The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Lubu, Lubu."

Wei Guangde stood at the door of his office and couldn't see the clerk, so he simply shouted twice.

After he finished speaking, he saw Lu Bu quickly walking outside the courtyard gate and running in, holding a stack of rice paper and ink sticks in his hand.

"Master Wei, I went to the warehouse to get something."

When Lu Bu ran to Wei Guangde, he still took a few breaths before speaking hurriedly.

"Put down your things and go outside the gate to see if my entourage is there. Zhang Ji, you should know him. Bring him in."

Wei Guangde ordered.

Lu Bu entered the room and put the things on the desk, then turned around and ran out.

They, the scribes in the Hanlin Academy, only do this kind of errand work on weekdays, so they have nothing to complain about.

"Wait a minute. I'll ask my servant to send a message to them first and ask them to collect the money. I'll go over there in the afternoon and pick up the money and deliver it to you directly."

Wei Guangde turned around and said to Yin Shizhen.

"Guangde, thank you very much for your help. Please don't tell me anything when the time comes."

Yin Shizhen felt relieved now, but he did not forget to remind him, "Oh, by the way, one thousand taels of silver is still a bit eye-catching. If possible, please exchange it for a coupon from several money shops in the capital."

"Okay, I'll ask them to exchange them for meeting tickets, one thousand taels each. I'll give you one thousand taels of silver today. In addition, I will ask them to raise more silver for later use."

Wei Guangde readily agreed. He had already agreed, and it would be in vain to think of anything else.

After a while, Lu Bu took Zhang Ji into the public house. When they arrived, Yin Shizhen had already left.

"Zhang Ji, you go to Huitong Commercial Bank to find Mr. Lin and tell him that I will go there to pick up some money in the afternoon and ask him to prepare a meeting note for one thousand taels of silver for me."

After Lu Bu went out, Wei Guangde ordered Zhang Ji.

"Yes, Master, I'll go right away."

Zhang Ji agreed, then turned around and walked out.

In the afternoon, Wei Guangde left the Hanlin Academy early in the name of going to Shuntian Mansion to check the pen and ink money. However, before he could go far, he asked Li Shuli to deal with it himself and got into the carriage driven by Li San.

Secretary Li had nothing to say about this. In fact, most of the men in the Hanlin Academy would run around under various banners on weekdays, so it was no longer strange.

"Go to Huitong Trading Company."

Wei Guangde got on the carriage and gave instructions to Li San who was driving.

As the carriage started running, Wei Guangde felt very uncomfortable sitting in the carriage. Although the carriage was covered with thick cotton cushions, it was still uncomfortable.

When the carriage arrived outside the door of Huitong Trading Company, Wei Guangde immediately jumped out of the carriage.

Young people can tolerate a little bumping, but they just feel uncomfortable and have nothing else to do. No wonder the gentlemen in the capital prefer to ride in sedan chairs rather than carriages and other means of transportation.

As for improving the shock absorption of the carriage, Wei Guangde knew about it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

In fact, when he was in Jiujiang Prefecture, he asked someone to try to make a spring, but it obviously failed. As for the steel plate shock absorption he had heard of, he didn't understand how it was done.

These days, materials and craftsmanship are still very lacking. Many of the things he proposed cannot be made by craftsmen and can only be made into soft cushions. It is no wonder that Chinese people like things like carpets from the north to be spread in carriages and sedan chairs.

Wei Guangde saw Zhang Ji when he entered the door, followed by Mr. Lin.

"Mr. Lin's business is booming."

Wei Guangde walked over and said with a smile.

This store is not far from the Hanlin Academy. It is the new store on Chongwenmenli Street mentioned last time. It has been opened. On the day of the opening, Wei Guangde not only called Jiujiang Prefecture and other Jiangxi students of the same year, but also Jinshi from other provinces. I got a lot of calls from my colleagues in the Hanlin Academy.

Although everyone's grades are not high, there are indeed many people, and the momentum has been achieved.

"Sir Wei, please come inside. I'll give you a pack of the newly arrived Yuqian tea later and take it back to you for a taste."

When Mr. Lin saw Wei Guangde, his old face smiled like a chrysanthemum, he rushed to welcome him into the back room.

After sitting down, Wei Guangde tasted Yuqian tea, which was West Lake Longjing tea. Wei Guangde liked to drink it more, and then nodded, "Good tea."

"Haha, it's fine if you like it, adults. I don't know if I've finished the Mingqian tea I gave you last time. If it's not enough, I'll get more later."

Mr. Lin answered cheerfully.

"Thank you very much. Let's get down to business first. Are the tickets ready?"

Wei Guangde nodded and immediately started talking about business.

For Huitong Commercial Bank, it is really not difficult to come up with a thousand taels of silver. As long as Wei Guangde does not withdraw tens of thousands of taels of silver at once, it will be easy to handle. If the amount is large, it will still take a few days to raise.

"My lord, wait a moment."

Mr. Lin took out a few pieces of paper from a box on the bookshelf. They looked like fine rice paper, but the color was slightly different, and there were complicated patterns, text, and seals on them.

"Sir, you said you would prepare a thousand taels of silver. I also prepared some more, but I don't know if I can use it."

As Mr. Lin spoke, he handed over the meeting ticket in his hand.

Wei Guangde took it and looked at it. Three tickets worth one thousand taels were issued by Shengyuan Pawn Shop in the capital. Wei Guangde was relieved.

Shengyuan Pawn Shop is actually Shengyuan Money Shop. The identity of the owner behind it is very mysterious. No one knows who it is, but its power is one of the most powerful in the capital.

When they opened their doors to do business, they were actually engaged in money business. They not only operated pawnshops, but also engaged in money lending. There was also an industry that was less noticed by later generations, and that was exchange.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, most of the folk circulation was copper coins. There were good coins minted by the government and bad coins minted privately. The exchange business was actually the exchange of silver coins and copper coins.

As far as Wei Guangde knows, this business is actually very profitable.

Think about it, the major banks in later generations are very keen on engaging in intermediary business, and you can come up with one or two things by earning the handling fees.

It should be noted that there were no banknotes in the Ming Dynasty. What Wei Guangde used was the meeting vote, which was a kind of bill that could only be used with restrictions, just like the one Mr. Lin gave him last time. For the note, the money was deposited into the Lin family in Jiujiang Prefecture. The Lin family issued a meeting note and designated it to be paid in the capital. In fact, it was considered a kind of meeting vote, and he needed to collect the money himself.

As for the three conference tickets in his hand now, they can actually be understood as pawn tickets, which need to be exchanged for a specified amount of silver or stored items at a designated store. They are similar to the banknotes in Wei Guangde's perception.

This means that only in the capital can people recognize the votes issued by a small number of powerful people. Outside the capital, such bills cannot be circulated.

In this era, commercial credit has not been established, so most people do not accept such votes when doing business. When doing business, they will ask customers to go to the money shop to exchange for cash transactions, so Lin Erye asked Wei Guangde to ask for the votes. Still very curious.

Wei Guangde collected the meeting ticket, took out the note from his pocket and handed it to Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin picked up the note and walked to the desk. He picked up the brush on the table and dipped it in ink to write the instructions for withdrawing the money in the blank space below the note. The amount and date, finally stamped with his own seal, took out an account book from the bookshelf and turned it over to a page to record, and then returned the note to Wei Guangde.

"Second Master Lin, if I still need money, how much money can you get for me in one day?"

Thinking of the unknown nature of doing that, Wei Guangde asked one more question.

"Two to three thousand taels of silver a day is fine. If it's more, you need to give the little guy some time to prepare. If it's tens of thousands of taels of silver, it will take about five days."

Second Master Lin immediately said with a smile.

"By the way, as I said last time, if someone in the capital needs to borrow money, please help me pay attention. I have no use for that money in the short term. If someone wants to borrow money, I also want to earn some interest."

Wei Guangde remembered that when this store opened last time, he and Mr. Lin mentioned the matter of releasing money, but nothing happened after that. Since he was here today, he naturally wanted to ask.

"Master Wei, there are many people in the capital who want to borrow money, but it is generally not very safe. Most of the people who have mortgages go to money shops to borrow money. After all, they are doing business in a shop and have a better reputation."

Mr. Lin hurriedly explained.

"That's okay. Just pay attention to it for me. As I said before, you can borrow it if you have collateral. It doesn't matter if the interest is appropriately small."

Wei Guangde smiled.

When he was in Jiujiang Prefecture, his six thousand taels of silver were released at a monthly interest rate of 5 cents. According to later generations, the monthly interest rate is 5%, and the annualized interest rate is 60%. This is also the market interest rate in Jiujiang, and it has not increased by a cent. .

When he arrived in Beijing, Wei Guangde initially thought that the interest rate here would be higher than that in Jiujiang Prefecture. However, after communicating with Mr. Lin, he learned that the interest rate here, with mortgage guarantee, was only 3 or 4 cents, which was higher than that in Jiujiang Prefecture. Want less.

There are some with high interest rates, but they are not insured.

Well, the most important thing when borrowing money is safety. Wei Guangde is naturally unwilling to do such a high-interest and risky business.

When Wei Guangde walked out of Huitong Trading Company, Zhang Ji behind him was already holding a large bag of freshly packed tea, Longjing Yuqian tea, which had just arrived in the capital.

Chongwenmenli Street is very close to where Wei Guangde wants to go. When Zhu Di, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, built the city of Beijing, he built ten palaces to the east of the palace, that is, the Ten Palaces. In later generations, this place was called Wangfujing.

The Ming Dynasty implemented a system of enfeoffment. The princes lived here before they were minors. When they reached adulthood, they would naturally be enfeoffed to various places as vassal kings. Therefore, when the emperor's sons grew up and could no longer live in the palace, they would move here. .

Because it is to be released to the public, it is natural not to build a palace for every prince. That would be too wasteful.

It's just a bit special now. Although Emperor Jiajing's two sons have grown up, they have not established another prince, so King Yu and King Jing still live here.

Of course Wei Guangde would not show off to Prince Yu's Mansion, as he did not want to offend Prince Jing.

Emperor Jiajing had eight sons, but these two are the only ones alive to this day. Who knows what will happen to King Yu and King Jing in the future?

King Yu just took the title of eldest brother, but if he died young like his other brothers, everything would naturally change.

Asking Li San to drive to a teahouse near the Tenth Prince's Mansion, Wei Guangde got off the car and walked in. He was soon ushered into a private room.

There were many people in the private room. In addition to Yin Shizhen, Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin were also there, and there was also a person Wei Guangde didn't know. He could tell he was a eunuch just by looking at his clothes.

"This is Eunuch Li Fang and Li, please get to know Guangde too."

After greeting Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen, they heard Gao Gong introduce themselves.

Wei Guangde understood in his heart, and probably after Yin Shizhen went back to talk, Gao Gong also realized that it seemed a bit unkind for them to ask Wei Guangde to borrow money in vain, so after talking to King Yu, he called out the eunuchs around King Yu, which at least made Wei Guangde feel Don't worry, this money was borrowed by Prince Yu's Mansion, not them.

In their opinion, Wei Guangde was just worried that there would be no guarantee for lending the money. They were all officials in Qingshui Yamen, so naturally they had no ability to repay.

Even though Gao Gong and the others were from the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu, they were all departments with no profit and could only receive a meager salary to live.

The money was borrowed from Prince Yu's Mansion, so there was no need to worry about not being able to get the money back.

"I've met Eunuch Li."

Wei Guangde actually understood what the other party meant, but he didn't know what Li Fang did in Prince Yu's Mansion.

King Yu Zhu Zaijing's presence in the official circles of the capital was very low, and he did not appear often. The people around him were probably only known to the senior officials of the court and King Jing.

After greetings, a few people sat down. Wei Guangde didn't intend to stay here for too long, lest he be noticed by interested people, so he simply took out two tickets from his arms.

"This is two thousand taels. The notes from Shengyuan Money Shop should be fine in the capital."

Wei Guangde handed the meeting ticket to Gao Gong. He had the highest official position among the people here and was also the earliest Hanlin in Prince Yu's palace. He was naturally their leader.

"Thank you Guangde."

Gao Gong didn't hold back. He took the meeting ticket, looked at it, handed it to Li Fang, and then passed it to Chen Yiqin.

"I'll also give Guangde an IOU so we can talk to him later."

After collecting the meeting tickets, Gao Gong stood up and went to write an IOU on the desk in the corner of the private seat. However, Wei Guangde waved his hand and said, "There is no need for this. Mr. Gao and others are all seniors of the Hanlin Academy. Is it possible that Guangde still wants to write an IOU?" Can’t you trust a few adults?”

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Gao Gong didn't show any pretense and sat back in his seat, "We appreciate Guangde's heart. Here, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of King Yu."

Before he finished speaking, Wei Guangde stood up and bowed his head and said: "Master Gao, please don't say that. It is your duty to do something for the prince. In fact, after hearing about this matter, my contemporaries and I also felt sorry for the prince. .”

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde let out a long sigh, "It's a pity that we are all soft-spoken. Just like in the same year when the Ministry of Household Affairs was in charge of government affairs, we had the intention but were unable to do so. We couldn't even say a few words to the hall official."

After saying this, Wei Guangde looked out the window, bowed to the other four people in the room and said: "It's getting late, and I have to go back to the Hanlin Academy, so I won't talk more. If you still need it, please feel free to send someone." Contact me, as long as we can do our best, Guangde will try our best to handle it for the prince."

Wei Guangde didn't want to get too involved with the people in Prince Yu's Mansion, not because he didn't want to, but because the officialdom in the capital was indeed a bit complicated now.

As Wei Guangde felt now, King Yu really couldn't compare with King Jing in the capital. The difference in strength was too huge.

The purpose of coming here today was achieved. He just hoped that Yin Shizhen did not deceive him and that the eunuch was not a trustee for them.

What Wei Guangde wants is nothing more than to leave an impression on King Yu. If he can really get on the Dabao in the future, he should pay him back no matter what.