Mr. Zeng did not speak, but pointed to the woman huddled in the corner of the bed with his eyes.
He Caoshou followed the other party's gaze and looked over.
Realizing that the person the other party was looking at was the woman on his bed, his face suddenly sank, and he said, "This is my woman, so don't make any decisions."
"Chengshou misunderstood." Mr. Zeng said with a smile, "I mean there are two wealthy families in the city who can give them this money."
The woman on the bed was given to He Caoshou as a concubine by a large family in the city.
"So that's what I meant, haha, I misunderstood, I misunderstood." He Caoshou laughed and said haha.
General Zeng said: "We don't have much time left for us. The bandit army may arrive at the city at any time. We need to hurry up on the young men in the city defending the city."
"If you want to get more than a thousand young men to defend the city, you need a lot of money. The two families in the city may not be able to afford so much money." He Caoshou was not optimistic about getting too much money from those two families. Much silver.
The two wealthy families in Xi'an Fort City can only be considered average. The truly wealthy and well-established families have already moved to Datong City, and even living in Huairen County is better than staying in Xi'an Fort.
Mr. Zeng chuckled and said: "Don't worry, they may not give you money if you ask for it at other times, but as long as you tell them that the bandits are coming, I believe they will not be stingy with the money, unless they don't even want their lives."
"Let them take the money, which will cost these people's lives. It's not easy to get the money out." He Caoshou turned back and glanced at the woman on the corner of the bed.
He didn't care at all that his words were heard by the woman on the bed.
Mr. Zeng sneered and said: "If they don't provide any money, then we will lead our troops to rob it directly. If we cannot defend Xi'an Fort, everyone will die."
"Since you have a way to get the money, I'll leave the matter to you. Remember to be quick! I'll find a way to find more young men to defend the city." He Caoshou handed over the job of getting the money to the other party.
When he heard this, Mr. Zeng's face darkened.
I didn't expect the other party to be so shameless. He had already made up his mind and left the job of offending people to him.
It is easy to force the big players in Xi'an Fort to take money. Once the counterattack turns around, he is likely to be pushed out to take the blame.
"The bandits don't have much time left for us. Mr. Zeng hasten to get busy. The key to whether Xi'an Fort can be defended lies with you, Mr. Zeng." He Caoshou issued the eviction order.
How could Mr. Zeng be willing to do such a thankless job? He said, "Chengshou has a close relationship with the big families in the city. It is best for Chanshou to handle money matters."
As he spoke, he looked at the woman huddled on the corner of the bed.
"It's precisely because I have this relationship with them that it's not suitable for me to do it. If I need to use force, I can't do it. It's equally important to recruit young men to defend the city." He Caoshou shied away.
He also didn't want to do such offending things.
Being a senior official, Zeng Gao knew that he couldn't shirk it, so he had to say: "How much money should be given to each young man? I can also have an amount."
"It's already cheap for them to provide them with two meals a day, so what more money is needed?" He Caoshou said disapprovingly.
He had no intention of distributing the money he obtained from the wealthy households in the city to the young men who would defend the city in the future.
Hearing this, President Zeng frowned and said, "If you want the young men to be willing to defend the city, you still have to give them money. Otherwise, when the bandits attack the city, these people may not be willing to do their best."
"Then give fifty, forget it, give them a hundred." He Caoshou said the number casually.
Zeng knitted the president's brows together and said, "One hundred dollars is too little. Defending the city is a life-and-death job. If we want the young men to defend the city with all their heart, we need less money."
"A hundred dollars is still a little money. You can earn a hundred dollars a day for any work. Now you just let them stand on the city wall for a day and give them a hundred dollars. It's a big bargain." He Caoshou was unwilling to give more money to Qingzhuang.
General Manager Zeng said: "Let's give you two hundred dollars. The top priority is to hold Xi'an Fort until reinforcements arrive. Otherwise, no matter how much money you have, it will only make the bandits easier."
"Two hundred dollars!" He Caoshou's tone became sharp.
General Manager Zeng said: "Two hundred dollars is not much. No matter how much it is, it will be difficult for the young men to defend the city with their lives."
He Chengshou was speechless.
Seeing this, General Zeng could only continue to persuade: "The imperial court should have sent a large army to Datong. In ten days and a half at most, a large army will definitely pass by Xi'an Fort, and then there will be no need for young men to defend the city. .”
"That's too much. One hundred and fifty dollars! That's it." He Caoshou gave in and settled on one hundred and fifty dollars.
Mr. Zeng understood that this was the maximum he could achieve, and it was impossible for another big man to come out, so he said: "Just settle for one hundred and fifty dollars, and I will get the money now."
After saying that, he turned around and left.
"Remember to get more money. You don't need to use it. Rich families don't lack that little money." He Caoshou reminded him later.
Zeng waved his hand without looking back and went straight out of the room.
He Caoshou looked at the swinging curtain on the door and said, "You heard what I just said. I sent someone to your house to ask for money. You don't hold a grudge against me, do you?"
As he spoke, he turned around and looked at the woman on the corner of the bed.
"When I follow the general, I belong to the general. The general is my family." The woman lifted the quilt on her body and hugged He Caoshou from behind with both hands.
He Caoshou gently squeezed the woman's jade hand and said with satisfaction: "Follow me with peace of mind. Your benefits will be indispensable in the future."
"I will serve the general well." The woman's body was pressed against He Caoshou's back, her slender chin resting on the other's shoulder.
He Caoshou's big hands wandered around the woman's body for a while and said, "You stay at home, I'm going to patrol the city."
"I am waiting at home for your return, General." The woman's fingers gently slid over He Caoshou's body.
He Caoshou pulled the woman into his arms, gave her a sip on her face, then let her go and walked out of the room laughing.
When he came outside the house, he said to the guard guarding the door: "My lady is not allowed to leave this courtyard without my order."
"Yes." The guard agreed.
There were soldiers preparing horses in front of the courtyard gate.
He Cao stood guard at the hospital gate and got on his horse, took two soldiers and rushed towards the city gate.
When Xi'an Fort discovered that there were bandits outside the city, it closed the city gate.
All the guards in the city who could climb the city wall had already climbed the city wall.
"Where are the bandits?" As soon as he climbed onto the city wall, He Caoshou asked the guard on the top of the city, and kept walking to the crenellations on the female wall.
The guard who followed looked in a direction outside the city, pointed with his hand, and said: "There are more than a dozen riders over there, and they have been staying in that position for a long time."
