Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 464
Du Laojiu smiled wryly: "That's enough! However, it's not normal for these merchants to exchange silver, because they use a large amount of loose banknotes to exchange for silver instead of silver notes."

Li Jing asked doubtfully, "There's nothing wrong with using loose banknotes, right? For a merchant, it's not surprising that there are a lot of loose banknotes in hand after the transaction."

Du Laojiu smiled wryly and said: "After I received the report from the people below, I also had the same idea at first, but when I saw the exchange amount, I knew something was wrong, because those merchants used scattered Banknotes were exchanged for nearly 100 million taels of silver."

"Huh? Exchanged loose banknotes for 100 million taels of silver?" Li Jing was startled.

Gently tapping on the stone table in front of him, Li Jing pondered for a moment and said: "The only ones who have a lot of loose money are small merchants, and even if small merchants exchange silver, it is impossible to exchange 100 million taels. They can exchange 100 million taels." Those who buy two silver coins must be big businessmen, and big businessmen conduct large transactions, so it is impossible to have so many scattered banknotes in their hands."

"The commander-in-chief is wise, and he can tell at a glance that there is a problem here." Du Laojiu stretched out his thumb and said.

Li Jing waved his hand: "Don't flatter me at this time. Since you see something wrong, you must have sent someone to investigate in detail. Tell me what's going on."

Du Laojiu smiled awkwardly. Seeing Li Jing's solemn expression, Du Laojiu quickly restrained his smile and said solemnly: "As the commander-in-chief said, I saw that something was wrong, so I ordered someone to investigate and found that these businessmen are all Big merchants from the south, they mainly deal in tea and silk, "

Li Jing nodded slightly. These two commodities are mainly produced in the south, and there are only a small amount in the north, which cannot meet the needs of the north at all.

Du Laojiu continued: "When these people traded, they specifically stated that they only wanted silver and not banknotes."

Li Jing was startled when he heard the words: "As long as silver and not banknotes? Then where do their banknotes come from?"

Du Laojiu smiled wryly and said: "Marshal, don't worry, wait for me to speak slowly."

Li Jing nodded slightly.

Du Laojiu continued: "Actually, it doesn't matter if they only need silver and not banknotes. Our bank branches all over the world have silver reserves. Merchants who want to buy goods with them only need to go to the bank to exchange banknotes into silver and then buy them." .

But the merchants in the south used a method here. They prepared a large amount of banknotes in advance and exchanged most of the silver in our local banks.

As a result, when buyers go to the bank to exchange banknotes, there will be insufficient silver, and those buyers will panic if they cannot exchange for silver.

And because we didn't take precautions in advance, it was too late to transfer the silver from the headquarters to the banks in various places. Thinking of Jingji Bank dismantling the silver, unexpectedly the bank's silver was also exchanged by them.

At this time, the merchants in the south let out the rumor that the banknotes we issued were as worthless as the previous Daming banknotes, so they only wanted silver and not banknotes.

As a result, local merchants and ordinary people panicked even more, and they went to the bank to ask for silver exchange. The local bank had no silver and could only stare blankly.

At this time, merchants in the south exchanged silver for banknotes at a ratio of one to two or even higher. , the common people have almost exchanged the banknotes. "

Du Laojiu continued: "Actually, it doesn't matter if they only need silver and not banknotes. Our bank branches all over the world have silver reserves. Merchants who want to buy goods with them only need to go to the bank to exchange banknotes into silver and then buy them." .

But the merchants in the south used a method here. They prepared a large amount of banknotes in advance and exchanged most of the silver in our local banks.

As a result, when buyers go to the bank to exchange banknotes, there will be insufficient silver, and those buyers will panic if they cannot exchange for silver.

And because we didn't take precautions in advance, it was too late to transfer the silver from the headquarters to the banks in various places. Thinking of Jingji Bank dismantling the silver, unexpectedly the bank's silver was also exchanged by them.

At this time, the businessmen in the south let out the rumor that the Daming Bank did not have much silver at all, and the tens of thousands of taels of silver stored in the branch offices of various places were just pretending to fool the common people. The banknotes are just like the previous Daming treasure banknotes, so they only want silver and not paper banknotes.

In order to make the common people believe what they said, they even used the fact that King Fu was seized a few days ago to make up for the hole in the bank. Otherwise, King Fu was the emperor's uncle, how could he raid his home?Copying King Fu's house is for King Fu's property.

In the end, they said, if you don't believe me, you can exchange banknotes for silver and see if you can exchange them.

Under the publicity of these people, the local merchants and ordinary people panicked even more, and they went to the bank to ask for silver exchange. No matter what the bank clerk explained to them, they did not believe it.

Because the bank could not exchange silver for exchange, those ordinary people started to smash the bank in anger. Fortunately, the local government saw that the situation was wrong and arranged guards to protect the bank in advance. The panic was even more intense.

At this time, merchants in the south exchanged silver for banknotes at a ratio of one to two or even higher, or shipped them at more than twice the price of banknotes. Convert banknotes for silver, or buy goods at more than double the price.

By the time we transferred the silver from the headquarters to the semicolon, the merchants in the south had almost sold out their goods, and the common people had basically finished exchanging their banknotes. "

Li Jingwen nodded silently, thought for a while and said, "It's understandable for the common people not to trust the government and banks, but I remember that in areas where banknotes are issued, a large number of shops that traded with banknotes have been opened in succession." Right? What is Shen Jixian doing at this time? Why didn’t he make a promise to the local people?”

Shen Zheng smiled wryly when he heard the words: "What's the use of making a promise first? He is just a businessman, and if he wants the common people to believe it, there must be goods in the store.

The merchants in the south must have seen this, and at the same time they ran on silver, they swept away all the goods in Jixian's stores. Woolen cloth. "

Li Jing couldn't help being stunned when he heard the words, and then sighed after a while: "What a powerful method."

Shen Zheng also sighed: "Yes, I have been in business for many years, and I have never experienced such a thing. I was dumbfounded when I heard it."

Li Jing waved his hand: "I didn't mean to blame you. If this kind of thing happened, everyone would have to be caught blind. Even if I'm here, as long as I can't get the money, it won't solve the problem. I want to know now, what will you do after the incident happens?" How was it handled? Where are those southern merchants now?"

Shen Zheng hurriedly said: "After I received the report from Lao Jiu, I hurriedly dispatched the bank from the headquarters to the branches in various places, and at the same time asked the local government to send people to guard those southern businessmen."

Li Jingwen frowned: "Should we only let the local government guard them? Why didn't you notify Luo Yangxing's Ministry of State Security?"

Shen Zheng smiled wryly and said: "The things these people are doing seem to be not enough for national security. Don’t know what crime to arrest people for?”

Li Jing couldn't help being startled when he heard this.

Although Li Jing knew that these people's currency runs would definitely endanger the security of the country, but Daming did not formulate relevant laws at all, and asked the Ministry of Security to come forward to arrest people.

Although they are both secret agencies, the security department established by Li Jing cannot be as unscrupulous as Dongchang and Jinyiwei. If that is the case, what is the difference between Li Jing and Wei Zhongxian?Li Jing didn't want to end up with the same reputation as Wei Zhongxian and his ilk.

Similarly, Ming Dynasty did not issue laws to punish speculation, and it was also inconvenient for the government to arrest people.

If Li Jing ordered someone to be arrested, he would break the rules he made.If Li Jing doesn't lead by example, can he still expect the people below to be law-abiding?The people below must follow suit and use the power in their hands to do illegal things.

After thinking about it, Li Jing said, "These businessmen ran on the bank to make huge profits. How much tax did they pay?"

Shen Zhengwen's eyes lit up: "Yes, they sell the goods at a high price, and the tax rate will naturally not meet the previous standard. I will notify the local government to arrest them. Charge them with tax evasion and punish them with bankruptcy."

Li Jing shook his head: "This incident is well-organized and the division of labor is clear. Among these people, there must be someone who is in charge. This is very powerful. Don't hand these people over to the local government. Bring them to Beijing. I want to meet these people."

After a pause, Li Jing continued: "Now you have to find a way to restore the reputation of the banknotes and the reputation of the bank and the government."

Shen Zheng sighed and said: "If you want to restore your reputation, you have to make up for the losses of the common people, but if you want to make up for the losses of the common people, I estimate that it will take at least 100 million taels of silver."

Li Jing waved his hand: "This matter is no small matter, don't worry about how much it costs. In fact, the bank caused such a big loss for the common people this time. If our bank can exchange money for the common people, how can the common people suffer so much?" A big loss? In the final analysis, we are still not doing well enough, and only if we make up for the losses of the common people, will the common people be willing to continue to trust the bank and the court."

Shen Zheng nodded: "I'll ask someone to arrange it right away."

Li Jing smiled and said: "I used to say that it is a blessing in disguise. I think this matter may not be a good thing for us. If we can handle this matter properly, those ordinary people will definitely trust the bank more. And with this example here, we will be more easily accepted by the common people when we open banks in various places in the future.

So, this matter must be dealt with seriously.In addition, I don't think that the banks alone can solve the losses of the common people, and the local government should also participate in it, so as to change the image of the government in the hearts of the common people. "

(End of this chapter)