Chapter 618: Concessions, persistence, and close contact with Hejian Mansion

Zhang Zhun smiled slightly and said slowly: "To be precise, it is to turn you all into emerging capitalists. Each of you has accumulated a lot of funds in your hands, and these funds should not be wasted. It seems like Mr. Chen, who is still easy to take out tens of thousands of taels of silver in his hands. Tens of thousands of taels of silver can do a lot of things, so why do you have to bury the silver in the cellar?"

Shen Kunshan frowned and said, "I feel at ease when the silver is buried in the cellar."

Zhang Zhun still smiled slightly and said in a deep voice: "It is down-to-earth, but there is no way to get money out of money. The country's money should be circulated. Money that is not circulated is not called money. Chen Junwai should take out the money and make money to obtain more profits. Every year, he only earns a few thousand taels of income at most, but when he uses it for business, he may earn tens of thousands of taels or even tens of thousands of taels of profit. Don't Chen Junwai want to try it?"

Shen Kunshan said worriedly: "Doing business will lead to losses."

Zhang Zhun nodded and said in a affirmative tone: "Yes, you have to lose money when doing business. But this is also my key point. I don't want everyone to live like Chen Yuanwai, just holding the jars and jars at home, just wanting to maintain the status quo and not being enterprising. Life is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat. The same is true for the country. If you don't advance, you will retreat."

"The country is composed of many people. If everyone is like Chen Yuanwai, standing still and not striving for progress, our country will have no motivation to move forward. Only by constantly pioneering and making progress can the country become strong. Therefore, I can tell you with certainty that in my control area, everyone must have a sense of crisis and strive to move forward. If you don't move forward, you will be eliminated and have no penny!"

The gentry present was slightly shocked by Zhang Zhun's words and did not speak for a while. Zhang Zhun's words contained too many meanings, and they needed some time to think about it carefully. In fact, it was Zhang Zhun's own carelessness. He came from later generations and had his own vision and insight, of course these gentry could not compare. He said it all in a row, completely ignoring that others were old antiques from hundreds of years ago, so how could he accept it at once?

Fortunately, Zhang Zhun knew that he was talking too much, so he changed the topic and said, "I know, everyone is very rich. Others said that in the Ming Dynasty, at least hundreds of millions of taels of silver were buried in the cellar or hidden in the vault, and he was never used. I think it would be better to take it out and do something if you leave the money alone. If you don't want to do it, it's OK to leave it to others."

Shen Kunshan said bluntly: "Governor, are you suggesting that we put all our money in others? How can we rest assured?"

Zhang Zhun nodded gently and said slowly: "You are really worried about putting it in someone else's place. But what if you put it in the money shop?"

Shen Kunshan frowned and said, "We don't want to keep it in the money shop, so we feel insecure."

Zhang Zhun smiled disapprovingly, his eyes lit up slightly, as if he had thought of something, then nodded gently and said lightly: "What if I open a money house?"

All the gentry's eyes fell on Zhang Zhun.

Do you want to open a money shop?

Zhang Zhun actually had a temporary idea, thinking that he should build a money house to concentrate all the private assets to provide financial guarantees for the development of the Hu Ben Army. The Ming Dynasty actually did not lack silver. According to later historians, since the Wanli period, a large amount of silver flowed into the country overseas, and silver gradually became the main currency in circulation on the market. The silver accumulated in the Ming Dynasty may have more than 300 million taels of silver.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not participate in the world's maritime trade, the profits obtained from the world's maritime trade flowed into the Ming Dynasty. Why, because the raw silk, tea, porcelain, medicinal materials and other goods produced in the Ming Dynasty were always prosperous. The Ming Dynasty's own economic strength also determined that it would concentrate most of its money on its own hands like the United States in later generations.

It seems that the famous Manila sailboat starts from the Ming Dynasty and ends from the Ming Dynasty. Chinese sailboats loaded with raw silk set off from Yuegang (near Zhangzhou, Fujian) to Manila in the South Ocean and sold the raw silk to the Portuguese. Then the Portuguese transferred the raw silk to the professional Manila sailboat, and then followed the Black Tide route in the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco, Mexico, and sold it to local Spanish rulers, and then made a high profit.

Because the Ming Dynasty at that time had a strong overall economic strength and trade with any country was a surplus, with silk, porcelain and tea, which completely dominated the mainstream of world economic and trade. Therefore, the silver earned by the Portuguese eventually fell into the pockets of the Ming people. However, unfortunately, most of the silver was buried in the cellar, locked in the vault, and was never willing to use it again.

As a result, the Ming Dynasty clearly did not lack silver, but the circulation of silver in the market was insufficient. The court's finances were also very scarce. The most fundamental reason was that merchants like Shen Kunshan only had to enter and leave after they got silver. In this way, no matter how much silver was, they could not meet the needs of the market!

When Zhang Zhun thought of this, he naturally thought of banks. Speaking of which, Zhang Zhun was really not very proficient in the economic field. However, he knew the role of banks at least. Well, it was not called banks these days, but money shops. Money shops had already appeared in the Ming Dynasty, but the scale was very small, and they were limited to the purpose of saving and redeem, just to facilitate merchants' behavior. The so-called lending has not yet appeared.

What Zhang Zhun needs is the lending function of the bank. If he could concentrate all the accumulated silver among the Ming people in the hands of the money house, and then lend it to those in need, vigorously encourage commercial trade and overseas trade, productivity would make a huge leap. What is the most lacking in the development of Laizhou Prefecture and Dengzhou Prefecture? Of course it is funds! The private funds in these two places are still too weak compared with those in Hejian Prefecture.

Even Zhang Jun himself is extremely beneficial. Why? He can also borrow money to build ships, expand his army and prepare for war, and wait until the east and west battles and there is enough seizure, and then slowly return the principal and interest. If the money house really develops, the current financial bottleneck of the Hu Ben Army can be effectively solved.

It was probably from August and September that the finances of the Hu Ben Army were a little difficult. The income from fine salt and glass was only enough for daily military expenditures, as well as a large amount of shipbuilding expenses. Due to financial problems, even the production volume of the Hu Ben guns was cut a little by Zhang Zhun. The pace of the Hu Ben Army's expansion of the army was slowed down a lot. If there was enough money, Zhang Zhun could have expanded all the battalions to full capacity. But isn't it money?

Of course, the gentry in front of you are very conservative. It is very difficult for you to voluntarily take out the money and deposit it into the money house opened by Zhang Zhun. Nowadays, no one is willing to easily put the money in his pocket with others. However, everything is difficult at the beginning. Since this idea is good, we must persist. The Hu Ben Army must start preparing for the money house.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Zhun said slowly: "The money house of the Hu Ben Army is not established by private people, but a public institution under the Great Governor's Office of the Hu Ben Army. It has a reputation guaranteed. As long as the Hu Ben Army exists for one day, the money house will exist for one day. The money houses that exist in the money house can be withdrawn at any time, and you will not be less than half a tael. The cellars at home are not safe, and only the money houses run by the Hu Ben Army are the safest."

"In addition, depending on the length of deposit, the bank will pay a certain interest. For example, if you deposit ten thousand taels of silver for one year, I will give you a total of ten thousand five hundred taels of silver after it expires. That five hundred taels of silver is interest. The longer you store it, the higher the interest rate. What else can you do if you put your money in the cellar and in the vault? You must always prevent robbers and thieves from being nervous all day long."

These most basic bank theories can actually be understood by the gentry. The word usury was not available now, but it was found in the Tang Dynasty. However, those who lend were all private, and those who were unscrupulous big merchants. There were no institutions that specialize in lending. In the Ming Dynasty, the development of usury was even more abnormal.

In the capital, there were people who specialized in lending to officials in need. In the Ming Dynasty, bribery became popular, and without money, nothing could be done. In order to bribe superiors, many lower-level officials were willing to borrow and bribe to obtain a better position. Many local officials had the first thing they did after entering Beijing to borrow and enrich their wallets to prepare for unexpected needs.

Do you think that after officials who took office through this kind of way, in addition to making money and recovering their capital, would they still have the intention to do other things? This is also one of the important phenomena of corruption in the Ming Dynasty. The interest rates of usury are very scary. If you cannot repay them as soon as possible in a short period of time, you will have to work for usury all your life. Maybe you will be in danger of your life at any time.

Borrowing money requires interest, and all the gentry knows it. However, saving money also has interest, which is much fresher. This is what the gentry is interested in. If you just deposit money into the bank and do nothing, you can get a certain amount of extra income. Who would like to think about the money being too much? The question is, can the Hu Ben Army ensure their funds are safe?

Zhang Zhun said slowly: "Of course, I know that everyone is still a little worried about the safety of funds. But it doesn't matter. I can make everyone here become a member of the money house and supervise the flow of the money house at any time and never engage in secret operations."

This is another huge bait.

As long as the money is circulated under your nose, you can know the flow of funds at any time, and their insecurity can naturally be reduced a lot. If there is any accident, you can also leave at any time!

Shen Kunshan was indeed a little moved, but he did not dare to show it too much, so as not to appear ignorant and greedy. It would be fine if ignorant, but greed was very taboo. He didn't know that what Zhang Zhun liked was their greed. If they were not greedy, how could the Huben Army Money House attract their money? Shen Kunshan said slowly: "What the governor meant is that we should build our own money house?"

Zhang Zhun shook his head gently and said, "No, I am responsible for the establishment, everyone participates and supervises. Of course, if you are willing to invest together, I will not refuse. The profits of the bank will be distributed according to the amount of investment."

Shen Kunshan looked at the other companions and did not speak. The other gentry did not speak either. Zhang Zhun's suggestions were of great importance. They needed to carefully measure them privately, and they would definitely not be able to answer them now. Of course, Zhang Zhun also knew this, so after he finished speaking, he did not urge him, and they could weigh it for themselves. He believed that someone would take the bait after all. Greed is the original sin!

After a while, someone slowly said, "Governor, as long as you defeat the Tartars, you will enter the capital and everything else will remain the same. Isn't that great? Why do you need to make so many changes to the country's policies and regulations?"

Zhang Zhun looked over and found that the person who spoke was a thin old man, who looked a bit like a fortune teller on the street. When he spoke, he was obviously a little slippery. He probably was most likely to be a guru, and the gentry from Hejian Mansion specially invited him. If he was a local wealthy family and dared to say such words, it would be purely seeking death. If he entered the capital, he would be a change of emperor. If he heard this by the Jinyiwei, he would immediately end up breaking the door and raiding his house.

However, this guy's words represent some of the wishes of the gentry present. For them, it is really not very important to them who is the emperor. As long as the emperor continues to continue the existing policies, continues to pay taxes, do not need them to perform labor service, and continues to give them a special status, they will not firmly resist the change of the emperor.

In short, all their interests and privileges can be protected. Then, even if the Tartars were emperors, it didn't matter. Later facts proved that they did this. After the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, they basically maintained various policies of the Ming Dynasty. As a result, most of the gentry accepted it, and only a small number of the gentry in Jiangnan rose to resist.

Zhang Zhun said with a stern expression: "If I don't have the desire to enter the capital, it's a lie to you. I, Zhang, never hide my ambitions. However, I will not enter the capital to enter the capital. I have my own ideas. Before these ideas are realized, I have no timetable to enter the capital."

"The policies and regulations of any country should be based on actual conditions, adapt to local conditions, and keep pace with the times. Of course, those policies and regulations that are not suitable for actual needs and are not suitable for the development of the times must be changed. Some must not only be changed, but also abolished. Only in this way can the country be revitalized and can run and move forward."

"When the Ming Dynasty was established, did not abolish many Mongolian laws? For example, the four-colored people, such as the first night power. Do you think that those policies and laws should not be changed? Now, the Ming Dynasty also has many laws that are not suitable for the requirements of the times and must be reformed."

For a moment, there was some dismal situation and the teahouse was filled with silence.

Zhang Zhun's words were too direct, and it was a completely rebellious tone. The gentry present dared not talk easily. Now they are indeed very conflicted. In terms of military capabilities, the Hu Ben Army is indeed the strongest, and it is naturally the safest to be close to the Hu Ben Army. However, the problem is that the highest commander of the Hu Ben Army is a real thief.

Why is there no perfect backer in the world? The court's policies are most suitable for their needs, but the court is the least prosperous. It seems that there is not much time. Many gentry secretly speculated that it is very likely to change dynasties. The Tartars are the most brutal, and if they fall into their hands, they will be disabled. The Tartars cannot consider it. Only the Tiger Army is the most moderate. Although it needs to pay a certain price, it is still barely acceptable compared to the destruction of the family.

Feng Gaoke hurriedly smoothed out the situation and said, "Governor, the food is cold, please! Please! Please!"

Zhang Zhun picked up the chopsticks and ate a few bites casually. The food prepared by the gentry of Hejian Prefecture today is of course very abundant. Various famous dishes in Northern Zhili are among them, such as golden lion fish, iron lion head, white jade chicken breast, honey-sauce fairy peach, steaked inlaid mushrooms, knives meat, chrysanthemum squid, dragon and phoenix prawns, Luoguan sausage, etc. The chef of Honghualou obviously came up with twelve points of ability.

However, everyone knows that there is no good banquet. The gentry of Hejian Prefecture invited Zhang Zhun to come, but they were not interested in the food at all. As for Zhang Zhun himself, he had no priorities on the food, just eat enough. However, Dong Shuyan was focused and could taste it carefully.

Sure enough, there was no food to eat, and someone immediately spoke again: "Governor General, I'm in Lu Xinbo, there is no land at home, only some small business. I'm in doubt, I wonder if Governor General can give some advice?"

Zhang Zhun chewed a piece of hoof in his mouth and said casually: "What business does Boss Lu do?"

Lu Xinbo said briefly: "Leather."

Zhang Zhun said casually: "Hejianfu leather?"

Lu Xinbo said with some shame: "It's a bunch of deer leather."

Brigadier General Zhang swallowed the hoof, nodded, and said thoughtfully: "Oh, it turns out to be a bunch of deer leather, interesting."

Zhang Zhun really had a little impression of the bunch of deer leather. He used to have a new recruit, and his family was engaged in leather business. Maybe because his family had a little money, he didn't learn well since he was a child and became a gangster with others. He felt that he couldn't control it at home, so he opened up his relationship and sent him to the army. He didn't know what it was doing, but he happened to come to Zhang Zhun's subordinates. As a result, he was scolded by Zhang Zhun for two years, and thus he also learned about some of the situation in the leather industry.

Deer leather, also known as Xinji leather, is a very famous specialty in Hebei Province. It began to appear in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. After the founding of New China, Xinji leather continued to expand and develop. While meeting domestic needs, it also vigorously exported, with an export volume of more than 100 million US dollars. In a province like Hebei, it is a good industry.

Lu Xinbo said curiously: "Governor also knows how to wear deer leather?"

Zhang Zhun nodded and said affirmatively: "Boss Lu, your item is very confusing."

Lu Xinbo thought Zhang Zhun was saying polite words, but he didn't care. He just said politely: "Please give me some advice."

Zhang Zhun nodded and said slowly: "The deer leather must be branded. Boss Lu, if I am not wrong, there are probably many people who make leather in Zhending Mansion and Hejian Mansion? The battle between each other should be very fierce, right? If you are all a bunch of loose sand, resisting and destroying each other, there will definitely be no trouble. Besides, now there is a mess and the logistics is not smooth. I am afraid that it will not be easy for Boss Lu's leather to be sold at a good price."

Lu Xinbo said with emotion: "What the Governor said is that it is indeed not easy. Last year, Henan was in turmoil, and I lost more than 2,400 taels of silver. I didn't make much money this year. If there is no improvement next year, my wealth will be completely ruined. Please give me a guide to a way out."

Zhang Zhun nodded and said slowly: "Boss Lu's vision should not be limited to the domestic market. The vision can be long-term. The profit of leather is still in the overseas market. The leather industry in the overseas market has not yet started. As long as Boss Lu seizes the opportunity, he will definitely be one step ahead. The domestic market must wait for the war to subside before it can expand."

Overseas market? Lu Xinbo was a little tummy. For him, the overseas market was indeed a bit far away. The information in this era was very difficult. Wherever leather was scarce and where leather was saturated, it was judged by experience. Sometimes, such judgments were very blind. In the era of no telephone or Internet, what was out of stock? Even in later generations, there were all kinds of communication tools, and the cabbage was still rotten in the ground!

Zhang Zhun continued to say in an orderly manner: "If Boss Lu is really determined to get a piece of the piece in the leather industry, he will have to work hard from now on. North Korea, Japan, and Nanyang all need a lot of leather. If you sell five taels of silver per piece of leather in China, you can sell at least ten taels of silver when you go to North Korea. When you go to Japan, you can sell at least fifteen taels of silver. When you go to Southeast Asia, you can sell at least twenty taels of silver."

Lu Xinbo said with anticipation and helplessness: "The Governor's guidance is that perhaps the overseas market is indeed a way of life, but I can't go to these places! There is no way! I don't have my own maritime trade fleet."

Zhang Zhun waved his hand gently and said calmly: "Boss Lu is calm and wait until I finish talking."

Lu Xinbo hurriedly looked at him expectantly, with hope on his face. He was indeed a little worried. The merchants in Hejian Mansion are not strong enough. The average merchants are only tens of thousands of taels of silver. Compared with the big merchants in Jiangnan, they are not of the same level. Lu Xinbo lost more than 2,000 taels of silver in Henan, which is indeed a bit of a loss of vitality.

The other gentry seemed very curious when they heard that Zhang Zhun had a considerable understanding of deer leather. If he could really give Lu Xinbo a chance, they would definitely admire him very much. Nowadays, officials only love money, and very few can really give advice and help them solve their difficulties. Zhang Zhun may be an alternative.

Zhang Zhun looked at everyone, smiled slightly, and then said confidently: "Everyone thinks it is amazing that I can defeat the Tartars. In fact, I can tell you that there is nothing great about the Tartars. The Tartars need weapons without weapons, technology without technology, strategy without strategy. All they have is their natural courage and the desire to loot. I am not afraid of slapping my chest. Defeat the Tartars is sure to win. In fact, the more powerful thing about the Tiger Ben Army lies in the strength of the sea. As long as you meet the conditions of the Tiger Ben Army, the Tiger Ben Army can help you open up the market."

After looking at Lu Xinbo, Zhang Zhun said gently: "Now, the trade route between the Hu Ben Army and North Korea has been opened. Boss Lu might as well contact relevant parties to see if his leather can be sold to North Korea. If I estimate that, the profits of traveling to North Korea will be very considerable."

Lu Xinbo suddenly felt a glimmer of life, and the dark expression on his face gradually faded away, but he said with a little concern: "North Korea is a foreign country after all, and we Ming people are doing business there. What if we encounter unfair treatment from others? It's impossible to find a reinforcement! Last time in Henan, my leather was stolen by the rioters, and I was crying without tears!"

Zhang Zhun said sternly: "As long as you register as a company of the Hu Ben Army, operate honestly and pay taxes according to law, then, if you encounter any abnormal blows, the Hu Ben Army will stand out for you. If the Koreans make things difficult for you, there will naturally be someone to deal with them. I can guarantee that such things will not happen easily. If they appear, I will definitely help you get justice!"

Lu Xinbo was shocked and said in disbelief: "Governor..."

Zhang Zhun reached out to stop his question and continued to say sternly: "In layman's terms, your product is of good quality, low price, and popular, and you should gain market share. If others use abnormal means to stop you from selling goods, or even use shameful means such as force, threats, intimidation, and plotting, you can come to me and I will help you solve the problem. However, if the other party uses normal business means, then I can only say that you are not as skilled as others and cannot help."

Lu Xinbo said confidently: "My leather manufacturing technology is the only one, and no one can do better than me. If I hadn't encountered some trouble, my leather would have been sold to more places."

Zhang Zhun said lightly: "What trouble is Boss Lu in the moment?"

Lu Xinbo gritted his teeth and said frankly: "My leather wants to be sold to Zhending Mansion. He was boycotted by Wei Heliang, a big leather merchant in Zhending Mansion. He sent someone to tell me that if my leather dares to appear in Zhending Mansion, he will send someone to break my legs. I have a batch of leather worth 4,000 taels of silver, which was seized by him and others. I want to come back, but he doesn't give it to me, saying that I broke the rules and this batch of goods is equivalent to the tuition fee I paid."

Zhang Zhun casually glanced at everyone and said calmly: "Everyone, do you have anything else to ask? Time is precious, so please don't be upset! Zhang is busy with affairs and must leave after dinner. I don't know when it will be."

Feng Gaoke pretended to be very casual and said: "I dare to ask the Governor, the Governor is the pillar of the country. Have you ever taken any special care measures?"

Zhang Zhun smiled slightly and the show was coming.

In fact, the gentry mentioned above are all specific details. The positioning of gentry is what everyone present cares about the most, and this is the most fundamental issue. In fact, everyone present has a gentry hat on their heads, and the worst one is a member of the staff. What are the benefits of such a hat? It is that it does not require food or labor service.

Most of the taxes in the Ming Dynasty were lost like this. It seems that Feng Gaoke himself had tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and harvested tens of thousands of stones of grain every year, but he did not need to pay any taxes. On the contrary, if someone passed the exam as a scholar and became the so-called entitlement student, he could also obtain food supplies from the government. This is the so-called "national fostering scholars".

The policy of raising scholars was implemented in the Han Dynasty. It has been implemented in China for more than a thousand years. Everything is inferior, but the high school study has been high, and this concept has been imprinted into the bones of the people. Such a policy has indeed increased the country's talent reserves. However, it also created a huge tax black hole. It was not until Yongzheng forced the implementation of the distribution of vacancies and the implementation of the integrated work of gentry and the integrated payment of grain. This huge loophole in taxes was slowly filled.

It can be said that not having to pay grain or perform labor service is the most fundamental core interest of the gentry. They were the largest privileged class of the Ming Dynasty. They occupied more than 90% of the land in the Ming Dynasty, but they did not need to pay one or two taels of food. This made them the biggest cancer of the Ming Dynasty. They could spend money on their own and drunken life and die, but the national finances were in short supply, and ordinary people also lived in dire straits. When the cancer finally exploded, the Ming Dynasty was over.

In the late Ming Dynasty, although later historians said it was the Little Ice Age, there were plagues and other things. In fact, these were all external causes. The most fundamental reason for the defeat of the Ming Dynasty was the internal cause. In the internal cause, the privileged class was too large, and it was not necessary to pay food or do not perform labor service. If they were not there, the Ming Dynasty would not have been defeated so quickly.

The country's finances were occupied by them, so the court naturally could not afford money. Less than 10% of the population occupied more than 90% of the land and did not need to pay grain. The remaining 90% of the population had only less than 10% of the land, but needed to bear all the country's taxes. Idiots knew that this was unreasonable and fatal. In order to obtain enough tax revenue, the court had to desperately collect taxes on less than 10% of the land. Naturally, of course, it was of course to force these 90% of the people to rebel.
To be continued...