ps: Thank you for your monthly votes and encouragement, Brother Zuruchujian. Thank you all for your recommendation. My votes have increased a lot all of a sudden. I am very relieved, haha.
Perhaps realizing that he could no longer stay in Hebei, Yuan Xiang went crazy selling grain to Shenzhou. Encouraged by Yuan's family, Jiang Xuanhui and many other Xuanwu officials were desperately selling grain to Hebei. In just two months from January to the end of January in the third year of Tianfu, the grain and cloth piled up in Shenzhou Mutual Market, totaling no less than five hundred thousand dan.
The security guards from Youyan Security Corporation and Liaodong Security Corporation were simply transferred back from Weizhou by Han Yanhui, who were responsible for transporting grain to various granaries.
Because there was so much food shipped, Han Yanhui did not even have goods to exchange. The furs, ginseng, deer antlers and other items collected outside the customs were completely unable to support such a large amount of trade; the salt output of Jizhou Salt Lake and Lutai Salt Field was also far away. It couldn't keep up with the speed of exchange; as for the silver money, Youzhou's treasury was empty, and the copper coins sent by Bohai and Silla were still on the way, so they couldn't catch up. In the end, Han Yanhui had to express helplessly to Yuan Xiangxian that he couldn't buy it. Got up.
It was impossible for the Yuan family, Jiang family and other large Xuanwu households to transport grain back, so the large Xuanwu households participating in the grain sales elected Yuan Xiangxian as their representative, and signed a debt agreement with Han Yanhui through gritted teeth.
Han Yanhui reported to Youzhou. After Li Chengzhong heard about it, he laughed so happily that he almost couldn't stand up straight. After laughing, Li Chengzhong expressed his strong agreement. Then he asked Youyan to join the bank to come forward and print "Owed" payment agreement”.
Youyan United Bank was established by a wealthy family in Youzhou and was not a government office under the Jiedu government. They had always only signed "loan agreements" and had been creditors many times, never being lenders. At the beginning, United Bank felt that they had been wronged , they didn’t understand it very much after receiving Li Chengzhong’s order, and the heads of the wealthy families gathered many times for this purpose, thinking hard to discuss countermeasures.
Under Li Chengzhong's strength, there was no way to deal with it, so they publicly recommended Gao Liu, Li Juncao, Wang Jingrou, Zhao Yuande, Han Mengyin and other big shopkeepers stationed in the bank to ask for an audience with Li Chengzhong. Together, these people are very powerful. , Li Chengzhong had to make time to formally receive him.
The first question raised by the big bosses of United Bank is whether Lu Longjun and Xuanwu Army will reconcile?
In response, Li Chengzhong replied that he had no such plan.
So the shopkeepers asked, since there is going to be a war, are these "arrears agreements" used to deceive people?
Li Chengzhong said of course not. Once you sign an agreement, you should abide by it. You must follow your word. This is the basic ethics of doing business.
So the shopkeepers were confused and couldn't figure out what Li Chengzhong was thinking.
Li Chengzhong explained that a war is a war, business is a business, and things should be done professionally, which made everyone look at each other in shock.
Among the crowd, Li Juncao and Li Chengzhong were "related to each other", so the shopkeeper of the Li family took the initiative to speak: "Commander, according to what you said, we have to be trustworthy, so these debts must be returned, but you also know. The bank is now We don’t have that much money, so even if we lose everything, we still can’t give it back.”
Li Chengzhong smiled and said: "You don't have to worry. As far as I know, there are many merchants who cannot get paid for the food shipped this time. There are 23 merchants in Xuanwu and seven in Qianqing. There are two merchants even though they bear the name of Xuanwu. But they are actually from Huainan. With so many merchants, it is impossible for them to come to withdraw money at the same time. As long as there is a priority, the bank will have turnaround time."
Everyone had a grimace and were not moved by Li Chengzhong. Although they did not object verbally, it was clear from their looks that they still could not accept it. So Li Chengzhong said: "I know what you are worried about. In fact, to put it bluntly, everyone is worried.
As someone who has taken advantage of you, you may be thinking why the money is paid by the bank when the things are in the hands of the Jiedu government. You don’t have to worry about this problem. No matter how many debt agreements you have signed, the Jiedu government will guarantee it for you. You all
You can even use the recovered debt agreement to offset the income turned over to the Jiedu government."
With this promise, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, the total amount owed was less than one million yuan. The shopkeeper of Li Juncao's family cried out in front of Li Chengzhong, saying that he couldn't come up with so much money. It was just a gesture. So,
There are many wealthy families here, and it is not difficult to get a million dollars just by scraping together.
Li Chengzhong added: "If you feel that the debt agreement is too much, you can also use it to exchange goods with various workshops in Youzhou. The Jiedu government can make a special order for this purpose. The taxes paid by each workshop this year can be
Use these 'arrears agreements' to offset it."
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but find it a bit strange. Gao Liu and Wang Jingrou stopped talking, lowering their heads and trying hard to figure out the truth. Han Mengyin, who was experienced in official circles, and a few others had happy faces.
Li Chengzhong knew what they were thinking, so he gave a stern warning: "All debt agreements must be marked with numbers. The magistrate's office will carefully check the debt agreements collected by Jiedu Mansion. If there are any discrepancies, duplicates, or
If the total number is greater than the limit you send out, the bank will be severely fined, and the intensity of the punishment will be far beyond your imagination!"
The head shopkeeper of Zhao Yuande's family frowned and said: "What if other merchants forged the agreement? Isn't the bank very unfair?"
Li Chengzhong said: "So you have to think of a way to avoid being forged. In addition, Judge Feng and I have discussed it and are planning to set up a special department under the Taxation Department of the Judge's Office to handle these debt agreements. You have to work with
This department should discuss this carefully."
The shopkeeper of Gao Liu's family suddenly raised his head: "Li Shuai, could it be that these debt agreements will become a regular system in the future?"
Li Chengzhong smiled and nodded. Who said that ancient times lacked financial concepts? As long as they start from the beginning, the ancients have their own wisdom, and they will soon grasp the key. Li Chengzhong is already very pleased with the questions raised by these wealthy shopkeepers
.
The "Arrear Agreements" were quickly printed. Each one was five inches square. Although it looked simple, it had some strange patterns, hiding many secrets that lay people didn't understand. These "Arrear Agreements" were divided into three parts:
There are three types of coins, namely ten coins, fifty coins, and one hundred coins. In addition to indicating the amount of money, the agreement also contains a note indicating how much salt each coin can be exchanged for. It also states that you can hold the agreement to Youyan at any time.
United Bank exchanges copper coins. If you don't want copper coins, you can exchange them for salt with the statement on the label. Youyan United Bank only recognizes the agreement and not the person, and Lulong Jiedu Mansion guarantees this.
At the bottom of the agreement is a serial number and the seal of Youyan United Bank.
The printing method is a very mature engraving method in this era. Fortunately, there are only a few hundred "arrears agreement", which does not cause much damage to the layout and is not laborious to print. But Li Chengzhong did not focus on this.
Among the hundreds of agreements, he wanted to print agreements with smaller denominations, such as five-guan and one-guan denominations. However, a smaller denomination would inevitably mean a surge in printing volume, and woodblock printing would definitely not work.
To solve this problem, you must use copper plates. Engraving alone takes a lot of time. At the same time, the requirements for ink are relatively high, and the flexibility and hardness of the paper have to be reconsidered. Li Chengzhong originally wanted to print ten inscriptions and one hundred inscriptions.
However, it is obvious that when the cost of materials and manpower cannot be reduced, printing "agreement" with too small a denomination is a loss-making behavior, and Youyan United Bank will not do it.
.
The first batch of "arrears agreements" was quickly sent to Shenzhou. With these "arrears agreements", Han Yanhui swept away the grain and cloth on the Shenzhou mutual market.
Although the merchants on the Shenzhou Mutual Market were deeply dissatisfied with Lulong's acceptance of the goods sent by them in the form of "IOUs", there was no other way. They could only accept these "arrears agreements" and hurry up.
It's time to leave Shenzhou. The peaceful situation between Xuanwu and Lulong has been broken, and the situation has gradually become tense. If you don't leave, you may end up on the battlefield.
When the Shenzhou Mutual Market was closed, Han Yanhui gathered all the merchants participating in the mutual market together and treated them to a meal. Han Yanhui announced at the banquet that the Shenzhou Mutual Market had completed its historical mission and would no longer be established in the future. However,
, although the Shenzhou Mutual Market is closed, the door to Lulong will be open to all merchants. All merchants who hold the "arrears agreement" can come to Lulong at any time starting from March 1, the third year of the lunar calendar.
Long sells goods to make a living, and Lu Longjun promises to open all the barriers to them.
Han Yanhui also said that Youyan United Bank will strive to set up a branch in every prefecture in Hebei Province before the end of the third year of Tianfu to be responsible for exchanging "arrears agreements" held by merchants. In addition, Han Yanhui also
An explosive news was released. Lulong Jiedu envoy Li Chengzhong agreed that the Lutai Salt Fields would be open to merchants. Merchants could use the "arrears agreement" in their hands to exchange for salt of equal value according to the denomination on the "agreement"!
After hearing the news announced by Han Yanhui, the shopkeepers of Yuan's Shenzhou Mutual Market bought the "arrears agreements" from various merchants at the banquet that night. Unfortunately, there were only a few buyers, and all the shopkeepers took these "arrears agreements."
"I held it firmly in my hand and refused to sell it, which made shopkeeper Yuan very regretful.
The emergency closure of the Shenzhou Mutual Market originated from the arrival of Inspector Youpushe and Taifu Qing Jingxiang.
To be precise, Jingxiang only arrived in Weizhou. However, as the core subordinate of King Liang and the de facto second most powerful figure in the Xuanwu Army, Yuan Xiangxian immediately shut down his army as soon as he set off from Bianzhou.
Hundreds of miles away in the Shenzhou mutual trade market, more than a dozen large merchants from Xuanwu also evacuated from Shenzhou.
Jingxiang was extremely smart and responsive when he was young. He loved reading and was especially good at writing articles. He was known as a young talent. According to the traditional custom, if you are good at learning, you will become an official. He also went to Chang'an to take the Jinshi examination. But everyone
Everyone understood that, only Jingxiang did not understand that the imperial examination at this time required "fighting for the father", and Jingxiang failed without any doubt.
Jingxiang was a smart man. Although he read a lot, he was not rigid. In fact, the scholars at this time, or Confucian scholars, were not as corrupt as later generations. They were basically good at both civil and military affairs, and knew how to take advantage of the situation. So after suffering setbacks,
Jingxiang did not complain, he started "looking for his father". However, his family background was not rich, and he did not have many friends. After searching around, he only found out that a fellow villager named Wang Fa was the new military governor Zhu Wen (Lao Zhu at that time).
(has not changed his name yet) serves as the observation envoy and is a middle-level civilian staff member.
At that time, Lao Zhu had just returned to the imperial court and was working hard to fight for the emperor, so he was very popular with the imperial court. So Jingxiang went to Bianzhou to find Wang Fa to see if there were any opportunities.
As a result, after leaving, he embarked on a different life path and became the mainstay of the Xuanwu Army. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!