Before Hu Mingyi came, he had already guessed that these people would not donate money honestly for the safety of Datong City. He was not surprised at all by the opposition of these squires.
Asking for money from these squires is equivalent to poaching meat from these people, which is not that easy.
he knows.
The reason why these local squires were able to provide money so smoothly last time was because it was the first time the government came to them to raise funds, and the second reason was that the prince came forward.
Even so, the total amount of silver donated by these squires was only a little over a thousand taels, and in the end, nearly half of it was divided by the Prince's Palace.
It's not that these squires don't have money, but that they are unwilling to use it to defend Datong City.
"It is the responsibility of your government to defend Datong City. You can't leave the matter of defending the city to us common people!" Mr. Huang echoed the words of Mr. Zeng.
Although the other squires did not speak, the attitudes on their faces were obviously the same as those of Mr. Huang and Mr. Zeng.
Hu Mingyi looked at Mr. Zeng, then at Mr. Huang, and said: "What you two said is reasonable, but there is one thing I don't know if you have thought about it. If the bandits attack Datong City, what will happen to them?" Can your family property be preserved?"
"In order to prevent the bandits from entering Datong City, we also donated money and made efforts. Mr. Hu, you should know this." Mr. Huang said to Hu Mingyi.
"Yes, we have also contributed our efforts. We can't let our whole family go to the top of the city to defend the city!"
"That's right, why should we ask for money after we have donated it? We can't let us do all the government affairs!"
"We must not donate money anymore. Every family is not rich, so we can't ask us for money whenever the government is short of money!"
"Yes, if you don't donate, who knows whose hands the money we donate will end up in."
Several squires in the side hall refused to donate money to support the defense of Datong City.
Hu Mingyi frowned and shouted outside: "Where's the tea? Why haven't you prepared it for so long?"
"I'm coming."
As the words fell, the Zeng family's housekeeper walked in quickly from outside.
Behind him were two maids, each holding a tray with several teacups on it.
"Your tea, sir." The butler took a tureen from the tray in the hands of one of the maids and placed it on the table beside Hu Mingyi.
Then, he took another tureen and sent it to his master.
For the few squires left in the room, two maids brought tea to them.
Hu Mingyi picked up the tureen at hand, picked up the cup lid, stirred the tea in the cup, and said to Mr. Zeng with a smile: "Mr. Zeng, the tea at your house is good."
"Mr. Hu is overly praised. It's just ordinary coarse tea, far from what the governor drinks." Mr. Zeng said modestly.
Hu Mingyi brought the tea to his mouth, smelled it with his nose, and then said: "Good tea, good tea. The governor can't compare to Master Zeng. He can't afford such good tea. I guess the tea leaves used to brew this pot of tea need A lot of silver!"
As he spoke, he raised his eyelids and looked at Master Zeng.
"This is just tea brewed from ordinary tea leaves, far from as good as what Mr. Hu praised." Mr. Zeng firmly denied that his tea was precious.
Hu Mingyi slowly put down the tea cup in his hand, looked at Mr. Zeng and said: "Such a good tea, in Mr. Zeng's eyes, it is just ordinary. It seems that the tea Mr. Zeng usually drinks must be better."
"No, no, no, this is the kind of tea Zeng usually drinks. There is no better tea." The master of the Zeng family denied it repeatedly.
Hu Mingyi's face suddenly sank and he said: "Master Zeng, there is no need to cry about poverty in front of me. I was ordered by the governor to come to these people to collect donations. Do they want to get rid of me without giving me a tael of silver? Or are they even the governor? Don’t you take it seriously?”
His eyes coldly swept over the squires present one by one.
"The last time the governor came to us to collect donations, for the sake of the governor, each of our families donated a sum of money. Just a few days ago, Mr. Hu came to us again to ask for money. This is not very good. It's appropriate!" The master of the Zeng family looked directly at Hu Mingyi without giving in at all.
Hu Mingyi twirled the beard on his chin with his hand and said, "So Mr. Zeng would rather watch the fall of Datong City than make a contribution to the defense of Datong City."
"Nonsense, when did I say such a thing?" Master Zeng said with an ugly expression.
Hu Mingyi snorted coldly and said, "Although you didn't say it directly, the meaning behind your words was implicit. I have reason to suspect that your Zeng family is secretly colluding with the bandits outside the city."
"Fart, the old man of my Zeng family was a minister of the Ming Dynasty, my father was a member of the Longqing Dynasty, and Zeng was also a scholar of the Wanli Dynasty. It can be said that the Zeng family has been favored by the country many times, how could he do such a dirty thing as betraying the Ming Dynasty and colluding with bandits? Things." Mr. Zeng stood up from his seat with eyes full of anger, waiting for Hu Mingyi with cannibalistic eyes.
Hu Mingyi said contemptuously: "Since the Zeng family has not colluded with the bandits, then prove it to the governor. It is impossible to listen to your empty words from Mr. Zeng here!"
"How do you want to prove it?" Master Zeng stared at Hu Mingyi and said.
Hu Mingyi smiled softly and said: "It's very simple. As long as you agree to donate some money to support the governor to defend the city, it will naturally prove that you have not colluded with the bandits. Otherwise, any of you will be suspected of colluding with the bandits outside the city."
"Nonsense!"
"Yes, nonsense."
"You are tainting someone's innocence."
Several squires present asked questions one after another.
Hu Mingyi once again picked up the tureen on the table, put it to his mouth and blew on it. At the same time, he said: "I don't have to say whether it is innocent or not. Only the opinions of several people will count."
"Don't you just want money? I'll tell you, I don't have any." Mr. Huang said angrily.
"Yes, no, I won't give it even if I have it. I would rather leave it to the beggars on the street than let you people in the government take it for granted."
Each squire expressed his attitude one after another.
Hu Mingyi took a sip of tea and said immediately: "The opportunity is left to a few of you, but there is nothing I can do if they are unwilling to cherish this opportunity. I have no choice but to go back to the Yamen and report the truth. What will happen to you then? It’s hard to say.”
With that said, he put down the bowl in his hand and stood up from his seat.
"Don't threaten us with Li Xun's Mansion here. You are slandering someone's innocence like this. We will ask the imperial censor to participate in Li Xun's Mansion." Mr. Huang said loudly.
The family can be passed down in Datong for several generations. Even if they are not officials, they still know some officials in the DPRK and China in their family connections.
The old man of the Zeng family even served as a high-ranking official and benefited many people. Although many of his remaining connections have been broken over the years, there are still many that have been maintained.
