Chapter 1256 May all be blessed!

Lin'an Plum Blossom Villa
In the study, Ye Mingsheng was concentrating on the memorial in his hand, while Murong Yuliang was sitting respectfully on the chair. Although Murong Yuliang looked very calm at this time, the strange look in his eyes inadvertently showed that his real state of mind might not be as calm as he seemed.

Murong Yuliang was very clear that the memorial he had just submitted might very well determine whether he could make a comeback, or even make further progress in his official career!
If Ye Mingsheng agrees with his idea, then he will most likely succeed the governor of Jiangnan and become the highest-ranking official in the Great Zhou Dynasty and even in the future New Dynasty!

And if the answer is no, then not only will he not be able to become the governor, but his own official career will also end in such an ignominious way!
Thinking of this, Murong Yuliang couldn't help but feel a little nervous. At this time, Ye Mingsheng put down the memorial in his hand and asked Murong Yuliang:
“Have you done any research on Guang Fu Yuan?”

Murong Yuliang said without hesitation:
“When I was the governor of Huainan, Guangfuyuan also opened a bank in Shouchun. As a result, I got to know Guangfuyuan’s chief manager Liu Yang, as well as Guangfuyuan’s two bosses. From them, I learned that Guangfuyuan’s business is currently running normally, with an annual turnover of one million taels of silver and a profit of more than 200,000 taels of silver…”

Hearing this number, Ye Mingsheng smiled and asked back:

“Do you believe the numbers they tell you?”

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Murong Yuliang was stunned for a moment and asked tentatively:
"Marshal, are you saying that the numbers they told me are wrong?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Guangfuyuan is the largest bank in Jiangnan. Originally, its banks were spread all over the Great Zhou. However, due to the frequent wars in the Great Zhou in the past few years, Guangfuyuan gradually closed several banks except those in Jiangnan and gradually expanded its business overseas. Currently, Guangfuyuan has two branches in Dongdao and five in Nanyang. They even have a branch in the most distant Tudor!"

"In the past few years, after Jiangnan merchants sold tea, porcelain, and silk to the West, they would deposit the money in Guangfuyuan's branch, and then return to Jiangnan with Guangfuyuan's bills. Guangfuyuan would take at least 20% of the profit on this trip!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's story, Murong Yuliang was secretly shocked. He realized that not only did he investigate Guangfuyuan, but Ye Mingsheng also investigated Guangfuyuan!
And why did Ye Mingsheng investigate Guangfuyuan?

Could it be that the Marshal has the same idea as me?

Thinking of this, Murong Yuliang's heart moved, and at this moment Ye Mingsheng took out a file from the drawer of the desk and handed it to him.

"This is a survey report on Jiangnan commerce by the Coordination Office. Because the data is not detailed, some of the ideas in it have not been verified, but I think it still has some reference value. You can take a look at it!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Murong Yuliang also took the file and started to check it. After reading it for half a cup of tea, Murong Yuliang couldn't help but secretly curse Liu Yang as a grandson in his heart...

According to the inference of this investigation report, all major businesses in Jiangnan generally adopt the strategy of having three burrows. They generally only ship about 50% of their trade income back to Da Zhou, and the remaining 50% is kept overseas. They have close ties with the pirate tribes in Southeast Asia.

Guangfuyuan, the largest bank in Jiangnan, was also mentioned prominently in this report. The Coordination Office mentioned in this report that Guangfuyuan protected their core account books very strictly, and few people knew Guangfuyuan's account flows, so the Coordination Office did not get their real core account books!
However, based on some clues, the Coordination Office estimated that Guangfuyuan's annual turnover might exceed two million taels of silver, of which the profit might be around 20%, or about 400,000 taels of silver.

The two branches in Nanyang Bagang and Tudor Manpu were important silver vaults of Guangfuyuan, where Guangfuyuan stored perhaps one million taels of silver. It is worth noting that Guangfuyuan’s largest silver owner, Zheng Tao’s eldest son Zheng Guangmin, served as the branch manager in Manpu.

Seeing this, Murong Yuliang understood clearly that these two bastards Liu Yang and Zheng Tao had deceived him!

Murong Yuliang subconsciously glanced at the memorial on the table. It was his solution to solving the commercial borrowing needs of Jiangnan!
As Ye Mingsheng eliminated Cai De, Zhu Damao and Zhu Chen and others behind them, the original system of commercial borrowing by Jiangnan businesses through underground QZ was completely destroyed, so it was imperative to re-establish a commercial borrowing system!

Murong Yuliang proposed a solution to rebuilding the system, which was to have the court invest in Guangfuyuan, just like the Dadongsheng business did in the past, and then grant Guangfuyuan a license and manage it, so that Guangfuyuan could absorb private money, and then Guangfuyuan would make external loans to solve the borrowing problems of major businesses in Jiangnan...
That's why Murong Yuliang went back to find out about Guangfuyuan's accounts. After all, he didn't want the court to take over a mess!

Murong Yuliang had been to Ji and Henan, and he knew that the turnover of the banknote exchange was very large, with hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver flowing through every year. According to him, such an important institution should be controlled by the imperial court and should never be controlled by businessmen.

So if the matter was completely controlled by him, Murong Yuliang would let the government set up a bank, and then use the government to endorse this bank to encourage the people to deposit their money in this bank, but unfortunately Ye Mingsheng has the final say!
So in order to get Ye Mingsheng's consent, Murong Yuliang had to give up his truest thoughts and chose to imitate Ye Mingsheng's plan to invest in Dadongsheng!
However, Murong Yuliang never expected that Liu Yang and Zheng Tao actually had a trick up their sleeves for him. If he hadn't read the report from the Coordination Office, he might still be in the dark.

Seeing that Murong Yuliang had almost finished reading the files, Ye Mingsheng said earnestly:
"The developed commerce in Jiangnan is a valuable treasure. We must protect it and respect the power of the market!"

"The Dadongsheng Company is a product of a special period. We should not create another Dadongsheng Company!"

Facing Ye Mingsheng’s warning, although Murong Yuliang did not comment in the letter, he still nodded repeatedly out of awe of power...
Ye Mingsheng didn't know what Murong Yuliang was thinking, so he continued to express his own thoughts.

"The court will send an inspection team to Guangfuyuan to examine its qualifications. If it passes the inspection, the court will grant Guangfuyuan a license to allow Guangfuyuan to absorb private silver for lending. However, savings and lending must follow the standards set by the Ministry of Revenue, and the annual interest rate on loans must not exceed 25%!"

"In addition, the court will invest 500,000 taels of silver to cooperate with major businesses in Jiangnan to establish a Wanfu Bank and hire a professional manager to manage it!"

"The Third Imperial Court will invest another 300,000 taels of silver to cooperate with major Jiangnan businesses to establish Tongxin Bank and hire professional shopkeepers to manage the business. However, Tongxin Bank will only lend money to small and micro businesses and workshops!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, although Murong Yuliang had followed Ye Mingsheng for many years and knew that Ye Mingsheng often had some unique ideas, he still had many doubts after listening to Ye Mingsheng's story.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also explained:
“There must be competition in the market. Only with competition can there be progress. Without competition, the market will be stagnant!”

"Both Wanfu Piaohao and Tongxin Piaohao absorb money from the public, but the objects of lending are different. Wanfu Piaohao is open to all businesses, shops, and individuals. As long as you have collateral, good personal credit, and legitimate business purposes, we can lend you money!"

“But Tongxin Bank only serves small and medium-sized shops, small and medium-sized businesses, and small and medium-sized vendors. It does not give money to big businesses and big vendors…”

"Why does the Marshal only provide loans to small and medium-sized merchants, and not to large merchants? And what is the definition of small and medium-sized merchants and large merchants?"

"You asked a very good question, but how to define it is something you need to consider. You can consider it from the aspect of their turnover!" "As for why Tongxin Ticket Office only provides these small and medium-sized vendors, the reason is actually very simple. We want to support these small and medium-sized businesses and vendors so that they can develop!"

"Those big businesses and big vendors are huge, like rivers and lakes. Small and medium-sized businesses and small and medium-sized vendors may be insignificant as a single entity, but they are like small drops of water. If they gather together, they will form a whole ocean. They are the source of economic vitality!"

"Because of the gap in units, it is difficult for these small and medium-sized merchants to compete with large merchants on the same starting line, so in order to support them, a bank is specially established for them!"

Hearing this, Murong Yuliang nodded as if he understood. After hesitating for a moment, he suggested to Ye Mingsheng:

"Marshal, I think these ticket offices are very important. I think they should be managed by the government! This is the safest way!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head and said:

“A banknote exchange is a commercial organization. Since it is a commercial organization, professionals should do professional things. The government should supervise and prevent anyone from forming a monopoly so as to maintain market competition and vitality. A single flower does not make spring, but a garden full of flowers in all colors of purple and red makes spring…”

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Yijing, Ye Mansion,

In the room, Ye Cui looked at Xiao Ba in Murong Qingwu's arms and couldn't help but smile kindly and said:

"Our little Hachi is so pretty!"

After saying this, Ye Cui asked Murong Qingwu:

"How is the child eating recently?"

"Thank you for finding two wet nurses, Xiao Ba eats very well and has gained a lot of weight now!"

Hearing this, Ye Cui nodded with satisfaction, and then reminded Murong Qingwu of some things that she needed to pay attention to during this period.

After chatting about mother-infant topics for a while, Ye Cui suddenly turned to Murong Qingwu and asked:
"Qingwu, have you heard about the news circulating in the mansion recently?"

Murong Qingwu blinked her beautiful eyes and said:
"Mom, I've been busy taking care of Xiao Ba recently, and I haven't paid much attention to some of the news in the mansion!"

Hearing Murong Qingwu say this, Ye Cui also said directly:

"It's the news that Mingsheng plans not to repair the palace, not to use eunuchs, and to cut down on the number of G-members. Qingwu, you are always smart. Help me think about why Mingsheng would do this!"

"Even though Mingsheng is my son, as a mother, sometimes I really can't understand his thoughts!"

Murong Qingwu said with a wry smile:
"Mother, how can I, a woman, understand this? These are things that court ministers should think about..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Cui glanced at Murong Qingwu and said:
"Those military and national affairs are what the court ministers should consider, but not repairing the palace and not using eunuchs are related to our female relatives in the harem!"

"When every dynasty was founded, how could they not build palaces and employ eunuchs?"

Facing Ye Cui's repeated inquiries, Murong Qingwu knew that she could not evade the question, and immediately whispered:

"I think my husband may be doing this to cut expenses. I heard that the debt of Dadongsheng Company has exceeded five million taels. This amount of silver cannot be repaid by Dadongsheng Company alone. In the end, the court can only pay it back, so the financial pressure on the court is still very great!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Cui couldn't help but sigh and said:

"They say that one fights for wealth and glory, but in the end, our family doesn't have wealth and glory, but instead owes so much money!"

"Where did the taxes from all over the country go? Did they go into the pockets of those people?"

"They really took advantage of Mingsheng's youth and forced him to stop repairing the palace! My poor son cannot enjoy the world even though he has won it!"

Murong Qingwu was speechless when she heard this. Who in this world would dare to bully Ye Mingsheng? It was already very good that Ye Mingsheng didn't bully others.

Seeing that Murong Qingwu didn't say anything, Ye Cui asked again:
"After you gave birth to Xiao Ba, did Ming Sheng send you a letter?"

Murong Qingwu's expression was somewhat gloomy when she heard this, she shook her head and said:

"My husband is busy with military and national affairs in Jiangnan. He probably has no time to care about these romantic matters!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Cui touched Murong Qingwu's cheek with some pity and said:
"You are such an honest child. If he doesn't write to you, why don't you take the initiative to write to him..."

(End of this chapter)