Chapter 038 It’s Enough to Perfunctorily Treat Chen Guorui
The next day, Chen Chong clearly couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep before going out at night. He was still crying when he woke up.
Chen Biao didn't tolerate him this time. He directly summoned his father and gave Chen Chong a slap on the butt.
After the beating, Chen Chong had to write a self-criticism and reflect on his unreasonable behavior.
Chen Xun cried, "Brother, don't you like me anymore?"
Chen Biao flicked Chen Chong’s head and said, “If I don’t like you, I don’t care about you!”
Chen Chong stopped crying and went to write a self-criticism obediently.
Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely happy. Biao'er had the bastard second son under his thumb!
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Biao'er, from now on you will be the one taking care of your younger brothers!"
Chen Biao sorted out the proceeds from last night's stall and said, "Hmm, hmm, if I can't take care of her, don't you have time, Dad? I'll take care of my younger sister too. As a family, don't tell me about the difference between men and women. Girls are more likely to be bullied, so they should be taught better."
Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his chin. "Your mother saw that your primary school was doing well, and she also wanted to run one... She also wanted to propose to Madam Xiuying that we run a girls' primary school. Even if girls can't become officials, they should be able to read and count so that they can manage household chores and teach children well."
Chen Biao looked up and said, "Why didn't Mom come to me directly?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "You know your mother's personality. She feels sorry for you because you are young and have many things to do. She won't come to you until the last moment if you can figure things out on your own. I'm telling you this without telling her."
Chen Biao said helplessly, "I don't have much to do at all. What I'm used to is just the daily grind of signing in and punching in. It's not interesting at all. I'm just looking forward to something new to do."
There was nothing fun to play in this era, even the vernacular stories were outdated, so Chen Biao could only find fun in "management games" and "cultivation games".
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have enough capital now and cannot play the “infrastructure game”.
Infrastructure games are the most fun, even emperors of all dynasties like them.
Your Majesty, the wonder is a disaster for the country!
Zhu Yuanzhang automatically ignored the words he didn't understand in Chen Biao's words and said, "I knew you would say that, so I told you. What do you think about the women's school?"
Chen Biao said: "I have a lot of ideas, but I don't dare to do them."
Zhu Yuanzhang was curious: "What are you afraid of?"
Chen Biao sighed and said, "In the past, nobles also had girls' schools, but they used outdated textbooks. Those books were suitable for the dynasty at that time, but not for now. For example, women were expected to be submissive and not disobey their families. If in this chaotic world, if a family asks a woman to sell herself or her children to raise money, will she still obey? Women are human beings too. Dad, look at them working in the fields, transporting food and sewing armor for the Zhu family's soldiers. Can you say that women are not human beings?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.
Chen Biao shook his head and said, "My ideas are out of sync with the current trend and out of date. I think that given Madam Xiuying's personality, she will not use the textbooks of her predecessors. I hope she can compile her own textbook for women's studies that is suitable for the current era."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Why don't you give her some advice ?"
Chen Biao laughed: "My thoughts are out of date and unsuitable for the present. They may seem good for women, but in the end they may bring disaster to women. Let the greatest woman of this era, Empress Ma, think about it."
Chen Biao kept in mind that he was a time traveler. He could influence people today, but he could not build castles in the air for them.
The girls' school textbooks that Empress Ma considered would inevitably be full of the dregs of the feudal era. If they were released to later generations, they would probably be constantly criticized.
But Chen Biao believed that the women's education textbooks developed by Empress Ma through her own thinking and practice could become a solid stepping stone for the advancement of women's thought.
Practice makes perfect, nothing is more true than this.
After hearing what Chen Biao said, Zhu Yuanzhang sat in front of Chen Biao and helped him sort out the copper coins, banknotes and silver coins he had earned. "We only need to do our best to support your mother when she asks for help?"
Chen Biao nodded: "Yeah."
Zhu Yuanzhang grinned: "Then I will go to her every day and ask her if she needs my help."
Chen Biao said, "Be careful or mother will pinch you. By the way, Marshal Zhu has already chosen a name for Madam Xiuying, but what about mother? Or did you choose one earlier and didn't tell me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Of course I took it a long time ago, but I won't tell you. If you want to know, ask your mother."
He actually wanted to give his wife another pseudonym, but he couldn't think of a good one. Finally, he told his wife to choose a "name" for herself.
In ancient times, women would choose their own names in addition to the courtesy names given by their fathers or husbands . Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to take on the responsibility of naming his wife, as he thought his wife would have her own name.
Chen Biao said, "Oh."
Chen Biao had a headache. Was it not proper for a son to ask his mother's maiden name these days? Should he find another opportunity to find out?
The amount of money earned was too much and too mixed, which was a headache for Zhu Yuanzhang to sort out. He called his servants to help him sort it out, and finally the coins were classified.
The coins at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were very confusing.
During the Zhizheng period, the Yuan Dynasty issued the Zhizheng Tongbao copper coins and also used Baochao; the leaders of the major rebel armies who claimed to be kings all issued their own copper coins, such as Han Song's Longfeng Tongbao, Zhang Shicheng's Tianyou Tongbao, and Xu Shouhui's Tianqi Tongbao.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang had not yet become king, he had not yet minted copper coins, which led to currency chaos in Yingtian City.
Most of the time, people bartered; when it came to large-scale business, merchants would use silver instead of cash; but for some small items, people would inevitably use small copper coins or banknotes, and merchants would also accept them.
In general, although the Yuan Dynasty's rule was already shaky, Zhizheng Tongbao was still the most popular copper coin among the people, followed by Baochao.
The Longfeng Tongbao, Tianyou Tongbao, and Tianqi Tongbao coins became the tools used by the major rebel forces to reap the wealth of the people. They used inferior coins to exchange for Yuan Dynasty copper coins from the people, but these coins were difficult to circulate in their own territories.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not mint his own copper coins, not only because he did not become king, but also because he was thinking about the people.
His territory was unstable, and even if he minted coins, the people had no confidence in using them. If he forced the people to exchange their coins, it would probably arouse public resentment.
When he has the strength to become king and shows his fangs, the people will definitely take the initiative to exchange the copper coins he mints.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the table full of coins and began to think about the future. "What do you think, Marshal, should we mint copper coins or issue treasure notes like the Yuan Dynasty? Actually, treasure notes are better, right? If you want to use money, just print as much as you can!"
Chen Biao gave his father a rare look: "Dad, you've been doing business for so long, you've become a wealthy businessman, how come you still don't understand currency?"
Zhu Yuanzhang: “Ah?” The fake wealthy businessman Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little guilty.
Chen Biao said, "One of the reasons why the Yuan Dynasty aroused public resentment was the devaluation of the Yuanbao banknotes. Dad, do you know why the banknotes depreciated?"
Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head, and drawing on his years of experience as a forced wealthy businessman, he said, "Is it too much?"
Chen Biao looked at his father with pity: "It's good that you can think of this."
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”
He immediately grabbed Chen Biao and held him in his arms, tickling him vigorously: "I told you not to laugh at your father! I told you not to laugh at your father!"
Chen Biao laughed so hard that tears came out and he shouted for help.
After Zhu Yuanzhang had carried out the punishment, he hugged Chen Biao, who was dying of laughter, and said, "Tell me, what's wrong with the treasure notes?"
Chen Biao first angrily gave his father a hook punch on the chin before he began to explain to his father the problems in the issuance of Yuan Dynasty treasure notes.
Chen Biao had only a vague understanding of history, but when it came to economic systems, he knew a lot about them.
The Yuan Dynasty issued very few copper coins. Starting from the reign of Kublai Khan, paper money was printed and issued, which went through four periods: Zhongtong Baochao, Zhiyuan Baochao, Zhida Baochao, and Zhizheng Baochao. Zhongtong, Zhiyuan, Zhida, and Zhizheng were the reign titles of the Yuan Dynasty.
On the Internet, there are often people praising the Yuan Dynasty's treasure notes to belittle the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes, and scolding Zhu Yuanzhang for using the treasure notes to reap the people's wealth.
The Ming Dynasty's treasure notes depreciated tenfold over the past twenty years. The Zhongtong treasure notes depreciated tenfold from the first year of Zhongtong (1260) to the nineteenth year of Zhiyuan (1282), also over a period of twenty years. The rate of depreciation was no different from that of the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes.
The eldest brother doesn’t talk about the second brother, they are both equally bad, and I suggest that they both learn monetary theory from scratch.
Zhongtong Baochao could be exchanged for gold and silver. After the devaluation, the Yuan Dynasty issued Baochao three more times. The last three Baochao could not be exchanged for gold and silver. The inflation became more severe each time, which was one of the important reasons why the people were living in dire straits at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
Chen Biao explained to Zhu Yuanzhang the history of the issuance of treasure notes in the Yuan Dynasty. He drank three cups of hot milk and went to the toilet in the middle, and finally finished the brief explanation.
Chen Biao opened his eyes wide and asked expectantly, "Do you understand?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was very honest: "I don't understand!"
Chen Biao's eyelids drooped, and he lowered his head and used Zhu Yuanzhang's chest as a sandbag to practice boxing.
But Zhu Yuanzhang's chest was obviously much stronger than Chen Biao's small fist. Zhu Yuanzhang didn't feel any pain. Chen Biao shook his hands and screamed, and Zhu Yuanzhang had to blow on Chen Biao's hands.
Chen Biao said angrily, "It's okay if you don't understand. Anyway, you can tell the Marshal that the Yuan Dynasty had problems when it issued paper money, so we shouldn't issue it. Whether the Marshal listens or not, we have tried our best. If he insists on issuing paper money, the consequences will be borne by the Zhu family anyway, and it has nothing to do with us. Don't say anything more."
Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious. Our family is the Zhu family, how can we just let it go without understanding?
He picked up his son and shook him. "Son, this isn't a question of whether it has anything to do with us. If something really happens, the people will be in great pain! How can I not say something?"
Chen Biao said, "How do you know that Marshal Zhu was still the Marshal Zhu who cared about the people when he issued paper money? The disadvantages of paper money were already apparent during the Yuan Dynasty. Even if he didn't understand, he should have known the consequences. If he still chose to use paper money, he had his own considerations, such as military expenses, supporting the royal family, and building a grand palace. In short, he was planning to rob the people of their money. He knew it but pretended not to. If you expose him, our Chen family will be doomed."
Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry at Chen Biao that he blew his beard and glared at him: "Nonsense, the Marshal is not that kind of person! No, son, you must explain to me the reasoning behind the issuance of this currency! Paper money is like this, but what about copper coins? What about coins made of other materials? I remember that history books said that copper coins also depreciated! Is there no way to prevent the money in the hands of ordinary people from depreciating?"
Chen Biao: "How can it be that good? Slow inflation is actually a reflection of economic development... Hey, stop shaking! I'll vomit on you if you keep shaking! Put me down. I'll go get you a book from the study. You can figure it out on your own. I'm too lazy to talk anymore. I need to take a nap."
Chen Biao had just finished writing an introduction to Marxist economics. Although it only contained an outline and some dry theoretical concepts, and was less than 10,000 words, it should be enough to satisfy Comrade Chen Guorui, who knew nothing about anything.
