Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 377 The court needs to pay the price! ! ! !

Xia Zhibai stood tall, ignoring the astonished looks of the officials, and said slowly: "I have such a firm belief for only one reason."

"The Ming Dynasty is short of money!"

“And there’s a lot of money missing.”

"Not only copper coins, but also silver, which is what the court lacks."

"And if the imperial court cannot solve the problem of copper coins and silver in a short time, then it is destined that the Ming Dynasty will be in a stage of half currency and half barter for a long time. This is absolutely intolerable for a strong imperial court."

"The court's monetary power must be in our hands!"

"Since there is no short-term solution to the problem of copper coins and silver, we can only find another way. Paper money has been around since the Song Dynasty. After years of development, it has actually formed a relatively complete system."

"However, during the Song and Yuan dynasties, the use and adherence to paper money was too absurd. It was only used as a tool for the court to collect money, and it was not used and regulated correctly, so the paper money, as a 'currency', eventually became waste paper."

"Learning from the past is a guide for the future."

"The Ming Dynasty stood on the shoulders of the Song and Yuan dynasties and should learn from their failures and improve and perfect them so that paper money could be truly integrated into the world."

"Once the paper currency system is established, the benefits to the Ming Dynasty will be visible to the naked eye."

"The court no longer had to worry about the shortage of copper coins and silver, which further reduced the 'fire consumption' and prevented the people from being exploited by unscrupulous merchants and officials who held up their silver and added an extra exchange. In addition, paper money was easy to carry and circulate, making it easier to do business."

"Of course, the most important thing is to regain the right to mint coins."

"When the court is short of money in the future, it can obtain paper money by issuing debts to ease the pressure on the government and avoid the situation where the court has no money to use."

"But the more this is the case, the more we need to establish a complete system."

“But I think the time is right.”

“The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago, and the best time to plant a tree is now!”

As soon as Xia Zhibai finished speaking, Huang Zicheng stepped forward to oppose him.

Huang Zicheng said: "These words are harmful to the country."

"Since you know the end of the Song and Yuan dynasties, you should know why paper money could not be circulated in the world. It was not because the court did not want to use it, but because people did not approve of it. You and I have read all kinds of books and we know very well that a large part of the reason why the Yuan Dynasty fell was due to paper money."

"The wanton issuance of paper money led to currency depreciation. The people worked hard for a year, but in the end, their harvest was exchanged for a pile of waste paper."

"And the price changes every day."

"As for the supervision you mentioned, how easy is it?"

"You are overestimating people's hearts. If there is an opportunity to print a lot of paper money, who do you think will let it go? When encountering a problem, the first reaction is not to solve the problem, but to ask the court for money and solve it by issuing paper money. Printing paper money will only breed a group of good-for-nothings. These people will not think about solving the problem at all."

“This is a greater corruption!”

"You have a murderous heart!"

Huang Zicheng spoke in a loud voice, his eyes wide open like an angry King Kong, full of majesty and justice.

Zhao Mian, Yang Jing and others nodded slightly.

I agree with Huang Zicheng's view. The court actually discussed it when it founded the country, but eventually rejected it because the people did not approve of it and did not accept it. Could the court really force the people to accept it? Moreover, the Ming Dynasty now has paper money, which is relatively restrained.

But what is the current situation?

The people avoided this as much as possible.

Not to mention using it actively, even if they collected it, they would feel extremely resentful.

If not for this, the imperial court would have pushed it through long ago, so why would Xia Zhibai need to propose it?

Xia Zhibai looked calm and didn't care much about Huang Zicheng's attack. Huang Zicheng's opinion was indeed the opinion of the vast majority of officials in the world, and even the opinion of the vast majority of ordinary people.

Xia Zhibai said: "This is what needs to be changed."

"The court needs to pay the price!"

"Rather than making a huge profit with one investment, or even making a huge profit with no investment." "When paper money first came out, it could be exchanged for copper coins and silver at the same value, but later it gradually became unacceptable. The basis for the emergence of paper money is that it can be exchanged for money in the minds of ordinary people at the same value."

“That’s the premise of everything.”

"To ignore this premise is to be a hooligan!"

"They are all robbers too!"

"Why did the paper currency system collapse later? It was because the paper money issued by the Song and Yuan dynasties could not be exchanged for coins and silver, and turned into waste paper. Therefore, the original 'coins' were reduced to waste paper in an instant."

"But if these banknotes can always be exchanged for copper coins and silver, will the banknotes still become waste paper?"

"will not!"

“And that’s the basis of the paper money system.”

"One piece of paper money must correspond to an equivalent amount of copper coins and silver."

"Excessive issuance or issuance without any calculation is essentially using a piece of waste paper to defraud people of their money. This kind of thing has always happened in the Song and Yuan dynasties. The Ming Dynasty should learn from this lesson."

At this time.

Zhu Tong asked doubtfully: "You are right."

"But there is one thing that is not right. Since one piece of paper money corresponds to the equivalent amount of coins and silver, doesn't that mean that the court needs to prepare as many copper coins and silver as the paper money it issues? You also said before that the court is short of money. How can it come up with so many copper coins and silver?"

As soon as Zhu Tong's words came out, everyone immediately echoed them.

"Correct."

"Isn't this a waste of time?"

"They say the court is short of money, so they have to issue paper money, but to issue paper money, the court needs to have so much money. Isn't it just a waste of time to go back and forth?"

"That's right, what kind of idea is this?"

"If that counts as a proposal, I can make hundreds of them a day."

"."

Zhu Biao was slightly stunned, with a hint of confusion and astonishment in his eyes.

He hadn't thought of this before.

He turned his head and looked at Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai looked calm, as if he had been prepared for Zhu Tong's question. He smiled gently at Zhu Tong and said, "You are right. The purpose of this plan is to solve the problem of the court having no money, but it also requires the court to have money. This is already a contradiction."

“But that’s not the case.”

"I actually didn't expect that His Highness would summon so many officials when I came to the palace this time."

"Since there are so many officials who are well versed in economics, I will throw out some ideas to stimulate discussion. I will no longer limit myself to currency, but extend it to the entire economic system."

"Give a relatively systematic account of the paper currency system."

"There is no doubt that the issuance of paper money must have an anchor."

"But the anchor can be money, or something else, such as a piece of clothing, a palace, a piece of jade, or..."

"The court's credit!"

"It's just that at present, the only things that people recognize are coins and gold and silver."

“Therefore, the paper currency system cannot violate this reality and can only be anchored with gold, silver and copper.”

"The imperial court can't make money, but it still has another way to make money."

"It's 'borrow'!!!"

(End of this chapter)