Chapter 1036: Bold and Open Money-Grabbing

As someone who managed to solve the economic problems that even Zhuge Liang struggled with, Liu Ba's capabilities were truly formidable. However, he was an extreme supporter of Cao Cao and a staunch opponent of Liu Bei. Even though Zhuge Liang cornered him and forced him to handle Liu Bei’s financial issues, Liu Ba was always ready to escape and follow Cao Cao, only for Cao Cao to die before he could.

In short, Liu Ba was a strange individual—an anti-Liu Bei, pro-Cao Cao fanatic who served as a high-ranking official under Liu Bei. What’s more, he never hid his desire to leave Liu Bei and join Cao Cao. It was well-known among Liu Bei’s ranks that Liu Ba didn’t want to serve there and was eager to defect.

You have to understand, when Liu Ba was forced to join Liu Bei’s camp, it was at the peak of Liu Bei’s power—right after the victory at Hanzhong, where Liu Bei’s forces killed Xiahou Yuan and pushed back Cao Cao. At that time, apart from Pang Tong’s death, Liu Bei still had all of his Five Tiger Generals, and his strategists were intact. Yet, even in such uncertain times, when no one could predict who would ultimately rule the land, Liu Ba remained steadfast in his support for Cao Cao.

Even now, Chen Xi doubted that he could convince Liu Ba. The sheer devotion of a die-hard fan isn’t something that can be swayed with words.

But anyway, Chen Xi didn't have the time to persuade Liu Ba. Even if Liu Ba's understanding of money and economics was as impressive as the historical records suggested, Chen Xi didn’t think he would be superior to himself. So, there was no point in chasing after him.

"Then why doesn’t Lord Chen find another person to teach? Although I’ve heard you have an apprentice, your knowledge is vast and profound, reaching the pinnacle of mastery. Even the most talented disciple would struggle to grasp it all," Wu Yuan said with a smile. This was an advantage women had—asking such bold questions without being met with disdain.

"I can’t find anyone, and frankly, I’m too lazy to look," Chen Xi replied casually.

Although his tone remained calm, Wu Yuan could sense a hint of impatience in his voice. Sensing this, she smiled politely and stepped back, refraining from pushing further.

Regardless of the situation, the noble families always ensured that their heirs were well-educated in manners and etiquette. However, there were also moments when arrogance led to their downfall, as the saying goes: "When the heavens wish to destroy a person, they first make them arrogant."

The major families silently calculated, maintaining a composed demeanor. They knew most had come merely to listen, refraining from speaking unless the matter directly concerned their family.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuan wore a calm expression but inwardly thought, "My dowry is much more substantial than that!"

It’s worth mentioning that Wu Yuan and Mi Zhen were quite similar. Both appeared well-behaved on the surface, but in reality, they had been somewhat spoiled by their families. Unlike other noble families, both had their elder brothers as the heads of their households, so there was no distant gap like with other relatives. They were doted on by their brothers without restraint.

Unbeknownst to Wu Yuan, Mi Zhen, sitting nearby, had already noticed her expression. It seemed that the two of them had a natural sense of awareness when it came to their kind.

"I know you can’t reach the level of Mount Tai Bank, but I still expect you to establish banks in each county to facilitate the flow of funds," Chen Xi continued his earlier statement.

"Lord Chen, I’m afraid that will be difficult. Though the land is still under Han rule, bandits and robbers run rampant between regions, severely hindering trade and transportation," Chen Shang said with a wry smile, barely stopping short of saying that with Sun Ce and Cao Cao in control, pushing such initiatives wouldn’t be easy.

The other families, though silent, clearly agreed with this assessment. It wasn’t as simple as establishing banks when safety was at stake; they needed more stability.

"I’m not asking my side to build the banks. I mean for you to build them. You should unite and establish banks under Sun Bofu’s and Cao Mengde’s jurisdictions. One family may not have enough power, but together you should manage it," Chen Xi said calmly.

"We may have enough funds, but what about the banknotes? If each family issues its own, the likelihood of fraud would be high, and there would be issues with withdrawal limits. If we combine everything, and someone tries to withdraw more than their family contributed..." Xun Shuang interjected.

The biggest challenge with Mount Tai Bank was that families like the Zhen and Wu families, which had deposited 200 million coins, sometimes signed contracts worth 1 billion. Even for smaller families, it wasn’t unusual to make deals larger than their deposits. If they tried this in a joint bank, the system would collapse.

"Your joint banks will be linked to Mount Tai Bank, allowing you to withdraw more than your deposits, but based on credit and the amount of funds you’ve injected, with a maximum limit of five times the deposit," Chen Xi said after pausing for a moment, having already figured out that the noble families typically didn’t invest more than one-fifth of their total assets.

"In that case, it’s feasible," Xun Shuang nodded. Depositing 30 million coins could enable the use of 100 million for purchasing goods, which could then be sold, and the 100 million returned to the bank with substantial profits remaining.

"Since your joint banks will be connected to Mount Tai Bank, I will still need to sign off on the guarantees, so as before, you will deposit the funds, and I will sign the banknotes," Chen Xi said indifferently, already calculating how much seed capital he could acquire this time.

"This was always the natural course of things," Zhang Wei nodded.

"Seventy percent of the funds you deposit will need to be transferred to Mount Tai Bank. To be honest, I don’t trust Sun Bofu or Cao Mengde completely. If the money stays local, I can’t control it remotely. And since these banks are run by you, it would be a significant blow to me if someone defected to either Sun or Cao," Chen Xi said, his tone much more serious this time.

Initially, the families had been puzzled by the requirement to transfer 70% of the funds to Mount Tai Bank. But after Chen Xi’s explanation, they understood his reasoning.

Because the joint banks would be run by the noble families, which had local ties, if they connected their banks to Mount Tai Bank and deposited their money, someone could withdraw a note from their local bank and cash it at Mount Tai Bank. Before Mount Tai Bank had time to react, the family’s own joint bank could pull out its funds—leaving them with six times the amount through a simple time gap.

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