Traveling through Chenghan Xiandi, fortunately I have a simulator

Chapter 125 Establishing a Firm
As early as when the Military Merit Department was first established, Huangfusong and Lu Bu had already passed the news to the school lieutenants in the army, so facing Sima Lang and Yang Xiu who came here, the school lieutenants Liang Yan, Guo Dian, and Wang Ling were all on the same page. Not surprised.

Sima Lang took out the badge from the Military Merit Department and handed it to Liang Yan. After Liang Yan watched it for a while, he said, "De Zu and I are ordered by His Majesty to be responsible for the rewards for this military merit. We also hope that the captain will help us."

"Yes. If you need anything, I will definitely help." Liang Yan returned the belt badge to Sima Lang.

"Then ask the lieutenant to show the records of the military achievements of this time. Those who have obtained military achievements in this war, please gather them in the open space of the school grounds." Sima Lang said politely.

Liang Yan ordered his subordinates to go to the camp to bring back their military merits, and at the same time sent the school lieutenant Guo Dian to gather the troops, while he himself brought Sima Lang, Yang Xiu and others into the barracks.

Compared with Sima Lang and Yang Xiu's relaxed hands, the Imperial Army was under a lot of pressure. They pushed small carts, some of which carried bags of grain, and some of them carried gold.

In fact, the most popular coin in the market is five baht coins. Although gold is a hard currency, for ordinary people, there is no gold, so if they want to use gold, they often need to convert it into five baht coins before using it.

And the most important thing is that there was no shortage of gold in the Han Dynasty. Although a lot of gold in this period was faked by brass, the identification technology in the market was very poor, so many small and medium businesses only accepted five baht coins and did not accept gold. .

As for silver, it was not widely popular in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, most shops did not accept silver. However, the imperial court did not have so much silver in reserve, so it was naturally impossible to use silver as a reward.

Zhang Ming chose gold as a reward because there is still a process for ordinary people to go from gold to five baht coins, so he can secretly set up another gold exchange firm during this process. In this case, Not only can it achieve the goal of returning the gold, but more importantly, it can reduce the actual military rewards. After all, if the court does not take measures to reward such high military merits, it will not be issued many times, and the court will go bankrupt.

From the very beginning, when Zhang Ming formulated the high-remuneration military merit system, he had already thought of the follow-up complete plan. The commerce in this period was not developed, and even the so-called commercial banks and banks had not yet appeared. As for the business model that surpassed the times, in No one would have thought of it during this period, especially the mainstream policy of the Han Dynasty was still emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, so there were not many smart people studying business.

But for the soldiers standing below, the box after box of gold on the high platform shone with golden light, which made them have nowhere to look. Not to mention the ordinary soldiers, even the school captain Liang Yan, Guo Dian , Wang Ling felt the shock, it was a whole dozens of boxes of gold.

Compared with dozens of boxes of gold, the tens of thousands of stones of grain piled up next to it pale in comparison. After all, ordinary people have seen grain, but most soldiers have never seen gold. Speaking of gold, I only know that it is something that rich people deserve to own. How can I imagine that they will have it one day, and the joy in my heart cannot be concealed.

After all the soldiers who had obtained military merit gathered on the school field, Sima Lang began to say loudly, "Soldiers and soldiers, Dezu and I are the officials who rewarded military merit this time. We will reward military merit later. If you get military merit If you have any objections after the reward, you can tell us your objections."

The audience in the army repeated Sima Lang's words several times.

There are two copies of the military merit book, one is kept in the army, and the other is handed over to the court. Sima Lang and Yang Xiu each took one, and each led fifty imperial troops, and began to distribute military merit rewards one by one.

The army trained by Huangfusong, the quality of the soldiers is really good. They all stood firmly in their original positions and never went to other places out of curiosity, so there was no confusion when the rewards were sent.

Some of the soldiers standing in front had already received their rewards, five shi of grain and one tael of gold. This was the military merit they exchanged for one head of the enemy army. Seeing these rewards, their eyes were clouded with tears.

These soldiers couldn't speak their minds. It wasn't the first time they had fought, but it was the first time they had actually received rewards. In the past, if they wanted to gain benefits in battle, they could only defeat the enemy and then rob ordinary people. Even so, it's too late to get anything.

In particular, this group of soldiers fought against the Yellow Turban bandits several times. Given the poverty of the Yellow Turban bandits, even if they won many times, the gains outweighed the losses. Therefore, they already had a little disgust in their hearts for fighting.

Until this time, when the rewards were sent to them, the will to fight in their hearts was rekindled. They all have families. With these gold and food, their families can live a good life. a distant thing.

Two hours passed quickly, and Sima Lang and Yang Xiu had finished distributing the rewards of the entire barracks. When they returned to the high platform, they did not expect that there was one more person on the high platform, Zhu Jun.

As early as when Sima Lang and Yang Xiu went to the school to deliver rewards, Zhu Jun had already arrived here. Liang Yan naturally knew his prestige and appearance. After Zhu Jun took out the tiger charm and His Majesty's edict, Liang Yan Yan then told Zhu Jun everything Sima Lang and Yang Xiu were doing.

After all, Sima Lang and Yang Xiu were officials of the imperial court. Although Zhu Jun had already received information from Huangfusong about this military merit department, he realized that he really cared when this incident happened before his eyes. The emperor of soldiers.

It was only then that Zhu Jun realized that his conversation in the hall was a bit presumptuous of the emperor. The emperor would take care of the needs of the soldiers, so how could he be so cautious that the establishment of the military department was only to seize the general's military power. The military department was indeed doing something beneficial The facts of the army.

Looking at Sima Lang and Yang Xiu who were sweating profusely, Zhu Jun said politely, "You have worked hard."

Liang Yan also asked his subordinates to bring water to the two officials at the right time.

Yang Xiu was still young and didn't know Zhu Jun, but Sima Lang had seen Zhu Jun before. He bowed and said, "I've seen General Hussars."

Zhu Jun laughed loudly and said, "I am no longer a general of hussars."

"Then I met General Zhu." Sima Lang bowed again.

"Okay, okay, you two did a good job. Although it was His Majesty's order, I also saw how serious you were just now. You are indeed two good children." Zhu Jun praised.

Although Zhu Jun and Liang Yan had been handing over the situation of the barracks, occasionally he would look down at the school grounds, seeing the two meticulous officials and the orderly Hundred Guards, he couldn't help but praise a few words in his heart.

After Sima Lang and Yang Xiu waited for a while, seeing that no one had any objections, they asked the imperial guards to count the remaining food and gold. They would go to the military camp in the southwest to distribute them tomorrow morning.

"General Zhu, we have completed our mission, so we will take our leave," Sima Lang said.

"Okay, let's go."

The officers and soldiers of the school field watched Sima Lang, Yang Xiu and others leave. They had an inexplicable closeness to this group of people.

Zhu Jun looked at all the soldiers on the school ground, he was very satisfied with these well-trained soldiers.

Zhu Jun knew what the group of soldiers were thinking at the moment, so he gave the group of soldiers some free time to take back all the rewards from the court, and they needed to return to the barracks tomorrow morning.

Inside the High Gate Hall
Cui Ming walked into the main hall from the outside, and said, "Your Majesty, my friend Zhuo Yun has established a firm by His Majesty's order."

Cui Ming has a good friend named Zhuo Yun, whose family is the famous Zhuo family, a big family in Sichuan, descendants of Zhao State during the Warring States Period, engaged in the iron smelting industry, occupied the Sichuan and Shu iron mines, and sold their tools widely in Yunnan and Shu.

Zhuo Yun was trained by his family, and he was engaged in business in Luoyang in the early years. Later, he got to know Cui Ming, and with the help of Cui Ming's position in the palace, he further expanded the business scale. He was engaged in wine shop business and trading business in Luoyang City. There are some salt and iron businesses, but these cannot be put on the bright side.

When Dong Zhuo was in power, Zhang Ming and Wang Yun were able to communicate with each other through Zhuo Yun's channels. Later, when Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang and arrested and killed Luoyang's rich men, it was Cui Ming's advance notice that gave Zhuo Yun a glimmer of life.

In Chang'an City, Zhuo Yun, who kept Luoyang's family property, has grown in business, and now Yin Yin has become the richest man in Chang'an.

Since the Son of Heaven came to power, Zhuo Yun's business has never been deliberately obstructed by officials. Everyone knows that he has an official background, but no one knows what his reliance is.

Two days ago, Zhuo Yun saw the secret guard sent by Cui Ming again in the mansion. The secret guard informed him that the emperor asked him to prepare to establish a business, and then explained all the requirements of the emperor to him. Cheng, he can get [-]%.

Zhuo Yun is quite satisfied with the [-]% income, of course, even if he is not satisfied, he can only accept it.

Zhang Ming didn't plan to squeeze Zhuo Yun too much, because he needed the other party to treat the firm with enough care, so he had to give up some benefits.

After receiving His Majesty's order, Zhuo Yun quickly started to set up a business firm, and the news spread throughout Chang'an City not long after. This firm currently only has two businesses, one is currency exchange business, that is, gold and silver are exchanged for five Baht money, the other is the storage business, that is, some wealthy people can deposit their money in commercial banks with [-]% interest.

In history, it may take hundreds of years for a similar firm to emerge, but now, it doesn't matter if it is earlier, anyway, it is not an easy task to set up a firm. First of all, you need a lot of five baht coins, Secondly, there must be a strong official background, and finally, there must be a certain amount of armed protection.

Although there were many merchant families in the Han Dynasty, such as the Zhen family in Jizhou, the Mi family in Xuzhou, the Lu family in Jiangdong, the Qin family in Bashu, and the Su family in Youzhou. , As for the merchant families in Guanzhong, due to the baptism of Dong Zhuo, there are no more famous merchant families today.

Although Zhuo Yun is already considered the richest merchant in Chang'an City, his business scope is still limited to Chang'an City. This does not conform to the logic of commercial expansion. It is just that he wants to expand, but he still needs the approval of the imperial court, because now he is already regarded as an official of the imperial court. non-staff personnel.

Through Cui Ming's relationship, Zhuo Yun wanted His Majesty's consent. He wanted to further expand his business scale, and Chang'an City really couldn't satisfy an ambitious businessman.

"Your Majesty, Zhuo Yun wants to expand the scale of his business. He wants to open wine shops in Lantian County, Baling County, and Huaili County to do business. Please ask Your Majesty for permission." Cui Ming said Zhuo Yun's request in detail. out.

Zhuo Yun and Cui Ming didn't communicate much, and they were all conveyed through the form of secret guards, so in the eyes of outsiders, Zhuo Yun's background was still opaque.

What's more, ordinary people don't care about the story behind the business at all. They only care about whether Zhuo Yun's products are worth the money. Care about whether you can buy good wine to drink.

Zhang Ming raised his head, put down the pen in his hand, and meditated silently.

During this period, the agricultural output value per mu was too low, and the normal planting industry made it difficult for the common people to eat enough, so the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business was introduced. Zhang Ming also understood that at least for now, business cannot override agriculture, so Even though he secretly supports Zhuo Yun's business development, there are limitations.

"Tell Zhuo Yun to let him deal with the business first. As for the business of opening wine shops in other counties and buying and selling, wait until the counties settle down."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"One more thing to warn him, if someone goes to a business store to exchange gold for five baht in the past few days, tell him not to go too far."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I must warn him."

Others may not know the purpose of the establishment of the firm, but Cui Ming knows, because His Majesty has told him all of this. Although the purpose of the establishment of the firm is not simple, it should not be too much, at least not to lower prices too much.

This time, tens of thousands of taels of gold were sent out as military rewards, especially in the hands of ordinary people. In order to exchange gold into five baht coins that are easier to use, ordinary people will definitely go to commercial banks to exchange. As a merchant, Zhuo Yun may In the beginning, he will exchange according to the market price, but later on, as more and more exchanges are made, he will definitely lower the price.

Under the management of the government, there will never be a second commercial firm in the entire Chang'an City, so even if Zhuo Yun suppresses the price, the common people have no choice. However, in order to prevent Zhuo Yun from excessively suppressing the price, Zhang Ming must warn, because military merit rewards If you want to give, you can find a way to get it back through business, but you can't get too much back.

As for the thoughts of the soldiers' families, at most they would only blame the merchants, not the emperor. On the surface, the emperor was still upright, and the military merit system was actually implemented, but some merchants went too far.

But in the final analysis, it was because of the poor agricultural productivity that Zhang Ming had to take this measure. On the one hand, it not only met the requirements of the soldiers' military merit, but on the other hand, it returned some gold through commerce. However, this plan was not a long-term solution after all. The only way is to increase agricultural productivity.

(End of this chapter)