Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Governor’s Office, in the study.

A constable hurried into the study, and Pang Tang couldn’t wait to ask: “How did it go?”

“Reporting to your Excellency, I’ve found out that the General Mansion has borrowed over one million and eighty thousand taels!” The constable said with some breathlessness.

Upon hearing this, Pang Tang’s face bloomed with joy, “Good, very good!”

With money in the General Mansion, it’s as if Chongshan Town is flush with funds, and if Chongshan Town has money, it’s like Governor’s Office is wealthy.

The aide standing beside him revealed a surprised expression; he hadn’t expected Yang Zhenshan could raise such a significant amount of Silver.

Whatever Yang Zhenshan planned to do in the General Mansion, naturally, it couldn’t be concealed from the Governor’s Office.

After learning of Yang Zhenshan’s plan, he and Pang Tang actually did not have high hopes for it.

But now, Yang Zhenshan’s plan had proven successful.

“My lord, should we also~~” The aide’s eyes flickered, somewhat tempted as he spoke.

Pang Tang’s smile paused, then he rolled his eyes at the aide, saying, “Do you think that’s possible?”

“What grounds do I have for those merchants to fork over their Silver?”

“This~~” After giving it some thought, the aide also felt it was a bit far-fetched for Pang Tang to do such a thing.

Why was Yang Zhenshan able to pull it off?

That’s because back in the Tenglong Guard, Yang Zhenshan had brought these merchants sufficient profits, making them believe in his abilities and credibility.

If it were someone else, these merchants would definitely not be willing to shell out their Silver.

Of course, if Pang Tang were to ask the merchants for some Silver, then certainly, they would be willing to give him some, but that would mean accepting bribes.

In the name of Governor’s Office, on the reputation of Pang Tang, making these merchants cough up Silver was almost impossible.

Pang Tang was well aware of this, so he never entertained the idea of emulating Yang Zhenshan.

“Cough cough, go to the mansion and have the madam withdraw ten thousand taels of Silver to send to Chongshan Bank,” said Pang Tang.

“Ah! My lord is also buying that bond!” The aide said, somewhat astonished.

Pang Tang chuckled, “If we at the Governor’s Office want more Silver, we have to invest some capital, right?”

“Besides, didn’t Marquis Jing’an say, if the General Mansion can’t repay the Silver in three years, we can go to him to reclaim it?”

“Other people might not dare to ask him for repayment, but would I, Pang Tang, not dare?”

Upon reflecting, the aide thought that made sense!

When the time comes, if the merchants don’t dare to ask Marquis Jing’an to settle the accounts, what should Pang Tang fear?

Could Marquis Jing’an possibly deny his debts to Pang Tang?

“I’ll also buy some, a three percent profit isn’t much, but it’s not little either, when the time comes for my lord to collect, please don’t forget to include your pupil,” the aide was not foolish, he felt fearless with Pang Tang’s support.

Pang Tang looked at the aide, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“No problem!”

“But there is one thing that I need you to take care of!”

“My lord, please command!” said the aide.

Pang Tang’s face carried a kind smile, “Spread the word about this in the government office, hmm, maybe even to the Governor’s Office and the Inspector General’s Office.”

“That way, even if the General Mansion is unable to repay, I can assist everyone in reclaiming the Silver from Marquis Jing’an!”

The aide was first stunned, then looked at Pang Tang oddly.

“My lord, you aren’t planning to swindle your pupil, are you?”

Pang Tang was clearly intending for everyone to buy bonds from the General Mansion.

If the number was small, the aide believed Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t default on his debt to Pang Tang, but if it was a large amount, the issue was not whether Yang Zhenshan would default, but whether he could repay it.

If Yang Zhenshan didn’t have the Silver to repay, wouldn’t his own money be lost?

“What do you know, go now!” said Pang Tang irritably.

“Yes, your pupil will go at once!” The aide dared not argue with Pang Tang and could only leave the study. However, upon leaving, he hesitated.

Swindling others didn’t weigh on his conscience, but should he also leap into the same pit?

Whether this aide leaped or not remains unknown, but as Pang Tang’s words spread through the Governor’s Office, quite a few officials began to entertain the thought.

With the dual endorsement from Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang, what did they have to fear?

A thirty-six percent annual interest rate!

Such interest was enough to tempt many!

Doing business could lead to gains or losses, but buying bonds from the General Mansion was a sure win!

Many officials, tempted by these thoughts, couldn’t help but become restless, hurrying to Chongshan Bank to purchase bonds.

For a time, the front of Chongshan Bank bustled with people, as lively as a marketplace.

When Yang Zhenshan learned of the situation, even he was somewhat astounded.

“How could this be?”

He had confidence in getting the merchants to pay up, but he had never thought about getting the officials to buy the bonds, of course, he wouldn’t stop those who were willing to buy.

But how could so many officials rush to buy bonds in just a day’s time?

The financial power of the officials was definitely not as large as that of the merchants; a common civil servant being able to pull out a couple hundred taels of Silver was considered decent. As for the officials, that was really hard to say.

Some might be corrupt; their family possessing Silver that could fill a warehouse.

Others might come from noble families, wealthy with both money and land.

But in any case, officials belonged to the affluent class.

No official could sustain their household only on their official salary; after all, Da Rong did not have someone like Hai Rui.

So, for an official to draw several thousand taels, or even tens of thousands of taels of Silver, would not be surprising.

“Regarding this, the informant from the Governor stated that if the General Mansion cannot repay the Silver in three years, he would help everyone acquire the Silver from Marquis!” said the Personal Follower who came to report.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but chuckle ruefully.

“This Mr. Pang is really amusing!”

But he quickly caught on, “Damn, that old man is eyeing the silver from selling the debentures!”

“You go stand guard outside, if Mr. Pang comes, just say I went to inspect the Camp!”

Yang Zhenshan spoke with some urgency.

However, the moment his words fell, a hearty laughter came from outside the door.

“Haha, why must Marquis Yang hide from this old man?”

Yang Zhenshan looked up to see Pang Tang swaggering in.

Damn it, the debt collector has arrived!

“Where could it be, this Marquis is certainly not hiding from Mr. Pang!” Yang Zhenshan repeatedly denied.

“I’m not deaf, I heard everything!” Pang Tang did not mince words with Yang Zhenshan, and sat down directly opposite him in the study.

“Marquis Yang, how much silver do you plan to give the Governor’s Office?”

“…”

Yang Zhenshan was at a loss for words.

“To support Marquis Yang, I can buy ten thousand taels’ worth of debentures, take a look~~”

Pang Tang waved a stack of debentures and said to Yang Zhenshan.

“If Mr. Pang doesn’t want the debentures, this Marquis can buy them with ready silver!” said Yang Zhenshan.

“That won’t do, I have no intention of selling!” Pang Tang laughed heartily, stowed away the debentures, and then added, “The Governor’s Office doesn’t ask for much, how about one million taels?”

“Mr. Pang, stop joking, these debentures need to be repaid, with both principal and interest, so if the Governor’s Office demands one million taels now, does that mean it will also return it to the General Mansion with interest three years later?” Yang Zhenshan said impatiently.

Asking for one million taels straight away, this old man has some nerve.

Pang Tang shook his head, “Building Black Cloud City was your idea, the money should be spent there, how could it be counted on the Governor’s Office?”

He can spend this one million taels of silver, but he has no ability to earn another million. No, in three years it won’t be one million anymore, but over two million.

Anyway, he can’t repay it.

Yang Zhenshan was somewhat at a loss for a response.

What Pang Tang said was not wrong, whether it was building roads or cities, they were his plans. Although they had divided the work, he couldn’t ignore Black Cloud City.

“Marquis Yang, don’t think poorly of me for being greedy, it’s really that I have no other choice. It’s nearly March, and by April, construction of Black Cloud City should begin, but the Governor’s Office can’t even come up with fifty thousand taels.”

Pang Tang now played the pauper.

“Can’t the court allocate some silver?” Yang Zhenshan hesitated.

“Marquis Yang, if the court could allocate silver, why would I have to come here to sell my old face!” Pang Tang looked at Yang Zhenshan with a face full of grievances.

Yang Zhenshan’s mouth twitched slightly, he was somewhat helpless dealing with this shameless old man.

Look at this old man, nowhere does he seem well-read, he looks entirely like a complaining widow.

Although inwardly complaining, Yang Zhenshan still couldn’t ignore Pang Tang.

But he really couldn’t give the money to the Governor’s Office.

Building Black Cloud City requires money, but so does dredging the Ying River.

The engineering department at the General Mansion has already surveyed the Ying River and probably will formulate a plan for dredging next month. Recruitment for able-bodied men to start digging the riverbed is likely by early April, and by then a large sum of silver will be needed.

Moreover, the Six Assistant Generals also need silver; Yang Mingzhi is awaiting funds to buy ships and head out to sea, and the other generals also wait for silver to recruit soldiers for the Rescue Camp.

Three million seems like a lot, but for the entire Chongshan Town, it can sustain for at most one year.

There’s no choice, the rebellion by Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu brought too much loss to Chongshan Town.

This loss is far more than what three million can compensate for, not to mention Yang Zhenshan’s own plans to build roads and cities.

Yang Zhenshan furrowed his brow, falling into deep thought.

Pang Tang knew he was in a difficult position, but everyone was struggling now.

With no silver from the court, every government office in Chongshan Town was living through hard times.

Times are different now. When Lu Chongde and Liang Chu came to Chongshan Town, they brought a large sum of money and grain, along with horses, armaments, and other supplies.

But now.

He and Yang Zhenshan in Chongshan Town only had the eighty thousand taels of silver intercepted by the General Mansion.

Thinking about it, Pang Tang felt bitter.

After a long contemplation, Yang Zhenshan’s brows finally relaxed.

“If we can’t, then let’s sell land!”

The income from the glass workshop would have to wait, and the finances of the entire Chongshan Town couldn’t solely depend on the glass workshop anyway. It was necessary to find multiple sources of revenue.

“Sell land?” Pang Tang was puzzled.

“That’s right, sell land, the plan for Black Cloud City is ready, right? Residential and commercial properties within the city can be sold, and the wasteland outside can also be sold!” said Yang Zhenshan.

“But Black Cloud City hasn’t even started construction yet?” Pang Tang pointed out.

Yang Zhenshan blinked, “This is what’s called presale real estate, no, presale city! We can begin with pre-sales, let those who want to buy shops and residential properties pay a deposit first, sign a contract, and once the houses and shops are built up, then we carry out the delivery.”

“As for the wasteland, as long as it’s cultivated, it becomes fertile land, and fertile land near the city wall should be desirable to buyers, right?”

Yang Zhenshan said somewhat uncertainly.

Now it was Pang Tang’s turn to frown. He was pondering whether Yang Zhenshan’s idea was feasible.

Cultivating the wasteland was indeed possible because many merchants in Chongshan Town had bought a lot of wasteland before, mainly horse traders, who purchased wasteland to breed horses.

And on the Fuzhou City side, many had bought wasteland for farming.

If Black Cloud City’s wasteland could be sold, then it should be achievable, but currently, Black Cloud City didn’t even have a shadow.

“This is a bit difficult!” Pang Tang said with some conflict.

Yang Zhenshan also lacked confidence, “How about this, I’ll give you two hundred thousand taels of silver to start with, let’s begin building Black Cloud City so that everyone can see our determination, maybe then people will start buying land around Black Cloud City!”

After some thought, Pang Tang felt this was not a bad idea and nodded in agreement with Yang Zhenshan’s proposal.