There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 341 1800 years

It’s another New Year.

The year 1800 marked the beginning of modern history, the third year of the reign of Emperor Xinghua of the Han Dynasty, the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty.

Last year saw many historic events. In addition to the death of the "Ten-Complete Old Man" of the puppet Qing dynasty, the downfall of He Shen, the greatest corrupt official in history, the complete control of southern Anhui and Jiangxi by the Han dynasty, leaving only the last section of the Jiangnan waterways of Jiangsu Province to the sea for the puppet Qing dynasty.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, George Washington, the first president of the United States, passed away from a cold about two weeks earlier.

In contrast, the French, the "Father of the United States" who traded his life for American independence, witnessed the Brumaire coup at the end of last year.

Napoleon overthrew the corrupt Directory government of France and established a military dictatorship supported by the French people.

Beethoven also composed the "Heroic March" for Napoleon, praising Napoleon's heroic achievements... well, if he hadn't later led France to fight against the European continent alone, plunging France back into the abyss of war.

The wheels of history have begun to turn majestically!
The first day of the Lunar New Year, the first day of the 19th century.

Nie Yu, dressed in a brand-new royal robe, arrived at the front courtyard of the Han King's Mansion.

Compared to the cramped and shabby courtyard a few months ago, the Prince's Mansion courtyard is now noticeably larger and more impressive.

Last year, the Ministry of Rites received several delegations from outside the Han Dynasty. Initially, these delegations were well accommodated, staying in government-run guesthouses. The Ministry of Rites handled all the treatment and etiquette meticulously, without overstepping any boundaries or making them feel neglected.

When they arrived at the Han King's Palace to pay their respects to the King, even the most simple and honest Yao people from the Eighth Yao Autonomous County bluntly remarked that the King's Palace was a bit too small.

Such a small palace suggests that the King of Han must be compassionate towards the people, and the officials he sent must be honest and incorruptible; they must all be living good lives.

They spoke only simple and honest words, so simple that the Ministry of Rites couldn't hold back and reluctantly submitted a joint memorial to advise the Prince of Han.

It's fine if you don't build a palace, but at least make the prince's residence look grand.

Your Majesty, there's nothing wrong with your frugality, but frugality shouldn't come with living in such a shabby place. Living in such a shabby place would only damage the dignity of the country and the court.

Nie Yu then realized that he had gone a bit too far. As a time traveler, he didn't really care about living in a big house, and he subconsciously ignored the customs and concepts of the ancients.

Since that's the case, let's renovate and expand it!

However, Nie Yu still emphasized that the Prince's Mansion could be renovated and expanded for the sake of national dignity, but the facade expansion should only be grand, and the remaining inner quarters should be sufficient. It should not be too extravagant, and it should not interfere with the common people.

The front hall and courtyard were already set up with New Year's banquet dishes, all of which were very ordinary chicken, duck, fish and meat dishes, without any expensive delicacies.

Since it was New Year's anyway, Nie Yu still maintained his "frugal" habit as always.

All the civil and military officials of the fourth rank and above in Jingzhou have arrived. The number of officials is not large, and they are all from Hubei and Hunan provinces.

There are of course officials from Jiangxi and Anhui provinces in the Han Dynasty, but these officials are currently stationed in other places and it is not yet time for them to return to Jingzhou to report on their duties.

Led by the cabinet, numerous Han officials, dressed in brand-new bright red official robes, wearing formal black gauze hats, and holding tablets, entered the front hall.

"Your humble servants pay homage to the King of Han, and wish him a peaceful and healthy New Year, and a long life!"

Liu Jun led the way by bowing in greeting, followed by the other cabinet ministers, then the ministers and vice ministers of various ministries, and other officials of the fourth rank at all levels.

It is evident that Nie Yu's strong advocacy against kneeling has largely taken root in the hearts of the Han people.

On important occasions such as New Year's greetings, these people will no longer kneel down voluntarily, but will bow normally.

The new etiquette established by Nie Yu did not completely eliminate the kneeling ceremony, but it was basically only used for sacrifices to heaven and earth, the emperor's enthronement, and kneeling before parents.

Nie Yu wanted to cancel the emperor's ascension to the throne, but the cabinet strongly opposed his idea, saying it was too ambitious.

"Haha, my lords, no need for formalities!"

Nie Yu smiled and raised his hand, then said, "Today is New Year's Day, so all of you need not restrain yourselves. Please take your seats quickly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd didn't really stand on ceremony and took their seats one after another according to their official ranks.

As soon as they sat down, Nie Yu eagerly raised his wine cup: "Today is a New Year's Day banquet, so I won't discuss any troublesome political matters with you all. We can talk about everything tomorrow. Today, let's let loose and drink until we're drunk!"

After saying that, he downed the wine glass in his hand in one gulp.

Her forthright and frank nature left the etiquette officer, who was responsible for recording and correcting her behavior, completely stunned.

His duty told him that he should step forward and dissuade the King of Han from such a breach of etiquette.

However, he then saw the cabinet ministers below, who were leading the way, laughing and drinking with the King of Han, and drinking their drinks in one gulp without any regard for formalities.

"..."

After a moment of silence, the etiquette officer lowered his head, pretending he hadn't seen the banquet.

After the emperor and his ministers drank together, the ministers were initially a little reserved, but as they drank one cup of wine after another, they gradually became intoxicated.

There wasn't anything too outrageous about drunkenness, but it was pretty much like what you'd see in the streets: some were drinking, some were playing drinking games, and the most refined people were just quietly eating and drinking to their hearts' content.

The banquet began at noon and lasted until 2 p.m. when the emperor and his ministers parted in high spirits.

Inside and outside the city of Jingzhou, the government had announced a one-day holiday, leaving only a few officials on duty.

The streets and alleys of the prefectural city were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, some hung by shops along the streets, others by wealthy families, all for the sake of creating a festive atmosphere. Even ordinary people bought wine, meat, and new clothes several days in advance. After a year of hard work, no matter how poor they were, they had to buy some meat and vegetables today to enjoy a hearty reunion dinner with their families, praying for harmony and prosperity in the coming year.

Since the Han Dynasty distributed land, no one under its rule, including the extremely poor, has starved to death for a long time.

The people did not starve, and everyone could even eat meat during the New Year. This was the foundation and confidence that enabled the Han Dynasty to dominate the world!

……

The next day.

Nie Yu slept until late morning. Yesterday was supposed to be a holiday, but it still left him exhausted.

He hosted a banquet for his ministers at noon, and the banquet ended in the afternoon. In the evening, he continued to have a family banquet with his father and the empresses.

After the family dinner, the whole family gathered together to watch a play and listen to music.

The music was alright; it could soothe the mind. Yu liked to have someone play a few pieces for him when he had nothing to do, but he really couldn't appreciate drama.

Last night, Nie Yu didn't even watch two games before he fell asleep.

It was already high in the sky when Nie Yu quickly washed up and tidied himself up before returning to his daily office work.

With the King of Han already working, the ministers of the various ministries and departments in the cabinet naturally dared not continue to rest, and joined their king in a frantic internal struggle.

It's not about internal competition among our own people, but about driving the increasingly corrupt pseudo-Qing dynasty to its knees.

Nie Yu rubbed his nose and casually pulled out a memorial that the cabinet had just compiled and sent over: concerning the reform of the town night curfew law and the detailed rules for the establishment of brothels!
A curfew means that government officials are not allowed to go out at night.

There were relevant regulations in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the Han dynasty did not simply abolish them, because laws in different eras are bound to be different and even adapt to each other.

Nie Yu casually wrote in vermilion ink: "Read. The Cabinet should revise the curfew law. The curfew should not be used to disrupt the livelihood of the people." After thinking for a moment, he added on another line: "Since brothels are not prohibited by law, merchants can open brothels with normal registration and permits from the Ministry of Commerce. However, the Ministry of Commerce must strictly investigate and supervise them. No brothel may be involved in prostitution or human trafficking. Violators will be severely punished according to the law!"

Nie Yu is not against brothels. In essence, they are not places where people sell their bodies. In fact, the Ming and Qing dynasties strictly prohibited brothels from selling their bodies through legislation.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught. Brothels and alleyways were rampant during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and even the mighty Han Dynasty couldn't suppress their arrogance.

Last year alone, the Jingzhou government raided seven alleyways, confiscated two brothels involved in the flesh trade, and two human trafficking dens.

Unfortunately, harsh laws and severe punishments could not frighten these greedy and desperate people. In fact, the Han Dynasty's efforts to win popular support by distributing land and abolishing slavery only fueled the arrogance of these desperate people.

Because slavery was abolished, wealthy and powerful families could no longer buy slaves, which made the price of slaves more expensive.

The common people wanted to live a peaceful life by dividing the land and farming, but the desperate criminals only wanted money.

Nie Yu had no fundamental solution to this problem, so he could only conduct irregular patrols and control, while also stationing troops in Jingzhou Prefecture to ensure that any problems could be suppressed at any time.

After approving the memorial from the Jingzhou government, Nie Yu randomly picked out another one: the Ministry of Revenue's request to issue silver coins.

Nie Yu quickly flipped through a few pages, then asked his secretary to summon Lin Wenchang: "Is the Great Han Dynasty now authorized to issue silver coins?"

"Not yet," Lin Wenchang shook his head.

Nie Yu frowned: "Then why..."

"Your Majesty, just because it's not possible now doesn't mean it won't be possible later."

Lin Wenchang explained, "Many places in Jiangxi, southern Anhui, and Hunan are already promoting the planting of cash crops such as tea, ramie, cotton, and tobacco. The Jingdezhen ceramic kilns in Fuliang County will also restart at the same time."

"Our great Han Dynasty is now promoting the new spinning machine across the board. In the next few years, the new spinning machine will drive the industrial revolution that Your Majesty mentioned, allowing merchants to establish factories. With factories, people can work and earn money."

Nie Yu suddenly interrupted and asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Lin Wenchang nodded: "It is indeed a good thing. When the people are prosperous, the country is strong. However, the premise of the people's prosperity is that the traditional farming and weaving is on the verge of collapse. This is not the most serious problem. If the people can obtain stable income, then the farming and weaving will disappear. But if the people are prosperous, and the court's currency is still only silver and copper coins, how will the people spend their surplus silver?"

In ancient times, people didn't spend money in the way depicted in later films and television dramas, where they could simply slap a silver ingot on the table.

Ordinary people had to carry a weight and silver scissors with them when spending money. They would cut the silver with the scissors to measure the amount they needed.

This often resulted in silver being severely damaged and cut into small pieces during transactions.

With so many drawbacks combined, people were unwilling to use silver and preferred to use copper coins.

The unit of copper coins was too small. If people had extra money, they wouldn't spend it in large quantities, so it couldn't function as a circulating currency in the market economy.

To give an analogy, you might have a perfectly healthy body that's working hard to produce blood, but all the blood is stagnating in your blood vessels and can't flow throughout your body.

Over time, the body will deteriorate, and in turn, the economy will grind to a halt.

"So, you thought of silver coins?" Nie Yu asked.

Lin Wenchang said, "Silver coins do not have the drawback of silver taels needing to be cut for use. They can circulate like copper coins. As long as the court sets the exchange rate between silver coins and silver taels, silver coins can gradually replace silver taels. If the Industrial Revolution that Your Majesty speaks of can truly succeed, then silver coins must be promoted. Otherwise, with silver taels, the Industrial Revolution will not have enough monetary support and will either collapse quickly or leave the people with nothing but bones after being eaten by those merchants and gentry!"

After listening carefully for a moment, Nie Yu said, "In that case, if there is indeed a need to issue silver coins ahead of schedule, the Ministry of Revenue should immediately prepare a draft of the regulations for the issuance of silver coins, as well as samples of silver and gold coins for me to review!"

Nie Yu had originally planned to issue silver coins at the right time, and now that the Ministry of Revenue had proposed it, it was simply a matter of bringing it forward a little.

Of course, he still made a conservative request: to first see the Ministry of Revenue's plan and regulations, as well as the sample of the silver coin.

(End of this chapter)