Chapter 1005: Whose Money Is Easiest to Earn (Please Subscribe)

Huang Xiaobao was indeed a loyal and capable good eunuch, quick and reliable in handling affairs.

His Majesty the Zhu Emperor had a month ago ordered him to prepare a proper residence for Marie Mancini, so that the beauty would not have to keep living in Prince Condé's mansion — how uncomfortable Prince Condé must have been! Such a fine little foreign filly, one he could only look at but never ride.

Now the little foreign filly had a "little home" of her own, on the edge of Tangquan Town, right next to a high wall of Tangquan Palace. The original owner was Pang Tianshou, the Catholic grand eunuch on the side of the Retired Emperor Chongzhen. Because Eunuch Pang believed in the foreign faith, he was especially fond of Western-style things — except for little foreign fillies like Marie, whom he did not like at all and found annoying at the mere sight of them!

But however much the little foreign filly annoyed him, he now had no choice but to transfer the newly built Western-style mansion to Marie Mancini — not for free, of course. Huang Xiaobao spent twenty-five thousand taels of His Majesty the Zhu Emperor's silver to buy the property, then spent another five thousand on furnishings and building a covered walkway, and only after it was finished did he arrange for Marie Mancini to move in.

By the way, he had also arranged for special people to "wait upon" Miss Marie.

On the way to "Pang Family Garden" (to keep up appearances, the residence was still called Pang Family Garden), Huang Xiaobao also told Zhu Cilang the terms of Marie Mancini's "sale of herself."

"Your Majesty, this slave negotiated a price with Miss Marie: thirty thousand taels for the first time, and five hundred taels every month thereafter. In addition, all expenses of Pang Family Garden are yours. The contract also fixed a term of ten years. When it expires, you may demand a renewal, and Miss Marie may not refuse. The price is a bit high, but Miss Marie would not come down no matter what. What do you think—"

A garden villa, thirty thousand taels of silver paid at once, another six thousand a year in pocket money, and the daily expenses of the residence to be counted separately. Zhu Cilang thought to himself: Huang Xiaobao may be a good eunuch, but he has no head for business! If I had known, I would have sent Huang Jiang to negotiate — he could have gotten it for half the price!

"Not expensive, not expensive." Whatever Zhu Cilang thought in his heart, his face showed not the slightest trace of pain at the cost, and he even said to Huang Xiaobao with a smile, "The money spent on her can be recovered tenfold, a hundredfold — so it is not expensive!"

What? Recovered? How?

Huang Xiaobao listened in utter confusion, thinking: How can money be made out of debauchery and vice? How would one make it? Surely he could not make the little beauty Marie open for business?

Zhu Cilang glanced back at him and said with a smile, "Xiaobao, you do not understand making money! Do you know whose money is easiest to earn in this world?"

"That..." Huang Xiaobao shook his head, thinking: Yours, of course! Did Miss Marie not just earn a huge sum from you? Thirty thousand at once, six thousand a year for ten years running — that is ninety thousand taels of silver, and with the house it comes to a hundred and twenty thousand!

Zhu Cilang laughed. "Women's money, of course! Why do Westerners love our silk so much? Is it not because their women love it? Women love beauty; to look pretty, what does spending a little money matter? And women love to compete — if you have it, I must have it too! What does spending a little money matter? Xiaobao, do you understand now how We mean to make money through Marie?"

"No!" Huang Xiaobao still shook his head. Although he went in and out with a crowd of women all day long, and had even taken a wife for himself, he truly did not understand women. And he was also quite stingy, not very willing to spend money on women — not just ordinarily tight-fisted!

Truly, even a beauty like Marie Mancini, no matter how she tempted him, could never dig a single silver coin out of his pocket.

Zhu Cilang sighed and said with a smile, "Never mind if you do not understand. Let Us put it to you this way: if we want to earn more money from Europe, we must figure out how to make European women spend money!"

As he spoke, the great Emperor had already passed through the covered walkway and arrived outside the back gate of Pang Family Garden. The gate was already open, and a little foreign filly, as lovely as a celestial being and dressed like a court lady, stood smiling at the entrance to welcome him.

The weather was gradually turning hot. Pukou, on the north bank of the Yangtze, was somewhat cooler than the furnace city of Nanjing on the south bank, but the crowds on the streets had already changed into thin robes and short jackets. Unlike the wide sleeves, flowing robes, and square scholars' caps common on the streets of the great metropolis across the river, here in Pukou one almost never saw those self-styled romantic "men of letters."

What was fashionable here was narrow-sleeved, close-fitting clothing, which made the wearer look especially sharp. Many people also hung a two- or three-foot treasured sword from their belt, looking for all the world like wandering knights-errant — in fact, these sword-bearing, narrow-sleeved figures were no knights-errant at all. They were mostly teachers and students of the schools in the Pukou and Laoshan area, or low-ranking officials of the various government offices, and some were officers and soldiers on leave.

Officials wore swords to display their status — Zhu Cilang had set the rule for officials to wear swords back when he was the Army-Supervising Crown Prince. Not only were they to wear swords, but younger officials also had to learn fencing, archery, and the use of firearms!

To serve as an official in troubled times, one could not do without some martial skill!

And in the "new-style schools" of the Pukou and Laoshan area, whether military or not, all students without exception had to wear swords — even the girls. Not only wear swords, but also learn fencing; archery, firearms, and horsemanship were of course all compulsory! However, students who had not yet come of age could only wear wooden swords, not iron swords of greater lethality. Only after undergoing the capping ceremony for boys or the hairpin ceremony for girls would they be granted an unsharpened treasured sword by their teachers — a weapon bestowed by the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, for them to defend the Ming realm! And only after passing a series of martial arts examinations could the sword be sharpened, and only then did they become qualified successors of Great Ming feudalism.

As for Ming army officers and soldiers, on the day of their enlistment they too received a treasured sword nominally bestowed by the Son of Heaven — also unsharpened. Only after they completed the corresponding training could the sword be sharpened, symbolizing that they had become good warriors of Great Ming feudalism.

And these swords issued to officials, soldiers, and students all had a regulation pattern, and private imitation was forbidden. In a certain sense, they were also a symbol of privilege, duty, and responsibility!

As for the merchants and industrialists who worked and lived in the Pukou and Laoshan area, they generally did not wear swords (they were of course permitted to), and if they had need of self-defense, at most they would carry a flintlock pistol.

In the Great Ming of today, commoners were permitted to bear firearms, though firearm permits were gradually being tightened. In the early years of Hongxing the authorities did not interfere at all, but beginning in the eighth year of Hongxing, the court promulgated the Firearms Monopoly Law. Only merchants who had obtained monopoly rights could sell firearms. Moreover, customers purchasing new firearms had to pass a background check, and also had to undergo training and pass an examination (or they could take the examination directly) before they could obtain a gun permit and legally bear arms.

By the way, besides legally bearing firearms, the common people of the Great Ming today could also legally possess cannon! That is, artillery — any piece with a shot weight of ten catties or less could be legally owned! But a "cannon permit" was far harder to obtain than a gun permit. Not just anyone could buy a cannon and take it home to play with. Cannons made too much noise when fired — a public nuisance!

According to the provisions of the Artillery Monopoly Law, only merchant shipowners and ennobled nobles who owned castles (ennobled nobles with large land grants in frontier provinces or regions could build private castles) could purchase cannon, and the cannon they purchased had to be stored at designated locations (fortresses or ships) and could not be moved without approval.

Furthermore, cannon could not be bought just anywhere. Only in the two capitals of the Great Ming, east and west (Yingtian Prefecture and Wuhan Prefecture), as well as in Shanghai, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Macau, and other such places, had artillery monopoly shops been established.

Anyone who wanted to buy a cannon had to bring a great pile of documents and apply to the office administering the monopoly in one of those ten cities, and only after approval could the purchase be made.

In short, buying a cannon was a troublesome business. One also had to pay a hefty artillery purchase tax and buy gunnery training courses — without considerable means, one truly could not afford it!

Jabusi, a great merchant from beyond the passes and from Joseon, was one man who did not fear trouble, nor did he fear spending money. This time, using the pretext of purchasing cannon in large quantities, he had left Hanyang, where the head office of the Jialeshi Firm was located (after Dodo entered Joseon, he too had moved most of his business to Joseon), and after a long journey had now at last arrived at Nanjing's Pukou — a place both familiar and strange to him.

(End of Chapter)