The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 297 Let me show you what it means to play by the rules and follow the rules.

Emperor Qianxi's trip was not very long, but he accomplished a great deal.

Upon his return, Emperor Qianxi was immediately busy with a host of matters at court.

As for Crown Prince Shen Ye, he was quite leisurely!

He didn't have to worry about important court affairs or approve any official documents. The only thing that gave him a headache was that a large number of people at Yuqing Bank were in a hurry to withdraw money.

So the day after returning to Beijing, Shen Ye brought Erlengtai and the others to the outside of Yuqing Bank.

Upon arrival, I saw a long, neat queue in front of the bank.

These people were quiet and chatty, waiting patiently, as if I wasn't in a hurry at all.

Seeing this, Zhou Bao was a little unhappy and went up to Shen Ye to complain: "Your Highness, so many people are blocking the entrance of Yuqing Bank. It's obvious that someone wants to see you make a fool of yourself."

“I told the Five Cities Garrison about this and asked them to send people to drive away these troublemakers.”

"But the inspector of the Five Cities Garrison said that these people were just there to collect their deposits and did not cause any trouble."

"It didn't interfere with the business of our Yuqing Bank, so he can't just kick people out."

"Your Highness, these imperial censors patrolling the city are clearly deliberately condoning this!"

Hearing Zhou Bao say this, Shen Ye replied calmly, "Zhou Bao, what the Five Cities Garrison said is not wrong."

"They always need a reason to arrest or expel people."

"Under the current circumstances, it's understandable that they're not arresting people indiscriminately."

Having followed Shen Ye for a long time, Zhou Bao knew that the young master had a rather easygoing temperament.

Furthermore, considering himself the Crown Prince's most loyal subordinate, he couldn't help but feel indignant on Shen Ye's behalf, saying, "Your Highness, you are kind-hearted, but these people blocking the way here are ruining your reputation!"

"There are rumors going around that Your Highness has no money left."

"You've swindled all the money I had in Yuqing Bank!"

"There are some things I don't know how to teach you."

Shen Ye patted Zhou Bao on the shoulder and said, "Alright, stop complaining and let's get down to business."

Entering Yuqing Bank through the back door, Nian Jinfu, the bank's head manager, saw Shen Ye and immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, this servant is incompetent and has caused such a huge mess. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

Looking at Nian Jinfu's guilty expression, Shen Ye smiled and said, "Old man, this has nothing to do with you."

"The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department transferred the silver away, and some people took the opportunity to stir up trouble. No matter how capable you are, you can't conjure up silver."

"Get up!"

Hearing Shen Ye say this, Nian Jinfu finally felt relieved.

He had been a servant in the Nian family for so many years and had encountered all kinds of masters.

Although this matter seems to have nothing to do with him on the surface, if Crown Prince Shen Ye were to really investigate, he would have no recourse.

"How much silver do we have left in our accounts?" Shen Ye asked Nian Jinfu with a smile as he sat down in the living room.

"Your Highness, there are still more than 100,000 taels of silver in the account. However, according to my inquiries, more than half of our depositors are already seeking redemption."

"If we were to sell them all, it would probably cost at least three million taels of silver..."

As Nian Jinfu spoke, he rubbed his hands together.

The difference between 100,000 taels of silver and 3 million taels of silver is not small.

He felt the only solution was to get the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department to return the money as soon as possible.

If these two families repay their debts, the young master still has some money to tide him over; but if these two families don't repay their debts, then...

"Father has already instructed the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department to raise funds, but this will take some time."

Shen Ye's words sent a chill down Nian Jinfu's spine.

The money from the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department is not so easy to obtain.
Even if the crown prince himself went to ask for it, they wouldn't dare to openly refuse, but they would still drag their feet.

Many people say that the debts owed by the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department are basically like a tiger borrowing a pig—borrowed but never repaid!
"Your Highness, could you please urge them on? So many people are gathered in front of our Yuqing Bank, and the rumors circulating in the capital are awful!"

"Moreover, since this incident, our deposit business has basically been suspended."

"The people who helped us attract deposits before are now like rats in the street."

"Some people are even too afraid to go home!"

Nian Jinfu wasn't exaggerating at all; indeed, many of the people who had previously helped Shen Ye deposit money were now afraid to go home.

They were afraid that if they went home, the people who had previously solicited their deposits would block their way and demand money back!

Shen Ye said, "No one has deposits; it's only temporary."

"Manager Nian, this matter is a bit troublesome, but it's not unmanageable."

"Aren't those people supposed to be getting their money back? Then let's do it for them step by step."

"Zhou Bao, take my invitation and summon Nian Dongliang and the Imperial Censor in charge of this area from the Five Cities Garrison."

"Oh, and by the way, have the Infantry Commander's Office send someone to take charge."

Upon hearing Shen Ye's order, Nian Jinfu breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what the young master is planning, as long as we can get these powerful men who can arrest people over, things will be much easier.

But what if the Crown Prince forcibly expel them...?

"Wait a minute, give our people some training beforehand." Shen Ye's gaze fell on Nian Jinfu's face, and he said calmly, "There are a few key points to the training."

"First, their early withdrawal constitutes a breach of contract. The contract clearly states the liability for breach of contract: if they withdraw money in breach of contract, they will only receive the principal, and the interest will be wiped out."

Nian Jinfu was very clear about this, after all, he had read the clause countless times. He had even tried to persuade many people, but they just wouldn't listen, and he was helpless.

Just as Nian Jinfu thought the Crown Prince's instruction was unremarkable and unremarkable, Shen Ye continued, "Elder, tell our tellers to remember to always put the depositors first."

"So you have to patiently and earnestly persuade them several times!"

“If these people don’t listen to advice and insist on withdrawing money in advance, then make them sign an ‘Advance Withdrawal Application Form’.”

"After they sign, give them a fourteen-day cooling-off period!"

“During this cooling-off period, they can cancel their decision to withdraw money early at any time.”

"If you still want to withdraw the money early after the cooling-off period, then you can apply for an 'Early Withdrawal Decision Form' fourteen days later!"

"After you sign, come here in fourteen days to complete the withdrawal procedures."

Upon hearing Shen Ye's explanation, Nian Jinfu immediately understood.

Putting everything else aside, just signing these two "sales contracts" takes about a month.

Moreover, the time spent delaying this process seems quite justified.

After all, these people are in breach of contract by withdrawing the money.

If you default on your withdrawal and want to cancel your interest, we want to have a proper discussion with you in order to be responsible to our depositors.

This shows our care for depositors!
Also, giving you a cooling-off period is giving you time to change your mind!
Even if you make a wrong decision, we allow you to go back on your word. Who can say that Yuqing Bank is unethical?

And once you make your final decision, come back to collect your money in fourteen days!
Why fourteen days? Because we want to give you time to change your mind!

Of course, it will take us time to process your withdrawal slip!
The time it took to back out added up to a month, and also...

"Your Highness, with so many depositors, we simply don't have enough manpower to talk to them one by one!"

Nian Jinfu hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "It wouldn't look good if so many people were waiting at our door every day!"

Nian Jinfu doesn't care that so many people are waiting!

What he cared about was that these people blocking the entrance of Yuqing Bank made the young master look bad.

Shen Ye said calmly, "You don't need to worry about old age."

“Our Yuqing Bank has limited staff, but we have too many customers, so we issue a number to everyone who comes to withdraw money.”

"With our current staff, we can only process about one hundred depositors a day."

"That's fifty in the morning and fifty in the afternoon!"

"Also, those who have been issued license plates must register their identity, and the license plate must indicate the date they came here to conduct business!"

"This will save depositors from having to run back and forth and wasting their time."

"Also, book a teahouse nearby for me, and give me plenty of large bowls of tea to everyone who comes here to do business."

"However, entry to the teahouse is by number!"

These were all common sense in Shen Ye's mind, so he could say them off the top of his head.

However, not only were Nian Jinfu a little confused by these words, but even Zhou Bao and the others didn't know what to say.

Give me a number!

Please confirm your arrival time!

One hundred people every day!

Fifty in one day!

Going through this process, just the conversations alone could probably drag on for three months.

If the money is distributed at this rate, it will take at least six months.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department said they had no money; they couldn't possibly not pay for six months!

“Your Highness, what if someone disagrees with doing this?” Nian Jinfu felt that everything was fine with this approach, but he was afraid that someone would disagree.

Shen Ye said calmly, "There's always an order to how we conduct business at Yuqing Bank!"

"We only have so many people, and we don't have three heads and six arms, so it's impossible for us to finish everything at once."

“If anyone objects to this, then they weren’t there to withdraw money at all; they’re just here to cause trouble!”

"At that time, the Five Cities Garrison and the Infantry Commander's Office will naturally handle it."

At this point, Shen Ye turned to Nian Jinfu and said, "Old man, remember one thing: the issuance of license plates must not be done haphazardly."

"And the person receiving you must also match the number on the sign."

"No one is allowed to cut in line!"

"Understand?"

Although Nian Jinfu did not understand why the Crown Prince would give such an order, for him, as long as it was the Crown Prince's order, he would do it without hesitation if he could, and he would do his best to complete it if he could not!
"Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will certainly do as instructed."

Just as Shen Ye was making the arrangements, Nian Dongliang and the others arrived.

The officer from the Five Cities Garrison Command was a sixth-rank imperial inspector, while the officer from the Infantry Commander's Office was a fourth-rank commander.

They had already received instructions before they arrived, and no one dared to raise any objections to Shen Ye's arrangements.

After Shen Ye finished making the arrangements, Nian Jinfu led his men to begin their operation.

When Nian Dongliang opened the doors of Yuqing Bank, which had been closed for several days due to a bank run, he had only one thought in his mind: he hoped that everything would proceed according to the Crown Prince's plan.

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(End of this chapter)