Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

As an opposition official, Qian Qianyi is now more like the leader of the Donglin gentry who do not hold official positions.

He did not express his opinion immediately, but frowned and tapped the table with his right hand.

"I will also donate all my property, but I have been retired for many years and my wealth is not as good as that of Minister Zhang. So I will donate 800,000 taels."

After Qian Qianyi finished speaking, he lowered his brows, as if he didn't want to see other people's expressions.

Xu Hongji was very dissatisfied when he heard this. Qian Qianyi had indeed not been an official for several years, but Xu Hongji understood that Qian Qianyi had never stopped collecting money.

Although Qian Qianyi was no longer an official, he was once a cabinet minister, so he still had his network of connections.

Besides, he was a famous scholar in Donglin Academy, with students and old friends all over the world. Who would ask him to do something without giving gifts?

Eight hundred thousand taels, huh, how stingy.

But no matter what, Xu Hongji did not get angry. If internal conflicts broke out again at this time, it would be better for them to go their separate ways.

With Qian Qianyi and Zhang Shenyan taking the lead, Xu Hongji also took the lead in donating one million taels, and the nobles in Nanjing City also pledged to donate according to their titles.

In just one short meeting, Xu Hongji raised more than 14 million taels.

Some officials in the court were very dissatisfied with Qian Qianyi's performance, but since Xu Hongji did not mention it, they could not say anything. They only suggested indirectly that the gentry and landlords in various parts of Jiangnan should also donate money and grain.

After all, what they were doing was to protect their property, and this suggestion gained unanimous agreement from everyone.

With the 14 million, Xu Hongji immediately took out 5 million and gave it to Zhang Shenyan, hoping that he would go to the Zheng family again as soon as possible and make sure to bring the Zheng family to their side.

"In addition to the precautions we have to take, we should also inform the southwest side that they have given them so much money and food. As for Lord Hong in the north, we must make sure they act as soon as possible and not delay any further."

Xu Hongji did not explain the situation in the southwest too clearly. After all, colluding with bandits was not a glorious thing.

Although they were all rebelling, the people present stubbornly believed that they were opposing tyranny, which was absolutely different from Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

After obtaining Qian Qianyi's approval, he ordered all the nobles to wear military uniforms and personally patrol the Yangtze River front line, and also formulated a series of emergency measures.

For example, once the landing location of Zhang Shikang is discovered, how should the message be transmitted, how should the surrounding garrisons be deployed, etc.

Xu Hongji spoke eloquently and seemed to be very familiar with military affairs and had everything under control, which made the people present feel a lot more at ease.

After the meeting was over, everyone left the Duke of Wei's Mansion. When Xu Hongji was left alone, he finally let out a long sigh.

Only he knew that his confidence just now was all fake.

But if not, there would be no chance at all.

His ancestors have lived in Nanjing for nearly three hundred years, and it is hard for him to leave his hometown!

If he left here, he really didn't know how to survive. Thinking of this, he regretted more and more boarding the pirate ship of Zhang Shenyan and Qian Qianyi.

But there is everything in this world, but there is no regret medicine.

"Ugh!"

……

Qian Qianyi returned home with a worried look on his face. It was not that he did not understand how critical the current situation was.

But he thought that he had already raised so much money and grain, and if he still lost, it would not be because of the money and grain.

In this case, if I really take out all my money, it will not only be meaningless, but it will also become a problem for the expenses of the mansion.

Thinking of this, he took out paper and pen and wrote letters to several colleagues in the south.

In the letter, he expressed his feelings to his colleagues, saying that he was ready to die for them, and every word he said expressed his hope that they would not give up.

At the same time, he also wrote letters to Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng in the southwest, telling them that if a war broke out between the North and the South, it would be their opportunity.

Qian Qianyi understood that these two bandits were not really on the same side as them, but no matter what, if they went to war at the same time, the chances of success would be greater for both sides, which would be mutually beneficial.

After handing the letter to his servant to deliver it, Qian Qianyi was still immersed in the martyrdom scene he had imagined, as if he had already died and was revered by future generations.

After being full of confidence for a long time, he suddenly remembered that he had to keep an appointment with He Dongjun this afternoon, and his mood immediately improved a lot.

After a simple meal of bird's nest and steamed bear paw, Qian Qianyi bathed, changed his clothes, ordered people to prepare a carriage, and personally selected gifts from the storeroom in the mansion, and rushed to the residence of Hedong Jun Liu Rushi.

Along the way, Qian Qianyi occasionally lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, but he saw that the prosperous city of Nanjing was very noisy, and many merchants and gentry had anxious looks on their faces.

Some shops were about to close down, and the shop assistants were talking to people, saying that their navy had been wiped out and there was no hope for the Southern soldiers.

In order to prevent liquidation, their employer decided to close the shop and seek refuge further south.

Qian Qianyi couldn't help but frown.

The destruction of the navy happened only that morning, and they only found out about it during the meeting. Moreover, the Duke of Wei specifically warned everyone not to spread the news in the city to avoid causing panic.

But how come the news had spread to everyone in less than a day?

Just as he was wondering, he saw an official from the Military Affairs Department go up and arrest the guy directly. Qian Qianyi knew that it must be Xu Hongji's order.

This kind of scene happened many times as they walked along, and Qian Qianyi felt more and more uncomfortable.

This is all caused by the perverse actions of that dog traitor Zhang Shikang. If it weren't for this traitor's repeated troubles, the Ming Dynasty would now be well-populated and would have been prosperous once the bandits were wiped out.

But as he got closer to the residence of Hedong Jun Liu Rushi, Qian Qianyi temporarily put all his worries behind him.

This was the third time he met Liu Rushi. He fell in love with her at first sight the first time. Hedong Jun Liu Rushi was both beautiful and talented, especially her charming smile, which melted Qian Qianyi's heart.

But that time, because it was a gathering of Donglin colleagues, he didn't get to say a few words to Liu Rushi.

The second time was when he wrote several poems for Liu Rushi, which gave him the opportunity to be invited by Liu Rushi alone.

I still remember that day when he talked with Hedong Jun about poetry, songs and people's livelihood. Before he realized that time had passed, it was time for him to leave.

Of course, when talking about the people of the world, Qian Qianyi could not help but mention his dissatisfaction with the traitor Zhang Shikang. He told Liu Rushi that Zhang Shikang was the instigator of this turmoil.

It is said that Zhang Shikang was just a dissolute young man who had no sense of righteousness. Not only was he rude, unreasonable, unorthodox, and domineering, he also wantonly framed loyal officials, enriched himself, and bullied the people.

In short, Zhang Shikang was a traitor to the Ming Dynasty and a mortal enemy that the people of the world wanted to get rid of as soon as possible. Even Wei Yan could not compare to him.

Liu Rushi was listening attentively at the time, and although she did not express many opinions, Qian Qianyi believed that it was all out of admiration for him.

But it has been half a month since they last met. During this period, he wrote a few poems to express his desire to visit again.

However, Liu Ruyi declined all the invitations due to poor health, which made Qian Qianyi very frustrated.

But men are like this, the less they get, the more motivated they are, even if there is an age difference of nearly 40 years between them.

But for some reason, Liu Rushi took the initiative to invite him out yesterday, which really surprised him.

But after thinking about it for a long time, he could only roughly guess that it was his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism that had attracted this talented woman who had not yet married.

Thinking this all the way, the carriage finally stopped at He Dongjun's residence.

After getting off the carriage, Qian Qianyi straightened his clothes again, handed the gifts he brought to the doorman, and walked towards the attic in the inner room.

……

PS: That’s all for today. I’ll try my best to make up for the remaining update tomorrow.