Three days passed by in a flash. In the past three days, Chen Kan didn't go anywhere. He just stayed at home with the cute girl with big eyes.
If he didn't have to pick up Ma He, Chen Kan wouldn't want to go out at all.
Logically speaking, it should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites to greet Ma He and the fleet returning home.
I don’t know what Zhu Di’an’s intentions were, but he actually asked Chen Kan to pick up people on behalf of the Ministry of Rites.
What a hassle!
With two dark circles under his eyes, he yawned and led people towards the Yangtze River pier outside the city.
"Twenty-eight beauties have a body as soft as a stick, and they have a sword at their waist to kill a fool..."
When he came to the wide river bank and looked at the busy people and boatmen on the dock, Chen Kan stretched himself and couldn't help but say this sentence.
Chen Kan is not a fool, at least he thinks so.
But he still couldn't dodge the sword at the beauty's waist.
"Where are Ma He's fleet?"
Chen Kan turned around and asked Fang Xu, who was also bored.
Fang Xu raised his head blankly, tilted his neck, and said respectfully: "The news came back this morning that Ma He's fleet has arrived at Guanhaiwei. It should be arriving soon, right?"
"Okay, I'll take a nap first. Call me when the fleet arrives!"
Chen Kan yawned, and Zhang San wisely placed the rocking chair he brought from the mansion in a cool place under the tower.
Chen Kan leaned on the rocking chair, listening to the noisy sounds coming from the pier, and slowly fell asleep.
April is the best time in the south of the Yangtze River. Everything is revived, without the heat of summer, and everything seems so vibrant.
He didn't know how long he had been sleeping, but the noise in Chen Kan's ears suddenly disappeared in a short period of time.
"Dudu~"
The heavy horn sound frightened Chen Kan and he jumped up from the rocking chair.
Looking around, the originally bustling dock had been cleared out by Fang Xu and his men.
This is preparation for the docking of the warship.
The sound of the horn gradually approached. In Chen Kan's field of vision, the first thing that caught his eye was a giant treasure ship. The sound of the horn came from this huge treasure ship.
The purpose is to drive away civilian boats on the river.
Immediately afterwards, dozens of frigates appeared behind the treasure ship, each of which was a large ship of the Fortune Ship level.
"Sir, here we come!"
"I saw it, I'm not blind!"
Chen Kan looked solemnly at the large ship that was gradually approaching the dock, as if he was facing a formidable enemy, as if he was not greeting his own warship, but some ancient beast.
Without him, Chen Kan felt that his guess would probably come true.
The draft of the treasure ship is too deep and has reached near the forbidden water level.
This shows that the ship is definitely filled with a lot of money!
The big ship was getting closer and closer. Standing on the bow was a middle-aged man with a white face and no beard. He was wearing fish scale armor and looked very heroic.
The big ship docked steadily on the pier. Just as the deck landed, a group of navy officers rushed out of the ship.
The leader, Ma He, was escorted by naval officers and walked slowly down the stairs to the bow.
Chen Kan took a step forward and met Ma He.
"I, the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, Chen Kan, are here to welcome the world team who are envoys to Japan by order of His Majesty the Ming Emperor. Please show me the envoy's flag!"
As soon as Chen Kan finished speaking, Ma He waved to the navy officers on the side. Two navy officers came out and handed Chen Kan the flag belonging to the imperial envoy.
Chen Kan took the flag, checked the documents and the talisman, and said to Ma He, "The inspection is completed, the identity is confirmed, general, thank you for your hard work for the country!"
Ma He performed a military salute and said loudly: "Serving the country, I dare not speak out about the hardships!"
After finishing the official article, Chen Kan closed the document and returned it to Ma He, smiling: "General, I am going to the Japanese country. I think I will gain a lot, right?"
Speaking of what they gained from going to Japan, even Ma He, who had already seen the big world, couldn't help but be a little excited.
"Ha ha ha ha......"
He laughed and said, "Master Chen knows things well. As for the harvest, why don't you go on board the ship with me to inspect it."
"I think so too."
Chen Kan nodded, walked onto the ship with his horse and handle, and walked into the cargo hold after passing through layers of guards.
Ma He stretched out his hand and said, "Sir, please take a look."
Chen Kan took a closer look and saw that the cabin was filled with simple wooden boxes.
Obviously, these wooden boxes are the main culprit that caused the ship to be overweight.
Chen Kan opened a wooden box casually, and then a look of greed flashed in his eyes unconsciously.
Silver, all white money!
Looking at the piles of wooden boxes in front of him, there was at least one hundred thousand taels of silver on this ship.
Chen Kan closed the wooden box, turned around and asked, "General Ma, where did you get all this money?"
Ma He watched Chen Kan quickly look away from so much money, and couldn't help but take a high look at the young man.
With so much money in front of him, an ordinary person would probably not be able to take his eyes away at this moment.
You must know that when he saw that there really was a silver mountain in Japan, he was shocked for a long time before he woke up.
And although the silver he brought back was only a small part of the silver mountain, it was still a huge sum of money for any individual.
He smiled and said calmly: "I am a warrior."
"oh?"
Hearing what Ma He said, Chen Kan was immediately surprised and said: "Did you destroy the Japanese country?"
Hearing this, Ma He couldn't laugh or cry and said: "How is it possible? I just talked to General Ashikaga Yoshitoshi who occupied Ginzan. The Japanese country is a country that cannot be conquered by the Taizu himself. How can I do that?" Do you have the guts to provoke a dispute between the two countries without permission?"
"oh!"
Chen Kan understood that it was time to be reasonable, so he took the Ming Dynasty treasure ship and tens of thousands of navy soldiers to the door of the house to reason with him.
Is there something wrong?
Nothing wrong!
It's like driving an aircraft carrier around other people's homes in later generations. It's very harmonious.
"I was not well prepared this time, and I only brought back one million taels of silver, which is comparable to the cost of my mission to Japan. If Your Majesty can order the construction of treasure ships to form a large fleet, I will be confident that The whole Yinshan moved back to Ming Dynasty."
Ma He said something calmly, and his words revealed an air of arrogance and domineering.
It is unreasonable to say that Yinshan belongs to the Japanese country.
Chen Kan smiled and said nothing, because Ma He's idea was just to his liking.
Now that he has come to the Ming Dynasty, there is no need for the Japanese country to exist. Wouldn't it be good to become a province of the Ming Dynasty?
It is a great gift to be able to feel the vanity of a heavenly kingdom in a small place.
Chen Kan said to himself: "One million taels of silver is already the tax revenue of a province in the Ming Dynasty for one year."
The Ming Dynasty's current yearly tax revenue, excluding the local taxes withheld, is about more than 30 million shi in natural tax grains, and more than 20 million in silk notes. These are all in kind, and converted into silver, it is about more than 20 million taels.
Ma He just went to the Japanese country and brought back a huge amount of one million taels of silver.
If this was put into the market all at once, although the Ming Dynasty's economy would not collapse, a significant depreciation of silver would be inevitable.
So Chen Kan was only slightly shocked and then felt a little worried.
No one will complain that there is too much money. Even if the Ming Dynasty is rich in resources, they will only complain that the money is not enough.
The key is that the Hongwu Dynasty issued excessive amounts of treasure money, which almost led to the economic collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
It was not until the Yongle Dynasty that a delicate balance was finally achieved.
Now a huge sum of money suddenly appears, which is likely to tip the balance.
And if this money is used to solve the sequelae left by the excessive issuance of treasure notes, this money is not enough.
This makes the silver brought back by Ma He seem a bit tasteless.
Is it really necessary to put this money into Zhu Di's inner treasury and let it gather dust?
Chen Kan was now lost in his own thoughts, completely ignoring that the money did not belong to Ming Dynasty, the treasury, or him.
Ma He didn't think too much about it. Anyway, he had brought the money back. As for how to spend it, that wasn't something he had to worry about.
Anyway, His Majesty can always find a place to spend money.
"Master Chen, Master Chen?"
Seeing that Chen Kan was in a daze, Ma He couldn't help but patted his shoulder.
When Chen Kan came back to his senses, he saw that the navy officers and the personal guards brought by Chen Kan had already begun to carry the wooden boxes on the ship. Only then did he realize that he seemed to be thinking too much.
The ownership of the money has not yet been determined, but I started to think about these things. Isn't this because I am full?
"This is the first time I saw so much money. I lost my temper and made the general laugh."
Chen Kan explained, and then couldn't help but laugh.
It’s just one million taels of silver, and it’s not like the entire Iwami Silver Mountain was moved here.
It seems that I have been confused by economic and military affairs these days.
"It doesn't matter. When I first saw these coins, I was no better than Mr. Chen."
Ma He shook his head, turned around and got off the treasure ship.
Chen Kan followed him off the dock and suddenly understood why Zhu Di asked him to pick up Ma He. He was actually asking him to be the supervisor.
Because the captains of the Wucheng Army and Horses Division had already uncovered more than a dozen soldiers hiding silver.
Now these dozen people were stripped naked by Fang Xu and gathered around the pier.
Seeing their gray faces, Chen Kan couldn't help but frown.
"General Ma, if you don't have any objections to these people, I will take them into custody at the Five Cities Military and Horse Department."
Ma He followed Chen Kan's gaze and couldn't help but frown.
Since the beginning of Jingnan, he has been leading troops in battles, so in his subconscious, he has always regarded himself as a general, not an eunuch.
As a general, he was naturally unwilling to deal with his soldiers at will, especially when an outsider like Chen Kan was present.
But he knew better that military discipline and law would not show mercy.
Once he opens his mouth today, such things will only happen endlessly in the future.
After thinking for a moment, Ma He gritted his teeth and said, "Can you please Master Chen, for the sake of my general, spare their lives?"
"Yes, but you can avoid the death penalty, but you cannot escape the living penalty!"
Now that he understood what Zhu Di wanted him to do here, Chen Kan planned to carry out Zhu Di's will to the end.
Throughout the dynasties, soldiers who managed warehouses were repeatedly prohibited from committing theft, and how could the Ming Dynasty be an exception?
