Chapter 67: Reputation

  Jingzhou Prefecture Government Office

  A group of merchants were whispering among themselves, their postures varied but their expressions all shared a common gloominess. Since receiving the invitation from the Magistrate's office two days ago, they had understood that today was unavoidable - they would be plucked clean. The newly appointed Magistrate, High Official Gao, was reportedly dissatisfied with the city defenses of Jingzhou and intended to strengthen them. But where would the funds come from? Thus, he had summoned a large group of merchants from within the city walls to discuss how to raise the money.

  Just as the merchants were getting anxious and felt like time was passing slowly, they suddenly heard a bailiff shouting: "The head of the Jingzhou warehouse, Mr. Lin, has arrived!" The merchants' eyes all turned to the side hall door. And then they saw Lin Deshao striding into the side hall, seeing that the merchants were staring at him, he cupped his fists and said: "Everyone has arrived early, I'm late."

  These merchants all came forward and greeted Lin Deshao, who returned their greetings one by one:

  "Hello Mr. Li, the Rong Mei green tea you wanted will arrive tomorrow..."

  "Oh, isn't this Boss Zhang? Long time no see! Where have you been making a fortune lately?"

  "Hey, Boss Zhu, the contract for purchasing shares has been drafted. We'll sign it tomorrow?"

  ……

  Merchants also asked: "How's the business of the warehouse recently? How much dividend can I get this month?"

  "Boss Lin, when will the four-wheeled horse carriage I ordered arrive? Our little Taohong has asked several times already!"

  "Boss Lin, can the three-masted sailboat I ordered be delivered next April? If not, I'll have to drink the northwest wind..."

  "Boss Lin, today's collection you must help us take care of it a bit, now all the silver in our hands is in your hands..."

  ……

  With the arrival of Lin De Shao, the quiet and humble hall became a bustling marketplace. Recently, the sale of 60% of the shares in Jingzhou's warehouse had gained the attention of merchants and officials from Jingzhou, who dug out their hidden silver to buy shares. Some even came all the way from Wuchang Prefecture just to join in on the excitement. It was truly a grand event in the history of commerce in Jingzhou. Bangtai Business Firm suddenly withdrew over 400,000 taels of silver from Jingzhou.

  Nowadays, Lin Deshao has almost become the number one businessman in Jingzhou, with a trend of uniting businessmen to speak with one voice. It can be said that Lin Deshao's every move directly affects all aspects of Jingzhou City.

  "A loud and prolonged shout of 'The Magistrate has arrived...' came, the merchants all stood up in front of their seats to welcome the Magistrate. Lin Deshao was no exception, although he was a big shot in the business world, but in front of the Magistrate, he was nothing."

  "Pay respects to the Governor...". The bows of more than 30 merchants made Gao Douzhu feel pleased, but as a local parent, in the capital city, what is a Ministry of Punishment's junior official?

  "No need for courtesy, no need for courtesy. Everyone please sit down... haha..." Gao Douhui pressed his hands downwards, gesturing for everyone to take a seat, and he himself sat in the main position, constantly scanning the crowd, finally fixing his gaze on Lin Deshao's face.

  A bad premonition struck him, and Lin Deshao's heart skipped a beat. He hastily stood up, bowed again, and said: "Lin Deshao, your humble servant, pays his respects to the Honorable Prefect!"

  "Alright, alright, please sit down, Mr. Lin doesn't need to be polite." Gao Douhuan's small eyes smiled almost shut, his thin and long face was well-maintained, white and without a single wrinkle. "I recently heard that Mr. Lin's business is doing very well, with 400,000 taels of silver coming in! It really makes me admire you."

  "It's all thanks to the support of Master Zhifu and the help of my brothers, just earning some personal favor, but it ends up making Master laugh instead."

  "Four hundred thousand taels of silver can buy a person's favor? Do you know that the imperial court couldn't even take out one million taels of silver to appease the civil unrest in Shaanxi, and it was the emperor who squeezed them out from the inner treasury?" Gao Douzhu's face changed color in an instant, his small eyes shot out cold light, staring tightly at Lin Deshao.

  The businessmen were shocked, how could this high-ranking official change his face as easily as a child?

  Lin De Shao calmly replied, "The court is in difficulty, and the common people should do their best to help the emperor. From the establishment of the warehouse in Jingzhou, we have already paid 23,500 taels of silver in taxes to the court."

  "Haha, well said, well said. Director Lin is truly dedicated to the imperial court, and so are all of you present here. I am also aware of everyone's contributions to the imperial court. Two months ago, when Lin Chunhong arrived in Yangzhou, a single large vessel paid 2,200 taels of silver in taxes, and I have seen the memorial myself."

  Gao Douhui's face changed into a smile again, leaving all the merchants bewildered. What did Gao Douhui really want to do?

  Lin Deshao was already familiar with the official's face and knew that this guy, whether intimidating or speaking nicely, was just trying to get merchants to take out their silver.

  "Everyone knows that the imperial court is having a hard time now, and the Emperor is so frugal that even his underwear has patches sewn on by the Empress. This makes us officials extremely anxious." As he spoke, Gao Douzhu's voice was choked with emotion, stirring up strong feelings.

  Lin Deshao said in a low voice: Go ahead, you just pretend, damn it, the people of the Ming Dynasty are suffering, and there's not even any disaster relief money. Whose fault is that? Isn't it because of you guys who are idle and drawing a salary?

  "Now Shanxi and Shaanxi are in a mess, the Yellow River has burst its banks in Mengjin, Henan, and it's clear that the refugees are spreading to Henan. Although Jingzhou has been peaceful for years, who can guarantee that bandits won't appear at our gates tomorrow? Didn't Wu Dang do just that a few years ago? As an incompetent official, I'm ashamed to be your governor, but I genuinely want to share the emperor's worries and do something for the people. However, Jingzhou's defenses are in shambles, how can we resist bandits? Even if Jingzhou's defenses were solid, it would provide a safe haven for all of you, allowing you to conduct business with peace of mind. Therefore, I still need to rely on your donations."

  After finishing speaking, Gao Douxu bowed to the merchants, who were in a hurry and stood up to return the courtesy, saying "I don't dare, I don't dare".

  "Everyone says something, let's see how much silver can be donated. The construction of city defense and the increase of war equipment probably need 184,000 taels of silver, now the treasury of Jingzhou is empty, relying on everyone."

  The merchants all stood in the hall, their heads bowed and silent. Lin Deshao also stood among the crowd, trying his best not to draw Gao Doujue's attention to himself.

  Gao Douhui's attendants saw that the merchants were all silent, and called out: "Zhu Mengze, how much can you donate?"

  Zhu Mengze, a silk merchant, was the first to be pointed out. His face changed color and he became so tense that he almost fell to the ground. He stuttered: "I just bought shares in Jingzhou's warehouse last month and I'm currently short of silver. I'll donate 200 taels."

  "I also bought shares in Jingzhou Warehouse last month, I'll donate 100 taels!"

  "I'll donate three hundred taels..."

  ……

  Gao Douhui's face turned increasingly ugly, his gloomy eyes making the merchants tremble with fear, all involuntarily looking towards Lin Deshao. Gao Douhui angrily said: "Were my words just now spoken in vain? Is this how you share worries for your lord?"

  The attendants saw Gao Dou's anger and hastily said: "Sir, please calm down. I have investigated and they indeed all bought shares of the warehouse. It is also possible that they cannot take out silver coins for a while. Now, the Jingzhou warehouse has suddenly withdrawn 400,000 taels of silver from Jingzhou, and there is an extreme shortage of silver on the market. Some large transactions that usually occur have disappeared, and it's really not their fault!"

  Everyone's attention was focused on Lin Deshao again, and Lin Deshao couldn't avoid it. He stood out and said: "Now everyone is indeed a bit difficult, the silver in Jingzhou City is not enough, and it's not just now that this has appeared. Since the Wanli period, which year did Jingzhou City not lack silver? Usually our large transactions are also carried out in installments or simply in kind...

  Lin De said a lot of irrelevant things, making Gao Douzhuan very impatient. He said: "Don't talk about these useless things, just say how much silver you will donate!"

  Lin De Shao bowed his hands and continued: "Please, Your Honor, let me finish speaking. This has a great deal to do with how much silver I donate. It's not just Jingzhou that lacks silver, the entire Ming dynasty is short of silver. The harm caused by the lack of silver is enormous. Ordinary commoners work hard to harvest some grain, but due to the Ming dynasty's shortage of silver, silver is expensive and grain is cheap, causing them invisible harm and increasing their difficulty in making a living. Merchants are also the emperor's subjects, and because of the lack of silver, large transactions cannot be completed, damaging the circulation of goods, with endless troubles..."

  Lin De Shao's words, some of which were his own inference and some learned from Xing Zhi Book Hall, clearly explained the harm caused by the lack of silver, causing Gao Dou Zhuan to nod frequently. After all, Gao Dou Zhuan had been in the imperial court for many years, with extensive knowledge and experience. Lin De Shao's words almost opened a window for him, allowing him to understand some common sense about currency. He knew that the imperial court often debated the issue of silver being expensive and grain being cheap, but no one could come up with a solution. Was this guy saying that he had a way to solve it?

  "He couldn't help but sigh: 'The amount of silver in the world is limited, this is also an unavoidable thing!'"

  "It is indeed the case, and now silver is also very inconvenient to use. For a few pieces of silver business, each merchant still carries a steelyard on his body, which wastes a lot of time when weighing. Moreover, when the government casts official silver, the fire loss is also a huge loss, invisibly reducing the income of the court by a part."

  "Ah, during the Jiajing era, a lot of copper coins were also cast. For small transactions, copper coins are the most convenient to use. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, copper coins are rarely cast now." Gao Douzhu said.

  Lin Deshao saw Gao Douhui following his own train of thought, and was overjoyed, saying: "Now we have come up with a solution to the problem of insufficient silver."

  Gao Douhui was very interested and didn't mind the occasional glances from his attendants, asking: "What method?"

  "Awesome!"

  Gao Douhui and the merchants immediately understood, and they all exclaimed in surprise. It's not that no one has done it before, but because there are too many counterfeiters, most of whom have lost their shirts, and this requires a huge amount of capital and a network spanning the entire country, with extremely complex management that needs a large number of professionals.

  Gao Douhui burst out laughing: "Haha, I knew it! Lin Chunhong that little brat is busy with this thing every day! He even dares to play this trick on me! You go back and bring a message, tell him to come see me immediately! The silver for the defense of Jingzhou will be paid by him alone!"

  The businessmen let out a sigh of relief, all gazing at Lin De Shao with sympathetic eyes, while Lin De Shao's eyes showed no hint of discomfort, clear and calm like a still pool of water.