prosperous age

"Sir, a note has been sent in from the house."

Inside the cabinet, Wei Guangde had just drafted a memorial and was waiting for the ink to dry completely before he could tuck it into the main memorial and set it aside.

Just then, Lu Bu appeared at the door of the duty room.

He strode to the desk, stood there, handed over a letter, and bowed as he spoke.

Wei Guangde reached out and took the letter, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.

After a while, he seemed to understand.

"Hehe, your nose is quite sensitive."

After speaking in a low voice, he waved his hand, signaling Lu Bu to leave.

He had already realized what was going on; he guessed that the Duke of Dingguo's mansion had discovered something, so he sent someone to his home to inquire about the situation.

This was just a minor incident. Apart from Xu Jianglan, only Zhang Ji knew a little about the situation within the manor.

Wei Guangde was actually indifferent to the information leak.

They'll be involved anyway, but because few people know about it, it's perceived as a major event by outsiders.

Wei Guangde was unaware that it was the large-scale borrowing by those companies that had attracted Xu Wenbi's attention.

Fortunately, since it was on the eve of the imperial examination, the commotion they caused was mostly noticed by the lenders and did not cause a major uproar.

The number of memorials to be processed today has suddenly increased considerably due to the absence of Yu Youding and Xu Guo.

However, Wei Guangde finished processing the memorials that had been sent to his room that day shortly after noon.

After resting for a while, and as it was almost time to leave, I chatted with Shen Shixing and Wang Jiaping about the memorials submitted that day, and then went home.

Back in the backyard, Xu Jianglan told Wei Guangde about the Duke of Dingguo's wife's visit to the mansion that day.

“I didn’t tell her about it before the master gave any instructions.”

Xu Jianglan came from an official family, so she naturally knew how to speak and act appropriately.

Without Wei Guangde's permission, she wouldn't casually reveal what she knew, for fear of affecting Wei Guangde.

The position of Grand Secretary may seem glamorous, but it is also a precarious one, as one could easily be caught red-handed.

"Hmm, it's alright. You can tell me about it next time I ask."

Wei Guangde hadn't expected the Duke of Dingguo's mansion to come knocking so quickly, so he hadn't discussed how to handle the matter with his wife privately.

As for now, there's no need to be so secretive. Just emphasize that this matter should not be leaked anywhere before it is officially announced.

After all, it's a matter of money. Whoever invests more will have a larger share, and naturally, they will reap greater profits later on.

Wei Guangde intentionally controlled his investments; otherwise, he could have come up with any amount of money.

"By the way, I also checked my private treasury today, and I still have 300,000 taels of silver there."

Are you going to invest when your money exchange goes public?
Everyone outside says you're a money-maker, and I want to earn a bit more of my personal savings too.

When Xu Jianglan married into the Wei family, the Duke of Wei's mansion gave her a generous dowry.

However, her older brother would also receive money and gifts from her, his younger sister, from time to time.

Half of the reason was that he genuinely cared for this girl, and the other half was, of course, to get closer to Wei Guangde.

"In your own name, you can transfer the shares directly to your son later."

Wei Guangde said, "I'll have Zhang Ji leave 500,000 taels in the government's public accounts, and I'll put it in under my name later."

There are still 300,000 taels in the backyard. I plan to divide them among my children as a form of security for them.

Wei Guangde spoke calmly.

As the Grand Secretary, investing 500,000 taels of silver was a reasonable investment for Wei Guangde.

"Back in our hometown, I arranged for a lot of the dividends from the chambers of commerce to be shipped directly to Jiujiang. Would you like some this time?"

Xu Jianglan was quite capable; in the early years, Wei Guangde would occasionally look at the family's account books.

For the past ten years or so, the wife has been in charge of managing things, and Wei Guangde has become less involved.

Xu Jianglan was naturally aware of her family's situation.

"Over there, I have instructed Zhang Ji to arrange for the establishment of several chambers of commerce, and to participate in them under the name of the chambers of commerce."

In the future, these chambers of commerce will be allocated under the children's names, instead of being written directly in their names.

In addition, I will encourage the chambers of commerce that have already received investment to also invest.

This year's plan is to allocate half of the reserved funds and profits from recent years to invest in the money shop.

Any profits generated later will also come back to them.

Wei Guangde had no intention of taking back the money from outside and investing it in his own name.

With so many chambers of commerce, if they each invest, their combined shareholding will be considerable.

As for the person in charge of the money exchange, the most stable and reliable person would naturally be chosen.

Most importantly, the actual management of the money shops still fell into the hands of the imperial court.

As long as he remains in the position of Grand Secretary, the highest power in the money shop, and the fate of the manager, are all at his discretion.

As for Qianzhuang shares, do you really think that having more shares means you can control Qianzhuang?

That's overthinking it. At most, it involves supervising whether those in charge are embezzling funds, how much profit is distributed each year, and the degree of influence.

After all, Wei Guangde intended to put all the imperial treasury into money shops.

In this way, with a continuous influx of money, the money shops have the confidence to lend money to others.

"Yes, that's fine too."

Xu Jianglan understood Wei Guangde, so she naturally had no objection to him concealing his investments in the money shop.

She knows when to keep her talents hidden.

As long as the benefits are obtained, everything else is just empty fame.

A capital of 500,000 taels of silver is more than enough for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, Xu Wenbi was somewhat frustrated because he hadn't gotten any useful information from the lady of the house.

"Those families have been borrowing money from various places all day long, they must have discovered some tricks."

Looking around the capital, I suspect it's all related to my brother-in-law.

So, find a pretext to invite them over to our residence in the next few days, and then test them a bit more.

Also, please arrange for the steward to collect all the money from the various estates and shops.

Since they're raising money, I'll raise some too, and see what they're up to.

Those lending businesses have also temporarily stopped.

The big borrowers sent a message through their subordinates: if they could repay early, they would receive a 20% interest rate discount.

Although Xu Wenbi was unaware of Wei Guangde's plans, he could still imitate them.

All you need to do is prepare enough money, then you can observe how they do it and learn from them.

It all comes down to money.

Even if I guess wrong in the end, it doesn't matter. I'll only lose some interest, which is a small amount.

"My lord, what do you think is the purpose of their constant borrowing of silver?"
Actually, if we can't participate, we can lend them the money and earn 30% interest for free each year; that's not a bad business either.

Lady Dingguo spoke up to remind her.

"You still don't understand. As long as you invest in doing business, the profits will be endless. Ten, twenty, or even a hundred years later, the money will still keep flowing into your mansion."

But if it's just a loan of money, people only borrow it for a few months, or at most two years, and then they raise the money through other channels to pay it back.

Would you give away money even when you have it?
The fact that they're willing to take out loans suggests that the potential profits from this deal are likely substantial.

Let me warn you first, this matter must absolutely not be spread.

"I might have to borrow money from outside, sir." Xu Wenbi's appetite had grown too big because of the Maritime Trade Association.

Investing in maritime trade allows you to recoup your costs in one or two years; just imagine how high the profits can be.

Of course, some are unlucky and die or their ships capsize after going out to sea, but these are the minority.

Moreover, their ships always sail in large fleets; it's good enough if they don't rob pirates, and they don't have to worry about being robbed by pirates.

In this era, pure pirates were extremely rare; most were both merchants and pirates. Even British pirates who held privateers would return to England after seizing their loot and transform into merchants, selling their spoils.

Many of the notorious Japanese pirates during the Wokou Rebellion actually switched between being pirates and maritime merchants.

"My lord, I've been wondering, could it be that the money they've raised is from the gold and silver they've conquered in Japan and they're going to sell it off?"
Are they actually making preparations in advance?

Lady Dingguo suddenly offered her judgment.

"No way, those mines can be sold?"

Xu Wenbi was stunned; he had never really thought of that possibility.

You should know that the court officials had previously calculated that mining could net a million taels of silver a year.

Can a hen that lays golden eggs really be sold?
If that's the case
I need to have someone find out what's going on in Japan.

Xu Wenbi suddenly stood up and rushed towards the study.

The noble families of the Ming Dynasty were inextricably linked to the military families that had been established in the early years.

Just like Bengshan Fort, which is only a hundred-household garrison, but its origins are traced back to the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Many of the military merits in Liaodong also had connections with nobles in the capital.

Many of the military generals in Liaodong naturally came from these families of military merit.

Therefore, while it was troublesome for Xu Wenbi to contact the Japanese expeditionary force commanders at this time, it was not entirely impossible, though it was still somewhat troublesome.

At this moment, what he was thinking about was that if Wei Guangde really intended to sell off Japan's gold and silver mines, then the Duke of Dingguo's mansion would definitely acquire one or two, or even more.

Meanwhile, the expeditionary force in Japan remained on high alert, ready to fight the Japanese pirates at any moment.

However, the atmosphere on the walls of Daejeon Castle was much more relaxed than usual.

Qi Jiguang had already arrived with his personal guards. With the Ming general in charge already present, powerful figures in Japan, including Hideyoshi Hashiba, naturally had to come forward to receive him.

The two sides have already met twice in the cabins outside the city.

As for going any further, Wang Jinglue would naturally not come to talk to these Japanese.

At this time, Wang Xijue's status in Japan was similar to that of the King of Japan.

Wang Xijue would never show up unless the Japanese king participated in the negotiations between the two countries.

Of course, the results of the negotiations with Qi Jiguang would also be quickly reported to him, so that he could keep abreast of the latest news from the front.

"According to the information previously conveyed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this Hideyoshi Hashiba is in fact the most powerful person in Japan."

His statement could influence the attitude of the King of Japan.

The backyard of Liu Ting's garrison headquarters had now been given to Qi Jiguang to rest in.

He then convened his key military officers to discuss the situation of today's confrontation with Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

"That Hideyoshi really dares to dream. He thinks he can make us withdraw our troops with a mere two million taels of silver? Hah."

Liu Ting chuckled and mocked.

"Yes, he's also outspoken."

Qi Jiguang and the other generals burst into laughter.

"General, how should we respond to Hideyoshi's request?"

After Liu Ting laughed, he asked again.

"Wait a minute, let the Embroidered Uniform Guard send us the latest intelligence, see where Japan's bottom line is, and then we'll consider further negotiations."

Qi Jiguang did not intend to reveal his trump card directly. Taking advantage of the ceasefire, his top priority was to transport a large amount of military supplies and equipment to various towns and fortresses.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. As long as the Ming army improves its combat strength, it will not be afraid of the Japanese invasion. Only by gaining a foothold in China can it have the confidence to do so.

To think you can take over such a large territory with just words is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Ultimately, it comes down to comparing the strengths of both sides.

Whoever has the strongest fist has the most say.

"If the Japanese's bottom line is to cede the areas we have already occupied, then things will be fine."

Otherwise, there will be more fierce battles to fight.

Qi Jiguang paused here, looked around at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Liu Ting, asking, "Are you confident?"

"Rest assured, General, I will live and die with the city."

Liu Ting hurriedly stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said.

"There's no need for that. If we can defend it, we will. Daejeon Castle wasn't originally on our radar."

This location is extremely important because it connects the three places of Mimasaka, Bichu, and Bizen, so the border was extended here.

In the eyes of the imperial court, ten Datian cities were not as important as one silver mine.

Therefore, ensuring the safety of the silver mine is of paramount importance.

The others were merely points that delayed the Japanese counterattack.

Ota Castle withstood the first wave of Japanese attacks. Judging from the situation, the Japanese daimyo no longer wanted to be enemies with our Great Ming.

The only loss was to the Mori family's territory; the other daimyo suffered no losses at all.

Qi Jiguang explained the situation with a cheerful smile.

Ultimately, although the Ming Dynasty occupied a considerable amount of territory, these were all areas controlled by Mori Terumoto, and he had no impression of any other faction.

The Ming army's defeat of the Mori clan was certainly not a good thing for the other daimyo, but at least it did not affect their interests at the moment, so everyone could accept it.

Those who could not accept this were probably only the Japanese king, Mori Terumoto, and Hideyoshi Hashiba, who took it upon himself to be the "people of the world."

Just as they were laughing and joking, a guard came in and handed them a letter.

"General, this is a letter sent by Wang Jinglue. Please take a look."

After the personal guard finished speaking, he left the room. Inside were all military officers of the rank of deputy general or above, so the proper place for these personal guards was outside the door.

Qi Jiguang opened the letter, took out the inner paper, and stared at it intently. After a moment, his brows furrowed.

"General, does Commander Wang have any instructions?"

Here, Liu Ting holds the highest position.

Seeing Qi Jiguang's reaction, he asked with concern.

"In his letter, Lord Wang wrote that he had received news that there were also large gold mines on Kyushu Island."

Upon hearing that the news was about a gold mine, Liu Ting's eyes lit up.

Gold mines are easy to find; just raid the surrounding area and you can easily get a lot of gold.

This is a real gem. Haven't you seen how high the domestic gold price is right now? It's almost as high as the price of one tael of gold for nine taels of silver.

The imperial court has been acquiring gold, having previously made a large-scale haul through the Embroidered Uniform Guard and local government offices.

Afterwards, they drove up the price of gold and then transferred it to the Changying Treasury of the Imperial Stud, making another profit.

It can only be said that Zhang Xueyan was very clever; he started planning this matter as soon as Wei Guangde pointed out the price difference between gold and silver.

They would buy gold from the common people at a ratio of 1:7, and then extract silver from the Changying Treasury of the Imperial Stud at a ratio of 1:8 or higher.

No one lost out, yet the Ministry of Revenue's accounts showed an increase in silver.

Wei Guangde couldn't really say anything about this. (End of Chapter)