Although it seems that some monitoring and oversight policies have been implemented, Zhu Yunying still overestimated the human heart.

Xia Yuanji continued, "Your Majesty, there are also cases of banks colluding with unscrupulous merchants. Overestimating the value of mortgaged goods and selling them off cheaply are also common occurrences."

This makes sense. Overestimating the value of collateral is essentially loan fraud. By deliberately selling collateral at a low price, banks may not even be able to recover the money originally lent, allowing some people to easily make a large profit.

These seem like the simplest and most brutal methods, but they can actually be done because those people have 'connections' and those people have the means.

Zhu Yunying smiled, then said irritably, "It seems these things are quite interesting. I've been cleaning up official corruption and severely punishing the corrupt nobles. Now, the banks, which I've been personally managing, are even better!"

Xia Yuanji immediately knelt down, somewhat trembling with fear, "Your subject is guilty."

Zhu Yunying said irritably, "You are guilty, but we don't intend to say more about this matter. Do what you should do, organize the arguments, and establish proper procedures. I don't want this to happen again."

In truth, Xia Yuanji was somewhat wronged. Simply put, although there were money shops and similar establishments in the past, they were not as large as the imperial bank. The imperial court had naturally considered these issues, including internal corruption, and had made some preparations accordingly.

However, it is obvious that although we have made some preparations, it is not enough at present.

Therefore, what we need to do now is to continue to work hard and do certain things well. Only when rules and regulations are established can we prevent such incidents from happening again. Or, if we do these things well, we can minimize the possibility of such incidents occurring on a large scale again.

Xia Yuanji didn't say much. In fact, one of the reasons he suggested postponing the bank's expansion in various places was the shortage of manpower.

Even though the imperial court is making great efforts to train people and recruit from private banks, it still seems far from enough. Not having enough manpower is no small matter; these tasks require a high level of expertise.

Therefore, it is better to wait a little longer than to forcibly set up banks at this time. This is Xia Yuanji's idea.

Although the plan was delayed, Zhu Yunying did not hold a grudge. Xia Yuanji was, after all, working for the court and was relatively reliable. This man did indeed have some abilities and was worthy of Zhu Yunying's further training and important appointments.

As for rewarding Xia Yuanji again, Zhu Yunying did not do so. Even though Xia Yuanji seemed to have done some things, he hadn't yet achieved any particularly great merit. If the reward became cheap, it would lose much of its meaning.

Zhu Yunying was not stingy, but this emperor was not actually particularly generous.

Rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing—these were some of Zhu Yunying's ideas. With the exception of a very few individuals, Zhu Yunying consistently governed his subordinates in this way, and it seems to have some merit.

After Xia Yuanji finished his report, Chang Mao arrived at the Wuying Hall. "Your Majesty, the matter of Marquis Huining encroaching on farmland has been basically investigated. Zhang Wen condoned it, and most of the crimes were committed by his son. Although no one was killed, more than ten households lost their land and became tenants. There were also three families who sold their children."

Zhu Yunying's gaze turned cold, and he said, "The heir of the Marquis of Huining, be executed in the marketplace."

Originally, if it were merely the encroachment on farmland, Zhu Yunying's strategy would have been to punish the offenders by stripping them of their titles and exiling them. However, it now appears that the crimes committed by those people are far more serious, and these ringleaders and key criminals should naturally be severely punished.

If even the heir of the Marquis of Huining is to be executed in the marketplace, then the fate of those wicked servants or corrupt officials who colluded with him is self-evident. Killing a marquis's heir not only quells public resentment but also serves as a warning to other nobles, civil and military officials.

Emperor Yingshi did not seem as harsh as Emperor Hongwu, and he did not seem very willing to carry out mass executions. However, one should not overestimate Emperor Yingshi; if he were to kill, he would show absolutely no mercy.

Chang Mao accepted the order and then said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Huining has indeed rendered meritorious service to the court, although he has not been strict in disciplining his son..."

"Strip him of his title, execute the ringleader, and exile the rest of their families to Lingnan." Zhu Yunying said without any politeness, "If you didn't care about the destruction of other people's families when you seized their farmland, then go to Lingnan and taste the bitterness of your evil deeds!"

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