Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 378 Golden Pavilion Stage Financial Pilot Project
Inside the banquet hall, the magical lamps cast a bright glow, making the silver cutlery on the long table glitter.

At this moment, the thirteen elders of Xiyue and the city's dignitaries sitting around the table all had their eyes fixed on the young man standing next to the head of the table, dressed in a dark blue suit and wearing a polite smile.

"Everyone, what my uncle is about to do is truly a groundbreaking and great undertaking. After hearing about it, I really... I really feel that being able to participate in it would be the greatest honor of my life!"

What Chen Ye took out was a dark blue, palm-sized booklet, similar in shape to Dongxia's savings book, except that the chip that needed machine recognition was integrated into this savings book.

Why still use paper passbooks? Because there's no such thing as mobile banking in the Starry Continent. You need to clearly show depositors their balances so that the business is transparent and makes them feel more at ease.

"People may have some doubts, so I'll explain this in detail."

"The Starry Continent is vast, and dangers lurk outside the city. Merchants travel back and forth, and funds flow, carrying large amounts of money, which is not only heavy but also extremely risky."

"My uncle plans to set up an institution called the 'Moon Gazing Pavilion'."

"In the future, the Golden Pavilion will set up a branch in the major cities of Xiyue, in the Hanhai Territory, and in the six prefecture cities of Bailu Plain, just like the mercenary guild's branches in various cities."

"This branch is the deposit and withdrawal point for coins."

"And this one in my hand is called the Golden Pavilion Card!"

Seeing that everyone's attention had been drawn to him, Chen Ye simply stood up and held up the Golden Pavilion Card so that everyone could see it more clearly.

"When the time comes, if I deposit one thousand gold coins in this Snow Welcoming City, there will be a corresponding record on this Golden Pavilion Card."

"Once I arrive in Hanhai City, or Xuanshui City in Bailu Plain, as long as I find the local Wangyue Golden Pavilion, I can show this Golden Pavilion card and withdraw one gold coin or ten gold coins if I want. If I withdraw all of them, the Wangyue Golden Pavilion will cancel the card, and the money and card will be settled!"

"I don't need to elaborate on how convenient this is!"

While everyone was still processing this massive amount of information, a representative from a small tribe, a rough-looking man, spoke up in a deep voice: "Special Envoy Chen, your card sounds quite nice. But I'm a rough man, and I just want to ask a practical question. If this flimsy card gets robbed by thieves on the way, wouldn't all the hard-earned money we've saved be given away to those scoundrels for nothing?"

Chen Ye smiled slightly at the questioner. It was great to have someone to play along.

He and Chen Yuanfeng practiced every possible question that might be asked on the spot countless times, and he was fully prepared.

“My uncle is a master strategist, and he naturally explained it to me clearly. There are three situations when using this Golden Pavilion Card.”

"The first type is called 'personal deposit and personal retrieval'."

"That means whoever deposited the money can only withdraw it. No one else can. Not even the Emperor of Qiyue or the Grand Elder of Tianqiong could take your money with this card."

"The second type is called 'with secret withdrawal'."

"In addition to this card, you also need a set of key numbers. You must have this card at the same time and know this set of numbers in order to obtain the money. This is mainly to make it convenient for your parents, wife and children to manage these savings when needed."

"The third method is card withdrawal. Anyone can withdraw your money as long as they have this card. If you get robbed, you'll definitely lose it. However, as the saying goes, it has its drawbacks and its uses. You all probably have your own plans..."

Chen Ye paused deliberately, then skipped over the topic.

Everyone present was a seasoned veteran; who could possibly not understand?
Isn't this the best way to bribe, give gifts, and transfer illicit funds? Just slip in a small Golden Pavilion Card, and you can send out several cartloads of gold and silver coins without leaving a trace.

It should be said that the above three situations basically take into account the needs of the vast majority of groups, and as a result, the scene suddenly became lively.

"Is this Golden Pavilion Card safe? What if a master craftsman makes a counterfeit?"

Chen Ye chuckled: "You just need to find someone to make a copy. Once it's copied and you can take the money, Wangyue Golden Pavilion will compensate you in full. We have that much confidence."

"Special Envoy Chen, those people at the Golden Pavilion, which is thousands of miles away, have never seen the person before. How can they know if it is the real person?"

"My uncle did this to take care of everyone in the alliance. So, you can think of this remote transmission as a combination of divine grace and the Mercenary Guild's magic platform. Although the cost is high, it can ensure that everything goes smoothly!"

"Commander Chen, there's something else I don't understand. If someone deposits tens of thousands of gold coins in Yingxue and then rushes to Qingze City to retrieve them, does Qingze City have that many gold coins? Won't there be a situation where they don't have enough money?"

Chen Ye cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the person who asked the question: "That's a good question!"

"For the Golden Pavilions in different cities to facilitate deposits and withdrawals, gold and silver will inevitably need to be moved back and forth. The safety of the transport route is naturally the responsibility of the Golden Pavilion, and even if there are any problems, the Golden Pavilion will not hold you responsible. However, the journey will definitely take some time, so if you need to withdraw a large amount of gold coins across cities, you need to make an appointment with the local Golden Pavilion a few days in advance to give the Golden Pavilion time to arrange the transportation!"

"Of course, regular small deposits and withdrawals can be made at any time without waiting."

This plan has a clear and rigorous process, taking into account all aspects from safety reserves and risk transfer to operational efficiency. It was obviously carefully designed and repeatedly reviewed by the Dongxia expert team, so naturally these guys wouldn't be able to find any flaws.

As the questions became more numerous and in-depth, the people from Xiyue present suddenly realized that this was definitely not some whimsical idea that came to mind on a whim, but rather a well-planned and meticulously crafted scheme.

Chen Ye even proactively addressed some of the questions that they hadn't raised.

This was also to gain Xiyue's cooperation.

"Gentlemen, my uncle said that the Golden Pavilion must be located in a major city, and he specified that it must be located at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild."

"Firstly, it's to make things easier for the mercenaries. After they finish a mission and receive their reward, they can deposit it as soon as they leave. Secondly, it's also to use the mercenary guild to protect the Moon Gazing Pavilion. After all, Uncle can't just send an army to every city."

"The minor thieves at the Golden Pavilion branch can be dealt with by themselves, but the major thieves will have to be handled by the mercenary guild and the city defense army."

"If anyone dares to harass the Golden Pavilion, no matter their status or rank, the alliance will pursue them relentlessly until they are dead, ensuring that all those who covet the Golden Pavilion are reduced to dust!"

"If this cannot be done, then there is no need to open this Golden Pavilion."

After stating the preconditions, Chen Ye turned around and made several promises.

"As for the fees, my uncle is not short of money, so there is no need for storage fees for deposits and withdrawals within this city! For deposits and withdrawals across cities, there will be a small transportation fee and guard fee, but it will definitely be much more cost-effective than transporting them yourself."

"By the way, my uncle specifically stated that the Golden Pavilion collects deposits but does not lend to private individuals. You can rest assured that the lending business in various places will not be affected in any way."

When Chen Ye said this, the eyes of several elders from the Thirteen Tribes of Xiyue, who had been frowning, suddenly lit up.

That's right, that's what everyone's most worried about, but they haven't dared to ask.

The Lord of the Vast Sea is renowned for his martial prowess, and everyone assumes that someone willing to go to such lengths must have some reward in return.

"Special Envoy Chen, is this really true?" His voice was filled with surprise and delight.

Chen Ye nodded without hesitation and gave a patient explanation.

This was something Chen Mo had explained to him beforehand: on matters involving the other party's interests, there was no need to hide anything; everything should be discussed thoroughly.

“Before I came here, my uncle told me not to do any lending business, not even if the elders of the various tribes in Xiyue begged me to agree.”

"Why? Because although this matter is very profitable, it cannot be done well without the local elders!"

"We don't know which of those who come to us for loans are scoundrels, swindlers, or hardened criminals, or who simply can't pay back the money!"

“Even if they have collateral, we still need to arrange for people to inspect and appraise it, and even send people to keep an eye on it. Otherwise, if that person borrows money from the Golden Pavilion and then secretly sells the collateral, won't we lose everything?”

"Even if we take a step back and get the collateral, we might get scammed or cheated if we try to turn it into money locally. Why bother?"

"The real reason is that the local elders are familiar with the situation. They can easily find out about the borrower's circumstances and character with just a few inquiries. They can also know about any slight movement the borrower makes immediately."

"As for debt collection and detention, those are things that only local elders are adept at."

"If the Golden Pavilion were to do these things, it would require countless more people, much more effort, and far more money. Therefore, it definitely won't do them!"

These words were spoken extremely frankly, even to the point of "exposing one's own shortcomings," which put the elders at ease.

That makes perfect sense!
Even modern banks have a lot of bad loans. It is precisely because these local clan elders, spies, middlemen, and thugs are readily available that they not only know the situation well but also can freely use various violent debt collection methods, thus ensuring high profits.

From this perspective, it seems reasonable that Wangyue Jingge does not lend money.

Old Zegen belonged to the faction that was relatively close to Han Hai. After pondering the matter over and over in his mind for a while, he couldn't help but stand up and ask, "Vice Commander Chen, I would like to ask you something. The lord has gone to such great lengths to do this. Surely he must have gained something. Otherwise, how can I, Xi Yue, live with myself?"

Chen Ye nodded, it was convenient to communicate with someone who understood.

That's right, Chen Mo is willing to do this even if it means losing money, but he still needs to find some suitable reasons, otherwise others will suspect his motives.

Therefore, Chen Mo prepared three reasons for them.

"First, there is a fee for deposits and withdrawals in other locations that Jingge must earn, at least enough to recoup the cost of the venue and labor."

"The taxes collected from various places in Xiyue must be collected through the Golden Pavilion!"

The elders nodded in agreement; this was indeed a major and long-term business. What did that mean? For example, in the case of the Stone Fortress, every year they collected money and grain from the surrounding areas, keeping a portion for their own tribe and handing over a portion to the national treasury. Usually, one portion was grain, and the other was money.

This money may not seem like much, but it is actually composed of a large number of silver and copper coins, not gold coins. In the past, it had to be loaded into caravans, escorted by troops from various tribes, and transported to Xiyue Royal City by crossing ditches and mountains.

Now, this money can simply be deposited into the Golden Pavilion in the local city. However, when withdrawing it from the capital, the Golden Pavilion will charge a small intercity withdrawal fee.

As for the percentage, Chen Ye, representing Jingge, promised that it would not exceed two percent.

Without needing detailed calculations, the ministers immediately gave a clear answer: Yes!
With such a large amount of currency, the transportation costs and losses along the way would be a huge expense, usually accounting for five to six percent. If the proportion of copper coins was high, the transportation costs and losses could be as high as ten percent.

"Secondly, the official remittance business should also be handled by Jingge."

This involves a more specialized field.

The so-called exchange is divided into two parts. One is the remittance, such as military funds sent to local garrison troops, and the other is the large-scale purchases made by the country from abroad, such as food, weapons, magical materials, and foreign specialties, which require the allocation of money to specific markets.

As for "exchange," it refers to the exchange of different currencies.

For example, gold coins can be exchanged for silver coins, and silver coins for copper coins. Or, for instance, gold coins from Qiyue can be exchanged for gold coins from Wuyue, and silver coins from Lvsong can be exchanged for copper coins from Jinghu...

Normally, the exchange rate of a country's currency is fixed, and there are theoretically recognized standards for cross-border currency exchange. However, in practice, the exchange rate is never fixed and fluctuates in various ways.

When a certain currency is withdrawn or flooded into a region due to war, famine, or imbalance of resources, the official exchange rate remains unchanged, but the private and black markets will immediately form their own exchange rates. The interest rate difference often creates a considerable arbitrage opportunity.

In the past, official exchanges not only failed to generate profits but also resulted in losses, because the arbitrage opportunities were designed to benefit the government. In the end, the only solutions were to control the scale of exchanges or simply stop official exchanges altogether.

Now that the "remittance" and "exchange" have been handed over together, the elders calculated that they would not only not lose money, but would actually make a small profit.

Moreover, the elders could understand that what the government loses money on, a private individual might make money on.

Seeing the expectant looks on the faces of the tribal elders, Chen Ye, somewhat shyly, proposed a third business: "If the officials of each tribe have large-scale loan needs, we would like to take on this business."

"For example, the Ice Needle Tribe suffered heavy losses in the war last year. This year, they need a large sum of money to restore order and build up their territory, but they can't raise the money in time. So, they went to the Golden Pavilion. After review and evaluation, the Golden Pavilion can provide loan support. This cannot be considered a private loan and is not subject to restrictions."

In the world of Earth, there's a term for this situation: local debt. However, it's different because the lords of various cities are mostly hereditary, so local debt is roughly equivalent to family debt or tribal debt.

In the past, there was no professional organization to handle this business, not even the Dwarf Chamber of Commerce.

Why? Because if a private individual owes money and doesn't pay, you can force them to pay. But what can you do if a powerful tribe says they can't pay right now and asks for an extension?
If we're not the world's policeman, who can collect this debt?
If it were truly the world's policeman, it could just rob people directly; why would it need to borrow money and lend it out? It would have to borrow money from others!
Therefore, in the past, when there was such a need, it was only between large families or tribes that trusted each other very much that they would coordinate and transfer funds to each other to act as a "bridging" mechanism.

Someone asked again, still uneasy: "Is it only for officials, not for private individuals?"

"Yes, it must be the city lord's mansion or the tribal chief who comes forward; we won't accept anything from a lower level!"

The three reasons are clearly presented and the distribution of benefits is well-defined. This not only ensures the sustainability of the Golden Pavilion but also cleverly avoids conflicts with the core interests of local forces. It even provides new channels for cooperation and financing.

At the banquet, no one was in the mood to eat anymore; the discussion grew increasingly heated.

It wouldn't be fair to say everyone agrees, but the most vehement opposition is simply that it's not that this system can't be implemented, but rather that each tribe needs to send people to audit the accounts to prevent cases of embezzlement and absconding.

Then he was immediately refuted by those around him.

"The dignified Alliance Chairman and Lord of the Vast Ocean possesses magical artifacts that are worth more than a city of yours. How could you ruin your reputation for such a small amount of money?"

"Yes, yes, if this Golden Pavilion Card can really recognize people, it will save us a lot of trouble. We can just ride a griffin across the city and pick it up when we arrive. That would be so convenient!"

"I've calculated it. If the money transfer can really be done this way, our tribe can save at least three hundred gold coins in transport fees every year!"

Seeing that the general direction was basically determined, Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief. All the work he had done these past few days had finally paid off.

Chen Mo's formidable martial prowess and prestige, the excellent reputation cultivated by Han Hai over a long period, the endorsement of the Elven race represented by Liu Shuang, and the fact that although he hadn't revealed his identity, everyone assumed he had some official backing from Tianqiong...

This important task entrusted to us by the lord can be considered completed.

There's one last bait left.

"Gentlemen, although the Golden Pavilion project has a bright future, the initial investment is huge. Therefore, the lord has only given me five pilot slots in the area of ​​Xiyue North Foothills."

"The Elven race has already taken two of the cities, White Stone City and Qingze City. There's nothing I can do about it. The Elven Queen and the Grand Elder have entrusted this to His Highness Liushuang, and I have no choice but to listen."

Everyone's gaze shifted rapidly, and Liu Shuang slightly raised her cup, which was considered an admission of acceptance.

"Therefore, there are still three pilot programs left. You can discuss it and see if any cities want them. I still need to apply for and get approval from my uncle!"

With a loud bang, the whole place erupted.

Indeed, the tribes that had been acting aloof just moments before immediately abandoned all their pride upon hearing that the number of spots was limited.

Do you think they wouldn't know whether this stuff is good or bad?

Although they always wanted to negotiate the terms after we set up the base on their land, now that we're in a situation where we have to seize it, we can't be soft-hearted!
Elves? Bah! Elves have such a small place, how could they have taken two Golden Pavilions?

No, His Highness Liushuang is sitting here; we cannot scold him.

Then we can only try our best to secure the remaining spots.

"Special Envoy Chen!" The first one to stand up was none other than Old Zegen.

This old fellow, who was usually known for his composure, now had a flushed face and spoke very quickly, completely unlike his usual slow and deliberate manner.

"Our Giant Stone Fortress guards a vital strategic point on the northern foothills trade route. It is a large and prosperous city with frequent trade and the greatest demand for remote storage and retrieval! This first pilot project should, without a doubt, belong to our Giant Stone Fortress!"

"My Zegen tribe will give its full support to this matter. We will take care of everything, including the necessary venues and security coordination!"

Before he finished speaking, an elder of the Long Spear tribe stood up.

"Elder Zegen, in terms of city size, population, and commercial prosperity, my Shuanghe City is undoubtedly the second largest city in the northern foothills after Yingxue! If we're going to rank them, we should definitely rank ahead of you!"

"Shicui City was ravaged by war last year, and now it is in dire need of large-scale reconstruction. At this time when it is most in need, we cannot be left behind!"

"Although our city cannot compare with yours, Xiasha Port is currently under our administration. It is a place that Chairman Chen and His Highness Liushuang have personally requested to visit. We should at least arrange a Golden Pavilion for Xiasha Port!"

"..."

What was just a polite discussion quickly turned into a heated argument.

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Chen Ye had no choice but to step forward and make a statement.

"Everyone! Please be quiet!"

“I have heard and remembered everyone’s expectations. My uncle has entrusted this matter to Captain Liushuang and myself. I must make a careful decision to be responsible to my uncle and to the Xia Yue Alliance.”

"Therefore, cities that intend to apply for pilot quotas should submit a formal explanatory document to me as soon as possible, detailing their advantages, needs, and supporting plans. I will verify each one and report to my uncle, and the Chairman will make the final decision."

"Of course, even if we are not selected for the pilot program this time, there will be another opportunity. My uncle said that the pilot program is not only to test the results, but also to test the problems. Once the problems are identified and resolved, there will naturally be more Golden Pavilion slots available, and everyone can apply again!"

Finally, the banquet ended amidst a bustling atmosphere, with everyone leaving in different directions, each with their own thoughts.

On the return journey in the carriage, Lucius couldn't help but praise Chen Ye highly.

The eldest son, standing beside him, looked completely bewildered and couldn't help but ask, "Father, didn't you say yesterday..."

Mimicking Lucius's tone, the son said gruffly, "That Chen family lad from Tianqiong, so much older than the Chairman, still calls him 'Uncle' all the time. Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!"

Lucius glared at his son and slapped him across the face in annoyance.

"Fool, if you had even a tenth of what others have, I wouldn't be working so hard."

"So what if I'm older?"

"With Chairman Chen's magnanimity and generosity, if he were willing to let me call him uncle—"

I yelled even louder than him!

(End of this chapter)