Xi Qingyang cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Fourth Uncle Gu. My father has one more thing to say: if the Prefect resists the Tartars, my Xi Family will certainly provide our utmost assistance."
Gu Rouqian asked after hearing this, "What about the Weng Family?"
Xi Qingyang was still young and couldn't help but purse his lips after hearing this: "Uncle Weng is unwilling to interfere in this matter."
Gu Rouqian nodded and said, "I understand. You may go now."
After expressing his thanks once more, Xi Qingyang departed, Gu Rouqian immediately took the box to find Zhu Ci.
Zhu Ci looked at that stack of promissory notes in great surprise. "He supports fighting the Tartars?"
Gu Rouqian nodded, "That's right. Based on my knowledge of him, it should be highly credible."
Zhu Ci did not doubt Xi Yuncheng; there was no need for him to fake anything in this regard, as he could simply do nothing and wouldn't need to go out of his way to cause trouble by saying such things.
He was merely a bit surprised.
In his impression, the wealthy households in this part of Jiangnan were basically early capitalists.
Their most prominent characteristic was that they only cared about money and profit, with absolutely no sense of patriotism.
Therefore, they were not proactive at all regarding the resistance against the Qing, when the Qing Army attacked, they were completely wiped out.
However, there are always some people within any group who are different.
Zhu Ci breathed a sigh of relief looking at that money; the financial pressure was indeed immense.
When he was recruiting soldiers and horses, his slogan was land distribution; as long as they joined the army and were willing to fight, they would be granted land.
Although the farmland seized by the Liu Clan and the Yan Family had been returned, that was only a small portion; there was still much land that truly belonged to these two families, when divided according to the number of people enlisting from each family, the land was extremely abundant.
After all, his requirements for recruiting soldiers were quite strict; he would not accept anyone under fifty, anyone who was an only child, or cases where a father and son tried to enlist together.
In this situation, the amount of farmland allocated to each family was also limited.
This could be considered a different kind of seizing the landlord's wealth to distribute land to the people, but unfortunately, he did not dare to say those six words aloud.
There is no such environment now, no one will respond to him; even the distribution of land would be carried out under the banner of extraordinary measures for extraordinary times.
There was also another point: only by having assets could the soldiers be made to guard with all their hearts; otherwise, they already had nothing, even if they surrendered, nothing would happen to them, so why would they risk their lives?
The men had been recruited and stabilized, but the problem was that the food, clothing, daily necessities for so many people, as well as their weapons allotments, all required money.
He had already sold off a significant portion of the assets he had seized from the Liu Clan and the Yan Family; although it was still enough, he felt the anxiety of slowly depleting his resources.
This sum of money from the Gu Family arrived just in time.
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before asking, "Can he procure grain?"
Gu Rouqian was quite proactive this time: "I will go and ask what else the Prefect requires. It would be better to say it all at once, so that I can go and discuss it with him."
Gu Rouqian had not previously connected Zhu Ci's recruitment of soldiers and horses to resisting the Tartars; he had simply thought that this Young Prefect wanted an armed force to compete with the local powerful clans.
Now that Xi Yuncheng had reminded him, seeing that the Young Master did not contradict him when he spoke of these things, Gu Rouqian became even more proactive, even contemplating whether his family or his teacher could provide any assistance.
Setting aside everything else, it seems the Prefect is quite short-staffed.
However.. I'll wait and see. I heard that the local dignitary from Jiading, Huang Chunyao, had known the Prefect for a long time, yet he was still not given much responsibility by the Prefect. It seems the Prefect has his own judgment, so it's probably best not to make a recommendation recklessly.
It must be said that the events involving the Yan Family had left such a deep psychological shadow on Gu Rouqian that he was now extremely cautious in everything he did.
Zhu Ci was not at all polite; he lacked many things.
Recently, he has been improving the cluster rocket "Swarm of Bees" to coordinate with the Fire-Dragon Water-Spout, so that he can handle both group and single targets.
Of course, in terms of area-of-effect damage, it certainly couldn't compare to the Hongyi Cannon, but the issue now was no longer whether he had the resources, but whether he had the time.
The Tartars must be driven back. The ideal situation would be to rule by dividing the river, so that there would be enough time to study cannons.
As for the firearms of the Southern Ming court, forget it; Nanjing had been visited by the rebels twice, so the firearms certainly wouldn't be left behind, he had no desire to pursue them either.
After Zhu Ci listed the items, Gu Rouqian was completely stunned.
Aside from the wide variety of items required, the most significant issue was the sheer quantity.
He looked at the quantity of grain required and asked cautiously, "This much grain.. I'm afraid the Xi Family won't be able to provide it all at once.."
“Go and ask for me. It's not like the Xi Family is being ordered to bring as much as they can; I'll find another way for the rest.”
Only after hearing this did Gu Rouqian breathe a sigh of relief, then turned to find Xi Yuncheng.
As soon as Gu Rouqian left, Zhu Ci couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Despite appearing so confident in front of Gu Rouqian, he was actually worried to death.
..
The feedback from Xi Yuncheng was indeed fast; he could indeed procure grain, but at most, he could only get one-third.
One third.. where am I going to find the remaining two-thirds to fill the gap?
Is there anyone left in all of Suzhou who can transport this much grain?
Xi Yuncheng also knew that there was a massive grain shortage here, so he made a special trip to say, "Prefect, I wonder if you and the Marquis of Huating have any dealings with each other?"
Hmm? The Marquis of Huating?" Zhu Ci reacted upon hearing those three words: "What happened to him?
To be honest, the largest grain merchant in the entire south is the Marquis of Huating. We are merely following in his wake, scavenging for leftovers. If the Prefect has dealings with the Marquis of Huating, there might still be a chance.
Zhu Ci..
His relationship with the Marquis of Huating consisted of a connection with four spies and a Green Jade Wurtz Tree.
Seeing him lost in thought, Xi Yuncheng said, "I have heard that the Marquis of Huating happens to have a shipment of grain arriving at the port in a few days; perhaps there is an opportunity."
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin and said, "He is in need of grain right now; even if I wanted to buy it, he might not sell it, right?"
Xi Yuncheng smiled and said, "There is no need for Your Excellency to worry. Anyone in this world might lack grain, but the Marquis of Huating certainly will not. This man always acts only after careful planning; since he dares to raise his banner, he must surely have everything under control."
Zhu Ci nodded upon hearing this and said, "I understand, thank you for the reminder, Brother Xi."
After Xi Yuncheng left, Jiang Quan asked with some confusion, "Did he come all this way just to say those two sentences?"
Zhu Ci smiled faintly. "He is making his stance clear."
Xi Yuncheng had been constantly seeking to send his family members to him, but Zhu Ci simply refused to entertain his requests.
There was no way to say; even Zhu Ci didn't dare say whether he would eventually target the Xi Family. For now, the relationship between the two sides seemed quite good, but who knew what the future held?
Moreover, Zhu Ci did not want to get too deeply involved with the local powerful families. If he ran out of money, he would have to target the powerful families, but he would feel too embarrassed to strike if he had become too close to them.
What if, when he wanted to take action, he turned around to find that all his capable assistants were the sons of local prominent families? Wouldn't that be a total mess?
He did not doubt those people's abilities at all; those sent by Xi Yuncheng were bound to be capable in both literary and martial arts, his current subordinates certainly could not compare to them.
Seeing that he couldn't send the people, Xi Yuncheng could only show himself in other ways.
It was quite strange; Xi Yuncheng acted far too enthusiastically, so much so that Zhu Ci even suspected he might have some connection to the Marquis of Huating.
However, even with doubts in his heart, he still called Li Cheng over and said, "Take your men and seize control of Qiya Port. If you encounter the Marquis of Huating's fleet, intercept them."
After Li Cheng left to carry out the orders, Zhu Ci thought carefully for a moment and then invited Gu Rouqian over.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Thank you, Marquis of Huating, for the grain you sent. A masked cat carrying a blade to commit robbery. jpg
The next update will be tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 75
Gu Rouqian was somewhat restless; he had already finished two cups of tea since arriving at the Prefect's side, yet the Prefect had not yet spoken!
What on earth has happened to make the Prefect so worried?
Back then, he had been swift and decisive when dealing with the Liu Clan and the Yan Family, acting with incredible efficiency, but now he remained silent. He was clearly facing some difficulty, he didn't even dare to imagine what kind of difficulty it could be.
After finishing the third cup of tea, Gu Rouqian could no longer sit still and couldn't help but ask, "Prefect, what exactly has happened?"
Zhu Ci let out a slow sigh, Gu Rouqian felt his heart instantly begin to race with anxiety.
It couldn't be.. that a real problem has occurred, could it?
"Gu Gangzhong, you know that I don't have much grain left here," Zhu Ci said with melancholy.
Gu Rouqian froze for a moment. "Ah, this.. although there won't be enough in the long run, it should be fine for now. There is no need for the Prefect to be too anxious; once the winter wheat is harvested in two months and the taxes come in, there will naturally be grain and fodder to replenish the supplies."
Zhu Ci shook his head. "I fear it will be too late; the Tartars will not give us much time."
Gu Rouqian's heart tightened instantly. "Then.. what should be done?"
Zhu Ci leaned in close and whispered to him, "Xi Zhongqing came specifically to tell me two days ago that the Marquis of Huating has a shipment of grain arriving at the port soon, I have already sent men to intercept it."
“This.. this absolutely cannot be done!” Gu Rouqian said, waving his hands in a panic. “Prefect, if this angers the Marquis of Huating, I fear you will find yourself attacked from both front and rear.”
Zhu Ci certainly knew there would be such risks, but he could not let this opportunity slip away; on one hand, there was the grain, on the other hand.. perhaps he could force Fu out?
He truly wanted to know what the Marquis of Huating was actually thinking by sending people to his side.
Zhu Ci said in a gentle tone, "Rest assured, I won't be in conflict with the Marquis of Huating during this stage. Sending people to intercept is simply because I want to buy grain. I originally intended to send my subordinates, but they are all quite young and cannot hold their own, so I want to send Gu Gangzhong and his men. It would be great if they can buy it, but if they can't, we'll deal with it then."
Well, if he couldn't buy it, he would have to resort to seizing it.
However, there was no need to tell Gu Rouqian this; Zhu Ci was afraid that if Gu Rouqian heard it, he would faint from shock on the spot.
Actually, even if he robbed him, he wouldn't fear Fu Zhen coming to cause him trouble. At worst, they could just make a deal. For instance, wouldn't Fu Zhen want the improved rockets in his hands?
No matter how wealthy one might be, the improvement of firearms was not something that could be achieved overnight.
After hearing Zhu Ci's words, Gu Rouqian asked hesitantly, "Why does the Prefect not send word to the Marquis of Huating?"
Zhu Ci said, "The fleet is about to arrive at the port, so it is too late to send word now. Besides, the Marquis of Huating currently.. I am, after all, an official of the imperial court; the Marquis of Huating might not be willing to pay me any mind."
Of course, the main reason was that he truly wanted to embezzle a batch of grain from Fu Chunsheng to vent his anger; sending Gu Rouqian over was merely a way to show courtesy before using force, making it look slightly better than outright robbery.
Gu Rouqian found it very reasonable after hearing this and immediately stood up, saying, "I will not fail the Prefect's trust."
Zhu Ci immediately grasped his hand and said affectionately, "The hope of resisting the Tartars lies within this batch of grain. I'm counting on you, Gangzhong."
In an instant, Gu Rouqian felt the weight of his responsibility; he took a deep breath and nodded with a solemn expression.
After he left, Zhu Ci contemplated for a long while before turning his head and saying, "Have Xia Lei come here for a moment."
Xia Lei was somewhat surprised. Lately, he had seen Zhu Ci less and less; sometimes he wouldn't see him even once in three to five days, which made him constantly wonder if he had done something to offend the Young Master.