On that day, there was an endless stream of officials coming to the Imperial Commissioner's Yamen to "voluntarily" pledge funds and donate silver. The carriages and sedan chairs coming in and out blocked the broad avenue in front of the Imperial Commissioner's Yamen, stretching for hundreds of meters.
It was rare to see such a traffic jam in ancient times, and Zhu Ping'an felt like he was dreaming of modern times.
Yes.
Zhu Ping'an also came. He came with Deputy Envoy Bai. Deputy Envoy Bai came to raise funds and donate silver on behalf of the Zhejiang Judicial and Surveillance Office, while Zhu Ping'an came to raise funds and donate silver on behalf of the Zhejiang Army.
When he arrived at the gate, Zhu Ping'an found that not only the government offices but also the gentry and wealthy businessmen from Yingtian and surrounding areas had come.
Zhu Ping'an found a wealthy businessman with a big belly to understand the situation. He learned that they had received verbal notifications from officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works in Yingtian, which conveyed Zhao Wenhua's intention and asked them to voluntarily raise money to support the sea sacrifice.
There was a constant stream of traffic in front of the Imperial Commissioner's Office, and there was a constant stream of people inside the Imperial Commissioner's Office.
The scene was just like a wedding in the imperial envoy's office. Five large tables were set up in the courtyard, and five clerks were keeping accounts behind the tables. Under their feet were large boxes filled with gold, silver and banknotes, piled up like a mountain of gold and silver, and the glittering gold almost blinded people's eyes.
Officials, gentry and wealthy businessmen lined up, reported their offices or names of their roots, and handed in the silver they had pledged. After the clerks carefully counted and confirmed the amount was correct, they recorded it one by one in the account book.
Zhu Ping'an and Deputy Envoy Bai lined up and paid their silver, but they were not even given a chance to meet Zhao Wenhua.
There were many people who wanted to meet Zhao Wenhua in person, but only those officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen who had excess silver, or a significantly excess silver, were qualified to meet Zhao Wenhua in person.
Zhu Ping'an asked around on the spot and was told that only those with more than three thousand taels would have the opportunity to meet Zhao Wenhua.
Is three thousand taels too much
Of course it was more. Most officials in those days only received a few dozen taels of silver a year. However, there were still many people willing to pledge more than 3,000 taels, mostly gentry and wealthy businessmen, especially the wealthy businessmen.
Zhu Ping'an heard at the scene that a wealthy businessman from Yingtian had pledged a total of 10,000 taels of silver, was warmly received by Zhao Wenhua, and was also qualified to have dinner with Zhao Wenhua.
As for how much silver is required to have dinner together, there is no clear standard. It is determined by Zhao Wenhua himself after the meeting. It is said that six people have obtained the qualification to have dinner together, and they have pledged at least 6,000 taels of silver. It feels a bit like Buffett's charity dinner.
Zhu Ping'an estimated that Zhao Wenhua could conservatively receive more than 100,000 taels of silver today...
Making a fortune every day is not enough to describe it. No wonder Zhao Wenhua stayed in Jiangnan for so long in the future.
The richness of the southeast coast can be seen from this scene.
Zhu Ping'an walked around the crowd and silently memorized the names of those gentry and wealthy businessmen who were received by Zhao Wenhua, especially those who were qualified to have dinner with him.
Those who transferred large amounts of profits to Zhao Wenhua all had some problems.
At present, merchants doing normal business in the southeast are generally reluctant to give so much silver, and there is no need to spend so much money. Of course, it does not rule out some merchants who want to curry favor with the powerful, but they are a minority after all.
At present, the most profitable industry in Jiangnan is maritime trade smuggling, especially after the maritime ban, the huge profits from maritime trade smuggling are beyond imagination. Many merchants and local gentry took the risk to participate in smuggling, and many officials also secretly participated in smuggling.
At present, although capitalism is developing in European countries, Ming Dynasty is definitely the world's undisputed economic and trade center. The demand for Ming Dynasty's silk, porcelain, cotton cloth and other commodities in overseas markets including Japan, Portugal and other European countries is also growing rapidly.
However, the Ming Dynasty was now implementing a maritime ban, and the official channels for maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty were completely cut off.
However, there was still a huge demand for Ming Dynasty products overseas. As long as silk, porcelain and other commodities were shipped to the sea and traded with Japan and European countries, they could get ten or a hundred times the profit return, which was just like robbing money.
The huge profits prompted many local gentry and merchants along the coast of the Ming Dynasty to take risks and start smuggling, risking the extermination of their clans for violating the imperial ban. Some officials also secretly participated in smuggling.
In addition to the risk of investigation by the imperial court, smuggling overseas itself has its own risks. There are no rules at sea, the strong prey on the weak, and there is a risk of being robbed.
Therefore, organized smuggling and armed smuggling were prevalent. Sometimes smugglers would also work part-time as robbers. Some directly became big pirates. This is how Wang Zhen became a big Japanese pirate. Even if they did not become pirates, they had an unclear relationship with the Japanese pirates, and it was not uncommon for them to secretly collude with the Japanese pirates.
Many times, when the imperial court was suppressing the Japanese pirates, it was these people who colluded with the pirates and informed the pirates of the movements of the imperial army.
Considering the background of Zhao Wenhua coming to offer sacrifices to the sea and fight against the Japanese pirates, Zhu Ping'an could almost conclude that most of these businessmen, gentry and officials who transferred huge profits to Zhao Wenhua were participants in smuggling.
Smuggling brings huge profits. When domestic goods are shipped overseas, the profit can be more than ten times. It is like making money from the wind, so they do not hesitate to bribe. Currently, the main source of bribes for the Yan Party is people like Jiangnan.
With the protection of Zhao Wenhua and others, they can receive special care, protect their smuggling business, and avoid disaster in the suppression of Japanese pirates.
They are willing to pay for peace and protection, and they are rushing to pay.
Zhu Ping'an secretly kept these people in mind, and followed the clues to find them, thinking that they might be the breakthrough point in the future.
I guess I have spent two hundred taels of silver to buy this information today, Zhu Ping'an consoled himself.
There was a constant stream of traffic in front of the Imperial Commissioner's Office, which gradually thinned out at dusk.
It wasn't until the evening that things finally quieted down.
Inside the imperial envoy's office, Zhao Wenhua looked at the five boxes of gold and silver and a box of silver fruits in his servants. His face flushed, his eyes were full of sparkling light, and the corners of his mouth were raised so that they couldn't be lowered.
A total of 120,000 taels of silver. Jiangnan, ah Jiangnan, it is indeed a fertile land. It is really the right decision to come out this time.
hehe
I'm really enjoying myself here.
However, Zhang Jing is really abominable. He is stubborn and determined to go against me! He even scolded and drove out the people I sent. You have to look at the owner before beating the dog. He didn't even give them any face!
"Have all parties delivered the silver?" Zhao Wenhua turned his gaze away from the silver and asked his trusted accountant brought from the capital.
"Basically, they have all been delivered." The trusted accountant replied, "Except for a few officials such as Governor Zhang's office, Zhejiang Governor Li Tianchong, and Chun'an County Magistrate Hai Rui, all other officials have delivered."
Zhang Jing didn't send the silver in the end. He was determined to go against me! And Li Tianchong, that old bastard!
Who is Hai Rui? Where did this person come from who seeks fame and reputation? I have made a note of this. Wait, you will suffer the consequences!
Zhao Wenhua looked a little unhappy, and then he confirmed, "Has the silver allocated to the Zhejiang Army been delivered?"
"Lord Zhu delivered it early." The trusted accountant replied.
"You're quite tactful." Zhao Wenhua was slightly satisfied.