Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Fang Zheng chuckled inwardly.

Heh heh, indeed, no man can resist such temptation!

"Your subject has given this watch a brand name," Fang Zheng did not answer directly.

"What name?" Emperor Jing asked curiously.

"Labor Power, Labor Power Watch."

"Labor Power... what a strange name?" Emperor Jing murmured, seemingly puzzled.

Fang Zheng pointed at the watch, beaming, "My Great Jing's people and officials all love to labor, arriving at work on time, going to the fields on time, and working overtime on time. One day, when they can all wear this watch, they will be even more punctual!"

"If we can maintain punctuality, the lives of our Great Jing's people will become more and more beautiful, hence the name Labor Power Watch."

"Well said, but I think calling it Rolex sounds more elegant." Emperor Jing deeply agreed: "However, pocket watches are already expensive, and now the cost of making wristwatches must be even higher, right?"

Rolex? Is that what he means?

Fang Zheng almost laughed out loud, his father-in-law's thought process really caught him off guard.

Quickly composing himself, Fang Zheng said: "Indeed, the price of this gold watch on Your Majesty's wrist is immeasurable. Every part of the watch has taken countless hours of the most skilled craftsmen to polish and design."

"But although watches are intricate, it is not impossible to abandon manual labor and mass-produce them."

"Look at the appearance of this watch, the dial, the hands, and the internal parts can all be produced quickly."

"How can such delicate things be produced quickly?" Emperor Jing asked.

"Actually, aside from the luxurious decorations, just looking at the function of telling time, the biggest cost of watches now is labor. Most parts can be stamped out of iron plates with molds, and then pieced together. We have steam engines, which can be modified to mass-produce parts and quickly manufacture watches, thereby drastically reducing costs," Fang Zheng spoke eloquently.

"Your subject also mentioned earlier that future factories will introduce steam engines to improve production methods. A very small number of iron smelting and mining factories are already using them, but most still use backward production methods, and even this small portion are industries under the control of the major families in the court."

"If it were to be replaced by ordinary folk merchants, taking those who build factories as an example, your subject has investigated them. Building a factory has already hurt them deeply. If they were to purchase steam engine equipment afterward, they would probably go bankrupt before they even started production, because the cost of each of our steam engines, not counting modification and maintenance costs, is already astronomical."

"As a result, there will be two adverse consequences: first, the strong will become stronger, they will control the strongest production capacity, and there may be hidden dangers in the future. Second, even the strongest cannot produce all the goods needed by the people. Folk merchants are unable to adopt steam engine equipment, and the production capacity that Great Jing should have will not be realized."

Emperor Jing frowned deeply: "Indeed, but after going around in such a big circle, what exactly do you want to say?"

Fang Zheng said solemnly: "Your subject wants to say that the imperial court urgently needs to help the wealthy merchants who build factories, to bring more people into the game, and to compete with the major families in the market."

"The wisdom of the people is infinite, and there must be many outstanding talents who are trapped in the current situation due to conditions and cannot develop. If we can help them solve the dilemma of lacking money, then it will definitely be of great benefit to the country."

"For this reason, your subject has come up with a solution. That is to open a money house, a new type of money house, or perhaps calling it a bank would be more appropriate."

"A bank? What's the difference between it and a money house?" Emperor Jing asked, puzzled, "What you are talking about is nothing more than lending. Right now, money houses can also lend money, and the merchants you mentioned who are short of money can completely borrow money from the money houses, and the imperial court can also borrow money. Establishing a bank now is completely redundant."

"Not so." Fang Zheng said, "Your Majesty, the current money houses are all established by individuals or major families. Each has different rules, the interest is high, and borrowing is extremely difficult. Most people who are not acquaintances cannot borrow money at all."

"Not to mention the imperial court, the process is complicated, and it involves relationships and bribes, which are difficult to supervise, and some old habits have a bad influence."

"The strength of the money houses themselves is far from enough. The bank we want to establish will be guaranteed by gold and silver. We will print as many silver notes as we have gold and silver, widely attract the people to deposit silver, and then lend the silver money to borrowers on a large scale."

"In addition, in your subject's vision, this bank should also provide some unique services, such as cooperating with merchants and turning their businesses into financial products, and regularly returning fixed interest to them after the people buy them. For example, it can also provide some insurance services..."

"Your subject has heard that some people in the south have gone to sea to do business and have formed a force called the Maritime Merchants Association. The risks and costs of going to sea are huge. The original intention of the Maritime Merchants Association was to raise funds to spread the risks, but this model does not seem to have appeared near the capital yet, and we can just fill this gap."

Loans, financial products, and insurance...

Emperor Jing was a little worried: "This... can this work? What if something goes wrong, it concerns the people, wouldn't it cause great chaos in the future?"

Fang Zheng smiled slightly: "Actually, your subject already has some experience in doing these things. I have already experimented on a small scale in Taoyuan County, and the current situation is precisely the moment when the bank should be born."

"However, problems may still arise if it is implemented on a large scale. Therefore, your subject is not here today to advise the imperial court to establish a bank, but to ask Your Majesty to invest in it. Now a bank is established privately, and if the trial is successful, the imperial court will take over."

"I wonder if Your Majesty is willing to take out ten million taels from the imperial treasury to occupy half of the shares? Your subject guarantees that even if we lose, we won't lose too much. If we earn, it will be a bloody profit! Lying down and earning!" Fang Zheng said confidently.

Great Jing does not have formal banking business, and capital is now beginning to develop.

The stock market, this booster, has already been successful.

If the bank can push it again, there is no doubt that it will accelerate the growth of the private economy again.

Moreover, overseas trade has been going smoothly, gold and silver transactions will not last long, and sooner or later there will be a demand for foreign exchange, which is another capability that money houses do not have.

The development of money houses can no longer meet the needs of the current era, and it is a good time to take advantage of the situation.

If it were handed over to the court for discussion, I don't know how many years it would take to accomplish this matter. The fastest solution is to pull the emperor along and get it done first!

Emperor Jing was silent after listening.

Ten million taels... just thinking about it makes my liver ache, isn't this taking my life!

I just made some money in the stock market, and he's already asking for a huge sum. If it were a few million taels, I wouldn't hesitate.

"You... how confident are you?"