Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

Volume 345: Chapter Chapter : Exchange Silver

"Hey, have you heard about the grain merchants these days?"

"Why are you sick and staying at home? The whole city knows about this. Look, there are funerals everywhere these days."

"Hey, your news is outdated. I have some new news, but I won't tell anyone!"

"What news? Tell me now!!"

The man looked around like a thief, then whispered to his companion, "I heard that when grain prices went up, it seemed that the major banks also chipped in, and used all the money in their warehouses to buy grain. Now, all the grain merchants have lost money, and the money of the banks has also gone down the drain. Now, there is no money in these banks!"

"OH MY GOD!!!"

His companion screamed, attracting the attention of everyone around him. He then covered his mouth and asked in a low voice, "Is this true?"

"How can I lie to you? It's because we have a good relationship. I won't tell anyone else. If you have money deposited in the bank, remember to withdraw it. We know each other well. By the way, remember to keep it a secret and don't tell anyone else!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

The most ridiculous thing in the world is, "I'm telling you something, you must remember to keep it a secret. If you can't keep a secret yourself, how can you expect others to keep it a secret?" To be able to say this means that this secret has been passed on several times, and this news is the same, just like a spring breeze, blowing through the streets and alleys.

The consequences are also very significant.

"Slime eel! Give me your money back!!!"

"Open the door quickly, we need to withdraw money!!"

A large number of depositors came to the bank to withdraw their deposits, but the question was where could the bank find so much cash? I had borrowed a lot of money from those grain merchants before, and when I went to collect the debt, it was unlucky. When I opened the door, there was a man hanging on the beam, saying, "I don't have money, and I won't give you my life either." Is there any way to deal with a deadbeat like this?

Money shops, an ancient banking institution, actually existed a long time ago. Their prototype was in the Song Dynasty and they reached their peak in the Yuan Dynasty. After the Mongols entered the Central Plains, they only knew how to go to war all day long. When faced with the financial industry, they knew him but he didn't know them. So the wise Emperor Yuan Dynasty came up with a very good idea: outsourcing.

During the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Semites were introduced to help them handle commercial loan business. At the same time, with the assistance of the tax-farming system of local gentry, a blood transfusion channel for the Yuan Dynasty nobles was established through layers of exploitation.

During this period, the exploitation of the common people reached its peak. The Semites joined forces with the gentry and spent every day figuring out how to squeeze the common people dry. One item they came up with was more unscrupulous than the other, with such tricks as "donkey rolling around" and "nine out and thirteen back". Even many Mongols were enslaved by these means.

In this regard, our Li Huanggua said that it was all because of nothing. It was no match for the common area of ​​my house.

This extremely harsh exploitation, coupled with the decay of the water conservancy repair system, led to the stone man with one eye, stirring up the Yellow River and causing the whole world to rebel.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hated businessmen so much was because he was born into a lower-class family and was completely arranged by these shitty capitalists. All of his family members were wiped out. Therefore, after establishing the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang let these shitty businessmen see what the iron fist of the Ming Dynasty was.

But after more than 200 years of existence, the Ming Dynasty was already on the decline after the Battle of Tumu, and merchants began to regain their momentum. The business of this money house became bigger and bigger, and it was thriving.

First, the policies of the Ming Dynasty are no longer the same as before. Second, as the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes continue to depreciate, merchants who do not want their money to become toilet paper have a large demand for remittances.

At the same time, due to the current turbulent social situation, merchants are reluctant to carry money with them when they go out.

Are you so stubborn? Is it because I, a mountain bandit, have become soft-hearted, or is it because I, a Taihu bandit, can no longer lift my sword?

The business of a money shop is nothing more than taking over the silver stored by merchants and issuing bills of exchange. Merchants then use the bills of exchange in their hands to exchange for silver from another place. Secondly, they use the silver warehouses in their hands to issue loans.

This financial system is already very sophisticated, so the ancient people were not stupid at all. For thousands of years, people have always been the same.

And now, because of street rumors, a large number of depositors are waving the bills of exchange in their hands, demanding to withdraw the silver they have deposited in the money houses. Such a large-scale run makes it difficult for the money houses to cope with it for a while. Even in normal years, such a run will make a money house bankrupt on the spot, let alone at this juncture, it can really cost lives!

But as luck would have it, a big client came to the door again and asked to withdraw money.

"Manager Wang, it's not that I don't understand human feelings. We are talking about business. I am also short of money right now. I need three hundred thousand taels right now. Please think of a way."

Wang Changshun, the owner of the money shop, was sweating profusely. If the amount was less, it would be fine, but where could he find so much silver for three hundred thousand taels?

If it were in the past, he could have come up with three hundred thousand taels if he had gritted his teeth, but now, he had just suffered a loss and the money had not been recovered yet. A lot of people were desperately demanding payment, so how could he come up with the money? When he looked up, he saw a group of ferocious-looking people next to the customer, staring at him covetously, which made Wang Changshun sweat even more.

"Hey...hey...please wait a moment, my dear. I need to ask the host for permission first."

He is just a shopkeeper and he cannot make the decision on such a big matter.

After serving tea and waiting on them well, Wang Changshun quickly went to the back of the bank to discuss matters with his boss.

"Boss, something big happened"

"What's the big deal?"

"Look," Wang Changshun arranged six bills of exchange in his hand: "Six bills of exchange, three hundred thousand taels, and they are required today. Take a look..." Jiang Han was very smart. In order to paralyze these people, he did not let his men deposit all at once, but deposited fifty thousand at a time. During that period, money houses were all engaged in large-scale transactions, and the amount was tens of thousands of taels at a time. What he did was really normal.

“Three hundred thousand taels!?” Who the hell is this? He’s going to kill me!

Despite this, he put down the purple clay teapot in his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll go and take a look myself."

When he came to the front, he saw a middle-aged man drinking tea happily. The host hurriedly went to greet him and said, "I didn't know you had a distinguished guest. I'm sorry for not welcoming you. Are you here to make a promise?"

"Yes, it's urgent, hurry up."

The person who came this time was Manager Zhao from Jiang Han's residence. He was worried about handing over such a big matter to others, and since the master couldn't leave, he just came out.

The boss still had a smile on his face. "I hope you can forgive me. You came to pay, and we should give it to you on the spot. But now, as you can see, the market is a little difficult. So, how about I hand the money to you in person in a month?"

"How is it? Not so good? I handed you 300,000 taels of real gold and silver. The market is so bad right now, I need this money to save my life. You just said one word and gave it to me a month later. Why? Stop talking nonsense. 300,000 taels, I want it now, not a penny less!"

Manager Zhao spoke in a very arrogant manner, which was all due to the acting skills specially trained by Jiang Han.

"I'm really sorry, but this is our rule."

"Don't f*cking talk about rules with me. When I deposited the money, I agreed to redeem it on the spot. What are you talking about now? I'm asking you, are you going to redeem the money or not?"

The host of the "honored guest" smiled but his face was not smiling. He glanced to the side and saw several guards approaching this side: "If you want to exchange silver, you have to follow our rules. Otherwise... this is not a good place for trouble."

Before he could finish, a man next to Manager Zhao pulled out a flintlock from his arms and pointed it directly at the boss's forehead. He held another in his other hand and pointed it at the guard who was about to step forward. The rest of them also pulled out pistols from their arms. The guards next to them were all dumbfounded. "We have long sticks in our hands, and you want to play with muskets with us?"

"Don't move!" The guards didn't dare to move. Where did this ruthless person come from? He just wanted money, why did he suddenly pull out a gun? We are all professional guards, just trying to make a living. Why are you risking your life for a monthly salary of more than 1,000 yuan?

Everything happened so fast. Before the boss could finish his harsh words, the muzzle of the gun was pointed at his forehead. When had he ever seen such a thing? His voice began to tremble.

"Sir, calm down... Do you know what the consequences of making trouble here are? Do you know who is behind this bank?"

At this point, he still hopes to use his status to suppress the opponent.

"I don't care who you are. Today, I want three hundred thousand taels, not a tael less. If you can't pay it, you'll lose your head."

"Sir, even if I exchange the silver for you today and offend our bank, do you know what the consequences will be?"

Manager Zhao sneered: "I don't know what the consequences will be if I offend you, but do you know what the consequences will be if you offend us?"

Manager Zhao gently took out a printed piece from the bag of the guard beside him, turned the bottom of the seal over, and showed it to the boss. The boss was immediately disappointed. There was a big word on it: "Jiang!"

"You are the Jiang Thief's men!!"

The boss screamed in shock, and before he could finish his words, Manager Zhao slapped him in the face without saying a word. The guards on the side were about to move when a gunshot rang out. A hole was shot in the top of the head of the guard in the front, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"I said, don't move!"

No one dared to move now.

Manager Zhao wiped his hands with a handkerchief while looking at the boss and said, "Keep your mouth shut, or your whole family will be in danger tonight."

He was really having a great time acting. Before, he was wondering why the boss was so keen on bullying those big families. Now, I really can't imagine how happy the boss is.

"I ask you, can I exchange three hundred thousand taels?"

"Yes, yes..."

"Where's the silver?"

"Silver, I don't have it now...I will have it in a month"

"I have to wait for you for a month?" The gun moved to the head again.

"It's available now, it's available now! You can get the land, you can use the land as collateral!!"

"Very good." The gun slowly moved away, and the boss breathed a sigh of relief, but he heard Manager Zhao say again: "But I don't really want the silver now. What would happen if I went out and said that your bank couldn't take out the silver at all?"

Chapter 7 at midnight QQ group ① Liuba Eryi 16⑦

Volume 346: Chapter Chapter : Starting Again

What will happen? I will kill you right here, okay?

The current situation is already imminent. So many depositors have come to ask for silver. Although the problem can be solved, it will be painful. However, what will happen if this depositor of 300,000 taels goes out and says that his bank has no silver?

You can follow the footsteps of those grain merchants, find a rope, hang it around your neck, and go directly to the second dimension.

What's more, who is the person standing behind this gentleman? The former largest grain merchant, Mr. Zhang, is still hanging on the old crooked neck tree. Have you forgotten?

"What do you want, Your Excellency?"

The boss's tone softened. This threat was quite real and he didn't dare to gamble.

“Your bank is pretty good.”

Manager Zhao's words made the boss' face turn pale on the spot. In fact, when the other party said the previous sentence, he already had some expectations in his mind that if a person doesn't even want money, then he must want more things. However, he didn't expect that the other party's appetite would be so big.

"I don't want three hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if I buy a share of your bank, how about we split the money 30% to 70%?"

"Three hundred thousand taels, accounting for 30%, is a bit too much..."

The boss said weakly that their money house was a century-old brand, and the various mortgaged items in the house, including various hidden values, were extremely large. They could not get even one tenth of the three hundred thousand taels.

"You are wrong, 70% is mine and 30% is yours"

"Seventy percent!!!?" The boss was about to ask why you didn't go and rob it, but then he thought again and realized that they seemed to be robbing it, and he was suddenly speechless.

"Don't be so ungrateful. The news has been spreading more and more these days. More and more people are looking for you to exchange silver every day. If we take over your bank, it will save your life. Otherwise, you will have to bear the consequences of the bank run by yourself."

How to push it up? I can't push it up.

There was no way to negotiate this deal. He would suffer a loss anyway. He couldn't turn against the government because the other party was Jiang Han. As for the government? If the government was useful at all, it would not be completely useless. Look at what Jiang Han did a few days ago. What could the government do to arrest him?

The boss also knew that this was already the best outcome. Jiang Han was still willing to leave 30% for them and did not directly kill all of them and replace them with his own people. This was considered to be a kind-hearted act.

He took out the prepared contract and signed it with the distraught boss. Manager Zhao stamped the contract with the seal with the character "Jiang" in it, and the matter was done.

"We will send someone to count our property later. Let's go to the next one."

After saying this, Manager Zhao walked away. He was so clear-headed.

Yes, the next family. Jiang Han has not deposited 300,000 taels in one family these days, but 300,000 taels in each family. What he wants is the moment to reap the rewards.

In the whole Nanzhili, there are eight largest money houses, and all of these money houses were visited by Jiang Han's people. With an investment of 1.8 million taels of silver, they took over eight century-old money houses. This trip was really like putting pepper on a merry-go-round, making a lot of money!

And now, Jiang Han is also facing the trouble of collecting money: "Hurry up, pull a group of accountants to check these industries, split the remaining value in them, and check all the items one by one. I will take a look at it when the time comes."

This is an extremely huge project. The wealth in the hands of these eight century-old brands is beyond imagination.

Several people nodded: "Don't worry, sir, we will be very careful about this matter."

"Um"

Nodding, Jiang Han continued, "Also, notify the Ministry of Revenue that I will set up a national bank to manage and coordinate the business of these eight banks. The smaller ones will be merged directly, and finally three or four will be enough for easy management. For these three or four banks, a unified management charter will be formulated to re-specify mortgage interest rates, assess mortgage risks, and the terms of deposits and redemptions. The situation of random mortgages like today will never be allowed to happen. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

"Well, our identities are different from those businessmen. They are businessmen, and we are officials. We must distinguish ourselves from them. The most important thing for an official is to be fair and to do things reasonably. Now that we are big enough, we just need to be fair and treat people fairly."

A large number of accountants were brought from Yangzhou to different prefectures in Nanzhili to begin counting the land and silver. At the same time, Jiang Han also began to respond to the bank run. First, he issued an announcement saying that a wealthy master had taken over the money house.

It was stated to the public that the old and new were different. Secondly, it was solemnly stated that the rumors among the people before were all Ficinius! They were all fake! They were all iced black tea mixed with water! After the new master took over, the silver turnover of the bank was completely free of any problems, and all depositors could exchange silver at any time!

Of course, it's not like we're open to you to exchange money. We've stipulated that the bank will only be open for four hours a day, which is eight hours, and will be closed for two days every seven days. You can exchange money at any time during working hours, but we won't accept any money outside of that time.

In the first few days, there were indeed many merchants who came with bills of exchange to exchange for silver, but Jiang Han is so rich now, you can exchange it for any amount of silver you want!

At the same time, he also sent people to act out a play. Manager Zhao acted again, holding a bill of exchange for 300,000 taels in his hand, and in full view of everyone, he took away the 300,000 taels of silver in several carriages.

The staff member who followed asked with a smile, "Is there anyone who wants to exchange silver?"

In fact, this 300,000 taels of silver is also an old drama bone, from the East to the West, but their supporting roles have changed, becoming Wang Guanshi, Liuzi, and Lord Li...

The most important thing about bank runs is to give depositors confidence. As long as depositors have confidence, that the bank does have enough silver, and after they have this concept, there will be fewer bank runs, and the situation will gradually return to stability.

It will take some time to calculate these properties. Now that Jiang Han has money in his hands, he has to think about how to spend it. But before that, he has to think about how to drive these Tartars away.

Scarecrow came to ask for a fight again. She felt that she had rested long enough at home. Although she went out for a while before, she came back the next day after the first day. She didn't do anything during the period. After laughing, fighting and scolding with those lively Tartars, it felt a bit boring to come to the Central Plains to do these things. It was like running to the fish pond to fry fish after being used to fighting in the high-level bureau. If it was Jiang Han, his face would be full of excitement, but for Scarecrow, the king of curling, it was not very exciting.

Not only the scarecrow, but also the officers and soldiers of the navy were eager to fight. This was really a good deal. They could get rich by robbing once. Everyone who came wanted to come again for a second time. Many of them also made up for their lack of knowledge about luxury goods during their rest period in Yangzhou. They regretted why they forgot to take it last time and secretly made up their minds to surpass their predecessors this time.

My wife wants to work, so Jiang Han has no reason to stop her. Support! Must support! Jiang Han immediately went to communicate with the old British potato, and when he opened his mouth, he said a galleon and ten secondary large ships.

To this British businessman, Jiang Han was not a human being, but a boy sent by God to bring wealth. He even wanted to dismantle his own warship and sell it to this gentleman. But to be honest, the Galleon was not easy to deal with. This thing was too critical and it would take some time. However, he said that the secondary battleship could be arranged soon.

Jiang Han thought about it and decided that a secondary battleship would be fine. This time, they were just going to transport goods and there was no particular need for combat. No way, no way, no one would take Wild Boar Skin’s group of navy soldiers who were not even worth a dog basket seriously, right?

This time, he brought a new batch of Iron-Blooded units to the ship, and asked Scarecrow to replace the Iron-Blooded units that were fighting in Liaodong before, and bring them back for repairs. After all, no matter how powerful the machinery is, it will break down. If it is pulled back for repair, it can be a brave man again. It would be a bit too much of a loss to let him recycle them into resources directly after they are scrapped.

Scarecrow nodded in agreement, especially the Ranger, which had a very high scrap rate.