Chapter 6: One Million Taels
“I…”
The Second Prince wanted to say, “Call me firewood again, and I’ll have you killed!”
But he held back, hesitated for a moment, then put on a smile.
“Ninth Brother, hearing that you’ve taken on such important responsibilities truly moves me as your elder brother!”
“Well, I’m preparing to leave for the capital tonight to report to Father about your loyalty and dedication!”
Chai Xiao smiled faintly.
“Setting off overnight, the Eighth Pearl Prince is indeed extraordinary. Then I shall see you off!”
“However, there’s one question I want to ask!”
The Second Prince feigned calmness.
“Go ahead.”
Chai Xiao’s expression was sincere.
“To raise such a large sum of money for flood relief and grain procurement must require quite a bit, right?”
The Second Prince nodded.
“Yes! At least one million taels of silver, which is about half the treasury’s funds!”
“Oh!” Chai Xiao seemed to understand. “In that case, please tell Father that I will take on the second task of fundraising and cost-cutting, with a cap of one million taels. Agreed?”
“You? One million taels?”
The Second Prince’s eyes widened, as if he were looking at a madman.
Without hesitation, Chai Xiao nodded.
“One million taels! To be raised within ten days! The treasury will repay the amount in silver or equivalent goods within one year, with the specific time and method decided by Father!”
The Second Prince slapped the “madman” on the shoulder and then patted his own chest.
“Ninth Brother! Repayment by the treasury is the usual practice, no problem there! The key issue is that much of the money is not currently in the treasury, so such a large sum cannot be produced immediately!”
“If you can raise one million taels in ten days, I will definitely have Father commend you before the whole kingdom! Loyalty, bravery, benevolence! A model for all generations!”
Chai Xiao turned serious.
“I don’t want empty honors! I want two conditions!”
“Speak!”
The Second Prince subtly sensed a change in this fool, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was, so he only watched and waited.
Chai Xiao spoke deliberately.
“First, rewards for raising the funds quickly. If the full one million taels is raised, reward me ten percent—that’s one hundred thousand taels. For the first ten contributors, reward twenty percent. For example, if Brother Firewood donates twenty thousand taels, he gets twenty-four thousand back; if he donates fifty thousand, he gets sixty thousand.”
“Ten percent? Twenty percent?”
The Second Prince became excited.
“Great! Is that possible? If the funds are raised, rewarding you ten percent is not too much!”
“And the top ten contributors get twenty percent? That’s quite a lot! Then I’ll donate fifty thousand taels! In ten days, I’ll earn ten thousand taels! Haha!”
Chai Xiao quietly watched him smile.
High-interest deposit schemes—these were relics from modern times.
Moreover, because of the extreme risks involved, such practices had been banned.
Yet here, it was different.
Repairing the dike for the flood-stricken people and buying grain were noble causes benefiting the populace.
With the treasury guaranteeing repayment within a year, it was essentially issuing a high-interest short-term government bond—there was no risk of loss!
Why not do it?
When the one million taels were raised, Chai Xiao would receive a one hundred thousand tael reward.
That would make him very wealthy!
The Second Prince ordered his men to count the money immediately and hand it over in full.
Suddenly, he thought of something and asked,
“Ninth Brother, what if the funds can’t be raised?”
Chai Xiao clenched his teeth, seeming to make a firm decision.
“If the funds can’t be raised, then I’ll take the loss. I’ll sell everything I have and pay out of my own pocket—I won’t lose money like those who donate first, like you!”
The Second Prince nodded, clearly pleased with this Ninth Brother’s current attitude.
“You’ve stated the first condition, what’s the second?”
Chai Xiao’s expression turned solemn.
“Second, the funds must be used exclusively for this purpose! Request the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate to assign special personnel to register, record, preserve, and escort the funds to Taizhou!”
Hearing four mentions of “special” in a row, the Second Prince was stunned.
He soon understood—it was to block the channels of corruption and embezzlement.
This fool actually knew about that.
It seemed impossible for him to pocket a portion of the one million taels and multiply the fifty thousand taels he donated earlier.
But that was a standard procedure, nothing new.
Wait!
This little miser might be trying to trick me—take my fifty thousand taels without raising any money and then shirk the responsibility!
This Second Prince wasn’t so easily fooled!
He had his ways!
“Good! Good! Good!”
The Second Prince applauded. “Ninth Brother, words are not enough—are you willing to put it in writing?”
“Why not?”
Chai Xiao nodded and pointed at Huang Zhongyong.
“You write!”
“I…”
Trying to avoid it but unable to, Huang Zhongyong took the pen and paper and wrote carefully.
“Chai Xiao takes responsibility to raise one million taels for the Taizhou dike repair, to be repaid by the treasury within one year.”
“Funds to be used exclusively; the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate to assign special personnel for registration, preservation, and escort.”
“Reward of ten percent if fully raised; twenty percent for the first ten contributors. Chai Huo leads by donating fifty thousand taels.”
“This is hereby made official!”
Two copies were made.
Each stamped with their seals.
The Second Prince tightened his grip on his horsewhip and suddenly cracked it against the horse’s belly with a loud snap.
“Ninth Brother! Until we meet again! I hope it will be after you have raised the funds and are on your way to Taizhou!”
“Second Brother, farewell!”
Chai Xiao cupped his hands and looked toward the distance.
Not far in the darkness, Consort Yun and Su Zhongjing slipped out.
Just now, upon hearing that Chai Xiao had taken on both tasks, Consort Yun hurried to summon Su Zhongjing to persuade Chai Xiao to be more cautious.
But the new ruler insisted he had his own plan.
Where did such confidence come from?
Consort Yun frowned deeply.
“Teacher, is what he’s doing feasible? Earlier in the hall, he insisted on accepting these two difficult tasks—I couldn’t even stop him!”
Su Zhongjing shook his head then nodded.
“It looks tempting, but the risks are enormous. The first fifty thousand taels are easy to raise, but that may be the last.”
“Exactly! The Second Prince is clever—he won’t suffer losses!”
“If you could gather all the wealthy households in one place, maybe it would work. But now…”
As they spoke, Chai Xiao fetched a lantern from his men and carried it over.
“Sir, why would gathering wealthy households work, but now it won’t?”
Su Zhongjing stroked his beard.
“Rich people all want to get richer. So your offer of a twenty percent reward for the top ten contributors is very attractive.”
“But in this entire Xu Kingdom, only this Second Prince is wealthy.”
“To find another like him would take at least a month.”
“And there are only ten short days—how can the funds be raised in time?”
Chai Xiao smiled confidently and pointed in the direction the Second Prince had left.
“Find someone who can run faster than the Second Prince, isn’t that enough?”
“Xiao’er! Don’t say foolish things!”
Consort Yun scolded her son when she saw him dazed.
Chai Xiao took her hand.
“Mother, who do you think can outrun the Second Prince?”
Consort Yun was puzzled.
“He is accompanied by the Wu King’s troops, no weaker than the imperial guards. Who could outrun their horses?”
Su Zhongjing chimed in.
“No! This time he’s on imperial orders, accompanied by the imperial guards—they’re unrivaled!”
“Haha!”
Chai Xiao laughed heartily.
Consort Yun hurriedly reached out to feel his forehead.
“Has this child been so anxious about raising funds that he’s burning his brain?”
Chai Xiao smiled and shook his head.
“Mother, dare you make a bet with me?”
Consort Yun widened her eyes, staring as if he were a monster.
“A bet? Have you gotten addicted after winning several bets today?”
Though she said this, as a mother she still agreed to her son’s wager.
“Alright! What’s the bet?”
Chai Xiao set down the lantern and intertwined his index fingers.
“Ten taels of silver!”
“Done! I accept!”
Even Su Zhongjing stepped forward.
“Count me in!”
Chai Xiao smiled and made a counting gesture, implying the wager would be settled in silver or silver notes.
Money was the true currency.
Consort Yun and Su Zhongjing sighed and each took out silver.
Chai Xiao tucked it directly into his robe.
“Mother! Teacher! Let’s bet that when the Second Prince leaves the city gate, he will inevitably slow down. When he sees our men, he will not stop but urge them to hurry. Believe it or not?”
“No!”
“No!”
“He said he’s returning to the capital overnight—how could he slow down or allow others to overtake him?”
“Then raise the stakes!”
Chai Xiao pulled out two hundred tael silver notes.
Clearly, this was money earned from selling the “beauty pillows” to the Second Prince.
“If I win, Mother, immediately arrange a marriage for me—a beautiful young lady. How about that?”