Fenghou

"You guys are late, the sky has drifted a lot just now!" the courtyard soldier said regretfully.

The crowd ignored him, surrounded a literate soldier, and asked eagerly, "What's written on it?"

"Go inside and talk!"

Everyone returned to the house, lit the oil lamps, and the literate soldiers read: "I tell all the Jianghuai officers and soldiers that Shouchun has come, and the people are safe and sound. People, I can't bear to kill, it's late autumn, the new year is approaching, spring plowing is approaching, the barren land is waiting for you to go home to cultivate, surrender as soon as possible, let everyone go back to their hometowns and reunite with their families, if you resist, you will burn the city! "

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, only then did they realize that the houses were all made of wood. If the Western Army set fire to the city, none of them would survive.

……

It was getting brighter, and Zhang Ziqi was sitting alone in the courtyard, holding a notice in his hand. He had hardly slept all night, sitting on a big rock in a daze, and several soldiers stood not far behind him, and no one dared to disturb him. he.

At this time, there was a rush of running, and a soldier reported at the gate of the courtyard, "Marshal, the Western Army has sent envoys into the city!"

Zhang Ziqi nodded, "Ask him to sit in the lobby and treat him with courtesy!"

Zhang Ziqi got up to wash up a bit, and then came to the lobby.

Zhang Ziqi, the envoy of the Western Army, knew him. He turned out to be Wang Yong who joined the army. Wang Yong got up and said with a smile, "Young Master Zhang, we meet again."

"It turned out to be Wang Canjun, please sit down!"

The two sat down. At this time, Han Jin also rushed over. He had a very ugly face and sat aside without saying a word.

Zhang Ziqi asked, "Is my father still alive?"

Wang Yong said slowly: "We have received some news that the [-] troops led by your father were wiped out at Niutoushan, or they all surrendered. Your father Zhang Jun, His Royal Highness King Yong let him go, and he fled with his own soldiers. , whereabouts are currently unknown."

"What about my family?"

Zhang Ziqi took a deep breath and asked: "The notice says that the birthday is broken, how is my family's situation?"

Han Jin also straightened up involuntarily, and looked at Wang Yong with concern. Of course, he also cared about his family in Shouchun.

"Your wife, mother, and grandmother are all fine, your two-year-old son is still alive, and everyone left behind is safe and sound, but your brother and several nephews were led by Li Jiming to break out of the city. Li Jiming did not surrender, and the entire army died in battle. , your brother and nephew were dragged down by him, and all died in the chaos."

"Stupid!" Han Jin couldn't help scolding, of course he scolded Li Jiming for being stupid and loyal and harming the descendants of the lord.

Wang Yong glanced at Han Jin and said: "General Han's wife, mother and two sons are all safe and sound. It is stated in the notice that the Western Army will not commit any crimes when it enters the city!"

Han Jin moved his lips a few times, and finally couldn't help sighing, "Thank you very much!"

Regardless of whether he accepts it or not, King Yong did not kill his wife, children, and mother. Based on this, he is also grateful.

"Are you planning to set fire to the city?" Zhang Ziqi raised the notice in his hand.

"We chose Yushan County as an empty city plan. We originally had this consideration in mind. You should have noticed that most of the houses in Yushan County are made of wood, which is related to the abundance of timber in this area. As for whether to set fire to the city, this is actually not important. I I'm not here today to persuade you to surrender. It's up to you to decide whether to surrender. We, Liu Dutong, just hope that the young master will give the soldiers a choice. Those who are willing to surrender, let them go out of the city and return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. If they don't want to surrender, then go to the battlefield. See, I want you to make a decision before dark."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Ziqi whispered, "Does His Royal Highness Prince Yong want to hand over our father and son to the imperial court?"

One thousand 260 eight chapters public anger

"Young Master Zhang thinks too much. His Royal Highness King Yong never does anything to please the court. You are surrenders, not prisoners of war. King Yong will treat those who surrendered kindly. If Han Dutong surrenders, according to the regulations, he will be reduced to a ruler and continue to be reused."

Han Jin was taken aback, his eyes lit up immediately.

Zhang Ziqi asked anxiously, "Then what if... what if it's me?"

Wang Yong smiled slightly and said: "His Royal Highness Yong has a good impression of Mr. Zhang, exaggerating his generosity. He said personally that if Mr. Zhang is the head of a state, it will be a blessing to the people. This is what His Royal Highness Yong said. It is estimated that His Royal Highness will use the young master as Zhizhou, maybe it is the matter of Zhishouzhou."

Zhang Ziqi secretly heaved a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "I see, I will give a definite answer before dark."

Wang Yong left and Zhang Ziqi asked Han Jin, "If I choose to surrender, will General Han object?"

Han Jin sighed and said, "The food for the soldiers is about to run out. What reason do we have to keep going? The marshal wants to surrender, and the humble officer has no objection."

"What about the other generals?"

Han Jin shook his head, "The son is the marshal of the army, and this kind of thing is decided by the marshal, regardless of the wishes of his subordinates. If they don't want to be loyal to King Yong, they will choose to go home and farm."

Zhang Ziqi's greatest fear was that the Western Army would hand him over to the imperial court, and he would be tortured to death on the streets of Lin'an. This was the reason why he couldn't sleep all night.

Now King Yong will use his promise as a state official to relieve his worries, Zhang Ziqi no longer hesitates, and immediately said: "Pass my order, put up a white flag on the top of the city, open the south gate, and order the soldiers of the three armies to put down their weapons and armor Get out of town and surrender!"

The [-] army finally chose to surrender before the food ran out. Liu Qiong immediately promised everyone on behalf of King Yong that all soldiers would be released and returned to their hometowns. return home.

When the news came out, the [-] army was full of cheers. At this moment, everyone wished to fly back home and reunite with their wives and children.

Liu Qiong arranged for the surrendered army to have a full meal, and then led the army back to Jiangzhou. They will cross the river from Jiangzhou to the north, and all the surrendered troops will be escorted to their hometown counties for release, so that they will not harass the people along the way.

……

In the northernmost part of Taiping Prefecture, there is a small village close to the Yangtze River, called Cihuzhai. The village is less than [-] miles away from the Yangtze River. It is under the jurisdiction of Dangtu County. The village is very small, with only a few dozen families, surrounded by low mountains. , the people in the village make a living by farming, they work at sunrise and rest at sunset. It has been very quiet for decades, and it is completely a paradise that has nothing to do with the world.

However, a war that took place in Niutoushan more than 100 miles away caused the village to suffer a catastrophe. Zhang Jun fled to the village with dozens of his soldiers.

While Zhang Jun sent his men out to look for a boat, he and other soldiers hid in the village.

At this time, Zhang Jun's ruthless side was revealed. In order to prevent the villagers from reporting the letter, he ordered his soldiers to kill all the men in the village. The brutality of the soldiers was aroused by the killing, and they began to act recklessly in the village, raping women, bullying the old and the weak .

Zhang Jun didn't interfere. When he was about to leave, he killed all the men, women and children in the village.

After living in the village for four days, the men who were looking for the boat had not returned. Zhang Jun became worried. After all, this place belongs to Dangtu County, only forty miles away from Dangtu County. If the army catches him, it will be a big trouble, and he will confess himself.

At night, a soldier came to report, and a woman ran away.

Zhang Jun cursed angrily, "If you can't even look down on a woman, what use are you for?"

The soldier explained with a bitter face: "My lord, isn't her son sick? I couldn't stand it today, and died of illness. The woman said to bury her son, so I went with her, but I waited for her for a long time before going to see him." , the pit was dug, but the people disappeared.”

Zhang Jun slapped the table heavily, and said angrily: "You killed that woman's husband, and her son died at your hands. You still believe her. I think you are in a daze, so hurry up and find her. Go to the entrance of the village, she will definitely report!"

The soldier ran out in a panic, and Zhang Jun ordered other soldiers to search together, but they couldn't find the woman in the middle of the night. Zhang Jun ordered the soldier to be beaten with thirty sticks to punish him for his mistake, Everyone brings the shadow of insecurity.

"Ah - come quickly!"

At the fourth watch, Zhang Jun was awakened by a scream, followed by a series of screams. Zhang Jun heard that it was the scream of his own soldier Li Wu, who let the woman escape and was beaten. Thirty batons.

Zhang Jun turned over, put on his leather boots, drew his sword and rushed out, only to see two soldiers running in panic, "My lord, it's not good, something happened!"

"what happened?"

"That woman brought a lot of farmers, maybe hundreds of them, and killed our brothers with a pickaxe and a sickle, the prince hastened to leave!"

Zhang Jun also panicked. He didn't care about taking his luggage, so he ran to the stable next door, "Bang!" The door was kicked open, and dozens of young men with hoes and sticks rushed in. Someone pointed at them and shouted, "This way!" There are three, kill them!"

All the farmers roared and rushed up with wooden sticks. Two soldiers held swords and resisted desperately. They turned around and shouted, "My lord, go!"

In just a moment, the two guards were overturned on the ground, and the raindrops of sticks and hoes dug at their bodies and heads. The guards only screamed twice and then fell silent. The necks of the two men were cut off by the hoes.

Zhang Jun was flustered, rushed into the stable, got on the horse, but his legs were hugged, and he shouted: "This thief wants to escape, everyone!"

Zhang Jun stabbed the young man to death with a backhand sword, and ran away with his horse. He killed three people in a row and opened a bloody road. Falling to the ground, a farmer broke the horse's leg with a hoe, and Zhang Jun fell heavily to the ground. Before he could get up, dozens of farmers rushed up and rained down sticks. Died at the hands of peasants.

This is also their retribution. The woman fled back to her mother's house in the neighboring village and cried out, which aroused the anger of the whole village. They joined forces with more than 400 young and strong men from three villages to take revenge, and arrested Zhang Jun and his [-]-odd men. All the soldiers were killed, and finally all their bodies were thrown into the Yangtze River and fed to the fish.

It wasn't until one month later that Dangtu county magistrate learned of the incident and led archers to investigate. Judging from Zhang Jun's relics: military charms, gold medals, and swords, it was finally confirmed that Zhang Jun had died in Cihu Village.

Immediately, this news was published on the headlines of the "Beijing News" in Lin'an and Jingzhao.

"The hero fell down and died at the hands of the farmer!" The incident in Cihu village was reported in detail, and the court announced that Zhang Jun's rebellion was over.

The first thousand and 260 nine chapters of bank transfer

The consequences of Zhang Jun's rebellion were very serious. It not only seriously weakened the strength of the court, but the court's military strength dropped from 50 to 20, and there were [-] new recruits.

More importantly, the actual control area of ​​the imperial court was greatly reduced. Not only the Jianghuai area north of the Yangtze River was completely lost, but even the Jiangnan West Road south of the Yangtze River was forced to be surrendered to the Western Army. Chen Qing's actual control line expanded eastward from the Dongting Lake area. To Poyang Lake area.

Xuanzhou is close to Jiangnan East Road in the north, and Quzhou is close to Liangzhe West Road in the south. The actual control territory of the imperial court is only Jiangnan East Road, Liangzhe West Road, Liangzhe East Road, Fujian Road, and Guangnan East Road. Guangnan West Road and other six roads are actually a circle along the southeast coast.

There is also a black spot here, that is Quanzhou, which was occupied by Chen Qing early on.

It was also the first battle to put down Zhang Jun's rebellion. Prince Yong's Mansion acquired a large amount of land, not only took over Zhang Jun's territory, but also seized Jiangnan West Road, and won millions of money and food. The total number of troops increased to 65. Warships have been built for thousands of years, and their territory and strength have grown unprecedentedly.

When the time entered December, a heavy snowfall came unexpectedly. It snowed heavily for three days and three nights. After the snow stopped, the entire Shaanxi Road and Guanzhong Plain became a snow-covered world.

At noon that day, Chen Qing came to Qingfeng Teahouse as usual. This teahouse was originally the private property of the princess. Now the princess has transferred it to her father Lu Jin. Now it is the property of the Lu family. Of course, Chen Qing doesn't care. Who owns the teahouse? For him, the shore of the land is the land of the king. He has a territory of thousands of miles, so he doesn't care about a small teahouse at all.

Chen Qing beckoned, and brought in shopkeeper Liu. Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile, "What orders does Your Highness have?"

Chen Qing took out a few silver jiaozi and said with a smile: "There is no problem with the cashier jiaozi!"

Shopkeeper Liu said with a smile on his face: "Report to Your Highness, there is no problem with our shop, we will definitely accept it!"

"As far as you know, is there any shop that refuses to accept it?"

"As far as the villain knows, the shops on the entire East Street accept it, and everyone welcomes it. Maybe some small vendors dare not accept it."

Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "I see, go get busy!"

Shopkeeper Liu saluted and left, and Chen Qing smiled at Zhou Kuan: "How about it, I'm not wrong, am I?"

Zhou Kuan smiled wryly and said, "It's useless. It's not that there were no silver coins in the past, but they were all collected and not circulated in the market. What's the difference between your silver coin and silver coins?"

Yinjiaozi, also known as Yinjiaozi, is the latest currency issued by the Finance and Taxation Department of King Yong’s Mansion. It replaces the previous silver coins. A Yinjiaozi weighs six cents. The government stipulates that it can be exchanged for five hundred Wen coins. It is triangular in shape and full. It is the largest It is characterized by being small and easy to carry.

Zhou Kuan, as the supervisor of the Finance and Taxation Department, did not approve of the issuance of Yinjiaozi, because he had issued silver coins before, but it failed. He issued hundreds of thousands of silver coins, but they did not enter the market. original intention.

Chen Qing said with a smile: "The biggest problem with silver coins in the past was that it was difficult to make molds and the weight was not accurate. This kind of Yinjiaozi is easy to make molds and can be issued in large quantities. Secondly, its weight is very accurate, which is convenient for shops to use balances to distinguish genuine from fake. Circulation, as for collection, it will lose money, I believe no one will do it."

The six-cent Yinjiaozi is normally only worth [-] Wen, but the Internal Affairs Hall has made it a premium of [-] Wen. That is to say, each piece can be exchanged for [-] Wen in the government-run cabinet. If you want to collect it privately , then you will lose two hundred coins for every one you collect.

Melted into silver ingots, every tael of silver would cost at least two pennies, and no one would do such a loss-making business.

This method of premium issuance is an excellent method that Chen Qing thought of. It has the function of premium for banknotes and is based on real silver, so that it will not be counterfeited in large numbers.

Of course, the imperial court can also mint Yinjiaozi to earn a premium, but the problem is that there are two regulations in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. First, it is not allowed to use Yinjiaozi for bulk goods trade and cross-state trade. Second, one-time exchange of one thousand A silver jiaozi, the source must be clarified.

In fact, Yinjiaozi is defined as daily consumption. For example, the imperial court copied 20 Yinjiaozi. There are only two ways to earn a premium. The two regulations blocked these two roads, and they can only be used for consumption or exchanged in small quantities.

Moreover, casting such a smooth Yinjiaozi also requires high technology and a lot of labor. If private imitation Yinjiaozi cannot be made, even if it is made, the cost is very high. Maybe the cost of a Yinjiaozi exceeds five yuan. Hundreds of words.The loss outweighs the gain.

Some people will say, what if I use white copper to fake Yinjiaozi?

In fact, it is very difficult. Yinjiaozi is more accurate. Everyone is familiar with its weight, size, and appearance. The counterfeit is very rough, and it can be detected almost as soon as it is used.

Moreover, fakes dare not be exchanged at the counters, they can only be used for consumption, the quantity is small and the range is wide, and they are easy to be discovered. When you are caught by the inner guard, it is very likely that you will only use dozens of fake Yinjiaozi. You have to pay the price of killing everyone.

The huge benefits and costs are not equal, and no one would do such a stupid thing.

Chen Qing smiled triumphantly and said, "If I use paper to handover, people and merchants will not accept it, but Yinjiaozi is different, it is real silver, and everyone's resistance will be much smaller. The acceptance of the people can be seen.”

Zhou Kuan shook his head and said with a smile: "One is production, and the other is silver reserves. You have to solve these two big problems."

"There is no problem with the output. We can cast 50 pieces a year. As for the reserves, we have a total of 600 million taels of silver in stock, and we have also obtained two large silver mines on Jiangnan West Road. In addition, I will tell you another secret, which can be purchased from Japan. Earn a lot of silver."

Zhou Kuan frowned, "How do you make money?"

Chen Qing said with a faint smile: "During the Xuanhe period, we could only exchange one tael of silver for two pennies. After Jingkang, one tael of silver skyrocketed to one tael of five pennies. In terms of money, I only need to get five hundred cash, and when I arrive in Japan, it will be worth two pennies, and I will receive one tael of silver directly, that is to say, I can exchange the five hundred cash for one tael of silver from Japan."

Zhou Kuan asked in surprise, "Who did you hear this from?"

"Of course it is Zheng Tongquan. He went to Japan a few times and earned a few 10 taels of silver. He no longer does overseas trade, so he told me this secret."

Zhou Kuan shook his head, "I still don't understand, since there are so many benefits, why don't other businessmen do it?"

"There is a very practical reason for this. Although Japan is rich in silver, all the silver is in the hands of the daimyo. The goods they want cannot be provided by ordinary merchants. When ordinary merchants go to Japan, they trade with Japanese merchants. Basically They were all bartered and could not be exchanged for silver, Zheng Tongquan obtained special goods through various relationships, and exchanged 30 taels of silver from several big names."

"What is special cargo?"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Pig iron or armor are contraband items stipulated by the imperial court, but they are the most sought-after supplies of all the famous Japanese. Zheng Tongquan got tens of thousands of sets of leather armor, which made him a fortune."

Chapter 270 Mission

At night, Chen Qing was playing with a handful of Yinjiaozi in his study. He knew that neither Zhou Kuan nor the other counselors in the Internal Affairs Hall understood it very well, so why did he bother to promote Yinjiaozi?

Because currency is not just currency, it is also a powerful weapon. When everyone in the world recognizes the currency you issue, it actually recognizes you.

At this time, his wife Lu Xiu came in with a cup of tea. She put down the cup of tea and said with a smile: "This Yinjiao Xue'er and Bing'er like it the most. Everyone collected a small bag and played with it all day long."

"Do the other servants in the mansion like this?" Chen Qingxiao asked.

"They seem to prefer silver money. They said that it is only worth three hundred Wen, but it is not worthwhile to use it as five hundred Wen."

Chen Qing said lightly: "I won't mint silver coins in the future. After casting for so long, I can't see a single coin on the market. They are all stored, which means that the silver coin has failed as a circulating coin. So I was thinking, can I find a coin?" Yinjiaozi may be the best way to make a coin that people will not store but can be accepted by everyone.”

Lu Xiu hesitated and said: "But... this is easy to be imitated by those who own silver, and then converted into money to make huge profits, isn't your husband worried?"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "How can there be such an easy exchange, the inner guard is not a vegetarian, if you dare to exchange on a large scale, the inner guard will find out immediately."

"But I still don't quite understand. Since my husband uses Yinjiaozi for ordinary people's consumption, how is it different from using copper coins?"