The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 360

Twenty million taels of silver could not be stacked in a day. Even if all the waiters in the entire bank helped stack the silver and count it, they could only count four or five million taels of silver in a day at most.

Zhang Wensan was not surprised by this. It was the first time those people had seen so much silver. Even as darkness was approaching, many people were still watching. Although they knew that there probably wouldn't be a result today, who would want to miss such a grand spectacle? This would be a topic of conversation with friends over tea and after meals in the future.

The money shop manager took out four or five million taels from a stack of silver notes.

"This is the silver that has been exchanged today. The rest of you can come back tomorrow. I guarantee that all 20 million taels will be exchanged within three days."

The shopkeeper handed the remaining silver notes back to Zhang Wensan.

"Sir, do you need our escort? With so much silver, your wealth is already exposed, and there are many bandits in this continent."

The shopkeeper looked at Zhang Wensan and gave him a reminder.

He had to say this; otherwise, if Zhang Wensan's silver were robbed, even if it was really the bandits who did it, many people would suspect the royal bank.

To protect the reputation of the Royal Bank, the manager had to inform Zhang Wensan that they could arrange for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to escort them.

"Of course, I can't control these Jinyiwei officers. If you need their help with escorting, you can pay them some money for the escort. This is all permitted by higher authorities."

The shopkeeper explained.

The necessary reminders have been given. If Zhang Wensan hadn't used the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had been dismissed afterward, the blame wouldn't have been placed on the Royal Bank.

We provided escorts from the Imperial Guards, but you refused them. Now that the bandits have gotten into trouble, who can you blame?

"No need, we have someone escorting us."

Zhang Wensan really didn't dare to let these Imperial Guards escort him. Money can be a powerful motivator; this was worth millions of taels of silver, and no one could guarantee that these Imperial Guards wouldn't kill and rob him.

"In that case, I'm just worrying about it."

The shopkeeper smiled upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Zhang Wensan, holding the remaining silver notes, led the twenty-odd silver transport vehicles away, escorted by his men.

Each silver-carrying cart was loaded with one cubic meter of silver, weighing over two hundred thousand taels. Each of these heavy carts was pulled by at least four horses, and even so, they moved very slowly, leaving deep ruts on the ground.

Among the onlookers, countless people stared greedily at the silver carts. They dared not covet the royal bank's silver, but now that it had left the bank and was no longer related to the royal bank, many people's minds began to stir.

Among them were spies from the bandits.

Since Zhang Wensan dared to come and exchange silver, he must have been confident. The gentry in Shanxi had assigned him nearly eight hundred guards. Although they were all private soldiers with average combat ability, they were enough to intimidate people.

Eight hundred men is the limit; any more than that would be considered accumulating military power for personal gain.

Zhang Wensan led his eight hundred men to stay in a courtyard in Tongzhou Prefecture. He knew very well that they must not leave the city tonight. Once they left, the night was dark and the wind was high. Even if they did not encounter bandits, others would come to rob them.

Even though Zhang Wensan didn't leave the city, they still encountered several spying attempts that night and captured more than a dozen thieves.

With millions of taels of silver already revealed, countless people were tempted. And this was only the first night. Many others probably didn't act until Zhang Wensan had exchanged all the money, so they could take everything at once.

Those who came tonight were just appetizers, and also small fry. They knew very well that if they waited any longer, they would be out of the running. So they might as well take the risk tonight and grab as much as they could.

Zhang Wensan's eight hundred private soldiers were not incompetent; they managed to hold off the twenty-odd silver transport carts.