Zhao Sigong, Li Sixiao, Zhai Ning and other five people, after leaving the Jiale Palace, just hurriedly stayed in the Shanxi Hall in the capital for one night, and couldn't wait to set off to return to Datong early the next morning.

The five of them, accompanied by more than 20 people, embarked on the post road leading to Xuanfu in the northwest of the capital. Six days later, we arrived in Xuanfu Town.

The group dismounted at the city gate, and after giving the gatekeepers the entrance fee, they slowly walked into the town of Xuanfu, which was surrounded by tall city walls.

Datong and Xuanfu are on the left and on the right, which happens to be the barrier northwest of Beijing. Compared with Datong in the west, the terrain of Xuanfu is more dangerous, and it is the throat of the northwest of the capital by the mountains and rivers.

The circumference of the city wall of Xuanfu Town is 12 miles, and the city is magnificent, known as the first capital in western Beijing. But after entering the city, you will find that this military town in the northwest of the capital is now more like an ordinary city in the interior.

The sergeants and military dependents who were supposed to make up the majority of the population in the city are now a few and far between. On the contrary, most of the people walking on the streets are merchants and caravans from all over the world. If it weren't for the patrol team that happened to appear on the street, no one would have thought that this was Xuanfu Town, one of the important towns on the nine sides.

After entering the city, Zhai Ning, who originally lived in the middle of the queue, hurried to the front of the queue, and asked in a low voice to Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao, who were walking in front: "Are we resting in Xuanfu for two days, so that we can send someone to discuss with a few businesses in Zhangjiakou first, and then return to Datong?" ”

Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao glanced at each other, and then tacitly refused: "A few businesses in Zhangjiakou, as long as you send someone to inform you, we should hurry back to Datong so that we can report His Majesty's request to all the merchants, which can not be delayed." ”

Hearing that the two of them brought out the names of the Datong merchants, Zhai Ning was full of reasons and held back stiffly.

Although several merchants in Zhangjiakou had a relationship with the Jurchens in Liaodong and became middlemen between the Jin merchants and the Later Jin Kingdom, they started from a few small shops at the beginning, and now they have also become big merchants in the Zhangjiakou market.

However, compared with those big businesses that have been inherited for several generations and have strong capital, even if they are tied together, they are not as good as a finger of others.

And doing business with an enemy country like Houjin, whether it is to raise a large amount of materials, or to send prohibited ordnance, armor, and medicine out of the customs, these big merchants with good relations with the border towns are needed to clear the way.

On the other hand, if they want to eat the ginseng, mink and other goods used in Houjin, it is far from enough for them to rely on their own capital.

A ginseng is only six taels per catty in Shenyang City, but when it is sold to these Ming merchants, it is one or two ginseng and one or two silver.

When transported to Beijing or Taiyuan, a pound of ginseng can be worth about 25-50 taels, and when it is transported to Nanjing, Suzhou and other places, each catty of ginseng is 50-100 taels.

Several businesses in Zhangjiakou can only make hard money at the risk of cutting off their heads, but those big businesses that sit in Datong and Taiyuan can comfortably earn more profits than them.

Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, and Fan Yongdou, the leaders of several businesses in Zhangjiakou, are thinking of breaking away from the control of these big Shanxi firms, and changing from the role of the current middleman to the * businessman of the Later Jin State.

For example, this time, Zhai Ning heard from his cousin Zhai Tang that Wang Dengku and Fan Yongdou were planning to buy all the materials in their hands because the Datong Horse Market had not been opened this time to buy them on credit at a low price, and then resell them to Houjin State.

However, when they entered Beijing this time, they unexpectedly received the news that the imperial court was going to order the purchase of these materials. Therefore, Zhai Ning hoped to leave a little time for his cousins to make a response.

Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao were not interested in paying attention to Zhai Ning's thoughts, and after spending one night in Xuanfu, they took their entourage and parted ways with Zhai Ning and the others.

Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao are both the core personnel of several big businesses, and there are many marriages between their families, so they are the core figures in this line of five.

It's just that Jin merchants are known as the old wealth of Shanxi, and they have always believed in the principle of not revealing their wealth, and they don't like to be in the limelight.

This also made Zhai Ning, who was traveling with him, not clear about the identities of Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao. They just thought that these two were just the right-hand men sent by a few big merchants to the capital to listen to the news.

On the 13th day after setting off from the capital, Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao, who were sore and numb in their legs, finally saw the city wall of Datong City.

That night, the two people who had not yet recovered from the long journey were taken to the hall of the Datong Jin Chamber of Commerce.

The vast hall of the place is a little deserted today. Some inconsequential people were sent out tonight, and the merchants who were able to enter the hall tonight were all famous names among the Jin merchants.

In the past, the hall that could accommodate one or two hundred people, but today it only sat more than 30 people, Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao complemented each other, and told the process of meeting the emperor in the Jiale Palace.

After the two finished speaking, a white-haired old man in his 60s sitting at the top of the seat gently knocked the dry tobacco pot on the sole of his shoe, and then rolled the cigarette pouch and put it on the square table on the left hand side and said: "Let's discuss it, since the Son of Heaven has drawn the way, we must always come up with a charter, don't let people underestimate it." ”

The owner of the Dachang who was sitting in the first place on the left hand of the old man suddenly said with some excitement: "It is better to say that this matter of accepting paper money is not to say, since those Hui merchants dare to open this bank, they will not do this hammer deal."

However, the 3.5 million taels of railway bonds repaid after 30 years are too risky? What if the railroad is not profitable? In 30 years, God knows what will happen, what if the court repents and does not pay back? ”

With the speech of the owner of the Dachang No., many of the shopkeepers of the firm nodded in agreement, thinking that this was very reasonable.

Sitting diagonally opposite the owner of the Dachang, a red-faced man said angrily: "Your Majesty's conditions, do we refuse them like this?" His Majesty, who has now ascended the throne, is still a teenager, what if he feels that he can't save face, and he turns his face with us in anger and shame?

Not to mention the others, just the number of company licenses that stuck us Shanxi businessmen out of Cyprus to trade, most of us here will have to drink the northwest wind in the future. ”

A businessman sitting at the end couldn't help but say a little ignorantly: "If we just do the same thing as before, will there be any changes?" In these thousands of miles of border walls, can't you find an opening out of the customs? ”

The red-faced man suddenly turned his head to him and said, "Now that the trade out of Cyprus is divided into companies, we smuggle goods out of Cyprus, will you not report it as other businessmen who have paid taxes?" Even if those border soldiers are greedy for money, they will not get along with their heads. ”

The merchant who asked the question suddenly understood, and he began to worry a little about the future of his business.

Seeing that everyone in the hall looked dejected, Chang Wanchun, the white-haired old man who was sitting on the top of the Sande Hall, finally spoke: "The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge, and there will be a road before the car reaches the mountain." The sky can't fall, we Shanxi people have been going south and north for so many years, what kind of difficulties have not been encountered, since it can be passed before, then it can be passed now. ”

"Old man Chang, Sandetang is our time-honored brand in Jindi, you have walked more roads than we have eaten salt, this time you always give me an idea, we are willing to listen to your orders." The merchants in the hall spoke out one after another.

Chang Wanchun stretched out his hands and pressed them weakly, letting everyone quiet down before he continued: "Since the big guy has opened his mouth, the old man has also said a few words.

As the saying goes, the meal should be eaten in one bite, and the road should be walked step by step. Now the Son of Heaven has explained two things, and we still have to solve them one by one.

The first is that His Majesty asked us to accept paper money payments and raise supplies for the Datong border army. ”

The refusal to accept paper money was just that the Jin merchants did not want the hands of the Hui merchants to reach into the Datong border trade, although they hated the Hui merchants as a group, but they did not doubt the Hui merchants' ability to pay.

Now that the emperor himself opened his mouth, these Jin merchants also knew that their resistance to paper money could only end there.

Because the horse market has not opened this year, many businesses whose funds are pressed on goods and cannot turn over are actually quite willing to accept paper money.

It's just that the Chamber of Commerce has the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, and since the Chamber of Commerce does not accept paper money, these firms have to comply with the public agreement.

After seeing that everyone present agreed to the first thing, Chang Wanchun paused, and did not directly say the second thing, but asked Zhao Sigong and Li Sixiao: "You just said that the 3.5 million taels of public bonds are underwritten in the form of banks.

Then that is, His Majesty gave us a qualification to set up a bank. When you go to the capital this time, do you have any inquiries about what this bank is? ”

Although these Shanxi businessmen heard some news about banks in Datong, they still had a vague concept of banks.

Zhao Sigong immediately stepped forward and told everyone about the information he had inquired about the bank from the capital, and Li Sixiao added some information from the side.

After hearing this, Chang Wanchun thought for a while before saying, "Then the bank we established is also qualified to issue banknotes?" ”

Zhao Sigong immediately replied: "Your Majesty means that we can all have the power that the central bank has, and we must also abide by the rules that the central bank must abide by. ”

Chang Wanchun was silent again for a long time before he said: "If the bank we opened also has the power to issue paper money, then even if the 3.5 million taels are deposited in the public bonds, it is not unacceptable.

What is the difference between this and us hiding the silver in the cellar, at least the interest on the public debt is more than 200,000 taels a year, plus the interest on the money from the issuance of paper money, and the interest alone has already earned back the principal in 30 years..."