Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 149: Borrowing money to fight a war!

After extorting 50,000 taels of silver from Zheng Xier, Zhang Yunxiu scraped together another 100,000 taels of silver, totaling 150,000 taels.

With the 150,000 taels of silver in hand, Zhang Yunxiu called Hao Ren and Yang Youcai together. As soon as the three of them sat down, Zhang Yunxiu slapped the 150,000 taels of silver on the table.

He crossed his arms and said, "We have taken out all the money for our wives, you can do whatever you want."

The two looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment, and Yang Youcai asked tentatively, "Master Zhang, what are you doing?"

"Fight the Japanese pirates!" Zhang Yunxiu spit out these three words in a stern voice.

"Pay for it yourself?" Hao Ren looked surprised.

"You pay for it yourself, and when we win, we won't give a penny to the court!" Zhang Yunxiu bit his cheek and said seriously, "If you two are willing to join us, I will definitely report your merits to the emperor."

The two looked at each other, and it was Yang Youcai's turn to speak. He grinned, shook his head and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, don't tell us these empty words. Just say that if we win, what can we get?"

"Each of you pay 100,000 taels of silver, and after you win, I'll give you 10% of the spoils."

"Only 10%?"

Yang Youcai curled his lips, obviously dissatisfied with the result.

"10% is already a lot. The pirate island is full of silver. Even if you can capture a small piece of it, it will be enough for you to make a fortune." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and patiently explained to the two of them, "Besides, if you only pay the money, we still have to send people to pay the money, and we also have to dispatch people and run around. Even if you get 10%, it will be a lot."

"One and a half percent!" Yang Youcai's eyes flashed brightly and he directly stated his expectations.

"No." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and refused sternly.

This is his bottom line, and he cannot allow the two to break it at will.

Yang Youcai's face darkened immediately. He took a sip of tea, suppressed his anger, and then tilted his head and snorted, "Mr. Zhang, business has always been about give and take. You are really too overbearing for not allowing bargaining."

"If you don't want to do it, we'll find someone else. Anyway, there's no shortage of people taking this good business. At worst, we can go to Jiangnan with a shameless look." Zhang Yunxiu stared at Yang Youcai's profile without giving in.

The atmosphere was a little cold and awkward for a moment, and a terrible silence spread in the box.

Hao Ren, who had been watching the show, suddenly grinned and started to smooth things over: "Hey, hey, we are all old friends, why are you arguing? Old Yang, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but Master Zhang has contributed money and effort, and 10% is already a lot for us. If you keep forcing Master Zhang, you're being ungrateful."

After that, he smiled and looked at Zhang Yunxiu: "Master Zhang, but then again, fighting a war is like doing business, there are gains and losses. Although we have some assets, if one hundred thousand taels of silver go down the drain, it will be a huge loss."

Hearing the two people singing a duet, Zhang Yunxiu was too lazy to argue with them, so he said directly: "How about this, you lend me the money, and I will give you three percent interest every year?"

"If you lose the fight, what will you use to compensate?" Yang Youcai interrupted suddenly.

"Old Yang!" Hao Ren glared at him fiercely and scolded, "Don't you think about who Master Zhang is? How could he refuse our money? If you keep talking like this, I won't let you off."

"Don't worry, we have bought a lot of land in Songjiang Prefecture and we can definitely afford to compensate you." Zhang Yunxiu responded to the two in a cold voice.

The two of them smiled triumphantly, nodded, turned to look at Zhang Yunxiu, clasped their hands and said, "Since Master Zhang is determined to do this, then we two brothers will risk our lives to accompany you and lend this money to Master Zhang to do great things."

Zhang Yunxiu responded perfunctorily, left the teahouse and headed straight for the Forbidden City.

This is the most important juncture. We don’t have to give up the money, but the troops must be dispatched.

Relying on the private soldiers of the Duke of Wei's mansion and his own fleet for protection, Zhang Yunxiu was frightened and asked the emperor to dispatch troops.

The two met in the East Warm Pavilion, and Emperor Wanli ordered Wei Qing to give him a seat.

As soon as he sat down, Zhang Yunxiu left the stool and reported: "Your Majesty, I am ready to conquer Japan. Now all I need is an order from Your Majesty to dispatch 3,000 Qi's troops and 3,000 Liaodong border troops to join me in the expedition."

"Okay, I will draft an order right away." Emperor Wanli nodded, then leaned over and asked suspiciously, "Does the Ministry of Revenue really intend not to pay a single cent?"

"It's better if they don't pay, so they don't have to come and pick peaches later." Zhang Yunxiu curled his lips and said nonchalantly.

If he scraped together money from here and there, he could barely scrape together 500,000 taels of silver. If no one embezzled, it would be more than enough to support an army of 10,000 or 20,000 people and fight a major battle.

Emperor Wanli saw Zhang Yunxiu's face turn pale, thinking that he was worried about this matter, so he waved his hand and said, "How about this, I will give you 100,000 taels of silver from the treasury, and then I will give you the troops in Tianjin Wei to mobilize."

Zhang Yunxiu was stunned when he heard the voice.

He didn't expect that the always stingy Emperor Wanli would take the initiative to take money out of the inner treasury. For a moment, Zhang Yunxiu felt a little uneasy, wondering what the emperor was up to.

"Zhang Yunxiu, why are you looking at me like that?"

Emperor Wanli was somewhat dissatisfied with being looked at, and he asked with wide eyes. Zhang Yunxiu woke up as if from a dream, slapped his forehead, and laughed: "Oh, Your Majesty's grace is so great, I was immersed in it for a moment, and lost my manners. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"Okay, go down and prepare well. I want to hear good news by next year at the latest." Emperor Wanli seemed to be accustomed to such words. He shook his head and waved his hands impatiently.

"Yes."

Zhang Yunxiu replied respectfully and walked away.

At this time, Wei Qing hurriedly chased out of the palace gate, and the two of them continued walking side by side down the stairs in front of the Qianqing Palace.

At this time, white clouds floated in the air, the sun was high in the sky, and the flower beds on both sides of the stairs were full of beauty. A gentle breeze blew by, and the branches of the flowers in the flower beds swayed, bringing with them a refreshing fragrance.

Walking along bathed in the fragrance, Wei Qing's fair face trembled, and he tilted his head and asked with a smile: "Zhang Sicheng, do you know why the emperor is willing to pay this 100,000 taels of silver today?"

"Please give me some advice, Eunuch Wei." Zhang Yunxiu raised his eyebrows and clasped his hands together.

Wei Qing smiled and waved her orchid finger, and said in a shrill voice: "This is all Concubine Zheng whispering behind my back. She has always remembered your kindness, Zhang Sicheng, and asked us to find a chance to repay you, Master Zhang."

is her?

A beautiful woman with noble attire emerged in Zhang Yunxiu's mind.

Has even Wei Qing been won over by her now?

He felt a little alert in his heart, but he smiled and said, "Then Eunuch Wei, please thank the Imperial Concubine for me. We will definitely repay the Imperial Concubine for her kindness."

Wei Qing nodded, and the two continued to move forward.

Along the way, the two of them asked about each other's well-being and talked about some recent trivial things.

Only when they were about to leave the Meridian Gate did Zhang Yunxiu shout "Stop!", then he turned sideways, bowed to Wei Qing, and ran out of the Meridian Gate.

One month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In April, the south of the Yangtze River is already full of spring, with elm seeds blooming and willows sprouting new buds. The rolling spring water flows down from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and turns into huge waves at the Songjiang Prefecture at the estuary.

More than a hundred warships were lined up neatly on the dock of Shanghai County.

Hundreds of ships were crowded together, with flags flying, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The largest one is twenty zhang long, thirty zhang wide, forty to five zhang high, with three floors above and below, and war horses can walk on it as if it were flat ground.

At this time, the soldiers on the warship were dressed in uniform and looked solemn, staring straight at Zhang Yunxiu on the shore, waiting for him to give the final order.

Beside him, Xu Yuanchun, Xu Weizi, Wei Ming and others gathered together.

Glancing at the soldiers on the warship, Xu Weizhi was the first to say with a smile: "Zhang Sicheng, everyone is here. We can't help you with the rest. You can only rely on yourself."

"We've already given them a heads up. If they dare not obey your orders, just beat them up."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded, glanced at everyone, and then clasped his fists and said, "Everyone, with the help of Li Rusong's Liaodong Border Army and Qi's Army, we will surely win this battle. Please go back."

Everyone said a few auspicious words and then dispersed.

Zhang Yunxiu turned and walked away, but Xu Yuanchun suddenly grabbed his wrist. Zhang Yunxiu turned around and asked, "Brother, is there anything else?"

"Don't you want to go see Ruoxi again? Now that you're here." Xu Yuanchun said, pointing to a small house by the dock.

After a moment's silence, Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and replied, "No need. Please tell her for me, brother. When I come back this time, I will marry her and let her have a good rest."

"Okay, then I wish you a successful start and quick success." Xu Yuanchun said with a fist salute.

Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, glanced at the attic, turned around and boarded the giant ship.

(End of this chapter)