Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 571 Europe's Richest Man
After leaving the Contarini family's residence, Michele immediately went to another prominent family in Venice, where he quickly reached an agreement through an exchange of benefits.

In just a few days, Michele shuttled between the major families of Venice, engaging in one private negotiation and political maneuver after another.

Only after he had garnered enough "support votes" did he formally convene a parliamentary meeting in his capacity as governor, and ultimately, in the name of "democracy," pass a resolution to sign a currency swap agreement with the Ming Dynasty.

……

During this period, Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi were never idle.

Using their identities as Ming Dynasty princes and nobles, they moved among the various noble families of Venice.

During this period, they not only quickly grasped the political and economic context of Venice and even the entire European continent, but also became honored guests of many families and reached exchanges of interests with many of them.

Although Federico of the Medici family died at the hands of Zhu Gaochi, surprisingly, the Medici family did not harbor hatred towards Zhu Gaochi and his son.

On the contrary, they took the initiative to send people over to express their goodwill and repeatedly stated that they would not pursue the matter.

There are two reasons for this.

First of all, Federico’s position within the Medici family was already quite awkward.

The first heir of the Medici family wished for his early death, so that there would be one less potential rival to threaten his position.

Just like the struggle for the throne in the Ming Dynasty, there has never been any kinship involved in the struggle for family succession.

This is also an important reason why Federico did not stay in Florence, but instead traveled all the way to Venice to pursue Daisy.

Of course, in front of the outside world, the Medici family still had to maintain a facade of unity and act as brothers.

If Federico was murdered intentionally, then for the sake of the family's honor and reputation, they would surely seek revenge to the death.

Federico died in a "fair duel," which, in the eyes of Europeans, was the will of God.

The Medici family naturally backed down and did not pursue the matter further.

Secondly, after news spread that Venice had signed a currency swap agreement with the Ming Dynasty, Florence also began to consider it.

In Europe, besides the Ducat gold coin of Venice, the most important circulating currency was the "Florin gold coin" issued by Florence.

The two city-states of Venice and Florence have been locked in a fierce struggle for control of currency minting for countless years.

The introduction of the Ming Dynasty's paper money into Europe would undoubtedly be a major event affecting the monetary status of both countries.

The "Florin Gold Coin" was issued under the direct control of the Medici family, so they certainly couldn't just sit idly by.

Therefore, the Medici family quickly sent envoys to contact Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi, hoping to reach a currency swap agreement with the Ming Dynasty.

This move was like lighting a fuse, and other European countries followed suit.

They all hoped to establish a stable link between their own currencies and the Ming Dynasty's official banknotes, thereby gaining greater authority and reaping more benefits.

For a time, the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes became a highly sought-after commodity.

Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi naturally wouldn't let go of such an excellent advantage.

They made full use of their identities to maneuver among various forces, actively seeking benefits while also building momentum for themselves.

By the time the Venetian Parliament finally approved the currency swap agreement with the Ming Dynasty, they had already privately reached a series of agreements with many city-states and countries in Europe. These agreements mainly involved investing in and opening banks and developing financial businesses to facilitate trade between the Venetian Republic and the Ming Dynasty, as well as other countries.

In addition, they plan to open department stores in these locations to sell a variety of goods.

At the same time, Zhu Gaochi also purchased a large amount of paper and signed acquisition agreements with several paper mills, ready to acquire them all as soon as the currency swap agreement was formally signed.

In addition, he quickly manufactured the roller-type mimeograph machine that Zhu Yunwen had been working on in the Ming Dynasty.

This was thanks to Europe at that time. Although its industrial level was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, it already had the ability to manufacture ordinary machinery, making it far more developed than backward regions such as Kunlun Continent.

The structure of a rotary inkjet printer is very simple. As long as you have seen the actual product, understand its working principle, and have enough funds and manpower, it is not difficult to replicate it.

After all, Zhu Gaochi had once been in charge of the Ming Dynasty Manufacturing Bureau and had participated in the entire process of manufacturing many advanced machines, including steam engines, accumulating a wealth of mechanical knowledge.

Now, this knowledge has finally found a use.

These are the core inventions and technologies of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Gaochi would never let Europeans know about them easily.

Therefore, the entire manufacturing process was kept strictly confidential.

Fortunately, they brought several hundred soldiers with them, so it wasn't difficult to do so.

Even if Venetian artisans are needed to make some parts, they can break down the task and purchase them separately.

As long as no one can see the final product, no matter how hard the craftsmen rack their brains, they will never guess that Zhu Gaochi wants to build a roller-type mimeograph machine.

Of course, the diffusion of technology is unavoidable.

Everything Zhu Gaochi is doing now is simply to delay the leakage of technology, so as to ensure that the Ming Dynasty will always maintain its technological lead.

With mimeograph machines and paper as a foundation, Zhu Gaochi then followed Zhu Yunwen's example in the Ming Dynasty and founded the first newspaper in Venice.

The newspaper was an instant hit with the citizens of Venice.

Before this, they had only come into contact with handwritten copies or church notices, and had never seen a newspaper that carried such a massive amount of information.

However, as citizens who are enthusiastic about business activities, they have an extremely high thirst for all kinds of information.

Newspapers, as a brand-new medium, naturally won people's hearts, to the point that almost everyone had one.

It is worth mentioning that although Europe did not have an imperial examination system like the Ming Dynasty, most citizens in the cities were literate and could easily read the simple contents of newspapers due to the needs of commercial activities.

Zhu Gaochi subtly promoted the advancement and power of the Ming Dynasty by leveraging the powerful influence of newspapers.

Almost simultaneously, after they formally signed a currency swap agreement with Venice, the Ming Dynasty Commercial Bank, which they established there, was also declared a success.

The extensive newspaper coverage brought immense popularity to the Daming Commercial Bank.

On the day the bank opened, Venice was deserted as citizens flocked to the bank, crowding the entrance and making it impossible to move, all eager to catch a glimpse of this legendary financial institution from an ancient Eastern country.

It was precisely thanks to the glittering brand of "Great Ming," coupled with continuous newspaper publicity and Venice's vibrant commercial atmosphere and solid financial foundation, that Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi were able to establish the Great Ming Commercial Bank in Venice with minimal effort. Subsequently, they quickly set up branches in Florence, Milan, and other places, and continued to expand their business to more and more distant regions.

With a substantial capital of ten million Ducati, they were almost reckless in their business dealings.

Besides banks and newspapers, they also ventured into multiple sectors such as grain and department stores, and acquired various factories to simplify supply channels, gradually monopolizing the trade of various commodities.

Ultimately, they simply copied Zhu Yunwen's successful experience in the Ming Dynasty. With readily available experience to follow, it was naturally easier for them to succeed.

In less than a year, the Ming Dynasty Commercial Group, under the control of Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi, rapidly developed into an unprecedented super multinational corporation.

Their businesses span multiple countries along the Mediterranean coast, controlling not only the financial lifelines of many regions but also covering several important industries.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty paper money was also widely used in European countries, and its influence grew day by day.

In later generations, in order to maintain financial stability, the state will enact legislation to strictly restrict the behavior of banks and prohibit them from directly using depositors' savings for investment.

The primary purpose of bank deposits can only be to issue loans.

Of course, banks can expand their revenue streams through value-added services such as wealth management and safe deposit boxes, but they absolutely cannot use depositors' hard-earned money to build shopping malls, open factories, or make various direct capital investments.

Countries around the world have established strict regulatory systems for this.

Otherwise, not only will other companies in the market struggle to survive, but more importantly, this unregulated "self-financing" model will cause banks to lose their due constraints, thus pushing the entire country's financial system to the brink of collapse.

Of course, state-owned banks can provide loans to other state-owned enterprises, which is essentially a "left hand to right hand" arrangement.

Even so, such transactions must be reviewed by an independent external regulatory body and are absolutely not allowed to be handled internally by the bank.

In present-day Europe, however, banking is still a completely new concept.

Consequently, the legal systems of various countries lack any regulatory measures specifically targeting banks.

After all, things that didn't exist before can't be regulated by special legislation.

Therefore, after establishing the bank, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi did not even need to rush to start lending business.

They simply need to use the deposits they collect directly for the expansion of their own businesses, such as building shopping malls, establishing newspapers, and opening factories.

In this way, the Zhu family's businesses received a continuous stream of financial support.

Bank branches sprang up like mushrooms after rain in various city-states and countries across Europe, and massive amounts of funds flowed into the Zhu family's accounts and were quickly invested in various projects.

This rate of development far exceeded the expansion of normal banks and enterprises in later generations.

In a properly functioning banking system, the primary consideration is how to effectively lend out the deposits that have been received.

Often, many people come to apply for loans, but very few are truly qualified and high-quality customers.

People often say that banks are like "offering umbrellas on sunny days and taking them away on rainy days."

The more assets you own, the more willing banks are to lend to you, even if you don't need the loan at all; conversely, the more you lack money and the more you need a loan, the less willing banks are to lend to you.

Ultimately, the reason lies in the need for banks to implement strict risk control.

They believe that people with substantial assets are better able to repay their debts on time.

How can banks be sure that the poor, who have no money, will actually be able to repay the loan on time?

Due to the high risk, banks are naturally unwilling to lend money easily.

For this reason, traditional banks must conduct extensive risk assessments and background checks on their clients when conducting business.

This process is cumbersome and severely limits the expansion of banks.

However, the Zhu family mainly used the deposits they received for their own industrial investments, thus completely eliminating this cumbersome process.

Furthermore, there were no laws in this era requiring banks to verify the legality of deposit sources.

This near-zero-threshold deposit-taking model, coupled with the fact that they were the only bank in the market and the overwhelming publicity in newspapers, made the Zhu family's bank expand at an incredible speed.

Of course, Daming Commercial Bank did not completely refuse to lend; it would still lend to truly high-quality customers.

After all, banks absorb deposits far too quickly.

The only thing that can limit the expansion of the Zhu family's business empire is the speed of recruitment.

But with sufficient funding, how could recruitment become a bottleneck?
Europe's strong business atmosphere has fostered a large number of talents who understand accounting and are proficient in arithmetic.

In this era, double-entry bookkeeping had quietly begun to emerge in some city-states.

With such a large and well-established group in place, the Zhu family only needs to provide simple internal training to quickly train them into qualified bank employees.

The newspaper's operations also went smoothly. Zhu Gaochi acquired several paper mills and greatly reduced production costs by introducing the Ming Dynasty's industrialized production model and innovating the papermaking process.

The cost advantages brought by bulk purchasing, the use of rotary printing presses, and the adoption of the mature news and story arrangement model of the Da Ming Daily were nothing short of a "dimensional reduction attack" for the European people who lacked entertainment and were eager to obtain all kinds of information.

The newspaper office also became a money-printing machine for the Zhu family.

Department stores also rose rapidly.

The Zhu family adopted a centralized procurement, unified distribution, and centralized management model, and innovatively introduced the concept of "one-stop shopping" department stores.

Customers can easily purchase all the goods they need in one place. This brand-new business model has quickly impacted traditional small, scattered shops, leaving them unable to cope.

With a continuous influx of capital from banks, the Zhu family's business empire expanded at an astonishing pace.

Before European merchants could even react, the Zhu family's department stores had already spread to major cities.

In just a few months, the Zhu family, with its three pillar industries of banking, newspapers and department stores, as well as the various factories it continuously invested in and acquired, became the "richest family" recognized by nobles and commoners in Europe.

Their wealth and influence swept across the entire continent of Europe with unparalleled momentum.

……

(End of this chapter)