Chapter 141 The Imperial Bank of the Tang Dynasty (1)

After the morning court session, Li Chengqian asked Du He, Xu Jingzong and other confidants to stay behind, intending to ask Li Zhi to stay as well to discuss important matters.

However, Li Chengqian saw that Li Zhi looked absent-minded, so he did not force him to stay and asked him to go back to look after his wife.

"Your Highness! I wonder what you want us to do?" Zhao Jie asked.

"Zhao Jie, don't be rude! Your Highness hasn't even spoken yet, how can you have the right to talk too much in this hall?" Du He scolded.

"I was just talking, what are you yelling about?" Zhao Jie muttered in dissatisfaction. Among all the people here, Zhao Jie was not afraid of anyone except Li Chengqian, but he was a little afraid of Du He.

It was Du Hexun's serious look when he was scolding people that made Zhao Jie feel timid.

"I'm keeping you all here this time to discuss something with you. Now our Tang Dynasty is prosperous, peaceful and the people are safe, but..."

Everyone knew that the words the prince said before were just polite words, and only the but after that was the topic of today.

"As the population of the Tang Dynasty continues to grow, the food produced by the existing land in the Tang Dynasty may not be able to solve the problem of future population growth."

"Whenever there is a disaster year, the grain harvest in the fields is not good, and it is very likely that there will be no harvest at all. Without sufficient food, it will cause social unrest..."

Everyone was confused. Didn't the Sinong Temple have already developed a grain variety called hybrid rice? If

this hybrid rice is successfully planted, it will be able to harvest more than before. Even if there is a disaster year, it will be able to overcome the difficulties and there is no need to worry about food problems at all?

Why did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince keep them all here today and talk about the food problem as soon as he opened his mouth?

Shouldn't the grain problem be solved by the agricultural officials of Sinong Temple? What can they do?

Everyone had a big question mark on their heads.

Li Chengqian kept them here, and naturally he didn't tell them about how to produce grain.

Even if he did, they might not understand. Talking to them about grain production is like talking to a cow.

He kept them here because the prince had the idea of ​​opening a state-owned bank in the Tang Dynasty, and he specifically asked them to discuss how to do it.

"Since ancient times, money and food have been the top priority of the country. Although the Tang Dynasty is rich and powerful, there are still many places where money is needed in the Tang Dynasty."

"The money in the treasury is limited, and there are still many places where money is needed. Every sum must be carefully calculated."

"This is still a good year. If there is a natural disaster, the treasury will be stretched!"

"I have an idea to open a bank in the Tang Dynasty, so that the money problem can be solved."

Li Chengqian had been preparing for this for most of the day, and finally got to the point.

This prince was so unprepared.

"Your Highness! What bank is this? What on earth is it? How come I have never heard of it? Could this bank be an old hen that can lay golden eggs?" Zhao Jie asked the question that everyone was wondering.

Everyone looked at Li Chengqian, waiting for him to explain to them what a bank was. To be honest, they had never heard of a bank before.

Could it be that it was really an old hen that could lay golden eggs, as Zhao Jie said? Otherwise, where did the money in this bank come from? It can't just appear out of thin air!

Everyone thought about the bank.

"Zhao Jie, you are really good at thinking. This bank is certainly not just an old hen that can lay golden eggs. You can also think of it as an old hen that can lay golden eggs." Li Chengqian said.

Now everyone was even more confused. If it wasn't an old hen that could only lay golden eggs, how could it be considered an old hen that could lay golden eggs?

What did the prince mean? This confused them all.

"Your Highness! We are so stupid that we can't understand what the bank you are talking about is and how it is produced. Please teach me!" Di Renjie saluted.

Everyone nodded. Di Renjie's words expressed everyone's thoughts.

"This bank! It allows everyone in the Tang Dynasty to deposit their money into my business, and then pay interest at a certain rate every month." Li Chengqian said. "

Your Highness! I think this bank is not appropriate!" As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, someone stood up to object.

Everyone looked over and saw that the person who objected was actually the prince's tutor Li Jingxuan.

"Oh! What do you think is wrong?" Li Chengqian asked.

"As your Highness said, the bank provides deposits for the subjects of the Tang Dynasty and pays a certain percentage of interest to the depositors every month."

"But your Highness, have you ever thought about it? The Tang Dynasty is vast. If everyone in the Tang Dynasty deposits money in the bank, the interest that the court has to pay every month is an astronomical figure."

"The national treasury cannot afford this huge amount of interest. By then, let alone raising money, how can the court pay the interest? The Tang Dynasty will also perish because of this bank. Please think twice, your Highness." Li Jingxuan said.

After Li Jingxuan said this, everyone was scared and broke into a cold sweat. If they really did this, and couldn't pay the interest, the excited people would fight them to death.

"You worry too much!" Li Chengqian smiled slightly. How could a bank only have the function of saving money? This was a foolish thing to seek death.

He, Li Chengqian, would not do such a foolish thing.

Everyone wondered if the prince was confused. How could he not see such an obvious thing? Even if he didn't see it, Li Jingxuan said it so clearly, he should have woken up.

"Of course, banks don't just have the business of depositing money. We can also lend money to people who need money through banks and charge high interest." "

In this way, we can fill the gap of paying interest. Not only can we pay interest to people who deposit money, but the bank can also take the opportunity to make a profit." Li Chengqian said. Only

when there is both inflow and outflow can we make more money. No one is willing to put money in the bank if

there is only inflow but no outflow. If there is only outflow but no inflow, even if you have a mountain of gold and silver, it will not be enough to make you bankrupt.

Lending the money that others deposit in the bank to people who are in urgent need of money to charge high interest, and then sharing some of the interest with the depositors, this is a win-win situation.

Not only does it solve the problem of principal, it can also drive the circulation of funds, making the entire money market more active.

As for what to do if someone borrows money from a bank and doesn't pay it back?

Li Chengqian was not worried at all about this. No matter who dared to default on their debts, the Tang Dynasty's Iron Cavalry would teach them what it meant to pay back debts. It was a matter of course.

Anyone who dared to owe the Royal Bank money and not pay it back was a coward.

Whoever dared not pay back the money would be arrested in person.