Chapter 261 Good, very good
When the emperor heard that interest would also be charged, his smile faded considerably.
Seeing this, Jiang Yu explained to him again, "Jufeng Money Shop also has a business: lending."
The emperor frowned upon hearing the word "lending." Private usury, with its compounding interest, was a deadly practice. If the imperial court were to engage in such activities, the country would be on the verge of collapse.
Then Jiang Yu said, "The borrowers of Jufeng Money House must have a certain amount of wealth to ensure that they can repay the loan. For example, Zhang San has a house in the capital city worth 2,000 taels of silver. He can pledge the deed of the house to the money house, and the money house can lend him less than 2,000 taels of silver. The interest rate is 3%, and there will be no compound interest."
The emperor's furrowed brows relaxed, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Saving money yields 1.2% interest, while loans yield 3%, resulting in a profit of 1.8%."
Seeing how clearly the emperor had calculated things, Jiang Yu couldn't help but smile. She added, "The court earns more than just this much; there are other sources as well."
The emperor became interested and gestured for Jiang Yu to continue.
Jiang Yu: "Zhang San is a cook with excellent cooking skills, and he wants to open a restaurant. But he doesn't have that much money, so he can mortgage his house to Jufeng Money House and borrow 2,000 taels of silver to open the restaurant. Once he opens the restaurant, he has to pay taxes."
This time, the emperor could no longer maintain his composure and burst into laughter, "Minister Jiang, good, very good."
He was momentarily at a loss for words to praise Jiang Yu. After a brief moment of joy, he chatted with Jiang Yu about the money exchange and then let her go.
After Jiang Yu left the imperial study, the emperor couldn't help but hum a tune. Zhao Fuquan smiled broadly when he saw this. As he made tea for the emperor, he said, "This morning, as soon as I got up, I heard magpies calling. I thought there would be good news today, and it turned out to be true."
The emperor smiled and glanced at him, then sighed and said, "Fortunately, we allowed Jiang Yu to serve as an official in the court back then."
Regardless of how pleased the emperor was, when Jiang Yu returned to her official residence, she saw Xie Ning'an standing at the door of her study. Upon seeing her, Xie immediately bowed.
"Is something the matter?" Jiang Yu asked as she walked into the house. Xie Ning'an was already used to her work style and followed her into the study. Then she said, "Jufeng Money House has suddenly received so much silver. I'm worried about the danger. Could you send some soldiers over to guard the treasury?"
"You can apply to the Ministry of War directly for this kind of thing in the future. I've already spoken to them," Jiang Yu said.
"Okay." Xie Ning'an was relieved. He then said, "I don't think Baoyuan Money Shop can last much longer. Other money shops are also facing some difficulties."
Jiang Yu gave a nonchalant "hmm," but Xie Ning'an, seeing this, said anxiously, "One Baoyuan Money Shop won't have much of an impact, but if all the money shops are in trouble, there might be unrest."
"Wait a little longer," Jiang Yu said.
"When will we wait?"
Jiang Yu: "Once Baoyuan Money Shop collapses, we'll invite all the owners of money shops in Daqian to come and have a chat."
Xie Ning'an looked at her and asked, "What is your ultimate goal?"
Jiang Yu said without any hesitation, "All the money houses in Da Gan will belong to the imperial court."
Xie Ning'an thought to herself, "As expected," and then asked, "What do you plan to do after all the money houses are taken over by the imperial court?"
As Jiang Yu picked up some documents from the side, he said, "The money houses belong to the imperial court, so the people are at ease and the imperial court is at ease. Moreover, you can only accomplish great things with money."
What exactly is this big event? She won't say right now.
Xie Ning'an didn't ask any more questions, got up, bowed, and left. Jiang Yu then called Li Zhengze and the others to the study, listened to their work reports, and then assigned them tasks. He emphasized that this was a critical moment, and no one's work could be neglected.
The four of them were full of energy these past two days. They could sense that if the reform succeeded, it would bring great benefits to the court, and they would also receive rewards from the emperor.
After arranging a series of tasks, Jiang Yu then instructed someone to notify the engineering talents he had met the day before yesterday to take an exam at the Central Secretariat tomorrow...
After a busy day, Jiang Yu sat in her sedan chair on her way home. As they approached the gates of the Duke of Chu's mansion, a commotion broke out ahead. She lifted the curtain and asked Xia He, "What's going on?"
Xia He replied softly, "A woman is kneeling by the roadside, insisting on seeing you."
Jiang Yu paused for a moment, this scene seemed so familiar. Could someone be stopping the carriage to plead for justice? She couldn't help but chuckle at her own vivid imagination. She said, "Ask her identity."
"yes."
Xia He responded and walked over. She looked at the girl, who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, kneeling on the ground. The girl was dressed in brocade, and although the hairpins and ornaments in her hair were not the latest styles, they still looked quite nice. This girl must come from a wealthy family.
"Whose family are you from?" Xia He asked the woman.
The woman's eyes lit up when she saw Xia He. "My name is Yan Fengju, and I come from... the Grand Tutor's Mansion."
Upon hearing the name of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, Xia He's face showed shock. She asked, "What business do you have with my Duke?"
Yan Fengju pursed her lips and remained silent. After a while, she said, "I want to see the Duke of Chu before we talk about it."
Xia He glanced at her, turned around and walked to the sedan chair. She whispered to Jiang Yu about Yan Fengju's situation, and then said, "She should be the illegitimate daughter of the Grand Tutor's mansion. The Grand Tutor only has one legitimate son, the eldest master, and the eldest master of the Grand Tutor's mansion only has one legitimate daughter."
Jiang Yu nodded in understanding, then said, "Let her come to the manor to talk."
Xia He responded again, and instructed the sedan chair bearers to lift the sedan chair. She led Yan Fengju into the Duke of Chu's mansion. Upon arriving at the study, Yan Fengju was about to kneel again, but Jiang Yu stopped her, saying, "For a routine meeting, Miss Yan doesn't need to perform such a grand ceremony."
Yan Fengju nodded obediently, and then said, "My daughter has been reckless in blocking the Duke's sedan chair. I hope you will forgive her."
Jiang Yu looked at her; a girl of seventeen or eighteen, with a well-behaved appearance but a resolute look in her eyes. She had a good impression of Yan Fengju and asked, "Speak, what is it?"
Yan Fengju looked at Jiang Yu and said very earnestly, "My daughter would like to volunteer to take the engineering exam."
Jiang Yu was taken aback; this was unexpected. She asked, "What are you good at?"
"Arithmetic," Yan Fengju replied.
"Then let me test you." Jiang Yu took out paper and pen and wrote down a few arithmetic problems for Yan Fengju to do. She then went to the dormitory to change into some comfortable clothes.
When Jiang Yu returned, Yan Fengju had already finished preparing it. Jiang Yu nodded after looking at it, "Everything's correct. May I ask Miss Yan a few questions?"
.........
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com