The wealth hidden in Xu Hong's home was so vast, it truly startled Shen Hao. When he saw the massive silver balls dug up from several cellars—already streaked with mold—he thought calling him 'rich enough to rival a nation' might be an exaggeration, but 'immeasurably wealthy' was definitely accurate.
And this is the guy who always scored excellent in official evaluations, hailed as "honest and diligent"?
Bah!
Even Shen Hao himself didn't dare claim he was a "good man or good official," yet this dog-faced Xu Hong managed to rake in so much behind the scenes?
Of course, these gigantic silver balls, each weighing hundreds of jin, were custom-made for easy storage and theft prevention. And they didn't come solely from embezzlement, either. Xu Hong "did business." He dabbled in several trades, took a cut here and there—who'd dare say the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War's business would ever lose money? People would even take losses just so Lord Xu's deals could skyrocket.
