Chapter Forty-One: Great Ming Treasure Notes

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Serving as an official during the Hongwu reign? You must be joking.

Setting aside the fact that he couldn't go to the Hongwu era even if he wanted to, he wouldn't want to be an official there anyway.

First of all, look at the Four Great Cases of the early Ming—how many officials died? Oh, wait, now there are only three left; Hu Weiyong was already gone by the thirteenth year of Hongwu. If Zhu Biao were alive, the Blue Jade Case would never have happened, leaving only two major cases.

Secondly, the salary in the Hongwu era was pitifully low. A standard seventh-rank county magistrate, the master of an entire county, received an annual stipend of only ninety piculs of grain—roughly ten thousand pounds. It sounds like a lot, but that amount had to cover the salaries of the entire county office staff. Once everyone was paid, there was practically nothing left in his own pockets.

Low pay might be tolerable if one could slack off, but that was exactly what Zhang Bo found most unbearable.

Unlike the Han Dynasty, which had one day of rest every four days plus holidays, totaling seventy or eighty days off a year; or the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with one day off every nine days plus holidays, totaling over a hundred days; and the Song Dynasty, which was even better with over one hundred and twenty days off—the Hongwu era offered only three days of vacation: the Lunar New Year, the Winter Solstice, and Old Zhu’s birthday. Don't even dream of weekends.

On top of that, the daily working hours were seven to seven. Compared to that, a 996 schedule seems like a breeze.

So, being an official in the Hongwu era is a job not even a dog would want.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, although I would love to go to the Hongwu era to serve as an official, I am helpless because I cannot travel to the Great Ming. I tried to go to the Western or Eastern Han dynasties before, but it always ended in failure."

"Oh? There is such a restriction?"

Zhu Biao, having not expected this, pondered for a moment before his gaze fell upon the copy of the *Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu Gao* resting on the stone table.

"Shopkeeper, would you be willing to sell this book?"

Zhang Bo did not hesitate and nodded immediately.

"It's for sale!"

Only a fool would turn down money.

Hearing that Zhang Bo was willing to sell, Zhu Biao pulled a stack of paper currency from his sleeve and slapped it onto the table.

Upon seeing the thick stack of Great Ming Treasure Notes, Zhang Bo’s expression shifted, transforming from anticipation to a grimace.

Why is it Great Ming Treasure Notes again?

Zhu Biao noticed the change in Zhang Bo’s expression.

"Shopkeeper, why do you look like that? Is the price insufficient?"

Zhang Bo sighed softly and replied, "It is not that it is insufficient, Your Highness, but that the Great Ming Treasure Notes you have are simply worthless to us."

If these were authentic notes passed down from the Ming Dynasty, they would certainly be valuable—worth at least five figures. But these were freshly printed notes without the passage of time; Zhang Bo could even see the light reflecting off the still-wet ink.

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The Great Ming Treasure Notes are actually worthless?

Zhu Biao looked at the notes on the stone table and suddenly asked, "Shopkeeper, is it because the Great Ming has fallen that these notes are worthless?"

Just as the treasure notes of the Yuan Dynasty were worthless in the Ming, Zhu Biao immediately thought of this possibility.

"Er..."

To be honest, the notes were already worthless before the Ming Dynasty even fell.

"Your Highness, on one hand, in our time, whether historical currency holds value doesn't strictly depend on whether the dynasty it came from fell; the key is its historical value. However, the notes in your hand have ink so fresh it looks like it was printed just a short while ago. Clearly, there is no historical value here."

"On the other hand, the truth is that the Great Ming Treasure Notes didn't become worthless only after the Ming fell; they were already worthless long before."

When Zhu Biao visited last time, he had used these notes to pay, so Zhang Bo had specifically looked up some information about them on his phone.

I must say, Old Zhu was truly outrageous.

"Shopkeeper, are you saying that the Great Ming Treasure Notes were already worthless before the Ming fell?"

Zhu Biao was shocked. He couldn't help but think of the fate of the *Qianyin* in the Song Dynasty and the treasure notes of the Yuan.

"Shopkeeper, could it be that the devaluation was caused by the over-issuance of the notes?"

"Yes, Your Highness, but that is only one reason."

Only one reason?

It seemed there were several?

Zhu Biao immediately sat up straight, his eyes fixed on Zhang Bo.

"Shopkeeper, pray tell, what are the other reasons?"

"In fact, a major reason for the devaluation of the Great Ming Treasure Notes was the prohibition of exchange policy established by His Majesty."

When Zhang Bo first saw this policy on his phone, he had only one thought: absolutely absurd.

Allowing people to exchange silver and copper coins for treasure notes, but forbidding them from exchanging treasure notes back into silver or copper coins?

Isn't that just pure exploitation of the people?

"Free exchange? Is it like the *Jiaozi* of the Northern Song?"

"Exactly, Your Highness. If treasure notes could be freely exchanged for copper coins, they would undoubtedly be pegged to the value of copper and silver. If the issuance were controlled, the notes would never have devalued so sharply. The common people are not fools; if they could exchange their notes for coins or silver at any time, why wouldn't they use the more convenient paper notes?"

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Although Zhang Bo’s words made perfect sense, Zhu Biao had a different perspective.

His Imperial Father had experienced the frequent changes to the monetary system and the rampant issuance of paper money during the late Yuan Dynasty, so he was well aware of the flaws of over-issuance. That was why the Ming initially used copper coins.

However, because of the wars at the end of the Yuan, copper for casting was scarce. The production volume remained low, and they even had to requisition scrap metal and old bronze ware to mint coins, while private minting by the commoners became rampant.

Therefore, even though his father understood the dangers, he decided to issue treasure notes as a way to alleviate fiscal pressure.

If the notes could be freely exchanged for copper, what would be the point of issuing them in the first place?

Zhu Biao shared this thought with Zhang Bo.

"Your Highness, this can actually be traced back to the example of the Northern Song *Jiaozi*."

One must admit, although the Song Dynasty was militarily weak, its economy was highly developed; otherwise, they could not have afforded to pay tribute to all the surrounding nations.

"This brings us to the second reason. When the Northern Song issued *Jiaozi*, they established a system called 'reserves.' These reserves were equal to about thirty percent of the total currency issued. In other words, to issue one million strings of copper-backed notes, they only needed to hold three hundred thousand strings in reserve. This was essentially a way to increase revenue indirectly."

"At first, the people might have been skeptical and frequently exchanged them for copper, but over time, they would realize the convenience of the notes and naturally use them. This is how the credibility of the imperial court is established."

As the Emperor, Old Zhu had no concept of reserves; he simply tried to get something for nothing, acted on a whim, and turned on the printing presses like a nuclear reactor.

The result was that the value of the notes plummeted—from one string being worth one string in the eighth year of Hongwu, to only one hundred wen by the end of the reign, and by the Chenghua era, they were lying in the streets and no one would even bother to pick them up.

Zhu Biao’s eyes lit up; it was clear he was deeply moved by Zhang Bo’s words.

"As for the third reason for the devaluation of the Great Ming Treasure Notes, it is the lack of a redemption period."

"A redemption period? Does the shopkeeper mean the 'note-replacement' system?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhu Biao was momentarily speechless.

In fact, at the beginning of the issuance, the court did have a 'note-replacement' law that allowed damaged notes to be exchanged for new ones.

But in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, a series of regulations made the definition of 'old notes' extremely strict.

"Your Highness, as you know, as long as the amount and text on the note are legible, it does not qualify for replacement, so it must continue to be used. As the court prints more and more money, the consequence is that there are more and more old notes in circulation among the people. Yet, when the court collects taxes, it demands new notes. Naturally, the value of the old notes will plummet."

"If you were to imitate the Song Dynasty and set a circulation time for each batch of notes—requiring them to be exchanged for the next batch once the time expires—you could keep the quality and quantity of the notes in circulation within a reasonable range. This way, the value of the notes would not fluctuate so wildly."

So that was it!

Zhu Biao felt as though he had been struck by a sudden realization, nodding repeatedly.

Now that he understood the problems facing the treasure notes, he only needed to convince his father to make the changes.