The most arrogant in history

Chapter 384 Are you short of money?

Tan Bamao comforted Ye Kun: "Godfather, the people in our area are much better off than Xiahou Chang's. The old man just now was a blessing in disguise. I don't have to worry about the future."

Ye Kun sighed: "Only by unifying the nine provinces can the common people live a truly good life. But once a war breaks out, there will be many old men like this..."

"Then let's not fight. Let's all defend our own territory and live in peace. Anyway, our territory is already very large. Of the nine states in the world, we occupy more than four states."

"The general trend of the world is that long-term unity will eventually lead to division, and long-term division will eventually lead to unity. The unification of China is also the will of the people. How can I give up?"

Ye Kun glared at Tan Bamao.

As the saying goes, one should not allow others to sleep soundly next to one's bed.

Ye Kun's power has surpassed Xiahou Chang and Xiao Dequan in all aspects, so he naturally will not give up his plan of unification.

Tan Bamao smiled and said, "Then we should develop more guns and artillery, develop new warships, and defeat the enemy without fighting!"

"That's a good sentence. It doesn't disappoint me for training you over the past few years."

Ye Kun laughed out loud.

At this moment, an ox cart suddenly appeared on the mountain road ahead and headed straight for Ye Kun's team.

A mother and daughter on the ox cart screamed in fear.

Tan Bamao and Zhou Xuanwu came out together and stopped the ox cart with their subordinates.

The mother and daughter on the ox cart turned pale with fear and knelt down to beg for mercy: "My dear soldiers, we didn't mean to ram you. Please spare our lives."

The mother is in her thirties and the daughter is only fourteen or fifteen years old.

Ye Kun waved his hand, asked his attendants to help the mother and daughter up, and said, "Don't be afraid, fellow villagers. I am Ye Kun, and our soldiers are all children of ordinary people. We will not embarrass you."

The woman was still afraid. She hid her daughter behind her, lowered her head and dared not speak.

Ye Kun asked: "Sister-in-law, which village are you from? Where are you going?"

The eldest sister-in-law then said, "I am from Gejiazhuang. I took my daughter to cut grass for the pigs. I came here from the small road. I didn't expect to bump into you generals."

Tan Bamao said with a smile: "What military lord? This is our Lord Ye, the King of Hanzhong."

"Ah, it's the emperor?" The eldest sister-in-law became even more frightened and knelt down again.

Ye Kun smiled bitterly and personally stepped forward to help his sister-in-law up: "I am not the emperor, but the King of Hanzhong. Sister-in-law, who said I am the emperor?"

"You are the eldest, aren't you the emperor?" the eldest sister-in-law said hesitantly.

Huang Sizhong came over to explain: "My lord, this place is so far away that ordinary people don't know who the emperor is. In recent years, everyone only knows the King of Hanzhong, not the emperor. Ordinary people don't understand and think that the King of Hanzhong is the emperor."

It turned out to be the case.

Ye Kun nodded, and then asked the girl behind his sister-in-law: "Little sister, is there a school in Gejiazhuang? Have you ever been to school?"

The little girl trembled: "There is a school, but my parents won't let me study. They said that it's useless for a girl to study..."

"Who says that women's education is useless?"

Jiang Youde stepped forward and took the little girl's hand: "I also started to study when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. Now I can read, write, and do accounts. I am no worse than a man. Little sister, listen to me and go to school. Reading will bring you great benefits."

The little girl didn't dare to speak and just lowered her head in silence.

Ye Kun gave her a few taels of silver, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, you can go to work with the children. You can take these taels of silver back to supplement your life."

The eldest sister-in-law didn't know the etiquette either. She took the money and ran away with her daughter.

Ye Kun looked at Huang Sizhong: "Old Huang, what's the situation in Gejiazhuang?"

"The people of Gejiazhuang are all immigrants, a total of 65 households, 329 people, who migrated from Changsha. The owner, Ge Yougen, is a small wealthy man and the patriarch of the Ge family. Gejiazhuang has 1,000 mu of paddy fields, 700 mu of mulberry gardens, and 820 mu of hemp fields. There are also more than 400 mu of sloping land, where rapeseed is planted in winter..."

"On average, each person has ten acres of land, which is not too little. How is the economic situation?"

"We moved here last year and started from scratch, so it was naturally a bit difficult." Huang Sizhong recounted the details:

"I drew a piece of barren mountain for them, allowing them to cut wood for charcoal burning and build a brick kiln. At the same time, we also provided 700 cubic meters of wood, 4,000 large bamboos, 80,000 old bricks, and 30,000 old tiles. Every household was exempted from taxes for three years... Every household had a ventilation stove, which was built free of charge by Miss Gongsun's men."

"Very good, Master Huang, remember this account book clearly."

Ye Kun admired Huang Sizhong a little, and they went to the village to check it out together.

But as soon as he entered the village, Ye Kun found something wrong.

There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the village, and you can see it at a glance!

The rich man Ge Yougen built a house with three large courtyards, which were neat and beautiful.

The houses of other farmers are in ruins, and some of them don't even have doors or windows.

The common people are still poor and most of them go barefoot.

Although it was summer and walking barefoot was not cold, it always looked poor and shabby.

Ge Yougen was quite smart. He came to greet the king with a flattering look on his face: "The King of Hanzhong has arrived. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. I shall be punished by death. If the King of Hanzhong does not mind, please go to my home to rest and have some tea..."

Ye Kun waved his hand and smiled: "Thank you for your enthusiasm, Mr. Ge. I will take a look around the village first and come back later."

After that, Ye Kun took Jiang Youde and Tan Bamao to visit other families and ask them the reasons for their poverty.

Just ask and you will know.

When the common people moved here and did not have enough money, they borrowed high-interest loans from Ge Yougen.

The interest rate is 5% per month and 60% per year.

As long as you borrow a few taels of usury, you will never be able to make a living in your life. The whole family will work hard just to pay the interest!

After understanding the situation, Ye Kun was furious. He called Huang Sizhong and said with a stern face:

"We have already stipulated that the annual interest rate for private lending shall not exceed 24%. Ge Yougen is lending money at high interest rates, with an annual interest rate of 60%. He is clearly a blood-sucking insect. Why didn't you notice it?"

Huang Sizhong sweated: "Private lending, private transactions, it is difficult for the government to intervene. I also told Lord Hou Qihou that I hope the government will lend me money, but Lord Hou refused to give me the money..."

Ye Kun frowned. "Investigate Ge Yougen immediately and convict him according to the law. Also, post a notice in each village, and let the villagers know that they can go to the county to borrow money with their ID cards and the village chief's certificate. The annual interest rate is 15%."

An annual interest rate of 15 percent is actually a robbery.

In later generations, banks offering an annual interest rate of 5% are considered huge profits!

As they were talking, Gongsun Erniang came from Fuling County with Ding Ding.

Ye Kun said: "Junior Sister Gongsun, you came at the right time. I want to set up loan points in all counties and prefectures throughout the territory to provide the people with the necessary construction funds. After thinking about it, only we, the disciples of the Mohist School, are suitable for this and can be responsible for this work..."

Building a sound banking system can not only prosper the economy but also increase treasury revenue.

The problem is, there must be reliable people!

The Mohist disciples brought up by Gongsun Erniang are basically upright people with culture and conviction, and they can be responsible for the national banking system.

Then let the local government cooperate in supervision and set up the bank first.

Gongsun Erniang rolled her eyes and said, "Brother, are you short of money? Why are you thinking about the few copper coins in the pockets of ordinary people?"