Chapter 246 Promotion of the Financial System
After Wei Ping sent his first letter of persuasion to Yazhou, the Port Area Management Committee had already arranged for people to start building a new Yulin Inspection Department Yamen. However, due to the recent development of Tieliang Port, most of the construction workers under the Ministry of Construction were sent to Tieliang Port to work. Therefore, the construction progress of the Inspection Department can only be described as very slow. It took more than ten days to complete the construction. Only the basic ground drainage ditch and foundation construction have been completed, and not even the shadow of the house has been seen. Although Wei Ping was very anxious, he did not dare to rush the people from the Ministry of Construction - the Ministry of Construction was the yamen directly under the direct supervision of Tao Donglai, Chief Tao, and he could not afford to offend him. Wei Ping was not interested in the stakes involved. Very clear.
Moreover, the Inspection Department is not the only one whose project has been delayed. The "Safety and Security Office" and "Port Affairs Center" on the left and right sides of the Inspection Department have also only completed the preliminary foundation works and have not received any special care. This is even more It was so that Wei Ping couldn't find any faults.
Just because the inspection department has not been built, it doesn't mean that Wei Ping and his gang don't have to do anything. Early that morning, someone notified Wei Ping and asked him to assemble his team and go to the dock to perform the task. This is not the first time Wei Ping has received this so-called "task". Starting from September, every time a large number of immigrants arrive at Victory Port, the relevant departments will pull out the inspection department and make a show on the dock, so as to comfort and intimidate the new immigrants. Wei Ping gathered the team slowly, dressed neatly, took the flag of the inspection department to the pier, and started another performance. But this time when they saw more than a dozen ships entering the port at the same time, the people in the Inspection Department were all talking about it, wondering whether the Haihan people had a new stronghold to develop.
With a large number of militiamen and security guards present, there is no need for the inspection department to intervene in matters such as maintaining order. At this time, Ren Liang sent someone to convey a new mission to them - to meet a group of merchants from Guangzhou who had just arrived here. Only then did Wei Ping know that more than half of the ships in this fleet came from Guangzhou. Wei Ping also understood Ren Liang's purpose of asking him to "meet him", which was to give these outsiders a lesson in an official capacity to prevent them from causing trouble in Victory Port.
So Wei Ping and a group of his men hurried to another dock and gave a brief lecture to several Guangzhou merchants who had just disembarked. The content was nothing more than warning them to be more honest and obey the port management committee while in Victory Port. Arrangement, if you cause any trouble due to violation of laws and disciplines during your stay in Victory Port, then don’t even think about returning to Guangzhou.
Wei Ping's lecture not only did not arouse resentment among the merchants, but actually made them feel more at ease. Several of these merchants have never been to Hainan Island. After drifting on the sea for a few days, they can't tell the direction at all. Although they know that Victory Port is near Yazhou, there is no clear location where it is. concept, now that there are people from the Inspection Department stationed here, it is at least certain that this place is under the rule of the Ming Dynasty - at least in their eyes.
At this point, the Inspection Department's tasks are basically completed, and the remaining tasks will be taken over by the Port Management Committee. Ren Liang took a group of interested newcomers to visit the Shengli Port Business District, which is under development, and briefly explained to them the significance of establishing this business district and some of its foreign policies.
Almost all merchants' eyes lit up when they heard about Victory Port's tax-free policy. This policy is extremely attractive to merchants who are engaged in the transportation of bulk maritime cargo all year round. If you can save hundreds of taels of tax per transaction, then the savings throughout the year will be very considerable. In comparison, the freight required to transport goods from Guangzhou to Victory Port is actually a small amount.
Ren Liang introduced: "You have just seen that we are expanding the port here. Once completed, it will be able to dock more than 30 large-scale ships at the same time, and will be equipped with a dedicated cargo loading and unloading team to achieve efficient and effective cargo handling. Preface. In addition, please remember that as long as the goods are purchased by us, there will be no additional charges for unloading at Victory Port. Of course, there will be no shipping charges for the goods you purchase from us. "
A merchant asked: "But the goods we transport here may need to be traded with other merchants. I wonder if you will provide a dedicated trading place for foreign merchants?"
Ren Liang nodded and said: "We will build a dedicated trading center at the port later to announce the prices and demand for various goods in real time, so that bosses can learn about local commodity prices. And we will also provide third-party information for both parties to the transaction. Risk guarantee, the buyer can deposit the money in the trading center, issue a bill after satisfactory inspection, and the seller will take the bill to the trading center to collect the money. As long as you trade in this way, you no longer have to worry about being cheated. ”
"Does this kind of transaction guarantee require a fee?" Another merchant asked.
Ren Liang smiled and said: "Since we provide the service and bear certain risks, it is normal to charge a small service fee. But please don't worry, the fees we charge are extremely low. We only pay for successful transactions." Each party charges one thousandth of the transaction amount as a service fee.”
When everyone thought about it, they only received one tael of silver for these thousand taels. In fact, it was almost the same as confiscation, not to mention that they had to provide various services. Compared with the business tax of 30 taels per tael under the Ming Dynasty, such a fee was simply a small amount. It's so low that it can be ignored.
A chubby merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked in a Chaoshan accent: "If the amount of money is huge, it will be inconvenient to transport it from Guangzhou. Do you have a solution?"
"We have considered this issue for a long time. Bosses can deposit cash into the bank in Shengli Port and directly use the bank notes issued by the bank to transfer transactions. Next year, we will also open the deposit and exchange business between Shengli Port and Guangzhou. As long as The banknotes issued by our Haihan Bank can be freely exchanged for cash in both places." Ren Liang worked very hard to promote to these merchants: "In other words, you don't need to carry a large amount when you come to Shengli Port to do business. If your cash travels across the ocean, you only need to deposit the money into our bank in Guangzhou, take the banknote to Shengli Port for trading, and then return to Guangzhou to withdraw the cash. It is safe, easy and convenient, and you don’t have to worry about it. When I returned home, I brought cash and was charged an increase by the Shipping Department.”
Increased rates are a tax set up by the Municipal Shipping Department for those maritime merchants who trade in Luzon. These maritime merchants often have little cargo on their return journey, but a large amount of Mexican silver dollars. The Municipal Shipping Division has added such a tax to fill the gap. Loopholes in the tax system. The method proposed by Ren Liang not only eliminates the risk of maritime merchants transporting large amounts of money between the two places, but also allows maritime merchants to "reasonably avoid taxes" and avoid the imposition of increased rates when they return to Guangzhou.
Although the current stock of precious metals crossing the group is not very large, the financial sector can't wait to incorporate the banking system into the commercial and trade system. Schneider also made several reports back from Guangzhou, explaining the benefits of establishing a deposit and exchange system between the two places to expand the trade volume of Victory Port. The Executive Committee naturally knows that banks and banks are good businesses with huge profits, and can indeed greatly promote the enthusiasm of merchants to trade in Victory Port. However, in view of the fact that the shipping frequency between the two places has not been fixed yet, the establishment of a shipping line between the two places Banking will inevitably involve the transportation of a large amount of money, so this economic expansion plan has to be postponed for a period of time and will not be implemented until the maritime transport capacity has eased.
However, compared with operation, it is more difficult to gain the trust of maritime merchants in banks. Changing real money into a few pieces of paper seems to be a serious lack of security for businessmen in this era, because the lessons of the Ming Dynasty's treasure banknotes are still vivid in their minds.
As the only official currency during the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Bao Banknotes were issued from the eighth year of Hongwu Period until the Zhengde Period when they had to be abolished due to severe depreciation and public dissatisfaction. They circulated for more than 270 years in total. From then on, the people of the Ming Dynasty had a natural repulsion towards banknotes, because no one knew how long this thing would be valid. Even if the officially issued currency is like this, it will be even more difficult to get these merchants to recognize Haihan's banknotes.
These people are not as good as the local naturalized citizens who use tradable coupons. The original reason why naturalized citizens accepted tradable coupons was mainly because they had no other choice, because in Victory Port it was no longer possible to use copper coins and silver coins for ordinary transactions, and they wanted to buy anything. You must use circulation coupons. After long-term use, the people gradually accepted this currency in the form of circulation notes. Moreover, the prices in Victory Port have always been maintained at a relatively low level due to the deliberate control of the Executive Committee. This is also to a certain extent. It ensures the purchasing power of circulating coupons, thereby giving the public enough confidence to hold and use them.
In the late Ming Dynasty, some banks, bank accounts, and bank accounts with the nature of banks began to appear among the people. However, the accumulation of this kind of credit often takes several generations, and the executive committee does not have the patience to slow it down. Slowly grinding, it is even less possible to introduce private banks from the mainland to Shengli Port to snatch their own meat. However, the amount of money used by businessmen in transactions is relatively large, often ranging from hundreds to thousands of taels. No one will easily risk their own wealth to try out the credit of a new bank. Therefore, Ren Liang's promotion of the bank did not arouse the interest of merchants. On the contrary, some people began to wonder secretly in their hearts, whether this Haihan man was really worthy of trust because he was so whimsical. Ren Liang was not too surprised by the cold reaction of the businessmen. This was actually expected by the executive committee. Wanting to promote more advanced financial concepts and operating methods in this era is not something that can be accomplished overnight. For everything, someone must first stand up and eat the crabs before they can attract more followers because of their role model. Paper The same goes for the emergence of banknotes and banks.
Fortunately, the promotion and establishment of the financial system has been carried out since the beginning of the landing. Although no formal bank has been opened yet, in fact Haihan's financial system has been operating externally for a long time, and it also has several partners. Currently, it has The parties with which Crossing Group has trading relationships have basically accepted Crossing Group's settlement method for circulating coupons. In particular, "Fu Ruifeng", which has a large transaction volume with Chuan Chuan Group, has already agreed that both parties can use bills instead of cash for financial settlement in Shengli Port and Guangzhou. "Furuifeng" can be regarded as the first in mainland China.
It just so happened that Li Nai, the third young master of "Fu Ruifeng", was also a guest in Shengli Port. Ren Liang would definitely not miss this opportunity for the person involved to show up and give his own explanation. Soon Jiang San led Li Nai to the scene, intending to let these new merchants understand how Haihan's financial system worked.
Prior to this, the executive committee also specifically talked to Li Nai about this matter, hoping that he could help persuade Guangzhou merchants to accept Haihan Bank. Li Nai didn't have much resistance to this and quickly agreed. As the cooperation between the two parties has gradually deepened in recent months, "Furuifeng" has gradually felt the convenience of this off-site settlement system. For example, Li Nai did not bring much cash with him when he came to Victory Port this time. The goods purchased at Victory Port can be settled directly with the Guangdong Office in Guangzhou through the "Furuifeng" head office, and there is no need to take risks anymore. Taking risks, he transported tens of thousands of taels of silver across the sea.
As Li Nai himself lived in Victory Port for longer and longer, he became more and more deeply aware of the "superiority of the system" that the Haihan people often talked about. This superiority is not only reflected in the management form of the executive committee, but also plays a role in scientific research, production, commerce, life and other aspects all the time. Now the Haihan people are trying to officially launch the bank as a financial institution to the mainland. Li Nai is also very curious about this. He really wants to see what the Haihan people, who have already created many miracles, will do in finance. What are some extraordinary actions?
Li Nai's appearance only caused a small commotion. After all, the bigger merchants in Guangzhou know that "Fu Ruifeng" has a close relationship with the Haihan people. Haihan products in Guangzhou have always been sold only by "Fu Ruifeng" "The family is for sale, and it is reasonable for Li Nai, as the third young master of the Li family, to appear in Victory Port.
After Li Nai's personal statement, most people have less doubts about the bank mentioned by Ren Liang. After all, the scale of the transaction of "Fu Ruifeng" is there. If the Haihan people want to cheat money, "Fu Ruifeng" may be the first to be unlucky. And Li Jifeng is famously shrewd in the business circle of Guangzhou. Obviously he would not take such a big risk for no reason, let alone let his son come out to endorse the Haihan people casually - of course, in fact, this last one was Li Nai's own decision, without his father's consent.
Next, Li Nai generously took these merchants to visit the local business building site of "Furuifeng". At present, in addition to "Furuifeng", Yazhou's local merchant "Anfuhang" has also circled a piece of land in the business district and is preparing to open a business store. In addition, Luo Shengdong also asked for a small area near the dock in the name of Yazhou Water Village. He reported to his superiors that it would be used as a "Yazhou Navy Stronghold", but in fact he planned to take He Participate in the general investment and open a restaurant here to do business.
After Wei Ping heard about it a few days ago, he also anxiously applied for land to Ren Liang, and claimed that the people from the Inspection Department had already discussed it and were preparing to allocate all the "inspection department office funds" for next year to the business district. Open a restaurant here. However, this request was temporarily suppressed by Ren Liang. If Wei Ping managed the Yazhou matter, the land would be easy to talk about. There is also a question mark over the existence of the Yulin Inspection Department.
When the merchants saw the scale of the "Fu Ruifeng" store, they knew that the Li family had invested a lot of money here and planned to stay here for a long time to do business with the Haihan people. Immediately, anxious people began to ask Ren Liang about the local land policy, preparing to follow "Fu Ruifeng" to set up a business in Shengli Port. Some people quietly pulled Li Nai aside and asked him whether the Haihan people were as strong as they seemed.
After listening to this, Li Nai sighed: "If we look at Qiongzhou Island as a place, no one can compare with it. Everyone, this place will become a big port in the South China Sea in a few years. The money required to start now is not too high." Many, if we wait until this place becomes a big port before we think of this enclosure, it will be too late!”
Some people who don’t know the truth are a bit dissatisfied with Li Nai’s evaluation: “This place is under the rule of Yazhou, and I have frequent contacts with senior officials in Yazhou. I guess it’s not as difficult as Brother Li said to find a piece of land through various channels.”
Li Nai laughed and said: "That's wrong. Now Yazhou is weak and Haihan is strong. Although this place is indeed under the rule of Yazhou, the big boss of Yazhou may not be able to control the affairs of Shengli Port."
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"What does this mean?" the man asked in confusion.
Li Nai looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he lowered his voice and said: "Officials in Yazhou, from Tongzhi to the following, have been bribed by the Haihan people. Even if the master of Zhizhou is interested, the people below How can we go against the Haihan people? ”
"Aren't the Haihan people afraid that the adults over there in Yazhou will find an excuse to send warships to blockade this place?" The man still looked unbelieving.
Speaking of this aspect, Li Nai said with great disdain: "The militiamen of the Haihan militia here are more than the official army of Yazhou Water Village, and their armament and combat power are much higher than that of the official army... If you stay here longer, In the past few days, there may be a chance to see the commander of Yazhou Water Village reporting here with his warship. The commander of Yazhou Water Village, Commander Luo, comes to Victory Port much more frequently than me. It must arrive on the first and fifteenth day of every month, which is even more punctual than offering incense to the Bodhisattva.”
"This is happening!" The man was also shocked. Collusion between officials and businessmen is not news, but collusion between military and businessmen is rare. And listening to Li Nai's words, it is obvious that the cooperative relationship between the two parties is very deep.
Li Nai said meaningfully: "This place, Victory Port, is just like your home and my home. It is said that it was all under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, but in this home, the master naturally has the final say. The Haihan people are the masters here. ”
(End of chapter)