Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 418: Single-handedly dragging the imperial court into trouble

Fang Song's beating was not in vain. Although the issue of the silver for the crime was still being debated, the volume was not louder. It had not been decided yet because the emperor had not given the order. He had to wait for Lin Ruhai to come back and add him to the cabinet first.

Fang Song’s troubles were temporarily gone, but Jinshang Bank’s troubles were getting bigger and bigger.

Every day, a large number of people line up to withdraw money at the branches in the three urban areas of east, west and east.

To be honest, they were just unlucky. Xu Lin was a narrow-minded person. He didn't get to celebrate the festival at home, but when he was released, he started thinking about revenge on Jia Lian. When Jia Jing died, he thought it was an opportunity.

How to deal with a person? In this era, ruining a person's reputation is a common method. It's not that he has never thought about playing tricks in politics. Jia Lian has mixed reputations in the officialdom. People who don't like him mainly because of his background. When it comes to political achievements, it is still very convincing. Especially the battle of Zhangjiakou, without Jia Lian, maybe the capital would still be in turmoil.

After going around in circles, Xu Lin found that he had no other choice but to spread rumors and slander Jia Lian. However, this trick was actually of little use to Jia Lian and only served to disgust him.

Xu Lin is not a narrow-minded person. Coincidentally, Jia Lian is not a narrow-minded person either.

After discovering that it was the Xu family who were behind the incident, they immediately launched revenge. It can only be said that Xu Lin was able to pass the imperial examination, so he had intelligence, but he had very little experience of being beaten by society.

He thought he was doing it without anyone noticing, but he didn't know that all the local bosses were Jia Lian's men. Officially, there was the Wucheng Bingmasi, and in the underworld, there was Ni Er, and even the Dragon Guard could pass on a message if needed.

For three consecutive days, all the people who were involved in the run on Shanxi Merchants Bank were arranged by Jia Lian, and the banknotes were also issued by Jia Lian. There were tens of thousands of people, and several thousand people were arranged every day. For ten days or half a month, no one was carrying any heavy load.

Qiu Shian came to find Jia Lian, which was considered a quick response, but Jia Lian was even faster.

Before Qiu Shian did anything, he reported to the emperor first. Emperor Chenghui was also surprised after hearing this: "How could this be? There was no news beforehand. Did the secret guards get any news?"

Qiu Shian was realistic: "There is no news from the secret guards. The incident happened very suddenly. Those who went to withdraw money were all from Beijing. The amount they withdrew was not large, with the most being 300 to 500 yuan and the least being 20 to 30 yuan."

Emperor Chenghui nodded and said, "Go check who is behind this and tell Li Yuan that no one can touch a single ounce of silver in the central bank's treasury. Anyone who does will have his head chopped off."

Qiu Shian took the order and left. Emperor Chenghui asked the eunuch to take out the original plan for establishing the bank and read it carefully. Soon, a problem was discovered. There was a rule in the issuance of silver bills that in principle, each bank issued a silver bill worth one tael of silver. However, there were no relevant supervision measures in actual implementation. It only required each bank to deposit a deposit of one million taels of silver in the central bank's treasury. In other words, banks could not mint coins, but they could issue silver bills based on their reputation, which was equivalent to minting coins, and large amounts.

Emperor Chenghui was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly sent someone to find Jia Lian for questioning.

Jia Lian came over in a hurry. Emperor Chenghui threw the original plan in Jia Lian's face and said angrily: "How can a bank issue silver bills without any restrictions? How did you plan it?"

Jia Lian was anxious: "Your Majesty, this is not possible. I have made relevant provisions in the plan. The central bank must send personnel to supervise the issuance of silver bills in various banks. Every silver bill issued must be recorded and filed. In addition, silver bills cannot be used for daily transactions in the market. Merchants can use silver bills for business, but ordinary people need to exchange their money for silver dollars."

Emperor Chenghui still believed Jia Lian and pointed to the plan and said, "It does say that someone will be sent to supervise, but there is no limit on the number."

Jia Lian pointed at the plan and said, "Your Majesty, please read this. In principle, silver bills must have corresponding deposits and cannot be over-issued. If something goes wrong, it is the bank's business and the supervisor's business. It has nothing to do with me!" Emperor Chenghui did not expect that Jia Lian could do things so dirty. He had laid mines eight hundred years ago and was ready to cheat people when needed. Yes, the regulations are very clear. Over-issuance is the bank's fault.

There are many benefits to the existence of banks. For example, it makes it convenient to collect commercial taxes. The larger the business, the more they need to transfer money through banks, so it is difficult to conceal taxes.

Emperor Chenghui still ignored the greed of human nature. In order to expand operations and make more profits, it was common practice for banks to bribe supervisors and take the risk of issuing more silver bills.

To put it bluntly, you can't just see the money and not make it, right?
To put it bluntly, you have so much money deposited in the bank, I'll help you spend some of it.

If one or two branches do this, it won't be a big problem. But if so many branches do this across the country, that's a big problem. The most critical thing is the senior management of Jinshang Bank. In order to compete with the Huizhou merchants in Lianghuai, they have come up with many tricks. High interest rates to attract deposits are a small problem. Depositing 100 taels and being able to borrow 200 taels is a big problem. They all want to retain depositors, so taking risks is inevitable.

After a few years, it's like a person with high blood pressure. It's okay when nothing happens, but when something happens, his blood vessels will burst.

Now the troublemaker is standing in front of the emperor. Jia Lian will certainly not admit that he is the one who is causing the trouble. Even if the Dragon Guard investigates, it will not be Jia Lian's fault. Even if Ni Er is found, so what? Is it wrong for me to withdraw money? Or, if I deposit money in your bank, do you think you are the boss?

This was the Zhou Dynasty, where scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans were the majority, and merchants had a social status only slightly better than the lower nine classes.

"Then tell me, what should we do now?" Emperor Chenghui had a headache. He couldn't just let things develop. Even if he didn't understand finance, he would have thought that if many people didn't get their money back, something big would happen.

"Your Majesty, the central bank has the right and responsibility to supervise. For matters like this, you should go to the central bank. Speaking of which, I have quite a bit of silver deposited in his house." Jia Lian focused on making a non-stick pan and refused to get involved.

When Emperor Chenghui saw that Jia Lian was unwilling to get involved, he became more troubled. He could understand Jia Lian's choice. With such huge interests at stake and so many people involved, Jia Lian would be the target of public criticism if he got involved.

"We can't just let the situation develop as it is, can we?" Emperor Chenghui was very worried. The financial situation has improved in recent years and banks are very useful. Now that something like this has happened, what should he do?

"Send someone to find out the situation first. We need the most authentic data. Don't look at their fake accounts. The people at the central bank are about to take action. Keep an eye on the silver vault to prevent merchants from transferring cash. Also, many merchants deposit silver directly into banks to avoid seigniorage. This is robbing the court of money. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to cause trouble. Now I have to say it."

Jia Lian was very skilled at kicking someone when he was down, and he did not hesitate at all. Given the background of Shanxi merchants, this incident might not kill the Shanxi Merchants Bank, but it would definitely cause some damage.

We can also take this opportunity to sound a warning to the emperor and strengthen supervision in the future, which can also be regarded as an additional insurance policy.

Jia Lian wanted to escape, but the emperor would not let him, and told him to ask Li Yuan to come over and let Jia Lian sit in and give some advice. This was to force Jia Lian to his fate.

Jia Lian, unable to leave, had to stay, but he made up his mind not to talk if possible, so as to avoid Li Yuan misunderstanding that he had some ideas. You know, Li Yuan was a so-called wise king, and he often hosted banquets at home to entertain scholars, but he never invited Jia Lian. This was because he only considered the family background, and did not regard the top scholar as a scholar. The cause of this incident was probably that people around him often said bad things about Jia Lian, and Li Yuan had a preconceived impression.

From this incident, Jia Lian also saw that Li Yuan had a serious problem of listening to one side and believing in others. If he really became emperor, he would not be able to govern the country well. In comparison, Li Heng was also very bad at first, but he made great progress over time.

In the fight between Li Heng and Li Yuan, it seems that Li Yuan still has the upper hand, as he has bigger influence in the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the central bank. In contrast, Li Heng has a certain influence in the Tongzhengsi and the Honglu Temple, which are lower in rank.

Emperor Chenghui took Jia Lian to discuss how to strengthen supervision. Jia Lian repeatedly stated that supervision was the responsibility of the central bank, and that they should first ask the central bank how to do it, as they are familiar with the situation.

Emperor Chenghui lost his temper and could only wait patiently. There was nothing wrong with what Jia Lian said. How could he make random accusations without understanding the actual situation?
This is like someone speaking a long paragraph. A normal person can listen to the whole text and understand the core idea by combining it with the context. However, someone with ulterior motives will pick out a sentence, quote it out of context, and make a big fuss about it.

This kind of thing is too common, not only in reality, but also in the writings of saints. For example: When parents are still alive, do not travel far away, and when you travel, you must have a plan. Many people deliberately omit the last part "游必有方".

Jia Lian's character has always been that even if he respects the actual situation, he doesn't like to interfere in other people's work. Even if he occasionally impeaches others, it is because others made the first move and he is forced to fight back.

Emperor Chenghui also knew that Jia Lian was hated because of his excessive part-time jobs. But what can I say? If the emperor is not satisfied with the work done by others, it will cause more trouble. Jia Lian can only continue to suffer. Jia Lian also complained privately that the emperor was like Van Gundy, who only knew how to control the main force. A useful minister must be used to the death.

If I wasn't good at slacking off and hadn't mastered the essence of laziness at work, I would have been exhausted by so many part-time jobs.

Li Yuan arrived more than an hour later. He walked in such a hurry that he was sweating profusely. When he saw Jia Lian was there, he was stunned for a moment, but then his eyes lit up.

"Jia Lian, hurry to the gate of the Jinshang Bank's Chengxi Branch and tell the people from the Shenjiying to go home and stop queuing."

Li Yuan was anxious, too anxious. He saw Jia Lian as a man with a fire on his head, and saw a basin of water, and he immediately wanted to pick it up to put out the fire on his head.

When Jia Lian heard this, his heart skipped a beat. How could even Li Yuan think that the people from the Shenjiying would listen to him?

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chenghui's face darkened. He ordered Jia Lian to do something in front of me? Did he still care about me? Yes, the second brother spoke out of desperation, but why was he in desperation? How many unclear transactions were there between the second brother and the Shanxi Merchants Bank?

"Yes, Your Highness, I will go right away and try to persuade them to leave." Jia Lian actually did not arrange for the people from the Shenjiying to go and get the money, probably because of the herd effect. But this did not stop Jia Lian from agreeing immediately and pretending to help solve the problem.

Li Yuan's expression relaxed a little after listening to this. Just as he was about to speak, Emperor Chenghui slammed the table hard, BANG!
They both paused and looked over.

Emperor Chenghui then said to Li Yuan in a stern tone: "Second brother, this incident was caused by the Jinshang Bank itself. What does it have to do with the central bank or Jia Lian? When something went wrong, instead of reflecting on whether the central bank was competent in its daily supervisory work, you came to me and gave Jia Lian instructions?"

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Li Yuan's heart instantly turned into an iceberg, and his face turned pale. He was not a fool, so how could he not understand what Emperor Chenghui meant?

【Father asked four questions, each of which was very serious. What does this mean? What does this mean? What does this mean? …】

For a while, Li Yuan fell into a state of chaos. His mind was a mess. He stood there blankly, shaking his head hard, trying to wake himself up, but he was unable to come out of the chaos.

Jia Lian saw clearly that Li Yuan's current state was simply due to a severe shock, and his soul was unstable. In layman's terms, he was greatly frightened. Jia Lian had also experienced this state. When he was a child, he went crazy on the road to school, and a car passed by him. After surviving, his mind was a mess and he was in a state of disarray.

It is normal for this situation to occur. Li Yuan is usually too confident and thinks that he has no competitors for the throne. Even though he makes mistakes, his father still trusts him again and again.

The most powerful meaning of the previous sentence was Emperor Chenghui's distrust of him.

To be honest, Jia Lian felt very comfortable. Li Yuan disliked him, so how could Jia Lian like him?
But there is one thing, Jia Lian must hide his true attitude towards Li Yuan, especially when he saw the heartache flashing in Emperor Chenghui's eyes.

Well, the sunk cost is too high, and Emperor Chenghui did not completely give up Li Yuan. This is a bit like Kangxi's attitude towards the crown prince, making mistakes many times and forgiving many times.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince is also worried about state affairs, and he spoke without thinking for a while. After all, if something really happened to Jinshang Bank, it would be a huge matter. Moreover, the Second Prince is only responsible for the overall work in the central bank, and the specific matters are still handled by the people below. Banks are new things, and it is normal for problems to occur. It is not too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost. Just like the court, it is impossible for Your Majesty to be all-encompassing in such a large country. Before the problem occurs, you can only try to prevent it as much as possible. After it occurs, you can prevent it with a target, but new problems will soon arise. Therefore, it is not terrible for the country to have problems. As long as Your Majesty is here, the country can be stabilized and the situation can be reversed bit by bit. The same is true for the central bank. Jinshang Bank has exploited the loopholes in the system. The Second Prince is careful not to cause panic in the market. He is anxious for a while, and he is also doing things."

Jia Lian said a lot in one breath to attract Emperor Chenghui's attention and give Li Yuan some buffer time.

Emperor Chenghui looked very unhappy after hearing this. He glared at Jia Lian and said, "You are still speaking for him? He almost said that you were the one who arranged for the people from the Shenji Camp to go there."

Jia Lian could feel the change in Emperor Chenghui's tone and knew his true thoughts. He was very satisfied that Jia Lian could stand up and speak for Li Yuan at this time.

"Your Majesty, I don't like what you said. As long as people in the court do things, they will make mistakes and people will say things. There is a saying in the officialdom: the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; and if you do nothing, you make no mistakes. I am a pragmatic official and I understand this very well. No matter what you do, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, and there will always be people who talk behind your back. If the Second Prince was not in a hurry to do things, how could he say something wrong?"

Jia Lian continued to defend Li Yuan, and what he said made sense. This was not the first time, but twice. Both times Jia Lian spoke from the perspective of official business, and his character of respecting facts was more stable.

Taking advantage of Jia Lian's speech, Li Yuan's mentality was adjusted. If he said how much he felt ashamed of Jia Lian, he actually looked up to Li Yuan. After all, in his mind, Jia Lian was a minister of the royal family, and he gave Jia Lian face. As for speaking for himself, wasn't it his job? Moreover, Jia Lian was indeed suspected of sending people to line up. As for the reason, everyone knew that Wang Chong was organizing people to impeach Jia Lian a few days ago because of Xu Lin's matter. When impeaching Jia Lian, Xu Lin was the first to rush to the front, and he kept calling him "traitorous".

This is what Li Yuan thought in his heart. If someone said that Jia Lian had no intention of revenge, Li Yuan would definitely not believe it.

After Li Yuan's expression returned to normal, he bowed to Emperor Chenghui and said, "Father, I was really anxious and said something I didn't think should be said. Please forgive me."

After saying this, Emperor Chenghui's face changed slightly, and he became a little angry again. He pointed at Li Yuan and said, "Second brother, you should apologize to Jia Lian first."

After hearing this, Li Yuan was stunned again and almost blurted out, "Why?"

Fortunately, he opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, I said something wrong." Li Yuan reacted and apologized to Jia Lian immediately. Jia Lian was very disappointed, but he was smiling: "Your Highness is kind and generous, and you deserve the name of the virtuous king."

Li Yuan hummed with satisfaction, turned to Emperor Chenghui and said, "Father, your Majesty has summoned me. What do you want to tell me?"

Emperor Chenghui felt a little better when he saw him apologize, but he still felt uncomfortable because it seemed too forced.

"Second brother, quickly give orders to select capable personnel to enter Jinshang Bank, keep an eye on the silver vault, and closely monitor the transfer process. At the same time, the deposit that Jinshang Bank has placed in the silver vault of the central bank must not be withdrawn."

Emperor Chenghui quickly gave an order to prevent the losses from getting worse.

Li Yuan was stunned again and blurted out: "Father, the deposit has been withdrawn."

Emperor Chenghui's face suddenly changed, and he stood up and asked, "Who gave you the right to let Jinshang Bank withdraw the deposit?"

Li Yuan defended himself, "Too many people came to withdraw money yesterday, so the head of the Jinshang Bank came to find me and said that they had already mobilized money from Shanxi, Tianjin and other places, and the deposit would only take three days to be deposited back into the bank. This is a short-term loan from the central bank, and the interest rate is twice as high as normal. I thought that the central bank had a responsibility to help, so I agreed. This morning, I personally led a team to escort the deposit to the Jinshang Bank, just to show the outsiders that with the support of the court, the Jinshang Bank is not short of money."

After hearing this, Emperor Chenghui was stunned. He really didn't expect Li Yuan to be so cunning. Yes, the court's intervention can indeed help stabilize the situation, at least for a while. Then, what about the hole made by Jinshang Bank? What if it really can't be fixed? The central bank can't come to clean up, right? What if the central bank can't clean up? Will the Ministry of Revenue or the treasury have to come to the rescue?

It can be said that Li Yuan, with his own strength, brought the imperial court's finances into trouble.

(End of this chapter)