Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

There was a lot of work to be done, and even though Liu Ye was used to being a hands-off boss, he was still very busy. Soldiers were waiting for him to inspect; counties in Jinan Prefecture were waiting for him to inspect; several projects under preparation were also being carried out one by one. Ultimately, the most important thing was that the bank was about to open, and this was the top priority. Only by starting the bank could he have a steady source of funds to support his various undertakings.

Liu Ye took out 1.5 million taels of silver in one go, and the Shandong Provincial Administration Commissioner also squeezed out 200,000 taels of silver from the treasury. This was done under the strict order of Liu Ye and Guo Songtao.

According to industry regulations, when a new bank opened, local banks were required to deposit a portion of their money as a token of congratulations. Furthermore, this bank was the Governor's private property. Public and private property were completely different things. Depositing money into a public bank would at most give the Governor a point of political achievement. But, did this young Governor lack any? He already had so many achievements that no one would care about such a small amount. However, as the Governor's private property, it was different. The more money he deposited, the more helpful he was to the Governor, which would make him look better and naturally give him a chance to speak up later.

All the money houses in Jinan, Shandong, sent their silver, and the amount they sent in one go was twice as much as usual! Even if they had to pay double the interest, they would never blink an eye!

Not only that, in addition to these banks, some local merchants even pulled in large sums of money and lined up to deposit it in the bank. If the bank run by the governor doesn't give the money to the governor, who else should they deposit it with? Why not let the governor earn the money instead of letting others earn it? Only a fool would do such a foolish thing!

However, when people who came to deposit money arrived at the counter, they were dumbfounded. They saw a big notice board in front of the money house, which clearly stated that the annual interest rate was 1% and the monthly interest rate was 1%. The settlement would be made on the first day of each month, and the money house would pay interest to depositors according to the stipulated interest rate!

Pay interest to depositors?

The merchants were all dumbfounded. Damn, this wasn't a favor to the governor, it was clearly an attempt to take advantage of him! One merchant turned around and said to his colleague, "Brother, is what's written here true? I brought in 10,000 taels of silver, and even took out some from other banks. Over the past year, the interest alone has been 100 taels of silver. 100 taels, do you think the governor will confiscate my business?"

Another person smiled bitterly and said, "You only have ten thousand taels, but I brought twenty thousand taels, a full twenty thousand taels! At the end of the year, that's only two hundred taels. I'm asking the governor for two hundred taels of silver in interest. You're just confiscating the business, but I might even confiscate my property. Who would dare to keep this?"

They were just worried. The representatives from the nearby bank were also completely bewildered. From ancient times to the present, they had never heard of someone managing someone else's money and having to pay for it. They were just here to pay their tribute and congratulate the money. If they deposited it and made a few hundred taels of silver a year later, what kind of congratulations would that be? Wouldn't the governor's face be bleak?

More importantly, if the above notice is true, then how the hell are other money houses supposed to survive? Other money houses collect interest from depositors, and the difference between the amount of money in and out is huge. Only a fool would deposit money into their own money houses. Wouldn't they be crazy to deposit money into the governor's money house? With the provincial government's investment, the governor already has a huge advantage. Now with this, the other money houses are even more hopeless!

A bank owner bravely took two steps forward and asked a lawyer, "Old sir, is our governor correct? Is he paying interest to depositors? This is a practice that has never been followed in bank deposits since ancient times. Did you make a mistake by being careless?"

The lawyer smiled bitterly and said, "I actually hope it's wrong. We've already had someone ask the governor twice for instructions, and it's correct, that's it! One cent a month, one cent a year, and the governor's seal is still on it. Oh my God, if over the course of a year, there are millions of taels of silver deposited, the interest alone would be tens of thousands of taels, and then there's the loss, and the bad debts from the loans. Wouldn't the governor be completely wiped out?"

The lawyer was also full of complaints. Business is business. Since we are running a money shop, of course the governor calls it the Bank of Communications, so we must follow the rules of a money shop. We are not running a porridge shop to provide relief to disaster victims! If this continues, the money shop will definitely not be able to sustain it! No matter how much money is invested, it will not be able to withstand such losses! There is absolutely no reason in the world for such a thing!

However, by this time, the other merchants had heard what the lawyer had said. This was true! The governor personally approved it and even signed the seal. What a great deal! Only a fool would leave the money in other banks! Take it out and deposit it all in the Qilu Bank opened by the governor!

The shop owners rushed forward and began clamoring to save money and to "support" the industry of Master Futai!

However, while the shopkeepers of the businesses were delighted, the shopkeepers of the other banks were dumbfounded. This was going to kill the other banks! What could they do? The Futai was rich and powerful. If he really wanted to squeeze these banks out, it would be easy. No one could shake him. His backer in the capital was said to be Prince Gong, the dignified Prince Regent. No one could afford to offend him!

What to do? Next, almost all banks will inevitably face a huge run. It is foreseeable that if only 30% of the banks can survive, they will be lucky!

Just as these shopkeepers were looking worried, Zheng Chunping stepped out from behind and shouted, "Listen up, all shopkeepers! The Governor has heard that you've come to congratulate him, and he has summoned you to see him. He wants to personally thank you all! Please follow me!"

After hearing what Zhang Chunping said, everyone woke up from their dream, and they were all as sad as if they had lost their parents. Others would at most drink some human blood, but this governor wanted to eat human flesh, and he would not even spit out the bones when eating it!

But the governor's order had already come down, so who would dare disobey? He could only obediently follow Zhang Chunping into the hall in the backyard. Zhang Chunping felt proud. He was the culprit of this shady plot. Originally, he just wanted the governor to find a way to merge these banks and strengthen the bank. He had never expected the governor to do such a thing. Killing without bloodshed! How cruel!