"That's impossible!" Wu Yuanshuang was furious.
The steward of the Martial Mansion said seriously, "Young master, the news has been spread all over the country. It's true. The Courier Bank has started to operate and accept the bills of exchange from merchants."
"How could Chang 'an be built in a day? There are indeed courier banks all over the country, but it's impossible to build a Courier Bank overnight." Wu Yuanshuang couldn't believe it.
It was not easy to build a bank. Mo Jiazi had spent a lot of money over the years and only had ten banks in Village Mo. The Ziqian family didn't build a bank but cooperated with the banks of other Ziqian families. Even so, it still took three years to build the Flying Money System in the Tang dynasty. However, the Crown Prince could build a Courier Bank all over the Tang dynasty overnight. It was impossible.
"The news has been spread all over Chang 'an. Did the Crown Prince prepare for it?" Wu Cheng doubted.
Wu Yuanshuang shook his head and said, "No, the Crown Prince and the son of the Mo Family have only recently become enemies. Moreover, for such a big matter, the news should have spread in advance. However, we didn't receive any news at all. Could it be that the Crown Prince also used the large safe of the Gongshu Family?"
The steward of the Martial Mansion shook his head and said, "No! Even if the Crown Prince used a safe, it might take more than a month to finish. According to the gossip, the Crown Prince cooperated with the Imperial Court of the Ten Dao and directly borrowed the treasury of the Ten Dao of the Tang dynasty to build a Courier Bank. "
"How could it be done like this?"
Wu Yuanshuang was stunned and shocked.
The treasury of Village Mo was built with the strongest anti-theft technology of the Gongshu family and the strongest materials of the Mo family. It was extremely safe. That was why people were willing to trust the Village Mo bank and put their money in it. Even if they knew there was a lot of money in the treasury, they knew it was just gossip.
On the other hand, the Qian Family believed that hiding the money was the safest. The money in the bank should be hidden. The bank was just an empty shell.
Apart from this, there was another place in the world that everyone knew was the safest place to store money. That was the storehouses of the various Daos and Manors. There was an innumerable amount of money inside, and it was also heavily guarded. No one would have thought that His Highness the Crown Prince would directly use the storehouses of the various Daos and effortlessly build a relay bank overnight.
"Brilliant!" Wu Yuanshuang said from the bottom of his heart. Of course, he did not directly call out Li Chengqian's name. Instead, he sincerely admired Li Chengqian's brilliant move. Even if they were on opposite sides, he could not help but admire.
However, what he didn't know was that Li Chengqian's move was just as difficult, and the resistance he received was just as great.
Four hours ago, Eastern Palace.
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
The ten officials who had entered the court cupped their hands in greeting. They were officials sent from various places to communicate with the imperial court. Their ranks were not high to begin with. Suddenly receiving the crown prince's summons, they couldn't help but feel flattered.
"Everyone, please rise. This Imperial Concubine has summoned all of you today because I have a request to make." Li Chengqian said courteously.
The group of officials hurriedly said in fear, "We dare not! I wouldn't dare! "
Feng Zhidai, who was in charge of Ling Nan Road's Memorial Hall, stood up and said, "Your Highness, if there's anything you need, please let me know. We will do our best to accomplish it. "
"In that case, this Imperial Concubine will not beat around the bush. Everyone knows that this Imperial Concubine has recently been ordered by His Majesty to build a relay bank!" Li Chengqian said in a clear voice.
"That's natural. The relay bank has been developed by Your Highness, and everything you do is beneficial to the world. Once the relay bank is built, not only will the people of the world benefit, even people like us who are far away from the various Daos will benefit a lot." Feng Zhidai nodded.
The other officials nodded. Feng Zhidai was right. Originally, the relay bank could only send official documents. They were far away in the capital, and their families were in various Daos. Even communicating with each other was extremely difficult. Now, even if it was a letter from Ling Nan Road, it would only take half a month for a round trip. It was extremely convenient.
Now, with the addition of parcels and a relay bank, perhaps in the future, they wouldn't need to go back to the various Daos to receive their salary. They could directly receive it through the relay bank.
"This Imperial Concubine wants to borrow the treasury of the various Daos!" Li Chengqian said directly.
"Ah! Treasury! "The officials who had entered the court were stunned. They looked at each other and kept quiet.
"Why aren't you willing?" Li Chengqian frowned and asked.
Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Feng Zhidai couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "It's not that we aren't willing, but the treasury is an important place for the various Daos to store their money. If Your Highness needs money, that's fine. This lowly one will do my best to gather it. However, if you want to take away all the money in the treasury, I'm afraid that I won't be able to explain it to anyone!"
Li Chengqian was so angry that he laughed and said, "Why would this Imperial Concubine want your treasury? What this Imperial Concubine wants is to borrow the treasury of the various Daos to use as the treasury of the relay bank. "
"Ah!" The officials couldn't help but frown. So, the Crown Prince wanted to buy the casket and return the pearl!
"Your Highness, please don't blame us. It's not that we aren't willing, but if Your Highness expropriates the treasury, where will the various Daos' money be stored?" Feng Zhidai shook his head and said.
"Naturally, it will be stored in the relay bank. In the future, when the various Daos' money is stored in the relay bank, they can use it as they wish. They can also earn current interest and don't have to worry about the guards anymore. Why not?" Li Chengqian said confidently. In his opinion, once the relay bank replaced the treasury of the Daos, the treasury of the Daos would not be reduced. Moreover, it would save a lot of trouble for the various Daos. Naturally, the various Daos would not refuse. Moreover, there was another benefit, which was that the relay bank would gain a lot of capital. It could be said that it was killing several birds with one stone.
However, unexpectedly, the various Daos who entered the court avoided eye contact and no one answered.
Seeing this, Li Chengqian continued to increase the bargaining chip, "I heard that the various Daos of the Tang dynasty are competing to build brick roads, but they can't proceed because of the lack of funds. If you help the relay bank today, in the future, when the various Daos lack funds, you can apply for a loan from the relay bank to build the roads first. Then, you can use the next year's wealth to slowly repay it. Of course, the interest of this loan is very low."
The eyes of many officials who entered the court lit up. Building brick roads was the top priority of the various Daos. If they had the help of the relay bank, it would certainly be twice the result with half the effort. This was a great political achievement for the various Daos.
However, to Li Chengqian's disappointment, even though the officials were tempted, no one expressed their opinion. Even Feng Zhidai, who had been flattering him just now, avoided eye contact.
Li Chengqian snorted coldly and said, "In fact, I have another advantage that I haven't mentioned. Every autumn, the various Daos send many people to pay taxes for the imperial court. Especially the faraway Daos, they escort the money from thousands of miles away. Not to mention the long journey, they also need a lot of manpower and material resources. Along the way, they need a lot of expenses and the consumption of smelting silver!"
(Although the term "consumption" only existed in the Ming Dynasty, this kind of behavior probably existed in every dynasty.)
"Consumption!" The officials were shocked when they heard this. They could not help but secretly look at each other, and then lowered their heads guiltily.
"As for the consumption and expenses of the various Daos, I don't need to list them one by one!" Li Chengqian sneered.
Feng Zhidai could not help but change his expression. Lingnan Daos was very far from Chang 'an City. Every year, the amount of money needed to escort the money was more than enough. In addition to the consumption of fuel, there were many tricks involved.
"However, with the help of the relay bank, the various Daos will no longer need to travel to Chang 'an City to escort the taxes. They only need to deposit the money in the bank, and the people in the bank will be able to pay the taxes for the various Daos in Chang' an City. What do you think of this advantage?" Li Chengqian looked at the officials who entered the court with a faint smile.
"This is good governance!" Feng Zhidai wiped off his cold sweat and quickly echoed.
"Of course, Your Highness, you are always considerate of the various Daos. Naturally, the various Daos will not disappoint Your Highness." The officials who entered the court echoed.
Only then did Li Chengqian smile and say, "Since that's the case, then everyone write down the situation clearly and use the seal with me. Outside, an urgent courier is already waiting."
Feng Zhidai looked at the officials who entered the court and tacitly picked up their brushes. Since the Crown Prince had already prepared so well, they believed that the directors of the various Daos would not reject the Crown Prince.
Everyone used the seal, and a courier walked in, put away the letter, and quickly left. Then, the news that the relay bank was about to be opened spread throughout Chang 'an City.
…
"Once the relay bank is opened, those officials will no longer have the hidden income. How can they agree?" The Martial Mansion's butler was puzzled.
"That's because the Crown Prince is there. Those aristocratic families are trying to curry favor with the Crown Prince. The resistance will be reduced to the lowest." Wu Yuanshuang was the clearest and could not help but feel helpless.
He originally thought that even if the Crown Prince opened the relay bank, it would still take a few years. He did not expect that the Crown Prince could mobilize so much power that he took a shortcut. He directly completed the establishment of the relay bank on the basis of the warehouses of the Daos and the Daos.
"When the city gate is on fire, the fish in the moat will suffer!" Wu Yuanshuang said sadly.
Everyone knew that the expansion of the Village Mo Bank and the Relay Bank was the result of the competition between Mo Jiazi and the Crown Prince. However, the Village Mo Bank was steadily operating the Longhai Line, while the Relay Bank was in the ten Daos of the Tang dynasty and had the credibility of the imperial court. The two could be said to be a win-win situation. In this competition, the only one that was hurt was the Flying Money business of the Ziqian Family.
The Flying Money business was established by Wu Yuanshuang and the Ziqian Family in various places. In terms of foundation, it was not as good as the Village Mo Bank, and in terms of credibility, it was not as good as the Relay Bank. However, it offended many merchants because of the high commission. Now it was reaping what it had sown.
"Young Master, what should we do?" The Martial Mansion's butler asked in panic.
Wu Yuanshuang suppressed his voice and growled, "What else can we do? Cut the interest rate. You go and tell those merchants that the Flying Money business of the Ziqian Family will also be reduced to 1/100 commission. "
"Ah! 1/100 commission? What about the other Ziqian Families? " The Martial Mansion's butler hesitated. The reason why those Ziqian Families were willing to listen to Wu Yuanshuang was that Wu Yuanshuang could bring them a high commission. Once there was no income, those greedy guys would not be so obedient.
Wu Yuanshuang snorted and said, "The market is like this. Even if they are dissatisfied, what can they do? Can they make trouble for the Crown Prince?"
"Yes, young master!" The Martial Mansion's butler nodded.
When the Flying Money business was posted on the door of the bank, the merchants in Chang 'an were not interested at all. Instead, they snorted in their hearts. No one cared.
Wu Yuanshuang waited for a long time at the door of the bank, but found that the whole bank was still empty. He could not help but be dumbfounded.
It was reasonable to say that the Flying Money business of the bank had an advantage over the Village Mo's bank and the Courier Station Bank. The Flying Money business had more outlets than the Village Mo's bank, and was also more densely distributed than the Courier Station Bank. Although Li Chengqian had a huge advantage, he could only arrange the Ten Under the Heavens in a hurry. It was reasonable to say that if the commission was the same, there would naturally be merchants who could not take care of both and would choose to use the Flying Money business.
"Go and find out what is going on." Wu Yuanshuang ordered the bank's hired thug, Wu Cheng, who was waiting on the side.
Wu Cheng took the order and went out. After half an hour, he hurriedly came back and reported, "Young master, about 20% of those merchants are in the Village Mo's bank, and about 80% are in the Courier Station."
"80% are in the Courier Station!" The Martial Mansion's butler could not help but exclaim. They had always paid attention to the Courier Station, but they did not expect the Courier Station to be so powerful.
"20%? It seems that Mo Jiazi also suffered a lot. " Wu Yuanshuang snorted coldly. Originally, he estimated that the Village Mo's bank had at least 30% merchants, but now it had decreased by 10%.
"Indeed, the Courier Station is all over the world, and the Courier Station Bank is also on the Longhai Line. Many of the Village Mo's bank's customers were taken away by the Courier Station." Wu Cheng nodded and said.
Hearing that the Village Mo's bank was also affected, the three of them felt slightly better. However, they suddenly realized that something was wrong. Even if the Village Mo's bank was affected, it still had 20% of its customers, and it was not affected at all. However, the bank's customers were all taken away by the Courier Station.
"No, what is going on? Why is no one using the Flying Money? The merchants in the prefectural cities do not use it, and the merchants far away from the prefectural cities do not use the Flying Money either? "Wu Yuanshuang did not understand.
Wu Cheng smiled bitterly and said, "Those merchants would rather transfer the money to the prefectural cities first, and then take out the cash and bring it back home."
Wu Yuanshuang was stunned. He could not help but smile bitterly and said, "They do not believe in the Ziqian Family!"
Since ancient times, all the Hundred Schools of Thought valued their family's reputation more than their own lives. Only the Ziqian Family only cared about profits, and did not value these things at all. They released the Imprint Money, and forced the people to break up and die. Relying on the banks all over the world, the Ziqian Family had already become notorious.
"The Flying Money is also gone!" The Martial House's butler said dishearteningly. This year was the darkest year for the Ziqian Family. The Imprint Money was banned, and the aristocratic families were not willing to lower the interest rate. The Flying Money that the Ziqian Family had high hopes for had also fallen under the joint attack of the Village Mo's bank and the Courier Station Bank.
No! They should have fallen because of the reputation and reputation that they had always sneered at.
"No, we still have one more move!" Wu Yuanshuang said stubbornly.
"Young master, what do you mean? Do you still want to reduce the commission? "The Martial House's butler was confused.
Wu Yuanshuang gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision, "This time, the commission of the Flying Money will be free!"
"Ah!"
In an instant, the Martial House's butler and Wu Cheng could not help but be stunned. They looked at Wu Yuanshuang in shock. What was the Ziqian Family? They only cared about profits, and they were selfish. However, one day, the Ziqian Family suddenly had a day where the interest fee was free. This was the first time the Ziqian Family had ever experienced something like this.
To put it bluntly, this was something that went against the Ziqian Family's philosophy. The Martial House's butler and Wu Cheng could not help but be stunned.
Wu Yuanshuang said seriously, "When the Village Mo's bank first opened, the Imprint Money Service was free for a whole month. Only then did the Village Mo's bank establish its reputation. Now, it is time for the bank to restore its reputation."
When the Ziqian Family's Flying Money Service was free of charge, the entire Chang 'an City was in an uproar. No one had thought that the competition for the Flying Money had reached such a white-hot stage.
However, the final result made everyone's jaws drop. Even if the Flying Money was exchanged for free, there were still very few people who asked about it. Firstly, the Ziqian Family's reputation had long been lost. Secondly, there was one thing that Wu Yuanshuang was right about. Compared to the commission of the Flying Money Service, the merchants cared more about their own money. That was the most important thing. In the past, they had no choice but to let the bank exploit them. Now that the Village Mo's bank and the Relay Station's bank had guaranteed their safety, they naturally gave up on the notorious bank.
After all, one was the world famous Mo's bank. Every place had the safest treasury. The other was the Relay Station's bank backed by the imperial court. Its reputation and commission were very fair. On the other hand, the empty shell of the bank did not seem to have much competition.
In addition, the commission of the Flying Money changed three times a day. From ten out of a hundred, to five out of a hundred, to one out of a hundred. In the end, although it was exchanged for free, the little bit of reputation that the Flying Money Service had had been exhausted.
The Peak
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