To strike while the iron is hot, Xiao Letian is essentially a shrewd businessman. His job in his previous life was mainly business negotiations, and he has received strict training in understanding people's hearts.
In his eyes, if he only wanted to accept the admiration of the people, drink some wine and receive some flattery when he transited the Lion City, then the landing would be an absolute failure.
In such a passive situation in Europe, he was able to take full advantage. Now that he has returned to Asia and returned to the Chinese cultural circle he is familiar with, wouldn't it be a crime to return empty-handed?
"Folks... want a strong navy, army, and a strong industrialized country, all of which are inseparable from money... Why do Europeans want global colonization? It's because industrialization is a gold-swallowing monster. Before they can Before laying the golden eggs, a huge amount of funds are needed to fill them..."
"Europe, which has gone through the Dark Middle Ages, has so much money to develop industry. They have only one way, and that is to rob. They will rob all over the world, and they call it colonization..."
"We Chinese are not robbers. We cannot base our happiness on the suffering of other nations..." Xiao Letian secretly sighed in his heart. Damn it, if the Westerners hadn't robbed them all, there really wouldn't be many colonies left to acquire now. Now, I'll go out and grab it too.
"We are an ancient country with thousands of years of civilization, and we are a country of etiquette. We would rather tighten our belts, and we also want to build an industrialized country that belongs to the Chinese..."
"Folks, I, Xiao Letian, am not a shameless high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty. I, Xiao Letian, will not engage in dirty deeds like empty-handed white wolves. I, Xiao Letian, am not a beggar. I also know that it is not easy for Chinese people to leave their hometowns to make money..."
"So I beg you all, please lend me your money. I'm just borrowing your money to do what I promised." Xiao Letian's eyes turned in the crowd and suddenly shouted, "Where is the shop owner of Lotte Foreign Investment Co., Ltd.? "
Before he finished speaking, a fat man came out from the crowd and knelt down in front of Xiao Letian and saluted, "I'm fine, my uncle. Fan Jin from the Lion City branch is at your disposal..."
Xiao Letian laughed as soon as he heard this, "This is a family ceremony. Your name is Fan Jin, hahaha. Well, you have won the lottery today..."
Fan Jin banged his head, "I am an orphan. I don't know where my parents are from. It was the old shopkeeper who saved my life, so I am named Fan..."
In fact, Xiao Letian has long been connected with the branch of Lotte Bank in the Lion City. Now Lotte Bank has the prototype of a Western bank, and Xiao Letian’s ultimate goal is to turn Lotte Bank into Lotte Central Bank and become the first in East Asia to be able to issue Banknotes.
Fan Jin made a move, and the two clerks squeezed out from the crowd, carrying two large rattan boxes in their hands. When they opened it, they saw that they were all military stamps printed by Xiao Letian before, which are what Tanggu people said. It's a small deposit certificate.
The small deposit certificates that Xiao Letian saw now are no longer what they used to be. The production industry has been upgraded more than ten times, and the printing level has also improved a lot. These small deposit certificates of one yuan, five yuan, and ten yuan are printed. In fact, it is paper money. No British person here knows this yet.
"Folks in the Lion City, this is a small deposit certificate that can be exchanged freely. Even if I, Xiao Letian, borrow your business start-up funds, Lotte Bank is located all over East Asia. Anyone can take such a deposit certificate to a foreign bank and exchange it for the same silver dollar... …”
"And I also guarantee that this kind of certificate of deposit can be used to do business with foreign banks. Let me tell you the truth, in Ryukyu and Tanggu, this kind of small certificate of deposit has become popular. Don't you still believe in my credibility, Xiao Letian? ."
With a bang, the crowd immediately went crazy. At this welcome ceremony, the people who were able to get close to Xiao Letian were all well-known business elites. How could this group of smart people who are like monkeys by their tails not understand? The doorway here.
"Isn't this a Western banknote? The Prime Minister's Lotte Bank is going to become a Western bank, and it will also issue banknotes, etc... This might actually work, because the Prime Minister now has an army, and there are also foreigners. Allies, we don’t dare to think about such great wealth, but the Prime Minister definitely dares to do it..."
A bank that can issue banknotes, you can tell by the heel of your feet that it is a big deal to make a fortune, but this kind of wealth must be protected by a very powerful force, to put it bluntly, it is a powerful country and army.
This group of octogenarians rolled their eyes, looked at each other, and reached an agreement without communicating privately. They must be involved in the Prime Minister's career even if they spend all their wealth, and they must take some shares in Lotte Matheson.
What are you talking about, losing money, bah... Even if you lose money, instead of having all the foreign devils wiped out in the future, it is better to lose it on your own people. Can those who want to do big business not gamble on performance?
"Why do you need to say more, Prime Minister... We are also the leaders of the Chinese businessmen in the Lion City. We have to support the Prime Minister's career even if we are broke. Let alone borrowing money, as long as the Prime Minister can bring the armored fleet you mentioned, it doesn't matter if we give it to him for free. "
"The Lin family in the Lion City subscribed for 1 million taels... The Huang family in the Lion City subscribed for 1.4 million taels... The Chen family in the Lion City subscribed for 2.1 million taels..."
A series of roars quickly aroused the fire in the hearts of the people. People who are originally trapped in a group are easy to follow the crowd, but they can still withstand the fire of this group of Chinese leaders.
"The Prime Minister needs money, and we will provide it even if our family is broken. We will never let the Prime Minister waste any thought..." This was the cry of all the people, and the shocked British Governor turned pale.
"God, are you about to give up on Britain? In just a short time, Xiao Letian took away five or six million silver taels. Is he a devil?" The governor was scolding him in his heart, but he was in this environment. Li didn't dare to say a word.
Is this still the inferior nation whose capital was burned down? Is this still the cowardly country that didn't dare to take revenge for killing their family members? Why is it so different today?
Xiao Letian had already understood the goodwill of the large Chinese family in the Lion City. He looked at the group of old men with a look that only insiders could understand. The patriarchs could clearly see the encouragement and approval in their eyes.
The old men were also crazy. When they saw that the Prime Minister was also a very good businessman, they suddenly became fanatical. They even shouted to the people, "Folks, supporting the Prime Minister's career means supporting us Han people all over the world." Career, we, the Thirteen Companies in Lion City, hereby solemnly promise that starting from today, we will accept small-money ticket sales, and all purchases made by our Thirteen Companies can be made with Lotte Matheson’s money tickets..."
Oh, this is incredible. With the guarantee of thirteen big Chinese families in Lion City, the banknote business has started. What do people believe in? What they believe in is purchasing power. As long as Lotte Matheson can guarantee exchange at any time, as long as someone uses it The credit guarantee can accept these banknotes, so what are you afraid of?
This is not borrowing at all, this is the Prime Minister who is going to issue new currency. The Chinese people present are not the people who grew up in a closed environment in the country. They already understand. At least 60% of the people understand Xiao Letian's plan.
There is no doubt about the issuance of Lotte banknotes. Fan Jin later calculated that the Lion City alone raised more than 7 million Yingyang's wealth for the Prime Minister in three months. Those people's hearts stirred up by Xiao Letian Morale turned into handfuls of silver ingots, and giant yellow croakers one after another. All the precious metals in the Lion City were plundered within three months.
This is just a Lion City. In the following six months, the whole of South Asia was also inspired by this trend. Countless Chinese gathering circles in Malaysia, Surabaya, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. spontaneously subscribed for Lotte Bank's banknotes. When the Spring Festival at the end of 1866 After the closing of the general accounting of the former Lotte Corporation.
The statistical results shocked Xiao Letian. In just half a year, South Asia alone provided 17 million yuan of wealth to Xiao Letian's career.
Xiao Letian never expected that the people of South Asia had accumulated so much wealth. How much fiscal revenue did the Qing Dynasty have in a year? It seemed to be the highest peak during the Qianlong period, about 70 million taels of silver, and then gradually decreased. By the end of Guangxu's reign, the actual fiscal revenue The income is only more than 10 million taels of silver.
The precious metals that Xiao Letian accumulated in half a year were almost as much as the government's income in one year during the Guangxu period. Could it be that he was responsible for the country's wealth?
It was not time for Xiao Letian to celebrate yet. Xiao Letian had a second important thing to ask the people of the Lion City. He raised his hands again, and the cheers of the people were suppressed within ten minutes.
"Folks, I, Xiao Letian, have one more thing to ask of you... You also know that before I returned to Asia, there was a group of despicable gangsters who spread rumors that I was dead. You should all have heard of it..."
"Now, I, Xiao Letian, have come back. I stand here alive and come back with victory... But Ryukyu, where I serve, is still ravaged by French warships, and the war has not ended yet."
Xiao Letian bowed his hands and saluted all the people, "The Lion City is located in Malacca, which is the transportation hub of Asia. I, Xiao Letian, just ask you to pass on the news that I, Xiao Letian, am still alive when you set sail, so that the whole of Asia can know as soon as possible. I, Xiao Letian, have come back..."
At that moment, Xiao Lezhen felt as domineering as Hu Hansan's return. He waved his hand, "Folks... I just ask you to hang a flag on the bow of your boat before you go to sea, and hang my flag with my character on it... The Chinese ships sailing on the sea and the merchant ships of friendly countries, you all send them a favor..."
"I want my Xiao Letian's recognition flag to float everywhere in the entire ocean of Asia, so that those brave warriors who are fighting hard will not lose hope, and let them hold on until my return..."
When the people heard that this was such a big deal, they just printed a few flags. Millions of taels of silver had been spent in the Lion City, and they still cared about this little ink and cloth. All they heard was a roar of mountains and a tsunami in the square.
"I will obey the Prime Minister's order."
