There were more and more people at the donation site, and basically all the gentry and merchants who were called came as scheduled.
Liping Tong Magistrate Ding Kewang, who was in charge of presiding over the fund-raising meeting, stood up and announced the start of the meeting: "Dear elders, fellow villagers, and elders, I announce that the Liping House fund-raising meeting will begin now!"
Then he made a hypocritical statement, first mourning Tian Zongren who died at the sword of the rebels, then condemning Yang Yinglong's rebels, finally introducing the current difficulties faced by the Liping government office, and finally calling on Liping City to The wealthy gentry will provide money and the rich will support the new magistrate.
"Dear elders, it's not easy for Mr. Li! The prefect's Yamen was burned down, and he had to rent a private house to work. In such a large city, there are currently less than 400 company officers and civilians. We are short of money, food, weapons, It’s so difficult to be short of clothes and everything! Everyone must donate enthusiastically and work together to tide over the difficulties.”
As soon as Ding Tongpan finished speaking, Lou Dongfang stood up and bowed to everyone in the audience: "Gentlemen and nobles, I am Mr. Li's master Lou Dongfang! Let me add a few words here. The prefect understands your difficulties. If you are really in trouble and don’t have money or food to donate, you can generously lend it to the prefect’s Yamen.”
Someone in the audience booed: "How do you borrow money?"
"The prefect's Yamen will issue you an IOU and pay interest at four percent per year. In other words, if you lend the prefect's Yamen one hundred taels of silver, you can get the principal of one hundred taels and four taels of silver next year. Interest." Lou Dongfang explained patiently.
As soon as Lou Dongfang finished speaking, the squires gathered around the stage made a loud noise and started talking one after another.
"I only got four taels of interest for one hundred taels of silver. It's too little. I won't borrow it. I won't borrow it."
"What you said is as if you have one hundred taels of silver. I would like to borrow it, but my house was looted by the rebels and I am very poor now. Not to mention one hundred taels of silver, even ten taels of silver are worth it now. Won’t come out.”
"The most I can lend to the prefect is ten taels of silver. My family is really short of money!"
Seeing these profiteers and businessmen shaking their heads like rattles, Lou Dongfang raised his voice and tried to persuade them.
"Sangzis and squires, you are all smart people. You also know that Liping City's current defense strength is weak and the city defense is in vain. If rebels come to kill one day, or bandits come to plunder, how will you protect your property?
I'm afraid that by then it will be like fish on the chopping board, a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Instead of being snatched away by others, it is better to lend it to the prefect's Yamen now.
With money, Master Li can recruit people, form defense forces, and protect the city. In this way, you can defend yourself from enemies outside the city gates and protect your property and family members. Moreover, the money you loaned to the government can be recovered in the future, and you can also earn interest. You can achieve multiple benefits with one stone, so why not? "
After listening to Lou Dongfang's words, some of the gentry who had a sense of crisis were shaken in their hearts.
"Master Lou is right. Instead of leaving it to the rebels or bandits, it's better to donate it to the government!"
"Chen Laoliu, don't just talk, how much money do you plan to lend to Mr. Li?"
"I would like to lend more to the prefect, but I am powerless. The most I can come up with now is thirty taels of silver!"
At this moment, Sun Dahai from the silk shop stood up, raised his hand and said, "I'll borrow it, I'll borrow a thousand taels of silver!"
As soon as Sun Dahai finished speaking, there was a burst of noise, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.
"What the hell? He said he lent the government a thousand taels of silver. Did he drink too much last night and still not sober up?"
"Who is this person? Are you bragging here and not afraid of being bitten by the wind?"
"It seems to be Sun Dahai from the silk shop in the back street. Although his business is doing pretty well, he can come up with a thousand taels of silver? This kind of thing is not a joke!"
"Shopkeeper Sun has been doing business in Liping for many years. He can earn more than a hundred taels of silver every year. He can definitely get a thousand taels of silver. However, the rebels looted the city some time ago. Didn't his silk shop suffer any damage?"
Amid the discussion, Sun Dahai walked out of the queue with his head held high, waving his hand and commanding: "Bring up the silver."
Two minzhuang men from Chang'an Town came to the stage carrying a red lacquer box, opened it in front of everyone, and Lou Dongfang counted them one by one.
Twelve taels each, no more, no less, exactly one hundred silver ingots.
"Thank you so much, Shopkeeper Sun, for your support!"
The prefect Li Yao stood up and bowed, and wrote an IOU with his own hand, stamped it with his fingerprints, and handed it into Sun Dahai's hand, "Shopkeeper Sun, I borrowed you a thousand taels of silver today, with an interest of forty taels per year, and I will pay you back next year."
"Haha... The prefect is too polite."
Sun Dahai sneered and felt a little hot when he took the IOU. He thought about sending it to the Yamen and returning it to the prefect as soon as he got home.
Seeing that Sun Dahai donated a thousand taels of silver on the spot, the gentry at the scene immediately went into a rage, and discussions broke out one after another with various voices.
Some people praised Sun Dahai for his generous donation and contribution to Liping Mansion.
Some people lamented that it turned out that Sun Dahai was an invisible tycoon, and his family was so rich that he could lend a thousand taels of silver at a time, which meant that he had a family fortune of three to four thousand taels at least.
Otherwise, who would donate the only one thousand taels of silver at home?
Of course, some people quietly scolded Sun Dahai for being careless and pushy. There are more than 30,000 people in the huge Liping City. Is it your turn as an outsider to stand out here?
The most depressing thing was Liu Yangang, the prefect's fellow magistrate. Sitting on the stage, he glanced at Sun Dahai from time to time. He didn't expect that the owner of the silk shop was so powerful.
If I had known this, I should have sent someone to squeeze some oil out of him. But now that he is hugging Li Yao's lap, it is not easy to do anything.
Inspired by Sun Dahai's request, several gentry were immediately fooled and came to the stage to express their willingness to lend money to the prefect.
However, the amounts they borrowed were not large, fifty taels in one transaction, eighty taels in one transaction, and one hundred taels in one transaction.
"Hehe... the fish has taken the bait now!"
Lou Dongfang secretly rejoiced and wrote an IOU on behalf of the prefect, asking these businessmen to keep it.
The second person to take the stage was shopkeeper Chen from the Southeast Grain Store. He came up with a guilty conscience and expressed his willingness to lend the prefect one thousand taels of silver and donate another thirty taels of gold.
As soon as these words were spoken, there was another commotion.
"Damn it, another big deal has happened. The owner of the Southeast Grain Store is actually so powerful? Not only did he lend the government a thousand taels of silver, but he also donated thirty taels of gold? Are you crazy?"
Three strong men from Chang'an Town carried the box to the stage. The yellow gold and the white silver suddenly appeared in front of everyone's eyes. The yellow and white were dazzling.
"Damn it, the Chen family actually has so much gold?"
"It seems that there are many invisible rich people in our Liping Mansion!"
"What a slut. If you want to borrow money, just borrow it. You even donated so much money. Where do you want us local gentry to put their face?"
Li Yao stood up again and thanked Shopkeeper Chen: "Thank you very much, Shopkeeper Chen, for your generosity. We will ask a craftsman to make a plaque to hang on your shop, with the four words "Be kind and generous" inscribed on it."
Shopkeeper Chen suddenly felt a little ashamed. He obviously didn't donate a penny, so he hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Thanks for your compliment, I am willing to donate another... twenty taels of silver."
No matter how much you donated just now, they were all acting props, but these twenty taels of silver were actually taken out of your pocket, so shopkeeper Chen's breathing was a little short, and his heart felt a little painful.
However, I thought that spending twenty taels of silver to buy a plaque issued by the prefect's Yamen was equivalent to official certification and would definitely be of great benefit to my grain store business in the future.
Thinking of this, Shopkeeper Chen felt at ease and stepped off the stage with a smile on his face.
Seeing that Shopkeeper Chen had received the plaque, the other three trustees could not restrain their excitement and raised their arms and shouted, "We want to donate money, and we also want to lend money to the prefect!"
Lou Dongfang said with a smile on his face: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, come on stage one by one."
The first person to take the stage was Boss Li from Zui Hongyan Restaurant, who was accompanied by Ding Xiao. After he took the stage, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of every man! When the nest is overthrown, are the eggs intact? If Liping City had not Our own army, when the rebels come over again, we will be nothing but lambs to be slaughtered, and no matter how much money we have, we will be robbed..."
The gentry in the audience all agreed: "Well said, this is the truth. Instead of taking advantage of the rebels or bandits, it is better to lend it to the government now."
"I want to donate five hundred and fifty taels of silver to our Liping Prefecture's Yamen!"
Boss Li stretched out his five fingers and gestured twice, "Then I will lend you five hundred taels of silver and thirty taels of gold to the prefect."
"Hey...what's going on today? Are there so many rich people in Liping City? Everyone opens their mouths and talks about big things, including gold and silver. It's crazy!"
