Murong Yanchao also opened many businesses in Yanzhou, including a pawnshop business.
The business of the pawn shop is quite prosperous because a mysterious boss pledged (pawned) a large amount of silver ingots and did not come to "redemption" the pawn after the expiration date. According to the rules of the pawn shop, those who do not redeem the pawn after the expiration date are regarded as "dead pawns" and are also This means that the collateral belongs to the pawnshop. Murong Yanchao's pawnshop suddenly became rich.
The image of pawnshops in Chinese history is not glorious, and they have basically become synonymous with human-eating machines. Usually, the pawn shop will lower the value of the mortgage very low, and then give a very low discount on this basis before lending money, and this amount is far from the actual value of the mortgage. This is the first knife the pawnshop uses to exploit people.
High interest rates, horrifying compound interest rates, and rolling donkeys are the second knife in the pawn shop's rip-offs.
If the principal and high interest cannot be paid back as scheduled, the pawnshop will sell the collateral and directly obtain profits. This is the third knife of the pawnshop to rip off people.
Whether it is storytelling or interpretation, most people will not go to a pawn shop unless they are forced into a desperate situation, and there is basically no hope of redeeming the things they take to the pawn shop. Rather than pawning it, it is better to sell it to a pawn shop at a very low price.
Precisely because the people who go to pawn shops are people who are eager to use money, the pawn shops will charge lower prices, taking advantage of people's danger and making ill-gotten gains.
Therefore, pawnshops have always been serious man-eating machines for poor people, killing people invisible and eating people without spitting out their bones.
Ever since the batch of silver ingots from "Murong Ji Pawnshop" became a "dead pawn", the mysterious man didn't show up for a year, as if he didn't care about the huge sum of money at all. This aroused the suspicion of the pawn shop manager.
Based on his many years of experience, even if there is a contract written in black and white and signed in advance, if such a huge sum of money is to become a "dead bargain", the party concerned will definitely come to ask for accommodation, such as being willing to add interest, asking for a few days of grace, in short, It is necessary to negotiate with the pawn shop to recover a certain amount of losses.
The more the pawn shop manager thought about it, the more guilty he became, so he went to the warehouse to check, and a horrifying truth was revealed to him: these silver ingots were all fake!
The core of these silver ingots is iron and the outside is silver, commonly known as "iron tire silver". When this story was recorded in the history books, this kind of counterfeit currency was introduced as "iron body silver". When many people translated it, they simply said that it was made of iron core and covered with a layer of silver. However, through the subsequent story explanation, we can make a very reasonable inference: "Iron Tire Silver" is not that simple, it is not silver wrapped with iron bumps.
If it were just silver wrapped with iron lumps, it would be easily seen through the weight. The density of iron is very different from that of silver.
The density of iron is 7.874g cubic centimeters. If broken down, the density of steel is the highest, which can reach 7.9; while the density of white cast iron is between 7.4 and 7.7; and the density of silver is as high as 10.50g cubic centimeters. (Data comes from Du Niang)
The density difference is nearly half, but it can easily deceive professionals in the financial field, which shows that its production process is by no means that simple.
The pawn shop manager quickly reported the matter to Murong Yanchao.
Murong Yanchao was furious, but then he calmed down and used the "hook-moment method" to find out the criminals who minted the counterfeit coins.
Murong Yanchao ordered his men to move the valuables in the warehouse overnight and hide them properly, then cut a hole in the wall and threw some worthless things messily on the ground, pretending to be a theft scene.
The next day, a cordon was put up at the scene, and government agents waited until the scene was properly inspected. At the same time, Murong Yanchao posted a notice of peace of mind, with the following general meaning:
"As a local official, I should serve the people and make decisions for them. However, I was not cautious enough and seriously neglected my duties. I was patronized by bold thieves and caused heavy property losses. I am really ashamed! Of course, some people may say that I am It is a big mistake to steal and deliberately defraud the people of their property! In order to give justice to the people and to prove my innocence, I solemnly promise that within three days, anyone who pawns their property in this pawn shop can use the pawn ticket. , or if you have lost your pawn ticket, please state the relevant information of the pledged items orally. Once verified, double the compensation! Finally, we apologize for the inconvenience caused to you."
The people were half-convinced that the iron rooster had turned into a boy who had lost his wealth? With the attitude of giving it a try, the people went to exchange the pawn tickets, and as expected, the compensation was doubled as Murong Yanchao promised. The people rejoiced and praised him.
The next day, the suspect who pledged the "iron tire silver" threw himself into a trap with the hope of getting another vote. He was immediately captured by officers and soldiers and brought to Murong Yanchao.
The suspect regretted it endlessly and believed that he would definitely die this time. Unexpectedly, instead of killing him, Murong Yanchao arranged a job for him and comforted him.
"What a talent! Come to work in Shuai's Mansion. I will give you a dozen people. You can lead them to make this kind of counterfeit money. If you need any materials, just ask."
The counterfeit currency suspect transformed into the technical director and workshop director of the Mint...
The history books only say that they were "all made of iron and covered with double silver." Obviously, the historians deliberately did not introduce the detailed process to prevent people from imitating them. As mentioned just now, the densities of iron and silver are very different, so it is definitely not a simple "rougamo" craft, otherwise there would be no need for such professional talents; and its method of realization is not to circulate in the market, but to change it. In other words, the real cost of this kind of counterfeit currency should be very low, so low that even after being "cut in half" or "cut off in the heel" by the pawnshop, there is still a lot of profit margin.
Therefore, this person must have mastered some unknown special formula and process.
Murong Yanchao, who is greedy for money, has a keen sense of smell and sniffs out the huge business opportunities. Although he can make money by opening a pawn shop and lending money, making money directly is more simple and crude.
Soon, there were mountains of "silver ingots" in Murong Yanchao's warehouse.
When Yanzhou was besieged by Guo Wei, Murong Yanchao personally climbed onto the city wall to encourage the morale of the defending officers and soldiers, saying to them: "I have mountains of silver. As long as you defend Yanzhou City, I will definitely reward you with it all. I will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of my life!”
The soldiers were very helpful at first, but when Guo Wei persuaded him to surrender, they yelled and vowed to live or die with Yanzhou.
But soon, well-informed officers and soldiers leaked the secret of "iron-tied silver", saying that Murong Yanchao did have a large amount of silver, but it was all "iron-tied silver". What use do we need that thing for?
"So when all the armies heard about it, they disintegrated slightly, but the city was not yet captured."
According to historical records, after Guo Wei entered the city, he massacred tens of thousands of people, possibly in revenge for their fragrance. After an inspection of Yanzhou's treasury, it was found that 80% of the "silver" in Murong Yanchao's hands was this kind of "iron silver".
