"Grandson, have you decided to do this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang gently put little Wencheng down, and Jiang Li next to him immediately came over to take over.

Little Wencheng, who is about to turn three years old, should be closer to Aiai, the eunuch.

However, in reality, Xiao Wencheng prefers to play with guards like Jiang Lin.

Zhu Ying watched Xiao Wencheng and Jiang Lin walk away with a smile, nodded and said, "Grandpa, this is something I have always wanted to do, and I also understand that this will indeed bring some turmoil to the Ming Dynasty."

"But now is the best time. If I miss it, I believe there will never be such an opportunity again."

In the past, whenever his eldest grandson proposed any policy, Zhu Yuanzhang would agree without hesitation.

But this time, Zhu Yuanzhang fell into deep thought.

After all, what the eldest grandson proposed this time affected the interests of too many people.

To say that there are too many people is a bit too little, as this almost involves the entire wealthy class.

Money house.

What Zhu Ying had just said was to abolish all the money houses in the Ming Dynasty, put the money houses under the control of the court, abolish privately-owned ones and change them to government-owned ones.

Money shops first emerged during the Zhenguan Reign of Emperor Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty and have now developed to a very sophisticated level.

Especially with the rapid development of the Ming Dynasty's economy, the demand for money houses began to grow.

A money shop is similar to a bank in later generations, a place to deposit and withdraw money.

However, the classes involved in money shops almost cover the entire wealthy class.

Nowadays, many families that benefited from the dividends of the Ming Dynasty have earned a lot of money. Naturally, they would not think about hiding the money in the basement. Instead, they are thinking about how to make money make more money.

Even when a large amount of money is needed for investment or trading, how can we get more money quickly?

Nowadays, a large number of money houses have sprung up in the Ming Dynasty like bamboo shoots after a rain. While there are good and bad ones, there are also many money houses with great reputations.

Some time-honored money houses even surpassed the royal money houses in credibility and reputation, even though they had the endorsement of the imperial court.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that if private money houses could be abolished and all of them were managed by the imperial court, the profits brought from this would be simply unimaginable.

But at the same time, the complete ban on private money houses at this time would have a huge impact on the Ming Dynasty's economy.

To put it in an exaggerated way, even the overall public sentiment will be shaken.

"Grandson, aren't you afraid that the reputation you have worked so hard to build will be ruined at this moment?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

He was not just saying this casually, but something that might very well happen.

Almost every local money house represents the union of the wealthy class in the local area.

This involves officials, families, wealthy families, and landlords.

These people can fully represent ordinary people and are the embodiment of public opinion.

This incident has seriously affected their interests.

The most important thing is that it is impossible for almost all money houses to balance their accounts.

The money deposited by retail investors will basically be withdrawn by the major shareholders behind these money houses in the form of loans, and then used for their own business.

If the imperial court prohibits the opening of private money houses, bank runs will inevitably occur in these money houses.

No money house can withstand such a run, which will inevitably involve all aspects. The large number of people involved behind the money house may even lead to bankruptcy.

Under such circumstances, people's livelihood will inevitably be disturbed, and many people will even hysterically resist this policy.

"My reputation doesn't really matter, and I don't really care about it that much."

"What really helped me consolidate my imperial power was the power of the army."

"I know very well how much resistance there is, but there is really no better time than now. The longer we delay, the harder it will be to accomplish this."

"Private banks have absorbed too much money from the Ming Dynasty. Of the current Ming Dynasty's wealth, 80% is controlled by others, not by the court. This situation is not a good thing for the entire Ming Dynasty."

This is a huge hidden danger.

The Ming Dynasty is now experiencing the blossoming flowers of capital, and the rapidly growing economy is causing the Ming Dynasty's wealth to soar wildly.

In the past two years, the court's industrialization layout has continued to expand, and the status of merchants has continued to rise.

If the current trend continues, there will inevitably emerge a group of businessmen who are rich enough to rival a country.

Zhu Ying didn't want the Ming Dynasty to be controlled by capital in the future.

Then the only option is to put capital in a cage.

Money houses are the current stumbling block.

The reason for this decision was because of Guan Xianghai.

Hong Kong pawnshops produced a large amount of gold and silver, most of which, of course, was embezzled by officials.

If you trace it back, most of the money ended up in Guan Xianghai's hands.

But there is no way to trace where the money went.

Zhu Ying has already guessed that there must be a money house involved, or even that he has invested in a money house.

Judging from Guan Xianghai’s example, it will become increasingly difficult for the court to track down corrupt officials’ stolen money.

The amount of banknotes printed by the Baochao Tizhusi in the past two years is more than the total amount of the previous 26 years of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the national treasury has sufficient reserves. The reason why they dare to print such a large amount is because there is too much gold and silver, so the treasure notes must also keep up.

The current scale of the Baochao Tizhusi has expanded more than ten times compared to before, in order to keep up with the pace of printing.

There are so many benefits to having a government-run money shop.

Generally speaking, this is equivalent to a substantial increase in revenue, and the national treasury will hardly be short of money in the future.

Better macro-control of the entire Ming Dynasty's economic development, and stronger and more precise control over taxation, trade and many other aspects.

From a small perspective, the interests of the people were protected, and with official endorsement, there was naturally no risk of the royal bank going bankrupt and running away.

Now in the market, there are cases where people lure retail investors into depositing money at high interest rates and then run away with the money.

Set up a money scam in the north and then run away to the south.

Due to the influence of information dissemination, it is difficult to catch the real culprit in today's world.

Even if they are caught, it will be difficult to recover the money.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and said, "What you said is indeed true. It seems that the government-run money houses must be carried out."

"If we can't get this matter settled while we're here, it will probably be even more impossible for our descendants in the future."

"Rather than relying on them, it would be better for us to finalize this matter between the two of us."

"But I think we can't act so quickly. We can spread the word first to test the waters and see how big of an impact it will have. At the same time, we can also prepare the people and ask them to deposit their money in our royal bank first to avoid too much loss."

"Let's not bring this matter up to the court meeting for now."

Zhu Yuanzhang obviously thought very clearly.

Looking at all dynasties, the period when central power was the strongest was generally when a country was founded.

The monarchs who came after him were, in most cases, on a downward slope.

There will naturally be a few good ones among them, but for many things, don't put your hopes on offspring.

If there are any tough bones to chew, just chew them yourself first.

Especially in the current Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that with the cooperation of grandfather and grandson, there was basically nothing that could not be accomplished.

Zhu Ying said, "This news cannot be published in the court gazette. If it is published, it will be equivalent to a decision, which will also cause great panic."

"I will spread the news to various chambers of commerce, including the Public Security Bureau, to see how they respond."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Then let's observe."

…

As the power and political center of the Ming Dynasty, any news in the capital will spread quickly.

Not only are all the envoys from other small countries concentrated here, but all the larger chambers of commerce have offices in the capital.

The purpose is to better understand the news of the court.

Only by mastering the latest policy directions can you make more money.

The news that the court was preparing to set up official money houses quickly spread throughout the capital.

"This... this is impossible. If this is true, it will cause a huge mess. The imperial court should not do this."

"What's impossible? The news came from Ping An Tea House. I heard that many officers from the Public Security Bureau are now withdrawing money from other banks and then depositing it in the Royal Bank."

"In that case, we have to find a way to get the money out quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to get the money out when the court promulgates this regulation."

The peaceful capital was suddenly in turmoil.

The government had no intention of stopping the so-called gossip, especially in the Public Security Department, where many personnel quickly withdrew money from other banks as if they had received some gossip.

Because the population of Nanjing City soared rapidly, a large number of security offices were set up in Nanjing City in order to better maintain public security in the capital.

There is a police station almost every two or three streets.

For ordinary people living in the capital, the government office they come into contact with most frequently is naturally the Public Security Bureau.

Some trivial matters, such as neighborhood disputes and petty thefts, are basically handled by the Public Security Department.

Of course, the people are most concerned about their movements.

"Master Li, please tell us whether this is true or not. We all make a living in this market, and we see each other everywhere. This is such a big thing, and it concerns everyone's hard-earned money."

"If there really is something fishy going on, you can't just hide it from everyone."

In the security office in the capital, more than a dozen uncles and aunts rushed over and asked the officers on duty.

"Yes, yes. We are all ordinary people. We work hard every day to earn a little money. Our son is about to find a wife. If something goes wrong, it will be the end of us."

"Oh my, all my coffins are buried inside. Master Li, you can't do this to us neighbors."

"That's right, Master Li, just tell us old guys and give us at least some information."

More than a dozen people were talking at the same time, and Li San felt his head was getting bigger.

Don't treat a police officer as an official.

For the lower-class people, the police officers were paid by the government, so it was absolutely right to call them "Master".

Even though Li San is only under 30 years old.

"This is not something that can be said casually. The court hasn't issued any notice yet, so no one can be sure of the news." Li San explained quickly.

But the uncles and aunts were not happy about that.

"You said you didn't know, so why did you withdraw money from other banks and deposit it in the Royal Bank?"

"Yes, of course we trust the Royal Bank, but the interest rates of other banks are much higher than that of the Royal Bank. Why don't you take the extra money?"

Li San was somewhat helpless: "Not to mention our office, even other public security offices did not force us to withdraw all the money, but this is the intention of our superiors, and it is considered as a bank to support the imperial court."

"We brothers all followed the instructions of our superiors, so we took out all the money."

"In fact, some of these things are not a big concern. The interest rate of the Royal Bank is not high, so there are not many deposits. The court seems to have discussed this matter, so anyone who eats official food may have to deposit it in the Royal Bank."

"Of course, this is not the court's rule."

After hearing Li San's explanation, more than a dozen old men and women left half-believing and half-doubting.

After all, gathering in the security station doesn't seem like a big deal, so everyone sees each other often, and most of the people who come are older.

If it were a young and strong person, it might not be that simple.

The news gradually spread, and many people figured out the reason and put their suspicions aside.

However, some people still went to other banks to withdraw money and then deposited it in the royal bank.

This part has already put a lot of pressure on a large number of banks.

Sihai Money House.

This is a money house under the name of Sihai Chamber of Commerce. Basically, the money of the members of Sihai Chamber of Commerce is deposited in Sihai Money House.

And this is also considered an old brand.

In many areas, it is even more famous than the Royal Bank.

The Sihai Chamber of Commerce does business at sea. For example, when Li Jinglong was ordered to lead the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet to travel around the world, among the several large chambers of commerce that followed him to do business, there was a member of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce.

Naturally, they also had a base in the capital and opened money houses all over the world.

A long queue had already formed at the door of Sihai Money House, and hundreds of people were waiting to withdraw money.

"Boss, more and more people are withdrawing money today. In less than two days, more than half of the banknotes in our bank have been withdrawn. If this continues, there may be no money in the bank tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

The head of the money shop stood on the third floor, looking at the crowded crowd below, and said worriedly to the shopkeeper next to him.

The shopkeeper frowned and replied, "Order them to immediately collect enough treasure notes from the Chamber of Commerce to deal with the people withdrawing money."

The head of the business worriedly said, "There aren't many treasure notes in the Chamber of Commerce. Now tens of millions of treasure notes are taken out every day. Even if we mobilize all of them, we don't know how long we can support them. How about we close the business for a few days and wait and see what happens?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "No, this concerns the reputation of the bank and even the Chamber of Commerce. We are far from the end of our rope and must maintain it."

"In the next few days, there should be news from the imperial court. I believe this storm will pass."