Li Cong sat down by himself and slowly thought about his problem. Is he really as kind as Wu Zuoxi said? That is impossible. What he wants to do is just a long-term investment. Such an investment can only be made in a short period of time.
There is no profit to be seen, but in the long run such investment is the real benefit to yourself. Things in the Eastern Empire are not as simple as they appear on the surface. Such a huge empire is just a royal family.
With the Linghu family, the two of them rule? Dare that be impossible? There must be black hands behind the scenes that you can't see. To catch these black hands, you can't rely on your own strength. You can only rely on
Only by breaking into their interior can we rely on Mr. Linghu.
Although he has not been dating Mr. Linghu for a long time, he can see many advantages in him. He knows that he also had these advantages when he was young. Such a person will definitely achieve great things.
He wants to be friends with such people instead of enemies. Li Cong believes that he can eventually defeat them. But if he can turn them into his friends, wouldn't it save a lot of time? Use the time to do something.
Other things are also possible, and as long as this person becomes his friend and he mixes well, he can also obtain certain benefits from him. This kind of win-win situation is definitely possible. Wu Zuoxi may
I have never seen this person before, and I don’t believe my eyesight. I will definitely not see it wrong!
"Forget it, let's not talk about this matter, Old Wu. I have my own plans. I remember that guy will not let me down. He will help me a lot with the Eastern Empire in the future. You can help me now."
Consulting on another matter, I now want to issue a currency. To put it simply, I want to tie the economies of the four empires to my currency. What do you think of this?" Li never wanted to think about this.
He leaned on the chair and said something that was troublesome for him. Wu Zuoxi originally wanted to give some advice, but after hearing what Li Cong said later, he quickly suppressed his previous words. This boy is indeed not an ordinary person. His
His vision is not what he can see. He actually wants to use economic means to bind the four empires. Such an idea is probably something he can think of, but he has the strength to do it.
"Currency? What kind of currency is going to be issued? Why haven't I thought of such an idea? What on earth do you have in your mind? The things you think of are things we can't think of. Now the four empires are on the market
There are only three kinds of currency in circulation, one is copper coins, one is silver, and the other is gold. As for the platinum on top of the gold, this is a large amount of currency. Nowadays, ordinary people simply don’t have it in their hands.
Even if such a thing existed, I would not use it. This kind of thing is too precious, and even wealthy people would not use it. They all use banknotes to settle transactions, but the banknotes are issued by this bank.
What that company issued is really confusing. If there can really be a unified currency, it will be a huge contribution to the economic circulation of the entire continent. However, such a thing is not that simple to accomplish. It is good that you have this idea.
Yes, to be honest, I am not trying to hit you. The difficulties and difficulties here are really too great. Have you ever thought that these difficulties may knock you down?" Old Wu thought for a while and said what he thought about Li Cong's thoughts.
She was very supportive, but her mind became hot and then cooled down. She thought of many difficulties. The four empires seemed to want to connect with each other, but what really happened? Especially among these royal families.
In their hearts, they don't want the four empires to be too closely connected. They all want to dominate their own sky. How can they let the common people be connected? In that case, there will be too many uncontrollable things.
.
Because of the geographical relationship between these four empires, the other three empires are relatively close, but the annual trade volume is only a small part. It is difficult to see the goods of another empire in one empire, and the goods of another empire.
Basically, in this empire, it can only appear in the hands of the rich and the upper class. For ordinary people, don't even think about it. They don't have the money to buy things from other countries. Among the four major empires,
, the one with such huge resistance is probably the Eastern Empire. Due to the terrain, the Eastern Empire is not very closely connected with the other three empires. If this kind of currency is issued, it is estimated that the Eastern Empire will be the first to boycott.
It's not possible to use agents to infiltrate. The Eastern Empire's connection with the other three empires is a bit too distant and cannot affect them.
"Old Wu, I know this matter is very difficult, so I haven't acted rashly. I'm not discussing it with you. My idea is to issue some banknotes and silver dollars. You can make them into one tael of silver, five taels of silver, or even
It's ten taels of silver, but I think ten taels of silver is a bit big, and five taels is fine. Banknotes are the kind of banknotes we have in circulation now. Nowadays, the exchange of banknotes issued by major merchants is very complicated, and some
There are still some fake ones, and those banknotes are relatively large and not easy to carry. Although it is just a piece of paper, it does not look very beautiful. Even if it is taken out, it does not feel like a respectable thing. I
What I want is to make something that is relatively small, easy to carry, and can be redeemed throughout the continent. I know that such banknotes will not be circulated so quickly throughout the continent. Of course, I also know that this is very difficult.
, but if there are difficulties, we can solve them slowly. This is just a preliminary idea. Next, I want to open stores across the entire continent. My idea is that even if it cannot be done in the Eastern Empire for the time being, it can be done in the other three empires.
I will implement it within the country. Now the empire does not prohibit these merchants from issuing their own banknotes. I just issued a larger scale and a wider range. Besides, the royal families of the three empires will not make things difficult for me at this time. After all, my
I still have the northern battlefield in hand. I can slowly create some disturbances for them in the south. But if they relax a little, I will relax a little. If they don't know how to show appreciation, I will just have a good chat with them. In short, I have this plan.
I won't give up." Li Cong said firmly. Wu Zuoxi was naturally surprised by such a thing. He really didn't expect that this kid Li Cong had already planned it so well.
Wu Zuoxi did not speak. He was not like Li Cong. Li Cong still knew little about the four empires, not that in-depth. After all, Li Cong had not been here for that long. Wu Zuoxi knew the four empires very well.
Especially for the Western Empire where he is located. On the surface, it seems that the three empires must be obeying your instructions now. But in fact, are they really like this? Don't they have their own ideas? It must be so.
Now that they have their own ideas, they would definitely agree to Li Cong if it were an ordinary small matter, but how could they be willing to do such a big thing of issuing currency? Just like what Li Cong said, major merchants are issuing their own banknotes.
This is nothing, after all, their influence only affects one province, or at most a few provinces. Even some large banks throughout the empire are issued in one country, and currently they have not spread to other provinces.
The Cao Family Trading Company has already done this for large-scale banknotes in several empires. The Northern Empire, the Western Empire, and the Southern Empire all have their trading firms in the territory. Qianzhuang is the most basic thing in Li Cong's entire plan. Now the entire
There are nearly millions of banks controlled by Li Cong on the mainland, which made a good preparation for Li Tong to issue currency. If there were not so many banks, Li Cong would not dare to say this.
Having owned so many banks, Li Cong was very confident in what he said and did.
"Say boy, I am once again shocked by your generosity. I remember that I have not known you for a long time, but from the first time I saw you, I felt that you are not an ordinary person. I think
These things will happen in the future, but I didn’t expect that she would come so quickly. Only people like you have the courage to make 120 silver in the mall, and then invest all the 120 silver. What you earned
The money is indeed a lot, and if I guess correctly, you have invested a lot in these years. I don’t know what is going on in other empires, but I am very clear about the situation in the Western Empire. In a decent county, what do you think?
To open a bank that can be reputable, it should not be less than 800,000 taels of silver. This amount should not be high? Wu Zuoxi looked at Li Tong and said, he really didn’t recognize the person in front of him. He started to know this guy from him.
Until now, anything this guy does will bring him huge surprises. Many people have ambitions, but there are still a few people with such ambitions as Li Cong. Many ambitious people are either because they are not good at this or because they are not good at that.
In short, there are various reasons for them to change from an ambitious person to an ordinary person, but the boy in front of them is different from those people. He has greater ambitions than those people, and he also
If he has his own actions, he will use his own actions to put his ambitions into practice. Just like currency, it is very difficult for others to issue it, and it is basically impossible to achieve it, but in the hands of this kid
Everything here seems to have become a reality. After decades, hundreds, thousands of years, this boy may be the master of the four empires. No one can predict all these things.
Wu Zuoxi can only hope that he and this boy will always be friends. Otherwise, one day he will look up and realize that his former enemies are much stronger than him. Of course, this also has a prerequisite, that is, this boy continues to maintain his integrity.
This kind of enterprising spirit is enough. You can't make some achievements and then die out. In that case, this enemy's combat effectiveness is not very strong. At present, it seems that his enterprising spirit is still very strong. He is much stronger than himself. If he is
If he had such an enterprising spirit, he might have gone further now. He might have assisted the Tuoba family instead of working for the imperial court. He had worried too much at the beginning, which was why the result was so miserable.
"Haha, that's for sure about this issue. If you don't invest, there will be no return. If all the money I earned were piled up, people in the entire continent would probably be surprised. Even the emperors of the four empires would be surprised.
There is no exception. I don’t know how much property I have, but I am sure that the richest people on the mainland may not be able to catch up with me. Just like those big families that have lasted for tens of thousands of years,
They are definitely not as good as me. They may have more assets than me, but the money they can actually use is definitely not as much as me. The amount you predicted is about the same. I have thousands of provinces in the Western Empire, tens of thousands of them.
Each county or city has its own bank, and wherever there is a bank there will be a grain store. Although the investment in a grain store is much less than that of a bank, people depend on food. The influence of this thing is absolutely huge.
Of course, it is powerful, but it only affects some ordinary people, and big bureaucrats are useless." In front of Wu Zuoxi, Li Cong always made no secret of how much property he owned? In his opinion, Wu Zuoxi was not that big.
He is ambitious. He came to help him just because he would not be too lonely in the future. As for other things, this guy definitely won't think too much about it. His official career in the Western Empire has come to an end, and he also
He would not go back to help the emperor of the Western Empire make any decisions. He himself had said this a long time ago. No one would be happy with such an ungrateful behavior by the Western Empire royal family, let alone a person with such thoughts.
A man of great ambition.
"Then the time is ripe for you to issue a currency, right?" Wu Zuoxi said with some disbelief. This matter is really too big. Even an imperial government has not issued a currency that can
The currency that circulates throughout the country, take the Western Empire that he knows about, the currency issued by the Western Empire is only an official style. What exactly is the silver cast like? It is up to you to decide. Yuanbao is a tax.
The way it is to be taken out when it is handed out. For private circulation, it can be in this situation or in that shape. As for banknotes, there are no practical rules. The bill number is like this and which one is better.
That kind.
When these firms issue banknotes, they all do so according to their own preferences. They do not think too much about it. Of course, it is not that no one has considered issuing a banknote that can be used nationwide, but how much money does this require?
In terms of strength, the imperial government once thought about such a thing, but after thinking about it for a short time, it announced that it had given up. First of all, some economic strength in various places were very resistant to such behavior, because if you want to get a banknote, you have to
Give the money in your hand to the other person's hand so that you can take out the banknote. The banknote is easy to carry, but most people want to hold money in their hands, which is a real thing.
, instead of a piece of paper. This piece of paper is just a piece of paper during wartime and cannot be replaced with anything. Only in peacetime can this piece of paper have its own role.
"First of all, I have to declare to you that I am not trying to discourage you. Even if you can overcome difficulties like this or that, with the current printing technology, it is impossible for you to make it completely true.
I remember that in history, there was also a very powerful businessman who wanted the banknotes of his bank to be spread throughout the empire. However, because of this incident, he went bankrupt and all his wealth became someone else's. The mistake he made was that
The banknotes it prints are too easy to imitate. You will only lose some money on small-scale imitation, but your competitors produce them on a large scale. Who is your opponent now? You want to issue coins that can be circulated throughout the continent.
Banknote, your biggest enemy is the royal family of the four empires. The technology mastered by the royal family is definitely more than one level higher than that of the common people. If they want to snipe you, it will be very easy. They only need to print out billions or tens of billions.
Even if you issue hundreds of billions of silver notes, I will see how much money you give to others." Li Cong also knew what Wu Zuoxi said. At that time, the businessman relied on his own efforts to transfer his assets.
I made tens of billions of money, but just because of this banknote, this guy became a pauper again, and even lost his own life in the end. I am much stronger than that person now, but my
The enemy has also become much stronger. At least at the beginning, the royal family did not think of dealing with that guy, because he was just a businessman, a businessman without much political desire, but he was different. His own political desire was like a fool.
You can see it.
"Printing counterfeit money is only one aspect. They also have many other ways. For example, they hoard a large number of silver notes in their hands, and then go to a bank that you belong to to exchange the silver. But it is impossible for your bank to
With so much money, they will find reasons to attack you. They will say that it is only convenient for you to collect cash, but it is not so convenient when exchanging money. Don’t you understand this truth? You have been doing it for so long.
Time is a business, and you may have more ideas for this kind of thing than me. It may not be a simple thing to make a ticket account prosper, but it takes only a matter of minutes to make it bankrupt." Wu Zuoxi said earnestly, he did not
He is not a person who creates difficulties, but he cannot solve these difficulties by himself, so he wants Li Cong to answer. As long as Li Cong can answer all these, he will help Li Cong do this. In his own heart
He also wanted to do some big things to go down in history, and Li Cong was the person who could help him do things, but he didn't know what to do with these difficulties? He had Li Cong to give him an accurate answer, since he wanted to do such an unprecedented big thing
You must make full preparations to prevent others from finding your loopholes. Although it is not necessarily 100% possible to succeed, it will also minimize the failure rate. Li Cong appreciates this idea. He completely
Listen carefully to what this guy has to say, and then it's time to answer the question.
"Old Wu, you are really a responsible person. I knew it was right to ask you to be my adviser. Others may cater to me and complete this matter, but when this business is launched, there will be many
The trouble was really a headache for me at that time. Now I am very happy that you can tell me these mistakes. Now I will tell you one by one what I think? As for the counterfeit coins you mentioned.
I have thought about this problem a long time ago. I have a very good technology. The banknotes printed by that method will never be copied. Moreover, we will mark each banknote, which is a
A set of numbers. You have also seen those things on my men. Many people here don’t understand what they mean. If you want to use that kind of thing to make marks, it might be very good. Besides, I will use this printing technique.
There are some little secrets marked on it. I can’t tell you how I got this. These are some secrets that belong to me. In short, things like fake banknotes will not happen, and there is also the bank run you mentioned.
, I also have a way to deal with it. For example, in a county town, you can only withdraw money from the ticket number in the county seat, and you can also withdraw your own money from those ticket numbers in the county seat, but the amount must be
You are limited to how much money you can withdraw per day. If it exceeds the amount, you must report it within 1 to 2 days, and we will prepare the money for you as quickly as possible. I think these two
How about an idea? Although they can't say that they can solve the problem 100%, they can at least solve some small problems. If someone really wants to find trouble, we can only face it slowly and do things without difficulty.
That's impossible. We are stronger when we have to temper ourselves with difficulties, what do you think, Old Wu?" Li Tong said with a smile. Wu Zuoxi also smiled and shook his head at this time. It seems that he has too many things to consider.
Compared with these young people, he is really a bit old, and Wu Zuoxi is not someone who clings to those problems.
He was thinking that the only problem was the printing of counterfeit banknotes. Now that Li Cong could solve this problem, it meant that the other problems were all small problems that could be solved slowly. Wu Zuoxi pointed out
After nodding, he began to support the plan.
"Since you are so confident in this plan, I won't say anything else. Now let's discuss this plan bit by bit. Since this plan is very detailed, we shouldn't let any issue go.
Let’s start with the coins with smaller face values. You said the smallest one is one tael of silver each. Do you have your own ideas about what shape it should be? Since it is a coin, we have to cast it like this
The coins will definitely be lost. Who will bear the loss? If it is less, we can bear the loss. But the number of things you want will definitely not be small. According to my calculation, how much may it cost?
With denominations of one billion to tens of billions, this is not a small number. One coin is equal to one tael of silver. According to current losses, the loss is generally about 2. 100 silver will have 2 taels of silver. 1,000 silver will have 20 silver. If
Our first batch of printing is 1 billion, which is a lot of silver. Looking at it from this perspective, the loss will not be small. How should we bear this loss? If we should use this coin, it is not enough.
If the amount is too high, many people may resist. Even if they only have 2, they will come to investigate the issue. Wu Zuoxi took a sip of the tea that Li Cong got and said, the taste of this tea is also good. This old man drank it.
The guy nodded repeatedly, but he was not idle. What he said was also something Li Cong should consider now. Loss is indeed a big problem. If it becomes popular throughout the continent, 20 billion coins will be absolutely possible. If
If calculated in this way, it would be tens of millions of silver. This is the smallest face value. If it is a large face value, it will be even more.
Things like silver dollars have a certain history before they begin to circulate on the earth. Some of our own currencies also encountered great resistance at the beginning, but later they were considered to be in circulation. Dozens of them
What is silver? It’s a big lump, but what about dozens of silver dollars? It can fit into any pocket. Which one is more convenient and easier to use? Everyone is not a fool. Of course, those who mint silver coins will definitely get it.
There is a certain benefit, and this loss is a benefit. Li Cong remembered that it was said in the history textbook that one silver dollar can earn two taels of silver. If this is 20 billion, it will be 4 billion taels of silver. This is definitely not a small amount.
, Li Cong will definitely cast more silver coins, and there will be a lot of losses? But it is impossible to make money like this on this road, because the losses here are very few, almost all
It is negligible. Two percent loss is nothing. People here are not very good at making this kind of money. However, compared with Li Cong's big plan, this is small money and can be sacrificed.
"I have thought very clearly about the issue of loss. Ordinary silver can be said to be very soft. You can use some tools such as iron nails to break them apart. This is completely impossible. We can
Some other impurities are added inside to make one dollar very hard. At least it is not easy for you to destroy these silver coins. Anyway, we can exchange the silver coins for you for one tael of silver. We may have some losses at the beginning, but I
If we ensure that our silver dollars are circulated, we will gather a large number of shadows, and we are not just issuing this kind of silver dollars, we will also issue some banknotes, and in the end the silver in our hands will definitely eat up a lot." Li Congxiao
Then he said that obtaining the right to issue currency was the ultimate goal that Li Cong needed, but he wouldn't understand it if I told him this now.
"It's not a big loss after all. It's just that what you said is what you imagined. How to implement it is still a question. What's the benefit of doing this in the end? I know you got it.
The right to issue currency will definitely bring many benefits in the future, but can these countries really listen to you?" Wu Zuoxi is indeed a cunning person. He doesn't understand why he wants to obtain this right. Although with this right, it will be a matter of face.
It's very good, but it's impossible that Li Cong wasted so much manpower and material resources just for a good-looking one?
"Of course there are many benefits to this. What I need at this stage is this momentum. Have you ever thought that one day the entire continent will use one currency. The right to issue this currency is in my hands.
I have to decide how much currency the country wants to issue. Isn't this a fun thing? And I can turn all the debts owed by the royal families of various countries into the debt of the entire country, but the right to issue currency must be in
In my hands, their debts can be completed by borrowing money from me, but they must use the state's fiscal and tax revenue as a guarantee." Li Cong said with a smile, what he wanted to do was just like in history.
The Federal Reserve is the same, except that it is impossible to do such a thing in a short time. It requires a long time of planning for a day, and if something goes wrong, you will lose money.
"It's very interesting to hear what you say, but why do you have such confidence? The royal families of the major empires don't have a lot of debts at this time. They can all use their own abilities to repay them, and now there is no peace in the world.
There won't be any major turmoil, and there won't be many places to use money. I'm afraid your idea will come to nothing. In fact, your idea is really fantastic, and I admire it very much. But it seems that it is not easy to realize in the current situation.
." Regarding Li Cong's idea, Wu Zuoxi had never heard of it before, but now that he knew the news, he really felt that it was a bit interesting. He would be happy for Li Cong to come up with this idea.
To be honest, Wu Zuoxi really wants to see Li Cong control the issuance of major empires, especially the right to issue currency. This is the most interesting thing, and he can't bear it.
That's why I asked these questions to see what Li Cong planned later? I can also give him some suggestions to make this plan more perfect, so that I can solve my doubts early and see.
How do miracles happen in this world?
"What you said is right. The world is peaceful and there is indeed no chance for me to make a move. But what if I make a fuss about the world? Is the world really peaceful now? This is just a temporary superficial phenomenon.
There are undercurrents surging in the world. As long as we can find an opportunity, we can always provoke a war. Moreover, even if these conflicts do not break out, I can also use my own military power to directly provoke a war until all countries are ready to fight.
Why didn't they come to me to borrow money when they were exhausted? At that time, I had the final say in the world. It can be said that it is the easiest to gain the world in this way. If you want me to follow you city by city.
It's impossible for them to fight. How many cities are there in the world? I'm afraid you, a former prime minister, don't know very well." Li Tong said with a smile, Wu Zuoxi nodded again, how many cities in the world could be him?
He doesn't even know about the Western Empire.
Moreover, the influence of the four empires under military attack was too obvious. When you were busy in the Northern Empire, the Southern Empire and other empires had already felt it. I don’t know if I have to wait until the Year of the Monkey and the Horse. Now Li Cong does have an opportunity in his hands, which is to provoke
The war between the three empires and the Eastern Empire is what Li Cong needs to do most. If the four empires really fall into chaos, it is really impossible to implement this plan, and half of the world will be wrong.
Most of it is in the hands of the kid in front of me. It seems to me that I should get close to this guy, so as not to lose my status in the future. Being friends with such a person for the rest of my life can be regarded as an explanation.
"You kid really has a different brain than others. Problems that others dare not think about are very easy for you. And when you said these words, your face didn't turn red at all. What does this mean? It means that you are a
A natural leader. Others say this is shameless, but I don’t think so. People who care about face can’t achieve great things. If he has his own face, he won’t do things. Since you think so, why?
To help these three empires resist the attack of the Eastern Empire, you just need to bring in the people from the Eastern Empire. When the time comes, the three empires are afraid that the Thunder Gate will unite with the Eastern Empire and they will definitely send troops to intervene. When the time comes, the four empires will
If the empire adds a thunder gate, there will be a fight? Wouldn't this achieve your goal?" Maybe it's not surprising to think of this problem at this time. Indeed, if Li Cong can do this, he can solve many things.
Yes, but if he does this, there will be many other risks.
First of all, this war is not within our control. Although there is a gap in the strength of the four empires, what will happen to the entire continent if a full-scale war breaks out? The important thing is to let them bleed rather than destroy them.
If it is really destroyed, you will get nothing. What is the use of having such a continent? So you usually make a long-term plan on this matter.
The first is to issue currency to expand one's influence, and the second is to slowly expand the war so that both sides fall into the abyss of war and have to borrow a lot of money. At the same time, the regimes of the four empires cannot fall. If you want to establish a new regime, start from scratch.
That's too slow, and controlling it yourself is of no use, because its ability to control local areas is very weak. The four major empires are deeply rooted in this continent, and their influence extends to every corner of their rule. Mainly they control
They will become their most senior workers, and they will use state taxes to repay the debts owed to them. And if you lend them money to fight, you will have to charge high interest, and this interest will be compounded.
They don't know how many years it will take to pay back the money. Their emperor may not be able to see it now. By the time their descendants understand it, it will be too late. By that time, they have already controlled everything in the entire continent. They can only be
Help yourself to rule this continent instead of being the real king. It will be too late to regret it by then.
"Thank you for saying that I am a leader. In fact, I have thought about this, but I just have a big framework for how to do it. What we have to do now is to issue currency first. If this thing fails, what will happen in the future?"
There is no need to explain the matter. Now I have read some things from major banks. These banknotes are really not good. The banknotes I issued already have a certain appearance. Come and take a look.
, I don’t know if it’s okay.” Li Cong said and took out a few banknotes from Earth, which also had denominations of 5, 10, 100, 1000, 10000 and up to 100000. Such things are very common on Earth, but
This thing is not ordinary in this place, and the printing of this thing is very exquisite. These things must have never appeared in this world. This thing itself is like a kind of art.
"This is indeed an amazing thing. This is really the first time I have seen these things, especially this paper. I dare say that no technology on this continent can create such a thing. Are you the one with these things?
How did you get it? I dare say that even if it has no value, someone will definitely buy it with money. I want to collect it myself. This set of numbers must be what you said.
That thing? It's really good. If all banknotes looked like this, I don't think anyone would object, and many people would exchange it." Wu Zuoxi's reaction when he looked at this thing was beyond Li Cong's expectation.
Yes, Li Cong has been carrying these things on his body for a long time, and he was afraid that this guy would say it was a piece of paper. In fact, it was just a piece of paper, but these things had never appeared before. They were indeed very beautifully printed things.
"Yes, these are the so-called anti-counterfeiting marks. I believe you should be relieved if there are such things. Every one of them has such a watermark, and nothing will happen. I plan to first go to places where our Cao Family Trading Company has a relatively large influence.
It will be implemented for a period of time, but it will not leak out on a large scale. I believe someone will buy my account." Li Cong said with a smile, this kind of thing is very good, people like Wu Zuoxi have been the prime minister of the Western Empire.
, he thinks this thing is very good, not to mention other people, they will definitely be extremely interested in this thing.
Li Cong's words made Wu Zuoxiang feel like he had seen a goal. He was already very interested in this matter. Such a person could definitely help him a lot. Li Cong also hoped that he could help him succeed.rs!.