"Manager Zhang, this way please."

"Shopkeeper Li, long time no see. Please come in."

"Manager Qian, you came so early today."

"Manager Zhao..."

Those who can come here to attend the meeting may not be a big deal at the court level, but in the folk circles, everyone here is a big shot.

The owner of each money shop controlled a large amount of loan funds. While ordinary people were still working hard from dawn to dusk to earn a dozen strings of treasure notes every month, they were already dealing with the flow of hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of treasure notes.

Perhaps the monthly salary of the owner of each money shop generally fluctuates around several strings of treasure notes, and the difference will not be too big.

In this day and age, an ordinary person may not be able to save up hundreds of strings of paper money even if he lives frugally for several years, but this is just a month's salary for shopkeepers.

Especially since this is the capital.

These shop owners who are able to attend the meeting are already at the top of the entire industry.

Money is one thing, but more important is the powerful and unspeakable network of connections behind every shopkeeper.

When meeting ordinary nobles, and even officials of the fifth or sixth rank, they had to give him some face.

To ordinary people, they are already big shots who are high above everyone else.

This compound is not luxurious, and it is surrounded by densely packed guards.

Even the Jinyiwei couldn't come and eavesdrop.

Of course, it would be different if you listened openly.

The lobby of the villa.

The place was filled with chairs, and the shop owners of various banks took their seats when they arrived.

And on top, there are four chairs.

That was prepared for the managers of the four largest money houses.

The four major money houses refer to the four largest money houses in the private sector.

The most basic ones are those that have opened stores almost throughout the Ming Dynasty, at least in every provincial capital, to meet the needs of merchants.

Behind these are four extremely powerful chambers of commerce.

Sihai Money House is naturally one of them.

There are also Jiuzhou Money House, Wansheng Money House, and Shanshui Money House.

Some of the smaller ones include Rishengchang, Weitaihou, Tianchengheng, Baofenglong, Sanjinyuan, Cunyigong, Huiyuanyong, Heshengyuan and so on.

Behind the money houses, there are often nobles, officials, aristocratic families and other parties as their backers.

Among them, the four major banks naturally have the largest backing.

It is said that the four major banks have the support of royal family members.

Rumor has it that the four major banks are backed by vassal kings.

Rumors are just rumors, but in fact, many people who know the inside story understand that the four major banks currently have maritime trade businesses, especially with the four major feudal lords of Japan, with whom they have extremely close exchanges.

"Everyone is here, please be quiet."

Li Xiangfeng sat in the position of the chief treasurer of Sihai Money House. He glanced at the noisy crowd in the hall and spoke softly.

The sound was not loud, but the hall immediately became quiet.

For those who can sit in the position of shopkeeper, keeping an eye on all directions and listening in all directions are basic skills. Although those people seem to be chatting, their attention is actually always on the four seats at the top.

Li Xiangfeng was very satisfied with this feeling, and then he bowed to his left and right: "Brother Cheng, Brother Zhao, Brother Lu, let me speak this time?"

The other three smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Li."

Li Xiangfeng nodded slightly, and then said to the crowd: "Those who can come here today are all the shopkeepers of major banks. It is because you have given us four a favor and allowed us to preside over this meeting."

After saying that, Li Xiangfeng stood up and bowed.

Everyone in the audience quickly stood up and returned the greeting.

They are all money shop owners, but in fact their status is not that different. It mainly depends on the power behind them.

But of course, such things happening behind the scenes cannot be made public, so everyone should be more polite to each other.

Besides, when it comes to the level of money shop owners, there are not many simple ones.

Li Xiangfeng went straight to the point.

"I won't chat today. Whether it's the four of us, or the people sitting here, or those who couldn't come here because the place is small, everyone's situation is basically the same, and no one is feeling well."

"As things stand now, it's clear that the news was deliberately released by the imperial court to test us and squeeze us. It's only been a few days, and I'm sure everyone has already felt it. If it's delayed any further, reputation is one thing, and I'm afraid that Qianqianzhuang will close because of this."

"The reason we are discussing this matter today is to focus our efforts and not allow the situation to deteriorate any further."

After Li Xiangfeng pointed out the purpose, everyone began to speak freely.

"Who says it's not true? I can't hold out for more than three days, no, two days. If I return home without the treasure banknotes and can't pay, won't the people go crazy?"

"You still have two days. I'm now worried about how to open the door tomorrow. I'm afraid I can't even last half a day."

"The talk of banning private banks is completely groundless. Someone must have deliberately spread rumors to attack us. They don't think about how much hard-earned money of the people would be wasted if all our banks were closed."

"I think we must jointly report this matter to the court. Only if the court takes action to stop the rumors can this turmoil be resolved smoothly."

The crowd was filled with righteous indignation, and everyone was sighing as if they had been forced into a desperate situation.

Li Xiangfeng simply picked up the teacup from the tea table, blew gently, and then took a sip of the hot tea.

He didn't even look downward.

Reporting to the court is easy enough.

Everyone here is smart. Even if they are not well-informed, they can guess who is the mastermind behind this.

It is obviously the current Crown Prince.

Also reported.

Is it possible that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has to come forward personally and stage a "Who in the audience is suing me" drama in order to live in peace?

In fact, although the scene seems tense, if you look closely at everyone's expressions, it is not really to the point where it is forced.

If we want to make a report, I guess no shopkeeper here would submit his or her name.

It's just for fun, anyone who takes it seriously is a fool.

Who isn't a worker? Even if a money house really can't pay out money and is going to close, what does it have to do with you here?

It’s better to turn it off, it makes you feel relieved.

There were even some shop owners who wished the court would issue an order banning private money houses, which would save them even more trouble.

There are many tricks in the money houses, and the bad debts and lousy debts are the most troublesome.

The operation of robbing Peter to pay Paul is something that all the shopkeepers here are familiar with.

The account books in every money shop are always seven or eight, both real and fake, with a main one being a nesting doll.

There are even some ruthless people who can't even count how many holes there are in their own banks.

So, even though I was obviously extremely happy inside, I had to act like I was indignant and anxious.

It's really difficult.

There is no other way. This has to be performed for countless bosses in the future.

"Okay, stop arguing. This matter is now imminent. You can't avoid it. Don't try to fool around. You must make every effort. Otherwise, it will become irreversible, and most of you here will not have a good life."

Li Xiangfeng said in a deep voice.

Of course he knew what these shopkeepers were thinking, but he was different.

In other words, the heads of the four major money houses are all different.

I received a warning before coming here today.

If it is really irresistible, then don't blame me. If it is all mediocre, then don't blame me for being ruthless.

Obviously, Li Xiangfeng's words were still somewhat intimidating.

There was a moment of silence, and a bank owner stood up and bowed, saying, "Boss Li, a snake cannot survive without a head, and a bird cannot fly without a head. We all know how serious this matter is, so we are pointing to you to make the first move. Let's see how you do it, and then we will do it together."

"The boss has also given instructions to follow the four shopkeepers and will definitely not fall behind."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately agreed.

Li Xiangfeng and other four big bank managers looked at each other and then nodded slightly.

Hold big meetings for small matters and small meetings for big matters.

It was obvious that the four of them had secretly colluded with each other and discussed a countermeasure.

Li Xiangfeng straightened up from his original position, looked carefully at the people present, and then spoke:

"The four of us did come up with a countermeasure. I think the bosses behind us have already thought of a solution for the current situation. But everyone knows who we are facing, and we are helpless and dare not show up."

"If you are the first one to stick your head out, you will probably get shot down."

"The straight way doesn't work, so we can only go the curved way."

Having said that, Li Xiangfeng paused for a moment, waiting for everyone to focus, and then continued:

"As we all know, at present, the main lending business of the Royal Bank is mortgage loans."

"Only the Royal Bank can do this kind of business. We are a small family, how can we get involved in it?"

"But we are not vegetarians here. We must let others know. If we all unite, it will bring a huge shock to this market."

"The water is too clear, so we fish are staring at people. Only by muddying the water can we have a chance to survive."

"The population of the capital is increasing, but the price of houses has not increased much. I think it's time to help in this regard."

"All of you present here are shopkeepers, and your business is spread all over the Ming Dynasty. What I mean is that not only in the capital, but also in the major prefectures that are farther away, you should be able to make some moves."

After the words were spoken, there was silence.

At this time, many shopkeepers began to calculate in their minds how much money they would have to pay.

It's not a small amount of money.

Moreover, this would be a conflict with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Li Xiangfeng's words were a bit euphemistic, but in fact his meaning was very simple, that is, all the private money houses joined together to speculate in real estate.

…

Zhu Ying was a little confused when he heard the news.

He didn't expect that something like this would happen at this time.

As we all know, meetings like this that secretly oppose the imperial court are very dangerous, especially when so many people are involved.

If they had a mobile phone or something, Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang would be able to watch the live broadcast.

Of course, now it’s almost the same as live broadcast, but it’s a text version.

These Jinyiwei must be quite capable.

In the documents that were handed in, it was clearly stated who said what.

There is also a special name in front.

For example, the opening line is Sihai’s shopkeeper Li Xiangfeng’s words: …

Then the shopkeeper said something.

"Jiang Li, how many eavesdroppers did you bury in that yard?" Zhu Ying asked with a smile.

The Eavesdropping Device was the most commonly used device by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and was equivalent to the eavesdropping device in later generations.

Zhu Yuanzhang was able to control the officials in the capital and even know what other people were saying in private in the room. Naturally, it was the Jinyiwei who relied on these eavesdroppers.

The so-called listening tube actually has the same principle as the traditional tube of later generations, but there are naturally many special changes in the production.

These secrets are considered top secrets in the Jinyiwei. Of course, since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked, we will tell him everything.

"Because there are more people who need to be monitored this time, we not only prepared monitoring equipment in advance, but also arranged a dozen eavesdroppers underground to better record the information." Jiang Lin replied respectfully.

Zhu Ying didn't ask any more questions.

Tingweng is actually a jar with a small mouth and a large belly.

When in use, bury the listening jar in the ground and cover the mouth of the jar with a thin layer of leather. When detection is needed, lie down with your ear to listen to the movement above.

If necessary, professional intelligence personnel can be placed directly in the urn, which is called "塵听".

In order to reduce intelligence errors, blind people are often trained to perform "listening" tasks.

Blind people may have poor eyesight, but they often have excellent hearing.

There was a Jueshengwei in the Jinyiwei, and the commander was Yang Zhongkai, whom Zhu Ying had seen before.

Later, a school for the deaf and dumb was specially opened for him, and Liu Bowen's senior brother Lu Buduo was asked to come out to help.

"Grandson, these little bastards are all black-hearted. They are all profiteers. How dare they try to manipulate public opinion to target the imperial court."

"We're going to teach them a lesson this time."

"Jiang Li." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was filled with obvious anger.

Jiang Li bowed quickly and said, "I am here."

Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly: "Immediately send an order to the Jinyiwei to arrest all the people on this list and put them in the Tianlao."

"If anyone dares to do this again, notify the Thirteenth Secretary of State for Public Affairs. No need to tell us, just arrest them directly."

Jiang Li's heart trembled: "I obey your order."

"Wait a minute." Zhu Ying interrupted.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly and said, "Grandson, these guys are really asking for trouble. How can we let them have an easy time?"

Zhu Ying said helplessly: "Grandpa, don't worry. Their methods may seem unsolvable, but in fact, they are just that in the eyes of your grandson."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and asked, "They are so fast, can they make it in time?"

"If it's too late, our people will suffer."

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang had to use thundering means to suppress the situation was that he felt that once these money shop owners really drove up housing prices, it would be difficult for the court to find a solution.

When the time comes, it will be the lower-class people who will pay for this.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I have been waiting for this matter for a long time. I had anticipated this possibility, but I didn't expect that the one who would hit the knife edge would be the money houses in various places."