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Chapter 818

Zhao Bing knew that it was too easy to make money in his own identity. A decree could satisfy his wishes, but his thoughts were not so depraved. He still wanted to solve his needs through his methods and did not want to be a purely 'explosive'. However, it was not so simple to maintain the luxurious life of the first family in the Song Dynasty. There were also a large group of rich relatives waiting to support him. If they were asked to support them all, they would sooner or later have to go on the old path and be despised by the people of the world.

In this era, the ritual of the world is still salt and iron, but Zhao Bing did not have any connection. Instead, he collected all the smelting farms and salt farms owned by the Mongol Yuan in the past, replaced them with the government, and allowed private capital to enter the smelting industry. Because salt tax is still the source of important national taxes and involves the issuance of salt tickets, it must be controlled by the state, otherwise it will cause chaos in the financial order, so at least it will not be liberalized at this stage.

Another industry that makes money is overseas trade. Tariffs and commercial taxes are still the main sources of tax revenue in the Song Dynasty, accounting for more than 40% of the country's financial resources over the years. However, if it is converted to an official business, it is suspected of competing for profit with the people, and it will be endlessly advised by the old men, which makes it difficult for them to intervene. In addition, they own large areas of land, the little money earned by digging food in the soil is not enough to cover huge expenses.

Therefore, Zhao Bing's idea is to make some money from the surrounding industries, that is, it will not disturb people's livelihood, avoid criticism, and can make profits from it. The manufacturing income is relatively stable, but it cannot make huge profits. Lin'an is not as good as Qiongzhou, and the pomp will be bigger and bigger, and the expenses will be increasing day by day. It is okay to carry out hard and simple education, but in fact, it is really not enough to save much money.

"Your Majesty, do you want to use the money from the inner warehouse as your capital?" Zhuang Shilin asked as he saw the little emperor keep asking the remaining money from the Zuo Zangku, and asked guessing.

"Well, the silver is stored in the warehouse and cannot survive. Of course, we have to move them!" Zhao Bing nodded and said.

"Your Majesty still needs to be cautious when using the accumulation of Zuozangku!" Zhuang Shilin knew that investment was risky, and the little emperor liked to take risks. He was afraid that he would waste his money on impulse. He thought for a while, "Your Majesty, there are many places to use money at present, to build a tomb for Emperor Jingyan, and Your Majesty will also be a wedding. Now we need to repair the inns in various places. This requires a large amount of money. Once the warehouse is empty, wouldn't you worry?"

"You don't know what I'm going to do yet, how do you know that you won't make money!" Zhao Bing said with a smile.

"This... please tell your Majesty!" Zhuang Shilin was stunned and bowed.

"Several thousands of years ago, there was a country called Babylon, thousands of miles away. Because of the frequent fires in its country, many people were displaced, so its king ordered monks, judges, village chiefs, etc. to collect taxes as funds for the relief of the fire. Once the fire caused losses, compensation was paid from the tax collected for the construction of new houses." Zhao Bing said, "Later, in order to ensure the normal progress of maritime trade, this country stipulated that a cargo owner would suffer losses, which would be shared by beneficiaries, including the ship owner and all the cargo owners of the ship's cargo."

"The method Your Majesty said is similar to the effect of our dynasty's Changping position, but how can we make profits from it?" Zhuang Shilin still puzzled after hearing this.

"I asked you to follow his example, but I had to do this!" Zhao Bing said anxiously, "You should know that there are risks in sailing on the sea. If you don't do it well, the ship will be destroyed and the people will be killed. What I mean is... Simply put, the merchant ship pays a sum of money from us before going to sea. Once something happens at sea, we will pay compensation. If it is safe all the way, the money paid will belong to us."

Modern people immediately understand that this is "insurance". In fact, this is not a product of modern times. To be precise, it was in the form of thousands of years ago. Human society has been facing the invasion of natural disasters and accidents since the beginning. In the process of fighting against nature, ancient people developed insurance ideas for dealing with disasters and accidents and original forms of insurance methods.

In addition to what Zhao Bing said just now, more than 2,000 BC, the king of the ancient Babylonian kingdom ordered stonemasons in ancient Egypt to establish a funeral mutual aid organization to solve the funds for collection and burial by paying dues. The soldiers in the ancient Roman Empire provided living expenses for the surviving soldiers in the form of fundraising, and gradually formed an insurance system. With the development of trade, the sixth king of ancient Babylon, Hammurabi, was prosperous in business. In order to aid commerce and protect caravans' losses, the Hammurabi Code stipulates the terms of sharing the losses in common compensation.

During the Punic War, in order to solve the problem of military transportation, the ancient Romans charged high fees from merchants as reserve funds to compensate for the loss of ship cargo. This is the origin of maritime insurance. In the Middle Ages, adventure loans appeared in Italy. The interest of risk loans was similar to today's insurance premiums. From the form of mutual assistance in the budding period to risk loans, to maritime insurance contracts, to maritime insurance, fire insurance, life insurance and other insurances, and gradually developed into modern insurance.

Zhao Bing knew that the existence of insurance must meet several conditions. First, the existence of danger must exist. This is the basic condition. Who will spend that money without risk? Second, economic compensation must be given to the losses caused by danger, which is also an attractive condition. Third, there is a relationship of mutual assistance and the sharing of funds must be reasonable. At present, maritime trade is most in line with these conditions, and huge traffic can also ensure profitability.

"Your Majesty, if the expenses are too high and the merchants are overwhelmed, no one will pay for it; and if the income is too small, will we lose money if something happens to it?" Zhuang Shilin shook his head and thought it was not feasible.

"Oh, you have to know that if there is only one ship to pay, we will definitely not make any profit, but if there is more money, it will be more money. It is impossible for all ships to get into trouble at the same time. The amount difference between them is our profit. There is also a time difference between the income of merchant ships and the compensation expenses. This money can also be used by us and can be loaned to those who need money. This is another income." Zhao Bing explained.

"Oh, I understand a little." Zhuang Shilin nodded, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, if these people lied, did not lose the goods but said they were lost, the ship did not sink, but said they were sunk, how can we verify it?"

"Of course, this situation cannot be ruled out. But we can dispatch personnel at the main ports they pass through, or reputable merchants to assist in verification. Without their certification, we will not pay compensation. However, for those merchants without credibility, they simply refuse and the root cause will not be accepted." Zhao Bing replied. He knew that the insurance fraud was not cut off in modern times, but no insurance company went bankrupt because of this, but they made a lot of money.

"Your Majesty, if you can really operate, you can really make money. After all, the risk of sailing on the sea is extremely high. Once there is an accident, the goods are empty, as long as the price is reasonable, most merchants are willing to pay for the guarantee. And after the battle of restoration, the big maritime merchants basically lost all their losses, and those small maritime merchants are unable to purchase ships and goods. We can lend the money to them again to make profits on both sides. Your Majesty is such a good idea!" Zhuang Shilin thought about it carefully and said.

"There is still a lot of work to be done to do. First, we need to find out which route has the most ships, which route is the most dangerous, which cargo is the most vulnerable to damage, etc., and then determine how much fees it needs to be charged based on this; and then formulate detailed rules, we will pay compensation in what circumstances, what situations will not be accepted, and what proportion of compensation is; in addition, recruiting and training personnel to make them familiar with the procedures and operation methods, so as to avoid risks and prevent people from cheating." Zhao Bing said. He knew how harsh insurance regulations in his previous life were, and it was not easy to get money from an insurance company.

"Yes, I will remember it!" Zhuang Shilin said.

Although Zhao Bing’s trial this time was aimed at maritime commerce, it also involved several insurance types, including: ship loss insurance, cargo loss insurance, theft and robbery insurance, and casualties. He also tried his best to tell Zhuang Shilin about the modern insurance rules. You must know that every insurance book of modern times has more than ten pages, or even dozens of pages, and the details are not needed. At first, Zhuang Shilin could still remember it with his brain, but later he had to record it in detail through paper and pen. After that, it was already dark, and a thick stack of books was placed on the desk.

The reason why he chose insurance as the entry point for making money was that Zhao Bing was not just for making money by himself, but also considering the overall situation. Zhuang Shilin just mentioned this point. What people who do overseas trade fear the most is war. Not only may they lose all their money, but they will still be in a foreign country. However, there are much fewer merchant ships this year, which will inevitably affect tariff income and thus greatly reduce fiscal revenue.

If you want to change this situation, you not only invite foreign merchants in, but also need to go out. Insurance can provide protection and funds for domestic maritime merchants, attract more merchants to join the maritime merchants, thereby making profits, and increasing the country's fiscal revenue and achieving a win-win situation. This can also drive more foreign maritime merchants to return to the Chinese market and bring more income.

Zhao Bing made money, from a young age, could reduce the burden on the country and be self-sufficient. To be honest, most of the money he earned was subsidized to the country, and only a small part of it was spent by himself, thus playing the role of a "water storage tank", which can stabilize the country's finances and avoid economic collapse. His investment also created more employment opportunities, which is of great significance to stabilize people's livelihood...

Zhuang Shilin left, Zhao Bing had a little dinner, but he still felt a little stuffy. He walked out of the East Palace and walked to the Houyuan. Although the assassination had happened for several days, the alert was not relaxed at all. Not only did the guard camp block the Houyuan first, lanterns were lit everywhere, and the guards were even more indifferent. He walked into the Huxin Pavilion and looked at the stars in the sky, just like his own thoughts.

That day, the student smashed the inn. The spy of the affairs bureau who was mixed in was sneaking into Liu Mengyan's house while the chaos was in trouble and found his correspondence with Chen Yizhong, which basically confirmed the fact that the two colluded with each other. Although the mastermind of the assassin was not sure, the bait he released was swallowed by the fish. Someone secretly investigated the life and death of the assassin. After sending people to track him, they suddenly lost their target. However, they still touched their residence. After Zhao Bing and Zheng Huchen discussed, they suspected that Chen Yizhong who lived there was missing for many days, but the guard was very strict and it was difficult to investigate in depth.

Then no one was found to investigate the assassin's news, and the spies responsible for monitoring the house purchased less and less supplies from it, realizing that the people in the mansion might have escaped. Zhao Bing immediately understood that his opponent had seen through his plan and escaped secretly, but based on this, it was also determined that these people were the masterminds of the assassination, so they could be attributed to Chen Yizhong.

In addition, the prefectures where the Empress Dowager passed by were reported, all saying that someone stopped him and wrote a letter, saying that his Majesty was unkind and unrighteous, and begged the Empress Dowager to depose him and establish a new king. However, Zhao Bing found it very funny. Although some people said that the Song Dynasty was the most democratic era in ancient feudal society, it was only a budding place, and it was still limited democracy under the imperial power. There was no difference between changing dynasties with the power of the masses and daydreaming, otherwise he would not have to work so much to fight with the Mongols. With them mobilizing the masses, they could drive the Tartars away.

Therefore, Zhao Bing understood that as long as the empress dowager knew in his heart, no one could do anything to him. And the empress dowager could curse him at most, and he could no longer shake his status by one. And he knew from his style that Chen Yizhong and his group were attacked by him. He was a arrogant and arrogant double-faced person who was accustomed to making high-sounding and high-profile words and condemning any claims and behaviors of compromise. Chen Yizhong was originally cited by Jia Sidao. After Jia Sidao was defeated, he took the lead in proposing execution of Jia Sidao to increase his reputation and had no shame.

Although Chen Yizhong gained power and increased his prestige through such sensational performances and bold words for a long time, he was actually an indecisive coward who pretended to be a hero and had no courage or talent to fight the Yuan army to the death. He fled to the southern coastal area far away from the front line in Lin'an, asking the court to arrange his posts in this area. However, he refused the order sent by the court to ask him to return to the court. The Empress Dowager had no choice but to write a letter to his mother. With his mother's intervention, Chen Yizhong returned to the capital to serve.
Chapter completed!
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