"You guys go out first. No one is allowed to come in without my order!" Ma Shiying dismissed the geisha who was performing.
After the women left, Ma Shiying came to Qian Qianyi and whispered in his ear: "There is a way! I came to Beijing (referring to Nanjing) to recruit soldiers and raise military funds."
"The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is short of 300,000 taels of silver. If we can find a way to fill this gap, we will be helping the Crown Prince."
"The prince will definitely meet with the person who helped him to express his gratitude."
"This is all I can do. The rest depends on money!"
Qian Qianyi did not show any joy after hearing this. Instead, he looked worried. “Although my family is well-off, I cannot afford so much money!”
Qian Qianyi was a descendant of Qian Liu, King Wusu of Wuyue, and Qian Weiyen, a famous official of the Song Dynasty.
After Qian Qianyi's grandfather Qian Shunshi and great-uncle Qian Shunde passed the imperial examinations, the Qian family changed from a family of noble titles to a family of scholars and officials. (A family of noble titles refers to people who are very wealthy without official titles or fiefdoms, and scholars and officials refer to high-ranking officials and nobles.)
Although Qian Qianyi's family was wealthy, three hundred thousand taels of silver was not a small sum.
In addition, he had just built the Jiangyun Tower and Hongdou Pavilion for his concubine Liu Rushi.
It is difficult to come up with three hundred thousand taels of silver in a short period of time!
Qian Qianyi frowned and continued, "Yaocao, I can't gather all this money in a short time. Even if I can, can you guarantee that after donating the money, I will get the opportunity to meet the prince?"
"If not, wouldn't that money be wasted?"
Without waiting for Ma Shiying to answer, Ruan Dacheng said, "Don't worry, Mr. Qian, we have already contacted them in advance."
"To show my sincerity, I am willing to pay 100,000 taels of silver to help Mr. Qian meet the prince!"
Ruan Dacheng was a descendant of the famous Ruan family in Tongcheng. He was from a family of scholars, with a long history of nobility and a wealthy family. Although it was a bit difficult to spend 100,000 taels of silver at once, it would not hurt his foundation.
Ma Shiying then said, "Mr. Qian, I am willing to pay 50,000 taels of silver to help you meet the prince."
"This...how can I accept this?" Qian Qianyi was reluctant to accept.
"Mr. Qian, please don't be polite. As long as I can ease the relationship with the Donglin people, I'm willing to accept any amount of money!" Ruan Dacheng said respectfully.
Many officials in Nanjing were members of the Donglin Party. If Ruan Dacheng wanted to make a comeback, these Donglin Party members would be an obstacle he could not avoid.
"Then...I will accept it for now!" Qian Qianyi no longer refused.
"But...how can I guarantee that I can meet the prince in person?" Qian Qianyi was worried.
Ma Shiying smiled mysteriously: "Don't worry, Mr. Qian, I have connections."
"Who?" How could Qian Qianyi feel at ease? He continued to dig deeper.
"Liu Kongzhao!"
Qian Qianyi was somewhat shocked: "You mean...Liu Kongzhao, the Earl of Chengyi?"
"Yes, the Nanjing Right Governor-General who is in charge of the Jiang River and patrols the Jiang defense, the Earl of Chengyi Liu Kongzhao! I have a very good personal relationship with him. Through his introduction, Mr. Qian will definitely be able to meet the prince."
Nanjing is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so Nanjing is not only defended by the Beijing Garrison, but also has a navy stationed there.
The general in charge of these navies was the Admiral Caojiang.
His official title was Admiral of the Yangtze River, and his duty was to train the officers and soldiers of the Yangtze River Navy.
This is a position of real power.
After Qian Qianyi learned this information, he finally put his mind at ease.
"Very good, drink, drink!"
The three of them raised their glasses and drank them all in one gulp while appreciating the beautiful view outside the window.
After drinking, it was Ruan Dacheng's turn to worry.
He was worried that Qian Qianyi would take the money but not do the job.
Qian Qianyi was so experienced that he had seen through Ruan Dacheng's worries, so he said in front of Ma Shiying: "Donglin holds a large meeting once or twice a year and a small meeting once a month. All participants can give lectures and write, and discuss state affairs."
"At the end of this month, officials from the Nanjing Donglin Party will hold a meeting on a cruise ship on the Qinhuai River. I will attend and speak well of Jizhi."
"I am the leader of Donglin, they will do me a favor."
"Thank you, Mr. Qian!" Ruan Dacheng raised his glass and drank the wine in it.
Since all the singing girls were driven out, Qian Qianyi felt bored after drinking for a while and planned to call them back.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Qian!" Ma Shiying stopped him, "I have something I don't understand, and I would like to ask Mr. Qian for some advice."
Qian Qianyi put down his wine glass and perked up. "Oh? Please go ahead!"
Ma Shiying paused and said, "Mr. Qian, I came to Nanjing to ask the prince for military pay. At the same time, I promised His Royal Highness that after recruiting soldiers, I would counterattack Yingzhou Prefecture, and then go west and north to recover the lost territory in Henan."
"How should I fight then?"
"What do you mean...?" Qian Qianyi became cautious.
"How can we fight to avoid following Zuo Liangyu's old path?"
After Yuan Jixian eliminated Zuo Liangyu, not only Ma Shiying, but many military generals of the Ming Dynasty became afraid.
In their eyes, Zuo Liangyu was certainly wrong, but they couldn't just kill him!
Qian Qianyi thought for a while and said slowly: "You can have a small victory, but you must not lose a big defeat! As long as you have soldiers and generals, the court will not dare to do anything to you!"
"What about my promise to the prince to counterattack Yingzhou Prefecture...?"
"No rush, train the soldiers for half a year first! When the political situation changes, you will change with it. If the political situation does not change, you will make great achievements."
"Thank you, Mr. Qian, for your guidance. I'll finish it. You can do as you please!" Ma Shiying drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
"I'll go with you!" Ruan Dacheng also drank the wine in his glass.
Qian Qianyi was already slightly tipsy, and seeing that they both toasted, he simply drank up the wine in his glass.
"It's great! It's great!"
The three of them drank happily.
Amidst the singing and dancing, the night grew darker. Accompanied by several women, they returned to their rooms to rest.
A few days later.
In the Wenhua Palace, the Earl of Chengyi Liu Kongzhao bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, I, Liu Kongzhao, greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"No need to be polite, just stand up!" Zhu Cilang said in a calm tone.
After some polite exchanges, Liu Kongzhao said directly: "I have something I would like to ask Your Highness to decide."
"Tell me about it."
"I heard that the Ministry of Revenue is short of money. Someone in Nanjing is willing to donate 300,000 taels of silver."
"Hmm? That's good!" Zhu Cilang was so happy that he almost stood up.
He is very short of money.
Now he finally understood how Chongzhen spent those years!
Life without money is so miserable. You can’t do this or that.
All you can do is wait and endure!
It’s a great thing that someone is donating money now.
"But this person has been stripped of his official title by His Majesty." Liu Kongzhao looked at Zhu Cilang, "He is a guilty person!"
In Chongzhen's eyes, Qian Qianyi was a criminal. If Zhu Cilang reused Qian Qianyi without knowing it, Chongzhen knew that he would hold him, the Earl of Chengyi, accountable.
In order to avoid getting himself involved, he decided to expose Qian Qianyi's past and let the prince know it first.
Whether to use it or not is the prince's business and has nothing to do with him.
He just conveyed Qian Qianyi's idea of donating money when the prince was short of money.
That's all!
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