After the court session ended, Zhu Yijun had people bring silver and copper coins to exchange for silver.
All the money in the yamen was exchanged for silver and copper coins, as well as the money in the Ministry of Revenue.
All the silver and copper coins in the Ministry of Revenue's storehouse were exchanged and sent to the mint.
This chief of coinage had originally belonged to the Armaments Department, but now Zhu Yijun had transferred him to the Ministry of Revenue and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to expand their operations and seize the time to mint coins.
Of course, they would mainly mint copper coins.
Don't even think about making silver coins. Just keep the silver in your hands!
Zhu Yijun's intention in making silver coins was not to allow people to exchange them, but to replace silver with silver.
The mainstream currency was still copper. If you wanted to buy land or luxury, you could use copper.
Glancing at Xu De standing at the bottom of the steps, Zhu Yijun said, "Have you sent out all the manpower?"
As the factory manager of the inner factory, Xu De could be described with one word, and that was, he was very familiar with some of the business.
For example, promoting public opinion was definitely Xu De's forte.
"The news will soon spread throughout Daming, and I guarantee that it will reach deep into the countryside."
Xu De added, "Please rest assured, Imperial Majesty!"
Zhu Yijun nodded. "Not bad, not bad at all!" Having said this, Zhu Yijun's gaze swept across the others.
In addition to Xu De of the inner factory, there was also Dongchang Factory Head Zhang Jing, the commander of the Imperial Bodyguard Li Biao, Zhang Cheng of the Imperial Horse Bureau, and Fang Ming of the Five Cities Military Department.
Zhu Yijun first stared at Xu De and said, "Have the people of the inner factory keep an eye on them. I feel that there will definitely be people who can't resist casting their silver into silver coins."
These days, the gentry were very bold. There was nothing they didn't dare to do.
Didn't Marx say that capital feared no profit or too little profit, just like nature feared a vacuum?
Once there was a suitable profit, capital would be bold.
If there is a 10% profit, it is guaranteed to be used everywhere.
If there was a 20% profit, it would be active. If there was a 50% profit, it would take the risk.
For 100% profit, it trampled all human laws.
With a 300% profit, it dared to commit any crime, even at the risk of being hanged.
With millions of taels of silver rotting in their hands, it would be strange if they were willing to do so.
Since he couldn't sell it, then the best way was to make silver coins. He could smoothly convert the silver into money, just like money laundering in the future.
There might even be people who specialized in money laundering. After all, this was a big business!
Making counterfeit banknotes and laundering money, these two businesses would definitely attract countless people.
"Ask your inner factory to keep a close eye on it. If such a case breaks out, I will hold you accountable." After speaking, Zhu Yijun turned to Zhang Jing. "You should stop watching from the sidelines."
"Ask the people in Dongchang to keep a close eye on the big families and officials. These people will definitely play tricks."
Turning to look at Zhang Cheng, Zhu Yijun said directly, "I will leave the garrisons in each place to you. Keep a close eye on them. In one sentence, anyone who counterfeits silver coins will have their entire family executed. Not a single person will be spared."
"The Imperial Bodyguard in Dongchang also use the Five City Warden's Office to keep a close eye on Shun Tian Prefecture."
"Those who make counterfeit coins must be caught and punished. Those who use silver privately, in addition to forfeiting their silver, must pay a fine of three times the amount. All of you, move."
"Li Biao, the Imperial Bodyguard is in your hands. Don't let me see it so lifeless again."
"The Imperial Bodyguard in each place will cooperate with the inner factory to strictly investigate counterfeiting and reselling silver. Those who do not do their job well will be punished. Those who should go home, go home. The Imperial Bodyguard will not keep idle people."
Standing on the steps, Zhu Yijun's eyes were very strict. "Did you hear that?"
"We, we, understand!" Several people hurriedly replied loudly.
This time, Zhu Yijun took out the inner factory, Dongchang, the Imperial Horse Supervisor, the Imperial Bodyguard, and the Five Military Warden's Office. In one sentence, Zhu Yijun mobilized all of his trusted subordinates.
Perhaps this policy could not be maintained for too long, but a few years would be enough.
When Zhu Yijun developed some things and the people's material standards improved, silver coins must be opened up.
In the future, there might not be enough silver coins.
Whether it was Xu De of the inner factory, Zhang Jing of Dongchang, Zhang Cheng of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, or Li Biao of the Imperial Bodyguard, everyone knew that the Emperor was serious this time.
Ever since the Emperor ascended to the throne, he had never been so serious. There was also not one matter that mobilized everyone.
This time, if anyone did not do something, it would be hard to say what would happen to them.
Perhaps they would not be punished, but in the competition, they would naturally fall behind.
The three eunuchs, Zhang Jing, Zhang Cheng, and Xu De, did not dare to fall behind.
Li Biao, the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, had an unstable position. He had just arrived at the Imperial Bodyguard. Although he had followed Wang Yongji to handle the matters in the western suburbs, he had followed Wang Yongji at that time.
This time, it was different. This was the first time he was doing something on his own.
If he could not produce some results, he would not be able to live up to the Emperor's expectations. He would most likely lose his position as the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard.
The speed at which this matter spread was very fast. Even without the instigation of the inner factory, it did not spread slowly.
On the first day of the seventh month, the three imperial banks in Shun Tian prefecture all opened their doors.
Yesterday, the imperial court had distributed the salaries of the officials. Silver and copper coins were officially used.
Early that morning, Zhu Yijun changed into casual clothes and left the palace with his men.
Although he kept telling himself that it would be useless even if he went, Zhu Yijun still felt uneasy staying in the palace.
After leaving the palace, Zhu Yijun felt different. Today, the whole capital was filled with a somber atmosphere.
People from the Five Cities Military Office, people from Dongchang, and people from the Imperial Bodyguard were all wandering on the streets.
Their eyes were wide open. When they saw someone spending money, they would go over. When they saw that it was copper coins, they would leave in disappointment.
Zhu Yijun shook his head at the sight of this, causing both the seller and the buyer to jump in shock.
However, Zhu Yijun also knew that he could not change this kind of thing.
Of course, this method still could not stop people who wanted to spend money, but it could scare people who wanted to receive money.
Li Biao from the Imperial Bodyguard was even more ruthless. He even sent people to the casinos and brothels.
Two black faced Imperial Bodyguard sat there. In one sentence, they could spend money, but not silver.
This directly caused the consumption of the whole capital to drop by 70%. The matter of throwing out 500 taels of women was instantly gone.
However, it was not that there was no other way. Some people had silver notes.
The Imperial Bank had been open for a long time, and the silver notes had already been distributed.
However, these people with silver notes were mostly related to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This was because the merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs used silver notes in their trade.
As for the other merchants, they basically did not trust the imperial court.
However, since they were not allowed to use silver, silver notes instantly became very popular. Now, even if the bank wanted to save silver, it was impossible.
However, the silver that was already saved could be directly exchanged for silver coins.
Since they could withdraw silver coins with the banknotes, these people could give Zhu Yijun a hard time.
However, most of these people were merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They did not have the guts to use silver notes to run on the banks at this time.
Since silver notes could be traded, it was better to wait and see for a while.
In any case, the banknotes could be exchanged with the silver coins, so they wouldn't lose anything. This made the merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs gain a lot of prestige, and they walked with their backs straight. This was a pleasant surprise that Zhu Yijun didn't expect.
The casinos and brothels' business plummeted. There were fewer hedonistic sons on the streets of the capital.
There was no money!
Honours' relatives were also pounding their chests. Although they wanted to use their silver to exchange for silver coins, seeing the Emperor's attitude, they did not dare to do so.
The current Emperor was a ruthless person. Who knew whether or not he would use this opportunity to train his people?
The hedonistic sons did not go on the streets, but the security of the capital had improved. It was not good.
If the people on the streets were not from the Military Governor's Office of the Five Armies, then they were from the Dongchang Imperial Bodyguard. Not to mention doing bad things, if they had a guilty conscience, they would run away in fear.
Zhu Yijun walked on the streets and looked at the depressed capital market. He rubbed his nose. Was this considered a side effect?
However, Zhu Yijun was not too worried. He knew that this was only temporary.
"Let's go to the Imperial Bank!" Zhu Yijun put down the curtain and ordered the driver, Zhang Jing.
Zhu Yijun could not help but sigh. This was the power of the government. No matter how much money you had, with an imperial edict, the money in your hands would not be money anymore.
Of course, Zhu Yijun did not dare to do this.
The exchange of silver coins for silver still gave some people hope. If this hope was blocked, it would probably be a mess.
When Zhu Yijun's carriage arrived at the Imperial Bank, he was immediately shocked. The situation here could be described with one word: sea of people!
Fortunately, there were people from the Military Governor's Office maintaining order. Otherwise, it would be a mess.
Everyone stood in line outside the Imperial Bank. One went in and one came out.
There were two entrances to the Imperial Bank. One was for more than 100 taels of silver, and the other was for less than 100 taels of silver.
This was to separate people. Those who wanted to exchange more than 100 taels of silver and those who wanted to exchange less than 100 taels of silver would be separated in the queue.
Zhu Yijun watched for a while. He saw people going in with fear and then coming out with smiles on their faces.
He took out a silver coin and curiously rubbed it a few times. Then, he blew on it and put it by his ear to listen.
Zhu Yijun walked into the Imperial Bank from the back. He saw that there were people arguing about something in the large exchange area.
Zhu Yijun's interest was piqued and he walked over with Zhang Jing.
After walking over, Zhu Yijun understood that the person wanted to exchange 50,000 silver coins.
This amount made Zhu Yijun frown. This was not a small amount.
From the looks of it, this 50,000 silver coins was just a test. If it could be exchanged, it would probably be a large exchange.
Zhu Yijun coldly snorted. In his dreams. He had already arranged everything. Why would he give such a chance?
The clerk behind the counter was not anxious. He smiled and said, "Customer, please fill in the information. This is the information form. Write your name here and your home address here."