It's mid-February.

In the early spring, the Qingzhou capital city is still cold and windy, and pedestrians are walking on the streets, still wearing winter clothes.

This month, the battalions of the New Army, as well as the officials of the shogunate, issued silver coins, and many industries of the Ministry of Commerce also issued silver coins to craftsmen and apprentices, and all transactions with merchants were also settled in silver coins.

For a time, exquisite silver coins could be seen circulating everywhere in the market in Qinglai Town.

For this exquisite currency, the people naturally couldn't put it down, and at first some people wanted to keep it in their hands and spend the broken silver at home. But then the people found that whenever they went to the shops of the Ministry of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce to buy, they only accepted silver coins and copper coins, and did not accept broken silver at all. So people everywhere had to go to the Shandong money village in Qingzhou Mansion to exchange.

From the beginning of Liu Yan's order to prepare for the establishment of Qianzhuang, within a month, the general number of Shandong Qianzhuang was opened in Qingzhou Fucheng, and a branch was opened in Laizhou Fucheng, Dengzhou Fucheng, and Yanzhou Fucheng, and a branch was also opened in various prefectures and counties.

In this way, Liu Yan relied on the network of money banks throughout Qinglai Town, as well as a large number of silver coins minted in advance, as well as a large number of copper coins hoarded, so that the market was very smooth and transitioning, a large number of broken silver and silver ingots were collected through various money houses, and a large number of silver coins and copper coins were exchanged by the people and began to circulate among the people of Qinglai Town.

In fact, the common people don't use many silver coins, they basically use copper coins, and even the people in the countryside still barter more often.

However, with the increasing number of industries opened by the Ministry of Commerce, the business and workshops in Qinglai Town are becoming more and more developed.

More and more people were hired into workshops and shops, and their wages were silver coins.

This makes the people of Qinglai Town far richer than other places, at least many people can turn out one or two silver coins in their homes, which is unimaginable outside of Qinglai Town.

In addition, the shogunate had already begun to implement new policies in Yanzhou and Dengshu Castles, and the guards of the two prefectures began to reorganize on a large scale, and water conservancy facilities were being built everywhere, cities were repaired, and new industries were opened.

In just over a month, Yanzhou and Dengzhou are full of vitality.

Of course, unlike the joy of the people of the two prefectures, the officials and generals of Yanzhou Mansion and Dengzhou Prefecture were very anxious, a large number of unqualified dun troops and guard soldiers were dismissed, a large number of generals and officials who embezzled the land of the military camp were imprisoned, and many powerful people also began to be suppressed. The prefects of Yanzhou Mansion and Dengzhou Mansion all closed their doors for fear that they would be implicated.

After all, Liu Yan is no longer just a general military officer, but was explicitly appointed by the imperial court to oversee the military and civilian affairs of the four prefectures in Qinglai Town, and all the prefects are Liu Yan's subordinates, who dares to find death at this time?

Qingzhou Mansion City, General Military Mansion.

Wang Weizhen is reporting to Liu Yan on the implementation of the new policy during this time, and Liu Yan is very satisfied. As their own power grew, the old forces in various places no longer had the heart to resist, and the new policy was implemented very smoothly in Yanzhou and Dengzhou.

"General Town, it is estimated that in two months, Yanzhou Mansion and Dengzhou Mansion can be rectified, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will be there

The household registration and yellow books of the two prefectures have been sorted out, and in the next step, Minister Zhang will take the Ministry of Agriculture to inspect the two prefectures and organize people to prepare for spring ploughing. ”

Liu Yan said: "Tell Zhang Lei, Yanzhou Mansion and Dengzhou Mansion are too late to reclaim wasteland this year, so they will first restore all the cultivated land in Juntun that has been returned from the Qing Dynasty, and after the autumn harvest, we must reclaim wasteland on a large scale, at least let the people who have lost land and have less land in the two governments get land." ”

"Yes."

While speaking, Yue Ming, Minister of Finance, came to the main hall, and after saluting, he handed over a silver coin: "Look, there are fake silver coins on the market!" ”

"What!"

Wang Weizhen was startled and hurriedly looked at Liu Yan, but Liu Yan was not surprised, he just took it and looked at it.

I saw that this silver coin was very poorly made, and the handwriting on it was not clear, and it was completely minted in accordance with the style of the silver coin.

Then Liu Yan said coldly: "There are really people who are not afraid of death, have you found out who did it?" ”

"I found it, but there are many sources, there are all over Qingzhou Mansion and Laizhou Mansion, mainly some profiteers and gentry."

Yue Ming said: "The subordinates have sent people to check, but those who are fake are not afraid at all, but they admit it generously." Because in the past, in addition to the snowflake silver minted by the imperial court, when the broken silver was in circulation, the people could cast it by themselves, and silver cakes, silver coins, and silver beads could be minted by anyone as long as they were willing, and they were cast at will. ”

"Now those who counterfeit believe that the silver coins issued by the shogunate are the same as the silver cakes and silver beads that preceded them, but they are only different in shape, and they are still broken silver in nature, so they are not considered counterfeiters and do not consider themselves guilty

。 ”

"Humph! Swear black is white.. ”

Liu Yan understood that there must be someone in the group who thought like this, but he couldn't let others mint silver coins at will. A large number of inferior silver coins circulating in the market can completely ruin their layout.

Liu Yan promoted silver coins not only for ease of use, but also for the next big game of chess. Liu Yan wanted to slowly transition the silver taels from the unit of weight to the unit of amount, so as to lay the foundation for the implementation of a unified currency of the silver standard in the future.

Therefore, Liu Yanning was far from killing by mistake, and he would never let it go, and immediately said: "Don't worry about this matter, you draw up a specific list and hand it over to Miao Shao, the general of the pro-guard battalion, and let Miao Shao directly send troops to suppress it!" ”

Yue Ming and Wang Weizhen were both startled, things were different from what the two expected, Liu Yan didn't use the means at all, and directly pulled out the knife.

"Commander, if you send troops, is it too radical?"

Liu Yan said coldly: "This town is to use the heads of these people to declare: silver coins are the economic lifeblood of Qinglai Town, no one is allowed to make it privately, and no one is allowed to disturb the economic order of Qinglai Town, otherwise there is only a dead end!" ”

On the same day, Miao Shao, the general of the Guards Battalion, received an order and immediately mobilized troops and horses to prepare for the attack.

Now all the battalions of the new army in Qinglai Town have been redeployed, Chen Xun led the front battalion to guard all parts of Laizhou Mansion, Wang Yue led the rear battalion to guard all parts of Dengzhou Mansion, and Zhang Yi led Zuoying to guard all parts of Yanzhou Mansion.

After Miao Shao assembled the personal guard battalion for hundreds of nights and did not collect and guard, he sent men and horses to notify the front battalion, the rear battalion and the left battalion, and asked the three generals to send troops to assist.

For a time, there was a lot of noise in the entire Qinglai Town, and almost every city could see the soldiers of the new army dispatched.

Inside the city of Laizhou, Chen

Xun led his troops to surround a mansion, which was the residence of a wealthy merchant in the capital of Laizhou, and the soldiers of the new army of the brigade had broken into the door and were arresting people and exchanging their belongings.

"Your Excellency!"

A miserable scream came, and a middle-aged man with a fat figure and gorgeous clothes ran out with a sad face, and knelt in front of Chen Xun with a plop.

"My lord, what did my Li family do wrong, I have to raid the house, please raise your noble hand!"

Chen Xun said coldly: "Just rely on your private minting of silver coins, this is a dead end!" ”

"That silver coin is also broken silver, what kind of sin is this, please ......"

"Nonsense!"

Chen Xun reprimanded: "Silver coins are the same as copper coins, they are all money, they are money, you know!" How can everyone cast it by themselves, so that the start will be chaotic! ”

"Yesterday I sent for you to inform you that you should hand over all the silver coins that you have struck privately, and all the articles that have been minted for silver coins, and that you will come to my counsellor's yamen to confess your guilt. But you turned a deaf ear, and still drank and had fun in the house, and I heard that last night your boy found two thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls to sleep with, and it was mad! ”

The more Chen Xun spoke, the more angry he became, kicked the fat man down, and yelled, "Tie me up!" ”

So in a scream like killing a pig, the fat man was tied up with five flowers, and a group of family members were also tied up and brought out.

This time, Chen Xun just copied this family, and he harvested more than 50,000 taels of privately minted silver coins, in addition to various broken silver, silver ingots, copper coins, etc., about 100,000 taels of silver, as well as a large number of silk silks, silk and other things, house deeds, land deeds, etc.

Chen Xun looked at the mountains of belongings in the yard, and couldn't help but scold angrily, these businessmen are all home

has a lot of money, but he still has to dig the corner of Qinglai Town.

The fat man's silver coin was only sixty percent silver, and the remaining forty percent were lead, nickel, aluminum, and other materials, but they had to be used as one or two pieces of silver, which was obviously deliberate, and wanted to use it to loot the people's fat and ointment.

"No wonder the town directly ordered to raid the house and take people, these profiteers don't die, isn't there no heavenly reason!"

Chen Xun roared angrily: "Put everyone in prison and detain, and the seized money and property will be shipped immediately, sent to Qingzhou Mansion, and handed over to the Ministry of Finance for storage." ”

"Yes!"

Like Chen Xun's side, Miao Shao, Wang Yue and Zhang Yi were also busy, constantly raiding homes and arresting people in Qingzhou Mansion, Dengzhou and Yanzhou. These two states are different from Laizhou Mansion and Qingzhou Prefecture, Liu Yan has been deeply involved in these two places for many years, and even if there are profiteers, they are only sporadic.

However, in Dengzhou and Yanzhou, there were many profiteers and gentry involved in counterfeiting, and in just a few days, Zhang Yi and Wang Yue copied dozens of companies and mobilized thousands of soldiers to participate in it.

Even in the city of Yanzhou, there were two wealthy wealthy businessmen who gathered their families to resist, and hundreds of families with spears and big knives actually knew how to form a formation, gathered together and rushed out, and beat the new army soldiers out of the front yard.

Zhang Yi, who personally led the troops, was so angry when he saw this that he yelled: "If you dare to die, Lao Tzu will dare to bury it and fire at me!" ”

A roar sounded, and the hundreds of families who rushed in a formation never imagined that the soldiers of the New Army in front of them really dared to open fire, and hundreds of people were shot and killed in an instant, and the rest of the families scattered in a hurry.

"Search for me, rebels, kill me!"

The soldiers of the new army rushed into the back house and shouted at the men in the merchants

, beating and scolding, and then was killed on the spot by the angry soldiers of the new army.

A moment later, in the midst of a burst of screams from the female dependents, a large number of family members were tied up and brought out, and many bloody corpses were carried out, and soon the front yard was very crowded.

"All of them were imprisoned, and all of them were registered and transported to the Qingzhou Prefecture!"

"Yes."

A few days later, Liu Yan received a report from the garrisons of various prefectures that a total of 121 counterfeiters and thieves had been investigated and punished in the four prefectures, and all of them had been confiscated and imprisoned.

From the homes of the 121 thieves, the officers and men of the New Army seized a total of 980,000 taels of silver, including counterfeit silver coins, broken silver, silver ingots, copper coins and other kinds of property.

In addition, nearly 2,000 prisoners are being held in the various hells, awaiting further processing.

Wang Weizhen looked at so many numbers, and he also broke out in a cold sweat, and Liu Yan made such a big move as soon as he gave the order, which was really a killing decision.

"Headquarters, during this time, more than 570 people have been killed and injured everywhere who resisted the thieves, how should this aftermath be arranged?"

Liu Yan pondered for a moment and said: "Give Miao Shao, Chen Xun, Wang Yue, and Zhang Yi an order to publicly behead the main culprits on the spot, so as to deter the greedy villains from all sides." As for the rest of the family accomplices, they were all sentenced to three years in prison and sent to the mines under the Ministry of Commerce to serve their labor. ”

Wang Weizhen wrote them down one by one, and at the same time sighed in his heart: "The general town is too ruthless, not to mention the family wealth, and using these people as free labor, now the Ministry of Commerce can have a large amount of expenses left." ”

"General Town, the Ministry of Finance is still asking, what to do with the more than 900,000 taels of silver seized?"

"All of them are minted into silver coins, and then according to the budget, priority is paid

Pay the project expenses in Dengzhou and Yanzhou. ”

"Yes."