The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

"Those over sixty years old must step out."

Yi Huawei's voice made the horses on the west side of the parade ground prick up their ears. Two hundred and thirteen veterans dragged their feet to the center of the field. The oldest, Wu Laoshuan, walked so fast that he didn't even notice his leggings coming undone.

"Each person will receive 20 mu of sweet potato fields, located in the imperial farm outside Beijing."

Yi Huawei took a booklet from Wang Chengen and said, "The land deed has been prepared. You can go to the Ministry of Revenue to collect it today."

Suddenly, suppressed sobbing was heard from the back row. Captain Chen Shitou wiped his face with his chilblained hands. His grandson just turned one month old this year and he finally got to see him.

"Under sixteen, stand at the flagpole."

Thirty-four young men pushed and shoved their way over. Wang Gou'er stumbled a bit, and was supported by a Jinyiwei. Yi Huawei frowned - this kid couldn't weigh more than 60 kilograms.

Qiu Chengyun led 20 soldiers from the Western Factory to register. The veterans received resettlement silver according to their years of service, with an additional five cents for each additional year. The young men were measured in height and weight one by one, and the three weakest were immediately taken to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

At 2:00 pm, the Ministry of Works sent 37 oxcarts. The first 15 were loaded with rewards for the veterans: two sets of cotton clothes, five dou of rice, and an iron pot for each person. The last 20 were for the young soldiers: leather armor of uniform size, special pistols, writing brushes, inkstones, and paper.

The last car carried five instructors - all of them were veterans of the Shenjiying who had retired due to injuries. They now earned three or four taels of silver a month and specialized in teaching culture.

Wang Chengen wrote down in the book that 213 old soldiers were to be dismissed, saving 2,556 taels of military pay per year, and 34 young children were to be recruited, increasing annual expenditure by 408 taels. An additional 4,260 mu of military farmland was required, with an estimated annual production of 85,200 dan of sweet potatoes…

When the last ox cart left, the sun was setting.

Yi Huawei suddenly turned around, and his purple-gold boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the wooden board of the generals' platform. As the Hunyuan Yi Qigong was in operation, the sound exploded in the ears of every general like thunder:

"Ma Hong."

The commanders-in-chief of the three battalions who were being escorted by the Imperial Guards trembled all over, and their iron chains rattled.

"The false report of 1,200 soldiers and the embezzlement of 5,400 taels of salary per year."

Every time Yi Huawei said a word, a book of accounts flew out of Wang Chengen's hand and slammed heavily in front of Ma Hong: "Private sale of 23 military horses, accepting bribes and condoning merchants to go to the army."

The training ground was dead silent, with only the rustling of account books being heard. Ma Hong's lips trembled, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

Yi Huawei suddenly raised his hand, and a stream of purple air shot out from his fingertips. Ma Hong's helmet exploded with a bang, revealing his graying hair underneath.

"Take off your official uniform."

Four Jinyiwei stepped forward immediately. Amid the sound of the brocade robe being torn by the embroidered spring sword, Ma Hong's fat body trembled continuously, revealing a sheep-fat jade pendant on his waist - on it were four small characters of "Salt Voucher Exchange".

"What a 'Salt and Iron Envoy'."

Yi Huawei sneered: "Drag him to Xishi and torture him for three days. Confiscate all your property and exile your entire clan to Qiongzhou."

"Your Majesty, please spare me... please spare me~~"

Ma Hong was limp as mud, leaving long tracks in the sand as he was dragged away.

Qiu Chengyun presented the second list at the right time. Yi Huawei tapped the list with his fingertips, and the list moved automatically without wind, and when it stopped at a certain page, it suddenly tore - the page full of names was suspended in the air, and was semi-transparent under the setting sun.

"Zhao Dequan, the commander of the Shenji Camp, has 80 people who are not paid for nothing."

A black-faced man in the queue suddenly knelt down, and his armor hit the ground with a bang.

"Zhou Yongchang, the captain of the Three Thousand Battalion, used inferior horses as war horses and resold the finest feed."

Another officer crawled out of the line with a pale face.

"Zheng Sanhu, the battalion commander of the Fifth Army,"

Yi Huawei's voice suddenly turned cold: "Withholding military rations caused the soldiers to starve to death."

The last general to be named suddenly jumped up, drew his sword and rushed to the stage. But he had just taken half a step when he froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with fear.

Yi Huawei grabbed in the air, and the suction force of the Bei Ming Divine Art made him feel like his throat was being strangled by an invisible hand.

"What I hate most is the termites that drink the blood of soldiers."

With a crisp "crack", Zheng Sanhu's neck twisted at a strange angle. When the body fell to the ground, three copper coins flew out of the emperor's sleeves and accurately nailed into the eyebrows of the other three criminals.

"The rest of you wait,"

Yi Huawei shook off the non-existent dust on his sleeves and said, "Deal with it according to the Great Ming Law."

When the execution horn sounded, Yi Huawei walked towards the group of trembling junior officers. He picked up a military crossbow and drew the arrow and string with smooth movements.

"Whoosh!"

The bull's eye of the target a hundred paces away was pierced, and the arrow tail was still trembling.

"He who can hit this target,"

Yi Huawei threw down the crossbow and said, "I will be promoted one level and be rewarded with the introductory skills of the Purple Clouds Skill."

The officers who had looked ashen suddenly raised their heads, with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. One young garrison officer even tore open his shirt, revealing his strong chest: "I am willing to give it a try!"

The emperor nodded slightly and turned to the veterans who had passed the test: "Who among you can read?"

A dozen gnarled hands went up.

"From now on, you are the centurions of the new army."

Yi Huawei took a stack of appointment letters from Qiu Chengyun: "I allow you to recruit your own soldiers, and the monthly salary will be increased by 30%."

When the sunset completely sank into the horizon, thousands of torches had been lit on the parade ground. In the flickering flames, some people knelt down to express their gratitude, some cried bitterly, and some touched their newly received badges to confirm again and again - after this night, the Beijing Camp would no longer be the same as before.

...............

It was three quarters past the hour of Xu and the night was as dark as ink.

The sound of clappers on West Chang'an Street penetrated the dark night, and the crisp knocking sound echoed in the silent streets. As soon as the clappers fell, three hundred Jinyiwei Tiqi appeared like ghosts and quickly blocked the three streets around the Taicang warehouse. Heavy wooden barriers were lifted and placed across the intersections, blocking the roads. Double guards were set up at each intersection, and two Jinyiwei stood side by side, holding new flintlock short guns and looking around vigilantly.

On the commanding heights, the shooters equipped with the new flintlock short guns were already in position. They lay on the roofs and towers, with the muzzles of their guns pointed in the direction where abnormalities might occur, and their bodies remained motionless, as if blending into the night.

On the ridge of the warehouse, twenty-four crossbowmen were lying in ambush, lying on the cold tiles with their backs pressed against the ridge, and each of them had three whistling arrows in their quivers. These whistling arrows had special whistles tied to their tails, and once fired, the sharp whistles could alert the Wucheng Bingmasi and the Xichang Yamen at the same time.

The heavy wooden door at the main entrance of the warehouse was tightly closed. The bronze lock on the door weighed 83 pounds and had a cold and hard metallic luster. There were three different keyholes on the lock, corresponding to different ways of opening. At this moment, three officials in charge of unlocking the door had already been waiting here.

Minister of Revenue Li Ruhua stood on the far left, holding a key tightly in his right hand. He glanced at Luo Sixian and Qiu Chengyun beside him from time to time, with a hint of nervousness and uneasiness in his eyes.

Luo Sixian, wearing black armor, stood in the middle of the gate with his hands on the middle mechanism, applying slight force with his fingers, as if feeling the resistance of the mechanism.

Qiu Chengyun stood on the right, wearing a dark red outfit and a black hat. In his hand was a small device, which was the key to the last secret lock.

"Open a position!"

Following Wang Chengen's order, the three officials acted at the same time and slowly inserted the key into the lock.

At this moment, a sound of orderly footsteps came from far away. The black and gold-painted imperial sedan chair, carried by 72 strong men, stopped steadily in front of the Taicang warehouse. On both sides of the sedan chair, guards holding torches lined up in an orderly manner. The light of the torches illuminated the surroundings, and the light shone on the faces of the strong men, reflecting the sweat on their foreheads and the tense muscles.

The curtain was opened, and Yi Huawei stepped out of the chariot. He was not wearing a dragon robe tonight, but only a rhinoceros leather armor with dark patterns. The belt hanging around his waist was not a jade belt, but a three-finger-wide steel buckle belt.

"See Your Majesty."

Luo Sixian, who was guarding the steps, knelt on one knee, and the two hundred Jinyiwei behind him saluted with their swords at the same time.

Yi Huawei nodded slightly, glanced at everyone present, and stepped forward: "Open the warehouse door."

In the storeroom, 72 bronze oil lamps were hung under the beams, the wicks soaked in whale oil from the South China Sea, the flames were steady and smokeless, illuminating the entire space like daylight. Each lamp was made by a skilled craftsman, and the lamp holder was carved with the pattern of the Bi'an - this legendary beast of justice and sternness was watching everything happening below with its empty eyes.

The Suzhou gold bricks paved the ground were polished to a shine, reflecting the piles of silver boxes. Each box was three feet long and one foot and eight inches wide, all made of nanmu wood, with brass wrapped around the corners to prevent wear, and the locks were affixed with red lacquer seals from the West Factory. The writing on the seals was still new, and the ink had a slight luster under the light.

From deep inside the warehouse came the sound of an iron box being opened, and four shirtless strongmen were stacking silver ingots onto the scale. Each of those silver ingots was cast into the standard shape of a fifty-liang ingot, with "full-color silver" and the seal of each business engraved on the bottom. As the scale rod was lifted high, the weighing officer announced the number in a hoarse voice: "Net weight of each box is two thousand liang, and the seventy-first box has been inspected."

Yi Huawei stood in the middle of the warehouse, reached out and touched the corner of a silver box, and felt the unique cool touch of metal at his fingertips.

"Your Majesty, the inventory has been completed."

Qiu Chengyun presented the list with both hands.
Yi Huawei nodded slightly, signaling him to start reporting. The Minister of Revenue, Li Ruhua, who was standing next to him, immediately straightened his back. The sixty-year-old old official held a red sandalwood abacus in his hand, and his eyes swept over the piles of silver boxes, his knuckles slightly white.

"Jiexiu Fan clan..."

Qiu Chengyun opened the first page of the list: "2.87 million taels of silver and 120,000 taels of gold were seized. The value of shops and farmland in various prefectures and counties in Shanxi was about 1.6 million taels."

"Snapped--"

The abacus beads in Li Ruhua's hand suddenly made a crisp sound. The old minister's hands trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. He quietly raised his eyes to look at the emperor, but found that Yi Huawei's expression did not fluctuate at all, but his eyes became deeper.

"Taigu Cao family, cash silver 1.93 million taels, gold 95,000 taels. Silk and satin shops, tea and horse vouchers worth 2.2 million taels..."

"Qi County Qiao family..."

Qiu Chengyun changed to a thicker booklet, with the word "Jiangnan" written in cinnabar on the cover: "Songjiang Xu family, current silver 4.12 million taels, gold 250,000 taels. Suzhou and Hangzhou Silk Workshop, Jingdezhen Porcelain Kiln shares deed discounted value 3.8 million taels."

"Jiaxing Xiang family..."

"Tell me the total."

Yi Huawei suddenly interrupted, his voice was not loud, but it seemed to make the temperature in the warehouse drop a few degrees. He walked to a silver box with his hands behind his back, gently scraped off a little silver powder with his fingernails, twisted it between his fingertips, and watched the silver powder fall to the ground.

Qiu Chengyun immediately closed the booklet, his Adam's apple rolling up and down: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the eight major Shanxi merchants have seized a total of 18,650,000 taels of silver and 610,000 taels of gold. The 370 families in Jiangnan have seized 57,430,000 taels of silver and 2,180,000 taels of gold. The total is 76,080,000 taels of silver and 2,790,000 taels of gold!!"

During the Ming Dynasty, a large amount of silver flowed into China. In the 16th century, the Spanish transported American silver to China via the Manila Galleon. After the opening of the Longqing Port, the amount of American silver flowing into China surged from 50 tons per year to 200 tons.

During the entire Ming Dynasty, the total inflow of silver was close to 2.5 million taels. By the th year of the Wanli reign, the amount of silver in the private sector of the Ming Dynasty exceeded million taels. Adding the accumulation of previous dynasties, the total amount of silver in the country exceeded million taels.

This time, the eight major Shanxi merchants and the Jiangnan clans were searched and one-tenth of the country's silver was seized.

According to the current food and salary standards for the new army, the infantry's monthly salary is two taels, which is an annual cost of twenty-four taels; the cavalry's monthly salary is three taels, which is an annual cost of thirty-six taels; and the musketeer's monthly salary is four taels, which is an annual cost of forty-eight taels.

According to the confiscated silver, it can support 20 infantry, 10 cavalry, and 5 musketeers for ten years, including additional expenses such as horse feed and armor maintenance.

The warehouse suddenly became eerily quiet, with only the crackling sound of burning torches. Li Ruhua's abacus fell to the ground with a "click". The old minister hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but because his hands were shaking so badly, he failed to pick it up several times.

Yi Huawei looked at this scene, and the corners of his mouth pulled out an arc without a smile: "Li Aiqing, this is equivalent to..."

"It is equivalent to the annual income of Taicang warehouse for 30 years."

Li Ruhua finally picked up the abacus and said in a dry voice: "A silk merchant in Jiangnan has more silver hidden than the military pay of the nine frontiers."

"Li Qing." Yi Huawei suddenly called out the name.

"Chen is here!"

Li Ruhua immediately took a step forward.

"Sixty percent of the cash will be kept for the national treasury, thirty percent will be sent to the inner treasury, and ten percent will be sent to the Ministry of Industry."

Yi Huawei turned and looked at him, the candlelight casting shadows of varying depths on his face:
"From now on, the Taicang Warehouse will be divided into three warehouses: Warehouse A will store gold and silver, which will be jointly managed by the Western Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard; Warehouse B will store land deeds and hand them over to the Ministry of Revenue for survey; and Warehouse C will store commercial shares, which will be reviewed by me personally."

Li Ruhua froze in place as if struck by thunder, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, his cloudy eyes full of bloodshot, staring at Yi Huawei's profile, his dry lips opening and closing twice before he uttered a word:

"Your Majesty...this...this huge sum of money..."

Yi Huawei said slowly: "Li Qing, take it easy, the money is here and it won't fly away."

The old minister suddenly knelt on his knees and knocked his forehead heavily on the Suzhou gold brick, making a dull sound: "Your Majesty is wise! If you use this silver for practical purposes, our Ming Dynasty can prosper for a hundred years!"

Qiu Chengyun took a half step forward and tapped the list in his hand gently: "Don't worry, Lord Li. Just listen to His Majesty's instructions." (End of this chapter)