Chapter 591: The Great Ming Loan King

The splashing of hooves churned through the muddy yellow river water as a fine Western Tibetan steed at the head of the column was the first to set foot on the eastern bank of the broad, slow-flowing river. Close behind, a dozen or more fine horses were driven down from a ferryboat and came galloping up onto the riverbank through the yellow water. On the opposite bank, the shore was still crowded with several hundred to a thousand fine horses, waiting under the watch of their grooms to board boats and cross the river.

These thousand-odd fine horses were the Western Tibetan steeds that Jia Busi, the ninth Imperial Merchant of the Great Qing, had obtained from Wu Sangui. After twenty or thirty days of roundabout travel, they had finally reached the bank of the Yellow River at the border between Wubao County in Tianbao Prefecture, Shaanxi, and Qikou Town in Yongning Subprefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi.

The west bank of the Yellow River was the territory of Wang Yongqiang, Military Governor of Tianbao on the Shun dynasty's side, while the east bank of the Yellow River was the territory of Zhu Cijiong, Prince of Dai under the Great Ming — this place was actually a "border line"!

Although the Great Ming and the Great Shun were still enemy states locked in combat, there was not the slightest tension to be seen along this "border line." Instead, "border trade" was thriving, and a frontier market had even been opened at Qikou Town near the eastern bank of this Yellow River crossing.

And the Qikou frontier market was precisely the destination of Jia Busi, the great Imperial Merchant — although Jia Busi was not much of a trader, he was not so stupid as to haul Qinghai horses to Beijing to sell. Sell to whom? The Qing troops had only been inside the passes for a few years; how could the Eight Banners possibly be short of horses? And with Mongol horses arriving in an endless stream, how could Jia Busi's Western Tibetan horses possibly fetch a good price? If he could not get a good price, his great spy operation would be running at a loss!

Jia Busi's "Imperial Merchant" status was also contracted — he bore his own profits and losses. Whatever money he made was split with the Northern Provost Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he himself could keep thirty percent.

So while he had to be a spy, he could not entirely neglect the business side of things!

And in the northern lands of today (excluding Shandong), the highest horse prices were certainly in Xi'an — Zhang Xianzhong was also mobilizing his army and preparing for war, ready to make a big move, and he had silver too. After so many years of campaigning across the realm, the silver he had amassed was well over ten million taels.

But Jia Busi did not dare go to Xi'an. That place was far too unpredictable — he might make a fortune, or he might run straight into Zhang Xianzhong's blade and get himself killed. Such things had happened before! And the one who got killed had been a fellow Shaanxi native of Zhang Xianzhong's — how would Jia Busi, a fake Shanxi man, dare to go?

And the high horse prices in Xi'an (in fact, everything there was expensive) were also connected to Zhang Xianzhong's "unpredictable rampages."

The Qikou Town frontier market, on the other hand, was now the second most expensive place for horses in the northern lands (excluding Shandong). Because that Prince of Dai up on Mount Lüliang had been expanding his army and preparing for war since last year — it looked like he was getting ready for a major showdown with the eastern barbarians!

At this moment, although the Qikou frontier market was extraordinarily prosperous — even surpassing the early Chongzhen years when the realm was still relatively peaceful — a single shipment of a thousand fine horses was still a big enough move to stir the entire merchant town of Qikou. Even Chen Wenhao, the wealthy magnate Chen, whom Zhu Cijiong had appointed as Chief Merchant of the Qikou frontier market, was stirred into action!

The portly magnate Chen — a fat man who looked to weigh a full one hundred and eighty catties — was no local profiteer of Qikou Town, but a Shanxi "loyal merchant" who had moved there from Pingyao.

Although the Eight Great Imperial Merchants on the Great Qing side were all Shanxi old-timers, the wealthy magnate Chen was no traitorous Shanxi merchant — there were plenty of Shanxi merchants in the Ming, and while it might be fair to say every one of them was a profiteer, slapping the label of "traitor" on all of them was pure nonsense.

And this wealthy magnate Chen could not even be counted as a profiteer. Four or five years ago his family had still been one of Shanxi's famous private-coin merchants, and the small coins he lent out each year outnumbered the copper coins issued by the Ming Ministry of Revenue. But ever since Dorgon implemented the land-equalization-by-headcount law in Shanxi, the wealthy magnate Chen had turned over a new leaf. He took the family fortune he had accumulated from years of privately minted copper coins, left his old home in Pingyao, and went up Mount Lüliang. And because of his meritorious service in lending money, he had received commendation from Zhu Cijiong and been enfeoffed as a "Loyal and Righteous Merchant"!

So he was now a genuine "loyal merchant" — he had the certificate. Whoever dared say he was disloyal was opposing the Great Ming Loan King up on Mount Lüliang! Yes — "Loan" as in lending! The "loyal merchants" on Mount Lüliang had all lent money to Zhu Cijiong, and so they all called him the "Loan King" behind his back.

"Fine horses, fine horses! Manager Jia, we'll take all your horses! Name your price!"

In a residence built halfway up the hillside of Qikou Town, which was constructed against the mountain, Chen Wenhao, the great Chief Merchant Chen, was smiling as he negotiated with Jia Busi — this was not Jia Busi's first time up Mount Lüliang, nor his first time passing through Qikou Town, so he and Fatso Chen had met a few times before.

But Fatso Chen did not know his true identity, taking him only for a wealthy merchant in these troubled times.

Jia Busi smiled and held up four fingers. "How about forty thousand taels of silver? To get these Western Tibetan horses, old Jia here went to Qinghai with his head hanging from his belt — nearly got chopped up by Oirat cavalry. I'm just earning a bit of hard-work money. Of course, you, sir, have been managing the Qikou Town trade for His Highness the Prince of Dai, and that's hard work too — just look, you've lost a whole ring of weight!"

"Isn't that the truth!" Fatso Chen nodded in agreement, the fat on his face bunching up. "These days have been busy. His Highness the Prince of Dai is busy expanding his army and preparing for war, and we loyal merchants can't just stand by with our arms crossed — every one of us is contributing money and effort..."

At the words "contributing money and effort," tears glistened in the fat man's eyes. Last month he had lent another sum at high interest to the "Loan King" Zhu Cijiong — three percent monthly interest, non-compounding, which worked out to an annual rate of thirty-six percent. Absolutely a usurious loan!

"Oh, oh." Jia Busi looked at the fat man's expression with a hint of puzzlement, thinking to himself: What's wrong with this profiteer? What sad thing is he remembering?

"Then the horses I brought..." Jia Busi asked in a low voice.

"Oh," the fat man finally came back to his senses. "Forty thousand taels it is, then. However..."

"However what?" Jia Busi knew silver was never that easy to earn. Not even haggling over the price — there had to be a catch!

The fat man frowned and said, "However, the Prince of Dai doesn't have that much ready silver. At most he can give four thousand taels in cash."

"Four thousand taels?" Jia Busi was stunned. "Then what about the rest?"

Fatso Chen said, "He'll give loan notes!"

"Loan notes?"

The fat man nodded. "Three percent monthly interest, non-compounding, paid in one lump sum at maturity."

"And when is maturity?"

"Whenever Shanxi is recovered — that's when it matures!" By the time Fatso Chen finished, tears were nearly dripping down.

He had already lent the Loan King, His Highness, over a hundred thousand taels of silver, plus several thousand catties of copper, in one loan after another... and he had no idea whether he would live to see the day the Loan King paid him back!

"This... this..." Jia Busi did not know what to say.

He had of course heard about the "Loan King" borrowing money from everyone he could find, but he had never imagined it would come knocking on his own door.

"I... I'm a bit short on funds at the moment!" Jia Busi immediately began pleading poverty. "A thousand horses and only four thousand taels — that won't even cover the travel expenses..."

Fatso Chen watched Jia Busi's poverty-pleading act and burst out laughing. "Who doesn't know that Boss Jia has silver? Besides, three percent monthly interest is quite good! The loan note bears the Loan King's personal signature and the prince's great seal — are you afraid you won't get your money?"

How could he not be afraid? Jia Busi could only shake his head. The Prince of Dai held only a single Datong Prefecture, and the Tartars had reduced it to wasteland. Even if it could be recovered in the future, there would be little profit in it — what would he use to repay the debt?

Fatso Chen said, "What's there to fear? If the Loan King can't pay, there's still the Emperor, his father! The Emperor has money now — he's been scraping the earth in Jiangnan and gotten rich off it. Would he be short your bit of silver?"

You think the Hongxing Emperor will back the Prince of Dai? A shrewd emperor like Hongxing would pay off his younger brother's usurious debts? And besides, if the Prince of Dai refuses to pay, what can you Shanxi old-timers do about it? Jia Busi thought to himself: You profiteer are done for — the Prince of Dai has swindled away all your silver!

Just as Jia Busi was worrying on Fatso Chen's behalf, the fat man had already lowered his voice and spoken: "Manager Jia, let me be frank with you — ten percent cash and ninety percent notes is now the purchasing rule of the Loan King's household! If you won't accept it, then this deal cannot be done. I can guarantee that within the borders of Mount Lüliang, no second buyer will take your horses. His Highness the Loan King is a reasonable man — he won't force a sale, and he certainly won't rob you. But he can guarantee that no one will dare buy your horses. Once your horses leave Mount Lüliang, they won't be worth much — unless you haul them to Xi'an Prefecture. Heh, Zhang Xianzhong kills without rhyme or reason. If you've got the guts, go ahead!"

(End of Chapter)