Mingzhou City was a small harbor, though rather than calling it a harbor, it would be more accurate to describe it as a fishing port. The fleet couldn’t enter the harbor; only a few small boats docked at the shore, preparing to sell the pirate spoils they had seized in Mingzhou.
Back when they were in Lingnan, Yun Ye had already sent the Yun Family steward by land route to notify the major merchant houses assembled outside the Five Ridges, telling them to gather in Mingzhou—he had some goods to sell. He told them not to worry about insufficient merchandise, only whether their silver could satisfy His Lordship.
For the sake of profit, merchants act swiftly. When those expectant merchants stood on the coast and saw the cloud-like forest of masts and sails in the distance, cheers thundered—what a magnificent fleet this was!
Clearly, the pirate spoils couldn’t satisfy these merchants’ appetites. In just one hour, the spoils had turned into copper coins and silver. These petty items—Yun Ye didn’t accept gold. What the soldiers needed was solid copper coins. Silver was also acceptable, but gold was too far removed from them.
After buying the spoils, the scene fell silent. Dozens of major merchants simultaneously fixed their gazes on the Yun Family steward Ding Qiao. Like the other Yun Family managers, he had the annoying habit of drinking tea from a small teapot. He slurped a mouthful of hot tea, set down the teapot, and only then smiled at those major merchants and said, “Distinguished managers, that was just a small benefit my lord arranged for his soldiers—the spoils seized after the soldiers defeated the pirates. So the scene was rather modest. My apologies. It’s my fault, Ding Qiao, for not explaining clearly. I hereby apologize to you all.” He then rose and made a bow in all four directions.
“Manager Ding, we all came to this small city from thousands of miles away for the sake of the Yun Family’s reputation. Don’t you dare tell us that Marquis Yun would take tribute meant for His Majesty and sell it. Even if your family has the guts to sell it, we don’t have the guts to buy it. Silver is good, but this old man isn’t prepared to gamble the lives of his entire family, young and old, for silver.”
In an instant, the entire hall erupted in noise, unanimously demanding that the Yun Family give everyone an explanation—they absolutely didn’t have the courage to touch tribute items.
Ding Qiao suddenly burst out laughing, pointing at the managers in the hall and saying, “You gentlemen have all traveled far and wide and are well-informed. How is it that today, one by one, you’ve all become so dull?” The hall immediately quieted down, everyone craning their necks, waiting for Ding Qiao to explain his reasoning.
“Gentlemen, let’s not even mention that His Majesty gave my lord the imperial decree to act as he sees fit. Let’s talk about what the imperial court actually needs. I’ll be frank with you all—my lord’s flagship, that magnolia boat you all saw, has its cabin filled with rare treasures. I won’t hide it from you—I, Old Ding, have seen my share of things, but when I saw those treasures, I actually wet my pants. My feet couldn’t move. I was carried through the treasury by my family’s guards. From that, you can imagine how astonishing those treasures are.”
“What does the imperial court actually need? Those highly valuable treasures that can’t bring the court half a bit of benefit? What the imperial court needs is copper coins, silver, gold, grain, iron ingots, copper ingots, silk, hemp cloth, salt—these things. Officials need silver and gold to pay salaries. Soldiers need copper coins and silver for rewards. The army on distant campaigns needs weapons and provisions. His Majesty can’t very well distribute salaries to officials by giving one person a coral sculpture and another a pearl. When soldiers win battles, are we supposed to give each person a gemstone? What kind of system would that be?”
“Our Majesty is not a monarch who loves wealth and goods. If my lord brings a ship full of treasures back to Chang’an and you think about it—selling all these treasures at once—would they still be treasures? They’d just be a damn pile of rocks.”
“So you see, my lord’s first thought was of us merchants. Only we can exchange those treasures for money, weapons, provisions, cloth, and silk for His Majesty—these practical things. These are what His Majesty truly needs.”
“Gentlemen, you just said that if tribute items were sold casually, your whole family would die. You all have families, young and old—doesn’t my lord have the same? Don’t I, Old Ding, have the same?”
“You’ve all seen this matter—it’s all being conducted openly and aboveboard, not hidden from the authorities. The governor is currently on the ship drinking tea and talking with my lord. His Majesty’s personal eunuch is also there, as are eight thousand naval soldiers. Who could we hide it from? Even if my lord bribed all these people, do you think His Majesty wouldn’t know?”
“So gentlemen, put your hearts at ease. Bring out your money and resources and prepare to profit! This is definitely good business. Right now there are too many treasures, so the prices won’t be too high. Whether you keep them for your descendants or sell them on the market, either choice is excellent.”
When Old Ding finished speaking, the scene erupted in chaos. The earlier worry was only because these items bore the name of tribute, so subconsciously they assumed these things couldn’t be touched—whoever touched them would die. Thinking carefully, it really was as he said. What would the imperial family do with those treasures? Keep them for His Majesty alone to play with? Was that possible? When His Majesty kept a bird, Wei Zheng made such a fuss that it was smothered to death in His Majesty’s arms. If all these things entered the imperial palace, wouldn’t the court ministers harass him to death? Old Ding’s words made great sense.
The bold ones were already preparing money, calculating whether silk or iron ingots would be more economical. The timid were still observing. The sale location was right by the sea. When the smiling Mingzhou Governor Liang Kai came down from the ship, he was immediately surrounded by merchants, all wanting to hear what the local official had to say.
Mingzhou Governor Liang Kai pressed his hands downward, signaling for everyone to quiet down. Once the scene calmed, he said, “Gentlemen want to ask something, and this official can guess somewhat—isn’t it the question of whether His Majesty’s tribute items can be sold? Now this official will answer: absolutely yes. This is also the conclusion this official reached after examining His Majesty’s decree. As long as you gentlemen pay taxes in my Mingzhou, there’s not a bit of problem. Hehe, honestly speaking, in a moment, this official also wants to buy a couple of items as family heirlooms. When that time comes, please don’t compete with this poor official. I beg you, I beg you.” After speaking, he loudly called for his steward to go home and prepare money.
This dispelled the last trace of doubt among the merchants, and they prepared their funds, ready to display their prowess…
Today was lively on the ship. There was one more person qualified to board Yun Ye’s flagship—that was the head manager of the bank in Jiangnan.
“Old Zhou, this is too much! The Yun Family also invested some money in the bank. Why haven’t we seen a single coin of profit yet? All I hear is Huang Zhi’en bragging about how profitable the bank is, opening one branch here, another there. Why hasn’t the family received any returns? You didn’t embezzle it, did you?”
The head manager’s face was as bitter as bitter melon. “My good Lordship, who would dare embezzle your money? Her Majesty has spoken, saying the bank is very important to the Great Tang. Right now it needs to expand comprehensively, and shareholders are not permitted to receive dividends. We’ll talk about it later. With that said, who would still dare distribute dividends?”
“I remember besides Her Majesty the major shareholder, there are three minor shareholders—the Crown Prince, Prince Wei, plus me. I have no objection to Her Majesty cheating her two sons, but why must I be cheated along with them?”
“Since Her Majesty can even bring herself to do this to her own sons, Your Lordship, being schemed against isn’t such a big deal. How about after you return to the capital, you personally go ask Her Majesty?”
“Damn you, Old Zhou! What kind of rotten idea is that? Right now, I fear nothing more than running into Her Majesty and His Majesty. I’m avoiding them like the plague. Why would you have me deliver myself to their doorstep?”
The Jiangnan head manager Old Zhou was also an old acquaintance, a veteran employee from when the bank opened. He was only promoted to head manager this year—a very capable person. In less than a year, he’d made the business flourish. Huang Zhi’en certainly hadn’t misjudged him.
“Your Lordship, you are the guarantor. Shouldn’t we use this transaction to clear the bank’s outstanding debts? I’ve calculated—it’s not much, only about four hundred thousand strings of cash. Will you settle with treasures or repay with copper coins?”
Yun Ye, who was drinking tea, suddenly sprayed the tea from his mouth and nostrils. Pointing with a trembling finger, he asked Old Zhou, “Are you saying that not only have I received no dividends, but I now owe four hundred thousand strings in debt?”
“That’s right, Your Lordship. It’s there in black and white—you can’t deny the debt. Isn’t your signature right there?”
“Why don’t I remember ever signing anything? I remember the bank’s accounting discipline is strict. Even my wife isn’t qualified to sign on my behalf. My son would also need to come of age before his signature would be valid.”
“That’s correct, Your Lordship. Indeed so. That’s why your signature was personally signed on your behalf by Her Majesty. Her Majesty conveniently also signed on behalf of the Crown Prince and Prince Wei, taking a low-interest loan of three hundred eighty thousand strings from the bank. Principal and interest total over four hundred thousand strings. How would you like to repay it?”
Yun Ye’s vision sparkled with stars. He’d been cheated—he’d been massively cheated! No wonder Zhangsun had been so generous in giving Yun Ye a ten percent share back then. This was premeditated from the start—at the critical moment, he could be used as a scapegoat, enjoying the same treatment as her two biological sons. This woman really deserved to be struck by lightning—she had the face of Guanyin but specialized in doing Pandora’s deeds.
In this world, even the strictest regulations had no binding force on her. No wonder when he was formulating the terms back then, she smiled and clapped on the side, saying they were well made. Now he understood—this opened a huge backdoor just for her, so she could hollow out the bank like a mouse.
“How many such debts are there in total?” Yun Ye worried she would take other people’s money from the bank without restraint. This would cause the bank’s credibility to collapse, and the imperial family’s credibility would collapse along with it. This was a terrible matter, not to be taken lightly.
“Rest assured, Your Lordship. This is a loan figure reached after multiple calculations by the bank. Four hundred thousand strings won’t affect the bank’s operations. Head Manager Huang originally wanted Her Majesty to borrow seven hundred thousand strings, but after weighing it carefully several times, Her Majesty made the decision to borrow three hundred eighty thousand strings. Her Majesty said the money in the bank all belongs to the people. She cannot borrow without restraint—resolving the urgent need is enough. She also said she would never again violate the bank’s regulations in the future. What a wonderful Empress! Having such an empress in the imperial court is our good fortune.” Only then did Yun Ye breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing self-restraint was good. Otherwise, she could wait for the people to rebel!
“Since it was Her Majesty who borrowed the money, why don’t you go find Her Majesty instead of coming to me?”
“Hehe, we don’t dare look for Her Majesty. His Highness the Crown Prince went to the grasslands to fight and can’t be found, nor is it appropriate to look for him. Prince Wei has already thrown three managers out of his mansion. We heard you’d returned, so we rushed here at full speed. Now this sum of money finally has a solution.” Old Zhou shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair, seeming quite pleased.