Seeing everyone leave, the prefect of Jinan Prefecture picked up the tureen and took a sip of the tea inside.
"Fu Tai will not really defend Jinan City for those people's money!" Xu Tongpan looked at the Jinan Prefecture magistrate in front of him.
Based on his understanding of the other party, he was not the kind of minister who was willing to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
Even if it is for money, it doesn't make sense. After being a prefect for such a long time, I have already earned a lot of money. There is no need to involve myself in it just for the last little profit.
The prefect of Jinan Prefecture looked at Xu Tongpan and asked, "Does Xu Tongpan think Jinan City can be defended?"
"Of course I can't defend it." Xu Tongpan said without thinking.
After hearing this, the prefect of Jinan Prefecture said: "Since you can't defend it, there is no need to defend it anymore. The most important thing is to save your own life and leave a useful body to serve the Ming Dynasty in the future."
As he spoke, he raised his hands above his shoulders.
"Then you still accept money from those people?" Xu Tongpan frowned.
Hearing this, the prefect of Jinan Prefecture gently waved his hand and said, "This money is not wanted for me, but also for you, Xu Tongpan."
"What do you mean?" Xu Tongpan looked puzzled.
The magistrate of Jinan Prefecture laughed and said: "Since we have decided to donate the city of Jinan, why can't we cut off a piece of flesh from those people at the last moment? Their money will be cheaper than the tiger thieves sooner or later. Why don't we give you and me two People may be able to use it to counter rebellion in the future, and it can be considered as venting anger for people like them."
Xu Tongpan looked at the magistrate of Jinan Prefecture in front of him with wide eyes.
The other party was more shameless than he imagined.
To be able to say such shameless things so grandly, no wonder he is the prefect and he is just a general judge.
"How's it going? I'm thinking of you, brother, for good things." A finger of the Jinan Prefecture magistrate's right hand clicked back and forth between him and Xu Tongpan.
Xu Tongpan closed his cuffs with his hands and said, "Since the palace has been decided, as a subordinate, I naturally have no choice but to agree."
"Ha ha!"
Fu Xu, the magistrate of Jinan Prefecture, laughed.
Before leaving Jinan City, the two people reached a consensus to draw the last blood from the local squire.
Those squires who left the Yamen did not know the plans of the Jinan Prefecture magistrate, and there were not many choices left for them. If they wanted to defend Jinan City, they could only support the government.
At dawn the next day, all the money was delivered to each family.
Although five thousand taels of silver is a lot, it is still within reach for these big and famous households in Jinan City. After all, every household will have some silver in savings.
The prefect of Jinan Prefecture was not short of money, but after seeing the money, his eyes lit up.
He felt regretful in his heart, regretting that he didn't ask for more than the lion. It was the last piece of silver anyway, and he didn't care even if he offended these local squires.
Xu Tongpan, who was also at the scene, kept winking at the prefect of Jinan Prefecture after seeing the silver.
Discuss how to divide the money.
"Don't worry, everyone, go back. With this money, I will definitely send elite soldiers and generals to defend the city to ensure that Jinan City is not lost." The prefect of Jinan Prefecture persuaded the squire who sent the money to leave.
If these squires don't leave, he won't be able to divide the money with Xu Tong.
"The defense of the city depends on the government office." Zhang Yuanwai bowed to the magistrate of Jinan Prefecture in front of him, then left the Yamen with the other squires.
These squires all came to the yamen with their servants. After the money was carried into the yamen, the servants all returned to wait outside.
Carriages were parked on the street outside the Yamen, and each carriage was followed by several servants and a driver.
"Do you think Jinan City can be defended?"
Walking out of the Yamen, a squire couldn't help but ask.
After giving out the money, what they feared most was that they would not be able to defend Jinan City, and would end up losing both their men and their money.
"We have to hold on even if we can't. Your children are all here. We have no choice." Zhang Yuanwai looked around at the people around him.
These people have lived in Jinan Prefecture for generations, and the relationship between the families is not very good at ordinary times, but when facing the common enemy and safeguarding their own interests, they have to stand together.
"I hope these officials, after getting money, can do some personnel work, and don't really sacrifice Jinan City to the tiger thieves outside the city." A squire said without confidence.
Zhang Yuanwai said: "No, you all heard what happened last night. Even if those officials offered the city, the tiger thieves did not agree to give them any benefits. These officials never do anything that is not beneficial. , we gave them money, I think they will still pay attention to defending the city."
"I hope so!"
If they had not known that the agricultural policies implemented by the Tiger Character Banner throughout Shandong were very unfriendly to people like them, they might not have been willing to defend Jinan City.
"These official families are not in Jinan City. I'm still not sure that they will be willing to stay and fight the tiger thieves. I think we should find someone else." A squire suggested.
Zhang Yuanwai looked at him and said, "If these officials are not willing to guard Jinan City, who else can we look for? Even Governor Fu has run away. The only one we can count on is the prefect of Jinan Prefecture."
"No, there is another person who may be helpful in holding on to Jinan City." One of the squires said.
"who is it?"
"The one in the palace."
After the words fell, the eyes of several people present lit up.
They only wanted to let the prefect of Jinan Prefecture take the lead in defending Jinan City, but they forgot about the person with the highest status in Jinan City.
"Will it be useful?" someone asked worriedly.
The prince wants to think well and not be targeted by the court, so he can eat, drink and have fun in peace, and not interfere in local and court affairs. In this regard, their vassal king in Jinan City does it best.
"It might have been useless before, but it's different now. It's all on fire. As long as the other party doesn't want to fall into the hands of the tiger thieves, they will definitely come forward." One of the squires said.
Zhang Yuanwai stood there and thought for a while, then said: "Let's go and see that person. No matter whether we succeed or not, we have to try. After all, the other person is just like us, and his home is in Jinan Prefecture."
"Yes, let's go together."
As soon as the group left the Yamen, they rushed towards the palace.
Just as these people rushed to the palace, the magistrate of Jinan Prefecture and Xu Tongpuan in the Yamen began to divide the spoils.
This time, neither of them argued or got serious about getting a little more. They directly chose to add two to five and split the money equally.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Tiger Flag army outside the city did not leave them much time.
Xu Tongpan had the money taken back to his home to be loaded into a car, and the prefect of Jinan Prefecture also sent the money to the backyard of the Yamen.
(End of chapter)
