Except for a few counties in Hailing and Huai'an that were brutally devastated by the war, most counties did not directly experience the war. Even so, the investment in reclamation, water conservancy, roads, bridges and other construction projects in these counties was extremely huge.
During the Huaisi War, all the counties around Xuzhou were captured. Even the city of Xuzhou was besieged for half a year and was almost abandoned.
For several years, in order to limit Chen Hansan's power, Xuzhou was severely blockaded. Today, not only the city is in ruins, but every household has ten rooms and five empty houses, and a large amount of land has been abandoned.
Restoring people's livelihood is not that simple.
The land has been abandoned for three to five years and is overgrown with shrubs and weeds. The ditches, roads, bridges, rivers and lakes are also almost abandoned. Re-cultivation is not much different from reclaiming wasteland and raw land. It requires a lot of agricultural tools, cattle, and seeds.
And food to survive the famine.
Xuzhou needs to recuperate and implement large-scale tax reductions and exemptions. However, Xuzhou has fifteen counties under its jurisdiction and has to barely survive. It has to tighten its belt and invest millions of taels of silver every year.
Almost all of the revenue and expenditure of the military department was spent on raising the army. They did not transfer money or rice grains from Xuzhou, but they could not spend a large amount of money to support the recovery of people's livelihood in Xuzhou. In the end, they decided to focus on Huaidong Bank.
As the general manager of Huaidong Bank, Zhou Guangnan rushed to Xuzhou before the New Year. The land of Xuzhou was covered with white snow.
"Three million taels of silver, borrowed in three years, with an interest rate of 8%, are guaranteed by the local taxes of the fifteen counties in Xuzhou. Starting from the third year, the principal and interest will be returned in ten years," Lin Fu said, "In order to ensure that Xuzhou local
As for the ability to repay the principal and interest, the military department will not requisition money and food from Xuzhou within three years, and after the fourth year, the money and food requisitioned from Xuzhou will not exceed 40% of the total tax - I think Huaidong Bank can accept such conditions."
"If we can raise 3 million taels of silver from Xuzhou and borrow 3 million taels of silver in three years to restore people's livelihood in Xuzhou, of course there will be no problem." Zhou Guangdong said, this time he came here not only to take out the silver, but also to raise money.
"Aren't you just trying to get away with nothing?" Li Wei laughed angrily, "How could the bank not pay a penny in the end?"
"The bank is a merchant and operates with gold and silver as goods. The bank itself does not produce gold and silver, so how can it be lent out if it is not raised?" Zhou Guangnan said, "Xuzhou is located at the hub of Huaisi and is the center of north-south water transportation. Merchants gather there, and
Jiangning and Huaiyang are both the most prosperous in the world. The city of Xuzhou is dilapidated, but it was not plundered in the end. The poor people are crying for food, but the merchants and wealthy households in Xuzhou city, the noble gentry, should still have considerable gold hidden in their cellars.
Silver. Gold and silver are dead things. They cannot satisfy hunger or quench thirst if they are buried in a place. They are valuable only when they work in the market. This is also the purpose of setting up the bank in the first place..."
Lin Fu smiled slightly. It takes a long time to establish credit, but it can collapse overnight. He always refrained from interfering in the bank's affairs, and even asked Zhou Guangnan to resign from the Lijin Bureau to focus on the bank.
Only by not being the yes man of the military department can Zhou Guangnan win the trust of Caidong, and the bank can develop and grow more independently.
Li Wei had a bitter look on his face. If he surrounded the city of Xuzhou and ransacked it from house to house, he would definitely get more than three million taels of gold and silver. But if he wanted the wealthy merchants to raise three million taels of silver and put it into the bank in the form of principal, it would take a long time.
It can be done in between.
After all, banks are a new thing, and Xuzhou has gone through wars, so everyone is prepared for danger in times of peace. Thinking about the overall situation, by depositing gold and silver in banks, the Huaidong Army can be deeply rooted, and Xuzhou can restore people's livelihood, which is naturally safer. But more people's thoughts, even if they are life-saving
I prefer to hold the straw in my own hands.
"The bank will lend one million taels of silver to Xuzhou first and deal with it next year first." Lin Fu couldn't let the situation stagnate there. Li Wei wanted to be considered a good official who worked hard to protect the people, but given the situation in front of him, he didn't.
What a good idea, "At worst, I will be in Xuzhou and shout loudly on behalf of the bank to ensure that the bank can raise enough money from Xuzhou next year..." He then said to Li Wei, "The Xuzhou government office will also make a big publicity for the bank. The money owner will use the gold and silver
Incorporate into the bank, and then the bank will lend it to the local government to restore people's livelihood. The local government will collect taxes in the future and then repay the bank. The money owner does not have to worry about losing all his money and can still eat interest. If this method is adopted, even the local gentry cannot accept it.
Do we have to forcefully demand donations and forcefully apportion..."
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once you take root and have some credibility, it will be much easier," Ye Junan said. "Even when the bank just arrived in Mingzhou Prefecture, the families only scraped together 80,000 or 90,000 silver to get through the matter. But today,
, each family got a sweet deal, and the bank raised money in Mingzhou, the total is probably more than two million taels, right?"
"It's exceeded this number," Zhou Guangnan said. "Xuzhou will act as the Lord has proposed for the time being - but we still need to negotiate a condition with Lord Li?"
"Please tell me." Li Wei said.
"The remaining silver in the treasury of Xuzhou and the counties under its jurisdiction needs to be deposited in banks; however, the banks will set up branches in each county to ensure that the silver used by the counties can be withdrawn as needed." Zhou Guangnan said.
"Okay, okay, as long as the bank borrows money, I can serve Zhou Caidong tea and water." Li Wei couldn't stand Zhou Guangnan's careless temper and hurriedly begged for mercy.
Lin Fu laughed and settled the matter.
In addition to replenishing the principal, the banker went to Xuzhou to raise money. The deeper meaning is:
Once the rich and rural tycoons in Xuzhou incorporated a large amount of gold and silver into Huaidong Bank in the form of principal shares, they were closely related to Huaidong Bank and Huaidong Military Division from then on - in order to ensure that future local taxes in Xuzhou could be used to repay
The principal and interest of the bank will inevitably put the fifteen counties of Xuzhou under the jurisdiction of Huaidong.
Under the royal power, heroes separatized local areas and became vassals, usually relying on their personal prestige and the power and influence of the clan. This was also the basis for the She family to first ensure the interests of the clan when they attacked and plundered cities.
Rather than shaping personal reputation and strengthening cohesion, through the operation of a series of means such as banks, Huaidong can fundamentally consolidate the cornerstone of Huaidong and stand on its own outside of Jiangning.
****************
When he was in the refugee army, Malantou was in charge of the money and food expenditure, and he regarded himself as a capable person who knew the political affairs. However, during this time, he hung out with Gao Zongting, Sun Jingtang, Ye Junan, Li Wei and others, and he realized that there are also differences in politics.
In addition, he occasionally laughed at himself: "If I don't lead the army to fight, maybe I will be forced to serve as a county magistrate..."
After returning from the meeting, Malan felt dizzy and asked his mother-in-law to warm a pot of wine, cut two kilograms of meat, and comfort himself in the room.
Not long after, the doorman came to report: "The eldest lady is here..."
Although Liu Miaozhen was appointed deputy envoy to Xuzhou, the Huaiyang generals still addressed her as the eldest lady.
"What are you doing here, Miss?" Ma Lan scratched his head, stood up and went to the door with his mother-in-law to greet her.
"Uncle Ma." Liu Miaozhen came over in a carriage wearing casual clothes, got out of the car and bowed to Ma Lantou.
Ma Lantou was of the same generation as Liu Miaozhen's uncle Yang Quan, so he just thought Liu Miaozhen was here to discuss private matters, so he was not polite and asked people to light a brazier in the big house and invited Liu Miaozhen to come in to talk. As he walked, he asked: "Miss, are you here?
What do you want to order?"
"I would like to ask you for advice on pensions and merit awards," Liu Miaozhen said.
During the Xuzhou War, the Huaiyang Army suffered more than 3,000 casualties.
At least until now, the Huaiyang Army still maintains a relatively independent status.
The Huaidong Military Division was responsible for the treatment of the wounded, but pensions and merit awards related to the independence of the army. Lin Fu gave Liu Miaozhen, Malantou, and Li Liang autonomy, and Huaidong was responsible for the necessary financial support.
In the past, meritorious officers would have been rewarded with some money, but after having been in close contact with Huaidong for so long, Malantou also knew that the previous approach was too rough, but he didn't know what to do for a while. Until today, there is no solution
A decision.
Hearing that Liu Miaozhen came specifically for this matter, Malan smacked his lips and frowned, unable to answer the question.
Madam Malantou interjected: "Miss, you haven't eaten yet, why don't we eat together here?"
"Sorry, auntie." Liu Miaozhen said.
Malantou's mother-in-law has been in charge of the women's camp for a long time. She was an important female general in the refugee army and qualified to participate in discussions. She ordered her to go down, sit down next to Malantou, and said: "This battle will continue to be fought, but compared to the past
, not only have a place to live, but also other aspects are completely different. It is said that people's minds need to have a stable place to stay, who is willing to run around? Even if the generals are fighting abroad, they also hope that their families can survive and live in peace——
If we want to discuss pensions and merit awards, I think the naturalization of Fentian Anjia is the best..."
"It's good enough, but how can there be such fields?" Malantou said, "Every land in Xuzhou is owned by the owner. Even if it is a deserted beach and a lake, if it needs to be converted into grain fields, how can it be done without two or three years of operation? According to Huaidong
The army's reward and pension standard for Huai is probably 80,000 to 90,000 acres of grain fields this time. Xuzhou has a lot of people and little land, and one acre of cultivated land costs 10 taels of silver. Huaidong provides food and clothing, so how can you have the nerve to ask for another 80,000 acres from them?
Ninety thousand acres of mature farmland?”
Malantou's mother-in-law ignored Malantou's complaints and asked Liu Miaozhen, "What are you hesitating about?"
"This burden has been weighing on my shoulders for so many years, and Miaozhen, a weak woman, can't bear it. Now that everything is settled and everyone doesn't have to suffer from hunger, I want to unload the burden. If it weren't for Uncle Ma
You come to take charge of this house, and Miaozhen will be your deputy?" Liu Miaozhen said.
"How can I be qualified?" Ma Lantou hurriedly refused. Then he thought about Liu Miaozhen's purpose and asked hesitantly, "Does the eldest lady mean to hand over the entire responsibility to Huaidong?"
"What did Uncle Ma think?" Liu Miaozhen asked.
Malantou fell silent and said after a while: "To be honest, Li Liang and I and others will not be treated badly even if we join Huaidong, and we will have a clear goal in the future; but what will you do, Miss?"
Young Master, what should he do?"
"Miaozhen is willing to marry Lin Fu as my concubine!" Liu Miaozhen said with determination.