Chapter 88 Your Majesty, Think Twice

"Second Brother, are you saying that when the imperial court issues more than a certain amount of treasure notes, the situation you just described will occur?"

Zhu Biao's eyes were full of fear, and Old Zhu's expression was no less frightening, even more unbearable than Zhu Biao's.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has a keen eye." Zhu Chong smiled slightly. "You can see that the value of the treasure notes has changed. Originally, one string of coins could be exchanged for one ounce of silver, but now it has become two strings of treasure notes for one ounce of silver."

"While various factors played a role, the value of the treasure notes has clearly decreased, now only half of its original value, or even less. Yet, the imperial court still maintains that one tael of silver is worth one tael of silver per guan of money. This presents a problem."

Zhu Chong counted on his fingers, "The treasure notes issued by the court are mainly used to pay officials' salaries, purchase various materials for the court itself, purchase military rations and weapons, and pay and pensions during and after wars, etc..."

"What do you want to say?" Old Zhu seemed to be unable to listen any longer, staring at Zhu Chong with gloomy eyes, "I don't care what you say, we have to issue the amount of treasure notes we issued, who dares to say anything?"

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and your words are final. Of course, no one dares to say anything, but Your Majesty may have overlooked an important issue."

"Baochao is money, just like copper coins, gold and silver. Its purpose is to purchase things."

"Your Majesty said that one guan of money is equivalent to one liang of silver. Naturally, officials below will use one guan of money to purchase goods on the market that are equivalent to one liang of silver. And the main producers and sellers of these goods are farmers and workers!"

"At first glance, it seems like no one has lost anything, but in reality, this is a disguised form of plundering the common people!"

"Because what I just presented to Your Majesty and the Crown Prince is the truth. Ordinary people cannot purchase items of equal value with their treasure notes. At most, they can only purchase items worth half the value marked on the treasure note, or even less."

"In this unequal transaction, at least half of the people's wealth will be taken away by the imperial court."

After hearing the end, Zhu Biao felt terrible. However, compared to worrying that Zhu Chong would be punished by Zhu, he could not believe that Zhu's treasure note policy was actually competing with the people for profit!

Zhu Chong hadn't finished speaking yet, "Your Majesty may not understand that the circulation of treasure notes from the court to the people takes time. In short, there will be a lot of ceremony before the treasure notes are distributed from you to the people."

"During this long process, the earliest holders of the treasure notes will immediately realize the value issues of the treasure notes, and they will try every possible way to recover their losses."

"The only way to recover the losses is to buy goods on the market. They will use various means to exchange for all the items that can be obtained with almost the same value as the treasure notes."

In the end, Zhu Chong stuffed the two strings of cash in his hand into the prince's hand, and then snatched two taels of silver from the prince.

"You..." Zhu Biao was shocked and angry. He realized something was wrong but didn't dare to say it out loud. He now completely understood what his initial worries were.

When Old Zhu saw what was happening, he flew into a rage and even threw the banknotes in his hand heavily to the ground, "Let's see who dares!"

"Your Majesty, please clear up my confusion. You just said how much treasure notes you issued, and that's how much. Now, if someone uses the treasure notes to buy goods of equal value, what's wrong with that?"

"You..." Zhu Yuanzhang felt so uncomfortable that he almost wanted to vomit blood, but he couldn't blame Zhu Chong, because from beginning to end, what Zhu Chong said was true, and it was very likely that the truth was even more serious than what Zhu Chong said.

The disadvantages of Baochao are too obvious. As Zhu Chong said, Baochao was used to distribute to officials as salaries. In order to avoid losses, those people abused their power for personal gain and exchanged it for goods of equal value in Baochao from the public. Who dares to blame them?

Perhaps what Zhu Chong said may be alarmist, but as Zhu Chong just said, as time goes by, the amount of treasure notes issued will increase, and the situation he just mentioned will inevitably occur among the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang issued the treasure notes with the intention of using them for the Northern Expedition, but now it seems that he was actually competing with the people for profit and plundering their wealth!

As an emperor who claimed to love his people like his own children, how could Zhu Yuanzhang continue to issue Baochao when he knew that Baochao had serious drawbacks and had no solution himself?

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well how hard life was for the common people, so after he became emperor, he reduced taxes for farmers more than once, hoping that the people under his rule could live a good life.

But he didn't expect that the treasure notes he was complacent about and thought would benefit future generations would actually turn into a harsh policy that plundered the people. Zhu Yuanzhang felt extremely uncomfortable about this.

But without treasure notes to support the court's finances, it means the court will run out of money.

The imperial court had no money, so how could he launch the Northern Expedition, provide relief to refugees from natural disasters, and fight against the Japanese pirates?

Old Zhu, who has always been calm and decisive, was completely paralyzed at this moment.

His eyes suddenly turned red and he glared fiercely at Zhu Chong in front of him.

At this moment, he regretted it immensely. Why did he summon Zhu Chong? If he had not heard what Zhu Chong said, how could he have fallen into the current dilemma?

Of course, it was Zhu Chong. If it were someone else, I'm afraid Zhu would have lost control and had someone drag Zhu Chong away and chop him off to vent his anger.

"No, how could this be possible? Father..." Crown Prince Zhu Biao was also frightened and looked at Old Zhu with horror.

Zhu Biao has been following Zhu Yuanzhang's side for many years and assisting him in managing state affairs. He boasts that he is the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty who understands the use and understanding of treasure notes best, except Zhu Yuanzhang.

As a result, he only found out today that Baochao actually has so many disadvantages and will cause such serious consequences for the people.

When Zhu Chong saw that both Old Zhu and Zhu Biao's faces changed, he knew that it was time to add the final fuel to the fire.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, if there is no appropriate solution to the drawbacks of the Treasure Notes, then these drawbacks will cause the Treasure Notes to depreciate in the near future."

"Devaluation means that the treasure notes can buy less and less things of equal value, and eventually, the treasure notes will become a burden to the people."

"If the treasure notes lose their purchasing power and the people have no gold, silver or copper coins, then they will have no choice but to exchange grain or livestock for their daily necessities."

"But the devaluation of the treasure notes will cause prices to rise rapidly. A chicken that could once have bought a pound of salt may end up being worth less than an ounce of salt. I don't need to explain this in detail. I'm sure Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince can understand this, right?"

"The treasure note was created by Your Majesty. Your Majesty says it's worth whatever it is, but the reality is that Your Majesty will gradually lose the support of the people."

"He who wins the hearts of the people wins the prosperity of the nation. The treasure notes are now gradually eroding the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to think twice before acting!"