Currently, the Ming Dynasty's paper money is controlled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, and only through the joint efforts of these two departments can the minting of paper money be effectively managed. Moreover, the Bureau of Silver Works and the Bureau of Seals and Seals, two of the Twenty-Four Offices, are also involved, and the Imperial Clan Court also sends people to supervise the process from time to time.

Zhu Yunying nodded slightly and emphasized, "You must all remember this well: do not allow anyone to counterfeit money. If counterfeit money is discovered, punish it severely without leniency. Counterfeiters will be imprisoned, their homes confiscated, and they will be beheaded; no lenient punishment will be shown. Furthermore, do not request changes to the name or design of the currency, lest the people be worried."

In fact, the people of the Ming Dynasty were not very accepting of paper money at first, or rather, it is still the same now.

For ordinary people, gold, silver, or copper coins were the real hard currency. Paper money was basically just a piece of paper to them, and they worried that the imperial court might stop recognizing it at any time.

In such a situation, the government's credibility is naturally put to the test.

Therefore, over the years, paper money could be used to pay taxes. When doing business with the imperial court, the court did not issue gold or silver, only paper money.

It may seem domineering, but such implementation was unavoidable. Fortunately, paper money was legal tender, and the imperial court approved of it.

Seeing Yu Xin and the others nod, Zhu Yunying continued to remind them, "Remember to exchange old banknotes. Set up banks and vaults in various places to collect and exchange worn-out banknotes. Any banknotes whose face value and text are still legible can continue to be used. Do not raise prices for those who buy goods with old banknotes."

This is what happens when old, worn-out banknotes are collected; the imperial court definitely has to take them back, and they also need to be destroyed.

Zhu Yunying did not want to see a large amount of new and old banknotes mixed together in circulation, or for some people to believe that old banknotes had no actual face value. Otherwise, it could very likely lead to inflation.

At this moment, Yu Xin immediately said, "Your Majesty, the court had already established a treasury to exchange old banknotes. The collection, destruction, and allocation of paper money were all supervised by the Ministry of Revenue, the Three Judicial Offices, and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."

Zhu Yunying was quite satisfied with Yu Xin's answer. The manufacture, recycling, and destruction of paper money all required strict control. Old banknotes could not be rendered unusable, and the paper money recycled and destroyed by the court had to be recorded.

Ultimately, Zhu Yunying did not want to see the paper money of the Ming Dynasty cause inflation.

Historically, paper money was relatively widely circulated during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor). However, after Zhu Di usurped the throne, his constant northern expeditions and spending sprees led him to print even more paper money. This caused the public to begin to distrust paper money, and the circulation and credibility of the Ming Dynasty's official paper money declined.

Zhu Yunying was relatively satisfied with these circumstances. Although he understood to some extent that these people were only reporting good news and not bad, and were only describing the most optimistic scenarios.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the acceptance of paper money is increasing and its circulation is becoming more convenient, which is naturally something that Zhu Yunying is happy to see.

At this moment, Yan Zhenzhi said, "Your Majesty, manufacture one-coin, five-coin, and ten-coin paper money. The court..."

“You must remember this well: the imperial court manufactures paper money not to make money,” Zhu Yunying interrupted immediately, speaking with utmost seriousness. “Even small denomination paper money must be manufactured so that the people can use it.”

Manufacturing small denomination banknotes is indeed a losing proposition. However, the imperial court cannot only consider the cost of manufacturing banknotes; it needs to see whether the banknotes can circulate and whether they bring any convenience to the people.

Moreover, to put it bluntly, paper money is issued and printed by the imperial court, which obviously means that the imperial court can print as much paper money as it wants if it has no bottom line.

However, this was definitely not an option, even though he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about economics. Zhu Yunying had always been vehemently opposed to the large-scale printing of paper money, and he certainly didn't want the Ming Dynasty's paper money to one day become worthless.

"How much silver and gold does the court possess? How much paper money has been printed?" Zhu Yunying emphasized again solemnly, "Do not be greedy. If I find out that anyone is interfering in this matter, I will punish them severely!"

To be fair, Zhu Yunying was rather conservative, as he hadn't studied economics before. Furthermore, regarding "national finance," his previous studies in management, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and other courses were only superficial.

There's no harm in being conservative, because Joo Yoon-young doesn't want to take too big a step at once and doesn't want to cause any trouble.