Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian was taken aback. He looked at Lin Wendao and pondered to himself: This is an underhanded veiled attack on the Military and Political Bureau by using military generals such as Cao Bianjiao and Zhou Yuji. The Military and Political Bureau is now clearly centered on the army and has stripped other departments of the court of their power. I just don't know whose henchman this person is!

His gaze then swept over the others, his tone laced with suppressed anger: "Tell me, who is the An Lushan of Nanjing?"

Upon seeing this, Xue Guoguan stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, Nanjing is located on a plain; there are no mountains there. If there are any, it would be Zijin Mountain outside the city!"

He paused, then looked at Lin Wen and said, "This man is a fame-seeker who spreads rumors and misleads the public. He has accomplished nothing in his post. I request that he be dismissed from his position as censor!"

Zhu Jian didn't know whose people Lin Wendao worked for, but Xue Guoguan knew very well that this man had been mingling in Donglin Party gatherings for a long time, playing music and discussing music with Qian Qianyi and others. He was a member of the Donglin Party. As a former member of the Wen Party, Xue Guoguan must have known very well who his opponents were. If he didn't bring these people down, others would have to bring him down.

Although Yang Sichang, who was standing to the side, did not know who Lin Wendao was, he knew the emperor's attitude and was also aware that Xue Guoguan, that old fox, was always good at figuring out the emperor's thoughts. Now that he had begun the impeachment, it would surely bring him benefits. So he also stepped forward and said, "Your subject seconds Grand Secretary Xue's words!"

As soon as Yang Sichang finished speaking, the two vice ministers from Beijing echoed in unison, "We second that!"

Huang Xiansheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, took a step forward, then stepped back. He was also a member of the Donglin Party and wanted to defend them, but after thinking it over, he didn't dare...

"allow!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wendao quickly defended himself, saying, "Your Majesty, my words are truly well-intentioned; please, Your Majesty, consider this carefully!"

Zhu Jian waved his hand: "He Renlong! See him out of the hall and tell him to go home and study Tang history!"

"yes!"

He Renlong then approached Lin Wendao and gestured for him to enter.

Upon seeing this, Lin Wendao knelt down and continued to shout.

He Renlong was taken aback, then grabbed Lin Wendao by the collar and dragged him outside the hall. In He Renlong's eyes, these scholars were all the type who wouldn't listen to reason and would rather suffer the consequences. If you wanted to leave with dignity, you would leave with dignity; if you didn't, he would help you leave with dignity.

Seeing Lin Wendao being dragged away, the others dared not say anything more. After all, this emperor was unlike any emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty; he had no political rules whatsoever and did whatever he pleased... He had no great Confucian scholars to assist him, only a bunch of stinking soldiers who only knew how to swing knives and kill people!

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Jian took out the one-tael silver coin from his inner armor, turned around and waved to the soldier: "Take this to Grand Secretary Xue to see!"

The soldier took the silver coin, went to Xue Guoguan, and handed it to him.

Xue Guoguan calmly accepted the silver coins, but he was already very excited. According to his official rank, he should have shown them to Zhang Zhifa, the Grand Secretary, or Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Revenue who was involved with silver. But now he hadn't shown them to Zhang Zhifa first. In his opinion, he would soon be able to oust Zhang Zhifa and become the new Grand Secretary.

He then examined it carefully, weighed it in his hand, and after a moment, slowly said, "Your Majesty, this is the first time I have seen such silver coins. I wonder what the Wuchang Mint intends to do with them?"

"The official silver ingots currently being minted by the court are inconvenient to circulate. I have decided to cease minting silver ingots altogether and instead have all loose silver coins cast into official silver coins for easier circulation!"

After saying that, Prosecutor Zhu pointed to several cabinet members beside him: "Show it to the others too!"

Zhang Zhifa, Yang Sichang, and Cheng Guoxiang took a look and felt there was nothing wrong with it; it was just a change in style. There were already piles of official silver in denominations of ten, twenty, and fifty taels without any regulations, so changing them all to this style wouldn't be a problem. Perhaps it would circulate better among the people than broken silver.

"Your Majesty, this silver coin has no hole in the middle, which I think makes it inconvenient to thread. Why not change it to the same style as the copper coin?" Cheng Guoxiang suggested.

"One hundred of them can be rolled up into a roll and stored in a box!"

Cheng Guoxiang nodded slightly after hearing this. He felt that this method of storage was much better than the current method of storing silver ingots. This way, a roll would contain one hundred taels, and there was no need to cut them into pieces before use.

"Your Majesty's words are excellent!" Cheng Guoxiang replied in return.

Zhang Zhifa examined the coin several times, turning it over and over, and felt there was nothing wrong with it, but he still cautiously asked, "I wonder if the fire loss on this silver coin is as high as that on a silver ingot?"

Upon hearing this, the others also turned their attention to him. The issue of "fire loss" (a measure of tax evasion) was what local officials were truly concerned about. It concerned their secret income.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian's lips curled up slightly. As expected of the chief minister, he had hit the nail on the head. Although Zhang Zhifa might not have had any selfish motives, the others were not.

"We don't know yet. I've already ordered Zhu Dadian to conduct a trial minting of 200,000 silver coins in Wuchang. We'll check the fire loss after that!"

After listening, Zhang Zhifa glanced at the Wuchang Mint inscription on the reverse of the silver coin, then at the Zhu Jian on the dragon throne. After a moment's thought, he cupped his hands and said, "I believe that regardless of the fire damage, this coin will be more convenient to circulate than the current official silver, and it will be just as convenient as copper coins!"

Then, changing the subject, he said, "But Wuchang alone doesn't seem enough to support the minting of the entire Daming silver coin! Should we add mints in other locations?"

Zhang Zhifa keenly realized that the emperor's intention was not merely for convenience. By adopting the same casting process as copper coins, the fire loss rate in various regions would surely be unified in the future, and each region would have a fixed rate. This would play a significant role in avoiding local fire loss problems in the future, which would be a good thing for both the people and the court. He felt that he could facilitate this matter and do something good for the country and the people.

Zhu Jian pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Establish new mints in Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Kaifeng, Chengdu, Xi'an, and Fuzhou!"

"Including the existing Wuchang Mint, there are a total of eight! All are under the unified management of the Capital Mint! The Capital Mint has a Director, who is a second-rank official, equivalent to the Ministers of the various mints!"

"Your Majesty, if the Director of the Mint is the same as the Minister, under which department would he be managed?" Cabinet member Yang Sichang asked with doubt. In his opinion, this would probably mean that the Mint would become independent. This place is too lucrative, and we need to be careful. It would be best if he could become the Director of the Mint.

His position as Minister of War was replaced by Zhu Jian as Governor of Southern Zhili. Although both were second-rank officials, one was a Beijing official and the other a local official. He wanted to take advantage of this appointment to the Mint to return to the emperor's side.

"I recommend Grand Secretary Yang Sichang to serve as the Director of the Mint!" Xue Guoguan suggested first.

Yang Sichang was his ally, and he was prepared to help Yang Sichang this time.

"The Mint was placed under the Military and Political Bureau, and was headed by Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Revenue! Fan Jingwen, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, was promoted to Minister of Revenue!"

Zhu Jian knew that Yang Sichang wanted to return to the capital, but whether he returned or not wouldn't make much difference; keeping an eye on Southern Zhili was more important. Cheng Guoxiang was an extremely honest man; after his death, no fire was allowed to be lit, and his only son died of excessive grief after handling his funeral. He didn't even have a grandson… Such a person could be put to use.

The newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Fan Jingwen, committed suicide by jumping into a well after the fall of Beijing in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. He could be considered a capable person...

"Your subject, Cheng Guoxiang, kowtows in gratitude to Your Majesty!"

Yang Sichang, standing to the side, looked slightly dejected upon hearing this, but he didn't argue much, since the positions had already been decided and there was basically no possibility of change...

"My esteemed ministers have truly worked hard to welcome me today!"

"Let's adjourn the court and go back to rest!"

"We take our leave!" After saying this, Zhu Jian turned and walked out.

As he walked, he said to the soldiers beside him, "Go and summon Zhang Zhifa, Yang Sichang, Cheng Guoxiang, and Fan Jingwen to the Cultural Hall..."