Dominate the Country

[Thanks to ‘Yunhaishuyoushitongcao’ for the 500-coin reward]

"Here comes the oil tea, five-spice oil tea..."

The familiar shouts of people buying camellia came from the streets of Nanjing City, and the absolute Ruzhou voice reached Chen Ming's ears through the carriage. "Go buy a few bowls of oil tea, use silver horns, and see how the vendor makes change?"

The carriage was lit with incense, and the smell was very light. Chen Ming was wearing casual clothes on the sofa-like seat. There were six entourages around the carriage, but among the crowds around the carriage, dozens of guards were mixed in. Chen Hui has left, and banknotes have been promoted in the country for more than half a month. Chen Ming left the palace today just to see it with his own eyes.

Opening the carriage curtain, Chen Ming looked at the hawker not far away through the gap, stretched out his finger to sign with the guard, and then quickly took out two bamboo cups, and from the big oil tea pot, With a sense of beauty like a tea doctor making tea, two bamboo cups were neatly filled with steaming oil tea.

This thing is an 'imported product' in Nanjing and has never been seen before. That is to say, after Chen Han moved the capital here, a large number of heroes and soldiers from Henan and Hubei poured into Nanjing, bringing here the oil tea that people in Central Plains and Hubei loved to drink.

"Master, one cup of oil tea costs one dime, and one cup of oil tea costs two cents. Two cups of oil tea and one cup of bamboo tube are six cents in total. The younger one gave him a silver corner, and the man found back five copper coins." The two cups of oil tea have been taken away. The man took it and the guard showed Chen Ming the five copper coins that the oil tea buyer had found.

Chen Ming looked at the copper coins in the guard's hand, counted them carefully, nodded briefly, then opened the curtains, leaned on the soft sofa with his eyes closed, and countless thoughts were spinning in his mind. Pass.

The prices of the camellia oleifera and bamboo cups were not exaggerated, but what made him pay attention was the meaning behind them.

Five copper coins, six-cent banknotes, one silver dime to a two-cent banknote, and one silver dollar to a twelve-dollar banknote. Have the common people consciously fixed the exchange rate between silver dollars and banknotes at one silver dollar and twelve banknotes?

Chen Ming was happy and worried. He is happy that the official exchange rate has been recognized by the people. There is no official exchange rate of one to twelve, but in actual transactions it is one to fifteen, or even more. For example, the vendor who bought camellia just gave the guard not five copper coins, but six copper coins. Four copper coins are equivalent to six-cent banknotes. That would be a tragedy. That means that the value of banknotes among ordinary people is much lower than the official law...

But what is he worried about? The current exchange rate of 12 to 12 is just an early discount. By mid-May, three months later, the official exchange rate will be one silver dollar to 10 banknotes. What will happen to the public shock at that time?

"Go buy two pieces of fried rice..."

The carriage drove forward for a while, and Chen Ming smelled the aroma of meat. He asked the guard to go to that store to buy it once. This business is a storefront, unlike the previous one where he bought oil tea, which was hawked along the street. This time the guard gave him banknotes, but he remained silent to see if the shop owner gave the change himself, or asked for change before asking, and whether he got banknotes or copper coins. The result is paper money!

From a young age to a big one, these small traders and hawkers certainly cannot represent the entire Chinese people, but it is necessary and important for Chen Ming to get a glimpse of the whole country. "I finally have something in my mind." It has been half a month since the banknotes were issued, but the exchange amounts from various places have not yet been reported to the central government. Although the local government and the national security department have been keeping a close eye on the market, the reports say there is no commotion. . But why would Chen Ming be so relieved if he didn't see it with his own eyes?

In the past few months, banknotes were fully prepared, and the total printing volume was a full five billion! From denominations of one cent up to the highest denomination of one hundred.

"Your Highness, Li Yin has been assassinated..." Chen Ming was about to send the carriage to Daqiao on Pingshi Street, which was the real prosperous commercial center of Nanjing, much more prosperous than the Confucius Temple. Although it has no reputation at all in later generations. But now, Daqiao, a single-hole stone arch bridge spanning the ancient Yundu, is famous.

Chen Ming feels that compared with Pingshi Street, the current Confucius Temple on the Qinhuai River should be the amusement park and commercial center of the city in later generations.

As a result, Li Yin was assassinated at this time. "Is the person dead?" Chen Ming's spine straightened instantly.

"Life or death is uncertain, and he is undergoing rescue."

"Where was the assassination? Who did it? Has the murderer been caught?"

"In the Dabaoen Temple, five dead bodies were found at the scene, and no one was caught alive. According to reports from Li Yin's attendant, the person who shot Li Yin was dressed as a monk. The Dabaoen Temple has now been sealed off."

…

Black covered the earth like felt, but a trace of fish white stubbornly pushed through the thick fog.

The sun shone, and when the last trace of darkness before dawn completely faded away, thousands of golden lights appeared on the horizon, which not only drove away the darkness, but also drove away the remaining coolness of early spring.

The people in Chifeng City were like mice avoiding cats. They carefully opened the door and looked through the crack in the door to the street. But the streets were strangely deserted. The Eight Banners soldiers who could be seen patrolling the streets in the past had disappeared. There were a lot of bloodstains scattered on the streets, as well as corpses one after another. There are quite a lot of hats, shoes, discarded swords, guns, bows and arrows, but I don’t know where their original owners have gone.

The streets were quiet, and the sound of cannons and gunshots that had been going off for many days could not be heard. Only the whistling wind could be heard, blowing away the smoke and blood.

The Fu Han army that attacked from Chengde took three days to easily capture Chifeng, the city closest to Chengde.

Did the Eight Banners lose? But didn't the officials say that the Eight Banners would not lose?

It is said that there are more than 10,000 Eight Banners cavalry and infantry stationed in Chifeng, while there are only two or three thousand Fu Han troops fighting in Chengde.

"Ding ding ding, ding ding ding..."

At noon, the Fu Han army that took back the pursuit troops took full control of the entire Chifeng city.

"No more fighting, it's peaceful! The army from the south is coming. The Eight Banners have all fled, why are they hiding? Go and welcome the Fu Han army!"

As an immigrant city and a new city, the people of Chifeng come from all over the world. These local people organized by the Fu Han army shouted happily at the top of their voices. The whole Chifeng city soon became lively.

The people opened the door of the house, and they saw several familiar faces, all full of joy, carrying big flags with a big "Han" written on them, shouting all the way. Red flags were waving in the air, with a striking "Han" on them fluttering in the wind. They really realized that the Qing Dynasty's group of bastards had really been driven away!

As a city that began to establish its roots during the reign of Kangxi, Chifeng was very young. The policy of "borrowing land to support the people" in the early years of Yongzheng allowed a large influx of Han people. Chifeng thus became a place where farmers and merchants from all walks of life outside the Great Wall gathered, and the "Nine Streets and Three Markets" gradually formed. At its peak, hundreds of horses were put on the market every day, and more than a hundred grain carts were transported in and out every day, and the market was extremely prosperous. But all this came to an end with the defeat of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing. Many local handicraftsmen were forcibly relocated to the Northeast by the Qing Dynasty, and the remaining pure farmers all became serfs serving the Eight Banners soldiers.

On the vast grassland, the Qing Dynasty, without the support of the Central Plains, was able to station tens of thousands of troops in Chifeng, all because of the relatively developed local agriculture. The Chifeng people, who had cried for a long time under the guns of the Eight Banners soldiers, were really overjoyed at this moment.

The braids were cut off by the locals, burned, or thrown into the stinking ditch, and became history like their owners. Chifeng City is about to usher in a new chapter.

"Oh? Have all the old and young of Wang Shijie's family been settled?" Wei Baocheng raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the middle-aged man who came with the staff officer.

The man hurriedly took off his hat and bowed, and the braid on his head had been cut off. He said respectfully: "Thanks to your blessing, everything has been settled. My master sent me to thank you and inform you that the job of buying vegetables and grain on the street in the next few days will fall on me. Please say hello to your officers and soldiers so that you won't be unable to leave the garrison office in the future."

Chifeng garrison Wang Shijie turned against the enemy in this battle and made great contributions. He is the youngest son of Wang Jintai, who was the former governor of Zhili, the deputy general of Hailancha, and a general among the Han officials of the Qing Dynasty. He "died for his loyalty" with Zhou Yuanli in Jinan City. In fact, he captured and killed several bannermen and generals in the Jinan garrison, and instructed his men to turn against the enemy. Although he did die afterwards, the Fu Han Army should not be too happy about such a "martyrdom".

Before his death, Wang Jintai sold a great favor to the Fu Han Army, and now it is time for the Fu Han Army to be good to his descendants. The two sides hooked up after a previous marriage, so don't be too fast.

"Now Chifeng has just been recovered, and there is inevitably some chaos in the market. The Tartars have already run away, and the hatred is left to you. It is for your own good to ask you to stay in the mansion, so as not to be beaten by the people. The soldiers sent are to protect you. You don't have to worry about buying vegetables and food. People will be sent every day to arrange it. Now I am protecting you, not starving you to death in the garrison yamen. So, when you go back, tell Wang Shijie and the families hiding in it to live in the yamen with peace of mind."

"By the way, who are you...?"

"I am the housekeeper of the Wang Mansion."

"Except for your master, do the other families have anything to say in the mansion?"

There are more Han members in Chifeng City than Wang Shijie's family. This time, more than Wang Shijie surrendered. Some of them still have their families in Shengjing. If the news of their surrender is passed back, the fate waiting for his family must be extremely miserable. Wei Baocheng despises such people.

"To answer your question, those people have thought it through, so they naturally know what to do now. They have surrendered now and have no way to retreat. Just like Zhou Shengshi, he is the second son of Master Zhou Yuanli. After Master Zhou died in Jinan, Zhou Shengshi hated the Fu Han Army very much, and there were some grudges between them. However, since Zhou Shengshi has surrendered, he has also thought it through. In addition to him, there are more than a dozen people in the Zhou family. Zhou Shengshi once said to me that everyone should take responsibility for their own actions. Since he is already a fish on the chopping board, it is up to you to kill or chop him. I hope that you will give him some leniency because he has made merit this time, and let the other members of the Zhou family return to their hometown to be ordinary people. I only ask that the other dozen people in the Zhou family not be implicated."

"Ha! Zhou Shengshi has come to his senses now? When he was leading people to search for the Beijing secret camp, why didn't he think about his family and future? The national security department still has his assassination order, and he took his life for 800 silver dollars. Now that the Tartars are at the end of their rope, they finally come to their senses and know they are afraid, right?" Wei Baocheng's expression became three points stiffer. He snorted coldly and said, "If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place? Go back and tell that Zhou, don't judge a gentleman by your own mean heart! The promise we made before counts. Not only will we not kill his family, but his own life will not be killed. But all the property of the Zhou family will be confiscated!"

"The Zhou family is from Hangzhou. You tell him to prepare and go back to Hangzhou to work in a few days." This work is not being a public official, but a punishment measure. Some Qing officials who were not sentenced to death had their property confiscated, depending on the situation, of course, the person concerned would be sent to a labor camp for serious crimes, and the lighter ones would be punished to work for the government in the local area.

Although Zhou Shengshi chased the Dark Camp like a mad dog and did cause some losses to the Dark Camp, he joined hands with Wang Shijie to save a large number of military supplies and food in Chifeng City, and even the entire Chifeng City. Because the Qing Dynasty had a plan to burn the entire Chifeng when the Battle of Chifeng was defeated, Zhou Shengshi made this plan aborted, and his contribution was not small.

"The new dynasty is so benevolent and righteous, I admire you!" The housekeeper had nothing to say. All the answers are in Chen Han's treatment of Zhou Shengshi. This is just like when Liu Bang appointed Yong Chi as the Marquis of Shifang, the worst people got a relatively good end, and the remaining few Qing Dynasty officials who surrendered can put their hearts at ease.

But the Zhou family will have a hard time in the future. The family property was confiscated, and the Zhou family could only have a few clothes at most. I just don't know how many pieces of silk, satin and fur among those clothes can the new dynasty leave for them?

...

Suzhou Prefecture, Changshu

March 13, the first year of Chengtian

It was a sunny day, and the drizzle and haze of the past few days were swept away. The spring was bright and the birds were singing. It was a good weather in the south of the Yangtze River.

In Xupu Town, Changshu, more than 300 miles away from Nanjing City, under the sunshine, this prosperous riverside dock town was bustling with people and traffic.

A four-wheeled carriage with ordinary decorations entered the north of the town from the town entrance, and came to the door of the wealthy Jin family in Xupu Town through the streets and alleys.

Xupu Town is not a big town in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is not famous, but it is very important in Changshu. From here, the Xupu River enters Suzhou, and you can also take a boat to float into the Yangtze River.

The economy in the south of the Yangtze River has developed rapidly recently, and Xupu Town has also regained new vitality. The acrobatics that were only seen on the fifth and tenth days in the past can now be seen every day.

Opera singers, storytellers, and a prosperous economy are always a hotbed for all kinds of entertainment.

The local people have also adapted to this change. When they have nothing to do, they will gather around to watch the fun. They don't necessarily have to throw money, but just watch and cheer.

The performers are not angry either. Their popularity is also a kind of capital. Besides, this place is rich. If you don't pay for one day, two days, three or five days, then you should pay once every ten days or eight days, right? It will be better if you develop a habit in the future. Just like what the document issued by the Education Department said, it is called cultivating the market.

The carriage passed through several streets, entered a small alley, and stopped at the side door of the Luo family's house.

Luo Wei, the largest landlord and rich man in Xupu Town, was waiting at the door in person. If other people saw him, they would be curious to death. Why didn't the person Luo Wei personally greeted walk through the gate?

"Master, you have worked hard." Luo Wei said to the people in the carriage very respectfully, and even the carriage driver was polite to him.

"It's not hard for a monk to live, but I'm causing trouble for Mr. Luo's family." A middle-aged monk in his thirties or forties lifted the curtain and walked down from the carriage. He was wearing a plain light blue monk's robe and had a compassionate look on his face.

Li Qi, who had just saved his life on the operating table and was firmly protected by the National Security Bureau, would be shocked if he saw the monk's face that looked full of compassion and peace. Isn't this the assassin that day?