People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 716: The vouchers attracted worldwide attention!
It was dusk, and the streets of Jinling City were filled with the dampness and chill of early spring. Chen Han stood outside the prison of the Ministry of Justice, looking at several silk merchants escorted out by the Jinyiwei, his eyes as cold as iron.

These people looked pale, and the shackles on their hands and feet rattled with their steps. One of them was still shouting, "Sir! I am innocent! Those fake bills were printed privately by my subordinates. It has nothing to do with me..."

Chen Han said nothing, but pulled out a stack of indigo voucher samples from his sleeve and shook them gently. The night breeze blew by, and the dark patterns on the vouchers flowed like living things under the torchlight, forming a sharp contrast with the forgeries scattered on the ground.

"The anti-counterfeiting pattern of the Institute of Physics is mixed with Liaodong cinnabar, which changes color when it comes into contact with alkali." He squatted down and dipped the real note into a puddle, and the fine "Hongwu Tongbao" inscription immediately floated on the water surface. However, the counterfeit note paper was soaked in water, and the ink was smudged into a dirty color.

The businessman's legs went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

"Drag him away." Chen Han stood up and brushed off his clothes. "According to the Ming Dynasty Law, those who forge banknotes will be executed by lingchi."

As the pale moonlight shone on the bluestone slabs of the execution ground, Zhu Biao was reading memorials in the Eastern Palace. The candlelight made the "川" pattern between his eyebrows even deeper, and the pile of impeachment memorials on his desk almost submerged the gilded pen holder.

"Your Highness, Lord Chen requests to see you." Before the young eunuch finished his words, Chen Han had already stepped over the threshold, still carrying the bloody smell of the execution ground.

Zhu Biao looked up and pointed at the thickest memorial on the table: "The Zhejiang Provincial Censors jointly impeached you for 'shaking the foundation of the country', saying that the vouchers you issued would make the people despise copper coins."

"Of course they are anxious." Chen Han sneered, "The account book of the land survey in Songjiang Prefecture shows that 30% of the copper coins circulating in the market last year were stored in the cellars of these people." He took out a blue booklet from his arms, "What's more, the engraving of the forged voucher came from Gu's Bookstore in Hangzhou."

The candle flame popped and a spark of light burst out. Zhu Biao paused on the word "Gu" - this was the Zhejiang Dao Censor's in-laws' family.

"Keep sending them out." The prince suddenly swept the impeachment memorial to the ground. "Tomorrow morning, I will see with my own eyes who dares to stop farmers from getting coupons to buy plows!"

At five o'clock in the morning, in front of the Fengtian Hall, civil and military officials were blowing their hands and stamping their feet in the cold wind. Suddenly, there was a commotion, and a dozen peasants in coarse cloth were led to the Danchi by guards, their straw sandals still stained with field mud.

"How shameless!" The Minister of Rites' beard trembled, "Are peasants qualified to attend court?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's dragon chariot arrived at this time. The old man opened the curtain and saw the farmers at first sight. He suddenly grinned and said, "Great! I just want to hear what the farmers have to say!"

As soon as the court meeting began, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue came out holding an abacus and said, "Your Majesty, the vouchers have been issued to the two provinces, but all prefectures and counties have reported that the circulation of copper coins in the market has dropped sharply..."

"Bullshit!" Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed the paperweight on the dragon table and threw it at him, "The grain price in your hometown of Jiangxi has dropped by 30% in half a month. Do you think I don't know?"

Chen Han took the opportunity to leave the class. Two guards behind him carried a wooden frame covered with cloth. "My lords, please have a look."

The red cloth was lifted to reveal a modified waterwheel model. As the mechanism turned, the water scooped up by the bucket was continuously poured into the field model, while the land next to the traditional waterwheel model had already dried up and cracked.

"The waterwheel that Henan farmers exchanged for coupons irrigated an additional 200,000 mu of land this spring." Chen Han pointed to the serial number engraved on the bottom of the model. "It clearly records how much silver was subsidized for each unit and how many coupons the blacksmith shop received."

The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate suddenly sneered: "Who knows if the local officials made false reports..."

"Master Liu!" Zhu Biao suddenly interrupted, shaking out a stack of confessions covered with bloody handprints from his sleeve, "The lawyer you sent to Henan took 500 strings of cash from the local grain merchants and specifically targeted farmers who used water carts to cause trouble."

The hall was in complete silence. Zhu Yuanzhang slowly walked up to the group of farmers and suddenly grabbed one of them's hands and said, "This callus, is it from plowing? Tell me, are the vouchers useful?"

The dark-faced man stammered, "Reply, reply to the emperor. We exchanged the coupons for an iron plow, which can cultivate eight acres a day..."

"Did you hear that?" Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and looked at all the officials, and said in a loud voice, "This is the real 'foundation of the country'!"

When leaving the court, Chen Han was blocked by several officials from the Ministry of Works in the corridor. The old official in charge lowered his voice and said, "Duke, my cousin has a copper mine in Hangzhou. If the vouchers need to be mixed with copper powder to prevent counterfeiting..."

"No need." Chen Han smiled and took out a new note. The red seal on the corner of the note, "Supervised by the Institute of Physics", was dazzling red in the sun. "The next batch will be mixed with sea sand from Ryukyu. The words will show up when it comes into contact with acid."

As he strode through the Meridian Gate, he heard the sound of porcelain breaking behind him - an imperial censor was so angry that he threw a teacup.

On the post road in the distance, a horse-drawn carriage with a flag reading "Voucher Redemption" was heading towards a more distant prefecture or county.

Chapter 714

In a teahouse by the Qinhuai River, the storyteller clapped the wake-up stick, and all the tea drinkers in the room suddenly quieted down.

"Dear readers, today we are not going to talk about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Water Margin. Let's just talk about something new... The imperial court is going to give money to all the people in the world!"

The teahouse suddenly exploded.

"Give money? What money?" A peddler carrying a load on his shoulder widened his eyes and almost dropped the tea bowl in his hand.

The storyteller stroked his beard, pulled out an indigo-colored hard card from his sleeve, and waved it in front of everyone: "This is it, a voucher! With this voucher, you can exchange it for farm tools and grain seeds. The court said it will never take it back!"

The tea drinkers gathered around, and one of them stretched out his hand to touch it, but the storyteller hit him on the back of his hand with a ruler: "Don't worry, don't worry, this ticket is very valuable!"

"Father, can this coupon really be used as money?" A farmer in coarse cloth rubbed his hands, staring at the indigo card.

The storyteller chuckled and said, "They've already been issued in Zhejiang. I heard an old farmer used this voucher to buy a new plow, and he can plow eight acres of land a day!"

In the corner of the teahouse, several merchants in silk shirts exchanged glances. One of them, a tall and thin man, lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the value of this coupon has risen to 12 yuan in Zhejiang..."

"Shh!" another fat businessman hurriedly stopped him, "Be careful, the walls may have ears!"

……

The market in Hangzhou was bustling with people. An old man in patched clothes held up a voucher and shouted in front of the blacksmith shop: "Boss, I want a new hoe!"

The clerk in the blacksmith shop took the ticket, looked at it carefully in the sunlight, and suddenly exclaimed: "Oh, this is a new version! There is a secret mark of the School of Physics on the back!"

A group of people suddenly gathered around.

"Old Zhang, where did you get this coupon?"

The old man grinned, revealing his missing front teeth: "It was given by the government! There are five people in my family, and we received two and a half!"

A scholar in a long gown squeezed into the crowd and asked anxiously, "Old man, can this note really be exchanged for something? It won't depreciate like the treasure notes, right?"

Upon hearing this, the owner of the blacksmith shop took out a notice from under the counter and slapped it on the wall: "The imperial court has issued an order that this note is worth the same as copper coins! It has been stamped with the seal of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration!"

The scholar took a closer look and saw that the notice was indeed stamped with a bright red official seal and a line of small characters: "Those holding this coupon can offset 20% of their taxes."

The crowd suddenly became excited.

……

At the dock of Songjiang Prefecture, several porters were squatting beside a pile of cargo and eating coarse-grain cakes.

"Have you heard? People in Suzhou have started using vouchers to buy rice!"

"real or fake?"

"It's absolutely true! My cousin wrote to me from Suzhou, saying that a bushel of rice only costs eight cents, which is two cents cheaper than copper coins!"

An old porter with wrinkled face suddenly stood up and said: "I have to go home quickly. I heard that the village will start registering to get the coupons tomorrow!"

...In the private rooms of the teahouse in Jinling City, several salt merchants were gloomy-faced.

"This is troublesome," a round-faced businessman wiped the sweat from his forehead, "People are holding on to their vouchers and not spending them. I'm afraid our salt permits will fall in price."

Another businessman with a goatee sneered, "What are you afraid of? If the imperial court can print notes, why can't we accept them? When the common people are in urgent need of money, won't they have to sell them to us at a low price?"

"Are you crazy?" The third businessman's face changed drastically. "Didn't you see the notice saying that reselling vouchers will result in exile three thousand miles away?"

Goatbeard disagreed: "The law cannot punish everyone. Besides, we can 'barter'..."

As he was talking, the door of the private room was suddenly kicked open. Several Jinyiwei in flying fish uniforms rushed in, and the captain in charge sneered, "What a good 'barter'! Come with us!"

……

In a small village in northern Zhili, the village head was beating a gong and shouting in the street: "Attention, every household! Registration for coupons will begin tomorrow! One coupon per household, counted per person!"

The villagers poked their heads out of their thatched huts and asked in unison:
"Chief, can this voucher really be exchanged for a plowshare?"

“How much grain can be exchanged?”

"Do the dolls count?"

The head of the village was overwhelmed by the question and took out a crumpled notice from his pocket: "Look for yourself! The court said that children under ten years old will be counted as half a notice!"

An old woman carrying firewood on her back suddenly burst into tears: "Oh God, please open your eyes! If my poor son could live to this day, he could also get one..."

……

On the ferry on the Yangtze River, several people dressed as businessmen were chatting.

"Have you heard? Someone in Yingtian Prefecture used a voucher to buy a good horse from Liaodong!"

"real or fake?"

"It's absolutely true! The horse dealer said that vouchers are more useful than copper coins. They are light and not easy to be stolen!"

A young man in a blue cloth robe suddenly interrupted: "You may not know that this voucher can be used outside the Great Wall. The Tatars recognize it and say it is easier to carry than silver!"

……

In a restaurant in Guangzhou, a Nanyang businessman held up a voucher and looked at it in the sun for a long time. Suddenly he exclaimed: "There is a golden thread in this paper!"

The Fujian businessman at the same table laughed and said, "It's more than just gold thread. I heard that this note won't rot even if you soak it in water for three days, and it can even leave marks on it even if you burn it!"

The Nanyang businessman rolled his eyes and said, "Brother, I'll pay double the price, how about you help me change a hundred?"

The Fujian merchant waved his hands hastily: "No, no! The imperial court has issued an order that anyone who does business privately will be beheaded!"

……

In front of the City God Temple in Xi'an, a storyteller is telling a new chapter of "Chen Gong'an":
"It is said that when Duke Chen invented the voucher, he deliberately added some herbal juice from the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains into the paper pulp. This juice has a property that it turns red when it encounters alkali and turns blue when it encounters acid..."

A vendor in the audience suddenly raised his hand: "Father, what if someone tries vinegar?"

The storyteller glared at him and said, "Then you will be the next one to be invited to have tea by the Royal Guards!"

The crowd roared with laughter.

……

As night fell, the streets of Jinling City gradually became quiet.

Chen Han stood on the corner tower of the imperial city, looking at the twinkling lights in the distance. Zhu Biao walked up to him and handed him a glass of warm wine.

"Have you heard?" The prince laughed, "There is an old scholar in Hangzhou who framed the voucher and hung it in the center of the hall, saying that it is more valuable than the ancestral tablet."

Chen Han took a sip of wine and said, "The Zhejiang Provincial Administration Office reported that some farmers have used the vouchers to jointly buy water trucks."

"That's good." Zhu Biao looked at the lights in the distance, "But I don't know what those gentry are planning."

Chen Han chuckled and pulled out a letter from his sleeve: "I just received a secret report that a rice shop in Suzhou has marked the coupons and is preparing to settle the accounts later."

Zhu Biao took the letter and glanced at it, his face suddenly darkened: "Pass the order down and ask the Jinyiwei to arrest the person overnight."

The night wind blew through the corner tower, carrying with it the lingering smell of fireworks from the distant market.

The night watchman struck the gong for the midnight hour, and the sound echoed in the silent streets.

"The sky is dry and things are dry, be careful with the candle..."

There seemed to be a hint of joy in the long tail tone.

……

As the water vapor from the Qinhuai River filled in through the window with the clacking sounds of the loom, Zhu Youwei was using a silver scissors to cut a piece of satin with a peony pattern.

Fifty-six looms were arranged in a formation of geese in the workshop. The newly hired female workers, with their heads down, threading the looms, looked like egrets pecking at their food attentively on the riverbank.

"It would be better if the weft is half a centimeter denser." She pointed her finger at a certain spot on the sample cloth, and Li Zhen beside her immediately marked it with a charcoal pencil. Suddenly, the sound of the loom was mixed with the familiar sound of footsteps. Zhu Youwei smiled without turning her head and said, "Duke Qian actually has time to inspect? I heard that the vouchers in Zhejiang have lowered the grain price by 30%, and the cloth merchants in Songjiang are jointly planning to hang you."

Chen Han leaned against the door frame and ate a crisp pear, the juice splashing on his brand new indigo official uniform: "I have to queue up first even if I am hanged - just now, Lao Liu from the Ministry of Industry said he wanted to bury me alive because the Liaodong farm tool vouchers used Ryukyu sea sand for anti-counterfeiting."

He suddenly shook out a purple hard card from his sleeve and said, "Look, my lady, this is a special edition from Yunnan. The wax is mixed with Burmese jade powder."

The sound of the loom suddenly lost its rhythm. The young female worker in the last row stole a glance over, and the shuttle fell to the ground with a "pop". Zhu Youwei picked up the shuttle and handed it back, pinching the back of her husband's hand: "Flirtatious! Can't you see that the children are nervous?"

She lowered her voice very low, "I heard that the vouchers in Jiangxi were printed with the wrong seal?"

"It's not just Jiangxi." Chen Han took out a piece of pine soot ink and drew a diagram on the back of the sample cloth. "The Gansu coupons have been blurred by the wind and sand, and the Guangdong and Guangxi coupons are too damp..." The pen tip suddenly stopped, and he stared at the lock stitch on the edge of the cloth. "This stitching... is it the work of the maid of Cao Guogong?"

The shadows of the clouds outside the window passed over the loom, casting mottled light on Zhu Youwei's profile.

She took out the ink block and rubbed it lightly on the inkstone: "Li Zhen brought twelve girls to rush overnight. Your vouchers caused a sensation in the city, and the workshop accepted an urgent order from the Guanglu Temple." Suddenly, she dipped a thick ink and touched the tip of his nose, "Tell me! Did you do it on purpose?"

Amid the giggling laughter of the female workers, Chen Han grabbed her wrist and said, "God knows! The old man insisted on adding the clause of 'women's textile machinery discount' to the farm tool coupons. The Ministry of Revenue was still arguing about it this morning..."

Before he finished speaking, the sound of a gong from the Street Cleaning Bureau came from outside the door, mixed with the crisp singing of a child: "One coupon, two coins, my wife buys a machine to spin cotton..."

(End of this chapter)