After sending away Dong Yushi who came to intercede for the Western merchants, Li You lowered his head and thought for a moment.
In his opinion, if he wanted to quickly expand his banking business, it would be a good idea to partner with Western merchants. What Dong Yushi said was not wrong. But even a partnership is not such a partnership method, let alone the current time, so he rejected Dong Yushi's mediation.
The business he creates can allow others to take a share of the pie, but he must take the lead and take the initiative, and he must be the one who decides on the method and timing of cooperation. As he said to the eldest princess, only he, Li You, can see the future clearly in this era! Thinking of this, Li You couldn't help but puff up his chest, filled with the pride of who would rather me.
Looking back carefully, it seems that no matter which industry he joins, he will always be the enemy of the entire industry. After fighting with the salt merchants in Yangzhou for about a year, and fighting with the coal shop alliance in the Beijing Coal City for a month, is it the turn of the silver industry again this time?
I don¡¯t know what the banking industry will do this time, but I guess they will form an industry alliance to suppress this heretic like him.
"Master Shang from Xuyi is here." At this time, the family reported the report outside the study and sent in a post, which interrupted Mr. Li's reverie.
Li You took the post and looked at it. It turned out that when he was fighting floods and rescuing the Baohuang Mausoleum in Sizhou the year before last, the magistrate of Shang County of Xuyi County came to visit him with good cooperation. There is also a gift list attached to the post. I took a quick look at it and found that it is not light.
Li You couldn't help but laugh. This old man Shang is quite particular now. I remember that he was very poor when he was in Xuyi and didn't know how to move around, so he was always in front of the county magistrate. Then he ordered to go down: "Since my old friend is here to visit, please come in and meet me."
It turns out that Shangzhi County has also come to Beijing to take an exam at the end of his term this time. It's not a big problem to get promoted based on his merits. In any case, during these peaceful years, there were very few local officials who participated in suppressing major rebellions and rebellions.
He came to visit Li You for another matter. He has a nephew who is a national civil servant and will go to Beijing to take the exam next year. However, no one can predict the competition, so Mr. Shang wants to find a way out for his nephew. But he has very poor connections. Otherwise, he would not have been the county magistrate for many consecutive years. Among the people he knew in the capital, the only famous one was Li You.
Mr. Shang was thinking about what would happen if his nephew failed the Jinshi exam. I don't plan to wait another three years and directly select officials in the Ministry of Personnel with the title of Juren. Therefore, I would like to ask Li You for help here. First, select an official as soon as possible. The second is to find a decent official position.
It is difficult for others to go to the sky for others, but it is not difficult to do it with Li You's relationship network in the official ministry. He didn't beat around the bush and agreed happily: "When it comes time to use it, I'll do my best."
Mr. Shang thanked you profusely and said, "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, but I will express my gratitude to you."
He and Li You had only spent a month together with Xuyi in Sizhou, and they were both good friends of King Su Songdao who was involved in politics. This small amount of friendship may not actually be enough to persuade others to help select officials. It should be noted that selecting officials is the most difficult thing to ask for help in the officialdom. Therefore, Mr. Shang was mentally prepared to hit a wall. But I didn't expect Li You to be so easy to talk to.
"It's true that people's words are to be feared and rumors cannot be trusted," Lord Shang thought to himself.
Li You raised his hand, waved the gift list in his hand, and showed a strange smile, "When I met Mr. Shang in Xuyi. You love the people like your son and the poor like water, how can you give me such gifts now?"
Shang Zhixian smiled awkwardly and replied in a vague tone: "I borrowed a little, I borrowed a little."
As expected, it was borrowed Li You understood immediately. There is indeed a prosperous business in the capital, which is lending money to officials. Shangzhi County probably borrowed money from this source.
Most of the officials who borrow money are those who have just obtained their titles and are ready to be elected. Or local officials who entered Beijing. Their purpose of borrowing money is very simple, just for socializing.
When officials from other places or newcomers to the officialdom arrive in the capital, where officials are densely packed, they normally have a lot of social activities. People of the same year, fellow villagers, classmates, old friends, etc. can all be contacted one by one, and the corresponding expenses are not small.
"If they are other officials who have just been elected and have not yet gone to work in other places, or are short of money due to various reasons, I am afraid they will not be able to cope with this kind of entertainment. Then at this time, it is necessary to borrow money from creditors, and this industry of official loan lending naturally emerged as the times require.
The general process is that poor officials borrow money for socializing, elect officials, take up posts in local places, and use their income to pay off their debts. The creditor can send one or two people as long-term followers to follow the officials until the debt is settled.
Li You could tell from what he heard that Old Man Shang borrowed money from this channel to build relationships and give gifts, so he could start from here. Thinking of this, he asked: "In that case, I would like to ask Master Shang to do a small favor."
Shangzhi County is inexplicable. This Li You has hands and eyes that reach the sky and is full of wealth. What can you ask for from him? But still come back??: "Master Li has been assigned a mission, so I dare not resign."
Li You gave a few instructions in a low voice. After hearing this, Lord Shang was surprised and said, "This is not good. How can I make it happen?"
"Sir Shang, at your age, what else can you do if you are an official? It's hard and tiring. You can just be promoted to the sixth rank. It's good to go home and take care of yourself. Why bother to continue your official career?" Li You advised: "Besides, it's expensive. The future of the government lies with your nephew, and it is up to me to choose his official position. I dare not say that the future is bright, but I will never treat him badly."
This Shang Zhixian lowered his head to consider, and Li You was not in a hurry, drinking tea slowly and waiting. After a long while, Shang Zhixian raised his head again, gritted his teeth and said: "Only by order!"
Two days later, a startling news suddenly broke out in the banking industry in the capital - the owners of the twenty-one large banks, money shops, bank shops, and accounting bureaus in the capital announced at the Shanxi Guild Hall that in these twenty-one Implement bill exchange among them!
As the name suggests, among these 21 money shops, bank checks and deposit checks issued to customers by any one can be cashed and used at any other shop.
Although the shock level of the Twenty-one Exchange is much worse than the cross-region exchange envisioned by Li You, it is nothing more than a minor earthquake for the current capital industry.
And to a certain extent, this is also a behavior that caters to market demand and has been welcomed. Firstly, the strong alliance of the 21 institutions has increased the overall credit; secondly, a true "Jingshi Bank Note" can be created, which is easy to use.
??A layman looks at the excitement, an expert looks at the door. The twenty-one companies that have joined forces this time are all well-known large shops in the industry in Beijing, but Huichang Bank, which has gradually emerged as a new force this year, has been excluded. This is worth pondering.
Shopkeeper Dai hurriedly went to the Cultural and Propaganda Institute to see Li You and reported truthfully: "The situation today is not good. Many customers want to cash in their silver coins. It seems that they want to transfer them to the 21st."
Although Li You predicted that the industry giants controlled by Western merchants would join forces, he did not expect that it would come so quickly, and the measures were more advanced than imagined. Within their limitations, they had already reached their limit.
Li You couldn't help but sigh: "It is indeed a business gang with the most cutting-edge thinking these days. Does it also know how to network?"
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