In fact, Xia Yuanji's words are not alarmist at all, as the head of the household department who has managed the finances of the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years, Xia Yuanji understands very well that the Yongle Dynasty's extraordinary cultural and martial arts are based on overdrawing national strength -- to put it bluntly, it is to issue treasure money indiscriminately!

China is a country with a shortage of precious metals, and the issuance of paper money by the imperial court is not a new thing in history, since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was the earliest token - white deer skin coins. By the time of the Song and Yuan dynasties, paper money became an important part of the national monetary system. However, before this dynasty, the rulers of all dynasties attached great importance to the credit of paper money -- because this was to use the credit of the state as a guarantee to make the people accept paper money instead of gold, silver and copper money, once the paper money depreciated sharply, the wealth of the people was instantly wiped out, and their resentment was enough to overturn the river and the sea and overturn the whole country.

Therefore, the rulers of all dynasties did not know that the indiscriminate issuance of paper money could effortlessly seize the people's wealth and enrich the country's use, but they all knew very well that the bankruptcy of the credit of paper money was equivalent to the bankruptcy of the country's credit, and even led to the destruction of the country. Therefore, when there is no way out, you will never drink to quench your thirst...... Even the much-despised Meng Yuan did not abandon the reserve system until the country was full of wolves and the end of the regime was approaching, and began to issue paper money indiscriminately, trying to exhaust the people's wealth and carry out the final madness. But as a result, even the northern people, especially the Semu, who had been quite supportive of them, regarded them as enemies. made Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition unusually smooth......

After the Yuan Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, it is said that we should absorb the lessons of the previous dynasty and be more cautious about the issuance of paper money, but Zhu Yuanzhang, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, did not listen to the bitter advice of people of insight in the court, forbade the use of gold and silver trade among the people, and set the Ming treasure banknotes issued by the imperial court as the only currency in circulation. Moreover, there is no issuance limit, no issuance reserve, and no cash into gold and silver, which lays a hidden danger for the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty!

At the beginning of the issuance of the treasure banknote, because of the expulsion of the Tatars and the restoration of China, the prestige of the Hongwu Emperor and the credit of the Ming Dynasty were at the highest peak, so the value of the treasure banknote was quite stable, and the people still recognized this kind of banknote. However, another drawback of the banknote law of the Ming Dynasty - the banknote inversion method triggered the first inflation ten years after the issuance of the treasure banknote.

At first, because the currency issued before, there was a phenomenon of damage and decay, and in the ninth year of Hongwu, the imperial court set up a law to reverse banknotes, and set up banks in various places to collect and exchange faint banknotes. However, four years later, the boundaries for the exchange of rotten banknotes were stipulated, and any denomination and text could be recognizable. So that the people basically have no possibility of exchanging the old for the new.

Although the imperial court stipulated that the common people were not allowed to refuse to accept old banknotes and were not allowed to discount the old banknotes, in fact, the government only collected new banknotes for taxes, while the people reduced the price of old banknotes and even refused to use them, which formed a price difference between the old and new banknotes, caused currency depreciation, and damaged the credit of the imperial court.

By the end of the Hongwu period, the brand new treasure banknotes could only be exchanged for 400 yuan, and in Jiangxi, Fujian and other places, even only about 250 yuan, and in 20 years, the currency depreciated by sixty percent, so that the common people were afraid of the treasure banknotes like tigers. It's just that the Chinese people are more afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang, who is like a murderer, so they can only endure it silently...... But Zhu Yuanzhang on the whole, still cherishes the credit of the imperial court, and is also sympathetic to the people, and does not regard the treasure money as a means of plundering the people's wealth.

When he arrived in the Yongle Dynasty, the Yongle Emperor, who was determined to be an emperor through the ages and proved that he was the best heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty, began to shake the past and the present, conquering Mongolia, conquering Annan, repairing canals, repairing the Great Canon, going to the West, making the Western Regions, building Beijing City, and cultivating Zhenwu Daguan in Wudang Mountain...... These things are enough for an emperor to be glorious for a lifetime, but Zhu Di has achieved the ultimate in just over ten years, making the Ming Dynasty's cultural and martial arts unparalleled in the Han and Tang dynasties!

But behind these great achievements, is the rapid depletion of the Ming Dynasty's national strength and people's wealth, in fact, a few years of hard work, Zhu Di will spend the rich family wealth left by his father, there is not a single copper plate left in the treasury, and the big projects of the Yongle Dynasty are still vigorous and non-stop. This is certainly not some incredible miracle, but is supported by a shameless and terrible government -- that is, the indiscriminate issuance of treasure money!

The issuance of treasure banknotes by the Yongle Imperial Court implemented a hooligan policy of only going out but not entering, and the imperial court should pay such as issuing official salaries, purchasing materials, and employing people, all of which were paid with treasure money. However, when the imperial court collected taxes, it was only willing to accept physical goods or copper coins, and only collected a small amount of new money, or did not collect treasure money at all. This is simply a naked robbery of the wealth of the people! The result can be imagined - the wealth of the Ming people has been plundered, and the treasure money has become like waste paper!

From the last years of Hongwu to the consistent new banknotes can be worth 400 yuan, to now the consistent new banknotes can only be worth 20 or 30 yuan, the old banknotes are even more worthless, only more than ten years, the Ming treasure banknotes have depreciated 20 times, and the wealth represented by those treasure banknotes has naturally disappeared...... In fact, although the imperial court repeatedly ordered that gold and silver should not be traded in order to maintain the status of the treasure bank, the merchants preferred to risk imprisonment and took the risk of trading in gold and silver. Among the ordinary people, they would rather adopt primitive barter than use treasure money that is too hard to wipe their buttocks...... As for the enforcers and maintainers of laws and regulations, Ming officials have long recognized only gold and silver and not treasure money.

The day when Daming treasure banknotes are completely abandoned by the people is really not far away...... As the head of the Ming Dynasty, Xia Yuanji was naturally worried about this, in order to implement the treasure banknote, he ordered the treasure banknote lifting department to suspend the issuance of new banknotes, and on the other hand modified the banknote pouring method to increase the recovery of faint banknotes. At the same time, every effort was made to implement the 'household registration money salt method' and the 'door stall course method', so that the people could buy salt with treasure money and let merchants pay for door stalls with money. Forcing merchants and ordinary people to use banknotes barely prevented the precipitous decline in the value of the banknotes.

How do you know that the emperor is going to issue treasure money indiscriminately, Xia Yuanji knows that if it is overissued again this time, then the value of the Ming treasure banknote has just been restored, and it will be completely ruined. More importantly, the credit of the imperial court will be completely bankrupt, which will not only make the Ming treasure banknotes completely abandoned by the people, but also cause a series of strict consequences, which is unimaginable......

'Even if you risk your life, you have to stop the emperor!' Xia Yuanji has always been very obedient to the emperor, and he has basically responded to requests for many years, but Zhu Di really broke through his bottom line this time, so that Xia Shangshu, who has always regarded obedience as a loyal monarch, can no longer back down! .

Listening to the emperor's reprimand, Xia Yuanji was busy kneeling on his knees, but he still had the courage to say: "The emperor Mingjian, the minister is by no means alarmist, the evil result of many years of uncontrolled issuance of banknotes is that the Daming treasure banknotes have been almost worthless, and they have almost withdrawn from the daily transactions of officials and businessmen, and no one will regard them as wealth storage!" He ignored the emperor's darkening face, and then poured out the words that he had been holding back for many years: "The emperor is the king of Yao Shun, and he often teaches his ministers and others to cherish the people. For example, if people today are extremely angry about this matter, the top priority is to channel this situation, rather than continue to intensify the conflict. Your Majesty, please stop issuing new banknotes for ten years, and only allow old banknotes to be exchanged for new banknotes, then the value of Daming treasure banknotes will inevitably rebound! ”

It should be said that Xia Yuanji's performance was all heartfelt words, and the ministers nodded secretly, but Zhu Di was very unhappy. First, Xia Yuanji said that he robbed the people, which made Zhu Di, who regarded himself as a Ming Jun, embarrassed. Second, Xia Yuanji actually asked him not to issue banknotes for ten years, wouldn't that mean that he would tighten the monetary base for ten years? I'm already in my fifties, how can I have so much time to wait?

This is Xia Yuanji, if he had changed to another minister, Zhu Di would have had a seizure a long time ago. But Xia Yuanji is irreplaceable, Daming's finances have seven covers of ten cups, and he can't play without him at all. Zhu Di could only swallow his anger and said: "The Qing family said that the treasure money is not worth a penny, is it an exaggeration?" ”

"The minister is indeed exaggerating." Xia Yuanji said: "In Beijing, the new banknotes have always been worth 18 yuan, in Beijing, because the people who receive the imperial court salary are millions, the discount of the treasure banknotes is even more severe, and the average new treasure banknotes can be worth 11 copper coins. If it's an old banknote, it's only worth two or three, one or two, or even can't spend it at all......"

"That's still worthless!" Zhu Di's face couldn't hold back, his obsessive-compulsive disorder because he wanted to prove that he was a perfect emperor too much, he had another attack. He swept his gaze over the ministers and asked aloud, "Is that really the case?" ”

All the ministers lowered their heads one after another, and no one dared to take this stubble, but their expression had undoubtedly shown that what Xia Yuanji said was true......

"How can this be?" Zhu Di sat down on the dragon chair dejectedly and muttered a few words to himself. All the ministers in the Golden Palace held their breath, and they didn't dare to breathe, for fear that they would become the emperor's punching bag.

Fortunately, after only a few breaths, Zhu Di adjusted his mood, regained his composure again, and asked coldly: "Who gave them such a bold son and despised my Daming treasure money so much?" ”

"Back to the emperor, there are many reasons." Xia Yuanji explained responsibly: "But in general, because the treasure banknote has almost depreciated fifty times in the past forty years, no one will use the treasure banknote again." ”

"What do you use without treasure money?" Zhu Di said in a sullen voice.

"Small people barter, merchants trade gold and silver......" Xia Yuanji said.

"Gold and silver?" Zhu Di glared and said: "I am the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty and do not allow gold and silver to circulate in the market, but those treacherous merchants ignore the law of the country and continue to circulate gold and silver!" This is the reason for the depreciation of Daming treasure banknotes! Saying that, he glared at Xia Yuanji fiercely and said, "You put the cart before the horse, and your heart can be punished!" ”

"The minister didn't dare to ......" Although he had already made up his mind to tell the truth to the emperor if he offended Tianyan, Xia Yuanji was still scared into a cold sweat when he heard Zhu Di's comment.