Chapter 216 New Coins

Recruitment is not a trivial matter. The addition of four new captains totaling 48,000 people, pushing the total strength to 75,000, was also the result of Ying Yi's careful consideration.

Destroying the Ming Dynasty was not a sudden move, but a strategy that Ying Yi had already planned in his mind. Not only because of some feelings of Ying Yi, he did not want the Ming Dynasty to be destroyed by the Tatars, but also because once the Tatars destroyed the Ming Dynasty and occupied the north, they would greatly increase their size and pose a greater threat to Ying Yi, and they did not want to see the people in the north. They were poisoned and killed by the Tatars.

We must occupy the north before the Tatars and keep the Tatars at bay.

Ying Yi occupies six prefectures in Henan, with a population of seven million, and one in a hundred, so it is not a problem to raise more than 70,000 soldiers and horses. Besides, as far as food and supplies are concerned, there is no pressure.

The previous 27,000 people were enough to control Henan. But to occupy the north, military expansion is inevitable. Going north, Henan must also be left behind, and at least one school captain's force must be reserved.

The army was expanded to include four captains, one of whom was recruiting troops. It is expected that with Ying Yi's current power and the good treatment he receives from joining the army, it will not be a problem to recruit enough troops.

The second is armaments. When planning the conscription, the corresponding armament requirements had also been communicated to the Mo Affairs Department, ordering Crescent Valley to step up forging.

The third is the structure. The main generals of the four lieutenants must be transferred and promoted from their original departments. Zhou Li, Zheng Jiu, Qian Yue, and Zhang Shi are the captains, and the remaining middle and low-level officers are deployed by the two original captains. As for the recruitment of soldiers, the new captains will recruit themselves.

The Logistics Department and the Prefecture Mu Yamen assist it.

Of course, all these matters must be placed in the post-holiday area.

It's the holidays, so of course we have to take a holiday. Regardless of whether civil or military officials, from the 30th to the 18th day of the first lunar month, they have a scheduled holiday for most of the month, combining work and rest, and enjoying themselves with the people.

From New Year's Day (Spring Festival) to Lantern Festival, the festive atmosphere in Kaifeng and even in Henan becomes more and more intense, especially the Lantern Festival. From the eighth to the eighteenth day of the lunar month, starting from Emperor Yonglewen of the Ming Dynasty, it was officially designated as a ten-day festival.

Now that Henan is at peace, even the 100 million mu project has come to an end. There has been a bumper harvest around Kaifeng, and the people feel at ease and want to stay warm and entertain themselves. Therefore, since the eighth day of the lunar month, Kaifeng has been decorated with lights.

There are many lantern towers along the street, built with money from merchants and wealthy people, hanging lanterns of various colors. There are lanterns, such as walnut lanterns and lotus lanterns; there are people, such as scholar lanterns and daughter-in-law lanterns; there are animals, such as shrimp lanterns and turtle lanterns; there are birds, For example, the eagle lantern and the phoenix lantern.

There are so many of these.

There are juggling, puzzles, snacks, and objects under the lights.

The scholars guessed riddles and recited poems, which was a very fashionable style. The little girl was in full bloom and chattering. There are also children filling the streets with joy, and there are old people sighing at the peace.

The war seems to be far away, but peace is just around the corner.

Only the law enforcement officers lingering among the crowd did not dare to relax. I'm afraid that there will be a lot of noise and fire everywhere.

On the 15th day, people from many villages around Kaifeng brought their families to the city to participate in this lively festival. At night, Ying Yi appeared in the gate tower, leading the civil and military forces to enjoy the people.

There are fireworks and there are dim lights. There is also a stage below the gate, and the official invites a theater troupe to perform from morning to night. The people rushed to watch and applauded again and again.

Many people finally recognized Ying Yi, kowtowed and worshiped at the gate, and shouted to the sky.

For the common people, the festival has probably not been so easy for many years. Since Wanli, during the Tianqi and Chongzhen years, the political situation has become increasingly decadent, coupled with the continuous natural and man-made disasters. Let alone festivals, just having a full meal every day is enough for most people.

Now that I don't have to worry about hunger and cold, I suddenly realize how precious it is. The festival was lively and many people had tears in their eyes.

On the 19th day of the first lunar month, Ying Yi's political machine was in operation again. Also on this day, new coins are issued.

Through administrative means, the new currency is promoted to the people, and the chamber of commerce is the main force in issuing new currency. The commercial departments at all levels have new currency exchanges to meet the needs of people everywhere.

People have doubts about the new coins, but after seeing the actual new coins, they have no hesitation anymore.

First is the Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce is a semi-official organization under the Ministry of Commerce. All merchants, big or small, are members of the Chamber of Commerce. Starting from the issuance of new coins by the Chamber of Commerce, merchants of all sizes are the first to enter the exchange stage.

Kaifeng, Department of Commerce New Currency Issuance and Exchange Office.

There was an endless stream of merchants coming in and out, and one merchant walked out with a leather pocket in his arms, smiling all over his face. When I saw an acquaintance just arriving, I said hello.

The acquaintance stopped him: "Brother Shen is polite. Did Brother Shen redeem it?"

The businessman surnamed Shen smiled and said: "It was exchanged."

“What’s the condition of the new coins?”

The acquaintance asked quickly.

Many businessmen who had just arrived nearby pricked up their ears when they heard this.

The businessman surnamed Shen said with a smile: "Brother Wang, you will know it as soon as you see it."

Then he took out a handful of coins from his leather pocket. They were large and small, jingling, and shining with various colors. They looked high-end and extremely shiny. They attracted people's attention at first sight.

"This coin is really cute!"

The businessmen crowded over and looked at each other, tut-tutting.

"What material is this made of?"

someone asked.

The businessman surnamed Shen hurriedly put the coins in, closed his leather pocket and said, "I don't know. But both the appearance and feel are unique."

He quietly took out a few cards that looked like cards and waved them in front of others: "These are the ones with large denominations, and the ones before were the ones with small denominations. Dear friends, please don't rush in. It makes sense to rush in and exchange them."

...

Li San is a villager from a resettlement village near Kaifeng. They used to be people from Luoyang, Henan Prefecture, but because of the brutal bandits, they fled to Kaifeng with their families. After Ying Yi occupied Kaifeng, they were reassigned to a resettlement village outside the city.

Li San's family originally had seven or eight people, but now there are only three left, an old mother and a young son. He is good at bamboo crafts, making bamboo mats and other utensils and selling them to support his family. After the allocation and resettlement, Li San's family received forty acres of land, with a good harvest and a sufficient warehouse. But it was customary to make bamboo utensils to support the family, so he made a trip to Kaifeng every few days.

When we arrived at the market, we set up stalls, arranged bamboo mats, bamboo stools and other utensils, squatted down and started shouting.

Business came quickly. A small sedan stopped in front of the stall, and a maid in green walked over and asked in a charming voice: "What's your price for these?"

"Fifteen coins for the bamboo mat and ten coins for the bamboo stool." He was a little uneasy.

Craftsmanship is worthless these days. For example, his bamboo mat and bamboo stool are exquisitely made and cute, but they are only worth about ten cents. Can't sell at a high price.

This is still a good market. Last year, let alone ten or fifteen cents, even three or five cents, you might not be able to sell a few if you shout for a day.

"so cheap?"

The green maid's eyes lit up, she quickly turned around and said to the sedan: "Madam, Madam, let's just buy this?"

The sedan opened, and a woman of indescribable beauty stepped out. The white-haired woman looked like a maid in green clothes. She looked carefully at Li San's uneasy expression, nodded slightly, and said with the jingling of pearls on her head, "Your bamboo utensils are quite exquisite. Are these the only ones?"

Li San stammered: "Only...two things." But he was quite smart: "But the villain can make all kinds of bamboo utensils and furniture."