Hangzhou West Lake

After a light rain, the scenery of West Lake is particularly beautiful, and the buds are green and the spring forest begins to flourish.

Next to West Lake is a large pavilion called Sijun Pavilion.

According to legend, there is a smart and beautiful woman. Since her husband went out to do business for several years, the woman would come to the pavilion to look west and wait. In the end, the husband still did not return. The woman finally died of excessive longing. In order to commemorate the woman, people changed the pavilion to Sijun Pavilion, and it also became the favorite place for literati and poets in Hangzhou.

However, Sijunting, who used to be crowded, looked a little deserted today, with only a few people wearing long gowns and looking quite dignified.

The person in the head was about fifty years old, with a white face and a very majestic face, but now his eyes flashed with an indescribable worry. This person was Pan Ruzhen, the current governor of Zhejiang.

There was a stone table in Sijun Pavilion with a few exquisite tea refreshments on it. Pan Ruzhen sat next to him. Two gorgeously dressed men were standing by the side with two maids standing by serving with their hands down. Two other maids were squatting in another corner of the pavilion to make tea.

The weather in Hangzhou in May was already a bit stuffy, but it had just rained a little while ago, and the cool breeze kept blowing, making people feel cool.

Pan Ruzhen picked up the teacup and took a sip. A smell of bitterness and sweetness circulated in the tip of his tongue. He couldn't help but exclaim: "What a dragon-jing in front of the rain, it is indeed worthy of its reputation."

A middle-aged man wearing a royal blue robe bowed and smiled, "Governor is good at seeing it. Although Longjing in front of the rain is good, people with taste should also be able to taste its beauty. If it is given to those who don't know the goods, what is the difference between chewing peonies in cows?"

"Mr. Ren is right. As the saying goes, there are always horses that are thousands of miles apart but Bole is hard to find. There are many people everywhere in Longjing, but not many people can taste its beauty. From this point of view, the governor is worthy of being a model for our gentry in Jiangnan."

Facing one rainbow fart after another, Pan Ruzhen just smiled and nodded, "Mr. Xu, Ren Gong has been awarded. Speaking of which, you two are the role models of our gentry in Hangzhou. This time I asked you to come here to discuss major issues with you."

Mr. Xu and Ren Gong looked at each other quickly and then separated immediately. The two of them naturally knew what Pan Ruzhen had come to find them this time.

Ren Gong nodded and said, "Please speak with you, Governor."

Pan Ruzhen restrained the smile on his face and slowly became serious: "At present, bandits are rampant, and they have successively captured three prefectures, including Anqing Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, Ningguo Prefecture, and more than ten cities, and countless people and gentry have become ghosts under the bandits' swords.

Benfu just received the news that the bandits had begun to gather troops and it was estimated that it would not take long to rush towards Hangzhou Prefecture. At present, the soldiers and equipment of Hangzhou Prefecture were insufficient. As the governor of the emperor's sovereign, safeguarding the people was the duty of Benfu.

Therefore, Benfu planned to recruit Qingzhuang Township to defend the city, but because of insufficient money and food, he had to invite two of them to come. Can we pay some money and food for hundreds of thousands of people in Hangzhou Prefecture so that Benfu recruited the township to defend the city?”

Although Pan Ruzhen said this with a smile, his eyes looked particularly serious. Coupled with his national face, a sense of powerlessness appeared without anger.

When Ren Gong and Xu Yuanwai saw Pan Ruzhen's appearance, they felt a little shocked. Of course, they knew that although their governor looked easy to talk, anyone who thought he was weak could be bullied would be wrong.

Knowing that if there was no blood today, Ren Gong thought about it and said, "Since the governor opened his mouth, how dare Caomin refuse? That's it. Caomin donated 300,000 taels of silver and 50,000 stones of food to the court on behalf of the salt merchants in Hangzhou."

Mr. Xu also said: "Caomin, on behalf of the maritime merchants in Hangzhou Prefecture, also donated 300,000 taels of silver and 50,000 stones of grain to the government."

If others heard this, they would probably be shocked. The two of them donated 600,000 taels of silver and 100,000 stones of grain as soon as they spoke. Such a work was not bad.

An ordinary person would have been satisfied after hearing this number, but Pan Ruzhen slowly shook his head: "This is not enough."

Ren Gong was slightly stunned. The price of 600,000 taels of silver and 100,000 s of grain was no less. In his opinion, it would be good if these things could be used half of them. The rest was the hard work for Pan Ruzhen and the officials of Hangzhou Prefecture.

Logically speaking, this number should be quite large, why is Pan Ruzhen not satisfied?

Just as he was thinking about it, Pan Ruzhen's voice sounded in his ears: "I still want to ask for something from you."

Ren Gong asked in confusion: "I don't know what it is?"

"It's not important. I just want the two to go back and say that from tomorrow, the servants and guards in the hands of the Salt Merchants Chamber of Commerce and the Maritime Merchants Chamber of Commerce will be temporarily handed over to Benfu for jurisdiction. With Benfu's Supervisor Camp, the soldiers guarding the city will participate in the defense of the city, and will return it to you after the bandits retreat."

"What?"

Ren Gong and Xu Yuanwai were shocked.

To be honest, when they reach their status, they no longer value money, grain and grass, such as yellow and white things. They can be earned at any time without this thing, but people are different.

Ren Gong and Xu Yuanwai, one is the president of Zhejiang's largest salt merchant guild, and the other is the leader of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce. No matter which of these two industries is a huge profit-making industry.

Since it is a profit-making industry, it is inevitable that you will be exposed to blows from both open and secret while making huge profits. Whether it is to deal with private salt dealers or the brutal pirates on the sea, they all need to master a team that can fight, and this team must be loyal and brave.

Such a team is the guarantee that they can gain a foothold in their respective industries. For them, they will be given money and food. At worst, they will be able to earn it back after a while. But if they hand over the armed forces in their hands, it will be different.

Without armed forces, they are like tigers without teeth. Even if there is too much money, they are still the target of slaughter. But now Pan Ruzhen actually wants them to hand over this life-saving talisman that passes them down from generation to generation, like the root of life, which makes them willing to give up.

"Governor, this is probably not good." Mr. Ren was not polite about his own wealth and life, and said in a deep voice: "Besides, we are just a merchant, and there are only a few servants in the family. If they are allowed to guard the house, they may be able to do it, but if they are allowed to defend the city, they may miss your major matter."

"Um?"
Chapter completed!