"The Farmer's Fat Wife" - Fat Men Are All Potential Stocks (19)...
When you're extremely poor, who doesn't dream of making money for themselves? Now that dream has actually come true.
In fact, most local powers, after establishing their own separatist regimes, would mint their own currencies to consolidate their rule and resolve financial crises.
Then a situation would arise where the old dynasty's currency was inferior, and the currency of the warlords was even worse, with each new group of people being worse off than the previous one.
Unlike those who only make a quick buck and then run away, Ye Xiqing was genuinely prepared to run the business long-term. She not only had a sufficient amount of new currency, but also recycled the government's inferior currency.
The quality of ancient coins is objectively determined, given their copper content.
The reason why people would choose to store good coins after bad coins became prevalent is because good coins objectively have a higher copper content than bad coins.
When the premium of inferior coins far exceeds the value of copper itself, and the losses from smelting and casting, people would rather melt down good coins and sell them as raw materials than spend them.
The copper smelting technique was not technically difficult for ordinary people, although there were controls on the minting of private coins and copper casting in various dynasties.
But where there's a will, there's a way. If the government dares to openly issue inferior currency, what are the common people afraid of? They can't just be the ones to suffer the consequences.
So there's no need to worry that ordinary people can't distinguish between good and bad coins. Good coins are produced but you can't tell the difference. No one knows how to appreciate coins better than the general public.
The best coins are not only high in copper content, heavy, and of good color, with a clear sound, but also made by top-notch craftsmanship.
The new government issued a widespread recruitment order, seeking those with good aesthetic sense, painting skills, and calligraphy to design the master patterns for the new currency.
After the new coins leave the factory, a quality inspection is arranged. Those that pass the inspection are issued, and those that fail are melted down and recast.
When the first batch of new currency was issued, the people who received it were shocked. Why would they take it so seriously?
The brand-new, high-quality coins quickly replaced the old ones and became popular among the people.
Furthermore, since Huaizhou itself was the stronghold of the rebels, there was no need to worry about political factors.
While collecting old coins in large quantities among the people, Ye Xiqing also went to various temples to dismantle Buddha statues. Ancient Buddha statues were said to be made of gold, but they were actually cast in bronze.
Ordinary people are broke, why are you making so many bronze and gold statues of yourself?
This person who's trying to be a god has absolutely no sense of propriety; if they can't do it, they shouldn't be in the position.
By imperial decree, the Heavenly King Qingmu stripped him of his divine register, declared him a false god, and banished him from the country. From then on, no temple or shrine was to be built or worshipped within the territory of Huaizhou.
All the original believers returned to secular life, and all the original temples were converted into temples dedicated to the Goddess of Mount Tai.
The goddess is merciful and does not require gold or silver; a wooden body and clay sculpture will suffice.
Ordinary people can also ask for a small statue of the goddess to ward off evil spirits. The goddess is loving to all beings and treats everyone equally. She does not care about the objects used to make the statue, unlike some gods who require a vessel to manifest their power.
The goddess is the deity of the land, possessing boundless magical power; all land that exists is under her rule.
The more difficult the lives of ordinary people are, the deeper the influence of religion on the lower classes becomes. After all, if they can't even survive, they can only hope to be reborn in the next life and turn their lives around.
Although women who give birth are unfortunate from birth, I believe that when I go to be reborn, things will be different, and I will definitely be able to change my luck. That's the kind of confidence I need.
Ye Xiqing's violent acts of "suppressing Buddhism" in Huaizhou aroused great resentment among devout believers, but even the deepest faith could not withstand the impact of reality.
The new government melts down Buddha statues to collect bad money and exchange it for good money, while Buddhist temples give a statue a gilded body. Doesn't it know who they're supporting?
Even if a believer is nagging in his ear, the listener will impatiently chase him away.
Get lost! If you're so capable, don't exchange for new currency; let your Buddha give you money!
Huaizhou, with its two harvests a year and its coastal salt production, must have had a thriving economy before being destroyed by floods, leaving behind many significant Buddhist statues.
Ye Xiqing disregarded their cultural value and brought them all back to dismantle them for minting coins.
When old beliefs are gone, new ones must fill the void. The belief in the Goddess of Mount Tai is clearly from the north. People in Huaizhou don't believe in it as much, but those in the north of the river believe it more, while those in the south of the river have some other beliefs.
Ye Xiqing integrated the beliefs of the North and South, selecting several goddesses from both sides of the river to stand together in the Taishan Niangniang Temple, so that people from both sides could find their hometown gods, which had a popular foundation.
Now it's the time for local gods, foreign religions begone!
To be honest, melting down the giant Buddha statue and getting a bunch of money was incredibly stress-relieving.
In more prosperous temples, a single Arhat statue weighs several hundred kilograms of copper, enough to fill several truckloads of money, which are then hauled away one truckload after another.
Admittedly, money is more pleasing to the eye than statues.
The mints worked day and night to produce coins urgently and deliver them to people who wanted to exchange them. During this period, when people needed to make transactions, they could use the receipts registered with the government to make transactions directly and exchange them for new coins when they came out.
The mint workers also worked shifts, alternating between day and night shifts.
Ye Xiqing wasn't afraid of hiring more people or giving more holidays, since she could issue empty checks to pay her workers' wages.
Keep up the good work! Your salaries are being generated by your own efforts right now, and the sooner they're generated, the sooner they'll be paid. Keep striving!
Good reputation is like this: because the government's newly minted coins are of high quality and guaranteed to be delivered, the people tend to trust empty promises.
The same applies to the wages of river workers; this time, instead of issuing blank checks for grain, we can simply issue blank checks for Singapore dollars.
Before the new currency arrived in their accounts, the people at the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) were extremely busy. During the vacuum period between when people exchanged their inferior currency for new currency, they had to process exchange transactions every day. Every time an exchange changed hands, they had to come to the CBRC for a stamp.
The long queues every day have forced the China Banking Regulatory Commission to open numerous branch offices specifically to handle bill exchange transactions. Their hands are numb from stamping so many documents every day, and they also need to take turns resting!
The offices that processed the redemption of banknotes were so crowded, the offices that issued new currency were even more crowded.
The government office that issued the money stipulated that it would open at 3:45 AM every day, but people would line up as early as midnight.
The government opened two channels: one to send people to distribute the goods door-to-door, and the other to collect them publicly. Those who could wait could wait at home, while those who couldn't could queue up. Everyone had a bright future.
After a year of continuous minting, more and more new coins were injected into the market, and the public finally felt completely at ease with the new coins.
Newly minted coins and re-emerging old coins were able to meet daily circulation needs, and large-amount purchases could be made by exchanging them for cash, so there were fewer people urgently needing to exchange money.
While everyone was living their lives, they were also eagerly anticipating the release of the new currency by the Heavenly King.
Money is a circulating currency. It comes and goes, and new currency circulates back through taxation. With duplicate currency, the speed of currency exchange can actually be accelerated, but Ye Xiqing does not allow the use of new currency collected by the treasury to exchange for old currency.
The people aren't in a hurry anymore, so why are you in such a rush? Just proceed step by step to mint new coins and exchange the real new coins for the old ones.
The government widely collected old coins, copper products, and copper materials from the people to melt down and mint new coins. There was also a copper mine in Huaizhou. Ye Xiqing's policy towards the miners was to have them take turns resting on the same day and on paid leave.
Just give her a fixed amount of copper to produce each month; there's no need to worry about KPIs. Take it easy with her work.
When the old dynasty was in power, miners were black slaves. The dynasty profited from the dynasty, and the miners, like the salt workers of the past, were sitting on a gold mine but couldn't get enough to eat.
Now that Ye Xiqing's pro-work policy has been introduced, mining has become a good job, and people are scrambling to sign up.
After all, mining is tiring work, but working for half a month and resting for half a month is acceptable!
Ye Xiqing spent two years doing nothing but repairing river channels, minting new coins, giving workers a day off for both the living and the dead, and encouraging people to farm.
Three years have passed, and Ye Xiqing's policy of exempting land tax for three years has expired. Normal land will be taxed again at one dou per mu. The tax exemption period for reclaimed land has not yet expired, and it can be exempted for another two years.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the minting workers day and night, the last redemption note was balanced, and Ye Xiqing then stopped the large-scale minting and streamlined the minting workforce.
Let's go home, let's go home. We won't need so many people anymore.
Once all the original bills of exchange were settled, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) began to change the rules.
The old and inferior currencies will no longer be exchanged at a 1:1 ratio; from now on, the exchange ratio will be increased.
Needless to say, the mint calculated the reminting losses and determined the exchange rate for the existing inferior currency.
The original full-weight coins also depreciate due to their age; one new coin is roughly equal to 1.2 old coins, and the amount can be even higher depending on the wear and tear.
Why change the exchange rate? Because Ye Xiqing wants to align herself with the outside world.
Over the years, her neighbors have come from all walks of life, but Ye Xiqing has remained isolated, living in a self-governing state and only caring about her own little corner of the world, seemingly disconnected from the outside world.
The initial banner raised by the Southern Uprising was the Seven Heavenly Kings, and everyone spoke of being of one mind and sharing weal and woe to fight against the government troops.
But the imperial court was becoming increasingly weak, and war broke out all over the country. Those who declared independence truly did so, and the Seven Heavenly Kings, who had originally vowed to be one and of one mind, gradually began to deviate from their course.
Among the seven Heavenly Kings, there are only two female leaders: Ye Xiqing from Huaizhou and Xiong Ayang, the mother of Asai from Xiangzhou.
Ye Xiqing closed the gates of the prefecture to carry out construction, and many of her policies could not be spread. However, her rebellion against the Heavenly Gang and her promotion of female supremacy were very easy to spread in ancient times.
Not only in the southern states, but even in the north, when people talk about the Seven Heavenly Kings of the South, they all know that each of the Seven Heavenly Kings has their own strangeness. For example, there is a female Heavenly King who specializes in killing men.
Men who spend the night at her place are killed during the day; the woman inside is no longer human, but a demon.
When they saw a man who pleased them, they would seize him and force him to have sex with them. After the sex, they would kill him, hang his skin at the door as a banner, and take his bones to make chairs.
Regardless of the dynasty, anything involving women attracts attention and draws all eyes.
Although it wasn't Ye Xiqing and the others' intention, when outsiders mentioned the Seven Heavenly Kings, they reflexively thought of the Huaizhou heroine who acted too drastically.
Although Asai's mother is also a woman, she doesn't have any sensational topics, so her popularity can't compare to Ye Xiqing's.
The public didn't like listening to the other male superstars.
Ye Xiqing is now in charge of a state, so of course no one dares to openly criticize her. However, scholars are good at using metaphors and have created a story about the Rakshasa Kingdom.
There is a Rakshasa Kingdom at sea, inhabited entirely by women who skin and rip men apart. But surely there are also beautiful and kind women among them, unlike the other Rakshasa women.
Seeing a scholar who is upright or something, after making love to him, one can't bear to let him die, so one secretly hides him under the bed.
After the scholar hid under the bed, the demons revealed their ferocious nature and began searching for him, but the kind woman cleverly defused the situation.
When the kind woman saw the scholar off, she also gave him a bushel of pearls, a local specialty, so that he could go out and make a living.
These stories offer both erotic content and stimulating experiences, which appeals to outsiders, leading to an increasing number of such creations.
Huaizhou stopped exporting salt, not importing it. After several years of governance, prices in Huaizhou stabilized, but the situation was different outside. First of all, smuggled salt was still smuggled salt.
The Huaizhou government has always used the surplus salt, tea, and cloth produced in Huaizhou to earn huge profits, which they then exchanged for copper, iron, and carbon from outside, maintaining close ties with the outside world.
When the smugglers returned from their smuggling operations, they described their public image to everyone, leaving everyone speechless. They discussed whether they should try to improve their public image.
Ye Xiqing refused outright, saying no, this image is excellent.
Expectations shouldn't be raised too high. For example, in ancient times, men had very low social standing, so even if a man married many wives, he could still be considered a good man if he made his favorite his first wife.
Gray makes you look whiter than black, and -5 degrees Celsius feels warmer than -23 degrees Celsius. It's easy to compare good versus bad.
The rumors are already circulating that they've gone so far as to murder people and steal their skins. Isn't that a good thing?
He thought he was going to die if he fell into the hands of the Rakshasa woman, but when he found out it was just a minor injury, he was able to accept it instantly.
Moreover, these are all reactions from men. What would a woman's reaction be if she heard this story?
In three years, the mother household system has been implemented quite effectively.
Even if there were some superficial compliance in the past, with the military being predominantly female and the officials being mostly women, it would be difficult for them to remain humble and hand over their children and inheritance to others.
The terrifying legends of the Rakshasa Kingdom are indeed very accurate. In the past, women who were humiliated to the extreme would want to die and would gain demonic power after death.
Now they want to go to the Rakshasa Kingdom and gain the power to kill without hesitation while they are still alive!
The Southern Heavenly Kings, apart from Ye Xiqing, each have their own unique sense of humor.
Once he gained power, he became even more ruthless than the imperial court, bullying men and women.
Some were eager to be recruited by the imperial court and continue to be obedient subjects.
Some were short-sighted and were fooled by local tyrants, turning themselves into spokespeople for the new tyrants.
They are cowardly and indecisive, listening to one person and another, wavering back and forth, not knowing what to do.
They all have different personalities, but they have one thing in common: they would never approve of Ye Xiqing's gender reversal.
Although they jointly rose up under the decree of the God of Mount Tai, they could not wholeheartedly venerate the Goddess of Mount Tai who was bringing glory to Ye Xiqing, nor could they disrespect the Goddess of Mount Tai.
Therefore, they elevate the father of the Goddess of Mount Tai, the God of Mount Tai, to be the chief officiant. Women worship the Goddess of Mount Tai, while men worship the God of Mount Tai.
This explanation makes sense: Ye Xiqing is a woman, so she worships the Goddess of Mount Tai. Everything she does in Huaizhou is just childish fuss and doesn't need to be taken seriously. They should worship the Goddess of Mount Tai's father.
As for the A-Sai mothers of Xiangzhou, they are clearly a minority group who do not worship the gods of the Central Plains and have no overlap with the customs of the Central Plains.
She only used a pretext to start the rebellion. The other Heavenly Kings couldn't understand her language, so they knew even less about her.
Huaizhou is the headquarters of the Rakshasa Women. The Rakshasa Women's organization goes out to smuggle goods. Women who can't live with their fathers in Taishan secretly run to Huaizhou.
Huaizhou was closed to the outside world, but women or women's children were not prohibited from coming to Huaizhou.
After entering, the same policy applies: fertile land is exempt from tax for three years, and reclaimed land is exempt from tax for five years.
The woman who came to Huaizhou with the mindset of "falling into demonic ways" never expected Huaizhou to be so normal. As Ye Xiqing said, she experienced an unprecedented sense of disillusionment.
Previously, thanks to the efforts of the old dynasty, the male-to-female ratio in Huaizhou was only balanced. Now, the situation has completely reversed, with women now having an overwhelming advantage.
Three years is enough time for everything to mature.
Therefore, Ye Xiqing felt it was time to open the gates of Huaizhou.
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