Chapter 439: A tryst with Catherine after the meeting (Part )
"of course not."

Gritting her teeth and glaring at Horn for a few times, Catherine smashed the account book on his chest and said, "This 25 gold pounds is only on paper, and the actual amount is probably much less.

The cash held by the various chambers of commerce in Rapid City is estimated to be only 7 gold pounds, and the Magdeburg vault has only about 3 gold pounds."

I don’t know why, Catherine and Horn have only known each other for ten days, but they often play around like this.

For Horn, this little "howl" is a small means to build closer relationships and a form of self-release.

After all, apart from the saints, no one dared or could play and joke with him in this way.

Of course, the application of this varies from person to person. Horn would not make such a joke to serious people, such as Shilov.

As for Carrie (Meliati), she can often see through Horn's little jokes and even retort.

Only Jeanne and Catherine were accurate in their attacks. The only shortcoming was that Jeanne's counterattack was too heavy and it hurt too much.

In comparison, Catherine hasn't taken any action so far, perhaps because she is not very familiar with him.

"That's a lot of working capital." Horn leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temple. "The tax revenue of Thousand River Valley is only 6 to 7 gold pounds a year. You have more than enough money."

"Who said that?" Catherine rolled her eyes, "According to our estimates, the total tax revenue of the Thousand River Valley is nearly 70 gold pounds per year, and they only handed over 6 to the Royal Family of Leia.

The rest went into the pockets of the church or the local nobles...

Let’s not talk about this anymore. Now you are the real master of Rapid City. What do you think about the bank? "

"The general framework remains unchanged. Even if there are changes, they will be planned and implemented on a yearly basis." Horn responded after taking a sip of black tea.

Horn actually knew that under the current environment of the empire, the Rapid City Government was a relatively advanced political system, and reforms beyond productivity were actually unnecessary.

For example, the master-apprentice system in workshops. Before the advent of the industrial age, no matter how it was reformed, it was only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution, or the costs outweighed the benefits.

The fundamental reason lies in the fact that the level of productivity is not reached. Forcibly changing the production relations is tantamount to forcing things to grow.

The advanced one is not necessarily the best, the suitable one is the best.

With the advent of factory production, the master-apprentice system will naturally disintegrate, and reforming it at that time will actually be a matter of speeding up the process.

All Horn had to do was to expand the number of craftsmen, promote proto-industrialization and large-scale workshops, and accumulate resources for industrialization.

Therefore, his primary goal in coming to Rapids City was to establish his rule and restore Rapids City's economy within a year, and at most to clean up the remnants of the imperial system.

Horn crossed his fingers on his knees and thought for a while before speaking slowly:
“First, you must cut down on usury and ban private usury. Try to absorb the funds of private lenders into banks and open up deposit and loan services to ordinary people.

We will establish a sanctuary convent in Rapid City, recruit the original lending agents, introduce insurance, credit rating and loan review, and reduce your risk premium. "

The so-called loan agents are small landowners, rogues, knights or even manor stewards who are good at lending money.

There is even a small group of citizens who specialize in this, and they employ a bunch of thug accountants to help their masters lend money and collect debts.

They have their own set of practical experience in risk assessment such as who to lend to, how much to lend, and what interest rate to offer.

After sending them to Horn's arithmetic class to brush up on probability, they could become quite feasible as insurance managers and loan reviewers.

"But there is a problem." Catherine frowned. As a top banker, she immediately saw the key point. "Private lenders are prohibited from usury, so they will deposit the money in our bank to earn interest.

There is more money in the bank, but you know that agricultural harvests are not stable. Once a natural disaster or man-made disaster occurs, without private lenders, how can they survive the difficult times? "

Horn spread his hands and said, "My suggestion is that the Papal Palace and the Magdeburg Chamber of Commerce jointly invest in building an inclusive bank that benefits the people.

As for how to lend money, how to reduce risks, and how to reach out to the rural people, that is your problem."

Watching Catherine write thoughtfully in her notebook, Horn said calmly, "If you have any ideas, you can discuss them at the Cardinals' Conference. If there are any points that require our cooperation, you can also raise them at the Cardinals' Conference."

"The Imperial Council of Cardinals?" Catherine looked up in confusion. "Isn't that your highest decision-making body? Can I participate?"

"Not only can you participate, you can also serve as a permanent member." Horn explained, "You are a saint and automatically have the status of a cardinal. You are already the highest decision-maker in the Papal Palace." The highest decision-maker in the Papal Palace... The quill in Catherine's hand gradually stopped.

At this moment, she finally realized the reality of the identity of the saint. This was not a wholesale identity, but a very important priesthood.

"Okay, this part is over. Let's talk about the next topic." Horn put down his crossed legs and smoothed the wrinkles on his pants. "It's about the split of your Magde Bank."

Previously, she was still happy about entering the core decision-making body of the Salvation Army. After hearing this, Catherine's book had a few more wrinkles in her hand: "You say."

"Don't be nervous. The Magde Chamber of Commerce Bank is the holding bank of the other 11 banks, right? Then it will be split into two parts, the Royal Saint Bank and the Holy Treasury Bank."

Horn picked up an exquisite blue feather pen from the ground, tore off a piece of straw paper and started writing.

"Both banks will undergo palace ownership reform. The Holy Lady Bank will be under the control of the Holy Cardinals Council and will be primarily responsible for profit. The Holy Treasury Bank will be under the control of the Papal Palace and will be primarily responsible for maintaining economic stability and regulating the market."

"What is the palace system?" Catherine asked, looking up.

"This bank is owned by the Holy Father, but it is managed by the Papal Palace. Individuals cannot hold shares. Private shares are converted into jihad bonds or five-year time deposits."

"Then you are tantamount to banning all banks." Catherine looked at the words written by the quill pen, "Those senior partners will definitely be dissatisfied."

“No, no, no, those small banks can become banks controlled by the Palace Bank and still operate in a private manner.

I can even give Rapid City a franchise to run a private bank, but it will have to be reviewed and approved by you, Catherine.

It’s just that the small bank you previously held shares in will have its shareholders change from you, Catherine, to the Papal Palace.”

Horn took out his little notebook and explained, "Those senior partners, I wouldn't mind giving them a place in the Holy Monastery or the Senate."

Another reason for doing this is that the Magdi Chamber of Commerce controls a large number of workshops, shops and commercial ports through bank holdings.

The Magdi Chamber of Commerce also suffered heavy losses in this war, but Catherine's act of erecting a long wall with vines saved a large number of elite laborers - various craftsmen.

Although they lost the workshop on which they depended for survival, most of the technology and tools were still there, and their dependence on the original workshop was broken, giving them a good opportunity to integrate.

Horn stared at Catherine with burning eyes: "Another major task of yours is to integrate and organize the various workshops, and try to gather all the major related industries together in the form of a large workshop.

Do you get me?

For example, after combing wool, it should not be sent from the south of the city to the north of the city, but should be sent to the spinning workshop in the same workshop. After spinning, the yarn should not be sent from the north of the city to the south of the city, but should be sent to the spinning workshop on the assembly line.

After the cloth is spun and inspected for quality, it is immediately sent to the dyeing workshop next door, which is highly efficient and has low waste.”

"Weaving and dyeing integration..." Catherine thought of her previous wool plan, "No, no, no, this should be called transfer-type weaving and dyeing integration?"

"That's called assembly line. We also have the principle of standardization. The Holy Father gave me a booklet in Mount Paradise called "Rational Management Method." Horn thought for a moment and said, "You will learn it in the training class on Qiumu Island."

After confirming the memorandum with Catherine, Horn added, “In addition, we will also need to place some more monks from the Holy Father Society within the Magedi Chamber of Commerce.

On the one hand, the Holy Fathers need to develop new members, and on the other hand, they need to train Holy Fathers monks with suitable banking skills.

And then you'd better reduce the city council's authority and give them only supervisory, advisory and proposal functions."

Picking up the memo written by the two, Horn cleared his throat:

"Let's review it again. Your next task is to complete the following tasks from October to next October:

Prohibit private usury, split and reorganize the Magdeburg Bank, centralize production by artisans, rebuild the infrastructure of Rapid City, coordinate the transformation of the City Hall and the court, and finally reduce the functions of the City Council. "

"One year is not an easy task." Catherine smiled bitterly after taking the memo from Horn.

"Don't worry, the Pope's Palace will be your strongest backing, and I will help you too." Horn fanned himself with a patent leather notebook, "If you're too tired, just read some romance novels for girls to relax..."

"Say it again!"

(End of this chapter)