Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Chapter 45: The Capital Branch Opens!

In the dead of night, officials emerged from their homes and made their way towards the imperial palace.

Each step was heavy, as if burdened by a thousand pounds.

Since Zhu You樘 ordered them to clean the battlefield two days ago, many officials in the capital had fallen ill.

The nightmarish experience was something they couldn't bear to recall.

But as soon as they closed their eyes, those scenes would flood their minds again.

Zhu You樘's rule was to hold court every three days, and these two days were just enough for them to recover.

Now that the court session was upon them again, some officials felt apprehensive at the thought of facing the Emperor.

At three quarters past Mao hour (6:45 AM), the civil and military officials had all arrived at the waiting room, awaiting the opening of the palace gates.

When Zhu You樘 opened his eyes, the sky was already bright, and the sun was shining brightly.

Attended by palace maids, Zhu You樘 donned his court attire, boarded the dragon palanquin, and proceeded towards Fengtian Gate.

Upon arriving at Fengtian Gate, amidst the chorus of "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!," Zhu You樘 ascended the dragon throne.

"If there are any reports, present them early; if not, the court will be dismissed."

"Your Majesty, I have a report to present."

"Granted."

"..."

The long and tedious court session quietly passed its midpoint, but none of the four Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet were willing to bring up the currency reform first.

Zhu You樘 frowned, displeased, as he looked at the figures standing at the very front on the left.

Xu Pu and Liu Jian, with their thicker skin, lowered their eyes, staring intently at the stone bricks on the ground, as if trying to see flowers bloom from them.

Xie Qian and Li Dongyang, with their thinner skin, felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles, a lump in their throats, under Zhu You樘's gaze.

In the end, Li Dongyang couldn't withstand the pressure and took the initiative to step out of the ranks, his face heavy: "Your Majesty, I have an important matter to report."

Seeing Li Dongyang step out, the other three Grand Secretaries secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

A smile appeared on the corner of Zhu You樘's lips: "Li Qing, you may proceed."

Li Dongyang stepped forward, raising the笏板 (ceremonial tablet) in his hand.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the current co-circulation of paper money and coinage is indeed inconvenient."

"When Emperor Gao of the Great Ancestor was in power, he stipulated that the Great Ming Treasure Note was the only currency of the Great Ming, but because the Great Ming Treasure Note has severely depreciated, although the court has repeatedly promoted it, the effect has been mediocre."

"I request Your Majesty to promote the Great Ming Treasure Note again and reprint new notes!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

The civil and military officials of the court stared at Li Dongyang with wide eyes, their faces full of incomprehension.

Zhu You樘 looked at Li Dongyang approvingly: "Li Qing's words are very true, I approve!"

"But in Li Qing's opinion, how can we quickly promote the new Great Ming Treasure Note so that the people can actively accept this new note?"

Li Dongyang swallowed, his heart beating faster, feeling as if he had a thousand pounds on his body.

"Great... Great Ming officials, as the backbone of the Great Ming, should naturally take the lead."

"I... I believe that Great Ming officials should only be allowed to use the new Great Ming Treasure Note and be prohibited from using silver coins..."

Swish!!!

The eyes that were originally just puzzled instantly turned into anger.

Li Dongyang immediately felt that the gazes falling on him were like materialized swords, slowly and cruelly slicing him to pieces.

"Hahaha! Good!"

"I think Li Qing's advice makes a lot of sense."

Zhu You樘 smiled and clapped his hands, immediately issuing an order: "Since that's the case, let's start with a pilot program in the capital."

"In five days, I will open a branch of the Great Ming Bank in the capital. At that time, officials in the capital can go to the capital branch to exchange silver coins for notes."

"I don't care how many notes you exchange."

"But from five days from now, any official in the capital and their family members who use silver coins will be executed!"

"Dismissed!"

Having resolved the most important matter, Zhu You樘 was too lazy to argue with these officials in court and immediately announced the dismissal of the court.

Zhu You樘 took the lead in walking back to Fengtian Gate, leaving behind a court full of angry civil and military officials.

These officials, who had cleaned the battlefield outside the city for half a day and then went home to recuperate for two days, heard such a life-threatening message as soon as they went to court.

They immediately felt that the sky was really falling!

Li Dongyang, with sweat on his forehead, was preparing to sneak home when he was stopped by the angry civil and military officials.

"Li Dongyang! What do you mean by this! Are you trying to force us all to our deaths?"

"Grand Secretary Li, you must give us an explanation today! What is your Inner Cabinet trying to do?!"

"Grand Secretary Li, why are you engaging in currency reform when everything is fine? And prohibiting officials from using silver coins, what a vicious policy, how did you come up with it?!"

"..."

Grand Secretary Li was surrounded by a large group of angry officials, and if it weren't for the large number of Embroidered Uniform Guards around, they might have started fighting on the spot.

Xu Pu and Liu Jian, seeing that the situation was not right, had already slipped away quickly.

Xie Qian, worried about Li Dongyang's safety, stayed behind to accompany Li Dongyang.

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian felt bitter in their hearts, they were destined to bear this blame for Zhu You樘!

The two sides persisted, surrounding Fengtian Gate Square, unwilling to leave for a long time.

In the end, the matter reached Zhu You樘, and Zhu You樘 ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guards to escort Li Dongyang and Xie Qian home, so that they could safely escape.

In the following five days, the Capital Branch and the Treasure Note Bureau were working intensively to prepare for the opening of the Capital Branch.

The officials of the capital were not idle either, and memorials like snowflakes flew to Qianqing Palace, all of which were requests from the officials of the capital for Zhu You樘 to stop the currency reform.

Zhu You樘 didn't even look at them and directly asked Huai En to burn them all, out of sight, out of mind.

Amidst the wailing of the capital officials, the Capital Branch finally opened on schedule.

On the morning of that day, before Chen hour (7:00 AM), officials were already bringing their servants and carriages to Qianmen Street.

The earliest arrivals were the four Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet.

"Chief Grand Secretary Xu, you've come to exchange notes?"

"Grand Secretary Liu, you're here too."

Xu Pu and Liu Jian exchanged a few words after getting out of the carriage, then waited in front of the Capital Branch with heavy hearts, not in the mood for much conversation.

Soon after, two more carriages arrived, and Li Dongyang and Xie Qian also stepped out of their carriages respectively.

Li Dongyang half-covered his face, afraid of being recognized by other officials.

As the sky became brighter, more and more officials came in carriages.

Minister of Personnel Wang Shu, Minister of Works Jia Jun, Vice Minister of War, Minister of the Court of Judicature, Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate...

All the six ministries and nine courts that could come, came.

Although they had thousands of unwillingness in their hearts, as Zhu You樘 said, the battlefield outside the city was still vivid in their minds.

No one was willing to openly defy Zhu You樘's meaning at this time.

No one would doubt the truth of Zhu You樘's sentence: "Any official in the capital and their family members who use silver coins will be executed!"

After getting out of the carriages, the officials cupped their hands and saluted their colleagues around them, then stopped talking, their faces drooping, waiting for the opening of the Capital Branch.

Before long, at three quarters past Chen hour (7:45 AM), the eunuchs of the Directorate of Palace Affairs opened the gate of the Capital Branch.

He Yong, the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Affairs and the first president of the Capital Branch, walked out with a smile, cupping his hands and saluting the officials.

"Gentlemen, you've been waiting for a long time."

"Please come inside!"