Zhang Lun and the marquis were also very surprised by Song Nan's move to raise food and pay for the war by himself, this is a battle of the imperial court, and the money spent is naturally the money of the imperial court.

When a large army goes on an expedition, it must be supported by at least millions of taels of silver, which is an astronomical amount, where does this silver come from? Those who know the inside story understand that Song Nan's personal family background is actually not much money, and the shares he occupies in the entire consortium are only one percent, and the major shareholder is an unknown rich man, but it is natural to do business, and when he takes everyone's money to invest in the bottomless pit of war, the Hou masters hesitate.

In the day after the early dynasty, the marquis were in a nervous mood, they were very worried that they would receive Song Nan's invitation, the invitation at this time was definitely not a good thing, it must be related to the money and food for the war. However, in the afternoon, Song Nan did not inform them to join forces at all, but in the evening, a shocking news came.

On all the billboards in the square within the nine gates of the capital, a large notice suddenly appeared with the Jinyi Guard Commander Dayin and the deputy governor of the regimental camp Song Nan. The current situation of the Ming Dynasty and the Tartars was clearly stated, and he did not shy away from saying that the imperial court wanted to completely defeat the Tatars, but it was suffering from the shortage of military spending.

At the end of the notice, it was clearly written: the evil is exhausted, the imperial court has made up its mind to recover the Hetao, the country rises and falls, and the common people are responsible, in order for millions of compatriots in the border towns to live a life free from the harassment of Tatars, Song Nan, the prince of the town, began to issue war bonds in the central square of Baizhifang in the name of the commander of the military division of the Ming Jinyi Guard, the deputy governor of the regiment and battalion; Those who purchase war bonds will be refunded the principal and high interest with the bonds after one year, and those who purchase a large amount can be personally received and entertained by the town and the country.

The detailed rules are pasted on the back, and the general content is that the war bonds will be sold one or two, and the principal and interest of one or two or three coins will be exchanged after a year, and the amount will reach more than 10,000 taels, and the Zhenguo Gong will personally receive and sign the bonds, and if the purchase is more than 100,000 taels, the Zhenguo Gong will ask the imperial court to give the title, although it has no practical effect, but it can also become a capital to show off.

The reception and banquet of the prince of Zhenguo, the so-called title of the imperial court is tempting, but the most attractive thing is that the interest can be redeemed in just one year, and the principal interest is as high as 30%, which is a temptation that can not be compared with any money bank or private loan shark. The only concern is whether this promise can be fulfilled, although the notice is posted by Song Nan, the prince of Zhenguo, who has a thunderous reputation and is already a household name in the capital, but it has to do with money, and ordinary people don't have much money left, so it's normal to hesitate.

Soon the central square of the second district of the white paper mill was crowded with people, most of whom had come to watch the excitement, and they had not decided to buy any war bonds; But seeing that a high platform was erected in the middle of the square, a row of tables and chairs on the high platform were lined up, and one of the people in the middle was beautifully dressed and luxurious, and it was Song Nan, the prince of Zhenguo, who was sitting in person; On the table were printed clay paper, pen and ink, and dozens of palm-sized pieces of paper. The audience was full of people, and the people all stared at the stage, seeing if anyone ate crabs first.

They didn't wait too long, and amid the sound of coughing, a white-haired old man walked up the wooden ladder on one side with a cane. The old man muttered, "What about the Zhenguo Gongren? The old man wants to see him. ”

Song Nan smiled: "Uncle, I am Song Nan." ”

The old man was startled, hurriedly leaned over and was about to kneel, and said: "Damn it, damn it, the old man is dizzy, and he doesn't even know the prince of Zhenguo in person." ”

Song Nan hurriedly held on and said, "Old man, if you have something to say, you don't need to salute." ”

The old man got up tremblingly and groped in his arms for a long time, took out a small cloth bag, which must be a silver tael, held it up and put it in Song Nan's hand and said: "The old man is here to buy the bonds of Zhenguo Gong and contribute to the recovery of Hetao." ”

Song Nan hurriedly said: "Old man, you have thought about it, this silver will not be exchanged for huàn until a year later." Is there anyone else in your family? Can you ask your children for advice? ”

The old man lowered his head and sighed: "I won't tell you, the old man is alone in the capital, and there is no one else at home, and these ten taels of silver are all the savings of the old man." ”

Song Nan frowned and said, "Old man, since you have all your savings, you need to be cautious." If you have no livelihood to support me in recovering the Hetao and raising military funds, then how can I be at ease. ”

The old man shook his head and said: "Zhenguo Gong is fighting with the Tartars in the northwest, although the old man is a grass people, he is also always concerned about the war in the northwest. My Ming Dynasty has been bullied by the Tartars for many years, and finally someone stood up to recover the Hetao, and the old man was so happy that he almost cried. To tell the truth, Lao Yuan's hometown is in Ningxia Town, north of the Yellow River, the original Daning Wei belongs, the Tartars went south to occupy my hometown, the imperial court gave up Daning Wei, and Lao Yu moved into Beijing with his wife and children. For so many years, the old man has been missing his hometown all the time, and he thought that there was no hope of returning to his hometown to return to his roots in this life, but he didn't expect that Zhen Guogong would lead troops to recover the Hetao. My wife and children will probably agree with my decision. ”

Song Nan suddenly felt that he was the original person of Daningwei, no wonder he would support himself so actively, and while admiring, he also felt a heavy responsibility.

The old man said to the audience: "Fellow villagers, it is a great thing for the imperial court to recover the Hetao, the Tartars deceive people too much, occupy the territory of my Ming Dynasty, and use this as a springboard to constantly harass the people in the border towns." We don't have to worry about being at the feet of the Son of Heaven, but our empathy should be retained, and since we are the people of the border town, we will definitely hope that the imperial court will solve the border troubles as soon as possible and live a stable life. The imperial court is now in difficulty, and the matter of raising funds initiated by the town and the prince is said to have interest to be taken, but there is no interest, so what? ”

All the people nodded one after another, and some people said: "My husband is a little bloody, and I am ashamed of myself." ”

Another humanitarian: "Yes, how lucky we are in the capital, I heard one of my relatives in Datong say that the border town of Datong fights almost every month, the big war and small battles continue, and the Tartars are fierce and tight, but they break into the territory, burn and loot all the way, and do all kinds of evil." It's like a beast. ”

"That's true, my cousin fled from Guyuan a month ago, he lived in Jinglu, and the Tartar brought firearms to raze Jinglu to the ground in just a few hours, and the family of eight escaped from the cousin and sister-in-law, and the Tartar was really murderous. When the news came that the prince had led his army to defeat the Tartars and drive them out, my cousin cried at home all day, and alas, it was miserable. ”

There was a lot of discussion in the audience, but the old man on the stage had already sat down at the table under the guidance of the guards, and Song Nanye, the prince of Zhenguo, had already sat down opposite him, and at this moment he took a piece of paper with a few lines of words to write on it, and after a while, he put down the brush and pressed the ink with his thumb to stamp the handprint under the paper, and then cherished a seal, and handed it to the old man with both hands.

Everyone listened with bated breath, but listened to Song Nan's mouth: "Uncle, as you wish, ten taels of silver will be handed over to me, you have collected this voucher, I pressed my handprint on it and stamped the seal and signed my name, a year later, with this voucher, still here, I will give you thirteen taels of silver." ”

The old man nodded again and again, folded it and kicked it in his arms, suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Song Nan, kowtowed: "The old man wishes the lord a victory, and it is best to drive the Tartar to the edge of the sky." Next year, if the old man can return to his hometown with the bones of his wife and children, he will burn high incense day and night to pray for a long life for the adults. ”

When Song Nan was busy helping him, the old man had already gotten up on his own, and went down the high platform with a cane, and the people silently made way for him, and the old man's hesitant back quickly disappeared into the crowd.

The procedure is already very clear, the Zhenguo Gong personally signed and stamped the fingerprint, which is equivalent to signing a contract with the Zhenguo Gong and the private person, compared to the previous thought that it was a loan from the imperial court, the credibility has increased a lot, and many people are eager to try. At this moment, a man shouted in the crowd: "Everyone, let me go, why do you stand here and stand in the way of others if you don't subscribe for the bonds raised." Please get out of the way. ”

Everyone looked over one after another, only to see an ordinary-looking young man squeezing over from the crowd, stepping up the steps and standing on the high platform, taking out a silver ticket from his arms and saying, "The villain buys a thousand taels of bonds." ”

Someone immediately stepped forward to receive him, and soon filled in the amount, took the voucher signed and sealed by Song Nan in his arms, and walked off the stage. Everyone secretly smacked their tongues, this person bought a thousand taels of bonds at once, and he was so generous, but when he thought that this person would get 1,300 taels of silver in a year, he suddenly felt that this money was too easy to earn.

While speaking, a few more people had the courage to come to the stage to subscribe, ranging from a few taels to dozens of taels, one of them also displayed the bonds offstage, looking at Song Nan's autograph on the bonds and the red seal of the Zhenguo Gong, all the worries in everyone's hearts were dispersed. At first, it was still threes and threes, but soon after, the crowd rushed up, and the dozen or so masters sitting behind the desk on the stage were also suddenly busy, and Song Nan was even more non-stop, signing and signing softly, so busy that he didn't even have time to lift his head.