In the imperial study, Pei Yun left first, leaving Meng Zhida behind.
Ouyang Shuo first mentioned the matter of a one million gold coins administrative loan to Moroca Province, saying, "This matter has to be handled in a special way, so the procedures can be simpler. Send the money over as soon as possible, they urgently need it."
Meng Zhida nodded, saying, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. This humble subject will personally oversee this matter and liaise with Moroca Province's governor's office, striving to approve the funds within a week."
Ouyang Shuo smiled in satisfaction. He liked Meng Zhida's swift and decisive actions. Although Pei Yun and the other historical officials were useful, they still carried traces of ancient officialdom and were not efficient enough.
They were unlike players like Meng Zhida, who believed in efficiency in the workplace.
Ouyang Shuo had summoned Meng Zhida not for this matter, but because he had an idea to touch base with Meng Zhida, the manager of the bank, to see if it was feasible.
This idea had vaguely appeared during the attack on Moroca, and when the Friendship City incident broke out, it became even clearer.
Ouyang Shuo said, "Do you know of the compensation that Rabat City and Friendship City give to merchants?"
"This humble subject knows a thing or two."
"What do you think of this matter?"
Meng Zhida was startled. This was not within the scope of his authority, but since the king had asked, he had to say something. After thinking for a moment, he simply said, "Short-term losses, long-term gains."
Meng Zhida analyzed this matter from the perspective of investment, and sure enough, his words never deviated from his old profession.
Ouyang Shuo revealed the mystery, saying, "This prince is thinking that if the imperial court compensates merchants every time their interests are damaged, in the long run, I'm afraid that those merchants will become dependent and act unscrupulously."
The human heart was the most complicated, especially to merchants.
In reality, cheating the government of subsidies often happened, not to mention in the game.
This was the difficulty of governing a country. Some policies issued by the imperial court might have good intentions, but if they were implemented in the long run, they might change in the end.
Thus, when the imperial court made policies, they had to consider all aspects. It was not something that could be decided on a whim, and Ouyang Shuo did not want this kind of compensation to become the norm.
Ouyang Shuo was thinking if he could come up with a more creative way to solve this problem.
Meng Zhida added, "Your Majesty's worries are not without reason." Meng Zhida was no longer surprised by the king's viciousness and was instead used to it.
Ouyang Shuo said, "Since that's the case, is it possible for the Bank of the Four Seas to use this opportunity to start insurance? We can start from the most scarce marine insurance."
The concept of insurance was not unique to modern society.
In 2500 BC, the ancient Babylonian Kingdom ordered monks, judges, and village chiefs to collect taxes as funds for fire relief. In the Roman Empire, the Empire, the Empire, the Empire, the Empire, the Empire. Roman Empire, the Empire, the Roman Empire, the Empire, the Empire, the Empire. All of these were the initial forms of insurance, which gradually became the insurance system.
With the development of trade, in 1792 BC, during the time of Hammurabi, the sixth king of ancient Babylon, commerce flourished. In order to aid commerce and protect the caravan's horses and mules and goods, Hammurabi's Code of Law provided for joint sharing of compensation for losses.
This situation was very close to the compensation mechanism of the Great Xia Dynasty's ocean-going caravans.
In 916 BC, in the Mediterranean Sea on the island of Rhodes, the king enacted the Rhodian Maritime Law in order to ensure the normal operation of maritime trade. It stipulated that if a cargo owner suffered a loss, the owner of the ship and all the cargo owners of the ship would share the loss. This was the origin of maritime insurance.
The Great Xia Dynasty had the advantage of monopolizing the world trade and shipping routes. Ocean trade was flourishing, and the Bank of the Four Seas had a lot of capital. This provided the Dynasty with the conditions to develop marine insurance.
When Meng Zhida heard this, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Your Majesty's suggestion is very feasible. Following the establishment of the Dynasty, the Bank of the Four Seas' savings continued to grow. On the contrary, with the expansion of the country's territories, the number of customers dwindled. "
"The Bank of the Four Seas is facing the awkward situation of not being able to spend their savings. Starting the insurance business at this time would solve the Bank of the Four Seas' predicament and provide a new source of profit. Feasible, it really is feasible. "
Actually, Meng Zhida had left out something. Once the insurance business was successfully developed, it would mean that the Great Xia Dynasty's modernization would go up another level. Furthermore, it would be a great boost to ocean trade.
With the insurance guarantee, it would definitely stimulate the passion and motivation of the merchants to develop ocean trade.
On this point, Europe, which was the origin of the insurance industry, did not have such a unique advantage. European countries had few players, so the banks they opened were unable to absorb as much capital as the Bank of the Four Seas.
Even in ocean trade, they had long fallen behind the Great Xia Dynasty.
Looking at the entire world, other than the Panama Canal in the American continent, the Great Xia Dynasty had already completed the layout of the key global shipping routes. The European and American countries could only follow behind the Great Xia Dynasty and eat the leftovers.
Ouyang Shuo never expected Meng Zhida to be so excited. He said with a smile, "This King only has a suggestion. As for the actual feasibility evaluation and implementation plan, it will still depend on you professionals."
Meng Zhida bowed and said excitedly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The Bank of the Four Seas will definitely evaluate the feasibility of developing the insurance industry in the shortest time possible and come up with a feasible implementation plan."
Ouyang Shuo nodded and said, "That's good. This King will wait for your good news."
Who would have thought that in this room, after the entertainment industry, another industry, under Ouyang Shuo's bold expansion, would burst forth with unprecedented brilliance in the game, rising like a pearl.
…
After Meng Zhida left, Ouyang Shuo asked Cyan Shirt, "How's the progress of the agreement with Hardstone City?" When Ouyang Shuo went to Friendship City to deal with the sudden incident, the relevant negotiations had already begun. It had been ten days since then.
Before leaving, Ouyang Shuo had instructed Cyan Shirt to follow up on this matter from the Secret Texts Pavilion.
Cyan Shirt raised his head and picked up a document from the table. He handed it over and said, "It has been basically finalized two days ago. Lord Taowu's side has no objections. We're just waiting for your return to make the final decision."
Ouyang Shuo took the document and said with a smile, "That's quite efficient."
Cyan Shirt explained, "Lord Taowu's side is a little anxious, so the negotiations went much smoother than expected."
Ouyang Shuo instantly understood, and as he flipped through the documents, he casually asked, "We didn't take advantage of others while they were down, did we?" He didn't want to arouse suspicion in Lao Ai's heart because he was greedy for a small advantage.
Cyan Shirt said with a smile, "You told them before you left. How would they dare?"
"That's good."
After flipping through the document, the terms were basically the same as what Ouyang Shuo had envisioned.
Hardstone City had to follow the Great Xia Dynasty as its suzerain.
First, become a vassal.
Taowu would accept the appointment of the Great Xia Dynasty as the governor of Fengtian County. He would enjoy a high degree of autonomy within his jurisdiction under the framework of the Great Xia Dynasty Code.
Second, hand over diplomatic rights.
Hardstone City had to maintain the same diplomatic relations with the Great Xia Dynasty at all times. Major diplomatic matters had to be reported to the Great Xia Dynasty in advance. If necessary, the Chamberlain of Dependencies could participate.
Third, hand over tributes.
Hardstone City had to hand over 300,000 gold coins as tributes every year, which could be compensated with coal of considerable value.
Correspondingly, the Great Xia Dynasty had to fulfill the following obligations.
First, confer nobility.
The Great Xia Dynasty had to confer the title of third-class marquis to Taowu and make Fengtian County his fief.
Second, military protection.
In addition to helping Hardstone City build a coastal fleet, the Great Xia Dynasty also had to station a field army in Hardstone City. Of course, the daily military expenses of the army would be borne by Hardstone City.
Third, waive customs duties.
When goods from Hardstone City entered the country, the Great Xia Dynasty would waive all customs duties. Of course, goods from the Great Xia Dynasty would also be exempted from customs duties.
Fourth, other assistance.
The Great Xia Dynasty had to nurture 100 civil officials, 50 military officers, 100 medical officers, 50 shipbuilders, and 100 blacksmiths for Hardstone City every year.
In addition, the Great Xia Dynasty would also invest in the construction of steel mills, munitions factories, and artillery manufacturing projects to promote the industrialization of Hardstone City.
These were just the major terms. The agreement also included details on politics, military, economy, culture, technology, and other aspects. It covered all aspects of the territory's construction.
All in all, it was a win-win situation. Hardstone City would sacrifice some honor and autonomy in exchange for the full support and military protection of the Great Xia Dynasty.
After reading the document, Ouyang Shuo had mixed feelings. At this moment, he thought of the lively scene when the [Mountain and Sea Alliance] was first established. It had only been a few years, but the allies had disappeared one by one.
The only one left was the Fallen Phoenix City.
Times had changed. The [Mountain and Sea Alliance] that needed allies to contend with the [Yan Huang Alliance] had now grown into a giant in the China region. It had become an existence that the [Yan Huang Alliance] had to fear and look up to.
Ouyang Shuo had long turned his attention to the world. His main competitor had changed from the arrogant [Yan Huang Alliance] to the even more arrogant [Silver Hand].
Ouyang Shuo's thoughts had also become more and more unfathomable. From a warm-hearted young man, he had gradually transformed into a lonely king who sat on a cold throne and had no friends to talk to.
Survival of the fittest. The wilderness was cruel and real.
"Your Majesty?" Cyan Yi reminded and interrupted Ouyang Shuo's thoughts.
Ouyang Shuo was startled and immediately came back to his senses. He put down the document in his hand and said calmly, "I have seen the document. Let's draft an official agreement according to it. We will hold a signing ceremony at the Summer Palace and invite all the media to participate. We will announce this news to the public. "
Since he had already done it, Ouyang Shuo did not intend to hide it.
"Okay!"
Cyan Yi nodded and agreed. This was not a difficult task. Mobile users, please browse and read for a better reading experience.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
