Chapter 134 There was a rush as soon as I opened the door
The main reason why Zhu Cihong wanted to print banknotes instead of copper coins was that copper coins and silver were too troublesome to use.
Whether it is to pay salaries to soldiers and officials or to collect taxes in the future, it is too troublesome to use silver and copper coins.
No, with the establishment of the head office and ten branches of the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank in the city, nearly half a year's salary arrears were repaid to all officials at once.
The salaries of various government offices and craftsmen in the inner court were also replaced with new types of treasure banknotes and distributed.
Although there are notices posted outside various banks and at the city gate, it is stated that fifty taels of treasure banknotes can be exchanged for five taels of pure silver ingots in full without any handling fee. For every additional one tael above five taels, a penny will be charged.
handling fee.
There is no charge for exchanging broken silver and copper coins for treasure banknotes at the bank. From now on, the royal shop will only accept treasure banknotes, not copper coins and broken silver. However, countless officials, craftsmen, palace maids, and eunuchs rushed to the bank immediately.
Various branches in the city.
Obviously, treasure money was already out of the market in the Ming Dynasty. It was talked about with disdain and feared like a tiger. No one was not afraid of it.
Even though when the money was distributed, the people who sent it were very hyped, and everyone was still worried that the treasure banknotes in their hands would become useless paper that was too hard to wipe their butts, and they wanted to exchange them for real money as soon as possible.
In addition to the head office, there are only two branches in the inner city. The head office is not responsible for exchange. At this time, outside the two branches, there are already huge crowds of people.
The eight branches in the outer city were also overcrowded, and the civil servants were too embarrassed to go by themselves, so most of them sent their servants to queue up to exchange money.
Those who didn't have enough five taels of denomination in their hands had to get together with a few people.
Perhaps knowing that such a run would occur, each branch sent ten shopkeepers, twenty clerks, and fifty guardsmen to maintain order.
"Everyone lines up, don't be anxious, there is plenty of money..."
"Look at how anxious you all are. This is the Royal Bank. You are an innocent person. Stand up for me, one by one."
"Don't jump in line!"
The door outside a branch in the inner city was not dared to be opened at all, because there were thousands of people crowded outside, and more people were coming in a steady stream.
Fifty Royal Guardsmen shouted hoarse, but they managed to maintain order. The door was slowly opened, causing a commotion among the crowd, including many craftsmen and eunuchs from the Baochao Department.
Seeing this, the imperial guards had no choice but to draw their swords one after another, and then the scene was completely suppressed. Thousands of people lined up in ten long lines. Those who came from behind did not dare to push forward, but queued up at the back of the line.
.
This branch is obviously a renovated mansion of a wealthy family. There is a courtyard as you walk through the door. The main hall is also used as a reception and resting place, and the exchange windows are in the side rooms on both sides.
The old wooden windows have been replaced with lattice windows. Behind the window sits a palace maid, with a maid and waiter standing on each side. On the table in front are account books, pens, inks, paper and inkstones, an abacus, and a small scale.
As the ten people at the front of the queue were let in, under the guidance of the waiter at the door, they immediately rushed to the ten windows.
Regardless of the appearance of the palace maids and maids sitting inside, she directly said anxiously: "I want to exchange for ingots. I want to exchange them all for ingots. See how much I can exchange for them."
"The total denomination is fifty-eight taels, but there is no exchange of loose silver here, so I can only exchange it for you eleven yuan treasures, and then return three taels of treasure banknotes, but you have to deduct a handling fee of fifty yuan, so the total exchange is ten yuan.
One Yuanbao, two taels and nine cents and fifty Wen, are you right in your calculation?"
The palace maid and the shopkeeper calmly counted the treasures and put them away, then fiddled with the abacus for a while, and finally made a note in the account book and said.
"One ingot is five taels, right? Is it pure silver?" The person who came was obviously a servant of an official's family, and he also knew some arithmetic. He counted on his fingers and said after a little calculation.
"Of course they are all 99% pure silver, you can check."
As the palace maid spoke, she picked up a piece of gold and handed it to him. Seeing that he was about to bite it when he opened his mouth, he quickly said: "Don't bite..."
But the servant ignored her, took a bite, checked the quality, nodded with satisfaction, pointed to the small scale on the table and said, "Can I weigh it?"
"No! This scale is used to collect money, not to issue money. But don't worry, the ingots redeemed by the bank are all five taels each, so you can be honest."
When the palace maid saw him taking a bite of a brand-new ingot, she didn't look good anymore. She shook her head with a cold expression, and then made another statement.
"Okay, let's change quickly." The slave didn't say anything else.
The waiter on the side handed him ten brand-new gold coins, the maid returned the remaining coins to him, and the palace maid took up a pen to record the transaction, including the date and amount in Arabic numerals.
"You have to bite to the side, don't block it here."
The waiter on the side saw him biting and checking each one one by one, and he shouted angrily.
The servant then stepped aside, and the other windows were similar. The people who came after them also took a bite of the brand-new silver ingots and inspected them.
Seeing that someone finally came out with real gold and silver, and it was a fine ingot, the people in the queue were finally not so anxious, and they also felt relieved.
The people who came out did not leave, but started looking for others to cooperate, preparing to exchange the change in their hands for five taels.
In an attic opposite the bank, Princess Kunxing was so angry that she stamped her feet when she saw such a heated scene below.
Especially when I heard that all the ingots redeemed were bitten, I became even more angry.
Since banks will only exchange intact ingots from now on, that means these bitten ingots will have to be minted again after they are returned to the bank.
"Brother Emperor, what should I do if everyone doesn't believe in Baoqian?"
"Imperial sister, please be patient. The emperor has already anticipated this situation. When they run out of salt and food at home and go to the royal store to buy, they will understand the importance of treasure banknotes. Then they will definitely come back with money.
Exchange for treasure banknotes.”
Zhu Cixiang said calmly with his hands behind his back.
"But it's too troublesome to change them back and forth like this, isn't it? After so long, we have only changed dozens of people. If we want to change them all, we have to tire out all the shopkeepers. How about limiting them?"
Princess Kunxing still said angrily.
"No, there must be no restrictions. As long as it is during business hours, anyone can come and exchange it. Over time, credibility will naturally be established. Once credibility is established, everyone believes that they can go to the bank to exchange gold ingots at any time, so they will not be like this.
I’m so anxious.”
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand. Although it is troublesome, it is something that must be experienced.
"Okay! But Brother Huang's good gold ingots have been bitten and have to be recast. If this happens, the losses will be considerable. It would be better to follow some procedures when recycling them."
Princess Kunxing suggested again, obviously she still wanted to help the emperor make money, not lose money.
But looking at the current situation, we will definitely lose a lot of money.
"It's better not to accept it. When the subsequent silver coins are produced, this problem can be solved and it can still be profitable. Also, the Banknote Department and the Banking Bureau have nothing to do with the bank. The accounts must be kept separately and cannot be lumped together."
Zhu Cixiang thought about it and decided not to charge a handling fee when recycling silver and copper coins.
"Sister Huang, after this period of bank runs is over, banks can not only collect and exchange silver, but also carry out lending business, which is also the main source of profit."
Zhu Cixiang injected a total of 10 million taels of start-up capital into the bank, including 5 million banknotes and 5 million yuan. From now on, the bank will operate independently.
In other words, the bank takes the recovered silver, copper coins, and treasure banknotes and exchanges them for the same amount of gold ingots and silver coins at the bank. As for how many treasure banknotes to be printed, it is up to him.
In fact, the bank is equivalent to helping the court recycle the spent treasure banknotes and loose silver and copper coins on the market, earn some handling fees, and then collect the interest on the loans.
Currently, there are only these two functions. As for remittance and deposit, it is too complicated and cannot be used for the time being. Of course, it will definitely be added in the future.
Now Zhu Cixiang just wants to use banks to promote treasure banknotes as quickly as possible. When branches in various places are fully spread and credibility is established, he will completely ban the circulation of copper coins. Even after the silver coins are made, even broken silver and gold will be banned.
Circulation should be prohibited.
"Well, brother, please feel free to do the important things. My sister will definitely help you with these trivial matters."
Princess Kunxing nodded quickly. She would be happy as long as she could take care of the emperor's brother's worries. It would be even better if she could help the emperor make money.
"Okay, then I'll leave all the bank affairs to the imperial sister. You'll also be in charge of the Banknote Department and the Bank Bureau. You can mint as many gold coins as you have. The banknotes should be printed on a one-to-one basis. It's best to print them within half a year.
Branches will be opened to all prefectures, counties and Acropolis within this period, and the Postal Supervisor will be responsible for the transportation of silver and precious banknotes."
Zhu Cixi nodded and then gave instructions.
There are indeed too many things he has to do, and he cannot devote all his energy to just one bank.
As for the original idea of letting Xungui invest in the stock to save money, he has now given up because he does not lack their money now and there is no need.
When industry develops, productivity increases, the issuance of treasure banknotes expands, and inflation naturally causes the wealth of those wealthy locals who bury all their money underground to continue to shrink.