There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 225 Coin Minting
"The king is about to take action against the powerful clans."

As the governor of Hunan, Feng Xiuyong worked in Changsha, which was very close to Hengzhou, so he received the news immediately.

Xie Yanchen said with some concern, "This method of dividing the family, though called dividing the family, is actually an act of bestowing favors. Isn't it a bit too fast and too violent?"

Nie Yu called it a family division method, but anyone who has read a few history books knows that it is just the Enfeoffment Edict used by the Han Dynasty, a famous political strategy in history books. It is simple and practical, but it is a bit labor-intensive.

Feng Xiuyong said with a cold expression, "It's better to hurry up. Hengzhou has a complicated situation and is a major silver-producing area for our Great Han. Even for the sake of our Great Han's anti-Qing cause, these clans and gentry could easily back down and live in peace, but they just don't want to back down!"

“Indeed.” Xie Yanchen nodded in agreement. “These clans and gentry are deeply entrenched. If we continue to tolerate them, they will become a local cancer in time, causing endless harm.”

"..."

The two of them talked back and forth, discussing whether the division of the family property was too drastic, but no one discussed whether the division of the family property was right or wrong.

This was the practice throughout history: if powerful clans became too strong, they were weakened, and the division of family property was commonplace. Even in the Song Dynasty, which treated scholar-officials with great respect and shared governance, the powerful gentry and wealthy families were forcibly relocated when their influence became too great.

Nie Yu finalized the family division law first to avoid causing controversy among the ministers, which could lead to its failure to be implemented or its eventual abandonment.

However, reality proved that Nie Yu was overthinking things. On the issue of dividing the property among powerful families, the court officials and he, the King of Han, stood firmly together.

……

The King of Han stayed in Hengzhou for three days. First, he visited the Shigu Academy and admired its grandeur.

Then, without any prior notice, he personally summoned Chen Shiya, the headmaster of the academy, and ordered him to return to Changsha Chengnan Academy to teach and retire.

Yes, it's about teaching for retirement, very bluntly and without any politeness.

Shigu Academy is one of the four great academies. Chengnan Academy is not as famous, but it is not a small place either. It is the site of the famous "Zhu-Zhang lecture".

Transferring Chen Shiya from Shigu Academy back to Chengnan Academy as its headmaster might seem like a lateral move, but it's clear to everyone that the King of Han could no longer tolerate him.

Almost without much thought, all the students of Shigu Academy and the local gentry of Hengzhou knew what was going on.

This Dean Chen, relying on his status as a renowned scholar from Hunan, had previously publicly criticized and rejected the Han Dynasty's educational system with rather vehement words.

Because the Han Dynasty had not reacted much before, the students and gentry misunderstood, mistakenly believing that the Han Dynasty would take their opinions into consideration.

But no one expected that when the Han Dynasty made its move, it would strike at the very heart of the matter, replacing all the heads of the three major academies: Yuelu Academy, Shigu Academy, and Chengnan Academy.

The political signal is clear: stop going against the King of Han. The academy system is a done deal, and no amount of resistance or opposition can change it; it will only make the King of Han more disgusted.

I didn't see the heads of the three academies. They were all great Confucian scholars and famous figures from Hunan. One voluntarily resigned to return to his hometown to retire, while the other was forcibly transferred back to Changsha to retire in effect.

With the headmaster replaced, and without resorting to violence or arrests, the students of the three major academies, as well as the scholars from Changsha and Hengzhou, instantly became obedient.

It's unknown how long they can stay quiet, but with the great Confucian scholar no longer leading the charge, these students and scholars won't be able to cause any major trouble for the time being, giving the new academy of the Han Dynasty time to develop steadily.

After visiting Shigu Academy, Nie Yu toured the Dingtian Palace. This palace was built by Wu Sangui when he proclaimed himself emperor. The construction was very rushed; they couldn't even find enough glazed tiles, so they had to use paint instead. Unfortunately, it rained on the day of his coronation, washing away all the paint and creating a huge embarrassment. This also exposed the illegitimacy of Wu-Zhou's ascension to the throne and the weakness of his Mandate of Heaven.

Today, after more than a hundred years, the main palace is in ruins, but some pavilions and buildings can still be seen, and they have not suffered much damage.

The truth is, this is where Wu Sangui proclaimed himself emperor. Even if Kang Youwei said that Wu Sangui was a false emperor and a traitor, no official would dare to reform the government offices in the territory of the false emperor.

Nie Yu came here for a tour because many officials submitted memorials to the King of Han, suggesting that the King should repair the Dingtian Palace in Hengzhou.

While it's true that Wu Sangui was a traitor who served three masters, the Dingtian Palace he built was constructed according to the specifications of a true imperial palace. Therefore, we can first restore the Hengzhou Imperial Palace and transform it into the temporary palace of the King of Han. Furthermore, the name "Dingtian" has a very auspicious meaning, so we can take the opportunity to change Hengzhou Prefecture to Dingtian Prefecture, symbolizing the future pacification of the world by the Han Dynasty.

After a quick look around, Nie Yu said, "Let's tear this whole place down and turn it into residential housing!"

Zhao Zhijie, who was accompanying him, was taken aback: "Your Majesty, this is a royal palace building..."

Nie Yu laughed and said, "What imperial palace? It's just a pseudo-emperor's palace built by a treacherous traitor. Not only does it reek of pettiness, but it's also quite unlucky. I dare not stay here for long. I'll demolish it and rebuild it as residential housing to benefit the people. It's also a way for that treacherous traitor to pay his debt."

Zhao Zhijie immediately exclaimed with admiration, "Your Majesty is wise and does not indulge in the luxuries of the palace. I truly admire you!"

"..."

Nie Yu didn't say much. It was true that he wasn't greedy for extravagance, but he had also seen through what those civil officials were thinking.

The petition to repair the Hengzhou Imperial Palace reflects only two possible motivations:
The first reason is that they hope the King of Han can take that crucial step as soon as possible, so that they, as his subjects, can naturally rise in rank as well.

The second group was more pragmatic. They hoped that the King of Han would take that step, and that he would simply establish his capital in Hengzhou, or at the very least build a temporary palace there, and ascend the throne in Hunan.

Nie Yu was able to take the time to come and see it, both to give face to the civil officials and because he was curious about what this Hengzhou Imperial Palace, which had long since disappeared from the traces of later generations, actually looked like.

……

Nie Yu stayed in Hengzhou for three days, and then continued south by boat.

After passing Leiyang County, the fleet docked at the Zaotou Town wharf along the coast.

After resting for another night, they switched to the land route the next day.

Nie Yu sat in the carriage. His next stop was to visit several major silver mines in the Great Han Dynasty.

These silver mines are the foundation and lifeline of the Han Dynasty for a long time to come. They are related to both the military and the economy of the Han Dynasty. Silver can be used not only to purchase seamless steel pipes and compressed rations in the marketplace, but also to mint coins and currency.

The Great Han is now seen as a rebellious separatist regime by the Qing dynasty, and open trade between the two sides has long been cut off. All supplies and money to the Qing side have been cut off by the government. Nie Yu can handle the supplies himself, but he has to mint his own money and currency.

This is just as well. The Han dynasty has already established its own kingdom and system, so it would be quite inappropriate to continue using the Qianlong Tongbao coins issued by the pseudo-Qing dynasty.

The term "Silver Supervision Bureau" is a general term that refers not only to mining and silver smelting, but also to the trial minting of the first batch of official copper coins of the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)