Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"By imperial decree, Zhou Chen is hereby granted the authority to make arbitrary decisions on his own initiative!"

"Regarding the affairs of Jiangnan, anyone who obstructs the new policies, regardless of rank or whether they are imperial relatives, Zhou Chen may execute them first and report later! Court adjourned!"

The emperor stormed off, leaving behind officials drenched in cold sweat.

Gu Yannian's expression remained calm.

He tucked the ivory tablet into his sleeve, turned around, and walked out of Fengtian Gate at a leisurely pace.

He knew that today's confrontation in the court was just a prelude.

The real show is yet to come in the Jiangnan water towns, thousands of miles away.

Ten days later, in Pingjiang Prefecture.

This was the most prosperous and wealthy city in the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, however, an eerie atmosphere prevailed.

The Liuyuan Garden in the west of the city was the mansion of the Shen family, the richest family in Jiangnan and a major salt and grain merchant.

Inside an extremely quiet waterside pavilion, several wealthy gentlemen from Jiangnan, dressed in fine clothes, were sitting together.

The finest pre-rain Longjing tea was laid out on the stone table, but no one had the heart to taste it.

The head of the Shen family, Shen Wanquan, was over fifty years old and had a prosperous appearance.

He was twirling two warm, smooth Hetian jade walnuts in his hands.

He glanced around at the heads of the prominent families present and said in a deep voice:

"Gentlemen, that scoundrel Zhou Chen has arrived at the Suzhou government office. I heard that as soon as he got off the ship, he canceled the welcome banquet and went straight to the storeroom to check the accounts. This guy is up to no good."

A gaunt tea merchant snorted coldly.

"How much trouble can a mere child stir up? We've been operating in Jiangnan for hundreds of years; how can his new silver-reduction policy possibly shake a tree like an ant?"

"Old Shen, you make a decision, what should we do?"

Shen Wanquan stopped spinning the jade walnut in his hand, a sinister glint of calculation flashing in his eyes.

"That Zhou fellow is backed by Vice Minister Gu of the Ministry of Revenue. Vice Minister Gu has been spreading rumors in the capital that he will force us to open the treasury and release silver."

"Hmph, does he really think he can set the rules of the Jiangnan marketplace with a flick of his abacus while sitting in the government office?"

Shen Wanquan leaned down and lowered his voice, saying, "Since the imperial court wants to collect silver, then let's make sure there isn't a single coin of silver left in the market!"

"After you return, immediately send a message to all money shops and pawnshops in the region. From this day forward, all money shops shall only accept silver and not lend it out."

"When people tried to exchange copper coins for silver, we refused to accept them. If they tried to pawn grain, a bushel of good rice would only be worth one hundred copper coins!"

The wealthy gentlemen present all gasped in shock, then immediately understood.

"Brilliant! This is a decisive move!"

The tea merchant clapped his hands and laughed.

"Didn't the imperial court stipulate that autumn grain should be paid in silver? If the people can't get the silver to pay their taxes, the government will force them into riots. If Suzhou is thrown into chaos, Zhou Chen will have no way to defend himself and will have to slink back to the capital to be tried."

"This method of converting silver into silver has naturally become a dead letter!"

"That's exactly right."

Shen Wanquan sneered repeatedly, "Let's sit here in this waterside pavilion and see how Governor Zhou resolves this deadly situation of having no rice to cook!"

An undercurrent quickly spread through the streets and alleys of Suzhou.

Within three days, grain prices in Suzhou plummeted.

Silver prices, on the other hand, soared like a runaway horse.

Originally, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, but now on the black market, one tael of silver can be exchanged for three thousand copper coins.

A truckload of grain grown by ordinary farmers through hard work.

The money earned from selling the land at the market wasn't even enough to pay the tax on half an acre of land.

Panic spread rapidly among the public.

Every day, groups of people kneel and weep outside the government office.

Zhou Chen sat upright in the second hall of the government office, his brows furrowed.

Listening to the prefect below report on the chaos in the market.

Although Gu Yannian had given him advice, he anticipated that wealthy gentry would hoard silver.

Unexpectedly, the other party acted so ruthlessly, directly cutting off the circulation of silver in the market.

"My lord, if this continues, the starving people will storm the government office in less than three days! I implore you, my lord, to postpone the silver-for-goods method and continue to collect in kind as before!"

The prefect knelt on the ground, pleading desperately.

Zhou Chen slammed his gavel down and roared angrily.

"The laws of the court cannot be changed overnight! Since they insist on playing this trick of hoarding and speculating, I will play along to the very end!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself.

He knew that if he backed down now, the long-standing problems with taxation in Jiangnan would never be resolved.

He was all alone in this dangerous place.

Their only reliance was the massive Ministry of Revenue located a thousand miles away.

That night, a fast horse carrying Zhou Chen's secret letter left Suzhou and headed straight for the capital.

Meanwhile, in the Ministry of Revenue in the capital.

The evening drum, sounding at dusk, had just finished its last resounding note.

Gu Yannian closed the file on his desk and locked it in the drawer.

He stood up, took off the crane cloak over his official robes, and was about to go out.

A dusty, courier stumbled into the courtyard, shouting that he was presenting a secret letter.

Gu Yannian stopped and took the secret letter, glancing at it.

In the letter, Zhou Chen reported in great detail how the wealthy gentry of Jiangnan had created a desperate situation of "money shortage and silver price gouging".

"Interesting. Trying to use silver to strangle the imperial court?"

Gu Yannian's lips curled up slightly, revealing an extremely strange smile.

He put the secret letter back into his sleeve and turned to give instructions to the officer on duty.

"Tomorrow morning, go to Taicang and have the treasury official pack and seal the three million taels of silver that Zheng He's fleet brought back."

The official in charge was taken aback and quickly asked, "Sir, this three million taels of silver is a national treasure. Where is it to be transported?"

Gu Yannian stepped out of the guardhouse, the cool autumn night breeze ruffling his clothes.

"Send it to Jiangnan."

Gu Yannian's tone was steady, exuding an undeniable air of dominance.

"Since they feel there isn't enough silver in the market, I will send them a shower of silver."

"Let's see if their cellars are deeper, or the Ming Dynasty's treasury is deeper!"

He didn't linger, continuing to walk steadily toward the courtyard in Xuanwu Ward.

The night market remained bustling, with crowds cheering as they surrounded the street performance stalls.

Gu Yannian stopped as he passed by that familiar dessert shop.

"Shopkeeper, a bowl of rock sugar lotus seed soup, with extra osmanthus flowers."

Holding the steaming hot sweet soup, Gu Yannian found a secluded corner to sit down.

The road to immortality is long, so one must find some enjoyment along the way.

The sound produced by smashing a million taels of silver must have been quite pleasant to hear.