In the Suzhou government, Wu Feng, who was riding a fast horse at a speed of nearly eight hundred li, was not in the mood to swim in Lake Tai, let alone have the time to taste the prawn rake.
With a pile of documents on him, he impatiently went to the Great Tang Bank in the Suzhou government. He took out the 1.5 million strings of coins and let the people of the bank verify it. According to the rules, those who asked for more than 50,000 strings of coins would have to wait three days before they could pay. He then found an inn not far from the bank and stayed there.
When he found the innkeeper, he didn't say anything. He used a copper coin to arrange a pattern of the Big Dipper on the table. After the innkeeper personally poured half a cup of tea for him, he asked, "Do you have autumn crabs?"
"Sir, you came at the right time. During the spring plowing, the autumn crabs are fat. Sir, how many would you like to eat?" The innkeeper replied.
"Give me half to try first." Wu Feng followed.
"Sir, please wait a moment. I'll be right there." The innkeeper said as he filled the cup and bowed to leave. Not long after, the door opened and a middle-aged man wearing a silk headscarf came in. He looked back and carefully closed the door. He moved closer to Wu Feng and said, "Third Steward, you've come. Are there any orders from above?"
"Yes, it's time to act. How much money do you have here?" Wu Feng originally did not want to use the power here. But after he showed the documents and had them verified by the people of the Great Tang Bank, the other party did not show any signs of difficulty. He had no choice but to prepare another hand.
As for the title of Third Steward, he had just gotten it last year. The main reason was because he contacted the merchants of the Jiangnan East Road to open the Blue Sea Silver Sand.
The middle-aged man poured himself a cup of tea and raised it to reply, "Third Steward, we only pulled in 400,000 strings of coins and promised many benefits to others. How much money can be used in the capital?"
"400,000 strings of coins? Yes, that's about right. After three days, withdraw a small amount. The capital borrowed 1.5 million strings of coins, and the storage fee was paid by the Wu family. Starting tomorrow, send people here to spread the news that the Great Tang Bank has no more money. If the money deposited is not withdrawn, then not a single coin can be taken back. After this matter is settled, you can return to the capital this year. "
Wu Feng did a rough calculation and was afraid that the Great Tang Bank still had the ability to pay 1.9 million strings of string of coins, so he suggested this method.
"Don't worry, Third Steward. I will definitely muddy the waters." Hearing that there was a possibility of returning to the capital, the middle-aged man was very excited. The capital was good, people who could stay in the capital were not willing to go elsewhere.
The next day, the originally calm Suzhou became restless. The people in the spring plowing did not consider the news circulating in the city. They did not have enough money to deposit in the money house for people to collect storage fees.
But those who had businesses were different. They were always afraid of losing money if they kept it at home. Since the appearance of the Great Tang Bank, they found that the storage fee they paid each year was not much. It was basically the same as what they used to store the silk at home.
In this way, these people could deposit their money in the Great Tang Bank and not worry about it being stolen.
Now that he heard someone say that the Great Tang Bank had run out of money, at first he didn't believe it, but then he decided that he would rather believe it than not. He was prepared to withdraw the money first. After this storm passed and he found that the money was fine, it wouldn't be too late to deposit it.
The steward of the Great Tang Bank in the Suzhou government saw the line of people coming to withdraw money and immediately became anxious.
"What should we do? If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have fought to participate in that training, and I wouldn't have spent so much effort to become a steward. "
The steward understood that this was the bank run that the teacher had mentioned during the training. After collecting deposits and lending money, the most frightening thing was for the depositors to come to the line to withdraw money because they did not trust them.
One of his assistants was also anxious and suggested, "Steward Li, why don't we tell the people withdrawing money that they can't withdraw money this month and have them wait a month. At that time, the money from other places will be able to come."
Steward Li glared at the assistant. "Then other places will immediately get the news and more people will go to withdraw money. What will the Great Tang Bank do? Hasn't the news already been sent out to the steward? The steward will have a way. Give it, give it to the people withdrawing money. Send people to transport the money and let them see if the Great Tang Bank still has money. "
The assistant nodded helplessly and ran to arrange for people to withdraw money from the warehouse. Then, he looked at how much the person withdrew and divided the silk and copper coins according to forty to sixty.
He knew that the steward was the young master of the Zhang family. He hoped that this time, the young master of the Zhang family could still be as magical as before and do things well.
Because of the silk and copper coins, it was troublesome to withdraw money. Whether the people who withdrew money in small amounts or directly withdrew money in small amounts, the bank would not compensate them. Some people did deposit money in small amounts and withdraw money in small amounts.
When they withdrew money, it would be 150 copper coins. When they withdrew money, it would be 150 copper coins. In this way, a bolt of silk would be worth 200 copper coins. They could not break the silk, so they could only pay with copper coins. In this way, the silk would be left in the bank. It was not easy to preserve silk. As long as it was in the hands, it would depreciate.
Fortunately, the copper coins themselves were not worth the monetary value they represented. Therefore, there were people who privately minted coins. The copper coins transported from Xinluo, Japan, and Xinyuan Island were all made into copper coins to offset the depreciation of the silk.
Soon, cart after cart of copper coins were pushed to the front of the shop. Manager Li wanted to shout to the people in line to withdraw money, "You don't have to worry about the Great Tang Bank not being able to take out the money." However, he was worried that someone would use such words to say that the bank was stubbornly holding on, so he could only use practical actions to give people a hint.
As usual, the money was taken away by people. Carriages after carriages of money were brought over. Even if Manager Li was anxious, he didn't show it. He always wore a smile on his face as he sent away the people who came to take the money one after another.
From morning until noon, the people of the bank gave the money very quickly and did not have the slightest intention of stalling. This made the people who were still in line to withdraw money unconsciously change their minds.
At this time, the people arranged by Manager Li spread the news in the crowd.
"Let's not withdraw money. Someone must be spreading rumors that the Great Tang Bank has no money. Look, if there is no money, how can they keep pulling money out? If there is no money, how can they not be anxious? It's noon, time to go back and eat. "
"I'll look again and pull money out again. I won't withdraw money either. It's all my wife's fault. She forced me to come here. She didn't think about who opened the Great Tang Bank? That is the current Emperor. How can the Emperor not have money? Ai ~! You've wasted my time. "
"That's right. Even if we can't withdraw money now, it's not that the Great Tang Bank doesn't have money. It's just that they lent the money to others to collect more interest and can't move it away. If the Great Tang Bank was only in Suzhou, then we should withdraw money. But how many banks does Great Tang have now? I won't withdraw money either. "
All kinds of voices like this sounded in the crowd, causing the people who were still waiting to withdraw money to be moved. They hesitated, not knowing if they should continue withdrawing money.
After noon, the people withdrawing money suddenly decreased by a lot.
When it was almost night time, the withdrawal rate had basically returned to normal. Manager Li and the people of the bank heaved a sigh of relief, but Wu Feng was worried again.
The plan was about to succeed, but in the end, the people arranged by the bank said that the bank run was gone. How could this work? That night, he called the middle-aged man over, and the two of them discussed while eating.
"Third Steward, according to your thoughts, can the Great Tang Bank in Suzhou still pay 1.9 million strings of string of cash? It's not a small amount. If it's not too much, then we should wait to prevent people from finding out. "
The middle-aged man was a bit worried. If he continued to send people to spread the news about the Great Tang Bank, once someone found out, it wouldn't just be his side that would be in trouble. If the Emperor knew that it was Wu Huifei who did it, no matter how much he doted on her, he would vent his anger on her.
How could Wu Feng not understand this point? If it was someone else supporting the bank, he wouldn't care. 1.9 million strings of cash, there weren't many places that could take it out at once, especially Suzhou. The people here had borrowed a lot, so the bank shouldn't have much money left.
But today's opponent was Zhang Xiaobao. Who dared to underestimate him? Those who underestimated him didn't have a good ending. Even if they didn't underestimate him, those who went against him also didn't have a good ending. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't come over, he wouldn't have chosen Suzhou. Otherwise, if he was in Suzhou, he wouldn't have dared to come here.
Some people's existence was a legend.
Thinking like this, Wu Feng said to the middle-aged man, "This is the last time. Find someone reliable to do it. Don't give yourself away. If they really find out that you're here, we'll take good care of your family."
The middle-aged man's expression changed. He nodded and said, "Understood. If they find me, then everything will be cut off. I'll immediately go back and arrange it."
The next day, Suzhou, which was about to return to peace, had a new wave. It was rumored that the Emperor wanted to use troops against Tufan and Tujue at the same time. Even after taking out all the money in the national treasury, it still wasn't enough. He forcefully transferred money from various banks. The banks were already empty. If they didn't withdraw money now, once the Emperor lost, there wouldn't be any money left.
When one person said this, others didn't care. More and more people said it. It made those who didn't believe it couldn't help but doubt whether or not it was true.
At this time, the Suzhou government began to send bailiffs to arrest people. How terrible. Letting people casually spread rumors. Not only would the Emperor be angry, but what would Tufan and Tujue think if they acted too late?
Once they were arrested, it became even more chaotic. Some people began to suspect that this was an attempt to seal the mouth. They increasingly felt that the Emperor wanted to send troops. Furthermore, the national treasury had no money and was transferring money from the banks.
A new line appeared in front of the banks, waiting to withdraw money.
Just as Shopkeeper Li was feeling anxious, the urgent letter that Zhang Xiaobao had sent someone to deliver finally arrived. Looking at the contents of the letter, Shopkeeper Li's heart finally settled down.
He immediately had someone post a notice outside according to what was written in the letter.
"Is there no money?" An illiterate commoner saw the notice and anxiously asked around.
A literate person went over to take a look and said to the people around him, "Good news, great news. The Emperor said that the national treasury is now full and the four seas are at peace. Therefore, the Great Tang Bank will remove the service fee for people who have previously deposited money after one month. The new people who deposit money will only have half of the original amount. When summer comes, the Great Tang Bank will completely remove the service fee.
Also, starting from today, the interest on loans will also be reduced. The conditions for loans will also be slightly relaxed. In the future, more people will be able to borrow money. Good news, great news. "
Hearing the literate person's words, the people who wanted to withdraw money were confused. Who was the one who said it? If the bank was deliberately deceiving people, then the bank should not have relaxed the conditions for loans and reduced the interest when the bank ran out of money. Could it be that the bank really did not lack money?
Someone in the crowd began to speak.
"Don't withdraw money. If you withdraw money and deposit it again, although it will be half of the previous service fee, it will not be as good as when there was no service fee in the beginning. Don't withdraw money, the Emperor will not deceive us."
"I also won't withdraw money. Who knows, there might be something good waiting for us. It must be that the person who started the rumor knew in advance that the Emperor was going to do this, so they came to take advantage of it."
"That's right, the person who started the rumor should be caught and beheaded. It's really too deceptive. I already withdrew 30 strings of cash yesterday. I've lost money, lost a lot."
The crowd dispersed again. This time, no one continued to spread the rumor. Many of the people who started the rumor were arrested. They all said that they heard it from other people in the inns and restaurants. At the moment, it was really hard to find who started it. They could only be locked up for a few days and released when the time came.
"Third Steward, is there such news from the capital? Did the Emperor really say that? "The middle-aged man found Wu Feng with lingering fear.
"What does it have to do with the Emperor? The person who is really in charge of the Tang bank is Zhang Xiaobao. Whatever he says is what it is. What a fast speed. I just made my move and he already knew. I wonder if he can still take out the remaining 1.9 million strings of cash. "
Wu Feng did not have any confidence in his heart. Didn't Zhang Xiaobao go to Huayuan county to pick up the child? How could he still manage Suzhou?
The third day came. The middle-aged man first had someone withdraw the 400,000 strings of cash he had saved, promising that person many benefits. After all, this interest had to be taken by himself. Otherwise, the other person did not need to pay the service fee. If he still wanted them to pay more, they would not do it.
Following that, Wu Feng also found the Tang bank and wanted to take his 1.5 million strings of cash.
Seeing Steward Li, the other party's one sentence scared Wu Feng silly.
"Third Steward, the money you asked for has been prepared. Come with me to get it." Steward Li said politely.
Just this one sentence made Wu Feng feel cold from head to toe.
He knows, he really knows. It was not a fake name that I gave, nor did he say my real name. Instead, he called me the Wu family in the capital. What should I do? What should I do? Will the Empress's side be ….?
Wu Feng's vision turned black and his ears rang. Even when Steward Li touched him, he did not feel anything. He only felt that his whole body was numb and did not have an ounce of strength. His stomach felt like he had drunk a lot of wine and wanted to vomit but could not.
With a puff, Steward Li sprayed a mouthful of strong wine on Wu Feng's face. Only then did Wu Feng wake up.
"Third Steward, please come with me. The bank does not have 1.5 million strings of cash. We need to get it from other places." Steward Li said again.
Wu Feng was so scared that his soul almost left his body. When he heard that the bank could not take out so much money, he did not feel the slightest bit of joy. He thought for a while and said, "If you don't have that, then don't take it."
"How can that be? If you don't take it out, then the bank will not receive the management fee. Furthermore, the Third Steward has already made an appointment in advance. Please, the young master of the Zhang family has been very busy for this matter. He took the money Between the Clouds and the Water and Sea and Clouds, and even transported a few hundred thousand strings of cash from nearby places. After negotiating with the local investors, we finally managed to gather 1.5 million strings of cash for the Third Steward. Oh, it's 1.9 million strings of cash. "
Steward Li reached out to support Wu Feng. Just like that, Wu Feng was sent to the bank Between the Clouds and the Water by Steward Li.
Looking at the mountain of money, Wu Feng knew that it was impossible for him to transport it away. The transportation fee was more than ten times higher than the management fee. He could only deposit it in the bank again. After entering and exiting, the management fee was not small. More importantly, he was exposed. He wondered how the Empress was doing in the palace.
*****
In the capital, Li Longji already knew about it. In his anger, he did not visit Wu Huifei for three days. Of course, he also did not teach her a lesson. Today, he went to Empress Wang's place to drink alone.
Empress Wang was making clothes for her son and daughter. Although Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not lack clothes, for a mother, it was better to make clothes herself than others.
Seeing that the Emperor had arrived, she arranged for people to prepare food and wine while coming to serve him. Seeing that the Emperor's complexion was not good, she asked with concern, "Your Majesty, is there something troubling you in the imperial court?"
"What can happen in the imperial court? Now that the national treasury is full, it's the bank that's in trouble. " Li Longji had only seen his newborn son and daughter once. Now that he came to Empress Wang's place, he thought of how the two of them smiled when they saw him. His mood improved a lot.
"Your Majesty, could it be that Xiao Bao got into trouble?" Empress Wang already knew what was going on. If it was in the past, she would have directly said it. Now, she was smarter.
Li Longji waved his hand. "What trouble could Xiao Bao get into? With him there, the bank has nothing to worry about. It's Consort Huifei. She actually made a move behind the scenes. She had people deposit a large sum of money in the capital and then ran to the farthest bank in Suzhou to get it. This is called running on the bank. "
"Your Majesty, perhaps Consort Huifei's younger sister has a proper use. If she really wanted to go to the farthest place, wouldn't it be better to go to Jiannan Circuit?"
Empress Wang explained.
"Hmph! What use does she have? She didn't go to Jiannan Circuit because of the reputation that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo made there, as well as the business of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. Moreover, the road there is difficult. Otherwise, she really would have gone to Jiannan Circuit. "
Li Longji's heart was like a mirror. How could he not know the reason why Consort Huifei made a move on Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan?
At this time, the palace maids had already placed the wine and dishes on the table. Empress Wang poured wine for the emperor and said, "Your Majesty doesn't need to worry. With Xiao Bao there, nothing will happen to the bank."
"Naturally, Xiao Bao wrote a letter to Lishi a few days ago, saying that the increase of the capital's deposit was abnormal. He made arrangements early on. What if it was someone else? What would happen? Would anyone have Xiao Bao's ability? "
When Li Longji thought of the letter that Gao Lishi had received, he couldn't help but admire the experts of the Zhang family. Xiao Bao, who had been taught by them, was actually able to see the signs of the increase of the capital's deposit. This ability was extraordinary.
Empress Wang picked up a piece of cucumber for the emperor and drank a small cup with him. She continued to persuade, "Your Majesty, Consort Huifei's actions are also good."
"Good in what way?" Li Longji had thought that Empress Wang would add fuel to the fire. He didn't expect that she would actually speak up for Consort Huifei.
"Your Majesty should think this way. This time, Consort Huifei was testing the Tang bank. Xiao Bao handled it well. Even if she really couldn't control it at that time, Consort Huifei will deposit the money back into the bank. She won't ruin Your Majesty's plans. This concubine can guarantee.
With this, Your Majesty's heart will be at ease. Xiao Bao has done a good job in handling the malicious deposit and withdrawal of funds from other places. It's better than other people or countries with bad intentions. It's also good for the people participating in the training to have an intuitive impression.
According to this concubine's words, Consort Huifei's actions are like an adult deliberately making things difficult for children in order to train them. Your Majesty also made things difficult for Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. The two children said that when they wanted to go to Jili Province, they had to go around in circles. If Pan 'er and the others weren't with Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, this concubine also wanted to make things difficult for them. "
Empress Wang tried her best to excuse Consort Huifei. It wasn't that she didn't want to beat Consort Huifei to death with a stick. It was just that this kind of thing couldn't be beaten to death. Rather than that, it was better to curry favor and let the emperor see her magnanimity as the leader of the harem.
Li Longji actually just wanted to find a way out for himself. When he heard Empress Wang's words, he felt happy in his heart and deliberately put on a straight face.
"Xiao Bao and Cuckoo have lied to us time and time again. Those officials who didn't know the reason thought that we couldn't compare to the two children. Now you know, it's because the two children aren't ordinary. When our Jun 'er and Pan' er are older, they can also learn good skills."
"Your Majesty, this concubine still has something to say. Although Consort Huifei tested Xiao Bao once, she still has to be punished in the harem. This concubine has decided to punish Consort Huifei with half a year's monthly allowance. What does Your Majesty think?"
Empress Wang continued.
"Punishment, punishment. Come, drink with us. Let's sleep here tonight." When Li Longji heard that it was only half a year's allowance, he happily agreed.
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