In the Heavens

According to the usual practice, for a famous sect like Huashan, it is necessary to invite comrades from all walks of life to watch the ceremony for the change of head.

But there are exceptions to everything. At a time like now, when a lot of martial arts masters and sect masters have died, they can act expediently.

Everyone is changing power, if people are still invited to watch the ceremony as usual, no one will be able to leave!

Hunjianghu pays attention to face. If you invite a large group of people, but in the end they are too polite, or send a few small characters to deal with it, it will be embarrassing.

It's not bad to be able to do it yourself behind closed doors, at least there is a ceremony. Like the previous Taishan School and Hengshan School's change of head, even the ceremony can only be done later.

If there were no accidents, this wave of Shaolin abbot replacements would have been completed quietly.

After all the dust settles, just tell Wulin directly. All the links in the middle of the process can be saved if possible.

If you want to be huge, that only exists in peacetime. There was no major event happening in Jianghu, and everyone was idle, so they took the opportunity to run over to join in the fun, which was considered a low-level martial arts conference.

"Simplicity" is a relative term. After the full set of etiquette, Li Mu is almost on the ground, feeling more tired than fighting with others.

It's no wonder that the head of the Huashan School must be a master of martial arts. Such a complicated procedure cannot be supported without good martial arts.

After ascending to the throne of the head, before he had time to catch his breath, Li Mu was overwhelmed by the ledger in front of him.

Without any accidents, the war that lasted for more than a year brought a serious deficit to the Huashan faction.

Originally, he planned to make up for it with loot, but unfortunately, someone picked the peaches at the critical moment. There are a lot of haunted houses in his hands, which can't be changed in a short time.

The benefits of the new site are long-term. Affected by the war, merchants have also suffered heavy losses in the past year or so, and trade in many places was even interrupted for a time.

Business is not booming, and protection fees will naturally not go up. The reason why the various factions in the Northwest Wulin are poor is that the core issue is the underdevelopment of commerce and economy.

Rubbing his forehead, Li Mu asked Elder Wang who was in charge of the accounts: "Uncle Wang, how did you deal with this kind of deficit before?"

As an old deficit sect, Li Mu believes that the Huashan sect must have a contingency plan, even if it is to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, you must first know which wall can be demolished.

Elder Wang, who was slightly thinner, replied calmly: "According to the usual practice, when encountering such a situation, we usually borrow a sum of money from the outside world for emergency. Then we cut expenses and slowly fill in the shortfall.

After every battle between good and evil, there will always be such a wave. This time it was not bad, the casualties were not large and a lot of pensions were saved.

Judging from the current deficit, it only takes five or six years to fill the gap.

If the new site can be put into operation, this time can be further shortened. But during this period, nothing else can be done in the door. "

Hearing the word "borrowing", Li Mu was a little skeptical about life. I was trapped by various loans in my previous life, but I never thought that I would still be unable to escape the loans now.

I just don't know who has the guts to lend money to the martial arts sect. In case of bad debts, it is not easy to collect debts in the face of a gang of violent elements.

Li Mu asked suspiciously: "Uncle Wang, who do we borrow money from, and what is the interest?"

Elder Wang smiled slightly and said, "There aren't too many deficits in the sect this time, and I calculated that there are about five or six hundred thousand taels of emergency, which can be turned around.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were quite a few people who were able to provide this fund. The main ones who cooperated with us in this regard were: Qinwangfu, Shuwangfu, Jinshang Bank, Shaolin Temple, Huayan Temple, Famen Temple, Daxingshan Temple, etc.

Generally speaking, local temples in Guanzhong, such as Huayan Temple, Famen Temple, and Daxingshan Temple, sell us some face. The monthly interest is usually one to one five cents, while others need a little more than two cents.

Now that the influence of the door has extended to Shanxi, Shanxi merchants must give us some face, and the interest rate will also drop.

The amount of deficit this time is not too large. I borrowed a sum from several local temples, and then borrowed a little from Shanxi merchants. It is estimated that it is almost the same. It should be able to save 70,000 to 80,000 taels of interest expenses every year. "

It can be seen that Elder Wang is very satisfied with the current results. Being able to save 70,000 to 80,000 taels of interest every year is also a big help for the Huashan School.

There is no problem with the interest rate. In this era of nine outs and thirteen returns, it is very conscientious to be able to borrow money at such an interest rate.

It's just that this result was far beyond Li Mu's expectations. Originally, he thought that the benefactor behind the Huashan School was not a Taoist sect, but a merchant from Guanzhong. Never thought that the one who cooperates the most is actually Buddhism.

But it's normal to think about it carefully. To be a benefactor, you must first have money. The richest people in the Ming Dynasty were the vassal kings, aristocratic families, several major business gangs, and Buddhist sects.

Ever since it was suppressed, the Quanzhen lineage has declined dramatically. Except for the prosperous Wudang branch, Beidi Quanzhen has almost no sense of existence.

The economy in Guanzhong is weak, and business cannot flourish naturally. If you study carefully, you will find that the Guanzhong economy has been showing a state of wealth outflow in the past few hundred years.

Even the awesome Guanlong family has declined all the way since the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Up to now, neither politically nor economically has much say.

Their own strength is not enough, so naturally they will not mix this kind of high-risk borrowing. In the event of an accident, they cannot afford such a loss.

In contrast, Buddhism is different. Every monastery is very rich and holds a lot of cash in their hands. In order to expand their income, lending is the best choice.

In undertaking this kind of high-risk loan, in addition to obtaining profits, there is also the intention to establish a good relationship with the Huashan faction.

After all, he was making a living in the land of the Huashan School. If you don't handle the relationship on the Tao well, the monk can't sleep well!

There is no financial support behind it, no wonder that after the decline of the Zhonghua Mountain School in the original book, Yue Buqun even had to worry about firewood, rice, oil and salt.

If it weren't for the Huashan faction's current strength, it would not be easy to borrow funds. It is the same in ancient and modern China and foreign countries. Capital has always been based on people.

"Uncle Wang, you will be responsible for the issue of borrowing funds.

In addition, let Shanxi merchants and Guanzhong merchants know that our Huashan faction intends to strengthen cooperation with Wudang and contribute to the promotion of economic exchanges between the North and the South. If you are willing to participate, you can register in advance. "

As the new head, Li Mu didn't want to reduce the expenses of the sect as soon as he came up, causing everyone to complain.

If you don't throttle, you can only open source. If you want to get a lot of money in the short term, the only way is to make an idea of ​​the north-south trade line.

Geographical restrictions are the biggest feature of Ming Dynasty's business. Landlords, corrupt officials, and numerous martial arts forces that emerged along the way are important factors that hinder the development of business.

If these problems can be solved, there is no need to worry about not making money. Originally thinking of forming a caravan by himself, but considering the financial situation of the door, Li Mu decisively gave up this plan.

A martial arts sect is a martial arts sect, and too much participation in money-related transactions can easily lead to a qualitative change in the sect.

People are not machines, and Li Mu doesn't think Huashan disciples can resist the temptation of money. In case of being led astray by money, it is easy to degenerate into a profit-seeking business gang.

Similar cases have not happened in martial arts. Once the martial arts school is completely controlled by money, it will not be far from the time of extinction.

That being the case, let the merchants do it themselves, and the Huashan faction should focus on providing security services.

Relying on the banner of Huashan School + Wudang School, it is not impossible to get through the middle link.

In view of the face of the two overlords, the martial arts forces along the way have to sell some face.

Not to mention exempting tolls, at least everyone will not go too far, and things like eating alive can basically be eliminated.

Hanging the banners of the two factions, the corrupt officials of the imperial court will restrain themselves three points if they think about it. Before getting greedy, you have to think about the head on your neck first.

Elder Wang stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "If this is the case, maybe we don't need to ask those monks for loans.

In terms of this north-south trade, Shanxi merchants have suffered a lot in recent years. Now that they have such an opportunity, they will definitely not let it go. "

Salt from Lianghuai, silk from Jiangnan, and tea from Fujian are all commodities that Shanxi merchants need most. At the same time, the furs, cattle and sheep they collected from the grasslands also urgently need a market.

Confined by checkpoints and transportation along the way, the cattle and sheep on the grassland are only sold in the north, and the southern market, which has the most purchasing power, has never been opened.

Other uncertainties, Li Mu can be sure that there is definitely a market for beef. Even if ordinary people don't buy it, people in the southern martial arts will definitely pay.

Although other meats can be used instead, for those practicing martial arts, the best choice is beef.

It may not be obvious in the short term, but the difference will be reflected after a long time of eating. People who eat beef for a long time will have an advantage in physique.

If economic conditions permit, everyone will be willing to buy better ones.

After all, this is Weili's own, and no one will deny that his strength is stronger, even if it is only a little bit stronger.

It is really impossible, the worst is selling war horses and smuggling salt. Based on Li Mu's understanding of Shanxi merchants, those guys are a group of mercenaries.

If there is no better choice, he is not willing to cooperate with those people. Just for the sake of money, Li Mu decided to endure it first.

After all, there is no clean capital these days. If you have moral cleanliness, then you don't have to do anything.

Anyway, it was the corner of the old Zhu's house that was dug, and the clever little emperor in the Forbidden City had a headache.

After hesitating for a long time, Li Mu nodded and said: "Then let's do it this way! Now that the family is not rich, it can save a lot of money."