In Taiji Palace, hundreds of officials were gathered. Gao Chang's expedition to the west was imminent. The three provinces and six ministries were all preparing for it.
"If you have something to report, report. If not, end court!" Following Pande's sharp voice, the morning court was coming to an end.
"This son has a report!" Li Chengqian, who was standing at the head of the officials, bowed and stepped forward.
"Oh! Crown Prince, quickly report it! " Li Shimin saw Li Chengqian step forward and his eyes flashed. Li Chengqian was the successor he had carefully cultivated. He was usually very steady, which made him very satisfied. Normally, Li Chengqian would listen to court affairs and study them diligently. He rarely reported. Now that he suddenly heard Li Chengqian report, he was naturally surprised.
"This son asks Imperial Father to allow the relay station to send documents and establish a bank!" Li Chengqian said in a clear voice and handed over a booklet with both hands.
It was finally here! Instantly, the officials were in an uproar. The argument between Mo Jiazi and the crown prince in the Legislative Hall had already spread to the ears of the officials in court. They naturally knew that Li Chengqian was preparing to establish a bank.
"Send documents! Post bank? " Li Shimin couldn't help but be dazed. The original relay station was originally an extremely simple organization to pass documents and information. Every year, it swallowed a lot of money and was the most useless organization in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It was tasteless, but it was a pity to abandon it.
However, he had only traveled for a few months. When he returned, Li Chengqian had reformed the relay station to send letters and newspapers for the people of the world. This had greatly improved the financial situation of the relay station. However, three years had passed in a hurry. The relay station had grown into a colossus and actually wanted to include both a mail and a bank.
Wei Zheng frowned and stepped forward. "This old official heard that the relay station was opened by the empress out of pity for the wanderers of the world. Naturally, it is beneficial to the country and the people. The bank is for profit. Is there any suspicion of competing with the people for profit?
Unexpectedly, none of the aristocratic families that were involved with the Ziqian family stepped forward. Instead, Wei Zheng, who had nothing to do with the Ziqian family, stepped forward to object.
Li Shimin turned to Li Chengqian and said, "Crown Prince, do you have any excuses?"
"Reporting to Imperial Father! The relay station bank deals in money, so it is naturally for profit. However, it is not to compete with the public for profit. Firstly, the profits of the relay station bank can make up for the losses of the relay station over the years, allowing the relay station to turn its losses into profits and reduce the burden on the national treasury. "
Dai Zhou nodded. Ever since the reform of the relay stations, the Ministry of Civil Affairs only needed to allocate a small amount of money to operate. Once the relay station bank was established, perhaps it would be able to support the Ministry of Civil Affairs? He knew that the bank of the Village Mo's Village was a money-making machine.
"Secondly, the largest bank among the people is the joint Flying Money business of the Village Mo's Village Mo's Village Bank and other banks in the world. However, the two banks have their own advantages and disadvantages. Although the bank of the Village Mo's Village has low interest on bills and loans, there are only ten banks of the Village Mo's Village. They have no time to take care of the Tang dynasty."
"Although the Flying Money business is widely distributed, the commission of the Flying Money and the loan interest of the banks are quite high. The people are miserable. Once the relay station bank is established, it can draw on the advantages of the two banks. The relay station bank not only has the most extensive network, but also takes the most favorable bills of exchange and loan interest. In this way, all the money in the world will flow to the world, which is naturally beneficial to the people."
"Your Highness is merciful!" Many neutral officials nodded and said. Once Li Chengqian's plan was successful, it would indeed benefit the whole world.
Li Chengqian sternly said, "The relay station bank not only has to set an example, it also has to take on the responsibility of supervising all the banks in the world. A few years ago, the dangers of printing money were already announced to the world. However, printing money is still the norm everywhere in the world. The common people have suffered greatly, and there have been countless cases of families broken apart. This son earnestly requests that Imperial Father abolish printing money in the world. Any printing money that exceeds the annual interest rate of thirty six percent will be abolished."
"36% annual interest!" Many officials nodded. Compared with the horrible printed money, 36% annual interest was already very good.
"Why 36% annual interest? Isn't it better to have an annual interest of 6% to 10%, like the bank in the village of Village Mo." Wei Zheng was puzzled.
"Lord Wei, you don't know. The annual interest of 6% to 10% annual interest of the bank in the village of Village Mo is indeed very benevolent. However, it requires enough collateral. Even if the borrower can't pay it back, the bank won't suffer too much loss. However, there is no collateral for private loans. If the annual interest is 6%, I'm afraid that not many people are willing to take the risk to borrow money. If the annual interest is too high, for example, the game of one coin in the market, I'm afraid that no one can pay it back. In the end, their families will be ruined. However, 36% is the upper limit that most people can pay back. It can not only ensure the interests of the lender, but also prevent the borrower from going to a dead end." Li Chengqian said loudly.
"Your Highness, you are so considerate!" Seeing that Li Chengqian was so considerate, people couldn't help but nod. If the interest was low, no one would be willing to lend money to others. If the interest was high, the borrower couldn't pay it back and it would also lead to a tragedy. Li Chengqian limited the upper limit to 36%, which could be said to take into account the interests of both the lender and the borrower.
"What if the lender and the borrower sign a contract in black and white, and the borrower is willing to bear 40% or even higher interest?" An official said with a little guilty. He was asked by the Qian family to deliberately find the flaw of the Crown Prince in the Imperial Court, thinking that the Qian family could find a way to solve the problem. Once the contract in black and white came into effect, the Qian family could naturally take advantage of this loophole to continue to lend money in the future.
Many officials frowned. Under the guidance of the Mo family's thousand-year reputation and the Mo family's rule of always signing contracts, the Tang dynasty attached great importance to the spirit of contracts. Once a contract was signed, it would come into effect immediately. If both parties signed a high-interest loan, it would be difficult to deal with this matter.
Li Chengqian glanced at the official and couldn't help but sneer, "No one in the world is willing to bear the high interest unless there is no other way. Although the contract is signed voluntarily by the borrower, it must be because he has no other choice. So even if the contract is signed, the borrower can only pay the interest of 36% at most, and the rest of the interest doesn't need to be paid back. "
The officials nodded. The so-called contract was signed voluntarily by both parties, so it should be obeyed. However, none of the civil and military officials in the Imperial Court believed that the so-called high-interest loan contract was signed willingly.
"Then how should we pay back the money that has been borrowed before?" Suddenly, Meton spoke, giving the Qian family a fatal blow.
The official asked by the Qian family couldn't help but listen carefully. This was related to the interests of the Qian family.
Li Chengqian said firmly, "As long as Imperial Father agrees, from now on, the highest interest in the world will be no more than 36% at most every year, and the same goes for the money that has been borrowed before."
The official asked by the Qian family felt his heart sink. If this went on, the Qian family would suffer heavy losses. However, to his relief, the Imperial Court didn't dig into the Qian family's debts, and didn't continue to pursue the loans that had been paid off.
"Imperial Father, nowadays, the common people have suffered a lot from borrowing money. I earnestly request to establish a courier bank to supervise the banks and banks in the world, as well as the common people's loans, so that the lenders can make profits, so that the borrowers can get through the difficulties and have the ability to pay back. In this way, we can achieve a win-win situation and let the common people be at peace. "Li Chengqian solemnly requested.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Li Shimin. Li Shimin stood up and said firmly, "Approved! This matter will be handed over to the Crown Prince. "
"Thank you, Imperial Father!" Li Chengqian was overjoyed.
The officials were not only in an uproar. No one had expected that Li Shimin would agree to let Li Chengqian establish a courier bank. It should be known that once established, Li Chengqian could control a huge amount of wealth.
However, no one knew that the reason why Li Shimin decided to establish a courier bank was because of the poor financial situation of the Imperial Court. The continuous expansion of the brick road was like a gold-swallowing beast, and this time, Gao Chang almost emptied the Imperial Court's property in the Western Expedition. If he could establish a courier bank, it could bring a steady stream of wealth to the Imperial Court, and he, the Emperor, could realize the freedom of wealth again.
In addition, the bank of Village Mo and the bank of the Qian family would rise. As an Emperor, how could he rest assured that such a huge amount of wealth would be gathered among the common people? The courier bank could supervise the banks of all the banks in the world, which was exactly what Li Shimin wanted.
Of course, the most important thing was to prevent the reappearance of the printing money. The Qian family used the printing money to wantonly suck the blood of the Tang dynasty, which made the people of the Tang dynasty furious. Naturally, Li Shimin would not miss the opportunity to make the common people feel grateful.
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