Datong prefect yamen, with a large number of dignitaries and nobles arriving one after another, not only the seats in the prefect's yamen lobby were filled, but also a few tables placed in the prefect's compound were filled according to the amount of wealth of the official god landlord.

At the beginning of the feast, Wei Zheng did not appear. Otherwise, the whole banquet will be unhappy, and I will take other people's money, and I will not be able to let others eat even a meal.

After drinking and eating, everyone focused their eyes on the prefect Li Wenxuan.

Under the gaze of a pair of eyes full of incomprehension, Li Wenxuan walked into the back hall with a respectful face. Less than a cup of tea, Wei Zheng, who was dressed in military uniform, slowly appeared in front of everyone under the guidance of Li Wenxuan's smiling face.

"Squires, now I would like to introduce you to a man. As for today's banquet, it was also held to welcome this person. This person is standing in front of me, the general soldier of Datong who has just been appointed by the imperial court, Lord Wei... Everyone is welcome..."

Whether you want it or not, whether it is sincere or not, all kinds of welcoming voices still sound in the lobby and compound.

Subsequently, the noisy discussion also reached the ears of the two.

At this moment, everyone is thinking and discussing one thing, why two people who were incompatible with life and death a few days ago can now stand together. The prefect, who has always been arrogant, why can he put down his body and hold a welcome banquet for a military general with a higher level than himself...

With the sound of various discussions, the prefect Li Wenxuan's two sons were imprisoned by Jinyiwei, two days ago the prefect Li Wenxuan took more than ten carriages to the General Military Mansion, and then brought the carriage back to the news... It quickly spread through the lobby and compound.

After stringing together the various gossip, some bold ideas. It also slowly appeared in the minds of these gentry and landlords.

Were the two sons of the prefect arrested at the behest of the chief soldier...... The prefect took a dozen carriages to the General Soldier's Mansion. Is it to make amends to the chief soldier? I hope that the chief soldier can spare his two precious sons...

At this moment, the prefect Li Wenxuan, who had a smiling face, decisively interrupted the discussion. He spoke again: "Squires, you are all important people in my Datong Mansion. Today, the chief soldier is here to invite you, on the one hand, to get to know you. After all, the chief soldier will have to deal with everyone for a long time to come. ”

"In addition to this purpose, there is one more thing that the commander-in-chief needs everyone's help ......"

"Everybody knows that. It won't be long before our Datong Mansion will be attacked by the Shaanxi rebels. And the latest report on the enemy situation brought to us by the chief soldier is that the Shaanxi rebels who attacked Datong Mansion have expanded from 10,000 to 30,000 when they entered Shanxi because of the large number of displaced people on the way to the army..."

"And what about our Datong Mansion? Not counting the Tiger and Leopard Army brought by the chief soldier, there are only 5,000 people at full duty. As for the Tiger and Leopard Army brought by the Chief Soldier, although they had defeated the Tartars several times outside the pass, the total strength was less than 4,000. Other words. In the future battle to defend Datong, we will only be able to use less than 10,000 troops.

"With less than 10,000 troops. Can we hold Datong and ensure the safety of your squires' property? ”

According to the character of the Chinese people to protect themselves, other things can be ignored, but after the real safety of their own net worth, these usually high-ranking officials and landlords began to sit still.

Sitting in the lobby of the prefect's yamen, some gentry who had a good relationship with Li Wenxuan directly shouted: "Your Excellency, the troops are not enough, we can ask the imperial court for help and ask the imperial court to send reinforcements..."

"Otherwise, the defenders of less than 10,000 will definitely not be able to stop the 30,000 rebels. Therefore, please ask the prefect to immediately send a letter to the court and ask for reinforcements...."

"Yes, ask the imperial court for reinforcements......"

"We pay so many taxes to the court every year, and the court can't ignore us...."

Seeing the situation in front of him, which could almost be called more and more intense, Wei Zheng, who was dressed in military uniform, finally reacted.

After slamming his clenched fist on the table in front of him, he said loudly, "Calm me down..."

After Wei Zheng's murderous words sounded in the compound, the lively prefect's yamen suddenly became quiet. Everyone focused on Wei Zheng, wanting to hear what this strange Datong general had to say.

Wei Zheng, dressed in military uniform, took two steps forward and said with a majestic face: "I tell you as the chief soldier of Datong that the imperial court will not send us any more reinforcements....If we want to defend Datong Mansion and ensure that your family property in Datong Mansion is not looted by the Shaanxi rebels, we can only rely on our own ......."

"The rebels have so many troops, and we have less than a third of them. There is only one way to change this disparity in strength, and that is to expand the army..."

"And the expansion of the army needs money, and the imperial court will not give this money, so only rely on the generosity of the squires of our Datong Mansion. Because, only if we keep Datong Mansion, can your family wealth in Datong Mansion be preserved. Otherwise, even if you have thousands of family fortunes in Datong Mansion, you will still be rebels in Shaanxi at that time..."

As soon as Wei Zheng finished speaking, Li Wenxuan, who had already made up his mind to cooperate with Wei Zheng, said in a very timely manner: "Squires, I won't tell you the big truth of cold lips and cold teeth. ”

"What I want to tell you is that if we don't expand the army in Datong Mansion, the General Soldier will not be able to hold Datong Mansion. And your family wealth in Datong Mansion will be looted by the Shaanxi rebels..."

"So, everyone's small efforts now are to keep most of the family wealth that everyone has worked hard to earn all their lives...."

"In order to show the support of I, Li Wenxuan and the entire prefect yamen, to the Lord General Soldier, I will take the lead and provide free support to the Lord General Soldier with 10,000 taels of gold and 150,000 taels of silver as the salary for the expansion of the army to defend our Datong Mansion..."

"Hiss......" Hearing the figures reported by Li Wenxuan, even the gentry who had already made preparations for heavy bleeding couldn't help but gasp. Because, the number reported by Li Wenxuan is too big, completely beyond their imagination.

However, after the shock, my heart began to hesitate.

The prefect took out 250,000 taels of silver at one time, and if he only took out hundreds of taels, or even thousands of taels, would it be too little, and offend the prefect and the general soldier......

As a result, these gentry and landlords had to grit their teeth and calculate a more appropriate figure in their hearts according to the amount of their family wealth.

When Li Wenxuan and Wei Zheng focused their eyes on the richest man in Datong at the same time, the gray-haired old man's face quickly flashed a trace of unnoticed heartache and replied to the two.

"The two adults, old and talented, are very willing to do their part for the people of Datong Mansion. In order to support the expansion of the army, my Wang family is willing to take out 80,000 taels of silver and 100,000 catties of grain to serve as a ...... for the expansion of the army" (to be continued......