Qing Yao

Chapter 353 Fu Zhongtang's Clever Scheme!

In October, the weather in the capital was already quite cool.

In recent years, the old master no longer attends the morning court every day like he did when he was young. He only attends court once every two weeks, so the affairs of the court are handled by the Grand Council.

Except for very important memorials which the old master would personally review, other memorials were basically decided by Heshen. Even when he received officials, it was only in a small group in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Heshen was always present to act as the "translator".

Thanks to this, the court officials no longer had to attend court in the dark, which can be considered a benefit that the aging emperor had provided for his officials.

However, this also led to the Grand Councilors having an increasingly heavy burden on their shoulders, and they were also quite exhausted.

But this kind of exhaustion is something many officials can't even imagine being tired of.

Fu Chang'an was quite tired. After working three consecutive days, he finally got a day off and spent his time at home handling some business matters.

Since becoming Minister of Revenue, Fu Chang'an's assets have increased significantly. Although his total assets are far less than Heshen's, his annual growth rate far exceeds that of Heshen. At this rate, it won't take ten years, at most seven or eight years, for Fu Chang'an to surpass Heshen's wealth.

After dealing with several urgent matters in the study, Fu Chang'an instructed his steward to take the top-quality Liaoning ginseng in the stock to Jiangnan to sell, which alone could earn him at least 300,000 taels of silver.

Just as he was talking to the steward Ande about the Liaoning ginseng, Wang Gui, a servant of the Fu family, tiptoed in. He first bowed and then respectfully handed a letter bearing the Fu family's seal to his master, saying, "Master, Manager Liu from Jiangning sent this by express courier, saying it is extremely important and you must open it yourself."

Who is Fu Chang'an?

The Grand Councilor who oversees the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue had his servants use the postal system to send an urgent letter. Who dared to question it, and who dared to interfere?
However, Manager Liu was an old servant from the Imperial Household Department, a very disciplined person. He would never use the expedited channel for ordinary matters, as it would easily give others something to talk about. Therefore, Fu Chang'an was quite curious about the contents of the letter.

He casually took the letter from Wang Gui, tore it open, took out the letter inside, and unfolded it to examine it closely. As he looked at it, a faint smile appeared on his well-maintained, fair face that looked like he was only in his early twenties. Then he held the letter in his hand, lost in thought, as if he was weighing some important matter in mind.

Wang Gui stood respectfully to the side, not daring to make a sound or disturb him, carefully observing his master's expression.

The butler, Ander, was also curious about the contents of the letter, but dared not ask aloud.

In the Fu family, only the master has the right to speak; servants have no right to speak out. The Fourth Master's residence is somewhat better, but the Third Master's residence is like a military camp, where military law is applied at the drop of a hat. As a result, the servants in the Fourth Master's residence feel as if they are about to be summoned to the Third Master's residence by the King of Hell.

After a moment of contemplation, Fu Chang'an casually put down the letter, leaned back in his rosewood chair, and smiled at his two servants, saying, "You two, guess what this letter says."

"Master, aren't you making things difficult for me? I'm not some kind of all-seeing, all-hearing person, how could I possibly guess your important matters? Could it be that some official in Jiangning owes you money and isn't paying it back?"

It was Ander who spoke. He had no idea what the letter contained, but he figured that since it came from Manager Liu of the Jiangning Money Shop, it was probably related to loans, since the Fu family's money shop mainly dealt in usurious loans to officials. And for Manager Liu to use expedited channels to report this, the official involved must be of a high rank, which explained why his master had been pondering this.

Wang Gui, feigning surprise, exclaimed, "Is there anyone in this world who dares to owe Master money and not pay it back? Master, just say the word, and this servant will take men to deal with him!"

"It's not about owing money and not paying it back, it's something else. You two guess again. Hmm, but this is quite interesting."

Fu Chang'an smiled, picked up an apple from the table, and took a bite. The apple was a tribute from the Shandong governor to the old master. It had just arrived yesterday, and the concubines in the palace hadn't even had time to distribute it before sending two baskets to Si Fu'er's family.

Even his father-in-law, Heshen, didn't receive this treatment, which shows how important Fu Chang'an, the "Fourth Blessing," was in the old master's heart.

Ander chuckled and said, "How could this pig-brain of a servant possibly guess? But something that would interest Master, could it be a big deal?"

"A big deal? You're right."

Fu Chang'an chuckled and gently pushed the letter in front of Ande with two fingers. "Zhao Youlu, the Provincial Governor of Anhui, wants to borrow some money from you to relieve the urgent needs of his Anhui treasury."

"Zhao Youlu?"

Ander paused for a moment, then, as if remembering something, quickly said, "Could it be the man who was rewarded by the Emperor with the Ebilun Sword and defeated the White Lotus Sect? Master, how much silver does he want to borrow from you?"

Wang Gui, who was standing to the side, looked puzzled. Didn't his master lend 100,000 taels to Zhao Youlu before? The interest hadn't been paid back yet, so why was he coming to borrow money again?

"This number."

Fu Chang'an stretched out a finger and waved it in the air.

"Ten thousand taels?"

Ander wasn't sure.

"Ten thousand taels is not a big deal. Let's talk about it on a larger scale."

Fu Chang'an shook his head, looking at the two servants with amusement.

Wang Gui guessed, "One hundred thousand taels?"

"Is this all you've got? Ten thousand taels is a big deal for me?"

Fu Chang'an looked annoyed.

"Could it be one million taels?!"

Ander and Wang Gui's eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s right. Zhao Youlu borrowed one million taels from me, and at the market interest rate, for a term of three years.”

Fu Chang'an's tone was extremely calm, as if he were talking about one hundred taels of silver, not one million taels.

The two servants were stunned by the million taels. Although their master had opened many money shops and lent out a lot of money, the largest loan he had ever made was only a little over 200,000 taels. For someone to suddenly want to borrow a million taels was a huge deal.

What does one million taels mean?
It equals the annual tax revenue of one or two poor provinces.

Too many, and the risks are too great!
Ande quickly advised, "Master, please forgive my bluntness, but one million taels is too much. Zhao Youlu is just a provincial governor, and his annual salary plus allowance is only about ten thousand taels. Anhui is not a place that is rolling in money. No matter how much he tries to make money, I'm afraid he can't repay one million taels."

“Yes, Master, one million taels is no small sum. At market rates, the interest would be at least 150,000 taels a year, 450,000 taels in three years, and 1.45 million taels including principal and interest. I think even if you stripped Zhao Youlu of his second-rank official skin and sold him, he wouldn’t be worth that much.” Wang Gui scratched his head. He was analyzing things from a “market” perspective, not because he really looked down on the second-rank provincial governor. He then complained a little, “How could Jiangning be so muddle-headed? They dared to report such baseless matters to Master? They could have just sent it back directly.”

Hearing the two servants' words, Fu Chang'an laughed, picked up an apple and slowly took another bite before saying, "You two servants have been with me for so many years, how come you only focus on this small piece of land in front of you? That's right, what you said makes sense. Just look at Zhao Youlu, and look at that poor place in Anhui. Lending out a million taels of silver is likely to be like throwing meat buns to a dog, never to be returned."

He then changed the subject, "But have you ever wondered why Zhao Youlu dared to ask for this? And why he didn't borrow from someone else, but instead came to me?"

As he spoke, a shrewd and calculating glint appeared in Fu Chang'an's eyes.

Wang Gui was stunned, and asked with a puzzled look, "Does Master mean there's more to this than meets the eye?"

"Don't listen to what people outside say about Zhao Youlu being an honest official. This guy is shrewd. The fact that he dared to say that shows he knows how to navigate the officialdom. He's not muddled at all. Otherwise, how could he have climbed so high? Anhui has just suffered a major disaster. As a new official, he must want to do something to show the court. But being an official is the same as being an ordinary citizen. Without money, you can't move an inch."

At this point, Fu Chang'an paused for a moment, then chuckled lightly: "Whether this kid borrows money to make up for the deficit and do something practical, or if he has other motives, there is one thing we need to understand: this kid knows the rules and knows the principle of using borrowed resources to generate income. Therefore, he is not a pedantic person."

After hearing this, Ander nodded and said, "According to what you're saying, Master, Zhao Youlu is a sensible man. No wonder he was able to climb so high."

"This servant understands now. Zhao Youlu isn't borrowing your master's money at all; he's clearly using your master's influence. Yes, he's pretending to borrow money from you, but actually he's offering you a tribute. He clearly wants to curry favor with you!"

Wang Gui's analysis hit the nail on the head; he at least guessed half of Zhao Youlu's thoughts.

Fu Chang'an smiled. There are very few people in this world who can afford to pay a tribute of 450,000 taels over three years.

From this point of view alone, Zhao Youlu is indeed a man of great courage.

"Even if Zhao Youlu wanted to curry favor with his master and seek his protection, one million taels is still too much. What if Zhao Youlu's official career doesn't go smoothly in the future, or he develops other ideas? This money..."

Before Ander could finish speaking, Fu Chang'an scoffed, "Are you afraid they won't be able to pay it back?"

Before Ander could speak, he threw the apple on the table, clapped his hands and said, "Don't worry, as long as I and Heshen are still standing in the Qing court, we will still have the final say in the Grand Council. Zhao Youlu's career will not be hindered, and he will never stop at being a mere provincial governor!"

This year he's the provincial governor in charge of finance and civil administration; what will he be next year? Perhaps next year he'll be the provincial governor!

What happens next?

Who knows, he might become the Governor-General of Liangjiang, or even the Governor-General of Zhili, a Grand Secretary, or even a minister serving in the same court as you, my lord. At that time, would you still worry about him not being able to repay the money?

Fu Chang'an spoke these words with utmost confidence, as if everything was under his, Si Fu'er's, control.

But both servants were stunned by Fu Chang'an's words. Then they thought about it and realized that this made perfect sense. With He Zhongtang and their master backing them up, not to mention Zhao Youlu, even a dog could wear a double-eyed peacock feather!
"got it?"

Looking at the two servants who had just come to their senses, Fu Chang'an chuckled and said, "I don't do things that add flowers to brocade. I do things that provide charcoal in the snow. That's what you call human kindness, that's what you call integrity, and that's what makes people willing to serve me."

Ander hurriedly said, "Then this servant will arrange for Jiangning to lend one million taels to Zhao Youlu."

"No,"

Fu Chang'an shook his head. "It's not one million taels, it's two million taels. If we're going to borrow, let's borrow more. Two million taels to buy a capable official who is very likely to rise to the central government in the future to be completely devoted to you. Tell me, is this a good deal or a bad one for me?"

Do you need an answer?

It's definitely a sure thing that you'll make a profit!

The steward, Ander, understood the logic, but he lacked his master's magnanimity. He muttered somewhat pettyly, "Two million taels would require at least three hundred thousand in interest to be paid in a year. What if Zhao Youlu can't pay it back?"

"If he can't pay it back, let him have a break. He can't pay it back now, but once he becomes the governor in charge of the military and political affairs of a province, won't all of his income be mountains of gold and silver?
If this kid were to one day sit on the throne of the Governor-General of Liangjiang, with the wealth of those three provinces, even if he just let a little bit slip through his fingers, he could easily pay back not just 300,000 in interest a year, but even 500,000 in interest a year!

Besides, is this all the profit I want?

Fu Chang'an chuckled, "I want the money, but I want him even more! This two million taels is the rope I'm putting around Zhao Youlu's neck. From now on, his life, his future, and his official career will be completely tied to me, Fu Chang'an!"

To put it bluntly, once Zhao Youlu takes those two million taels from me, he becomes my dog. Whoever I tell him to bite, he'll bite! If I tell him to go east, he'll never dare go west!

These words broadened the horizons of the two servants, but Wang Gui, untimely, blurted out, "Master, what if Zhao Youlu returns the money?"

"Repay? What will he use to repay?"

Fu Chang'an snorted, "No matter how high this kid's official rank becomes, he'll never be able to pay off my debt. Two million taels will have to be turned into twenty million taels, a huge debt that this kid can never repay in his lifetime."

"."

The two servants were so shocked by Fu Chang'an's words that they almost gasped. Two million taels of silver would become twenty million taels of silver with compound interest. Zhao Youlu would not be able to repay the principal, let alone the interest, even in ten lifetimes.

Who dares to say their master is heartless?
Wang Gui immediately exclaimed, "Brilliant! Brilliant! This servant is short-sighted; I only saw the money going out but couldn't see the inescapable trap your master has laid! Your master has used two million taels to buy Zhao Youlu's present and lock up his future. This servant is completely convinced!"

"Why should I, a mere servant, obey you?"

Fu Chang'an laughed heartily, waved his hand, and instructed An De, "Tell Jiang Ning to handle things well. The contract must be drawn up clearly and explicitly for me, without the slightest mistake!"

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Zhao Youlu must sign the document in his own name. He is not allowed to have anyone else act as his guarantor or sign on his behalf. In short, this debt must be firmly pinned on Zhao Youlu, understand?"

"Slave understands!"

Ander nodded emphatically, "This servant will arrange for someone to take care of it right away. I guarantee it will be done flawlessly, so that Zhao Youlu will never be able to repay his master's debt in this lifetime, and he will be willing to serve his master as a dog until his death!"

"That's not how it works,"

Fu Chang'an took out his snuff bottle and sniffed it hard. "I'm asking Zhao Youlu to work for me. Do you really think I'm going to force him to his death? As long as he behaves himself, I'll guarantee him a bright future."

(End of this chapter)