The two state capitals finally determined as pilots are Yingtian Prefecture and Weizhou Prefecture on Qinfeng Road in the northwest.
Su Jin was not surprised that Ying Tian Mansion was used as a pilot project, but instead secretly praised Zhao Zhen for being good at calculating; Ying Tian was now the prefect of Bao Zheng, and there would never be any shady activities in the procurement under the supervision of Bao Zheng, so for
As far as Bao Zheng is concerned, it is just to reduce the burden, not to lose profits, and he will never have any objection.
Moreover, Bao Zheng basically does not belong to any faction. If Bao Zheng's cake is touched, no one will speak for him. This is probably the real reason why the court meeting passed smoothly.
However, Weizhou was also used as one of the pilot projects, which was beyond Su Jin's expectation; first of all, Weizhou was the front line of the northwest war, and the Xixia soldiers under Yuan Hao's command were very disturbed, and the local agricultural production was basically at a standstill.
, there are probably only a few commercial workshops.
You can imagine the current situation in Weizhou with your knees. The city must be full of soldiers and horses, and most of the people are working as civilians to build cities and forts. There must be very few shops in the market, and the tax revenue here must also be at a standstill.
, there was no money circulating at all, and no supplies could be purchased; what was Zhao Zhen's intention of establishing a silver bank in Weizhou made Su Jin a little confused.
After thinking for a long time, Su Jin didn't have an answer. Finally, Su Jin decided to go to Yan's house to visit Yan Shu in person in the evening and ask what was going on.
In the evening, before Su Jin could leave, Yanfu sent someone to invite Su Jin. Su Jin hurriedly rode to Tianshuijing Hutong. Since it was Yan Shu who sent someone to invite him, he must have something to say about this matter.
When I arrived at the Yan Mansion, as usual, I saw Fu Bi and Yang Cha, the two quick sons-in-law of the Yan Mansion, sitting here. These two seemed a bit like those futile sons-in-law of later generations. They stayed at the mother-in-law's house every day and treated this place as their own home.
Already.
Yan Shu invited Su Jin to sit down, set up a banquet and called Yan Biyun to accompany him. They first toasted several rounds of wine politely, and then Yan Shu asked about Su Jin's recent situation, and then got to the point.
"Su Jin, I sent someone to tell you the results of the court meeting before noon. You know it." Yan Shu put down his chopsticks, took a towel and wiped the wine on his beard, and said with a smile.
Su Jin hurriedly said: "I know everything, but there's something I don't know about."
Yan Shu smiled and said: "Don't ask, I must have some questions about the place where it was founded."
Su Jin nodded and said: "Exactly, I can understand Yingtian Mansion. It is rich in products and has developed commerce. It is very convenient to purchase many materials. The currency circulation is large and fast. The silver village is suitable to be built there; including
Your Excellency is sitting in Yingtian, and the tax collectors below who are responsible for specific purchases do not dare to object to this. It is an ideal place. However, Weizhou is on the northwest border of Qinfeng Road, and is at the edge of the battle between the two armies. The workers and peasants there
The business capital has stagnated, and there is no tax at all there, let alone withholding purchases, so what is the use of setting up a bank there?"
Yan Shu nodded to Su Jin and said with a smile: "I know you don't understand the truth here. To be honest, Weizhou was what I suggested to the emperor."
Su Jin said in astonishment: "Why would Master Sansi suggest Weizhou? All the southern states are suitable places, and building a bank in Weizhou is just a waste of resources."
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Su Jin frowned and said: "What does this have to do with me? The bank I established is to facilitate the transfer of money from the imperial court to local purchases, and to prevent the local state government from embezzling the imperial funds; it is purely a currency exchange and has nothing to do with materials and goods.
"
Yan Shu glared at him and said, "What do you know? Do you know how many soldiers and horses are stationed in Weizhou alone?"
Su Jin shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Yan Shu said: "Let me tell you, there are 30,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Weizhou alone, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are stationed in Qinzhou, Jingzhou and Yuanzhou near and behind Weizhou. The entire Qinfeng Road has soldiers stationed there."
The total number of horses exceeds 60,000, do you understand?"
Su Jin frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, "Are you talking about military pay?"
Yan Shu laughed loudly and said: "It's really enlightening. With 60,000 soldiers and horses, plus the salaries of officials and minor officials, a small Qinfeng Road spent nearly 600,000 yuan in ten days. This money was originally escorted by officers and soldiers, and it was paid on a monthly basis."
The distribution of military pay was extremely unsettled because of the frequent raids of small groups of Western bandits into the interior. In October last year, 80,000 yuan of military pay was robbed by small groups of Western bandits as they passed through Fengxiang. As a result, there was no military pay in the northwest for several months.
Distribution almost caused a mutiny; if you set up a bank there, wouldn't it solve the problem once and for all and relieve the imperial court's worries?"
Su Jin suddenly realized, but in an instant he fell into a state of gloom and gloom. He frowned and said, "It's not safe to escort the money and money. How did the supplies arrive?"
Yan Shu sighed and said: "It is common for supplies to be robbed. Not only are the Western thieves intercepting them on the way, but there are also local barbarian thieves who are causing trouble. There are also natural disasters. Last year, Haoshuichuan was defeated. Everyone said that they underestimated the enemy and rushed forward.
But I know that it was because the mudflow destroyed the mountain road, it took several months to open the road, and it was difficult to sustain the soldiers' pay, food and grass, which led to a great loss of morale and led to that tragic defeat."
Su Jin understood that it wasn't that the imperial court couldn't send troops to escort, but that there were too many unreliable factors. Some were robbed, some were stolen, and the road was destroyed and it was difficult to get through. If something goes wrong once out of ten times, it would trigger a war.
Disaster; and it cannot be transported and stored at once. Once the army is defeated or a fire or water disaster occurs, all the resources will be used by the enemy or wasted. With the current strength of the Song Dynasty, it really cannot withstand such a torment.
"I understand, but isn't this pushing me into a pit of fire? Once I set up a bank in Weizhou, I will have to transport a large amount of money and store it there. If the situation worsens, won't I lose everything?"
Although Su Jin didn't want to be too petty, this was not a small amount. At least two to three million yuan had to be transported as the principal; the money from the imperial court was deposited in the capital, and it had to be withdrawn and distributed there, at a rate of 600,000 yuan every ten days.
After all, it will be completely spent in less than three and a half months, and then you need to take the risk of escorting a batch of money to replenish it.
For the sake of safety, we can only minimize the number of escorts, which requires a large amount of spare money; but the more money, the less safe it is. Once the Western thieves break into Weizhou City, the money will be wasted.
If it goes wrong, the court will never pay a cent in compensation. This is what Su Jin is worried about.
"First, if you want to accomplish this, you have to take risks. The emperor said that Northwest Bank will give you Su Ji a 10% increase in exchange interest. Originally, what you and the emperor said was for the court to exchange, and you would get 50 percent of the thousand.
The emperor will give you six out of a thousand. Secondly, Weizhou is controlled by Wang Yan. He is my best friend. He manages the Jingyuan Road, appeases and recruits the three envoys in one, and he also knows Weizhou. I
I will write to him to explain the situation, and if something goes wrong, he will help you transfer your property together, can you rest assured?"
Su Jin turned his worries into joy and said: "That's easy to handle. I'm not afraid of losing that little money. I just heard you said that this Weizhou Bank is also used to pay soldiers' salaries to surrounding states. Once something goes wrong, it will affect the entire country."
The morale of Qin Fenglu's soldiers will not be able to be dealt with at that time."
Yan Shu waved his hand and said, "You don't need to explain. Since I suggested setting up in Weizhou, your worries will naturally be solved. You can rest assured."
Su Jin happily toasted Yan Shu with a glass of wine and said, "Master Sansi has helped me a lot."
Yan Shu smiled and said: "I am helping the court, not you."
Su Jinxin said: You are just helping yourself. You must know that your Yan family also contributed half of the capital. If something goes wrong, everyone will be unlucky together.
"This matter is not urgent. It is the first month now, and the road is blocked by ice and snow, so it is difficult to travel westward. The emperor said that he will ask you to go to Weizhou in May and June to complete the matter. Now we can start the business in Yingtian.
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Su Jin nodded in agreement. It would have been impossible to do it so fast in the first place. The manpower and funding regulations were not yet in place, so there was no way to rush this matter even if he wanted to.
Everyone chatted for a while and drank a few rounds of wine with each other. Yan Shu coughed and winked at Fu Bi. Fu Bi understood, stood up, took a glass of wine and toasted Su Jin: "Xiandi, I'd like to give you a drink."
Su Jin drank a lot and declined: "Brother Rich has toasted me five times today, why are you toasting me again? Why don't you clink glasses with Brother Yang?"
Fu Bi smiled and said: "Liu Liu Da Shun, please make enough for six cups. Brother Yu, I have something to ask."
Su Jin was stunned and said: "It's just that, why do you have to drink."
Fu Bi tilted his neck, drank the wine in the cup, showed the bottom of the cup to Su Jin, and smiled without saying a word. Su Jin had no choice but to drink a cup, put a chicken leg in his mouth and took a bite, when Fu Bi said:
: "My dear brother, your errand has come again, and this time it is a tricky one."
"Pfft" Su Jin spat out the chicken legs on the table and said, "What's the errand?"
Fu Bi sighed: "The envoy from the Liao Kingdom arrived in the capital yesterday..."