Not long after, a richly dressed old man walked in from outside.
Several middle-aged people came in behind him. The clothes and accessories on each person's body were different from those of ordinary people. It could be seen at a glance that these people came from wealthy families.
"I have met the general. Shouyang City is looking forward to a righteous teacher." The old man faced Yu Huai and cupped his hands.
The few middle-aged people following behind also raised their fists towards Yu Huai.
Yu Huai took a look at these people, and finally his eyes fell on the old man, and said: "You people should be the big families in Shouyang City!"
"The general has good eyesight. I come from the Yu family in Shouyang." The old man announced his family name with a smile, then pointed to the middle-aged people around him and said, "This is the patriarch of the Chen family, and he is the head of the Li family. , the last one is the head of the Fan family."
"Fan family? I remember there is also a Fan family in Zhangjiakou?" Yu Huai looked at the head of the Fan family who was introduced by the old man.
The head of the Fan family hurriedly shook his head and explained for himself: "It doesn't matter at all. The Fan family in Zhangjiakou is from Jiexiu, Shanxi. My Fan family has always been in Shouyang. It's not the same family. It just happens that they all have the surname Fan."
Zhangjiakou Fan Family was once a well-known large business house in several prefectures in Shanxi. Naturally, its accident had spread throughout Shanxi. Although Liu Heng did not admit that the incident involving Zhangjiakou Fan Family was caused by Tiger Character Banner, anyone with some respect in Shanxi knew it. , the affairs of the Fan family in Zhangjiakou are inseparable from the Tiger Flag.
However, the Tiger-Character Flag was powerful and had inextricable connections with many officials. No one dared to take care of it. Even the people who were still in the Fan family in Zhangjiakou did not dare to say more, so the matter gradually settled down. .
"It's okay if it's not." Yu Huai looked at the other person and chuckled.
The head of the Fan family smiled carefully at the side.
Yu Huai turned around, walked to the seat in the middle of the main hall and sat down. He looked at the people in front of him and asked, "You guys came to the door just after the army entered the city. What's the matter?"
The elder of the Yu family, who was the leader among the group, took a step forward, faced Yu Huai and said respectfully: "Since I heard the news that the righteous master is coming, the people in the city have all cheered. The old man and other families in the city specially slaughtered dozens of sheep and several sheep for this purpose. Ten stones of food are specially given to the volunteers."
"It turns out to be Lao Jun! Okay, let's collect the things." Yu Huai turned to look at his men on the side and said, "Put away all Lao Jun's things and send an order to the army to eat mutton today."
"Yes." The person next to him agreed, turned around and left to convey the order.
Yu Huai once again looked at the wealthy households in Shouyang City in front of him and said with a smile: "Okay, I've collected everything. If you have nothing to do, please help yourself!"
An eviction order was issued.
"I don't dare to disturb the general's official duties, so I'll take my leave." The old man of the Yu family hurriedly asked to leave.
Soon, several large households in Shouyang City were taken out of the county government office by a soldier with the Tiger Character Banner.
On the street outside the county government office, several carriages and sedan chairs were waiting outside.
As soon as a few people came out, the servants waiting outside hurriedly greeted their master.
"Mr. Yu, are we leaving like this? Haven't we talked about the matter yet?" The head of the Chen family who came out together took a few steps to the old man of the Yu family.
The head of the Li family and the head of the Fan family also stood aside and were not in a hurry to leave with their servants.
The old man of the Yu family looked at the head of the Chen family who stopped him, smiled softly, and said: "Don't be in a hurry when doing things. The main reason we came here this time is to show our faces and let people know us. We can't just talk to others the moment we meet. Don’t worry about making requests, there will be plenty of opportunities to talk about the things you are worried about in the future.”
He comforted the people in front of him with a few words.
"Even if we don't talk about that matter for now, we still want a guarantee. These people have just entered the city. What if the people below attack our family? We always have to think about our own family." The head of the Chen family said.
The head of the Li family and the head of the Fan family on the side nodded in agreement.
Although they kept calling "Righteous Army" in their mouths, in their eyes, the army that captured Shouyang City was still a group of thieves and bandits.
Bandits would plunder wherever they went, and big families like them in Shouyang City were the primary targets of bandits, so they were all worried that the bandits who captured Shouyang City would attack each of their families.
"You are worrying too much. Since the general has accepted our things, he probably won't send anyone to take action again. However, each of your families must also be prepared to give some valuable things to the general. Whoever wants to spend a dime can't bear to do this?" This thing made the general angry, don't blame me for not warning him." The old man from the Yu family swept his eyes over the people in front of him one by one.
The head of the Li family said: "Don't worry, old man, we still understand this truth, but how much should we prepare? If it is too much, it may arouse the other party's greed. After all, with that kind of background, you may not have seen anything valuable."
As he spoke, he looked back at the county government office behind him with a wary expression.
"Well, that makes some sense." The old man of the Yu family raised his hand and stroked his beard, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Prepare some gold and silver. The amount doesn't have to be too much. It's about a thousand taels per family. Too little is easy. It offends people."
"The combined total of our family members is four thousand taels, which is not a small amount. Before taking over Shouyang City, our combined family only had two or three hundred taels." The head of the Fan family frowned.
The old man from the Yu family looked at him and asked, "Do you think it's too much? Or is it that your Fan family can't even afford a thousand taels?"
"That's not what I meant." The head of the Fan family said, "I'm just worried that if I give too much this time, I'll whet the other person's appetite. Next time he comes to ask for help, I'm afraid four thousand taels won't be able to stop him."
"I think what Chief Fan said makes sense." The head of the Chen family nodded in agreement with his words.
The old man from the Yu family frowned and asked, "You all think so?"
He was asking everyone, but his eyes were looking at the head of the Li family.
No one answered.
"Then each family will come up with five hundred taels and collect two thousand taels to send over, and hurry up to prepare. If we really wait until the day when the fields are divided, it will be too late." With that, the old man of the Yu family stepped towards his carriage.
The servants next to him hurriedly helped him and put him in the carriage.
The Yu family's carriage quickly left from the street in front of the Yamen.
The three people left behind looked at each other. Among them, the head of the Fan family said: "Five hundred taels is not too little. To assist the Shouyang County magistrate in defending the city, the total amount is only a few hundred taels, not even half of the five hundred taels." Yes, this is what we all did together."
"Can the two be the same? Even if you give the Shouyang County Magistrate ten thousand taels, he can't defend Shouyang City. Let's go home and prepare money first. As long as we can not divide the fields, let alone five hundred taels, one I will also pay for a thousand taels." The head of the Li family said to the two people, and then walked towards his carriage.
