prosperous age

"Eunuch Zhang, so far, the shares that have been signed, sealed, registered and filed, not counting the three million taels His Majesty wants, the shares subscribed from outside have already reached 1.73 million taels of silver."

A moment later, Zhang Ji learned the latest statistics from the money shop manager.

If we include the three million taels of silver that Emperor Wanli was going to invest, and the one million taels of silver that Wei Guangde subscribed to, the money shop had actually raised more than five million taels of silver.

Most importantly, this was just the beginning; in less than half a day, nearly six million taels of silver had already been raised.

Of course, the share subscription agreement is not finalized just by signing it; there is a ten-day consideration period.

Only after the ten-day period will the investment be confirmed.

Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the more than one million taels of silver currently outside will ultimately arrive in full.

However, with the exemplary actions of Emperor Wanli and Wei Guangde, it is believed that no one would dare to casually report figures or deceive people.

That would offend the two most powerful figures in the Ming Dynasty.

The days ahead may not be easy.

So basically, those who subscribed to shares will definitely deliver the money on time and in full.

Today, a large number of nobles and powerful officials have sent people to this Ming Dynasty bank, while outside the bank, a large number of spies from the Beijing Chamber of Commerce are also watching it closely, constantly trying to find out what's going on.

These are all wealthy individuals from the private sector.

When money shops raised capital, they did not exclude them.

Even so, these people were still hesitant about whether to participate and invest some money.

In fact, the news that the Ming Dynasty Money Shop engaged in lending business and strictly adhered to the imperial court's regulations on a monthly interest rate of three percent had already spread far and wide.

Is this interest rate high?

Of course it's not high.

Familiar business associations occasionally lend money to each other for two weeks, but the interest rate is calculated at 5% per month.

Of course, such lending periods are very short, often only one or two months, or even half a month.

After all, lending is a temporary need for funds, and the repayment time is agreed upon before the loan is made.

It differs slightly from loans that are calculated on an annual basis.

The low monthly interest rate means that the profits of the Ming Dynasty money shops will not be very high.

However, word had already spread throughout the capital that the Ming Dynasty Money Shop was not established for usury.

On the contrary, it was the cabinet and the emperor who knew about private lending, which often involved usury at rates higher than those set by the court. The purpose of the establishment was to provide low-interest loans to customers in need of money and to suppress private usury.

The merchants were naturally delighted by this.

However, they would have to think twice before allowing them to become shareholders.

Will this money be divided up by the emperor and the imperial court?

Nominally, it was supposed to be a money exchange, but in the end, the money was divided up by the imperial court, and the money exchange reported a loss.

Forget about earning dividends; you'll probably lose your principal in three to five years.

Money is earned little by little; no one would treat it as if it were washed away by a flood.

Logically, under such circumstances, everyone should have kept their distance, but the shareholders of this money shop are anything but ordinary.

Putting everything else aside, just considering the fact that the largest shareholder was the Wanli Emperor, some business owners had to consider the pros and cons.

If one can establish connections with the palace by investing in the Ming Dynasty's money exchange, one will have an extra layer of protection, making it much safer to do business within the Ming Dynasty.

The chambers of commerce that can establish themselves in the capital all have people they need to curry favor with; otherwise, doing business would be difficult.

After all, this is the capital city, a place where nobles and dignitaries gather.

Without anyone backing you up, the bigger the business grows, the more unstable it becomes.

One thing that reassured merchants about the Ming Dynasty was that, apart from the events at the founding of the dynasty, the imperial family never arbitrarily seized the people's property.

The royal family might not do it, but many of the nobles below them do.

Following the royal family's investment in the Ming Dynasty Bank, one would expect that the nobles' greed wouldn't be so unseemly.

This really puts these wealthy businessmen in a dilemma.

I'm afraid of being scammed if I invest.

If I don't submit, I'm afraid I'll miss the opportunity.

Ultimately, the loan sharking business isn't something anyone can do, especially in a place like Beijing.

Moreover, it's clear that Daming Money House is aiming for the lending business, so it's likely that the days of usury for money lenders will be difficult for them in the future.

In reality, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate had been secretly collecting information on the crimes of loan sharks in various places, which was quietly circulating in some small circles in the capital.

The lending business will always have a market, as long as commerce exists.

If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to invest in Daming Money Shop, we may be shut out of the lending business in the future.

Who knows if the imperial court will eventually set rules to prohibit private lending and hand over this business entirely to the Ming Dynasty Money Shop.

Once the imperial decree is issued, the Ming Dynasty's money shops will have a monopoly, making it difficult not to make money.

On one hand, there is a huge market that can be imagined, and profits that can be seen with the naked eye; on the other hand, there are risks of unknown depth. The wealthy businessmen are in a dilemma.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hong had already returned to the palace.

Upon entering the palace gates, Zhang Hong went straight to the Qianqing Palace without stopping.

Inside the main hall, after Zhang Hong bowed to Emperor Wanli, he was told to rise by the emperor. Zhang Hong then approached Emperor Wanli and gave a detailed account of the situation at the Daming Bank from this morning until now.

"They've raised nearly two million taels of silver already, that's a lot!"

Emperor Wanli was somewhat taken aback by what these guys usually said, and what the Ministry of Revenue said every time he asked for money.

Taxes come from the people and are hard-earned, causing hardship for ordinary people and risks for merchants who are not well-off.

Before the businessmen have even emerged, the nobles have already revealed their wealth.

The minimum is 50,000 taels, and the maximum is 200,000 to 300

Many nobles are still consulting with Daming Qianzhuang, and have not yet decided how much to invest.

"I have a feeling that all those nobles and ministers are trying to fool me."

It took Emperor Wanli a while to speak, "Master Wei is really honest. He gave me the exact amount right away, at least ten million taels. If there were no restrictions, it would be twenty or thirty million taels of silver."

The imperial court's annual tax revenue is only about this much.

"Your Majesty, it's not just that."

Zhang Hong spoke again.

The Wanli Emperor looked at him and asked, "Oh, is there anything else I don't know?"

"Your Majesty, I was chatting with Zhang Ji, the steward of the Wei family. According to him, in addition to setting up the Great Ming Bank, Chief Minister Wei is also setting up a trading house for the court, specializing in stock trading."

According to Zhang Ji's information, in the future, Daming Qianzhuang or other chambers of commerce will also be able to register their shares in the trading house for buying and selling.

For example, if a minister saves 50,000 taels of silver by living frugally and invests it in the Ming Dynasty Money Shop, he can sell several thousand or ten thousand shares at the exchange if he needs tens of millions or tens of millions of taels of silver in the future, thus turning his investment into silver.

The trading houses might be established by the Ministry of Revenue, with personnel stationed there. For each transaction, both the buyer and seller would pay half a cent of the transaction amount as a tax.

For a transaction involving one million taels of silver in shares, the Ministry of Revenue would receive ten thousand taels of silver in transaction tax. From now on, any merchant guilds in which the Grand Secretary holds shares must transfer their capital to the trading house for transactions, supposedly to facilitate shareholders' ability to liquidate their assets at any time.

Next, Zhang Hong relayed the news he had heard to the Wanli Emperor.

"In the trading house, both the buyer and seller must pay half of the transaction amount as tax."

The Wanli Emperor muttered to himself, then suddenly perked up and asked, "I remember that Master Wei has invested in quite a few business associations, and they're all very profitable."

"Indeed, in addition to the Grassland Chamber of Commerce and the Liaodong Fur Chamber of Commerce, they also hold shares in many maritime trade chambers in Yuegang, Songjiangfu, Tianjinwei and other places."

These chambers of commerce also generate substantial profits each year; they are businesses that many people find very enviable.

With Songjiang Prefecture, Tianjin, and Guangzhou officially opening to foreign trade, Yuegang, the first port to open to foreign trade in the Ming Dynasty, became less prominent due to its location in Fujian.

Being low-key doesn't mean business is plummeting.

In fact, the ship pilotage issued by Yuegang was a huge fortune.

Of these, nearly half of the ships ended up in the hands of several chambers of commerce in which Wei Guangde held shares, implying immense value.

Just think, Zhang Jing went to great lengths to obtain a single ship permit, so how valuable must the ship permits controlled by Wei Guangde be?
"If the Ming Dynasty Bank distributes three qian of silver as dividends per share annually, while other merchant guilds distribute four or even five qian of silver, would their shares also be traded for one tael of silver?"

Emperor Wanli was not envious of the profits of these merchant guilds, but rather keenly observed the differences between them.

“Your Majesty is right. This old servant had never thought of that at the time.”

It is likely that many of these chambers of commerce are already very mature, with high annual profits, and their dividends must exceed those of the Ming Dynasty's money shops.

If shares are sold and purchased, the annual dividends will definitely be substantial.

Following the Wanli Emperor's train of thought, Zhang Hong also realized the opportunity.

Up to now, they haven't realized that the price of shares is different, and they are still confined to the range of one tael of silver per share.

However, this did not prevent them from recognizing the opportunity to make more money.

Different chambers of commerce have different dividends per share, some higher and some lower.

Those who invest money naturally hope to reap higher returns.

At that time, the idea of ​​buying more high-dividend stocks had already quietly emerged in Emperor Wanli's mind.

"Zhang Hong, I'm leaving this matter to you to keep an eye on."

Once Master Wei submits his report on this matter, I will grant it and allow him to open the trading house as soon as possible.

Emperor Wanli said, "After that, we must urge Master Wei to trade those profitable chamber of commerce shares in the trading house as soon as possible."

You should buy up as much of these shares as possible.

"Your Majesty, but after the imperial treasury was invested in the Ming Dynasty Bank, I'm afraid there isn't much money left."

Zhang Hong hesitated before speaking.

"Don't worry, I will soon issue an edict to the Ministry of Revenue, instructing them to send 500,000 taels of silver to the palace for the Empress Dowager's use."

After some haggling, we should be able to get two or three hundred thousand taels of silver.

Also, isn't there still two or three hundred thousand taels of silver in Huguang?

Once these confiscated silver and valuables are in hand, organize their sale as soon as possible to raise funds for me.

Emperor Wanli had already set his sights on the Zhang family. Although Zhang Juzheng was his teacher, the emperor harbored considerable resentment towards him.

More than a decade of deception still makes Emperor Wanli feel a tightness in his chest when he thinks about it.

Zhang Juzheng himself lived a life of extravagance and debauchery in his residence, yet he taught him to be frugal. Did he really think that he could fool the emperor without paying a price?

In this lifetime, Emperor Wanli did not intend to exhume and whip the corpse.

However, the Zhang family's wealth cannot be clearly explained unless they sell the entire civil service group and expose their internal unspoken rules.

But the Zhang family didn't dare, and neither did Zhang Juzheng when he was in power.

Therefore, Emperor Wanli naturally used this as a pretext to directly confiscate the Zhang family's property.

In this way, they would have several hundred thousand taels of silver in their hands.

If those hundreds of thousands of taels of silver could be exchanged for shares in those profitable merchant guilds, the annual dividends would likely amount to at least 100,000 taels.

I can save it up slowly in the future, and maybe I can earn millions of taels of silver a year just from dividends.

"By the way, go down and tell Zhang Jing to be in charge of investigating which merchant guilds in our Great Ming are making money."

"Don't worry about the chamber of commerce that Master Wei has a stake in. Go check out the other chambers of commerce, and then give Master Wei their names so he can list his shares on the exchange."

At this time, Emperor Wanli already had the idea of ​​acquiring more shares in the profitable merchant guilds. With these shares, he could become a wealthy man and receive dividends every year.

As for robbing other people's wealth, Emperor Wanli never even considered it.

Zhang Juzheng's education of the Wanli Emperor prevented him from adopting the same tough attitude as the founding emperor, who would simply reach out and take whatever he wanted, relying on the power of his army.

Emperor Wanli still remembered that Master Wei was proud when he talked about his investments, saying that he devoted himself to official duties every year and was able to live a luxurious life by relying on dividends.

They had more money than they could spend, and at that time, Emperor Wanli could only feel extremely envious.

Now, it seems I can do that too.

Therefore, in Wei Guangde's view, Zhang Juzheng's biggest problem in front of Emperor Wanli was that he did not set an example, but instead said one thing to his face and another behind his back.

Little did he know that the emperor's heart cannot be insulted. His disrespectful attitude only considered the emperor's youth, unaware of the backlash that would ensue once the emperor came of age and assumed power.

"Bring me Hai Rui's memorial; I want to personally approve it."

The Wanli Emperor spoke.

If, after this memorial was submitted to the palace, Emperor Wanli hesitated, or deliberately delayed his reply for a period of time, then...

But at this moment, he couldn't wait any longer.

Zhang Hong found the memorial on the bookshelf and placed it on the imperial desk.

Immediately, he walked quickly to the side, opened a brocade lid, and the box was full of cinnabar.

After picking up his brush and dipping it in cinnabar, Emperor Wanli began to add red annotations to the blank spaces before the memorial.

Zhang Hong watched as Emperor Wanli wrote red annotations on the memorial, his eyes twitching slightly.

“I have served the country with utmost care, yet I have failed to be honest and dedicated to public service. I have committed a crime, and I hereby order the confiscation of my property, the stripping of all my titles and honors, the revocation of the official positions of the Zhang family members, and their demotion to commoners.”

Thus, it can be considered that Emperor Wanli believed Zhang Juzheng had committed embezzlement during his tenure.

After all, the Zhang family's wealth is indeed difficult to explain.

“Zhang Hong, the Zhang family has land and residence in Huguang. Write to Chen Ju and ask him to handle it personally.”

Leave the Zhang family a house and thirty acres of land; sell the rest as soon as possible and take the proceeds back to the capital.

After the stolen goods are deposited in the treasury, they should be liquidated in the capital as soon as possible, because my imperial treasury is about to be empty.

Emperor Wanli put down his vermilion brush, waved his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, strode out of the palace gate, and stood under the eaves looking up at the sky.

"The spring sunshine is bright and the weather is beautiful."

After Emperor Wanli finished speaking, a smile appeared on his lips.

Zhang Hong, holding Hai Rui's memorial in both hands, slowly walked out of the hall, bowed deeply beside the Wanli Emperor, and then walked out of the Qianqing Palace. (End of this chapter)