My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 102 New Policies Lead to Significant Increase in Revenue! Emperor Yongzheng is Overjoyed!
Seeing Yongzheng's icy expression, Yinxi shivered and quickly rose to his feet, prostrating himself on the ground.

"Fourth Brother, please calm down. Although I was thinking that I shouldn't eat anymore, I really couldn't control myself!"

Hongli couldn't help but laugh.

Although he knew that Yinxi couldn't control himself because it was the first time he had tasted a dish that didn't exist in this era.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be so greedy.

Wipe your mouth!

Emperor Yongzheng couldn't really hold a grudge against his younger brother, who was decades younger than him, so he forgave Yinxi, let him get up, and gave him a handkerchief.

"Have the staff make another one tomorrow."

Yongzheng then turned to Hongli and said this.

Hongli, suppressing a laugh, nodded.

hiccup~
Meanwhile, after Yongzheng and Hongli finished their meal, Yinxi made another inappropriate sound.

Yongzheng frowned and glanced at him.

Upon seeing this, Yinxi quickly pursed his lips.

Yongzheng didn't say anything, only waved his hand impatiently at Hongli and Yinxi: "You may leave."

"Whoo!"

The two then left the Hall of Mental Cultivation and went to the Arrow Pavilion.

In the afternoon, Hongli would first learn riding and archery with Yinxi, and then he would go to Yucheng Garden with Yongzheng.

hiccup~
However, on the way to the Arrow Pavilion, Yinxi was still making noise.

Hongli did not mock Yinxi for this, but instead gave his servant Li Yu a few instructions on matters that needed to be handled immediately.

……

……

After practicing martial arts and archery, Hongli returned to Yongshou Palace and had Haitang serve him a bath.

Then, Hongli and Yinxi came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After Yongzheng finished his work, they quietly left through the Shenwu Gate and headed to the Yucheng Garden.

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, the streets are very lively, with pedestrians as numerous as ants.

Fortunately, the market is not as dirty as it used to be, so the stench is not as strong.

After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he did not abolish the City Guard and the Auxiliary Defense Battalion. Instead, he strictly required all households in the capital with property to pay sanitation management fees, thus ensuring the effective operation of the City Guard and the Auxiliary Defense Battalion and keeping the capital very hygienic.

Like Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng chose to travel incognito outside the palace, partly to investigate the lives of ordinary people and partly to experience a different kind of life than that in the palace.

Therefore, Yongzheng also took Hongli and Yinxi to various shops and stalls to browse around and bought a lot of things.

The baggage of the accompanying guard was soon filled to the brim.

"There are significantly more vendors than before. Last time I came to Huguo Temple, there were still empty spaces on Xilang Street, but this time it was completely full."

Yongzheng and Hongli naturally didn't need to carry their own things. Yongzheng even walked with a satisfied look on his face, stroking his beard and talking about the increased number of merchants at this time.

Hongli then struck up a conversation with a merchant to find out the reason.

The merchant's name was Liang Mancang, and when Hongli asked him, he replied:

"The Emperor has stopped us from paying tribute with local products, so we no longer have to hand over a lot of local products. Everyone can now go into the city to sell some fruits and vegetables that we can't use."

Hongli nodded after hearing this and looked at Yongzheng.

At this moment, Yongzheng also raised the corners of his mouth and walked forward with a radiant expression.

Just then.

The Manchu man, Shumulu Shanwen, was carrying two large roosters and paying a vendor for them. Just as he was about to turn around, he almost bumped into Hongli. However, the plainclothes guard in front of Hongli pulled him aside and said, "Watch where you're going!"

Shumulu Shanwen glanced at Hongli, knowing that this group of people were all rich and powerful, and did not dare to provoke them. He simply nodded and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Yongzheng took the initiative to stop him: "Wait a minute, let me ask you, what kind of business do you do?"

"Sir, why are you asking these questions?"

I haven't offended you, have I?

Shumulu Shanwen cautiously asked Yongzheng with a smile.

Yongzheng said, "I see you're buying two big chickens at once, so I thought I'd ask around for nothing."

"Is that so? I work in the city guard. My wife is pregnant now, and I was thinking of buying two chickens to help her recover. My salary isn't much, but I can still afford it if I grit my teeth," Shumulu Shanwen replied with a smile.

Yongzheng nodded and asked, "Judging from how happy you are, is this your first child?"

"Not only was it my first child, but I've also been a groom for less than two years. If I hadn't gotten a job and borrowed money from a bank to buy a small courtyard, no one would have been willing to marry their daughter to me and go hungry, even if she was mute."

Because Yongzheng was dressed in luxurious clothes and had many people with him, Shumulu Shanwen answered respectfully and humbly.

Next, Yongzheng asked about Shumulushanwen's borrowing money from the bank.

The bank where Shumulu Shanwen borrowed money was a bank that the Yongzheng Emperor had the Imperial Household Department set up at his suggestion from Hongli, and it was named Huimin Bank.

The bank was named "Huimin" (meaning "benefiting the people"), which was naturally intended to downplay its profit-making purpose and emphasize its function of helping the people.

After all, in a society where Confucianism is the dominant ideology, pursuing personal gain has always been considered shameful, while helping ordinary people is what is truly praiseworthy.

of course!

Huimin Bank, as its name suggests, is not just a name without substance.

Because Huimin Bank was founded by the Imperial Household Department, which was an inner court government office that the emperor could directly control, Huimin Bank set its interest rates very low at the request of Emperor Yongzheng, so low that it made many large lenders in the capital grit their teeth in anger.

Otherwise, Shumulu Shanwen, a low-ranking Manchu, wouldn't have dared to come to Huimin Bank for a loan.

"Old man, you look quite old, why are you setting up a stall in the city?"

Then Yongzheng asked about a vendor with gray hair.

The vendor was a Han Chinese man named Jie Youtian.

Xie Youtian sighed and said, "I didn't need to come. It's time to pay the autumn land tax, so I came to exchange some money to pay the tax. The officials wouldn't accept the local produce directly. I originally planned to sell it in the market town near the village, but it's not selling well there now, so I came to the city."

In the Qing Dynasty, besides grain and silk cloth, which could be used as tax credits, the only other taxes that could be paid in silver and copper coins were commuted to taxable amounts.

Therefore, if people did not have grain and silk, they would have to exchange their own produce for silver to pay taxes in the summer and autumn.

Why are products not selling well in the market town?

Emperor Yongzheng frowned and asked.

"Because not many people can afford to buy it!"

“I don’t need them to exchange local products for it. I heard that because the government is cracking down hard on tax evasion, they’ve taken away the money from many big taxpayers who owed taxes. The money is worth more than before.”

"Not to mention that you can't earn money by doing odd jobs, it's even difficult to get a loan."

After saying this, Jie Youtian took a puff of his pipe.

Yongzheng glanced at Hongli, clearly acknowledging that Hongli was right, as the excessive pursuit of funds to cover the deficit had led to a shortage of silver in circulation among the people.

Not long after, Yongzheng arrived at the money shop located in Huguo Temple.

The manager of Huimin Money Shop at Huguo Temple was a former employee of Prince Yong's Mansion named Changling. He was skilled in writing and arithmetic and had also run a pawnshop, money shop, and brokerage firm for Yongzheng.

Although it was said that Manchus were not allowed to engage in commerce, it did not say that Manchu slaves, or those in charge of household affairs, were not allowed to engage in commerce.

Princes like Yongzheng always had considerable expenses, especially during the struggle for the throne. They needed money to pave the way, so they naturally had to send their servants to run some businesses to increase their income.

However, during his time as a prince, Emperor Yongzheng, out of concern for his reputation, did not allow his servants to expand their businesses to the size of the Ninth Prince's, nor did he dare to let them use their power to seize private property. He remained relatively low-key throughout.

After Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Hongli met Changling at Huimin Money Shop, Changling showed Emperor Yongzheng the money shop's accounts.

Emperor Yongzheng also had Hongli take a look from the side.

Hongli was practically a walking abacus, able to quickly figure out where the numbers were wrong.

This frightened Changling so much that his face turned pale, and he was sweating profusely. He knelt down and begged for forgiveness several times.

However, Changling did not go too far, and his accounts were generally not seriously flawed, so Yongzheng did not punish him.

Of course, Changling, a former member of the Prince's mansion, knew Yongzheng's temperament and naturally dared not act recklessly.

Furthermore, Emperor Yongzheng was indeed in a better mood after reviewing the accounts at this time.

Because Huimin Bank had already made a profit of more than 100,000 taels of silver in just over six months after it opened in February of the first year of the Yongzheng reign!
During the reigns of Emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng, the annual stipend of a prince was no more than 10,000 taels of silver.

The increase of over 100,000 taels of silver is equivalent to ten years' annual salary for a prince!

This will undoubtedly greatly alleviate the financial pressure on the Ministry of the Interior!

Even the usually composed Emperor Yongzheng couldn't stop smiling because of this.

(End of this chapter)