Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Especially the Vice Minister of Revenue.

Every time he thought about Xu Yanmiao’s comment—”You’re the Vice Minister of Revenue, the one managing the court’s finances!”—his face burned with embarrassment.

What’s so special about being the Vice Minister of Revenue? Does being in charge of the treasury automatically mean he must understand the feasibility of issuing Baochao? Can’t a Vice Minister of Revenue simply be skilled at using an abacus?

—Clearly, that wasn’t acceptable. The Vice Minister could afford to be lenient with himself, but the old emperor was undoubtedly strict with his ministers.

The Vice Minister of Revenue fumed inwardly, then… silently shut his mouth and strained to hear how Xu Yanmiao would explain the matter.

The entire court was waiting for Xu Yanmiao.

Meanwhile, Xu Yanmiao was panicking internally—

[Doesn’t a single person in this entire court know how bad this idea is? Can’t someone step up and persuade the old emperor?]

The officials were even more anxious than he was.

“If we speak up but fail to offer a solution, at best we’ll lose His Majesty’s favor, and at worst we’ll lose our positions!”

“We’re not aiming for merit, just hoping to avoid mistakes!”

Xu Yanmiao, clearly overwhelmed, hadn’t yet realized he could step forward himself. He was sweating bullets.

[The old emperor isn’t seriously considering this, is he? He looks pretty tempted!]

[And that Vice Minister of Revenue… why did he stop talking halfway?]

The old emperor’s eyelids twitched. Pretending he had just noticed someone at the hall’s entrance, he glanced at the chief eunuch. Receiving the signal, the eunuch called out loudly: “Summon the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Liang Rui, and the official of the Ministry of Personnel, Xu Yanmiao, to enter!”

The announcement was repeated relay-style by a series of guards until it reached outside the hall.

Xu Yanmiao adjusted his official hat, kept his head low, and followed behind Liang Rui as they entered. Along the way, he mentally repeated more than twenty times: [This is bad. I’m walking into a disaster.]

The old emperor, who had been distressed over whether Daxia Baochao could be used for disaster relief, heard this string of thoughts and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

He might get angry when problems couldn’t be resolved, but not when it was Xu Yanmiao raising the issue without offering a solution.

—Probably because this kid frequently pulled stunts like this and often grumbled about him in his heart.

“It’s just a matter of getting used to it.”

Even if no solutions were offered, at least mistakes could be avoided.

The old emperor rapped his armrest heavily, pretending to be displeased. “Why have the two of you returned?”

Liang Rui’s eyes lowered slightly. After bowing respectfully, he clearly and concisely reported: “Your Majesty, we received word—”

[Yes, yes! I get it! At a time like this, we definitely can’t say anything like, ‘We’re worried you might use Baochao for disaster relief.’ That would be like treating the emperor as a child, implying he hasn’t thought things through and publicly embarrassing him! Fortunately, we ran into the Fujian Governor’s envoy, so we can use them as an excuse!]

Liang Rui continued confidently, “The current Governor of Fujian intends to persuade the court to excessively print Baochao and thus deviates from your vision, Your Majesty. Xu Yanmiao and I rushed back day and night, hoping that Your Majesty will not adopt such a disastrous strategy!”@@novelbin@@

[Ha! I guessed it right! Liang Rui’s quick on his feet! No one would’ve known he didn’t know about the Fujian Governor’s plan before this, right?]

The old emperor feigned confusion. “Why is that?”

Liang Rui bowed again and explained, “Anything in excess loses its value, including money. Since the first year of Tian Tong, a single Baochao that could originally be exchanged for a thousand copper coins can now only be exchanged for a hundred. This is because Baochao has been overissued, and the goods available for purchase in Daxia are far too few. Once everything is bought, the excess Baochao becomes waste paper, naturally losing its value.”

The Vice Minister of Revenue immediately sensed an opportunity—this might be his chance to prove his usefulness and restore his image in the emperor’s eyes.

He spoke up directly, “What nonsense is this, Liang Rui? How can goods ever run out? If the stores on East Street run out, there’s still West Street, and after West Street, there are the small vendors in the alleys.”

Some officials in the court, following the Vice Minister’s logic, couldn’t help but nod.

—These were the types who either couldn’t grasp the concept or simply lacked the mental flexibility to do so.

With the Vice Minister asking, Liang Rui was more than happy to clarify.

“Take rice, for example. Each field has a limited yield, and the total arable land in the country is finite. The amount of rice harvested in a year is fixed. Once it’s all purchased, we must wait until the next harvest, naturally leading to a shortage.”

Liang Rui narrowed his eyes slightly and continued at an unhurried pace.

“If one Baochao can buy a shi of rice, and all the arable land in the nation produces only 100 shi of rice, then 100 Baochao can buy it all. However, if the court issues 1,000 Baochao, the surplus notes will buy nothing and become worthless. But would the people allow that? Of course not. They will beg: ‘If others can buy a shi of rice with one Baochao, I will pay two, or even three, just to secure it.’

“If most people do this, over time, merchants will start demanding three Baochao for a shi of rice. Even when next year’s harvest comes, they won’t lower the price. This cycle causes the value of goods to stay inflated, which is why the purchasing power of a single Baochao has declined.”

Xu Yanmiao stared at the Principal of the Ministry of Justice with admiration.

[What a clear and concise explanation!]

[Never underestimate anyone!]

[Could this man be some kind of business mogul? If so, he might know how to resolve the issues with Baochao!]

Liang Rui might have been moved by Xu Yanmiao’s faith in him, but at this moment, all he could do was keep silent.

—Fixing the devaluation of Baochao was beyond him. The most he could do was point out why overprinting was unwise.

Beside him, the Fujian Governor’s envoy began to stir.

The old emperor glanced at him and called out, “Do you have something to say?”