Puppet Emperor 05

Teng Shuchang felt for the first time that this guy really shouldn't be an emperor! He was a pure businessman! He was even a bit curious about who Fang Zhiyi's parents were. This guy had no imperial bearing at all, but the things he said were incredibly tempting.

Fang Zhiyi pitched his concept to him, something called a "bank." Although Teng Shuchang didn't fully understand it at first, watching Fang Zhiyi write and draw, he gradually grasped how this system made money. Seeing the numbers Fang Zhiyi wrote down and the projected scale, Teng Shuchang's heart began to pound.

If this succeeded, he could even take another step forward in his career! He could rank among the Three Excellencies!

"Once the bank opens, tax silver can be directly remitted. The saved transport losses alone are money. We lend to merchants at an interest rate lower than traditional money shops, but we still make a guaranteed profit." Fang Zhiyi's words were highly seductive. "Right now, we are just experimenting in the capital. If it works, we can roll it out to other regions. And if there are no problems... you know."

Teng Shuchang's mind was full of silver. Thinking of what he stood to gain, he slammed his hand hard on the table. "Done! Your Majesty, I truly admire you now!"

Fang Zhiyi looked exceedingly smug. "Of course. If it weren't for those old stubborn fools refusing me before, hmph."

Teng Shuchang sighed in his heart. Good thing it hadn't been implemented, otherwise how rich would the Li Kingdom have been? He was completely immersed in the banking system Fang Zhiyi described. As for whether it would succeed? Anyway, this was the capital of the Li dynasty. If it succeeded, he would get the credit. If it failed, it would be Fang Zhiyi's reputation on the line! He wouldn't lose either way, right?

Once the details were finalized, the rest was much simpler.

Fang Zhiyi first had people check the national treasury ledgers, unpaid military stipends, and tax silver losses. Because the capital was currently under the military jurisdiction of the Mang Kingdom army, many things became much easier. There was no need to listen to the dissuasion of stubborn traditionalists, nor the nagging of the aristocratic families. It just took one sentence: if they didn't listen, arrest them directly!

Just like that, in a short span of one month, Fang Zhiyi set up the framework. It was named the Jingji Tongli Bank, and it only did three types of business: taking deposits and paying interest, issuing loans and collecting interest, and handling remittances for a fee. Fang Zhiyi intentionally raised the deposit interest rate for the common people to attract them to save their money. The more people deposited, the more funds he could mobilize.

The startup capital was requested from Teng Shuchang, a full one million taels. Teng Shuchang reported this to his monarch, who was clearly very interested in the concept as well and immediately agreed to let Fang Zhiyi do it. Fang Zhiyi was also tactful; he placed the main branch near the enemy army's camp to make it convenient for them to keep an eye on it.

At this point, Fang Zhiyi had successfully stepped out of the imperial palace. Although he had tails following him at all times, he was quite satisfied.

On opening day, Fang Zhiyi first handled deposits and loans for the various departments under Teng Shuchang, letting them taste the sweetness. The soldiers found it novel, but after trying it, they thought it was quite good.

Reaching this stage, Teng Shuchang also figured out the basic operations of the bank. His confidence soared, and he even took the initiative to shoulder Fang Zhiyi's duties as the emperor, letting him have a free hand to run the bank.

This was a monumental achievement.

A month later, the bank opened to the public. Following Fang Zhiyi's request, the Ministry of Rites posted notices stating, "Backed by the Imperial Court, Lost Funds Fully Compensated." With Fang Zhiyi's guarantee, a number of commoners came to deposit money. This progress made Teng Shuchang incredibly happy.

During this period, Xie Wanyuan sought out Fang Zhiyi again. He said nothing, merely kneeling quietly before the palace gates.

Teng Shuchang didn't care. He knew what kind of person Fang Zhiyi was now, and the current Fang Zhiyi was a talent to him! The originally scheduled date for Fang Zhiyi's execution had been pushed back considerably.

Sure enough, Xie Wanyuan knelt for a whole day, and Fang Zhiyi never appeared.

Only the eunuch Dexiang came by once, and that was just to sigh and try to shoo him away.

Xie Wanyuan didn't move, continuing to kneel there stiffly until he fainted.

When he woke up, he was already lying in his own bed, with an unfamiliar young eunuch standing before him.

"Your Majesty..." Xie Wanyuan's vitality seemed to have dissipated significantly.

The young eunuch replied, "The Emperor went to busy himself with the bank's affairs. The Emperor asked me to pass a message to you: stop asking for trouble every day. If you want to die, you can have this white silk." He handed over the white silk, bowed slightly, and withdrew.

Xie Wanyuan looked at the white silk in his hands and suddenly burst into loud laughter, a laughter full of desolation.

But just as he unfurled the white silk to end his own life, he froze.

Written inside this white silk were four words.

"A lone minister is not alone."

Xie Wanyuan was completely stunned. His stubborn mind pondered for a long time before he stared blankly out the window.

"Your Majesty... what are you trying to tell this subject..."

He remembered when the old emperor was still on the throne, he had braved the wind and snow, holding his black official hat in one hand to force his way into the palace. That day, he had also met Fang Zhiyi. Fang Zhiyi asked him why he was seeking death, and he smiled and said he was a lone minister.

The news of Fang Zhiyi bestowing white silk upon Xie Wanyuan reached Teng Shuchang's ears. He smiled; it was standard operation for Fang Zhiyi. However, Xie Wanyuan didn't actually seek death. It seemed this so-called tough nut was just putting on a show.

He was very busy now. He had to help Fang Zhiyi handle court affairs on one hand, and command the southern army to deal with the stubbornly resisting Li Kingdom forces on the other, all while running to the bank every day to check the accounts with Fang Zhiyi.

Teng Shuchang felt he almost had no time to think.

Fortunately, the bank's effects were beginning to show. Some merchants tried taking out loans. Fang Zhiyi used Teng Shuchang's army to forcibly promote the bank to several nearby cities, receiving some positive responses. Looking at the numbers on the ledgers and the expected returns, Teng Shuchang's hands trembled with excitement.

However, the people monitoring Fang Zhiyi sent another report. Fang Zhiyi ran into Fang Fengqi again, and as usual, he went up and beat him without a word. Even the soldiers following Fang Zhiyi couldn't stand it and had to forcibly pull them apart.

Teng Shuchang waved his hand; he had no time to meddle in Fang Zhiyi's family affairs.

Fang Zhiyi also put out the word that from now on, whenever he saw Fang Fengqi in the capital, he would beat him up. This spread among the people, and many suspected that Fang Zhiyi's mind had been bewitched by Mang Kingdom sorcerers. Countless people felt a sense of injustice for Fang Fengqi.

Fang Zhiyi was now even more relaxed. Not only did he not have to attend morning court, but he didn't even live in the palace. Claiming it was to better manage the bank, he specially bought a small courtyard to live in. Every day after work, he played with cats and dogs, acting exactly like a retired emperor.

Moreover, his reputation was steadily declining.

After all, everyone knew that this bank was operated in Fang Zhiyi's name, and the money it made was provided to the rebel army as military funds.

Unlike profit-seeking merchants, most commoners were unwilling to deposit their money in the bank. They didn't trust the Mang Kingdom army, and they trusted Fang Zhiyi even less.

Before Teng Shuchang could lose his temper, Fang Zhiyi took the initiative to push this task forward. He led people to kick down doors house by house, forcibly taking the commoners' money and depositing it into the bank. Hearing of his bandit-like behavior, Teng Shuchang just shook his head, his eyes full of contempt.

This Fang Zhiyi was going further and further down the path of courting death.