At first, Zhang Yifan thought he had made a mistake. So I flipped through it again and finally confirmed that I had read it correctly.
This Zheng Jingxue actually learned how to give interest? Zhang Yifan was thinking in his mind, so he took out a random card and handed it back to Zheng Jingxue: "Since you mentioned the money to bet, there is one more card, eleven." Zheng Jingxue didn't take it when he saw it, and said a little embarrassedly : "Consort, I originally wanted to exchange new banknotes for you, but I couldn't make it in time, so I had to give you these old banknotes!"
"???" Zhang Yifan was a little confused after hearing this. He felt that his answer was a bit wrong, so he said,
"It doesn't matter whether it's old or new, there's an extra one!" With enough money, you can go to the next restaurant and have a big meal.
This money is nothing to Zhang Yifan, but to Zheng Jingxue and his family, it is definitely a lot of money.
"No, Prince Consort..." After hearing this, Zheng Jingxue came back to his senses and said to Zhang Yifan,
"The imperial court has introduced a new method of reversing banknotes. If the banknotes are old banknotes, the court will charge some extra money. It is said to recover the cost of printing new Ming Dynasty banknotes. Therefore, these old banknotes are less valuable than new banknotes, so there will be more Give me one!" Zhang Yifan was a little dumbfounded when he heard this. This is the policy made by that fool, and he actually charges a production fee?
This Ming Dynasty currency note has no gold and silver reserves and is entirely issued based on the reputation of the court. In principle, there is no problem with this method of issuance, as long as the credibility of the court remains.
However, according to what Zheng Jingxue said, this method of reversing banknotes actually treats the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes differently. Doesn't that clearly tell the people of the Ming Dynasty that the old banknotes are not worth their face value and have devalued?
And all new banknotes will inevitably become old banknotes. In other words, this is tantamount to the Ming court digging a hole to destroy the credibility of Ming Dynasty banknotes.
This classmate Zhu Yuanzhang is so smart! Thinking in his mind, Zhang Yifan asked Zheng Jingxue: "I am not familiar with this Ming Dynasty treasure banknote. Can you tell me all the regulations about this Ming Dynasty treasure banknote?" The Ming Dynasty treasure banknote was printed and issued in the eighth year of Hongwu. of.
Now, only one year has passed. The experience of Zhang Yifan, the consort, has now become familiar to the people of the capital because of several major events, especially the smallpox plague.
Not to mention, Zheng Jingxue went to Liujiacun to teach him. Therefore, Zheng Jingxue knew that Zhang Yifan probably had never seen what the Ming Dynasty Baochao looked like before he met the princess.
So, after taking a look at his father, he told Zhang Yifan carefully, telling him everything he knew about the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes.
Even his father added something about salt. After listening, Zhang Yifan finally learned about the situation of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes.
To be honest, he believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was absolutely right to create paper money as the national currency, which is much easier to use than metal currency.
I don’t know how convenient it would be just to carry one item. If possible, he really didn't want the Ming Dynasty's banknotes to end up as waste paper like in history.
So, after seeing off Zheng Jingxue and his son, and making an agreement with Zheng Jingxue to be the social studies teacher of Liujiacun, he called Zhu Jingjing and went to his eldest brother's house for dinner.
It would be too troublesome to find Zhu Yuanzhang directly, and it would not be easy to see him. But finding Prince Zhu Biao was much easier.
As long as Zhu Biao is told, it will mean that Zhu Yuanzhang also knows. When Zhang Yifan and the others arrived, Zhu Biao was still dealing with government affairs, and the Crown Princess accompanied them to talk.
They were all acquaintances anyway, and Zhang Yifan even played with Zhu Xiongying for a while. I don’t know if this little guy can be an emperor in this life?
It was almost time for dinner when Zhu Biao came back. One look at his expression and he knew something was wrong. Seeing Zhang Yifan wandering around his home and playing with his son, Zhu Biao said angrily: "You are really idle. I can tell you that my father said that after your competition, I will give you some money." Arrangements for errands!”
"Ah?" When Zhang Yifan heard this, he immediately exclaimed,
"Brother, you have to tell me. I'm not free at all. I have a lot of things to be busy with." Zhu Biao took his son from his arms, sat down, and teased his son while answering. : "What are you busy with? The fourth child is not all worried about the competition. Let me tell you, it was because you solved the smallpox plague that my father saw you idle for a while. Otherwise, this time I sent you out because of the matter."
"What's going on?" Zhang Yifan sat next to him and asked curiously. As for Zhu Jingjing, she didn't come over. She was holding the Crown Princess's little daughter in her arms and whispering to the Crown Princess.
When Zhu Biao heard Zhang Yifan's question, he did not hide it from him, and immediately replied: "The floods in the Songjiang Prefecture area are serious. My father will send an imperial envoy to verify the local disaster situation and grant tax exemptions and exemptions as appropriate." The lower reaches of the Yangtze River were hit by floods in the summer and autumn. Even if it exists in later generations, Zhang Yifan is not surprised.
From what Zhu Biao said, Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously more inclined to send his own family to see the situation in something like this.
Regarding this point, Zhang Yifan's understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang was not unexpected. If the disaster is serious, the court must provide disaster relief and reduce taxes; if it is known that the situation is untrue and there is no disaster relief, it will cause local resentment. This is definitely what Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in poverty, is least willing to see.
But if the disaster was exaggerated locally, he would not tolerate it either. Therefore, he wanted to find someone he could trust to go and have a look.
Zhang Yifan estimated that he would definitely be tasked with such an errand in the future. Travel at public expense, imperial minister, Bao Qingtian?
It seems like fun, you can go! While he was thinking about it, he heard Zhu Biao say again: "Let me tell you Yifan, the money thing you mentioned is really nerve-wracking. It's all your fault that things are delayed today!" Disaster relief requires money. When it comes to money, Zhu Yuanzhang is cautious.
Of course he didn't want the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes to depreciate, so he discussed this matter. As a result, no one was satisfied with what they said, and everyone left the office late.
Zhang Yifan was still thinking about how to talk about this matter. Unexpectedly, Zhu Biao mentioned money himself, so he immediately took over the topic and said: "What's so difficult about this matter? Come and ask me!"
"I think so!" Zhu Biao nodded and said,
"You were the first to bring it up. Maybe you have a solution. It's just that my father thinks you are too young and have never served in the court. You have no experience in state affairs, so it is probably in vain to ask. I will wait for you more in the future. After you do something, my father will definitely ask you often!"
"..." Zhang Yifan was speechless. It seems that it is still a matter of age! With this thought in his mind, he said: "Actually, it just so happens that I encountered something related to this money." As he said that, he told Zhu Biao the news that Zheng Jingxue had heard.
"That's the case." Zhu Biao nodded and said,
"What's wrong? Is there any problem?" Obviously, this Xiao Zhu is not much smarter than Lao Zhu. So Zhang Yifan asked Zhu Biao: "To put it bluntly, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknote is just a piece of paper. If you print the face value on it, you can exchange it for other people's food, clothes, etc. Why?"
"According to the regulations of the imperial court!" Zhu Biao said without thinking after hearing this. His father had stipulated that all transactions must be done with Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, and gold and silver transactions were prohibited.
"Wrong!" After hearing this, Zhang Yifan denied without hesitation,
"People who use money believe that the face value printed on this paper is real, so they can use this paper to exchange for corresponding goods!" Zhu Biao couldn't help but frowned slightly after hearing this.
Zhang Yifan waited for a moment, and then continued: "In other words, the people actually use this piece of paper because they believe that this piece of paper is worth so much. That is to say, the court said that this piece of paper is worth so much. Are you right?" This sentence was easy to understand. After Zhu Biao heard it, he nodded in approval.
So, Zhang Yifan said again: "This is actually the court's reputation. Whatever the court says it is worth, then it is worth whatever it is." After hearing this, Zhu Biao nodded again.
The princess noticed that they were talking about business, so she asked Zhu Jingjing to go over and take Zhu Xiongying away.
Zhang Yifan continued: "If that's the case, why did the court come up with the bill-reversing method? Doesn't this tell the people that this paper is not worth so much money! Isn't this a slap in the face? "
"No, the Zhongshu Province will take back the old banknotes and print new ones, which will cost money!" Zhu Biao listened and explained quickly.
Zhang Yifan didn't answer, just looked at him. After Zhu Biao and him looked at each other for a while, he said a little embarrassedly: "There seems to be something wrong!" After being reminded like this, Zhu Biao would be really stupid if he still didn't recognize it.
After hearing this, Zhang Yifan said again: "Also, the imperial court stipulates that gold and silver can be exchanged for treasure banknotes, so why can't treasure banknotes be exchanged for gold and silver?"
"Because..." Zhu Biao started, knowing there was a trap inside. He simply changed his words and asked directly,
"Tell me, what's wrong?" Zhang Yifan listened and said patiently: "Since the imperial court stipulates that Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are money, that means money can buy any goods, right? If so, why does it stipulate that treasure banknotes cannot buy gold? Where's the silver? Is this a slap in the face to make the people not trust that Ming Dynasty treasure money is really money?" After hearing this, Zhu Biao began to think deeply again.
Zhang Yifan continued to accuse: "Also, when the court collects taxes, why does it only collect new banknotes and only allow a portion of the tax to be discounted? With all this, many people slap themselves in the face. On the one hand, they tell the people that this is money, and on the other hand, they are told that this is money. On the one hand, he said that this is not money. So is this money?" Zhu Biao still said nothing, still thinking hard.
An extremely ordinary, seemingly simple money that everyone likes has so many explanations! After a long time, Zhu Biao suddenly sighed, and then sighed: "None of the many ministers in the court can see clearly like you!" It could be heard that he was convinced of Zhang Yifan at least in this aspect.
