Zhu Guobi asked Kong Xingxie to express his support for the Qinwang Army.
Kong Xingxie began to hesitate.
As per past practice, regardless of whether his father's charges were true or not.
None of this affects his inheritance of the title of Duke Yansheng.
As the ruler of the Kong family, the future Duke Yansheng.
His primary task is to maximize the benefits while protecting the interests of the Kong family from loss.
In his opinion, the army that was supporting the king had already reached Shandong.
But the advantages are not obvious.
If you express support for Nanjing at this time.
If Nanjing was defeated, not only would he not be able to profit from it, but he would also be implicated.
Seeing that Kong Xingxie was slow to express his opinion, Zhu Guobi became a little impatient.
He originally wanted to threaten Kong Xingxie and force him to submit.
But after careful consideration, I didn't do that.
First, what Kong Xingxie said made sense, and second, the situation in Shandong was very favorable for the army to support the king.
It is not yet to the point where we cannot move forward without Kong Xingxie's statement.
However, he did not intend to let Kong Xingxie leave directly, but had another matter to discuss with him.
He dismissed his attendants and lowered his voice: "Mr. Kong, I have one more thing to ask."
"Oh?" Kong Xingxie sat up straight and said, "Master Zhu, please speak."
Zhu Guobi paused and said, "The Nanjing court asked the Qinwang army to raise money and food on their own, and now they are approaching Qufu. Just now, the quartermaster came to report that the army does not have much money and food, so I want Mr. Kong to help raise money and food."
Kong Xingxie frowned.
He knew that what was coming had finally come.
It has long been rumored that wherever the loyalist army went, they would ask the local wealthy gentry and businessmen to donate money and grain.
Seeing it today, I find it really lives up to its reputation.
Just now he had refused to express support for the loyalist army.
If he refused to raise money and grain again, he would probably anger Zhu Guobi.
Now is a time of war, so don't anger anyone except the general who leads the troops.
So he asked, "How much food does Lord Zhu need?"
Zhu Guobi asked in return: "How much can Mr. Kong raise?"
The corner of Kong Xingxie's mouth twitched.
According to Zhu Guobi, there is no upper limit to the amount of money that can be raised.
Of course, this is not possible. He said in a deep voice: "Master Zhu should know that when the Jiannu invaded the pass in the 17th year of our dynasty, the Yanshenggong Mansion was looted. Not only did many people die, but the silver in the mansion was also looted. If there is no upper limit to the money raised, I am afraid I will not be able to help."
"Hey!" Zhu Guobi waved his hand: "Mr. Kong is overthinking."
"Oh?" Kong Xingxie was a little surprised: "What does Master Zhu mean?"
Zhu Guobi replied: "I mean to ask Mr. Kong to take the lead in donating money and grain to the Qinwang Army."
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand taels of silver."
"I'm sorry, the Yanshenggong Mansion really doesn't have that much money."
Zhu Guobi waved his hands quickly: "No, no, no, Mr. Kong misunderstood. What I meant was to ask the Yanshenggong Mansion to donate 100,000 taels on the surface, so as to encourage other gentry and common people to donate money."
"After the matter is completed, the money of Duke Yansheng will be returned in full."
Kong Xingxie smiled slightly: "Okay, okay."
"Mr. Kong agreed?"
Kong Xingxie kept smiling but didn't say the word "agree".
There seems to be nothing wrong with doing this, but it does not do any good to the Yanshenggong Mansion.
Based on the principle of either taking advantage or suffering losses, he couldn't agree.
Zhu Guobi's mind was as clear as a mirror. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Kong. The money of the gentry and the people will be divided into 30% and 70%."
Although Zhu Guobi did not say who would get 30% and who would get 70%, Kong Xingxie was very tactful and knew that he would take 30%.
He stood up and bowed deeply: "Don't worry, Master Zhu, I will go back to the city to help the King's Army raise money and food."
After Kong Xingxie returned to the city, he immediately summoned the famous gentry in the city and conveyed to them the idea of donating money.
Although the gentry in the city did not want to donate, Kong Xingxie's donation meant that the matter was not negotiable.
So.
The gentry took the lead in donating money and grain, and the common people followed suit.
After getting the money, Zhu Guobi first quietly returned the money to the Yanshenggong Mansion.
The rest will be split 30% to 70%.
Two days later, Zhu Guobi set out north again.
Everywhere I go.
The local defenders surrendered upon seeing the enemy coming.
Jining Prefecture, which did not surrender, became an exception.
Zhu Guobi originally wanted to bypass Jining.
But Jining is close to the canal and is a water transport fortress.
In order to ensure smooth water transport, Zhu Guobi led part of the main force back to Jining and attacked the city again.
As casualties increased, there was no reinforcement outside the city.
Jining City also chose to surrender.
After absorbing surrendered soldiers from all over the country and newly recruited soldiers, Zhu Guobi's total military force has reached 70,000!
He led his troops north along the canal, and after arriving at Dongchang Prefecture, he headed eastward towards Jinan.
Jinan was still in chaos at this time.
Because those officials who were taken away by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were brought here.
Upon hearing that Zhu Guobi's army was approaching, the eunuchs of the East Factory ordered the release of the prisoners.
Everyone was confused.
The eunuch left Jinan in a hurry after leaving a message that he would defend the city to the death and make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence.
Everyone was stunned.
Especially Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen.
When they were in Yanzhou Prefecture, they had the opportunity to redeem themselves from their crimes.
After losing so many cities, they were asked to defend Jinan to redeem themselves.
It's just nonsense.
An official said: "The East Factory is a disaster for the country and the people. We should jointly impeach Zhang Rong, the governor of the East Factory."
"Yes, impeach him jointly."
"Let's go, let's write a memorial."
"Don't worry, everyone," Zhang Huangyan said loudly, "The rebels will arrive soon. Zhang Rong must be impeached, and Jinan must be defended."
"Yes, let's defend Jinan while writing a memorial to impeach Zhang Rong."
After reaching a consensus, everyone began to count the soldiers, horses and food supplies in the city.
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