Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"I want to establish a money exchange in the name of the imperial court, the largest and most authoritative money exchange in the world."

Jia Lian looked at Princess Zhaoyang and Prince Bei Jing and said with a smile.

Princess Zhaoyang raised her eyebrows, showing no reaction.

Prince Bei Jing's expression suddenly turned serious. He looked at Jia Lian and said:

"It is certainly a good thing that Your Highness wants to set up a money exchange."

But does Your Highness know that there were actually government-run money shops during the reign of the Retired Emperor?

Jia Lian nodded: "I know, it's called the 'Official Money Bureau'."

Upon hearing that Jia Lian knew about the official money bureau, Shui Rong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since Your Highness knows about the Official Treasury, you should also know that it was forced to shut down in less than three years."

I heard it's because there are too many problems..."

Jia Lian waved his hand, knowing what Shui Rong wanted to say, and then said, "Government-run banks involve a lot of people, and if they are not managed well, they can easily cause big problems."

I understand this.

For government-run money shops, the biggest problem is not corruption or embezzlement of public funds.

The risks far outweigh the rewards!

If a private money exchange is poorly managed or experiences a major crisis, at most the shareholders will suffer losses.

But if government-run banks break their promises... then the loss of public trust in the court will shake the very foundation of the nation.

Furthermore, the imperial court or government of that era lacked any financial mindset; if they did, they merely used it as a tool for accumulating wealth.

Since the goal is to amass wealth, there are many ways to do so, and there is no need to go through the trouble of setting up a money exchange.

Ultimately, the reason why the government did not value government-run banks was that the returns and risks were not proportional at all.

"But I want to tell you that once the court has run this 'money shop' well..."

Its benefits to the imperial court far exceeded the completion of the land survey policy!

When Jia Lian said this, not only Shui Rong, but even Princess Zhaoyang, who knew nothing about these things, was taken aback.

The benefits of thoroughly clearing up farmland are numerous and need no further explanation.

Otherwise, Emperor Ningkang would not have taken such a great risk and endured such great pressure to do it.

Jia Lian couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet he still dared to say it.

Given their tendency to speak without reason, could it be that this government-run money exchange holds some other secret they are unaware of?

Jia Lian was aware of their confusion, but the two men had very little understanding of finance. Even if Jia Lian wanted to explain it to them, they probably wouldn't understand.

So he said directly, "I want to set up a money exchange, and I will name it 'Great Wei National Bank'."

The bank's basic responsibilities include, but are not limited to, formulating monetary policies, minting new coins, maintaining the stability of national finances, and serving the imperial court, government officials, and all ordinary people.

His rank is tentatively set at the second rank.

Shui Rong didn't know why the money shop was being renamed a bank, and for a moment he couldn't quite grasp the specific meaning of what Jia Lian had said.

However, he astutely captured two key pieces of information.

Minting new coins?

He was very familiar with this, even in the minds of people at the time, they all knew the importance of the right to mint coins.

Every time the imperial court agrees to mint new coins, various factions fight tooth and nail to get them!

There's no way around it; there's too much shady business and money involved.

If Jia Lian truly intends to seize this power and transfer it to this yet-to-be-established bank, then this bank must be extraordinary.

The second piece of information that attracted him was naturally the rank of a second-grade official.

It should be noted that the Lantai Temple, which was responsible for supervising all officials, was only a second-rank government office.

This bank started with a second-rank official?

Only one level below the Sixth Division?

Thinking of this, Shui Rong suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

Because of these two points alone, this national bank is not simple.

Having both real power and status, it's unlikely that Jia Lian simply concocted something to appease him.

However, having seen his share of big occasions, he didn't reveal his true feelings and instead asked insincerely:

"Second rank, isn't that too high?"

Jia Lian said, "Is it high? In my mind, this bank is just as important as the Six Ministries."

However, fearing that setting the rank too high at once might arouse suspicion and dissatisfaction in the court, it was temporarily set at the second rank.

Is it tentatively set at the second rank? Does that mean it's possible that it could be promoted to a position equal to the Six Ministries in the future?

If such an important government office could be established under my own leadership...

Shui Rong suddenly felt that even if Jia Lian was just trying to fool him, he would accept it!

"I wonder how Your Highness plans to prepare for this bank, and who you intend to appoint to lead it... "

Shui Rong couldn't think of a title to refer to the bank's top official.

Seeing that Shui Rong was already quite impatient, Jia Lian smiled.

Princess Zhaoyang even flicked her hair, and her smile was so gentle and refreshing.

"I have just assumed the regency and am overwhelmed with affairs of state, so I certainly cannot do this personally. At most, I can offer some guidance."

As for who should serve as the first president of the Great Wei National Bank, I have already thought about it.

When this bank was first established, it certainly could not gain the positive approval of the court officials, so it was necessary to have a person of high status and both virtue and talent to run it in order to make it possible to succeed.

"Does Your Highness have any recommendations for someone like this?"

Prince Bei Jing said, "Indeed, every newly established government office is not so easy to be accepted by the officials at the beginning."

Moreover, His Highness intends to grant him such a high rank.

Therefore, this person's selection must be carefully considered, otherwise it is very likely that the desired effect will not be achieved..."

Princess Zhaoyang couldn't stand the hypocrisy between the emperor and his minister, and said bluntly, "What's there to be cautious about? I think Prince Shui is very suitable."

Shui Rong wanted to be more modest, but was afraid of being too pretentious, so he glanced at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Your Highness is right. I also think Prince Shui would be a good fit."

"So, Your Highness, are you interested in becoming the first president of the Great Wei National Bank?"

"Well... is Xiao Wang alright...?"

"If you're not happy about it, I'll find someone else to do it."

Shui Rong immediately turned over and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Jia Lian and saying, "Your subject Shui Rong will certainly not fail Your Highness's mission."

"I will certainly do my utmost to complete this task for Your Highness!"

"Alright, get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Shui Rong sat back down on the bench, feeling a little lightheaded.

What he feared was not that the job was difficult, but that Jia Lian wouldn't let him do anything.

Now that Jia Lian has granted him the job, it means he intends to use him.

In other words, even if the Great Wei National Bank ultimately fails, as long as it's not due to his personal fault, he can still do other things.

All the worries of the past few days have vanished.

"Congratulations, Your Highness."

Seeing Princess Zhaoyang bow and congratulate him, Shui Rong simply returned the bow, and then eagerly began to question Jia Lian:

"Although Your Highness calls it a bank, judging from Your Highness's words, it is actually a money exchange."

Nowadays, the imperial court does not have its own money shops, while there are countless money shops of all sizes in the private sector.

Many have already achieved the point of having branches all over the country.

If I were to establish this bank in the name of the imperial court, how would I compete with these established money shops?

Surely we can't use the power of the imperial court to forcefully oppress people?

Jia Lian said, "If all you know is how to use your power to intimidate others, then I have truly chosen the wrong person."

Jia Lian offered a critique before asking, "Tell me, how much are the monthly deposit fees charged by ordinary people when they deposit their money in the major money houses across the land?"

That's right. Nowadays, all money shops in the world do not offer interest on deposits; instead, they charge a safekeeping fee.

Even so, many people would still deposit large sums of money into banks they trusted for security reasons.

Shui Rong said: "As far as I know, a reputable bank like Datong Bank charges deposit fees of about one to two percent (monthly interest rate of one to two per thousand) depending on the amount deposited."

Other smaller money lenders will offer lower prices.

Jia Lian smiled upon hearing this: "If we didn't charge deposit fees, and even offered interest to depositors, do you think we could compete with those big money shops?"

"No deposit fees, and you even pay interest?"

Shui Rong countered with a question, suspecting that Jia Lian might be trying to amass wealth.

They swindle money from ordinary people first, then never pay it back?

It's no wonder that Shui Rong is suspicious. People have long held the view that agriculture is more important than commerce. They value production and despise the idea of ​​making money from money.

Of course, Jia Lian never intended to make money from money.

In this era, the financial system is so underdeveloped that if you want money to make money, you probably have to lend it out!

The probability of losing money in business or investment is too high.

All Jia Lian wanted was to have enough money to spend in the early stages.

To get things done, you definitely need money.

He wasn't afraid of the bank going bankrupt and suffering the consequences.

Because he was very confident, he believed that in the first few years of his sweeping reforms, the imperial court would be short of money.

Once the imperial court gets back on track, it will definitely not be short of money.

To put it bluntly, as long as we conquer Japan, we can fill even the biggest hole.

"Yes, there are no deposit fees or any other form of charges."

Furthermore, as long as those merchants sign an agreement with us and do not leave their silver deposits untouched for a year, we will pay them one percent interest.

If you sign a three-year contract, the annual rate will be 2%.

Over five years, the figure would be 3% per year.

Shui Rong gasped, startled, and asked, "Isn't this a bit too much? What if we can't bear the consequences for the court's reputation in the end...?"

Is it exaggerated? It's better to exaggerate a bit.

As for whether the imperial court can afford it... I ask you, this time the imperial court rescued the Korean country, not counting the military expenses that Korea has not yet paid, just the wealth worth more than ten million taels that the imperial court has already profited from, how much interest can be paid on the total principal?

You calculate it at the highest rate of three percent per year.

Upon hearing Jia Lian pose another question, Princess Zhaoyang hurriedly buried herself in calculations before Shui Rong could finish, and finally raised her hand quickly: "Brother, I've figured it out."

If you calculate all the interest on the more than ten million taels you brought back, then the principal would be at least ten million taels!

Upon hearing Princess Zhaoyang's quick answer, Shui Rong gave up on the calculation.

His arithmetic skills were clearly not as good as Princess Zhaoyang's.

Jia Lian gave Princess Zhaoyang a thumbs up, then turned to Shui Rong and said, "Ten million taels of silver. If it were all used for military expenses, what kind of army do you think could be built in five years?"

At the beginning of the year, I used an elite force of 50,000 men and within six months, I increased the court's book revenue by tens of millions of taels.

"If I were to use this invincible army, forged from a hundred million taels of silver, how much more could I gain for the court?"

Shui Rong felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.

He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to build an army with 100 million taels of silver.

After all, the imperial court maintains an army of over a million men every year, yet the total expenditure is only ten to twenty million taels of silver!

But he had already realized Jia Lian's scheme.

It seems Your Highness truly intends to conquer the Fusang Kingdom!

"Therefore, you don't need to worry about the imperial court not being able to repay."

If you have the ability, you can raise as much money as possible for the imperial court.

I assure you, every penny you raise will contribute to the strengthening of my Great Wei!

Jia Lian looked at Shui Rong encouragingly, almost patting him on the shoulder.

Facing Jia Lian's gaze, Shui Rong's expression gradually became excited, as if she had found the direction and meaning of her struggle.

wrong……

"From what Your Highness means, it seems that the money deposited by the people in banks will be used for the expenses of the imperial court in the future?"

That's not right...

If the merchants and ordinary people who deposited their money knew this, they would definitely object. What if they all went to the bank demanding to withdraw their money, and the bank couldn't provide it?

Although Prince Bei Jing never ran a money exchange, he did, after all, manage a century-old royal residence.

I still know the basic common sense.

Merchants who deposited their money in money shops were most afraid that the money shops would use the money elsewhere and they would not be able to withdraw it in the end!

If Jia Lian took the money from the bank to run other errands and didn't return it for a while...

Shui Rong could almost picture himself being surrounded by a huge crowd, being insulted by people for eighteen generations.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Since the depositors are asking to withdraw their money early, it is naturally considered a breach of contract."

Since they defaulted, we naturally don't have to pay interest, or we pay less interest.

Okay, okay, stop looking so gloomy.

It's like I'm trying to scam you.

Here's what we'll do: if the imperial court asks you for money in the future, and you're worried that the court won't be able to repay it, you can simply refuse.

Shui Rong was taken aback: "Can I refuse?"

"Of course, you're the bank manager, so naturally you have the final say in the bank."

Shui Rong suddenly felt that he was quite awesome as the bank manager.

"Your Highness, can I refuse if you ask?"

"certainly."

Jia Lian agreed very easily.

However, those who are well-versed in the ways of power should understand that such a promise is more meaningful than effective.

However, Jia Lian was knowledgeable in economics and would not easily do something that would destroy his own foundation.

If he were to actually do that one day, it would mean that the imperial court was no longer functioning, and the country was even in danger of collapse.

At that time, the bank's reputation naturally became meaningless.

Actually, it's too early to say these things now.

The establishment and development of a national bank needs to be carried out gradually.

Jia Lian simply gave Shui Rong a goal and supervised him to achieve it.

As for how well it will turn out, we'll have to see what happens next.

Jia Lian never placed his hopes on this bank.

Anyway, the national treasury is still quite well-stocked. It would be best if the banks could help him, but it doesn't matter if they can't; just consider it a way to get rid of Shui Rong.

So he and Shui Rong discussed it for another half hour, explaining the specific details and framework to him.

During this time, Shui Rong even found paper and pen and filled half a notebook with notes before leaving satisfied.

Before leaving, his eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at Jia Lian. (End of Chapter)