Chapter 1479: Virtuous Government Order
Among those who were close to a certain time traveler, it was not just World Tree and Elves who cared about the development of the bank. A certain retired grand duke was also very concerned.
Since he left all territorial affairs to his own son, the retired old Duke used public funds to eat, drink and play all day long, and lived a very happy life. Even his old friend, who was the emperor of a country, couldn't stand it, so he summoned people into the imperial capital every three days and was tormenting.
Anyway, custom-made cars are so convenient, and it only takes two or three days to arrive, unlike before, which took more than half a month for a trip. Then come to the imperial capital more often to meet old friends. Maybe we won’t see each other again for a few times.
And sometimes, the retired old duke's status is suitable for doing many things that are inconvenient for other nobles. Coupled with his relationship with the magician in the Holy City, he is almost becoming the emperor's exclusive liaison.
There is nothing that can be done about it. The things that a certain magician has done are too big. Even if there is a think tank dedicated to research and analysis, it may not be able to fully understand that person's true intentions. So from time to time it is necessary to ask the originator of everything. Regardless of whether you tell the truth or not, it is always a reference.
Besides, whether it is setting up a nested bank to earn interest on lending, or borrowing money to do things, it is quite attractive to the nobles. Therefore, even if the old Duke did not send a message to the emperor, he still wanted to see if the Dukedom of Kawei was suitable for developing these things.
Even if he retires, his influence will still be there. For the family's territory, how could we not hope to develop it as well as possible?
A certain magician only mentioned one sentence: Do you still remember that His Majesty the Emperor promised him that he would consider issuing a nationwide order in accordance with his request. Then he cunningly displayed a certain document on the water mirror screen so that the old Duke could see it clearly.
It is written with rich feelings and sentiments, expressing the feeling that the subjects of the empire are deeply suffering from debt, and there are some illegal behaviors such as selling wives, children, or selling territorial titles.
From now on, all unfair debt repayment practices will be stopped, and those unable to repay will be allowed to request the cancellation of all debts. If there is any improper behavior that has been performed, a complaint can be made to the emperor for arbitration, the occupied territory, wives and daughters can be returned, and the unqualified person can be deprived of the title of heir.
This is the beginning of virtuous government and it will never end.
Written as a moral decree, it is actually a law that approves everyone's legal repudiation, and even has a strong hint. It seemed that a certain retired old Duke had a numb scalp, a flushed face, and a rapid heartbeat, as if he was about to have a stroke.
Not to mention that it is good news for those who are unable to repay, but those who are able to repay the money should not pretend to be stupid. Anyway, once this law is enacted, people who are serious about repaying money will be regarded as fools in the eyes of others.
In today's Lost World, except for the Karlsruhe Empire in the south, which is undergoing restructuring and moving towards a country governed by the rule of law, other countries basically follow the words of their leaders. There is no need to deliberately perform steps such as third reading, announcement, and implementation.
This virtuous decree was promulgated from the mouth of the emperor, although it did not involve other countries or vassals of vassals. But government affairs will have a copycat effect. As long as it is beneficial and good, without the emperor's supervision, the people below or people from other countries will certainly follow suit.
The only victims are those who set up cover banks, and then there are the people who deposit their money into these fake banks. As long as the virtuous government decree is issued, it can be said that all the people will be caught in one fell swoop, and no one will be spared.
Regarding the former, the old Duke only thought of one outcome—death. I can't imagine any other outcome.
But the latter's losses are real. Don't they deserve sympathy?
In response to the old Duke's question, Lin only replied: Whichever is the lesser of two evils. He did not ask the emperor to 'must' promulgate the law he proposed. The original agreement was only to have a direct channel to Tianting. Of course, the decision to do or not to do is in the hands of the emperor, and no one will interfere.
In other words, Lin did not explain the issue of whether people who are unable to repay their debts are more worthy of sympathy or those who lend money when they appear in large numbers. After all, the former situation is only on paper and has not really emerged yet, so the old Duke has concerns about the German government order.
In fact, two years after this conversation, the German decree was officially issued by the Emperor of the Gwana Empire, Armin Kazalnia. And in a very short period of time, it became a universal law at the consensus level in the land.
Of course, with the promulgation of the law, there were many vendettas caused by money disputes. There are banks that target creditors who deliberately fail to repay their debts, and there are joint bank depositors that target all those who are either unable to repay or deliberately default on their debts.
More often than not, people whose money was deposited in the overlay bank were actually trapped and could not get a penny back. They carried out retaliatory actions against the personnel of the overlay bank.
These people would not want to skip the bank and go directly to the creditors who are not paying back the money they owe. Because the creditor's rights do not clearly belong to them, it is the bank that owes them. So of course, find these hedge banks with clear goals.
This caused unrest in many places, but the noble lords suppressed it ruthlessly without exception.
Such a result must be seen from the lending relationship before and after the emergence of the casing bank.
In the old days, it was very difficult for Midi people, whether commoners or nobles, to borrow money. Even if the interest rate for borrowing money is quite high, the person who lends it will worry about whether he can recover the principal at least, let alone earn interest.
So if you want to borrow money, you either have good connections or a good reputation.
People who have a good relationship know each other well, and of course they know whether the other party has the ability to repay the money. Make sure that the money is only for temporary relief, rather than to save a lifetime of poverty.
Of course, a person with a good reputation cannot allow the news that he owes money to be spread and ruin his reputation. And most of these people are capable; even if they can't pay it for a while, they can still borrow another one and pay back the one that's due. If the reputation is really bad, then borrowing money will become a delusion.
Therefore, in this land where the financial economy is still quite backward, establishing a lending relationship is not that simple. Even when a loan is made, the borrower is mentally prepared to not be able to recover it.
What's more, if you declare bankruptcy because you haven't paid the money, the creditors usually won't choose to kill them all. Instead, the debt will be settled in other ways.
Nobles sell their land and titles, and ordinary people sell their sons, daughters, and even wives. Of course, this is normal operation. But no one will go for this goal from the beginning. Unless both parties really have their own agenda, borrowing money is not just about borrowing money, it is about seeking someone else's property.
But as long as it is a normal loan relationship, no matter what the final outcome is, basically people can still survive.
Besides, the lost land of this era is not a society where it is difficult to move without money. With a knife, you can support yourself by hunting. With a little effort, you can open up wasteland and plant crops in the wild, and also support yourself.
In Lost Land, it's not that difficult to survive.
But when profit-seeking banks appeared. They are under pressure to pay interest to depositors and salaries to employees, so they must lend out the funds they have saved, or invest in other projects that can generate profits.
In addition, this is an imperfect economic system, and there is no relevant financial regulatory system at all. In this market where banks collect deposits and lend money, it can be said that a hundred ghosts walk at night and a group of demons dance wildly.
Let’s talk about the simplest example. The first people to create nested banks obviously had advanced financial knowledge. Know to keep a certain amount in reserve to cover those who take vouchers to exchange for coins.
But other imitators simply don’t understand. How do they know what the reserve fund is? If they want to reserve a thousand gold coins, they dare to lend out banknotes worth two thousand gold coins or three thousand gold coins! Otherwise, how did the devaluation of banknotes come about.
In addition to the bank's own capital utilization problems, they also have considerable problems in lending!
In the old days, only those who were really in need and had insufficient funds on hand would consider borrowing money. But for the fandom where the financial environment is quite primitive, very few people will encounter this situation. Even if I encounter it, I will ask someone close to me for help instead of looking for an unfamiliar bank.
But when casing banks appear and there is pressure to lend, all talk of mutual aid and poverty relief is nonsense!
Please remember the important point, banks are for-profit institutions, not charities.
Since it is for profit, those who are really in urgent need of money may or may not be able to tide over the difficulties, as long as they cannot provide collateral, they will first be excluded by the bank.
From the bank's standpoint, they have no obligation or right to use other people's money to bet on whether a person can turn around.
The best lending targets are the noble lords from various places, because these people can definitely provide some valuable collateral. Some squires and landowners can also do it, but most of these people are people who save money in banks, rather than people who need to borrow money.
As for those civilians who have nothing, unless the people who open the covered banks have other ideas, they will approach this aspect.
But these ideal lenders have no need to borrow money, so what should we do?
At this time, it is up to the people from the covering banks to take the initiative and paint various beautiful visions. And this vision happens to be something they cannot achieve with their original strength, so banks can intervene on the grounds of helping people realize their dreams.
From the perspective of noble lords, it means building various infrastructures and establishing industries. It is as if they can successfully sell a piece of rubbish and make a huge profit. If any benevolent policy comes out, the people will work hard to have children, work hard, and pay taxes.
For ordinary people, it means starting a business and becoming a boss, turning a small workshop into a large factory, renting a house into buying a house, and upgrading a ten-square-meter dwelling into a thousand-square-meter mansion! It's like borrowing this money will turn you into a wealthy landlord in minutes, and live happily.
In short, the bank's money is lent out and earns interest; the borrowers have accomplished their own big things and upgraded their quality of life and social status. It seems like a beautiful situation where both parties win, but in fact two important points are not taken into account.
First, are the things under the beautiful vision really necessary?
Second, is the person who borrowed the money really able to repay the money in the future?
From the bank's point of view, with collateral and claims in hand, you can perform all kinds of sexy operations and make sure you make money without losing money!
However, people who borrow money are essentially prepaying for their future! If your future self is worthy of living such a life of enjoyment and is qualified to stand in that kind of social status, then there will be nothing to say. The advance here is nothing but enjoyment in advance.
But what if you don’t deserve it? Is everything just a bluffing mentality at work?