After some haggling, the squires scraped together more than one thousand taels but less than two thousand taels of silver.
Hu Mingyi left Zeng Mansion with satisfaction.
Although there is not much silver, there are more than just these squires in the city, and there are also some scattered shops that want to donate some silver.
He was confident that he could raise five to six thousand taels of silver.
After seeing off Hu Mingyi, the atmosphere in the side hall of Zeng Mansion became obviously much more lively.
"Totaling these two donations, I have paid seven to eight hundred taels of silver." The Huang family master said with an ugly face.
The master of the Zeng family comforted him: "Be patient. Fortunately, it's just this once. Just use your money to buy yourself some peace."
"Can you believe what the government says?" Mr. Huang sneered and said immediately, "The government is used to asking for money from people like us. I'm afraid they will ask for money again in the future."
The master of the Zeng family frowned slightly and said, "That's not the case! He, Li Xunfu, can't even lose his face!"
"There are some shameless officials. In my opinion, we should mobilize the connections of each family and get a few censors to play their part." The speaker was a long-faced squire.
Several other squires nodded, agreeing with the long-faced squire's proposal.
"Yes, he should be involved. This kind of evil official who bullies the people is not worthy of being the governor of Datong." Mr. Huang also said.
Several squires looked at Mr. Zeng.
The old man of the Zeng family was a Jinshi and held a high-ranking official position such as the Provincial Envoy and the Secretary for Political Affairs. In terms of family strength, he was also the most powerful family among them.
When it comes to matters related to several families, the Zeng family often takes the lead.
The master of the Zeng family, who returned to the main seat, picked up the hot tea that the butler had brought and said, "Even if we want to find the imperial censor to participate in Li Xun's mansion, we have to wait until the bandits outside the city are defeated. The imperial court At this moment, we still expect Li Xunfu to defend Datong City, so how can we dismiss a governor just because of the participation of several censors?"
"So, we have to endure this!" Mr. Huang said with an ugly face.
Mr. Zeng blew on the hot air in the cup and said, "We can only hold back for now. We have to wait for the rebels to retreat before we can do anything else."
"What if Mr. Hu sent by Li Xunfu comes to us for money?" asked the long-faced squire.
His words also revealed what the other squires were thinking.
Although none of them cared too much about the one hundred and eighty taels of silver, they could just give it to the government for free and get no benefit at all. No one was willing to do such a loss-making business.
The master of the Zeng family said: "We are fighting for a living and a living for fish and meat. We have no other choice. Could it be that we just want some money and join in the rebellion like the bandits outside the city?"
The words were a bit harsh, and the squires present did not say anything.
They are not ordinary people, nor are they tenants who sell their sons and daughters. Each of them has a family and business. Although they do not have official status, their local influence is even greater than that of a county magistrate.
Only when your brain is twitching will you abandon your family and career to rebel.
"Damn it, if it hadn't been for the siege of the city by bandits, how could we have been forced by Li Xunfu to raise donations twice in succession." The Huang family master said bitterly.
The donated money must come from one's own family, which is like cutting off flesh from him.
The master of the Zeng family put down the tureen in his hand and said to the master of the Huang family: "Okay, the money is out, let's not talk about it for now, let's discuss the matter of the bandits outside the city first!"
Several country squires came to Zeng's house. Naturally, they knew in advance that Hu Mingyi was coming to collect money.
The reason why so many people gathered at Zeng's house was because the city was besieged by bandits, and they gathered together to figure out an attitude towards the bandits outside the city.
Everyone has a lot of money. Once the bandits enter the city, they will be the ones who suffer the most.
"Didn't the governor's Yamen just send someone to collect a sum of money from a few of us to defend the city? Then let the government defend the city. What should we worry about?" said the Huang family master.
The long-faced squire on the side agreed: "You're right. Defending the city is a matter for the government. What we can do depends on whether the government can defend Datong City."
"If you really thought so, you wouldn't all come to my house today." The master of the Zeng family snorted.
With gunfire raging outside the city, ordinary people had no time to hide at home, so how could they risk going out to visit other people's homes, unless there were more important things to do than staying at home.
Seeing that no one spoke, Mr. Zeng had no choice but to continue: "If you have anything to say, just say it. We have been dating for many years, and there is nothing we can't say."
After speaking, he glanced at the others one by one.
"Since Brother Zhiwen asked this, I will tell you directly." The Huang family master was the first to speak.
The master of the Zeng family nodded gently and motioned for him to continue.
The Huang family master continued: "We all know that the Zeng family had a lot of business dealings with the Tiger Flag in the past. Just before the Tiger Flag rebelled, the contacts were not interrupted, so we hope that Brother Zhiwen can give us money to people outside the city. The rioters have a message."
"These words cannot be taken away." The master of the Zeng family immediately shook his head and said immediately, "The Zeng family is an innocent family, how could they collude with the gangsters? Ever since they knew that the tiger-character flag reflected our Ming Dynasty, the Zeng family would not Don’t have any contact with them again.”
The master of the Huang family looked at the master of the Zeng family and said: "Brother Zhiwen, our family has been together for so many years, why do you have to hide it from us? Not long ago, the servants in the family saw a man from the Tiger Flag coming to your house. This is always It’s not fake!”
"Nonsense, Huziqi's shop in Datong has been closed long ago, and all the employees have fled. Why did he come to my house?" The master of the Zeng family refused.
The Huang family master said: "Okay, Brother Zhiwen, we are not the government, and we will not report to the government for such a trivial matter. To be honest, we came here hoping to find a way out from Brother Zhiwen, in case Datong City If there is a loss, the whole family cannot be buried with him."
"Yes, Brother Zhiwen, please help us! Considering our long-term friendship, Brother Zhiwen, you can't watch our family fall into the hands of gangsters!" The long-faced squire also requested.
Master Zeng hesitated for a moment.
He said: "What do you want?"
"We just hope that Brother Zhiwen can give a message to the bandits outside the city. As long as they are willing to retreat, whether it is ten thousand taels, thirty thousand taels, or fifty thousand taels, we can give the number, but we are willing to put together this amount of money, as long as Please ask them to attack other places instead of Datong City." The Huang family master expressed his inner request.
The master of the Zeng family looked at the other squires and asked, "Do you also mean this?"
"Yes, we all think so." The long-faced squire responded.
The other squires present also nodded in agreement.
The master of the Zeng family snorted and said: "Just now, the governor's Yamen people came to ask for money, and none of you were willing to give more money. Now you are being generous, and you can get tens of thousands of taels for your money."
