PFC Chapter 343 A grand move that takes into account the overall situation!
Chapter 343 A grand move that takes into account the overall situation!
Gu Jingzhi pursed his lips.
"Your Majesty, the scholar is the first threshold for scholars to enter the imperial examination, and they are also the most promising part of the dynasty's talent pool!"
"But for those who have passed this threshold, it is the most difficult time! Ordinary people have a name for scholars: poor scholar..."
Emperor Xia: “…”
Gu Jingzhi continued, "The scholar is the starting point of the imperial examination. With the title of scholar, they are eligible for admission to higher institutions of learning, and then begin a journey of several years or even more than ten years to pursue fame and fortune!"
"This process is also the most expensive! Your Majesty, do you agree?"
Emperor Xia nodded subconsciously, but then realized, "That's not right! You, a minister, are actually asking me this question in such a tone?"
He said with a fierce face, "Tell me your story properly!"
"..."
Gu Jingzhi smiled bitterly and said, "So, I'm wondering if the Royal Bank can provide some help to these people?"
"For example, we could develop a system for issuing student loans based on the different circumstances of each region to ensure that students with the title of scholar can study with peace of mind and prepare for the imperial examinations..."
"You mean well, but you also said that being a scholar is just the beginning of a career. How many people waste their entire lives without ever achieving the title of a juren? If you can get money from the bank just by being a scholar, what will happen if you can't pay it back later? Also, even private lending has interest, so how do you calculate the interest on loans from your bank?"
not bad!
Just by mentioning it, Emperor Xia was able to think of so many things, even thinking about bad debts and loan interest.
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Of course, banks don't have any requirements for lending money, such as age, character, etc..."
In the imperial examination, age is an advantage. In Gu Jingzhi's opinion, the younger the scholar, the more potential he has, and those old scholars are not very interesting!
Moreover, this money must be used for scientific research.
As for preventing bad debts, isn’t there a guarantee system?
As for interest...
As a student loan, Gu Jingzhi naturally wouldn't be too harsh. It could be set up, such as three years of interest-free, interest calculated after three years, installment payments, etc...
In short, we need to provide a more generous policy!
Gu Jingzhi said all these things one by one, and the more Emperor Xia listened, the brighter his eyes became.
Finally, Gu Jingzhi said, "If bad debts still occur under these policies, the only option left may be to strip them of their official titles! Even such dishonest individuals will be banned from taking the imperial examinations for three generations!"
Get rid of your fame and honor?
No one is allowed to take the imperial examination within three generations?
Emperor Xia took a deep breath when he heard this: "Gu Qing, isn't this punishment too severe?"
It's not that he's too soft-hearted, but the purpose of the imperial examination is to select talents for the country. If he does this, it would be too...
Gu Jingzhi disagreed: "Your Majesty, there is no room for negotiation on this matter! This student loan policy is considered the most generous policy. If someone can't even make the final installment, then such a person must be of mediocre ability and character!"
"When the state holds an imperial examination to select officials, it is based on their ability and moral character!"
"The government provides generous loans to support students. If they ultimately refuse to take the government's money, what's the point of having such students here?"
"..."
This is true!
The country can provide money in advance to support students. Although it is a loan, it is considered to be sufficient attention. At least military generals do not have this treatment, right?
Seeing that Emperor Xia agreed, Gu Jingzhi continued, "The second benefit of this method is that it prevents students from accepting financial support from others. Moreover, since the Royal Bank belongs to the country, these students will receive the country's favor even when they are humble. When they enter the court one day, they will surely be even more grateful for the kindness of our Great Xia!"
"By then, all the officials of Great Xia will be united, and the prosperity of Great Xia will surely reach an unprecedented height!"
When Emperor Xia heard this, he was slightly excited.
Yes!
If that day really comes, it would be unimaginable!
The so-called disciples of the emperor... these people have received favors from the emperor before they even took part in the palace examination. This sounds more like the disciples of the emperor!
Emperor Xia was thinking excitedly, while Gu Jingzhi was laughing as he watched from the side.
However, due to time constraints, he had to interrupt Emperor Xia: "Your Majesty, this is only part of the loan. The other part is where the bank is currently making a profit!"
"Oh? Is there another part to this loan?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "When the imperial court issues currency, it naturally hopes that the currency will circulate quickly. If this currency wants to circulate quickly, the best way is to encourage the development of commerce!"
"Trade?"
Emperor Xia frowned slightly after hearing this.
This is not easy to promote in the court! Merchants are more concerned about profit than academics, who are threatened with being stripped of their academic titles!
Seeing this, Gu Jingzhi also understood Emperor Xia's concerns and said, "Your Majesty, commercial loans are mainly mortgage loans. In other words, if merchants want to borrow money from banks, they must first have something of certain value as collateral!"
"Of course, this doesn't mean that the bank will only lend as much as the value of the assets they pledge!"
“I usually choose to cut it in half!”
"..."
The corner of Emperor Xia's mouth twitched.
Wow, this Gu Jingzhi really calculates people very well!
After hearing this, Emperor Xia was no longer worried. After all, with assets as collateral, the bank could not suffer losses.
but……
"Gu Qing, how should this bank operate?"
Honestly, that’s the point!
Gu Jingzhi also knew that if this problem was not solved, it would be almost impossible to open a bank!
"Your Majesty, I'm considering establishing the Great Xia Royal Bank in the capital, responsible for issuing currency and managing all banks across the land! While the Royal Bank will nominally be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry only has supervisory authority and is not permitted to directly intervene!"
"As for the rank of the government office, I suggest the fourth rank!"
Fourth grade?
Emperor Xia frowned slightly. "Gu Qing, as you said, if my Great Xia Bank were to open branches throughout Great Xia, I wonder how many more officials would be needed. How could the imperial court afford to support all of them?"
"Uh……"
Gu Jingzhi was at a loss for words and said, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood my meaning!"
"As for the banks in this world, the only one with a fixed grade is the Great Xia Royal Bank. The rest of the local banks will be established by acquiring shares from the Royal Bank. The Royal Bank will hold the majority of the shares, and the local banks will be controlled by the Royal Bank. There will be no grades for local banks, just an employment relationship!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia was immediately furious, "How can this be allowed? Banks are related to the lifeblood of the country. If they operate like this, wouldn't it be chaos? No, absolutely not!"
"..."
Gu Jingzhi pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, how about the court paying the salary and expanding the number of places in the imperial examination?"
Emperor Xia’s anger was suddenly blocked!
Gu Jingzhi sighed, "If we talk about the places where gold and silver are most concentrated among the people... it's probably the aristocratic families and the money houses. Most of the money houses in the world are run by aristocratic families, accounting for about 70%, while wealthy businessmen from all over the country account for 30%!"
"After Daxia establishes the Royal Bank, those money houses will naturally be banned!"
"However, when it comes to money, the people who originally managed the banks are considered the most knowledgeable about money in Daxia. If these people are not brought under the imperial court for integration, it would be a huge waste!"
"Your Majesty, are you sure they will agree to this without offering any benefits?"
"Or, will the imperial court send a large army, put a knife to their necks, and force them to agree?"