Judge of the Song Dynasty

Property prices in Bianjing?

Weren’t they talking about lending money?

Zhang Fei’s thoughts jumped rather quickly, so even Ma Tianhao found it a bit hard to keep up. He asked with a hint of confusion, “Bianjing’s property prices are famously high. I wonder why you’re asking about this?”

Instead of answering, Zhang Fei countered, “Why are property prices high in Bianjing?”

Ma Tianhao replied, “It’s because there’s limited land and a lot of people, so naturally, prices are high.”

“Exactly.”

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile and said, “Even someone as wealthy as you acknowledge that property prices in Bianjing are extremely high. Just imagine, how many people can afford it? However, if there were no buyers, the prices wouldn’t be that high. It’s evident that many people can afford it because the most wealthy people of the Song empire reside in Bianjing.”

Before Zhang Fei could finish speaking, Ma Tianhao suddenly asked, “Are you suggesting that I should lend money to those buying houses?”

Truly a seasoned figure, this Ma Tianhao catches on quick. He didn’t even give me a chance to act like an all-knowing figure, even for a moment. Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, “Exactly.”

With high demand and high prices, wouldn’t this be the natural soil for money lending business? “Hahaha!”

Ma Tianhao burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, there was a tinge of sarcasm.

“Hehehe!”

Zhang Fei also joined in the laughter.

As he laughed, Ma Tianhao immediately stopped and asked, “Why are you laughing?”

Zhang Fei countered, “Why are you laughing?”

Ma Tianhao suddenly showed a disdainful expression and snorted, “I’m laughing at your overestimation of yourself. That’s nothing but a wild idea. Do you know how high property prices in Bianjing are? Leaving aside whether one can lend out so much money, even if it’s possible, who would dare loan such huge sums?”

Property prices in Bianjing easily reached tens of thousands of strings. Who could afford to lend that much! Latest content publıshed on novel⦿fire.net

Zhang Fei raised a corner of his mouth and said, “I thought that you, as a leader in this field and a former military instructor, would have a different perspective. But unexpectedly, you’re just as shallow as anyone else!”

Does this kid think he’s in a courtroom? Even when seeking help, he speaks so provocatively. Ma Tianhao had already sensed that Zhang Fei had some requests he wanted to make of him, but he found his tone irritating. He waved his hand dismissively, “Alright, alright, let’s say I’m shallow. Tell me then, what’s profound in your opinion?”

Zhang Fei replied, “If it’s a business that everyone is already into, then it would be like lending money to those farmers struggling in the off-season. What’s the point of me talking to you then? It would just a waste of everyone’s time. If we’re going to discuss something, let’s talk about deals that no one has ventured into yet. That’s the only way it can be profitable.”

As for the problems you have raised, they are actually quite easily resolved. First and foremost is the issue of risk. If I were to assist you in drafting these transactions, the risk would be almost negligible.”

Ma Tianhao exclaimed, “What are you saying? No risk?”

“Almost no risk,” Zhang Fei corrected.

Ma Tianhao asked, “How do you get ‘almost no risk’ then?”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “Lending money to people to buy houses involves a significant amount of money, and what would be the security? Of course, it would be the house!”

“No! No!”

Ma Tianhao shook his head vigorously, “If I lend money to someone to buy a house, and then use the house as collateral, what am I gaining? What if they borrow money, pay interest for two months, and then decide default and give up the house? I might as well have bought the house myself.

Zhang Fei chuckled, “Don’t be hasty, I haven’t finished yet. Lending money to people to buy houses doesn’t mean lending the entire amount. You can lend two-thirds and have the other party contribute one-third. In this way, if the other party defaults, you can seize the house, essentially obtaining one-third of the house value for free. Considering the property prices in Bianjing, one-third is not a small sum!”

Ma Tianhao nodded slightly. The idea wasn’t bad, but relying solely on this wouldn’t be of much use. Glancing at Zhang Fei, he saw the young man looking like a wizen strategist, and it slightly irked him. He asked again, “Ordinarily, when people buy houses, they usually borrow from relatives or friends. After all, the interest we charge is too high. For such a large sum, even high-ranking officials may find it challenging to afford the interest.”

Even if one were to lend two-thirds of the costs of buying the house, it would still be a large sum that accrued large interest payments.

Zhang Fei said, “As I mentioned earlier, your methods are too direct and crude, easily leading to legal troubles. Although you may make money, your reputation will suffer. Therefore, you need to adopt a different approach.”

Ma Tianhao asked, “What approach?”

Zhang Fei replied, “Imagine if you lend one string of cash to an ordinary citizen. Using the popular 100% annual interest rate, the annual profit would be one string. But if you lend ten thousand strings to an official to buy a house, even if we calculate it at a 1% monthly interest rate, that’s still a profit of one hundred strings per month!”

In addition, there’s also the matter of the duration. Common folks are driven to death because the timeframe of the loan is too short. But if we extend the duration to ten years, the situation would be quite different.”

“1% interest? Ten years?”

Ma Tianhao almost popped his eyeballs out. Is this person insane? He was irritated yet amused, “Are you treating me like a three-year-old, playing tricks on me? Is lending ten thousand strings and lending one string the same?”

Zhang Fei maintained a calm and composed smile on his face, “I’m by no means playing with words. This is a way to generate wealth. You are engaged in the business of lending money, so money itself is the goods you are selling, don’t you agree?”

Ma Tianhao nodded.

Zhang Fei continued, “Merchants detest goods being left in the warehouse. With what you’re doing now, I’m sure that only around thirty percent of your money is being used for lending. The remaining seventy percent is sitting in your money vault, collecting mold.”

Ma Tianhao snorted, “What’s wrong with that? That’s the safe thing to do.”

It was almost an admission that actually, Ma Tianhao used an even smaller proportion of his money on lending. This was a result of the wealth gap. Ten strings of money might seem like a lot to ordinary people, but to wealthy merchants like him, it was just a drop in the bucket. There were many people borrowing money, but the total amount borrowed was still very limited.

Zhang Fei said, “The method I proposed earlier does take more time, with lower interest rates. However, I can guarantee that you will soon be able to lend out all the money in your vaults. Currently, only thirty percent of your money is generating interest, and is highly unstable, depending on borrower’s demand. With my method, all your money would be generating interest, and it would be extremely stable. Considering this, the returns are obviously much higher than the current method.”

Ma Tianhao said, “Extremely stable? Why do you say that? Lending a large sum means higher risk. One slight mistake, and it could lead to a total loss.”

“The Mogul forgets what I said earlier—almost no risk.”

“Just relying on the house as collateral is hard to guarantee that.”

Ma Tianhao hinted more subtly, “Those who are able to borrow tens of thousands of strings would, without a doubt, be the rich and powerful. How could I afford to provoke them!”

Zhang Fei chuckled, “That’s why you need me, a proficient legal expert, to help you reach an agreement with the government. Under this agreement, if parties sign a standard loan and security agreement drafted by me, and the other party breaches the contract, the government would not need to hold a trial to decide the issue from scratch, and would simply directly award the house to you, or seize the house and sell it for money to compensate you, ensuring that you receive every bit of the intended profit.”

“You have this ability?” Ma Tianhao exclaimed.

Zhang Fei replied, “It’s the only ability I have, you know.”

Ma Tianhao was momentarily stunned but then suddenly understood. As Zhang Fei had mentioned earlier, his purpose was to help him avoid legal troubles. This was a legal matter, and after all the talk about business, it circled back to this point. If Zhang Fei could deliver on his promise, he could indeed avoid lawsuits.

But could Zhang Fei really deliver?

Ma Tianhao expressed doubt, “You misunderstand. I’m not questioning your methods. It’s about the government’s current hostility towards you. How can you achieve this?”

Zhang Fei said, “You don’t need to worry about that. I have my ways and will obtain the approval of the Emperor.”

Ma Tianhao found it hard to believe. He furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, “Your words sound appealing, but in my view, the risk is still too great. The government’s policies change frequently. Even if you can do it, who can guarantee that after I lend out the money, the government won’t go back on its word?”

Zhang Fei fell silent for a moment and said, “Then I would ask you, can you guarantee that the imperial court won’t find a reason to confiscate your property tomorrow?”

Ma Tianhao remained silent with a furrowed brow.

Zhang Fei continued, “Currently, the only thing that can protect you is the law. If you don’t even trust the law, who else can protect the Mogul’s property from being seized?

Furthermore, I believe that with your current wealth, if you continue to blindly pursue wealth without power, it’s putting the cart before the horse, and will leading to your downfall. Wealth without the backing of power belongs to others. You should find a way to elevate your status, enhance your influence, even delve into politics. That, coupled with the law, would let you be worry-free about your property.”

Ma Tianhao furrowed his brow and suddenly reached out to grab something from the table, only to find it empty. He couldn’t help but curse, “Why hasn’t that kid brought the wine yet?”

Zhang Fei wished he could offer him a cigarette to ease his tension, but alas, there were no cigarettes in the Song dynasty. He smiled and said, “Mogul Ma, don’t be nervous. A gentleman loves wealth, but there’s a proper way to obtain it. I’m not here to encourage you to do anything illegal.”

Ma Tianhao glanced at him and chuckled, “I’ve heard that you’re not afraid of death. Seeing you today, it seems the reputation is well-deserved!”

Zhang Fei laughed, “Everything I do is aboveboard. I would dare discuss all this with you even in front of the prefectural office.”

Ma Tianhao nodded with a smile, “Then tell me about your aboveboard plan.”

“Low-interest rates.”

“Low-interest rates?”

“Yes!”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Mogul Ma, you should also know that in the past thirty years, the imperial court has been dissatisfied with private lending, and this dissatisfaction has reached a critical point. Many high-ranking officials believe that continuing in this manner will endanger the stability of the country. If, at this time, you offer an astonishingly low-interest rate, even if it only involves housing loans, one can imagine the significant impact it will have on the entire industry.

At that time, you will become a standard-bearer, gaining support from many ministers in the imperial court. This is what they want—an exemplary businessman. Whoever goes against this standard would be sending the message that higher interest rates is a good thing, which would protect you from any would-be opponents.”

Ma Tianhao’s eyes flickered, pondering for a while. Suddenly, he said, “It might not be a good thing if officials owe me money!”

Zhang Fei smiled, “If all the officials owe you money, it proves that they acknowledge and accept your interest rates. Every year, officials will want to buy houses. If something were to happen to you, who would lend money to them? Considering the pros and cons, they won’t do anything foolish. I will also provide legal support for you.”

Ma Tianhao stared at Zhang Fei for a while, then suddenly smiled and nodded, “You are truly a pen-in-cap; your eloquence is truly exceptional. But I still have one last question.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Where to get the money?”

Ma Tianhao laughed heartily, “It seems you’ve indeed prepared thoroughly. Well done! I do have some money, but if I were to use it all to finance property purchases, it would be like a drop in the ocean.”