Chapter 44 Inner Treasury
Li Chengze asked in a deep voice:
“The eldest princess has returned to Beijing?”
"She gave you the accounting documents of the inner treasury?"
"I've already asked someone to do a preliminary calculation."
"The internal treasury actually has a deficit of more than 20 million taels!"
"She is forcing me to give up control of the inner library!"
There was a hint of anxiety in Fan Xian's tone. He came here to find a solution.
"Your Highness, do you have any clever ideas that can help me solve this situation?" Fan Xian asked.
This time he came to seek help.
"Tip, trigger the passive level mission 'Wealth'!"
As soon as Fan Xian finished speaking, a system notification sounded in Li Chengze's mind.
This reminder made Li Chengze secretly happy.
Li Yunrui was such an unexpected surprise. He brought two tasks as soon as he appeared. It was really a surprise.
"The gold-level passive mission 'Wealth' has been triggered!"
"Mission goal: to fill the huge deficit in the internal treasury."
"Task completion reward: Gold level treasure chest*1."
"Punishment for mission failure: Random deprivation of a knowledge, skill, prop or bloodline."
"Select Accept/Decline."
As Fan Xian finished speaking, he triggered this passive task with a gesture of request. Li Chengze thought for a moment, then stretched out his finger and touched it lightly, accepting the task.
Li Chengze looked at his task list and found that he had quite a few tasks at hand: -
The task was "Fighting", with the goal of resolving the conflict between Li Yunrui and Fan Xian.
-
The passive mission "The End of the Crown Prince", the goal is to overthrow the crown prince's status.
-
The goal of the passive mission "Wealth" is to fill the deficit of more than 20 million taels in the internal treasury.
"Your Highness, what do you have in mind?" Fan Xian couldn't help but ask again when he saw Li Chengze was silent in thought.
"The deficit of more than two million taels is not a small amount. Do you have any plans of your own?" Li Chengze asked Fan Xian.
In the original work, Fan Xian once thought of raising funds by issuing bonds, and with Emperor Qing's help in the flower viewing event at the Hanging Temple, he finally successfully completed the task. Li Chengze knows that solving this problem may require some innovative financial means and political wisdom.
"I have considered issuing bonds to attract private capital to fill the shortfall." Fan Xian replied, "But such an approach requires His Majesty's support and a solid plan to ensure the safety and return of funds."
Li Chengze nodded and agreed: "This is indeed a feasible method. We need to formulate a detailed plan, including the scale of bond issuance, interest rates, repayment plans, etc., and we must consider how to attract investors and how to ensure the internal treasury. Long-term stability.”
The two began to discuss in depth to find the best solution to the problem. Li Chengze knows that this is not only a financial issue, but also a political issue. It requires a skillful balancing of the interests of all parties to achieve the goal.
"Your Highness, what do you have to say?" Fan Xian asked eagerly, obviously very concerned about this issue.
Li Chengze pondered for a moment, and then slowly said: "I do have several plans here, you can choose according to your own situation."
"Oh? Your Highness, please tell me." Fan Xian's eyes flashed with anticipation.
"I have three strategies: upper, middle and lower. Which one do you want to hear first?" Li Chengze asked.
"Three strategies? Your Highness, I haven't even thought of a solution yet, and you already have three strategies?" Fan Xian's eyes widened in surprise. "Your Highness, please tell me the best strategy first." Fan Xian said impatiently.
"Okay, the best solution is to issue treasury bonds." Li Chengze explained, "We can explain the concept of treasury bonds to wealthy businessmen in Kyoto and even the country, convert the more than 20 million taels of debt into bonds, and sell these bonds to Fill the gap.”
"Treasury debt?" Fan Xian frowned, obviously unfamiliar with this concept.
"Treasury debt, simply put, is a debt certificate issued by the government. The buyer is equivalent to lending money to the government, and the government will repay the principal and interest at a certain point in the future." Li Chengze continued to explain, "This method can Get immediate access to significant funding to ease current financial pressures. ”
"It sounds good, but it may take some time for people to accept this concept." Fan Xian said thoughtfully.
"This requires us to use some methods to promote and explain." Li Chengze nodded, "We can hold some lectures or publicize the benefits of treasury bonds through court announcements, so that people understand that buying treasury bonds can not only help the country solve its financial crisis , and can also bring stable income to themselves.”
"What about Zhongce?" Fan Xian asked curiously.
"The middle strategy is to increase taxation." Li Chengze said, "By adjusting tax policies and increasing tax rates on some luxury goods or high-income earners, we can increase the revenue of the state treasury. Of course, this needs to be done carefully to avoid causing social dissatisfaction."
"What's the next step?" Fan Xian asked.
"The next best thing is to cut expenditures." Li Chengze explained, "By reviewing and cutting unnecessary expenditures, such as reducing the palace's luxurious consumption, reducing unnecessary military expenditures, etc., we can reduce fiscal expenditures and relieve financial pressure."
"These three options have their own pros and cons. The best option can solve the problem quickly, but it will take time for people to accept it; the middle option may cause some social conflicts; the lower option requires us to start from within, which may affect some vested interests." Li Chengze concluded.
Fan Xian thought for a while, and then said: "I will carefully consider these three options to see which one is more suitable for the current situation. Thank you for your highness's suggestion."
Li Chengze smiled and nodded to express his understanding. He knew that every decision required careful consideration, especially on such a major matter related to national finances. The convenience of taking it out can attract a large number of businessmen. "
"Your Highness, your idea is very forward-looking." Fan Xian nodded in agreement, "The convenience of a bank is indeed the key to attracting customers."
"Moreover, we can also provide some additional services, such as money orders, letters of credit, etc., to further increase the bank's attractiveness." Li Chengze added.
"Bill of exchange and letter of credit?" Fan Xian looked a little curious about this concept.
"Yes, a money order is a payment instrument that allows merchants to transfer funds to different places without having to carry large amounts of cash. It is safe and convenient. A letter of credit is a guarantee issued by a bank, proving that a merchant has enough funds to complete the transaction, which can increase the credibility of the merchant," Li Chengze explained.
"These services sound useful, but to implement them, we need a complete system and reliable personnel." Fan Xian pondered.
"That's true. We need to establish a strict management system to ensure that the bank's operations are transparent and safe. At the same time, we also need to cultivate a group of professionals who understand financial knowledge and can operate these services." Li Chengze said.
"So, do we still need to formulate some laws and regulations to regulate the operations of banks and protect the interests of depositors and borrowers?" Fan Xian asked another question.
"Of course, laws and regulations are essential. We need to cooperate with the court to formulate a complete set of banking regulations, including deposit insurance, loan approval processes, risk control, etc." Li Chengze nodded.
"It seems that we still need to do a lot of work to run the bank well." Fan Xian sighed, but his eyes shone with determination.
"Yes, but this is a long-term investment. Once successful, it will not only solve the current financial problems, but also bring sustained economic benefits to the country." Li Chengze encouraged.
"Okay, that's it. We'll start with Kyoto first and gradually expand to other cities." Fan Xian made up his mind.
"I will fully support you. Let's work together to run this bank well." Li Chengze also expressed his support.
The two reached a consensus and decided to work together to promote the establishment and development of the bank to solve the problem of internal treasury deficit and lay a solid foundation for the country's prosperity and stability.
(End of chapter)