Qing Yao

Chapter 107 The pattern is about to open up
County Magistrate Ding nearly choked to death, and he really couldn't understand why Zhao An needed to borrow 100,000 taels of silver.

Didn't the censor surnamed Zheng say that ten thousand taels would be enough?

Why don't you just honestly borrow 10,000 taels and see if it works? Instead, you're acting crazy and borrowing 90,000 taels!

If a money lender really wanted to lend you 100,000 taels, do you know how much interest they would charge that year?
"One and a half cents is a fixed rule set by the imperial court. It may not seem like much, but there are also deductions, transfer fees, and cash payments waiting for you, kid!"

The county magistrate truly lamented their misfortune and was furious at their lack of resistance.

"Koutou" means deducting interest from the principal. In the common practice, it usually starts at 40% of the original price, that is, if you borrow 100 taels, 40 taels will be deducted, and you will actually receive 60 taels.

"The Imperial Household Department doesn't dare to be so ruthless when dealing with us officials, but they still have to deduct 10%, meaning we only actually receive 90 taels. You think you really get 90 taels? No way!"

The county magistrate stamped his foot in frustration, "They'll have to deduct another 10% from the commission!"

What are you folding? The purity of silver, I guess.

If we calculate it this way, even if the government-run Hengli Money Shop really lent 100,000 taels to Zhao An, the professor of the prefectural school, after deducting 10,000 taels as interest and another 10,000 taels as a discount, Zhao An would only receive 80,000 taels.

The principal and interest are calculated based on 100,000 taels!
That works out to an interest rate of 3.5%.

Even if you want banknotes instead of cash, we'll still give you this amount.

We still have to pay when it's due, so let's all be happy.

Still can’t pay it back?
Don't be afraid. After all, he's an official, and he has plenty of surplus value. In order to maximize profits, the bank won't force you to your death, but will give you a chance to "transfer the bill".

"Transfer of bills" refers to converting the principal and interest into the principal and recalculating the interest. For example, if you borrow 100 taels of silver with a 30% interest rate, and the loan is not repaid within three months, the old IOU becomes invalid, and a new IOU for 130 taels of silver is signed with interest recalculated. In the end, the principal and interest will be repaid in one year, totaling 300 taels.

It's 200 taels more than the principal!
Generally, once the debtor reaches the point of "transferring the bill," the indebted official is basically doomed; if he survives, he is nothing more than a tool working for the Imperial Household Department.

Of course, the officials who could be "transferred" by the Imperial Household Department were limited in rank; those of higher rank wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

There is an official cemetery outside Beijing, where the candidates for official positions are buried, having been driven to their deaths by exorbitant interest rates.

Some of these were the work of the Imperial Household Department, but most were done by private commercial banks.

How corrupt are private commercial banks?
Even Ding, a dignified seventh-rank official, dared not borrow it!
Because behind every commercial bank stands a governor, a minister, or even a high-ranking official and a powerful figure.

I dare not touch it, I dare not touch it.

The last time Lao Ding borrowed 5,000 taels from Hengli, the agreement was to repay it within one year. Because he was a long-time customer, the bank gave him a discount and did not give him a discount, so he actually received 4000 taels. After one year, he will repay 6200 taels including principal and interest.

Could an ordinary person afford to pay this back?
Now Zhao An is asking to borrow 100,000 taels. Tsk tsk, even if the money shop gives him face and doesn't offer a discount, they'll give him 90,000 taels. The interest alone will amount to 15,000 taels a year.

That's equivalent to a county magistrate's salary for a year.

"You can lend me this money? I think you've lost your mind. With this interest compounding, you wouldn't be able to pay it back even if you pawned your Yangzhou Prefectural School!"

In a fit of anger, the county magistrate pinched his philtrum repeatedly.

Looking at the little bastard, he still didn't take it seriously. He really didn't want to live anymore. If he wasn't worried about his wife and children being implicated after his death, he would have definitely run into the little bastard and died.

"Old Ding, I'm not trying to be mean, but money is a damn thing. If we lose it, we'll just earn more. Let's live for the moment and have some fun. What are we afraid of? If the loan shark dares to lend us money, we dare to spend it. Who cares if they pay us back later?"

Seeing that the county magistrate was actually about to take off his hat and bang it against a tree, Zhao An quickly stopped smiling, grabbed him, and said seriously, "Old Ding, what do we officials lack if we want to climb up the ranks? Nothing more than political achievements, money, and silver."

"We can make achievements if we can, and if we can't, we can always fabricate them. But money is something you can't fake, so we have to borrow from lenders first. Otherwise, when will we ever get promoted?"

Actually, what Zhao An really wanted to say was that it would be a long time before he was promoted; he only used "we" to consider the feelings of the county magistrate.

After putting the county magistrate's hat back on, Zhao An sighed softly and looked at the extremely haggard-looking magistrate with great sympathy: "I don't want to work myself to the bone like an old ox like you, only to earn so little money all year round. If the foreigners next door knew, they would think that officials in our Great Qing Dynasty don't know how to make money."

"."

The county magistrate was completely bewildered: "Who is the foreigner next door?"

"Neighbor, they'll be coming in two years."

Zhao An chuckled and changed the subject. He remembered that Old Ma from England was indeed on his way. He was originally there to celebrate the old man's birthday, but he was so late that he didn't even get to drink the dishwater.

After a period of reassurance, Zhao An revealed the truth to the county magistrate: he wasn't out of his mind to borrow the money from the bank's high-powered cannons; he genuinely needed the money.

"Why do you need to spend so much money again?!"

The county magistrate was still furious.

"It's a gift."

Zhao An looked ashamed and said that he had been a professor at the prefectural school for a month, but he had not given his superiors a single copper coin. He felt that it was his fault as a subordinate.

There's an old saying that no matter how many gifts you give, your boss might not remember you, but if you don't give any, your boss will definitely keep you in mind.

Of course, taking this to heart is mostly bad news.

"I'm new to officialdom, and I don't really understand the market rates or the rules of officialdom,"

Like a primary school student, Zhao An earnestly asked the county magistrate how much to give as gifts to superiors. "Last year, this county gave the governor 11,000 taels, the provincial governor 9,000 taels, the provincial governor 7,000 taels, the provincial judge and the provincial education commissioner 5,000 taels each, and the prefectural governor 3,000 taels. In total, it was about 40,000 taels."

It would have been better if the accounts hadn't been calculated. Once the accounts were done, the county magistrate's face turned even uglier. Given his current deficit, how was he supposed to send the money this year?

You can't send one last year and not send one this year!

This is even more infuriating than not sending it at all.

The more I think about it, the more my head aches.

Zhao An responded with an "Oh," and said, "We're all seventh-rank officials. Since you've given so much, I can't be less generous than you. So, I'll give you double what you gave, which will come to about 80,000 taels. Consider it a small token of my appreciation."

After a brief silence, the county magistrate went berserk again: "Are you crazy? Sending so much!"

"Look, even you were surprised. Are the higher-ups going to be surprised too? Does this surprise make them remember me, Zhao Youlu, more? If they remember me, won't they think of me when something good happens?"

The county magistrate was so impressed by Zhao An's gift-giving skills that he didn't dare to utter a sound.

how to say?

The taste is peculiarly authentic, perfectly suited to the nature of both the giver and receiver of gifts.

"Didn't you ask Censor Zheng to submit your memorial?"

Old Ding meant that if your image as a "loyal professor" could reach the Emperor's ears, wouldn't he be pleased and promote you again? Why bother sending money to the provincial officials unnecessarily?

"You've wasted all these years as an official."

It was Zhao An's turn to look at Lao Ding with a disappointed expression. Why didn't he understand the saying, "It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings"?

If the Emperor is pleased to promote you, how high can he promote you?

A seventh-rank professor directly promoted to the Grand Council?
Most of the time, they'll still have to stay within the province.

Here's the problem: Zhao Youlu, you keep getting promoted by flattering the emperor, and you don't respect the provincial officials. How can you be a good official?
Adults may not openly punish you, but they can subtly nip it in the bud, using procedural justice to make you cripple.

How can I do my job if I'm constantly being harassed and obstructed, with no one cooperating with me?
Therefore, while appeasing the old master, you must also keep the direct superiors in line, otherwise, you'll be in big trouble.

There is some truth to that.

The county magistrate grunted and asked Censor Zhao Anzheng, "You need to collect the money in three days, but the bank doesn't have the money to pay you right now. How do you plan to settle the 10,000 taels?"

Zhao An dared not say that he had any on him, but helplessly said that he would first transfer some from the prefectural school's account, and if that didn't work, he would borrow some from the school officials below.

The county magistrate fell silent again, probably afraid that if he opened his mouth, that bastard would ask him for money again.

Unexpectedly, Zhao An advised him to borrow money from Hengli in a while, and to borrow as much as possible, rather than 50,000 taels.

This angered the county magistrate again: "Nonsense! My whole family needs to eat, how am I going to pay back so much money!"

"If they can't repay the principal, they can repay the interest first. If they can transfer the bill, they can transfer the bill. In short, if they dare to lend, we dare to take it."

Zhao An stuck to the same excuse, seemingly having no intention of repaying the money at all.

The county magistrate was left unsure whether to laugh or cry.

“Old Ding, you have to think of it this way: Why does the Emperor allow the Imperial Household Department to open banks and lend money outside? Isn’t it because the Emperor wants to earn some interest to make a living? Since that’s the case, of course we, the officials, should borrow. Otherwise, where will the Emperor earn interest?”

After saying that, Zhao An thought for a moment and then told Lao Ding the whole truth, "You said we owe the Emperor thirty to fifty million taels of silver. If someone exposes our forgery, do you think the Emperor will want our lives or our money back?"

"Ok?"

The county magistrate, who had spent his entire life studying the classics, had a particularly amusing expression.

"So, don't worry about how high the interest rate of the Imperial Household Department is. As long as we can borrow, we should try every means to borrow, the more the better. Tell Lao Song to borrow too. Whoever has to pay back the money, we'll pool our money to pay it back for him. After he pays it back, we'll borrow again. We'll keep raising the credit limit and borrowing as much debt as possible. Lao Ding, are you even listening to me?"

Zhao An nudged the stunned county magistrate, "You think we're afraid of them just because we're burdened with debt? You're wrong, they're the ones who're afraid of us!"

After a long pause, the county magistrate burped and asked, "Who are they?"

Zhao An pouted towards Hengli Money Shop: "Who else could it be? The Imperial Household Department, of course. Hmph, if the three of us really lend out several hundred or even tens of millions of taels, the people in the Imperial Household Department will have to treat us like ancestors!"

"."

The county magistrate's expression changed again, as if he had been enlightened.

Realizing something was amiss, he quickly tugged at Teacher Zhao: "No, even if we can borrow that much money, it belongs to the Emperor. Can the Emperor really let us keep delaying this?"

The implication is that this debt must eventually be repaid; you can run away, but you can't hide.

What if the Emperor thinks the three of them owe too much and comes to demand repayment?
"The Emperor is already eighty years old, how many more years can he live?"

Zhao An didn't think it was a big deal and casually spat, "The creditors are all dead, what money are we owed?"

(End of this chapter)