After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

In fact, most of the people below knew what he was saying to some extent, but those above turned a blind eye, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a stubborn temper, and when he really got angry, even Empress Ma couldn't help him. He felt that he was the landlord and these officials were just farmhands who herded his cattle and sheep. As long as they didn't starve, that was enough. As for honor and dignity...

What do you need this for? What do you want to do with it?

Even if these people embezzled one or two taels of silver, Old Zhu would still feel that they had taken a hundred taels from him.

Moreover, when Zhu was in charge of land management, he hated corrupt officials the most. If they were given such high salaries, wouldn't these people become increasingly insatiable?

Now, Quan Hanfang has bluntly pointed out that the salaries of Ming Dynasty officials were too low. Also, in Zhu Qinggu's live stream, people from later generations said that becoming an official in the Hongwu era was like starting in a sinking pit or hell... Was it really that bad?

Perhaps because of the numerous sharp attacks that came one after another, Old Zhu is now in a state of numbness and confusion. Even if the entire Han people say that so-and-so has rebelled, he doesn't care anymore.

"Dad, we need to change this rule," Zhu Biao said softly.

“Yes, don’t listen to your father,” Li Shimin chimed in. “He said before that he wanted to abdicate and pass the throne to a more capable person. Now it’s the era of the young. Biao’er, if you could help your uncle guide Gao Ming, that would be great.”

Such treasonous words are inappropriate given the positions of the two individuals.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shimin also had instances where they slightly complained about their own descendants. After all, who wasn't a 'founding emperor'?

(Li Shimin holds a knife to Li Jiancheng's neck: Who dares to say that I am not?)

So they could be considered to have had a very pleasant conversation. Otherwise, the Ming and Tang dynasties wouldn't have formed an alliance of interests so quickly and cooperated with each other. They were taking advantage of Zhu Qinggu's current lull in the market. If it were the Song dynasty or some other dynasty, the benefits would be much less.

Old Li and Old Zhu now address each other as brothers.

After experiencing other dynasties, Li Chengqian had become much more tactful than before, but compared to Zhu Biao, who commanded respect and obedience, he still lacked the skill to manage people and had not yet reached the required level.

Aside from those in the Crown Prince's palace, Li Chengqian had no peers. With the sudden appearance of Zhu Biao, the old Li hoped that Li Chengqian would learn from him.

"Your Majesty, Gao Ming is already exceptionally talented. All that remains is experience. Now that he is going to various dynasties to gain experience, it is Zhu Biao who needs to learn from his younger brother Gao Ming," Zhu Biao said humbly.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed slightly, glanced at Zhu Biao, then at Yongle Emperor Zhu Di standing beside him, and then at Quan Hanfang, who was still lecturing on the platform. He felt a sense of his own old age and weakness.

"...Actually, the problem of using paper money as officials' salaries is not that big. The big problem is that after paper money was demoted, the system was not adjusted, which led to the situation of disguised exploitation of officials."

Quan Hanfang began explaining the next point, and the content on the PowerPoint presentation quickly changed to "Monetization of Fiscal Revenue".

Zhu Yuanzhang and his companions gradually focused their attention on the contents of the document.

The more I listened, the more I felt that these problems were difficult to resolve. Now, looking at the content, I could roughly guess what Quan Hanfang would say.

As expected, what Quan Hanfang said was pretty much what they had anticipated, but...

In the early Ming Dynasty, taxes for many projects were collected in kind. Later, after the emergence of paper money, in order to facilitate its conversion and to facilitate the return of paper money, paper money taxation began to be adopted.

Some projects involved taxation in the form of paper money, and some taxes were even specifically set up to recover paper money on a larger scale, as mentioned earlier.

However, the corresponding system remained unchanged after the devaluation of the paper money.

For example, regarding the tax revenue in paper form, in principle, rice, flour, and other physical goods should have been collected again. However, it gradually changed to a system where copper coins and paper money were collected in parallel, and then silver and paper money gradually became the alternatives. Eventually, paper money also disappeared, and the collection of precious metal currencies such as gold, silver, and copper was replaced by the collection of precious metal currencies.

"Compared to paying in kind, tax monetization actually has certain positive aspects. Think about it, there are so many goods, and they are so big when they are transported here. How will they be stored? Will there be any damage? And when it is paid out, will the value of these goods change?"

"However, converting everything into currency would solve this problem much better, so it has some positive aspects in this regard, but! But!"

Quan Hanfang emphasized this point, exuding a powerful aura as he scanned the crowd.

The Ming Dynasty officials, who had initially breathed a sigh of relief after being praised, suddenly became anxious again.

I used to think it was all flaws, but wasn't it just one good point?

But after Quan Hanfang said "but," they knew that the real content was what came after "but."

That's usually how it is.

Ugh.

"However, the tax items originally added to recoup the banknotes have been expanded recklessly and levied blindly after the banknotes were no longer collected. This is simply a disturbance to the people!"

Quan Hanfang felt a pang of heartache just thinking about the personal income tax he had to pay after publishing his articles, let alone the various taxes in ancient times.

However, what followed made the Ming Dynasty officials lose face.

Quan Hanfang also mentioned the exploitation of the people by officials during tax collection, or the one-size-fits-all approach, or the passive treatment of the people while everyone else was happy.

Several examples were given for each situation, making the faces of those below even more unpleasant.

Many of the comments on the screen were from people who shared the same feelings.

So it's densely packed.

Everyone wants to live a good life and have enough to eat, but that's just how the world is, it doesn't allow it!

Besides these, there is also the economic turmoil caused by the people's suffering from paying taxes.

……

Quan Hanfang's lecture lasted two hours, providing an in-depth yet accessible explanation of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty's Treasure Notes, its impact on the Ming Dynasty's monetary system, and its role in promoting the monetization of silver.

Another positive aspect is further monetizing taxes, that is, changing tax payments in kind into monetary payments.

The decline in the value of paper money also caused turmoil in the private market economy, and the Ming government took the opportunity to increase taxation, which was a disguised form of plunder of private wealth.

The profound impact of the Ming Dynasty's paper money on the fiscal system led Quan Hanfang to say this:

"An examination of the Ming Dynasty's paper money can provide a reference for the formulation and adjustment of the current monetary and fiscal system."

Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”

Zhu Biao & other Ming Dynasty figures: "..."

Li Shimin & Tang Dynasty people: "...cough." Thank you, it also provided them with a reference.

Those under the canopy of the sky found the statement rather humorous; it was clearly the same term, yet it evoked a different meaning.

They probably meant to thank the Ming Dynasty for providing a negative example for many other dynasties.

As Ms. Zhu said before, with such a long history, what haven't we seen?

I've really seen everything.