Chapter 1319: Dongchuan incident!

April 1, Yijing,

At the Fuwang Market in Nancheng, during the leisure time at noon, several vendors were chatting with each other.

"Old Li, have you heard?"

"What did you hear?"

"This is naturally Da Dongsheng's business!"

"How could we not have heard of such a big thing? I heard that the court arrested people from Da Dongsheng, and now I heard that the prison of the Ministry of Justice is full of Da Dongsheng's shopkeepers and employees!"

"Hehehe! These shopkeepers at Dadongsheng are more evil than the other. They have made a lot of money over the years. Let's not talk about others, just talk about Shopkeeper Yao of the Dadongsheng branch in the street ahead. He is 51 years old this year, and his body is half buried in the ground. Last month, he even took in a fifth concubine. I heard that the fifth concubine is only 16 years old! It's like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung!"

"This time, Shopkeeper Yao was among the first to be arrested. I heard that when he was arrested, this old bastard was kissing his concubine!"

"I've also heard about this Shopkeeper Yao. I heard that the Ministry of Justice seized from his home five sets of courtyard deeds, five thousand taels of silver in cash, and seven or eight large boxes of other gold, silver, jade, and antiques. This Dadongsheng Company is really making money! A shopkeeper of a branch can make so much!"

“These guys really deserve it! The Dadongsheng Company is such a big business, but they have ruined it like this…”

"I heard a rumor that the imperial court is planning to ban the Dadongsheng Company!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in shock. The farmer who told the news also looked a little proud, and then he said mysteriously:

"Do you know Dongsanmen Shuweilou? It's the best Sichuan restaurant in Yijing, and many dignitaries go there for dinner! I supply them with food. When I was delivering food to them yesterday, I passed by their private room and heard the senior official inside say that His Majesty is going to shut down the Dadongsheng Company!"

"Isn't this possible? How can the Dadongsheng Company, a huge business, be closed down just like that?"

"What else did you hear, brother?"

The vegetable farmer shook his head with some regret and said:

"When I heard them talking about this, I also pricked up my ears and wanted to continue listening, but that waiter Xiao Wang was such a piece of shit that he insisted on driving me away. What can I do if you tell me this news and let me hear it!"

"If you ask me, this might be true. I heard that the Dadongsheng Company owed several million taels of silver. If they were shut down, they wouldn't have to pay back the money they owed. It's said that when a person dies, his debts are wiped out. This is true!"

"Your Majesty, he can't do this, can he?

"Why can't we do this? How much silver does our Daqian Dynasty collect in taxes every year? Even if the court doesn't spend even one tael of silver a year, and those ministers don't receive their salaries for a year, and those Mrs. G's daughters are all starving, this still can't pay off the debt owed by Dadongsheng Company!"

"So if you ask me, now that the Dadongsheng Company has been emptied by those shopkeepers, then we should just let the Dadongsheng Company go bankrupt and not return the money!"

“Then all those shopkeepers were killed. Any creditor of Dadongsheng Company who wanted money could go to the underground to ask those shopkeepers for it…”

"If I were the emperor, I would do this! How great it would be to not have to pay back millions of taels of silver all at once!"

"With this money, I will go to Chunxiang Kiln every day. I will order the most popular top performer Su Yutang and have her serve me for three days and three nights. I heard that Su Yutang appears to be pure and chaste, but in fact, she is a very slutty woman!"

"Brother! This innocent girl is still a girl after all. How innocent can she be?"

"That makes sense!"

"Hahaha!"

While these vendors were chatting, a branch of Dadongsheng Bank a few streets away was blocked by hundreds of people.

"Boss, return my silver to me! This is all the hard-earned money I saved! Don't take it away from me!"

"Please! Give me back my silver! I still need to get medicine for my father!"

"Return the money quickly! I want my money back!"

Amidst all the calls for money, several clerks from the Dadongsheng Bank were trying their best to explain.

"I understand how you feel! But the bonds you hold have a date. When the date comes, our bank will return the money to you!"

"Everyone, our Dadongsheng Bank is a formal bank supported by the imperial court! We have a bank license issued by the imperial court, so our reputation is guaranteed. Please trust us. As long as the date of your bank is up, we will definitely return your money with interest!"

“Your bonds have not yet reached the stipulated repayment date. According to the rules, there is no way to give you the silver. This was clearly stated to you when you purchased them. Don’t make a fuss now…”

Seeing more and more people gathering outside the bank, everyone was getting more and more excited. Liu Wei, the temporary manager of the bank, was so anxious that he was sweating all over his forehead!
Originally, he was the third manager of this bank, but because the first and second managers were arrested and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice some time ago, the head office temporarily appointed him, the third manager, to act as the chief manager of this branch!
Originally Liu Wei was quite happy about this matter. He thought that if he performed well at this time, he might be able to remove the word "temporary" and become a regular employee directly!

With this idea in mind, Liu Wei was originally eager to try, wanting to attract more money and make some achievements to show the head office, so that the big guys in the head office can take a good look at his abilities!

However, Liu Wei had not been happy for a few days before he encountered such a thing. It is no exaggeration to say that Liu Wei was stunned!

At this time, Zhao Haiying, who was temporarily promoted to the second shopkeeper, came over and said anxiously:

"Boss, the people outside are getting more and more agitated. Our guys can't hold out for much longer. Can you give them some silver from the treasury? Otherwise, I'm afraid they will rush in!"

Just like Liu Wei, the third manager, was temporarily promoted to be the head manager of this branch, Zhao Haiying, the second manager, was also temporarily promoted. He was originally a clerk who had worked in this bank for five years!
Listening to Zhao Haiying's words, Liu Wei didn't say anything but just sighed. Seeing this, Zhao Haiying couldn't help but continue:

"Boss, I know this is against the rules. To move the silver in the treasury requires the approval of the head office, but now it's an emergency and I have to act accordingly. I'm afraid that the guys outside will rush in and beat us..." Liu Wei smiled bitterly when he heard this:

"Old Zhao, it's not that I don't want to open the vault, but there are only a little over a hundred taels of silver left in the vault, and that's the money we're paying for our work. Do you think this little bit of money is enough to deal with these people outside?"

After saying this, Liu Wei saw Zhao Haiying looking at him with disbelief, so he smiled bitterly, took out a key from his arms and handed it to him, saying:
"The key is right here! If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself! See if I lied to you and whether there are only a little over a hundred taels of silver left in this vault!"

Although Liu Wei acted very honestly and was single, his words were so shocking that Zhao Haiying found it hard to believe.

So when seeing the key handed over by Liu Wei, Zhao Haiying hesitated for a moment and decided to take it and turned to walk towards the silver vault. He had to go to the silver vault to see it with his own eyes!
Seeing that Zhao Haiying was determined to get the key to the treasury, Liu Wei, the chief manager, sighed helplessly.

Zhao Haiying was very fast. After a cup of tea, he returned to Liu Wei. Having confirmed the silver in the bank, he said to Liu Wei anxiously:

"Where did all the silver go? I remember there were seven or eight thousand taels of silver in the treasury. How come there are only a little over a hundred taels left now?"

Liu Wei smiled bitterly and said:

“Old Zhao, if you ask me, who should I ask? I still want to know what is going on…”

"Boss, have you informed the headquarters of this matter?"

"Of course I did report it! How could I dare to hide such a big thing? But the head office said that they were investigating it secretly and asked us not to make it public, so I didn't tell anyone!"

"If it hadn't come to this today, I wouldn't have told you, Old Zhao!"

Hearing Liu Wei say this, Zhao Haiying also understood Liu Wei's difficulties. At this time, the noise outside was getting louder and louder. A waiter hurried over and said:
"There are more and more people outside, we can't stop them any more. Please come up with a set of rules as soon as possible!"

Hearing this, Liu Wei and Zhao Haiying looked at each other. Both of them could see the bitterness and helplessness of the other, but Zhao Haiying continued:
"Boss, have you reported the situation outside to the head office?"

Liu Wei nodded and said:

"Of course I reported it! As soon as the group of people outside gathered, I knew something bad was going to happen, so I immediately sent someone to notify the headquarters. But I think the headquarters is also overwhelmed at this time. After all, our situation here is probably not an isolated case. I'm afraid the headquarters can't save us!"

"Now we can only leave it to fate!"

Zhao Haiying looked at Liu Wei, who had a negative and helpless look on his face, and couldn't help but back out. He walked out of the room. In order to avoid being beaten, he secretly changed into casual clothes in a hidden corner. He could only wait for the group of people outside to rush in, and he blended into the crowd and slipped back home...

Zhao Haiyan had a good idea, but just when the shouting outside reached its climax, it suddenly stopped.

A middle-aged scholar in the uniform of a sixth-rank official came out, escorted by hundreds of patrol soldiers. Behind him, the patrol soldiers were carrying more than a dozen large boxes.

As soon as the middle-aged scholar came out, he shouted harshly:
"What do you guys want to do? Do you want to rebel?"

Hearing the word "rebellion" and thinking of the price of these two words, the originally excited crowd immediately calmed down. However, when they thought of their own money being in danger, a young man gritted his teeth and stood up and said:
"Sir, we just want our silver back! We don't want to rebel!"

With this young man taking the lead, others immediately followed suit and said that they did not want to rebel, but just wanted their money back.

After hearing these people's demands, the middle-aged scholar also introduced himself:

"My name is Zhang Wen, and I'm the head of the Ministry of Revenue. The court sent me here to handle your affairs!"

"I want to ask you guys something. When you bought the Dadongsheng bonds, did the shopkeeper of Dadongsheng tell you that you would only be paid back when the bonds matured?"

Facing Zhang Wen's question, the crowd also became quiet, but the young man just now took the initiative to say:

“Sir Zhang, the shopkeeper and clerk of Dadongsheng Company told us so at that time. But now His Majesty is going to ban Dadongsheng Company. This Dadongsheng Company is going to go bankrupt. What should we do with our money? This is all our hard-earned money…”

Zhang Wen heard this and said in a deep voice:

"Humph! You guys only know how to listen to rumors! Who told you that His Majesty is going to shut down the Dadongsheng Company?"

"The Marshal is not going to abolish the Dadongsheng Company, but to split it up. The bonds of the Dadongsheng Company will not be invalidated, but will be inherited by the independent Dadongsheng Ticket Office. The security of your bonds is still guaranteed. When the bonds in your hands mature, the Dadongsheng Ticket Office will return your principal to you!"

After hearing what Zhang Wen said, no one in the crowd spoke. Everyone just looked at Zhang Wen silently, expressing their attitude with silence.

Seeing this, Zhang Wen sneered and said:

"It seems that you don't trust me! You don't trust the court!"

"In that case, there is nothing more to say. Soldiers of the patrol camp, listen up and open the box!"

"Yes!"

Following Zhang Wen's order, the big boxes he brought were all opened. Inside the boxes, the white side was filled with silver ingots one after another. When everyone saw the silver, their eyes were wide open!

At this time, Zhang Wen said leisurely:

"The court knows that it is not easy for you to earn money, and you are timid and afraid of losing the money, so the court sympathizes with you, and His Majesty sympathizes with you and allows you to redeem the bonds in advance and take back the money!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the crowd smiled. However, just as everyone was about to shout long live, Zhang Wen continued:

“But don’t be too quick to be happy. Although His Majesty sympathizes with you, your bonds have not matured after all. If you want to redeem the bonds in advance, you will be the defaulting party and you should be punished. You need to pay a certain amount of liquidated damages…”