There was silence in the Xinuan Pavilion, and all the ministers looked at their noses and noses as if they were old monks, and everyone understood in their hearts that except for the freak of Yuan Qi, no bank with a ticket number had the courage to undertake the huge treasury bonds issued by the imperial court, and tens of millions of taels of silver at every turn, not to mention that there was no such strength, even if there was strength, no one dared to take risks. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

The reason is very simple, if there is a dispute over loans between private people, you can still collect debts, but if you fail to collect debts, you can also fight a lawsuit to the official yamen, but if you lend money to the imperial court, and the imperial court does not repay the debt, who will you ask for? There is no place to even fight a lawsuit, and besides, the interest rate of the treasury bonds is not only lower than the interest rate in the market, but the term is long.

Although everyone understood in their hearts, no one expected Zhuo Bingtian to ask in front of Daoguang, and they were all a little apprehensive in their hearts, secretly complaining that Zhuo Bingtian was reckless, and Mu Zhang'a also lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, not daring to accept this.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Daoguang asked slowly: "Why does Yuan Qi dare to undertake the large amount of treasury bonds issued by the imperial court?" ”

Hearing Daoguang ask like this, everyone's hearts tightened, but Zhuo Bingtian bowed unhurriedly and said, "Go back to the emperor." Yuanqi undertook the treasury bonds in order to emulate the West and establish a financial market in the Qing Dynasty. ”

This point was mentioned by Wu Qijun, the left servant of the household department, in the excerpt of the smooth implementation of the national debt, and Daoguang also remembered it, but Wu Qijun was vague in the excerpt, and Daoguang did not understand why Yuanqi wanted to establish a financial market, and was muttering to himself, but Mu Zhang'a said: "What is the purpose of Yuanqi establishing a financial market at the cost of losing millions?" ”

Seeing that he intended to bring everyone into the ditch, Wang Ding said in a deep voice: "Yuanqi established a financial market, naturally in order to smoothly implement the treasury bonds, and the loss of one or two million yuan is better than holding all the treasury bonds in his hands. ”

"Xiguan Daily has a detailed introduction to the issuance of Western treasury bonds, Western financial markets, and financial systems." Zhuo Bingtian took over the conversation and said: "From the beginning of its establishment, Yuanqi Bank has imitated the West - low-interest lending, proposing the issuance of treasury bonds, and creating a financial market, which is a step by step traces, and the purpose is to establish a mature and perfect financial system in the Qing Dynasty.

The reason why England is strong, why it was able to build a strong naval fleet, and why it was able to support the century-long war with France was because it had a sound financial system and an active financial market. ”

Wang Ding deliberately asked: "The financial system, the financial market, is very important?" ”

"It is very important, and it can even be said to be the foundation of a rich country and a strong army." Zhuo Bingtian said slowly: "The perfect financial system and active financial market are conducive to absorbing a large amount of idle funds from the people, which is not only conducive to the issuance of treasury bonds by the imperial court, but also conducive to the prosperity of commerce and the prosperity of handicraft workshops, that is, factories."

The reason why Yuanqi can develop and grow rapidly in a short period of time is because of the huge amount of money in hand, such as machine manufacturing plants, shipyards, ammunition bureaus, machine silk reeling factories, machine sugar mills, railway construction, and Changhua iron mines, which do not require large capital investment?

Yuanqi in the rapid growth at the same time, but also for the imperial court to bring a large amount of tax silver, only the machine silk reeling factory in Guangzhou Prefecture to pay 600,000 yuan in taxes a year, Yuanqi now a year to pay nearly 2 million yuan of tax silver, in a year or two, with the promotion of the machine sugar mill and a large number of iron ore mining in Changhua, Yuanqi a year of tax silver will easily exceed 3 million yuan.

Why is England rich? The reason why there is money to build a huge naval fleet is because England has many commercial conglomerates as large as Yuanqi. The English East India Company, which had monopolized the trade in Guangzhou a few years ago, was an innumerable company that was countless times larger than Yuanqi.

If the Qing Dynasty had a few more companies as large as Yuanqi, and could also have sufficient financial resources to build a huge sea fleet, why would it be threatened by England! ”

"So ——。" Mu Zhang'a seemed to be talking to himself: "Yuan Qi dared to undertake the huge amount of treasury bonds issued by the imperial court because he had to pay a large amount of taxes and silver ...... every year. ”

"That's a big fallacy." Wang Ding said unceremoniously: "Yuan Qi dares to undertake treasury bonds, because Yuan has the ability to prepare for the financial market, and is sure that the treasury bonds will be circulated in the financial market. ”

Mu Zhang'a said in a deep voice: "Yuanqi's family is dominant, not the blessing of the imperial court, nor the blessing of Yuanqi!" ”

The warm pavilion was quiet again, Mu Zhang'a's words are not unreasonable, Yuan Qi has a monopoly on the money industry in Guangdong, if he monopolizes the money industry in Liangjiang again, it is indeed not a good thing for the imperial court and for Yuan Qi himself.

After a long silence, Daoguang spoke: "What's going on with the English East India Company?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Zhuo Bingtian bowed and said: "Xiguan Daily's introduction to the East India Company is not detailed, Wechen only knows that the East India Company is the largest company in England, monopolizing the trade between England and the Qing Dynasty for more than 100 years. The slice trade and the tea trade in Guangzhou are all controlled by the company, and why it will go bankrupt, Weichen is not very clear. ”

After a slight sigh, Daoguang said: "Wu Qijun is in Guangzhou to inquire about the situation of the East India Company. ”

"Wechen obeys." Zhuo Bingtian hurriedly bowed and said.

Why did Daoguang know about the East India Company? Mu Zhang's mind turned, and then he bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the local business groups check and balance each other, and the golden mean, if Yuan Qi is to unify the money industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it must be a dominant situation, and it will be difficult to check and balance in the future, and the slaves secretly think that the imperial court will issue treasury bonds in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and there is no need to rush for a while, but it can be slowly figured out, and Yuan Qi will unify the money industry in Guangdong, and it will only take two years to ........" ”

Hearing this, Daoguang's heart moved, if Yuanqi wants to unify the money industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it will not be a one-time thing, it will take at least two or three years or even longer, with this time, why can't he support other money banks? If Yuanqi is allowed to develop, there will inevitably be a big problem in the future.

After a little hesitation, he said slowly: "This matter will be discussed later." As he spoke, he picked up Lin Zexu's excerpt and said: "Lin Zexu suggested that he should mobilize heavy troops to defend Tianjin with great fanfare, and use the idea of attacking Tianjin with the idea of Yingyi, and then attract Yingyi to attack Jiangning ........" ”

Seeing Daoguang turn the topic to military affairs, Zhuo Bingtian's heart couldn't help sinking, obviously, Mu Zhang'a's words moved Daoguang, if the imperial court decided to support another money bank in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to monopolize the money industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, or in each province of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to support Qian Zhuang and silver to monopolize the money industry of a province, what would be the situation? What will be Yuanqi's reaction?

As soon as Daoguang's words fell, Pan Shien, a native of Wuxian County, Jiangsu, and a college student who was familiar with the situation of the Great River Channel, spoke: "Your Majesty, the hydrology of the waterway from Jiangning to Haikou is complicated, and how big the Yingyi fleet is, how dare you venture into the inland river and attack Jiangning against the water?" ”

"Look at this excerpt." Daoguang said and picked up the fold and glanced at Qi Liaozao, the secretary of the military department, and said, "Shifu, you come to read it, the last paragraph." ”

Lin Zexu said in the excerpt that the Yingyi fleet could take advantage of the high tide to enter the sea, and there were steamships that could pull warships upstream, and there were traitors who were familiar with inland waterways to lead the way. As soon as Qi Liaozao finished reading, Wang Ding spoke: "The Yingyi fleet entered the inland river to attack Jiangning, can it seize the opportunity to annihilate it in one fell swoop?" ”

No one dared to answer this, the Yingyi fleet wantonly plundered along the southeast coast, and the coastal prefectures and counties all had detailed reports on the combat strength of the Yingyi fleet, and it was basically the same, in a word-invincible. Even if the Yingyi fleet entered the inland river, the river was also very wide, and it was said that it was completely annihilated in one fell swoop, and it was already very good to be able to achieve a great victory.

Seeing that no one was silent, Pan Shien hesitated and said: "Jiangning is the capital of the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also a place where soldiers must fight, and if it is destroyed in the war, or it will fall, it will inevitably lead to the erosion of the two rivers, and the loss is unimaginable...... ”

Qi Liaozao said slowly: "Lin Zexu and Yi Zhizu predicted that the Yingyi would increase their troops on a large scale, and they would definitely not be satisfied with coastal harassment, but would attack important targets in order to force the imperial court to accept the conditions of loss of power and humiliation such as land reparations, and the attack targets were nothing more than three, Guangzhou, Jiangning, and Tianjin, all of which were convenient for the Yingyi fleet to attack, and Guangzhou was the least likely to be attacked by the Yingyi because ......of its heavy defenses. ”

Hearing this, Pan Shien hurriedly shut up, Tianjin is the gateway of the Beijing Division, once Yingyi captures Tianjin, he will inevitably take advantage of the situation to attack the Beijing Division, compared with the two, Tianjin is naturally the most important, and Jiangning is the lightest.

"Master Pan is talking about ——。" Mu Zhang'a said slowly: "Liangjiang is a place of wealth, if Yingyi captures Jiangning and erodes Liangjiang, there will be no more than ten years, I am afraid that it will be difficult to recover his vitality, and I hope the emperor will think twice." ”

Pan Shien couldn't help but curse secretly, "Shameless." He is a resolute advocate of banning smoking and fighting against Yingyi, how can he be willing to be shot by Mu Zhang'a, and immediately bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, if you don't resolutely resist Yingyi, it will be difficult to implement the smoking ban. The piece is poisonous all over the world. ”

Daoguang glanced at the two of them expressionlessly, without saying a word, the military department Man Shangshu Yucheng figured out Daoguang's thoughts, and then said slowly: "Luring the Yingyi fleet into the inland river to attack Jiangning, although there is no full chance of winning, but there is a chance to give it a go." After a slight pause, he continued: "Yingyi has traitors to lead the way, and there should be no shortage of traitors to inquire about the military situation, not to be neglected, how to increase troops to Jiangning, must be properly arranged." ”

Daoguang immediately followed the conversation and said: "That's right, as long as the Yingyi fleet enters the inland river, it will be an opportunity." As for how to mobilize troops to defend Tianjin and how to increase the number of troops to Jiangning, the Military Aircraft Department and the Ministry of Military Affairs discussed and handed over the notes within two days. ”

"We're waiting for honor." The ministers hurriedly bowed and said.

After a little hesitation, Daoguang said: "Wang Ding and Zhuo Bingtian stay, and the others kneel in peace." ”

The others saluted and withdrew from the warm pavilion, Daoguang glanced at Wang Ding and Zhuo Bingtian, and said: "Yuanqi lends money at low interest, actively pays taxes and silver, undertakes the issuance of national bonds, takes the initiative to donate large amounts to strengthen the defense of Guangzhou, forms a regiment to assist the Green Camp Sailors in resisting the Yingyi, and builds a railway for the imperial court to inspect..... It can be called a model for the business group. As he spoke, he sighed lightly and said, "I don't want the Qing Dynasty to have a few more merchant groups like Yuanqi ........" ”

How many business groups like Yuanqi are there? Zhuo Bingtian smacked it, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen secretly thinks that the Yuanqi model is difficult to imitate ....... ”

"Huh?" Daoguang said with a little surprise: "Why? Speak quietly. ”

"Back to the emperor." Zhuo Bingtian said calmly: "Yuanqi is through the collapse of tea, the run on the Guangzhou money bank has faced bankruptcy, which can unify the Guangzhou money industry, and then through Shunde's raw silk hegemony, the Guangdong silk merchants have been wiped out, accumulated a huge amount of principal, and established the position of the overlord of the money bank.

Although the scale of Yuanqi Bank is large and the principal is also abundant, because it is a low-interest loan and high-interest deposit, it is actually a meager profit, and it is a machine manufacturing factory, a machine silk reeling factory, and a machine sugar mill and Changhua iron ore mine to support Yuanqi to obtain high profits.

Weichen dared to speculate that even if the Liangjiang Qianzhuang could barely knead together, monopolize the Liangjiang money industry, and prepare to build a stock exchange, he would not have the courage to undertake the huge treasury bonds issued by the imperial court. ”

Daoguang frowned and said: "Isn't there a precedent for Guangzhou to follow for issuing treasury bonds?" ”

Wang Ding said bluntly: "The issuance of treasury bonds is purely thankless, and it is also a loss-making business, and the most important thing is that they are worried that the imperial court will repay its debts." ”

Daoguang was speechless for a while, and then said: "The national debt is the credit of the imperial court, how can the imperial court rely on the debt?" After a slight sigh, he said slowly: "I cherish Yuanqi, so I don't let Yuanqi dominate the money industry ...... Jiangsu and Zhejiang." ”

Zhuo Bingtian hesitated: "Can the interest rate on government bonds be raised?" Make money profitable? ”

What kind of bad idea is this? Treasury bonds are issued tens of millions, borrowed for three or five years, or even longer, the interest rate is high, how to afford it, Yuan Qi also said conclusively that he wants to gradually reduce the interest, but here let the interest be raised! Daoguang glanced at him and said: "The interest rate on the treasury bonds of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will increase, and the national bonds of Guangdong will inevitably increase, not to mention much, if you issue 20 million treasury bonds with one cent of interest, how much interest will the imperial court have to repay in a year?" Twenty hundred! What did the court bear? ”

Wang Ding and Zhuo Bingtian were silent, Daoguang pondered for a while, and then said: "Didn't Yuanqi want to promote the machine silk reeling factory in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.......?" ”

What do you mean? Zhuo Bingtian reacted as soon as he changed his mind, this is to let the money village in Jiangsu and Zhejiang imitate Yuanqi and monopolize the machine silk reeling factory in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so openly digging Yuanqi's corner, Yuanqi is willing to do it? Moreover, the silk reeling machine and steam engine are all in the hands of Yuanqi, and Yuanqi is not sold at a sky-high price! Unless it's the machine factory that took away Yuanqi! (To be continued.) )