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

"What wrong have I done?!"

Facing Zhu Di's wrath, Lin Yue was overjoyed, and the iron chains struck the iron bars with a piercing sound.

"Does Your Majesty dare to say that Emperor Hongwu's excessive issuance of paper money was not a bad policy?"

Lin Yue loudly and vehemently stated the consequences: "In the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, paper money was issued, and in ten years, a total of 59 million ingots were issued indiscriminately, far exceeding the total annual tax revenue of the entire country!"

What is this if not excessive issuance?

"What's even more deadly is the forgery!" Lin Yue's eyes were sharp and his voice was firm.

"Prince Zhu Gang of Jin privately minted copper plates for paper money. The paper quality of the counterfeit banknotes was even better than that of the official banknotes. It was said in the market that people would rather accept Prince Zhu Gang's paper than the official banknotes."

The King of Qin and the King of Yan followed suit, using counterfeit money to forcibly purchase farmland and exchange it for warhorses.

Lin Yue angrily denounced: "The court knew this but condoned it, only punishing wealthy merchants and commoners, but not punishing princes and relatives!"

What is this kind of manipulated and untrustworthy currency if not a form of evil governance?!

In practice, vassal kings could issue subsidiary coins, such as copper coins, but there is little historical evidence to support the private issuance of paper money.

However, when Zhu Yunwen targeted his uncles who were princes, he would often add the charge of privately issuing currency. The reason given was that only the emperor could issue paper money, and that privately issuing currency was tantamount to rebellion.

Zhu Di was immediately enraged, his face turning red and then pale, and he angrily rebuked him.

"You brat, stop spouting nonsense! Where did this privately printed paper money come from?"

"During my reign of Jingnan, the paper money in Beiping was already worthless; who would recognize it?!"

Emperor Yongle said in a booming voice.

"Back then, Emperor Jianwen issued paper money indiscriminately. As Beiping was the front line, merchants and soldiers only recognized gold, silver and copper coins. Even a piece of mulberry paper would be thrown on the ground and no one would pick it up!"

"If I were to distribute paper money to the soldiers, I fear there would be a mutiny the very next day. If I were to use paper money to purchase provisions, merchants would rather close their shops than do business with me!"

Zhu Di paced back and forth, coldly snorting, "I only managed to stabilize the defenses of Beiping by rewarding the three armies with gold, silver, copper coins, grain, and cloth, and only then did I dare to march south!"

Your accusation that I privately printed banknotes is completely unfounded.

Lin Yue burst into laughter, saying, "Your Majesty knows that paper money is worthless and worthless, discarded like trash during the Jingnan Rebellion. How could you forget how worthless this paper money is now that you've ascended the throne?"

He suddenly stepped forward and shouted.

"When Your Majesty was in Beiping, you should have known that if this cancerous tumor of paper money is not eradicated, the world will never have peace."

However, after His Majesty ascended the throne, instead of abolishing such evil policies, he intensified them, continuing to print money and forcefully implement them, using worthless banknotes to pay salaries to civil and military officials.

Your Majesty found paper money useless when you were fighting a war, and you knew that distributing it to soldiers would cause an uproar and that giving it to merchants would lead to their bankruptcy. So how come, as the supreme ruler, you don't care about the lives of the people, and you don't care that they will starve to death if they can't buy food with their paper money?

Isn't this a contradiction?!

Lin Yue's voice grew louder and louder as he launched a vicious personal attack on Zhu Di.

"In the end, His Majesty does not treat the people of the world as human beings and thinks that the people can suffer in everything."

Your Majesty merely uses paper money as a tool to exploit the people. When it's useless in war, you discard it like trash, but when you need to amass wealth in governing the country, you treat it like a sacred principle!

Your Majesty called Jianwen a mediocre and incompetent ruler. Does that mean you, Emperor Yongle, were some kind of sage and enlightened ruler?

How is Your Majesty's behavior today any different from that of Emperor Jianwen?!

Comparing Zhu Di to Emperor Jianwen was one of the things Zhu Di disliked most.

Lin Yue's words can be said to have precisely breached Emperor Yongle's psychological defenses.

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he did indeed continue the paper money system, and even adopted Chen Ying's suggestion to implement the household registration and salt administration system in order to bring back the paper money.

Households were forced to purchase government-issued salt. Each household or individual was required to purchase a fixed amount of salt annually using paper money at the government price; otherwise, they would be punished for "resisting the law."

This approach, in essence, still increases the burden on ordinary people.

The prison fell into a deathly silence, and Zhu Di's expression changed repeatedly.

But one can only say that Emperor Yongle was indeed a ruthless man who could feign madness in Beiping. Even with Lin Yue attacking him so closely, he still held back.

Zhu Di looked at Lin Yue and said in a deep voice, "Copper coins are scarce, and the annual output of silver mines in the Ming Dynasty is very small. The total annual silver tax is no more than 10,000 taels."

You only know how to denounce the precious paper money, but you don't know the suffering of the court!

With currency shortages and tax collection difficulties, what else can I do without paper money?

In the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, silver production was approximately 2 to 3 taels, which was quite a small amount for such a large economy as the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the main reason was war; during the Hongwu era, silver production was between 6 and 7 taels.

Lin Yue remained unmoved and continued to speak sarcastically.

"His Majesty is bound by ancestral rules and blinded by the powerful and wealthy!"

A currency shortage is no excuse for issuing worthless paper. You, Emperor Yongle, were nothing special; you were just an ordinary person.

Your Majesty has neither the courage to break the vested interests nor the vision to find a way out; all you do is wield your sword against the people.

For the Ming Dynasty, what difference is there between this and digging its own grave?

Zhu Di was so embarrassed by the rebuttal that his anger and frustration at losing the argument turned into a fit of rage.

So you, Lin Yue, are allowed to criticize the emperor, but the emperor isn't allowed to criticize you?

Emperor Yongle kicked the table over and started yelling at Lin Yue.

"You insolent brat! You are nothing but a cynical man who seeks fame and justice!"

All they do all day is impeach this person and insult that person, trying to gain empty fame by slandering the founding emperor and defying me. If they truly cared about the world, why didn't they offer their wise counsel earlier?!

Zhu Di's forehead veins bulged as he continued to rant: "In the court, all you do is bark; in the prison, all you do is spout nonsense. What else can you do besides using sarcastic words to incite the crowd?"

You, a self-serving opportunist, dare to talk about worrying about the country and its people?!

Lin Yue was furious. He was the only one who could criticize others in this Ming Dynasty; no one else could criticize him.

Lin Yue stood tall, the shackles dragging on the ground with a screeching sound that shook the stone walls of the prison. Every word was like a knife, the resounding voice rebuking him.

"Your Majesty accuses me of seeking fame and fortune?"

Which of the five policies on currency reform that I have presented is not a good remedy for a chronic problem? Which of my statements is not a timely and practical solution?

"Those pedantic scholars around Your Majesty only know how to cling to ancestral rules as if they were imperial edicts, praising Your Majesty's wisdom. Besides making the already messy money system worse and worse, and making the Ming Dynasty increasingly dilapidated, what other abilities do they have!"

Zhu Di was also furious and immediately retorted, "If you truly have the talent to save the world, you should come up with feasible strategies to pacify the country, instead of standing here like a mad dog, tearing and biting wildly and spouting laughable nonsense."

Ji Gang stood there with his head down, sweat beading on his forehead. He dared not look up at Zhu Di, nor at Lin Yue, his expression tense.

The jailers stood at a distance, turning their heads directly to look at the wall, even breathing very softly, for fear of attracting the attention of the Yongle Emperor or that madman.

This is truly an unprecedented sight in the Ming Dynasty. Were they still asleep? To actually see the emperor and his ministers passionately arguing in the imperial prison is quite an exaggeration.

The Ming Dynasty was indeed an era full of strange occurrences, such as the fighting competition in the Fengtian Hall and the fact that the emperor could not be seen for thirty years. It all sounds very magical.

Lin Yue pointed at Zhu Di's nose and cursed, "You seized the throne by relying on the Jingnan Campaign, and you don't know anything about governing the country."

You, Emperor Yongle, were a coward. You turned a blind eye to real threats and only wielded your sword against those who dared to speak the truth!

"Your Majesty possesses the entire realm yet fails to recognize true talent. Today, I will show you just how blind Your Majesty is, failing to recognize my extraordinary genius."

Lin Yue snorted coldly, indicating that he was about to show off.

He began to talk about practical tips not found in the "Precious Notes" and practical methods beyond theory.

"The issuance of paper money must first establish a 'guarantee system'."

For every string of paper money issued, the government treasury must store half a tael of silver or a shi of grain as proof. Only with this anchor and storage can the people trust the paper money and merchants accept it!

But what did His Majesty do? He wouldn't part with even a single tael of silver from the imperial treasury as collateral, daring only to use mulberry bark paper to swindle money out of nothing, treating the people like fools.

"The circulation of paper money must uphold the authority of the law!" Lin Yue pointed at Zhu Di and angrily shouted.

"The paper money must be circulated by force. Taxes, military pay, and official salaries should all be settled in paper money. Why should the people be forced to use paper money when you yourself don't even use it?"

Counterfeiting of paper money must be severely punished, as the profits from privately printing paper money are enormous.

Merchants are driven by profit. They would risk their lives to do anything, even if it only yielded three or five times the profit, let alone the potential for huge profits like printing money.

Who would care about a few worthless imperial edicts?

We must integrate skilled craftsmen and continuously develop the latest anti-counterfeiting technologies to minimize the occurrence of counterfeit currency.

Listening to Lin Yue speak eloquently, Emperor Yongle calmed down.

He looked at the indignant Lin Yue and felt a strange sensation.

No matter how respectful he was to his subordinates, Lin Yue was like a persistent nuisance, always finding excuses to cause trouble.

But when he said a few sarcastic and angry words to Lin Yue, the other party immediately exploded, eager to reveal all his knowledge and skills, determined to prove that he was capable and not just a cynical person who only talked big.

Zhu Di seemed to be deep in thought. Perhaps Lin Yue was just that kind of person with a bad temper and a fiery temper. He would need to use reverse psychology more often in the future.

"The issuance of paper money requires a special department to manage it!" Lin Yue looked at Emperor Yongle with disdain.

"It is an independent agency, not subordinate to the Ministry of Revenue, not subject to the constraints of incompetent officials in the Ministry of Revenue, and not subject to the unilateral decisions made by His Majesty, who is ignorant of economics!"

Before issuing currency, it is essential to first survey the resources of the entire nation and assess the scale of commerce to determine the annual issuance amount. Absolutely no empty paper should be printed!

By recycling old banknotes and waiving the labor and printing costs, people can happily exchange their old notes for new ones, instead of letting them stagnate in the market and be worthless!

"But what did His Majesty do?"

Ning allowed the Ministry of Revenue to collude with nobles and relatives to issue excessive amounts of paper money, yet dared not eliminate the abuses of the paper money. In essence, he was nothing more than a covetousness for power and a fear of influence, watching as the national treasury crumbled and the people of the land were exhausted.

"It is merely for personal gain that one ruins the great cause of the world."