Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 376: Using paper money is the trend!
The nineteenth year of Hongwu.

It was a cold winter and heavy snow blocked the roads.

But the people in Yingtian Prefecture did not feel too cold.

At this moment, the East Palace.

Zhu Biao gathered all the officials from the Ministry of Revenue together.

At the same time, Xia Zhibai was also called over.

It has been almost a year since the Guo Huan case broke out, and the position of the Minister of Revenue is still vacant. Only the left and right vice ministers have been filled, and they are all young officials. The only old ministers, who are also acquaintances of Xia Zhibai, are Zhao Mian and Yang Jing, both of whom were students taking the imperial examinations at the same time.

In addition to them there was also Zhu Sheng's son Zhu Tong.

Seeing Xia Zhibai arrive, the other officials looked at each other in surprise.

As a famous person in the Ming Dynasty, Xia Zhibai's name was well-known to them, and they had met him many times before. But why did His Highness summon officials from the Ministry of Revenue? Moreover, in the minds of most of them, Xia Zhibai was synonymous with a troublemaker.

If possible, they would rather stay away.

Only Huang Zicheng.

He stood in front, looking at Xia Zhibai with a bit of coldness. He had always disliked Xia Zhibai, especially in the imperial examination, when Xia Zhibai's sudden appearance squeezed him out of the first class and he could only be the first in the second class. He had been secretly complaining about this for a long time.

Especially later on, Xia Zhibai walked with Hua Lun and Lian Zining for a long time, and helped them a lot, making their careers much smoother.

He clearly suffered the most injustice, but gained nothing.

I feel unhappy.

However, he devoted himself to study in the Hanlin Academy and made great progress. Later, relying on his talent, he was appreciated by His Highness and began to work in the Ministry of Revenue. Although the official position was not very high, he had already served in the Eastern Palace, and not many people in the court dared to look down on him.

But every time Xia Zhibai was in the court, he felt more uncomfortable.

Because he felt that everything Xia Zhibai had done was done by stepping on his head to gain fame.

Huang Zicheng snorted coldly and quickly looked away.

And didn't want to attract Xia Zhibai's attention.

He was unhappy with Xia Zhibai, but after serving in the court for some time, he had learned to hide his emotions. Moreover, it was His Highness who summoned them this time. It would undoubtedly be foolish to hastily stir up trouble without knowing the specific situation.

Zhao Mian and Yang Jing looked at each other, with a hint of solemnity and vigilance in their eyes.

Xia Zhibai's presence made them feel uneasy.

Xia Zhibai is indeed 'famous'.

Every time something happens, it gives people a headache and makes people uneasy. This time, the officials summoned by His Highness are mostly from the Ministry of Revenue, and Xia Zhibai is here again, so it is very likely that they will be involved. How can they not feel a headache?

Only Zhu Tong looked at Xia Zhibai with curiosity.

He actually had no intention of pursuing a career in politics.

I wanted to retire to the mountains with my father back then, but my father passed away in the third year of Hongwu. Later, His Majesty summoned me to the court. Although I had always declined, after His Majesty's repeated requests, I had no choice but to stay in the court and now work in the Ministry of Rites.

However, as the son of Zhu Sheng, he is naturally proficient in some strategies.

He is now nearly fifty years old and is about to reach the age of knowing the destiny. According to his observation, the emperor's temper is getting worse and worse, so he has always wanted to retire. However, he could not have imagined that while he was determined to retire, there were people in the court who kept rising to the top.

Zhu Tong took a closer look and didn't find anything surprising.

The only thing I noticed was the sharpness!
It gives people a dazzling but not hurtful feeling, bright and brilliant.

Zhu Tong smiled, stroked his beard and said calmly: "It is indeed a bit strange, no wonder he would praise it so much, but unfortunately the court is full of dragons and tigers, and it is very difficult to protect yourself in it. It is very difficult to dodge and maneuver in such a vortex."

Zhu Tong said the word "difficult" three times in a row.

Not long after, Zhu Biao arrived.

He was wearing casual clothes.

Seeing Zhu Biao arrive, everyone hurriedly saluted.

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Gentlemen, please stand up. I summoned you here today to hear your opinions on the current financial affairs of the Ming Dynasty."

"You may speak freely, and do not worry that I will blame you."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Everyone said in unison.

Huang Zicheng looked around and took the initiative to step out and said, "May I ask Your Highness, which part of the finances do you want to know? But Your Highness thinks that the current finances of the Ming Dynasty are insufficient, and wants to find another source of revenue for the Ming Dynasty? Or do you intend to increase the expenditure of the country to a certain extent?"

Huang Zicheng spoke tentatively.

The others also looked at Zhu Biao, their eyes full of curiosity.

Zhu Biao shook his head and said calmly, "Neither. I just heard people refute it again and again, saying that the current financial system of the Ming Dynasty is flawed and needs to be reformed drastically, or even the current financial system of the world needs to be reformed. I don't have much knowledge and I was at a loss for a moment."

"So I want to ask the Ministry of Revenue for advice."

As soon as the words fell.

Everyone in the audience looked to the side at the same time.

Xia Zhibai's expression remained the same, and even though he became the focus of the whole audience, he did not change his expression at all.

His calm and composed demeanor is also breathtaking.

Huang Zicheng and others frowned. There was no need to guess who could cause His Highness such a headache. It must have come from Xia Zhibai. Now in the world, Xia Zhibai was the only one who had the courage to speak up and even speak in person.

Yang Jing said: "Your Highness, may I ask what is the problem?"

Zhu Biao smiled faintly and did not answer immediately. Instead, he kept the question a secret and said, "This is not the key point, because this person mentioned another thing to me. Compared with the change of the financial system, I am more interested in this matter because it runs counter to the existing system of the Ming Dynasty."

"I even feel disgusted and even resentful in my heart."

"It's just that I've been thinking about it recently, and I think those ideas make sense."

"But I am the person in charge, so I don't see the problem clearly, so I'd better let him speak for himself."

Zhu Biao looked at Xia Zhibai and said, "Xia Zhibai, since you are the one who brought this up, then tell us why you came up with the idea of ​​using paper money, and why you think that using paper money is the general trend of the world?"

"We are not even willing to waste millions of Ming dynasty's money and grain!"

As soon as Zhu Biao said this, the whole audience was in an uproar.

Everyone looked at each other.

They looked at each other, their eyes full of surprise and disbelief.

Using paper money? What kind of absurd idea is this? Everyone knows that paper money is just a piece of waste paper. Even if you use it to wipe your butt, it will feel a little itchy. Who would really treat a piece of waste paper as money?
And what about the situation where millions of dollars of money and grain were spent?
There was confusion in their eyes.

For a moment, I was completely confused and felt completely bewildered.

For a while.

All eyes in the audience were focused on Xia Zhibai again. Xia Zhibai frowned slightly, but he didn't feel anything. He said slowly: "Your Highness has an order, and I will obey it."

“The use of paper money is indeed the trend of the times!!!”

"I am absolutely certain of this."

(End of this chapter)