Qing Yao

Chapter 355 The Side Effects of Rumors
"Shopkeeper, how could I dare to chew maggots? It's all just rumors. I heard that all the officials in Jiangning City know about this. If Lord Zhao isn't the Emperor's own flesh and blood, why would the Emperor treat him so differently? His favor is so great that it makes people envious. There's no such logic to it."

Old Sun admitted that he was "spreading rumors," but he absolutely refused to admit that he was chewing maggots alive, because the "maggots" were chewed up by officials, and had nothing to do with him.

Accountant Liu nodded in agreement: "That makes sense, sir. It's better to believe something is true than not to believe it is not."

"Yes, if it weren't for this reason, how could a lowly ninth-rank official be promoted to provincial governor in just one year?"

"I heard that His Majesty not only bestowed upon Lord Zhao a yellow riding jacket, but also granted him the Ebilun sword and the double-eyed peacock feather. Is this something that an ordinary official can receive?"

"."

The other accountants, through rational analysis, reached the same conclusion: the rumors of an illegitimate child were definitely not unfounded!

The analysis of the crowd directly influenced Manager Liu's judgment, and his heart pounded wildly: Yes, unless Lord Zhao is really the emperor's illegitimate son, there is no way to explain what happened to him.

Who is your master?

Those were the emperor's most favored "Four Blessed Ones," showered with constant rewards and unparalleled favor. They could even freely enter and leave the palace, enjoying treatment far exceeding that of ordinary officials. Even He Zhongtang sometimes had to avoid their sharp edge. Didn't you see that the Ministry of Revenue and the Chongwen Gate Customs, which had always been controlled by He Zhongtang, were now taken over by their own master?

Rumors circulated privately among the court and the public that their master was so favored because his mother had a close relationship with the emperor and he also had Aisin Gioro blood in his veins. Although his official status was not yet determined, the emperor had already tacitly approved of it, so he was treated the same as a prince!
If that Lord Zhao also came from such a background, then everything that happened to him would make sense.

He immediately realized that his master's two million taels was not an ordinary loan, but clearly a special care and strong support from the older brother to the younger brother.

However, due to various reasons, this care and support cannot be made public and can only be kept tacitly understood.

Otherwise, given his master's shrewdness, why would he take such a huge risk to lend out two million taels of silver!

The more Manager Liu thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and the more he felt that this was the only truth.

Using two million taels of silver not only solved his half-brother's urgent problem, but also helped him make achievements in the local area. At the same time, it made the brother feel the care and support from his elder brother. His master's move was brilliant!
Having figured it out, what else was there to worry about? Manager Liu coughed lightly and said, "Old Sun, these words came from your mouth and entered my ears. You must never mention them to outsiders again!"

Old Sun hurriedly said, "Don't worry, shopkeeper, I wouldn't dare gossip about something this important."

Manager Liu nodded, then said to the others, "None of you should talk nonsense. Even if you know about matters involving the imperial family's secrets, you shouldn't speak carelessly, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself."

"We know, we know how powerful it is."

The accountants nodded quickly.

Manager Liu then instructed Old Sun: "Immediately take inventory of the silver in the bank, suspend all large-scale lending and withdrawal services, and expedite the collection of all outstanding debts. In addition, use all your connections to borrow one million taels of silver from familiar money shops. Remember, this matter must be kept secret. If there is even the slightest leak, I will hold you, Old Sun, accountable!"

Old Sun quickly did as the manager instructed, and the other accountants also went about their tasks separately.

Two million taels of silver is no small sum; it would take dozens of carts to transport it. Manager Liu plans to hire a boat to take the silver directly to Anqing via the Yangtze River once he has gathered the funds. However, before that, he needs to inform Lord Zhao of Anqing and ask him to send troops to protect him along the way.

However, the money shops in Tongzhou were lending out cash everywhere, and the amount involved was one million taels of silver. How could such a big matter be kept secret? It was impossible to hide it from those officials and merchants in Jiangning whose sense of smell was even more acute than that of hunting dogs.

Especially among their peers in Jiangning's financial sector. Soon, the managers of various money shops and banks were buzzing with discussion:
"It's strange, the money shops in Tongzhou have been acting like they've gone mad these past two days, constantly adjusting their cash reserves, and the money supply in the market is getting tighter!"

"It's not just adjusting cash reserves; I heard they're also borrowing short-term money from several banks at pretty high interest rates. What serious problem has this caused?"

"The owner behind the Tongzhou money shop is from the Grand Council. What big thing could happen to him? He seems to be planning some big money-making business."

"If it were a lucrative business, people would be bringing money to your door. Why would someone be so eager to hand over money? It looks to me like they're in a rush to pay a huge sum of money."

"."

Rumors spread like wildfire throughout Jiangning City, from the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River to the teahouses in the Confucius Temple and the back residences of various government offices, all discussing the "big move" of the Tongzhou money shop.

Someone with ulterior motives secretly spent a high price to obtain accurate intelligence: it turned out that the Tongzhou money shop was in such a hurry to lend cash because it wanted to lend two million taels to the Anhui Provincial Governor.

The figure of two million taels immediately caused a collective "earthquake" in the official and business circles of Jiangning. Whether they were officials or merchants, they were all stunned when they learned about it.

Everyone was talking about why that Lord Zhao from Anhui had borrowed such a large sum of money at exorbitant interest rates. Some said it was to fill the deficit in Anhui's provincial treasury, but Anhui was a poor province, and the deficit in the provincial treasury was at most a few hundred thousand taels, so it was impossible for it to be a deficit of two million taels.

If there were such a huge deficit, the imperial court would have sent an imperial envoy to investigate long ago. What does it have to do with the newly appointed Lord Zhao? Every citizen in Jiangning knows that Lord Zhao is an honest official, a very honest official!
Some analysts suggest that the reason Lord Zhao wanted to borrow such a large sum of money was probably because Anhui had just suffered a major disaster and needed money everywhere.

If that's true, then Lord Zhao is not only an honest official, but also a good official who is willing to do practical things for the people.

Immediately, a question arose: Lord Zhao borrowed such a large sum of money, and he was an honest official whose annual salary was only ten thousand taels. Let alone repaying the principal of two million taels, he couldn't even repay the interest.

Why would the money shop in Tongzhou agree to lend money?

"This is insane! Absolutely insane! Both the lenders and borrowers have gone mad! Gentlemen, I believe there must be a huge, unbelievable secret behind this!"

What's the hidden story?
After calming down, more and more people in Jiangning City began to carefully consider the logic behind the two million taels loan.

Combining the previously rumored background of Lord Zhao with the sight of Fuzhongtang behind the Tongzhou money shop, those with quick minds realized that there was a great opportunity behind this matter.

A tremendous opportunity to turn a cold stove into a hot spot!
Just as the Tongzhou money shop had prepared two million taels of silver and before it could even be shipped to Anqing, several prominent merchants from the city formed a group and headed to Anqing.

Accompanying them was an investment promotion specialist sent by Anqing Prefecture a few days earlier. However, this specialist was not very capable and had not achieved any results in attracting investment in Jiangning for several days. As a result, several wealthy businessmen, whom he never expected, took the initiative to approach him and showed great interest in investing in Anqing.

This made the investment promotion specialist as happy as if it were New Year's Day.

As mentioned above, those who attract more than 50,000 taels of investment will be promoted from civilians to officials, those who attract more than 100,000 taels will be promoted from officials to magistrates, and those who attract more than 500,000 taels will be promoted to county magistrates!

For amounts exceeding one million taels, the provincial governor will personally receive the official and promote the official by three ranks.

(End of this chapter)