Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Inside the exchange, people rubbed shoulders.

Stepping into the hall, one immediately felt a sense of openness. After all, it was formed by the merger of several restaurants, and the central hall occupied a large area.

At the front of the hall hung signs displaying the prices of various stocks, along with brief information about other listed businesses.

Occasionally, a clerk would use a long pole to take down a sign and replace it with a new price, causing a stir in the hall.

The crowd in the hall was clearly divided into two groups.

One half consisted of plainly dressed commoners, while the other half was dressed noticeably more luxuriously.

As for the left and right sides of the exchange, tea rooms and restaurants were specially set up for VIPs to drink tea and hold banquets.

Looking at this lively scene, Fang Zheng revealed a smile.

The stock exchange had been initially established. Although it certainly couldn't compare to later generations, it already had a preliminary form!

He just didn't know how many people would have their dreams shattered here in the future...

Seeing him looking around, Li Yuanzhao pretended to be profound and pointed out, "This is the exchange. Many famous businesses in the capital are listed here, publicly selling stocks. Look at those people walking around and recording things. Many of them are brokers in the capital, specializing in relaying information here."

"Once there's any disturbance, it will immediately be transmitted here, affecting the stock price."

"Now that the exchange has just been established, it's a good time to buy stocks. Lao Fang, listen to me, take all the money you've brought and buy stocks! Don't even consider dividends. If they go up, we'll earn. If they go down, we won't necessarily lose! In short, it's all about making money!"

Fang Zheng turned his head and glanced at him with the eyes of someone looking at leeks (a metaphor for easily harvested investors).

Whether or not buying stocks could actually make money still needed to be investigated. Right now, it was just because a new thing had appeared, and everyone was hyping it up, making it look prosperous.

He still needed to find Liu Zhongshun to understand the specific situation.

Li Yuanzhao was still in high spirits, saying, "Come, come, let me tell you about the way to buy stocks while we eat! There are special private rooms upstairs here, reserved for VIPs."

With that, he pulled him towards the staircase on the left.

Upon reaching the second floor, the number of people suddenly decreased. The people drinking tea and dining on the second floor were clearly of a higher status, wearing luxurious clothes and accessories.

Under the guidance of a waiter, the two chose a seat by the side, from which they could see the scenery in the hall below.

After ordering a table of wine and dishes, the two began to slowly sip their drinks while observing the scene below.

Halfway through the meal, Li Yuanzhao pointed below and said, "Lao Fang, look, that Yang Jin Ironworks is currently the hottest stock. Listen to me, buying it will definitely make you money!"

As he spoke, he took out a stack of banknotes from his chest and slammed them on the table: "This is the stock I bought some time ago. I bought a thousand taels to test the waters, and now it's already worth twelve hundred taels!"

Fang Zheng smiled noncommittally, "If you were so confident, why did you only buy a thousand taels?"

"Hey, I didn't understand the market before, so I just bought a little to play around with. I've been researching for a few days, and now I can make a big bet!" Li Yuanzhao said, and then started mumbling again, "You don't believe me, do you? This prince can be considered the first person to play with stocks. If you buy now, you'll be late. I'll tell you why Yang Jin Ironworks will continue to rise in the future...."

Looking at his experienced appearance, Fang Zheng suppressed a smile and interrupted him, "After saying so much, don't you think the reason why Yang Jin Ironworks is rising is because it's the Rongguo Duke's industry, and the ironworks' iron will be used to build railways in the future?"

Li Yuanzhao paused, "Ah, yes, is my analysis wrong?"

Fang Zheng pointed at the table with his finger: "I say, Your Highness, think about it. Who has the final say on the iron used for the railway?"

"Of course, it's the East Suburb.... Hmm!?" Li Yuanzhao's eyes suddenly widened, and he slapped his forehead, "Hiss, I was blinded by the situation! Isn't that your responsibility? Then if you want to earn money, isn't it the same as robbing it!"

Fang Zheng chuckled, "Otherwise? It's just like robbing money. So, although this exchange is good, it doesn't have rules, it's too opaque, and there are too many loopholes, making it very easy for people to exploit it. Once people with status enter the market, the rise and fall of stock prices will no longer be up to the market."

"Wait, isn't this your first time here? How do you seem to know more than me?"

Fang Zheng didn't say anything, raised his hand, and called a waiter, "Go, bring Liu Zhongshun to me."

The waiter swallowed and said cautiously, "Sir... who are you looking for?"

"Liu Zhongshun, just say the master is looking for him."

The waiter carefully looked at Fang Zheng, dared not neglect him, responded, and turned to run upstairs.

Before long, Liu Zhongshun's figure appeared on the second floor.

Seeing Fang Zheng's arrival, he hurried forward to salute, pleasantly surprised, "Master, why are you here?"

Li Yuanzhao's suspicious gaze wandered back and forth between the two.

Fang Zheng pointed to Liu Zhongshun and explained, "He is the current manager of the exchange."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, it's all thanks to the master's blessing."

"The exchange... did you also create it behind the scenes?" Li Yuanzhao was immediately dumbfounded, feeling a burning sensation on his face.

He was babbling on about his stock心得 (xīndé - insights, experiences), but the founding father was right in front of him!?

"Lao Fang, that's not fair! Why are you pretending with me?" Li Yuanzhao's old face turned red with shame.

Fang Zheng waved his hand, "It was indeed my intention for him to do this, but this is also my first time here."

After speaking, he pointed to Liu Zhongshun: "Tell His Highness the Prince about the current situation of the exchange."

Liu Zhongshun was all smiles: "To be honest, it's a bit beyond imagination! When the exchange was established, I thought it would only be popular in a small circle, but I didn't expect it to be crowded with people after three days! There are countless people who want to get a piece of the pie."

"The amount of money that has passed through the exchange in these few days has already been calculated in millions of taels! Apart from the few commercial banks I originally joined, there are still many people asking me every day to list their businesses on the exchange. However, some aspects haven't been sorted out yet, so we haven't dared to let newcomers list for the time being."

"Judging from this momentum, I'm afraid it won't be long before tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of taels of silver will be circulating in the market at an extremely fast speed... it's really a bit frightening."

Fang Zheng said: "Well, the development is indeed too fast. It seems that there are many wealthy people in the private sector. If this trend continues, the imperial court should pay attention soon."

"Look at these people below, the word 'profit' is written nakedly on their faces! Speculation, the imperial court can't stand this."

"The more this is the case, the more you should stabilize! Find someone as soon as possible to set out a more strict and detailed charter and build a team. The listing and trading must be carefully reviewed, and the situation must be disclosed to the people openly and transparently. If there's a small mess on your side, it will be a big deal among the people."

Liu Zhongshun whispered a reminder: "Master, in fact, many of the businesses we are currently listing have strong backers in the court. If we do it according to what you said..."

Fang Zheng smiled disdainfully: "Those with backgrounds don't really get used to talking about rules. They always tell others not to do this and not to do that, but they themselves do both this and that."

"If you want to get gold in the exchange, I don't care what kind of background you have, no matter how arrogant you are in your usual business, you must follow my rules in my territory!"

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