The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

"Why would our grandson say such a thing?"

This is what Ai Sun Xiong Ying said.

Zhu Yuanzhang then suppressed his anger and asked a question.

If it were an ordinary person, who would have lost their head countless times for frequently cursing the fall of the Ming Dynasty?

Beside him, he saw that Old Zhu was getting angry.

Discussing the issue of paper money seems to have touched a raw nerve.

Zhu Xiong Ying's eyes darted around, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy. He raised his head and said, "Grandpa, you asked this yourself... Aren't you angry?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately felt that this scene was very familiar.

I was instantly reminded of the last time.

He could only sigh helplessly and say, "Fine, I'll tell you, we won't get angry!"

Watching Old Zhu's defeat.

Zhu Xiong Ying pulled his grandfather back to sit on the dragon throne before saying, "In my humble opinion, the precious paper money has several huge holes!"

"Like some illnesses, the longer they accumulate, the more ferocious they become when they erupt..."

"If it's not mended quickly, it will only endanger the foundation of the nation! Ultimately, it will lead to death!"

"The first problem, and it's nothing more than that there's no evidence whatsoever. They can print as much as they want without any reserves of equal value behind it, so the people simply don't dare to believe it!"

"Copper coins are valuable because copper itself is valuable. Silver is valuable for the same reason. Therefore, people all recognize them."

"But our precious paper money, to put it bluntly, is nothing more than a piece of mulberry bark paper!"

"For the past decade, the internal warehouse has been able to print as much as it wants, but what's inside?"

"At first, people believed the paper money because it was backed by the government. But as time went on, they saw through the deception, and the news spread like wildfire. Who would dare to believe it anymore? Who would dare to accept it?"

"Grandpa, don't you agree?"

A series of rhetorical questions followed.

They noticed that Old Zhu was stroking his beard, but he only nodded slightly and didn't say anything.

Zhu Xiong Ying was not surprised.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang's original purpose in issuing paper money was to fill the financial black hole!

The reason was that when he first took over, he was dealing with a world that had been ravaged by war and famine, and was riddled with problems!

In this process, there were events such as the conquest of the Northern Yuan, the pacification of Yunnan, the rewarding of meritorious officials, the salary of officials, the construction of imperial tombs, and disaster relief expenditures...

Which one doesn't cost money?

Drawing on the Jiaozi of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Huizi of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Baochao of the Yuan Dynasty, the creation of the Da Ming Baochao was also a result of comprehensive consideration!

It was personally approved by Zhu De and handed over to the late Right Chancellor Hu Weiyong to be specifically responsible for its implementation!

Once the precedent is set, it's impossible to stop.

As for the potential troubles...

Yes, we should trust in the wisdom of future generations.

What Zhu Xiong Ying is saying now is to clarify the logic.

This will lay the groundwork for what follows.

"The second problem lies in the fact that money only goes out and never comes in. If the imperial court distributes money but doesn't accept it itself, how can the common people dare to accept it?"

"In our Great Ming Dynasty, salaries and soldiers' pay are all settled in paper money. But when it comes to collecting taxes, salt taxes, and commercial taxes, the court only accepts grain, silver, and copper coins... This creates a one-way flow, and there is no closed loop."

"It's like opening a grain store, taking grain from the people, issuing them an IOU, but when they try to buy more grain with that IOU, the store refuses to honor it. Who would dare to exchange it?"

In other words.

The most core and fundamental function of money is circulation.

However, the Imperial Ming Treasure Notes, unknowingly, have already transcended economic laws.

If you treat it as a cash machine with no risk and no profit, and you don't have enough gold or silver as "capital," why won't something go wrong?

Therefore, the ending was predetermined from the very beginning of its release.

The fact that it was eventually abolished shows that imperial power is not omnipotent, and it cannot go against the general trend!

"The third loophole lies in the excessive discounting, which opened the back door for corrupt officials."

"The paper money has no fixed value; it's all at the discretion of officials... Doesn't that make it a tool for officials to exploit the people and embezzle money and grain?"

"Take this grain theft case as an example, even the Emperor must have noticed the problem..."

"If this continues, could it lead to an unbearable financial hole, complete fiscal chaos, and public resentment erupting?"

When discussing official corruption, he accurately hit Old Zhu's sore spot.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was somber, and his stroking of his beard stopped.

They were both amazed that their grandson could see the root of the problem and worried that the prophecy would come true.

After a long while, the joy brought by the smallpox vaccine had dissipated considerably.

He shook his head and said, "Many things can't be explained in just a few words!"

"When our grandson grows up and stands in our position in the future, he will understand the difficulties his grandfather faced!"

"The distribution of the precious paper money must not be abandoned, much less stopped..."

The last few words are just a few.

Zhu Yuanzhang was resolute.

I don't know if he was saying it to his grandson or to himself.

Zhu Xiong Ying didn't care about Lao Zhu's attitude.

He tentatively asked, "Since it can't be abolished, nor can it be stopped, Grandfather, what can be changed?"

"Um?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Da Sun's explanation was simple.

Change?

Where should it change to?

We've tried it all these years, haven't we?!

But in the end, they all met with a rebuff.

For the sake of the national economy and people's livelihood, it has no choice but to be enforced.

"Our eldest grandson, this matter is no simple one..."

Old Zhu shook his head, not thinking that his beloved grandson would come up with any good ideas.

Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said, "Grandfather, a year ago, would you have believed that your grandson, along with Mr. Dai and the others, could have come up with a way to prevent smallpox?"

Zhu Yuanzhang coughed lightly and said, "Ahem, we..."

I definitely won't believe it!!

But reality has proven otherwise.

Old Zhu was left speechless.

Looking across the government and the public, Zhu Xiong Ying was the first.

He persisted, saying, "So, Grandfather, why don't you listen to what I'm about to say..."

"My grandson's method can be summarized in just eight words: use silver as an anchor to establish trust through currency."

"Our Great Ming Treasure Notes cannot be like rootless grass from now on. We need to use silver as a benchmark to gradually fix the price of the Treasure Notes. We can no longer print them arbitrarily."

"More importantly, the amount of silver needed to be stored in the Imperial Treasury for every banknotes printed by the court must be sufficient."

"In this way, the paper money is not just a piece of worthless paper, but a valuable currency backed by silver!"

"My grandson has given it a name; let's call it 'Silver Standard' for now!"

The silver standard?!

Zhu Yuanzhang tapped his fingers rhythmically on the imperial desk.

I pondered the new vocabulary, and found it to be very vivid.

But they immediately fell silent.

As an emperor, he understood all the theories his grandson had spoken of!

And we want to link silver to paper money to stabilize public sentiment!

But so much silver has already been sent out, where would the imperial court get so much silver?

Therefore, Da Sun's idea was ultimately a pipe dream.

One side.

Zhu Xiong Ying ignored the change in Lao Zhu's thoughts.

Instead, he remained confident and continued, "Your grandson knows that our Great Ming's treasury doesn't have that kind of money; to try and replenish it is simply a pipe dream!"

"But it's not impossible to gather all the silver in the world, and even overseas, here to stabilize our currency system..."

"My first plan is to issue national bonds for the Ming Dynasty! And let those officials and gentry who have committed minor crimes redeem them voluntarily..."