Chapter 1017: Imperial Father, Would You Also Like to Invest? (Please Subscribe)

The news that Zhu Cilang was holding an "Investors' Meeting for the New Continent United States Project" at the Hall of Imperial Supremacy reached Nanjing across the Yangtze and immediately caused a sensation — the Ming's Two-Palace conferences had always been secret, with virtually no leaks, but whoever was in charge of secrecy this time, within two days the whole city was abuzz, and there was hardly anyone in Nanjing who hadn't heard!

So the Ming Son of Heaven really was the richest man under heaven!

And what exactly was this New Continent United States? Why were the Ming's richest man, the Ming's foremost magnate, and all the incorruptible officials of the court eagerly pouring money into it?

Moreover, people had only ever heard of winning an empire by the sword and spear, carving out a splendid realm blow by blow. How could one now invest one's way to an empire?

Could the realm and the altars of state be something one could buy?

Well then, was investing in a realm and the altars of state a good deal or not?

Right now it was one million for a marquisate plus something called a Founding Elder. That threshold was a bit high! Were there any projects requiring less money? Say, one hundred thousand taels for an earldom, ten thousand taels for a viscountcy, or something like that? That kind of money everyone could afford!

The minds of the landlords, old-money gentry, and capitalists in Nanjing all began to stir!

After all, the United States project was led by the Ming's richest man and the Ming's foremost magnate, and the Ming's second-richest man, who was serving in Beijing as Minister of Revenue, would most likely also put in a large sum. A project they all favored — could it possibly lose money? Even if it did, one would still get a piece of land and a title of nobility.

News that even the common people of Nanjing knew had naturally also reached the Retired Emperor, who lived in the Palace of Benevolent Longevity (formerly the Great Merit Arch and West Garden) by the Qinhuai River in Nanjing's inner city.

The one who brought him this news was Pang Tianshou, the eunuch steward-general of the Palace of Benevolent Longevity.

"What? He's going to invest thirty million taels of silver in some New Continent United-whatever? Where — where did he get so much money? His annual allowance is only three hundred thousand taels of gold-flower silver!"

The Chongzhen Emperor was shocked! He had been Son of Heaven for seventeen years, often losing whole nights of sleep over a few hundred thousand taels, and in the end had been stripped of power by his son for lack of money. Yet this unfilial son had held power for only thirteen or fourteen years, had arrived in Nanjing almost empty-handed back then — and now, after so few years, how was it that every move he made involved millions or tens of millions?

Eunuch Pang said with a bitter smile, "Old Majesty, don't you know yet? It's all over the streets outside. The Ming now has a richest man, a foremost magnate, and a second-richest man. The foremost magnate is Zheng Zhilong, the second-richest is Shen Tingyang, and the richest is His Majesty himself!"

The Chongzhen Emperor started. "Richest? Just how rich?"

"Rich enough to take out thirty million taels to invest in a United States for his eldest son. How rich do you think he is?"

"But — but where did his silver come from?" The Chongzhen Emperor still couldn't figure it out!

Pang Tianshou shook his head and said, "Although His Majesty's court is quite good at raking in money, His Majesty himself takes only three hundred thousand taels a year — not a single copper more — and spends it clean every year, with no surplus at all."

"Then how did he become the richest man?" Although the Retired Emperor Chongzhen had already settled into a life of debauched retirement, he was not old — just past forty — and in good health, with a mind still very sharp. So he had not given up studying — studying philosophy, French, mathematics, natural philosophy, and the science of how to be an emperor! He did quite well in all five subjects, a proper top student!

But although the top student Chongzhen had a high IQ, his financial IQ was very low. Far from learning Zhu Cilang's money-making skills, he couldn't even understand them by watching!

If he could have understood even a little, he wouldn't have been discussing with Pang Tianshou the question of how Zhu Cilang had become the Ming's richest man.

"Th-this — how would this slave know?" Of course Pang Tianshou didn't know!

Although Ming emperors often had to rely on eunuchs to raise money, the eunuchs themselves had little financial acumen either — with the civil officials collectively doing nothing, the ennobled families all lying flat, and the emperor himself raised deep in the palace with no grasp of finance, the eunuchs were the only people who could scrape money for the emperor.

But what were the odds that a man truly skilled at scraping and managing money would become a eunuch?

Take that Wei Zhongxian, for example — at twenty-seven or twenty-eight he was so poor he had no way out, so he castrated himself and entered the palace as a eunuch. Could such a man be a financial genius? That the Tianqi Emperor had to rely on him to rake in money was itself a tragedy. And the Chongzhen Emperor didn't even have a Wei Zhongxian.

But Zheng Zhilong was formidable — likewise of humble origins, self-made, and by twenty-seven or twenty-eight he was already the Ming's foremost magnate, with more money in his household than the Ministry of Revenue. To raise money, one needed to find a man like that!

"Companion Pang, prepare the carriage for the Old Mountain Palace!" After much deliberation, the Retired Emperor Chongzhen finally made what seemed a wise decision — go to the Old Mountain Palace and ask Zhu Cilang directly!

Why argue with a eunuch when the Ming's richest man was right there to ask?

Departing from the Palace of Benevolent Longevity in Nanjing, he boarded a dragon boat, took the Qinhuai River into the Yangtze, crossed the river to the imperial dock at Pukou, then changed to a four-wheeled carriage and traveled on to the Old Mountain Palace — twenty-seven or twenty-eight li by water, thirty-some li by land, more than sixty li in all.

The Chongzhen Emperor set out in the morning and arrived at the Old Mountain Palace just in time for supper.

Zhu Cilang had been at the Pang Family Garden "practicing French" with Marie Mancini. Hearing that the Retired Emperor had arrived, he had no choice but to set aside the little foreign filly's "French lesson," walk back to the palace through the covered passage, then have food and wine laid out in the Swallow Mountain Hall, and also bring Wu Sanmei and Zheng Chagu along to keep them company.

It made for a harmonious imperial family dinner.

The Retired Emperor Chongzhen, who had traveled all day, was already famished. After sitting down he first ate a little to take the edge off, then set down his chopsticks and came straight to the point: "Our son, We have heard that you spent thirty million taels of silver to invest in a United States in the New World?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded. "Indeed. Imperial Father, you came rushing over from Nanjing in such a hurry — do you also wish to invest a little silver? One million taels per large share. How many large shares do you plan to take?"

So investing in the New Continent United States had a threshold: the minimum investment was one million taels! And above that it went up in one-million-tael increments — one million per share; investing in two shares meant two million.

"One million —" The Chongzhen Emperor's eyes widened. "We don't have that much money! And We did not come to the Old Mountain Palace to invest. We came to ask where you got so much money! Thirty million taels! Our son, you must explain this clearly to Us!"

Zhu Cilang laughed, his gaze sweeping across the faces of his two consorts, taking in both their expressions.

Wu Sanmei wore a worried look — she knew how much wealth Emperor Zhu actually had. Thirty million was certainly not the limit; even a "small target" of a hundred million wouldn't be out of reach!

But that was assets, not cash! It consisted mainly of land and shops in Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Yangzhou held by the Royal Chamber of Commerce; shares in the salt merchants' guild and the maritime merchants' guild; shares in the Nanjing Ironworks, the cannon foundry, and the shipyard; shares in the Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuhan exchanges; several toll canals; dozens of toll docks; and shares in some schools. All told, a hundred million was certainly there. But asking Emperor Zhu to produce thirty million in cash at once would not be easy — he would probably have to sell off many assets, and perhaps even borrow.

Spending that much money to "buy a country" for Zhu Hehao — could Wu Sanmei be happy about it?

As for Zheng Chagu, she was all smiles and cheer — she now had three sons. The little tycoon had a place to go, and there were still two sons who could eye the position of Crown Prince!

"Chagu, you tell Us — where did We get so much money?" Seeing how pleased she looked, Zhu Cilang simply put the hard question to her.

Zheng Chagu was taken aback. "Your Majesty, you want me to say? But I don't manage the Royal Chamber of Commerce's affairs!"

"But you know!" Zhu Cilang looked at Zheng Chagu. "These past few years you've made several million on vassal bonds, national bonds, land certificates, and grain and flour trading, haven't you? You've nearly learned all of Our financial tricks. How could you not know?"

What? Zheng Chagu had already made several million?

Both the Chongzhen Emperor and Wu Sanmei were startled. They knew Zheng Chagu spent money like water, but they hadn't known that Zheng Zhilong hadn't actually given Zheng Chagu that much money — most of what Zheng Chagu threw around was earned from her own investments!

(End of Chapter)