Chapter 166 Finally passed! (Here it comes!)

On the second day, Wang Gongchen made a request to Zhao Zhen to set up a bank. Zhao Zhen summoned the Zhengshi Hall, the Privy Council and the chief officials at all levels of the three departments to gather in the Chongzheng Hall. Zhang Heng was also convening.

When Zhang Heng rushed to Chongzheng Hall, a summer rain was also brewing. At noon, the sun should be shining brightly, but dark clouds covered the sky, making the whole world feel like evening.

.

Such a celestial phenomenon made Zhang Heng feel a little depressed, as if there was some omen.

Fire candles were lit in the Chongzheng Hall, lighting up the entire hall.

Zhang Heng estimated that this notice was given a little later, so when he arrived, he had already seen Jia Changchao and others arriving. Of course, these ministers were working in the original Shangshu Province location, which was closer to Chongzheng Hall, so it was natural and easier to come.

Faster.

Zhang Heng quickly greeted them.

Zhao Zhen saw Zhang Heng and said with a smile: "Okay, our instigator is here too, let's get started."

Bao Zheng immediately stood up and said: "Bao Zheng, the judge of the Ministry of Accounts, please open a bank. The bank is beneficial to the country and the people. It is best to prepare it as soon as possible so that it can benefit the people as soon as possible!"

Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "As for the bank, it has been open for half a month, and everyone should have a deep understanding of it. Let's discuss it today, whether it should be opened or not, when, and if it can be opened.

What scale and who should be in charge of this matter can all be discussed and everyone can speak freely."

As soon as Zhao Zhen said this, Zhang Heng, as the lowest official at the scene, and he proposed the bank, naturally wanted to take the lead, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen believes that banks are the key to making the people rich and the country strong.

, not only must it be done, but it must be done early and in a big way. The bank matter was initiated by Wei Chen, who understands it in detail, and Wei Chen is willing to take on this matter as a vanguard!"

Seeing how understanding Zhang Heng was, Zhao Zhen nodded with satisfaction and looked at the ministers.

Ding Du and Song Xiang looked at each other, and then Ding Du stood up and said: "These days, Zhang Shi lectures and presides over the sutra banquet, and I never fail to do so. Zhang Shi lectures are good and quite provocative. It seems that

With the bank, all the problems encountered by the court would be easily solved.

The minister believes that this idea is not right from the beginning, not to mention that the problem of the country is not just a lack of money, but also internal and external troubles. The tax revenue has been quite large in the past two years, but those problems still exist. It can be seen that

Money is not the core of the problem.

Of course, having more money is naturally good. With money, many problems can be solved, but!"

Ding Du looked around at everyone present and said decisively: "...I believe that banks are the beginning of disaster for the country and the people!"

Ding Du said: "...The essence of a bank is to borrow money from the people and use the people's wealth for the imperial court. According to what Zhang Shi said, when people deposit money in the bank, the bank must pay interest. This is a

Disadvantage.

According to what Zhang Shi said, the wealth accumulated by the bank may reach as much as 100 million yuan, and the annual interest needs to be as high as one-third. In this way, the bank has to pay as much as 3 million yuan in interest every year. This disadvantage

One.

The second disadvantage is that banks want to make money by lending money to the people. This is to compete with the people for profits, and officials should not compete with the people for profits. This is an eternal principle.

The third disadvantage is that banks amass huge wealth and the court uses it excessively. By then, the hole will become bigger and bigger, making it difficult to recover.

The wealth of the bank is the wealth of the people. If it is used up, the court will lose its trust in the people. If the court loses its trust, the people will not believe it. The government's decrees will not be able to leave Bianjing, and the court will soon be defeated!

Therefore, I believe that the bank cannot be opened, because if it is opened, it will be a sign of national destruction!"

When Ding Du finished speaking, his voice became fierce, and he even uttered words of subjugation, which made everyone present look pale.

Zhao Zhen frowned. He didn't expect Ding Du to be so unfavorable to the bank and even issued a warning of national subjugation. Zhao Zhen quickly looked at Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng looked at Ding Du in surprise, but he reacted very quickly and immediately said: "Ding Shenzheng's words are wrong!..."

Zhang Heng was shocked for a moment, but then his expression became calm.

"...Ding's theory of three disadvantages of participating in politics either does not exist, or it is actually a benefit.

First of all, banks do borrow money from the people, but with the huge wealth they must have gathered, the interest of three million dollars is just a small thing. This expenditure can be covered by the interest earned from lending.

As for Ding Shenzheng's statement that the bank competes with the people for profit, this is ridiculous. Who is the court competing for profit with? Are they the local tyrants and evil gentry who lend usury?

Usury is common among the people, and it is the most hated existence among the people. How many people have encountered disasters and have no way to borrow money, so they have no choice but to borrow money from these vampires who make loan sharks. Once they fail to pay, their families will be ruined.

The imperial court established the bank to protect the interests of the majority of the people. People borrowed money from banks. Firstly, the interest rates were very low. Secondly, if they were short of money when repaying the loan, the bank could delay the loan repayment until the people recovered.

, isn’t this a good thing?

As for the worry that the court would take money from the bank for consumption, Ding Shenzheng was still prescient. The operation of the bank should indeed maintain a boundary with the court. The court had no money, so it needed to borrow money from the bank, and it also had to pay interest. This could ensure the operation of the bank.

If the three disadvantages are actually three benefits, after we see these so-called three disadvantages, we must also see the benefits of banks.

There are three disadvantages to Ding's participation in politics, and there are three advantages to being demoted.

The first benefit is the development of business; the second benefit is to eliminate the disadvantages of money shortage; the third benefit is to concentrate on doing big things.

If the bank is established, the world's money can be circulated through the bank. For example, when merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have business dealings with merchants in Bianjing, the current practice is to carry large amounts of copper coins for transactions.

But if there is a bank, merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang only need to deposit money in a bank in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, go to Bianjing alone, and withdraw money from the bank in Bianjing for transactions.

This will reduce the pain of carrying and the risk of being robbed by thieves along the way. In this way, business communication around the world will become easier.

In addition, businessmen obviously have good businesses, but they often suffer from the lack of capital for expansion, so their business is often not large. If there are banks to accept them to do business, the country will have many more big businessmen, and the business tax will be reduced.

A rising tide lifts all boats, and this is a benefit.

The second benefit is to solve the problem of money shortage. Since the establishment of the dynasty, money shortage will occur every once in a while. You may not understand the reasons for the money shortage. I can explain it to you.

There are two main reasons for the occurrence of money shortage. One is that the commerce of the country is developing. The more prosperous and developed the commerce is, the more coins are needed on the market;

Secondly, a large amount of coins settled down. Many people earned money but hid it at home instead of using it. As a result, even if the court minted millions of copper coins every year, it could not help but store it.

People choose to store their money because they don't have a suitable place to store it.

Think about it, today's banks absorb money. Not only do they not give interest, but they also charge custody fees. How can people be willing to deposit their money?

Saving this money will not only make no money, but the more you save, the less it will be. It is far less cost-effective than hiding the money at home.

Therefore, banks absorb the money stored in people's homes by providing interest, and invest these copper coins in the market again through loans. In this way, the problem of money shortage is solved.

You may not know that the country has been facing a serious money shortage in recent years, especially in places such as Jiangnan and Bianjing, where there is a serious shortage of coins, which has seriously affected people's lives.

You may not know that prices today are much cheaper than in the past. In the past, one penny could only buy one egg, but now three eggs can be sold for one penny. Do you know why?"

Zhang Heng paused and said: "...It's because there is a serious shortage of copper coins, so copper coins are very valuable! If there is too little money, transactions will not be carried out. This has seriously affected the development of business, and also affects the business tax.

If it is collected, transactions will decrease, and business taxes will decrease. This is a very simple reason.

The three benefits of banks are to concentrate their efforts on major things. Today, the taxes collected by the country are only to cover the salaries of officials, the military expenses of the army, and various daily expenses of the government. There is not much left.

But now the official roads connecting the country and the country are in dilapidated condition, the local water conservancy facilities are almost in ruins, the construction of cities is mostly stagnant, and the post stations in various places are also in decline.

But if there is a bank, the bank can lend money to the court, and the court can vigorously build these infrastructures.

Of course, you may think that the imperial court may not be able to make ends meet if it accepts the construction of these infrastructures, but in fact this is not the case.

These infrastructure constructions are conducive to the development of business and social stability. These benefits will eventually be reflected in taxes, and the court will not lose too much money in the end.

These three benefits are simply summed up by the official. In fact, the bank's benefits are much more than that.

It can be said that once the bank is set up, the country and the dynasty will be like a fish in water.

The national treasury will be filled as a result, the people will be stable because of wealth, the army will become more effective because of sufficient military expenditures, and the officials will be able to do more things that benefit the people because the government has money!

My lords, if you don’t organize such a beneficial thing quickly to benefit the people, what are you waiting for?”

Ding Du's face became more and more ugly. He said a few words, but Zhang Heng immediately refuted them thoroughly, and then showed off all his advantages, making it look like he was very inferior to Ding Du.

but……

Ding Du glanced at Song Xiang, his eyes urging, but Song Xiang did not speak.

But he didn't know that what Song Xiang was thinking at this time was: Damn, if this bank is really as useful as this guy said, then if the treasury is rich and the court is rich, then wouldn't it be convenient to do things in the future?

Otherwise, support him in starting it?

The reason why Song Xiang thinks this way is that he is really not a bad person. Although he has some conflicts with Zhang Heng, he is very clear in his heart.

Judging from Zhao Zhen's appearance, he is probably inclined to set up a bank, otherwise it would be impossible to hold an economic banquet and convene a meeting of this level to discuss this matter.

Although Song Xiang held a grudge because Zhang Heng was demoted, he could not risk offending Zhao Zhen to affect his career.

But Song Xiang is an old coin after all. He took advantage of Zhang Heng's pause in speaking and asked: "According to what Zhang Shi said, setting up a bank will be beneficial without any harm, especially the so-called bank, business will usher in a new era."

With great development, commercial taxes will rise, so I would like to ask Zhang Shisao, if you were to organize the bank, how much could the imperial court's commercial taxes increase?"

Zeng Gongliang had kept his eyes closed slightly, but after hearing this, he immediately opened his eyes and winked at Zhang Heng.

It's a pity that Zhang Heng didn't see his eyes, but thought for a while and said: "If a lower official is responsible for setting up the bank, within three years, the bank itself can make a profit of 10 million yuan. Due to the development of business, the imperial court can increase its business tax."

Increase it by ten million!"

Zeng Gongliang was immediately anxious when he heard this. He quickly stood up and said to Zhao Zhen: "Your Majesty..."

He wanted to terminate the meeting, but Song Xiang was like a shark that smelled blood, and immediately raised his hands and said: "Okay! Sir Zhang, since you are so confident, I support you, but you must issue a military order."

, guaranteeing that within three years, the bank will make a profit of 10 million guan, and the imperial court’s commercial tax will also increase by 10 million guan!”

Zeng Gongliang was furious when he heard this. He didn't care about Zhao Zhen anymore. He stood up with a roar and said angrily to Song Xiang: "Song Shenzhen, what do you mean? We are all civil servants and not in the military. What are we doing?"

Military order, if you do things like this, who would dare to do things!"

He turned to Zhao Zhen and said: "...Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!"
To be continued...