On the streets of the city, in shops of all sizes, overnight, as if they were programmed, they all started discussing the same thing.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"What?"
"The Zhu family!"
"I heard about it, I heard about it. Do you think this is true? That's the Zhu family."
"My third uncle's eldest sister-in-law's nephew's wife's brother's brother's cousin is working as a clerk in the shop under the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion. I heard that the shop can't even take out a hundred taels of silver. There used to be several thousand taels of silver in the shop, but the owner took it all away."
"Ah! So the Zhu family is really out of money?"
"First, they were fined 1.55 million taels, and now their ship has been hijacked by pirates. That's a loss of several million taels. No matter how much money the Zhu family has, they can't afford this."
"I won't talk to you anymore. My wife has deposited some money in the Zhu family's bank, and we need to withdraw it quickly."
"I have two silver notes issued by the Zhu Family Bank, which I need to exchange for cash."
"Let's go together. Let's go together. I'm afraid if we go too late, the Zhu family will be out of money."
"The Zhu family won't go bankrupt, will they?"
"Who knows?"
The common people were worried about their own losses and wanted to rush to Zhu's money house to exchange for cash before anyone else could react.
But when I arrived at the door of the money house, I saw a huge crowd of people, all of whom were there to bank. How could I not react?
I'm afraid everyone in the capital has heard the news that the Zhu family's ship was robbed.
"Hurry, hurry, let's squeeze in too."
I have finally saved some money. If the Zhu family bank closes down and goes bankrupt, who will pay for the loss?
The run on the Zhu family bank spread like wildfire, spreading to thousands of households. More and more people came to the bank with their banknotes and certificates of deposit.
The crowds were so huge that stampedes were inevitable.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Cities Military Commissioner, and the Jingzhao Yin Yamen were all dispatched to maintain public order and prevent any accidents.
The atmosphere at the Zhu family of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was depressing and solemn.
Despite his illness, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci met with all shareholders and partners.
The three ships that were robbed resulted in the loss of several million taels of cargo, half of which came from partners or relatives and friends of the Zhu family.
When the Zhu family was raising funds to go overseas, everyone was afraid that they were too slow, and also worried that their money was too little and would be looked down upon by the Zhu family. So they all enthusiastically participated in the investment and gave huge amounts of money to the Zhu family to operate.
Now that the ship has been hijacked, these people are now as regretful as they were at the beginning.
Hundreds of shareholders, both large and small, and relatives and friends of the Zhu family surrounded Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci, demanding an explanation.
"Master, tell us the truth. Was the Zhu family's ship really robbed?"
"You believe in the rumors in the market. Where's your brain?" Master Zhu Er had a bad temper and was the first to retort.
"There's no such thing as a wall that's impenetrable. The whole capital is talking about the Zhu family's ship being hijacked. Could this be fabricated out of thin air? It's already this late in the year, the ship should have crawled back even if it were a tortoise. Where is your Zhu family's ship? Where are the millions of taels of cargo? If you say the ship wasn't hijacked, then bring out the cargo!"
"Yes, hand over the goods."
"Hand over the money."
"At this point, Lord, you need to give us a clear answer. Was the ship hijacked? If not, shouldn't we all be accountable for the cargo and profits?" Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci's face was flushed, as if he were ill. He said nothing, his eyes half-closed.
"Who do you think you are? My father is already giving me enough respect by being willing to see you. How dare you force my father? Who gave you the courage?"
Master Zhu Er rolled up his sleeves and was about to get to work.
"Second brother, step back."
Master Zhu shouted angrily, "Everyone here is our Zhu family's guests and partners. You must not be rude."
"Brother, these people have bullied us to the point of being bullies. They even spread rumors that our Zhu family's ship was hijacked. Why should we be polite to them? Not reporting them to the police and having them arrested is considered polite."
Hundreds of partners and relatives and friends of the Zhu family looked unhappy.
Just because we all respect Marquis Cheng'en Zhu Ci doesn't mean we will be scolded by you, Master Zhu Er.
Someone's face darkened. "Rumors about your Zhu family have long been all over the city. Yet, you, the Zhu family, have never given us an explanation. Could it be that the ship was hijacked, and you fabricated it just to embezzle our money?"
"You, the Zhu family, are truly shameless. Just because we were fined over a million taels of silver in taxes, you're already targeting us. You deliberately fabricated news of a ship being hijacked, trying to embezzle our money and goods. I'm telling you, it's impossible."
"Bullshit! A mere one million taels is not something our Zhu family would even consider. We, the Zhu family, will certainly not embezzle your money or goods. Big brother, tell them where the ships and goods are now, and tell them to shut up."
Master Zhu Er's violent temper really made him angry to death.
Master Zhu subconsciously looked towards his father, Zhu Ci, the Earl of Cheng En, and asked, "Father, do you want to say a few words?"
Everyone looked at Cheng'enbo Zhu Ci.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci opened his eyes and swept his gaze over everyone's faces.
He opened his mouth and was about to speak.
At this moment, a steward rushed in in a panic, "Old man, something bad has happened. At the bank..."
"Shut up!" Master Zhu shouted.
"What happened to the bank? Explain clearly."
"You Zhu family, don't even think about hiding it."
The partners and Zhu's relatives and friends all started to make a fuss.
At the same time, he hurriedly sent the accompanying servant or the shopkeeper to inquire about the news outside.
Something must have happened at the Zhu family bank.
"You, the Zhu family, are so shameless. Did you drain all the money from the bank?"
"Master, we all respect you. We've had a pleasant cooperation with the Zhu family's business over the years. This time, please tell us the truth."
"Yes, we want the truth."
"Master, we have all followed you for years, giving you both money and effort, without hesitation. At your command, we charge into battle. Now that something's happened, you can't harm us."
"Uncle, please tell me the truth."
"What's going on with the ship? Was it really hijacked by pirates? What happened to the Zhu family bank? Is your Zhu family really out of money?"
"Bullshit! Our Zhu family is so poor that we only have money left. How dare you say that our Zhu family has no money? It's simply a joke."
"Master Zhu Er always says that the Zhu family is so poor that they only have money left. Well, that's fine. My family is so poor that we can't even afford to eat. Master Zhu Er, please give me my share of the money. I only want the principal, not the interest, and I don't expect any profit."
“Yes, return our principal to us.”
"Your Zhu family is where you are today thanks to our concerted efforts. Now you want to destroy the bridge after crossing it, no way."
"Yeah, no way."
"That's enough, shut up!"
After arguing for a long time, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci finally opened his mouth to speak.
He glanced at the entire room, his expression calm and his tone firm as he said, "The Zhu family's three ships..."
Everyone was worried. What happened to the Zhu family's ship? Was it hijacked?
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci said solemnly: "Everything is normal!"
boom!
The crowd was excited.
"Uncle, do you have any evidence for what you say? Where's the ship? Where's the cargo? Even if there's no ship or cargo, at least there are people. If there's nothing, how can we trust you?"
"Uncle, you can't tell lies."
Master Zhu Er was furious. "My father said with his own mouth that the ship was fine. What else do you want? You have to force our Zhu family to admit that the ship was hijacked. Will you be happy? What are you thinking? Can't you hope for the best? If the ship is really hijacked, what good will it do you?"
"We don't have much to gain now. You said the ship wasn't hijacked, so we're asking to see the cargo, the money, and the principal. That's not too much, is it?"
"I don't want the profits from those three ships, I just want my principal. It's not much, just 100,000 taels. Please pay it."
"My fifty thousand taels."
"My thirty thousand taels."
"My 150,000 taels."
Obviously, these partners and Zhu family relatives and friends did not believe what Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci said. They firmly believed that the ship had been hijacked.
Even if I wasn't kidnapped, it wouldn't matter.
Anyway, I'll just consider all the hard work this year as in vain, as long as I can get my principal back.
There were hundreds of people making a lot of noise in the hall, like a vegetable market.
Master Zhu Er rolled up his sleeves and argued with these people.
As the center of the incident, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci half-closed his eyes, like an old monk in meditation.
Master Zhu had actually had a premonition long ago. By the time the rumor spread, he had almost already believed that the ship had been hijacked. All that was missing was confirmation.
He felt a little restless. While everyone was arguing, he called the steward over and asked quietly, "What's going on at the bank?"
"Sir, all the Zhu family's banks are experiencing a run. It's getting worse and worse. Seeing the situation was out of control, the owner decided to close the banks. The common people rioted and attacked the banks. If it weren't for the Embroidered Uniform Guards, we would have been trampled to death by the mob."
When Master Zhu heard this, his face changed drastically.
He looked at his father, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci, and asked, "Father, what should we do now?"
In fact, what he wanted to ask most was how much money was left in the bank?
Did father empty the bank?
Cheng'en Bo Zhu Ci remained silent.
Master Zhu was anxious. "Father, please tell me the truth. Was the ship hijacked? Is our Zhu family out of money?"
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes as sharp as torches, staring at Master Zhu with flames of anger.
Master Zhu shuddered with fear.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci scolded him sternly, "Stop talking nonsense."
As soon as he finished speaking, several servants and shopkeepers from the cooperating merchants rushed in and shouted, "Master, this is bad! There's a run on the Zhu Family Bank. The Zhu Family Bank is out of money!"
ah!
The whole audience was silent, so quiet that it seemed as if the pause button had been pressed.
A few seconds later, as if someone had turned on the consecration ceremony, the hall immediately became lively.
Everyone stood up from their seats and rushed towards Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci.
“Pay back the money, pay back the money!”
"At this point, you still dare to deceive us. Do you really think we are fools?"
"Give me money, give me money. Give me my capital in exchange."
"The ship was hijacked, and everyone in the capital knows about it, yet you still want to keep it a secret. You, the Zhu family, are so cruel."
"I think your Zhu family clearly wants us to take the blame for you and want us to die with you."
"The Zhu family has a title, how can they die? They clearly want us to be scapegoats."
"Uncle Cheng En, you old bastard, pay me back."
…
The whole hall was in chaos.
The guards and servants of the Earl's Mansion rushed in and formed a human wall to separate the emotionally agitated relatives and friends of the Zhu family, the partner.
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci's face turned pale and he coughed violently.
He looked as if he had aged ten years in a short time, like a frail old man. He was no longer as energetic and well-maintained as before.
Marquis Cheng'en Zhu Ci stood up with the help of housekeeper Zhu.
Master Zhu Er was still shouting, "How dare you lay hands on my father? I'll arrest you all and throw you into jail. You'll be punished for what you've done."
"Second brother, stop talking nonsense."
Marquis Cheng'en Zhu Ci spoke out to stop Master Zhu Er.
Master Zhu Er was very angry, "Father, these people only care about money and not people, they are not good people."
"This is all our hard-earned money, why can't we ask for it?"
"Do you think we must be buried with your Zhu family to be considered loyal, filial, and righteous? Your Zhu family is such a big shot."
The partners and Zhu family's relatives and friends were even more furious, thinking that Master Zhu II was going too far.
"Okay, everyone, please stop talking."
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci raised his hand and lightly pressed it down. After all, his authority was still there. As soon as he expressed his opinion, everyone quieted down.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
As soon as he said sorry, everyone's face turned bad.
"Father!"
Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci waved his hand to stop his son from shouting.
He continued, "The Zhu family's three ships were indeed hijacked by pirates. I've been busy with these matters these days. I had some success, but unexpectedly, someone exposed this matter and caused such a big uproar. As a result, all my previous efforts to recover the losses have come to nothing.
I have no choice but to conceal the truth from you all. I just hope you will have a little more confidence in me. The Zhu family is not at the end of its rope yet. We are just facing a few difficulties now. Give me some time, and this difficulty will be resolved soon.
The partners looked at each other in confusion.
Master Zhu also stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Please give the Zhu family some time. We will definitely give everyone a satisfactory explanation."
"Of course we believe in your ability. But my family, young and old, are all waiting for me to bring money home to buy rice, and my employees are also waiting for me to bring money back to pay their salaries. Your Zhu family is so wealthy and powerful that losing my little money is of no consequence. Please, return our principal to me. I don't want any interest or profit."
"I don't want any interest, nor do I want to participate in the sea trade dividends. I just want the principal returned to me."
"Me too."
"Me too."
"Do you have any shame?" Master Zhu Er pointed at everyone. "Even though you knew the ship was hijacked, you still forced our Zhu family to return your principal? Why should we return it to you?
It was your initiative to start a business partnership; no one forced you. Furthermore, we agreed that maritime trade carries risks, and everyone is responsible for their own profits and losses. So, were all those words you said back then just bullshit?
"Maritime trade brings profit, and we all profit together. Now that the ship has been hijacked, all losses must be shared by all. If you want our Zhu family to bear all the losses alone, I tell you, that's impossible."
"Uncle, please tell me the truth. If you think the same as Master Zhu Er, we have nothing to say."
Zhu Ci, the Earl of Cheng'en, took a deep breath. "Everyone must trust the Zhu family and trust me. The reputation I've built over decades is worth a few more days of grace."
“We only want the principal.”
"Once the matter is resolved, I will return your principal."
"Zhu's bank is being run. Where are you going to get the money to repay our principal?"
"At worst, I can just sell off my belongings. That should be fine, right? Don't forget, the Zhu family owns hundreds of shops and businesses. Isn't that money?"
The partners exchanged glances and said, "Okay, we'll trust the old man this time. I hope he won't let us down."
Everyone dispersed.
The hall was in a mess.
Master Zhu asked worriedly, "Father, what should we do next?"
Cheng En Bo Zhu Ci sighed tiredly, "First, transfer some funds to the bank to stabilize the situation. If it really doesn't work, prepare to sell off some of the assets. Sell the assets in other places first, and don't touch the assets in the capital yet."
If there is any movement in the capital, the Zhu family will really have no power to turn the tide.
Master Zhu frowned, "Father, where should we draw the funds from?"
"from……"
Cheng'en Bo Zhu Ci was speechless for a moment.
Suddenly, I realized that the Zhu family really had no money.
"The Zhu family is so big, can't it be that they can't come up with hundreds of thousands of taels?" Master Zhu Er was very indignant.
He didn't expect that the ship was actually robbed.
He had a quarrel with his partners from the beginning, but ended up getting slapped in the face.
"Father, where did the money go?" Master Zhu asked very impolitely.
Cheng'en Bo Zhu Ci was speechless.
Zhu Da Guanjia couldn't bear it. "Master, the uncle has been trying to make up for it recently. He specially allocated some funds to buy marine goods in Jiangnan to cover up the fact that the ship was hijacked. Unexpectedly, someone got the news in advance and made it known to everyone."
"Since the money is all in Jiangnan, let's withdraw it quickly."
"The money is all in the goods, how can it be converted into cash in a short time?"
"Father is confused!"
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