Chapter 25: The people's hearts are the scales that can weigh the weight of a country (Please read, please vote for the monthly ticket, please recommend!)

As Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Gang finally realized what he had forgotten.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, copper mines across the country of the Ming Dynasty stopped production, and the minting volume of Hongwu Tongbao could not meet the needs of commercial and agricultural development and military expenses for multiple northern expeditions.

Zhu Yuanzhang then issued an edict to issue Ming Baochao as the common currency in the Ming Dynasty.

In order to promote the circulation and use of Ming Baochao, the imperial court formulated strict measures.

For example: prohibiting the circulation of gold and silver, prohibiting the use of copper coins for large transactions, and imposing the death penalty of beheading on those who counterfeit banknotes.

Therefore, the emergence of Ming Baochao greatly solved the Ming Dynasty’s tight economic problems.

After all, whether it was the military expenses for conquering the Northern Yuan Dynasty or the expenses for developing farmland and water conservancy, they were all financed by the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes.

But Lao Zhu is worthy of his identity. A gangster is a gangster and he has no economic sense at all.

What? How can a son call his father a "hooligan"?

No, this “rogue” is not that “rogue.”

Because in ancient feudal dynasties, you had to separate the word "hooligan" into two parts.

Liu: Those who have no land are called "liu". It means that under the rule of a dynasty, family comes before country, and without family there is no country. Especially in ancient times when agriculture was the basis of life and grain was a major productive force, if you have no land, it means you are useless to the dynasty and naturally you are "liu".

As for the "rogue": to put it simply, it means that you not only have no land, but also no house and no ability to survive, and this is "rogue".

The natural combination of these two forms the so-called "hooligan".

So in this sense, Lao Zhu was indeed a gangster. After all, Lao Zhu not only had no land, he didn't even have a home. If he hadn't joined the army, Lao Zhu would probably still be begging on the road.

Can you still expect Lao Zhu to have some economic sense?

After all, without the support of gold and silver, it can only rely on the credibility of the Ming Dynasty.

But who made Zhu Yuanzhang do that? He printed the Ming treasure notes crazily, which should have made him a huge profit, and he never controlled the number from beginning to end.

Northern Expedition to the grasslands? Print!

Disaster relief for victims? Print!

Develop water conservancy? Print!

Anyway, wherever silver can be used, Zhu Yuanzhang always has one thing in mind: seals!
As long as we, Old Zhu, print money fast enough and spend it frequently enough, the Ming Dynasty's treasury will never be empty.

Another thing is that while Zhu Yuanzhang printed Ming treasure notes without restraint, he stipulated that when the people paid taxes, the amount of treasure notes used could not exceed 30%. As for the other 70%, they had to pay taxes in kind, or in gold and silver.

Doesn't this mean that the officials are only allowed to prevent fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps?
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang's move was not to solve the problem, but to erode the credibility of the Ming Dynasty in the hearts of the people.

After all, you are only responsible for printing money and spending it all, but you don't take any back from the court. Who would be willing to do that?
The people are not fools. Gold and silver do not need to circulate among the people, but can be used to pay taxes?

Another reason was that the production of copper coins was stopped to make way for the Ming Baochao. As a result, after the Ming Baochao became waste paper, people gradually began to use small coins spontaneously.

From then on, the imperial court lost the right to mint coins. It can be said that since the early years of Hongwu, the economic lifeline and monetary system of the Ming Dynasty had collapsed because of Zhu.

"Old man, the basis for the issuance of Ming Dynasty treasure notes is the credibility of our Ming Dynasty. You ended the chaos and drove out the Tartars, so the people are willing to believe you."

"But if you continue to print Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes without restraint, it will only lead to a rapid depreciation of Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes and cause market chaos."

"And I remember that there are records in history books that the Jiaozi and Huizi of the early Song Dynasty lost the trust of the people due to excessive issuance, which led to serious inflation." The moment he figured it out, Zhu Gang raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang seriously.

The Ming Treasure Notes are related to the foundation of the country and cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, we must not allow Zhu Yuanzhang to continue to print the Ming Treasure Notes unscrupulously.

And isn’t this a form of exploitation of the people?
Of course, it’s not that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to exploit the people, but many loopholes existed when the rules were formulated.

What the world lacks the least is smart people, especially businessmen. They deal with silver all year round and can naturally see the drawbacks of the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes.

But they can still use it to make a fortune, making people's lives even more difficult.

After all, it is an agricultural society, and the people are the world's largest productive force, so the court's income naturally comes from the people.

Once the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes depreciated, the people would suffer the most, and the ones who would benefit the most would not be the imperial court, but the wealthy businessmen and gentry.

As for the imperial court, it will only work for the wealthy businessmen and gentry, and will completely lose its majesty and the credibility of the people.

After these words were spoken, not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but even Zhu Biao fell into deep thought.

"Old man, boss, think about it, the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes are nothing but duckweed, how can they be compared with gold and silver?"

"Not to mention the Jiaozi and Huizi of the pre-Song dynasty, even the "banknotes" of the Yuan dynasty have depreciated faster than running water."

"Even at the end, there was not enough money to buy a piece of paper, let alone to ensure people's livelihood and support the court."

"Especially if you are still printing banknotes without restraint, what's the difference between that and using paper to build a dam to resist floods?"

"It looks spectacular, but in reality, a heavy rain can wash it away."

Looking at Old Zhu and Zhu Biao who were lost in thought, Zhu Gang sighed softly again.

In this regard, Old Zhu and Zhu Biao remained silent and thoughtful, as if they were really thinking about weighing the pros and cons.

"Old man, my son is not exaggerating, but if the Ming Treasure Note is to last long, it must have value and be backed by gold and silver."

"Or it can be closely linked to the real thing, so that people can trust it and feel at ease when using it. Otherwise, it becomes a castle in the air, which looks beautiful but is actually fragile."

"After all, look at our common people. They work hard on the farm, but all they earn is stacks of paper that are becoming less and less valuable."

"Then this is not just a matter of banknotes, it's about people's hearts!"

"Since they trust us, the Ming Dynasty, we must not betray this trust, and we must not let their hard work go to waste."

Zhu Gang paused again, then continued to look at Old Zhu and Zhu Biao and said, "And I remember when I was a child, you often told me that the people's hearts are a scale that can measure the importance of a country."

"And now, the banknotes we issue are the weights on the scale. If they exceed the weight, the scale will be unbalanced, and the people will lose their morale."

"So we have to find that balance point, so that the circulation of treasure notes is orderly and a stable exchange relationship is formed with gold, silver and physical objects."

"At the same time, we must restore the circulation of copper coins, restart the minting of copper coins, and ensure the smooth flow of economic blood vessels through multiple channels."

"Only in this way can the economic foundation of the Ming Dynasty be consolidated and the people's lives can truly improve."

After saying this, Zhu Gang picked up the teacup beside him and drank it all in one gulp.

　I'm here to ask for some data. Brothers, please give me some monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. I'd like to thank you very much.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)