During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, the Han River changed its course and merged into the Yangtze River from Hankou. Since then, Hankou has gradually risen and become a new power.

Going east from Hankou, you can go directly to Wuyue in the south of the Yangtze River. Going south, you can enter Dongting and connect Xiaoxiang. Going west, you can go to Sichuan via the Three Gorges, and go north to the Central Plains. It has become the largest water transport hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

As a result, Hankou has become a first-tier city, and Hankou people even think that they are the best in the world.

"Today's armor is the most prosperous in the world. Fuhan Town is not a city, not a county, but has a population of tens of miles, thousands of businesses, dozens of shops, tens of millions of ships, and all the famous towns in Kyushu.

Yan."

All in all, all in all, the prosperity and wealth of the three towns in Wuhan are second to none in the country.

As one of the leading salt merchants in Wuchang City, Zhang Youzhi has been quite depressed these days. There is no way, there is no shortage of salt in Sichuan, except for what the Ming army eats locally, there is no need to purchase in large quantities.

"Even the shops selling smelly dried seeds are crowded with people. It's really hard to accept." Zhang Youzhi looked at the deserted shops, shook his head and sighed, and reluctantly returned to the house behind the shop.

Before my butt gets hot from sitting, someone from the servants spreads the word that the Ming army sent someone to visit.

Zhang Youzhi didn't dare to neglect, so he hurried out to greet Wang Jialu. He respectfully invited Wang Jialu in and ordered someone to serve him tea.

The Ming army occupies Wuchang City, and that’s the Lord of Heaven. Although the military discipline is good, they all carry knives. Who can guarantee that there will be no violence?

Wang Jialu didn't waste any words. He took out a stack of IOUs and explained his purpose with a smile.

"Here, His Highness Prince Ding wants to borrow military funds?" Zhang Youzhi looked at the big red seal on the IOU and was a little stunned.

The feudal court required merchants and people to pay for their services, which was called donating. There was no such thing as repaying money, and they often gave empty official titles or other symbols of honor to show their sincerity.

You can obviously rob it, but someone politely comes to borrow it and writes an IOU. This is just giving you face!

"Mr. Zhang is not optimistic about His Highness the Third Prince and the great cause of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty? Do you think His Highness will refuse to pay back the debt?" Wang Jialu saw Zhang Youzhi hesitate and could not help but lower his face and put his hat on him rudely.

Three consecutive critical strikes immediately shocked Zhang Youzhi. His knees softened and he almost fell to the ground. He quickly argued: "No, no, how dare a common man have such an idea."

After saying that, he looked at Wang Jialu pleadingly and said tentatively: "The common people are not rich, so they donated five thousand taels..."

"Five thousand taels--" Wang Jialu was surprised. He didn't expect that this guy was really rich.

Zhang Youzhi was startled, thinking that Wang Jialu was angry, so he hurriedly added money and changed his words: "One, no, twenty thousand taels. In order to serve His Highness and to restore the Ming Dynasty, the common people will destroy their homes and provide relief without hesitation."

Wang Jialu was stunned. It took him a long time to wake up, feeling deeply ashamed.

I have no experience. I could borrow 20,000 taels, or even more, but I was shocked by the 5,000 taels. I was too petty, so I didn’t ask. Well, I borrowed more money. I feel ashamed to trust His Highness.

"Keep it, I will pay it back." Wang Jialu counted out the IOU, turned around and walked out, saying as he walked: "We are waiting in the shop, hurry up and get the money."

Zhang Youzhi sent Wang Jialu away with a bow, put the IOU away with a grimace, and called his family to get the silver from the cellar. If this thing was to be discovered by the government, he would have to be accused of colluding with bandits and ransacking his house.

Things are unpredictable. Zhang Youzhi and other wealthy people are holding their noses and lending money with no hope of repaying it. Quan is supposed to be sponsoring the third prince's restoration of Ming Dynasty, but he never imagined that it was a blessing in disguise.

More than ten years later, these first and only batch of IOUs stamped with King Ding's seal are already very few on the market, and it is difficult to buy them for ten thousand gold.

Because although the Ming army later issued IOUs to borrow money from merchants and civilians, they instead used the seal of the government yamen.

This batch of IOUs not only has the seal of King Ding, but also has Arabic numerals written by the third prince himself: "1,2,3,4,5,6,7...".

Some were damaged and lost during the war, and some were burned secretly. The Ming army later repaid and recovered many of them, and there are less than a hundred of them among the people. It can be said that they are extremely rare, with great collection value and room for appreciation.

At that time, Zhang Youzhi, who had gray beard and hair, was worshiping his ancestors in the ancestral hall. He took out the secret IOU to his descendants and clansmen below, proudly raised his head and said loudly: "This is the money borrowed to destroy the captives during the Long Live Hidden Dragon. I will destroy the family."

To relieve difficulties, spend all your wealth..."

Zhang Youzhi's little grandson was kneeling below, sniffling, and firmly remembered that "the emperor defaulted on the debt and refused to repay the money he borrowed." He firmly believed in his heart: When I grow up, I will go to the Forbidden City with the IOU to ask for it."

Decades later, when Zhang Youzhi was dying, he looked down at his five sons who were crying sadly but with eager eyes, but only three IOUs were left in his hand.

"Why didn't you borrow more, why didn't you sell it when your family was in a difficult situation, why didn't you leave one to each of your sons as a family heirloom to be passed down for generations to come?" Zhang Youzhi was full of regrets and could not rest in peace until his death.

Huang Li never imagined that hundreds of years later, someone would occasionally take out a collection of yellowed IOUs and show off: "Emperor Shizu owes my family money, and he hasn't paid it back yet!"

At this time, Huang Lizheng was enjoying the Wuchang delicacies served by his guards and making comments in his mind.

"Well, Wuchang Fish doesn't have red oil chili pepper, bad review!"

“Smelly Ganzi, no secret chili sauce, bad review!”

“Duck neck, a bit sweet, not spicy or spicy, bad review!”

Sigh, I don’t know what happened to my peppers and potatoes. Don’t let those two girls die.

While he was swallowing hard, thinking about the potatoes and peppers in Xingshan, the soldiers came to report, and Wang Jialu was waiting to meet him outside.

"So fast?" Huang Li was a little surprised, but also had a bad premonition, "You won't be able to borrow the money, and you will come back in despair to complain, and you will need to mobilize troops to rob it, right?"

It was not long before Wang Jialu walked in briskly, bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, the general has completed the work of borrowing money. Two hundred thousand taels of silver have been brought in and are in the courtyard."

Oh, you are so capable, do you want to impress me, or are you putting a knife to someone's neck?

"Your Highness, the general thinks that the IOU is too small, and many wealthy households in the city have not visited yet. There are also Hanyang and Hankou. The general also plans to visit, so as to give the merchants and people a chance to repay their favor." Wang Jialu concealed his excitement and bowed.

I beg for my life.

Huang Li blinked his eyes, wanting to scratch his head, and asked hesitantly: "You didn't use force, did you?"

"How dare I harm His Highness's name of benevolence and righteousness?" Wang Jialu quickly explained: "When the merchants heard that they were borrowing money to destroy the captives, they were all very enthusiastic, and some even destroyed their families to help them, so the general had to politely refuse, which cost a lot of words.

”

Real or fake? Why didn’t I see the lively scene of Master Wang eating pots of pulp when he arrived? Instead, he closed his doors to avoid the war.

Huang Li thought about it and decided not to worry about it. As long as the great cause of restoring his sight was achieved, would he still default on his debt?
Chapter completed!