1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 246 Promotion of the Financial System

After Wei Ping sent the first letter of persuasion to Yazhou, the Hong Kong District Management Committee had already arranged for people to start building the new Yulin inspection office.However, because of the recent development of Iron Furnace Port, most of the construction workers under the Ministry of Construction have been sent to work in Iron Furnace Port. Therefore, the construction progress of the Inspection Department can only be described as quite slow, and it has only been completed after more than ten days of construction. Only the basic ground drainage ditch and foundation construction have been done, and the shadow of the house has not been seen yet.Although Wei Ping was very anxious in his heart, he didn't dare to urge the people in the Ministry of Construction. The Ministry of Construction is the yamen directly under the supervision of Tao Donglai. very clear.

And now the inspection department is not the only one that has been delayed. The "Security Office" and "Port Affairs Center" on the left and right of the inspection department have also only completed the preliminary foundation work and have not received any special care. It was because Wei Ping couldn't pick any faults.

The fact that the inspection department is not built doesn't mean that Wei Ping and his gang don't have to do anything.Early in the morning, someone notified Wei Ping, asking him to assemble his team and go to the pier to carry out the task.It was not the first time that Wei Ping had received this so-called "task".Beginning in September, every time a large number of immigrants arrived at Shengli Port, the relevant departments would pull out the inspection department and the group to show their faces on the pier, so as to play a dual role of appeasement and deterrence to the new immigrants.Wei Ping assembled the team unhurriedly, dressed neatly, took the flag of the inspection department to the pier, and started another performance.But this time, when they saw more than a dozen ships entering the port at the same time, the inspection department and the group were also talking about it, wondering if the Haihan people had a new stronghold to develop.

With a large number of militiamen and security guards present, the inspection department does not need to intervene in maintaining order.At this time, Ren Liang sent someone to convey a new mission to them - to meet a group of merchants from Guangzhou who had just arrived here.Only then did Wei Ping know that more than half of the ships in this fleet came from Guangzhou.Wei Ping also understood the purpose of Ren Liang asking him to "see him" in the past, which was to admonish these outsiders in an official capacity, lest they cause trouble in Shengli Port.

So Wei Ping hurried to another wharf with a group of men, and gave a brief lecture to the Guangzhou merchants who had just disembarked. Arrangement, if there is any trouble caused by violation of law and discipline during Shengli Port, then don't even think about going back to Guangzhou.

Wei Ping's lectures not only did not arouse the resentment of the merchants, but made them feel more at ease.Several of these sea merchants have never been to Hainan Island, and after drifting at sea for a few days, they couldn't tell the direction at all. Although they knew that Shengli Port was near Yazhou, they didn't have a clear location. Now that there are people from the inspection department stationed here, at least it is certain that this place is under the rule of the Ming Dynasty—at least in their eyes.

At this point, the inspection department's task is basically completed, and the remaining work will be taken over by the port management committee.Ren Liang first visited the Shengli Port business district under development with a group of newcomers who were full of interest, and briefly explained to them the significance of establishing this business district and some foreign policies of the business district.

Almost all merchants were impressed when they heard the duty-free policy of Victory Port. This policy is extremely attractive to merchants who are engaged in the transportation of bulk goods by sea all the year round.If you can save hundreds of taels of tax per transaction, then the saved expenses throughout the year will be very considerable.In contrast, the freight required to transport the goods from Guangzhou to Shengli Port is actually a small amount.

Ren Liang introduced: "Just now you have seen that we are expanding the port here. After it is completed, more than [-] large sea-going ships can berth at the same time, and a special cargo loading and unloading team will be equipped to achieve efficient and efficient cargo handling. Preface. In addition, bosses, please remember that as long as the goods purchased by us, there will be no additional charges for unloading the goods at Shengli Port. Of course, the goods you buy from us will naturally not be charged for loading."

A merchant asked: "But the goods we ship here may need to be traded with other merchants. I wonder if you will provide a special trading place for foreign merchants?"

Ren Liang nodded and said: "We will build a dedicated trading center at the port later, and announce the prices and demands of various goods in real time, so that the bosses can learn about the local commodity prices. Moreover, we will also provide third-party information for both parties to the transaction. Risk guarantee, the buyer can deposit the silver in the trading center, issue a bill after the inspection is satisfactory, and the seller takes the bill to the trading center to collect the silver, as long as you trade in this way, you don’t have to worry about being cheated.”

"Then is there a fee for this kind of transaction guarantee?" another merchant asked.

Ren Liang smiled and said: "Since we provide the service and bear certain risks, it is normal to charge a little service fee. But please rest assured that the fee we charge is extremely low, and we only charge for successful transactions. Both parties charge one-thousandth of the transaction amount as a service fee."

Everyone thought about it, the 1000 taels only charged one or two taels of silver, which is actually similar to confiscation, not to mention that they have to provide various service means, compared to the commercial tax of [-] to [-] under the Ming Dynasty, such a small fee is simply low It can be ignored.

While wiping the sweat from his forehead, a chubby merchant asked in a Chaoshan accent: "If there is a huge amount of money exchanged, it will be inconvenient to transport it from Guangzhou. Do you have a solution?"

"We have considered this issue a long time ago. Bosses can deposit their cash into the bank in Shengli Port, and directly use the bank notes issued by the bank to transfer accounts. Next year, we will open the universal deposit and withdrawal business between Shengli Port and Guangzhou. It is the bank note issued by our Haihan Bank, which can be freely exchanged for cash in the two places." Ren Liang worked hard to promote these merchants: "In other words, you don't need to bring a lot of money when you come to Victory Port to do business in the future. The cash flow across the sea, you only need to deposit the silver in our bank in Guangzhou, take the bank note to Shengli Port for transactions, and then return to Guangzhou to withdraw the cash after the work is done. It is safe, trouble-free and convenient, and there is no need for When I went back, I brought cash and was charged by the Maritime Department.”

The increased rate is a tax set up by the Shibo Department for those maritime merchants who trade in Luzon. These sea merchants often have no goods when they return, but a large amount of Mexican silver dollars. The Shibo Department has added such a tax to make up for it. Loopholes in the tax system.The method proposed by Ren Liang can not only avoid the risk of shipping large amounts of money between the two places, but also allow the maritime merchants to "reasonably avoid taxes" when they return to Guangzhou and avoid the collection of increased rates.

Although the stock of precious metals in the Transit Group is not very large, the financial sector can't wait to incorporate the banking system into the business system.Schneider also made several reports from Guangzhou, explaining the benefits of establishing a universal deposit and withdrawal system between the two places for expanding the trade volume of Shengli Port.The executive committee naturally also knows that Qianzhuang Bank is a good business with huge profits, and it can indeed greatly promote the enthusiasm of merchants to trade in Shengli Port. The bank will inevitably involve the transportation of a large amount of money, so this economic expansion plan has to be postponed for a period of time, and it will not be implemented until the sea transportation capacity has eased.

However, compared to operation, it is difficult to gain the trust of maritime merchants in the bank.To exchange real money for a few pieces of paper, businessmen in this era seem to be seriously insecure, because the lessons of the Daming Banknotes are still vivid.

As the only official currency during the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Daming Treasure Banknotes were issued from the eighth year of Hongwu, and had to be abolished in the reign of Zhengde because of the serious depreciation that caused public dissatisfaction. It has been in circulation for more than 270 years.Since then, the people of Ming Dynasty have naturally rejected paper money, because no one knows how long the validity period of this thing can be.Even if the official currency is like this, it is even more difficult to get these merchants to recognize Haihan's bank notes.

These people are not comparable to the local naturalized people who use circulation notes. The original reason why the naturalized people accept circulation notes is that they have no other choice, because copper coins and silver taels cannot be used for ordinary transactions in Victory Port, and they want to buy anything. You must use circulation coupons.In the long-term use, the public has gradually accepted this currency in the form of circulation notes, not to mention that the price of Victory Port has been kept at a relatively low level due to the deliberate control of the Executive Committee, which is also to a certain extent The purchasing power of circulation coupons is guaranteed, thus giving the public enough confidence to hold and use them.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, some banks, bank accounts, and bank accounts with a banking nature began to appear in the private sector, but the accumulation of such credit often took several generations of people, and the Executive Committee did not have the patience to slow it down. Grinding slowly, it is even more impossible to introduce private banks from the mainland to Victory Port to grab their own meat.However, the amount of money used by merchants in transactions is relatively large, often ranging from hundreds to thousands of taels. No one will easily use their wealth to take risks to try the credit of a new bank.Therefore, Ren Liang's promotion of the bank did not arouse the interest of merchants.On the contrary, some people began to mutter in their hearts, whether this Haihan people are so whimsical, whether they are really trustworthy.

Ren Liang was not too surprised by the cold reaction of the merchants, which was actually expected by the executive committee.Wanting to promote more advanced financial concepts and operating methods in this era is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Someone must stand up and eat crabs before they can attract more followers because of their exemplary role. Paper The same is true for the emergence of banknotes and banks.

Fortunately, the promotion and establishment of the financial system has already been carried out since the beginning of the landing. Although no formal bank has been opened yet, in fact, Haihan's financial system has already been operating externally, and it also has several partners. The parties with whom the Time Traveling Group has trade relations have basically accepted the payment method of the Time Traveling Group's negotiable notes.In particular, the "Furuifeng" firm, which has a large transaction volume with the Transit Group, has already agreed that the two parties can use bills instead of cash for financial settlement in Shengli Port and Guangzhou. "Furuifeng" can be regarded as the first in mainland China.

It just so happened that Li Nai, the third young master of "Fu Ruifeng", was also a guest at Shengli Port. Ren Liang would definitely not miss this opportunity for the parties to speak out.Immediately, Jiang San led Li Nai to the scene, intending to let these new merchants understand how Haihan's financial system works.

Prior to this, the executive committee also specifically talked to Li Nai about this matter, hoping that he could contribute to convincing Guangzhou merchants to accept Haihan Bank.Li Nai didn't have much resistance to this, and quickly agreed.As the cooperation between the two parties has gradually deepened in recent months, "Fu Ruifeng" has gradually felt the convenience of this remote settlement system.For example, when Li Nai came to Shengli Port this time, he did not bring much cash at all. The goods purchased in Shengli Port can be settled directly with the Guangzhou Office at the head office of "Furuifeng" in Guangzhou, and there is no need to take risks anymore. At the risk of transporting tens of thousands of taels of silver back and forth by sea.

As Li Nai himself has lived in Shengli Port for longer, his feelings for the "system superiority" that Haihan people often talk about have become more and more profound.This superiority is not only reflected in the management form of the executive committee, but also plays a role in scientific research, production, commerce, life and other aspects all the time.Now that the Haihan people are trying to officially launch the bank as a financial institution to the mainland, Li Nai is also very curious about it, and he really wants to see how the Haihan people who have created many miracles will do it again in terms of finance. What are some extraordinary actions.

Li Nai's appearance only caused a small commotion. After all, the slightly larger merchants in Guangzhou know that "Furuifeng" has a lot to do with Haihan people. Haihan products have always been only "Furuifeng" in Guangzhou. "The family is for sale, and it is reasonable for Li Nai, the third young master of the Li family, to appear in Victory Harbor.

With Li Nai's personal statement, most people have less doubts about the Qianzhuang that Ren Liang mentioned.After all, the scale of "Furuifeng"'s transaction is there. If the Haihan people want to cheat money, I am afraid that "Furuifeng" will be the first unlucky one. Li Jifeng is famously shrewd in the circle of businessmen in Guangzhou. Obviously, he would not take such a big risk for no reason, and he would not casually let his son come out to endorse the Haihan people—of course, the last one was Li Nai's own decision, without his father's consent.

Next, Li Nai also generously took these merchants to visit the construction site of "Furuifeng" in the local area.At present, in addition to "Furuifeng", the local merchant "Anfuhang" in Yazhou has also circled a piece of land in the business district and is preparing to open a business store.In addition, in the name of the Yazhou water village, Luo Shengdong also asked for a small piece of land near the wharf, and reported to his superiors that it would be used as a "Yazhou navy base", but in fact he was going to pull He Participate in the shares and open a restaurant here to do business.

After Wei Ping heard about it a few days ago, he also anxiously asked Ren Liang to apply for the land, and claimed that the inspection department and the people had already discussed it, and planned to raise all the "inspection department office expenses" for next year, and set up a project in the business district. Open a restaurant here.However, this request was temporarily suppressed by Ren Liang. If Wei Ping can handle the affairs of Yazhou well, he can talk about the land. There will also be a question mark over the existence of the Yulin Inspection Department.

When all the merchants saw the scale of the "Furuifeng" shop, they knew that the Li family had invested a lot of money here, and they planned to stay here for a long time to do business with the Haihan people.Immediately, some anxious people began to ask Ren Liang about the local land policy, planning to follow "Fu Ruifeng" to set up a store in Shengli Port.Someone also quietly pulled Li Nai aside and asked him if the strength of the Haihan people was as strong as it seemed.

After listening, Li Nai sighed: "If you take Qiongzhou Island as a place, there is no one that can surpass it. Everyone, this place will become a big port in the South China Sea in a few years. If we start now, the money and expenses required are not too much. If you have to wait until this place becomes a big port to remember this enclosure, it will be too late!"

Some people who don't know the truth are a bit disapproving of Li Nai's evaluation: "This place is under the rule of Yazhou, and I also have contacts with high-ranking officials in Yazhou. It must be easy to find a piece of land. It is not as difficult as Brother Li said."

Li Nai smiled and said, "That's wrong. Now Yazhou is weak and Haihan is strong. Although this place is indeed under the rule of Yazhou, the elders of Yazhou may not be able to manage the affairs of Shengli Port."

"What's the meaning of this?" the man asked puzzledly.

Li Nai saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he lowered his voice and said, "The officials in Yazhou, from Tongzhi down, have been bribed by the Haihan people. Even if Master Zhizhou is interested, the people below How can you be willing to be right with the Haihan people?"

"Aren't the Haihan people afraid that the adults in Yazhou will find an excuse to send troops to blockade this place?" The man still had a look of disbelief.

Speaking of this aspect, Li Nai said disdainfully: "The militiamen of the Haihan militia here are more than the officers and soldiers in Yazhou Shuizhai, and their military equipment and combat power are much higher than the officers and soldiers... If you live here more In the past few days, there may be a chance to see the general manager of the Yazhou Shuizhai bringing his military boat to report here. Now the leader of the Yazhou Shuizhai, Mr. Luo, has come to Shengli Port more frequently than my subordinates. It must come on the fifteenth day of every month, which is more punctual than offering incense to Bodhisattvas."

"There is such a thing!" The man was also startled.Collusion between officials and businessmen is not news, but collusion between military and businessmen is rare, and hearing what Li Nai said, it is clear that the cooperation between the two parties is already very deep.

Li Nai said meaningfully: "Shengli Harbor is like your house and mine. It is said that it is under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, but in this house, the master has the final say. The Haihan people are the masters here. "

(End of this chapter)