Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

Next comes the specific steps for handling the business.

Depositing money, signing the contract, and issuing invoices all went smoothly.

The drafts issued by Huimin Bank were made of the finest hard yellow paper, with intricate patterns, precisely for the purpose of preventing counterfeiting.

In addition to receiving drafts and contracts, the managers each received a string of eight numbers.

These eight numbers are chosen by the customers themselves and must be memorized very clearly, serving as a verbal key when withdrawing money. This is also to protect the customers and prevent others from withdrawing large sums of copper coins using the tickets.

Of course, a digital key can be omitted, depending entirely on the customer's preference.

For the first three business deals, Manager Miao was cautious, so he set up a secret key.

The other two felt that a key was unnecessary and easy to forget, so they didn't set one.

Before leaving, Yin Shaokang reminded the three of them to keep the bank drafts and contracts safe and to hire guards on their way to their destination. Yin Shaokang also jokingly said: If there is any problem with the bank drafts and contracts, then the money they deposited will have been given to Huimin Bank for nothing.

Bianzhou was nearby, and five days later, Manager Sun and Manager Wu returned with the purchased goods.

Needless to say, they successfully withdrew the copper coins from the Huimin Bank in Bianzhou.

The two had a very positive experience with their business trip, so upon their return they immediately sought out Yin Shaokang and requested "deep cooperation."

The so-called "deep cooperation" naturally refers to equity investment.

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the two men, Yin Shaokang finally felt relieved.

After the first two deals are completed, business circles in Bianzhou and Luoyang will soon know about Huimin Bank.

A month later, Manager Miao returned.

He not only obtained money in Yizhou, but also used Huitong's freight service to successfully reach Mianzhou with the copper coins he had withdrawn, and purchased a batch of fine Shu brocade.

For the return freight, Manager Miao trusted his employees and entrusted it to Huitong Freight Forwarding.

In other words, the entire business trip, from start to finish, was protected by Yin Shaokang and his team, which saved Manager Miao a lot of trouble.

Having tasted the sweetness of the dish, Manager Miao, like the two managers before him, wanted to "deeply cooperate" with Yin Shaokang.

"Brother Miao, do you have quite a few friends in Mianzhou?"

"That's right, my business is mainly in Mianzhou."

"How about we jointly operate the Huimin Bank branch in Mianzhou?"

"But... I wonder how much the reserves are?"

"Around 30,000 strings of cash, more would be even better."

"...Young Master, I cannot come up with 30,000 strings of cash at the moment."

"No problem, you can contribute 10,000 strings of cash, and we'll cover the remaining 20,000 strings."

"...Alright, it's settled then!" Manager Miao gritted his teeth and agreed to Yin Shaokang's proposal.

In reality, even with Manager Miao's financial resources, it would be quite difficult for him to come up with 10,000 strings of cash.

But a good deal like Huimin Bank is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; once it's gone, it may be gone forever.

Yin Shaokang quickly finalized the details of the cooperation with Manager Miao, and the two parties signed a contract on the spot.

"Brother Miao, how about we open for business in three months?"

"no problem."

"I would appreciate it if Brother Miao could take care of things when things are settled in Mianzhou. If any problems arise, please let me know immediately."

"Of course. Young Master, it's still early. Shall I invite you out for a drink?"

"Sigh, if it were any other time, I would definitely drink until I drop tonight. But now... I have a lot of things to discuss later, sorry, another day, another day!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Miao did not insist and took his leave.

Yin Shaokang was not lying; he did indeed have several distinguished guests to meet today, all of whom requested "deep cooperation."

It was already late at night when the meeting with these distinguished guests was over.

Yin Shaokang came out of the study and entered the back hall of Huimin Bank.

Although it was late at night, the back room was still bustling with activity.

Huimin Bank had only been open for a month, and there were only about fifty customers who actually participated. However, there was a lot to deal with. The main tasks were to arrange the transfer and balancing of copper coins between various branches, distribute the copper coins transferred from Tongbai Mountain, and do various records and calculations. It was not an easy job.

Through the exchange of goods and services, copper flows from the Han River basin to the heart of the Central Plains, west to Jiannan Road, and east to Jiangnan, intersecting with each other via waterways and land routes to form a network of money.

"Young Master, the first month's general account: a total of 190,000 strings of cash were deposited, 80,000 strings were lent out, 13,000 strings were transported from the mountain stronghold, and various handling fees totaled 4,700 strings. The figures for each branch are in the ledger. Please take a look."

Yin Shaokang took out the account book and carefully looked through it.

The only real net profit was these four thousand seven hundred strings of cash.

However, the amount of cash that can be used, including net profit, is already 127,000 strings of cash.

This is just the figure for the first month.

"How are the preparations for the branch in Youzhou going?"

"Everything is ready."

"Once everything is ready, we will open on the first day of next month. Remember, the branch in Mianzhou needs to have 20,000 strings of cash transported there."

"Yes, young master. Huitong Freight is severely understaffed and urgently needs new hires."

"Yes, if we need more people, we should hire them quickly. We can't afford to make any mistakes."

"promise!"

After looking at the accounts for a while, Yin Shaokang frowned: "Why did so much copper wire get lent out from Chang'an?"

"This is exactly what I wanted to report to the young master. The 25,000 strings of cash were borrowed by Cen Lun, the money collector in Chang'an. Since he is an official, the branch bank in Chang'an dared not refuse to lend him the money, so they had no choice but to swallow their pride and let him take it."

"The 'Chang'an Money-Catching Order,' Cen Lun?"

"good!"

A slight smile appeared on Yin Shaokang's lips.

The "money-catching order" in Chang'an was not actually a formal official, but rather a clerk.

Although it was a minor official position, it was quite important—it managed the "public funds" of Chang'an City.

Chang'an was the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

The vacancies in the salaries of lower and middle-ranking officials in Chang'an City had to be covered by "public funds".

This matter is actually not easy to handle; it requires an exceptional mind and can be considered a heavy responsibility.

Right now, this burden rests on the shoulders of this minor official named "Cen Lun".

Cen Lun was quite ruthless; relying on the power of the government, he borrowed 25,000 strings of cash in one go.

It's hard to say whether he himself had 25,000 guan of "public funds" under his control.

"Replenish the copper coins at the Chang'an branch, and have them arrange a meeting with Cen Lun; I want to see him in person."

"promise!"

"Have any silver coins been shipped from the counterfeit city this month?"

"Yes, there are 93,000 in total."

"Wrap everything up and have Huitong transport it to the branch in Chang'an for safekeeping. I'll also go to Fanfang to buy some good stuff."

"promise!"

Xuanzhou and Raozhou not only produce copper, but also silver.

The silver coins made by artisans in the Tongbai Mountains were difficult to circulate in the Tang Dynasty, but they were very useful in trade with foreign merchants.

Jewelry, jade, spices, medicinal herbs, gold and silver wares, livestock, horses, and male and female slaves produced by the Hu merchants were all in high demand.

Yin Shaokang used silver coins to buy these supplies, reselling most of them for profit, while keeping the best and finest items to bribe officials in various regions.

Although the administration during the Zhenguan era was relatively clean and efficient, there were always some greedy people who felt they didn't have enough money.

Take, for example, the "Chang'an Money-Catching Order," Cen Lun.