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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 25: Donations of Money and Food

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    In the lobby of the government office, after Xiao Yungui and Zeng Shuiyuan entered the inner hall, the wealthy businessmen and gentry began to discuss again.

    Tang Yinong, a wealthy gentry in Changsha, was Zhu Changlin's old employer. He sat next to Zhu Changlin again, leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Yutian (Zhu Changlin's first name), these long hairs don't look as bad as the rumors say. This King of the West seems rude."  , but his conversation is both coarse and detailed, he is a character."

    Zhu Changlin smoked the hookah and heard a slurping sound. She frowned and said, "This is what's scary about this person. He took the first two steps beautifully, luring me to wait for the market to open, and then he proposed to collect taxes, which made everyone feel  This is a matter of course. What is even more rare is that he continued to do things as usual. This is the way to calm the outside of Xiang first. I guess he is afraid of a counterattack by the army. If the city is not peaceful, he will not be able to defend the enemy with peace of mind.  "

    Wei Helin played with the snuff bottle in his hand and snorted: "I didn't expect that there is such a person among a group of mud-legged people. No wonder they can break through Changsha. This person really shouldn't be underestimated."

    Tang Yinong said thoughtfully: "He still has one thing he didn't say, but he doesn't know what it is. Yutian, you should take a guess and let me be prepared."

    Zhu Changlin took out a breath of smoke and coughed lightly and said: "Looking at what the King of the West does, he must arrange everything first and then launch it. The last thing is nothing more than accepting donations of money and food. I just can't imagine what method he will use to force us to submit."

    Tang Yinong said with a grimace: "What?! You still want to donate? Didn't he collect our land tax and business tax?"

    Zhu Changlin smiled slightly and said: "My boss, didn't the King of the West say that everything should be business as usual? The government also collected our taxes. In the end, why didn't they ask us to donate money and food for military pay? The King of the West just said:  Regarding the city and tax collection, they didn¡¯t say a word that they don¡¯t want us to pay donations.¡±

    Tang Yinong said bitterly: "What a ruthless thief. The money, food and silk we are waiting for did not fall from the sky. They were earned every penny through hard work. Why should I give it to them?! No, don't you want any money?"  There is only one life."

    Zhu Changlin said calmly: "My boss, I advise you to follow the general trend for a while. Isn't this long-haired Western King so easy to deal with? I'm afraid that we will fall into his trap without knowing it.  Hit the mark. There is endless money to be made, but life is still at stake."

    Tang Yinong's eyes widened and he was speechless, but Wei Helin let out a loud hey, leaned back and closed his eyes to rest.

    Just at this moment, there was a loud noise outside the government office. Two men who looked like long-haired generals led several Taiping soldiers into the government office and stood in the hall. One of them was short and the other was fat.  The shorter man whispered a few words to the guard's long-haired swordsman, and the swordsman hurried inside.

    When Zhu Changlin and others saw this, they all sat up straight and looked outside. It seemed that something had happened to this posture. After a while, the swordsman came out and said a few words to the two long-haired generals, and they hurried out.  The gate of the government office.

    Zhu Changlin and others were still waiting to see what happened, but they heard a cough and saw Xiao Yungui and Zeng Shuiyuan walking out.

    Xiao Yungui went straight to the hall and said in a deep voice: "I'm sorry, everyone. I have something important to do. Please wait for a moment." Then he shouted without waiting for anyone to speak: "Bring the people here!"

    I saw the two long-haired generals just now walking into the hall with more than ten Taiping troops escorting seven or eight Qing prisoners. These Qing prisoners were all wearing tattered uniforms, their bodies were dirty, and their faces were dirty.  They were all withered and weak.

    Two long-haired generals came forward to pay homage and reported loudly: "His Royal Highness the King of the West, the leaders of several Qingyao prisoners have been brought here."

    Several Qing soldiers looked very frightened. Without waiting for the Taiping soldiers to scold them, they knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times. Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "Why do you want to see me?"

    One of the Qing soldiers was quite courageous. He straightened up slightly and said: "Prince Xi, we guys really can't stand it any longer. We have to repair the city walls and carry stones every day, but the rations we eat are gruel. My brothers recommended some of us."  Come and beg the Lord of the West, please let me go home. I will never dare to serve as an officer or soldier again." This man spoke with a local Hunan accent, but his words were weak. It seems that these three days have indeed brought these Qing soldiers to justice.  The prisoners were miserable.

    Xiao Yungui yelled, pretending to curse: "Zeng Shuiyuan, He Bin, Zhou Zhaoyao, didn't I order that the rations for these prisoners should be sufficient? How could they become so diluted?! Are you guys?  How to do it?!"

    The two Taiping generals were He Bin and Zhou Zhaoyao. They were ordered to supervise the prisoners' work. They had known for a long time that the superiors had begun to reduce the prisoners' rations. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yungui would ask questions at this moment. The two of them opened their mouths and said no without knowing it.  Speak up.

    Zeng Shuiyuan bowed slightly and said with a troubled expression: "Your Highness the King of the West, this has nothing to do with Brother He and Brother Zhou. It's just because when the city was breached, the Qingyao Governors Luo Bingzhang and Weng TongjueThe official warehouse in the city was burned down, and we got nothing. We didn¡¯t bring much food, and we also needed porridge and the tens of thousands of refugees who fled into the city. We really couldn¡¯t make ends meet, so we had to reduce the army¡¯s rations. In fact, our own holy  Soldier rations have been reduced by 30%.  "

    Xiao Yungui slapped his forehead and said, "Why did the king forget this?" Then he cursed loudly: "These Luo Bingzhang and Weng Tongjue are so fucking useless. They even set fire to the food. They want to watch the soldiers and civilians in the city helplessly.  They are starving to death!"

    Zhu Changlin and others were all shocked, and they all thought to themselves. As expected, they started talking about money and food. Some even started to curse Luo Bingzhang and Weng Tongjue secretly that they were not human beings. Since the city was destroyed, you should leave the food to Changmao.  Well, you might as well leave such a big hole for people like them to fill in order to gain a reputation as someone who destroys cities, burns food, and refuses to be thieves!

    Xiao Yungui turned around and said to several Qing prisoners with a troubled face: "This is not easy to handle. Letting you go will only expose the king's military plan. Also, if I let you go, there will be no money and food for demobilization, and you will start to become bandits again."  What can we do if we harm the village? I have just promised the squires in the city to maintain law and order in the city."

    Zhu Changlin and others secretly scolded Xiao Yungui for being shameless. He was the biggest bandit leader, and he still had the nerve to say such a thing.  But then I thought about it, and what Xiao Yungui said made sense. If these green camp soldiers and regiment drills in the city were really released, these people were usually scoundrels in the city, and they would definitely come together to fight against the autumn wind. They were all Changsha brothers from the countryside.  , shouldn¡¯t you watch them starve to death?

    Those Qing soldiers kowtowed and begged endlessly. Xiao Yungui walked back and forth a few steps, looked at Zhu Changlin and said: "Boss Zhu, you are the most benevolent man in the city. What do you think should be done about this matter? Let me go."  They, these people have nothing to eat, so they will definitely come to your door and make noises to you, I will send troops to arrest them, there is no food to feed them, is it possible that I really want to kill them?"

    As soon as these words came out, the prisoners of the Qing army began to cry loudly and kowtow to beg for mercy. Several sinister squires secretly thought that it would be better to kill them all. They only hoped that Xiao Yungui would take action quickly and kill them all.

    Xiao Yungui saw the unbearable look on Zhu Changlin's face, and then said: "Most of these people are from Hunan, and all of you are fellow villagers. I really don't want to kill them. It offends the hearts of the people. They should serve as soldiers and eat food."  Is it because these helpless officials like Luo Bingzhang and Weng Tongjue are so unkind?"

    At this time, even Zhu Changlin began to curse Luo Bingzhang and other officials in her heart. Xiao Yungui sighed to a group of wealthy businessmen and said: "I really have no choice. Whether to kill or retain depends on your words. I don't want to  It will leave troubles in the future, and the public security in the city will be unstable in the future. It will take a lot of effort to send troops out to kill people."

    As soon as he finished speaking, several Qing soldiers cried loudly and kowtowed to the wealthy businessmen in the hall, begging for mercy. These people had been in Changsha for a long time and knew everyone in the hall. They all begged: "Master Zhu, Master Wei  , please save the villain." "Mr. Tang, please save the villain. My third aunt's second uncle is my seventh aunt's cousin."

    Xiao Yungui secretly laughed. In order to survive, these Qing soldiers brought out all the relatives who could not be beaten with eight poles.  Zhu Changlin and others couldn't sit still at this moment. They scolded Xiao Yungui for being shameless for resorting to such a bad trick, and scolded Luo Bingzhang for being crazy and willing to resort to such a desperate strategy for the sake of his official reputation.

    After pleading, Zhu Changlin let out a long sigh, stood up and cupped her hands and said: "Your Highness the King of the West, since the army is short of money and food, and I can't bear to see the refugees in the city and these brothers of the general brother starve, then I will pledge five thousand taels of silver as payment.  How about the salary?"

    Xiao Yungui touched his nose. This Zhu Changlin was really good at planning. He only donated money. When the time came, he would still have to buy grain from his Zhugan account, and the loss would be smaller. He then calmly smiled and said: "This Boss Zhu  We¡¯ve already pledged donations, what do you guys say?¡±

    Everyone lamented, and some people took the lead in pledging, so they had to donate money one after another. Only He Yuanlun sat motionless. Xiao Yungui stepped forward and said: "He is the old hero who is in charge of the Baoqing Gang. He is very wealthy and powerful. He won't just watch the fun."  , it will make everyone, the juniors, laugh."

    He Yuanlun couldn't stand Xiao Yungui's verbal abuse, so he slapped the table and said angrily: "I also donate five thousand taels, any more will be gone!"

    More than ten people in the hall gathered together and donated 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver. Xiao Yungui knew that these were just a drop in the bucket for many wealthy businessmen. Everyone in the hall was worth hundreds of thousands, but he still  He smiled, cupped his fists and saluted, saying, "Thank you all for donating money. It's just that donating money is good, but the biggest shortage right now is rice."

    Everyone was still feeling heartache over the donation of money. When they heard this, they were all frightened. Wei Helin said anxiously: "Prince Xi, we really can't donate food. Don't bully others too much!"

    Xiao Yungui touched his nose and said with a smile: "Everyone has hard-earned money and food, and I don't want more. Let's see, I have always liked playing chess.He waved his hand and said, "Bring it up."  "

    I saw a few card players coming out with a chessboard. Xiao Yungui pointed at the chessboard and said: "Excluding the Chu, He and Han realms, this chessboard has sixty-four grids. I don't need much food, as long as I can collect food from the storage space."  , put one grain of rice in the first grid, two grains in the second grid, four grains in the third grid, and so on, until it is full.¡±

    Everyone was happy when they heard this and started talking about it.  Xiao Yungui also knew that people who were good at calculation would understand this trick if they thought about it for a while, and did not want everyone to have more time to think about it. He took a step forward and shouted: "You guys should make a decision quickly, otherwise I will regret it later."  !" Seeing that everyone was still hesitating, he shouted sharply: "Have you decided yet?!"

    After a rough thought, everyone just filled it with rice grains, which was only about a dozen bags of rice. It was really not painful or itchy, but Zhu Changlin and others always felt something was wrong. They wanted to calculate a few more squares, but they didn't have an abacus in their hands, and they were  Xiao Yungui interrupted his thoughts with several sharp shouts. He really couldn't continue the calculation. After hesitating for a moment, everyone had to agree together.

    Xiao Yungui touched his nose and smiled: "Well, I will wait here for you to get food to fill it."

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