Great Ming Dynasty! I am Zhu Biao's invincible second brother!

Chapter 30 Speculations on the New System

Upon hearing this, all the officials were startled and looked up at the emperor, wondering what he meant.

Officials, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, felt the same way and their eyes welled up with tears.

Li Shanchang stepped forward, bowed, and said:

"Your Majesty is wise and has given the people a chance to rest and recuperate. We, your subjects, who receive the emperor's bounty, dare not utter the slightest complaint."

"No, it's normal to have complaints."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"We can't expect the horse to run without feeding it. Therefore, after much discussion with the Crown Prince, we have decided that, effective immediately, the salaries of all officials of our Great Ming Dynasty will be increased by 30%!"

"Whoosh—"

Upon hearing this, the entire hall erupted in a chorus of gasps and commotion.

A 30% raise!

For many officials, this was like a godsend, greatly improving their family's living conditions.

"Not only that,"

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, his voice carrying a warmth.

"The imperial court will ensure that you have enough to eat and wear, and even have extra money to save for your retirement."

"If you achieve merit in the future, you will be richly rewarded, bringing glory to your ancestors and enjoying wealth and honor."

"If anyone in your family unfortunately falls seriously ill, you can report it to the court. I will send someone to verify the situation. If it is true, I will allocate funds from the imperial treasury for medicine so that you can have a way to recuperate and not be left destitute!"

After this series of favors, most of the officials in the hall were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves.

They all knelt down, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" their voices filled with sincere gratitude.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless; we, your subjects, would give our lives for you, yet still have no way to repay it!"

Zhu Yuanzhang watched with satisfaction at the reactions of his ministers. As the cheers subsided, his face suddenly darkened, and his eyes instantly became as sharp as a hawk's.

The temperature inside the hall seemed to drop by more than ten degrees.

"The second thing,"

He slowly picked up a newspaper from the imperial desk.

"This publication is called the 'Daming Daily,' and it will be published daily starting today. Important decrees of the imperial court, announcements of rewards and punishments, and our messages to the people will all be printed in it."

He unfolded the newspaper and addressed the assembled officials:

"Today's front page, besides debunking the rumors about the Princess of Chu, is about the new salary policy we just discussed. We want the whole world to know how Zhu Yuanzhang treats his meritorious officials well and shows compassion for his ministers!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the dragon throne!

"Bang!"

A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, resounded in everyone's ears, causing the hearts of all the officials to tremble.

"but!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice suddenly rose, filled with a sharp, murderous intent.

"Let's be frank from the start! We've given you dignity, wealth, and security! You should be content and grateful!"

His gaze swept across the face of every official like a knife:

"We have countless eyes watching you! The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Censorate, and this *Da Ming Daily*! We will make all the people of the world our eyes!"

"From this day forward, anyone who dares to embezzle a single penny! Anyone who dares to demand a single cent from the people!"

He leaned forward, speaking slowly and deliberately, his voice icy and chilling, as if it came from the deepest hell:

"—It's just skinning the bark and stuffing the flesh!"

The four words "peeling the skin and stuffing the grass" struck like four heavy hammer blows into everyone's heart.

The hall was deathly silent, and a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

Everyone knows that the emperor who rode on horseback never spoke a joke.

One moment it's the emperor's boundless grace, the next it's a chilling, bloody warning.

Zhu Yuanzhang took this imperial art of combining kindness and severity to its extreme.

He gave officials ample opportunities to live and maintain their dignity, while simultaneously blocking the path to corruption and placing the sharpest guillotine on their heads.

The ministers prostrated themselves on the ground once more, this time their voices filled with awe and fear.

"Your Majesty, we respectfully obey your decree!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sat back on the dragon throne, looking at the officials below who were silent as cicadas in fear, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

After the morning court session ended, the officials filed out with mixed feelings. On the white marble square in front of the Fengtian Hall, the officials gathered in twos and threes, whispering about the huge contrast between the emperor's favor and his power today, as well as the "Daming Daily" that was about to change the public opinion landscape of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Wenhua Hall, however, the atmosphere was completely different from the hustle and bustle outside.

This is where Crown Prince Zhu Biao usually reads and governs. The interior is elegantly furnished and filled with the fragrance of books.

Zhu Yuanzhang abandoned his imposing demeanor in the court, casually sat on a grand chair, picked up a teacup, and took a leisurely sip.

"Second son,"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Mu, who stood ramrod straight beside him, his face showing a mixture of testing and expectation.

"You have plenty of novel ideas in your head. Do you have any new tricks up your sleeve to make your old man happy again?"

Zhu Biao stood by with a smile, also looking forward to seeing what kind of shocking ideas his younger brother would come up with.

Zhu Mu bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, I do have another idea, but it involves a wide range of issues and is a huge undertaking that I'm afraid cannot be completed in a short time."

"Speak freely!"

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested, put down his teacup,

"Here, anything that benefits the Ming Dynasty is no matter how big it is!"

"Yes."

Zhu Mu gathered his thoughts and, instead of immediately revealing his plan, first posed a question.

"Father, before we get to that, I have a humble opinion that I would like to discuss with you and my elder brother."

"You often say that the mess left by the Yuan Dynasty caused the world to fall into ruin."

"In our Great Ming Dynasty, especially among the common people, many places still use barter, such as exchanging grain for cloth, or cloth for meat. Copper coins and silver rarely participate in large-scale daily transactions."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, his expression turning serious. This was a problem he had long been aware of.

Zhu Mu continued:

"If this continues, without a unified, convenient, and reliable standard for measuring value, it will be difficult for commerce in the Ming Dynasty to truly prosper, and the people will not truly become wealthy."

"After all, a bushel of rice can be exchanged for a bolt of cloth today, but it might not be enough to exchange for it tomorrow."

"Those who have grain are unwilling to trade it easily, fearing a loss; those who have cloth are also holding onto it, waiting for the price to rise. Everyone thinks their own things are more valuable, and trade will stagnate. This is extremely detrimental to the recovery of our Great Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed deeply, sharing the same sentiment:

"You're right, we understand that principle. But the difficulty lies in the fact that our national treasury isn't abundant!"

"Minting coins requires copper. Due to the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, copper mines were abandoned, and almost all the copper coins on the market were melted down to make weapons."

"As for silver, it is even rarer, mostly in the hands of wealthy merchants and former Yuan dynasty nobles. The court has limited control over it and simply cannot support the trade of the entire country."

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, with his more meticulous thinking, continued his father's words, adding:

"What my second brother says is absolutely right, but this is indeed not a problem that can be solved in a short time."

"If the imperial court wants to promote currency transactions, it must first ensure a sufficient supply of currency and a stable currency value."

"If we force it now, but the imperial court cannot support the nationwide money transactions and cannot guarantee that people can exchange money when they want to, or have a place to use money when they want to, then this system cannot be implemented."

"Without money in the hands of ordinary people, transactions naturally cannot take off. At present, all the court can do is guide and restrict large-scale transactions to allow them to recover slowly."