Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 636 A Shattered Corner

Pei Yuan remained silent, and Zhu Houzhao also remained silent.

After a while, Zhu Houzhao took out the crude nautical chart that he had just put away from the table again.

His gaze swept over the Beiliu Islands, which were covered with seashells.

Then, looking in that order, we passed through Pengkalan, Myanmar, and Yunnan.

Zhu Houzhao's gaze returned to the pile of seashells on the ground.

Unbeknownst to him, his Ming Dynasty was silently bleeding over such a trivial matter.

As Zhu Houzhao's emotions surged to the peak and then plummeted, Pei Yuan silently prayed.

Zhang Yu, please don't leave early!

Normally, the Censorate should have closed its offices by this time.

Li Shishi, the Left Censor-in-Chief, rose through the ranks faster than anyone else.

If Zhang Yu weren't at the Censorate right now, and Zhao Zige's emotions were disrupted, my subsequent persuasion would be less effective.

Fortunately, Zhang Yu maintained the integrity of a censor, continuing to review files and verify past intelligence within the Censorate.

The eunuch who delivered the order returned shortly afterward to report that Zhang Yu was already waiting outside the palace.

Zhu Houzhao shouted directly, "Let him in."

A short while later, Zhang Yu, with a solemn expression, entered the hall and immediately bowed deeply, saying, "Your subject, Zhang Yu, the Inspector General, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Zhang Yu appeared to be in his forties, with a slightly dark and thin appearance, but he stood ramrod straight and exuded a calm demeanor.

Pei Yuan and Zhu Houzhao both had a good first impression of him.

Pei Yuan, in particular, felt that Zhang Yu's persistence was worthy of his position as a censor, especially compared to Li Shishi, who liked to leave early.

As far as I can remember, Zhang Yu worked diligently in this position for more than ten years before being transferred to a local post as a deputy provincial inspector.

There are reasons why Zhang Yu was so unlucky.

Previously, when Zhang Yu went to Yunnan to inspect the local areas, he found that the emperor was far away and the local officials were lawless and acted recklessly.

Although Zhang Yu, the imperial inspector, tried many times to bring those officials to justice, "in remote and desolate areas, officials and administrators are united," meaning that because they were far from the central government, everyone clung to each other and protected one another, leaving Zhang Yu with little recourse.

It just so happens that the earthquake zone is active, and Yunnan has experienced several earthquakes.

So Zhang Yu wrote a letter to Emperor Zhengde.

"I beseech the governor and other officials to thoroughly investigate and rectify the situation in order to quell the disasters."

Zhang Yu clearly meant, "Boss, you need to do something about this! These guys are completely out of control, and I've even come up with excuses for them! Deal with them quickly."

As a result, when Zhang Yu submitted his memorial, Fu Gui, the Minister of Rites, was displeased.

As an imperial inspector, do you understand natural disasters and anomalies? Do you have authority? Are you at a high enough level of authority?
Think about it again, isn't this the emperor's responsibility?

Let's start examining the emperor!

Then the memorial took a complete 180-degree turn: "His Majesty revered the will of Heaven and was cautious and mindful, which is why he was able to influence and resolve the situation."

This was originally a great opportunity to once again crush the PUA Emperor, but unexpectedly, due to Pei's intervention, the Battle of Huguang ended prematurely.

Fu Gui had just started leading everyone to examine the emperor's character when they achieved a great victory at the front!

The victors are not scrutinized.

Furthermore, Zang Xian resented Fu Gui for looking down on him, and seized the opportunity to lead his followers to exert their influence.

Thus, Fu Gui's fate was sealed prematurely, and this powerful "Grand Minister of the Seven Kingdoms" quietly faded into obscurity.

This was also the backdrop against which Pei Qianhu and other prominent figures engaged in a series of struggles for the position of Minister of Rites.

As the instigator of this incident, Zhang Yu's position is naturally somewhat awkward.

At the court level, he was forced to become involved with the losers.

Locally, upon learning that Zhang Yu intended for the emperor to directly intervene in the Three Departments, the officials began to dislike him.

Ultimately, Zhang Yu, who was determined to do something for the people of Yunnan, had no choice but to be recalled to the capital.

Zhu Houzhao finally saw Zhang Yu and said impatiently, "Get up."

Zhang Yu respectfully stood up, taking the opportunity to quickly scan the things on the ground before keeping his eyes down and waiting for the emperor to ask questions.

Zhu Houzhao asked him directly, "I've heard that Yunnan still trades shellfish, is that true?"

Thinking about the seashell he had just glimpsed, Zhang Yu quickly organized his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case. Local people in Yunnan prefer to use cowrie shells for transactions, also known as cowrie shells. Usually, one cowrie shell is called a 'zhuang' (庄), four zhuang shells are called a 'shou' (手), four shou shells are called a 'miao' (苗), and five miao shells are called a 'suo' (索). It circulates alongside gold, silver, and copper."

Zhu Houzhao asked incredulously, "How could this be? We are now in the Ming Dynasty, why is such an outdated currency still in common use among the people?"

Zhang Yu reminded him, "Your Majesty, these seashells are not only circulated among the common people, but can also be used to pay taxes."

Zhu Houzhao was completely dumbfounded.

You mean pay taxes?

Then he pressed further, "Where can I use this money to pay taxes?"

Just as Zhu Houzhao was still hoping that it was only in a few isolated places, he heard Zhang Yu say, "Your Majesty, the entire Yunnan province can use seashells to pay taxes."

There is a poem that describes the folk customs of Yunnan.

"Old and young wear felt clothing, barbarians and non-barbarians are one family. Hot springs are suitable for bathing, stone drums are not worth beating. The local products are rich in tin, and the government rents half of the revenue come from sea cows. It is true that the southern land is warm, and flowers bloom all year round."

When Zhu Houzhao heard the line, "The local produce is abundant in tin, and the government's rent is half sea cows," he was about to explode.

Just now, he was mocking those island nations in Southeast Asia for their backward use of seashells, and even ambitiously planning to dig for seashells from a place called "Beiliu" to plunder the wealth of those small countries.

Unexpectedly, he soon learned that a province of the mighty Ming Dynasty was still circulating seashells, and these seashells were even being used as taxes to openly flow into the official treasury, accounting for half of Yunnan's local tax revenue.

Suppressing his panic and disbelief, Zhu Houzhao asked Zhang Yu, "Who wrote this poem?"

Zhang Yu didn't know why Zhu Houzhao reacted so strongly, but he still told the truth, "It was done by Mu Lin, the former Right Vice-General in charge of Yunnan. Mu Lin was the great-grandson of Mu Ying, the Prince of Qianning. He died young and had not yet made any significant contributions."

Well, Zhu Houzhao's anxiety finally died.

Even the Mu family in Yongzhen, Yunnan, said so, so it's completely confirmed.

Thinking of the mountains of seashells on the "Beiliu" Islands and the not-so-distant distance from Yunnan, Zhu Houzhao broke out in a sweat and turned to Pei Yuan, "How many people know about that place now?" Pei Yuan, of course, didn't mind provoking A-Zhao at this moment.

So he said, “That is a Yuan Dynasty notebook, which is two hundred years old now. This book is not kept secret, so I cannot be sure if anyone else has noticed it.”

"Moreover, the notes were written in great detail. As long as it is during the windy season, when passing through Sinhalese, sailing with the ocean current will deviate from the course and reach this place."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao immediately made a judgment.

The shell currency system has developed a catastrophic vulnerability, and local customs must be changed immediately to completely abolish the shell currency system.

Otherwise, if Beiliu were to be extensively excavated, the wealth of the people of Yunnan would be taken away by these seashells.

Just then, Zhang Yu, an imperial censor who had just returned from Yunnan, appeared before him. Zhu Houzhao asked him directly, "In your opinion, if the court were to abolish cowrie shells in Yunnan, what should be done?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu quickly said, "Your Majesty, this matter is probably not easy."

"I just mentioned Governor Mu's poem. Did Your Majesty notice the first line? It says, 'Old and young wear felt, barbarians are one family.' It refers to barbarians, not Han barbarians."

"Since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, although we have repeatedly conscripted military and civilian troops to cultivate Yunnan, most Han people have gathered in the towns and cities of these military and civilian settlements."

“Yunnan borders Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, as well as Myanmar and Annam, and vast areas are still surrounded by various ethnic groups such as Qiang, Hu, Yi, and Miao.”

"Yunnan is home to a hundred ethnic groups, who don't even speak the same language. Getting them to accept a unified currency is extremely difficult. Cowrie shells have been the currency recognized by the hundred ethnic groups for thousands of years. How can we easily change it in a hurry?"

Zhu Houzhao naturally could not reveal the secret that Pei Yuan had just mentioned to Zhang Yu, but his face remained gloomy and he did not answer.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao remained silent, Zhang Yu, being dutiful, continued, "Even if Your Majesty wants to abolish cowrie shells, I'm afraid the court cannot provide enough gold, silver, and copper coins to supplement local transactions."

"As far as I know, even in the prosperous regions of our Great Ming Dynasty, there is still a shortage of gold, silver, and copper coins. Even if Your Majesty is willing, how can you extend that to all the barbarian tribes?"

Pei Yuan thought to himself, "Here it comes, here it comes, the crucial moment has arrived."

To ensure everything went smoothly, Pei Yuan suggested, "If I remember correctly, Yunnan has many silver mines. Why not mine more there to supplement our expenses?"

When Zhang Yu heard Pei Yuan speak, he glanced at him and saw that Pei Yuan was wearing the rank insignia of a fifth-rank military officer, and remained silent.

Pei Yuan almost laughed out of anger at Zhang Yu's actions.

Damn it, you're discriminating against me at a crucial time like this.

Get to the point!

Fortunately, Zhang Yu wasn't entirely naive. Even a commander of a thousand men in the Imperial Guard who stood beside the emperor couldn't afford to make the atmosphere too awkward.

So Zhang Yu took the initiative to start a new topic, which unexpectedly played right into Pei Yuan's hands.

"Your Majesty, speaking of silver mining, I previously submitted a memorial mentioning the silver mines in Xinxing and other areas."

"After years of mining, the ore veins in those silver mines were so thin that almost no silver could be extracted. The mining supervisors in charge of the area forced the soldiers and miners to sell their rations for silver in order to complete their tasks. They then handed over the silver from the sale of the rations, claiming that the mining tasks had been completed."

Such evil deeds are everywhere.

"Many soldiers and laborers from the silver mines in Yunnan are deserting, and the silver mines in various places are already on the verge of collapse."

"Your subject requests that we carefully select and close those silver mines that no longer produce silver, so as to prevent excessive fraud."

Upon hearing of such a heinous matter, Zhu Houzhao asked in surprise, "How could I not know about this? Since the mine is so small, it can simply be shut down. Why did those eunuchs who were in charge of the mine go to all this trouble?"

When Zhang Yu saw Zhu Houzhao asking about politics, he immediately perked up and took the opportunity to offer his advice.

"Because the purpose of those eunuchs guarding the area was not just to mine silver, but to use the pretext of mining to take advantage of the situation, extort money from the people, and oppress the prefectures and counties."

"They used the pretext of mining for the imperial court to find silver, and when they encountered wealthy families, they would falsely accuse them of stealing mines. When they encountered fertile fields and beautiful houses, they would claim that there were mineral veins underneath and take the opportunity to extort money from them."

"If they encounter someone who refuses to be extorted, they will demolish his house and destroy his fields and crops. If there is any resistance, they will lead their men to surround and arrest him, humiliate women, and even cut off people's hands and feet and throw them into the river."

"In my opinion, our Great Ming Dynasty is already lacking in gold and silver. The gold and silver mines in Yunnan are not even as good as the mines in Burma. And with such a thorough search of the whole country, what silver mines can we possibly find? Only man-made mines."

Zhang Yu was about to speak again when Zhu Houzhao suddenly gestured for him to shut up.

Zhu Houzhao's face was extremely pale.

Pei Yuan looked up, glanced at Zhu Houzhao, and a smile appeared on his lips.

From that crumbling corner of Yunnan... it is finally about to spread to the entire Ming Dynasty.

This is no longer just a matter of seashells.

Zhu Houzhao seemed to be out of breath, and after a long while, he stared at Zhang Yu and said, "You just said that my Great Ming Dynasty lacks gold and silver, and that the gold and silver mines in Yunnan are not as good as the mines in Myanmar?"

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's state, Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and realized that he hadn't said anything wrong.

He continued, "The known mineral veins in our Great Ming Dynasty are indeed scarce in gold and silver. The mines in Yunnan have been mined for many years and are already quite small."

"During the Chenghua era, in order to obtain gold, the imperial court opened gold mines in Huguang, and opened 21 gold mines in 12 counties including Wuling, conscripting 550,000 laborers every year. Countless people died in the mining."

"Does Your Majesty know how much gold the imperial court has unearthed in the twelve counties of Huguang?"

Zhu Houzhao stared at Zhang Yu and pressed, "How much?"

Zhang Yu replied, "Thirty-five taels."

Upon hearing this answer, Zhu Houzhao even felt a sense of incomprehensible absurdity.

The imperial court spent a huge sum of money, digging all over the twelve counties and conscripting 550,000 laborers every year, all for a mere 35 taels of gold.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao seemed to have a vague sense of familiarity amidst this absurdity.

Then the words that had just rang in his ears immediately echoed back to him, as if their lingering sound still resonated.

"Things are valued for their rarity, which is a natural principle. As the saying goes, you can't talk about the sea with a frog in a well, you can't talk about ice with a summer insect, and you can't talk about the Way with a narrow-minded person."

"The world is vast and full of wonders. For example, the north has little rain, while the south has plenty. If they cannot sail a thousand miles away, how can they know that what they cherish is plentiful elsewhere?"

"In the future, we can naturally take a large ship to dig up those countless seashells, and then in the South Seas and the Western Ocean, we can freely exchange them for grain, cloth, gold, gems, ivory, coral, pepper and other good things. We can even buy a large number of foreign slaves and re-establish the Pacification Commission in the South Seas."

"Those barbarians must be overjoyed to have so many seashells. They might destroy farmland and plant pepper and cloves everywhere. They might exhaust their manpower to dig for gems and corals. They might hunt elephants and chase peacocks, hoping to exchange them for seashells that they can store."

"But these seashells are useless if we can't eat them when we're hungry or wear them when we're cold. What good would it do them if they got millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions? They're just things we can take at will."

Zhu Houzhao's heart almost stopped. After a long while, he turned his gaze to Pei Yuan and said in a low, slightly trembling voice.

"Pei Qing, do you think there might be mountains of gold or silver hidden in places we can't see?"

"Like... a seashell."

"Could there be people who, just like we look at those ridiculous barbarians, are waiting to use those things to plunder us?"

(End of this chapter)