Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

He was always worried about the bizarre situation of "the emperor dividing military and political affairs."

It's simply impossible to divide and conquer.

Military and political events are interconnected and have overlapping influences.

The cabinet has been very careful.

They were afraid that doing something wrong would affect their relationship with the emperor.

Worrying about this all the time

I'll project myself onto everything.

Wen Huanzhang is easily misunderstood.

They thought the emperor was just flexing his muscles.

Therefore, Wen Huanzhang dared not get involved.

The struggle between emperors was terrible enough.

Adding a prime minister would be unimaginable.

Ministers who view the issue from this perspective

I'm afraid there are more than just one or two.

It even involved the conflict between civil and military officials.

For example, Vice Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen

He was speaking up for the civil service.

Chapter 1849 The Difference Between Civil and Military Officials

The emperor was clearly a representative of the military officials.

They firmly controlled the Privy Council and the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

They even used Zhang Tang to control the Ministry of War.

Moreover, they control the entire army in Tokyo.

Anything related to the military...

Civil officials had almost no say.

One of the disciples has already entered the cabinet.

Will more military officials join the cabinet then?

Last year, the emperor frequently confiscated property and executed people.

This year, they even intend to exterminate three ethnic groups.

It must have been influenced by the habits of the military.

Zhai Ruwen's thoughts were actually very simple.

He felt the emperor was sitting on the wrong side.

As a loyal subject, one should quickly turn things around.

Otherwise, if it continues to develop,

The emperor would inevitably have a stronger "military spirit".

Relying on violence to solve problems at the drop of a hat

If this becomes a habit, it could even turn one into a tyrant.

Wen Huanzhang and Zhai Ruwen,

Each has their own stance and ideas.

Only Zhong Shidao is a bit unclear about things.

This old gentleman was a skilled fighter.

He's a political player, but not that cunning.

Zhong Shidao was widely regarded as a military officer who had entered the cabinet.

But he still considered himself a civil official.

After all, he was well-versed in the classics and history.

His ancestors were direct disciples of a great Confucian scholar.

He himself had even served as a civil official and prefect in the past.

Since becoming a cabinet minister

Zhong Shidao always considered himself a civil official.

They believed that the practice of exterminating three clans was not "benevolent governance".

Therefore, he openly stood up to oppose this matter.

As for Liu Jian, who had just joined the cabinet...

He was recruited by the emperor.

Always serving the emperor

His relationship with the emperor was extremely distant.

Liu Jian had no choice but to align himself with the emperor.

His statement was unbiased and did not reflect any particular stance.

Just for the sake of "making a statement" itself,

It was purely for the emperor's benefit.

Then there's Chen Dong...

Okay, no need to say more.

This person has always been stubborn and inflexible.

He could do this because he constantly denounced treacherous officials.

He repeated a grade at the Imperial Academy of the former Song Dynasty for ten years.

He dared to speak out against the emperor in the name of "justice" during the new dynasty!

Zhai Ruwen sighed, "Your Majesty, even if privately minting coins is tantamount to treason in the future,"

"We can't punish the Gao family like this now."

"Otherwise, it would be considered punishing someone without prior instruction!"

Zhao Yuan said, "A notice declaring the extermination of three generations of a person who privately mints coins."

"It was posted repeatedly in various prefectures, states, and counties for half a year."

"How can this be considered punishing someone without prior instruction?"

"After all, it wasn't explained clearly," Zhai Ruwen said.

Zhao Yuan countered, "The silver dollar has a sun and moon design on it,"

"That represents the Ming Dynasty."

What's the difference between privately minted coins and privately minted imperial robes?

Zhai Ruwen was speechless for a moment.

Zhao Yuan took the opportunity to indoctrinate his ministers with his ideas.

Why say that counterfeiting coins is tantamount to treason?

"The old Song Dynasty had 'redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses',"

"It all boils down to two words: lack of money!"

"That's why the Wang Linchuan Reform came about,"

"That's why the old and new parties are vying for power,"

"That's why Cai Jing used partisan politics to seize power."

So—the old Song Dynasty is gone!

"Wang Linchuan's reforms were aimed at raising money for the imperial court,"

"He himself makes no attempt to hide this."

"The many bad policies implemented by Cai Jing,"

"It was also to plunder money for the tyrannical Emperor Zhao Ji."

"How important is money?"

"Even a three-year-old child would know that."

"Once counterfeiting of coins becomes widespread,"

"It will inevitably lead to monetary chaos,"

"Those who take the risk,"

"They won't honestly make money."

"This will throw the market into complete chaos,"

"Prices are completely out of control!"

“…”

Actually, many things are hard to explain.

The act of privately minting coins

Everyone knows it's a serious crime.

But if the coins produced are of good quality...

Most officials are too lazy to investigate.

Because ancient China was always plagued by a shortage of money.

When the economy prospers to a certain extent,

There will always be a problem of insufficient currency circulation.

From the government to the public,

They wish they could produce more coins.

That is, poorly made private money.

They will be universally despised.

However, the imperial court also frequently produced shoddy goods.

How is this any different from private money?

In the days when many villages still practiced bartering...

Minting private coins was more like a production activity.

It can actually create social value...

Throughout history, dynasties have cracked down on the use of private money.

It's actually similar in nature to cracking down on smuggled salt.

It's simply about protecting the interests of the imperial court and the government.

It has little to do with maintaining market order (except for counterfeit and worthless money).

Fortunately, the silver content of the silver coins minted by the Gao family this time was insufficient.

If the silver content is sufficient,