The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

Because he was worried about those barbarians, captives, and captives, after drinking, Xue Pan rarely took the initiative to enter the palace without being summoned by Tu Zhen.

Because he has the jade pendant that Tu Zhen gave him back then, there is no need to wait for the imperial edict to be passed on.A group of guards were also accustomed to Xue Pan's overwhelming favor. After inspecting the jade pendant respectfully and releasing him, a young eunuch led Xue Pan to the gate of Qianqing Palace with a wink, and then said with a smile: "Okay." Let Uncle Xue know that people of our status cannot go any further.”

Xue Pan smiled and gave the little father-in-law a hundred-liang silver note, then cupped his hands and said, "Your father-in-law is tired."

The little eunuch was flattered and said: "How dare you!"

So he looked at Xue Pan more respectfully as he climbed the white jade stairs.At the gate of Qianqing Palace, Dai Quan was walking back and forth with his whisk.Seeing Xue Pan's figure, he couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Isn't this Mr. Xue's family? Why did you come into the palace today?"

"There are some things I want to talk to the Holy Majesty." Xue Pan looked at the closed gate of Qianqing Palace and said with a smile, "But the Holy Majesty is busy with work. If that is the case, I will go back first."

"It's just a routine report from the king of Nan'an County." Dai Quan replied with a smile: "It's been more than an hour, and it's coming soon. If you have time, just wait."

Xue Pan said with a smile: "Then wait, there is no one next to me, and I have the most time."

So he turned around and stood side by side with Dai Quan, and asked kindly, "How do you use the Hongmao medicinal wine I made for you last time?"

Hearing this, Dai Quan smiled sincerely and said, "I feel much more comfortable after using it."

Because these eunuchs lack yang energy, and the servants in the palace use their knees to do things, after a long time, they more or less have rheumatism, old and cold legs.When Xue Pan lived in the palace last time it happened to be raining and sleet, Xue Pan noticed something wrong with Dai Quan's expression, a kind of unbearable pain.Out of curiosity, he asked the reason for this, so he asked the pharmacist in the next pharmacy to make some Hongmao medicinal wine for Dai Quan to try, and after using it for more than two months, it had a lot of effect.

As for where the prescription of Hongmao Medicinal Wine came from...

Xue Pan shrugged his shoulders, saying that dudes always have a lot of time and energy.And a dude who likes to read time-travel novels has a very rich spare time life.At least they have time and money to study some inexplicable stuff.

Thinking of this, Xue Pan smiled slightly, and said to Dai Quan: "The medicinal wine I gave you last time should be almost used up, do you have a house outside the palace or something. I can't remember to bring you this when I enter the palace. Let the guys from the pharmacy deliver it directly to the courtyard in Beijing, and you can find a way to get it into the palace yourself."

"Uncle Xue is really caring. In fact, the medicinal wine has already been used up." Seeing Xue Pan's surprised face, Dai Quan couldn't help explaining with some embarrassment: "The medicinal wine is really effective. After using it for a while, it was given to Qiankun. Father-in-law Li Deyu, the chief manager of the palace, sent some..."

Xue Pan understood it, and immediately smiled calmly: "When I find out about your father-in-law's house in Beijing, just ask them to send more."

Dai Quan nodded gratefully, and then heard Tu Zhen from the Qianqing Palace ask, "Who is outside?"

Dai Quan immediately bowed and replied: "Your Majesty Qi Zuo, Xue Pan, the son of the loyal Marquis, is asking to see you."

There was a moment of silence inside, and Tu Zhen said in a deep voice, "Let him in."

So Dai Quan gave Xue Pan a wink, and Xue Pan entered the Qianqing Palace respectfully.Walking three feet away from the Holy One, he bowed and knelt down and said, "I have seen the Holy One."

"Why do you want to enter the palace today?" Tu Zhen waved his hand casually, signaling Xue Pan to get up.

Xue Pan glanced sideways at King Nan'an, but didn't speak.

Tu Zhen hooked the corner of his mouth slightly, and said, "Speak up if you have something to say."

Xue Pan pouted with lowered eyebrows, then said, "It's about the twenty thousand barbarian captives."

"Oh?" Tu Zhen's heart moved, thinking of the rumors about Xue Pan in the market, he couldn't help laughing: "I know you are more curious about things outside the domain, but I didn't expect you to pay attention to the captives."

After a pause, he said again: "It's just that these barbarian captives are related to the fate of the country, and I won't answer you rashly... You should talk about it first, you can ask them what they do!"

The king of Nan'an watched coldly from the side, and was even more amazed at Xue Pan's prosperity.

Xue Pan didn't bother to pay attention to what Nan'an County King was thinking.Hearing Tu Zhen's greeting, he immediately said directly: "The Holy Majesty also knows that Xue Pan has always liked things outside the feudal domain. There are also many technologies in the Jinling Heaven and Earth that come from outside the feudal domain. Now I heard that the Holy Majesty has [-] barbarians, People, I became curious for a while, wanting to know what skills they all know."

When Tu Zhen heard this, he couldn't help thinking about it.

He naturally knew how profitable Jinling's "heaven and earth" would be.Regardless of its own profit, the ceramic tiles, tempered glass and other items that were tinkered with for the establishment of the "Heaven and Earth" are all earning money every day.Then all kinds of transactions were derived...

Tu Zhen never questioned Xue Pan's talent in business.And now hearing Xue Pan say that, Tu Zhen couldn't help but feel even more excited——

Although the money that the Xue family turned over to the inner treasury every year was worth one-third of the imperial court's tax revenue, even so, the imperial court's finances were still stretched.And now I want to study the artillery of the barbarians...

Thinking of this, Tu Zhen couldn't help asking: "If you say that, it's okay to ask you to contact those barbarians. It's just that you are sure to add two more profitable businesses?"

Xue Pan immediately looked at Tu Zhen in horror.

Being sized up by Xue Pan so nakedly, Tu Zhen couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.Immediately cleared his throat and said: "The finances are really tight now. I know your means, if you can—"

Xue Pan interrupted angrily: "Your Majesty thinks that our family opened a bank or won a lottery. Does the money come out as soon as we say it?"

Tu Zhen was keenly aware of Xue Pan's heart, and immediately asked, "What is a bank and what is a lottery?"

"It's just—" Xue Pan choked for a moment, not knowing how to explain it to Tu Zhen.

Seeing this, Tu Zhen immediately comforted him with a friendly attitude: "Don't worry, you think about it carefully, and tell me slowly."

Xue Pan wrinkled his face bitterly and said with a smile: "My lord, I was just joking."

"I'm serious." Tu Zhen's face was tender and pampering, but he just stared at Xue Pan with burning eyes, like a hunting dog seeing prey.

Xue Pan secretly rolled his eyes and complained.I had to bow my head and think, preparing to organize sentences to explain to the Holy Spirit what a bank is and what a lottery is.

Seeing this, the king of Nan'an County looked at it with great interest.Everyone in the world said that Jinling Xue Pan was the reincarnation of the God of Wealth, who turned his eyes to make a living.He didn't believe it at first, but looking at the current situation...

So I became more and more curious, how did he come up with these?

Xue Pan, who was thinking hard with his head down, didn't expect that his random actions would attract the curiosity and attention of others. He frowned and struggled for a while, and then said: "The so-called bank is a place where everyone saves money. The ticket number is about the same. It’s just that the bank has more functions.”

One sentence caught Tu Zhen's attention.

"The so-called ticket number is just for simple deposit and withdrawal, and most of them are operated by small private workshops. The scope of use is relatively narrow, and the credit is relatively low. As for banks, it is not difficult to deposit and withdraw money, and can also conduct remittances. , exchange, and loan and loan business—”

"You mean usury that is common among the people?" Tu Zhen frowned in disgust. "The court will not do this kind of thing that competes with the people for profit."

Xue Pan shook his head and said: "Although the form is similar to loan sharks, the essence of the two is fundamentally different. The interest of the underground money and the usury and loans issued by the village - which is commonly known as loan sharks among the people - is very high. Yes. If the repayment cannot be made within the specified time, the interest will skyrocket. Usually, the interest is turned into the basis, the principal and the interest are reversed, and the compound interest calculation method is rolled over. The longer the delay, the more you need to change The more money there is, the more cruel and bloody the debt collection methods are, and many people have lost their families because they borrowed usury money and couldn’t get it back when it expired.”

Tu Zhen snorted coldly and said, "Since you understand this truth, don't bring it up again."

"But bank loans are different." Xue Pan said with his eyes wide open, "We can investigate the living standards of the people, and then work out a reasonable interest rate. If there are businessmen who want to borrow money, we will also verify it. What is this person's net worth, what is he going to do with the loan, and whether he has the ability to return the money within the specified time limit after investing it... In this way, with the intervention of the imperial court machine, it can also ensure that the businessman will not lose money because of a temporary shortage. Relatively speaking, it is much safer to get involved in usury.”

Tu Zhen was silent.On the contrary, the king of Nan'an County interjected: "If this is true, it will be a good thing for the people. It's just that the system must be clear and strictly enforced, otherwise... I'm afraid there will be endless disasters."

Xue Pan couldn't help but look at him in surprise when he heard the Nan'an County King's remarks.Although he was reluctant, he had to say, "That's right. The review and verification system for bank loans and loans must be very strict and meticulous."

Tu Zhen said, "It's not bad. It's just that I've listened to it for a while...how does your bank make money?"

"There are many ways for banks to make money. One of them is the same as the ticket number, which is to charge fees and charges. Nowadays, most of the ticket numbers are private transactions, so the scope of their influence is almost all in the province, and they cannot Covering the whole country. If the Holy Majesty can use the status of the imperial court to promote the bank, it can cover the whole country overnight. The handling fee should not be underestimated." Xue Pan swallowed, shut his mouth, and looked at the imperial case anxiously teacup.

Tu Zhen shook his head, and raised his voice to order: "Serve tea and give me a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compassion." Xue Pan obediently bowed and thanked.He drank the tea that Dai Quan handed him, then sat on the chair and took a deep breath, and continued: "The second item of profit is the interest on deposits and loans, the difference—"

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by the interest difference between deposits and loans?" Tu Zhen asked in a deep voice.

"That is, we can encourage people to deposit. Every time a sum of money is deposited, we will give corresponding interest depending on the time of deposit. For example, if it is saved for a year, we can give [-]% of the principal as interest. In this way, many people with spare money want more money. If you earn some money, you will deposit that money in our bank. Other people who need money will also come to us for loans and loans. Of course, the interest on loans and loans will definitely be higher than the interest on deposits. So we earn money from it. The price difference is taken... This is almost like a normal purchase..." Xue Pan explained with great effort.

So little by little, Tu Zhen gradually understood how the bank made money.And he used his imagination to control the overall situation to imagine the future scene, and he couldn't stop the splendor.In the end, he clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Sure enough, he is the 'Little God of Wealth' praised by everyone. You can't accept it. It seems that I was too loose with you in the past, and made you lazy. There are so many tricks that I didn't say. From now on, I should squeeze you more, lest the treasury be empty now, and I will be annoyed."

Xue Pan curled his lips disapprovingly, and said earnestly: "The road needs to be walked step by step, and the food needs to be eaten bite by bite. Xue Pan has many means of making money in his heart, but there are too few capable people nowadays, who can cooperate There are even fewer things I do. I have to ask the Holy One to wait patiently and do it one by one."

Tu Zhen laughed loudly when he heard it, shook his head and said, "You're panting when you say you're fat. You're so arrogant that no one in the world cares about you anymore."

"Arrogance has its own merits, and not everyone dares to boast to me like this." Xue Pan replied with a smile.

Tu Zhen scolded with a smile: "Stop talking nonsense, you should sort out what you said today and present it to me as soon as possible. The national treasury is empty, and it is time to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. If you delay for one more day, the court will have less things to do. Common people They will suffer more."

Xue Pan sighed bitterly, and said, "Your Majesty, it's almost the end of the year, and the imperial court will close the pen soon. Why don't we wait until the spring of next year?"

"I don't know your temperament yet." Tu Zhen gave Xue Pan a disdainful look, "The more you procrastinate, the more you can procrastinate. Now you are asked to write the articles of association, you don't know until that day. If you let me If it's delayed until the next year, I'm afraid I won't see a trace of that charter next year."

Xue Pan touched his nose aggrievedly, and had no choice but to agree.

After hearing about the bank affairs in this room, Tu Zhen was thinking about the lottery ticket again, so he couldn't help but ask, "That lottery ticket..."

Xue Pan said again and again: "That thing is similar to gambling, and it really doesn't fit the image of the Holy One."

After repeated explanations, Tu Zhen knew that Xue Pan was really impatient to do the two things together, so he didn't force him anymore.Instead, he changed the subject and said: "The barbarian captives and captives are now locked in the prison of Honglu Temple. If you care about it, just take my jade pendant and go to Honglu Temple. I will also Say hello to the Minister of Honglu Temple, and you can do whatever you want."

Xue Pan caused so much confusion because of his curiosity.He couldn't get excited at the moment, so he nodded dejectedly.

Seeing this, Tu Zhen shook his head and sighed: "When you arrive at Honglu Temple, you must act cautiously, and don't cause any trouble again."

Xue Pan replied sullenly: "Understood."

Seeing this, Tu Zhen was worried, and asked Xue Pan again and again to get annoyed, so he stopped and said bitterly, "Don't think that every time you cause trouble, I will wipe your ass for you."

Xue Pan twitched the corner of his mouth disapprovingly, seeing that Tu Zhen had another headache.

Seeing this, the king of Nan'an County blinked his eyes thoughtfully.