The Epic Migration

The early winter of the first year of Hongwu in the Great Zhou Dynasty was destined to leave a brilliant mark in the annals of history.

The great migration of two hundred thousand commoners from the South City had begun.

This was not the first time in the history of Great Zhou that the population was forcibly relocated. In past dynasties, to populate border towns or build imperial tombs, the army was often mobilized to forcibly drive the commoners. The scenes back then were usually filled with wailing and despair, with corpses of the starved littering the roads, and occasionally, tragic civilian uprisings would erupt, resulting in rivers of blood.

But today, what was unfolding on the Crossroads Avenue of the South City was an epic parade bordering on a carnival.

Hurry up, hurry up! Ergouzi, throw away that broken straw mat of yours! When we get to our new home in the West Mountain, His Majesty will give us brand new cotton quilts!

Husband, do we still need this broken iron pot?

Need my ass! Once we go to the Royal Factory, the canteen will have meat broth every meal, who would still light a fire to cook for themselves? If worse comes to worst, we will buy a new one. Let us go quickly, if we are late, we will not be able to pick an apartment with a good orientation!

Two hundred thousand ragged, emaciated commoners, bringing their families and pushing dilapidated wheelbarrows, surged mightily toward the city gates. There was no nostalgia for their homeland on anyone's face, much less the grief and indignation of being forced to leave their homes; instead, it was replaced by a sense of longing and hope.

In everyone's hand, they tightly clutched a contract stamped with a red handprint—that was the House Purchase Contract issued by the Royal Construction Company and the Recruitment Document from the Six Great Factories. Those were their tickets to heaven.

The soldiers of the Royal Guard maintaining order along the way were all dumbfounded. In the past, when they executed such missions, their scabbards had to see some blood to keep the situation under control. But today, these peasants were running faster than an army on a forced march, terrified that if they arrived late, their houses would be gone.

Just as this mighty stream of people crossed the Inner City Avenue, an eight-bearer sedan chair hanging the insignia of the Cabinet's Vice Minister was forced to stop at a street corner.

Zhang Wuji sat in the sedan chair, his slender fingers tightly gripping the edge of the red sandalwood window, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. Through the gap in the sedan curtain, he stared fixedly at the long line of lower-class commoners outside, joyously rushing toward the West Mountain. Cold sweat on his back had already soaked through two layers of his inner garments.

Master... Outside the sedan chair, his trusted attendant lowered his voice, his tone carrying unconcealed panic. This... how is this possible? It is hard to leave one's homeland! How could these two hundred thousand people leave so willingly? There isn't even a single troublemaker taking the opportunity to cause a scene! The men we secretly arranged in the South City, prepared to incite the commoners to resist the demolition, not only failed to work, but were treated as enemies blocking the path to wealth by those commoners eager to move. They literally had their legs broken and were thrown into the stinking ditches!

Zhang Wuji did not speak, but his lips were trembling slightly.

He had originally counted on the forced demolition in the South City to inevitably trigger a riot. As long as people died and blood was shed, he could open fire with full force at the grand court assembly the day after tomorrow. They could quote the classics, bitterly denounce the Emperor as cruel and heartless, competing with the people for profit, and could even force the Emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach, taking the opportunity to regain dominance over the imperial court.

But what did he wait for? It was two hundred thousand ecstatic, smiling faces, and unreserved gratitude toward the Emperor!

Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it... Zhang Wuji muttered to himself, his voice sounding as if he had aged ten years all at once. I have read the books of the sages for sixty years, always believing that public opinion lies in Confucianism, in propriety, in the enlightenment of the scholar-officials. But only today do I realize... this little Emperor, with just a few pieces of waste paper, has completely bought the lives of two hundred thousand people!

Zhang Wuji was an extremely smart person. Although he did not understand modern finance, he instinctively sensed a great terror hidden behind this. Without using a single soldier, the Emperor had two hundred thousand people gratefully vacate the largest piece of land in the capital, and willingly go to work as coolies. This method was sharper than swords and more despair-inducing than torture.

Return to the manor... Zhang Wuji leaned weakly against the wall of the sedan chair. Notify those imperial censors, at the court assembly the day after tomorrow, no one is allowed to mention the matter of disturbing the people in the South City! Whoever mentions it is throwing their own face under the feet of these two hundred thousand people!

In stark contrast to Zhang Wuji's powerlessness were the ordinary commoners of the capital.

On the very same day as the great migration of the South City, the headquarters of the Great Zhou Royal Bank, located at the foot of the imperial palace, officially opened for business, personally hosted by Sun Li, the Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The red silk on the signboard had just been unveiled, and the notice board posted outside the door was almost squeezed to pieces by the crowd.

What?! Depositing silver inside, and they do not charge a safekeeping fee?! An accountant wearing a long gown pushed the glazed glasses on the bridge of his nose, reading the notice in disbelief. Deposit one hundred taels, withdraw one hundred taels? This is doing charity, right?

What the hell do you know! A man dressed as a butcher next to him waved his pig-killing knife, his loud voice making people's eardrums buzz. This is the Royal Bank! Opened by His Majesty! Did you not see those poor ghosts in the South City? They do not have money, but they can still loan money from this bank to buy houses! I heard that as long as you have a proper business, we common folks can also loan money to do business!

When the seal-holding eunuch of the Royal Bank—Peng Sanshun, a shrewd eunuch personally selected by Wang Hao from the Internal Affairs Department—stood on the high platform and displayed those silver coins of different denominations, it instantly ignited the emotions of the entire capital. Especially the crisp sound made when blowing on the silver coins, it left people intoxicated.

In the past, the money shops of Great Zhou not only charged exorbitant safekeeping fees but also practiced usury that devoured people whole, taking out nine and returning thirteen. But now, the Royal Bank not only did not charge safekeeping fees, but also opened its doors to provide low-interest loans for buying houses and doing business!

This was like throwing a large piece of dripping fat meat in front of a pack of starving wolves!

Within half an hour, the threshold of the Royal Bank was trampled flat. Commoners, small peddlers, and even some small and medium-sized noble families from the East City and West City squeezed inside like crazy, waving the silver notes and scattered pieces of silver in their hands.

Eunuch! This is this commoner's three hundred taels, I want to deposit money!!

Shopkeeper, my Lao Sun family has a steamed bun shop in the West City, I want to loan five hundred taels of silver to take over the storefront next door! I beg you to approve it!

Why are only those stinking beggars from the South City allowed to go to the West Mountain to get a loan to buy a house? We people from the West City also have plenty of strength! I also want to enter the Royal Factory, and I also want to get a loan to live in a two-story small building!

Watching the commoners of the capital outside fighting over business quotas, Wang Hao, who was traveling incognito and sitting in an elegant room on the second floor of the bank, leisurely sipped on premium Junshan Silver Needle tea.

Debt is the most wonderful chain in this world. Wang Hao put down his teacup, looking at Pei Jingzhe beside him, smiling like a devil. Look at these people below, they are fighting tooth and nail just to be able to owe me money. As long as this money is lent out, their lives, and the lives of their descendants, will all be tied to the war chariot of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

When the whole world owes money to the Royal Bank, when all interests are deeply bound to me. Pei Jingzhe, tell me, if someone wants to rebel at this time, wants to overthrow the rules I have established, what will be the consequences?

Pei Jingzhe followed Wang Hao's gaze. Looking down at the red-eyed, utterly fanatical commoners, a sudden chill shot straight from his tailbone to the crown of his head.

"To answer Your Majesty..." Pei Jingzhe swallowed dryly. "If anyone ever dares to rebel, there will be no need to mobilize the imperial army. These merchants who borrowed money to run their businesses, and these laborers burdened with mortgages, will spontaneously take up their kitchen cleavers and chop the rebels into mincemeat just to protect their own assets from being liquidated!"

Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction. "Therefore, what I want is to use wealth and land to turn all the lowly peasants in this world into the sharpest blade in my hand!"