Chapter 265

Base scholars have many methods, and they always achieve their goals through some small tricks.

For example, sowing discord, and doing so by using the truth. When an event occurs involving factors A, B, and C, base scholars often selectively choose to speak only of A, thereby covering up B and C. This is indeed the truth, but by ignoring conditions B and C, one will inevitably reach a wrong conclusion, thereby triggering a public opinion storm, sowing discord, and achieving their own goals.

Suppressing the two victory reports for a day or two—especially by only issuing the Huining Guard victory report and delaying the Yingchang victory report for a day or two—highlights Qi Jiguang's recklessness and greed for merit in advancing to Yingchang, while completely ignoring the necessity of the Great Ming's control over the strategic passage of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the price of capturing strategic locations, the timing, geographical advantages, and human factors, thus handling Qi Jiguang's great victory as a funeral.

Fortunately, Liang Menglong and Liu Yingjie were both of the Zhang Dang. Now that Zhang Juzheng is hiding in the Xishan as an "old ancestor," the Zhang Dang should now be considered the Emperor's Faction.

This year's Aoshan lantern festival arrived three days earlier than usual. Soon, the news of the great victory spread like it had grown wings, reaching the entire capital region. The hearts of the people were extremely uplifted, and everyone was filled with joy and excitement.

For the people of the capital, they could empathize with the great victory beyond the borders. Danning Guard, Huining Guard, the Greater Khingan Mountain passage, Yingchang, and so on were all very distant and unfamiliar places to the people of the capital region, but this did not hinder their empathy for Qi Jiguang's great victory.

The north has long suffered from the harm of the Hu barbarians; this is the visceral pain of the people of the capital region. The two invasions are still fresh in the minds of many involved. Although they didn't know where these places were or specifically what had been won, the Emperor celebrating with such fanfare meant it was good news. When Li Chengliang went beyond the borders to pacify the Gule Fortress, people in the capital set off firecrackers to show their congratulations.

Zhu Yijun entered a busy twelfth month. He was truly busy before the New Year. From the first day to the thirtieth, there wasn't a single day of leisure, and the schedule was extremely tight. These schedules did not include the sacrifices that did not require the Emperor's attendance; after all, the Great Ming had the Duke of Ding, Xu Wenbi, the Duke of Ying, Zhang Rong, and the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Yingzhen, the three great state priests responsible for them.

The Emperor's main work was to inspect Yongding, the Yongsheng Woolen Mill, the Xishan Coal Bureau, the Great Ming Royal Academy of Sciences, the Great Ming Military Academy, the Great Ming Maritime Academy, the Northern Yamen Weaving Bureau, the Baoyuan Bureau, the Hongwu Baochao Bureau, the three bureaus of the Ministry of War, the Nanhaizi in Daxing County, the Yangji Institute, and other places.

The Baoyuan, Hongwu Baochao, and Ministry of War bureaus were responsible for the minting and printing of the Great Ming's currency system. The Ministry of War bureau was under the Inner Secretariat, while the Hongwu Baochao Bureau was a yamen of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Baoyuan Bureau was a yamen of the Ministry of Works, turning the Great Ming's silver into silver coins to be circulated throughout the world.

Zhu Yijun also had to travel twenty *li* south of the capital to Nanhaizi in Daxing County. This was the gathering area for the families of the fallen frontier guards. Since the establishment of the frontier guard system in the Jingtai years, the families of the fallen guards had been settled here. It was a concrete manifestation of the Great Ming's pension policy and also the Great Ming capital's Southern Camp. Comforting the families was something Zhu Yijun had to personally inspect after reviewing the troops.

After the inspections, he would receive external officials, including provincial governors, viceroys, county magistrates, assistant county magistrates, police inspectors, local elders, commoners, and artisans from various places. The external officials Zhu Yijun received this year were the Liaodong Viceroy Zhang Xueyan and the Liaodong Inspector Hou Yuzhao. The county magistrates were those of the three newly established counties in Luopang, Guangdong. The elders this year came from Jiangxi and the two Guangs, while the commoners were still concentrated in Henan, and the artisans were mainly from the Southern Yamen and the Songjiang Prefecture shipyards.

After Ling Yunyi pacified the rebellion of the Yao people in Mount Luopang, he abolished the local chieftains and replaced them with county magistrates dispatched by the imperial court. These were the first county magistrates of the three Luopang counties. Zhu Yijun gave them detailed instructions, mainly to prevent the Yao people from rebelling again, to find a way for the Yao people to survive, and to settle the people and herd the land, etc.

The elders from the two Guangs and Jiangxi came to the capital to express their gratitude. Jiangxi thanked the imperial court for its support during the locust plague at the beginning of the year, while the two Guangs thanked the imperial court for the outstanding results of pacifying the Japanese pirates and bandits since the Wanli years.

The elders of Jiangxi and the two Guangs were to represent the local powerful families, gentry, and wealthy merchants in expressing their sincere gratitude to the Emperor, thanking the Emperor for transferring away the two "killing gods," Ling Yunyi and Pan Jixun! Even Yin Zhengmao, who would tear down doors and move beds, was acceptable—far better than those two killing gods.

The commoners of Henan had many grievances. With Zhang Juzheng not at court, the Minister of Rites, Ma Ziqiang, still executed the old rules, selecting commoners from Henan to come to the capital to seek justice.

The artisans from the Southern Yamen and the Songjiang Prefecture shipyards came to the capital with demands. They were firm supporters of opening the seas and hoped to expand production.

With the prosperity of maritime trade, the original scale of the shipyards could no longer meet market demand. Part of the demand shifted to private workshops, which led to problems: the technology of private workshops was limited, products were uneven in quality, and prices had no rules or references. The risks of maritime trade began to expand. The Songjiang Viceroy, Yingtian Viceroy, and Songjiang Regional Commander Chen Lin all held the same attitude.

The three major shipyards of the Southern Yamen, Songjiang, and Fujian were greatly influenced by the imperial court's policies and needed to expand and increase production capacity to meet the growing market demand. Most importantly, they needed to reduce the risks of maritime trade. Currently, the Great Ming's maritime trade was still in a budding state and needed careful nurturing.

Before the New Year, Zhu Yijun was so busy that he hadn't seen Wang Yaozhuo more than a few times in a month. Wang Yaozhuo was living in the Wang Wang Xiyuan, and even the prospective Empress Wang Yaozhuo had to sigh that even with a harem, it was hard to say there was any "competing for favor." To compete for favor, there had to be an Emperor. You want to see him, and I want to see him, but where is the Emperor in this harem?

The loyal Hou Yuzhao arrived in the capital. Zhu Yijun had once told him to return to the capital for his annual review. During the time Hou Yuzhao was away, the performance of the court officials was such that there wasn't even anyone left to provide a safety net. Zhu Yijun let Hou Yuzhao return to the capital mainly regarding the farming and garrisoning of Danning Guard and Huining Guard. The land there was barren and the hydrology complex, and he needed Hou Yuzhao to explain the planning to the Emperor in detail.

Hou Yuzhao, Zhang Xueyan, and Wang Guoguang were waiting for their summons in the Guanghan Hall of the Baoqi Office.

"Hasn't the Emperor's palace been repaired? Is he not satisfied with the new palace built by the Minister of Justice?" Hou Yuzhao voiced his confusion.

What was the situation with the Emperor living in the Wang Wang Xiyuan? Wang Chonggu had exhausted himself, and the news that the dignified Grand Secretary was sleeping in the Huangji Hall shocked the Emperor and Hou Yuzhao. The pressure on Wang Chonggu was too great. Finally, before the twelfth month, he completed the construction of the imperial palace without delaying the Emperor's wedding date.

According to the wedding date previously selected by the Ministry of Rites, it was the twelfth month of the fifth year of Wanli, but the Emperor was fifteen, not yet sixteen, which did not conform to the ancestral laws. Finally, it was set for the third month of the sixth year of Wanli.

Wang Chonggu had exhausted his efforts to prevent the Emperor from having his wedding on the foundation site, but in the end, the Emperor still lived in the Baoqi Office.

"That's not it; the Emperor feels the feng shui of the Wang Wang Xiyuan is good," Wang Guoguang said with mixed feelings.

The Emperor refused to move to the palace, returning from the Guanghan Hall to the Qianqing Palace. Wang Chonggu panicked and submitted a memorial asking for the reason. The Emperor gave the reason that the feng shui was good.

Good feng shui in the Wang Wang Xiyuan, my foot!

Ever since the Jiajing Emperor moved into the Wang Wang Xiyuan, nothing in the Great Ming had gone smoothly.

"Ah, this!" Hou Yuzhao knew that the Emperor was just finding an excuse to brush them off. The biggest benefit of living in the Wang Wang Xiyuan was safety.

"Zhang Siwei is a fool." Zhang Xueyan chose to be straightforward and cursed Zhang Siwei for being stupid.

The Emperor living in the Wang Wang Xiyuan—wasn't it because he had to live there after the fire destroyed the palace? The Emperor couldn't live in the Cining Palace because Empress Dowager Li moving out of the Qianqing Palace was a return of power. If the Emperor lived in the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Li's return of power would have been in vain.

Forcing a fifteen-year-old Emperor to this point was a foolish act. The game between imperial power and ministerial power had existed since ancient times. Acts like Zhang Siwei's—stabbing at the monarch and burning the palace—were not rare. This was a foolish act that completely intensified the conflict. Throughout history, those who did this had completely controlled the government, such as Cao Cao killing Empress Fu of Emperor Xian of Han. The cause of the matter was still Empress Fu wanting to help Emperor Xian of Han kill Cao Cao.

If it were Zhang Juzheng who felt the young Emperor burned the palace, that would be one thing—that is a conflict between monarch and minister. But what are you, Zhang Siwei? Just a parasite clinging to the Jin Faction.

"Summon Grand Secretary Wang Guoguang, Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan, and Liaodong Inspector Hou Yuzhao for an audience." The young eunuch raised his voice, using a high-pitched tone to remind the three that the Emperor invited them into the hall.

"We, your subjects, pay our respects to Your Majesty. Is Your Majesty's holy body at peace?" The three bowed respectfully.

"I am at peace. Sit." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling the three to sit down and talk.

Zhang Xueyan was already the Minister of Revenue, and Wang Guoguang would also concurrently manage the Ministry of Revenue after entering the cabinet, allowing Zhang Xueyan to master the ministry's affairs. Zhang Xueyan was of the Jin Faction, and Wang Guoguang was also of the Jin Faction, but they were both traitors to the Jin Faction—traitors to the Jin Faction as identified by Zhang Siwei and others in history.

"Your Majesty, your subject has the 'Memorial on Surveying Land and Returning it to the People.' I request Your Majesty to issue a decree to set the land surveying regulations, rectify the manor lands of the nobility and powerful gentry, investigate excess, omissions, and fraudulent borrowing, and implement this throughout the world. The expenditures of the palace are extravagant and involve much extortion. The celestial phenomena have changed, which is a warning from Heaven. Your Majesty should cultivate virtue and reflect to respond to Heaven's warning." As soon as Zhang Xueyan sat down, he presented a memorial. As a high minister and court official, he could bypass the cabinet to submit a memorial because he could see the Emperor and discuss important matters face-to-face.

"Minister Zhang, be careful with your words. As for this matter of cultivating virtue in the palace, since Minister Zhang is not in the capital, there is no need to speak of it!" Wang Guoguang coughed and reminded Zhang Xueyan in front of the Emperor: if you don't understand, don't speak nonsense!

The last person who advised the Emperor to cultivate virtue was now in the mansion of the Earl of Yicheng, feeling extremely regretful!

Does the Emperor need to be advised to cultivate virtue? It would be better to advise against extravagance.

Zhang Xueyan advising the Emperor to cultivate virtue was also a convention, because the Emperor's grand wedding was imminent and there was a suspicion of wasting millions. He was just following the convention, not expecting to be reprimanded by Wang Guoguang to his face.

Wang Guoguang couldn't say in front of the Emperor that if they advised cultivating virtue again, the imperial palace would have to be filled with construction waste, and even the pillars would have to be filled with construction waste. Where would the face of the state be? To save a few coins, the Emperor didn't even watch the Aoshan lantern festival, just to save the rewards for the performers. This money was really a lot; the Aoshan lantern festival usually cost over one hundred thousand taels.

Cultivate frugality, my foot! If they cultivate frugality again, the face of the court will be gone. If foreign envoys like Li Yashi and San Niangzi found out, wouldn't it be "shocking to friendly nations"?

The Great Ming Emperor's home is actually cutting corners to this extent? Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Revenue, felt ashamed. He, this Grand Minister of Finance, had done so well—the state had money!

For this grand wedding, the Emperor issued a decree to cultivate frugality, which was rejected by the Ministry of Rites. The reason was that there was nothing left to save. The Emperor's grand wedding was already frugal enough. Previously, the palace purchased pearls and jade for seventy thousand taels of silver, which was reduced to ten thousand taels. The rewards for the music troupes were reduced from sixty thousand taels to five thousand taels. Taking the grand wedding banquet as an example, the previous standard was five taels per table, but the Emperor wanted to cancel the banquet entirely. How could this be done?

The Ministry of Rites complained directly to the two Empress Dowagers! If they cultivate frugality again, whoever wants to be the Minister of Rites can do it!

Zhu Yijun carefully reviewed the memorial. The main content of Zhang Xueyan's memorial was still to set land surveying regulations and implement them nationwide—that is, to fully implement the land surveying and returning land to the people order in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Liaodong, Jiangxi, and other places that had not yet been surveyed.

This was the signal for a general offensive on land acreage.

"When I last saw the Master, I specifically talked to him about surveying land and returning it to the people. The Master's meaning was not to be in a hurry, still focusing on the Southern Yamen and Zhejiang, and to plan for the other places slowly. Surveying land and returning it to the people is a major matter and should not be rushed." Zhu Yijun closed Zhang Xueyan's memorial. Regarding nationwide land surveying, Zhang Juzheng's attitude was much more cautious than Zhu Yijun's.

In the original timeline, Zhang Xueyan began auditing land acreage nationwide in the sixth year of Wanli, because by then, Zhang Juzheng had already realized that as the Wanli Emperor grew up, the New Policies had to be pushed forward faster. The opposition forces in the court were extremely powerful, and the Wanli Emperor's own attitude toward the New Policies was indifferent.

If the New Policies lost the Emperor's support, they would inevitably fail. In the original historical line, Zhang Juzheng's eagerness for quick success and instant benefits was entirely because he wanted to make the New Policies a *fait accompli*, allowing their influence to penetrate every corner of the Great Ming and preserve their achievements.

Zhang Juzheng's New Policies were relatively moderate in the first five years, but in the last five years, there was always a sense of urgency. A political decree would be pushed forward in a hurry without being fully tested in the localities. Nationwide land surveying was like this, the administration of officials was like this, and the Single Whip Law was also like this, because if they weren't pushed forward, they couldn't be pushed forward at all.

There is no doubt that in an empire, in a country designed with an emperor at the center, without the Emperor's support, the final result of Zhang Juzheng's New Laws in history was a flash in the pan—they failed.

Now, Zhang Juzheng is very opposed to eagerness for quick success and instant benefits, feeling that the Emperor is too radical.

According to his vision, by taking fifty years to complete these things, the Great Ming could achieve a restoration and form stable long-term policies. The results achieved in one stroke are not as good as planning slowly.

The Emperor was only ten years old when he ascended the throne, and he would only be sixty after fifty years. He could completely finish the work. Zhang Juzheng knew that he would probably not see the day when the New Policies were fully successful, but the Emperor would certainly see it, and that was completely enough.

Taking Yunnan as an example, Yunnan now has to face the rise of Mang Yinglong of the Toungoo Dynasty. At this time, going to Yunnan to survey land—especially the land of the Qian Wei Wei Guo Gong's mansion—how would the Yunnan local government deal with Mang Yinglong? The Qian Wei Wei Guo Gong's mansion had long occupied a large amount of land. Statistics from the Jiajing years showed it exceeded twenty thousand *qing*, which is over two million *mu*, and Yunnan's food and grass were supported by the Qian Wei Wei Guo Gong's mansion.

Taking Guizhou as an example, the land in Guizhou was completely controlled by hereditary chieftains. Surveying land would not reach these chieftains at all; it would be meaningless.

The uneven development of regions and whether a policy has the conditions for implementation require specific analysis of specific matters. The two Guangs are both in Lingnan, but the development situation in Guangxi and Guangdong is completely different. Guangxi is poor to the point of eating dirt and is full of chieftains; Guangdong is rich to the point of flowing with oil and is full of counties and flowing officials.

"Does the Master oppose it?" Zhang Xueyan felt a sense of loss. The last time he wrote to Zhang Juzheng was in the fourth year of Wanli. At that time, Zhang Juzheng's plan was still to survey land as quickly as possible.

"Minister Zhang, the Northern Yamen, Shandong, Henan, the Southern Yamen, Zhejiang, Huguang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong are also determined to be surveyed and are already being done. Only Liaodong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi are not being pushed for the time being. This scope is already very large." Zhu Yijun reiterated Zhang Juzheng's opposition. What he opposes is surveying everything. The contradiction between people and land is abrupt, and annexation has reached a point where it cannot be annexed further. The imperial court must come forward to mediate the contradiction between people and land.

"The three most difficult places here are Shandong, Henan, and Jiangxi," Wang Guoguang further explained the current difficulties in land surveying.

Actually, the Southern Yamen is the most difficult, but because the Southern Yamen has been tossed around several times, the decree for land surveying was finally pushed forward, and the main industry has shifted from land to the sea. The whole process requires a long time to land. The current practice is effective. The powerful gentry are willing to listen to the imperial court and transform in time, and they can earn more. The Sun family of Songjiang, the two brothers Sun Kehong and Sun Keiyi, are living signboards that have reduced a lot of resistance to land surveying in the Southern Yamen.

Now it is Shandong's turn to become the most difficult.

Shandong has the Duke of Yansheng, and Henan has many vassal kings. Land surveying in these two places is difficult. Why is Jiangxi also on the list?

Because Jiangxi has many academies, or more accurately, many academic factions.

The imperial court is a place to regulate social contradictions. In underdeveloped areas where the contradiction between people and land is not so sharp, it is necessary to be cautious and more cautious, because these places are really too fragile. Unlike the Southern Yamen, where the powerful gentry are like leek stubble, cut round after round, inexhaustible.

Zhang Xueyan originally wanted to do a great thing when he entered the court. He communicated with Zhang Juzheng and originally thought that nationwide land surveying would be his first political achievement after becoming a high minister. The result was completely not like that. The Master denied it, and the Emperor was persuaded.

Zhang Xueyan was a little disappointed, but these places where the contradiction between people and land is sharp are also very hard bones to chew. Doing a good job is also a great achievement. The Emperor clearly said that these places are very difficult. Shandong has already changed two provincial governors. Ling Yunyi has gone there. Zhang Xueyan has work to do, and it will be very difficult.

Taking Shandong as an example, if the three thousand guest troops brought by Ling Yunyi cannot start, then the Emperor will issue a decree to pacify the rebellion, send troops to Yanzhou, and personally ask the Duke of Yansheng what he means, giving the Duke of Yansheng a physical "head-down."

"Your Majesty, my actions in Liaodong are actually not complicated; it is the military garrison system of the early dynasty," Hou Yuzhao began to talk about the various aspects of land reclamation in Liaodong.

To tell the young Emperor about things at the edge of the sky, one must give him a concrete case that can be referred to, rather than drawing a big cake with empty words. If the cake is drawn too big and cannot be made, one will die.

What Hou Yuzhao said was also a fact. In fact, the garrison farming he engaged in was not a fresh tactic; it was the military garrison system that combined garrison and war.

Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated. In that place, it takes half a day of riding to see people, and they could be horse bandits or traveling merchants. But Liaodong is by no means a barren place where birds don't poop. It can grow crops and survive. The territory of the Great Ming is the territory of farming. Places that can grow crops are all within the territory of the Great Ming.

And now the land in Liaodong is more fertile than in the Central Plains, so garrison farming has become a little easier.

"Then there will inevitably be desertion," Zhu Yijun said with a little worry. Once land is reclaimed, there will be the problem of annexation. Zhu Yijun was extremely worried about garrison farming.

"Your Majesty, the military garrison system in the border areas rarely has desertion because there are foreign enemies, so they have to huddle together for warmth. The military garrison system in the nine borders has fewer desertions because the meat-eaters in the border areas dare not be overly harsh. Otherwise, if the bandits come, who will help them guard those lands and fields?" Hou Yuzhao put forward a very novel point of view.

He did not think desertion was a bad thing. If the military and civilians in the Liaodong garrison really fled, it either meant that the Great Ming could no longer hold this place, or it meant that this place had become stable.

Not being able to hold it is a comprehensive contraction, which is the general trend, not a contradiction between the border military and civilians and the meat-eaters, but caused by the overall decline of the Great Ming's national strength. And the place becoming stable shows that the contradiction between the Great Ming and the Northern barbarians is approaching a state of resolution.

The military and civilians in the nine-border garrison do not desert. The reason is very simple: this place is not stable, there are foreign troubles, so they have to huddle together.

The phenomenon of desertion in the garrisons in the hinterland of the Great Ming is very serious. It was the military garrisons newly built during the Jiajing years to prevent the Japanese pirates. As the Japanese pirate trouble gradually stopped, they deteriorated again. The military garrison system itself is an emergency military management state where the empire is not stable, not long-term peace and stability.

Zhu Yijun listened to Hou Yuzhao's statement in detail. He found that Hou Yuzhao's attainments in the theory of contradictions were very profound. He looked at problems not one-sidedly.

"Well, very good." Zhu Yijun thought Hou Yuzhao made sense.

The border areas do not have the conditions for annexation by the gentry. The sense of smell of the powerful gentry is very keen. For unstable assets, they will subconsciously avoid them. For example, maritime trade is not as stable as land. Even if maritime trade earns more, the imperial court uses whips to drive them from behind, uses thick profits as bait, and uses a group of emerging rich merchants like the Sun family of Songjiang as examples. But if the powerful gentry have a choice, they will still choose to collect rent from land.

Wang Guoguang took out a memorial and handed it to Feng Bao, and Feng Bao handed it to His Majesty.

"Currency system?" Zhu Yijun opened the memorial and finished reading Wang Guoguang's memorial.

"Your Majesty, your subject believes that the meat-eaters of the Great Ming burying silver in pigsties and refusing to spend it is not because they are necessarily short-sighted, but because the silver in their hands cannot properly fulfill the duties of currency." Wang Guoguang began to explain his memorial in detail. He started from the silver in the pigsty.

"Tell me in detail." Zhu Yijun said with great interest. Wang Guoguang had entered the cabinet and had not yet made a political declaration. Obviously, he was now going to start making promises and fulfilling them.

"Your subject has two things to show Your Majesty." After Wang Guoguang requested permission, the young eunuch presented the props that Wang Guoguang had prepared long ago to the imperial front.

"Two silver coins." Zhu Yijun looked at the two silver coins on the tray and was very sure that these were silver coins minted by the Great Ming Ministry of War bureau, very exquisite.

"Your Majesty, one of them here is fake. It is a lead-tin-copper alloy and then gilded with silver. It contains silver, but not much." Wang Guoguang solved the mystery.

Zhu Yijun picked up the two silver coins and said with great surprise: "Fake?!"

He blew on the two silver coins hard, and they both made a sound. He also knocked on them and distinguished them for a long time, but he didn't recognize which one was fake. He said with confusion: "Feng, my attendant, which one is fake?"

"This one." Feng Bao distinguished it slightly and placed one in front of the Emperor.

"How did Feng, my attendant, know?" This time it was Wang Guoguang's turn to be shocked, because the one Feng Bao picked out without any hesitation was indeed the fake one.

Feng Bao smiled and said: "The two silver coins weigh the same, and both can be blown to make a sound. But the sound of silver, this servant can still distinguish. The real one has a pleasant sound after being blown, which cannot be expressed in words, but it is very pleasant."

"Feng, my attendant, is amazing. Wang admires you!" Wang Guoguang said with admiration.

Zhu Yijun blew on them again and distinguished them. He immediately noticed the difference. Indeed, the real one had a pleasant sound.

He shuffled the two silver coins at will, and after not knowing which was real and which was fake, he blew them again to determine the truth and falsehood. The sound of real gold and silver was indeed pleasant.

Wang Guoguang was speechless and wanted to cry.

What kind of sin did Zhang Juzheng commit? The born noble, the supreme Emperor of the Great Ming, was actually so sensitive to silver.

The real and fake silver coins were minted, and even the old officials of the Baoyuan Bureau distinguished them for a long time before determining the truth from the sound of knocking and the color. The Emperor played with them slightly, and with Feng Bao's reminder, he could keenly detect the real one. This sensitivity to silver made Wang Guoguang sigh with admiration!

This made Wang Guoguang have a doubt. Perhaps the Emperor's endowment of stinginess was not Zhang Juzheng's excessive demand, but innate?

"Your Majesty, the silver in the hands of the meat-eaters of the Great Ming cannot correctly fulfill the duties of currency. Your subject has two silver ingots. Their proportions are the same, both fifty taels, and no difference can be seen at all." Wang Guoguang continued to explain his reasons.

Specific gravity—Zhang Juzheng's invention—represents density. The multiple of how much heavier or lighter it is than water at the same volume. For example, the specific gravity of silver is 10.5, while the specific gravity of lead is 11.3, and the specific gravity of copper is 8.9. After mixing lead and copper in proportion and casting them, and then plating them with silver, the effect of passing off the fake as the real will be achieved.

This is the reason why Wang Guoguang said that silver cannot fulfill the currency function, because in large-scale transactions, silver ingots are easy to fake.

"This one is fake." Zhu Yijun weighed the two silver ingots, distinguished them seriously, and said very surely.

"Ah?" Wang Guoguang widened his eyes again.

That one was indeed fake, because there was a tiny flaw on the fake one. The fake silver ingot even had the same honeycomb at the bottom, but the Emperor still recognized the truth and falsehood at a glance.

"This one is real. Holding it in my hand gives me a pleasant feeling, which cannot be expressed in words. It is just pleasant." Zhu Yijun was very sure. Judging truth and falsehood depends entirely on intuition. As for why, he couldn't explain it.

Wang Guoguang saw that he couldn't stump the Emperor at all, so he directly had a large plate of fake silver ingots brought up. The Emperor relied on intuition to distinguish them. That was an innate sensitivity to gold and silver. But the phenomenon of silver ingot counterfeiting was extremely serious, so Wang Guoguang got a large plate and presented it to the Emperor.

Wang Guoguang said very surely: "This one is the embedded method. When casting, the copper block is solidified inside the silver ingot, and the outside is wrapped in silver. The appearance is no different from a real silver ingot, but the specific gravity of copper and silver is different, and the hand feel is obviously much lighter. But if there is a copper-lead core inside and the proportion is appropriate, it will be difficult to judge by the feeling of weight."

"This one is the lead-pouring method. When casting, it is cast entirely of copper, leaving a wax core, and then poured with lead and skinned with silver, which can also pass off the fake as the real."

"This one is the copper-lead method. The surface presents a blue-black color, which is very easy to identify."

"These fake silver ingots are as numerous as ox hair, seriously hindering the circulation of commodities."

"Therefore, silver—or more accurately, silver ingots—cannot fulfill its currency function. It needs to be minted into silver coins."

Although he encountered the Emperor's innate sensitivity to gold and silver, Wang Guoguang still announced his political promise.

He wanted to turn the Great Ming's silver into currency, let the Great Ming's currency circulate, and only when currency circulates can commodities circulate. Only then can the stagnant Great Ming release its own vitality!

Requesting monthly tickets, awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)