Chapter 178 Alerting the Snake
Before, Zhu Chong gave Old Zhu a lot of headaches, but now it is different. Zhu Chong has almost become Old Zhu's most valued prince except for the crown prince, no doubt about it!
"Don't worry about the vassalage." Old Zhu said seriously: "When I feel that the treasure banknote issue is completely resolved, it will still be in time for you to become a vassal."
Zhu Chong was a little surprised by the old Zhu's tone, but he didn't care. He continued, "In that case, I dare to ask the emperor to agree to one thing for me."
"You say." As soon as Old Zhu heard Zhu Chong's tone, he knew that this kid had already made a plan.
"Your Majesty," Zhu Chong said seriously, "The Treasury Department is different now than before. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to rely solely on the Imperial Guards for protection."
"There are now nearly a hundred workshops within the Baochao Tizhusi, and nearly a thousand craftsmen. These are all the treasures of our Ming Dynasty. They must be strictly protected so that the Baochao Tizhusi can become a treasure trove in the hands of Your Majesty."
Hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu's face became solemn. It was indeed true. The Baochao Tizhusi was still protected by the Jinyiwei, and the manpower was indeed insufficient.
If the protection is not effective, the Baochao Tizhusi will be targeted, or if someone takes risks and causes any losses to the Baochao Tizhusi, it will be intolerable for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Just as Zhu Chong said, craftsmen are now also the wealth of the Ming Dynasty and must be strictly protected. The families of those craftsmen must also be protected. Only in this way can people feel at ease to work for him and truly turn the Baochao Tizhusi into his treasure trove!
"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. I'll give you a handwritten note, and you have the final say on how to deploy personnel!" Old Zhu was quite generous this time. He didn't even ask for details, but directly gave Zhu Chong a handwritten note, letting him do whatever he wanted.
After discussing the new banknotes, Zhu Chong decided to tell his father something unpleasant to upset him. "Father, I recently checked the banknotes printing records of the Banknote Administration and discovered a serious problem!"
"What did you find out?" As soon as Old Zhu heard this, he knew that Zhu Chong was going to make him unhappy.
"Your son has discovered that the amount of banknotes previously printed by the Baochao Tizhusi does not match the amount of banknotes currently circulating in the market at all!" Zhu Chong said shockingly.
"What did you say?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened suddenly. He was happy for a moment, and his good mood disappeared in an instant.
"I think that some people are still privately printing old banknotes, and the amount is not small!" Zhu Chong said solemnly to Old Zhu.
Old Zhu didn't say anything, but his face and eyes were filled with murderous intent.
It is true that Zhu Yuanzhang printed treasure notes because the court was really short of money. However, he also knew that treasure notes were only a temporary measure. In order to prevent people from printing them privately, he even printed four big words "Counterfeiters will be beheaded" on the front of the treasure notes!
But I didn't expect that no one would take my warning seriously. In the face of such a stern warning, there are still people who take risks.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, printing banknotes privately is like poaching his power and the power of the Ming Dynasty. Such people must be killed without mercy, no matter what their identity or background is. There is no room for negotiation, and they must be killed without mercy, and all nine generations of their clan must be exterminated!
Thinking of this, Old Zhu's face flashed with ferocity. He stared at Zhu Chong and asked, "Second Brother, what did you find out? Tell me directly, and I will definitely give you an explanation!"
Seeing that Lao Zhu had a murderous look on his face, Zhu Chong knew that Lao Zhu had misunderstood his intentions and hurried to explain.
"Father, I do not know who is so bold as to forge banknotes."
"Huh?" Old Zhu was surprised when he heard that. Don't you know what you are talking about? Are you trying to make things difficult for us on purpose?
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang looking at him unkindly, Zhu Chong hurriedly continued, "Father, the account books I've been looking through are from the eighth year of the Hongwu reign. In less than four years, the total amount of treasure notes issued by the Baochao Tizhusi has exceeded 30 million strings of cash."
When he heard this number, Old Zhu was slightly surprised. He didn't have much idea about how many treasure notes were issued, but he was still shocked to hear such a large number.
After all, the annual tax revenue of the national treasury was less than 10 million strings of cash, but he had issued treasure notes that exceeded the national treasury revenue in less than four years. This was indeed a bit like what Zhu Chong had said to him before, that is, competing with the people for wealth!
Old Zhu naturally felt embarrassed, but he also had his own difficulties. The court really had no money. It had to fight wars every year and provide relief to disaster victims in various places. The court treasury was in deficit. If it did not issue treasure notes, it really could not survive for a day.
But now Zhu Chong told Lao Zhu that someone was counterfeiting banknotes. Of course, Lao Zhu became murderous. Someone was trying to trick him, and whoever dared to do so must die!
Zhu Chong continued, "Father, our Great Ming now has over ten million people. The probability of using treasure notes in remote areas is not high. Only a few prosperous cities like Yingtian Prefecture circulate treasure notes."
"I've calculated that if only these large cities were to circulate the treasure notes, the amount of treasure notes circulating in the market would not be able to meet the transaction demand, let alone cause the treasure notes to depreciate."
"But precisely because of this, those who privately printed banknotes saw this and made money for themselves, so..."
Old Zhu panicked and interrupted Zhu Chong. "Second Brother, tell me straight up. According to your estimate, how many counterfeit banknotes are currently circulating in the market?"
Zhu Chong saw that Old Zhu was asking the main question directly, so he thought for a moment before answering, "Father, according to my own estimation, the counterfeit banknotes currently circulating in the market of our Ming Dynasty are no less than 20 million strings of cash!"
"What?" Old Zhu's eyes turned red. Twenty million strings of cash, not even that. That means it could be thirty million strings of cash, or even more. Wouldn't that be more than the real treasure notes issued by the Baochao Tizhusi?
The thought of so much money flowing into the pockets of criminals made Old Zhu feel like a knife in his heart. Suddenly, he reacted and stared at Zhu Chong and asked, "So you're telling me that now is not the best time to enter the market with the new treasure notes?"
Finally, he managed to get Old Zhu to say what he wanted to hear. Zhu Chong quickly nodded and said, "Father, the old banknotes are already affecting the Ming Dynasty. Now that we know someone is secretly printing them, it's not the right time to replace them with new banknotes!"
"Because no matter when the new banknotes enter the market, the old banknotes will still be in circulation, and those who forge the old banknotes will still be printing them. This will invisibly affect the credibility of the new banknotes and further damage your reputation, father."
"In my humble opinion, it would be best to issue a decree to stop producing old banknotes, publicize the amount of old banknotes, investigate those who illegally printed old banknotes, and then issue new banknotes."
"In this way, we can protect the interests of the people to the greatest extent and prevent them from being infringed. At the same time, we can also alert the enemy and make those who print counterfeit banknotes jump out and fall into the trap!"
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