Wu Yunteng stood up, stared at the man below with burning eyes, and said with disbelief, "That Liu Ba has already arrived in our Yizhou?"
"That's right."
The attendant nodded affirmatively, with a hint of fear on his face: "He should have come in yesterday. Although the caravan came in yesterday, a notice was posted early this morning to recycle the golden monkey at the price of one gold. There are even some other macaques.
Price accordingly.”
"Damn."
Wu Yun gritted his teeth and felt a burst of pain.
To buy back the Golden Monkey for the price of one gold is obviously trying to steal business from them.
Now, the Wu family has received news that the imperial court has demoted Liu Ba to Yizhou to be responsible for acquiring golden monkeys. There are already rumors that the imperial court is preparing to acquire a group of golden monkeys.
Liu Ba obviously wanted to reduce the court's losses. He had just arrived in Yizhou and issued such an announcement. Even the other party had already insisted that they would never dare to attack Zhongxing Bank easily.
After all, this is the property of the Han court in Nanyang, and it represents the majesty of the official family. Although Yizhou is autonomous, if you dare to offend the majesty of the court, you will definitely face retaliation from the court.
Wu Yun's anger surged into his throat. He gritted his teeth and said angrily: "We only gave Orion a commission of three thousand, but he bought it directly, and the price was only one gold. He was clearly causing trouble."
The attendant frowned and asked tentatively: "Butler, what should we do? Do you want me to take the brothers and give him some color to see, so that Liu Ba can remember it for a long time?"
"No!"
Wu Yun refused without hesitation: "Although Liu Ba was demoted, his status is quite special. We cannot act rashly. Moreover, His Majesty the Emperor did not demote him to another place, but came to Yizhou. This is very suspicious."
How could the attendant not know that Liu Ba has a special status, but if this continues, the family's interests will be damaged: "But we can't let him fool around here, can we?"
"The purchase price is one gold!"
The attendant took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, suppressing his anger: "The other party is clearly trying to steal business from us. Now the Zhang family, Li family, and Dong family are complaining about this, and they are all waiting for orders from our Wu family."
Wu Yun frowned and pondered for a moment: "This is a serious matter, so remember not to act rashly. I'd better discuss it with the head of the family first and talk about the envoy's attitude. You just wait."
The attendant leaned forward and cupped his hands: "Here."
Immediately.
Wu Yun spared Chang Yu and left directly, heading straight to the mansion.
At this moment, the Wu family’s old residence.
In the study.
Wu Yizheng was holding a scroll and reading a book of war.
Suddenly, an attendant broke into the study, leaned forward and said, "Master, the housekeeper has something urgent to see you."
Wu Yi put down the book and pinched a wisp of beard under his chin: "Wu Yun?"
The attendant nodded: "That's right."
"Let him in."
"Here."
Not long after.
Wu Yun hurriedly entered the study, leaned over and cupped his hands and said: "Master of the family."
Wu Yi waved his hand and motioned for him to sit aside: "Ayun, what, what can I do?"
"kindness."
Wu Yun didn't talk nonsense. He nodded and said bluntly: "There are indeed some things that need to be consulted by the head of the family."
Wu Yidian smiled: "If you have anything to do, just say it."
Wu Yun took a deep breath and then told the whole story about what happened recently: "Master, this is what happened. This man named Liu Ba was demoted to Yizhou, which has a great impact on our business."
"ZTE Bank?"
"Liu Ba?!"
Wu Yi pinched a strand of goatee under his chin.
Recently, judging from the information reported by Wu Yun, the Wu family has indeed gained a lot from the golden monkeys, which is much more profitable than finding a few tenants to farm the fields.
After all, Nanyang's grain is now sold to foreigners at very cheap prices, causing Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and even Yizhou to suffer a lot.
Now that they finally have a profitable business, the Wu family will naturally go all out to make the maximum profit in the shortest time. Only then can they be qualified businessmen.
"That's right."
Wu Yun nodded affirmatively: "If we allow this person to continue his nonsense, I'm afraid we will lose a lot of money and our profits will be greatly reduced."
How could Wu Yi not know what Wu Yun meant? He frowned, thought for a moment, and exhaled: "You should know the strength of Nanyang Hanting. After the spring of this year, Jizhou will be surrounded."
"In less than two months, Jizhou will definitely be destroyed. However, in this year's Winter Festival Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony, Liu Biao, Liu Yao, and the lord all presented generous gifts, clearly showing their goodwill."
"Zhongxing Bank is run by the imperial court. In a sense, it represents the majesty of the official family. Although Liu Ba was demoted, he is also the core of Zhongxing Bank."
"Only His Majesty the Emperor can touch this person. No one else can touch him. Otherwise, he will definitely get revenge from the imperial court and even slander the Lord. If Yizhou welcomes the imperial army by then, we cannot afford it."
Although Wu Yun had anticipated such a result, he was still a little disappointed when he heard the family leader's words. This meant that their profits would be greatly reduced.
"so......"
Wu Yi's eyes fell on Wu Yun: "You still have to solve this matter in the way of merchants. As for the Lord, I will help keep an eye on it. If you have any questions, just ask directly."
Wu Yun bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Master. I understand, but in this case, we may need to increase investment in order to earn the maximum profit."
The implication is that the previous capital is completely insufficient. Patriarch, you still need to bleed more, otherwise we may not be able to fight against this old guy Liu Ba.
Wu Yi was very aware of Wu Yun's business ability, not to mention that he was a military and political leader in Yizhou. He had never lost money in business, so he didn't care:
"This is a rare opportunity. You can earn as much as you want. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity. Don't miss it."
Wu Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he had enough funds, he could definitely have a fight with Liu Ba: "Don't worry, head of the family, I will definitely be measured."
"kindness."
Wu Yi nodded and said with absolute certainty: "I brought you here from Yanzhou. We have been together for so many years. I trust you very much. Just go ahead and do it."
When Wu Yun heard this, he was deeply moved: "With these words from the head of the family, this life is enough."
Wu Yi waved his hand: "Remember! We are a family, don't be so polite."
Wu Yun nodded solemnly: "Thank you very much, Master. I'll take my leave."
In fact, Wu Yun was not originally named Wu Yun, but Wu Yi gave him the surname Wu, and he became Wu Yun.
Over the years, he has been loyal to Wu Yi and used his skills as a merchant to support the entire Wu family. It is precisely because of this that the Wu family has become the largest wealthy businessman in Yizhou.
Wu Yun vowed to devote all his energy to the Wu family and make as much money as possible, so that he could be worthy of the family leader's kindness.
When Wu Yun walked out of the gate of Wu Mansion, there were seven or eight carriages waiting aside. More than ten people swarmed up and surrounded Wu Yun on three levels inside and three outside:
"Old Wu, what did General Wu say?"
"By doing this, Liu Ba simply doesn't take our Yizhou nobles into consideration."
"This kind of thing cannot be tolerated, otherwise we Yizhou nobles will be looked down upon."
"It is totally unreasonable for Liu Ba to snatch food from our bowls."
"We absolutely cannot sit idly by and ignore it. We have to find some way."
"..."
A variety of voices poured into Wu Yun's ears. Wu Yun's head was about to explode when he heard it. He quickly waved his hands: "Don't worry, everyone, this matter will eventually be solved. As long as we unite, we can solve it."
There is no opponent that cannot be defeated.”
A middle-aged man seemed to have heard something and asked tentatively: "Listening to Brother Wu, is it possible that the general is unwilling to move Liu Ba? Or cannot he be moved at all?"
Wu Yun was too lazy to talk nonsense and said bluntly: "Zhongxing Bank represents the majesty of the Han Dynasty in Nanyang. Although Liu Ba was demoted, he is still the commercial minister of the imperial court, second only to Lu Su."
"Your Majesty can touch this person, but let alone us, even Liu Yizhou dare not touch him. You should know that there is an agreement between Liu Yizhou and Your Majesty. Judging from the current situation, Liu Ba is most likely to be His Majesty the Emperor.
Sent to muddy the waters."
Although Wu Yun was a merchant, he was still a subordinate of Wu Yi, the military and political leader. Their merchant nature had the shadow of the government, so it was impossible not to consider the influence of this aspect.
According to common sense, His Majesty the Emperor could demote Liu Ba to any place, even far away from Yizhou, but he was placed here.
It's obvious!
There must be a deep meaning in this.
His Majesty the Emperor fell into Liu Yan's trick, and now he can only force Liu Yan to be merciless and give him the opportunity to send troops, so that he can completely unify the country.
From Wu Yi's words, Wu Yun could infer Liu Yizhou's attitude. It was impossible to expect Liu Yan to break this deadlock, and the Yizhou nobles did not want their land to be publicly owned by the imperial court.
so!
If you want to make this kind of money, you can't count on Liu Yan and his family.
Their only way to resist is to use merchants' methods to deal with merchants' methods.
Wu Yun took a long breath and shrugged: "Do you understand? This matter is more complicated than I thought, but it is much more complicated. If we want to make this money, we have to find a way ourselves."
The man on the side frowned: "Can we defeat ZTE Bank alone? They have absorbed a lot of funds. If they are really so strong as us, how can we defeat them?"
"yes."
Another middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Although we are Yizhou nobles, in terms of financial strength, there is no way we can compare with Zhongxing Bank."
"Is it possible that we are required to withdraw all the money from Zhongxing Bank? This is probably not appropriate. This will inevitably affect the business of other states and counties."
Nowadays, ZTE Bank has opened branches all over the country. With a receipt in hand, you can withdraw money anywhere as long as ZTE Bank is there.
This greatly facilitated the business of the major aristocratic families. In a short period of time, they really did not dare to withdraw all their funds at will. After all, some of the bills were already outside, not in Yizhou at all.
"unless......"
The middle-aged man frowned and said tentatively: "If all the people in Yizhou can go to Zhongxing Bank to withdraw money, then Zhongxing Bank will inevitably face bankruptcy."
"impossible!"
Wu Yun shook his head without hesitation and said in denial: "According to the information I have found, ZTE Bank has clear internal measures to prevent runs, and their funds are very sufficient."
"Unless all depositors can withdraw money within one day, it is impossible to drain ZTE Bank dry."
"Don't forget it."
Speaking of this, Wu Yun emphasized: "The Nanyang imperial court's caravan also has corresponding deposit business in Yizhou, and their funds are no less than any of our families."
"In other words, we are still somewhat defensive about Zhongxing Bank's deposit and withdrawal business, but the imperial court's merchant team has already reached the level of mortgage loans. Otherwise, their business development in Yizhou would not have been so fast.
.”
"etc!"
Wu Yun seemed to have thought of something. He glanced at the merchants in Yizhou and raised the corners of his lips slightly: "We can definitely learn from the merchants in Nanyang and make mortgage loans."
"Mortgage?"
Someone curiously asked: "Is it the mortgage loan that mortgages farmland, shops, manors and other assets to Zhongxing Bank in exchange for a large amount of cash, and when the money is repaid, there is still interest?"
"That's right."
Wu Yun nodded affirmatively: "Let's take out the assets of our respective families, mortgage them, and then empty out all the money from Zhongxing Bank. I'll see what it uses to buy the Golden Monkey."
"this......"
Everyone was confused for a while.
You look at me, I look at you, still hesitating.
Wu Yun smiled calmly: "As long as we lend the money out, it is equivalent to using the court's money to do our things. In the end, we are still making money from the court. After making money, we will pay back the interest and get all the collateral back, right?
?”
hiss-!
Everyone was shocked and gasped:
"This seems to be a solution."
"It's interesting. We are just empty-handed."
"No wonder the imperial caravans always like to borrow money."
"Take the money of the people of Yizhou to earn the money of the people of Yizhou, and you don't have to pay anything?"
"It turns out that you can still play like this. It's interesting. I think we can give it a try."
"I think it's okay too, how about we give it a try?"
"It doesn't have to be too much, just take out some farmland or shops."
"Let's farm the land. It won't delay production anyway. If it's a shop, the risk is too great."
"I also think it is a good idea to use farmland as a mortgage. Anyway, the food cannot be sold at a high price now."
"Our Wu family has a mortgage of 10,000 acres, what about you?"
"Our Zhao family has five thousand acres."
"The Li family has eight thousand acres!"
"..."
Looking at the merchants who had signed up enthusiastically but were still a little conservative, Wu Yun took a long breath and said softly: "In that case, everyone will go back and make preparations. We will go to Zhongxing Bank later. There must be no mistakes."
Everyone raised their hands together, with a faint smile on their faces: "Here."
*****
Zhongxing Bank.
Liu Ba stood under the eaves of the second floor, looking at the golden monkey in the iron cage below, holding his fists in his arms, and said coldly: "I really don't know why such a beast is worth such a high price."
Chu Nan smiled indifferently and gave his own answer: "Because His Majesty likes it and is willing to spend money for it. If someone gets an official position with it, the price will most likely be higher."
"Official position?"
Liu Ba shook his head and said softly: "Although His Majesty likes the golden monkey, he has not lost his job because of it. He will never destroy the imperial examination system because of a little golden monkey."
"at this point."
Liu Ba said with great confidence: "Don't worry."
Chu Nan smiled faintly: "Of course! Your Majesty is wise and powerful, so naturally you won't be like this."
"Liu Sicheng!"
"The owner of the village."
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from below: "The imperial court's flying pigeon is delivering a message."
Liu Ba waved his hand: "Quick, bring it up."
Man below: "Here."
Not long after.
Liu Ba took the letter from Fei Ge and started to browse it. His eyes were as wide as bells and he was astonished: "Damn it! The imperial court actually created an additional position in the Shaofu."
"oh?"
Chu Nan was stunned for a moment: "What is your position?"
Liu Ba passed the flying pigeon letter to Chu Nan: "Read it yourself."
Chu Nan frowned and was surprised. What kind of position could make Liu Ba so angry?
With doubts, Chu Nan started browsing. When his eyes glanced at Fei Ge's letter, he was also stunned and gasped:
"Macaque Cheng?"
"A subordinate of the Shaofu's Goudun Order?"
What a god!
It's like a slap in the face rhythm.
You know, one second, they were very confident in His Majesty the Emperor, but the next moment, the official position of Macaque Prime Minister appeared.
Although such an official position is only a minor one in the Shaofu, it will definitely boost the entire market of golden monkeys. It won't be long before the price of golden monkeys will skyrocket again.
"I didn't expect that."
Liu Bayang was angry and clenched his fists subconsciously: "Your Majesty would actually add such a small official because of the golden monkey. It seems that the rumors are not false. The imperial court intends to fill Xiyuan."
Chu Nan was stunned for a moment: "I wonder, Liu Sicheng, what does this mean?"
call-
Liu Ba took a long breath and turned to glance at Chu Nan: "Master Chu may not know that in addition to combat missions this year, the imperial court also wants to rebuild Luoyang City."
"ah?"
Chu Nan was surprised: "The imperial court wants to build Luoyang City?"
Liu Ba nodded: "Well, I do have this idea."
Chu Nan thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "It is indeed time to build Luoyang City. Once Yuan Shao in Jizhou is eliminated, in a sense, the Han Dynasty will have been unified. Returning to Luoyang will be the real return to his throne."
"That's right."
Liu Bas breathed a sigh of relief and said softly: "Others may not know it yet, but we have seen the planning map issued by the imperial court. There were only a few gardens before, but now there are more than twenty."
"You should know that there are many precious animals and plants in the royal gardens for the royal family to appreciate. How can there be less golden monkeys in these more than 20 royal gardens!"
"I made a preliminary estimate."
Liu Ba turned his head and glanced at Chu Nan, and said very solemnly: "Based on the calculation of two hundred macaques in one garden, there are four thousand golden monkeys in twenty gardens, and one fifteen gold monkeys is sixty thousand gold!"
hiss-!
Chu Nan was astonished and his eyes were as wide as bells: "Sixty thousand...gold?!"
Liu Ba looked as usual: "This is just a preliminary estimate. If the price continues to soar, it may be far more than 60,000 gold, and it is very likely to become 160,000 or even 260,000 gold!"
"this......"
Chu Nan was so frightened that his eyes nearly burst out: "How is this possible? It's too expensive. How much money does the court have in a year? As for spending so much money just because of a golden monkey?"
Liu Ba shook his head: "I'm not sure, but judging from the current situation, it's very possible."
Chu Nan's mind was filled with thoughts of golden monkeys and gold horseshoes, as if the gold was not in the shape of horseshoes, but transformed into the shape of golden monkeys.
"If I can collect more golden monkeys now, I can save a lot of expenses for the court. If I can receive four thousand golden monkeys, I can completely curb this unhealthy trend."
Liu Ba subconsciously clenched his fists, and his whole body burst out with awe-inspiring righteousness, as if he was like a bottle of the God of Justice falling from the sky, and was incompatible with the world in front of him.
Chu Nan glanced at the golden monkeys in the cage below. There were only twelve or three golden monkeys. There was still a huge gap between them and the four thousand golden monkeys.
This is a big deal worth tens of thousands of dollars!
Even Chu Nan himself couldn't help but break into a cold sweat at this moment: "Liu Sicheng, are you prepared to acquire the golden monkey in this way?"
"Why, can't it be done?"
Liu Ba asked rhetorically, and then gave his own explanation: "The hunter hunted a golden monkey and brought it to me. I will give him a golden ticket worth 10,000 yuan."
"It is impossible for him to just withdraw such a sum of money, and it will even be stored in our ZTE Bank forever in the future. It is equivalent to me getting a golden monkey without spending a penny."
"More importantly..."
The corners of Liu Ba's lips raised slightly, revealing a faint smile: "I saved the court hundreds of dollars in horseshoe gold. This is a great contribution."
Chu Nan had to admit that Liu Ba's brain was indeed extraordinary. In any case, he would make a lot of money from this business, but he was too familiar with the urine of Yizhou nobles:
"Liu Sicheng."
Chu Nan took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I'm not worried that your method is not good, but have you ever considered the wealthy families in Yizhou? They are by no means easy-going people."
Liu Ba put his hands behind his back and asked softly: "What? They dare to start a price war with our ZTE Bank? You know, we have absorbed the deposits of millions of people in Yizhou, how can we still be no match for a few aristocratic families?"
"If they raise the purchase price, and if our price continues to be too high, I can guarantee that it will definitely be more expensive than the wealthy families in Yizhou, and the hunters in Yizhou will sell all the golden monkeys to us."
Chu Nan shook his head: "I'm afraid... they won't do what Liu Sicheng wants."
Liu Ba frowned: "You mean, Yizhou merchants will have other options?"
Chu Nan nodded: "Based on my understanding of them, they will definitely do it. Wu Yun of the Wu family has been in business for decades, but he is an old fox. He is quite prestigious among Yizhou merchants. If he takes action, it will be unexpected. We We have to guard against it.”
"snort!"
Liu Ba snorted softly: "Let them come, am I still afraid of him?"
At this moment, a voice sounded from below: "Liu Sicheng, the owner of the village, the Yizhou Wu family, the Zhang family, the Li family, the Lei family and others are here, saying they want to handle the mortgage loan business."
Liu Ba was surprised: "So fast?"
Although he was shocked on his face, he was very happy in his heart.