Looking at the retreating figures of Duke Xingguo and his entourage, the middle-aged man rolled his eyes, then forced out a smile and said kindly to the cloth merchant on the ground: "Old Liu, why are you still kneeling? Get up, get up!"
This attitude is completely different from before. It was as if he was not the one who wanted to drive someone out of the house and collect some interest just now.
Old Liu, the cloth merchant named Liu Mindong, was a little surprised to see him like this, but he still stood up as instructed and helped his wife up.
When the middle-aged man saw him standing up, he smiled and said to him again: "Old Liu, you are lucky to have Duke Xingguo to help you. My master will definitely not offend Duke Xingguo. But if you really want to Speaking of which, it is natural to repay debts. Therefore, the money owed must be repaid. But if you promise something, Lao Liu, I can make the decision and I will waive the interest for you later. ,how?"
"What's the matter?" Liu Mindong asked quickly after hearing this.
Now I owe another 100,000 taels of silver for the principal plus interest. If I continue to compound interest, I will owe another 150,000 taels of silver by the end of next year. To be honest, the pressure is too much.
Therefore, it would be best if the subsequent interest payments could be waived.
After hearing this, the middle-aged man said to Liu Mindong: "My family will sell cloth to the sea with you, and we will make money together. In this way, your family will be exempted from the interest, how about it?"
As soon as he heard this, Liu Mindong understood.
Sure enough, it was not out of charity, but because he saw a greater opportunity to make a fortune.
With the "talisman" given by Duke Xingguo, as long as there is no natural disaster, this trip to sea will definitely make a lot of money.
But even though he understood this, Liu Mindong didn't have the confidence to refuse. Moreover, he was also a businessman. He knew that doing this would benefit both parties, so he agreed.
When the middle-aged man heard this, he immediately laughed, hugged Liu Mindong's fist and said, "Happy New Year!"
Then he led his men away and quickly disappeared into the snowy streets.
After watching the group of people leave, Liu Mindong's wife suddenly wiped her tears and said to him: "It's really the blessing of our ancestors that Duke Xing Guo showed mercy. We must enshrine a longevity tablet to Duke Xing Guo to bless Xing Guo's fairness and safety." , it’s better to live a long life!”
After hearing this, Liu Mindong sighed, nodded and said, "We have no ability to help Duke Xing Guo. We can only pray for Duke Xing to live a long life!"
Ordinary people, who would help him!
The Xingguo Highway passes by, and if we weren’t enthusiastic, we would just pass by.
It was really thanks to Duke Xingguo's intervention, otherwise, not to mention that he would not be able to survive this year, he would probably be kicked out and live on the streets. Thinking of the possible consequences, Liu Mindong did not dare to think about it any further.
………………
At this time, Zhang Mingwei was not thinking about asking others to repay him, he was just thinking about what he had just encountered.
According to the information he checked in later generations, in later generations, it was considered usury if it was four times higher than the bank's loan interest rate for the same period. Take a one-year loan as an example. If the interest rate exceeds 17.4%, it is usury, which is illegal.
However, in these ancient times, the interest rate of 17.4% is really not too conscientious.
Usury first appeared in the form of currency during the Spring and Autumn Period, when the annual interest rate on loans was roughly between 50% and 100%.
This way of making money is very easy, so it attracts more powerful people to join this industry.
In the Northern Wei Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, loan sharking was very common, and the interest rates were set very high. Many people went bankrupt due to loan sharking. As the number of bankruptcies increased, the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty believed that usury had affected social harmony and stability, so they stipulated that the maximum annual interest rate on loans should not exceed 100%.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the government set up a special fund called "Gongshi Capital" for official loans, whose functions were somewhat similar to those of banks in later generations. The capital of the public house is managed by the governor of each state. It lends 50,000 capital and charges an interest of 4,000 yuan per month, with an annual interest rate of about 100%. This is government behavior, not to mention private behavior.
The common loan interest rate in the early Northern Song Dynasty was generally maintained at around 100% until Wang Anshi's Reform. His Green Crop Law stipulated that the loan interest rate was 20%, which greatly reduced the loan interest rate.
However, Wang Anshi gave local governments loan quotas and required them to complete the loan tasks. Therefore, in order to complete the task and see the benefits, the local government forced the people to take a loan in the spring and again in the fall. The interest rate suddenly became 40%.
Not to mention, when the local government implements it, it is often not just the loan interest, but also added on privately. Therefore, it is reasonable that Wang Anshi's reform failed.
By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian nobles distributed "good office money". Not to mention that the annual interest rate is as high as 100%. The interest will be transferred to the principal in the next year, and the principal will be re-interested. It is sometimes called "lamb interest" or "lamb interest". Once a household is in debt, it is often the case that the family is broken up and the family is broken up due to the inability to repay the debt.
Starting from the Ming Dynasty, the phenomenon of loan sharking has been significantly improved. Most of the loan interest rates recorded in historical data remain between 20% and 36%.
However, in the loan incident that Zhang Mingwei encountered today, the loan interest rate reached 50%, which is also considered usury.
Even if compared with later generations, no matter which dynasty they are in, they are all usury!
Needless to say, the harm of loan sharking is that it robs the poor and gives to the rich. It is the most direct way for the rich and the powerful to make money.
Thinking of this, Zhang Mingwei turned to Liu Jin and said, "Let's check back and see what the current lending interest rate situation is like in Ming Dynasty."
"Okay!" Upon hearing this, Liu Jin quickly agreed and wrote down the matter.
After turning two streets and seeing the Forbidden City, I suddenly heard movement from behind.
When he turned around to look, he saw a group of people coming in a hurry, and there were vague shouts.
"Master, it's Master Fang and his son!" Liu Jin was born as an Orion, and his eyes were trained to see everything clearly, and he said with a smile immediately.
Sure enough, at this time, Fang Yizhi's shout could already be heard: "Teacher, walk slowly, mentor, walk slowly..."
In that shout, you can still hear the joy.
When Zhang Mingwei saw it, he reined in his horse and waited for them to come over.
However, he is a little strange.
Because he entered the palace a little late and was delayed on the way, logically speaking, everyone who was invited today should have already entered the palace. How come Fang Yizhi and his son are later than him!
Perhaps because they followed Zhang Mingwei, his two disciples, including Fang Kongzhen, all rode horses instead of sedans. He quickly arrived in front of Zhang Mingwei and quickly greeted him with a "Happy New Year".
"Happy New Year!" Zhang Mingwei replied with a smile, and then asked casually, "Why are you here so late?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Yizhi immediately looked at his father and did not dare to interrupt.
Fang Kongzhen immediately smiled and said to Zhang Mingwei: "Replying to my teacher, my disciple and Quanzi have been busy with coins. They just went to my teacher's house again, so I came here late."
Hearing this, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but be a little surprised, and immediately said to them: "It's New Year's Eve, and you don't take a break, but you are still busy with this?"
Even ordinary people take the New Year's Eve very seriously.
Fang Kongzheng's family is a family of officials. They have a big business and they will definitely take it very seriously. Unexpectedly, these two people have been busy working, which is really surprising.
Hearing the surprise in Zhang Mingwei's voice, Fang Kongzhen couldn't hide the smile on his face. He turned to his son and said, "Come, let me take a look at it and see if it's okay?"
"Okay!" Fang Yizhi couldn't wait for a long time. He quickly agreed and carefully took off a piece of cloth tied to his body.
Zhang Mingwei looked at it, a little curious, what is going on?
Suddenly, he thought of something, but it seemed a bit impossible!
Fang Yizhi untied the piece of cloth on horseback, revealing a rectangular box wrapped inside, and handed it to his father respectfully.
Then Fang Kongzhen took it with both hands and respectfully presented it to Zhang Mingwei. At the same time, he said excitedly: "Teacher, please take a look. I wonder if this coin is ready?"
Zhang Mingwei was greatly surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect that it was really coins. Did it come out so quickly?
According to his estimate, it would take at least half a month for the two of them to get results.
So, he couldn't help but become curious, could it really be possible?
With this idea in mind, he took it, opened the box and looked at it on the spot.
I saw that the inside of the box was made of silk and satin, and the rows of coins on the surface turned out to be real coins.
Zhang Mingwei picked up a copper coin and looked at it, then picked up a silver coin and a gold coin and observed them one by one. He discovered that Fang Kongzhen and his son had indeed punched out the coin according to his request.
Although it is not as good as the coins of later generations, in terms of exquisiteness, it is not comparable to the copper coins made by casting on the market today.
"Not bad, not bad!" Zhang Mingwei was very happy after seeing it, and praised while looking at the coins.
After hearing this, Fang Kongzhen and Fang Yizhi looked at each other, both showing happy smiles.
Although the two of them were invited by Emperor Chongzhen to participate in this Spring Festival Gala. However, they also knew that Song Yingxing and his son contributed the most to the steam engine.
To be honest, they were a little unconvinced, so they worked hard on the coin. They worked day and night, and finally had the desired effect on the coin before attending the Spring Festival Gala.
In this way, both of them can participate in the Spring Festival Gala with confidence.
Now that they have been praised by Duke Xingguo, the two of them are naturally very happy!
Looking at these coins, Zhang Mingwei immediately had an idea in his mind.
