n extent, can resist imperial power.Even Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, who was a great ruler, couldn't completely eradicate it. Let alone Li Chen in this day and age.Just like this Ministry of...Chapter 522: The Liu Family's Opportunity

“You can consider this carefully. The Liu family could choose not to participate, but if the news gets out, no merchant in the world would refuse the opportunity to cooperate directly with the imperial court. Even if it meant losing the six million taels of silver, there would be plenty of people willing to hand over their money.”

Li Chen looked at Liu Sichun with a half-smile, and said, "Think it over."

Liu Sichun gritted her teeth, knowing Li Chen was speaking the truth.

The entire society was divided into four classes by the phrase "scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant." The scholar class ranked first, followed by farmers. But merchants, no matter how much money they earned, had the lowest social status.

Even if one were to be incredibly wealthy, they could only wear hemp clothing when leaving their home. If anyone dared to wear silk garments, they would be reported to the authorities, facing at least thirty lashes as punishment, and potentially imprisonment in severe cases.

And the Qin Empire's household registration system was extremely strict. Once someone entered a certain social stratum, their descendants would be unlikely to change their status for generations.

The offspring of merchants can only be merchants; they are not even qualified to buy a piece of land and become farmers.

Those landlords, all of them were gentry, their social class was just below that of officials, or they were simply retired government officials.

The descendants of merchants cannot take the civil service examination, they cannot farm and become peasants, they can only forever be merchants.

Status, it is a little bit better than being a slave.

As for the status of slaves, as the name suggests, they were enslaved and weren't protected by the Qin Empire's officialdom nor recognized as citizens of the Qin.

Therefore, it is easy to imagine that once this news gets out, how many people will empty their coffers and rush to flatter the court.

What's more, money-lending businesses are inherently lucrative. Ordinary merchants with no real skills wouldn't even dream of venturing into this field.

Having made up her mind, Liu Sichun no longer hesitated. She immediately replied, "The woman is willing to cooperate with the Ministry of Finance!"

This answer was not beyond Li Chen's expectations.

Liu Sichun, a woman with ambition, will seize any opportunity that comes her way.

Moreover, such a great opportunity is right in front of her. If she doesn't go all out to get a piece of it, she wouldn't be Liu Sichun.

“Over the next two days, I will push this matter through at court and formally issue an order. Once the order arrives, you should start making preparations. As soon as the order is received, the silver must be immediately deposited into the treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue will begin work.”

Once again, Liu Sichun felt Li Chen's decisiveness and efficiency. She immediately said, "This woman will return home immediately to start raising the funds and will certainly not hold this matter up."

Then it is settled.

Li Chen looked deeply at Liu Sichun and said, "After this, if there is anything else, you can go directly to the Ministry of Household Affairs to find Xu Changqing."

Liu Sichun bowed to Xu Changqing and politely said, "In the future, please take care of me more, Mr. Xu."

Xu Changqing might not have a high opinion of merchants in general, but it depends on the merchant. For Liu Sichun, who was able to take away the salt transport and money house businesses from the East Palace, he didn't dare to be even slightly disrespectful. After all, who knows if this man in front of him might one day enter the East Palace's harem

Xu Changqing raised his hand in return, politely saying: "Miss Liu, you're too kind. We all work for His Highness. If there's anything you need, just ask."

After returning from the Eastern Palace, Liu Sichun immediately convened a family meeting.

At the very beginning, she revealed the news about the bank.

The Liu family was overjoyed.

Whether it is the business of money lending itself, or the opportunity to cooperate more closely with the East Palace and even the imperial court, are what the Liu family desperately needs.

"It's only six million taels of silver, we don't have that much money!"to settle there. Over time, they gradually developed the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.But after three hundred years of iteration, the descendants of those veterans had long since lost their ance...