The Young Dragon of the Ming Dynasty: Bound to an Industrial Blueprint from the Start

Zhu Zhanji walked to the window and looked outside.

The sky grew even more overcast, and the wind carried a damp chill.

The first snow of this winter is coming soon.

That night, fine snowflakes fell silently, and by dawn, they were falling in abundance.

Zhu Zhanji stood under the eaves in the backyard of the Crown Prince's residence, watching the snowflakes drift into the pond and melt in the water.

Chuntao draped a cloak over him and stood beside him.

"Your Highness, it's cold outside, please come inside."

"Stand a little longer."

He loves snow. In his previous life, he lived in the south and rarely saw snow. In this life, he is in Beijing and can see several heavy snowfalls every winter.

Just then, a eunuch hurried over: "Your Highness, Lord Yang has arrived. His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence in the study."

Zhu Zhanji's heart stirred, and he followed the eunuch toward the study.

In the study, Zhu Gaochi sat behind his desk, while Yang Pu sat to one side. Neither of them looked relaxed.

"Father, Uncle Yang."

Zhu Gaochi nodded, gesturing for him to sit down.

Yang Pu spoke up: "Zhanji, something has happened again at the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhu Zhanji listened quietly.

"This year's northern tour, with its large-scale troop deployment, grain transport, and border rewards, cost 30% more than in previous years," Yang Pu said.

"The Ministry of Revenue's treasury is now empty."

Zhu Gaochi sighed, "Li Qing comes to me every few days, wanting me to talk to Father Emperor about whether we can get some money from elsewhere, but what can I do?"

Yang Pu looked at Zhu Zhanji: "Zhanji, how much silver does your Mingyue Trading Company have in its accounts right now?"

Zhu Zhanji's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "Uncle Yang, it's over five thousand taels."

"More than five thousand taels." Yang Pu nodded. "It's a drop in the ocean for the imperial court, but Li Qing is desperate now. He's willing to try any way he can get the money."

Zhu Gaochi frowned: "Yang Pu, you mean, let Zhanji's trading company cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue?"

Yang Pu shook his head: "Not now, but we can plan ahead. The Ministry of Revenue is short of silver, not just this year, but every year there will be. Once the relocation of the capital is settled, the capital will need to build palaces, city walls, and roads. All of these require silver."

He looked at Zhu Zhanji: "Zhanji, that 'money shop' you mentioned last time, is it possible to involve the imperial court in it?"

Zhu Zhanji quickly made a mental calculation.

He had already drawn up blueprints for the money shop idea, but he had never explained it in detail to Yang Pu.

Now that Yang Pu has brought it up, it's both an opportunity and a risk.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Uncle Yang, I have thought about this. If a money shop wants to grow big, it must have a powerful backer. The imperial court is the best backer, but it is also the most difficult backer to serve."

Zhu Gaochi and Yang Pu exchanged a glance.

Zhu Zhanji continued, "If the court is willing to support us, the money shops can do a few things for the court: first, they can deposit official silver on our behalf, saving us the trouble of managing the treasury; second, they can distribute salaries on our behalf, saving us the trouble of transporting silver; and third, if the court is temporarily short of silver, the money shops can advance the funds and repay us when the taxes are collected."

Yang Pu's eyes lit up: "That's great! Li Qing's biggest worry right now is the lack of funds. If someone could cover the shortfall!"

Zhu Gaochi frowned: "Zhanji, what if we can't repay the money we advanced to the court?"

Zhu Zhanji said, "Father, so we should choose projects that can be repaid, such as the freight costs of the Grand Canal and the salaries of the border troops. These are all expenses that the court must pay. It doesn't matter if the payment is a few days late, as long as the debt is not defaulted on. The interest rate can be lower, but there must be collateral."

Yang Pu nodded: "That's the right approach. I can sound out Li Qing first, but when will your money exchange be operational?"

Zhu Zhanji said, "Once we have accumulated 10,000 taels in the account, we can choose a place to build a treasury and then open it. If all goes well, it will be open next spring."

"Ten thousand taels," Yang Pu said thoughtfully. "Your business is accumulating wealth quite quickly."

Zhu Gaochi looked at his son with a complicated expression.

This four-year-old child speaks and acts with more maturity than an adult.

Even he, as the father, sometimes feels like he can't see through things.

It snowed for three days straight, and the sun didn't come out until the fourth day.

The snow was ankle-deep, and the streets and alleys of Beijing were much quieter.

But the snow in the back alley of Mingyue Tower had been swept clean early in the morning, as Qian had instructed that the snow should not be allowed to delay business.

Zhu Zhanji has not left the palace for the past few days, staying in the Crown Prince's residence and listening to Chuntao deliver messages every day.

All the news is good news:

After testing thirty modified cars, Manager Han of Tongyuan Auto Shop ordered an additional seventy sets of clips.

Sun San was so busy that he didn't have time to rest, and he recruited two more apprentices to help him.

The reputation of Lao Wan's rust-preventing oil has spread far and wide.

Several carriage and horse dealerships in the north of the city also sent people to inquire, wanting to buy in bulk.

After Dr. Wu finalized the recipe, Lin Xiuniang set aside a room specifically for rendering the oil, producing twenty bottles a day.

Sandalwood flower dew has become popular among officials' wives and relatives.

Every few days, people from Zhang's side would come to ask about it, so Lin Xiuniang had to hire four more female workers to make sandalwood flower dew.

With the money coming in, we gained two more clients for our remittance business.

One was in the silk business, and the other was in the medicinal herb business; both were introduced by Manager Liu.

Although the fees are low, its reputation is slowly spreading.

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, people from the Shen family came again.

The person who came this time was the head steward of the Shen family, surnamed Chen, who was in his fifties and had a capable appearance.

Upon seeing Qian Lai, he cut to the chase: "Manager Qian, my boss sent me to inquire about the progress of that batch of floral dew."

Qian Lai said, "Don't worry, Manager Chen, the first batch of 500 bottles has been loaded onto the truck and will be sent to Nanjing in five days."

Manager Chen nodded and then took out a letter: "This is a handwritten letter from our master to your master."

Qian Lai took the letter, opened it, and saw that it contained only a few sentences:

"Manager Qian forwards this to your esteemed employer:"

The Nanyang trade route has already received a response. A Bruneian merchant saw the samples and was very impressed. He is willing to order a thousand bottles of floral dew at double the price, plus five hundred boxes of perfume. If your workshop can accept the order, the Shen family is willing to provide full assistance.

Also, I heard that your workshop has a newly developed anti-rust oil. I wonder if you could bring some samples for trial sales?

Looking forward to your reply.

Shen bows in respect.

When I finished looking at the money, my heart skipped a beat.

He took a deep breath and said to Steward Chen, "Brother Chen, please have a seat while I go in and report back."

Inside Tingxue Pavilion, Zhu Zhanji was looking through account books.

After reading the letter, he remained silent for a long time.

"The boss?" Qian Lai asked tentatively.

Zhu Zhanji raised his head, his eyes gleaming: "Manager Qian, tell Steward Chen that we'll take this order."

"But what about production volume?" Qian Lai hesitated. "Lin Niangzi's side can only produce a maximum of eight hundred bottles of floral dew a month now, plus the two thousand bottles from the Shen family, and the one thousand bottles from Nanyang."

"Then let's continue to expand," Zhu Zhanji said. "Hire more people for Lin Niangzi's workshop, and rent those two empty courtyards next to the back building. If we can't produce two thousand bottles a month, let's produce three thousand."

Qian Lai was stunned: "Three thousand bottles?"

"That's right." Zhu Zhanji stood up. "The ten thousand taels from the Shen family, the deal in Nanyang, plus our current income, how much will we have in the account by the end of the year?"

Qian Lai quickly calculated in his mind: "The two thousand bottles from the Shen family cost ten thousand taels. They've already paid a deposit of two thousand, leaving eight thousand unpaid. The one thousand bottles from Nanyang are double the price, at six taels per bottle, which is twelve thousand taels. Adding the two together, it's twenty thousand taels."

"Yes, twenty thousand taels," Zhu Zhanji said. "Adding to the five thousand taels we already have, we'll have twenty-five thousand taels in the account by the end of the year."

Qian Lai gasped in shock.