for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter."Yes, the elder statesman is right. None of it belongs to me, so why should I worry Even if I ruled only half the land, it would still be mine. Only...Chapter 1766: How big or small is the capital city

"Just say whatever you want, boss. We'll just listen for fun, don't take it to heart." Zhou Changshou said with a kind smile.

The boss then relaxed slightly, clenched the copper coins in his hand, and whispered: "This situation has been going on for quite some time. Before, those who deposited money at the official bank and bought something called national bonds all lined up to withdraw silver. Apparently, it was because the imperial court suffered a defeat in Gansu and Shaanxi. Not only did they spend a lot of silver, but since they lost the war, they had to pay compensation to the Liao kingdom"

"The court has no money, so where does this money come from It's not coming from the pockets of the common people. That's why everyone is on edge. Everyone is afraid that their hard-earned silver will be gone just like that, so they are all rushing to take their money out."

The boss pointed to a sign placed at the entrance of the pawnshop, "Look here, this sign has been up for several days. It says that each person can withdraw a maximum of ten taels of silver per day. If it exceeds ten taels but is within one hundred taels, an appointment is required. If it exceeds one hundred taels, approval is needed along with the reason for using the money."

“This whole commotion only confirms that the government has indeed emptied the bank's coffers, doesn't it The people are complaining loudly, but at least they can still withdraw some silver. Ordinary folks have at most a few dozen taels of savings; if they have over a hundred taels, they'll figure something out – it's just more trouble."

“This is still alright, after all, this is in the capital city. I heard that in other places, many money changers have completely stopped issuing silver. Local people have no choice but to go to big cities to withdraw, or try their luck elsewhere. Over the past few days, I’ve received many guests from outside the capital who are anxious and desperate, holding silver notes and wanting to withdraw silver.”

"The worst part is, now that the money exchange shop has done this, government-issued banknotes are useless. People who want to use banknotes to buy things directly can't because no one in the market dares to accept them. It's a real mess."

Zhou Changshou frowned upon hearing this and said, "Don't recognize silver notes If the government finds out, will they spare him"

The boss chuckled and said, “Who would be foolish enough to openly refuse to accept the notes from the Imperial Bank But nowadays, before doing business, like when I need to buy soybeans for making tofu, if I were to use these notes to pay, the seller would first ask what kind of notes they are. If it's from the Imperial Bank, well, they simply wouldn't sell, or they'd raise the price until you couldn't afford it. Wouldn't that just mean the deal fell through That’s perfectly normal.”

Zhou Changshou paused for a moment, shaking his head and wryly smiled: "Indeed, one must not underestimate the wisdom of the common people."

“Alright, alright.”

The boss got up and excused himself, saying: "I still have business to attend to. You two can enjoy your meal slowly. I won't keep you company any longer. However, if you're both from out of town here to withdraw silver, it's best to queue up as soon as possible. Judging by this scene, in the next few days, it might be impossible for even the city's money houses to pay out silver. At that time, a lifetime's savings could turn into ashes, truly a tragedy."

He shook his head and the boss went back to tending to his own stall.

Zhou Ping'an slowly finished his tofu pudding, wiped his mouth and stood up, saying: "Let's go to Zhao Mansion."

Zhou Changshou looked up and asked, "Just go straight there"

"Otherwise, why not go to the Dongchang and bring along some Jinyiwei"

Zhou Ping'an said with a smirk, "Do you believe me Zhao Xuanji probably knows I've entered the city now, and he's likely sending people to investigate you."

Zhou Changshou frowned and said, "Is he that capable"

"The capital city."

Zhou Ping'an sighed: "Speaking broadly, it is vast enough to control the world. Speaking narrowly, it is small enough to be controlled by a single person."ll!"King Ning said fiercely, "In this city of gold, as long as I am here, heaven will not fall!""At your command."The confidant received the order and quietly withdrew.After everyone left, King Ning's...