"Guanjia, didn't you get a good rest last night?" Lu Yi asked with concern.
"Yeah." Yunxi snorted. "I was upset last night and couldn't sleep."
A look of surprise appeared on Lu Yi's face. With one concubine and four concubines in the harem, no one could compare to Bao Qin in terms of gentleness and carelessness. She was quite happy when she left Qianqing Palace with the eldest son of the emperor, so why did she suddenly feel upset?
"There's nothing else. Concubine Ming and I have some disagreements over how to teach Wen Yao. It's not a big deal." Yunxi squinted his eyes without looking at Lu Yi and ordered: "Go and see why Xiao Yong and Zhang Wuji are still here." Didn’t enter the palace.”
"Yes, the official family." Lu Yi didn't dare to think about it anymore, so he agreed and ran out of the palace. After a while, he returned to the palace, came to Yunxi, bowed and said: "The official family, the Prince Consort of Changshan and the Prince Consort of Huainan have already entered the palace. , the two princesses also entered the palace together, but they did not come to Qianqing Palace, but went directly to Kunning Palace."
"You ask them to come here. Then go and see that Clavio, Medici and Ai Changyuan have entered the palace. After they enter the palace, you first ask them to wait for a while in Jinshen Palace, waiting for my message. Call." Yunxi asked again.
Lu Yi agreed again, turned around and retreated. At the same time, he lamented in his heart and said to himself: 'I really shouldn't have said that much, and I won't dare to say anything again in the future.'
After Lu Yi retreated, Yunxi closed his eyes and squinted for a while. Although he lay down last night, he couldn't sleep peacefully while holding Qin, so Yunxi couldn't sleep well, so he lacked some sleep today. "Go to bed early at noon. In a while, I'll catch up on last night's sleep.'
'But it's not a big deal. It's okay to miss a night's sleep. But, how to persuade Bao Qin? Of course it is possible to force Wen Yao to lead troops to attack Bengal, but I don't want to make the relationship between husband and wife too tense, even if I am not the queen. And Wen Yao is her only son, so it is normal for her to feel reluctant to let him go. Hey, how can she convince her to let Wen Yao go to war? Well, if you can't think of it, just wait. Anyway, it will only happen after Wen Yao gets married. There's no rush to lead the troops on an expedition.'
While he was thinking, he heard the sound of slight footsteps. When Yunxi opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Yong and Zhang Wuji standing at the door of the palace at a loss, wondering whether it was better to come in or wait outside. Yunxi Xi hurriedly said: "Xiao Yong, Wuji, come in quickly, why are you standing at the door?"
"Guan Jia." The two of them hurriedly agreed, walked to Yunxi and bowed in salute. Zhang Wuji added: "Just now I saw Guan Jia leaning on the Arhat bed. I thought Guan Jia was asleep and was afraid of disturbing Guan Jia. I don’t dare to come in.”
"If you are woken up so easily, you are not sleeping." Yunxi said with a smile, and then said: "And since I just ordered my servants to tell you to come in, it is impossible to sleep at this time."
Xiao Yong and Zhang Wuji agreed again and sat down on the chairs in front of Yunxi.
"One more thing. You don't have to call me Guanjia, you can call me brother. You are all my brothers-in-law, and we are a family. And you are younger than me, so I should be your brother." Yunxi added. said.
When Xiao Yong and Zhang Wuji heard this, they quickly expressed their fear and fear. According to the folk name, they should call Yunxi 'brother-in-law' in person, and 'brother-in-law' to outsiders. The common saying is brother-in-law. But this is not a folk place. , Yunxi's younger brothers and sisters can call him imperial brother or elder brother, but they would never dare.
Seeing that their reaction was so intense, Yunhe stopped mentioning it and exchanged a few words with them before talking about business. "I called you into the palace today because I have something to tell you. In fact, I wanted to tell you about this yesterday, but
It was getting late at that time, and people had to be called into the palace again, so I didn’t say anything. I have nothing else to do this morning, so I will tell you about it again. What I want to tell you today is about the business of the bank business.
thing."
"You all know that after the Yiwu War ended eight years ago, I brought back some Semu people from the Western Regions. After they came back, these Semu people were sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs as unofficial officials to handle the accounts and organize the accounts of the Household Department.
Everything is in good order and everything is not messed up. This is not only the credit of the two Ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, but also their credit."
"A few days ago, after I summoned the envoys from several countries who came to pay tribute from Fufu, I learned that these people are called Jews in Fufu. They are a people who are very good at doing business and managing accounts. They are also good at banks in many countries in Fufu.
Even their banks are managed by these seductive people called Jews.”
"After listening to these words, I suddenly thought of the Jews in the Ming Dynasty, and I started to think about it. I thought, could I let them take care of the accounts of the bank, or come up with some business ideas, so that the bank in the Ming Dynasty could develop more quickly?"
After listening to the words of Claviyo, Diego Medici and others, Yunxi learned that the financial industry in Ming Dynasty was much worse than that of Fu Fu at this time, so he became interested in the further development of the financial industry, but
The reason why he was determined to promote financial industry reform in the Ming Dynasty was not so, but because of the alliance he wanted to sign with the Kingdom of Castile.
In the future, after the two sides control Egypt and open up the Maritime Silk Road, there will definitely be many merchants from all over the world along the Maritime Silk Road to the Ming Dynasty to do business, just like there are many merchants from Tianfang in the two shipping companies now.
.These businessmen all have more or less knowledge about the financial industry in Fulong. When they found that the financial industry in Ming Dynasty was much behind that of Fulong, in order to make profits or simply for the convenience of doing business, they would set up banks. With the help of
With their advanced business philosophy, they will definitely defeat the local banks of the Ming Dynasty.
It is true that the Chinese people are a nation that is very good at learning. They will gradually learn the advanced concepts of Western banks and regain the initiative by relying on their local advantages. But in the process, countless gold and silver will be stolen. Yunxi is not willing to
Paying so much tuition. There are still several years or more than ten years before the joint control of Egypt. Yunxi plans to improve the business level of Daming Bank in these few years. It is difficult to catch up with Fufu's bank quickly, but
At least, pay less tuition.
"This." Xiao Yong and Zhang Wuji looked at each other, and Zhang Wuji said: "Guan family, this matter may not be easy. All banks treat their accounts as confidential matters. Even people from the same family cannot look at them at will, let alone mention them to them.
Outsiders have seen it; even the temples and Taoist temples are managed by the most loyal monks and Taoists, and outsiders are not allowed to watch. I heard that the Jews believe in their own unique religion and are unwilling to convert to the monks and Taoists, so I cannot see the accounts of the temples and Taoist temples;
As for the accounts of the banks controlled by the family, it is even more impossible to see."
"I know this too. Since we can't see the accounts, how about letting them take a look at the bank's operations and come up with some new ideas?" Yunxi asked again.
"Guan family, if the government family wants to know what they are unique about running a bank, just let them open a bank of their own. Why do they have to give advice to other banks?" Xiao Yong asked.
"No. There is no need to talk about this matter again. I will never agree." Yunxi said quickly. The impression that Jews operating in the financial industry gave him was too terrible, and he was not willing to kill the donkey like the monarch of Fulu, and the Ming Dynasty also
Without a cultural foundation that hates Jews as much as Fu Fu, this ban cannot be relaxed.
"If you have to let them see the operation of the bank, I can mention it to the banks opened by several temples in the capital. However, they may not be willing to listen to the new ideas proposed. Even if they are forced to implement them, they will not be willing to do so.
If you don't want to, it won't be of much use." Xiao Yong said again.
"That's not bad." Yunxi said. Reforming the financial industry is not about collecting taxes. It requires banks to voluntarily. If they are not voluntary, it will definitely achieve half the result with twice the effort.
"Furthermore, officials, the Jews of the Ming Dynasty have been separated from the Jews of Fufu for at least hundreds of years. Even though they were very good at running banks hundreds of years ago, hundreds of years have passed and there have been new changes in Fufu, and they may not have known about it.
, may not be able to come up with good ideas." Zhang Wuji said again.
"You're right!" Yunxi suddenly realized. He ignored the difference between the Fufu Jews and the Jews of the Ming Dynasty. Even if the Jews were naturally good at doing business, they might not be able to come up with new ideas after living in the relatively backward financial system of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.
Ideas; not to mention that in Fulu, the Jews who are good at doing business are mostly forced out, but they cannot be sure.
"Wuji, you are right, but I was negligent. I will reward you with something in a while." Yunxi said this, and then said: "But fortunately, today I did not just call the Jews of the Ming Dynasty." He then said
He raised his voice: "Lu Yi, ask the envoys of Florence, Diego Medici and Clavio, to meet with you." After saying this, he paused and then ordered: "Ask Ai Yuanyuan to come in and listen."
Lu Yi, who had returned to the palace, lamented in his heart again and walked out of the palace to pass the news. After a while, Diego Medici, Claviyo and a man with black hair and black eyes, who looked like Han Chinese, walked out at the same time.
Come in. Diego de' Medici came two feet in front of Yunxi, bowed and saluted in English: "Diego de' Medici, the envoy of the Republic of Florence, has met His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire."
"I have met your Majesty. Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty!" Ai Changyuan said as he knelt down. Claviyo hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not choose to kneel down and just bowed to salute, but he said the same words as Ai Changyuan.
"No need to pay tribute." Yunxi agreed, and ordered the officials to bring two chairs for them. Diego Medici thanked Yunxi again, and then sat on the chair, as did Claviyo;
However, Ai Changyuan was at a loss and didn't know what to do. After Yunxi gave another order, he sat down on the chair, but only half of his buttocks was pressed against the chair. He didn't dare to sit down fully, as if he was walking in a horse stride.
generally.
After Yunxi asked him to sit down, he stopped paying attention to him and said to Diego Medici: "When I summoned you yesterday, I heard that the banking industry in Florence is very developed."
"Indeed."
"So, today I want you to give a detailed introduction to the banking business in Florence to my two officials who are in charge of the Daming Bank Headquarters, which is your bank guild."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Diego Medici did not worry that Yunxi had other purposes. He agreed and introduced him. "Florence, or in other words, the banking industry in Europe has a long history. At first, banks were established because many businessmen were very interested.
There are talents, but it is difficult to do business due to lack of capital; at the same time, some businesses are difficult to achieve payment and delivery in person, but neither party trusts the other and is unwilling to pay money or deliver goods first, making it difficult to complete the business; there is another situation
, some businessmen are afraid that it is not safe to keep their money at home and want to entrust someone to save the money for them."
"Under this situation, the bank was born. First, the bank was established by some reputable people, and businessmen could safely deposit money in it; at the same time, they invented a system: both parties to the transaction opened an account in the bank, and those who purchased the goods first deposited the money into the bank.
The payment for the goods is deposited into your bank account, and after the goods are received, the bank will hand over the payment to the party selling the goods.”
"Third, by collecting deposits, banks have some money, which they can lend to businessmen who are talented but lack capital to do business. After the businessmen make money, they will return the loan and pay interest at the same time. Of course, in the beginning,
The scale of these transactions was very small. As these banks gradually accumulated credit, the scale of transactions became larger and larger, and many large banks developed. For example, the Medici Bank was opened by my family and named after my surname.
"
After placing an advertisement for his bank by the way, Diego Medici continued to introduce: "With the gradual development of the banking industry, and because the transportation became more and more convenient, the scope of business for merchants became wider and wider.
The original business model of banks became increasingly inappropriate, and various banks began to reform one after another. The first was the invention of cashier's checks, bills of exchange and checks."
“A promissory note means a note made by one person and delivered to another person, with the signature of the maker promising to pay a certain amount of money to a specific person or his designee at sight or at a regular time or at a determinable future time.
A person or person. A check has a similar meaning, but the payee is a bank; a money order is similar, but the payee can be either a company or an individual."
“The invention of promissory notes, bills of exchange, and checks not only enabled the further development of commerce, but also enabled banks to undertake a wider range of business. In the past, without these three types of bills, a bank could only operate within the vicinity of the bank.
With these three types of bills, especially checks and money orders, it has expanded to all places that have heard of this bank. It has greatly promoted the development of the banking industry."
"Of course, some people will take advantage of this situation to forge checks or money orders to defraud money. Therefore, all banks have developed unique passwords written on checks, unique paper, and even unique ink, etc.
Through various methods, fake checks have been basically eliminated.”
"Corresponding to the check, the bill of lading was invented. The bill of lading, as the name suggests, is a voucher for picking up goods. Sometimes a businessman buys the goods from another businessman and agrees on the delivery time.
But suddenly due to lack of money, he sold the goods to others. At this time, he could pick up the goods with the bill of lading without having to accompany the previous businessman. This saved the businessman's time and promoted the development of business. However, this has nothing to do with the bank.
It doesn’t matter much.”
"The guarantee system was introduced later. Due to the limitations of communication conditions, it is difficult for a bank to cover a wider area, and there are banks in other wealthy places, and they are not willing to have banks from other places monopolize local business. But a certain bank
A businessman from other places has all his money in a foreign bank. There is a certain risk for him to transfer the money from a foreign bank to a local bank, so the guarantee system was born. The banks in the two places reach an agreement, and the foreign bank issues a certificate of deposit.
, the local bank treats these deposits locally, pays the money to the businessman, and then asks the foreign bank for the money and interest using a note signed by the businessman."
"In order to promote the development of domestic commerce, many countries, including the Republic of Florence, established navigation laws. This is also related to banks." Diego Medici then gave a general introduction to the navigation laws of various countries, especially Florence, Venice and Genoa.
of these three republics.
Diego Medici introduced a lot more. He said: "Since the beginning of the last century, the greatest invention of the banking industry is insurance. Insurance means that before doing business, the businessman will hand over part of the funds as insurance money.
The bank, if there is no accident in this business and makes money, then the insurance money will become the bank's money; if it loses money due to an accident, such as the ship capsizing, or being robbed by pirates, etc., it can be collected from the bank with evidence
A compensation equal to a certain multiple of the insurance premium.”
"Since the invention of insurance, no new banking business has been born. I have finished my introduction." Diego Medici finally said.
Xiao Yong, Zhang Wuji and others had long been dumbfounded. Although many concepts did not exist in the Ming Dynasty at this time, Claviyo's translation was not very accurate. They did not fully understand Diego Medici's words, but it was only Claviyo's translation.
This part amazed them. They had never thought that a bank, or money bank, could actually operate such a business, and that the owner and shopkeeper of the bank from Florence could come up with so many good ideas. Although some of the ideas sounded
There are risks, you might lose money, but since the Florentine is still in business, it's enough to prove that these ideas can also make money.
'That's incredible.' They both thought at the same time.
Yunxi was stunned just now. It was not because he had never heard of these businesses, but because he was surprised that these businesses had been invented. Especially since he studied financial management in his previous life, he was not familiar with these businesses because he had never worked in a bank.
Although he didn't know the details, he had heard about it. This made him even more surprised. However, because he had heard about it in his previous life, he finally reacted quickly and said with a smile: "Yes, you Florentines are really good at running the banking industry."
"Diego Medici, are you interested in instructing some Ming Dynasty banks and how to carry out these businesses?" He suddenly said. (To be continued)