提起沈万山，这位在老南京城几乎无人不知的传奇人物。在《明史》中，马皇后、王行和纪纲的传记中都有他的身影，而关于他的轶事和传闻，更是笔下千言。每当谈及“聚宝门”（即南京市的中华门），人们总会不由自主地将他与这座历史名胜联系起来。综合了正史与笔记中的资料，我们可以大致了解他的故事：洪武初年，沈万山以其巨富而著称，他原籍吴县，但最终定居于金陵。
据说，他手中的财富之多令人难以置信，“资巨万万，田产遍于天下”，“富甲天东南”，甚至有说法称他拥有的是江南第一家巨商的财力。他拥有的资产如此庞大，以至于元朝末年，被誉为“江南第一富家”。据历史记载，当朱元璋攻克金陵并决定在此建立新都时，他需要大量资金来扩建城池，但府库空虚，无从筹措。于是，他找到了沈万山，并要求他承担一半的建设费用，结果，在短短三天内，沈万山负责的东南地区完工，而明朝方面则需花费更长时间完成西南地区的工作。
然而，由于嫉妒或其他原因，一些人开始散播谣言，说沈家的确藏有一块神奇的聚宝盆。这也导致了一个笑话，即当时有人指出，如果没有埋藏聚宝盆，那么城池便无法修建。而因此，“聚宝门”的名字就这样被创造出来。但尽管如此，这样的谣言依然让沈万山惹来了祸端，最终他被朱元璋借口流放到边塞。
那么，沈万山是如何积累起这些惊人的财富呢？一些故事讲述说他偶然间发现了一块魔性的聚宝盆；另一些则说他在地底挖掘得到了黄金，从而致富。不过比较可靠的一种解释是，他除了收取地租和高利贷外，还涉足海上贸易，不断奔波徽州、宁国、太平等地方，与豪绅进行交易，最终积累了数百万元黄金。
Shen Wanshan's story has been passed down for generations in old Nanjing. He is mentioned in the biographies of Empress Ma, Wang Hong, and Ji Gang in the "Ming History". There are even more records of his anecdotes and legends, especially when it comes to the "Treasure Gate" (now known as Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing). According to historical materials, during the early years of Emperor Hongwu's reign, there was a very wealthy man named Shen Wanshan from Wu County who later settled in Jinling.
His wealth was indeed staggering. It is recorded that he had assets worth tens of millions and land spread across the entire country. He was so rich that he was known as "the first billionaire in Eastern China". His estate by Lake Tai was said to be his garden.
Legend has it that after Zhu Yuanzhang captured Jinling and decided to establish his capital there, he needed funds for city construction but found himself without any resources. Therefore, he turned to Shen Wanshan and asked him to contribute half of the costs. To everyone's surprise, Shen completed his part three days before Zhu's team finished theirs.
However, due to jealousy or other reasons, people began spreading rumors about an alleged treasure trove hidden under Shen's house called an "aggregating treasure pot." This rumor led people saying that if this treasure wasn't buried under the city walls during their construction then they could not have been built. Thus came the name "Treasure Gate."
Despite this legend making its way around town though trouble still followed him until eventually Zhu Yuanzhang found a reason to exile him away from court.
So how did Shen accumulate such enormous wealth? Some stories say he accidentally discovered a magical treasure box; others claim gold unearthed beneath his feet brought him prosperity while one account states: besides rent income and high-interest loans on top-of-the-line sea trade ventures where he traveled back-and-forth between Hui State & Ning Tao Towns with local nobles trading goods resulting in amassing hundreds upon thousands gold coins totaling 100 million yuan!
标签： 朱棣夺位是正确的吗 、 古代中国朝代图 、 土木堡战役为什么失败 、 明朝神 是谁 、 明朝帝皇顺序表
