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Wang Cai was stunned and stammered, "Right now, the wealthy are already in a state of panic. If we open another money shop, will it cause chaos?"

Seizing someone's land was just cutting flesh, but lending money at low interest rates was cutting off their financial resources. What if they were pushed to the limit? Those who hadn't previously offended the Red Flag Gang would probably have to cut ties with them too.

Cheng Xi shook his head and said, "This money shop not only lends money to ordinary people at low interest, but also allows wealthy people to deposit money and pay interest. Isn't the purpose of lending money to make money? Some people are greedy, but others just want to protect their wealth. If you give them a stable way to make money, the two factions will inevitably split, and things will be easier."

Wang Cai was speechless after hearing this. After a long pause, he said, "We're helping him save money, so why should we pay him interest? It's a waste of time and effort. How can we earn it back?"

Cheng Xi laughed and said, "Have you forgotten what the Red Flag Gang originally did?"

What does the Red Flag Gang do? Of course, they're a large merchant company! Wang Cai suddenly realized, "Is the gang leader planning to run a money exchange? But isn't the profit split based on how much you make? How can you directly agree on the interest?"

Lending money is an old business. They take money from wealthy clients, lend it out, or do business with them. After making money, they exchange customers and share the profits.

However, this matter also depends on the character and ability of the person who lends the money. If he is not good at business or has bad behavior, the money invested will definitely be gone.

As a large gang engaged in maritime trade, the Red Flag Gang naturally had no shortage of ways to make money, but how to divide the profits was a problem.

If the ship were to get wrecked at sea, not to mention the profits, even the principal would be completely lost.

“Only by fixing the interest rate, or even setting the interest rate based on the deposit amount, can people feel at ease investing their money.

They want stability, and we want money and people's hearts. Isn't opening a shop like this a win-win situation? Only by having other ways to make money can we divert their attention from other people's land." Cheng Xi gave a direct answer.

To put it bluntly, this is the prototype of a bank. In addition to providing low-interest loans, it also provides financial management services for large investors.

When the low-interest loan was mentioned before, Cheng Xi had already started thinking about it, but she was not from the financial field and had only a superficial understanding of the banking industry, so she could not make a decision immediately.

When the war ended and she began to sort out the salt fields, she gradually came up with an idea.

Tian Yu's skill was in handling the salt fields. He easily divided the enemies and smoothed out the disputes behind the various families.

This also reminded Cheng Xi that when there is a conflict of interests, as long as you win over the majority, those people will suppress the minority who sing the opposite tune.

If the Red Flag Gang wants to grow stronger, it needs money, a lot of money, and a variety of supporting factories.

The top priority is how to build these factories and how to stabilize the basic foundation.

In this case, banks become the best choice. They are naturally a place to absorb funds, and can also quickly build a chain of interests and stabilize people's hearts.

The Red Flag Gang's main business is maritime trade, which will inevitably involve futures trading of bulk commodities. When the bank they set up grows stronger, won't it be easy to reap the profits?

At the same time, banks are the businesses that need credibility the most. As long as they can pay money and interest on time, they can get unconditional support from all parties for the Red Flag Gang.

When banks become a way for many people to make money, and then they try to hinder and block people's financial path, is there any doubt about what the consequences will be?

Now is the time when the Red Flag Gang is at its peak of power in Dongning, and it is also the time when all the wealthy people are most willing to spend money to avoid disasters.

If you build a bank at this time, whether you like it or not, many people will grit their teeth and get on board, just as a protection fee.

Once the Red Flag Gang fulfills its promise and pays them money and interest, this fear will be transformed into trust.

The Red Flag Gang's banks have established themselves in Dongning and even in several nearby counties and cities. They can carry out inter-bank withdrawals and even issue currency. They are like the lifeline of the economy, and no one will cut off their own financial support.

Cheng Xi understood better than anyone else the benefits of beating the landlords and dividing the land, but he also understood better than anyone else the backlash and dangers that would come with doing so.

Since it is impossible to break this set of rules immediately, then modify it within a reasonable range.

At least it is not wrong that productivity determines production relations, and powerful military force is always built up with money.

She could not and would not establish a colonial group like the "East India Company", but changing her thinking might not be a problem.

Wang Cai felt dizzy. How could a money shop become the magic weapon to stabilize Dongning? However, this statement did sound quite reasonable. As long as they could offer interest, many wealthy people would want to establish a relationship with the Red Flag Gang.

This is not about taking away the land, but about giving them money. Only a fool would not be happy about that!

After a long pause, Wang Cai muttered, "What about the people who colluded with the Ling family before..."

"Lord Cao is not a mere decoration." Cheng Xi smiled slightly. "Those who need to be dealt with will be dealt with, and those who need to be cleared will be cleared. However, the land cleared this time does not need to be taken away. It should be distributed to the people. Let those wealthy families know that those who oppose us will be killed without a burial place, and those who harm the people will bring disaster upon themselves. Those who obey will have meat to eat and soup to drink, and people's hearts will be truly at peace."

But is this still a boat gang? Wang Cai was a little dumbfounded. If it was really as the gang leader said, this would be more powerful than the government!

Tian Yu on the side also had a complicated expression. He knew better than anyone else how powerful this method of lending money with interest was.

If used well, it can leverage the financial resources of more than just a few counties.

With several or even dozens of such money shops, the influence of the Red Flag Gang is incomparable to that of ordinary gangs.

This will be a major force independent of the imperial court, based on military force and rooted in money, with luxuriant branches and leaves that will be difficult to shake.

Just rebelling cannot cause such a commotion.

All of this was thought up within a few days.

Tian Yu knew very well that Cheng Xi was good at military affairs, but had only a superficial understanding of business. He was not clear about the key points of borrowing money, nor did he understand how money was operated.

However, after asking him carefully, he was able to come up with such a wonderful idea. This is not something that can be described as "genius", and even he, a serious Jinshi, would feel ashamed of himself.

Is it true that "evil spirits emerge in troubled times"? But how could such "evil spirits" exist in this world?

Just then, Cheng Xi looked over and said, "Danhui, you'll be in charge of setting up the money shop. Manager Wang will assist us, and we must open the shop before the summer harvest. As for the name, 'Red Flag' isn't very practical. This money shop can benefit the people with low interest rates and also provide interest. How about calling it 'Minsheng Bank'?"

As she spoke, a smile appeared on her lips, which made Tian Yu's heart skip a beat.

In all professions in the world, only those who are the "head of an industry" can be called a "guild" and command the merchants of an area.

Now, what else could it mean to use "silver" as "bank"? Is this really the ambition of an ordinary ship gang?

Wang Cai reacted at this time and his face turned red.

He also heard that this "bank" would flourish in the future. Even if he couldn't take charge, being able to assist would be a great opportunity! Even if Mr. Tian was difficult to serve, he couldn't treat him lightly!

Now that we have made a decision, we just need to carry it out.

Of course, such a major event could not be kept secret, and it soon reached the ears of the wealthy through various channels. The first person to know about it was County Magistrate Cao himself.

He had been very proud of the big deal he had made with Commander Liu.

For this matter, County Magistrate Cao put a lot of thought into it and arranged everything properly.

The Red Flag Gang also kept its word. As long as the salt fields were stable, they would give him a profit of 1,000 taels every year.

That's a thousand taels! As a county magistrate, my annual salary is only a hundred taels. How could such a large sum of money be easily earned by just having tea and a meal with others?

Because of this, he looked at Sun Erlang with a much kinder look. Upon hearing this sudden news, he even reminded him with concern: "This low interest rate will offend many people. Does your gang really want to do this?"

Sun Erlang explained, "Low interest rates only allow ordinary people to make a living. The core business of a money shop is to save money. As long as you deposit money in a money shop, you will receive interest after one year. The minimum deposit is 200 taels. The interest rate for deposits up to 1,000 taels is 5%. The interest rate will increase if the deposit exceeds 1,000 taels, and the highest is 1.5%.

County Magistrate Cao gasped. Helping someone save money and getting such high interest? Isn't that like paying out of pocket? No, the Red Flag Gang is a boat gang. They're definitely going to make money once they get the money. Even if they're paying 5 or 1 cent, they're still going to make a lot of money! After figuring it out, he coughed dryly and said, "Then how much interest can I get if I deposit 1,000 taels?"

Sun Erlang immediately understood what the other party meant and said with a smile, "My Lord is different from others. The interest rate will definitely be higher. The main thing is that this money is guaranteed to be profitable. As long as the Red Flag Gang is still there, there will be no loss."

"There are such tactics..." County Magistrate Cao was filled with emotion. "Once this news gets out, those wealthy families will probably stop making trouble. But do you really not want the land anymore?"

"We're all seafarers, few of us know how to farm, so it's useless to have so much money." Sun Erlang changed the subject, "Besides, there are too many people who have lost their land in Dongning. If we don't have someone to rely on, it will be difficult to repay the money we borrow."

He deliberately brought the topic to the bank, causing County Magistrate Cao to laugh heartily. "That makes sense. Your gang really thought this through."

If occupying the salt fields is not a big deal, setting up a "bank" to make everyone in the county shut up is really a brilliant move.

Others might be afraid that the Red Flag Gang would swallow up the "deposit", but County Magistrate Cao was not afraid at all. He was tied to the Red Flag Gang in the same boat, and as long as the boat did not sink, he would have something to eat and drink.

I don't know how much interest they are willing to give me. If the interest rate can reach 2% a year, I can earn 2,000 taels a year by depositing 10,000 taels.

If he works hard for a few more years and puts the money in the bank, the interest alone will be enough for him to support his whole family!

When Magistrate Cao thought about his future financial prospects, he felt like he had endless energy. He still had several businesses to take care of, didn't he? He had to do his best to get it done properly this time!