Yu Qingyi visited various places in the Capital City, while Yang Zhenshan hosted a banquet at Chongshan Pass for numerous merchants.
After the Tenglong Guard developed sea trade, many merchants took the opportunity to sail on merchant ships. Now, there are hundreds of merchants doing business with the Tenglong Guard.
Of course, speaking of wealthy merchants, one must mention the Luo family, Prince Jing’an’s family, the Lin family, and the Zhang family in Chongshan Town. Although other merchants made considerable Silver from the Tenglong Guard, their earnings pale in comparison to these families.
Today, the front courtyard of Marquis Mansion was extraordinarily bustling, with over eighty merchants arriving for the banquet.
Yang Zhenshan, amidst the feast, engaged in lively and friendly conversations with everyone.
Truth be told, given Yang Zhenshan’s current status, it was already quite an honor for these merchants to be invited by him to the banquet, let alone to drink and chat merrily with him, which made all the merchants feel deeply honored.
Usually, they wouldn’t even have a place to sit in front of government officials, let alone cheer with wine.
After the third round of drinks and the fifth course, the servants cleared the leftover food and brought in tea.
Finally, Yang Zhenshan, with a flushed face, sat at the main seat and scanned the assembled merchants.
"This time, I invited everyone here because I want to propose a substantial business deal!"
As soon as he said this, everyone’s spirit perked up, their drunkenness dissipated, and they looked intently at Yang Zhenshan.
If such words came from someone else, they might suspect whether the business was a scam.
However, coming from Yang Zhenshan’s mouth, they had to take it seriously.
The reason was simple. Six years ago, Yang Zhenshan held a large investment conference at the Tenglong Guard. Merchants who attended that conference are now extremely wealthy.
A saying even circulated within the Liaodong business community: "Having ten thousand guan is not as good as owning one ship from the Tenglong Guard."
That conference created a myth of Tenglong Guard’s sea trade, earning Yang Zhenshan immense admiration from countless merchants.
Previously at Tenglong Guard, how many merchants wanted to connect with Yang Zhenshan, but unfortunately, by then Tenglong Guard was already well-developed, and Yang Zhenshan had no need to attract merchants personally.
For many merchants, missing that conference meant missing a tremendous opportunity.
Now that Yang Zhenshan wanted to do business with the merchants again, how could they not pay attention?
"Marquis’s business always has our support. You are benevolent, Marquis. As long as the Marquis needs, my Wang family will definitely support unreservedly!" Wang Zhenze from Prince Jing’an’s family stated openly without hesitation.
In recent years, the fastest growing family wasn’t the Luo family or the Zhang family from Liao’an, but the Wang family from Prince Jing’an.
Ever since Yang Zhenshan helped the Wang family recover their cotton stolen by bandits, Wang Zhenze has been closely following Tenglong Guard’s footsteps. When Tenglong Guard developed sea trade, Wang Zhenze invested all his assets in a ship.
While other families were still hesitating, the Wang family’s merchant ship had already followed Tenglong Guard’s Navy to trade grain for gold and silver ores in the Li Sheng Dynasty.
Up to now, Prince Jing’an’s family has become the largest sea merchant in Liaodong, aside from the Luo family, who are not from Liaodong but from Chongshan Town.
"Haha, actually, this big business deal is not highly profitable; it only offers a slim margin."
Yang Zhenshan chuckled, then continued: "I would like to borrow money from everyone here in the name of General Mansion, for a term of three years, with a monthly interest of three percent per two Silver!"
Everyone looked at each other.
It’s not about doing business; it’s about borrowing money!
Everyone was somewhat confused.
Borrowing money in the name of General Mansion?
Government borrowing from civilian merchants sounds somewhat absurd.
What if the government fails to repay?
Could they go to the government to claim debts?
Claiming debts from General Mansion?
Meow, is the sword of General Mansion not sharp enough, or its guns not lethal?
Also, with an interest of only three percent per month, the annual interest amounts to thirty-six percent.
Although the interest rate might seem high, it in reality is not.
In Liaodong, when borrowing from pawn shops and money exchangers, the rate is "nine out for thirteen back," with terms every three months, and accumulating interest on unpaid debts.
Compared to that, a monthly interest of three percent is indeed low.
For a moment, the hall fell silent, everyone frowning and pondering.
Yang Zhenshan was in no hurry, quietly savoring his tea.
"How much Silver does the Marquis need to borrow?" asked Wang Zhenze.
At this moment, Luo Shang did not speak, as everyone knew he was Yang Zhenshan’s man, and him speaking would seem like a shill.
Instead, it was appropriate for Wang Zhenze to speak.
The Wang family was close to Yang Zhenshan, yet not too close, not completely Yang Zhenshan’s people.
Yang Zhenshan produced a certificate, much like a silver note, with "Debt Note of the Chongshan Town General Mansion" written on it, a serial number on the right, an amount of one hundred taels in the center, the redemption date on the left, and conditions and redemption time and place written in small characters at the bottom.
It bore the official seal of the General Mansion, the Marquis’s seal, and his private seal, along with a secret seal and others.
Printing silver notes wasn’t difficult; the Zhang family from Liao’an specialized in this, and although Da Rong did not have Treasury notes, its private money exchange and silver note business was very developed.
And the debt note held by Yang Zhenshan was similar to a silver note, except silver notes are redeemed immediately upon presentation, while debt notes can only be redeemed upon maturity.
"One hundred taels each, General Mansion printed thirty thousand of them, totaling three million taels!"
"It bears the official seal of General Mansion, my Marquis seal, and personal seal!"
"It is stated below that if General Mansion is unable to pay upon maturity, one can seek repayment from the Marquis!"