Chapter 10

Zhang Anshi's words somewhat relieved Zhu Di, as long as he was not dead.

Zhu Di suddenly thought of the school, and he said in a casual tone, "I heard that Zhang Ye is always causing trouble at school. Oh, and there's also Zhu Yong and... a certain Zhang Anshi. Since you are their friend, is any of this true?"

Indeed, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news spreads a thousand miles!

Zhang Anshi replied, "These are all rumors. We do play around occasionally, but to say we are causing trouble, that's a stretch. They are all descendants of loyal and brave men. I don't know where such rumors come from."

Zhu Di, riding his horse, neither confirmed nor denied, clearly not entirely believing Zhang Anshi. "Whose descendant are you?"

"Um..." Zhang Anshi paused for a moment, "I dare not say."

"Why not?"

"Afraid you'll tell my father."

Zhu Di laughed, "If I wanted to make things difficult for you, I would have taken you to Yingtian Prefecture and let your father come to pick you up. It seems you and those Zhang Ye and Zhang Anshi are all bad apples, a bunch of scoundrels."

Zhang Anshi: "..."

Zhu Di then said, "People like you who disregard the law will always meet their match."

Zhang Anshi replied indifferently, "I have something to do, no need to chat with you."

Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi, his expression slightly softening. As the emperor, he didn't want to argue with a young boy.

Seeing Zhu Di's hesitation, Zhang Anshi became anxious. If this僵持 (stalemate) continued, Zhang Fu would notice, and this commander would not care that Zhang Anshi was the brother-in-law of the crown prince. He steeled himself, rummaged in his sleeve, and pulled out a few pieces of silver: "Well, since we met by chance, it's a matter of fate. Here, a bit of silver to buy you and your men a cup of tea."

To his surprise, Zhu Di's face darkened when he saw the silver.

He suddenly shouted, "Where did you get this silver?"

Zhang Anshi was puzzled, "My sister gave it to me, saying a man should always have money for protection when he goes out."

Zhu Di's face grew even colder, "I'm not talking about that. Don't you know that when the High Emperor Taizu was in power, he issued an edict: 'Due to the high prices, the paper money system has become ineffective. Therefore, he ordered the Ministry of Revenue to collect all the copper coins from the people and exchange them for paper money, and the use of copper coins was prohibited.'"

Zhu Di paused and continued, "The current emperor, following the High Emperor's instructions, has recently issued an edict that all transactions must be conducted using paper money, and the use of copper coins and silver is prohibited."

Zhang Anshi recalled this. In the early Ming Dynasty, the government indeed mandated the use of paper money, the 'Great Ming Treasure Note.' However, due to overissuance, the value of paper money began to depreciate rapidly. By the 20th year of the Hongwu era, the situation had worsened. For example, a stone of rice that could be bought with one note of one guan in the 20th year of Hongwu now required ten guan in the 2nd year of Yongle, a tenfold depreciation in just a few years.

Emperor Zhu Di entered Nanjing under the pretext of quelling the rebellion, accusing his nephew, Emperor Jianwen, of surrounding himself with bad people and overturning the High Emperor's laws. Zhu Di, on the other hand, claimed to be the protector of the ancestral laws. After securing his throne, he decided to enforce the prohibition on the circulation of silver and copper coins. In just one month, he issued three edicts to ban silver and copper coins and mandate the use of paper money for all transactions.

Thinking of this, Zhang Anshi couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Di's eyes widened. As the emperor, his words were law, and this young man was defying his edict. Was he mocking him?

"What are you laughing at?"

Zhang Anshi replied, "This... is there such an edict? Uh... oh no, I need to quickly exchange my paper money for gold and silver. Otherwise, I'll be in big trouble."

Zhu Di's eyes nearly popped out. "What did you say?"

Zhang Anshi said seriously, "Meeting you is a matter of fate. I have a kind heart and can't stand to see people suffer. I think after this edict, the value of paper money will plummet. If you don't exchange it for gold and silver, within a few days, those with paper money will lose everything."

Zhu Di angrily said, "You dare to defy the emperor's edict?"

"Of course, no one dares to defy the emperor's edict, but the emperor's edict cannot control the market. If the edict wasn't enforced, it would be fine, but now that it is, it will only make things worse. I think... the value of paper money will definitely plummet. You wouldn't understand, but I have experience."

Zhang Anshi wasn't exaggerating. The people of the Ming Dynasty were relatively simple and naive, but he had seen many economic crises in his two lifetimes. He had seen hyperinflation in various countries, from the Weimar Republic to Zimbabwe.

Zhu Di couldn't help but laugh, "You, a mere child, dare to speak nonsense and criticize state affairs."

His face turned stern, but then he laughed again, more mockingly this time.

Zhu Di shook his head, thinking, "Why am I arguing with this young boy?"

He waved his hand, "Let's go."

Zhang Anshi immediately ran off, disappearing in a flash.

He couldn't help but wonder, "Who is this guy? He has quite a temper."

But Zhang Anshi didn't dwell on it. He was more concerned about whether he should quickly exchange the Zhang family's paper money for silver. However, he soon calmed down.

On one hand, he wasn't very wealthy. Although the Eastern Palace occasionally gave him rewards, his brother-in-law wasn't in power yet, so the rewards were limited.

On the other hand, as the brother-in-law of the crown prince, if he exchanged a large amount of silver and copper coins, it would be like betraying his brother-in-law.

He needed to be careful.

He mustn't betray his brother-in-law.

...

At this moment, Zhu Di stepped into Zhang Ye's bedroom.

Zhang Ye was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, "It hurts, it hurts, my back is broken."

Zhu Di frowned, quickly approached, and lifted the blanket, "Wasn't he whipped on the buttocks? How could his back be broken?"

Zhang Ye's head tilted to one side, as if he had fainted.

Zhang Fu, who was standing beside him, his face usually cold, now showed anger, "With Your Majesty here, are you still causing trouble?"

Zhang Ye didn't respond.

Zhu Di gestured to Zhang Fu, "Don't scare him."

At this time, Zhang Fu, still young but always serious and more mature than his peers, had just returned from the Five Armies Commandery to deal with his brother's trouble. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, my brother is unruly. I humbly request Your Majesty to..."

Zhu Di sighed, "He was disobedient, and I have already punished him. Don't scare him anymore."

Zhang Fu's usually stern face showed a rare hint of disappointment, "Yes, but... my brother used to be fine, but ever since he started hanging out with Zhang Anshi and Zhu Neng..."

Zhu Di hummed, "Let the imperial physicians check his injuries first."

The imperial physicians immediately began their work.

Zhu Di, hands behind his back, walked around the bedroom and noticed a porcelain bottle on a table by the bed, "What is this?"

The Zhang family's servants were already terrified and dared not look up. Only Zhang Ye's personal attendant stammered, "This... this is medicine given by the young master's friend."

Zhu Di nodded and suddenly asked, "Is his friend named Guo Degang? I saw him climbing out of the wall just now."

The attendant was so shocked that his jaw dropped.

At this moment, a medical miracle occurred. Zhang Ye, who had been lying motionless, suddenly sat up and quickly answered, "Yes, it's Guo Degan."

Zhang Ye was loyal and wouldn't betray his brother. It was obvious that the person who could climb the wall and refuse to reveal his identity was his brother. His brother always did things without leaving a name.