Chapter 55 Vernacular

  After all the ministers in the hall withdrew, Zhong Wenwu said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I have something else to say to you."

  Inside Wenhua Hall, there was only Wen Ti Ren left. He was one of the few people who knew about Zhong Jin Wei's background, so he didn't find Zhong Jin Wei's way of speaking strange at all.

  The Chongzhen Emperor waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute, Master Zhong. Let Wen Gong hurry up and get the edict out first. The starving people are waiting, not a moment can be delayed."

  Zhong Jinwei's face turned slightly red, but fortunately Chongzhen Emperor was able to distinguish between the important and the trivial: "I almost forgot, luckily Your Majesty loves his people like a son and always remembers."

  Chongzhen Emperor smiled: "If it weren't for Master Zhong's reminder, I wouldn't have known that my people in the capital are struggling between life and death."

  After finishing speaking, he no longer made small talk with Zhong Jinwei, and ordered the eunuchs to bring over a desk and prepare the Four Treasures of the Study, so that Wen Tiaren could quickly issue a proclamation.

  Wen Ti Ren didn't chat with them, but instead used this interval to think creatively. Zhong Jin Wei had nothing to do, so he went to watch the commotion and see how Wen Ti Ren wrote the notice.

  After grinding the ink well, Wen Ti Ren grasped his brush with his right hand and held down his right sleeve with his left hand, and began writing directly on the spread-out rice paper.

  Zhong Jinwei curiously stretched his neck and looked up, and the traditional characters were still more or less understandable.

  The husband built the state originally belonged to our Yi, now dare to defy heaven's face, offend my capital and its surrounding areas, causing local suffering, life and death in hot water, heartache. However, the national treasury is empty, there is no power to relieve the disaster...

  "Wait, wait."

  Wen Ti Ren Zheng was writing according to his own thoughts when suddenly Zhong Jin Wei called out from beside him.

  The Chongzhen Emperor was buried in the documents on the table, and when he heard a sound, he looked up.

  The eunuchs inside the Rensheng Temple also looked at him in astonishment.

  "Zhong Xing Bo, could it be that you think I'm getting old and confused?" asked Wen Ti Ren.

  "No, no."

  "Could it be that the old man's regular script is not good?" Wen Ti-ren was puzzled, the content was fine, so it should be that the writing was not good, but it seemed impossible, his own handwriting was famous after all.

  Zhong Jinwei thought to himself, "You old man, none of those words are written well. I reckon no one can write them better: 'Also not'."

  "What do you mean? I don't understand." Wen Ti-ren stopped writing and put down his brush, looking at Zhong Jin-wei.

  The Chongzhen Emperor listened to their conversation and also felt strange, so he got up and walked around the imperial desk to take a closer look at Wen Tiren's notice.

  Chongzhen Emperor didn't see anything out of the ordinary either, so he asked Zhong Jiwei: "Master Zhong, what's your idea? Tell me quickly."

  Zhong Jinwei didn't dare to say "Guess!" like later generations, but instead carefully analyzed: "Your Majesty, I think this proclamation is for the common people of the entire capital to see?"

  Chongzhen Emperor and Wen Tiren both nodded, what's wrong with that?

  "All common people in Beijing know characters and have a good literary foundation?"

  Chongzhen Emperor and Wen Tiren both shook their heads. Although for the entire Ming Dynasty, the literacy rate of the old hundred surnames in the capital should be only slightly lower than that in the Jiangnan region, it is not dare to say that all the old hundred surnames in the capital are literate, half of them can recognize characters, which is already the best, and as for literary foundation, it's really embarrassing to say.

  "If this notice is sent out, can ordinary people understand it?"

  Wen Tianren spoke up: "There are special people who will interpret and announce it in public places, so that the common people can understand."

  "I think this is too troublesome and inefficient. Why not just write in simple and clear language that ordinary people can understand at a glance, so that the content of the announcement can be conveyed to every ordinary person in the shortest time."

  Zhong Jinwei had this idea because he was just reading Wen Ti Ren's writing and it was a struggle, so he thought of it.

  Chongzhen Emperor and Wen Tiren looked at each other, had to admit that Zhong Jingwei said some sense, but in history, it seems that no one has ever written a proclamation in vernacular language.

  The first priority at the moment is to mobilize all the people of Beijing to participate in disaster relief as soon as possible. Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and said, "Then let's follow Master Zhong's words and inform them in simple and easy-to-understand language."

  The things that come out of Zhong Jingwei's mouth are basically unprecedented in any dynasty, and Emperor Chongzhen has heard so many that he doesn't think they're surprising or shocking anymore.

  Wen Tianxiang looked at Zhong Xingwei with a smile that was not quite a smile, then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I am not good at writing this kind of proclamation, but I think the Duke of Zhongxing is very capable, I am willing to yield to him."

  Chongzhen Emperor heard this and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Master Zhong, why don't you write it?"

  Zhong Jinwei hastily shook his head and pushed it away: "No, no, my writing is too poor. You don't know, I wanted to earn some extra money in the future, but was criticized for having poor writing skills. It's really impossible for me to write."

  Zhong Jinwei was determined not to do it, his own writing style, we just know in a small circle. If he wrote it himself and posted it on the street, wouldn't that make everyone in Beijing laugh?

  Chongzhen Emperor did not force Zhong Xian to write it either, he just joked with him, and in the end, Wen Tiren wrote it.

  In ancient times, people usually used vernacular language in their daily lives, so if you let them write in vernacular, there would be no problem. Soon, Wen Tiren finished writing and handed it over to the eunuchs for copying after Emperor Chongzhen reviewed and confirmed it, and they were posted overnight.

  The Chongzhen Emperor looked at the eunuch holding the original document and leaving the palace gate, then turned to Zhong Xuewen and said with a serious tone: "Master Zhong, you have been here for many months, it's time to take some time off to supplement your current literary classics."

  Zhong Jinwei's face turned red with embarrassment, and compared to the ancients, this thing should be the weakness of all cross-dressing men. Wen Ti-ren chimed in on the side: "Your Majesty, why not let me teach Zhong Xingbo a lesson?"

  Zhong Jinwei hastily shook his head and said: "No need, no need, you're busy with your own things, I'll ask Aqi to teach me later."

  Let Madam go and teach, later on, the Great Ming will have more wives to manage strictly. Chongzhen Emperor and Wen Tiren both teased him.

  After calming down for a while, Emperor Chongzhen was about to return to the throne. Wang Cheng'en, who was serving in the palace, looked at the sky and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, it's time for dinner."

  Zhong Jinwei immediately thought of the problem he encountered at lunch when Wang Chengen mentioned eating, and said: "Your Majesty, I remembered something else to tell you."

  Wen Tianren interrupted from the side: "Your Majesty's dragon body is important, and the matter of Zhongxing Bo can be discussed again tomorrow."

  Chongzhen Emperor listened and didn't even care about having dinner: "Alright, Master Zhong, just speak your mind."

  "Your Majesty, in these troubled times, you must prioritize your health and well-being above all else!" Wen Ti-ren continued to advise.

  Zhong Jinwei heard Wen Tiren say that it also makes sense: "Your Majesty, you should eat first, this is not very urgent."

  Chongzhen Emperor saw that the two ministers were concerned about his body, and after listening to Zhong Jiwei say it wasn't very urgent, he didn't force the issue anymore. However, he was still curious about what Zhong Jiwei wanted to say, as every time Zhong spoke, it was something unheard of.

  "Well then, you two come and dine with me. I shall take my meal here today, and we can chat while we eat."

  Chongzhen Emperor said, "Let Wang Cheng'en go and inform Shang Xiang to prepare the meal." Then he walked back to the imperial desk and sat down: "Master Zhong, what is it that you want to say?"

  "Your Majesty, the thing is, I went out for lunch at a restaurant this afternoon and found it very troublesome to get change for my silver coins."

  Chongzhen Emperor grew up in the deep palace since childhood, and even when he was older, he was not cultivated as a crown prince. He temporarily replaced his brother to take this position. Now that he has been on the throne for only two years, he has basically been fighting with Wei Zhongxian, so he has not deeply understood the specific affairs of using silver money. Moreover, he has never gone out to eat and has never used silver to pay bills. Therefore, he was not very touched by Zhong Sheng's words.

  Wen Ti Ren had an experience in the past and had a feeling about it. On one side, he reminded Zhong Jin Wei: "Did Zhong Xing Bo take silver to buy wine at the wine tower?"

  "Yes." Zhong Jinwei looked at Wen Tiren.

  "Your Majesty, ordinary people usually pay with copper coins when dining at wine houses. Although it's a bit troublesome, it's also acceptable." Wen Ti-ren first introduced the general situation to Emperor Chongzhen.

  The Chongzhen Emperor listened and also became interested: "Using copper coins, what troubles are there? Using silver ingots, what troubles are there?"

  "Your Majesty, let me explain in detail."

  "The trouble with using copper coins is that there are multiple types of copper coins circulating in the market, but their purity is not uniform, so their value is also different. Those with more copper are more valuable, while those with less copper are cheaper. Therefore, which type of copper coin to use for settling accounts at a wine shop is slightly controversial. Apart from the purity, other minor points of contention lie in the wear and tear of the copper coins, but generally, this is not taken too seriously."

  Zhong Jinwei already had some understanding, and when Wen Tiren explained it in detail, he became even more enlightened.

  Chongzhen Emperor had never been told these things in detail, so he listened carefully and asked when Wen Tiren mentioned copper coins: "What about silver?"