Chapter 48: Let Uncle Fang Handle It

Monetary policy.
Lu Xuan's heart sank.
Uncle Ji's words had truly hit the nail on the head. The monetary policy in the early Ming Dynasty was an absolute mess.
Take, for instance, the Great Ming Treasure Notes (Daming Baochao) issued by Zhu Yuanzhang. Their initial purpose stemmed from the social unrest at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Paper currencies issued back then, such as the Zhongtong Notes and Zhuzheng Notes, had already lost credibility among the populace and suffered from severe depreciation, forcing society to regress to a barter economy.
Under these circumstances, upon the founding of the Great Ming Dynasty, it was only natural to issue a new currency. However, due to limited copper resources in the early Ming period, the materials available for minting coins were insufficient to meet the demands of monetary development. It must be noted that the population of the Ming Dynasty at this time was already approaching the staggering figure of one hundred million.
Various later analyses have proven that the population in the early Ming Dynasty was close to one hundred million, yet historical records put it at only thirty to forty million. This discrepancy occurred because the Ming Dynasty's arithmetic system was chaotic, and mathematical scholars were suppressed and withered away under Confucian dominance. In reality, the population was near one hundred million. One can easily imagine that with such a massive population, the limited copper resources could not possibly mint enough currency for normal circulation.
Thus, the Great Ming Treasure Notes came into being.
Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention was good: the paper notes could bypass the shortage of minting materials, provide an abundant medium for civilian and official-merchant transactions, and promote economic recovery. Moreover, in this era of reviving from the ruins, issuing a unified currency would facilitate the rapid construction of palaces and infrastructure, as well as the payment of official salaries and military stipends.
The crucial flaw, however, was that this decision was made entirely on a whim by Zhu Yuanzhang without consulting professional financial officials for careful deliberation. The hasty implementation severely damaged the currency's credibility and accelerated its depreciation.
To put it simply:
Among the common people, the Great Ming Treasure Notes depreciated slightly every month.
When first issued in the early eighth year of the Hongwu era, the Great Ming Treasure Notes came in six denominations: one hundred wen, two hundred wen, three hundred wen, four hundred wen, five hundred wen, and one guan.
For example, taking a one-hundred-wen Great Ming Treasure Note, this month it could be exchanged for one hundred wen in copper coins.
Next month, it might only be worth ninety wen.
The month after that, it would be worth eighty wen.
This rate of depreciation would continue to plunge to rock bottom until the common people finally dumped all their paper notes and reverted to the ancient practice of barter.
From the perspective of later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang lacked economic literacy, resulting in currency depreciation, collapse, and loss of credibility. Indeed, the blame for this truly rests on Zhu Yuanzhang. Even if he did not understand these principles, could he not have sought out officials skilled in this domain, deliberated carefully, and finalized the plan before issuing the Great Ming Treasure Notes?
Sometimes, Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed entirely arbitrary.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Xuan said, "This matter is not so easily resolved. Monetary issues require specialized personnel to handle them, and as someone from later generations, I only understand history; I truly lack the corresponding capability for monetary policy."

"However, once we reach the capital, if Your Majesty can command all officials across the realm skilled in the 'study of economics' to deliberate on this matter together with me, perhaps with the vision and insights of a later generation, I can handle the current monetary system more appropriately."
Lu Xuan's response left Liu Bang feeling rather unreconciled, for such a thing was simply impossible for him to accomplish.
He could only grant Lu Xuan this final month of survival.
Furthermore, Liu Bang had never intended to spare Lu Xuan's life in the end. From the moment Lu Xuan arrived in the Han Dynasty, after discussions with the Marquis of Liu and others, his fate had already been sealed, granting him only three months to live.
In other words, even if they failed to extract all the desired information within these three months, Lu Xuan would still die when the time was up.
After a brief thought, Liu Bang said, "There is still a month before we reach the capital. Why doesn't Lu Jun offer some suggestions and thoughts for now?"
"Then we can have someone transmit them swiftly to His Majesty by fast horse."
"If His Majesty deems these ideas useful, he will naturally summon the realm's officials skilled in monetary arts to gather in the capital in advance."
"That way, when Lu Jun arrives in the capital, you can immediately set about resolving this matter. The disorder of the monetary system ultimately brings suffering to the people of the world."
Liu Bang phrasing was remarkably clever.
First, he appealed to Lu Xuan with a sense of greater righteousness; if Lu Xuan possessed even a shred of justice and responsibility in his heart, he would agree.
Second, he used temptation: from Lu Xuan's perspective, doing this would indeed solve the monetary problem as quickly as possible, thereby earning him greater regard from 'His Majesty'.
At the same time, Liu Bang worried that Lu Xuan might not take the matter seriously, yet he could not bluntly say, "You better write this properly and earnestly, no messing around," for fear of arousing Lu Xuan's suspicion. Therefore, he framed the proposal as being submitted to the Emperor to resolve the monetary chaos and prompt a gathering of numerous officials in the capital, letting Lu Xuan understand the gravity of the matter so that he would take it seriously and resolve it.
Naturally, Lu Xuan was persuaded by Liu Bang.
Indeed.
With a month's time, being idle is still being idle, and the early Ming Dynasty had so many problems that by the time he reached the Ming era, he might not be able to tackle them all quickly one by one. Solving even one issue in advance was worthwhile.
It would also leave a favorable impression on Zhu Yuanzhang.
Why not do it?
Zhu Yuanzhang loved down-to-earth and capable officials; if he knew that Lu Xuan was worrying about the country even while traveling on the road, how could he not be pleased?

After meditating for a long time, Lu Xuan finally spoke: "I have thought it over carefully and can propose useful suggestions regarding the current monetary policy."
"However, I think it would be best to have Uncle Fang come and record them in detail."
Lu Xuan indeed had useful suggestions to offer, especially regarding the chaotic monetary policy of the early Ming. Not only was he a history major, but he also passionately loved history and had researched many of these problems.
Yet, the monetary issues of the early Ming were difficult to untangle, and he had originally intended to wait until reaching the capital to take his time.
However, Uncle Fang's remarks had changed his mind; making some preliminary preparations was not out of the question.
"Very well, I will have Lao Fang come over." Liu Bang's gaze flickered slightly. Better summon Xiao He as well; after all, Xiao He was the current Prime Minister of the Han, and it was Xiao He who handled all matters of internal administration.
Having Xiao He listen in would also be for the best.
As for the matter of eventually killing the two of them in the future, Liu Bang had a knot in his heart. He felt that no matter how he explained it, it wouldn't make sense, so he simply wouldn't explain. Let the two think whatever they wished; wasn't it enough that he ultimately guaranteed he wouldn't kill them?
Time would prove everything.
Even if the two held grievances against him in their hearts now, when they grew old and approached their final days without ever seeing him wield the butcher's knife, would they perhaps feel a sense of guilt?
Liu Bang leaned forward and waved his hand to signal the convoy to a halt.
Originally, he wanted to summon someone to invite Zhang Liang and Xiao He over, but after a second thought, to avoid any accidents and to prevent Lu Xuan from knowing who was around, he decided to walk over himself to the adjacent jade chariot.
As he drew near, he faintly heard voices of conversation from within, seemingly engaged in an argument.
"I believe this monetary policy is not difficult to resolve. Once we eliminate the vassal kings of different surnames, and thoroughly sweep away all those across the realm who dare to mint coins privately, the currency problem will naturally be solved."
"No, we still need to ask Lu Xuan."
"Hmph, His Majesty clearly does not wish to inquire about these state policies, so why should we commit this taboo? While inquiring about state policies is correct, we are His Majesty's subjects and should naturally give our full support to His Majesty's ideas. Since His Majesty wishes to ask about other things, as subjects we ought to resolve these matters ourselves."