Wei Yong, who was speaking, was staring at Lu Chen with his eyes wide open, wishing he could eat his flesh alive.
Upon seeing this, the six ministers hurried forward to stop Wei Yong and said, "Master Wei, calm down! This won't happen. We gentlemen use words, not fists."
My goodness, I have never seen Wei Yong so angry. What if he beats Lu Chen to death? Who will build the Grand Canal for them then?
At this time, Li Zhuo, who was sitting above, also coughed and said, "National Master, the bank belongs to us, and you also said that the money in the bank belongs to the people of the world. We can use it for our own use, but what's the point of lending it to outsiders?"
All the officials nodded, and everyone thought that what His Majesty said made sense.
Da Qi has finally come up with such a good thing, but even its own people may not be able to enjoy the benefits of the central bank. Why should it be given to those foreigners for free?
Wei Yong was so angry that he trembled all over and said, "I think this kid is harboring evil intentions. I knew he was not a good person."
"Hey, hey, hey, we may be familiar, but if you keep scolding me like this, I'm going to get angry. Banking is a new thing, and you don't understand the operation and filtering at all. Don't speak out casually at a time like this, or you'll look timid."
Wei Yong was so angry that he laughed after being retorted by Lu Chen in such a bland tone.
He shook off Lu Zhengping who was holding him, snorted coldly at Lu Chen and said, "Come on, tell me what benefits this will bring to our Great Qi. If you can't explain it today, you are a spy sent by another country!"
The corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, does your daughter know about your attitude?
You're too cruel! You sent your last son-in-law away, and now you finally have a man who's interested in your daughter, and you actually want to do something to me again? Daughter slaves are truly hopeless.
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, including the emperor, Lu Chen was the only one who was not afraid of Wei Yong.
Facing Wei Yong's aggressive aura, Lu Chen smiled calmly and said, "I know what everyone is thinking. They just think I'm aiding the enemy. But don't you think about how much tribute we pay every year? Isn't that also aiding the enemy?"
"Now that we are opening up lending services to neighboring countries and canceling the annual tribute, wouldn't this help His Majesty and the national treasury save a lot of money?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhuo and Liang Licang's eyes lit up.
For both of them, this is indeed a good idea. No matter how much money the neighboring countries want, as long as the money does not come from the treasury or the national treasury, it will be fine.
When Li Zhuo and Liang Licang thought about the annual tribute, their hearts really ached.
However, Wei Yong scoffed at this and said, "You also said that the annual tribute was free. If that's the case, why would people give it up and choose to borrow money from you? Loans have to be repaid. I don't think anyone would be so stupid, right?"
"Because the amount of annual tribute is limited, and they are backed by the state, the amount they can borrow from the central bank is theoretically unlimited. I think they can still understand the difference between having a full meal every day and having a full meal every day."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people around immediately began to whisper.
Take the annual tribute to Western Xia as an example, it only cost 300,000 taels every year.
Three hundred thousand taels may be an astronomical figure for ordinary people, but for the country, it is really just that.
Now, as long as Xixia gives up these 300,000, they can get millions or even more from the central bank. I believe everyone knows how to calculate this account.
Lu Chen's answer caught Wei Yong off guard. He didn't expect Lu Chen to be so well prepared.
But absurd things are absurd. He felt that no matter how fantastic Lu Chen's words were, this matter was unreliable.
"Okay, let's do as you say. They're willing to give up the annual tribute and borrow money from you. But what if they don't want to pay it back? What if they want to default on the debt?"
"Don't overestimate these barbarians around you. As long as things work in their favor, they'll change their minds faster than turning the pages of a book. They have absolutely no credibility."
"Lord Wei is right. I have considered this as well. That is why we need a strong army, an army that the enemy will fear."
"I will increase military spending. In the future, a portion of the Central Bank's revenue will be directly allocated to the Ministry of War. I want to arm all our border troops to the teeth!"
"We need to let those people know that if they fall out with us, we will stop supplying them with many things. Even if they lead their troops to attack us, they won't be able to gain any advantage against our team."
"More importantly, through the wool-for-food exchange, we estimate that their domestic food supply will be under our control by then. They won't even be able to prepare food for the expedition, so they will have no choice but to sit down and negotiate with us."
"Of course, we can't always use force. We have to give them some sweeteners. So as long as they're willing to pay back on time, we can improve their creditworthiness and allow them to borrow more money from us."
After hearing Lu Chen's plans, Wei Yong and others hesitated.
Especially when he heard that they would increase investment in the army and transfer the money directly to the Ministry of War, Cui Shanzhan felt that it would not matter if he spilled blood for the Imperial Master in the court today!
"We agree with strengthening the military. Even if everything you say is correct and everything goes according to your ideas, let me ask you, do you really have that much money in your bank to lend them?"
Everyone nodded, knowing that Lu Chen was rich, but he couldn't be that rich.
They have just said that they will fully support the construction of the Grand Canal, and now they say that they can lend money to Western Xia. This requires a huge amount of wealth.
Lu Chen nodded with a smile and said, "Lord Wei is indeed very far-sighted. I admire him! Fortunately, I have already made preparations."
As he spoke, Lu Chen pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Li Zhuo, saying, "Your Majesty, please look at this. This is the banknote invented by our bank. It has a very complex anti-counterfeiting process. It can be said that it is currently the most secure currency in the world."
"Currency? Did I hear correctly? The Imperial Master said this is currency?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this is currency, a currency based on our country's credit. If neighboring countries want to borrow money from us, they can only borrow this."
"You can use these banknotes to buy the corresponding things from us."
"Whether this thing is valuable or not is up to us to decide. If neighboring countries really want to act tough, we can just say that the banknotes they hold are illegal and we won't recognize them."
“Once everyone accepts and recognizes paper money, then how much silver I have in my hands will no longer matter.”
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