Chapter 338: shirking responsibility
When Rongcheng Bank proposed to raise funds through share issuance, Shisanpu came out to obstruct it.
They also dreamed of setting up a bank with a business model in which the Ministry of Transport would be the largest shareholder and private capital would participate in the supervision as in the past, with each bank making its own profits and losses.
They were asked to invest, but they just refused to do so. They also spread rumors and slandered the new currency, saying that it was robbing the people of their wealth.
Fortunately, Shen Baiyi took action and brought a large amount of funds, including those from jewelers in Chengdu, into the bank, which enabled Ma Linger to successfully find shareholders and open a head office and five branches in Simen, Chengdu.
Zhao Yulin praised Ma Linger for his ability. He said that if he had not considered the common people, he would have suppressed the exchange rate of Qianyin without any regard and would have eaten up all the Shisanpu.
He pulled Wu Yuqi over to discuss this and that, and Yuqi soon went to Shunfengsi.
On Qianpu Street on the east side of Chengdu, the lights were also bright at Qian Fuxing's house, the first shop of Shisanpu. It was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Qian Fuxing invited Qin Qinyao and a few of his trusted people to have a drink and have fun together.
In the past two years, Zhao Yulin eliminated the previous transport and grain transport envoys. Qian Fuxing lost two powerful backers and kept a tight hold on Qin Qinyao, fearing that he would lose this cash cow.
It just so happened that Zhao Yulin's strategy of prioritizing stability did not touch the super-large financial market like Shisanpu. Instead, these people were able to live leisurely and freely, and their heads grew bigger.
Qin Qinyao rolled his tongue and ordered wine, don't be afraid of Ma Ling, she is just a woman. If you say you are playing with money, you are an idiot. All these years, it's all up to him and you to worry about it.
All the shopkeepers immediately raised their glasses to toast him, and the whole table was filled with compliments.
They were enjoying their meal when a servant came in to report that Commander Zhao and General Cao had returned to Chengdu.
Qin Qinyao said disapprovingly that they were important figures of the level of Duke Zhou and Duke Shao, and they would definitely come back for the New Year, so there was no need to make a fuss, and just drink, and then he continued to hug the singer beside him and stretched out her mouth to take the wine.
Although Qian Fuxing had some doubts, he mostly understood what Qin Qinyao said. It was the New Year and the official also had a family, so it was normal for him to return to Chengdu to celebrate the New Year.
After eating and drinking, Qin Qinyao took the two beauties beside him to the luxurious upper room prepared in the backyard and had fun for half an hour before coming out.
Qian Fuxing smiled and wanted to let him stay overnight, but he said there was a hungry tigress at home and he had to go back no matter how late it was, so he bowed and said goodbye.
The remaining few trusted shopkeepers sat together again to plot.
Qian Fuxing said that Zhao Qi'er is an extraordinary person, so you guys should be careful, you'd better be cautious when the market opens, and don't let him get hold of any handle.
Everyone nodded.
Jiuzi smiled and said that thanks to the good tricks taught by his brother-in-law, we have made a lot of money, so we should quit while we are ahead.
How could those guys know that not only Zhao Yulin didn't play according to the rules, but even Ding Gong didn't play according to the rules.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lord Ding convened a meeting of the local chief officials of the four gates and four districts. He told them about Zhao Yulin's proposal to distribute new currency to poor families. He also publicly asked Ma Linger to prepare big red envelopes, as he was going to take the officials of the Central Court to visit the poor households.
By the time Zhao Yulin got the news, Ding Gong had already made all the arrangements.
He smiled helplessly. Oh, this old man is interesting.
The next day, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Chengdu Weekly published the news that the King of the new Song Dynasty visited the streets to visit the poor, and also published the news that Ding Gong announced that the new currency was currency and could be exchanged for silver coins at an equal value.
Haha, the old man took the initiative to lead the Central Institute in carrying out monetary and financial reforms.
Lao Cao invited Zhao Yulin to his house for a drink. He held the newspaper in his left hand and flicked his right fingers twice, saying that Mr. Ding was swearing the majesty of the king. He said there was no rush, but the old man didn't say hello and started working.
Didn’t my brother offend him?
Zhao Yulin said with an innocent look on his face that he had only been back for a few days, and the general had been keeping an eye on his subordinates while they were doing their work, so how could he have done anything wrong?
Lao Cao laughed out loud when he heard this. He said cheerfully that this was a good thing, because the imperial court was just like the common people, and they only opened their doors to work on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so they had been idle for too long.
What he meant by this was: in the past, people all over the country would lie down and play during the New Year, but now Lord Ding has implemented changes, and people have to go to work on the second day of the New Year and work overtime to take care of state affairs.
In fact, there was a reason why Mr. Ding did this abnormal thing. The day before yesterday, he and Fan Zhong went back to find Li Zhongmian to have a drink together, and Mr. Li reminded him.
Mr. Li has asthma, and the colder the weather, the more uncomfortable he feels. He no longer dares to drink, and only accompanies us to drink tea. He panted and said that Mr. Cao and Brother Yulin were leading the troops to fight hard at the border, and we should worry more in Chengdu, otherwise people in the world will scold us for being idle and good-for-nothing.
This statement needs to be listened to from both sides. What Lord Li meant was that you, Lord Ding, are the king, and you went to Zhao Yulin for advice on matters that should be decided by you. Although you shirked the responsibility, you gave the decision-making power to someone else.
Our ruler is a person who doesn't want to get involved in things. When he was the prefect of Shu, he ruled by doing nothing. He still does the same thing when he becomes the ruler.
Zhao Yulin thought that Ding Gong had a good character and did not seek power, which was just right for him to concentrate on strengthening the army and restoring the country, so he tried his best to support the old man as the leader. However, things were different after he gathered connections around him.
Look, Zhao Yanna came to the door again.
Old Zhao saw that he, Zhao Yulin and Cao Youwen were not getting along, and he thought for a long time that if he wanted to have a say in the court, he had to get Mr. Ding to be his backer and accomplice. After making up his mind, he bent down to wish Mr. Ding a happy new year.
However, he didn't know Mr. Ding, and the old man still had a bottom line.
The last time Zhao Yan mentioned the transportation of taxes to Jiangdong, the old man was upset. Not only did it offend Zhao Yulin, it also touched the old man's foundation.
Because Lord Ding had already become the king at that time, he was still somewhat intoxicated by the supreme power. That guy actually proposed to transfer taxes to Jiangdong. This was a disguised recognition of the Jiangdong court and shook the foundation of the country. How could the old man not remember him?
The result is predictable. The two of them drank a lot of wine and Zhao Yan went back feeling dizzy. He thought that he had not contacted Old Man Ding for a long time and they were indeed a little estranged. Old Man Ding did not give him face as a former superior. It seemed that he had to move around more.
At Zhao Yulin's house, he was discussing with Ma Linger and Wu Yuqi how to clean up the Shisanpu.
Wu Yuqi told him: The power structure of Chengdu's money shops is complicated. Although there are only some shopkeepers of the Thirteen Shops standing at the front desk, there are many wealthy businessmen and officials who invest and cheer behind them, all of whom are surrounding the money shops to make money.
Zhao Yulin laughed when he heard this. His woman was really good at explaining things vividly and vividly. It was perfect.
He asked how he was going to start?
Wu Yuqi rolled his eyes and asked, "What else do you have?" Master Lu was urging them to find clues. Dongmei had already mobilized people and was ready to arrest Qian Fuxing as soon as he made a move after the market opened.
Zhao Yulin shook his head and said there was no rush. Qian Fuxing and his men might not start as soon as the market opened. Besides, they had taken so much money by trickery and robbery. How could we be worthy of the people if we didn't ask them to give some of it back?
This is called boiling a frog in warm water. It's interesting to kill them slowly.
Ma Ling'er said with a smile that her brother was always good at playing bad and mean tricks, and told her sister to listen to him.
Zhao Yulin pinched Ma Ling'er's face and said that whenever he did something bad to her, it was used to deal with enemies and bad guys.
He asked Ma Ling'er to prepare in advance. After the market opened this year, the bank exchanged the notes at a price 3 cents lower than last year's closing price.
Ma Ling'er said that this would definitely make money, but the people's hard-earned money would be reduced by 3 cents after the New Year. Wouldn't people think that we are robbing people and are going to kill them?
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that he was just about to talk about this matter. Two measures should be taken to protect the interests of ordinary people. The first is to ask Chen Chen to find Qu Tao and ask Manager Qu to gather the business owners of the Chengdu Jewelry Chamber of Commerce for tea and chat, collect intelligence, and tactfully tell these merchants to trust the government and believe that the third young master will not treat the people unfairly, and delay their entry to exchange currency.
The second thing is to let Wu Yuqi discuss with Jiang Ligang and Zhang Guoan and organize a group of absolutely trustworthy and smart people to infiltrate the bank's service team to look for clues, pay attention to emotionally agitated people, and once found, take them aside to enlighten and persuade them.
Ma Ling'er said that the situation was much better. Most of those who suffered the most losses were rich people. Ordinary people didn't have much money, so most of them kept iron coins.
Zhao Yulin nodded and gave Ma Ling'er an idea, asking them to post a notice at the door of the bank, welcoming people to come to the bank to exchange bank notes. If the exchange rate increased within half a year, the bank would have to compensate them for the increase.
However, this requires banks to do more and carefully record the identity of each exchanger, the transaction amount, and the year and period of the money.
A hint of surprise flashed across Wu Yuqi's face, and she asked him if he was helping Shunfengsi collect clues?
Zhao Yulin laughed and said, "That's smart. It's a good idea to prepare for a rainy day. Maybe it will be useful in the future."
A few people were still talking when the guard came to report that the king wanted to see Madam Ma Ling.
Zhao Yulin motioned for her to go quickly and continued to discuss with Wu Yuqi.
Yuqi told him: Master Lu is truly a master in the intelligence community, he has many ways to do things, this little thing can't stop him at all...
In Zhending Prefecture, Hebei Province, the Mongol Empire was also issuing paper money. The empire learned from the Song Dynasty's practice of making coins and exchanging them for the people's gold and silver.
This note is completely different from the currency of the New Song Dynasty. Although it is made of thin paper and has exquisite patterns such as wolf head totems engraved on it, it looks black and sticky.
However, there is one thing that is still worthy of praise. The empire promised that if it is inconvenient to redeem the price, the original price will be recovered upon maturity, which makes the people feel more at ease.
Even so, the value of the Khan's money notes fell sharply as soon as they came into being. In private transactions, one money note could only be exchanged for 80% of silver.
