Fang Zheng smiled secretly in his heart.
Haha, no man can resist such temptation!
"I gave this watch a brand name." Fang Zhengyi did not answer directly.
"What's the name?" Emperor Jing asked curiously.
"Labour, Labor Watch."
"Labour...what kind of weird name is this?" Emperor Jing muttered, seeming a little confused.
Fang Zheng pointed at the watch and said happily: "All the officials in Dajing are good at work. They go to work on time, go to the field on time, and work overtime on time. One day in the future, they will all wear this watch, and they will be even more punctual!"
"As long as we keep it punctual, the lives of our Dajing people will become more and more beautiful, so it is named labor watch."
"That's good, but I think a Rolex looks more elegant." Emperor Jing had the same feeling: "But pocket watches are expensive, so now the price of watches will be even higher, right?"
Rolex? Is that what you mean?
Fang Zheng almost laughed out loud. His father-in-law couldn't handle his brain.
After quickly collecting his thoughts, Fang Zheng said: "It is true. The price of this gold watch in your Majesty's hands is immeasurable. Every part in the watch has taken countless hours of polishing and design by the top craftsmen."
“But although watches are delicate, it is not impossible to put aside handwork and mass-produce watches.”
"Look at the appearance, the dial, the hands on it, and the internal parts can all be produced quickly."
"How can such delicate things be produced quickly?" Emperor Jing asked.
"In fact, regardless of the luxurious decoration, as far as the function of time is concerned, the biggest cost of watches now is actually labor. Most parts can be pressed out with molds on iron plates and finally assembled together. We have steam engines. Through modification, parts can be produced in large quantities and watches can be manufactured quickly, thus reducing costs." Fang Zhengyi said eloquently.
"I just said that factories in the future will introduce steam engines to improve production methods. Now a very small number of iron-making and mining factories use them. Most of them still use backward production methods, and these very small parts are also used by North Korea and China. The property belongs to the big family.”
"If it were an ordinary wealthy private businessman. Take the people who built the factory as an example. I have investigated and found that building the factory has already strained their muscles and bones. If they want to purchase steam engine equipment in the future, I am afraid that they will have to wait for production. Bankruptcy, you must know that the cost of each of our steam engines is already sky-high, not counting the cost of modification and maintenance."
"As a result, there will be two consequences. First, the strong will become stronger. They have the strongest production capacity, and there may be hidden dangers in the future. Second, no matter how strong they are, they will not be able to produce all the things that the people need. For commodities, private merchants were unable to use steam engine equipment, and the original production capacity that Dajing should have could not be used."
Emperor Jing frowned deeply: "That's true, but after going through such a big circle, what do you want to say?"
Fang Zheng said sternly: "I want to say that the imperial court is in urgent need of helping wealthy businessmen building factories and attracting more people to join the business and compete with the big families in the market."
"The wisdom of the people is endless. There must be many outstanding talents who are trapped in the current situation and cannot develop due to conditions. If we can help them solve the problem of lack of money, it will definitely be of great help to the country."
"For this reason, I have thought of a way. That is to open a bank, a new type of bank. Perhaps it is more appropriate to call it a bank."
"Bank? What's the difference between it and a bank?" Emperor Jing asked in confusion, "What you are talking about is just for borrowing money. Now banks can also borrow money. Those merchants who are short of money you mentioned can definitely go to the bank to borrow money. , and the court can also borrow money, so it is simply unnecessary to set up a bank now."
"Otherwise." Fang Zheng said, "Your Majesty, today's banks are all established by individuals or large families. Each bank has different rules. The interest rates are high and borrowing is extremely difficult. It is impossible for most people who are not acquaintances to lend money. "
"Not to mention the imperial court. The process is complicated and involves things such as favors and bribery. It is difficult to supervise, and some old habits have a bad impact."
"The bank itself is far from strong enough. The bank we want to establish will use gold and silver as guarantee, print as many banknotes as there is gold and silver, widely attract people to save money, and then lend the money to borrowers on a large scale."
"In addition, in the minister's vision, the bank should also provide some unique businesses, such as cooperating with merchants and using their business as a financial product. After the people pay for it, they will return fixed interest regularly. There is also an example. Provide some insurance services..."
"I heard that some people in the south went to sea to do business and formed a force called the Maritime Chamber of Commerce. The risks and costs of going overseas were huge. The original intention of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce was to raise funds to spread risks. However, this model does not seem to have appeared near Gyeonggi yet. We are just in time can fill that gap.”
It's loans, it's financial products, it's insurance...
Emperor Jing was a little worried: "Is this... can this be done? If I make a wrong step, it will affect the people, and there will be big trouble in the future?"
Fang Zhengyi smiled slightly: "Actually, I already have some experience in doing this. I have already experimented on a small scale in Taoyuan County. The current situation is the time for the bank to be launched."
"However, there may still be problems with large-scale implementation. So today I am not here to advise the court on the establishment of a bank. Instead, I want His Majesty to take a stake. Now private banks will be established. If the trial is successful, the court will take over."
"I wonder if Your Majesty is willing to use 10 million taels from the internal funds to take half of the shares? I promise, even if you lose, you won't lose too much. If you make a profit, it will be a bloody profit! Make money while you're lying!" Fang Zhengyi said with confidence.
Dajing does not have a formal banking business, and now capital is beginning to develop.
The booster stock market has been successful.
If banks can give another push, there is no doubt that private economic growth will be accelerated again.
Moreover, overseas trade has been going smoothly, and gold and silver transactions will not last long. Sooner or later, there will be demand for exchange, which is another capability that banks do not have.
The development of banks can no longer satisfy the current era, and it is a good time to take advantage of the trend.
If it were left to the imperial court for discussion, I don't know how many years it would take to get this thing done. The quickest solution would be to get the emperor to do it first!
Emperor Jing fell silent after hearing this.
Ten million taels...it makes my liver hurt just thinking about it, isn't this going to cost me my life!
I just made some money in the stock market, and as soon as I got there, the lion opened his mouth. If it was a few million taels, he wouldn't hesitate.
"How confident are you...?"
...
