Chapter 542 "Put it down, I'll choose!"
(Thank you Yuezhi for illuminating this book! Thank you for your support, my darling!)
After Li Yu and his son left, Li Shiyue's smile gradually faded, and she lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
When Chen Yong returned from outside, Li Shiyue looked up at him and said, "Those merchants are really shrewd."
Killing Huang Wanchang frightened some people, but it also made others realize what this general wanted to do;
Now that Li Yu has emerged, I'd like to see when the other wealthy merchants will show their faces.
Sure enough, the news that Li Yu had ostentatiously carried a box of silver with great fanfare, voluntarily donated a huge sum of two thousand taels of silver to Li Shiyue, and received a personal audience with Li Shiyue, spread like wildfire throughout every corner of Jian'an City.
Those wealthy merchants who were originally observing, feeling the pinch, or even cursing in secret, could no longer sit still.
Inside the Zhou family mansion, the head of the household, Zhou Deyong, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan: "It's all over, it's all over!"
Li Yu, that old fox!
He beat me to it again!
He's gained the general's favor. If we don't reciprocate, the next family to be made an example of will probably be the Zhou family!
Quick! Go to the warehouse and gather... gather five thousand taels!
No, two thousand taels!
Two thousand taels it is!
"Take him to the government office immediately!"
Wang Maocai, the young master of the Wang family, looked utterly defeated. He waved his hand weakly at the family accountant, saying, "Forget it, let's just pay up to avoid further trouble."
It's better than ending up like Zhao Liangfu.
Li Yu donated two thousand, so let's... let's donate two thousand too.
No, let's donate a thousand. My Wang family can't compare to the Li family's vast wealth.
Sigh, forget it, I'll just donate two thousand. I can't be worse off than the Li family..."
Under the combined influence of Zhao Liangfu's "lesson from the past" and Li Yu's "exemplary influence," no one among the prominent and wealthy merchants in Jian'an City dared to harbor any illusions anymore.
Within just two or three days, a “silver donation competition” almost took place in front of the government office.
The Zhou family contributed two thousand taels, the Wang family two thousand taels, the Zhang family three thousand taels, the Liu family two thousand taels... even some moderately wealthy families gritted their teeth and scraped together a thousand taels, carrying boxes and delivering them to the government office in an endless stream.
Wang, the clerk, along with a group of clerks, was so busy collecting money that his hands were sore from counting it. His abacus was clattering away, and even the documents he was registering and compiling had piled up into a thick stack.
The treasury in the backyard of the government office was filled at an alarming rate, so much so that the Xuanjia Army had to be temporarily dispatched to guard it.
Li Shiyue welcomed all who donated, regardless of the amount. She instructed Wang Shuli to receive them well, register them, and announce in public that all donors would be recorded in the merit book and rewarded according to regulations after the Japanese pirate raids were quelled.
She stood at the window, watching the endless stream of cash delivery workers below, the cold smile on her lips growing ever more pronounced.
Cai Hua tried to trap her by using the problem of having no one available, but she used swift and decisive measures and tied it to interests, directly drawing enormous power from the people.
This money not only completely solved the problem of the source of the reward, but it was also like a resounding slap in the face to the garrison soldiers who had cowered and watched her make a fool of herself!
Aren't you all unwilling to put in any effort?
Don't you want money?
Look, the people and merchants of Jian'an, those with money contribute money, and in the future, others will also contribute their labor!
What face do you have left to exist as a regular army supported by the imperial court?
She could almost imagine how grim Cai Hua's face must look at that moment in the Zhenjun camp.
The morale of the garrison troops is probably already in a state of utter disarray.
"General, the total amount of silver donated by all families has exceeded 20,000 taels!"
Chen Yong reported to Li Shiyue, his voice filled with disbelief and shock.
He never imagined that money could be made this way.
"very good."
Li Shiyue turned around and said, "Now that we have the money, the next step is to make this fire burn even brighter."
Let's get our eyes and ears moving and spread all the news about the Japanese pirates!
"Those five hundred new recruits in our battalion have been holed up for so long, it's time they saw some blood."
Li Shiyue considered that if no one brought the heads of Japanese pirates to exchange for money ten days after the "Order to Kill the Pirates" was issued, then she would have to arrange for the five hundred new recruits to disguise themselves as fishermen and go to the coastal fishing villages to fish for law enforcement.
Using war to support an army is indeed a good method.
However, this method is clearly going to cause heavy casualties, and Li Shiyue really felt sorry for the soldiers under her command.
But before Li Shiyue could arrange this move, on the ninth day after the "Order to Kill the Bandits" was issued, at dawn, Wang Sanlang, who had been on duty all night, had just finished his shift with his colleagues and was planning to go to Wuhoupu to eat his own chicken when he saw several people carrying baskets of fish on the official road in the distance, walking step by step towards the city gate.
What caught Wang Sanlang's attention was mainly the nauseating stench mixed with the smell of blood that drifted on the wind.
Having grown up by the sea, Wang Sanlang was naturally not surprised by fishermen carrying their catch into the city to sell, and he was used to the fishy smell of seafood.
However, the bloody smell mixed in with this smell is not the smell of fish blood, but rather—human blood!
Although Wang Sanlang had never been on the battlefield, he had guarded the city gate for many years and had also followed his superiors to capture bandits. Once you smelled the special smell of human blood, you would never forget it!
Besides, ever since Li Shiyue came to Jian'an City last year, the day after she entered the city, she built a high platform in front of the government office and killed more than 30 members of Huang Wanchang's family. At that time, the smell of blood on the whole street in front of the government office did not dissipate completely for more than a month.
This was because it was already December at that time. If it were the weather now, the smell would probably linger for two or three months.
Therefore, just from the scent carried by the spring breeze, Wang Sanlang immediately knew that something was wrong.
The expression on the face of the other man who had come down from the barracks with Wang Sanlang also changed. The two looked at each other and, after a moment of eye contact, both placed their hands on the hilts of their swords at their waists.
Ding Chaosheng, carrying baskets of fish, looked at the imposing city gate ahead and became afraid to go any further.
"Sister, I, I..."
The one Ding Chaosheng called "elder sister" was Ding Haisheng, the eldest of the three siblings in the Ding family.
Born in a fishing village by the sea and raised by the sea from childhood, Ding Haisheng had a dark complexion. If it weren't for her gentler features compared to her younger brother who was carrying a load beside her, and her shorter stature, one would really not be able to tell that she was a woman.
"Put it down, I'll choose!"
Ding Chaosheng regained some courage after being called out by Ding Haisheng. He did not put down the load, but lowered his head and said to Ding Haisheng, "Sister, I can carry it."
"That's right, I've never been to the city before, I'm scared..."
At this moment, before Ding Haisheng could say anything, Ding Fusheng, who had been following behind the two, and who was Ding Haisheng and Ding Chaosheng's younger brother, shouted loudly at his second brother: "Brother, it's too late for you to be scared now, isn't it?"
We've even cut off other people's heads and carried them around to exchange for rewards. You're telling me you're scared?
"The officials up ahead are probably going to laugh at the three of us!"
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