"Mountain Elder, Jin Wanfu has already been taken away by the Supreme Court. According to our investigation, he knew that Zhang Xiongfei was borrowing money to hoard food and drive up the price of food. However, he still chose to lend money because he accepted two beautiful women from Zhang Xiongfei. Those two women have already been dismissed. The 6,000 strings of cash that Jin Wanfu loaned to Zhang Xiongfei has also been recovered. I've sent someone to quickly send a letter back to the headquarters of the Yanhuang Bank to transfer a gentleman who is both virtuous and skilled to Xinfeng County to be the manager of the bank ~!"
Li Ke came to Li Zexuan's side on the fields outside Liyang County and cupped his hands.
They spent the night in Weinan County after exterminating the locusts yesterday and set off at dawn this morning to exterminate the locusts in Liyang County. Along the way, they borrowed more than 20,000 chickens in Xinfeng County and more than 10,000 in Weinan County. After seeing the Datang Daily today, the people of Liyang County had spontaneously started to send their chickens to the county government. It was estimated that Li Zexuan and the rest could "absorb" another 20,000 chickens after exterminating the locusts!
This was the snowball effect. The Sky Chicken Brigade was like a snowball. Not only did they exterminate the locusts in the disaster-stricken counties of Guanzhong, but they also grew stronger as they absorbed the chickens sent by the people along the way.
"The more fertile the soil, the easier it is to breed corruption! The Yanhuang Bank manages countless silvers and the manager of the bank is a lucrative job in the eyes of countless people. Today, we can punish one Jin Wanfu, but in the future, there will be hundreds and thousands of Jin Wanfu. Little Ke, how will you deal with that? "
Li Zexuan turned around and looked at Li Ke with a faint gaze.
Li Ke heard this and was startled. Clearly, he agreed with the first half of Li Zexuan's words, but he had not thought about how to solve this problem. After a moment of silence, Li Ke cupped his hands and said, "Yamachō, please teach me!"
Li Zexuan sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "We can't always find a corrupt manager of a money house and punish him. You and I don't have the time to do that. It's like His Majesty and the officials of the imperial court. His Majesty is usually busy, so how can he have the time to investigate whether the civil and military officials are corrupt? But will my Great Tang allow corrupt officials to run rampant because of this?
No! This was because the imperial court had an Imperial Censorate. There were dozens of Imperial Censors who had been meticulously carrying out their duties to supervise the officials! Therefore, I believe that the Yan Huang Bank also needs a self-monitoring department to monitor the corruption in the various banks! Only then will we be able to prevent people like Jin Wanfu from appearing! "
In fact, when the bank was first established, he had thought about this problem. However, the scale of the bank was limited to Cloud Mountain, so he was not worried about the problem of corruption. Later on, Yan Huang Bank received the approval of Li Er and the other officials in the imperial court, and was affiliated with the Ministry of Revenue. After completely becoming a "national" bank, it began a rapid expansion!
Under the rapid expansion of anything, there would be many hidden dangers. Yan Huang Bank was the same. Jin Wanfu was just the tip of the iceberg. Li Zexuan believed that within the Yan Huang Bank in the various counties of Great Tang, there would definitely be many scum like Jin Wanfu who used their power for personal gain and corruption!
Catching one and dismissing another would obviously not solve the problem completely. The only way to solve the problem was to improve the current system and prevent such a phenomenon from happening again. That was the correct way to solve the problem!
When Li Ke heard this, he suddenly understood and said, "Yamachō is wise! After this operation to exterminate the locusts is over, I will return to Chang 'an to gather people and set up a monitoring department in the Yan Huang Bank. They will regularly check the accounts of the banks in the various counties, and from time to time, send monitoring officers to the local banks to investigate if there are any illegal activities by the managers of the local banks! "
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "That would be best! Otherwise, if there are too many people like Jin Wanfu, not only will it cause a great loss to the bank's economy, but it will also cause the bank's reputation among the people to plummet! "
At this point, Li Zexuan's face flashed with a hint of anger. "Hmph! Colluding with grain merchants to drive up the price of grain. Fortunately, this matter was not blown out of proportion and was nipped in the bud. Otherwise, our Yan Huang Bank would be hated by the people! Little Ke, immediately use Jin Wanfu's example as a model and issue an internal notice in the Yan Huang Bank. Let all the bank managers take note of this. Otherwise, they will end up like Jin Wanfu. Not only will their reputation be ruined, but they will also be imprisoned! "
The Yan Huang Bank was founded by Li Zexuan. Seeing someone destroy his hard work, of course he would be heartbroken and angry!
Li Ke's expression turned serious as he cupped his hands and said, "Yamachō, don't worry. I have already released the internal notice yesterday. The managers of the various banks should have received it in the next few days! Also, what should we name the internal supervision department of our bank? "
Li Zexuan pondered for a moment and said, "The bank is involved in gold and silver. Let's call them the gold-robed guards! The gold-robed guards not only need clerical personnel who are good at investigating and analyzing accounts, but also military personnel who are good at arresting and fighting. This department must be well-versed in both the pen and the sword. Because in the future, the scale of the Yan Huang Bank will be bigger and bigger! "
"This …!"
When Li Ke heard this, he opened his mouth wide in shock. Obviously, he didn't expect Li Zexuan to play with such a big game. "Yamachō, this matter involves the military. I'm afraid we will need Father's permission to proceed!"
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "That's natural! Yan Huang Bank is, at best, a financial institution. Of course, it does not have the authority to set up an armed force. However, it is precisely because the bank is a financial institution that it needs a strong military force to ensure its internal and external security. Therefore, I will leave this matter to you, Xiao Ke, to consult His Majesty! The future gold-robed guards will not only be able to ferret out the corrupt scum within the bank, but also protect the bank from external criminals! "
He definitely didn't set up the gold-robed guards for fun. The daily cash flow of the Yan Huang Bank was very impressive. Money could move people's hearts. Everyone liked money. The people inside the bank might think of embezzling money, while the criminals outside the bank might think of robbing the bank. If they didn't take precautions early, something bad would definitely happen one day!
For example, modern banks not only had supervision banks like the CBRC, financial asset management companies, trust and investment companies, and other deposit-taking financial institutions, but also bank security guards to protect the safety of the bank! The Yan Huang Bank was similar to modern banks. Of course, it also needed a corresponding supervision and security department!
When Li Ke heard this, he seriously pondered in his heart for a moment. Then, he cupped his hands and said, "Yamachō's words are reasonable. When we return to Chang 'an, Ke will personally report this matter to Father!"
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "En! The most important thing now is to eliminate the locusts! The scale of the Sky Pheasant Brigade is getting bigger and bigger. Little Ke, you have to coordinate and arrange tasks for each team in advance to ensure that we eliminate the locusts faster and faster. Otherwise, wouldn't the chickens that the people lent us be in vain? "
For the Sky Pheasant Brigade, the increase in the number of chickens wasn't entirely a good thing. The expansion of the scale required the commander to have higher requirements! For example, previously, a team of five thousand chickens was required to eliminate the locusts in a thousand mu of fertile land in half a day. But now, the total number of chickens had increased, and each team would be allocated more chickens. If they still divided the tasks according to the previous speed, there would be a waste of resources. But if there were too many tasks, it would also affect the progress of the Sky Pheasant Brigade!
The actual commander of the Sky Pheasant Brigade was Li Zexuan. That was why Li Zexuan said this.
Li Ke cupped his hands and said solemnly, "Yamachō, don't worry. I will definitely weigh all the factors and assign tasks to each team!"
"En! That's the best! After we eliminate the locusts, we will make some preparations and go directly to the next county — Jingyang County. Let the county magistrate of Liyang County send over the chickens that the people lent us! "
"Yes! Yamachō! "
.....
On the first day of the Sky Pheasant Brigade's "expedition", they eliminated the locusts in two counties and the scale of the flock grew to 350,000!
On the second day of the Sky Pheasant Brigade's "expedition", they eliminated the locusts in two and a half counties. The reason why it was two and a half counties was because the locusts in the third county were only half cleared when the sky turned dark. Li Zexuan and his team had to stay there and wait until dawn to continue eliminating the locusts. On the third day, the scale of the flock grew to 410,000!
On the third day of the Sky Pheasant Brigade's "expedition", they eliminated the locusts in three counties and the scale of the flock grew to 470,000!
At noon on the fourth day, after the Sky Pheasant Brigade had eliminated the locusts in Xianyang County, the Sky Pheasant Brigade made up of 500,000 chickens split into two groups. 200,000 chickens were led by Li Zexuan and set off to the west. The other 300,000 chickens were led by Li Ke and Cheng Chumo and set off to the east. They followed the Yellow River and eliminated the locusts in the disaster-stricken counties along the way!
As the 'good news' spread out, the scale of the Sky Rooster Brigade was also increasing exponentially. The people in the disaster area who had been in desperation and helplessness because of the locust plague were immediately ignited with infinite fighting spirit after they read the good news about the Sky Rooster Brigade on the Tang Dynasty Daily. All the states and counties in the Guanzhong area that were affected by the disaster began to carry out large-scale relief operations!
At the same time, the various departments of the Imperial Court had already begun to move. The twelve Imperial Censors had been sent by Li Er to the twelve disaster-stricken counties to investigate the officials who had failed to provide disaster relief and had even used the locust plague to make money!
Moreover, behind each Imperial Censor was a long transport team. Some of the transport teams even borrowed the power of the Yanhuang Chamber of Commerce. This could be considered the second time in the history of the Great Tang that officials and merchants had openly cooperated with each other. (The first time was when the Imperial Court had sent a fleet south to trade for grain last year, and many private merchants had participated).
As for the source of the grain, it all came from Chang 'an's largest granary, Taicang. Taicang was considered the granary of the imperial family. Its main function was to provide for the imperial family's consumption, rewards, the salaries of officials, military supplies, and the government's financial aid. Although Taicang's main function was to serve the ruling center, it also had some positive functions. For example, whenever there was a famine, Taicang would take out grain to replenish Chang Ping's granary and suppress the soaring price of grain. It would also sell some grain at a low price to provide relief to the victims.
Last year, the Imperial Court had sent a fleet south to trade for grain, and directly filled Taicang to the brim. Now, Taicang had a total of 600,000 dan of grain, and Luoyang's Hanjia Granary had more than a million dan of grain stored. It could be said that the Great Tang had enough resources to deal with this locust plague!
As the locust plague had started, the effects of the shortage of grain had not yet appeared. The Imperial Court had sent a portion of the grain to the various provinces and counties mainly to tell the affected people in the Guanzhong region that the Imperial Court had the strength and ability to help them through this difficult time. In the face of such a huge natural disaster, sometimes, it was better to take out white rice than ten thousand words to make the people feel more at ease!
Thus, the grain in Taicang was not only for disaster relief, but also to stabilize the people and stabilize the price of grain!
Li Er not only had to stabilize the price of grain with his words, but also with his actions!
.....
On the evening of the fifth day of the Sky Rooster brigade's "expedition," Li Zexuan's group and the roosters arrived at Yong County. Li Zexuan also finally saw his old friend whom he had not seen for many days — Wang Renbiao!
"Haha! Little Xuan, I haven't seen you for nearly half a year. I didn't think that we would meet again under such circumstances. Renbiao really doesn't know if I should be happy or sad in this situation! "
At the end of last year, Li Er had appointed Wang Renbiao as the Provincial Governor of Qizhou and ordered him to go to Qizhou at the beginning of this year.
Qizhou belonged to Gyeonggi Province and was also known as Fengxiang Province. It had nine counties under its jurisdiction, and the administrative center was Yong County, where Li Zexuan and the others were now.
"A natural disaster should be sad for the people, and a meeting should be happy for friends. There is no conflict between the two!"
Li Zexuan smiled and said.
Wang Renbiao's eyes lit up and he could not help but sigh. "Little Xuan, you are still as cheerful and open-minded as before!"
After sighing, his expression suddenly turned solemn. He bowed solemnly and said, "Today, as a mere provincial governor, I welcome your Sky Rooster Brigade on behalf of the 400,000 people of Qizhou!"
Li Zexuan quickly helped him up and said, "You and I are brothers, there is no need to be so polite! Besides, it is the Sky Rooster brigade's duty to kill locusts and provide disaster relief. We are just following the route that we planned before we set off. Even if you are not the Provincial Governor of Qizhou, the Sky Rooster brigade will still come to Qizhou! "
Wang Renbiao shook his head and said, "No matter what, I have to support you, Little Xuan! Little Xuan, you must be tired after such a long journey. Follow me back to the Provincial Governor's Mansion to rest! "
Li Zexuan thought about it and refused. "No, it is more important to kill the locusts! Actually, I am not very tired along the way. After all, I have martial arts. The ones who are most tired are these children! "
Wang Renbiao could not help but look at the children in the field who were holding loudspeakers and directing the chickens. They were all sweating profusely. However, they were still as enthusiastic as before. He could not help but sigh with emotion. "Lantian County is really a place with outstanding talents. With a virtuous and knowledgeable Marquis like you, Little Xuan, these children will definitely be able to do well in the future! I have already ordered people to prepare meat, throat soothing soup, and summer soup. How about I treat the children tonight? "
"This …"
Li Zexuan wanted to refuse, but he was interrupted by Leng Yuyao who was beside him.
"Marquis, don't refuse! When my young master knew that you were coming to Qizhou today, he had already sent people to prepare these things yesterday. Yuyao knows that you don't lack the money for these meals, but my young master also wants to show his sincerity. Please fulfill his wish! "
Li Zexuan was helpless. After thinking for a moment, he could only nod and agree. "Alright! Renbiao, you have to spend money! Actually, Renbiao, you are now the Provincial Governor of a province. You should prioritize your official duties. There is no need for you to personally come out of the city to welcome us! "
Wang Renbiao laughed and said, "Little Xuan, you and I are brothers. There is no need to be polite!"
The same words, but the answers were different. The two of them could not help but look at each other and smile.
"Alright! I won't be polite with you ~! Prepare twenty watermelons for the children tonight! "
"Haha! No problem! I will send people to buy them now! "
.....
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