The Jiangbian Restaurant in Xiangyang is named after Wang Xiaolian, and it is the largest restaurant in the province. The restaurant faces the street to the south and Hanshui River to the north. Guests can enjoy the scenery while drinking. The store manager, cook, and waiters are all government employees, and their salaries are quite good. Since the restaurant opened, it has been crowded with customers every day. Families with status in the city are proud to drink and dine here.
On this morning, it was not a meal time, so there should have been no business. But people kept coming in and sitting at the table. The boy next to him served tea and then stepped aside. Several officials were busy counting people.
Several guests gathered around a table, drinking tea and chatting.
One said: "I heard that the two princes, Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan, arrested officials in Yangzhou, supported the new king, controlled the government, and caused chaos in the court. At this time, if the court is in chaos, can the world still be sorted out? ?”
After saying that, he kept shaking his head.
Another said: "I heard recently that with Lu Xianggong and Zhang Xianggong presiding over the overall situation in Pingjiang, and with two generals Liu Taiwei and Han Taiwei sending troops, Miao and Liu will definitely not be able to withstand the enemy. This chaos, It will be settled soon.”
After hearing this, other people came up and asked who Mr. Lu was, who Mr. Zhang was, and who the two generals were. Everyone was discussing, and it was extremely lively for a while. People here are far away from the court, but they are still very interested in court affairs.
The most recent major event in the world is the rebellion of Miao and Liu. After these days, it has spread throughout the world and no one knows about it. However, outsiders don’t know what the specific situation is in Yangzhou. We can only use our imaginations and have fun.
Suddenly a person said: "The government recruited us here today. I wonder what happened?"
After hearing this, several people were stunned and speechless. I only know that the government has summoned these big merchants from this city to the riverside restaurant today, but I don’t know what they are doing. In the past few months, the society in Xiangyang Prefecture has been stable, and the government has launched many new businesses, and everyone has made money.
While everyone was in confusion, Chen Yuyi walked in. When he got to the front, he stopped and said loudly: "I have called you here today because I have something to ask for. The day before yesterday, I received a decree from the envoy Jun, saying that many things will cost a lot of money this year. However, there are not many ways for the government to get money. Now it is inevitable that there will be some deficit. I remember when the Zhizhi envoy came to govern Xiangyang, he said that the government collects taxes in clear terms, and does not collect taxes more or arbitrarily. Now that the government has a deficit, it will be difficult to deal with it. I can only invite you to come. , help me.”
Shopkeeper Lu below said: "The officials are joking. If they ask us for money, they don't want to raise taxes!"
Chen Yuyi said: "No. Everyone, what Kuan said will never change! Kuan is not a person who gets rich by breaking his promise. Now we are short, and to be honest, we can only rely on your help. Kuan has given two methods, and it is up to you to choose."
Someone asked below: "I wonder what the solution is?"
Chen Yuyi said: "One way is to borrow money from you. I will give you an IOU, with an interest of 10%, for six months. Don't worry, as long as the observation is here, I will never lose a penny from you. There is another way, you can contact the government Those who have business dealings with the industries can pay, and they are regarded as particularly distinguished guests of these industries. From now on, you will receive a 10% discount on the goods you purchase. Of course, this money must be paid every year. Moreover, you must first advance some payment to the government. It will be repaid monthly in the future.”
After Chen Yuyi finished speaking, there was a lot of discussion below and they couldn't stop.
Wang Xiaolie thought about it and realized that he had no capital now, and he had promised not to increase taxes on the people, so it seemed that he could only borrow money. It's a pity that his rise was too short and his credit is not high. I don't know if the people are willing to lend to him.
Ordinarily, this is a national debt, and the interest rate should not be high. However, since my credit has not yet been established, I can only calculate it based on the private interest rate at this time, which is 20% annual interest. As long as these few months have passed, the 10% interest is nothing.
Looking at the crowd, Chen Yuyi was in a state of confusion, wondering what they were thinking. To be honest, Wang Xiaolie wanted to borrow money, so he could borrow it no matter what. If it's not soft, why can't it be hard? But using strong tactics will damage your own credibility. The credibility of the government is very valuable. Once it is damaged, it will be difficult to recover it. For some people, they feel that strong tactics are available and act unscrupulously, which will eventually lead to their own credit bankruptcy.
After a cup of tea, someone below asked loudly: "Sir, I wonder how much money I need to borrow for this observation?"
Chen Yuyi said: "The most important thing is the official salary. It is observed that there is really no cash. Rough calculation, our Xiangyang Prefecture needs 30,000 guan. We also need to help other prefectures, which should be 100,000 guan." "
"One Hundred Thousand Guan?!" The people below took a breath of cold air. "This is too much!"
Chen Yuyi sighed: "There is no way. If the money is not discovered, many officials' families will not be able to uncover the truth. But don't worry, when the summer tax and autumn tax are collected, they will be repaid to you with interest!"
The people below listened and started talking again. It was so noisy that it was hard to hear what they were saying.
After a while, one member stood up. He handed over to Chen Yuyi and said, "Official, I live in Shimodian Ying. I have a restaurant, a silk and satin shop, and a gold and silver shop in the city. My family has a little money. Just now, the official said that we are short of money now, and we discussed it. We should provide money to help. Who should be observed? When the Jin soldiers came, they brought the country soldiers to the capital to help the king. Later, when they were guarding their hometown, Yang Jin's thief rebelled, and the observers chased him all the way to the Han River and annihilated Yang Jin. Without observation, how could we? Don’t we all have to let Yang Jin fish and eat? But if it’s 30,000 guan, it’s okay for us to chip in, but 100,000 guan is really too much. It’s better to do this, 30,000 guan is our money to help the government, and the remaining 70,000 guan How about a loan?"
After hearing this, Chen Yuyi was stunned. After a while, he said hurriedly: "Okay, okay, what's wrong with this? It's rare that you are so generous and the government appreciates it! I will report it and observe clearly, and I will definitely thank you in the future!"
Tian Yingdao: "Officials, we have our own eyesight and can see everything clearly. Since we observed Xiangyang, no one is making trouble anymore, the market is prosperous, and everyone is making money. At this time, it is already very rare. Moreover, tax exemptions and exemptions are observed , don’t allow bad people to enrich our business, everyone has benefited a lot from it. If we are short of money for a while, it’s our turn to contribute.”
Chen Yuyi didn't know what to say for a moment. Originally, as an official of the Song Dynasty, I would not be too surprised by the current situation. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, Taizu had a famous saying that wealth should be kept among the people. At critical times, the money of these wealthy households would be the money of the court. For example, when the Jin army besieged the city, in order to make the Jin army retreat, wealthy households in Kaifeng Prefecture donated a large amount of money to the court. When the government is temporarily short of money, it is not uncommon for large households to donate. This has the characteristics of the times and cannot be compared with later generations. However, when Wang Xiaolie wrote the letter, based on his own experience, he felt that the matter was very difficult, and to put it seriously, Chen Yuyi felt uncertain. If Wang Xiaolie didn't emphasize it, he wouldn't be so nervous.
In Wang Xiaolie's impression, the so-called big households must be common people with cunning and cunning intentions. It is extremely difficult to get them to donate money and buy national bonds. But they don’t know that society is developing, and rich households are not always able to do the same. At least during the Northern Song Dynasty, many people who were honest in business did not mind helping the government when it was in difficulty.
Businessmen and powerful people do not completely overlap. At least in this era, there has not been intense involution and annexation, and it is not uncommon to get rich by doing serious business. A few days ago, most of the people Wang Xiaolie dealt with were local snakes. Without them, businessmen's business will be easier to do. Psychologically, they recognized Wang Xiaolie.
Chen Yuyi was overjoyed to see that everyone was not resistant to borrowing money. Instruct the restaurant to prepare a banquet to entertain today's members. The Jiangbian Restaurant is run by the government, so the meat rots in the pot, so there is no fear of waste.
