At that moment, amidst a round of applause, Zhao Ran stepped onto the podium and pressed his hands to restore silence to the venue.
"First of all, on behalf of all parties in the joint meeting, I would like to extend my highest respect to everyone who came to participate in the friendly people's symposium. Our agenda is arranged as follows. There will be a meeting in the morning, and at noon, Jimingguan will entertain everyone for a meal. After the meal, there will be group discussions.
.Is there anything you don’t understand?”
Someone immediately responded: "Everyone knows, didn't they distribute the symposium manual? It's written very clearly."
Zhao Ran nodded: "Okay, let me say a few words first. Since it is a symposium, there is no need to be reserved. During Pindao's speech, if you have any questions or confusion, you can ask questions at any time. As we all know, for
In order to fight against Daomen's anti-smuggling investigation, some overseas criminals formed a so-called island owner alliance. Through their plundering behavior, we can clearly understand that this is an alliance of sea pirates, also called pirates in some places. For
Of course, pirates must be severely punished. I think there is no need to explain this point. Needless to say, just two months ago, our young inspection fleet encountered an enemy in the sea five hundred and fifty miles southeast of Qianli Rock.
The fleet of the Maritime Bandit Alliance, we lost this battle and suffered heavy losses..."
Someone below asked: "How much is the loss? Can the abbot make it clear? Are the losses reported in the journal true?"
Zhao Ran nodded: "The losses published in major journals were determined by the joint meeting. I can tell you responsibly that it is true. The entire inspection fleet has lost most of its strength, except for the loss of warships.
In addition, there has been no news from the commander-in-chief Li Dayin. Eighteen sects and casual cultivator families have monks who have sacrificed their lives. One thousand and sixty-nine families have lost their families. Their old people have lost their sons, and their young people have lost their sons.
The wife has lost her husband, the young child has lost his father..."
After a pause, Zhao Ran said: "I suggest that you please stand up and express your condolences to them."
At Zhao Ran's request, everyone took off their hats and bowed their heads to mourn the heroes who died in the naval battle.
After a moment, Zhao Ran said: "A few days ago, the victorious pirates asked someone to pass on a message. They arrogantly demanded that the joint meeting agree to their conditions, recognize that they are the overlords of the East China Sea, and recognize their control over the East China Sea. At the same time, their
Their eyes are still fixed on the South China Sea, and they continue to ask the Daomen to hand over the South China Sea to them and make it a delicacy on their dining table..."
Zhao Ran asked loudly: "Everyone, can we agree?"
Someone took the lead and shouted, prompting everyone to respond: "I will never agree!"
Zhao Ran continued to ask: "They want to force the Taoist generals to sell them the armor and sharp blades so that they can attack us again. Can we agree?"
The response sounded like a mountain cry: "I will never agree!"
Zhao Ran asked again: "They still want the Taoist sect to give them positions and use the trust of the people in the world to help them improve their cultivation. Can we agree?"
The reply almost shook the lecture hall: "I will never agree!"
Zhao Ran asked again: "That Wutong Taoist, he killed more than a thousand of our lives, and then told us that he wanted to be the elder of the so-called Ling'ao Pavilion. Can we agree?"
"Never agree! Never!"
"Let him die!"
"Catch him and behead him in public!"
"This is too much bullying, I'm so angry!"
While listening to the yelling and swearing below, Zhao Ran nodded in agreement in the direction from which the yelling came, and then said: "The public opinion is here, the people's heart is here! I will never agree to their terms in the joint meeting. They want to destroy me."
The people of the DPRK are trampling under their feet, and we and they will never give up! Two days ago, the new inspection fleet went to sea, and this is the answer given to them by the joint meeting! It is the answer given to them by the Ming Dynasty, and it is the answer given to them by the Dao Sect! It is also the people of the world, who are here
Your answers to them!"
There was another round of cheers, and the participants in the front row said one after another: "Abbott, let's build more ships and a bigger fleet!"
"A bunch of clowns dare to provoke the Ming Dynasty. They really don't know how to live or die!"
"Abbott, how much money do you need and what do you need us to do? Just ask."
"We Xinglongji donated three hundred taels!"
"We, Huitong Bank, donated five hundred taels!"
"I am Wang Chengyu, and I personally pledge two hundred taels!"
Suddenly, there was a chorus of pledges below.
Zhao Ran stopped him with both hands and said: "I invite you all to come, of course, to raise military expenses. To be honest, the reconstruction of the inspection fleet has already spent all the silver reserves of the joint meeting. I have no money. But if you want to count on this inspection fleet
The fleet wiped out the East China Sea, and huge investments will be needed in the follow-up. It is clearly stated in major journals that the pirates have more than a thousand ships and tens of thousands of men. We can only defeat them by continuing to expand the scale of the inspection fleet. The joint meeting requires war expenses.
A large amount of war expenses, totaling one million taels."
As soon as this figure was reported, many people were shocked, and some of the companies that had initially actively requested to donate money fell silent.
Zhao Ran said: "The joint meeting has communicated with the imperial court. The Ministry of Revenue has done its best to support and can bear 400,000 taels, but there is still a gap of 600,000 taels. I have called you here today to discuss it together. Of course, please put aside your worries.
Pindao once again emphasized that this is a symposium, not a fund-raising meeting, and the joint meeting will not accept donations of one tael of silver from you. As for how to raise funds, please be patient, and we will ask the Treasurer of the Ministry of Accounts to introduce it to you during the promotion."
Under everyone's doubtful eyes, Shi Weiming walked onto the podium. The curtain behind him fell down, revealing several lines of large characters pasted on it.
Shi Weiming raised his pointer, pointed to the top line and said: "You read that right, the fundraising method we discussed is to issue Jinghai Pingkou bonds."
What is the Jinghai Pingkou Bond? Shi Weiming introduced that simply speaking, it means borrowing money from everyone, but this kind of borrowing is carried out in the form of voluntary subscription, and every loan has a certificate. Since it is borrowing money, of course
Interest is paid, and after maturity, the joint meeting will repay the principal and interest without default. This kind of certificate is called a bond.
The borrowed money was used specifically to pacify the East China Sea, annihilate the pirates, and not use other methods, so it was named Jinghai to pacify the pirates.
In order to allay everyone's concerns, Shi Weiming said that the bonds will be guaranteed by Baochao Treasury Silver, and everyone can rest assured that the bonds will never become waste paper.
Shi Weiming pointed his pointer at the big letters behind him and said: "Everyone, the annual interest is four cents, and the principal and interest will be repaid after one year. Where does the interest come from? From the East China Sea seafood! After the East China Sea is pacified, the joint meeting will use Ling'ao Island and
The output of the nearby islands will still be used to pay back the principal and interest, so you can sit back and relax!"
After the morning meeting, group discussions continued in the afternoon, divided into groups according to banks, shops, Haike, Jinshen, etc., so that everyone could fully discuss what concerns they had about the Jinghai Pingkou Bond, what opinions and suggestions they had, and everyone’s initial subscription.
What is the intention?
After the afternoon discussion, each group summarized their opinions. Shi Weiming was a little worried around Zhao Ran. Zhao Ran smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous. It's only 600,000 taels. You have to believe in everyone's consciousness."