"Mom, dad, take care of yourself, the unfilial son is gone!" Chen Asheng knocked his head to the ground, and tears flowed down.
A southern woman with a dark and thin face, whose age was indistinguishable, leaned against the door and sobbed softly. And standing in the courtyard inside the door was the head of the family who was overwhelmed by life.
"...生!", his throat was also blocked, and he opened his mouth wide but did not call out his son's name, only an indistinct grunt. He could only look at the young man outside the door, all his fatherly love contained in his expressionless face. Under his knees, there was a half-grown boy and a toddler looking at this scene curiously. They didn't know what their brother and parents were doing.
Chen Asheng stood up, tightened his luggage tightly, turned to his companion and said, "Brother Yong Lin, let's go."
Chen Yonglin smiled and said to Chen Asheng's mother: "Don't worry, godmother, I will take good care of Aseng. Many people have made a fortune in Myanmar. When Aseng and I make a fortune, we will come back to honor you."
The woman standing leaning against the door wiped the tears on her face with the back of her hand and said with a smile: "Well, I don't miss you. Don't miss her either, Ah Sheng."
When Chen Asheng was about to walk away, the woman said something behind him: "Asheng, do good things when you go out, don't fight with others, and don't do any evil."
Chen Asheng did not turn around, as if he was afraid that his determination would be shaken if he turned around. He just nodded vigorously and followed Chen Yonglin.
...
Along with the social pain caused by the productivity increase in the southern part of the empire, the Burmese immigration work that had been difficult to promote in the local area finally began to surge in the twelfth year of Wanli. Young people like Chen Asheng and Chen Yonglin had to embark on a journey to survive in a foreign land due to unemployment and hunger.
They are like drops of water flowing out in dozens of cities such as Fuzhou, Guizhou, and Ningbo, forming a rolling flow of people. By the time the displaced people with accents from various places gathered at various ports, it had become a jaw-dropping crowd.
"Ah Sheng! Ah Sheng!" Chen Yonglin was swayed here and there in the crowd, desperately trying to find his relatives. The little Chen Asheng agreed a few feet away from him, which made Chen Yonglin feel relieved.
"After eating the porridge, go to the east side of the pier! Do you know? Ah Sheng! Ah Sheng!"
"I know! To the east of the pier, the Rangoon!" On the bustling pier, Chen Asheng, who was crowded and sweating profusely, squeezed the porcelain bowl in his hand, feeling more confident about his future life.
The first greeting gift given to Chen Asheng by Guangzhou Customs was a white porcelain bowl with two blue lines on the rim, which was much prettier than the sauce-colored sea bowl he used at home.
This porcelain bowl is for everyone who goes to sea to put porridge. Although holding this empty bowl seems like a beggar, the white porridge that still does not pour after inserting chopsticks has given these young people enough hope - the imperial court will Pay for their meals on the road.
The food on the dock is worse than what we eat at home. There is no dry food, and there is no oil or water in the vegetable leaf and pickle soup. But three bowls of thick porridge a day was enough to keep them alive and healthy, and gave them a strong hint that neither the emperor nor the government had abandoned them.
It feels good to be noticed. The Chinese people can endure all kinds of suffering, as long as they are told in an appropriate way that they have not been abandoned by their superiors. On the contrary, if you completely let them fend for themselves, the Chinese people's awe of divine power and royal power will also disappear, and their riots will be devastating.
After Chen Asheng queued up to receive the porridge, he ran to the large pots lined up on the pier and drank two bowls of pickle soup. It is very hot in Guangzhou in August, so you must take in enough salt. At this time, the court was not short of food and salt.
Lei Yingzhi looked at the flow of people in front of him and kept wiping the oil and sweat on his face. He has been serving as the customs commissioner for more than three years, and he has never received such a difficult task: in the past two months alone, the number of people sailing from Guangzhou Port has reached 67,893.
Maritime merchants throughout Guangdong have been mobilized, and they will be tasked with transporting these people to Haiphong Port. The imperial court has issued the latest order to auction waterways in Korea, Japan, and Nanyang. To qualify for the auction, you must obtain a shipping contribution document issued by the customs in each place. Maritime merchants without documents will not be eligible even if they have gold mountains at home. Enter the auction house.
This is certainly unfair, but there is nothing the maritime merchants can do. This auction will be based on the points method, and the contribution of the immigrants will account for 20 points out of 100 points. It is impossible for any maritime merchant who is interested in maritime trade to score nineteen points - every point difference will require more real money to be paid at the auction.
This will be the largest gluttonous feast in the entire history of China's maritime trade. Whether or not they can obtain one percent of the shipping shares will determine the honor and disgrace of these maritime merchant families for generations. Families with insufficient strength will either be annexed by large merchants or change careers: those who cannot obtain a license will be considered pirates and will face indiscriminate attacks by the navy.
A new warship has been stationed in Guangzhou Port. Anyone who has seen the gunboat cannot think of continuing smuggling. The giant ship has two rows of densely packed portholes, and behind the portholes are all cannons. Even if a large ship with two thousand materials encounters it, it will only be bombarded into pieces of wood.
After the merchants saw the slender ship shape and the rows of sails, they gave up the idea of escaping. This warship does not need to go to sea, and these merchants also know that it is definitely faster than merchant ships.
The desperate "maritime merchants" had no choice but to follow the instructions given by the emperor and take out the blood-stained gold and silver treasures they had accumulated over the years to buy shares of the "Da Ming Maritime Trading Company". With shares, there is a license - with a license, no matter how much you take out at this time, you can earn it back in the future.
The Zhengshitang was speechless about Zhu Yijun's "snatching and plundering", because this naked money grabbing method was packaged by the emperor and turned into a bit high-sounding: Who can say that it is not standardized management? Who can say that the fight against smuggling is wrong? Besides, these gold and silver emperors didn’t take any money into their internal funds, and they all made reserves for the “Central Bank of the Ming Dynasty”.
Rich again! The mint and the banknote printing factory were started at the same time, and new currencies were released immediately after the establishment of the two banks. Wang Guoguang calculated the cost of the banknotes and believed that if they could be circulated on a large scale, the court would never have to worry about a money shortage.
Of course there will be objections. Many people think that Zhu Yijun is addicted to stealing money and is preparing to copy Taizu's method of issuing treasure banknotes to plunder people's wealth. Zhu Yijun ordered newspapers to publish a series of reports, claiming that for every one tael of silver notes issued, the holder could exchange the same weight of silver at the bank.
This is of course impossible - just spending money on fire can empty the imperial treasury. However, the psychological shadow of the banknotes on the people of the Ming Dynasty was too great. At the beginning, the only way to promote it was to control the circulation of banknotes and accept public inspection. It was not until everyone developed the habit of using banknotes that they could be issued in excess.
Zhu Yijun has studied finance and knows that issuing banknotes with a reserve requirement of less than six times is considered a sound monetary policy. But at this time, the Ming Dynasty, let alone six times, even if it was doubled, once a large-scale run occurred, the people's uprising was considered to be light, and they might just rebel.
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Yijun decided to issue an edict to apologize to the business people all over the world and collect private treasure banknotes - this will be Zhu Yijun's first self-incriminating edict since he ascended the throne.
The Sinji Edict was an extremely important political statement in the political life of the feudal dynasty, and would easily resolve the currency issuance problem faced by the court. The courtiers therefore admired Zhu Yijun's character and believed that he had made a great sacrifice.
In fact, politicians above the minister's level knew very well that the emperor's edict was actually a political liquidation of Taizu, Chengzu and Renzong's excessive issuance of treasures.
Public opinion generally believes that the Baochao incident has nothing to do with Zhu Yijun. He actually took the blame for Taizu, Chengzu and Renzong. However, future generations wiping their ancestors' butts can also be regarded as filial piety and respecting people.
Wang Guoguang once opposed the emperor's edict to recycle treasure banknotes. He believed that Xuanzong had already abolished the circulation of treasure banknotes, and the court did not need to bear the political burden of two hundred years ago. Besides, for hundreds of years, the imperial court has long stopped using this stuff except for distributing lumi and rewards to the princes - the current treasure banknotes are just waste paper.
Of course Wang Guoguang is right, but Zhu Yijun believes that in order to properly handle the issue of new currency issuance, it is necessary to issue an edict. In addition, recycling treasure banknotes will be conducive to the promotion of new coins - if the imperial court wants to open up the situation of banknotes as soon as possible, it must give an explanation to the people of the world on the issue of "treasure banknotes", at least to eliminate the shadow of the people on banknotes.
Facts have proved that this recovery of treasure banknotes is definitely a masterstroke, and the court only paid a small economic price. Because the treasure banknotes recycled by the imperial court are calculated by the pound. Each pound of treasure banknotes is worth one Wanli silver dollar regardless of the amount. Even if there are tons of treasure banknotes out there, each ton is only two or three thousand Wanli silver dollars - more than waste paper. The recycling price is more expensive, which can save the court's face.
