Chapter 278 Suicide
The money lenders' expressions grew even more solemn when Jiang Yu mentioned the emperor. The Duke of Chu already instilled fear in them, and now that he had mentioned the emperor, they were even more terrified.
Seeing the fear on their faces, Jiang Yu knew he had achieved his goal. He then had Li Zhengze and the others distribute the contracts to them, adding, "These are the relevant contracts for the imperial court's investment in your banks. If you have any objections, please raise them. If they are reasonable, I will consider them."
After speaking, she picked up her cup and drank her tea, while the money lenders began to carefully examine the contract. After reading it word for word, their expressions improved considerably. The contract didn't exploit them; it provided all the due benefits.
If they come to terms with it, although they may have lost some profits, their money shops will now have the imperial court as their backing. For one thing, if anything goes wrong, it will be much easier to get things done and seek leniency from higher authorities.
Jiang Yu stroked the jade pendant, observing their expressions. It seemed these people were pragmatic, understanding that the imperial court's investment in their money exchange wasn't a bad thing. Even without the court's support, the simple matter of exchanging silver notes could cripple them.
Feeling that they had considered things thoroughly, Jiang Yu lightly tapped the table with her fingers, and the room returned to silence. She said, "Everyone, do you have any objections? If so, please raise them now."
The money shop owners looked around at their peers, and seeing that none of them seemed to have any objections, they all agreed that they had no objections.
"If there are no objections, then everyone can sign the contract," Jiang Yu said.
As soon as she finished speaking, someone brought over a pen and inkpad for fingerprints. The money lenders looked at the documents from all sides, then picked up the brushes, signed their names, and pressed their red fingerprints on the paper. Li Zhengze and the others began collecting the contracts and then handed them to Jiang Yu.
In front of them, Jiang Yu signed and stamped each contract. Two copies of the contract were made, and Li Zhengze and the others then distributed their respective copies to them. With that, the signing ceremony for the day was successfully concluded.
Jiang Yu stood up, looked at the money shop owners, and said, "Gentlemen, I hope we can cooperate well in the future."
The money shop owners also stood up, cupped their hands in greeting, and said it was a pleasure doing business with them. Jiang Yu exchanged a few more pleasantries with them before leaving. Li Zheng and the others saw the owners off.
In the study, Jiang Yu sat silently in her chair. Seeing her serious expression, Xia He asked, "Do you feel there's something wrong?"
"It went too smoothly," Jiang Yu said. "It's so smooth that I'm uneasy."
Xia He frowned upon hearing her words, "But the contract has already been signed, what else could go wrong?"
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "The contract might have been signed under duress!"
"this...."
"My lord," Lu Tianzong rushed in, saying in a panic, "Bao Tianheng, the owner of Hengxin Bank, is making a scene at the government office, threatening to commit suicide, saying that you forced him to sign a contract and robbed his family's bank."
"They're here."
Jiang Yu stood up and walked out. She wasn't flustered; instead, she felt a sense of relief. Xia He and Lu Tianzong quickly followed behind her, walking together towards the entrance of the government office. Upon arrival, they saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance, including officials from the Central Secretariat and onlookers. Jiang Yu heard someone shouting loudly:
"My Bao family has diligently run our money exchange for decades, treating everyone honestly and never defaulting on a single penny from our depositors. On the contrary, when disaster struck, my family donated silver to help the court and the people overcome their difficulties. But I never imagined that one day our money exchange would be robbed. With our ancestors above me, this unfilial son, unable to protect our family's legacy, can only atone with my death..."
Bao Tianheng was about to stab himself in the heart with a knife, but a guard standing by grabbed his arm and took the knife away.
"What are you doing? You're trying to kill me, kill me!" Bao Tianheng collapsed to the ground, bursting into hysterical sobs...
Seeing this, Jiang Yu pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Bao Tianheng, looking down at him and saying, "Bao Tianheng, how did I coerce you when you were signing the contract?"
Bao Tianheng stopped crying when he saw her, but shrank back as if terrified. Jiang Yu narrowed her eyes and asked again, "How have I coerced you?"
Bao Tianheng lowered his eyes to hide his guilt and said, "Duke of Chu, you are an official and I am a commoner. How dare I disobey your request to sign a contract?"
Jiang Yu nodded. "So you're saying you don't want to sign the contract?"
Bao Tianheng stood up. "Of course I'm unwilling. How can I hand over the family fortune accumulated by my Bao family over generations?"
Jiang Yu nodded again, "Why didn't you say so earlier if you didn't want to sign the contract? Now that the contract has been signed, why are you causing trouble here? Are you dissatisfied with me or with the Emperor?"
His words, still expressing dissatisfaction with the Emperor, immediately silenced the surroundings. Bao Tianheng's face also showed panic, and he stammered, "How could I... how could I be dissatisfied with the Emperor? Duke of Chu, don't make false accusations."
"So you're saying you're dissatisfied with me?" Jiang Yu's tone was casual, but the pressure emanating from him made Bao Tianheng almost unable to breathe.
"Hmph!" Jiang Yu snorted coldly, looked at the crowd of onlookers, and said, "The purpose of the imperial court's reform of the money shops this time is to ensure that people's money is placed in a safer place. The imperial court has invested in major money shops, which means that these major money shops will have the imperial court's backing from now on. Gentlemen, do you feel more at ease placing your money in private money shops or in the imperial money shops?"
Hearing her words, the onlookers began to whisper among themselves. After a while, a bolder person asked loudly, "Sir, does this mean that if we deposit our silver in a money exchange and the money exchange runs into trouble, we can ask the imperial court for our silver back?"
"In principle, yes," Jiang Yu said. "However, money can only be deposited in banks that cooperate with the imperial court; private banks are not allowed."
"Then we definitely have to deposit the silver in the imperial bank!"
"Yes, deposit it in the imperial bank for insurance."
......
The surrounding people began to echo this, and Bao Tianheng looked flustered upon seeing it.
Jiang Yu glanced at him coldly, then turned to Lu Tianzong, who was standing to the side, and said, "Bring over the contract from Hengxin Bank."
"yes."
Lu Tianzong jogged away, and Jiang Yu looked at Bao Tianheng and said, "Since you don't want to sign a contract with the court, I naturally won't force you. I'll just destroy the contract in a bit."
Bao Tianheng looked at her nervously, "Can that scoundrel's money shop still issue banknotes?"
“Of course not,” Jiang Yu said. “In the future, only one bank will be allowed to issue banknotes.”
"Which one?" Bao Tianheng asked.
Jiang Yu: "Jufeng Money Shop".
The Xie family's Jufeng Money Shop has been completely taken over by the imperial court, and only Jufeng Money Shop can issue banknotes.
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