I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1072 Mingxiang Society, Northern People (Congratulations to Alliance Leader 'Autumn Wind & Drizzle'!)
"How could Zheng Song go back on his word and now request the Ming Dynasty to allow the four great families to conduct a joint investigation in Guangzhou?" Zhu Yijun shook his head repeatedly while holding the report: "Where were you before? You allowed all ships to plunder Ming merchant ships and closed Da Nang, preventing Ming merchant ships from entering. What happened to your arrogance?"

In addition to the battle report, Liu Jiwen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Wan Wenqing, the prefect of Guangzhou, submitted a memorial to the throne. The four major families, namely the Zheng family, the Ruan family, and the Mo family, requested peace talks, saying that they had been delayed in setting sail due to heavy rain and had not reached Guangzhou. Now that they had been defeated, they knew they had repented.

These barbarians really love to go back on their word, are untrustworthy, and treat their words as nothing.

The Ming Dynasty was a serious court. The Guangdong authorities reported this matter and gave a suggestion: read it but do not reply. The war situation was favorable to the Ming Dynasty. If the war showed signs of turning into a bad one, it would not be too late to reply. This was a way to end the war.

The means to end a war are of utmost importance, and each one should be cherished and preserved.

"In the next chapter, we'll investigate Guangzhou Prefecture thoroughly. What gives these bandit leaders, Zheng, Ruan, and Mo, the audacity to dare to play tricks on the Ming Dynasty so close to us? Haven't the Ming army learned any lessons from their years of campaigns in the north and south?" Zhu Yijun still felt something was amiss.

Is Zheng Song really a fool? He provoked the Ming Dynasty so much, yet he still wants to end things gracefully. What is the source of his confidence? The Ming Dynasty needs a clear answer.

What exactly do these bandit leaders possess that makes the Ming Dynasty hesitant to act, thus giving them confidence?

In addition to the memorials from Chen Lin, Luo Shangzhi, Liu Jiwen, Wan Wenqing, and others, Zhu Yijun also received memorials from Duntai Yuanhou and the coastal patrol inspector Liaoshan. The scouts, together with the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants in Annam, had learned some news.

Zheng Song led an army of 120,000 men, vowing to conquer Haiyang and Guangping. The outcome of the war was extremely unfavorable to Zheng Song. This humiliating defeat severely damaged his prestige.

Zheng Song, his younger brother Zheng Du, and Zheng Song's two sons engaged in a brutal power struggle within Thang Long City, a struggle that nearly escalated to the point of violence.

If Zheng Song suffers another major defeat, his position as regent may be in jeopardy.

During the campaign against Annam, the Ming emperor witnessed many ugly aspects of Annam: mutual distrust, nepotism, infighting, reckless advances, and fratricide. These ugly aspects made Zhu Yijun understand even more why the distinction between Chinese and barbarians remained a mainstream value after thousands of years.

Did the Annamese think this war was child's play? They made decisions hastily without any planning, and when things went wrong, they only cared about the immediate consequences.

Zhu Yijun put down the report, dealt with today's memorials, inquired about the Ministry of Revenue's collection of arrears, and then went to the navy to inspect the troops.

Master Zhu finished his busy day and returned to Yanqing Palace. He opened the miscellaneous newspapers and looked at the various news items on them.

The first, and most important, issue at present is the establishment of the Yiwei military system.

The reform officially began in the 23rd year of the Wanli reign (1595), which was the year of Yiwei, hence the name Yiwei Military System. Contrary to Zhu Yijun's expectations, public opinion and the prevailing sentiment seemed to be completely different from what he had anticipated.

The establishment of the 27 Infantry Battalions on the borders of the Ming Dynasty was widely accepted. Emperor Zhu Yijun did not earn the reputation of being a warmonger. These powerful and influential figures in Jiangnan recognized the military system of 1895 and even thought that the court's expansion of the army was a good thing.

This contains lessons learned from the Japanese pirates.

With prolonged peace, military preparedness declined, and there were not many walled cities in the Jiangnan region. Even after the Japanese pirate raids, some places, such as Yangzhou, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, had their walls repaired during the war, but these were intermittently demolished during the Wanli Reforms.

There was no other way; there were simply too many people, and the area enclosed by the city walls was too small to accommodate them all.

If twenty-seven battalions are set up on the border and twenty-seven battalions on the coast, there will be no need to worry about the city walls being destroyed and breached by pirates.

Moreover, the imperial court collects so much tax revenue, all that hard-earned silver, which ends up in the pockets of corrupt officials. It would be better to establish sufficient troops to ensure security.

In particular, these soldiers would also be tasked with patrols. The nine battalions of Zhejiang would patrol not only to prevent floods, but also to suppress bandits and maintain peace in the region.

This is completely different from previous public opinion. In the past, the wealthy households in Jiangnan always felt aggrieved because the court collected heavy taxes, and their money was used to support military towns far away. They were unhappy about this, starting from the relocation of the capital during the Yongle era, and continuing until the Japanese pirate raids during the Jiajing era.

This prevailing public opinion finally changed; the camp still had to be built because these Japanese pirates were truly killing people.

Politics is the sum of struggles between classes, and it is also a manifestation of economic concentration. Based on these two fundamental principles, we can understand the previous dissatisfaction and current support of the Jiangnan residents who were previously dissatisfied with the extravagance of the region.

This also reveals another fundamental principle of politics: the characteristics of the times determine the overall political landscape, that is, the general trend.

The Wanli Reforms occurred after the rampant invasions and Japanese pirate raids, prompting a collective reflection and transformation of society. Successful reforms led to continued progress, while failures resulted in the demise of the dynasty and a change of regime.

Zhu Yijun was pleased to see this change.

Of course, the wealthy families in Jiangnan also expressed their dissatisfaction. Why should the 27 infantry battalions in the north be established next year? Preparations are already underway, with the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites having already begun to promote the government's decrees. However, while the coastal defense infantry battalion has made plans, there is no specific time for its implementation.

For the people of Zheshehu, the court seems to be showing favoritism again! The people of the North are His Majesty's subjects, but those of Jiangnan are not. Doesn't Jiangnan need the protection of the Ming army?

Of course, some of the writings also directly pointed out the biggest dilemma in the establishment of the coastal defense infantry battalion: there were not enough military garrisons to provide the necessary troops.

All the farmland has been annexed, and the Jiangnan garrison is now just a name without substance. Without enough military households, where will the coastal defense infantry battalion come from? The difficulty in establishing the coastal defense infantry battalion cannot be blamed on the court's favoritism, but rather on the annexation of farmland.

The Nine Garrisons retained a full million military households, and the selection of 27 infantry battalions, totaling 80,000 men, was more than sufficient.

The imperial court had already exerted all its efforts to establish the Songjiang Navy and the Nanyang Navy, which was no easy feat.

How can a second floor appear out of thin air if the first floor isn't built?

Recruiting a group of desperados, these undisciplined soldiers will not only fail to stabilize the area, but will also create chaos.

Zhu Yijun felt that the opinions expressed in these newspapers were all very well written. They were not just talking about morality and character, but discussing issues based on the current situation. This kind of atmosphere was very conducive to change.

The biggest obstacle to solving problems is the refusal to face reality.

“This newspaper is interesting.” Zhu Yijun finished reading a newspaper called “Intoxicated by Spring Dreams”. It was a bi-monthly newspaper, published every two weeks.

The name sounds unserious, and in the beginning, it really was unserious, writing articles similar to "Jin Ping Mei".

However, "Drunken Spring Dream" did not sell well before. It was not because the story was not interesting enough. The market was very good. The main problem was that there were too many copycat books. Copycat books were sold cheaply, so people went to buy copycat books or books from small workshops instead of their official publications.

By chance, the pen of "Drunken Dreams" was writing about the past infighting within a wealthy family, and it became a bestseller. Clearly, people willing to pay for magazines liked to read this story. After that, "Drunken Dreams" changed course and devoted himself to writing stories about infighting within wealthy families, and finally survived.

The book in Zhu Yijun's hand is about Huang Qingde, a major salt merchant in Huaiyang.

On the surface, Huang Qingde is a good businessman. His family motto is: "Respect the elderly as you would your own parents, and care for the young as you would your own children." He not only talks about accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, but also puts it into practice.

When Huang Qingde was alive, he established as many as thirty-six salt granaries in Lianghuai, Yangzhou and other places. These salt granaries were grain storage granaries, relief granaries and life-saving granaries specifically for the relief of salt workers.

These thirty-six granaries cost a total of over 300,000 taels of silver to build.

Moreover, Huang Qingde actively participated in the construction of dams and the dredging of ditches and canals. For example, he donated 50,000 taels of silver to dredge the old Shahe River east of Yangzhou City, and another 60,000 taels of silver to dredge the Mangdao River, which was praised by his contemporaries.

Whenever there is a need for disaster relief, river works, or donations, we never shirk our responsibilities; we prepare for famine and disaster prevention and act swiftly and decisively.

Huang Qingde's good reputation served as his shield. During the many upheavals of the Wanli Reforms, Huang Qingde remained unaffected, and on several occasions when a clear stance was required, he consistently sided with the imperial court.

For example, in the thirteenth year of the Wanli reign, when the weather changed and powerful local gentry made a promise of sixty-four articles, it was Huang Qingde who led the extravagant households of Yangzhou to sign the agreement.

Huang Qingde's good reputation vanished after his death in the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign, when his six sons engaged in a fierce infighting over the family property.

At first, people thought it was just an ordinary case of fighting over family property. What was very strange was that all six sons were fighting over the salt warehouse.

Logically speaking, the word "righteousness" in "charitable granary" implies that it means losing money to gain reputation. Why would someone rob a salt granary when it should be a liability? They should avoid it at all costs.

As the drama of the six sons fighting over the money escalated, the true nature of the Salt Granary was finally revealed.

People generally believed that the thirty-six salt granaries were the life-saving granaries for the salt-making workers. In the event of a natural disaster, the salt granaries would open to provide relief, preventing people from starving to death. This was considered a righteous act.

However, as the family property dispute unfolded, Yan Yi Cang was essentially a money lending business with extremely high interest rates. The interest compounded, and even his wife and children were lost. Besides the money lending business, it was also the largest gambling den in Lianghuai.

This matter had existed for over twenty years, but it only came to light fourteen years later, after Huang Qingde's death.

This was because, firstly, the cooks themselves were poor laborers, their voices were very weak, and no one really cared about them; secondly, Huang Qingde had a protector who shielded him from the wind and rain, so these messages could not attract widespread discussion or the attention of superiors.

Huang Qingde was always very active in disaster relief and donations. Behind this enthusiasm was not love and benevolence, but bribery.

For example, the 110,000 taels of silver allocated for dredging the old Shahe River and Mangdao River were not used for dredging; all of this money ended up in the pocket of the Yangzhou prefect.

People only learned about this because in 1940, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrived in Yangzhou Prefecture and conducted a thorough investigation into the corruption cases in Yangzhou. The case was not closed until 1942 and was made public.

That's why the shady dealings involved have become common knowledge.

Huang Qingde sent gifts to the prefect with the intention of fostering goodwill between superiors and subordinates and establishing a strong friendship.

Bribes were divided into three types: regular tribute, special tribute, and daily tribute.

The custom of sending gifts during festivals and holidays is quite particular. The gifts must be different for each festival. Prefects are usually scholars and officials, so the gifts must be satisfactory.

Moreover, it must be free from worldly concerns; otherwise, wouldn't this stench of money tarnish the scholarly air?

Special tributes were different. They were much more direct and straightforward, and were delivered to specific people. They not only gave away gold and silver, but also beautiful women and thin horses. Sometimes it was Huang Qingde asking for favors, and sometimes it was the Yangzhou prefect soliciting bribes.

For example, Huang Qingde's fourth son went to the countryside to look after the garden and fell in love with a beautiful woman. The woman was already married, and her husband naturally refused to marry her. So the fourth son beat her to death. After the woman died, Huang the fourth took the beautiful woman back to the garden.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were extremely fierce. When the court collected taxes, the people dared to resist with arms. So what if something like this happened? The villagers surrounded the garden and demanded an explanation.

The fourth brother ran away with the beautiful woman overnight, but the garden was smashed by the villagers.

The fourth son returned to Yangzhou Prefecture, where Huang Qingde gave him a severe beating. However, since the son was his own, he had to protect him. The death of a person would lead to a criminal case. To settle the matter, Huang Qingde sent a complete set of jade artifacts to the Yangzhou prefect, which finally put the matter at rest.

The dispute over the inheritance among Huang Qingde's six sons after his death began with the fourth son, specifically the beautiful woman he had abducted. Originally, the six sons had no objections to the distribution of Huang Qingde's estate; after all, the old man was gone, but his influence remained, and the managers all supported the will, so the matter was unlikely to escalate.

As a result, the beautiful woman kept whispering sweet nothings in the fourth brother's ear, and the fourth brother finally couldn't hold back and started contacting the second brother and these shopkeepers, thus rebelling against the eldest brother.

The eldest brother took the most, but he was very mediocre. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and he couldn't do business well. The only thing he had was a very kind and generous personality. He respected all the managers and had a good reputation, just like the old man.

But the second son was exceptionally talented. He not only passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, but he was also extremely good at doing business.

The fourth brother's search for the second brother was exactly what the second brother wanted. The second brother was initially hesitant, feeling that he had little chance of winning against the eldest brother, since all the managers highly regarded the eldest brother.

As soon as the fourth brother arrived, the second brother immediately put his cleverness to use and started making a fuss. The old man felt the distribution was unfair, which caused the commotion.

The beautiful woman's pillow talk was indeed very effective, because the fourth prince was infatuated with his concubine and neglected his wife. This beautiful woman, with her status, should not have even been able to become a concubine after entering the family. However, after fifteen years, she had become the second wife and the principal wife.

The traditional drama of hiring a hitman, heavy sentences for bribery, etc., were all present. In the end, the family was torn apart and the family business was ruined. Of the six brothers, except for the sixth brother who was studying in Jiujiang Prefecture, none of the others survived. They all died, some by suicide, some on the way to exile, some by poison, and some by a woman's belly. The ways of dying were all different.

Surprisingly, after her home was destroyed and her family perished, this beautiful woman jumped into the river with her infant child in her arms, and her body was never found.

Some say the beautiful woman endured humiliation and hardship to avenge her deceased husband;
Some say that beautiful women, accustomed to a life of luxury, cannot stand simple meals.
Some say the beautiful woman felt guilty for ruining the Huang family and couldn't bear the gossip and pointing fingers from others.

Some say that Huang's collateral relatives forced the beautiful woman to hand over her only family fortune, intending to devour her extinct lineage. Unable to bear the humiliation, she felt she had no will to live.

The beautiful woman left no last words, and the reason why she jumped into the river to commit suicide remains a mystery.

"It's really hard to explain in a few words." Zhu Yijun shook his head repeatedly after reading the newspaper.

Bi Zheng had tried his best to search for information and explain the matter clearly, but in the end, Bi Zheng still couldn't guess why the beautiful woman jumped into the river. Although Huang Shi had lost, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and the remaining family property was still enough to raise the children.

Bi Zheng also bluntly stated that even without this beautiful woman's instigation, the six sons of the Huang family would have fought each other.

The eldest son is mediocre and gets the most, which makes the second son resentful. Even without any attempts to sow discord, the second son will still cause trouble.

The rapid decline of the Huang family was largely due to the shop managers. The shop managers were responsible for the business, and if the owners didn't cause chaos, they wouldn't have much of a chance. However, with the six Huang brothers fighting amongst themselves and having no time to attend to the business, the shop managers' minds immediately became active.

By the time the six sons finished fighting, all of Huang's shops had been completely emptied out by these managers.

Most importantly, Huang Qingde's lifelong reputation was completely squandered. Fame and fortune are intertwined; fame brings fortune.

Those thirty-six salt warehouses were not only loan sharks and gambling dens, but also places that practiced "harvesting" children, turning normal people into cripples and forcing them to beg. The warehouses were full of children. Huang Qingde went from being a great philanthropist to a villain, a change in reputation that is truly lamentable.

This may not have been Huang Qingde's original intention in establishing the charity granary, but in the end, the charity granary turned out like this.

The fierce winds and torrential rains in July even blew away many of the tiles from Yanqing Palace, uprooted sturdy trees, and caused some flooding in Songjiang Prefecture. Three severe typhoons struck in succession. With such fierce winds and torrential rains, Zhu Yijun gained a thorough understanding of the misty and rainy Jiangnan region.

The sun finally came out for two days in August. If it hadn't come out soon, Zhu Yijun felt like he was going to get moldy.

During the plum rain season, the Jiangnan region is shrouded in mist and rain. Living here is not only beautiful, but also inconvenient.

Zhu Yijun, on the contrary, felt a sense of relief at the three typhoons in January. Last summer, there was not much rain, but all the rain came in the autumn. During the autumn harvest season, the rain was heavy, and farmers could not harvest or dry their harvest. The autumn floods caused great damage to the production of the Ming Dynasty.

This year's rains, which fell in the summer, will greatly reduce the likelihood of autumn floods, allowing people to enjoy a few days of peace.

In August, Songjiang Prefecture began to celebrate the Emperor's birthday. The entire prefecture was bustling with activity, and the Emperor himself appeared on the city wall of Yanqing Palace several times to celebrate with the people.

On August 6th, Zhu Yijun received a memorial from Liu Jiwen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Liu Jiwen answered the emperor's doubts, stating that the biggest reliance, or rather the bargaining chip, of the Zheng, Ruan, and Mo rulers was the Ming people under their control.

The Nguyen in the South and the Trinh in the North, with Trinh's mother being from the Nguyen clan, had both conflicts and cooperation. For example, they reached a consensus on how to treat the Ming people in Annam.

At almost the same time, the two men registered all the Ming people in Annam and established an office called Mingxiang Society to manage them.

The Mingxiang Society was the source of the confidence that these four families had given to the Ming Dynasty to agree to a joint survey, then break their promise, and then attack Ming Dynasty merchant ships, preventing them from docking.

This is their biggest card in their hand. The Ming Dynasty has not yet launched a major offensive, so the four major families have not yet played this card.

Zhu Yijun's breathing became heavier. After reading the memorial three or four times, everything made sense.

“Mingxiang Society, people from the North.” Zhu Yijun’s fingers tapped incessantly on the seat.

He suddenly thought of Liang Menglong, the Minister of War, who had captured more than a thousand Ming people in the Battle of Suzhou and killed or castrated them without any mercy. He also thought of the miscellaneous articles that Gao Panlong had published in the newspaper before the war.

Although these scholar-officials did not know the specific organizational structure, they had some idea of ​​the existence of these people from the Ming Dynasty.

The Mingxiang Society governs a total of 140,000 people from the northern country, that is, people from the Ming Dynasty. Most of them are people from the Ming Dynasty who fled to Annam to seek a living before the establishment of the Nanyang Fleet during the Jiajing period of the Japanese pirate raids.

If the Ming Dynasty launches a full-scale attack, this will be a knife held to the neck of the Ming court.

The name Mingxiang Society is unusual.

Liu Jiwen explained it very clearly in his memorial: this was the name given by Lin Daoqian, the leader of the pirates, the son-in-law of Queen Lathu Biru of Brunei (Cambodia), and the water commander. Mingxiang Society was specifically managed by Lin Daoqian's pirates, hence the name Society.

Zhu Yijun never expected that conquering Annam would be more troublesome and difficult than the eastern expedition against the Japanese pirates.

“Liu Jiwen is right. The more we care, the more dangerous these Northerners from the Mingxiang Society become.” Zhu Yijun stopped tapping his fingers. The decisions of the Ming Dynasty cannot be influenced by these Northerners. Otherwise, the more we care, the more these four great families will use this as leverage to blackmail the court.

If the imperial court doesn't care, these northerners will lose their purpose and no one will care. Of course, this is also extremely dangerous, because these barbarians will most likely kill the northerners to vent their anger after they lose their purpose.

"During the expansion, the Ming Dynasty once again encountered a high moral disadvantage." Zhu Yijun sighed. The West did not have such problems or concerns during its expansion, but the Ming Dynasty had many concerns during its expansion.

As to how to fight this battle, Zhu Yijun did not give specific instructions directly, but instead entrusted the task to Chen Lin and Luo Shangzhi, asking them to make decisions based on the changes at the front.

In his memorial, Liu Jiwen mentioned a phenomenon that he found somewhat amusing: the four families of Annam shared a peculiar consensus that the Ming Dynasty would withdraw its troops if they surrendered, which was the reason for their request for a joint investigation.

It seems that as long as, just like during the Jiajing era, the Ming army pressed in on the border, and the powerful minister Anxing Prince Mo Dengyong, along with dozens of other officials, bound themselves and went to Zhennan Pass to surrender, the Ming Dynasty would agree to surrender and withdraw its troops.

But they never expected it to be so fierce; the Ming army had really arrived.

This time was completely different from the Jiajing era. During the Jiajing era, the ban on sea trade was tightened, while during the Wanli era, the sea trade was opened. The overall situation was different, and the final impact was completely different. When the sword of the Ming Dynasty was drawn, blood was bound to be drawn.

Zhu Yijun had a relatively easy time throughout August. When the Mid-Autumn Festival came around, he packed his bags and prepared to return to the Northern Office.

The six-month stay in the capital has come to an end again. This year is different from last year. Last year, ten measures for improving people's livelihood were implemented. This year, Zhu Yijun did only one thing: implement the Single Whip Law.

"I will be returning to the capital tomorrow. I still need you, my dear minister, to continue to oversee the implementation of the Single Whip Law in Songjiang Prefecture." Zhu Yijun summoned Hou Yuzhao and asked him to stay in Songjiang Prefecture to be in charge of the implementation of the Single Whip Law.

"When necessary, you can mobilize the coastal defense patrols. If you think it's necessary, you can also mobilize the Nine Battalions of Zhejiang." Zhu Yijun gave Hou Yuzhao a lot of power. The Nine Battalions of Zhejiang, with 27,000 men, are all battalion soldiers and are very capable fighters.

If the officials and local bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty think that they can do whatever they want now that the emperor and the capital garrison have left, then they are underestimating the emperor's resolve.

Hou Yuzhao paused for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the powerful and influential people, local gentry, and officials of our Great Ming Dynasty really don't have the guts to defy the imperial decree as a rebellion."

He worked on returning land to its original state in Zhejiang and consolidating this policy. Of course, he met some local gentry and elders who resisted the policy, but they were actually a very small minority.

The Ming Dynasty was not in chaos, and the imperial decrees never left people without a way to survive. Although His Majesty's actions could not be described as supremely benevolent, his rewards and punishments were clear and fair.

"Your Majesty, the six ministries that implemented the Single Whip Law are also places where gold and paper money circulate. They accept gold and paper money, and they can also accept the Single Whip Law," Hou Yu Zhao said, recounting the details he had noticed.

There aren't that many treacherous officials, sycophants, or rebels. Even if there were, the Beijing Garrison and the navy wouldn't dare to show it.

When the wealthy households and local officials heard that gold and paper money could also be used to pay taxes, their last vestiges of resistance to the Single Whip Law vanished.

In the eyes of these extravagant households, His Majesty could have openly robbed them with gold and paper money, but instead of allowing them to pay taxes with paper money, he refused to do so, which he considered blatant robbery.

The biggest obstacle to the implementation of the Single Whip Law in the Six Ministries was that the extravagant households thought His Majesty was going to openly rob them. However, since gold and paper money could be used to pay taxes, this resistance was negligible.

"Your Majesty, the six million strings of cash allocated for the targeted share issuance have been used up," Hou Yu Zhao asked in a low voice. "Should we issue some more?"

"How much should be issued?" Zhu Yijun did notice this situation. Six million strings of cash, equivalent to six million silver coins, were scattered in Guangzhou Prefecture, causing only a small splash. Some of the private notes were withdrawn from circulation.

"Six million strings of cash," Hou Yu Zhao tentatively stated.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun's expression changed, and he asked sternly, "I won't issue it! Six million strings of cash, and you dare to ask for it from Hou Yu Zhao!"

"The Guangzhou Prefecture exchanged Your Majesty's banknotes for goods such as silver, sugar cubes, tobacco, and imported grain. It wasn't for nothing, Your Majesty," Hou Yu Zhao immediately said.

The first six million strings of cash were not given directly to the Guangzhou government. Instead, the Guangzhou government convened a public council and ultimately decided on a large batch of goods, all of which were hard currencies, including sugar.

Gold notes were convertible currency; one string of notes could be exchanged for one silver coin at the Huitong Inn. There was even a bank run in Songjiang Prefecture, and the emperor transferred two million taels of silver from the Northern Court to deal with the run. After that, no one ran for the bank again.

"Six million strings of cash! It's all gone in just one month?!" Zhu Yijun frowned. He felt that six million strings of cash was already a lot, and in just one month, it was all gone.

"We've been thirsty for so long, it's like a long-awaited rain." Hou Yuzhao said in a low voice, "With these banknotes, we can use them directly in Southeast Asia."

(End of this chapter)