Water Margin people

Chapter 1439 Development of Lingnan

The popularity of the silver bank lasted for four or five days, and the people stopped visiting.

The savings of ordinary people in this era were very limited, and most families had only a few taels of silver, which would be gone with a little exchange.

Merchants with a little more money only needed to exchange all the money they had. They preferred copper coins because they needed a lot of copper coins as change to do business.

Only the wealthy merchants were still gritting their teeth and persisting, bringing large amounts of silver to the silver bank every day to request exchange.

“These wealthy families are so rich!”

"I'm afraid tens of millions have been exchanged in the past few days!"

“How much are tens of millions?”

……

The people on the street looked at the wealthy families who went to exchange money with envy.

"They are all profiteers. In the past, a pound of salt was sold for 100 coins, a piece of coarse cloth for 300 coins, and a bushel of rice for 80 coins!"

Someone said indignantly.

As these words spread, the people's looks became unfriendly. They had all been exploited by these unscrupulous businessmen. In the past, these rich people pretended to be poor and did not dare to show how much money they had.

Now that this has been exposed, it has instantly aroused the people’s hatred of the rich.

"Mr. Li, how much money do you want to exchange today?"

The manager of the bank looked at the person who came and asked with a smile.

"Three hundred...three million!"

Mr. Li stuttered for a moment before speaking.

"Another three million. No problem. Get ready for delivery!"

The bank manager shouted to the employees, and they immediately started counting the money with abacus.

"Manager Wang, do you still have money?"

Mr. Li looked at Manager Wang and asked, "In the past few days, between 50 and 60 million yuan have been exchanged in various places in Jiangnan, but there has been no response from the bank."

"This is the bank of Qi State. How can there not be enough money? Qi State has so much money!"

"By the way, why do you only exchange silver coins? We also have gold coins in our bank. If you have gold, you can also exchange it!"

Manager Wang said with a smile.

Mr. Li was silent for a while. They all had gold, but they didn't dare to take it out easily. They were all worried that their family assets would be completely exposed.

In fact, these rich people were also frightened during the exchange in the past few days. This was the first time that they revealed their family assets, which was very dangerous for businessmen. Once their money was targeted by someone with ulterior motives, there would be endless troubles.

After some inspection, the bank took away the silver ingots and took out boxes of silver coins.

"Mr. Li, the money is clear!"

Steward Wang smiled and bowed.

"Clear!"

Mr. Li said bitterly.

"By the way, aren't you planning to go north on business? Wouldn't it be convenient to keep this money in the bank and exchange it for some banknotes to lead you north? It's neither convenient nor safe for you to carry all this with you!"

Manager Wang looked at Mr. Li and said that the reason these wealthy merchants exchanged money was for the convenience of doing business.

"Come and deposit it in a few days!"

Mr. Li could only smile bitterly and left with the people and money.

After everyone had gone far away, Steward Wang came to the back hall, where the prefect Cheng Wanli was already waiting.

"Those people seem a little scared!"

Steward Wang looked at Cheng Wanli and said.

"They are just a group of businessmen. They are usually afraid of being known to others that they are rich. Now they are taking the initiative to take out their money and let everyone know. It would be a lie to say that they are not afraid."

Cheng Wanli said with a smile.

"You guys continue, I'll be ready to take action in a few days!"

Cheng Wanli stood up and said that what he meant by continue was to see whether those merchants dared to damage the coins. If these people dared to do so, they would be seeking death.

"I will pay attention to the quality of the silver!" Manager Wang nodded.

Quanzhou.

Sun Lei took his family to play at the beach. I have to say that the coast on Fujian Road is very beautiful and the sea water is clear.

Children have little interest in the sea water. They are more interested in the beach and can spend the whole day digging in the sand.

“Honestly, it would be nice to be able to take a vacation here every year!”

Sun Lei spoke while drinking a fresh coconut under the parasol.

“This stuff is delicious!”

Li Shishi and others can't get enough of coconut water.

"Of course it tastes good. It's shipped from the South China Sea."

Sun Lei smiled and said, although there are coconut trees on Fujian Road, they don't bear much fruit, and now these are all shipped from the South China Sea.

"Your Majesty, the latest news is that those wealthy businessmen are ready to take action!"

Zhu Wu walked up to Sun Lei and whispered.

"Can't help it so quickly?"

Sun Lei laughed. He still hoped that these people could hold out for a while longer.

"There are news from all over the place that those wealthy businessmen have exchanged more than 60 million. However, we have enough silver and money, and the people have started saving money in the past few days. A large amount of silver coins have begun to flow back. They know that they can't go on like this, and they will probably give it a try in the next few days."

Zhu Wu said.

"Haha, that's what we want, because they're going crazy. Tell everyone to be ready to raid these people's homes at any time!"

Sun Lei nodded. They would set out on the Western Expedition next year, and with the assets of these people, they would have the starting capital.

"Did Pu Kaizong send any useful information?"

Sun Lei asked after taking a sip of coconut juice.

"Pu Kaizong sent a map that details the situation and terrain of the Arab side!"

Zhu Wu said.

"Only a map?"

Sun Lei asked with a frown.

"With only a map, this guy is still a little dishonest. It looks like he needs a beating!"

Zhu Wu nodded.

"Then teach him a lesson. This kind of person is a cheapskate. He won't move unless he is whipped!"

Sun Lei nodded in agreement. There was no need to be polite to someone like Pu Kaizong, as he was just a chess piece.

"Also, Hu Cheng sent a message from Guangzhou Prefecture. Guangzhou Prefecture also has a lot of problems. There are a large number of Nanhai survivors there, and they are not easy to discipline."

Zhu Wu said.

Sun Lei thought about it and realized that Guangzhou was not very developed at that time, and Lingnan was still a remote place, a place where officials and criminals were exiled.

"We'll go to Guangzhou when things are over here. It's time to develop the south. There's no need to stay in the Central Plains."

Sun Lei said that after several dynasties of development and construction, the South has already had a solid foundation, and now it is time to develop the South, starting from the coast.

"Your Majesty wants to develop Lingnan?"

Zhu Wu asked.

"Yes, you have seen the south. In addition to the fact that there are more hills, the climate here is much better than that of the Central Plains. The land is also fertile. It is not a problem to harvest grain three times a year. Why should such a good place be left empty?"

"And if we want to expand outward, the South China Sea is a must-go place. This coastal area must be developed on a large scale and have enough ports for supplies."

Sun Lei nodded.

"I will send a letter to Liangshan right now!"

Zhu Wu saluted and said that developing Lingnan was no small matter. It required a lot of manpower and material resources, and it also required careful discussion among cabinet officials.

"By the way, send an order back and ask Mr. Xu to come over!"

Sun Lei nodded. Since they were going to continue going south, Xu Guanzhong was indispensable. Although he was not familiar with the South China Sea, his strong language talent could help him do a lot of things.