prosperous age

Tonight, news of the Ming Dynasty Bank appeared for the first time in teahouses and restaurants in the capital, and became a topic of conversation among officials during their leisure time.

These messages weren't released by Wei Guangde's orders, but rather were rumors circulating from the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhang Xueyan was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, but he couldn't possibly do all the work.

Naturally, he also had a group of people under his command who were responsible for some confidential tasks.

To get them to work diligently and conscientiously, Zhang Xueyan naturally had to give them benefits in return.

The task, the ultimate purpose, is something that must be told to them.

Knowing the purpose allows them to better consider how to get things done.

So these people heard that a huge money exchange, radiating from north to south and covering almost all prefectures and even counties, was about to be established in the Ming Dynasty.

Money shops had never existed before.

But just by looking at the word "money" in the name of the money shop, they could guess that it was probably a business similar to the money exchange business of the old pawnshops and gold shops.

When it comes to the business of money, what could be simpler than lending?

Moreover, the plan was devised by the Grand Secretary.

Who is Wei Guangde? He is not only the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, but also a shareholder of many chambers of commerce, and the most financially powerful "liquidity holder" in the capital.

Upon returning to his residence, Zhang Ji reported to Wei Guangde about the matter of several Ministry of Revenue officials spreading information about money shops.

However, he didn't think so.

"The news will spread sooner or later. What you need to pay attention to afterward is whether there will be any malicious rumors that slander the bank."

If people confuse lending with usury, it is rumored that Your Majesty, or I, intend to lend money at high interest rates.

"Once such a rumor begins to circulate, you must find the person responsible immediately."

After staring at Zhang Ji for a moment, Wei Guangde asked, "Do you understand?"

"Understood. The junior staff will have people keep a close eye on the gossip in the streets."

Anyone who dares to use this to harm the master will be arrested immediately.

Zhang Ji wasn't stupid; he naturally knew that what the master was really worried about was his reputation.

As long as someone spreads rumors like this, his hard-earned reputation will be affected.

Even if money shops were to open later, and everyone knew that their lending interest rates were low, people would still spread rumors and gossip.

Especially outside the capital, such rumors spread and had a greater impact.

Not to mention that he even planned to use the fact that the Wanli Emperor was the largest shareholder as a brand to promote the development of the money shop's business in the local area.

The emperor was the major shareholder, the court had shares, and the chief minister was also an important shareholder. In a feudal dynasty, he was an invincible sword.

Even in areas controlled by powerful local forces, it was easy for money shops to enter and open up the market.

Wei Guangde didn't believe it. Even members of the imperial family dared to openly rob the emperor of his money.

By now, quite a few princes and dukes have been deposed for various reasons during the Ming Dynasty, enough to nip problems in the bud.

"Did you send a message to the south to the people you were tasked with recruiting?"

Now that the matter of the money exchange is semi-public, we need to accelerate its progress.

The money exchange should be opened as soon as possible; it's not good to be hesitant and half-concealed.

When outsiders are unaware of the details, speculation often leads to distorted perceptions.

Even good things will be portrayed as bad governance in their mouths.

Wei Guangde's crackdown on usury in the market deserves a thumbs up from anyone.

However, if the delay leads to unpredictable events, that is definitely not what he wants to see.

"My lord, I received the news this afternoon and immediately transferred the people from the surrounding prefectures back to the capital."

A message was also sent to the south, urging them all to proceed to Jinling as soon as possible to reunite.

At this point, Zhang Ji glanced at Wei Guangde and whispered, "But there's something I need to remind you, sir."

"explain."

Wei Guangde immediately replied.

Zhang Ji immediately bowed and said, "When people come together, it means that businesses in various places will have to be suspended for at least the time until the money exchange opens."

This not only affects the government's revenue, but also, if someone urgently needs money, they might have no choice but to...

Zhang Ji didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

"Let them spread the word in the local areas that the imperial court is planning to establish money shops, and make it clear that the purpose is to crack down on the ever-increasing interest rates of usury."

The Ming Dynasty's money shops, established by the imperial court, would adhere to a monthly interest rate of three percent, never exceeding the legal limit.

If possible, ask them to wait a couple of months.

If you really can't wait, the household can cover the shortfall.

As I said before, all the money lent out, along with the collateral and loan agreements, will eventually be transferred to the money exchange. The Wei family will completely withdraw from this business.

You must prepare the necessary funds for the time difference, and absolutely avoid causing any trouble.

Wei Guangde would definitely invest the lent silver into the Daming Money Shop in the form of a business association, making it part of the shares.

This is also the driving force behind Wei Guangde's future plans to establish a stock exchange. He has enough capital in hand, and once the exchange is established, he can gradually cash out these capital and invest them in other chambers of commerce.

Besides attracting high-quality assets, it is also very important for capital to be in motion and constantly circulating.

Wei Guangde was not a saint; he always acted out of self-interest.

This benefit might be for a promotion or for making a fortune.

Running a money exchange not only provides a stable income but also allows for high-priced cash-outs through the stock exchange, which is undoubtedly a good thing for oneself and those around one.

It's as if he doesn't care much about the money shop's ability to make money; on the contrary, the emperor's attitude is what he's most worried about.

Whether the money shops made money or not was a minor matter; what Emperor Wanli needed to ensure was that his investments would be profitable.

When the Wanli Emperor was pleased, his position as chief minister was secured.

As for the emperor openly seizing these riches, to be honest, in the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty's history, no emperor ever actually did anything like robbing the people's property.

Of course, if you view the emperor's collection of taxes as robbing the people of their wealth, then that's a different story.

Because if you look up the Ming Dynasty emperors' plundering of the people's wealth, the only thing that seems to be related is the current practice of sending eunuchs to collect mining taxes everywhere.

However, the practice of collecting taxes on mining operations seems to continue in modern times.

Obviously, we cannot conclude that this is an act of plundering the people's wealth simply because of the implied meaning in the text.

Otherwise, the tax bureau would lose its job.

In fact, a review of history reveals that historical records often have a clear bias.

For example, the Hangzhou peasant uprising during the Tianqi reign refers to the struggle of urban citizens, students, and gentry against mining supervisors, tax collectors, and feudal nobles.

The participants were mainly town merchants, owners, craftsmen, students, censors, county officials, and gentry. The uprisings were mostly caused by the rampant robbery by mining supervisors and tax collectors.

It is widely acknowledged that the national tax rate in the Ming Dynasty was extremely low. Such low commercial tax rates made collection extremely difficult and even led to popular uprisings.

In fact, looking beyond the surface, in modern terms, this is tax evasion resulting in murder, and modern law would absolutely punish the perpetrators severely.

Murderers shall be executed.

And it is absolutely impossible for it to be praised.

Early the next morning, Wei Guangde left home to go to the cabinet on official business. Soon after, people lined up at his house to submit their petitions.

These people were all dressed smartly, and were clearly prominent figures from various mansions in the capital.

Their petition was naturally submitted because their master, upon hearing the news, wanted to find an opportunity to speak with Wei Guangde in person and ask what exactly happened.

At this time, Wei Guangde was in the cabinet, so they could only send invitations to Wei's residence and wait for the appointed time.

However, they weren't exactly eagerly waiting. They had to understand that the person seeking an audience was Grand Secretary Wei, the current chief minister. Although they were influential figures in the capital, they weren't entirely confident of getting a chance to meet him.

As a result, a group of nobles gathered at the residences of the three dukes in the capital, and eventually all of them converged at the residence of the Duke of Dingguo.

Xu Wenbi had made some preparations in advance, and did manage to raise a sum of money in a very secretive manner.

However, when he met other nobles, he still pretended to know nothing about it.

Even today, knowing that families in the capital were sending visiting cards to the Wei family, he also arranged for his family to go and submit their own cards.

"Everyone, please don't be impatient."

I think that if the imperial court really intended to establish money shops specializing in lending, it would definitely benefit the people and would absolutely not compete with them for profits.

As far as I know, these days, it's extremely rare for lenders to offer monthly interest rates as low as 5%, while many are offering rates as high as 7% or 8%.

It's likely that the imperial court intends to use this method to lower interest rates for ordinary people.

Usury is prohibited by the imperial court, but the government will not investigate unless the people report it. Even though the government knows that someone is illegally lending money, it is powerless to do anything about it.

"The imperial court probably set up money shops for this very reason."

Xu Wenbi still stood up and spoke up for Daming Money Shop.

Regardless of the circumstances, he will definitely be able to obtain shareholder status.

Although it's still unknown how profitable this business will be.

To be honest, Xu Wenbi wouldn't really care about earning 20% ​​of the profits in a year.

However, Wei Guangde didn't say much at the time, only that he was sure he could make money, and that was it.

"By the way, I can also glean some meaning from this message."

Xu Wenbi suddenly spoke loudly again.

He was a Duke and a favorite of the Wanli Emperor, so when he spoke, the other nobles around him stared at him without saying a word.

Xu Wenbi was also very satisfied with the results and said with a smile, "I would like to remind everyone that if anyone has previously lent money at high interest rates, it would be best to be careful recently."

This reminder wasn't something Xu Wenbi wanted to do willingly; it was something Wei Guangde had asked him to do.

Now that the Ministry of Justice is investigating private usury, the fewer powerful figures involved, the better.

If all the powerful and influential people are involved, how can the Ministry of Justice investigate? What can be done about this case?
This allowed some timid or less deeply involved powerful figures to leave the scene this morning.

In this way, those families that have become too powerful to control will be the ones caught in the end.

With a small number of survivors, the other families who escaped will be happy to watch the spectacle unfold.

Don't assume that the powerful and wealthy will help each other or that officials will protect each other; it all depends on the situation.

If it involves the fundamental interests of officials, they will definitely cover for and protect each other.

But if it's just something they consider trivial, they'll happily stand aside and watch the show with their hands in their pockets.

Is loan sharking a major case?
not necessarily.

It depends on what the investigators think and how much importance the higher-ups attach to it.

In any case, reducing the number of targets will definitely be beneficial for the Ministry of Justice to advance the case investigation.

Not to mention that the nobles are all local residents of the capital, and it would be really troublesome if they made a move.

Some of the nobles present heeded Xu Wenbi's reminder, but many others ignored it.

But it doesn't matter, as some of the nobles who are close to him will probably still discuss this matter in private.

After all, these were the words of the Duke of Dingguo, whose family had a close relationship with Chief Minister Wei, and they were related by marriage.

His words didn't seem to be baseless.

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of War, Zhang Ke had just received an urgent report from the island nation, which detailed the negotiations between General Qi Jiguang, the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Japan, and Japanese leaders such as Hashiba Hideyoshi, Mori Terumoto, and Oda Nobutaka.

This time, Wang Xijue's report detailed the influence of various families in the island nation and their influence in Japan.

Without a doubt, the main powerful families in Japan at this time were the Oda family, including Hideyoshi Hashiba. In addition, the Ōtomo, Chōsokabe, and Shimazu families were also powerful families in Japan at this time, controlling territories that the Oda family had never set foot in.

Meanwhile, the powerful clans that once dominated Japanese politics, such as the Mori, Uesugi, and Hojo clans, have gradually weakened in their numerous battles with Oda Nobunaga.

However, during this negotiation with Qi Jiguang, figures such as Ōtomo Yoshitomo and Shimazu Yoshihiro were present in the negotiating team, indicating that the daimyo of Japan had gathered together to bargain with the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Ke naturally paid no attention to these islanders.

According to the intelligence provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, many Japanese daimyo controlled land and populations, but their control was similar to that of prefects and governors under the Ming Dynasty—they ruled over tiny territories.

Asking a high-ranking official to pay attention to officials of the fourth or fifth rank is simply asking too much of a question.

The urgent report actually revealed the most important news: the war seemed to be showing signs of ending.

Although he was unsure whether Wei Guangde would stop while he was ahead, ending the war against the Japanese pirates would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty for the time being.

The long-term war had already strained the imperial treasury, with the Ministry of Revenue being particularly affected.

If it weren't for the silver and gold forcibly requisitioned from Japan being transported back, the Ministry of Revenue would probably have had to borrow money from the Ministry of War again.

Meanwhile, the silver and gold materials were being minted into coins at the mint.

After Zhang Ke and the other clerks finished copying the report, they picked up the original battle report and left.

The Ministry of War's remaining task was naturally to plan the aftermath of the war on the Japanese islands, and to determine the impact on both sides if the Ming Dynasty and Japan signed a treaty to end the war.

The Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs would naturally conduct the deduction and make a final judgment.

Zhang Ke quickly entered the palace with the memorial and went directly to see Wei Guangde in the cabinet.

The reason he came in person was that if the document had been submitted through normal channels, Shen Shixing would most likely have seen it first before it appeared in front of Wei Guangde.

If he delivers it directly, it will immediately fall into Wei Guangde's hands.

"Does Japan want a ceasefire?"

Wei Guangde had already received the memorial from Zhang Ke, but after reading only a few paragraphs, he frowned and asked a question.

"It seems that the daimyo of Japan do not want to continue to be enemies with the imperial court and want to settle things peacefully."

Zhang Ke said this because he saw in the memorial that the Japanese seemed to acknowledge that the land occupied by the Ming army belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

According to the Ming Dynasty's custom, losing territory meant that fighting would continue.

If we really can't beat them, then we'll talk about it another way.

The situation in Japan seems remarkably similar.

If you can't beat them, seek peace.

After all, even though Japan didn't commit its elite troops, it still suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Ota-sou.

Most importantly, the Japanese saw no hope of victory.

Although, if they had hardened their resolve a little more and launched a sustained offensive, they might have achieved something.

But in the end, they didn't do that.

They surrendered. (End of Chapter)