My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 199 New version of Ming Dynasty treasure notes and Ming Dynasty silver dollars!
Li Ruolian was extremely efficient and found five painters in just half an hour.

The five painters stood in front of Zhu Cilang, each of them like a frightened bird, shaking uncontrollably.

They were full of doubts and couldn't guess why the prince was looking for them.
Zhu Cilang also knew that they were a little scared, so he comforted them:
"Don't be afraid, everyone. I just want you to draw a portrait."

"Once the task is completed, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

A painter who was a bit braver heard this and asked timidly:
"May I ask, Your Highness, who painted this?"

Zhu Cilang raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty."

As soon as these words were spoken, the painters were stunned into silence, as if they were under a spell.

Not
Could it be that smoke is rising from my ancestral graves that I have the honor of having my portrait painted for the current emperor?

Zhu Cilang looked at the painters and did not give them much time to react. He immediately took them to Chongzhen's residence.

Inside a government office, sunlight filtered through the exquisitely carved window lattices, falling onto the ground like fine gold dust, interweaving to outline golden spots of various shapes.

Chongzhen was sitting upright in front of a large desk, completely immersed in the memorial in his hand.

Although many major events in Liaodong are now controlled by Zhu Cilang, and he, as the emperor, is basically just a decoration, he can still take care of some other minor matters.

Suddenly at this moment, a young eunuch came to report.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here!"

Chongzhen nodded and said:

"Got it! Let him in!"

While speaking, Chongzhen was still looking at the memorial in his hand.

Soon, another sound of footsteps was heard. Chongzhen raised his head and looked over the spread-out memorials, and saw Zhu Cilang leading several middle-aged men in.

These people were carrying some things on their backs.

Chongzhen couldn't help but feel curious. He paused flipping through the memorials and looked at the painter in the lead. He asked,
"Who are these people?"

Zhu Cixi smiled and said:
"Father, this is the painter I specially found. I want to paint a portrait for you."

portrait?

When Chongzhen heard this, a look of confusion instantly appeared on his face.

Why do you suddenly want to draw a portrait of yourself?

Zhu Cilang naturally noticed Chongzhen's doubts, and then continued slowly:

"Father, please don't worry. I just thought that since I finally came to Liaodong, I should leave a portrait of you here."

"This way, the civil and military officials of Liaodong will also have the honor to continue to admire the emperor's grace and feel his majesty."

When Chongzhen heard this, he was immediately delighted. His originally puzzled expression instantly relaxed and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He thought to himself that this was not a bad idea.

Leaving a portrait of himself here would not only allow Liaodong officials to see his holy face at any time, but also help consolidate his rule, so he readily agreed.

"In that case, I agree!"

Chongzhen said happily.

But is this really the case?
Of course not.
Zhu Cilang went to such great lengths to look for craftsmen and papermakers, and now he is looking for a painter, but he actually has other plans.

He wanted to get Chongzhen's portrait and then use it to make new Ming treasure notes and Ming silver coins, just as an experiment.

However, he did not intend to confess these thoughts to Chongzhen for the time being.

After all, in this era, it was difficult for ordinary people to accept printing people's portraits directly on money, and Chongzhen must have been no exception.

So he planned to execute first and report later. When everything was ready, even if Chongzhen wanted to regret it, it would be too late.

Soon, Chongzhen changed into an extremely gorgeous dragon robe with the careful service of his attendants.

The dragon robe is mainly bright yellow in color, just like the scorching sun hanging high in the sky, highlighting the emperor's unique dignity.

The gold thread on the dragon robe is embroidered with lifelike five-clawed golden dragons, which sparkle brightly in the sunlight, as if each dragon is about to break out of the wall.

It can be seen that Chongzhen made sufficient preparations to leave a good portrait!
After everything was ready, Chongzhen sat upright on the dragon throne, his back straight and his chin slightly raised. He instantly looked energetic and naturally exuded the majesty that only belonged to an emperor.

The painters had already set up their positions to paint Chongzhen's portrait, but when they saw this scene, they were so frightened that their faces turned as pale as paper, as if all the blood had been drained out of them.

He even could hardly hold the paintbrush in his hand, and his body began to tremble slightly involuntarily.

Although they had made sufficient mental preparations just now, this scene still scared them.

In the final analysis, it was because Chongzhen was wearing casual clothes just now, but now he was wearing a dragon robe!

One before and one after, they look completely different.

The former looks quite kind, while the latter exudes an imperial aura of supremacy.

You have to know that these people usually just write letters for ordinary people in the market, or draw simple pictures of the God of Wealth, door gods and the like.

But now I have to paint a portrait of the emperor who is so high and mighty. This is a matter concerning my life and property. How can I not be panicked?
If there is any mistake in the painting and the emperor becomes furious, you will lose your head!

Zhu Cilang naturally noticed the painters' nervousness, and then whispered to comfort them:

"Everyone, please relax. Even if the painting doesn't look like the real thing, the emperor won't blame you."

When Chongzhen heard this, he felt a little dissatisfied. After all, as an emperor, who wouldn't want his portrait to be lifelike and vivid, showing his kingly demeanor?
But seeing how nervous the painters were, he didn't know what to say.

Because it goes without saying that these painters were probably recruited from the folk, and their attainments in calligraphy and painting certainly cannot be compared with those of the imperial painters in the palace.

Chongzhen did not expect them to paint very realistically. As long as the shapes were 80% similar, it would be considered satisfactory.

Then Chongzhen followed Zhu Cilang's words and added:

"Your Highness is absolutely right. Feel free to draw. Even if it doesn't look like the real thing, I won't blame you."

After hearing this, the tension in the hearts of the painters eased a little, and the hands holding the paintbrushes no longer trembled as violently as before.

They took a deep breath, exchanged glances, and then carefully began to paint.

I have to say that painting a portrait is an extremely boring and tedious task.

The painters were fully focused, their eyes fixed on Chongzhen, their brushes moving continuously, and every stroke was made with a bit of caution.

But over time, not only will the painter feel tortured, but the person being painted will also feel bored.

Chongzhen had just sat for a while when he could no longer suppress his impatience.

He twisted his body slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position, and a hint of imperceptible annoyance appeared on his face.

But he knew in his heart that he couldn't leave at this moment, so he could only force himself to sit for a while.

After a while, Chongzhen finally couldn't help but suddenly asked:

"Is the painting finished?"

When the painters who were busy painting heard this, they subconsciously prepared to kneel down and apologize, and their brushes almost fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Chongzhen waved his hand and said:
"Don't kneel down all the time. I just asked if you were done painting. I didn't ask you to kneel down. Keep painting, keep painting."

Upon hearing this, several painters straightened up, having just begun to bend. Then one of them answered cautiously:

"Your Majesty, it will be fine soon!"

Chongzhen didn't say anything, but just nodded impatiently, signaling them to continue painting.

As early as when these painters started working, Zhu Cilang had already quietly slipped away.

After all, he knew that painting a portrait was a very boring job, and he didn't want to just wait here.

He simply instructed the eunuch beside him to send the portrait to him immediately after it was completed.

After returning to his residence, Zhu Cilang was just about to find something to do when Li Ruolian hurried over.

"Your Highness, the papermaker and the silversmith have been found."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he was quite happy.

Looks like there's no need to look for anything else!

"Bring them in!"

Zhu Cilang ordered.

A moment later, two groups of people were brought in.

The highest officials these craftsmen had ever seen were only minor clerks in the county government office, and they had never even seen a county magistrate.

But now they had to face the Crown Prince directly, and they were all trembling with nervousness.

As soon as they entered the room, they all knelt on the ground with a thud, shouting:

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. May His Royal Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, and a thousand thousand years!"

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. May His Royal Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, and a thousand thousand years!"

The slogans were shouted in such unison that it was obvious that Li Ruolian had given instructions before.

Zhu Cilang didn't care and said in a gentle tone:
"Everyone, get up. Don't be nervous. I've called you here today to ask for your help. If you do a good job, I'll definitely reward you handsomely."

When the craftsmen heard this, they stood up tremblingly.

However, their faces were still full of confusion. They really couldn't understand how ordinary people like them could help the prince.

Zhu Cilang first turned his gaze to the papermaking craftsmen and then asked:

"I'm asking you, what raw materials do you use to make paper?"

After hearing this, several people looked at each other in confusion, as if they didn't understand why the prince was suddenly so concerned about papermaking, but then they replied respectfully:

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, we usually make paper using a recipe passed down from ancient times."

"That is, using tree bark, hemp ends, worn cloth, fishing nets, etc. as raw materials for papermaking."

Zhu Cilang smiled and said:

"Then next, I want you to use other materials to make a special kind of paper. Can you do it?" Then, without waiting for the craftsmen to answer, Zhu Cilang roughly described the papermaking methods he knew.

However, what he wanted to make was not ordinary paper, but kraft paper.

However, his previous knowledge of papermaking was limited. He only knew that the main raw material of kraft paper was wood fiber, and it seemed to be wood fiber from coniferous trees. He was not very clear about other aspects.

So I can only give you a rough idea.

But it doesn't matter. The wisdom of the ancients is great, and with the generous reward, he believes that these craftsmen will not let him down.

Sure enough, after discussing for a while, these craftsmen hurriedly said:

"Your Highness, please rest assured. We understand your intentions. Please give us some time. We will do our best to make the paper you need."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded with satisfaction, and then said:

"Okay, I trust you! From now on, no matter what you need, just tell me and I will prepare it for you."

"As long as you can produce the paper I need, everyone present will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver."

After hearing this, the eyes of several craftsmen instantly lit up with surprise!
You know, that’s one hundred taels of silver!
They may not be able to earn this much even if they work hard for ten years!
Just like that, after expressing their gratitude profusely, they hurriedly retreated to prepare the materials.

Then, Zhu Cilang turned his attention to the remaining silversmiths.

At this moment, the eyes of these silversmiths were sparkling with excitement.

Although they still didn't know why the prince wanted to see them, they understood it in their hearts when they saw the prince promise rewards so generously.

That is, as long as you do things well, you will definitely get a lot of rewards.

Just when Zhu Cilang was about to say something, a young eunuch suddenly hurried in, holding a few scrolls in his hands.

It is obvious that Chongzhen's portrait has been completed.

Zhu Cilang picked up a portrait at random, opened it and saw that it was indeed a portrait of Chongzhen!

He roughly looked through several portraits, finally selected one with a more vivid expression, and handed it to several silversmiths present.

At first, the silversmiths didn't know what it was, but when they saw the prince handing them something, they hurriedly and carefully took it.

But when they saw the people in the painting clearly, these silversmiths were instantly frightened and their faces turned pale. Their legs went weak and they fell to their knees and kowtowed to the portrait.

"Long live your majesty!"

"Long live your majesty!"

"Long live your majesty!"

For a time, the sound of "Long live the country" was heard everywhere.

There was no way. Even if they had never seen Chongzhen, they knew that the person wearing the dragon robe in the portrait must be Chongzhen. If they didn't kneel, it would be a crime of disrespect!
Zhu Cilang saw this scene and couldn't help but feel a little amused and helpless, and then hurriedly said:
"Alright, alright, stand up, stop kneeling."

"I painted your portrait not for you to kneel down and worship. Stand up and speak."

After hearing this, several silversmiths stood up tremblingly.

The leading silversmith held the portrait of Chongzhen in his hand, looking extremely nervous and at a loss.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang could only take the portrait and then pointed at Chongzhen in the portrait and asked:

"I ask you, can you carve this portrait on a piece of gold or silver the size of a child's fist?"

When the silversmiths heard this, they said in trembling voices:
"My Lord, this is very difficult because the portrait is so huge."

Zhu Cilang pondered for a moment and felt that what the silversmith said made sense. Finally, he stretched out his hand to block the portrait, just covering Chongzhen's body from the neck down, leaving only his head exposed. Then he asked again:

"If I just ask you to carve this head on gold or silver, can you do it?"

Seeing this, several silversmiths were stunned.

Because the prince's gestures at this moment looked really strange. He held the portrait in one hand and placed the other hand under Chongzhen's head, as if he was going to chop off his head!
But how dare they say such things?

I can only pretend I didn't see anything.

The leading silversmith could only bite the bullet and say:

"Your Highness, if it's just a head, then of course it's fine. But...but wouldn't that constitute disrespect?"

"After all, this is a portrait of His Majesty!"

"If your majesty blames us, we will be dead without a burial place."

Although these silversmiths were common people, they knew that carving the emperor's portrait on other objects at will was a serious crime punishable by death.

However, when Zhu Cilang heard this, he waved his hand nonchalantly and said:
"What are you afraid of? This is what I asked you to do. If anything happens, I will take responsibility for it. Just do it."

"As long as you complete the task successfully, each person will also be rewarded with 100 taels of silver."

After receiving Zhu Cilang's promise, the silversmiths finally felt relieved.

Then, Zhu Cilang carefully explained some other things, such as in addition to the portrait, some texts needed to be carved, as well as the style and weight required, etc.

That's right!

What Zhu Cilang has to do at this moment is to issue the Ming Dynasty silver dollar!
And it was manufactured in the style of Yuan Datou in later generations.

However, Chongzhen on the other side was completely unaware of Zhu Cilang's plan.

At this moment, Chongzhen was still immersed in his own beautiful dream, imagining that his portrait could be displayed in various places in Liaodong and be worshipped by the people of Liaodong.

But of course, at this time Zhu Cilang had no time to break Chongzhen's dream.
In the next few days, these craftsmen were all local workers specially arranged by the Jinyiwei, so that Zhu Cilang would be the first to know about any progress.

Three days later, it finally succeeded!

It is a coincidence that kraft paper, silver coins and gold coins were manufactured at the same time.

At this time, Zhu Cilang was standing leisurely by the window, playing with a warm jade pendant in his hand.

The jade pendant flows on the fingertips, emitting a soft luster.

Just then, Li Ruolian came hurriedly to report.

"My Lord, everything you requested is ready!"

So fast?
When Zhu Cilang heard this, he was slightly stunned, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He originally estimated that it would take at least four or five days to complete the task, but he never expected the progress to be so fast?

But this is undoubtedly a good thing!
"Quick, bring the things up!"

Zhu Cilang said this with a smile.

Not long after, the thing Zhu Cilang had been waiting for for a long time was delivered.

Looking at the things in front of him, Zhu Cilang first stretched out his hand, then gently picked up the two coins.

These two coins, one gold and one silver, were made according to his previous instructions.

The silver coin weighs about 37 grams, which is exactly one tael of silver according to the ancient measurement unit.

The gold coin weighs 3.7 grams, which is only one-tenth of the silver coin. According to the ancient measurement unit, it is exactly one qian of gold.

As the sunlight poured down, both coins emitted a soft glow.

On the obverse of the coin, Chongzhen's portrait is lifelike and majestic, and some special patterns are engraved on the edge, making the entire silver coin look more exquisite.

On the back are neatly engraved the traditional Chinese characters "Da Ming Silver Coin One Liang".

Zhu Cilang took the two coins in his hands, examined them repeatedly, and was quite satisfied with them.

Because these two coins were almost the same as he expected, especially the silver coin, which was almost the same as the Yuan Datou he had seen in his previous life.

The only big difference is in weight. Yuan Datou is generally around 17 grams, while the silver coin in his hand weighs 37 grams, more than twice as heavy as Yuan Datou.

However, this is just the initial sample, and the details can be adjusted later when returning to the capital. The reason why it is made into the specification of one or two taels of silver is just to better show it to Chongzhen.

After admiring the gold and silver coins, Zhu Cilang turned his gaze to the neatly arranged papers on the side.

This time the papermaker delivered two types of kraft paper, one of which was unbleached, retaining the original color of the wood.

The other is white kraft paper as white as snow.

Zhu Cilang held the two pieces of paper in his hands and felt them carefully. A completely different touch instantly passed from his fingertips to his heart.

Although papermaking technology was quite advanced in the Ming Dynasty, it was still slightly inferior to these two pieces of carefully crafted kraft paper.

If this kind of kraft paper is used to make new Ming Dynasty treasure notes, it will definitely give people a refreshing feeling, and perhaps it can also enhance the status of Ming Dynasty in the hearts of the people to a certain extent, and let the people regain their trust in treasure notes.

Of course, after returning to the capital, Zhu Cilang will also find a way to make washed kraft paper, which is a special paper that is more suitable for use as banknotes.

However, the raw materials for this thing are hard to find in Liaodong, so for now we can only make do with kraft paper.

After inspecting the results, Zhu Cilang showed a pleased smile on his face, and then said to the craftsmen beside him:

"You all did a great job. Go down and claim your rewards! One hundred taels of silver each."

When the craftsmen heard this, their faces were immediately filled with joy and gratitude, and their faces, which were originally exhausted from days of hard work, instantly became radiant.

After another round of thanks, they went down to collect their reward under the guidance of the young eunuch!

After these craftsmen left, Zhu Cilang sent someone to call over several painters who had previously painted Chongzhen's portrait.

After they came over, Zhu Cilang pointed to the white kraft paper and a Ming Dynasty treasure note on the table and said:

"Everyone, I want you to copy the contents of this Ming Dynasty Treasure Note onto this piece of paper. However, don't make it too large. Just make it this size."

As Zhu Cilang spoke, he stretched out his hands and gestured to the size he wanted.

It is about the size of a Mao Zedong note in later generations.

Then he continued:
"Also, the content in the middle needs to be changed to include the portrait of His Majesty the Current Emperor."

Upon hearing this, several painters looked at each other, their eyes revealing confusion and puzzlement. They really couldn't guess what the prince was going to do?
But they didn't dare to ask, so they finally agreed and started drawing quickly.

Zhu Cilang had nothing to do, so he simply moved a chair, sat down steadily, and watched them draw quietly.

Since the requirements were not too strict, it didn't take long before several new versions of Ming Dynasty treasure notes appeared in front of everyone.

(End of this chapter)