You are not exempted this time, but the previous exemptions must be recorded and reported, and we will have to settle the accounts later.

Threat, naked threat.

How can you, the supreme emperor, be so mean and ungrateful? If you don't rely on scholars and gentry, how can you sit firmly on the throne?

It’s very stable!

In the imperial study, Emperor Zhu Youxiao sat in a chair, listening to Liu Ruoyu continue reading the memorial, without any sign of worry.

The scholar's rebellion failed after three years; the landlords and gentry were not local tyrants with strong fortresses during war, but a bunch of cowards.

"I approve your request. Let Sun Yuanhua speed up the development of the self-propelled musket. I also approve your transfer of Bi Maokang to the Ministry of Works."

Zhu Youxiao was no longer too anxious about the development of the flintlock rifle, as there was no point in being anxious anyway.

But Sun Yuanhua and others did not dare to slack off. The crucible steelmaking technology became more mature, and the quality of the steel produced became more stable, laying the foundation for the development of flintlock rifles.

Bi Maokang, who was currently the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, was praised by Zhu Youxiao for writing a letter to the emperor describing the advantages of firearms and arguing that "what the barbarians fear about China is firearms."

After evaluation by Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and others, they all believed that Bi Maokang had unique insights into the manufacture of utensils, and requested that he be transferred to the Ministry of Works.

Zhu Youxiao felt that Bi Maokang was a familiar name and must be a historical figure, so he approved the request and transferred him to the Ministry of Works as the Right Vice Minister.

"The Tang prince's grandson has arrived in the capital and is currently staying at the inn..."

Zhu Youxiao scratched his head. Zhu Youjian seemed like a useful member of the imperial clan. But when he learned that this guy was of the same generation as Wanli's grandfather and was his great-uncle, he felt uneasy.

Not only did he find a great uncle for himself, but also Zhu Youjian's father. It seems that he should be called great uncle.

"Let Zhu Youjian enter the clan school first. The prince of Tang is in poor health, so he needs to rest and recuperate for a while." Zhu Youxiao thought about it and decided to wait and see before summoning him.

The clan school has already started teaching. Although not many clan members have come, the framework must be set up and it cannot wait until the "pigs" wake up before opening.

Since the children of the royal family and vassal states are to be self-reliant, there is no need to talk about the Four Books and Five Classics.

The clan school temporarily offered four subjects: arithmetic, law, water conservancy and farming, and trades. Even if one could not learn a skill, one could still do business or become a minor official in the future.

Even Prince Xin Zhu Youjian was sent to the clan school by Zhu Youxiao. He said that he had been staying at home without any knowledge. He should go out more often and learn more useful things.

All matters concerning the four classes of people are allowed, except for the military, which is not allowed to be handled by the children of the royal family and vassal states. This is also Zhu Youxiao's principle.

"Bi Zisu of the Metropolitan Censorate has reported: Since His Majesty issued the Imperial Edict ordering officials to conduct self-investigations and self-corrections, over 1,300 officials have relinquished their land..."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "The deadline has come. Have Bi Zisu send censors to conduct a thorough investigation. Officials who concealed the truth will be severely punished."

I've given you a chance to be lenient if you confess, but you still hope for the best. Don't blame me for being ruthless.

"And..." Zhu Youxiao thought of something else and ordered, "Local governments should expedite the review and compilation of the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book, and submit them to the Ministry of Revenue before the end of the year."

An emperor's words were always true, and he always kept his word; this was the only way for him to establish his authority. Without such power and authority, future reform policies would be difficult to implement.

From the beginning of the year to now, the reform has been gradually advancing for more than half a year.

The number of corrupt officials punished severely set a record, and the number of gentry whose homes were confiscated and punished was also shocking. But the purpose of all this was to pave the way for reform.

If it can't be paved, then flatten it. Zhu Youxiao knew very well that the reform had just begun, and had not really touched the pain points of the interest groups, nor had it encountered real resistance.

However, under the increasingly powerful and centralized imperial power, interest groups are nothing but dregs, and Zhu Youxiao has such confidence.

After reviewing a few more papers, Zhu Youxiao asked Liu Ruoyu to stop temporarily. He wanted to rest for a while and think about it.

As he drank his tea, Zhu Youxiao pondered the opening and operation of the Imperial Bank. Although a rough outline had been drawn up, it was still not easy to successfully launch this new venture.

As for the reserve fund, Zhu Youxiao had borrowed money from here and there and had already accumulated 5 to 6 million taels. Adding the funds from supporting his own maritime merchants and the Tongzhou Merchants Group, it should be enough.

However, Zhu Youxiao was not sure whether to directly introduce the silver dollar and take the step of abolishing the two-yuan currency and changing it to another one.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao was quite anxious about abolishing the two-year system and changing the reign title.

Because minting coins can make a lot of money, that is, interest. This is not only true for silver coins, but also for copper coins.

For example, the cost and labor of casting a one-yuan silver coin may only be 0.8 to 0.9 taels, but it can be used as one tael of silver.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao was not just thinking about making money. Instead, he wanted to change the backward and chaotic silver currency system, strengthen monetary stability and promote industrial and commercial development.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew that abolishing the two-year system and changing the era name would encounter considerable resistance.

First, without the fire consumption money, local officials would have less income; second, there was a price difference between silver and silver coins, and it was inevitable that some opportunists would take advantage of the situation.

There is also the process of minting silver coins, whether it is machine-made or traditionally minted, the fineness of the coins, and the recognition of the public and merchants for their circulation in the market.

Zhu Youxiao thought for a long time and decided to trust in the collective wisdom and wait for the results of the Ministry of Revenue's research and discussion.

Although time travelers have the advantage of foresight, at least they can accurately grasp the general trend of historical development.

However, Zhu Youxiao did not abolish the court recommendation system out of hand, but weakened it a little by relying on his own strength.

Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. If there were no nonsense party disputes, the decisions made by collective wisdom would still be more likely to be correct.

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