Chapter 448: Court Meeting
Wu Yali not only lent money to Zhao Xiaofei, but also used her ID card to book a room for him in a small hotel, letting him stay there first and then helping him rent a house later.
The reason Wu Yali helped him so much was that she hoped Zhao Xiaofei would continue to provide her with Ming Dynasty Hanfu. If she had more exquisite Ming Dynasty Hanfu, her company would definitely become famous in the industry and make more money.
Now that Zhao Xiaofei had a place to live and money, he set out to find Jiang Xiaomei. He drove around Jiang Xiaomei's house for the past few days, but unfortunately, he never saw her.
Jiang Di and Jiang's mother met them several times, but they found that they were always in a hurry.
So Zhao Xiaofei decided to take a risk and go to Jiang Di to ask about the situation.
The next day, Zhao Xiaofei was still waiting near Jiang Di's house. When he saw Jiang Di leaving the house alone, he followed him.
Jiang Di wandered aimlessly, looking troubled. Zhao Xiaofei stopped the car, quietly walked over, patted Jiang Di from behind, and said, "Tell me, where did your sister go?"
Jiang Di was startled at first, but when he saw who it was, his expression changed immediately. He angrily asked, "What else do I need to ask you? My sister only came back once, and I haven't seen her since! My mom is going crazy with worry. Tell me, where did you take her?"
After saying that, Jiang Di threw a punch. Zhao Xiaofei was caught off guard and the punch hit him hard on the bridge of his nose.
Zhao Xiaofei was punched, his face was covered with bruises, and his nose was bleeding.
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, a eunuch cracked his whip three times. Dozens of officials entered the Hall.
Dozens of officials divided into two teams, civil and military, stood in formation, and a eunuch shouted, "Kneel!"
The civil and military officials knelt together and shouted, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"
"My dear ministers, please stand up!" Kunxing said with full energy.
After hearing this, all the ministers stood up. Kunxing didn't wait for the ministers to start, she asked about the disaster relief in Shandong.
Minister of Revenue Cui Youde stepped forward to answer the Empress's question. It was unclear where this official had been found. Fortunately, he was obedient, unlike the old officials who, when reporting on their work, often used rhetoric or used the so-called Spring and Autumn style of writing to gloss over any issue.
The biggest difference between him and other officials was his penchant for analyzing everything. How much silver was in the treasury? How many dan of grain were there? What were the monthly salaries of local officials? How much grain was needed for disaster relief in a particular region this year? He could calculate it all clearly for you, a skill Kunxing had learned from Zhao Xiaofei.
In the past, ministers would ask where the disaster had occurred, how many victims needed relief, and how much money and food were needed.
These ministers would say that there were tens of thousands of disaster victims in need of relief, and that the relief grain needed would be tens of thousands of dan and the money would be hundreds of thousands of taels.
If you say that now, your official career is basically over. Everything is based on data. Specifically, the county government must have a clear population count. Money and grain relief is needed, and how many silver dollars and kilograms of grain are needed.
The current currency in the Ming Dynasty was silver and copper coins. The copper coin had "Da Ming Tong Bao" printed on the front, and the back was "Da Ming Tong Bao" (a Chinese character for "counterfeit is a crime!"). The silver coin still had "Da Ming Tong Bao" printed on the front, but the back had Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait printed on it. Of course, it wasn't the pig-kidney, shoe-horn-shaped face, but the round-faced portrait in the Taimiao.
There were also silver notes and paper money. However, these were reserved for large transactions and were manufactured using modern machinery. Kunxing had originally planned to implement this in one go, but Zhao Xiaofei dissuaded him. He feared the Ming Dynasty wouldn't be able to handle it, and that a big step could lead to disaster. After much deliberation, he ultimately decided to adopt silver and copper coins, as most countries did.
The banknote features a portrait of Emperor Chongzhen, with the Great Wall on the reverse. The denomination is 100 taels, and the numerals are written in Arabic numerals so that all countries in the world can recognize it.
After listening to Lord Cui's report, Kunxing nodded with satisfaction and said, "Lord Cui, your words are very good. Let's implement them accordingly. Is there anything else you would like to report?"
"Your Highness, Zuo Xian, the Vice Minister of Rites, has a memorial to report!" Zuo Xian said as he stepped out of the ranks and saluted.
"allow!"
"Your Majesty, yesterday, the English ambassador Li Rang and the French ambassador Putchen petitioned our navy to send troops to the South China Sea to annihilate the pirates. Their fleets have been repeatedly robbed by pirates and suffered heavy losses." Zuo Xian said.
"Where is the Minister of War?" Kunxing asked.
"Your Majesty, I, the Minister of War, Yuan Zhuangyan, report to you that most of the losses to the English and French fleets were caused by the fleets of the Dutch and Portuguese. They formed an alliance against England and France in order to dominate the South China Sea route." Yuan Zhuangyan said.
"Tell the Ministry of Rites to notify the Portuguese and Dutch envoys and ask them to investigate this matter. Give them only three months. After three months, send Shi Lang to lead the fleet south to publicize the power of the Ming Dynasty!" Kunxing said.
"I obey the decree!"
"Are there any other state affairs to report?" Kunxing said.
At this time, Chen Ziyue, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, came out and knelt down to make a report: "I, the Minister of Revenue, have a report to submit!"
"allow!"
"Your Majesty, Korea has acceded to the Ming Dynasty. According to established policy, one million people will be relocated to the interior of the Ming Dynasty. After consultation with Minister Cui and colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue, we believe that Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan have been plagued by bandits for many years, and most of the land is now unowned. Therefore, we would like to relocate them to these three provinces. Your Majesty, please give us your instructions."
"Okay! But pay attention to the numbers. Don't let the Koreans dominate the number of people in a village. For example, if a village has a hundred households, there must be no more than ten Korean households. Do you understand what I mean?" Kunxing said.
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