Chapter 215 Pand Bank
White Hart Castle, Pend Bank.
Leslie has been working overtime at the bank headquarters these days to calculate the financing amount.
The amount was quite large, and Leon requested that silver coins be used as much as possible, which made the number of coins even more terrifying.
Some of the Noldor female rangers living in White Hart Castle became part-time apprentices and started a wonderful life of counting money until their hands cramped in advance.
"The total amount of investment in the bank has exceeded 300,000 dinars, a total of more than 3,000 sums... This amount is too large, sir, I have been worried these days..."
Leslie looked a little dazed, probably because she hadn't slept for a long time.
"This amount is not that large... What are you worried about? Are you worried about being robbed?"
Li Ang felt that the amount was smaller than he had imagined.
As long as you deposit more than 10 dinars at one time, it will be considered an investment, and you will get dividends in the future. Moreover, this is confidential storage that will not reveal the depositor's information - just in time for tax collection...
Under such conditions, only 300,000 dinars were raised, which obviously means that the eastern region is indeed poorer and there are not many people who have more than ten dinars in cash.
"No, sir... I'm worried that I can't handle it. I'm worried that no one will take out loans, and I'm also worried that there will be too many people taking out loans; I'm worried that no one will deposit money, and I'm also worried that there will be too many people depositing money... Oh... I'm glad that Miss Amy is back now. I'm timid and really not suitable for this..."
Leslie murmured, she seemed to be struggling with the contradiction.
"I'm sorry to trouble you... Thank you for your hard work, Leslie. You can now escape from this suffering and return to Changhe Express."
Leon handed Leslie a can of fruit wine.
"Li Ang...you didn't move the bank's headquarters to Changhe Town to wait for me to come back?"
Amy's eyes seemed to light up as she looked at the various coins neatly arranged in rows.
"Of course, Miss Amy, the Lord specially set the bank's opening date on October 1st just to wait for your return."
Leslie took a big gulp of wine and exhaled. She seemed to be much more relaxed. "You guys can chat. I'm going to take a nap..."
After saying this, she staggered away, looking extremely tired.
"So...what are you...going to do?"
Amy looked at Leon, her eyes were watery with a hint of different emotions, and her voice became much softer than before.
"You should know that the tax amount this year is very high... Amy, we have negotiated trade agreements with many noble estates before, and now we have to ask them to honor them. Do you remember that you asked me to buy grain at a high price before..."
The lord didn't notice it at all and just kept talking about the past.
"Yeah... I didn't know anything at that time..."
Amy glanced at Leon, and this time her voice was gentler.
"Amy, are you sick? Why don't you go and rest for a while... and drink some hot water?"
The lord looked at Amy with some concern, but saw Amy rolling her eyes.
"I... forget it... you plan to use the money in the bank to collect all the food and supplies that the noble estates have just harvested, including the inventory, and then create some panic after a while so that they will buy them back from us for military equipment, right... it's the same as when I asked you to buy food at a high price before."
Amy covered her face, and while speaking, she casually tied her long hair into a ponytail and rolled up her sleeves.
The lace on the sleeves of her white dress was ruffled by her pulling it up.
"Amy, you are getting smarter now. Only you know what I am thinking..."
Li Ang looked at Amy and complimented her with a smile on his face.
"No, you are getting dumber and dumber! I have no idea what you are thinking..."
Amy sulked with a blank expression.
She spent a whole hour dressing herself up today. Not only did she wear a skirt, she also put on light makeup, but Li Ang didn't notice it at all!
…
On October 1, Pande Bank opened with great fanfare.
In fact, the opening ceremony was very simple. It consisted of the new Earl Leon cutting the ribbon and inviting a group of Noldor female rangers to appear, announcing that these elven beauties would soon serve as employees of the bank.
But there were probably several thousand people watching inside White Deer Castle alone.
There was a large group of people outside the castle, making it look like a siege.
The entire castle was packed inside and out, and most of the people actually came from Changhe Town.
In fact, this is one of the reasons why the headquarters was not moved to Changhe Town - Bailubao is small and it is easy to create a crowded feeling. Changhe Town is too big...
No matter whether these people come to see Miss Nodo in uniform or to do business, the important thing is to let people feel the huge enthusiasm.
Fortunately, the female rangers were employed. When the bank opened for business, hundreds of people poured into the hall. If it weren't for a few Noldor rangers standing at the door with bows, there would have been a stampede...
Pand Bank will officially start accepting deposits and promises not to disclose any depositor information to anyone. As long as you have the deposit slip, you can withdraw money at any bank branch.
There is also a 10% interest rate every year. Of course, the interest can only be settled after one year.
At the same time, loan business can be handled not only in banks, but also in Maixiang International and Changhe Express. It not only supports mortgage loans with assets such as land, but also supports loans with grain, taxes, metals, minerals such as saltpeter or other designated commodities as collateral.
In other words, any material listed on the wall of the bank lobby can be used for mortgage loans.
However, the bank has set a requirement - the gold coins deposited must be weighed. Those that do not meet the weight standard will not be accepted. You can go to other places to exchange them for silver coins and then deposit them again.
This is a reasonable request. Everyone knows that Pande’s gold coins are not heavy enough now... and Maixiang International has been consciously refusing to accept gold coins for a few months, so the public will naturally follow suit.
Except for the nobles and wealthy merchants, most people are actually not very happy to receive gold coins. Nowadays, most of the gold coins are in the hands of the nobles, and most of the people use silver coins.
On the first day of opening, most of the people who flocked to the bank were businessmen.
They do it to save money.
The reason for such enthusiasm is actually because Li Ang publicly swore that the bank would not disclose the depositors' information to anyone.
Leon maintained a very good credit, especially with merchants, as they believed that the lord would not swallow up their deposits.
Now that they saw that the lord had sworn not to disclose the depositors' information, and that there were so many Noldor Rangers working in the bank, this gave the merchants greater confidence.
This means safety, security of funds.
Especially before winter arrives.
The Winter Festival of Pendor, also known as the Eunomia Festival, is held in October, on the day after the full moon.
After Goddess Festival, it is winter until January of the following year.
This is a very dangerous time.
During this time, merchants not only had to face dangers such as robbers and bandits, but also had to deal with grassroots tax officials in each village.
To be precise, they are those who "assist" the tax collectors in collecting taxes, such as the squires of various knights.
In fact, what merchants fear is not paying taxes, but the followers who "assist in collecting taxes".
Yes, they are the attendants who usually do chores for the knights.
Although these knights' squires are also part of the villagers on weekdays, when it comes to tax collection, they may be more terrifying than bandits.
Because they know the general situation of every household and are likely to have hatred towards the rich - this is normal and ordinary people will have it.
It may be okay at normal times, but if they are burdened with a heavy tax burden, most of them will think... that person is doing business and is said to be quite rich, so if they get some money from him, they may be able to solve the problem at once.
This is human nature, and we can't say they are bad, they are just trying to complete their mission.
But in fact, these little people often cause the greatest evil after temporarily gaining a little power.
Because they will use the name of the country and the lord, and use policies and legal principles to carry out various "enforcement" things in an extremely uncomfortable way.
For example, when faced with ordinary merchants without aristocratic backgrounds, these followers would often simply rob them of their money and goods - and put some in their own pockets as well.
Assisting in collecting taxes, this title is quite useful.
Therefore, most businessmen did not dare to keep their money during this period. They were not afraid of paying taxes, but they were afraid that all their money would be taken away and they would have no way to seek justice.
In fact, this can be said to be the main reason why business is underdeveloped in the continent of Pandor.
Small businessmen without background are always worried, while big businessmen with background are subject to national and regional restrictions brought by their background.
In the past, small merchants with no background would find a place to hide their dinars before the Winter Advent Festival and then wait until the next year to resume work.
Now, businessmen can deposit all their cash in the bank before paying taxes in October, which is obviously much safer than hiding money in the wild, and it also earns interest.
Since Le Ang promised not to disclose the depositors' information to anyone, all businessmen, landowners, and wealthy civilians with some spare money would realize without being taught that it is safest to deposit their money in a bank.
At least the bank that Leon asked the Noldor Rangers to guard was probably not robbed by anyone.
Anyway, you can withdraw money anytime you need it.
It is not even necessary to withdraw all the money. Since you can withdraw money just by checking the cipher text with the deposit slip, many merchants will be able to conduct cashless transactions in banks directly with deposit slips in the future.
It just costs a little more parchment...
The deposit slip designed by Li Ang was not actually a passbook, but more like a check was made of parchment, or to be more precise, half a piece of parchment.
But this is not a banknote, because it is not appropriate for paper money to appear in public now.
This is just a certificate.
In order to prevent counterfeiting, the lord also specially designed the certificate and text code.
The Kanhe is the seam stamp and pressed texture on the deposit certificate , which must match the other half stored in the bank. Parchment these days has a natural texture, and it is basically impossible to find two exactly the same parchments.
The text code is the ciphertext specified by the depositor himself, which will be engraved on both sides of the certificate, half on each side. Only the depositor himself knows the half of the ciphertext kept by the bank.
Unless the bank tampered with the information internally, these two items have been able to prevent counterfeiting for many years.
Amy was not present at the bank opening; she was doing another important thing.
Spend money.
This was what Leslie felt insecure about.
It is indeed easier to let Amy do this, after all, Amy is already very familiar with things like buying food.
Of course, there are many other things to purchase besides food...
The Lord and Amy's plan is to use a huge amount of dinars to get all the strategic materials that can be received in the eastern region.
So Amy and her female soldiers went out to look for the nobles' manors.
At the same time, Amy also directly announced that White Deer Castle would be making large purchases. The materials to be purchased included food, cloth, weapons and equipment, bricks, stones, wood, etc., and a large number of soldiers would be recruited.
At the same time, Changhe Town, Yongdun Castle, Eagle Claw Castle and other places also announced almost the same large-scale purchases.
These are all newly acquired territories, and it is normal to actively increase material reserves during the harvest season.
In the past, many merchants would sell off their inventory and close down for the winter at this time.
However, these merchants may not close this winter...
Because the lord has once again begun to organize caravans to enter the Noldor Forest.
This time, the team was led by Li Ang himself.
Considering that many merchants were not willing to stay at home during the tax collection period, Li Ang took the opportunity to organize them into a large caravan, intending to let them spend the tax collection period in the forest...
With the joint efforts of people from both sides, a road that was barely wide enough for trucks to pass was opened between the Noldor Forest and White Hart Castle.
This road had not been repaired in time and looked like a barrier in the mountains, but the carriage could enter anyway.
The trading market in the Noldor Forest was also officially reopened.
The scene this time is completely different from the first trial run.
Hundreds of carriages drove into the Noldor territory, which was only eighty miles away from White Hart Castle but seemed extremely far away.
Just three days after the convoy arrived, the entire market had turned into a sea of elves.
The number of Noldor elves participating in this transaction has rapidly increased from over a hundred at the beginning to over a thousand, and is still increasing.
At the very center of the trading market is a tall stone building with the sign of Pendor Bank hanging on it. Currently, there are at least a hundred Noldor warriors guarding the building.
There were constantly Noldor elves and human merchants coming in and out of the bank hall.
Various supplies were constantly carried away by the Noldor elves and disappeared into the forest; a large number of Noldor elves carrying supplies emerged from the forest and gathered in the market.
With the existence of banks, the problem of the Nodo having no cash is no longer a problem.
In fact, within a few days, the Noldor had a lot of dinars available - if merchants came across cheap and easy-to-sell Noldor handicrafts or high-quality leather and medicinal materials, they would definitely buy them.
When they have no money available, they will withdraw money directly from the bank. If the money is really not enough, they can directly apply for a loan from the bank by mortgaging goods.
At the same time, the money received from the sale of goods can be deposited in a nearby bank.
Even many Noldor elves tried to deposit their money in banks - most of the bank staff and guards were Noldor elves, so they were certainly trustworthy.
Therefore, Leon only had to transport hundreds of thousands of dinars to this branch to achieve a continuous flow of cash turnover.
The entire market finally became what Li Ang wanted, and it was booming.
A week later, with the arrival of Li Ang's second fleet, the market's heat reached its peak.
The second caravan brought a large amount of food and cloth, which were sold at a reasonable price - this batch was Li Ang's own goods.
Of course, the prices in the forest are still higher than outside.
But for the Noldor elves, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little more expensive, the most important thing is that they can buy it!
The Noldor were not poor, and after selling some of their belongings, such as handicrafts that were usually useless, they had money.
Who would want to look for wild fruits to eat when they can eat more convenient food ?
Most fruits these days are not tasty and cannot be stored.
Three hundred thousand pounds of grain and thousands of bolts of cloth were all sold out in a few days or so, and the price was not raised at all;
Almost after these things were sold out, the third group of caravans arrived, still carrying food and cloth...
Then, merchants began to come and go, and a market that never stopped was established...
During the two windows when the market was less hot, the lord promptly filled the gap with the food and cloth that the Noldor needed most, keeping the entire market busy.
Half a month has passed, and now the market has gradually stabilized.
Leon has also returned to White Deer Castle.
A large-scale grain harvest is underway in Bailu Fort, and everyone is very busy.
The Changhe Express fleet has been transporting supplies to Bailubao continuously.
Many new warehouses were built inside and outside the castle.
There aren't as many people at the bank's headquarters now, but businessmen still come in and out frequently.
The Lord is now upstairs in the bank checking the latest accounts.
In White Hart Castle alone, as of yesterday, the total deposit amount has exceeded 650,000 dinars. The specific amount is changing all the time, and no one knows how much it is now.
There are not many loans issued at present, but there is no need to rush. According to the Lord's estimation, the peak period of loans should be in January next year.
The misappropriated funds have reached 280,000 dinars, which were exchanged for a huge amount of supplies.
"The embezzled money is other people's savings...Aren't you worried? What if there is a massive bank run in January?"
Amy was really the only person who could discuss these things with Leon, at least she could use words like 'squeeze' correctly.
"As long as we keep growing steadily, we don't have to worry about bank runs... In fact, it won't take that long before people realize that there is no need to carry so many metal coins, especially when gold coins are not trusted. There are a lot of silver coins in the bank now, and I plan to ask the Noldor to help recast a batch..."
The Lord said calmly.
"You want...you want to mint coins privately?!"
Amy was startled, then realized that her voice seemed a little too loud, so she quickly lowered it.
"No, I just want to issue large-denomination credit coins for the Pend Bank. One small silver coin can be used as ten dinars..."
Li Ang picked up a silver coin and laughed: "Enchanted silver coins are easy to carry."
"Enchantment?"
Amy took the silver coin from Leon's hand. There were some black metal inlays on the coin, which was probably the result of an enchantment technique that a Noldor elf had used to try.
The texture of the inscription on this silver coin emits a faint glow, and its difference can be seen at a glance.
The Fenwe family's specialty is making enchanted equipment. The texture on this silver coin is very similar to the texture on the Twilight Knights' plate armor, and the texture is as hard as the plate armor.
"In fact, there is nothing special about the silver coin itself. What is special is the inscriptions. The material used to draw the inscriptions is special. The Noldor called it Mithril, and the humans called it Ebony."
