Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"This humble citizen is willing to offer 60,000 taels of silver to buy ten official certificates!"

Qiao Shouye was the first to step forward, gritting his teeth as he announced the price.

Although the Shanxi merchants mainly operated in the north.

But how could he just stand by and watch the merchants from Jiangnan monopolize such enormous profits from overseas?

"On behalf of Master Wan, this humble citizen is willing to offer 80,000 taels of silver to buy twenty tickets!"

Wan Dafu's manager was not to be outdone and immediately raised the price.

For a moment, the front hall of the Governor's Mansion seemed to have been transformed into an auction house in the marketplace.

These incredibly wealthy men, their eyes red, waved their silver notes, arguing heatedly over a few thin pieces of paper.

Pei Yuan leaned back in his chair, watching this scene quietly, his smile growing deeper.

This is the taste of power, this is the carnival of capital.

He doesn't need to rob or be greedy.

He only needs to set one rule.

The wealth of the world would then flow into his pockets and into the treasury of the Ming Dynasty, just as all rivers flow into the sea.

As night fell.

The merchants, with a mixture of heartache and elation, dispersed with the high-priced contracts they had purchased.

Lu Zheng carried a thick stack of account books and banknotes into the back room, his face full of shock.

"My lord, in just half a day, before our trading company even started receiving goods, we've already collected a full four million taels of silver just from selling these supply contracts!"

Lu Zheng swallowed hard, feeling as if his entire worldview had been turned upside down.

"This...this money came too easily."

"Is it easy?"

Pei Yuan sat up from the soft couch, walked to the candlestick, and picked up the Xiangfei bamboo folding fan.

"This is the might I displayed in the East China Sea by using three thousand-ton treasure ships and hundreds of heavy cannons. Without that invincible navy to hold the fort, this thin piece of paper wouldn't even be strong enough to wipe my butt."

Pei Yuan turned around and casually tossed the folding fan into a pen holder not far away.

"Take half of these four million taels and send it to the palace. Of the remaining half, half will be divided among the brothers of the Garrison Command, and the other half will be sent to the Ministry of War."

Lu Zheng was taken aback.

"Send it to the Ministry of War? Your Excellency, the Minister of War impeaches you in court every day. What's the point of giving them money?"

Pei Yuan chuckled softly.

"I built Zhenhai Fortress to defend the coast. But the Great Wall along the nine borders has also fallen into disrepair over the years. Those poor bastards in the Ministry of War are crying and complaining every day that they have no money to repair the watchtowers."

"I gave them one million taels of silver, specifically naming them for the use of the nine border defenses for equipment upgrades and city wall repairs."

Pei Yuan straightened his clothes.

"If I want to become a powerful and treacherous minister, I will naturally drag all the civil and military officials down with me."

"If they accept this silver, and the border remains stable in the future, then it will be my achievement. If they dare not accept it..."

A chilling glint flashed in Pei Yuan's eyes.

"Then I will submit a memorial impeaching them for dereliction of duty and disregarding the lives of the soldiers on the border, a crime punishable by death."

Lu Zheng felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, and quickly clasped his hands in apology before retreating.

As night deepened, the cold wind along the Shichahai Lake blew against the windowpanes.

Pei Yuan sat alone in the warm pavilion and instructed his servants to invite a famous blind musician from the capital to play the zither outside the curtain.

The melodious sound of the zither carries a sense of vicissitude, like the clash of swords and the thunder of horses, yet it transforms into tender affection under the touch of the fingertips.

Pei Yuan held a small jade pot, occasionally taking a small sip from the spout.

He lived his slow-paced life in comfort, enjoying the leisurely music.

The political landscape in the imperial court is constantly shifting, while the sea frontiers are ablaze with the sounds of gunfire.

They all seemed to be isolated from this warm waterside pavilion.

The dead of winter in Beijing is the most grueling.

Last night, another heavy snowfall covered the Forbidden City and its surroundings with a thick layer of silver frost.

The clapper sound had just passed at dawn, and the sky was still a leaden gray.

The cold wind poured in from the entrance of the alley, making the bare branches of the old locust tree groan and waile.

Inside the Right Vice-Governor's Mansion on the shore of Shichahai Lake, however, the atmosphere was warm and inviting.

Inside the main room of the inner courtyard.

Pei Yuan woke up on the large, carved rosewood bed and casually lifted the bed curtains.

A small bronze lamp held by a crane in the corner of the room still had a tiny flame, emitting a faint warm light.

"The master is awake."

Hearing the commotion, the maid waiting outside the door quietly carried the brass basin inside.

After helping Pei Yuan wash his face, they served him a steaming cup of ginseng tea.

Pei Yuan slowly took a sip, walked to the window, and pushed open half of the window.

A biting wind, carrying snowflakes, swept over us. Several red plum trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, standing proudly amidst the wind and snow.

"The snow in the capital is more impressive than that in Jiangnan."

Pei Yuan straightened his wide sleeves, turned around, and sat down in front of the burning charcoal brazier.

He lived for a hundred years, but his easygoing and carefree nature remained unchanged.

Now he has become a powerful and treacherous minister in the imperial court, hated by everyone.

Instead, he no longer had to wait outside the Meridian Gate for the morning court session before dawn, unlike when he was the Grand Secretary Gu Yannian.

The emperor exempted him from the early morning court session and specially granted him the privilege of being honored with an honor without naming his name.

Such favor meant that even if he slept until noon, the censors and officials in the court would be helpless against it.

While they were sitting idly, Lu Zheng, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, lifted the heavy cotton curtain and stepped into the room, bringing with him a chill.

"Sir, the matter has been taken care of."

Lu Zheng rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and walked to the charcoal brazier to warm them, a strange smile he was trying hard to suppress on his face.

"A full one million taels of silver was divided into fifty large carts. Just as dawn was breaking, I personally escorted them and blocked the gate of the Ministry of War."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

He picked up a silver fire tong and idly poked at the scarlet bronze charcoal in the brazier.

"Oh? What was the expression on Minister of War Bai Gui's face when he saw that silver?"

Upon hearing Bai Gui's name, Lu Zheng finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Your Excellency, you didn't see the scene. Minister Bai was just about to leave for court when he saw our Embroidered Uniform Guard's convoy blocking the Ministry of War's gate. He thought you were going to imprison him."

"His face was as dark as the soot at the bottom of the pot outside, and he was about to start cursing at me as he pointed at my nose."

Lu Zheng vividly imitated Bai Gui's manner at the time, puffing out his chest and speaking in a high-pitched voice:

"How dare you, eunuch henchmen, insult our Ministry of War, a place of utmost importance!"

"And then?"

Pei Yuan asked with great interest.

"Later, as you instructed, I waved my hand and had the brothers remove the tarpaulins from all fifty carts and open the lids all at once."

Lu Zheng smacked his lips, savoring the shocking scene.

"Those gleaming silver ingots were dazzling in the snow. Those poor, stingy officials in the Ministry of War were so envious their eyes practically popped out of their chests."

The Ministry of War in the Ming Dynasty was always a thankless and unpleasant job in a government department.

The nine-line border defense line stretches for thousands of miles, and everywhere we need to repair watchtowers and provide winter clothing and food.

But the national treasury under the Ministry of Revenue was always tight.

Every time the Ministry of War went to ask for money, the Minister of Revenue would plead poverty, and giving him 30,000 to 50,000 taels would be considered a great act of mercy.

Bai Gui, the Minister of War, was so worried about raising military funds that his hair had turned mostly white.

They wished they could stretch every penny in half to spend it.

Now, one million taels of silver are just sitting there openly at the entrance of the Ministry of War.

For the desperately poor officials in the Ministry of War, this was more shocking than the birth of their own father.