Chapter 1539 Sing and Harmony
With the strength of local banks, they naturally did not dare to collide with Haihan Bank head-on. Even if he had objections to the plan proposed by Cai Jinmei, Jin Mingfa did not directly object in words, but chose delaying tactics. He could see that Haihan was eager to promote the unification of business standards, and delaying time might be a more effective way to deal with it than direct confrontation. If he could get a little more time to respond, Jin Mingfa believed that this matter might not turn around.
But how could his petty thoughts escape Cai Jinmei's eyes? When the Ministry of Finance formulated the plan, Cai Jinmei had already considered various possible reactions from local banks. Wanting to rely on delaying tactics to hinder Haihan's actions, Cai Jinmei has naturally prepared the means to deal with it. But she didn't rush to speak, but wanted to see other people's reactions.
The bank bosses didn't know what cards Haihan had in his hand. They only knew that Jin Mingfa's words gave them a glimmer of hope to change the situation, and they quickly cooperated to complain, training personnel, adjusting business strategies, etc. It takes time, don't rush it.
Cai Jinmei watched the group of people complaining calmly. After their performance was over, she said, "Everyone is crying, but I think Boss He from Hexinghao is quite quiet. Does Boss He have any other ideas?" ”
Only then did everyone notice that He Tinggui did not express his position just now. Jin Mingfa's heart sank, knowing that He Tinggui had not spoken before, and now Cai Jinmei deliberately pointed to him, fearing that he had secretly colluded with the Haihan people, and took this opportunity to let him Come forward to build momentum for Haihan.
He Tinggui's face was very calm. He cupped his hands towards Cai Jinmei and said, "Mr. Cai, you said that the two countries are about to establish trade relations. Do you have any evidence?"
Cai Jinmei said: "Every boss here, those who are well-informed may have heard the news. Your country's court has already agreed on the regulations, and it will be announced to the world in the near future. If you want to prove it, you can ask the officials you know as soon as possible. That's not the case. Of course, the lower-ranking officials don't know the news for the time being. If you want to inquire, it's best to ask officials of the fourth rank or above. What they say should be quite credible. ?”
He Tinggui nodded and said: "That's the case, then I will treat this matter as true. If the two countries do business in the future, as Mr. Cai said, there will inevitably be cross-border circulation of coins. If our bank cannot do it, You will indeed lose many customers if you use deposit and withdrawal. So I think that since the trend has been predicted, it is a great opportunity to make money. It is not too late to start preparing now. Can we let such a great opportunity go in vain? ?”
"Boss He knows the general idea." Regarding He Tinggui's knowledge and interest, Cai Jinmei naturally praised He Tinggui without any regard for the ugly faces of others: "The Ming Dynasty is willing to open up the trade rights of coastal states to our country. What does this move mean? Don’t you realize it at all? If you don’t even have this basic business sense, then I think you should transfer your business as soon as possible and let someone who knows the business take over!”
Cai Jinmei's words were extremely rude and did not save any face for the bank bosses here. She does look down on this group of people a little. Her vision is really narrow, and she has no clear understanding of things outside her field of vision. What does it mean for the Ming Dynasty to open the trade rights in coastal areas to Haihan? These people are ignorant and still stare at the meat in the bowl in front of them and refuse to move. It is no wonder that they have not made any big achievements in this industry.
After Cai Jinmei finished speaking, she gave He Tinggui a look that was not easily noticed. The latter understood it and quickly said: "I have some ideas about the establishment of communication and trade between the two countries, and I would like to ask Mr. Cai to correct me."
Cai Jinmei nodded and said: "But it doesn't matter."
He Tinggui cleared his throat and said: "Ningbo is the easternmost state capital in Zhejiang. Maritime trade has always been the main local industry. Since the merchants of Haihan Kingdom came to Zhoushan, trade between the two countries has been in progress. , this is something everyone knows. As for the amount of money circulating in the trade between the two countries, everyone here must be more or less aware of it. How many maritime merchants have made a lot of money from these businesses, I think the court has no idea. The fat man will definitely not turn a blind eye. To be precise, the big shots in the capital must be eyeing this fat man.”
Looking at the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, He Tinggui knew that his words had played a guiding role, and he continued: "Everyone knows that sea trade business can make a lot of money, but in the past it was a shady business. Only a few people make money. Now the court wants to legalize these businesses, and the purpose is naturally to collect part of the profits into the treasury. But no matter how it is done, the court will always send people to participate in the trade. Of course, they will. Come with a lot of money”
After everyone heard this, they roughly understood what He Tinggui wanted to express. The maritime trade business in Zhejiang, especially the smuggling trade, has always been a very profitable industry, and Haihan has made the cake a lot bigger since he came. There are many people who have made a fortune by taking advantage of this opportunity. The capital is not ignorant of this, but because of the intricate interest relationships and the long geographical distance, it is difficult for the capital to directly interfere with Zhejiang's import and export trade.
The plan for establishing diplomatic relations proposed by Haihan to the Ming Dynasty based on the Liaodong issue included the opening of coastal state capitals to trade. Some officials in the imperial court believed that this was actually a good opportunity for the country to incorporate these gray areas into government monitoring. Of course, there must be some selfish motives in it. After all, as long as they can get a foothold in the trade with Haihan, it means that huge profits will continue to flow into their own pockets.
In the past, the smuggling trade in Zhejiang was monopolized by a few local businessmen. Haihan also established a regular investment promotion system for this purpose. Senior officials in the capital could only watch anxiously but could not get involved. However, once the two countries establish trade links, the smuggling trade will become Once it becomes a legal business, Haihan will no longer restrict the qualifications of trade partners as it does now, and it will be much easier for foreign businessmen with official backgrounds to enter this field.
This will have a big impact on local businessmen in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, but for those doing bank business, it is the best opportunity to make money. Because no matter how much money foreign businessmen have or what background they have, they will always deposit their cash in local banks when they arrive here. Which bank can achieve universal deposit and redemption with Haihan will undoubtedly gain an advantageous position in the competition. But not everyone can have this overall view. For example, the Ningbo bank bosses here are completely unaware of the huge business opportunities they may miss.
He Tinggui has indeed had personal contacts with Haihan for a long time, and was recognized by Cai Jinmei for his flexible mind and non-conformity. He even secretly went to Zhoushan to receive training in financial knowledge. Before participating in today's meeting, he had also received instructions from Haihan and was waiting for an opportunity to cooperate with Cai Jinmei during the meeting. Although doing so may lead to being regarded as a traitor by his colleagues in Ningbo in the future, this is no longer a big deal for He Tinggui.
Being close to Haihan's big tree, even if he doesn't open a bank in the future, he doesn't have to worry about starving to death. Haihan will naturally arrange a way out for him. What's more, he doesn't think that his peers can join forces to resist him. After all, after today's meeting, the banks that can survive will definitely choose to take sides. The banks that are unwilling to cooperate deeply with Haihan will not be able to open many businesses. Oh my god. And the bankers who can survive will only have the same position as him, so there is no hatred at all. After He Tinggui explained the matter in a concise and concise manner, the attitude of the bank bosses began to soften. After all, this was an opportunity for the bank to make a lot of money. If you don't follow the path Haihan pointed out, you will actually be struggling with money. . But for them, they still inevitably worry that after adjusting according to Haihan's requirements, their bank will be slowly assimilated until it is annexed by Haihan Bank at some point.
At this time, Jin Ming, the spokesperson of the local bank, could only speak out for everyone: "Boss He is certainly right, but this deposit and withdrawal will inevitably involve the disclosure of some of the accounts of each bank to Haihan. This is a bank." How can you reveal your family background so easily?”
Cai Jinmei responded coldly: "For the general deposit and exchange business, special accounts can be set up. It is enough to announce this to us. Besides, each bank only discloses this account to us, and we can still communicate with each other. Keep it confidential.”
"Whether this... is safe or not remains to be discussed, right?" Jin Mingfa still asked unwillingly.
Cai Jinmei said: "Whether it is safe or not is guaranteed by the reputation of our Haihan Bank over the past few years. You can weigh it yourself. Of course, you can also choose not to cooperate. We have proposed this unified standard plan, not to force everyone to Everyone has the right to say no to the participation of the bank, but I want to remind everyone that there will be no such store after this village. If you want to join the system we have established in the future, you will not. It’s free.”
The bank bosses naturally know the reputation of Haihan Bank. In terms of its strong capital, there is probably no private bank in the entire Ming Dynasty that can match it. Moreover, the management level of Haihan Bank is obvious to all, and its service content and operating methods are far beyond those of private banks. Coupled with Haihan's armed protection, it is almost impeccable. Just relying on the golden brand name of Haihan Bank, no matter how well-run a bank is, it will feel inferior.
As for Cai Jinmei saying that she can choose not to cooperate with Haihan, this is actually not a project that people here can choose calmly. If anyone dares to make it clear that they do not want to cooperate, the consequences may not only be a matter of missing out on making money, but also a matter of whether they can Can you continue to survive after offending Haihan Bank? If the risk of cooperation is that it will be annexed by Haihan Bank in the later stage, then the risk of non-cooperation is probably that it will be bankrupted in the short term. Even a dissident person like Jin Mingfa would not be bold enough to challenge Haihan's patience by risking the safety of his own bank.
At this time, He Tinggui appeared very cleverly and answered the question: "Excuse me, Mr. Cai, how many days do we have to consider this matter?"
Cai Jinmei raised a finger and said: "One day. Please forgive me, I have too many things at hand and I don't have time to stay in Ningbo for too long. So before sunset today, please give me a clear answer. No decision has been made by the time. Choosing a bank, I also regard it as giving up this opportunity.”
After everyone heard the previous mention of one day, they thought that they could go back and gather their families and subordinates for another meeting in the evening to discuss the matter. Unexpectedly, the day Cai Jinmei mentioned meant one day during the day today, and no time for overnighting was given. It can be said that the time was stuck. Quite harsh.
If Cai Jinmei had put forward such conditions from the beginning, maybe these people here would have walked away, but now they dare not do so, because there is He Tinggui who has clearly sided with Haihan. If they just left like this, wouldn't they automatically give up their cooperation with Haihan Bank and leave all opportunities to He Tinggui's Hexing account? When the time comes, Haihan Bank will definitely support Hexinghao to grow bigger in Ningbo. So what will they do to compete with He Tinggui?
As expected, He Tinggui was unreasonable and his script of being Haihan's pawn was exposed. He immediately expressed his position: "He Xinghao is willing to advance and retreat together with Haihan Bank. I also ask Mr. Cai for your guidance."
"Very good. I appreciate a smart and cheerful person like Boss He." Cai Jinmei finally had a faint smile on her face. This was probably the first time she had such an expression since she entered the room. It was obvious that she I should be quite satisfied with He Tinggui's performance.
He Tinggui's statement undoubtedly put everyone else present on the fire. Although there were several basins of ice cubes placed in the room and the room temperature was already very cool, many people were still sweating on their backs. Because the next decision they have to make is likely to affect the prospects of their own industry, and if they are not careful, they may even lose everything.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Cai Jinmei knew that it was best to leave some space for them at this time, so she stood up and said: "Everyone can think carefully here. Once you have made a decision, ask the attendants outside the door to lead the way. Me. Boss He, come with me. Just sign the agreement.”
He Tinggui responded quickly, stood up and bowed to everyone present, and then followed Cai Jinmei out of the room.
As soon as he left, everyone in the room began to curse in low voices this traitor who had colluded with Haihan to cheat on others. Of course, in fact, they also knew in their hearts that if they were in He Tinggui's position and had such a big backer, they might not be any better than him.
(End of chapter)