Chongzhen Emperor

  Lin Chunhong came out of Jingzhou and couldn't bear his inner excitement, so he whipped his horse and galloped wildly towards Zhijiang.

  After the "Patent Procedure" was circulated, it was appreciated by many knowledgeable people, who flocked to Zhijiang to investigate. Among them was Qian Bingbiao. He had a deep understanding of Qian Chao's method and after meeting Lin Chunhong, they had an in-depth discussion. Both sides regretted not meeting earlier. Lin Chunhong shared his knowledge of modern finance with him, opening a door for Qian Bingbiao. However, Lin Chunhong lacked understanding of the Ming dynasty's financial situation, while Qian Bingbiao, although only 20 years old, had traveled extensively and was well-versed in the economic conditions of the Ming dynasty. Without hesitation, Lin Chunhong appointed Qian Bingbiao as the general manager of the Bangtai Money House, responsible for all matters.

  Able to solve the problem of silver shortage in large transactions within a certain range. In fact, it is equivalent to managing more stringent paper money, which can effectively reduce the risk and labor consumption of silver transportation, and increase the market's currency supply.

  However, general transactions still require silver, which is where Phyllis' plan to mint silver and gold coins comes in. In general transactions, using silver ingots is also inconvenient, not only do they need to be split, but they also need to be carried around, so there is a demand for minting silver coins. According to Phyllis' idea, it would be directly adding 10% copper to the silver coins, but this plan was vetoed by Lin Chunhong. The people have not yet accepted the silver coins, and recklessly adding base metals will only lead to a dead end. Wait until the people accept the Bontai silver coins, and then add copper later. But minting pure silver coins will face losses in the initial stage. Lin Chunhong doesn't care about this, as the money will eventually be earned back.

  Phillis was then appointed as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tongatapu in charge of minting.

  According to the Bangtai Chamber of Commerce, the terminal market transaction is best done with copper coins. This problem cannot be ignored, and the decline of the terminal market will ultimately affect production. However, Lin Chunhong also cannot obtain copper mines at present, and purchasing copper for casting copper coins results in severe losses. During the Jiajing period, a large number of copper coins were cast, resulting in severe losses, leading to no copper coin casting for over a hundred years. In the early Chongzhen period, copper coins were also cast in Nanjing, but again resulted in severe losses, forcing the court to stop minting coins.

  Lin Chunhong vowed that he must get the copper mine to solve this problem, otherwise the entire currency measure would not be perfect, and three legs would be stable, while two legs would eventually fall to the ground.

  Gao Douhui was indeed an outsider in economics, he didn't realize the huge profits and the ability to stir up trouble that * brought. Not to mention repairing city walls, even if it cost 1 million taels of silver, Lin Chunhong would be willing to buy it. One hand was slowly reaching into the core of the Ming dynasty, gradually eroding the financial control power of the Ming dynasty.

  It was late at night, and the vast Qianqing Palace seemed quiet and deep. Emperor Chongzhen was still bowing his head to review the memorials, and the eunuch Cao Huachun stood motionless beside him.

  Suddenly hearing a crackling sound, Cao Huachun hastily took the wooden clippers to clip the lantern flowers, startling Chongzhen. He raised his head, looked at Cao Huachun, shook his head from side to side, and relaxed his neck muscles.

  "What time is it now?"

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is now two quarters past midnight!" Cao Huachun replied with a bow.

  The Chongzhen Emperor lowered his head and flipped through the memorials, muttering to himself: "There are still over a dozen left before it's finished!"

  After finishing speaking, he bowed his head and looked at the memorial in his hand. Cao Huachun did not dare to make a sound, still standing by.

  This memorial is from the Minister of Revenue, Bi Ziyuan. The entire article discusses the Yellow River breach in Mengjin, Henan, which has caused countless human and animal casualties, and urgently requires relief. If not, a peasant uprising will occur, making it impossible to control, just like Shanxi and Shaanxi. Bi Ziyuan also mentioned that the imperial treasury is empty, and to raise funds, it is necessary to expand salt production to alleviate the crisis. The memorial also mentions that under no circumstances should taxes be increased again, otherwise, public grievances will erupt, which would not be beneficial to the court.

  Chongzhen was extremely depressed, Shaanxi had been suffering from severe drought for years, and the trend of peasant uprisings was getting more and more intense. Fortunately, Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao worked together to drive the bandits out of the border. Unexpectedly, after the bandits entered Shanxi, they wreaked havoc on Shanxi. The local officials in Shanxi were incompetent, unable to cope with the bandits, which allowed the bandits to grow stronger. Now they are openly attacking county towns, and the situation is getting out of control.

  The Yellow River in Henan has burst its banks, and the people are left with no place to live, waiting anxiously for relief from the imperial court. But where is the imperial court going to get the money? If the common people were to be incited by the bandits of Shaanxi and Shanxi and become rebels, the heart of the Ming dynasty would be finished!

  Chongzhen sighed, picked up the vermilion pen and wrote in red: "Approved!"

  It's all because of the silver that caused the trouble. If the imperial court had silver, the civilian uprising in Shaanxi would have been suppressed long ago, and they wouldn't have been allowed to rebel repeatedly and cause chaos in Shanxi. Where did the silver come from for Wanli's three major campaigns? Ah, it was still Zhang Taiyue who laid the foundation. The country is in trouble and thinks of good ministers. Chongzhen has been dissatisfied with Prime Minister Zhou Yanru for a long time, and after several years of governing, the court politics have not improved at all, but instead become more chaotic.

  Alas, silver!

  The Chongzhen Emperor put down the memorial of Bi Ziyuan and picked up another one. This was a memorial submitted by He Zhuyuan, Vice Censor-in-Chief of Nanjing, who stated that during his tenure as Prefect of Jingzhou in the first half of this year, there were merchants who privately built three-masted sailing ships on the Yangtze River, which transported local goods from Yiling and Jingzhou to Yangzhou for sale. The ship paid 2,200 taels of silver in taxes while in Jingzhou, and later, after arriving in Yangzhou, it sold its cargo and paid another 3,200 taels of silver in taxes, totaling 5,400 taels of silver. In light of the current financial difficulties of the imperial court, it would be better to encourage merchants to build three-masted sailing ships and collect taxes from them to alleviate the immediate crisis. The Grand Secretariat's draft opinion was in support of this proposal to relieve financial difficulties.

  Chongzhen put down the memorial, looked up and fell into deep thought, unable to make a decision for the time being. Cao Huachun saw this, his heart became extremely tense, he stared intently at Chongzhen's expression, thinking of an emergency plan.

  After a moment of contemplation, Chongzhen asked: "Can three-masted sailing ships also navigate the Yangtze River?"

  Cao Huachun hastily bowed and replied: "Your humble servant does not know, your humble servant has never seen it!"

  Chongzhen seemed not to have heard Cao Huachun's answer, perhaps he had not asked Cao Huachun just now, but was talking to himself.

  The ancestral system is like this, what can be done about it? Chongzhen was deeply entangled in his heart, put the memorial on one side, and picked up the next memorial. This memorial was a report from the governor of Nanjing, stating that three-masted sailing ships had appeared in Yangzhou, asking the emperor how to deal with them, whether to prohibit or support them.

  The Chongzhen Emperor did nothing about it, and put the memorial together with the previous one. Cao Huizhong breathed a sigh of relief, and the emperor remained neutral, neither supporting nor prohibiting the matter.

  Chongzhen Emperor immediately picked up the following memorial, which was submitted by Feng Yuanfei, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, impeaching Min Hongxue, the Minister of Personnel. It stated that Lin Chunhong, the county magistrate of Zhijiang County in Jingzhou Prefecture, was well-versed in military affairs and had trained archers with great results. He had previously driven out the water bandit Zhang Zuo and later eliminated the Dangyang rebel Wu Gan. However, the Ministry of Personnel was remiss in its duties and did not reward those with merit, resulting in Lin Chunhong remaining as a county magistrate for three years, despite being evaluated as excellent every year, but unable to be promoted and serve the imperial court.

  Chongzhen Emperor flipped through the two memorials again, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his face increasingly stern, his anger like thunder. Chongzhen Emperor looked at them back and forth several times, then turned to stare intently at Cao Huachun, shouting loudly: "Why are they all about Jingzhou?"

  Cao Huachun was so frightened that he trembled with fear, and hastily knelt down on the ground, saying: "Your slave has put several memorials together for the convenience of Your Majesty's handling!"

  Chongzhen Emperor looked at Cao Huaichun with suspicion, after a long while, he said: "If I find out that you are colluding inside and outside, I will flay your skin!"

  "How dare I!" Cao Huachun's forehead knocked against the ground with a loud thud.

  "Get up, you don't even dare!" The Chongzhen Emperor didn't look at Cao Huaichun either, picked up the memorial written by Feng Yuanbao again, read it once more, and put it aside.

  However, Lin Chunhong's name flashed into his mind. Now Shanxi has assembled a large army to surround and pursue the bandits, so it is not worth sending a small official to Shanxi. Moreover, Feng Yuanbiao impeached the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, if approved, Min Hongxue had no choice but to resign.

  The Chongzhen Emperor picked up the next memorial and continued to read, and Cao Huachun's heart finally fell into his stomach. These memorials were deliberately placed together by Cao Huachun, and the order of the memorials had been carefully considered, with the intention of not stopping the three-masted ship affair and leaving a deep impression on Lin Chunhong.

  All this is the result of Qu Shiyu's operation. Cao Huachun has always been close to Qian Qianyi and Qu Shiyu, so it was natural for him to agree to Qu Shiyu's request.

  A group of people deliberating with the Chongzhen Emperor, can its effect be compared to the Chongzhen alone deliberating with a group of ministers? Since ancient times, even experienced and wise emperors like Tang Taizong and Song Taizu could not avoid being deceived by their ministers' words, let alone the young and inexperienced Chongzhen.

  According to Lin Chunhong and Zhang Daohan's discussion, the result is: for those in power, once they grasp financial rights and personnel rights, they can put their energy into perfecting the system. If everything is managed, nothing will be done well, Emperor Chongzhen is the best example! Sitting in the Forbidden City all day, how can one understand the outside world better than his ministers?

  Alas, poor Emperor Chongzhen, another sleepless night!

  Tonight, there is still Wen Ti Ren who can't sleep!

  Wen Ti-ren, styled Chang-qing, was a native of Wu-ch'eng, Chekiang. At this moment Wen Ti-ren was sitting upright in his study, engaged in writing and painting. Having written a few characters, he raised his brush, wrinkled his eyebrows slightly, and fell into deep thought.

  On the paper was written in bold letters:

  "Form parties!"

  "Despicable!"

  ……

  After a moment of contemplation, Wen Ti-ren picked up the paper and examined it carefully under the lamp, a faint smile spreading across his mouth.

  The two things that Chongzhen Emperor hated the most were factionalism and greed. Wen Tiren had been in the cabinet for many years and was well aware of this. Zhou Yanru tried to win over the Donglin Party and Fushe by force, and in the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, he suddenly violated the rules and took charge of the imperial examination, listing Wu Weiye and Zhang Fu as the top two scholars. Originally, according to the rules, the chief examiner of the imperial examination should be the deputy head of the cabinet, but Zhou Yanru did this, which was equivalent to snatching food from Wen Tiren's rice bowl. The conflict between the two men suddenly intensified, with no possibility of mediation. Wen Tiren would not sit idly by and seized on Zhou Yanru's suspicion of factionalism, instructing his followers to create public opinion and expose the hidden facts of the imperial examination. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yanru was also a cunning old man, who preemptively presented Wu Weiye's exam papers to Chongzhen Emperor, who was very satisfied with Wu's papers and wrote "orthodox, grand, and elegant" as his evaluation, thus allowing Zhou Yanru to escape this disaster.

  "Hey, want to invite someone for help? Let's take a look at the Forbidden City and see if it responds!" Wen Tiren thought of this, his eyes narrowed involuntarily. Zhou Yanyu escaped this disaster, but the suspicion of forming a clique remained, becoming a *."

  Chongzhen Emperor hated corrupt officials the most, and Wen Tiren presented himself as a clean and honest official, refusing all gifts that came to his door. Everyone in the capital knew about it, even Chongzhen Emperor was very impressed and praised him highly. Wen Tiren knew he had many political enemies, if he made any slight mistake, his opponents would seize on it and not let go. Reality forced him to be clean and honest. Being clean and honest not only protected himself but also served as a sharp arrow aimed at his political enemies. Earlier, the Minister of Personnel Wang Yongguang was accused by Wen Tiren of selling official positions and titles, Chongzhen Emperor was furious and dismissed Wang Yongguang from office, replacing him with his fellow townsman Min Hongxue as the new Minister of History. From then on, the Ministry of Personnel became Wen Tiren's forbidden territory!

  Wen Ti Ren thought of these past events, and a proud expression appeared on his face. These two moves were indeed masterpieces, not to mention Zhou Yan Ru's weaknesses were constantly exposed, just like a peacock spreading its tail and revealing its ugly butt.

  Want to save Sun Yuanhua? Sell personal feelings to the Donglin Party? No way! Sun Yuanhua has already been abandoned, and Zhou Yanru and Xu Guangqi's efforts for half a year have finally gone to waste. The fall of the Dengzhou Governor is like tolling the funeral bell for Zhou Yanru, making him busy putting out fires every day, with no time to pay attention to Wen Tiren, this threat that is right next to him.

  Wēn Tǐ Rén thought for a moment, then licked his inkstone and wrote a few more words on the paper:

  "How arrogant!"

  "Arrogant!"

  "Hurry up!"

  "How suspicious!"

  ……

  As soon as he finished writing these words, Wen Tianren's smile on his face immediately disappeared. It is difficult to serve such a monarch!

  Alas, he's just a young man in his twenties, rarely leaving the Forbidden City. His vision and governance abilities are excellent, but that's not due to the blessings of these ministers! However, Chongzhen Emperor's excellent governance is not thanks to these officials. In their ideal world, the emperor should rule with a relaxed attitude. But this Chongzhen Emperor lacks flexibility, always anxious when dealing with things, and the entire court is in chaos.

  However, Wen Tianren was confident that he could grasp Chongzhen's weakness and strike at his political enemies, satisfying his own long-cherished wish.

  "Similarly, young people who have been through trials are not ordinary...” Wen Tiren thought of the several votes in the cabinet these days, and Lin Chunhong entered his mind. As for Qi Shi's and Feng Yuanfei's small actions, he was as clear as fire, but he didn't plan to take any action. The Donglin Party had already become a street rat in Chongzhen's eyes, and dealing with them was as easy as pinching a caterpillar to death.

  Moreover, the Donglin Party did not learn from its lesson and continued to walk on the path of forming cliques that would lead to their own demise. They even fantasized about seizing military power to expand their own influence. Wen Tiren looked down upon this approach of the Donglin Party with contempt and had a deep sense of disdain for them in his heart.

  Weizong Ren stared at the words written on the paper, and couldn't help but pick up his brush to circle "self-aggrandizing". The Chongzhen Emperor was even more self-aggrandizing, and could not tolerate his subordinates pointing out his mistakes. Even if he was wrong, he would shift the blame onto others. Yang He was a prime example of this. As the governor, Yang He followed the Chongzhen Emperor's instructions, but after failing, he became the emperor's scapegoat.

  "Hmm, not bad, this is just right to deal with Chancellor Zhou... Chancellor Zhou, how dare he still call himself 'Fu Xi Shang Ren' and put our Emperor in such a position?" Wen Ti Ren thought about it more and more, and placed the two pieces of paper on the lamp.

  A wisp of blue smoke rose up and instantly turned into a flame, two pieces of paper became ashes...