Snow-stricken areas can be spared, and then relief food can be distributed."

"Although the dynasty began to collect agricultural taxes this year, some farmers should still have no news, or they are reluctant to pay money, and there is a high probability that some people will use grain to pay taxes."

"When all this food is collected, it can also be used for disaster relief and will not be wasted."

Agricultural tax, this is the new name of the field tax, and the change from tax to tax means that the future field tax will be mainly paid tax silver.

All dynasties and dynasties had taxes in kind, the essence of which was the shortage of metal as currency, and the fact that the dynasty also needed a certain amount of food to maintain stability.

Zhang Juzheng's whip law adopted the method of collecting taxes, and although the pressure on the peasants was sharply reduced at first, as the population grew, the phenomenon of insufficient metal money began to emerge, and the result was a shortage of money.

This cannot be said to be a problem with Zhang Juzheng's policy, after all, when he was alive, American silver and Japanese silver poured into the Ming Dynasty one after another, and it didn't look like there would be a shortage of silver.

As for the phenomenon that appeared later, Zhang Juzheng had already died of illness at that time, and if he was still alive, perhaps he would have reformed and abolished some of the policies that were out of time.

Of course, for the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli period, money shortage was a common phenomenon, but it was not the case for the Ming Dynasty of the Apocalypse.

The premise for Zhu Youzhen to dare to collect agricultural taxes is that millions of brass and silver continue to pour in from overseas every year.

Only in the overseas territory of the Ming Dynasty, the silver shipped back every year is not less than 10 million taels, and the brass is tens of millions of catties.

If you count the silver and copper coins imported into the Ming Dynasty by the Qi and Levian domains every year, then this amount has to be doubled.

The situation faced by Daming is that there is too much influx of silver and brass, which may lead to inflation.

At this time, it is a good choice to mint more money to fill the market, and change the tax in kind to pay the tax in money.

Whether it is printing banknotes or die-casting coins, as long as there are enough precious metals, Daming can issue currency according to the situation.

"According to the statistics of the Financial Department, the dynasty has issued 80 million taels of banknotes and 1.2 billion coins."

"I wanted to ask my uncle, but I don't think it's good to rely on him for everything, so I summoned the two of you here to ask if you think the currency of the Financial Services Department will continue to be issued."

Zhu Ciran said "you" in his mouth, but in fact he was just asking Li Dingguo, and Zhu Cihong was just the object of listening and learning.

In Zhu Ciran's heart, Li Dingguo has always been the best candidate for the first assistant of the cabinet in his heart, because he understands himself, and he also has an identity similar to the son of King Qi Yizi, and he is the best candidate to defend his power.

"The matter of currency needs to look not only at the amount of issuance, but also at the amount of recycling."

After thinking about it, Li Dingguo explained: "There are a lot of currencies issued by the Financial Department, but what about the recovered currencies? ”

"From the Shang Zhou Dynasty to the present day, many coins have been issued in countless quantities."

"If the imperial court wants to unify the currency, it needs to collect them all and store them, and then issue new currency."

"A hundred years later, when the currency of the imperial court floods the market, then these currencies will turn from currency to antiques."

"However, there is a conflict between coins and paper money at the moment, so in my opinion, the big flat money needs to be stopped."

The big flat money in Li Dingguo's mouth is one tael and one hundred wen in silver coins.

These two coins were issued by Zhu Youzhen to harvest overseas merchants and increase the people's trust in the imperial court in response to the people's distrust of paper money.

Now that paper money has been accepted by the people, their mission has been accomplished, and it has become a currency that needs to be eliminated.

"I want to add 500 wen, 200 wen, 100 wen and 50 wen banknotes on the basis of one or two banknotes, what do you think?"

Zhu Ciran asked Li Dingguo after a short period of thought, to which Li Dingguo nodded undeniably:

"The people are getting rich, and it's okay to add these currencies."

"But don't issue too much at first, after all, the people of the dynasty still have some resistance to paper money."

Li Dingguo couldn't help but sigh, only feeling that he had to wipe his ass for his predecessors, which really made them a little uncomfortable when implementing various policies.

"On the side of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, there have been changes recently......

Zhu Ciran talked about the army he was worried about, because he only had two people in the army who could be trusted, Li Dingguo and Qi Wulong.

What made him uncomfortable was that these two people still wanted to go to Qi with their uncle, if it weren't for his uncle writing a letter to persuade them to stay, it is estimated that Li Dingguo and Qi Wulong would have gone south like Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, Li Zicheng and others at this moment, and were ready to move to Qi in a month.

"It's not a big problem, the governors of all parties are in charge, and the navy's Huang Fei is still waiting for the ironclad ship to be launched, and there will be no problems in the army."

"I'm more worried about the ...... of the cabinet than the military."

Li Dingguo was worried about the cabinet, which Zhu Ciran didn't expect: "What is there to worry about in the cabinet? ”

To be honest, Zhu Ciran worried about the army, worried about the Yanshan faction, and worried about the Sixth Ministry, but he didn't worry about the cabinet.

In his opinion, the cabinet has three people, Jin Xuan, Yang Wenyue, and Sun Chuanting, which is enough to stabilize the situation, not to mention the scheming Hong Chengchou.

"That's why I need to worry because there's nothing to worry about."

Li Dingguo couldn't say how he felt, but he instinctively felt that he needed to pay attention and be vigilant against the cabinet.

After all, now that the cabinet is in name only, it is not as easy as before to clean it up.

......Seeing Li Dingguo say this, Zhu Ciran had a heart, and at the same time, he and Li Dingguo took Zhu Cihong down the city.

They walked out of the Imperial City and came to the Inner City.

On the streets of the inner city, many people had worries on their faces, and this worry came from the news that King Qi would become a vassal a month later.

Despite the rush of people on the streets, none of them were happy.

On this street, the only people who can be happy are those who have not grown up yet.

Even in the most prosperous inner city in the capital, the people were worried because of the news that the king of Qi was about to become a vassal domain, which showed how uncomfortable the local people were.

"Let's go out of town......"

Zhu Ciran was not prepared to look at the situation in the city, because he had always known very well that the peasants were the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

He took Zhu Ciran and Li Dingguo to the outside of the city in a carriage and walked all the way south.

After an hour of this, they came to the town of Qinghe in the south.

This town has existed for more than 200 years, and it was the guard station left by Xu Da during the Northern Expedition, and was later abolished by Zhu Youzhen and changed to Qinghe Town.

When he came here, Zhu Ciran could see through the glass that the people were gathered in groups and sat on the ridges.

"Change your clothes, Brother Hong doesn't have to change."

Zhu Ciran didn't let Zhu Cihong change his clothes, because he didn't look like a peasant even if he changed his clothes.

On the contrary, it is Zhu Ciran and Li Dingguo, the former is dark because of riding a bicycle, and he has not come back in vain until now, his skin is a little yellow, and he still looks like a farmer's child.

As for Li Dingguo, he has been fighting on horseback for a long time, and his complexion is more peasant than most peasants.

It's Zhu Cihong, no matter how much he pretends to be like a peasant, and even some gentry can't raise such children.

The two changed their costumes, and after getting out of the carriage, they deliberately let Zhu Ciran walk in front, looking like a little guy.

When the peasants gathered in the distance saw them get out of the car, especially after seeing Zhu Cihong, who was either rich or noble, they immediately dispersed.

Their actions shattered Zhu Ciran's plan to find out the news out of thin air, and he could only comfort Zhu Cihong in embarrassment:

"Brother Hong, let's change places, you can wait for us in the car."

"Good ......" Zhu Cihong also knew that the group of people left because of themselves, so he readily agreed.

Seeing his cheerful appearance, Zhu Ciran and Li Dingguo took him back into the car, and after traveling more than ten miles to the south, they each got out of the car to inquire about the news.

Zhu Cihong sat in the car and looked at their backs, and couldn't help but be a little envious.

It's just that while he was envious, a farmer thousands of miles away was also stopped.

"Uncle, dare to ask why the people of this village are sad?"

The old farmer who was stopped turned to look at the edge of the field, and a man dressed in prison clothes appeared on the edge of the field.

The old peasant looked at his age, about twenty-six or seventeen years old, but he was fair-skinned and had an impeccable appearance.

Such a person is probably a high-spirited poet in Nanjing, and the old peasants can usually see it, but it is the first time to see such a good-looking poet.

"Can why? At this time, the people of ten miles and eight towns have a headache. ”

Seeing that Zhu Youzhen was good-looking, the old farmer's tone of voice softened, and Zhu Youzhen also pinned the hem of his clothes to his waist and walked into the field to squat down and pull weeds.

In this season, the fields are full of vegetables, and all the farmer has to do is pull some grass.

Although it snowed in Guangdong, it did not snow in Nanzhili, but the weather was a little cold.

"Is it also because of King Qi's affairs?"

Zhu Youzhen asked knowingly, and deliberately said: "The same is true for the people in the city, so I came out to see the people outside the city." ”

"How can you not be worried...... "When the old peasant heard that everyone in the city was like this, he became a little bolder, and let go of the conversation and said:

"I don't know why King Qi has to be a vassal domain, whether it is the same as what the storyteller said, he was forced away by the emperor."

"He's gone, and we don't know if the land in our hands will be taken back, and whether the taxes that were exempted in the past few years will be collected again, alas, ......."

The old farmer sighed while pulling the weeds, which made others uncomfortable.

"This brother is big, and he has always been divided into families, like this in the countryside, in the city, and the emperor is no exception."

Zhu Youzhen said with a smile: "This policy is not the final say of King Qi alone, it was discussed by hundreds of officials, and the emperor took the case." ”

"Since your field has been handed down, it will naturally not be taken back, otherwise how can the emperor be embarrassed to say anything?"

"Huh! Don't dare to say this! The old farmer was taken aback, but after looking around at the unoccupied surroundings, he smiled reassuringly: "But what you said is right, hehe......

The old farmer laughed, and all the folds on his skin were revealed, which had been dried over the years with his face facing the loess and his back to the sky.

Zhu Youzhen sighed and reassured the old farmer:

"It's nothing for brothers to split up, and this doesn't affect the policy of the imperial court."

"That's not necessarily ......" The old farmer put away his smile, looked around, and said carefully:

"My uncle said that when Zhang Ge was there, they also thought so, but then Zhang Ge left ......"

The old farmer did not continue, but shook his head with a sigh.

"By the way, do you know that King Qi is in Nanjing City?"

The old farmer suddenly spoke, which made Zhu Youzhen's pupils shrink: "I heard ......"

He took a deep breath, but the old peasant continued: "Then are you really ready to stop King Qi from letting the old man go?" ”

The old farmer who was over fifty years old called Zhu Youzhen an old man, which made Zhu Youzhen cry and laugh at the same time, but also noticed the news that the people seemed to be preparing to gather.

"I didn't go with me, there were too many people going that day." Zhu Youzhen shook his head, and the old farmer also nodded:

"It's a lot, after many people in our village heard it, they all said that they would follow that day, and it is estimated that there are more than 100 people."

"So much?" Zhu Youzhen frowned, but followed the cliché: "Is it also Mr. Zhang's call?" ”

"Mr. Zhang?" The old farmer was confused for a while: "I don't know." ”

"We were all summoned by Mr. Liu when they came to the village, and not only us, but many people also had to go."

"Everyone is afraid that the king of Qi will leave, and the court will change back to the previous court, and they don't want to do anything, but they heard that the king of Qi is going to take the Longjiang wharf to take a boat to the Qi country, so they are ready to fence the Longjiang shipyard."

"Fence off the shipyard, then His Royal Highness King Qi can't leave, right?"

"Well......" Hearing the people's plan, Zhu Youzhen stretched his brows, and at this time, the old farmer also glanced at the sun:

"It's not too early, but you want to go to the house with me for a drink or two?"

"No, my wife is already cooking at home and waiting for me to go back."

Zhu Youzhen smiled and helped the old farmer to stand up.

"You have a wife, huh? That's a shame. ”

The old farmer joked with a smile, and Zhu Youzhen also responded with a smile.

The two walked to the edge of the field, and then left after a few pleasantries.

Zhu Youzhen bypassed a few roads and saw Lu Wenzhao with more than a dozen soldiers waiting for him.

Seeing this, Zhu Youzhen came back, and Lu Wenzhao hurriedly stepped forward: "Your Highness, the news has been clarified, it is a news spread by a Xiucai surnamed Li, and let the storyteller instigate the people to stop His Highness." ”

"That Li surnamed Xiu is the person who His Royal Highness led the troops to Ping the White Lotus Sect rebellion and saved him, and his son-in-law was on an errand in Baiwangfang, so he knew that His Highness was not in Baiwangfang, but in Nanjing City."

"But no one instructed him to spread the news, and after Jinyiwei came to the door, he explained everything himself, saying that he wanted to do it himself."

Lu Wenzhao explained everything in a few words, and also explained why Zhu Youzhen went out of the city at such a juncture.

A few days ago, Lu Wenzhao inquired about the news and learned that someone in Nanjing was preparing to stop Zhu Youzhen from taking office.

After learning the news, he immediately played, and both he and Zhu Youzhen felt that this might be something that some officials in Yanshan had done.

However, the outcome of the matter left the two of them dumbfounded.

I don't know if it's because of the perennial political struggle, or if the two have become accustomed to pushing things to the side they understand, in short, when they learned that this matter was organized by the people themselves, they didn't know what to say.

"The people also have their own power, I didn't see it before, but now I see ......"

Zhu Youzhen breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and walked into the carriage.

Lu Wenzhao followed, and the carriage also started after the two of them sat down, rushing back towards the city of Nanjing in the north.

"What has my brother been doing lately?"

Zhu Youzhen inquired about Zhu Youxiao's movements, because he hadn't seen Zhu Youxiao for more than a month.

"This ...... Humiliation is also not clear. Lu Wenzhao lowered his head.

After all, he wanted to go to Qi with Zhu Youzhen, so he delegated power to his son Lu Yuangao early.

It's easy to decentralize, but it's hard to take it back.

Therefore, now that many of his intelligence problems have arisen, it is only after returning to Qi that he will have the opportunity to reorganize the new intelligence yamen.

"I guess I'm preparing something......

Zhu Youzhen muttered, looking at the acres of vegetable fields outside the window, and couldn't help but lose his mind.

"Your Highness, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao, Li Zicheng and they have already moved, and it is estimated that they will set off ten days before us."

Lu Wenzhao said the news he had just received, and at the same time said:

"There is also news from Dali Mansion......"

Hearing the three words of Dali Mansion, Zhu Youzhen's heart tightened.

"Yang Lian suffered from the cold, and the local Huimin Pharmacy returned, I'm afraid it will be difficult to survive this winter......"

Lu Wenzhao's words made Zhu Youzhen stunned for a moment, and his mind was blank at the moment.

Almost instantly, many memories of working with Yang Lian flashed through his mind.

"He is not suitable to be an official, but he is a clean official and a good person......"

Zhu Youzhen's evaluation of Yang Lian was like this, and Lu Wenzhao also nodded in approval.

Yang Lian is indeed not suitable to be an official, his character will only die well in officialdom, because he does not help his relatives, and officialdom is unreasonable.

"Let someone send a few cans of Taixi Bai, he knows what I mean."

It is impossible for Zhu Youzhen to go to Dali, because there is not enough time.

For someone like him who has been on the battlefield, life and death seem to be the norm.

Yang Lian will die, and so will he, it's just a matter of time.

It's just that if Yang Lian is gone, he will have one less friend in this world......

"Let's go back to Beijing, change the plan to travel by the way, then the surname Wang Xiucai will also be released......"

"Yes!" Lu Wenzhao nodded in response, and Zhu Youzhen also leaned on the carriage and enjoyed the scenery of Daming outside the window.

Green hills, white mist, vegetable fields......

It's like painting a landscape in ink, maybe it will be difficult for him to see it again in the future......

The update on the 31st is estimated at four o'clock.

(End of chapter)