After finishing his meal, Zhu Yunwen patted the table and said:
"Let's settle on this matter of taking the lead. Tomorrow, bring your money and grain to the county government office, and we will tally the donations in public. I'll set a rule here: whoever leads the way and donates the most will receive the most when the money is distributed."
You should also be aware that although the ordinary people and wealthy merchants of Hukou County don't have as much grain as you, they have the advantage of a much larger quantity. If everyone contributes a considerable amount of grain and money, the total amount will be enormous.
If you can get a share of some of it, you can make a fortune and become incredibly wealthy, so it's up to you to decide what to keep and what to discard.
If only one thousand taels of silver are taken out, then naturally the share will be smaller when it is divided. If ten thousand taels of silver are taken out, then naturally it will be ten times more than one thousand taels of silver.
You mustn't let small gains lead to big losses. I'm sure you all understand that in business, the more you put in, the more you gain, especially in something with no risk like this.
Hearing his words, everyone nodded in agreement.
The portly tycoon took the lead in expressing his opinion, saying:
"I'm willing to contribute two-thirds of my money and two-thirds of my food. The greater the investment, the greater the return; it's a risk-free, highly profitable venture. Naturally, I'm going to make a fortune!"
The other four nodded in agreement, all expressing their willingness to contribute most of their food and money to make a good profit.
Because they also understood a principle: as gentry and wealthy people, the more they took, the better they could carry out this vanity project, and the more moved the ordinary people and ordinary wealthy merchants would be, and the more willing they would be to contribute more money and grain.
Zhu Yunwen said with satisfaction:
"Alright, then tomorrow I will hold a disaster relief event outside the county government office. You should also organize it and gather all the wealthy and influential people you know."
"When the time comes, let them all go up on stage one by one. I refuse to believe they'd have the nerve not to donate money or food!"
Everyone laughed when they heard Zhu Yunwen's words. Wasn't this a classic case of forcing someone into a difficult situation?
Everyone ate and drank very well that night.
After Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu returned to the county government office, the county magistrate did not come to pick them up.
Zhu Yunwen didn't pay any attention and went to bed early.
That night, the five gentry and wealthy men all dreamed of getting rich.
The night passed quickly, and early the next morning, Zhu Yunwen found Magistrate Li and asked him to have a platform set up outside the county government office.
Although Magistrate Li was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to obey Zhu Yunwen's orders and do as he was told.
Once the matter is over, he will simply write a memorial to the throne and severely impeach Zhu Yunwen.
We should still listen to what needs to be listened to now.
Soon the platform in front of the county government office was set up, and Zhu Yunwen ordered the yamen runners to beat gongs and drums everywhere to gather the people in the city outside the county government office.
Meanwhile, the five local gentry and wealthy people were not idle either. In order to plunder the people's wealth, they invited many rich, powerful and influential people from Hukou County in their own name.
Several hundred people were invited to the entrance of the county government office.
They were given long benches at the very front of the platform below the county government office, and were all invited to sit down, receiving a high level of treatment and privilege.
None of these wealthy people noticed anything amiss, because these five gentry and rich men had never cheated them before.
They certainly didn't expect to be tricked this time.
So they all sat down on the stools.
Behind them were tens of thousands of ordinary people and disaster victims, filling an entire street outside the county government office.
Magistrate Li was furious to see that Zhu Yunwen had made such a grand show of things, only to amass wealth.
Zhu Yunwen, on the other hand, sat next to Magistrate Li with a smile on his face, waiting for Zhu Yunwen to make a fool of himself and watch him act so recklessly and engage in corruption.
This way, he could return to the capital and report the truth to Zhu Yuanzhang. He felt that although he hadn't killed Zhu Yunwen on the way, Zhu Yunwen's actions had almost ruined him.
Just as he was thinking this, Zhu Yunwen walked onto the stage and addressed the crowd:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am the third grandson of the current emperor, named Zhu Yunwen. I have gathered you all here today to hold a fundraising event in response to the current disaster."
At the fundraising event, everyone present could donate money or food, and all donations would be used for disaster relief.
Upon hearing his words, Zhu Yunwen and Magistrate Li both snorted disdainfully, clearly believing that Zhu Yunwen was speaking hypocritically.
However, Zhu Yunwen didn't care and continued:
"As everyone knows, the drought is severe right now, and people have no harvest. Many disaster victims are sleeping on the streets and going hungry. Many have even left their homes to seek a living elsewhere."
The refugees who fled to other counties have received relief from the local county governments under His Highness's care, ensuring that they can eat a fixed amount of food every day.
However, in Hukou County, the hardest-hit area, there are still 100,000 disaster victims. Therefore, today's fundraising for food and money is crucial to ensuring the future food and drink of these victims.
Therefore, I hope that those of you who have money and surplus funds at home will make appropriate donations!
Hearing him say that, the hundreds of wealthy people sitting below felt disdain.
However, since they were already seated here and had been mobilized by the court and the imperial grandson, they had to give them face and donate some money and grain.
But it was just a formality.
However, to their surprise, after Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, the five gentry and wealthy people also went on stage and each gave a moving speech.
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