In all dynasties, the central court and local governments were a community with conflicting interests.
The contradiction is that the imperial court was afraid of local separatism, so it wanted to centralize power.
The local governments were afraid that the imperial court would make excessive demands, so they wanted the court to delegate power.
Only interests can resolve conflicts.
The imperial court made profits when it levied taxes on local areas.
The local governments paid taxes in the hope that the imperial court would send people to help with governance and provide protection at critical moments.
Also make indirect profit.
The representative of the court is the emperor, and the representative of the local area is the local officials.
The court and the local areas need to maintain their interests, and so do the interests between the emperor and the officials.
On the surface, Chongzhen was distributing money to local governments, but in reality he was distributing money to local officials!
Only by making officials his community of interests can currency reform avoid internal resistance.
This is a big chess game!
Before Fan Jingwen left, Chongzhen asked them to write down all the methods of distinguishing the authenticity of silver coins and publish them in the latest court bulletin.
The people of the capital looked at the contents of the court bulletin and talked about it.
"The Ming Yuanbao is made of silver? One Yuanbao weighs one ounce?"
"Yes, it's all written in the newspaper."
"What's the difference between this thing and ordinary silver?"
"The court report said that it is slightly harder than silver and one ounce of silver can be used. It also wrote how to distinguish the authenticity of the coin."
“Have you ever seen the real thing?”
"No, the official newspaper only said that the Ming Yuanbao would be issued, but it didn't say when it would be issued."
"This thing must be adulterated. Silver is better!"
"I think so."
The content of the people's discussions soon reached Chongzhen's ears.
He just smiled and didn't care.
On the last day of March, two decrees were issued from Beijing.
An imperial edict was sent to Kaifeng Prefecture.
The other decree was a secret letter, which was sent to Nanjing by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
In Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Governor Yue Qijie and Councillor Yuan Shu were chatting.
"Sweet potatoes are cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and are a godsend for drought-stricken Henan!" said Yuan Shu.
Yue Qijie nodded: "Indeed, in the past two years, sweet potatoes have been vigorously promoted in the eight prefectures, twelve states, and seventy-nine counties in Henan, and the harvest has been fruitful! In addition, with the tax exemption by the court, most families in Henan have stored grain."
"God bless the Ming Dynasty!" Yuan Shu sighed.
As he was sighing, a guard walked in: "My lords, the imperial decree has arrived."
The two of them hurriedly got up and went outside to greet them.
After verifying his identity, the Imperial Guard quickly read out, "Yuan Shu has been diligent and conscientious since he became an official in Henan. He has made outstanding achievements and is truly a model. He is now promoted to the position of Deputy Envoy of the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Department and the Denglai Military Patrol. I decree this!"
Yuan Shu was stunned.
The Ming Dynasty set up military patrol commissioners at the borders and major transportation routes in each province. These commissioners were mainly responsible for military affairs within their jurisdiction and supervised the management of local troops, money, food, and military farms.
Although he was only a fourth-rank official, he had great power.
After receiving the order and expressing his gratitude, Yue Qijie smiled and said, "Congratulations, Brother Yuan, on your promotion!"
Yuan Shu was confused.
He couldn't understand why he was suddenly promoted.
Chongzhen certainly would not tell him that this move was in preparation for a counterattack on Liaodong.
Yuan Shu was the son of Yuan Keli. People said he was handsome, strategic, good at riding and shooting, and had talent for frontier warfare.
If there was anyone in the Ming Dynasty who inherited Yuan Keli's true teachings, that person must be Yuan Shu.
Of course, Chongzhen did not believe in the saying that a good father will have a good son.
Whether Yuan Shu is capable or not will become clear once he gets to Denglai and gives it a try.
Yuan Shu did not dare to delay, and after saying goodbye to Yue Qijie, he hurried to Denglai to take up his post.
Nanjing.
In Chunhe Hall, Ni Yuanlu was teaching Crown Prince Zhu Cilang his insights on life.
"Your Highness, among the princes who inherited the throne of the Ming Dynasty, except for Renzong and Wuzong, I think the other princes cannot be too useful, nor too useless."
"If it's too useful, it will arouse the emperor's vigilance; if it's too useless, it will cause the emperor's dissatisfaction."
Zhu Cilang blinked and thought about it.
Renzong Zhu Gaochi served as regent six times for nearly twenty years, and Chengzu Zhu Di was impressed by his abilities.
Wuzong Zhu Houzhao was the only son of Xiaozong Zhu Youtang, and the throne would fall to him regardless of his ability or not.
Zhu Cilang nodded and looked at Ni Yuanlu: "Excuse me, sir, how is my performance now? Is it useful or useless?"
Ni Yuanlu sighed: "It's hard to say."
"Please give me some advice, sir!" Zhu Cilang stood up and bowed deeply to Ni Yuanlu.
Ni Yuanlu frowned and thought seriously for a while before saying, "I think Your Highness is too timid and has given Your Majesty the impression that he is too useless."
"What do you mean, sir?" Zhu Cilang asked worriedly.
Ni Yuanlu did not answer the question, but asked in return: "Your Highness, what do you think is loyalty? What is treason?"
This question really stumped Zhu Cilang.
People in different positions have different standards of loyalty and treachery, so he couldn't answer that.
Ni Yuanlu smiled and glanced outside the palace door, then lowered his voice and said: "I think those who are useful are loyal ministers, and those who have lost their usefulness but still occupy their positions and make excessive demands on the court are treacherous ministers."
Zhu Cilang was stunned at first and then shocked.
Ni Yuanlu's words were an accusation against some nobles for just eating and not working.
After he realized what was happening, he immediately pretended to keep quiet: "Sir, please keep your voice down. It will be bad if others hear you."
Ni Yuanlu said calmly, "Your Highness, there is no need to hide this. All the civil and military officials in the court understand this."
Zhu Cilang swallowed his saliva and said, "The noble ancestors have all made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. No matter how their descendants perform, they cannot be discarded after their work has been done!"
“Unless…” Ni Yuanlu glanced outside again, then retracted his gaze and whispered, “Unless they seek death themselves!”
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