There were several sounds of mice fighting and running, and the sound of cats catching mice.
"What a fuss."
Liang Zhongshu breathed a sigh of relief and didn't take it seriously. It was just a cat catching a mouse. It was normal. He was a little angry at Xu Ning.
"Yes, it will eventually pass."
Xu Ning also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the secret had been eavesdropped, but he thought this was the Zhongshu Mansion, which was heavily guarded, and even Liangshan Xizuo couldn't get in.
Xu Guanzhong frowned, feeling uncomfortable in his heart, and winked at Xu Ning.
Xu Ning nodded. After the meeting, he went up to the roof and checked, but there were no footprints.
There were mouse droppings, and the old tabby cat was also found.
"It seems that he is paranoid."
Xu Ning laughed at himself and reported Xu Guanzhong's situation, which also made Xu Guanzhong feel that he was a little suspicious.
After the generals left, Gao Qiu and Liang Zhongshu discussed secretly.
This reward to the three armies is a big expense, there are tens of thousands of troops.
Good wine, good meat, plus reward, it's too much.
What's more, this is Daming Prefecture, not Kaifeng Prefecture. Gao Qiu lost all his belongings and had so much money in his hand to reward him. Therefore, Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture had to come up with the money, and Liang Zhongshu was unwilling.
The pot fell from the sky. The war is your business, Taiwei. You don't care about my Daming Mansion.
No one is willing to pay this money.
"How about this, call together the wealthy people in Daming Mansion, let them contribute to the country, and reward the three armies."
The corners of Gao Qiu's mouth turned up, he put down the teacup in his hand and pointed outside.
Daming Mansion is one of the four capitals. It was a prosperous place in the Song Dynasty. There were many rich people. No one contributed part of the money, which was enough to reward the three armies.
"What if they are unwilling or only donate a small amount of money?"
A good idea, but rich people are not stupid, Liang Zhongshu questioned.
"Hey, it's easy to handle, easy to handle. I'm worried about all the rich people in Daming Palace. I personally donated 100,000 guan, and you, Liang Taishu, donated 50,000 guan. The rest of the Daming Palace officials donated different amounts according to their official positions."
"With people like us as examples, how can those rich people not bleed? If they are unwilling to donate, they are collaborating with bandits, confiscating their homes and exterminating their families."
Gao Qiu's fleeting words can lead to the destruction of families and lives. He is not good at marching and fighting, but when it comes to making money, he is very smart.
"This~ Lord Taiwei must not do it. The lower officials are willing to donate all their wealth, but how can those officials be willing to donate money? By then, these people may really join Wang Lun."
Liang Zhongshu was anxious. How could he not know the virtues of his officials? Asking them to be less greedy would already make them dissatisfied. Asking them to donate money would cost their lives.
"Hehe, Master Zhongshu is really loyal to the Holy One. It's just that his methods are a bit rough."
"Privately make an agreement with the officials that all the officials can take back from the back hall as much as they donate from the front hall. For those wealthy people with great reputation and connections, we can allow them to donate 10,000 guan and take back 5,000 guan.
"
"As for those small businessmen and hawkers, they are untouchables. The imperial court has protected them, and they should be loyal to the imperial court. Every household must donate a certain amount of money."
"I will take 30% of the donation, and I will share 30% with the Grand Master, 20% with the Secretary, and 10% will be shared with all the officials of the Daming Palace and the top wealthy people according to their merits. The remaining 10% will be used to reward the three armies."
"Everyone is happy, hehehe~"
I am so smart.
If Gao Qiu does this, those officials will not have to work hard to get things done, and the money they will make will definitely not be small, far exceeding the set goal.
The key is that he has also dragged Grand Master Cai Jing and Liang Zhongshu into the same boat. When the time comes, he will give his share to other ministers. He was defeated before, and the ministers covered up and begged for mercy. How could the Holy Spirit do it?
I really blame myself.
Maybe, when I defeat Wang Lun, I can be promoted to a higher position.
Having been in officialdom for a long time, Gao Qiu was playing tricks of power and was very good at corruption.
"This can also unite the hearts of the officials of Daming Palace and help defeat the enemy. However, this will increase the burden on the people and there is a fear of rebels."
Liang Zhongshu's eyes were shining, he could still play like this, and he could get a lot of money, but the burden was passed on to the common people.
"Humph, they're just a bunch of untouchables. We have soldiers and horses in our hands. If they dare to rebel, we can just destroy them."
Gao Qiu didn't take it seriously. In the Ming Dynasty, these untouchables had no weapons and wanted to fight against the imperial army in his hands. That was not a joke.
Besides, if it really causes a civil uprising, so what? I am a Taiwei and not a guard in the Daming Mansion. What does it have to do with me?
"Yes, yes, a bunch of untouchables."
Liang Zhongshu echoed that he was not an upright official. Every year when his father-in-law Cai Jing celebrated his birthday, he would send birthday gifts worth 100,000 yuan.
Did you get this money?
With his small salary, how could he afford the luxurious life of the Grand Master's daughter?
Gao Qiu and Liang Zhongshu secretly began to plunder and plunder the people. The plundering was carried out layer by layer, and many people's families were destroyed. If Gao Qiu wanted to give out one guan to each family, then Liang Zhongshu would have two guans. The officials below directly beat the Taiwei.
The title of He Zhongshu must be ten consistent.
Ten guan is nothing to those rich people, but to ordinary poor people, it is enough to cover their expenses for several years.
The people were full of resentment and dissatisfaction. They kept cursing Gao Qiu and Liang Zhongshu in their hearts, and secretly prayed that Wang Lun would enter the city as soon as possible.
They didn't know if they would be killed if Wang Lun invaded the city, but they knew that their families would be destroyed now.
A thin man came to the prison and executioner's house of Daming Mansion. Although he was thin, he also carried a big bag on his back and placed it on the table.
Wow~
Yellow things rolled out, a lot of gold nuggets, gold bars, gold ingots, pearls, jade and agate.
It's worth at least a thousand taels of gold.
The two brothers Cai Qing and Cai Fu were breathing heavily and looked at the visitor in surprise: "I wonder if you, good man, need our brothers' help?"
"When I was under the command of the King of Qi, Shi Qian was granted the order of the King of Qi to come and pay a visit to the two heroes. This was a thousand taels of gold, and I invited the two brothers to join the gang. But when the time came, I released all the prisoners in the prison and joined them.
I am making a big fuss in Daming Mansion. I am taking the opportunity to set fire to Daming Mansion. When the time comes, we will cooperate with outsiders to help King Qi take down Daming Mansion."
"In this way, both you and I have made contributions. After the achievement is completed, the King of Qi will make you two generals, and you will conquer the world with us. You will both become high officials in the future. Isn't that much better than being a prisoner now?"
Shi Qian smiled and tempted the two brothers Cai Qing and Cai Fu.
The gates of Daming Mansion were tightly closed, and only Shi Qian had the ability to fly over eaves and walls and sneak into the city.
Shi Qian was single and weak, so he went to Zhongshu's mansion and stole gold and silver jewelry worth a thousand taels to bribe Cai Qing, a flower, and Cai Fu, an iron-armed man.
"Ah~ It turns out he is a rebel. Brother, let's capture Shi Qian together and send him to Zhongshu's Mansion for reward."
Cai Fu shouted loudly and flew towards Shi Qian, trying to twist him and send him to Zhongshu Mansion.
"superior!"
Cai Qing didn't hesitate, drew out the ghost head executioner's knife and struck at Shi Qian.