Chapter 350: The Nobles Fear the Wind, the People Love Gold

After the Lantern Festival, the New Year atmosphere has obviously faded away.

However, the issuance of national debts is still continuing, which is also the most important thing for the Ming Dynasty court.

The subscription of officials from the six ministries set a good example, and then the upper-class people such as the imperial concubines followed suit, and the total subscription of national debts easily exceeded 100,000.

Now the gold and silver of the Ming Dynasty are still in a state of shortage, and overseas gold and silver have not poured into China on a large scale, so the total amount of gold and silver is far less exaggerated than that of the later dynasty.

Now the national debt issued by the court has raised one million silver in such a short time, which is a very good result, and it can even be said to be half successful.

Of course, in this prosperous fundraising activity, some unharmonious factors have also appeared.

Although the officials of the Ming Dynasty are afraid of redundant personnel, the group of honors and relatives has a stable job, so they have the capital to not buy it. This time, the group of honors and relatives did not show active performance in this subscription wave.

Through marriages, the nobles have become a military group. After the Duke of Dingguo was stripped of his title and the Duke of Chengguo went crazy, even though the Duke of Ying, Zhang Mao, was dismissed from his post and stayed at home, he is still the leader of the entire military group in the capital.

"The storm overseas is so big, no one knows what will happen this year, it's better to keep the money in our own hands!" Zhang Mao also expressed his views after convening the nobles.

When the nobles such as Wu'an Hou saw Zhang Mao's statement, they followed the agreement of advancing and retreating together and decided not to participate in the subscription of national bonds this time, leaving Zhu Youtang to worry about the national bonds.

After sending people away, Zhang Ming looked worried and said, "Dad, the emperor is now determined to raise funds through national bonds. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for us to do this?"

"Is there any law that stipulates that military nobles must subscribe to national bonds?" Zhang Mao frowned slightly, and said like a dead pig not afraid of hot water.

Zhang Ming knew that there was definitely no such thing, but he also realized that his father's position had changed: "Although there was no such thing, I am worried that the person in the palace would resent our Yinggong Mansion!"

"Our Yinggong Mansion has fallen to this point, isn't it enough to resent it? I heard that Concubine Shao wanted to arrange a marriage for Prince Xing, you should pay attention to this matter and see which girl is suitable!" Zhang Mao glanced at his son, and then changed the subject.

Zhang Ming vaguely felt that there might be a big change this year, and immediately bowed his hands and said in a proper manner: "My son obeys the order!"

"Go! If you have nothing to do on weekdays, go to Prince Xing's Mansion more often!" Zhang Mao closed his eyes slightly and raised his hand gently.

He originally planned to spend the rest of his life listening to music in the brothel, but his grandson Zhang Lun was in danger on the way to Luzon, and now there is no news from the people he sent out, which has caused resentment in his heart.

If the emperor had not promoted the opening of the sea, if the emperor had not insisted on digging for gold overseas, how could his grandson have encountered such an unexpected event this time?

That's right. Although he knew that he couldn't show his resentment, he didn't plan to actively participate in this subscription, and even quietly prepared to do something.

Zhang Ming's premonition of major changes this year became stronger. After respectfully bowing, he turned around and prepared to go directly to the Prince Xing's Mansion.

Under the call of Duke of England Zhang Mao, the nobles in the capital were not enthusiastic about subscribing to national bonds, causing the subscription of national bonds to roll in front of a high mountain.

"It seems that the funds for gold mining in Luzon have to be found from other places!"

"What else can be done now? I think the court is afraid to increase taxes!"

"In fact, increasing taxes is understandable. Too low taxes are not conducive to the struggle of young people!"

...

Facing the decline in the national debt subscription wave, many people expected that the Ministry of Revenue could only sell 150,000 national debts at most, and the court would eventually choose to increase taxes on the people.

Just when everyone was depressed, something unexpected happened.

"The Ministry of Revenue just revealed that there are only the last 145,000 taels left!"

"What? How is this possible? How come more than 500,000 taels are missing all of a sudden?!"

"It is said that a super large order suddenly appeared and ate up 50,000 taels at once!"

...

When everyone thought that the subscription of national debt had reached a bottleneck, who knew that Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared and actually dropped a full 500,000 taels at once.

In fact, the capital has always been full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Many families were already wealthy when the Ming Dynasty was first established. After so many years of lending, wealth has been growing.

There are so many people in the capital who can get 500,000 taels at once that they can't count them with two hands. The wealth of some big families is far beyond imagination, and they can even solve the national debt of 3 million taels directly by themselves.

It's one thing to be able to take it out, but there has been a warning since ancient times that "wealth should not be exposed".

Now, openly showing your wealth will not only become a target for the current emperor to kill, but also a stepping stone for the official of the Ministry of Education to get promoted.

That's right. When they learned that someone had received 500,000 taels, everyone was not shocked by his financial strength, but surprised by his irrational behavior.

"Who?"

"Guess!"

"It can't be..."

"You guessed right!"

"... I haven't guessed yet!"

Although the lower-class people didn't know about the appearance of a large subscriber of 500,000 taels, it soon became an open secret among the upper class.

However, after learning about the person who subscribed for 500,000 taels, many people sighed.

In the north of the city, in front of the Royal Cloth Shop, several carts slowly stopped at the door.

"Shopkeeper Sun, the goods have arrived!"

"Here we come! Quickly notify the accounting office to count and put it into storage!"

Liu Ying has the arrogance of a thirteenth mother. Nowadays, more and more women are working with her in weaving, and she has even recruited a group of apprentices, so that her team is getting bigger and bigger.

Now we can only hire people to push carts from house to house to collect the woven cotton cloth, and then escort the carts to deliver the cotton cloth here, and finally complete this checkout.

Shopkeeper Sun had more and more dealings with Liu Ying, and he liked this woman who was serious about her work, so he asked the waiter to notify the accountant and arrange manpower to unload the goods.

Shopkeeper Li from the Royal Bank next door had just put a noble lady on the sedan and left, and then came over to bask in the sun with shopkeeper Sun and said, "I thought I had subscribed for a lot of the bejeweled Madam Gaoming just now, but in the end I only got three treasury bonds! "

"So you can't judge people by their appearance. Maybe the next person is wearing cotton clothes and ends up subscribing for 50,000 tickets at once!" Shopkeeper Sun directed his men to carry cotton cloth and also had a chat with Shopkeeper Li.

"Shopkeeper Li, my little girl Liu Ying, may I excuse you!" Liu Ying, who was about to enter the store, noticed the lack of communication here and said politely.

Shopkeeper Li hid his hands in his sleeves. He looked up at the energetic woman in front of him and said, "I know you! When I first came here, I heard shopkeeper Sun say that you are capable. What's the matter?"

"You just mentioned the national debt. I wonder if we ordinary people can subscribe to it?" Liu Ying has been hearing other people talking about the national debt for a while, and she can't help but be a little more curious.

Shopkeeper Li was startled for a moment, then nodded seriously: "Of course you can, there is no distinction between high and low in subscribing to national bonds! It's just that one national bond is equivalent to ten taels of silver, and if it is converted into cloth coupons, it also costs three cloth coupons. This is not cheap. !”

"Ten taels is indeed a lot, how do you calculate the expiration date?" Liu Ying nodded in agreement, but continued to inquire.

Shopkeeper Li is a warm-hearted person, and he explained: "One cent interest! If you spend ten taels of silver to subscribe for a national bond now, it will be eleven taels by this time next year. If you spend ten cloth notes, next year At this time, there are eleven cloth tickets, which is much more cost-effective than keeping them at home. "

"I understand this. If we subscribe now, will we get certificates or treasury bonds?" Liu Ying was still a little confused and asked her doubts.

Shopkeeper Li knew that the woman in front of him must be someone who knew about national debt, so he smiled and explained: "If you subscribe for more than ten bills, you can register it at the Royal Bank. If you lose the receipt, you can also withdraw it in person at the Royal Bank. If there are less than ten, you can only get bearer treasury bonds, which will be the same type of treasury bonds, and our bank will recognize the votes but not the person. "

"Thank you, shopkeeper Li, for informing me!" Liu Ying realized that this was similar to the situation of handing out tickets, so she thanked him immediately.

Shopkeeper Li watched Liu Ying turn and leave, shook her head gently and sighed: "This woman seems to want to share the country's worries, but it is difficult for ordinary people to get 10 taels of silver for a national debt! "

"Since His Majesty came to the throne, not only has he never raised taxes, but he has also reduced taxes for the people in disguise by clearing the land. He has also lowered the prices of salt and cotton. Nowadays, many people grow cotton and make some money. You don't have to just focus on it. Just like the dignitaries above, ordinary people may not be able to subscribe for a national bond!" Shopkeeper Sun came from an out-and-out lower-class background and warned very seriously.

He comes from a down-to-earth background, but he knows that ordinary people have always been willing to break a copper plate in half and have always had a tradition of saving.

Now that we have met a good monarch who is rare in a century, it not only reduces the people's expenses, but also increases their income, causing many people to save a little money one after another.

That's why the hard-working people are actually potential customers now. They may not be unable to contribute to the court and are tied to the country's interests in mining the Luzon gold mines.

"People who have a lot of money only spend money to subscribe for one or two national bonds. How can ordinary people spend their money to subscribe? Don't be kidding me!" Shopkeeper Li looked at the sedan that had disappeared and looked disapproving.

But at this time, Liu Ying came back: "Shopkeeper Li, I just discussed with my sisters, and the cloth tickets and cash on me are only enough to subscribe for ten tickets, so please give us ten tickets first, and we will try again in the afternoon. Come and subscribe!”

"Ten pieces?" Shopkeeper Li stared in disbelief when he heard this amount.

Shopkeeper Sun watched this scene from the side, with a smile on his lips. He already knew all this.

Thanks to the good policies of the imperial court, although these weaver girls have been working day and night, they have also made a lot of money. Each of them has more than enough money to subscribe for one national bond.

Liu Ying was stunned and asked nervously: "Didn't you just say that ordinary people can subscribe? Is ten too many?"

"No, not much, you have to subscribe... Haha, a few of you, please come in!" Shopkeeper Li recovered from the shock, and then put on a smile to greet the guests.

Liu Ying's face looked a little embarrassed. She asked Shopkeeper Li to wait for a moment, and then turned to look at Shopkeeper Sun who was watching the show next to her.

By this time, the number had been counted.

Shopkeeper Sun settled the account very happily and then handed the money to Liu Ying.

Liu Ying took a few women to the Royal Bank next door, and gave the money she had to shopkeeper Li, and finally exchanged it for ten exquisitely designed treasury bonds.

"This is a national debt bill. It's so beautifully painted!"

"Not only is it beautiful, this ticket also has a fragrance!"

"Okay, keep them well, and you can get an extra ounce next year!"

"I just heard that it may be converted into gold when it matures next year, so can I make a gold bracelet?"

"They have already emphasized that the gold mining must be successful and the gold shipped back must be sufficient, otherwise they will not redeem the gold!"

...

After Liu Ying came out, she distributed the corresponding national debt to her companions, but when faced with her companions' fantasies, she was forced back to reality.

The Royal Cloth Shop provided them with a livelihood, and now the Royal Bank allowed them to enjoy interest and even exchange for gold, making them feel like they were dreaming.

"The gold ore brought back by those young masters, I saw it from afar, it's really beautiful!"

"I saw it that day too. If I could have a piece of gold ore, I would be willing to die!"

"The gold mine has been found. As long as the court builds bridges and paves roads, it will mine gold. I believe the court will transport the gold back before the end of the year!"

"I really hope the new year will come soon. I don't want anything else. I just want the gold from Luzon. Then I will make a pair of gold locks for my daughter!!"

...

These women are all innocent and casual, but they believe that the court's gold mining this time will be smooth sailing. They have already started to think about gold and even hope that time will come soon.

Liu Ying shook her head gently, but in fact she also had expectations in her heart.

There is no secret among women, not to mention that it is related to gold. This matter quickly spread throughout the entire female weaver circle, and these women flocked to it as if they heard that the goods were reduced in price and on sale.

"I'll buy one!"

"I'll buy one!"

"I'll buy two!"

...

In the afternoon, the Royal Bank became a place where women rushed to buy. A group of women surrounded the entire store, and the women who got the national debt screamed excitedly.

Although Shopkeeper Sun knew that these weavers had some savings, he couldn't help but twitch violently several times when he saw such a crazy scene at the door of the Royal Cloth Shop.

That night, Shopkeeper Li, who was exhausted, conducted an inventory and found that he had sold two thousand tickets today.

But the matter was not over. Although the number of female weavers dropped sharply the next day, it ushered in a rush of buying by ordinary people.

"I'll buy one!"

"I'll buy one!"

"I'll buy two!"

...

Although ordinary people subscribed in small amounts, they could not resist their large base. In just one morning, thousands of tickets were sold. This sales speed is terrifying.

Faced with the endless stream of people, Shopkeeper Li couldn't help but ask one of them, "You... Aren't you worried that the court won't pay?"

In fact, his family was not bad, and his family had hundreds of taels of silver in their banknotes, but he only dared to subscribe to two bills this time, and he slept very uneasy that day.

"Which traitor dares to interfere?" Facing Shopkeeper Li's question, the old man Li immediately asked with his beard puffed.

Before Shopkeeper Li answered, an old man behind him echoed, "Yes, if any traitor dares to make such a suggestion, the emperor will definitely chop off his head!"

This...

Shopkeeper Li found that these people were not worried about the same thing as he was. He was worried about the emperor's breach of contract from the beginning to the end, while these people focused their attention on the civil and military ministers, as if they had never worried that the emperor would change his mind.

Perhaps, before everyone knew it, the emperor had already walked out of the hearts of the vast majority of ordinary people, so that the people now did not doubt that the emperor would breach the contract.

With an emperor who loves his people so much and people who support him so much, why should the Ming Dynasty not stand at the top of the world? (End of this chapter)