Chapter 201: The Ming Dynasty's money houses are competing with the people for profits by lending money. Why don't you continue to oppose the Crown Prince's regent?

In fact, in the past few days in the court, some people have criticized the Ming Dynasty Money House from various angles, one of the core ideas of which is "competing with the people for profits."

Ultimately, it was the lending business that the Ming Dynasty Money House was about to launch that affected the interests of certain aristocratic families.

The practice of borrowing and lending appeared as early as the Pre-Qin period.

The "Eighteen Types of Qin Laws" records: If a person is guilty, he can redeem himself with money and if he has a debt to the public.

The "duty to the public" here refers to the people borrowing money from the government, which was quite common at the time.

After all, ancient society was dominated by agricultural economy, and farming depended on the weather, so the ability to resist risks was low.

When the New Year is not good, farmers have no harvest and many families can't even have food to eat.

If this continues, we will have to rely on borrowing money to get by.

In ancient times, private lending was also divided into credit lending and pledge lending, depending on the different forms of guarantee used during lending.

But people have already started to live on borrowing money, so where would they have any surplus property to use as collateral?

Therefore, credit lending gradually became the most common lending method in ancient times.

Many people will wonder, isn’t the lender afraid that others will run away with his money?
This was mainly related to the social environment at the time. The two parties in credit lending were mostly people with huge differences in economic strength.

Those who were able to lend money abroad were basically nobles with high social status and close ties with the government.

They have a natural deterrent effect on ordinary people, and they dare not not pay back the money they owe.

In addition, transportation was inconvenient in ancient times, and poor people basically had to walk to go out.

You can't walk far in a day, and you will be caught before you have a chance to escape.

The most crucial thing is that the household registration system is very restrictive, and people must apply to the government if they want to go out.

If you don't leave according to the regulations, you will be an illegal resident and the consequences will be even more serious if you are discovered.

If the debtor is unable to pay back the money, the lender will use his power to force the borrower to use land, houses, or people as collateral, eventually turning it into a pledge loan.

Pledge lending is divided into material and hostages according to the different "pledges".

The so-called material means using property as collateral to borrow money from others.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Liang Ji", Liang Ji, a relative of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was a man of greed and scheming. He often collected information about wealthy businessmen and then forced them to borrow money.

He discovered that the wealthy businessman Sun Fen had a lot of money, so he went to Sun's house with a few horses.

Liang Ji then wanted to mortgage several horses to the Sun family and borrow 50 million yuan at the same time.

Of course Sun Fen was unwilling and only agreed to lend him 30 million.

In the end, Liang Ji became furious and raided Sun Fen's house on false charges.

This is the earliest case of pledge loan recorded in history books.

Although the borrower used his power to destroy the lender's family, it also shows that pledge lending has existed for a long time.

Today, the Ming royal family, who is most qualified to use power, is the lender. Faced with Zhu Yuanzhang who treats officials as leeks, who would dare to owe more money and not pay it back?
The only way out of this impasse is to prevent Ming Dynasty money houses from engaging in lending business.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gang wrote down what he had said to Zhu Biao today in a memorial, intending to criticize those blind officials when he went to court tomorrow.

After doing all this, Zhu Gang bathed and changed his clothes with the help of Xie Yuer.

Then he hugged his wife and started discussing how many ways there are to write the word "Kun".

The morning light shines through the clouds and shines on the magnificent palace.

Zhu Gang, dressed in gorgeous official uniform, went to the court with other civil and military officials.

The architecture of the imperial palace is majestic and magnificent, and the magnificent palaces are scattered in an orderly manner in the spacious courtyard.

The red walls and golden glazed tiles shine brightly under the sunlight, demonstrating the majesty and dignity of the royal family.

Zhu Gang felt a solemn atmosphere as he entered the palace. On both sides of the long corridor stood majestic guards.

They stand tall and straight with sharp eyes, guarding the safety of the palace.

Walking along the corridor, Zhu Gang arrived at the square in front of the court.

At this time, many civil and military officials had gathered in the square. They were wearing official uniforms of various colors and were talking in groups of three or five.

Zhu Gang looked around and saw that the square was crowded with people and very lively.

Some officials were discussing state affairs, some were exchanging their experiences, and others were greeting each other.

Their voices intertwined together, forming a noisy wave that echoed over the palace.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Zhu Gang felt the prosperity and growth of the country, as well as the heavy responsibility he shouldered.

As a melodious bell rang, all the civil and military officials stopped talking.

They straightened their official uniforms and entered the court in an orderly manner.

Zhu Gang also followed the footsteps of the crowd and walked into the solemn and dignified Fengtian Hall, starting a new day of court affairs.

"If something happens, you will report it early; if nothing happens, you will withdraw from the court."

With Wang Jinghong's loud shout, all the civil and military officials present realized that the person sitting on the dragon throne today was Zhu Biao.

Although the crown prince was in charge of government affairs during the regency period, he was still in the position of a "minister".

There is usually a seat for the crown prince below the dragon throne.

After all, according to traditional etiquette, the prince cannot sit on the dragon throne which symbolizes imperial power.

Just when the ministers were puzzled, Wang Jinghong took out an imperial edict from his sleeve.

"The Emperor's decree, kneel!"

Except for Zhu Gang who knew the inside story, everyone else present knelt on the ground upon hearing this.

Wang Jinghong cleared his throat and began to read the contents of the edict.

"The queen has been ill recently, and I have been so worried about her health that I have no interest in government affairs.

The Crown Prince is specially appointed as regent. If there is anything, you can report to him.

The Ming Dynasty will be handed over to the Crown Prince sooner or later. During his term as Regent, I will allow Biaoer to sit on the throne. I decree this!"

After listening to the edict written by Zhu Yuanzhang in plain language, all the civil and military officials present could not help but look at each other in surprise.

Some time ago, some rumors about Lan Yu and Prince of Jin were widely circulated.

Duke of Wei Deng Yu, Duke of Song Feng Sheng, and Marquis of Deqing Liao Yongzhong, all of whom were members of the Jin Wang party, basically became targets of the fire.

This resulted in Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, being unable to bring up the matter of preparing for the wedding. After all, three of the six founding dukes of the Ming Dynasty had sided with the Prince of Jin, which might have the opposite effect.

Especially since this matter involved Lan Yu, the brother-in-law of Duke of E Chang Yuchun, it became even more sensitive.

Now, with Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial edict, all the previous rumors were instantly refuted.

The official who had originally planned to continue criticizing the Ming Dynasty Money House in the court was suddenly frightened and turned pale.

Everyone knows that the brothers Zhu Biao and Zhu Gang were so close that they were almost like wearing the same pants.

There are even rumors that the prince once said semi-publicly during his time as regent, "What the Prince of Jin said is equivalent to what I said!"

In addition, Liu Lian, the son of Liu Bowen, Zhou Ji, the son of Zhou Dexing, the Marquis of Jiangxia, and Liu Qi, the son of Liu Jizu, the Marquis of Yihui, all died directly or indirectly at the hands of Zhu Gang.

Now that the Crown Prince has resumed his position as regent, taking the risk of offending His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin at this time is basically the same as seeking death!

(End of this chapter)