New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

The fact that the city lord was so young surprised everyone. However, the other party had an imperial edict in hand, and there were armed guards outside the alley. They were unarmed, so they naturally had to back down.

The first wealthy merchant bowed to Tang Qian and said, "It is our duty to do our part for Guangling City. However, is it too much for each household to contribute 60% of their wealth? Perhaps the city lord does not know how many merchants in Guangling have assets exceeding a thousand taels of silver. Is all this money really going to be used to recruit local militia? Or is the city lord's mansion planning to take advantage of this opportunity to plunder and enrich themselves?"

Faced with such ruthless exploitation, anyone would be indignant. If they wanted to bribe someone, they could have done it in private. The emperor was still in the city, yet the city lord's mansion was making such a big show of it. Wasn't their behavior a bit too ugly?

"Regarding this, please rest assured that all the silver collected this time has been investigated and collected by the Guangling Prefectural Government. The detailed accounts are open to everyone's supervision and will be used for the city's defense in the near future. Every expenditure will be made public by the City Lord's Mansion. We also welcome everyone to come and inspect it."

The fact that the silver was handed over to the prefectural government for unified management means that the city lord's office did not handle it at all, so there was no question of embezzlement. Such a decision was flawless.

The problem now is that if you want to leave the city, you have to pay money; if you don't want to leave, you're just waiting to die. Compared to the money they've worked so hard to earn, the lives of their family are the most important thing.

"If you wish to exchange for a pass, you may now proceed to the prefectural government office for verification. The number on the pass must match the record obtained at the city gate. Once the information from both sides is verified, you may leave the city."

At Wang Jian's command, the exit on one side of the alley was cleared, and carriages filed out, speeding towards the prefectural government office.

At this moment, Prefect Shen Yun also looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy. Officials from other yamens also gathered at the prefect's yamen. As soon as the first carriage came galloping over, yamen runners immediately stepped forward to verify the identity of the host.

"Zhou Jiuzhu, the owner of the West Market Winery, and his family of six carried a total of 3,276 taels of gold and silver, as well as two boxes of various jewelry."

After a thorough search inside and out, including even taking Zhou's family members to the back room for a body search, the results were sent to the auditing department.

Reluctantly leaving behind 60% of the silver and jewelry, Manager Zhou finally obtained a so-called pass.

The constable wrote the character "一" on a piece of paper, then tore it in half and handed one half to Zhou Jiuzhu: "You can leave the city at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow. Show this half of the paper and match it with the other half, and you can leave."

Qingfengfang, Bai Family Courtyard.

A servant rushed into the reception room without being announced. The dozen or so men sitting inside, who had been looking restless, did not reprimand him for his rudeness when he ran in. Instead, they all looked expectant.

"Well? Is Shen Yun really inspecting every single carriage?" The servant nodded repeatedly as he breathed a sigh of relief. "The constables are checking everything very carefully, they didn't even miss the maids' purses."

The hall suddenly fell silent. In the silence, the Bai family patriarch roared in fury: "Outrageous! That brat Tang Qian is so ruthless!"

Sixty percent of the Bai family's assets, a full 1.2 million taels of silver, were so easily taken away and confiscated? Do they really think the Bai family is made of clay?

“But the city lord’s mansion has five thousand imperial guards. Who would dare to cause trouble in the city?” The Jiang family head, sitting at the lower end, sighed. “It seems that the Qiu family is determined to cripple us this time, so that they can firmly hold their position as the number one family in Guangling.”

"Hmph, Guangling City is now on the verge of collapse. Whoever wants the title of the number one family can have it. The Bai family must leave the city."

However, the Bai family was unwilling to pay such a high fee for leaving the city, and that was the crux of the problem.

The Jiang family was also unwilling to lose so much money for nothing, which is why the two families gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

"What was the Ye family's response?"

As early as when the city lord's mansion posted the second notice, the Bai family had already extended invitations to the other two families. The Jiang family arrived shortly afterward, but the Ye family remained silent for a long time.

"It seems the Ye family has sided with the Qiu family."

"Tang Qian, the lord of Guangling City, is the nephew of the Qiu family and also the son-in-law of the Ye family. It is not surprising that their two families choose to work together."

The head of the Bai family snorted again: "Two merchant families, can they really stop the Jin army from attacking the city? It's like a mayfly trying to shake a tree."

Ye Shuo and Qiu Lingshan act without thinking. They want to become heroes who will be remembered in history, but they are unwilling to risk the lives of their entire family and be buried alive in the city.

However, how to escape such a rigorous search and protect the Bai family's assets is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible.

"My grandson has come up with a plan, but I don't know if it's feasible."

Bai Xiao, a third-generation descendant of the Bai family, suddenly stood up, which made the eyes of the two family heads light up: "Tell us your brilliant plan quickly."

“The carriage is too small and its structure is obvious. The yamen runners can search it thoroughly. But if we take the waterway out of the city and use a boat to transport our belongings, even if they know there are things in the cabin, can they search every corner?”

Bai Xiao's words make a lot of sense. Large merchant ships have dozens of cabins, and if the hidden compartments are sealed off, they are not visible from the outside. I don't believe that the group of constables can find everything.

Although the Bai family wasn't in the canal transport business, there were still a few merchant ships at the city's docks.

"Then let's do as Bai Xiao said. Tonight, we'll move the valuables onto the ship and take five hundred taels to the prefect's office to bribe them a little during tomorrow's inspection. That should be enough to get away with it."

"I also have a solution. The Jiang and Bai families have too much wealth. Even if we use merchant ships to transport it, it will still be too conspicuous. Why don't we hide all the excess silver in the courtyard? After the war is over and the city is calm, we can come back and dig it up and return it to them intact. Wouldn't that be done without anyone noticing?"

“This method is also good. Brother Jiang, your grandchildren are quite capable as well.” The Bai family head laughed heartily, the gloom in his heart instantly vanished. “Let’s take a two-pronged approach and strive to minimize the losses for both families.”

This money represents decades of savings for the Bai and Jiang families. How could they so easily give it away to outsiders? Even if they couldn't transport it out and had to sink the boat, they wouldn't want to see the money being transported into the prefectural government office.