At the end of the first year of Daguan, Zhaode Square welcomed a special group of guests. As Yang Lin's residence, there was no shortage of officials here, but this was the first time that so many businessmen gathered here.
These merchants know very well how much profit there is from Bianhe water transport. They are the largest merchants near and far, and some even come from Chengdu.
In the lobby of Zhaodefang, these businessmen were sitting upright, and they were polite to others when the servants brought them tea.
This is not an ordinary place. It is the residence of Yang Lin, the young prime minister of the Song Dynasty, who is in the limelight. In terms of status, there are few people in the Song Dynasty who have surpassed him.
After a while, a tall and plump woman opened the way, and a young man came out surrounded by several young men behind him. It was Yang Lin, the winner of the fierce fight in the court some time ago.
As soon as Yang Lin came out, all the businessmen in the hall stood up and looked at this big shot nervously.
Although their families are wealthy, they are still incomparable to such officials. In the past, they would never have dreamed that one day they would become Shaozai's guests.
Yang Lin smiled, pressed his hands, and said, "Everyone, please take a seat."
After Yang Lin sat down, these people slowly sat down, and many others stood aside.
It turns out that there were not so many guests in the Yang Mansion in the past, and there were not enough chairs.
Yang Lin turned around and said, "Mother Yun, count how many people have no seats and ask someone to bring some chairs."
The tall woman responded, turned and left, and soon a few boys came in carrying chairs.
Such a favor made the businessman, who arrived late and had no seat, a little embarrassed. He stood there not knowing how to express his thanks. Although everyone was a good person and usually communicated with people in all directions, he couldn't bear to express his gratitude at this moment.
The occasion is really special, and I can't do it even if I have the skills.
"I have invited you all here today because I have something important to discuss with you. You are all well-known merchants in the Song Dynasty, and you all know more about the business than I do. At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, there were sixteen wealthy households in Chengdu Prefecture.
Because the coins were too heavy to carry, they jointly set up Jiaozipu. Later, the imperial court issued Qianyin. Hehe, as you all know, the times were bad, the state was in embarrassment, and the currency notes depreciated, which naturally caused everyone's income to shrink greatly. Money
If you introduce this thing, it will exist in name only."
The businessmen nodded frequently. What Shaozai said was correct, but it seemed to have nothing to do with the purpose of coming today. Everyone came here for the Bianhe River canal transport. Yang Shaozai obviously went off topic, but no one dared to question it.
Yang Lin continued: "How many people are here today?"
Yun Niang bowed slightly and whispered: "Thirty-five."
"Thirty-five, including me, the number is thirty-six. Our strength is more than a star and a half higher than the original sixteen households in Chengdu. I don't know how troublesome the business is. Carrying coins is neither safe nor convenient. Money
It cannot be exchanged, and I admit that it is like waste paper. We can jointly build banks in various places and issue a kind of banknote to replace the currency."
Yang Lin was so excited that he stood up, walked to the middle of more than thirty wealthy businessmen, and said, "How about calling it a bank note?"
The merchants looked at each other, a little moved, but they were afraid of being tricked by the high-ranking official in front of them.
Paper money has always been a weapon used by the imperial court to deceive businessmen. One piece of money caused countless wealthy merchants to lose their entire wealth, and they were all taken away by the imperial court.
Yang Lin smiled and said: "I don't have to interfere in this matter. You will do it. I will be the leader and it will be convenient for Long Live to build Genyue."
Finally, an older businessman felt that such a gathering could not be carried out without discussion. He stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Shaozai, whether it is Qianyin or Jiaozi, the biggest problem is that the publisher can print at will, disturbing the normal
Transaction. As long as the issuer is short of money, he can print them for use, but in the long run it will inevitably depreciate. How will Shaozai change this stubborn problem if he wants to issue banknotes?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall nodded repeatedly. This man was Wang Yun, a fur goods merchant from Daming Prefecture. He had a rich family fortune and was very prestigious among merchants.
"It's very simple, set up a chamber of commerce, I will pay for your printing, and Long Live Camp will have the right to supervise. We will supervise each other's production and cooperate with each other. You are more familiar with doing business than I am, and we all know the truth that a win-win situation is the best cooperation."
"The Long Live Battalion immediately handed over 5 million guan to the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce printed 5 million guan silver notes. You can exchange them for the banknotes from the chamber of commerce. If I regret it, I will have defrauded my own money. If I printed it at will,
You can get out of here."
Only then did all the wealthy businessmen become excited. Shaozai's proposal was sincere, but he just didn't know how the Chamber of Commerce would operate.
Wang Yun lowered his head and discussed with a few people around him, then continued to ask: "Shao Zai, I don't know how the chamber of commerce you mentioned was established?"
"It is established by you. You will voluntarily elect a president who will be responsible for the operation. I will never interfere. All merchants who join the chamber of commerce can invest in water transportation. After your chamber of commerce is established, make a specification. You can use merchant ships, cargo ships, trucks, etc.
Horses can invest in shares; you can invest in human resources or money, and they will all be converted according to the current price. All water transportation income will be distributed at the end of the year, and the dividends will be divided according to the number of shares.
I will take 30% of the money from my Long Live Battalion, and the rest will be divided into shares.”
Yang Lin controls the water transportation and uses his power to monopolize the Bianhe River. If he is really willing to take a share, 30% is not too much. Also, Yang Tong's business empire can completely occupy a large share. There are not many people with this strength.
Merchants can match it.
Many thoughtful businessmen have already figured out the taste of it. With so many conveniences in this chamber of commerce, wouldn't it be possible that in the future wealthy businessmen everywhere would invest in it? The entire Song Dynasty would support Bianliang, and this would be the economic center of the entire Song Dynasty.
If you can't do business in Bianhe, you can't be called a big businessman.
The Chamber of Commerce's convenience, whether it is water transportation or banknotes, has a fatal attraction for merchants. No one wants to travel for several months with a few carts of coins. Not all of them are big cities and strong beams along the way.
After entering the Chamber of Commerce, you can take your banknotes and exchange them at banks around the world, which is convenient and safe.
It is foreseeable that as long as Yang Shaozai is not too short-sighted and goes back on his word, as long as he persists for a few years, the Chamber of Commerce will grow tremendously. Moreover, this Chamber of Commerce is completely a private organization. Not only will it not increase the burden on the court, it will even increase a lot of tax revenue.
.
As long as Yang Lin survives in the court, he can continue to gain the emperor's trust based on his achievements.
By then, Yang Shaozai would be able to control the world's business. In addition, his Long Live Battalion also controlled six shipping companies. He must be the God of Wealth of the Song Dynasty.
Not to mention the long term, but the current thirty-five companies are already a force that cannot be underestimated in the Song Dynasty.
According to Yang Lin, he can be involved in this matter. Once he keeps his word, people like him can make a lot of profits. If he doesn't keep his word and forcibly interferes with the chamber of commerce and prints banknotes at will, people like him can also get away.
retreat.
There was no need for too much discussion. These people were all veterans of the business and they all agreed quickly.
Yang Lin chuckled, raised his hand and said: "I should have kept you here for dinner, but you guys should have many things to discuss privately, so I won't force you to stay. Today is the end of the year, and tomorrow will be the New Year. I wish you
You will have great wealth."
Everyone stood up together, bowed and thanked them, gathered in small groups, and slowly exited Zhaodefang.