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"Boss, Boss, something bad has happened. I heard that many people have gone to Wanyuanhao Commercial Bank to cash in their money. Boss, go and take a look."
"Hey, that's not right. Who told you this, Shopkeeper Qian? Didn't they say that the Huitong Bank's silver ship was hijacked? People were afraid that they couldn't cash their money in the bank, so they ran to the Huitong Bank to withdraw the money. What does this have to do with the Wanyuan Commercial Bank?"
"Oh, boss, you only know one side of the story. Now the news has spread outside. Wanyuan Commercial Bank and various money houses have also deposited their silver in Huitong Bank, hoping to earn interest from it. This is a big deal. If Huitong Bank doesn't have money to pay to the silver houses, how can the silver houses have money to pay to us?"
"Is this true? This, this, this..."
"Boss, please don't disbelieve me. The guys at Wanyuanhao Tongshang Silver Shop are now running to Huitong Bank to cash in their money. Many people have seen this, it can't be fake. Boss, go quickly."
"Manager Qian, hurry up, bring your people and follow me to Wanyuanhao Commercial Silver Shop, hurry..."
In the past, in addition to exchanging silver for money, silver shops mainly provided deposit services for merchants and ordinary people, but in these money houses, interest was charged for both deposits and loans. Despite this, many people still deposited their money in money houses for various reasons.
Now, we heard that the bank run has spread to all the banks. Merchants and depositors can no longer sit still and have rushed to the banks with their people to cash in their money.
"Master, master, something bad has happened. A lot of people have come to our silver shop, clamoring to exchange their silver for cash. Master, what should we do? Please make a decision quickly." Jin Changfu, the old butler of the Jin family, hurried into the backyard and said to Jin Baiwan breathlessly.
"What? How could this happen? How could someone come to run our bank?" After Huitong Bank took the initiative to post a notice about the robbery of the silver ship, Jin Baiwan felt uneasy, always feeling that something bad would happen to him. After hearing what the old housekeeper said, he was so shocked that he knocked over his teacup.
"Master, I don't know what's going on. Anyway, there are so many people outside our silver shop. All the old customers are here, and there are more people coming later. Master, what should we do? Please give us a plan."
"Let's go. Go out and take a look."
In front of the Wanyuan Trading Silver Shop, there were already hundreds of people scrambling to get in. Those who were lucky enough to get to the counter were waving bills and shouting non-stop.
"Cash me the silver quickly. I'll go first."
"Mine, I'll come first, exchange it for me first, hurry up, I'm a regular customer of your bank."
"Change it for me first. Change it for me first. Your boss Jin and I have a life-long friendship. Hurry up, change it for me first."
The people in the front kept yelling. The people behind were even more furious, fearing that it would not be their turn, and they yelled even louder: "What kind of life-and-death friendship do you mean? If I don't have a friendship, you won't give it to me?"
"That's right. This is the note issued by your Wanyuan Commercial Bank. It's two thousand taels. Cash it out to me now."
When Jin Baiwan rushed out, all he saw were surging heads and waving arms. The entire silver shop was almost bursting with people, and more people kept coming from behind. Those who couldn't squeeze in front of the counter were very excited, and the situation could get out of control at any time.
Jin Baiwan quickly stood on a cash box and shouted to the crowd outside the counter: "Everyone, don't push, don't push, listen to me, my Wanyuanhao Tongshang Silver Shop is a long-established brand with a solid foundation. We will definitely not be short of your money. Don't believe the rumors. Your money will be fine if it is kept in our silver shop. You can come to cash it out at any time..."
"Boss Jin, since you can cash it out anytime, please cash it out to us now."
"Boss Jin, I, Liu Changqing, have been doing business with you for many years. I am an old customer. You have to pay me back first."
"Boss Jin..."
"Boss Jin." Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Millionaire Jin has deposited all his money in Huitong Bank to earn interest. If Huitong Bank collapses, how can he cash out the money to us?"
"That's right, that's right. I saw with my own eyes that Manager Liu of Wanyuanhao Tongshang Bank led a group of clerks to run on Huitong Bank. This is true."
"Damn it, Jin Baiwan is just trying to cheat us. We deposited our money with him, but he deposited our money in Huitong Bank. What kind of thing is this?"
"Erzhu, break the door down for me. Jin Baiwan has no ability to cash out to us. There is still some money in the counter. Break the door down and grab some money."
"A Bao, you are strong, smash it quickly. If it is like this, only those who have a good relationship with Jin Baiwan can exchange the silver, and it will not be our turn at all."
“Smash it!”
Before Jin Baiwan could react, the small door against the wall beside the counter had been smashed open. Instigated by someone with ulterior motives, the excited people rushed in, scrambling for things. In the chaos, the crowd outside the shop, regardless of whether they had receipts in their hands or not, swarmed in.
"How much money can there be in the counter? Go to the vault at the back, quickly."
No one knew who shouted, but a surging crowd suddenly rushed into the yard at the back. Less than half of them were there to exchange silver, while most of them were street thugs or ordinary people who came to watch the fun. After their emotions were aroused, they all rushed in to get a bargain.
In the teahouse opposite the Wanyuan Trading Silver Shop, Huang Lianshan was leisurely drinking tea and watching the excitement.
No need to guess, the people who instigated the people and took the lead in breaking down the door were all arranged by him.
People tend to follow the crowd. No matter what the matter is, even if it is murder and arson, as long as the situation becomes disorderly and someone takes the lead, driven by the lucky mentality that the law will not hold everyone responsible, everyone will not bother to think about the consequences and will rush to join the ranks of destruction.
The time Huanglianshan chose was very particular. It was almost dark and there was chaos. Moreover, once it got dark, many things would be hidden in the darkness.
He arranged for dozens of people to rush to the silver vault, and then quickly smashed it open. Each person filled a bag with gold and silver, and then rushed out. The people behind him were jealous. Faced with the golden ingots and the gleaming silver ingots, who could resist stretching out their hands? A disorderly robbery was thus created. It was out of control.
The people arranged by Huang Lianshan not only took the lead in robbing money, but also set fires. Once the fire started, it spread rapidly. Soon there was thick smoke and blazing fire... ...
Such chaos was not only happening in Wanyuanhao Tongshang Silver Shop, but also in more than a dozen banks, such as Fugui Bank, Juyuan Bank, etc. There were countless people participating in the robbery, shouting and flames were spreading everywhere.
The runners of various government offices in Nanjing City were distracted and distracted, and as night fell, people could not see clearly. Countless people got involved. How many of them could you catch
The ground was covered with scattered gold and silver. The yamen runners were also human beings. They would be tempted by the sight of gold and silver. Many of them were busy putting silver into their arms. Only a few of them even had time to catch people.
This chaos also involved Huitong Bank. Many ruffians in the city rushed in, hoping to steal money in the chaos. The counter was soon smashed, and the ruffians took the lead in rushing in to rob the money. When the crowd behind saw the chaos, they also rushed in.
Fortunately, Xu Yingjie was well prepared. Hundreds of guards came out with swords and guns, and chopped down a dozen thugs who led the looting and smashing. The guards of Huitong Bank were ruthless and didn't care about the consequences. Some thugs had their entire arms chopped off. They were bloody and rolling on the ground, screaming and tumbling, which was shocking... ... .
In addition to his own guards who dared to take ruthless action, Xu Yingjie also quickly sent people to ask for help from Han Zanzhou, the eunuch guarding Nanjing. The city was in such chaos that Han Zanzhou did not dare to be negligent and quickly dispatched troops to quell the rebellion.
This disorderly robbery attracted tens of thousands of people, and even after the army arrived, it took more than an hour to gradually quell the situation.
Thanks to the proper response of Huitong Bank, the loss was not great. According to Xu Yingjie, only more than 10,000 taels of silver were stolen. As to whether it was really that much, no one knows. Anyway, few of the thugs who rushed in first were chopped down before they could get the money... ... ... ...well, anyway, it was such a mess at that time, it's hard to say. Xu Yingjie said that more than 10,000 taels of silver were stolen, so that's more than 10,000 taels.
As for other money houses, it was a terrible situation. The chaos was first triggered by the money houses. Not only were all the silver in their vaults robbed, but they were also burned to ashes. It was horrible!
Like the Wanyuan Trading Silver Shop, not only was all the silver in the treasury robbed, but even most of the compound was burned down. Jin Baiwan was truly bankrupt this time and had no place to cry.
The government arrested people overnight, but there were too many people involved, and the scene was so chaotic, who would know who participated in the robbery? Could they arrest so many people
In the whole city of Nanjing, only Huitong Bank was still open, and it cashed the money to the anxious depositors overnight. Xu Yingjie personally sat at the counter, arranging the clerks to cash the money while comforting the depositors outside: "Please listen to me, everyone, don't worry, our bank has capable guards, and now there are also soldiers sent by Eunuch Han to guard, so there will be no more problems. Our bank has a solid foundation, and the silver vault is still full of silver, enough to cash everyone;
In fact, I would like to advise you that there is no need to rush to cash your deposits. You must have heard that Eunuch Han, Duke Dingguo and many other nobles have deposited money in our bank. Has anyone seen them rush to cash it out
No, don't they feel bad about not getting their money back? Of course not, they know how strong our bank's foundation is, and losing one million taels is completely within our bank's tolerance.
Moreover, Xu has sent people to ask for help from the governor of southern Jiangxi, Mr. Qin. Xu is willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver as military funds. Mr. Qin has promised to send troops to hunt down the bandits of Langlijiao. Who is Mr. Qin Mu? Two thousand men can defeat Zhang Xianzhong's army of hundreds of thousands. With him, Langlijiao can't escape. The little money lost by our bank will be recovered sooner or later..."
Xu Yingjie presented the facts and reasoned. He would not stop you anyway. If you wanted to cash out, he would cash it out. However, many people really listened to his words. Yes, it was Eunuch Han and a group of dignitaries who first deposited the silver. Now they are not in a hurry to cash it out, which means Huitong Bank will not collapse.
And there is Qin Mu. With him going out to kill Langlijiao, the people of Nanjing still believe that they can recover the robbed silver. After all, Qin Mu's brilliant record is there. Zhang Xianzhong's army of hundreds of thousands were defeated, so what are Langlijiao's hundreds of followers
No matter what, after what happened today, the depositors still felt more at ease holding the money in their own hands, so they still cashed it out, but they felt much more at ease. Everything was in order, and Xu Yingjie was not vague. If you want to cash it out, I will cash it out. For fixed-term deposits, a 3% penalty will be charged, and the bank will not lose money.
In fact, the silver ship was robbed, but the loss of one million taels of silver was false. The bank's principal and the silver deposited by depositors were still safely in the vault. Xu Yingjie was not afraid of a run on the bank.
By the evening of the next day, almost all depositors had cashed out their deposits. Xu Yingjie even had people carry out large boxes of silver. He stood in front of the counter and shouted loudly: "Who else? Anyone who hasn't cashed in yet and wants to cash in? Come quickly. We still have plenty of silver in the bank. We don't need a penny from you. Is there anyone who hasn't cashed in yet?"
Whether it was the depositors who had already cashed out their money or the onlookers, looking at the mountains of silver on the counter, they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment. My God, Huitong Bank is really not a lie. Everyone has cashed out their money, and they are still rich. If they had known this, why would they have stayed here all night last night! (To be continued...)
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