Chapter 152: Yang Rong: Teaching me how to do my job? How audacious!

Zhu Youjian pointed at Dorgon's shiny bald forehead, cast his gaze toward the Jurchens, and said, "I don't like this hairstyle."

"Your Imperial Majesty, please look!" Tong Mu removed his hat, releasing a cascading waterfall of glossy, dark hair. Strikingly absent was the characteristic shiny shaved forehead of the Jurchens.

Aside from a slightly more robust growth of facial and body hair and different attire, he was indistinguishable from the people of the Han-Ming dynasty.

Clearly, this had been anticipated long ago.

Dorgon stared in disbelief: "How dare you! The other five banners of our Great Qing will never permit you to humiliate our tribe!"

"Great Qing? The Great Qing is dead!" Tong Mu sneer-laughed, then swept his robes and fell to his knees, bowing respectfully:

"Your Imperial Majesty, within the jurisdictions of Shengjing... and the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, there is not a single head left unshorn!"

"You traitorous scum! Where is my Dayu'er?"

Dorgon sprang to his feet, questioning in sheer disbelief.

She had gone to meet Huangtaiji long ago.

Tong Mu glanced at him sideways, offering no further explanation.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck Dorgon, shattering him to pieces and leaving behind only a pile of ashes on the spot.

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment. He didn't receive the prompt for opening the Jiajing spacetime continuum, which was within expectations.

After all, the destiny of a nation cannot be swayed by a single individual alone.

Of course, the Fort Emperor was an exception.

Seeing that Dorgon was dead, the civil officials relaxed considerably from their tense atmosphere. Led by Zhang Shuozuo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of the Third Rank, they loudly praised: "Our Emperor is wise, long live our Emperor, long live, long live our Emperor!"

"Dismiss court."

Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

This single sentence inexplicably filled the civil and military officials with a trace of shame. They had instigated Dorgon to rebel, yet not only was the Emperor not angry, but he didn't even scold them.

One had to know that during past court dismissals, the Emperor always told everyone to get lost.

"Your ministers take their leave!"

Outside the grand hall.

Gu Jishen, a Rectification Official of the Ministry of Rites of the Upper Fifth Rank, walked over with a beaming smile, cupping his hands toward Yang Rong, who was serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Rites:

"This official pays his respects to Lord Yang."

"What is it?" Yang Rong said indifferently.

The faction of civil officials in the Chongzhen era had begun to take initial shape after nearly two years—and that was only because they, the primordial civil officials, had intervened.

Otherwise, within a mere month, the civil officials would have reverted to their old ways.

Precisely for this reason, these contemporary civil officials were deeply resistant to historical figures like themselves; had it not been for their formidable political maneuvers, they likely would have been marginalized long ago.

Even so, new checks and balances were gradually emerging within the various ministries, such as Zhang Shuo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Rectification Officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Gu Jishen weighed his words carefully before speaking: "This official has heard that after the demise of Empress Zhou, the Emperor wept bitterly and has not appointed a new Empress. Furthermore, all the imperial heirs perished during the plague in the capital, leaving our dynasty without a designated heir to the foundation of the state. This official has a cousin who is in the bloom of her youth at sixteen..."

"What? You want this official to recommend your family member to enter the palace?" Yang Rong raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Gu Jishen assumed a serious expression: "I have heard that Your Majesty has recently taken many commoner women into the palace. Though this official is untalented, I presume our Gu family is also a prominent and influential clan in Kunshan, Southern Zhili..."

"Save it! The Emperor is a living immortal in the flesh and the true dragon of the present day; what need does he have for a designated heir? Your grandson could die and the Emperor wouldn't age by a fraction of a hair!" Yang Rong let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeves, and walked away.

A bunch of ungracious upstarts, trying to peddle tricks I played out ages ago right in front of me. This is like the Grand Progenitor paying respects to the Yongle Emperor—you're completely turning the cosmos upside down!

"This..."

Gu Jishen shook his head and walked back into the crowd of civil and military officials.

There is no rush.

Whether concubines or palace maids, as long as they enter the palace and bear the dragon seed, it will suffice.

...

Inside the Diligent Governance Hall.

Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was kept behind and sat respectfully to one side.

"Minister Xia has rendered great service to the state," Zhu Youjian said with a beaming smile.

"I see that you are getting older..."

Is he going to allow me to retire?

Xia Yuanji was thrilled. Having yearned for this day like one looks forward to the stars and the moon, he had finally waited for it. If he didn't resign to enjoy his golden years soon, even without hidden arrows and open spears, he would soon die of old age right at his post!

Zhu Youjian patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "I bestow upon you a bottle of divine pills. Take one whenever you feel unwell, and don't work yourself to death at your post."

"This... Thank Your Majesty for this immense grace!" Xia Yuanji did not know whether to cry or laugh, his expression extremely complicated.

Zhu Youjian said with gratification: "The single-whip tax reform has been successfully implemented, and I have witnessed Minister Xia's capabilities. How about this: I plan to abolish silver next and replace it with Great Ming silver coins, still with you taking the lead, assisted by the Three Yangs. Work hard, and next year I'll give you a raise in your salary."

"Your Majesty wants to abolish silver and switch to silver coins?"

Xia Yuanji lost his breath for a moment and almost fainted. Trembling, he poured out a refreshing divine pill and swallowed it down before finally recovering.

He had just tampered with the assets of the gentry and landlords across the realm, and now he wanted to mess with their cash?

Who wouldn't rebel against you for this?!

"Your Majesty, this official is truly old..." Xia Yuanji pleaded. Having served in the Ministry of Revenue for so many years, even excluding gray income, his salary alone, along with seasonal ice and charcoal allowances, amounted to over one hundred thousand taels.

He truly couldn't care less about a meager salary increase.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand across the imperial desk, spreading out three types of coins in a row.

A one-tael silver coin engraved with the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers on its face.

A one-qian silver coin engraved with white water caltrops and a bright moon.

A one-wen copper coin carved with the image of the blazing sun.

The workmanship was exquisitely refined, with each coin incorporating dozens of manufacturing techniques and over a dozen seemingly redundant anti-counterfeiting markers.

Because under the existing industrial level, the cost for a private entity to forge just a single one of these silver coins would require at least one hundred taels of silver...

Zhu Youjian smiled as he said, "I will allocate another five thousand firearm guards to you. Can this job be done or not?"

"It can! Most certainly can!" Xia Yuanji nodded incessantly like a chick pecking at rice, his eyes shining brightly as he gazed at these coins.

Are these even currency? If these are put into circulation, people are going to fight like mad to get them!

Xia Yuanji immediately asked, "Does Your Majesty intend to exchange them at equal value, or at a premium?"

"The one-tael Great Ming silver coin will have a twenty percent premium, the one-qian silver coin will be exchanged at equal value, and the copper coins will be discounted by thirty percent." Zhu Youjian had already discussed the outcome with his ancestors.

The greatest function of introducing a new currency was to narrow the wealth gap. Once the ban on private silver transactions was enacted, coupled with the issuance of these coin masterpieces resembling treasures, the gentry and landlords would have to exchange their holdings even if they had to pinch their noses to do it.

Even if people broke them down into tiny fragments to exchange for one-qian silver coins, it would still generate extra wear-and-tear losses, making asset shrinkage inevitable.

Among ordinary commoners, what circulated the most and was hoarded the most was a small amount of silver and a large amount of copper coins, while seven old copper cash could be exchanged for ten new Great Ming copper coins, which was equivalent to increasing the assets of ordinary commoners by thirty percent for free.

Do not underestimate this thirty percent. Under the current landscape of land surveying and redistribution, there were quite a few opportunities to be had, and the northern territories had even been re-established as the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

With this portion of money serving as a safety net, it would empower many people to dare to try and cross class boundaries.

A prosperous age of Chongzhen would also arrive right on schedule in the foreseeable future.

Xia Yuanji naturally understood the implication. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, "This matter is not difficult, but this official has yet to see the mint being constructed. The supply of these new coins..."

"There will be as many as you need. Later tonight, I will have Wang Cheng'en send them to the Ministry of Revenue in batches, and the intelligence division of his Western Depot will also provide you with full cooperation." Displaying his dominant aura, Zhu Youjian tossed out three more bags of silver coins.

The eighty million taels of silver obtained from confiscating corrupt officials' estates—though nearly ten million taels had been utilized, the remaining batch of silver had been minted into silver and copper coins with a total face value of over eight hundred million taels.

Once all the silver of the Chongzhen era was collected and reminted, this figure of eight hundred million could be multiplied several times over.

Hearing this, Xia Yuanji felt much more at ease and said without hesitation, "This official will go and execute it right away!"

He then packed up the three bags of silver coins and scurried off in a flurry to the Ministry of Revenue.

Before long.

Wang Cheng'en walked in and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, everything has been taken care of. By tomorrow noon, the homes of all civil officials who participated in instigating Dorgon's rebellion will catch fire."

"Alright. Have some men go to the Bureau of Currency to move the silver coins to the Ministry of Revenue; I have some business to attend to." Zhu Youjian gave his instructions, and seeing Wang Cheng'en acknowledge the order and withdraw, he fell into deep contemplation.

Should he head to the Hongzhi spacetime continuum first, or Zhengde?