Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Second, we will crack down on private minting of coins.

According to the law, his entire family should have been exterminated, but the imperial court decided to grant him a special pardon and instead exile him to the barbarian lands of southern Sichuan!

The public is encouraged to report violations, and a reward of 500 strings of cash will be given upon verification.

If the case is serious, a reward of one thousand strings of cash will be given.

Third, it allowed people to pay taxes with iron coins.

Chapter 3261 Iron Coins in Sichuan

The iron coins tax revenue collected by the government was either kept locally for its own use or all of it handed over to the central government was melted down.

This would mean destroying a batch of iron coins that were to be handed over to the central government every year, which would drastically reduce the central government's tax revenue. The Northern Song court was unwilling to do this, but the Zhu family believed it would be beneficial in the long run.

Fourth, every year, a batch of copper coins from other provinces were distributed to various prefectures and counties in Sichuan through transfer payments.

These copper coins from other provinces could only be used for infrastructure construction and salaries.

For example, repairing official roads, plank roads, water conservancy projects, etc., could also be used to pay salaries to officials.

.....

Yazhou, Mingshan County.

The famous mountain tea produced here was a key product in the tea-horse trade during the Song Dynasty and was highly favored by the leaders of various ethnic groups on the grasslands.

So the people of Mingshan suffered greatly. Too many soldiers died or deserted while escorting tea, so they resorted to conscripting laborers to escort tea instead.

They traveled north from western Sichuan, entered Shaanxi via Hanzhong, and then headed to Qinghai or Western Xia.

Nearly half of the victims died on the round trip.

The impoverished people of Mingshan County were extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Because the tea-horse trade changed its method, it became about merchants purchasing and transporting goods.

Sichuan tea merchants transported the tea to Hanzhong, and Hanzhong tea merchants then transported it to Lanzhou, where the Lanzhou Tea and Horse Bureau was responsible for purchasing it.

If one's official career is changed to business career, people will immediately stop dying; even if they do die, it will be considered an accident.

Besides tea, Mingshan County is also famous for its iron coins!

The Baizhang Mint (a minting institution) was located at the junction of Mingshan County, Baizhang County, and Pujiang County. Last year, the imperial court announced that production would cease and the mint would be sold to merchants for civilian use.

Sun Mengliang, the first Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the Ming Dynasty, stood by the Tiexi River with a furrowed brow.

Head constable Hu Ming rushed over: "Registrar Sun, we've searched everywhere but can't find it. Could there be a mistake?"

A man in brown clothes standing nearby said, "That's right, they've been illegally minting iron coins here for four months."

"They claimed to be smelting pig iron and making farm tools, but they were actually secretly minting iron coins."

"The Emperor is a saint, and he has done great favors for the people of Mingshan. If the Emperor says that private coins cannot be minted, then it must be a crime!"

Sun Mengliang remained silent.

The man who reported the counterfeiting of private coins said urgently, "This was personally supervised by Yang Shierlang, who comes here every few days."

"He also told the craftsmen that anyone who dared to gossip would have their entire family killed."

"Normally, there are sentries guarding the surrounding mountains, and no one is allowed to enter or leave at will. I escaped by climbing over the mountain and crossing that cliff..."

As they were talking, a middle-aged man arrived by boat. Upon landing, he bowed and greeted the man, saying, "Greetings, Registrar Sun. My name is Yang Hao, courtesy name Yangzhi, and I am the twelfth in my clan."

Sun Mengliang said expressionlessly, "Wait."

"Wait for what?" Yang Hao was taken aback.

Sun Mengliang said, "Wait for the county magistrate to borrow troops from the prefectural city."

Yang Hao was terrified, but he pretended to be calm and said, "It's all a misunderstanding, why bother the state troops?"

“My cousin went to Hanzhong to seek refuge with the government before the fall of the Song Dynasty, and now he is the prefect of Yanping.”

"I heard that Registrar Sun is from Fuzhou. My elder brother will definitely pay him a visit when he has time."

The Yang family was a prominent clan in the mountains, owning many tea plantations, and Hanzhong was their economic lifeline.

Because Zhao Yuan raised an army in Liangshan, blocking the route for selling tea to the north, the Yang family of Mingshan quickly came to join them.

Not only did they amass great wealth, but Yang family members also rose through the ranks to become prefects.

Sun Mengliang sneered: "It is precisely because the Yang family has meritorious officials who helped the emperor rise to power, and because they have great influence in the famous mountains, that the county magistrate had no choice but to go to the prefectural city to borrow troops."

"I thought I had come without anyone noticing, but I didn't expect that your Yang family had received word of it beforehand."

"If they reveal who the mole is in the county government as soon as possible, they might be given a lighter sentence during the trial."

"How could such a thing be? Minting coins illegally is punishable by extermination of the entire clan!"

Yang Hao continued to play dumb.

“My family, the Yang family of Mingshan, has both money and official positions. Last year, we even bought this iron mine from the government. While we may not be making a fortune every day, we are certainly not worried about food and drink.”

"He must have lost his mind to do something that would involve the extermination of three generations of a family."

"hehe."

Sun Mengliang chuckled twice.

Yang Hao was a little anxious and said, "Registration Sun, my elder brother not only serves as the prefect of Fujian, but is also acquainted with cabinet ministers and ministers. We once worked together in Wuhan."

"If we can clear up today's misunderstanding, the Yang family of Mingshan will do our best to assist Registrar Sun in any future tasks he may have."

Sun Mengliang questioned, "Are you using the cabinet ministers and the ministers to threaten me?"

"I wouldn't dare, I just wanted to make friends with Registrar Sun," Yang Hao quickly explained.

Sun Mengliang said, "Don't bother with Magistrate Yan's affairs."

“Even if he accepted money from the Yang family, he wouldn’t dare to cover this up for you. In fact, he could take this opportunity to redeem himself.”

"You probably don't know this, but when Sichuan officials are evaluated for their performance, if they crack a case of illegally minting iron coins, they can be directly rated as the best."

Yang Hao's legs went weak when he heard this; he really didn't know about it.

"Take him down!" Sun Mengliang shouted.

Chapter 3262 Prestigious Families

The constable Hu Ming hesitated for a moment and suggested, "Shouldn't we investigate before arresting them? After all, the Yang family is a prominent clan in the mountains, and they even produced a civil official who served the emperor."

Sun Mengliang looked at Hu Ming: "You also have dealings with the Yang family?"

"Absolutely not!"

Hu Ming vehemently denied it, then shouted, "Arrest them!"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."

Seeing several yamen runners rushing over, and ignoring his attempts to explain himself,

Yang Hao's panic turned into arrogance, and he roared, "I am Yang Shierlang, who dares to touch me?"

The officials were truly intimidated and stopped in their tracks.

Yang Hao continued to act arrogantly: "My family name is Yang Shan, and we share the same origin as the Yang family in Chengdu."

"Which official from the Chengdu Tea and Horse Bureau of the former Song Dynasty wasn't familiar with my Yang family?"

"In the new Ming Dynasty, the second year after His Majesty occupied Chengdu, facing a six-pronged attack by the former Song army, my Yang family risked execution to surrender to His Majesty. Is this a great achievement?"

"Is this loyalty to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Let me tell you, my cousin is also His Majesty's disciple, and he served by His Majesty's side for a month handling official documents!"

As he spoke, Yang Hao turned to Sun Mengliang and said, "You're just a lowly clerk, yet you dare to investigate the Yang family without any evidence."

"You've angered His Majesty, and your entire career will be ruined!"

Sun Mengliang sneered, "Your Majesty's nominal disciple?"

"Hehe, you probably don't know, but His Majesty's personal disciple stole several thousand strings of cash in Luoyang and was severely punished by His Majesty's own order."

"Your cousin is His Majesty's disciple, so am I not a student of the Emperor? I am the first Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the Ming Dynasty!"

Yang Hao grew increasingly uneasy but stubbornly retorted, "Is a minister who followed the emperor greater, or a first-time Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)? You're just a registrar; don't act recklessly. There are many people in this world you can't afford to offend!"

"It is said that the two provincial governors of Sichuan, as well as the prefect of Yazhou, also have connections with my cousin."

Sun Mengliang said, "I have noted these words down and will definitely submit a memorial to the court, requesting the three judicial departments to thoroughly investigate them."

Yang Hao said, "What qualifications do you, a mere registrar, have to submit a memorial to the imperial court?"

Sun Mengliang said, "I am a proper Jinshi official, why can't I submit a memorial?"

"Even if my memorial is lost without a trace, does my Sun family have no old friends or relatives serving in official positions?"

"The Sun family of Houguan are no ordinary people. Arrest them!"

The Houguan Sun family of the Song Dynasty traced their ancestry back to Sun Liang, the son of Sun Quan.

The officials looked at each other, puzzled. They listened for a long time but still couldn't figure out who was more powerful.

But the constable Hu Ming shouted, "Arrest them! Do as I say!"

"Yes!"

Several constables immediately restrained Yang Hao, their expressions quite excited. It was clear that Yang had a terrible reputation and had caused the deaths of many people in the early tea-horse trade.

"You've all rebelled! You dare to lay a hand on the Yang family! You'll all be wiped out!"

Yang Hao continued his incompetent roaring, but Sun Mengliang ignored him.

A few hours later, a clerk ran over and said, "We found the coin-casting mold. It was sunk in the Tiexi River. We searched for it underwater for a long time before finally finding it."

"They also pulled out a lot of iron coins from the bottom of the river. The rough edges hadn't been worn off, so they were obviously newly minted."

Sun Mengliang was overjoyed: "Continue the salvage! Chief Hu, recruit some able-bodied men temporarily, call on any friends or acquaintances you can, surround the Yang family's old house, and don't let a single one escape."

"As ordered!"

Hu Ming felt he was about to make a great contribution, and that promotion and wealth were just around the corner.

From last winter to this spring, four of the five mints that were sold to private individuals received reports from craftsmen.

These guys clearly have plenty of money, yet they risk having their entire families wiped out to secretly engage in the business of minting private coins.

Privately minted copper coins are still acceptable, at least they can be used.

Privately minting iron coins was a complete act of defiance against the imperial court, and the emperor was eager for all the iron coins to be melted down as soon as possible.

If the facts are verified, the homeowners and actual managers involved will be beheaded.

Although the three clans were granted a pardon, they were still to be exiled to southern Sichuan, where they would have to deal with the barbarians thereafter, and all their property would be confiscated.

This can also be considered as supporting the development of Southwest China.

From now on, criminals in Sichuan whose crimes warrant exile will be sent to southern Sichuan.

Junlian, Yanjin, Xuyong, Gulin... are now all in the hands of barbarians, and urgently need Han people to populate them.

Far away in the capital.

The cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue are engaged in heated debate over whether to reissue paper currency in Sichuan, with a majority of officials opposing the move.

Among the cabinet ministers, the first to stand up against paper money was Zhong Shidao, a former military officer turned civil servant.

Zhong Shidao was extremely agitated, even standing up and slamming his fist on the table: "Whether it's paper money or paper money, all paper money in the world is a scourge to the country and its people."

"Paper is neither gold nor jade; it can be made from bamboo and wood. Once it is used excessively, it will bring endless trouble."

Chapter 3263 The Trouble of Over-issuing Paper Money

"Many wealthy families have lost their entire fortunes, accumulated over generations, and ordinary people have lost their life savings, all because of this thing."

"The Western Army of the Former Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Jiaoziqian (paper money)!"

The ministers looked at each other; those who supported issuing currency found it difficult to respond, while those who opposed it nodded repeatedly.

Zhong Shidao's words were all true, and he had personally experienced the pain firsthand.