My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 638 Zhu Gaoxu proclaims himself emperor

"whats the matter?"

Seeing Yang Shiqi's serious expression, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but curiously asked.

"Bank! We must build our own bank as soon as possible, but we don't have any experience with banks. Fortunately, Prince, you are here!"

Yang Shiqi said solemnly.

"Bank? Why do you suddenly want to establish a bank?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked still somewhat confused.

"Your Majesty, you don't know something. Sea trade here in Tianzhu is booming now, and various transactions are very frequent. In the past, the currency in Tianzhu was very confusing. Later, after we came, we began to mint some copper coins, and also printed treasure banknotes. But The scope of use is very small, and the situation has changed recently..."

As Yang Shiqi told it, Zhu Zhanhe finally understood why the other party was so anxious to establish a bank.

It turns out that with the opening of the sea in the Ming Dynasty and the prosperity of sea trade, merchants from the Ming Dynasty often came to Tianzhu to trade. Since the banks of the Ming Dynasty were established, the issuance of Bao Banknotes has become more standardized than before, and the currency value of Bao Banknotes has also remained stable. , it is no longer as easy to depreciate as before.

The most important thing is that the bank issued small denomination banknotes. These banknotes were independently issued by the bank and would not be excessively issued. Therefore, the currency value was very stable and they were quickly used in commercial transactions.

With the arrival of Ming merchants, they also brought banknotes. At first, merchants from various countries did not recognize them, but later they discovered that banknotes could really buy goods from Ming merchants, so they began to accept banknotes.

You must know that paper money is a dimensionality reduction compared to metal currency. It is not only easy to carry, but also easy to store. The most important thing is that the face value is fixed, making it easier to trade and circulate.

So in just a few years, Ming Dynasty banknotes began to become popular overseas, especially in Tianzhu. After all, the Han immigrants here came from the Ming Dynasty, and they were more accepting of banknotes, even in Delhi. In the market, holding Ming Dynasty banknotes was more popular than the treasure banknotes produced in the Han Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, although I am not as good at financial management as Xia Shangshu, it is definitely not a good thing if all the currency in our country is Ming Dynasty currency. So we must also establish our own bank and issue our own banknotes!"

Yang Shiqi finally said solemnly again.

Although the palace issued treasure banknotes, the acceptance was not high. As for the bank, he only heard its name, but did not know how it operated. Fortunately, Zhu Zhanhe came. He and Xia Yuanji founded the bank in the first place. Therefore, Yang Shiqi believed that Zhu Zhanhe could rebuild a bank in Tianzhu.

"I see, you are right, Yang Changshi. It is indeed a big problem to let other countries' coins replace your own. If they issue banknotes indiscriminately in the future, wouldn't it be possible to just exchange for the blank paper that we have worked so hard for?" The food and goods coming out?”

Zhu Zhanhe nodded in agreement.

He knows better than anyone else the consequences of a country's currency being controlled by others, especially after the emergence of banknotes. The cost of minting money is very low. If the party that controls the currency issues banknotes in a targeted manner, it is likely to lead to a country's collapse. Economic collapse.

"What the Crown Prince said is absolutely true, so in my opinion, the establishment of a bank must be put on the agenda immediately. After issuing our own banknotes, we can slowly squeeze out Ming Dynasty's banknotes!"

Yang Shiqi said firmly. "No problem, leave this matter to me. It just so happens that my father is also planning to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. After proclaiming himself emperor, we can officially issue banknotes. I have been planning carefully in the past few days. I will also need Yang Chang Shi, please give me more help!"

Zhu Zhanhe patted his chest and assured.

"Your Majesty, just give me your orders!"

Yang Shiqi said very happily when he saw Zhu Zhanhe agreed.

Early the next morning, Zhu Gaoxu convened civil and military officials for discussion, and then announced in front of everyone that he was ready to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. This matter was immediately supported by all the ministers, because they had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

So after several days of preparation, Zhu Gaoxu held a grand enthronement ceremony in the palace, and at the same time, he named Princess Han as the queen, Zhu Zhanhe as the prince, and Chang Sining as the prince concubine.

Even Zhu Zhanhe's son Zhu Qiming was canonized as a grandson. From this, it can be seen that Zhu Gaoxu really learned from Zhu Di in everything.

Zhu Gaoxu proclaimed himself emperor, and according to the rules, he used his title as King of Han as the name of his country. Therefore, the overseas Han Empire was established. The original capital of Delhi was renamed Xijing and became the capital of the Han Dynasty.

In addition, there are also awards for civil and military officials. For example, Yang Shiqi, as the head of the civil officials, was awarded the title of Prince's Young Master, Yinqing Ronglu, the doctor, was granted the title of Shangzhu Kingdom, and was also granted the title of Duke of Yue Kingdom.

However, only one civil official, Yang Shiqi, was granted the title of Duke, but there were four generals, namely Zhang Xing, Chang Wei, Zhang Zhong, and Zhu Yong, who had just arrived in Tianzhu.

Although Zhu Yong did not make any contribution to Tianzhu, he threw away his title and family property in order to welcome Zhu Gaoxu to Beijing. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu deliberately restored the title of Duke of Zhu Yongcheng. In addition, he also named his son Zhu Yi the Marquis of Tai'an and rewarded him. He received a large amount of land and property as compensation for him.

Other civil and military officials also received awards, and the entire court was smiling for a while. Even when the news spread, the Han people in Xijing were also in joy. Although they did not know the significance of Zhu Gaoxu's proclaiming emperor, they knew Their current life was given by Zhu Gaoxu. Now that Zhu Gaoxu is emperor, they are also happy about it.

In addition to Xijing, the Port of Delba was also renamed Beizheng Port. This name has two meanings. The first is to commemorate Zhu Di's many northern expeditions, and the second is to commemorate the time when Zhu Gaoxu came to Tianzhu from Lion Harbor. continental land.

As for Lion Harbor still retaining its original name, in fact, except for Xijing and Beizhenggang, most cities in the Han Dynasty have retained their original names. Unless the names of some cities are too long or too difficult to pronounce, they will be changed to simpler names.

The Han Kingdom was established, and its territory included the entire Tianzhu area, plus the entire Lion Island.

As for Manlajia Port, it remains the same for the time being. The main reason is that Manlajia is still nominally the territory of the Ming Dynasty. There is no need to have a legal conflict with the Ming Dynasty because of this land. After all, even if Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanji have torn apart I lost face, but that was only in private, and I still had to do what I wanted to do on the surface.

The news of Zhu Gaoxu's founding of a country overseas quickly spread to the Ming Dynasty through the mouths of those maritime merchants.

A few months later, when Zhu Zhanji finally received the news that Zhu Gaoxu had proclaimed himself emperor in the founding of Tianzhu, although he had been mentally prepared for it, when it actually happened, he was still so angry that he threw the table off.

(End of this chapter)