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

"The military farms were seized, the military households fled, and the central government was occupied by the powerful and wealthy. The civilian transport was exhausting and costly. As a result, the ever-widening gap could only be filled by transporting goods from the capital. However, everyone knows that transporting goods there is both pressure and loss, so it was also converted into something lighter and more convenient."

"It could be paper money, silver, or cloth..."

As Zhu Zhanji spoke, his gaze lingered in reminiscence, as if recalling the difficulties of that time.

"Actually, I had considered replacing more with paper money, but the border town was different." He was now describing the situation from the perspective of a ruler, and the people under the sky were very quiet.

Everyone sees a problem from the perspective of their own social class.

Too many emperors were unaware of the hardships faced by the people, and the people did not perceive any hardship for the emperors.

"The most important thing for the border towns is stability!" Zhu Zhanji emphasized here, "Because the border towns need to maintain the morale of the troops! Therefore, the provisions and pay must be in real gold and silver, and stability is essential. The paper money is depreciating too quickly, and I dare not issue paper money to the border towns."

People under the heavens don't know what to say. Even you, the emperor, know that paper money is no good!

The emperor himself lacked confidence in the paper money, so he bore a great deal of responsibility for its subsequent collapse.

"Therefore, I had no choice but to use silver, and gradually it changed from capital transport to capital transport silver," Zhu Zhanji said.

Those below, especially those from the early Ming Dynasty, understood why some people referred to it as "capital transport" and others as "capital transport silver."

He sighed again, "As for the clerk's compensation..."

Seeing that he didn't want to talk anymore, Huang Yu asked him to sit down and then turned to Huang Fu to answer the question.

Huang Fu was the Minister of Revenue during the Xuande era. He was very upright. In fact, Zhu Zhanji did not like Huang Fu very much, but he had to admit that Huang Fu was quite accomplished and talented.

Huang Fu was upright and fearless, knowing that mentioning the bribes from the corrupt officials would offend many, but he was not afraid at all.

He then cupped his hands in greeting and said, "The bailiffs were originally servants dispatched by the government to drive officials, but they secretly made an agreement with the officials that as long as the bailiffs gave the officials a certain amount of money, they could be exempted from their duties."

Huang Fu's words sent a chill down the spines of many officials under the canopy. They wiped the sweat from their brows, yet dared not disobey.

"Therefore, the clerks and runners, who were originally controlled by the court, eventually became a means for officials to embezzle and seize profits. During the Xuande period alone, more than five million taels of silver flowed into the pockets of officials every year. The reason why they chose silver instead of paper money was because paper money had depreciated."

Some people under the canopy stared hatefully at Huang Fu, who was answering questions above the canopy; some looked as if they had lost their parents; and some were indifferent.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew increasingly grim, but having endured it all that morning, he wouldn't lose his temper now; however, his aura of killing intent was very strong.

Zhu Zhanji felt that he was only spared from being beaten because of his sickly body and the fact that he was surnamed Zhu. However, he couldn't save the heads of some incompetent and corrupt officials.

The founding emperor was far more ruthless than him.

And there's also my grandfather...

Zhu Zhanji felt Zhu Di's deathly gaze upon him repeatedly, and could only manage a bitter smile.

"That's right. The silver transported to the capital and the silver exchanged by the officials may seem insignificant, but they became the key breakthroughs in the abandonment of paper money and the selection of silver. When the country's power was strong, it could still be controlled, but when the country's power declined, these two items suddenly became popular."

Huang Yu then showed them several tables for comparison, which showed them how these two items gradually seeped into the fiscal system.

"As we stand here today to discuss monetary policy, we can see that in the process of monetary evolution, the state's control over the currency has been continuously strengthened. These clues can be found from the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, and then to the Tang Dynasty."

"At times, it seemed that the feudal lords were allowed to mint their own currency, but later it was gradually brought under central control. The central court could achieve political goals by adjusting the metal content of the currency."

Huang Yu displayed some changes in currency across dynasties on the screen. He saw that the more turbulent the times, the smaller and thinner the currency became, and there were even crudely made coins, or copper coins worth ten or a thousand.

"But in general, this adjustment is limited. With the gold standard, it is a kind of improvement, but the value of the currency will inevitably fluctuate with the value of precious metals."

Huang Yu's tone was rather indifferent, "The emergence of credit-based currency has actually enriched monetary policy."

Here, he did not immediately criticize the Ming Dynasty's monetary policy, but everyone knew that the key point was after the 'but'.

“But!” Huang Yu emphasized.

Those below also became alert as he spoke.

"The more a state emphasizes the value of legal tender, the stronger the resistance from the people will be. When a country is weak and its government loses credibility, the people will resist the state's control over legal tender by refusing to use under-valued coins, hoarding high-quality coins, using barter, switching to precious metals or foreign currency, or using alternative currencies," Huang Yu summarized what he wanted to say today.

"This is the 'decentralized' power of the people, and they are using this power to resist 'decentralized' currencies."

The two instances of "decentralization" that Huang Yu mentioned are not the same.

The first decentralization refers to the public's loss of trust in the state and government, while the second decentralization refers to the essence of the Ming Dynasty's paper money.

"So, does this 'decentralized' force still exist today? Actually, it still does, but it relies on the country's credit, the mature monetary management system, and the developed financial intermediary system, so it is not so directly presented to us. However, when the country is affected in some aspects, the 'decentralized' profit-seekers, who have turned into biting dogs, will emerge."

As Huang Yu finished speaking, he glanced casually at the crowd below and then at the camera.

Some people felt that although the story was about the future, it was also like it was directed at them.

Many people feel uncomfortable being looked at like that.

Later, Huang Yu also mentioned how the credit money system of later generations was supported. In fact, it also relied on taxation.

As mentioned at the beginning, taxation is the foundation for a country to function properly.

The larger the total tax revenue and the higher its proportion of GDP, the stronger the country's resource transfer capacity and the stronger its support for sovereign credit currency.

Modern states have more sophisticated fiscal systems, scientific planning, and stronger resource transfer capabilities, which is why modern states can support fiat currencies, while the Ming Dynasty could not.

There are many factors contributing to the devaluation of the Ming Dynasty's paper money: policy, system, taxation, and more...

very many.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought Huang Yu's point of view was good: the country's strength was not strong enough!