The merchants in Lianzhou City did not know how they managed to get home in the end. In any case, when they woke up early in the morning, they heard their families saying that they were talking in their sleep. They kept saying that they were a good person and that their lord was a good official.
The merchants knew that they were saying it on purpose. However, when they talked too much, they started to say it in their dreams. They had no choice but to do so. If they did not keep thinking about it, they would easily reveal their true thoughts at the dinner table. In other words, it was easy for Provincial Governor Fang to hear them scolding Provincial Governor Fang.
That would be troublesome. They did not know what was waiting for them in the future. After drinking some soup and calming down, these merchants gathered again. They could not wait any longer. They had not taken out the money yet. When they took out the money, who knew what kind of method Provincial Governor Fang would come up with to get the money?
Although these merchants were powerful when they worked together, they were not as strong as Provincial Governor Fang. If Provincial Governor Fang really wanted to touch them, he could just find a random reason.
The merchants gathered together. At this time, they did not have to smile at anyone. One by one, they poured out all the troubles in their hearts. In the end, they had no choice but to find a good backer. Naturally, that was Lu Zhou's Chamber of Commerce. They did not want to pay the money at first. Now, after being cheated by Provincial Governor Fang, they had to pay the money obediently.
Although they could not get the money back easily, after all, Lu Zhou's Chamber of Commerce did a good job. It was reassuring. Provincial Governor Zhang's character was there. It was better than coming here every few days. In this way, they would not have to pay the 150 strings of coins in the future.
This was the situation in Lianzhou. The other provinces followed suit. They used all kinds of methods to plunder the merchants. After all, the status of merchants was low and they did not have to care so much. If they were to plunder the common people, it would be easy for them to get into trouble.
All kinds of scholars would not care about this. In their hearts, the merchants should be dealt with. They would not care about the common people. At least, this kind of thing did not involve them. They could not do anything about it.
The practices of these provinces had forced the merchants to come to Lu Zhou to cooperate with the merchant association here. After paying the entrance fee and the deposit, they finally felt relieved when they received the proof from the merchant association. They did not come here in vain. The goods here were divided according to the entrance fee. This allowed them to earn some money through this trip. It was better than being bullied in their own provinces and constantly having to fork out money.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not expect that Shang Yi would suffer so much in the neighboring province. Good, this was very good for the two of them. Only with a comparison could they feel happy.
"It seems that we should spread the news of what happened in the surrounding provinces to more provinces and let the provincial governors and other officials of the other provinces learn from them. Merchants with backing might not be afraid, but most of them don't. We should take this opportunity to expand the Chamber of Commerce to those provinces.
We should accept more merchants. Moreover, my family has an official position, so we don't have to worry about ordinary people daring to touch us. We can try to use the economy to influence politics. Do you think it will work? It's not the way of hoarding. If that's the case, the local government can directly find trouble with us. It doesn't matter who has backing. We can use logistics to transport the goods to other places to be sold. We can also use the exchange of goods between the merchant association to avoid this risk. This way, the local government will not be able to get a handle on us. "
Zhang Xiaobao did not expect that so many officials would kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. This made him happy. Only when others were treated unfairly could his Chamber of Commerce expand at a faster speed.
This was especially true for the entrance fee and deposit. This money was basically for his own use. The entrance fee was a direct income. As for the deposit, although it was said that it would be returned, all merchants basically had to trade back and forth. In other words, as they received more goods from the Chamber of Commerce, their trade would become bigger and bigger.
The Chamber of Commerce didn't just sell the goods to them at a slightly lower price. They also had to help them make some plans so that they could grow faster. With this plan, there wouldn't be any conflicts between them, and they could reasonably adjust the positions of the merchants in the same Chamber of Commerce.
In this way, they would develop. In that case, in order to get more goods, they would have to increase the entrance fee. In order to get more profits, they would also have to increase the deposit. These two kinds of money could be used for other things. They would not have to worry about taking it out.
If a merchant did not manage well, then a part of the deposit would be deducted, which was even better. Thinking about this, Zhang Xiaobao was ready to set up a bank. Most of the money was put in and taken out little by little, or saved little by little. This way, more money could be used for investment.
Wang Juan also knew about this. In the past, the international community had joined forces to investigate an illegal gambling organization. This organization's gambling was not a big deal. Some countries allowed it. It was a world-wide organization. Through the Internet, they settled in US dollars. There was an account, where money could be taken out after winning, and money could be added in after losing.
Through this method of making money through competitions, it felt that the investment each time was not much. If you wanted to buy tens of thousands of dollars, you would not sell it. It was because of this that many people were willing to enter and play. It was a kind of entertainment. When playing for a day, they would only lose a few dozen dollars. If they won, it would depend on their ranking. At most, they could win a few thousand dollars a day.
It felt that the website did not make much money, and they could only take a little bit each time. However, there were many people. Many people had more than a thousand dollars in their accounts, or even thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in virtual money. This money was used by the people of the organization to invest.
Later on, due to the failure of the investment, some of the players ran on the bank. This time, they were sued because they did not have enough money. Wang Juan thought that since they could not stop the gambling here, they should come up with a similar solution.
A single person could win a lot if they won once, but everyone could only lose a little after playing enough every day. Thinking of this, Wang Juan immediately told Zhang Xiaobao about this idea.
Zhang Xiaobao was thinking about how to get more money to carry out a thorough plan. He did not expect that Wang Juan would also think of a method. If this method was done well, not only could it solve some gambling problems, but it could also get more living money.
"Okay, let's do it this way. Let's find a place to experiment first. We can't just go to a strange place to try it. How about Yaozhou? Huayuan County is in charge of the gambling there, but it may not be the same for other counties. We can start from there and organize the gambling. We have to make the gambling process longer. For example, after playing for a day, the winner will be ranked according to the ranking, and a portion of the gambling money will be given.
Those who lose can only lose five copper coins a day at most. Even if he wants to be a prodigal, he can't be a prodigal. It would be strange if he lost all his money at this speed. Moreover, as the number of times he plays games with skills increases, as long as he is not a fool, he can gradually improve his skill level. In the end, he can gradually win back the money he lost.
Yes, set the upper and lower limits of gambling money each time and guide them to play. It's better than gambling with dice, right? You can bet as much as you want. If you lose, it's all gone. If you win, you'll have more. Even in Yaozhou, you can think of a way to get the Yaozhou government to help you catch those people who are still gambling outside using dices and other methods. "
Zhang Xiaobao finally got rid of one of his worries. He was very disgusted with people gambling, especially those who gambled until they went bankrupt. Every time he saw such a thing, even if he knew that he couldn't do anything about it, he still felt helpless. Gambling was actually an idea to reap without sowing.
Of course, the process of gambling was actually a kind of labor. However, this kind of labor could not produce any actual goods and was not good for society. If people from other countries came to gamble, it would be a different matter.
The two of them discussed several games that could be used to gamble and wrote down the details. Then they found the Old Man Pi.
When they told the Old Man Pi, the Old Man Pi was puzzled at first. Then he was very surprised, and then he was very happy. He said to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, "Good idea, really good idea. I will also help. Now we will try it in Yaozhou. If it works, we will do it in the whole Tang Empire in the future.
Those who win can win a lot, but those who lose can't lose much. A few people win, and most people lose. Not bad, not bad. Did you two come up with this idea? "
The old man suddenly asked as he was talking. Ordinary people would not think of this at all. Only children liked to play games. These games were very interesting at first glance, but there were more rules in them. They did not know whether it was Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan who came up with it, or the master behind the Zhang family.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had already expected this question. They nodded and shook their heads. Zhang Xiaobao said, "Grandpa Bi, Cuckoo and I came up with this idea when we had nothing to do here. But we couldn't think of so many things, so we asked others to add on. Grandpa Bi, will this really work?"
"Yes, why not? We will put it in Yaozhou and let the government there organize it, not your family. Otherwise, what will other places do? Don't tell me that after it succeeds, your family still wants to earn this commission from other states? "
The old man thought that this was right. How could two children think of so many rules? However, his next sentence made Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan dumbfounded. The two of them did not expect that the old man would hand this matter to the government.
The two of them looked at each other and saw the gloomy look in each other's eyes. They wanted to use this to get money, but now, they had to give it to the government for no reason. Why?
However, when they saw the Old Man Pi's serious look, the two of them really did not have a better idea. According to what the old man said, the two of them could only achieve one wish, and that was to prevent people who gambled from losing all their property. Of course, this method had a disadvantage, and that was that it could easily attract people who did not gamble to participate in it.
"What? You still want to earn this money? Then how will you do it in the future? When the local government sees that you are making money, won't they think of ways to make trouble for you? "
The old man saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's expressions and knew what the two children were thinking, but this was definitely not something he could do.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head and said, "It's not that we want to do this ourselves. If this matter is handed over to my family, then my family can guarantee that it will be fair. However, if it is handed over to the government, it will be difficult, especially when a portion of the money is used to exchange for chips. Who can guarantee that the government will not embezzle this money?
What if the government sees that this money is basically a small amount and takes out more than half of it to do other things? Once it is lost, and someone collects it to exchange for some money, then what will he do? What will those people who participate in it do? If it is my family, it will not be like this.
My family has a lot of business, and we don't lack this money. When the time comes, we can exchange it for others at any time. How about this, let my family and the government jointly manage this matter. My family will be responsible for the money of the chips, and the government will earn the money left after each time. This way, it will be solved and the government will not be able to touch the money of the chips.
Grandpa Bi, don't you think this is good? We can't have thought of a good idea for nothing, right? The chips will be made by my family. If the government wants to buy the chips from my family, they can use a portion of the money they earn every day to buy the chips. I think this matter is very good. "
After Zhang Xiaobao finished speaking, Wang Juan also said, "Yes, yes, Grandpa Bi, we can't let the government take care of it by themselves. If something happens, everyone will not play this game in the future. At that time, everyone will run to gambling again. This is a game, not gambling. It is just a game with a little bit of luck.
Grandpa Bi, if you really want the government to do something independently, then there is also a lottery. It has to be organized by the Emperor. The purpose of the lottery is to gather everyone's love to help the place where the lottery was set up to do something. The specific method of the lottery is … "
Wang Juan began to talk about the lottery to the old man. When she talked about gathering everyone's love to risk their lives, she felt her face turn red. What love? Wasn't it just thinking of getting more money when they won the lottery? What was different from other things was that other gambling was private and had to be investigated and regulated, but this was the government and was legal and reasonable.
Old Man Pi didn't think so much. The more he listened to Wang Juan talk about the lottery, the more surprised he became. Of course, this couldn't be done in a national format, but it could be done in every state. The people who bought the lottery not only had to spend a little bit of money, but also had to remember their home address. Even if they lost the lottery, they could still get the money.
As long as they won the lottery, the government would personally send the money to them. If their home address and household registration were wrong, it would be useless even if they came with the winning lottery. In this way, they didn't have to worry about not receiving the money. The only trouble was the time to open the lottery and redeem the prize.
If one's home was far away, it would take more than ten days, so there was no expiration date. As long as one bought the lottery, it would be counted. Moreover, the lottery would be sold every two days, and the lottery would also be opened every two days.
After listening to Wang Juan talk about the lottery, Old Man Pi didn't immediately say whether it was good or not. Instead, he asked Old Man Chang next to him, "What do you think of this matter? If we really do this, the Emperor will have more money to do things, and we don't have to worry about competing with the people for money. After all, this lottery is for the people. "
"I think it's okay as long as the Emperor agrees, but there should be a limit. For example, if a person wants to buy more than one lottery ticket, he can't be allowed to buy more. For example, each person can only buy ten at a time, and they have to write down their household registration. If they buy more than that, they won't be sold. In this way, we don't have to worry about people selling their belongings to buy the lottery ticket.
What do you think? "Old Man Chang also said. This method was indeed very good, but no one had thought of it before. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan sighed in relief. As long as the people here did it, they didn't have to be afraid of strict supervision, especially with the Emperor personally supervising. They thought that the people below wouldn't dare to cheat and let their relatives win the lottery. After all, this was a household registration.
The most important thing was that with the lottery ticket as a distraction, the two people could continue to play the game. They couldn't think of two ways to make money in a row and not give any benefits in the end, right?
Without the two of them saying anything, Old Man Pi also understood Wang Juan's thoughts. He said, "As for the game, your family can cooperate with the government. Don't interfere with the lottery ticket. I'll write a memorial to those people, and also to the Emperor. You two can rest assured that I won't go on a business trip. You have to wait for Yaozhou to succeed before you go elsewhere. Ask the Emperor to restrict this matter, otherwise, if others interfere, I'll leave it for your family."
"Thank you, Grandpa Bi. When we make money, no, when we see that many people don't gamble anymore, we'll buy you something as a prize."
Zhang Xiaobao almost told the truth, but he quickly changed his words. In fact, how could Bi Laotu not know that this matter could make money? He used to be a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue, but the Zhang family was rich, so he didn't care about this small amount of money at all. So even if he took the money away at the last minute, when others wanted to exchange it, they could still exchange it.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were relieved. Although they gave away another lottery ticket for free, the two of them were not depressed. There was no problem with the lottery ticket to the government, but there would be problems if it was given to them. They couldn't control the lottery ticket, because it involved too many things.
"Grandpa Bi must have thought that the money from the game wouldn't be too much, but he didn't think that if there was such a place in every county, how much money could be collected by the whole Tang Empire? In that case, it could be used at will. The more people join, the more stable the amount of money would be."
Wang Juan pulled Zhang Xiaobao out and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao had the same thoughts as well. He said, "Actually, Grandpa Bi doesn't think that this matter will succeed completely. Furthermore, some people will change it on the same day they buy it. This is very normal. People now don't have such thoughts, but after a few years, some people will find it troublesome. They will be willing to keep their money in the place where they exchange chips."
Zhang Xiaobao was right. In the beginning, there would definitely be people who would take back the money they won to exchange. Very few people would be willing to leave money in the exchange account. After all, it was money in their hands, and they would feel at ease.
After a few years, when the Kaiyuan era was at its best and the people had adapted to this game, there would be people who would not be in such a hurry to withdraw money. At that time, it would be the time when the game would be most effective.
After the two of them finished their business, they began to think about how to arrange for people to be in charge of various places. If the people they found had some ideas, it would be more troublesome. For example, this person privately used the money to lend money, etc. This was absolutely not allowed to happen. If they wanted to lend money, it had to be Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan themselves.
"Xiao Bao, we really need to set up a bank. Although there are many times when people like to barter, after all, some people still have money in their hands. If we set up a bank, we can put money out. It is specially for people who do business or have new ideas.
The profit can be less. Making money is secondary. The main thing is to cultivate some people. As long as they have ideas, we should support them. Maybe we can use such people in the future. "
Wang Juan thought about the bank at this time. She was not going to set up a bank everywhere at once. She mainly wanted to find a reasonable way to put out loans. In this way, as long as other people had good ideas, they could cultivate them. Anyway, they were already developing well now. It was also good for them to cultivate more people.
Zhang Xiaobao listened to Wang Juan's words and fell into deep thought. This was really not easy to do. If they could only deposit money and put out money, they would lose some of the functions of a bank, such as foreign deposit and withdrawal, etc.
If they set up a bank first, before they saw any disadvantages, others would see the benefits first and learn to do it. Wouldn't that be a mess?
Thinking of these things, Zhang Xiaobao said to Wang Juan, "Let's put the bank matter aside first. After all, it is easy to get into trouble now. Let's try a simple bank first. It is a place for people to exchange change and cash. When the time comes, we can slowly develop this into a bank. This way, we don't have to give money to animals first."
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