Chapter Five: Twenty Thousand Two Yellow Gold

  "How many soldiers does the young master want to recruit?"

  The speaker was a middle-aged man named Ye Jin, with a square face, a wide-sleeved shirt, and a loose belt. He wore a crown on his head, giving off a somewhat elegant demeanor. His face always had a faint smile, leaving a good impression on others, and he sat at the top of the hall.

  Gao Changgong exchanged a glance with Gao Xing, and replied: "This official has carefully calculated that only with 20,000 soldiers and 40,000 civilians in hand can we guard Xuancheng safely."

  "Sixty thousand!"

  Everyone looked at Gao Changgong with suspicion and doubt, whispering to each other. Sixty thousand, the amount of grain and supplies was not a small sum.

  "Your Lordship should know that the imperial court does not permit private recruitment of soldiers." Leaf Jin, who was standing at attention, said with a slight frown.

  Gao Chang Gong looked at him carefully and said, "Of course, privately recruiting soldiers is tantamount to treason. The official naturally understands this. The plan is to replenish the original 5,000 troops and recruit 15,000 brave warriors from the refugees coming from the north as a reserve force. My son Gao Xing will give them some training, which can help us defend the city and solve the problem of too many refugees. After the crisis passes, they will naturally be disbanded."

  At this time, he stood up happily, first saluted the crowd with a bow, and then said: "Gentlemen, now Chen Jun's army is advancing step by step, attacking cities and strongholds, like breaking bamboo. The refugees fleeing north to Xuyi City are also increasing day by day. They are our flesh and blood, the people ruled by the emperor, how can we abandon them?"

  With gleaming eyes, he gazed at the crowd and then said in a low voice: "However, the treasury is empty, and my father has the heart but not the strength. The soldiers have not received their pay for three months, and there is always the possibility of mutiny! My father is uneasy day and night, and does not dare to be even slightly negligent, fearing that the refugees will cause trouble. But these problems are already pressing, if they are not solved immediately, they will inevitably lead to great disaster!"

  Everyone nodded in agreement, Gao Zhang Gong stood up straight and bowed again: "Ladies and gentlemen, the safety of Xuancheng is entirely in your hands, I beg of you!"

  "I beg of you, those who have money should contribute money, and those who have grain should contribute grain. My father will surely report your achievements to the Emperor, and your actions will definitely be a virtue for your descendants, making all people admire and praise!" Gaoxing also bowed down to request, his words sincere, his voice slightly choked with emotion.

  The crowd reluctantly agreed to the enthusiastic father and son's request after exchanging a glance with each other. They had their own calculations, as the war had not yet reached Xuanyang, these two could still make polite requests and show courtesy. Once the war really arrived in Xuanyang, they feared that all their assets would be lost.

  Next was the discussion of how much each person would invest, which made ten people very depressed. He Xiang was determined not to want money, only a small amount of gold and silver, and only wanted rice, millet, cloth and silk as physical goods.

  During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wars continued, dynasties changed frequently, and the economy was in chaos. The rulers minted new coins to exploit the people, and the widespread use of private coins led to a sharp devaluation of currency, causing economic decline. Many times, transactions between people were bartering or using gold and silver.

  Now that war is imminent, the most important thing is supplies. Money is just a symbol and often doesn't work even if there's more of it. Gao Xing is very clear about this, so he resolutely refuses to accept money.

  After all things were settled, looking at the gloomy and painful expressions of the ten exploited people, the happy father and son exchanged a glance, with their eyes full of smiles.

  That was what the two of them had planned that night. A person living in this world, no matter how high or sacred his pursuit is, must eat. In this era of frequent wars, more people joined the army to make a living and support their families with the salary. As for loyalty to the king and love for the country, these were empty words for those who were poorly clothed and hungry. Based on this, Gao Xing and Gao Chang Gong came up with this plan to raise money.

  Delighted, he coughed and said with gratitude: "Gentlemen, you are the benefactors of Xuyi, and also the benefactor of this humble one. I am deeply grateful." He bowed humbly, then changed his tone, smiling and saying: "I know that letting you donate so much wealth in vain, you must have some complaints in your hearts."

  "No, no, Master Gao is worrying too much. Protecting the city together is our responsibility." Zhang Cha hastily waved his hand in denial.

  "May all be peaceful and serene, this is our common wish, I have no complaints whatsoever."

  "What Boss Zhang said."

  Everyone had a smile on their face and vehemently denied it.

  With a wave of his hand, the crowd fell silent, looking at him in confusion. A warm smile appeared on Gaoxing's face as he spoke slowly: "Your wealth is not bestowed by heaven, but rather earned through hard work. Letting you invest to recruit soldiers, with some dissatisfaction and complaints in your hearts, is only human nature, which my father and I understand. We are grateful for your noble actions, and at the same time, we feel ashamed as the masters of Xuyi."

  "Gao Gongzi, you're being too serious. The reputation of Lord Hou's kindness, bravery and military prowess has long been well-known to us, we should be thanking him for the opportunity to defend Xuancheng together, how could we possibly blame him?" Ye Jin said.

  Laughing happily and looking at him, he said: "Uncle Ye is loyal and kind, I admire you. But I still have some regrets, so I want to make up for it with all of you uncles."

  "Oh? I'd like to hear more!" Ye Jin looked at him calmly, her expression unchanged.

  The other nine people looked at Gao Xing with a mixture of surprise and excitement, thinking that as long as they could make up for their losses, they would feel better.

  Delighted, he smiled and looked at Ye Jin: "I have a lucrative business deal that I'd like to collaborate with all of you uncles on. Are any of you uncles interested?"

  "How do you cooperate? What business?" Ye Jin asked calmly.

  Kaixing nodded slightly and said faintly, "What business is it? Let Xiaozu sell a pass first, but I guarantee it's absolutely serious and profitable." Kaixing paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Originally, I wanted to do it myself, but unfortunately, the funds are insufficient. So, I can only choose to cooperate with others. As for the cooperation method, the route is mine, and the funding problem relies on you all. Let's split the benefits 50/50."

  Everyone was shocked and some were annoyed, what kind of thing is this? Just a few simple words to discuss cooperation, and then want to divide the profits by 50%, it's clear that there's no sincerity, more like asking for money. Having just been taken advantage of by Gao Xing and his son, everyone was already unhappy, and now Gao Xing was so bluntly asking for money, making everyone even angrier. But due to Gao Changkong's identity, they didn't dare to show it on the spot.

  Among the ten people, only one person's face did not change at all, and that was Ye Jin. He stared tightly at Gao's excited face and calmly asked: "How much capital does Mr. Gao's business need to operate?"

  "Twenty-two." Xing was also calm, slowly stretching out two fingers. The crowd was puzzled, and then they heard Xing slowly utter two words, "Gold!"

  "Ah," everyone's eyes widened in shock, staring at Gao Xing in astonishment.

  Gao Chang Gong couldn't help but look at Gao Xing in surprise, thinking: "Xing's heart is really too black."

  Ye Jin's eyes suddenly opened wide, and a sharp light flashed in his pupils before quickly disappearing again, restoring calmness. He smiled faintly and said: "Twenty thousand taels of gold, that is nearly half of my assets, it seems that Young Master Gao wants to do some big business!"

  He smiled happily, looked around at the crowd and said: "I don't know if you gentlemen are willing to help me? I can guarantee that what you pay out today will be returned many times over in the future."

  Everyone looked at each other, with both puzzlement and agitation in their eyes, as well as helplessness.

  After a moment, Zhang Cha spoke up and said: "Young Master Gao, I'm old and can't take the excitement. I'll contribute 1,000 taels of silver as a congratulatory gift to wish you prosperity in your business and a wide source of wealth!"

  "I'll spend 800 taels of silver to wish young Master Gao a daily income of a thousand pieces of gold!"

  "I'll put up 500 taels."

  ……

  "Ye Mou is willing to cooperate with Gao Gongzi and invest two million taels of gold." Ye Jin's calm voice rang out.

  The living room suddenly fell silent, with a pin drop. Everyone looked at Ye Jin in disbelief, but the latter remained calm and composed, with a faint smile on his face, quietly looking at Gao Xing.

  Gao Xing was also looking at him, with a hint of surprise in his eyes and a sarcastic smile still on his face.

  "Alright, Uncle Ye, nice doing business with you." He laughed and raised his palm for a high-five, and Ye Jin smiled and slapped palms with him to seal the deal.

  At this point, Gao Changgong had achieved the purpose of inviting Zhang Cha and others to come. Gao Changgong was about to invite everyone to stay for dinner, but except for Ye Jin, everyone else was busy making excuses that they had something at home and said they would invite Gao Changgong father and son later before hastily leaving. What a joke! They were cheated out of a sum of money by this father-son duo in just a short while, and now they had to treat them to another meal - wasn't that enough to make them vomit blood?

  After dinner, Gao Zhang Gong went to the military camp, and Gao Xing invited Ye Jin to his house for a discussion. An hour later, Ye Jin walked out of the Neishi Mansion with a shocked, excited, and agitated expression, as if in a daze, with Gao Xing's words still echoing in her ears: "In ten years, we will be the richest people in the world."

  See Ye Jin off, Gaoxing changed into a tight-fitting Hu attire, led the horse, and left the mansion, heading straight for the military camp. Sitting upright on the horse, Gaoxing was beaming with joy, excited, he was truly excited. The days of being penniless were extremely painful, now everything has been resolved.

  If you want the horse to run, you must give the horse grass to eat.

  That night, Gao Xing and Gao Chang Gong had a long conversation about borrowing money from his father to improve the living standards of the soldiers, issuing grain rations, so that the soldiers would be convinced and train diligently.

  Gao Changgong was not only a garrison general, but also the governor of a prefecture. The finances and grain stores were so tight that there was no room for Gao to indulge in extravagance. Therefore, Gao thought of such a plan and reached out to those wealthy merchants.

  When they arrived at the military camp in high spirits, it was already approaching noon.

  With the stimulation of wine and meat, the sitting system, the training of the soldiers was quite effective. However, in just two days, the formation had some effect, and the ideas of following discipline and obeying orders were also slowly infiltrating their minds.

  He was delighted just to observe from a distance for a while, then quietly left.

  Walking on the street, looking at the rising smoke, the innocent smile of children, exceptionally peaceful. Delighted and sighed, "It's time for Wei to arrive at Shiliang, should bring those kids to experience it."

  Suddenly, a piercing sound rose, and with a frown on his face, he looked around in search of its source.

  "You little beast, where are you running to? Catch him for me and beat him to death!" A shrill voice like a duck's quack pierced the air, shattering the peaceful atmosphere.