Chapter 69: The Prince of Han is truly benevolent and righteous!

Chapter 69: The Benevolence and Righteousness of the Prince of Han!

The last time he had shared a meal with Zhu Di seemed like a lifetime ago.

Today, the assembled ministers were in high spirits. Father and son were reconciled, ruler and subjects were in harmony, and an atmosphere of spring breeze and nourishing rain filled the Great Ming court. With a gentle southern breeze blowing, it was destined to be another prosperous year.

"As We ascend the throne and proclaim a new era, the realm looks forward to good governance. Before this year is out, We must achieve great accomplishments to comfort the spirits of Our imperial ancestors in heaven. All you ministers must be of one heart and mind with Us."

After saying this, Zhu Di looked once more at Zhu Gaoxu and smiled. "How much capital does my son intend to release, and what is your strategy?"

"None!"

The Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, replied very bluntly. "Imperial Father, this son dares not make casual promises. After all, doing business is not something that can be achieved by a mere decree. We need people who are willing to borrow, and they must also have the ability to repay; otherwise, the money lent out will simply vanish like a stone in the sea. This son still intends to make a profit."

Hearing this, Zhu Di hesitated slightly. As an emperor whose only concern was money, asking him to meticulously calculate was truly putting him in a difficult position.

Yet, eager for quick results, he could only say, "Very well. Let your cousin Xu Jingchang, along with Minister Xia of the Ministry of Revenue and Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Punishments, discuss this matter together. Ensure it is handled thoroughly and swiftly, and do not fail My expectations."

The few named individuals had no choice but to receive the order together. After the imperial banquet concluded, as everyone walked out, Xu Jingchang stepped up to Xia Yuanji and whispered opportunistically, "How much overissued paper currency do you have?"

Xia Yuanji widened his eyes and retorted, "How can you fabricate such accusations out of thin air and smear my innocence?"

Xu Jingchang chuckled softly. "Innocence? Just the other day, I saw someone using paper currency to patch their windows, saying it was cheaper than actual window paper."

"You're talking nonsense!" Xia Yuanji's face flushed, and he argued defensively, "How could it be cheaper than window paper? It's impossible, absolutely impossible."

Xu Jingchang smiled faintly, "Minister Xia, even if it's more expensive than window paper, we shouldn't lose face like this!"

Xia Yuanji's old face darkened, realizing he had been played by this scoundrel. Helplessly, he said, "Director Xu, last time we agreed to be comrades, but you reaped the benefits and left me in dire straits. If you play tricks again this time and are not of one mind with me, don't blame me for dragging you down with me in a mutual destruction!"

This threat sounded somewhat cowardly and timid, amounting to little more than impotent rage.

"Alright, alright," Xu Jingchang waved a hand. "Rest assured, this time I care even more about this than you do! After all, I still bear the responsibility for tax collection. Whether we can enrich the imperial treasury and satisfy His Majesty depends entirely on this."

Xia Yuanji pondered for a moment. He understood that although Xu Jingchang had lingered in the heavenly prison not long ago, forcing the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to make a commitment, the actual task of tax collection still fell upon the Directorate of Protocol. If the end of the year arrived and he could not deliver, Xu Jingchang would be in deep trouble.

"Things have come to this; none of us has a way out, and we can only fight to the death. Tomorrow, everyone will gather at the Ministry of Revenue to discuss the matter together."

Xu Jingchang nodded. The next day, the four of them gathered early at the Ministry of Revenue.

The Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zheng赐, the Minister of Punishments, were both relatively relaxed. Zhu Gaoxu spoke first, "I operate according to the rules of business: lend out as much as is appropriate, collect back as much as is due, pay the interest tax, and the rest is mine. I suppose the imperial court will not extort me, nor will you rob the rich to give to the poor, right?"

Xu Jingchang smiled faintly. "Indeed, Your Highness the Prince of Han. It seems your burden is the lightest, but let me remind you: what if the paper currency depreciates threefold within a month, dropping from one hundred cash down to twenty or thirty? What will you do then? Do you still have a way to make a profit?"

"What?" Zhu Gaoxu's expression changed drastically, and he completely panicked. He knew that the paper currency depreciated when he exchanged it from the court and lent it out to the common people, but he had ways to absorb a ten or twenty percent depreciation and still secure a sufficient profit.

However, once the paper currency suddenly plummeted in value several times over, even with supernatural abilities, he would never be able to fill the financial void.

"If the court does this, it will undoubtedly lose the hearts of the people and create endless future troubles!"

Even Zhu Gaoxu knew how to play the card of public sentiment, which showed just how terrifying the situation was.

Xu Jingchang did not continue talking to him, instead casting a glance at Zheng Ci.

"Minister Zheng, I know you have the courage to fight to the death, and that is good. But let me remind you: similarly, if the paper currency collapses, the common people will inevitably reject it and continue borrowing from the gentry and powerful clans. If you then forcefully suppress the gentry and powerful clans and start executing people left and right, you will truly arouse public anger, and by then, you will be utterly doomed with zero chance of survival."

Zheng Ci was equally terrified by this. He had indeed been planning to take a desperate gamble. If the gentry would not spare him, he would lean toward the Prince of Han's faction, at least becoming part of the second-in-command clique as a loyal lone minister, which might give him a glimmer of hope.

Yet, upon hearing Xu Jingchang's words, he felt that the trap on this side was even deeper!

He had boarded a ship that looked luxurious, but didn't even have a hull!

"Director Xu, Minister Xia, stop speaking in riddles and tell us straight: what on earth is going on with the paper currency, and how big is the deficit?" Zheng Ci had heard many rumors at court and stared fixedly at Xia Yuanji. "I heard you printed half as much paper currency again on top of the original amount. Is that true?"

Xia Yuanji rolled his eyes and replied flatly, "Who do you think you're looking down on? A mere half? This official would disdain to do such a thing!"

Zheng Ci froze for a moment before suddenly understanding. "Good grief, how many times over did you print? Do you want to get us all killed?!" Gesturing wildly, he lunged at Xia Yuanji, looking as though he wanted to choke the man to death!

Xia Yuanji scoffed, "If I didn't do that, where would the stipends for all those vassal princes and your own allowances come from? I won't hide it from you anymore: ever since the beginning of the year, I've been secretly using newly printed currency to recall the old currency. But before long, today's new currency will still become old currency, and with the volume of issuance growing ever larger, the common people will figure it out sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ci let out a miserable cry and looked ready to faint on the spot.

Having engaged in the lending business, Zhu Gaoxu also understood the logic behind this. From the very beginning, the Great Ming paper currency had suffered from overissuance. By the Jianwen era, a single note with a face value of one thousand cash could only be exchanged for one hundred and fifty cash in copper coins—and that was the official rate; on the open market, it was even worse.

By the time Zhu Di ascended the throne, the paper currency depreciated further. A string of paper currency could only buy fifty or sixty cash, and due to wear and tear, depreciation accelerated even more, rendering old paper currency worth perhaps only ten or twenty cash.

Zhu Gaoxu's little trick for making money lay in his ability to exchange for the newest paper currency from the Ministry of Revenue; when lending it out, he simply mixed the old and new currency together to reap exorbitant profits.

As for Xia Yuanji, he too had noticed that there was simply too much paper currency on the market, carrying a grave risk of collapse, leaving him no choice but to use a small amount of new currency to withdraw the old.

The problem was that this trick could not be played for long, and it also carried the risk of collapse. When that day came, the fiscal and tax system would inevitably suffer a devastating blow, and the consequences were something Xia Yuanji dared not yet imagine.

After all, the Great Yuan dynasty had fallen precisely because of tampering with its currency and managing river works.

Xia Yuanji did not know what would happen to the Great Ming dynasty, but his own life was likely coming to an end.

After the four of them gathered and communicated with one another, Zheng Ci threw his hands up in resignation. "If I petition His Majesty for death by a thousand cuts right now, can I at least save my nine familial generations?"

Zhu Gaoxu cast a gloomy look at Xu Jingchang and smiled bitterly, "Cousin, you really ended up helping the Eldest Brother after all!"

Xu Jingchang snorted. "If you don't want us to burn together and all perish, you'd better behave yourself."

Zhu Gaoxu rolled his eyes, his belly full of dissatisfaction, but ultimately forced it down and obediently shut his mouth.

Zheng Ci, however, said, "Director Xu, things have reached this point. Tell us quickly what must be done. If there is no proper solution, not only the scholars of the realm, but even the common people will not thank us."

Xu Jingchang took a deep breath. "At this stage, there is only one way: the Ministry of Revenue must uphold the value of the paper currency. Of course, when our Directorate of Protocol collects commercial taxes, we cannot refuse paper currency either. We must keep the currency circulating, and circulate it at a stable value."

Xia Yuanji scoffed, "Do you think I haven't thought of that? The court's expenditures are so vast, and His Majesty is pressing so hard; overissuing paper currency is a helpless necessity. When a pile of worthless paper gets collected back in, what do you expect me to do?"

"That's why we need the Prince of Han to help!" Xu Jingchang suddenly said sharply. "With the help of the Prince of Han's reputation, we will lend the paper currency to the peasants in the countryside... In the past, these people paid taxes in grain and borrowed from gentry and wealthy clans when they needed money. In many places, paper currency is not recognized, and they still use gold, silver, copper coins, or even grain, which is far beyond the reach of the court to control. If we can seize control of the countryside and win the support of the peasantry, who make up ninety percent of the population, using the countryside as a reservoir, it will absorb multiples of paper currency. By then, transactions between urban and rural areas can also use paper currency, increasing the volume by tenfold and more. Minister Xia, will you still be afraid of the paper currency turning into waste paper then?"

Xia Yuanji froze. As a financial expert, how could he not understand this? It was simply that extending the imperial court's reach into the rural villages was exceptionally difficult.

"Director Xu, do you have sufficient confidence?"

"No more than thirty percent," Xu Jingchang answered honestly. "I plan to pilot it in Yingtian first, and then push it to Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang. Even if only the Jiangnan region accepts the paper currency, we can consider ourselves victorious. Relying solely on imperial decrees won't work for this matter; it must be spearheaded by the Prince of Han, backed by the Ministry of Revenue, and escorted by the Ministry of Punishments. Only then can we forge ahead without hindrance."

Xia Yuanji nodded subconsciously, but immediately pressed further, "We all have our tasks, but what about you? You don't intend to slip away, do you?"

Xu Jingchang said angrily, "If I wanted to slip away, where could I go? You'll all be busy, doesn't someone need to coordinate from the center? Can the official gazette not beat the drums and wave flags? Rest assured, we are all grasshoppers tied to the same rope; I cannot run away."

The four of them finally reached a consensus. Realizing the urgency of the situation and daring not delay... the Prince of Han's faction was the first to act, releasing a new round of announcements: loans would continue as before, interest rates would remain unchanged, still at fifteen percent!

Upon hearing the news, everyone could not help but exclaim: The Prince of Han is truly benevolent and righteous!