February 20th, Dengzhou Fucheng.
Dengzhou was originally under the jurisdiction of Laizhou Prefecture, but was later upgraded to Dengzhou Prefecture. Its administrative seat is in Penglai County, which is both a prefectural city and a county seat. It governs Ninghai Prefecture, Penglai County, Huang County, Fushan County, Qixia County, Zhaoyuan County, Laiyang County and Wendeng County.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the imperial court once appointed the governor of Denglai here. Yuan Keli, the governor of Denglai, once trained his navy here, and Denglai became an important defense town. However, since the death of Yuan Keli, the governor of Denglai was revoked by the court.
Wang Yue's mansion was also located in the city. It was a low-key house, but the inside was very elegant. It was originally the house of a merchant. Later, when the merchant lost his fortune, he sold the house at a low price and was sold to the general. The shogunate bought it and gave it to Wang Yue to live in.
The soldiers of the rear battalion followed Wang Yue to Dengzhou. The left part of the rear battalion was stationed in Laiyang County and Huang County, the right part was stationed in Weihaiwei, Chengshanwei, and Ninghai Prefecture. Wang Yue and the middle part were stationed in Dengzhou Prefecture and Fushan County.
Since Wang Yue came to Dengzhou Prefecture, Du Zhiyu, the prefect of Dengzhou, came over to "pay homage to the dock" very wisely.
At this time, the household records of households in Dengzhou Prefecture, as well as the farmland account books of various places, have been handed over to the shogunate of the General Military Mansion. It can be said that Du Zhiyu and the civil servants and others in Dengzhou Prefecture are just empty frames. It is the imperial court that controls Dengzhou. It’s just the state’s face. On weekdays, everyone is basically led by the various departments of the General Military Office and the Shogunate, and everyone is accustomed to this.
Wang Yue also greeted Du Zhiyu with a smile. After some pleasantries, he said: "The soldiers in my rear camp have been fighting for a long time. They have just arrived in Dengzhou. I thought of letting the soldiers take turns to take vacations. It happened that they were paid military pay. In my hands, We all have silver coins, so we just go out and spend them to let the people
They also make some money. "
"Master Du just needs to know about it, so as not to cause misunderstandings when he sees the New Army soldiers everywhere on the street."
Although the military discipline of the New Army in Qinglai Town is the strictest in the Ming Dynasty. Since Liu Yan formed the army, there has never been a case where the New Army soldiers oppressed the people and plundered places. However, in the impression of some civil servants such as Du Zhiyu, no matter how strict the military discipline is, no matter how strict the military discipline is, , they are also soldiers. As the saying goes, bandits are like combs and soldiers are like grates. What if those arrogant generals leave the barracks and cause trouble?
Although Du Zhiyu no longer cares about specific civil affairs affairs, after all, if something goes wrong while sitting in this seat, the court will cause trouble for him.
So Du Zhiyu expressed his worries very tactfully with a smile on his face, and then looked at Wang Yue, fearing that the general would be angry.
What Du Zhiyu didn't expect was that Wang Yue's smile was even brighter than his, and he said: "Don't worry, Mr. Du, the military discipline of our new army officers is the strictest, and they will never bully the people. If something happens, I, the general, will bear it all, okay?"
Looking at Wang Yue's smiling face, Du Zhiyu felt very frightened, so he hurriedly nodded in agreement. After leaving the General's Mansion, Du Zhiyu saw five New Army soldiers traveling together. The five were wearing New Army uniforms similar to the Jinyiwei Feiyu uniform. Wearing regular uniforms and modified three-mountain hats on their heads, they passed by the gate of the General's Mansion in a line with their heads held high.
When the people around him saw this, they pointed and pointed. They were not too afraid, but seemed very excited.
"Look at those new army soldiers, they are really spirited. Anyone who has a daughter like this can marry them and enjoy the blessings!"
"
Who says it’s not? I heard that in the New Army, a big-headed soldier can get five silver coins every month, that’s five taels of silver. There are also rewards for military achievements, and for those who are killed or disabled in battle, in addition to the court’s pension, The commander-in-chief of the army also gave me a separate share. If you become a new soldier, it will be the protection of your whole family. "
Listening to the discussions of the people over there, Du Zhiyu couldn't help but sigh. Commander-in-Chief Liu Yan spent so much money to train soldiers, which has completely changed the inherent impression of the people in Qinglai Town. Originally, people said that "good men should not be soldiers" and "there are no good soldiers." "But nowadays, men from ordinary families are all trying hard to join the New Army. Those with daughters at home are trying to marry New Army soldiers. Those New Army soldiers are walking on the road with great airs. .
"Alas! When will the soldiers and horses of the imperial court be like the new army?"
Du Zhiyu sighed in his heart, and then sighed: "Oh! I guess I won't be able to see it in this life!"
At the same time, the five New Army officers also heard the discussions of the people around them. They were very proud and had smiles on their faces.
The one who walked at the front was Shen Wen. After experiencing the Battle of Kaifeng, Shen Wen also captured three bandit heads when he followed the army to pursue the defeated troops. With his military exploits, he was promoted from a captain in the middle of the rear camp to the flag. long.
Behind Shen Wen is his old boss Lao Bai. Now Lao Bai has been promoted to a General Manager in the central region based on his military exploits, replacing his former boss who was injured and returned home.
"Did you hear that? Our new army has strict military discipline and excellent work style. In the words of the head of the town, we just have to make ourselves strong, so that we can win the support of the people!"
Lao Bai smiled and "educated" a few people
A subordinate, Shen Wen nodded and said: "The boss is right. When the Ministry of War came for training last time, didn't he mention the words of the mayor? He said that the people support the army and the army protects the people. Only in this way can the world be stable and the country prosperous! I think this is what happens in Qinglai Town."
"Hey!"
Lao Bai looked at Shen Wen, who was leading the team in front, and said with a smile: "You can do it, kid. After you become the flag commander, you start to talk in different ways. On weekdays, the military teaches us how to read and write, but you kid I really remembered it all, do you still want to be the number one pick?"
Everyone laughed, Shen Wen smiled sheepishly, and then said: "Boss, we finally got a three-day vacation, where are we going?"
"Go to the front. I heard that there is a restaurant in front. The roasted mutton there is the best in Dengzhou Prefecture. Let's go try it and drink some wine by the way."
With a satisfied smile on his face, Lao Bai continued: "After eating and drinking, let's go to the Cloth Street in the east of the city to buy some cloth, supplies and food for the family, and let the merchants outside the military camp take them back."
Everyone cheered loudly, and they were very excited.
At this time, the New Army officers had a lot of money in their hands, and they spent a lot of money on weekdays. Therefore, many small merchants and hawkers gathered outside the military camp to help the New Army officers run errands or deliver property to their homes, just like in later generations. Express delivery and errands are generally available.
Then everyone went to a restaurant. The five of them found a table and ordered roasted mutton, soy sauce pork, and dried roasted fish. They also ordered four plates of vegetarian dishes to go with wine, and a large jar of pot wine, and started drinking.
Shen Wen and Lao Bai are both warriors, and they don't pay much attention to their meals.
After that, a large jar of Shaoguo wine was gone, and a table of delicacies was also wiped out.
Lao Bai let out a wine belch, stopped Shen Wen and others who were about to pay, and said proudly: "I'll take this meal. In the Battle of Kaifeng, I beheaded more people than you all, five heads of bandits, Lord of the town." You rewarded me with fifty taels and fifty silver coins! Keep all your money for getting a wife in the future."
Everyone laughed and praised Lao Bai for his righteousness.
"Haha, Master Jun, the total is one or two or eight dollars."
Lao Bai took out two silver coins directly. After the waiter took them, he found two hundred copper coins.
"Eh?"
Lao Bai took a string of one hundred copper coins and said, "Just give me two pieces of silver. It's hard for me to take so many copper coins."
"Haha, the military master doesn't know. Now there is basically no broken silver in our shops. Most of what is circulating in the market now is silver coins and copper coins. Even if there is some broken silver, they are all going to the Shandong Bank branch in the city. The number has been redeemed.”
Shen Wen asked: "Why is this?"
"It's so convenient! This silver coin is just one tael of silver, and you can use copper coins to find some odds and ends. It's very convenient."
The waiter in the shop saw that no one seemed to come out to buy things often, so he added: "In the past two months, silver coins have been everywhere, which are very useful. It seems that you only have silver coins in your hands, so you might as well go to the Shandong Bank branch in front of you. No., exchange some copper coins for later use."
Everyone agreed with a smile, and Shen Wen said: "I heard before that the Lord of the Town has set up a bank. Let's go and see it today."
Shandong Bank's branch in Dengzhou Fucheng is not far to the north. When everyone entered the store, they only
I saw that the house was divided into two parts, separated by a wooden fence, and several guys were busy inside. There are many stools outside, and several guests are already sitting there waiting.
"Sir, are you saving money, borrowing money, or exchanging money?"
Shen Wen said: "Let's exchange the silver coins for some copper coins. How do we get them?"
"It's easy to tell. How many of them are together? Let's take a number first."
The clerk brought a small piece of paper with "No. 135" written on it: "Sit here for a while, some military masters. When this number is called, one of you can go over there to handle it."
Lao Bai and Shen Wen looked surprised and sat down to wait. After a while, they heard someone shouting from inside the wooden fence: "Please come over here, Officer No. 135."
Several people each took out a silver coin and handed it to Shen Wen to handle. When Shen Wen came to the wooden fence, he saw a waiter inside saying with a smile: "Master, please sit down, please put the silver coin on the tray here, little one." After verification, I brought the copper coins to the military master, and the exchange rate was one silver coin to one thousand copper coins."
"good."
Shen Wen took out five silver coins and placed them on the tray inside the fence. This wooden fence was also carefully designed. You can only reach in through the relatively large gap at the bottom, but you can only put your hand in. This prevents anyone from getting through. Go in, or reach in and snatch it.
I saw the clerk holding the silver coin in his hand, looked at the code number on it, checked it with the companion holding the code book behind him, looked at the workmanship and quality, and took out five thousand copper coins, with forty Nine strings are a string of 100 Wen, and are strung with natural hemp rope; one string are 990 Wen, and are numbered with red hemp rope to show the distinction.
"
Sir, please take stock. We charge a handling fee of two thousandths for money exchange here. For five thousand copper coins, we need to charge ten coins. This is the remaining 4,990 coins. In addition, our rule here is: order it in person, and we will not be responsible for leaving the counter! "
The clerk pushed the copper coins out three times using a tray. Shen Wen took them and muttered: "What kind of rule is this?"
Then Shen Wen called Lao Bai and the others, and each of them counted ten strings of copper coins. They found 4,990 coins, a total of fifty strings of copper coins, exactly the same, and everyone felt relieved.
"Thank you to the store."
Shen Wen and Lao Bai collected the copper coins, left the Shandong Bank account with a smile, and went straight to the east of the city to buy.
Along the way, everyone bought a lot of linen and cotton cloth, as well as rouge gouache, dry goods, mountain goods, etc. The 4,990 coins exchanged were spent a lot. By evening, everyone was holding a lot of things.
"Haha, this is really convenient. In the past, when I used broken silver to exchange for copper coins, the exchange rate was different, and the fineness of the silver was different. I didn't know how many copper coins I could exchange for each time. It was smooth like this time, and nothing was delayed!"
Lao Bai bought a lot of cotton cloth and asked the foot merchant to send it home for his wife and mother to make clothes. At this time, he talked endlessly about the benefits of bank exchange.
Shen Wen also bought a lot of things and said at this time: "By doing this, the mayor not only made money, but also saved the people from being exploited by profiteers. It is really a good deed."
In the past, people who wanted to exchange money could only go to private merchants. Those merchants often manipulated the exchange rate of silver and copper coins to rob the people of what they already had.
Poor money.
Nowadays, people from all over Qinglai Town went to Shandong Banks to exchange money. Liu Yan vigorously promoted silver coins, completely eliminating the possibility of profiteers from profiteering from silver money exchange. Not only did he earn money, but he also gained a wave of popular support.
Lao Bai said: "It is indeed a good deed. I think the only one in the world who can turn business into a good deed is our mayor."
The few people talked and laughed all the way, and soon returned to the outside of the military camp. There were already more than a dozen foot merchants gathered here. Lao Bai and Shen Wen handed over the things they bought, attached their respective addresses, and paid the fee. , and then entered the camp.
Suddenly, a horn sound sounded in the military camp. Lao Bai, Shen Wen and others were startled. Then the governor in the middle of the rear camp came to the gate of the camp with several subordinates and said loudly: "The general has an order. : All soldiers’ holidays are cancelled. From now on, all units in the rear camp will be on alert. All merchants in the surrounding area will disperse immediately and are not allowed to gather!”
Lao Bai and Shen Wen were all stunned: Something happened!
