The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

Previously, he had offended Zhu Di, and no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he couldn't get the Yongle Emperor to kill him.

Instead of addressing the problems of relocating the capital and the abuses of the imperial clan, Lin Yue was entrusted with an important task, which left him feeling quite frustrated and wondering where things had gone wrong.

Judging from the plot of Qing Dynasty dramas, shouldn't they have been executed by slow slicing after just a couple of criticisms of the emperor? How could they be so tolerant?

Actually, Lin Yue came at a good time. Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty were two extremes.

Zhu Yuanzhang's approach to officials was to thoroughly investigate and kill as many as possible. If he deemed you incompetent, you could expect to lose your head.

Zhu Di said that you could be corrupt, even complain, and even if you weren't very capable, as long as you weren't a die-hard loyalist to Emperor Jianwen and didn't keep showing your true colors, everything would be fine.

"It seems that directly confronting Zhu Di is useless. That old guy is cunning and shameless." Lin Yue clicked his tongue, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

To prove his legitimacy as the successor, Zhu Di emphasized his adherence to the established laws of his ancestor, Emperor Taizu, and even deleted the official records of the fourth year of Emperor Jianwen's reign.

Emperor Yongle took Emperor Hongwu as his standard in everything. If he were to criticize Zhu Yuanzhang and point out the bad policies of the Hongwu era, Zhu Di would certainly not tolerate it!

Thinking of this, Lin Yue's spirits lifted. He spread out mulberry paper, picked up a wolf-hair brush, and after a moment's thought, began to write.

The pen tip fell, each character sharp and incisive, directly pointing to the flaws of the Ming Dynasty's paper money.

"Your subject, Lin Yue, dares to speak out against the risk of death!"

"Emperor Taizu Gao created the Great Ming Treasure Note in the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, intending to benefit all people and facilitate trade. However, it unexpectedly became a tool for exploiting the people and sowed the seeds of disaster for the nation..."

After finishing the last stroke, Lin Yue threw down his pen, looked at the sharp and sarcastic words on the page, and a smile appeared on his lips.

He cursed Zhu Yuanzhang and lashed out at Zhu Di's dear old father. This time, he should be able to enrage the Yongle Emperor and make him gladly behead him so he can go back to being a citizen of the motherland!

......

The next morning, the atmosphere at Fengtian Gate was solemn during the court session.

As soon as the emperor ascended the throne, an imperial censor stepped forward and impeached Chen Xian, the commander of the personal guards under the Left Vice-General Qiu Fu, for failing to properly educate his son. Chen Xian's son, Chen Xiao, had forcibly abducted women and seized land in Pingkang Ward. The censor earnestly requested His Majesty to punish Chen Xiao severely as a warning to others.

As soon as he finished speaking, several other civil officials echoed his sentiments, recounting how the sons of meritorious officials who had helped him in the Jingnan Campaign had run rampant in the countryside and oppressed the people in recent years. They earnestly requested Zhu Di to rectify the corrupt practices of these nobles.

Zhu Di sat on the dragon throne, his gaze sweeping across the steps below, and unconsciously landing on Lin Yue.

Given this madman's usual temperament, he would have jumped out and made a grand speech long ago, given this opportunity to speak up for the people, or even taken the chance to vehemently denounce the emperor.

But today, Lin Yue simply stood among the court officials, expressionless and silent, as if it were none of his business.

Zhu Di was secretly surprised: The Embroidered Uniform Guard reported that Lin Yue had stood up for the farmers yesterday, so why was he silent today? Could it be that he was afraid of meritorious officials like Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng?

After the officials finished impeaching him, Zhu Di pondered for a moment and then spoke in a calm tone: "Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng were both the first to make contributions in the Jingnan Campaign and served the country for many years. They must have neglected to discipline their children."

"By imperial decree, these two men are ordered to strictly control their subordinates and their families, and to forbid any further misconduct. Anyone who commits another offense will be punished along with their commander."

With a simple imperial edict of advice, the matter was considered closed. The nobles and newly rich continued their mergers as usual, just being mindful of the consequences.

"If you have something to report, then speak up; otherwise, the court is adjourned." The eunuch's shrill voice rang out, and all the officials in the hall, seeing this, assumed that the matter was settled and lowered their heads to prepare to leave.

The court meetings were mainly for reporting progress. Except during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, they rarely handled actual affairs; officials still had to return to their own offices to conduct their business.

"Your Majesty, wait!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out, and Lin Yue stepped forward, stepping out of the court ranks, bowing and clasping his hands, his voice resounding.

"Your subject, Lin Yue, dares to offer this advice even at the cost of your life!"

Just now, you gentlemen impeached Xun Gui for his arrogance, but little do you know that what is more poisonous, more severe, and more shattering to the foundation of the nation than Xun Gui's oppression of the people is the evil of the Great Ming Treasure Notes left by Emperor Taizu Gao!

These words caused an uproar throughout the hall.

Zhu Di's composure vanished instantly, and he stared intently at Lin Yue.

This time, Emperor Yongle was truly enraged. What the hell was this guy? How dare he publicly criticize Emperor Taizu in the imperial court!

This is no ordinary subject; we must take strong measures.

Ignoring the shocked gazes of the court and Zhu Di's darkening expression, Lin Yue continued to loudly and vehemently explain the advantages and disadvantages.

"Emperor Taizu established the paper money with the intention of benefiting the people, but in reality it was a drain on resources!"

The precious paper money is just a piece of mulberry bark, without gold or silver as anchors or reserves as proof. It dares to claim that one string of cash is worth one bushel of rice based solely on an imperial edict. The scale of its exploitation is unprecedented in history, treating the wealth of the people as worthless!

In the early years of the Hongwu reign, more than 59 million ingots of paper money were issued indiscriminately, far exceeding the total annual tax revenue of the entire country. The paper money flooded the market like a torrent, and prices soared like thunder!

By the twenty-seventh year of the Hongwu reign, the value of the Yiguanbaochao (a type of paper money) had depreciated to one-tenth or one-twelfth of its value at the beginning of the Hongwu reign. When people tried to use the paper money to make purchases, merchants either refused to accept it or charged double the price. The imperial edict had become worthless, and as a result, many families were ruined and people died!

Using unearned currency to forcibly exchange for goods from the people to fund the imperial court's large-scale construction projects and northern expeditions against the Mongols, while disregarding the lives of the common people, how is this policy any different from the oppressive rule of the tyrannical Qin dynasty?

Your Majesty follows the established laws of the Taizu Emperor, yet you are unaware of the drawbacks of this paper currency system, which has already caused widespread resentment among the people. If it is not abolished immediately and the paper currency is allowed to be issued indiscriminately, popular uprisings will break out one day, and the Ming Dynasty will be in grave danger!

"Lin Yue! How dare you!"

Zhu Di slammed his hand on the dragon throne, shouting angrily, his eyes burning with fury.

"Emperor Taizu was so wise and insightful; he established the paper currency with profound intentions. How dare you slander it so wantonly?!"

Lin Yue was not afraid at all; instead, he took half a step forward, laughing wildly in his heart.

Haha, here it comes! They've finally angered Zhu Di!

"Deeper meaning? Whatever deeper meaning it may have, what difference does it make if the exploitation of the people remains unchanged!"

Lin Yue's voice was louder than Zhu Di's, almost a roar.

"I dare to speak today, for I have already expressed my determination to die."

Your Majesty, I humbly request that you immediately abolish paper money, re-establish a currency system, and use gold and silver as the basis for monetary value, so as to restore justice to the people of the world!

If Your Majesty insists on upholding the mistakes of Emperor Taizu and is unwilling to reform the corrupt practices, I am willing to die at the palace gates, using my blood to warn Your Majesty not to let the Hongwu Emperor's paper currency system lead to the calamity of the sinking of the Central Plains!

For the umpteenth time, Fengtian Gate was deathly silent, and the officials were too frightened to even breathe.

They thought they were impressive for impeaching the meritorious officials of the Jingnan Campaign, but it turns out there are always stronger opponents. Compared to Lin Yue's speech, they were far too weak.

Among them, Yang Shiqi, Xie Jin, and Chen E, the Supervising Secretary, even cast admiring glances at Lin Yue.

The flaws of the paper money were known to all the officials, but only Lin Yue dared to speak out about it, and he did so so bluntly, without any euphemisms, directly attacking the Hongwu Emperor. He was too ruthless.

Censor-in-Chief Chen Ying was even more shocked; he really didn't know why Lin Yue dared to say such a thing.

As an advisor, don't you know that you need to be strategic when advising the emperor? Don't you know the art of tactful language?

If you want His Majesty to abolish the paper money, just point out its disadvantages. Why criticize Emperor Taizu?

Censor-in-Chief Chen Ying said: I don't understand~