Li Xianzhong gained a lot from entering the palace this time. Not only did he successfully win the Kaiyuan Road, he also obtained the positions of Kaiyuan Chief Military Officer and the Right Governor of the Chinese Army Governor's Mansion.
Although the rescue of the "9,000-year-old" Li Jinzhong who had not yet made his debut in the end was a loss-making business, it was still considered an early investment.
Based on Wanli's current situation, although his condition can be stabilized for the time being, he is not optimistic about the long term and there is no telling when he will die.
This time, taking the opportunity to help Zhu Changluo at the gate of Qianqing Palace, Li Xianzhong took the opportunity to find out for him. Although the prince's mental state was not very good due to long-term fear, he was basically fine in other aspects.
It was hard for him to imagine that such a healthy person could actually pass away due to excessive indulgence after being emperor for a month.
Soon Li Qingshan, the manager of the Li Mansion in the capital, reported the recent income and expenditure to Li Xianzhong.
Dongzhu, ginseng and other goods have been sold.
Neither Cheng Guogong nor Zheng Yangxing were short of money, and they quickly settled the money.
Mianyuelou earned 2,000 taels from selling pearls, 40,000 taels of silver from the Dongzhu sold to Jubaozhai, and 5,000 taels from selling ginseng. The total income was 47,000 taels.
Ordering 500 Rumi guns from the Bureau of Warfare cost 10,000 taels of silver. Although only half of the deposit was paid, this silver had to be deducted first.
There are 37,000 taels of silver left in cash, plus the 15,000 taels that were previously used to blackmail He Yiming in Liaodong, there are currently a total of 52,000 taels of silver on the Li family's account.
Although there is a lot of money, in fact, it can't buy much. Even at the price of 6 silver coins per stone in the capital, it can only buy 80,000 to 90,000 stone of grain, which is not enough to cover Pinglubao's food expenses for a year.
Of course, the Ministry of War also owes him a large amount of money now, with a reward of 100,000 taels for 5,000 beheadings; Amin and Abatai were given 4,000 taels by the Ministry of War, and Li Yongfang and Fei Yingdong were given 2,000 taels.
The Ministry of War now owes Li Xianzhong as much as 106,000 taels of reward money. He just doesn't know when the money will be paid to him, and he probably needs some help.
It was obvious that Li Xianzhong could not return to Liaodong with money, he must be purchasing goods.
He is not one of those rich landlords in Shanxi who likes to hide money in cellars. There were no banks in the Ming Dynasty, and money would not produce money in your hands.
There are not many specialties in Liaodong. The main products in the Jurchen area are Dongzhu, ginseng, and fur. There are also Mongolian manpower of cattle, sheep and horses, mainly war horses and sheepskins.
The current trade with the Mongolians has just started. Compared with dongzhu and ginseng, fur is larger and the price is unstable. Sales are affected by seasons, so Li Xianzhong has not chosen fur for the time being.
However, with the temporary saturation of Dongzhu, the only trade he can conduct with the capital every month is ginseng and fur.
None of these are very large, with an income of a few thousand taels a month at most.
Now that the matter with the Ministry of War has been settled, Jianlu and the Mongols are eyeing him, and it is impossible for him to stay in the capital for a long time. He still has to think of a good way to get rich quickly.
Just when Li Xianzhong had a headache, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, held a banquet in Zuixian Tower and invited him to an appointment.
The other most popular figures in the capital these days are Zhu Chunchen and Li Xianzhong.
Chengguo Gong Zhu Chunchen suddenly made headlines in the Beijing circle because he had a fight with the mysterious young master in Mianyue Tower and spent ten thousand taels on Dongzhu. His Jubaozhai became a booming business because of Dongzhu. "Jin Dou Jin" suddenly became a man of the hour in the capital.
As the "Liaodong Victory" spread in the capital, Li Xianzhong's impressive record gradually became known to the people in the capital.
Of course, his rapid popularity among the powerful was due to the fact that he was summoned by Wanli alone, and His Majesty personally promoted him to Kaiyuan Commander-in-Chief and kept him in charge of the Qing Palace. It is said that Concubine Zheng also praised him.
It is obvious that Li Xianzhong is now favored and has naturally become the friend of various powerful people, turning him from a marginal figure when he first entered the powerful circle to a core "Internet celebrity".
Li Xianzhong has now become a frequent visitor to Zuixian Tower. When the boss saw him coming, he did not dare to neglect and personally led him to the private room on the top floor.
Li Xianzhong originally thought that Zhu Chunchen must have invited a large group of young masters to accompany him. The gatherings of these powerful children were always like this. Unexpectedly, there were only 3 people.
In addition to Zhu Chunchen, there is also a very rich middle-aged man and a somewhat feminine middle-aged man.
Zhu Chunchen saw Li Xianzhong coming and said enthusiastically: "Brother Xianzhong, you are finally here. I haven't seen you for a few days. I miss you so much!"
Li Xianzhong said: "Brother Zhu's Jubaozhai is making money every day. Why do you think of my little brother today?"
Zhu Chunchen took out a golden Dongzhu, which Li Xianzhong gave to Cui Wensheng yesterday. He smiled and said: "This East Pearl is worth at least three thousand taels on the market now. Brother Li sold it to Brother Wei for two thousand taels, but are you short of money?"
Li Xianzhong thought to himself that Cui Wensheng really had no vision. Now that Dongzhu's market was changing, he was so impatient that he exchanged it for silver. It was definitely a blood loss.
Although the market for Dongzhu is good now, Li Xianzhong has no plans to sell the remaining Dongzhu for the time being. The sudden supply will inevitably lead to saturation of the market, causing the price of Dongzhu to plummet.
After all, this thing only produces this much every year.
So he said: "Now that the Dongzhu in my hands has been sold to Brother Zhu, I wonder if there is any other way for me to make a fortune?"
Zhu Chunchen said with a smile: "Brother Li is sitting in a cornucopia like Kaiyuan Horse Market, and the money is not easy to grab."
"Let me introduce, this is Eunuch Liu, the supervising eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, and Ma Yuanwai, a big businessman in the capital."
Good guy, this Royal Horse Supervisor is not a simple person. This is a department second only to the Ceremony Supervisor.
The Royal Horse Supervisor was not only a horse breeder, he also supervised the capital camp, dispatched military supervisors, and ran various imperial villages, imperial stores, pastures, and material fields. He could be said to be the emperor's money bag in Wanli.
The Warrior Battalion under the Royal Horse Supervisor is also quite capable, much stronger than the Shenji Battalion in Zhu Chunchen's hands.
At his peak, the Royal Horse Supervisor who controlled the West Factory could compete with the Si Li Jian who controlled the East Factory.
Although the Xichang was abolished during the Zhengde period, and the civilian supervisory army gradually replaced the eunuch supervisory army during the Wanli period. The Royal Horse Supervisor had to subordinate himself to the Li Supervisor, but it was still a very important department with real power.
Eunuch Liu said: "During this battle in Liaodong, our Ming Dynasty suffered serious losses in war horses. We urgently need the horse market in Kaiyuan to trade with Mongolia to replenish good horses. Our family hopes that Mr. Li can help us to restore the horse market in Kaiyuan as soon as possible."
Li Xianzhong thought the same thing. Liaodong lost more than 20,000 mules and horses this time. The Royal Horse Supervisor definitely did not have so many horses to replace them, and they would need to replenish them through the horse market.
There is not a lot of oil and water here. In fact, a good war horse in the Ming Dynasty costs about 30 taels of silver each, and an ordinary one may only cost 15 taels. Horses obtained through the Mongolian trade are even cheaper.
Although private horse prices are cheap, the official purchase price of Ming Dynasty is not low. It is basically 30 taels or even higher. You can imagine the profit and water in this.
After the previous war with Jianlu, Kaiyuan closed the horse market, and Marin was not in a hurry to restore it.
After all, it was the yamen of various imperial courts that dominated the horse market. Although Ma Lin could make a profit, he could not get the big share.
If the horse market is closed, then Mongolian trade can only be through smuggling. It is obvious that whether it is directly involved in smuggling or charging high "filial piety", the income will definitely be higher than that of the horse market.
It was obvious that these two men saw that Kaiyuan's general commander had been replaced, and they bullied themselves for not knowing what they were doing, and wanted them to help restore the horse market.
Li Xianzhong said with a smile: "It is my duty to restore the horse market, and I should do my best."
The two of them naturally smiled when they heard what the Royal Horse Supervisor said. It seemed that this General Li was easier to deal with than the previous Ma Lin.
Li Xianzhong soon changed the subject and said: "But now in the Liaodong War, although our Ming army won, it was a tragic victory. The Jianlu and Mongolian ministries are eyeing it. It may be difficult to open the horse market at this time."
"But don't worry, everyone. When I rectify the army and horses, sweep away the Mongolian and Jianzhou tribes, and the surrounding area becomes stable, the horse market will naturally open up."
After Li Xianzhong said this, the two looked at each other.
Complete the sweep of Jianzhou and the Mongolian tribes?
Are you kidding? This task has not been completed for more than two hundred years in the Ming Dynasty. It seems that General Li is not an easy person to deal with.
So Ma Yuanwai said: "General Li will definitely need military supplies to rectify his troops. Although Caomin is a first-time merchant, he is also willing to contribute his own strength to the imperial court."
"On behalf of many Liaodong border merchants, I am willing to provide General Li with five thousand taels of silver every month. I also hope that General Li will sympathize with our businessmen's desire to serve the country and open the horse market as soon as possible."
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