But those nobles didn't know that due to the resistance of the cabinet ministers, severe punishment laws were never enacted, so the issued banknotes did not recover even one tael of silver, but the printing cost was spent a lot.
The Bureau of Baochao proposed that two million kilograms of mulberry strips were needed to make banknotes, which should be paid by Beizhi, Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang and other places as usual. So a large number of eunuchs came out of Beijing to destroy the office, causing chaos everywhere; another three thousand people were needed.
Craftsmen had to be recruited near the capital, and the Gyeonggi region was in chaos. The limited funds from the national treasury were filled into the bottomless pit of printing money, but there was no profit. Many courtiers raised objections to this.
Because Emperor Chongzhen insisted on making a fortune by printing banknotes, the banknote production project never stopped; because the courtiers blocked it and the merchants and people received no response, not a single banknote was actually issued. These banknotes became a lot.
Useless waste paper.
"But if the court has no money, it shouldn't keep an eye on us! Which of our families has not saved it through hard work for generations?" complained a marquis.
This complaint immediately aroused resonance, and all the nobles and nobles also shouted loudly, making the gathering place of the courtiers look like a vegetable market. However, the censors and generals of the Han Dynasty who maintained order saw the noisy nobles, and they also opened their eyes and closed their eyes.
.These people can't afford to offend, and besides, people are now distracted, so no one wants to stop the nobles from complaining.
Suddenly a young uncle made a discordant voice: "Uncles, tell me, is this Ming Dynasty...?"
But this question immediately caused everyone to become silent.
In these days, as the Tatars outside the city entered the customs, the northwest peasant army surged, and a large number of people in the city died of the plague, the extreme sense of terror and pessimism and despair caused a lot of rumors to brew in the capital.
Some people say that the emperor dreamed that a divine man handed him a piece of white paper with only the word "you" written on it. Marketers explained that the word "you" is a combination of half "big" and half "ming"
, "The great will not become great. The bright will never become bright." Isn't this a sign that the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed?
There are also legends: There is a small room in the palace that has been closed for many years, and the prohibition handed down from ancestors does not allow it to be opened. One day, the emperor got up and insisted on opening it to see what was inside. The eunuchs cried and could not persuade them, so they had to open it. It turned out that there was only one thing inside.
There are two paintings in the small box. One is a painting of seven officials in court uniforms. There are four words written on it: "Many officials and law are chaotic"; the other is a painting of several people crying across the river. The same is written on it.
The four words "military and civilians cry". People say that these are the things left by Liu Bowen to suppress the palace. Once exposed, the content in the painting will become reality, and it will still be a sign of the country's subjugation.
Among the people, there are more rumors about ghosts running rampant. Many people insist that they have seen dead ghosts in broad daylight. Of course, some bold people will take the opportunity to make money from the dead people, and some cunning eunuchs will take advantage of it.
, the eunuchs who were responsible for collecting city gate tariffs and market operating taxes put the taxes into their own pockets, and then reported to their superiors that when they counted the money during the day, they found that all the money had turned into paper money for use in the underworld.
As soon as this statement spread, the market became even more panicked. Businessmen doing small business had to put a basin in front of the stall and let customers put the copper coins into the water to identify the authenticity.
Everything has become a world of confusion between humans and ghosts.
The nobles present have all heard of these rumors to some extent. But they are just a few rumors in private. Who dares to agree with them in public? So when this brainless uncle says it, everyone is the same. No more words.
"Marquis Chen! Why hasn't the emperor summoned us yet? Who is in the palace?" Seeing the awkward situation, British Duke Zhang Shize changed the topic.
"It's Wu Xiang, the admiral of Wu. His father is Wu Changbo of Liaodong." The Chen Hou replied. The Chen Hou's son-in-law is a Han general in the guard palace, so Chen Hou has always been relatively well-informed.
But Xue Lian on the side finally couldn't stand it any longer. During this sensitive period, he openly engaged in internal and external communication. This was simply too imprudent. So he immediately coughed heavily.
"What's wrong, uncle?" British Duke Zhang Shize didn't understand yet, so he asked Xue Lian stupidly.
"Misfortune comes from the mouth! Think of Wu Xiushui a few days ago." Xue Lian said in a low voice.
But as soon as he said this, everyone became quiet again.
At the beginning of the year, there was a Shandong Wude soldier named Lei Yanzuo who was preparing for Qian Shishu and impeached Fan Zhiwan, the governor of Jiliao, for shrinking from the enemy and plundering his troops. He also attacked the chief officer of the Ministry of War as "a puppet who is greedy and listens to the official's orders and cheats." When Emperor Chongzhen saw this memorial, he summoned Lei Yanzuo to Beijing to respond on the same day. The next day, he ordered the arrest of Fan Zhiwan, and ordered the Justice Department to propose a case against Zhang Guowei, the former Minister of War, and Li Li, the former Minister of Household Affairs, who had been dismissed. To be asked, Fu Shuxun’s punishment.
Afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen personally interrogated Fan Zhiwan, who was escorted to Beijing. Lei Yanzuo also rushed to the capital to participate in the confrontation. However, Fan Zhiwan flatly denied all the accusations and said: "Lei Yanzuo was the former assistant minister of Wu It was Wu Di who asked him to serve as his best friend. Half of the courtiers belonged to Zhou Yanru's party, and half belonged to Wu Yi's party. The two families were at odds, so Yu Chen was implicated."
Fan Zhiwan knew that the emperor hated courtiers forming cliques the most in his life, so he said this in order to divert attention and save himself. But what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to do now was to kill people to vent his anger. He didn't listen to his excuses and just scolded him. The case was closed. Finally, he remembered that Zhao Guangbian, the governor of Jizhou, was co-presiding with Fan Zhiwan in the war against the Qing Dynasty. He said, "Zhao Guangbian also stayed to indulge the enemy and only punished Fan Zhiwan. How could he be convinced?" Therefore, an order was issued to arrest Zhao Guangbian and deal with it together with Fan Zhiwan.
In fact, Zhao Guangbian was relatively good among the governors and ministers at the time. Although he had no big ideas and had no achievements in fighting the Qing army, he was able to restrain his troops and prevent them from burning, killing and looting everywhere. Lei Yanzuo impeached him. When Fan Zhiwan was speaking, he also praised Zhao Guangbian by the way, and compared him with Fan Zhiwan for using his soldiers not to disturb the people. Unexpectedly, the emperor was so focused on dealing with people that he also implicated Zhao Guangbian, who was fine. So later, Fan Zhiwan At the end of the campaign, Zhao Guangbian and Zhao Guangbian were taken to the West City and beheaded.
Although what Fan Zhiwan said about cliques did not save his own life, it still aroused Emperor Chongzhen's hatred for his two former ministers Zhou Yanru and Wu Gang. He felt that not severely punishing them would not be enough to appease his anger. .
Emperor Chongzhen was extremely pessimistic and disappointed with the current situation, which made him lose his mind, so he was going to expand the case of a minister's dereliction of duty indefinitely.
