Chapter 124: Transaction

Zhang Yunxiu sat in the main hall and waited for a while.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from outside, and Xu Yuanchun's voice came in with a laugh: "Young Duke, you must tell me, for you to have come all the way from Nanjing specifically to pay respects to my ancestor, I am truly honored."

"Brother Xu is too kind. Grand Tutor Xu was broad-minded and loyal to the country. Now that the old gentleman has suddenly passed away, how could we, the younger generation, not come to pay our respects?" A young voice followed.

Zhang Yunxiu then saw a young man walk in behind Xu Yuanchun.

The man appeared to be in his early twenties, stood seven feet tall, with a face like jade and lips like rouge; beneath a pair of delicate eyebrows were embedded two pitch-black pupils, in which not a trace of impurity could be seen.

He wore a python robe with a jade belt, and on his feet were black leather boots with gold silk trim.

As he walked, he made a "thump, thump, thump" sound.

It was none other than the son of the current Wei Duke, Xu Pengju, named Xu Weizhi.

As soon as he walked in, he spotted Zhang Yunxiu.

So, without waiting for Xu Yuanchun to introduce him, he cupped his hands with a laugh and said, "This must be the new groom of the Xu Family. Truly a man of talent. Brother Xu, your Xu Family's young lady has finally found someone worthy of her trust."

"Young Duke is too generous with his praise." Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, neither enthusiastic nor cold.

"Hey, why call me Young Duke? We are of similar age, and I am a few years your senior; just call me Brother Xu." Xu Weizhi waved his hand, pretending to be angry, and said, "Or is it that Brother Zhang looks down on this country bumpkin and refuses to call me brother?"

"How could Brother Xu say such a thing?"

Zhang Yunxiu took the opportunity to close the distance, and Xu Weizhi did not stand on ceremony, sitting directly beside Zhang Yunxiu.

The three sat down according to the etiquette of host and guest. Xu Yuanchun, the matchmaker, tilted his head, looked at Xu Weizhi, and complained, "Brother, you've gotten yourself into a big mess this time. I had to put in a massive amount of effort just to make some headway."

"Brother Xu, rest assured. Whether it succeeds or not, I will owe this favor to you and Brother Zhang." Xu Weizhi laughed, giving the two of them a sense of reassurance.

Xu Yuanchun and Zhang Yunxiu exchanged a glance and nodded, then Zhang Yunxiu said, "Brother Xu, this matter can only be attempted as best as possible; you should also prepare yourself for the possibility of failure."

"I understand." Xu Weizhi waved his hand, completely unconcerned.

Xu Weizhi's nonchalance made Zhang Yunxiu somewhat suspicious; logically speaking, he should be anxious as if his eyebrows were on fire.

Just as he was pondering, Xu Weizhi raised an eyebrow, looked at Zhang Yunxiu with a smile, and asked, "I heard Brother Zhang has received an imperial commission to organize another fleet, following the example of Eunuch Zheng's voyages to the Western Oceans?"

"It hasn't even begun to take shape yet." Zhang Yunxiu glanced at Xu Weizhi, picked up the teacup on his right, took a small sip, and then asked, "Why, is the Young Duke interested in this as well?"

"I am! I've heard that overseas there are mountains of gold and silver, and I'd like to get a share of the spoils." As Xu Weizhi spoke, his eyes lit up.

It turned out that his being impeached was merely a pretext.

Last winter, he had received orders from his father to come and pay condolences to Xu Jie.

At that time, it was Xu Yuanchun who was responsible for receiving him. The two had a friendship back in Nanjing, so seeing each other again naturally meant reconnecting.

After three rounds of drinks, Xu Yuanchun smiled and said with a hint of drunkenness, "Young Duke, do you know what my brother-in-law does?"

"Isn't he just the son of the Senior Grand Secretary?" Xu Weizhi thought Xu Yuanchun was going to show off, so he replied indifferently.

"Not just the son of the Senior Grand Secretary, he also earns money for the Emperor." As Xu Yuanchun spoke, a look of intoxication appeared on his face, "Just this July, in a short span of three months, he earned three hundred thousand taels of silver for the Emperor."

"That much?"

Xu Weizhi was startled, his face full of interest, and he urged Xu Yuanchun to continue.

"On the sea." Xu Yuanchun raised the chopsticks in his hand and spat out those two words.

"On the sea?"

"Right, it's on the sea." Recalling Zhang Yunxiu's confidence, Xu Yuanchun straightened his back, stood up, and gestured grandly, "You probably don't know yet, but our Songjiang Prefecture will soon no longer be under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture."

"Then under whose jurisdiction will it be?" Xu Weizhi asked.

"Of course, it will be under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court." Xu Yuanchun clapped his hands and added, "In the future, our Songjiang Prefecture will become a third-rank government office. This land will be worth its weight in gold, not something that today's scenery can describe."

Seeing Xu Yuanchun speak so convincingly, Xu Weizhi felt an itch in his heart.

After that conversation, the first thing Xu Weizhi did upon returning to Nanjing was to come to Songjiang Prefecture and purchase ten thousand acres of land.

At the beginning of this year, a bulletin from the Office of Transmission was sent throughout Jiangnan.

Songjiang Prefecture was placed directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.

Just like that, the land in his hands rose in value by fifty percent.

Having tasted the sweetness, he naturally knew the capabilities of this new favorite, so he thought of coming over to further cultivate the relationship.

Zhang Yunxiu had no idea about the dealings between the two and had foolishly been lured into the "trap."

However, he was one hundred percent happy about the inclusion of the Wei State Duke Mansion.

Firstly, they were the local power in Jiangnan with deep influence, far beyond what he, a "dragon crossing the river," could compare to. Secondly, eating alone easily invites resentment; having another person share the spoils is sometimes not a bad thing.

After thinking this through, Zhang Yunxiu said with a smile, "It is true that there are mountains of gold and silver overseas, but the risks are also significant. It just depends on how much capital you are willing to invest, Brother Xu."

"One hundred ships. If you are short of men, just tell me. My family has nothing else, but we are certainly not short of men or ships." Xu Weizhi patted his chest and replied with full confidence.

As the garrison commander of Nanjing, the Wei Duke nominally controlled all the troops in Nanjing.

Of course, these troops could not be moved at will.

But his family also kept many retainers, which were private armies. These men were well-equipped, well-trained, and had extremely high loyalty; furthermore, they did not belong to the imperial court but were the private property of the Wei Duke.

"Then I will thank Brother Xu in advance for your generosity. It's settled then!" Zhang Yunxiu said, pacing over to Xu Weizhi to pour him a cup of tea.

Xu Weizhi stood up, picked up the teacup, downed it in one gulp, and praised, "Good tea."

Xu Yuanchun, who was acting as the matchmaker, was stunned; he had not expected things to go so smoothly.

This was, after all, scooping food from someone else's pot.

He had thought it would take a great deal of effort, but who would have expected that in just a few words, Zhang Yunxiu would make the decision.

After being dazed for a moment, Xu Yuanchun laughed and said, "Since everything is settled, Young Duke, since you are idle anyway, why don't you take my brother-in-law to tour Nanjing?"

"Great! I was originally planning to take Brother Zhang to tour Nanjing so I could fulfill my duties as a host." Xu Weizhi's eyes lit up, and he joked, "Everyone says the banks of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing are a man's paradise."

"Brother Zhang hasn't been there yet, right?"

Zhang Yunxiu felt a surge of warmth, but after a fierce psychological struggle, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, my schedule is tight this time, and going back and forth to Nanjing would consume too much time."

"Next time, next time I will definitely go and experience the specialties of Nanjing."

"Fine, it's a deal." Having received the promise, Xu Weizhi was no longer willing to stay.

At this moment, his heart had long since flown to the banks of the Qinhuai River, to those fragrant, soft, and sweet-talking beauties.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xu Weizhi wanted to leave that very day.

Xu Yuanchun pleaded with him to stay, full of deep affection.

The two pulled at each other for a while, and finally, Xu Weizhi, filled with reluctance, followed the carriage procession as it slowly drove out of Huating County.

At the county gate, after seeing Xu Weizhi off, Zhang Yunxiu glanced at the sky and felt it was still early, so he smiled at Xu Yuanchun and said, "Brother, I still have some matters to attend to with the County Magistrate Wei Ming, so I won't be returning with you."

"Fine, I will just go back and tell Ruoxi," Xu Yuanchun nodded and readily agreed.

The two separated at the city gate, and Zhang Yunxiu led two servants straight toward the residence of County Magistrate Wei Ming. Upon entering the residence, Wei Ming greeted him and urged his servants to bring wine and food.

After they were seated according to the etiquette of host and guest, Wei Ming obsequiously poured a cup of wine for Zhang Yunxiu, cupped his hands, and said, "Director Zhang, I am truly convinced now; an entire prefecture's territory could actually be directly carved out by you."

"You don't even look at what kind of things those officials are," Zhang Yunxiu smiled as he took the wine cup, sipped it, and continued, "As long as these capital officials see the benefits, let alone one prefecture's territory, even two would be no problem at all."

"That is true... that is true."

Wei Ming nodded and bowed, exhausting every display of flattery.

"Oh, that's right, I reserved twenty percent of the tax revenue for your Songjiang Prefecture; that should be enough, right?" Zhang Yunxiu suddenly thought of something and asked.

"It is barely enough, but once we establish the customs house in Songjiang Prefecture, the silver will naturally come in by the handfuls in the future," Wei Ming stroked his beard lightly, his face full of composure and calm.

Although after the Longqing Opening of the Seas, the overseas trade of Great Ming had achieved great development.

According to incomplete statistics, at least one-third of the world's silver was currently flowing into Great Ming in a steady stream.

It was just a pity that the Shipping Commissioner offices in various places were in disrepair, and the locations were numerous and disorganized.

These ocean-going merchants came in an endless stream, but the imperial court of Great Ming rarely received any benefits.

Zhang Yunxiu then memorialized the Wanli Emperor, requesting to retain only four Shipping Commissioner offices.

The first was Quanzhou in Fujian, the second was Guangzhou in Guangdong, the third was Songjiang Prefecture located on the East Sea, and the fourth was Tianjin located on the Bohai.

Among them, Songjiang Prefecture and Tianjin Guard were both under the direct jurisdiction of the central government.

The customs duties from these two places could directly replenish the central imperial court's coffers.

"Very well, the preparations for the Shipping Commissioner office must be swift. Also, for the customs officials of this customs house, you must select strict individuals who cannot engage in graft or break the law; otherwise, this customs house will become a mere formality," Zhang Yunxiu pondered for a moment, then looked up at Wei Ming and instructed.

"Director Zhang, rest assured, I have already thought of a candidate," Wei Ming nodded with a smile.

"Who?"

"It is my subordinate, the County Assistant, Li Liangcai. This man is upright and incorruptible, and he cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. If you invite him to be the Superintendent of this Shipping Commissioner office, he will surely be able to clean up these monsters and demons."

This was a thankless task that would offend people.

Wei Ming naturally did not want to wade into these muddy waters, so he pushed it onto his deputy, Li Liangcai, who had always been causing him trouble.

"Is he capable?" Zhang Yunxiu was still somewhat doubtful and explained, "Once this Shipping Commissioner office opens, there will be no shortage of princes, nobles, high-ranking officials, and ministers coming to him to pull strings and build connections."

"I am afraid he won't be able to withstand the pressure."

"Director Zhang, rest assured, this man's temper is foul and stubborn; he won't accept invitations to dine, nor will he take extra bribes. Once he finishes his shift, he locks himself in his home and sees no one. A person like this is the most suitable for being the Superintendent of the Shipping Commissioner office."

"It seems this County Assistant Li has offended you," Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but tease with a smile.

"How could this be an offense? The Superintendent of the Shipping Commissioner office is a rank 6b official, and he is currently a rank 7a official; this is a promotion of one rank," Wei Ming chuckled, looking smug, "I call this, 'recommending the worthy without avoiding one's own people'."

"Hahaha, good, as long as he can do it, then he is the one."

(End of this chapter)