Pawn Crossing the River

After the establishment of the Daxuan court, the first task was to mint new coins.

Because private minting was common at that time, bad coins were rampant, resulting in chaotic circulation and cumbersome conversions. If the currency system can be reformed, it will firstly benefit people's livelihood, and secondly, it will improve taxation and eliminate fire consumption.

The so-called "fire consumption" refers to the waste when broken silver is melted and recast into silver ingots. Taxes are all collected and turned over to the state treasury. Fire consumption occurs when the broken silver handed over by the people is melted and recast into silver ingots.

Over time, fire consumption gradually became a means for officials to make money. If the additional "fire consumption" levied during taxation is greater than the actual "fire consumption", the difference will go to the officials. In the late Wei Dynasty, "fire consumption" continued to increase. In general, fire consumption in prefectures and counties amounted to 23, or even 4 or 5 yuan per tael. Taxes in remote prefectures and counties are low, and fire consumption is several times that of regular taxes. Although the imperial court also issued a ban, it did not work, and it was acquiesced in the future.

If silver coins are used uniformly, there is no need to recast silver, and "fire consumption" will be eliminated.

Emperor Gaozu agreed with Xuansheng's opinion and changed the new currency from silver taels to silver coins, that is, peace coins. He did not directly implement treasure banknotes and replaced them with official bills that were in the nature of deposit certificates.

When it comes to casting money, the key lies in materials, that is, the materials used for real gold and silver and anti-counterfeiting methods. At that time, Taiping Bank was just a private bank, but its related technology was the best in the world, and it was difficult for anyone to compare with it. In addition, Its silver notes also began to be used as evidence of deposits and withdrawals, and gradually became used for transactions, and were even recognized by the court. Therefore, Emperor Gaozu finally agreed to Xuan Sheng's proposal to have Taiping Bank mint and implement new coins.

Because of this, the Taiping Bank has gradually grown from a private bank to a behemoth with the power to mint coins. It is also responsible for formulating relevant monetary policies, supervising the activities of local banks in the Central Plains and overseas, and the activities of overseas banks in the Eastern world. It has the power to appoint The status of the assistant manager in charge of the bank is even higher than that of the household department and the branch office.

Today, Taiping Bank is called Qianzhuang, but it actually assumes the responsibility of the "central bank" among Westerners. It is jointly managed by Taoism and the imperial court. There are seven assistants in total, three from Taoism, two from Confucianism, and one from One of the court nobles is from the royal family. These seven people are all dignitaries in high positions. They rotate every five years, but if there are no accidents, all seven will be re-elected.

The three assistants of the Taoist sect are Zhang Wuliang, Li Changsheng, and Yao Yi.

Just from the surnames of these three people, we can see what their identities are. They represent the top three families in the Taoist sect. Among them, Zhang Wuliang is the unnamed generation of the Zhang family, and Li Changsheng is the elder generation of the Li family. They are the highest-ranking people in their respective families. Although Yao Yi is not the highest-ranking person in the Yao family, he is Yao Pei's father, and his status is equivalent to Zhang Jucheng of the Zhang family or Li Wugou of the Li family.

The seven assistants have different responsibilities. The two Confucian assistants are only responsible for supervision and supervision. The three Taoist assistants and the two court assistants who really hold the financial power are three to two. The Taoist school has an absolute advantage. During the period of the Five Dynasties Grand Masters, all three realms surrendered. The Five Dynasties Grand Masters took control of Taiping Bank, and all financial orders came from Yujing.

It was also during the period of the Five Dynasties that Taiping Bank's business expanded to the entire Eastern world, including Fenglinzhou and Borneo.

One can imagine the amount of manpower required to maintain such a huge thing. And because of the special nature of Taiping Bank straddling Daomen and the Daxuan court, it formed its own system, like an independent kingdom.

Taiping Bank is located in various places, but the bank's children do not marry with local people, just like the fairies and mortals in the story cannot love each other.

Why? Because there are various preferential treatments within Taiping Bank. For example, Qi Xuansu fought hard with real swords and spears to get into the Taoist sect. From a Taoist citizen to a Taoist boy, and then from a Taoist boy to a Taoist priest, he ranked among the best in both assessments, and then he became a ninth-grade Taoist priest. The disciples of Qianzhuang can directly transfer to Taoism.

Yes, it’s not about being admitted to a Taoist sect, but about being transferred to a Taoist sect on an equal footing, and it’s not about starting as a ninth-grade Taoist priest, but starting as an eighth-grade Taoist priest. Can such treatment not be superior?

Even so, there are still a large number of Qianzhuang disciples who are unwilling to transfer to Taoism. The reason is very simple. The treatment in banks is better. How can a place that manages and creates money be short of money? As far as regular silver is concerned, at the same grade, the bank's regular silver is almost double that of Daomen, and there are various subsidies. In addition, Taiping Bank is still in various places

They all built manor houses and distributed them only internally. This was a treatment that even Taoist priests did not have.

The only advantage of the Taoist sect and the imperial court is power, but the bank has its own system. The three assistants of the Taoist sect are not the great masters of Pingzhang. They are not even completely within the system of the Taoist sect, but they are equivalent to the first level of the great master of the palace. They have the same power. Don't care about them. Furthermore, how much power can one have before being promoted to the level of Deputy Palace Master or Deputy Hall Master? The upper limit of the Qianzhuang is not comparable to that of the Taoist sect, but how many people can be promoted to the third-grade Youyi Taoist priest and the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest? Or the bank system is more comfortable.

Some people even say that people in the bank can look down on ordinary Taoist priests.

The head office of Taiping Bank Nanyang Branch is located in the Lion City. Because the Lion City is not a fortress or a military camp, but a prosperous port, its geographical location determines that it is the center of Southeast Asian trade.

After the reception banquet, Qi Xuansu made a request to check the Nanyang Head Office's treasury, but was declined by the assistant manager of the bank on the grounds that he wanted to seek instructions from his superiors.

This was the first time Qi Xuansu encountered a problem after arriving in Nanyang.

Taiping Bank has always announced that if you want to audit the Taiping Bank's accounts, except for special circumstances where the Grand Master or His Majesty the Emperor personally orders it, at least four assistants must agree. So Qi Xuansu deliberately didn't say anything about checking the accounts, but just said he wanted to take a look at the treasury. It was considered a test, but unexpectedly he hit a snag.

This is not Qi Xuansu's whim, nor is it Qi Xuansu's ability to make opinions, but it has been approved and agreed by Donghua Master beforehand.

The reason is not complicated. If you want to get tangible evidence that can overthrow Wang Jiaohe, the most direct breakthrough point is the word "money". Local forces have been entrenched in one place for many years and cannot be penetrated by needles or water. What is the basis for this? Is it loyalty? Is it loyalty? None, it's a collusion of interests. As long as interests are involved, the word "money" cannot be avoided. When money is involved, Taiping Bank cannot be avoided.

Most of the trade in Borneo Province must be settled at the Nanyang Head Office.

At this time, Qi Xuansu only had two feelings, one was the arrogance of Taiping Bank, and the other was the depth of water in Borneo. This time, if Wang Jiaohe could really be brought down, the number of people involved would probably exceed the sum of the two major Jiangnan cases. The case could not be concluded hastily by the death of a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Jiayin Lingguan also arrived in the Lion City. In fact, he is a frequent visitor here. He always comes several times a month, but this time he comes specifically for Qi Xuansu.

Under the arrangement of Lin Daduhu, Qi Xuansu had a secret conversation with Jiayin Lingguan.

Lingguan Ding Chou has always been with Zhenren Lan Da and spent most of his time in Shenglong Mansion, so he does not know much about the situation in Java. This is not the case with Lingguan Jiayin. Although he is the leader of the army, He has been stationed in the Xuanwei Department of Old Port for a long time and is a neighbor of the Lion City. He has never eaten pork and has seen pigs running away. He still knows a lot about various situations.

After the two were a little polite, Qi Xuansu got straight to the point and said, "I want to know if there is anything unusual in sea trade?"

Jia Yin Lingguan had already taken off his helmet, his half-white hair was not messy at all, he was smiling, but his eyes were not smiling, and he said: "I am a leader in war, and I charge into battle for the Taoist sect. I am concerned about military affairs. I still know a little bit, but when it comes to trade, I know nothing about it. Qi Cixi is asking for help from the blind."

Qi Xuansu was not in a hurry: "Then please tell the general what you know."

The spiritual officer is not a Taoist priest, nor is he a man in black. However, because his function is very similar to that of a man in black, he is a person who leads troops in war. Therefore, people in the Taoist sect will also respect the first-grade spiritual officer as a general in private situations, which is somewhat flattering. the meaning of.

The first-grade spiritual officer is equivalent to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest. Qi Xuansu is still the third-grade Youyi Taoist priest. In terms of grade, he is not as good as the Jiayin spiritual official, and he has requests from him, so he uses the title of "general". If he is Lan Da A real person is usually called "Jiayin".

"I don't dare to be a general like Qi Cixi." Jiayin Lingguan waved his hand, "I can only tell Qi Cixi that the sea has been very rough recently and there are often shipwrecks. Last year alone, eleven large ships sank. It’s one ship a month.”

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly.

The sunken ship here is of course not a flying boat. Such a large cargo volume cannot be carried by flying boats. It must be a merchant ship at sea. Such a ship will sink in the wind and waves.

Yes, it is reasonable and is a normal loss. Under normal circumstances, Yu Jing would not care, let alone pursue it. But sinking eleven large ships in one year was a bit excessive. In other words, there is something abnormal.

Qi Xuansu said: "It seems there is something fishy here."

Jia Yin Lingguan smiled: "I only state the facts I saw. The specific situation needs to be analyzed in detail."

Qi Xuansu turned to ask: "Are the accounts involved in these shipwrecks all deposited at Taiping Bank Nanyang Branch?"

Jiayin Lingguan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Qi Xuansu asked again: "Is the Nanyang branch village's main number intercepted inside? The general only tells you what you know or guess. I will judge for myself."

After all, the bank is not a Taoist government, so the Jiayin Lingguan does not have so many scruples: "As far as I know, Hu Fuli of the Nanyang Branch is still aware of the general situation, but due to the situation and favors, he has to settle accounts for all aspects, and Don’t make money in it.”

Qi Xuansu asked: "Is Assistant Hu personally in charge of the Taiping Bank's accounts?"

Jia Yin Lingguan was silent for another moment: "Hu Fuli is a smart man. Since he doesn't make money in it, how can he get involved in these things personally? He must set up a shield to isolate himself. I heard that the accounts here It’s all under his control.”

Qi Xuansu narrowed his eyes: "Deputy?"

"The surname is Zhou, and his name is Zhou Yonghe." Jiayin Lingguan said, "By the way, he is also from the Wanxiang Dao Palace, and maybe he is a classmate of Qi Cixi."