The winter in the capital is much colder than in the south. This was the initial feeling of Sun Yingyuan, the general of the Yongwei Camp who had just returned.
But the new feelings were far more than that. In martial arts, he was watching the fight between fists and kicks in the square rope circle in a daze.
Qi Shiguang, the newly crowned champion of martial arts, meets his nemesis, Xu Sanshao. Unable to agree on words, they don cotton helmets, thick gloves, and groin protectors to face off in the arena.
The arena was built at the emperor's command. The rules of the contest were also drawn up by the emperor. Later generations would call it free fighting.
At first, the martial arts students thought it was a punishment from the emperor. The emperor was angry at the military scholars with black eyes and bruised faces who passed the palace examination.
But they soon fell in love with the sport. Some people even compiled a ranking based on wins and losses, which further stimulated the students' enthusiasm.
We are all warriors, so if you can take action, just stop talking and be direct and straightforward.
What's more, there is a ranking list. Who doesn't want to be invincible in martial arts and win the title of number one?
Qi Shiguang shook his head, a little dizzy from Xu Sanshao's heavy punch. But Xu Sanshao wanted to press on, but Qi Shiguang seized the opportunity and threw him to the ring with a back pocket.
"Good, this is a good trick." Sun Yingyuan clapped his hands and his expression changed from being stunned to being interested.
Zhou Yuji also applauded and said to Sun Yingyuan with a smile, "If it weren't for my rank, I would also be eager to get out and fight."
Sun Yingyuan glanced at Zhou Yuji and said jokingly, "You're not looking for excuses, are you? I see these two guys are determined. We'll be embarrassed if we go up to them!"
Zhou Yuji laughed heartily, his expression gradually calming down. He said slowly, "The new muskets will be equipped, and the Beijing Battalion will be the first batch. We must not only train the soldiers to be proficient in their use, but also research and explore new battle formations and tactics."
Sun Yingyuan nodded, still a little puzzled, and asked: "Musketeers are still musketeers. Is there a problem with the previous formation? Why do we need to use new tactics?"
Zhou Yuji shook his head and said, "I can't explain it to you now. Wait until a few hundred people are equipped with it and you see them using it, and then you'll see the difference."
After a pause, Zhou Yuji continued, "The Beijing troops will also be sent to the front lines in batches to participate in combat training, just like you led your troops to the southwest. See blood and gain practical combat experience. When the enemy is trapped and exhausted, it will be time for all the troops to be deployed and secure victory in one fell swoop."
"I can guess that," Sun Yingyuan nodded slightly and said, "We are keeping our troops in place for the time being. Firstly, we are ensuring strict training and proper equipment, and secondly, we are paralyzing the enemy so they don't know our true strength."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Zhou Yuji and asked with a smile, "According to your guess, how many years will it take?"
Zhou Yuji pondered for a moment and said, "It will take at least two years to train the cavalry, equip them with muskets and artillery, and then train them well!"
"Almost." Sun Yingyuan nodded, his eyes shifted to the ring, he pointed and said with a smile: "The winner is decided, you lose."
In the field, Qi Shiguang's right hand was raised by the referee, and Xu Sanshao was leaning against the ropes, gasping for breath, with an unwilling look on his face.
Zhou Yuji smiled heartily, threw the brand new silver dollar in his hand, and it flew up in an arc in the air. Sun Yingyuan caught it with his hand, and his smile became even more hearty.
Before the New Year, salaries for officials and rewards for officers and soldiers were all exchanged for newly minted silver coins.
The imperial court also issued an edict, "using six cents, four cents and eight cents of pure silver in the Kuping system as the price unit, named Yuan", "one yuan silver coin, total weight seven cents and two cents, eight-nine cents of silver, and one-eleven cents of copper", and silver was commonly used.
The two Imperial Banks in Beijing and Nanjing opened, and merchants and common people could redeem their money at the standard of seven qian and two fen of silver equal to one silver dollar.
Apparently, the emperor launched the silver coin before the New Year for the sake of celebration, but he was still very cautious.
The silver tael system was not abolished all at once. Silver taels and silver dollars were circulated in parallel at first.
There were only two exchange banks for the time being, although the imperial edict had already planned the locations of several banks in Guangzhou, Hankou, Xi'an, Suzhou, etc.
The sufficient reserves, the completion and production of the two mints in Beijing and Nanjing, the improving situation of foreign wars, and the crackdown on gentry and students in Jiangnan all gave the emperor the confidence to take the first step in abolishing the two-yuan system and changing the currency.
The new policy had only been in place for a short time, but good news was already pouring in. The Maritime Merchants Association and the Chinese Merchants Association were the first to support it, exchanging an initial 600,000 taels of silver for use in foreign trade.
What? We don't have that much silver yet. We have to wait! It's okay. We'll just hand it over and keep it. We have money and we're not in a hurry to spend it. We can afford to wait.
What surprised Zhu Youxiao a little was the response of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce. The level of its support was no less than that of the two major chambers of commerce that he personally supported and made decisions for.
The Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce not only exchanged 300,000 silver dollars at the Nanjing Bank, but also came to the capital to exchange another 300,000. Again, they paid the silver first and then waited patiently.
Although they didn't make a big splash, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce believed that the emperor would be paying close attention to the newly launched silver dollar. This was a good opportunity to gain the emperor's favor and strive for equal status with the two major chambers of commerce.
Zhu Youxiao did know about the actions taken by the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce after its establishment, and he had to admire the keen sense of smell of businessmen.
He was able to understand his thoughts and see the key to the two major chambers of commerce receiving the favor of the Holy Will, and hoped to obtain equal status through practical actions.
Zhu Youxiao also guessed the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce's intentions, and this flattery made him feel comfortable. With the support of the three major chambers of commerce, the pace of abolishing the Liang Dynasty and changing the era name could be greatly accelerated. This was a good thing!
Zhu Youxiao targeted corrupt gentry, students, and profiteers. Although he had developed a favorable impression of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, his plan remained unchanged. He would still target profiteers, while supporting righteous merchants.
Moreover, the future Chamber of Commerce only needs one national one. If it can be integrated without too much effort, Zhu Youxiao has no reason to refuse.
At this time, in the imperial study of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao was giving instructions to Zheng Yiguan in person.
"This is Tang Mo's information." Zhu Youxiao signaled a palace attendant to pass it to Zheng Yiguan, and said slowly, "Judging from his actions, he can be called a businessman. Go talk to him, reveal my intentions, and see what he intends."
The saying "merchants have the conduct of scholars" refers to the fact that some merchants, while engaged in business, value righteousness over profit. Some merchants' conduct is even more noble than that of some scholars. At the time, such merchants were called "merchant scholars."
The leader of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce's visit to the capital this time was Tang Mo, a wealthy merchant from Songjiang and a scholar. He recruited Confucian scholars and taught them in his home. He also regularly performed charitable deeds for his community, truly living up to the ideal of a righteous businessman.
"When it comes to business, what I dislike most is collusion between officials and businessmen that erodes national interests. Honesty and integrity are paramount. This is what I value most."
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