Accompanied by a scream, He Sancai's head was cut off by the Hu Ben Army's personal guards.

Blood shot out of his neck, and the headless corpse fell to the ground with a thud.

The personal guard lifted his bloody head, which had fallen to the ground, and returned to the bamboo building to report.

When the merchants saw He Sancai's head still bleeding, their faces were pale, and some even vomited.

"Report to Your Majesty, the rebel He Sancai has been executed according to the national law."

Zhu Youlang nodded with satisfaction and said, "This is the end of the traitor. Hanging his head on the top of Yangzhou City can also make the people alert."

When setting up this banquet, Zhu Youlang thought about taking the opportunity to kill someone and establish his authority.

You cannot kill on a large scale, you can only choose one of the typical ones.

In fact, Zhu Youlang also thought about using Zhou Yuanzhao to take action. After all, Zhou Yuanzhao is the richest man in Yangzhou. If he kills Zhou Yuanzhao, Zhu Youlang can eat more.

But after some analysis, although Zhou Yuanzhao was guilty, it seemed that he was not as heavy as He Sancai. Killing He Sancai and keeping Zhou Yuanzhao could not only be justified, but also make the Zhou family grateful to Huangming. The donated silver will not be too much.

Moreover, Zhou Yuanzhao is the leading figure among Yangzhou merchants.

With him here to set an example to donate money, other merchants can donate more easily.

After comprehensive consideration, Zhu Youlang decided to save Zhou Yuanzhao's life.

As for He Sancai, he would naturally be removed from his head, so he would not be wronged by the things he did.

Zhu Youlang's purpose had been achieved, so he signaled his personal guard to take out the head.

"Soon the music, then dance."

Zhu Youlang gave the order, and the musicians began to play music one after another.

But these merchants were completely unwilling to appreciate this wonderful music.

There was a bloody smell in the air.

His Majesty the Emperor often kills people. Who knows if he will be the second person to have his head removed?

They had no idea whether they could survive this banquet, and their mood was extremely complicated.

"I asked you what your family and country are, and now I will tell you."

Zhu Youlang drank a glass of wine, glanced at the merchants with a domineering spirit, and said passionately: "The country is for everyone, without this one, your small family cannot exist. If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? Don't think it's very pleasant to be a slave to the Donglu. This is because the Donglu still needs to use your power to fight against the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty really perishes, you will lose value and will only be squeezed into death."

Zhu Youlang directly said: "I was ordered by heaven, so I naturally could not watch the Tartars slaughter my people in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I personally led the army to fight against Huguang to take Jiangxi and take Nanzhili. I will put my words here today. Those who follow the Ming Dynasty will prosper, and those who go against the Ming Dynasty will perish."

"But the most lacking thing for the army to conquer is silver. You are all rich and rich. I hope you can make some statements. In this way, after the revival of the Ming Dynasty, I will reward you according to my merits and will not treat you badly."

Zhu Youlang said so clearly that Zhou Yuanzhao and others naturally knew that they could not continue to pretend to be dead.

"The Caomin is willing to die for His Majesty."

"Caomin is willing to donate his family's wealth to help the Ming Dynasty's revival."

"The grass people are willing."

"All the grass people listen to His Majesty."

The merchants were anxious to express their opinions.

They were all the masters who did not shed tears without seeing the coffin, and they still had a lingering attitude before coming to the banquet.

But after seeing He Sancai's head chopped down with his own eyes, they completely realized.

Money is something outside the body, and it will not be brought by life or death.

If your life is gone, it will be cheaper for others if you leave behind any more money.

Besides, even if they don’t donate, can the money be saved?

Look at He Sancai, his home will be confiscated, and all his property will be confiscated!

It is most appropriate to take the initiative to donate money after some thought and leave a good reputation.

Zhu Youlang was very satisfied with their attitude. At least once this opening was opened, more and more merchants would be willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty in the future.

With money, you can expand your army and raise more troops.

After all, Zhu Youlang paid a monthly salary for new soldiers such as the Hu Ben Army, which required a lot of money to support him.

This banquet seems to be worth it.

...

...

After the banquet, Zhou Yuanzhao and other merchants immediately went to school.

As soon as they left the palace, the merchants surrounded Zhou Yuanzhao.

"President Zhou, you should tell me how much money we donated is appropriate."

"Yes, yes, you always tell me, we are looking forward to donating."

As the president of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce and the richest man in Yangzhou, Zhou Yuanzhao's every move will affect others.

These merchants regarded Zhou Yuanzhao as a benchmark, and they would only donate less than Zhou Yuanzhao.

Zhou Yuanzhao knew that if he didn't give an answer, he would not want to leave today, so he sighed and raised a finger.

"One hundred thousand taels? Good, isn't this a little too much?"

"One million taels!"

Zhou Yuanzhao said in great pain.

"One million taels? President Zhou, aren't you crazy?"

"Why donate so much money, Mr. Zhou, please think clearly."

"I thought it very clearly. Haven't you seen the banquet clearly today? If His Majesty wants to search the house, it's just a matter of one word, and it will take us so long to talk? The reason why His Majesty did this is to win a good reputation and let us take the initiative to donate the silver ourselves. In this case, if we donate too little, it will only anger Your Majesty. In that case, His Majesty ordered the army to search the house, and our money will still not be saved, and our lives will be lost."

Zhou Yuanzhao saw the problem very clearly. His family’s wealth was several million taels. If he only took out 100,000 taels, it would be a slap in the face of the emperor.

Now half of the Zhou family's property has been transferred to the north, and donating one million taels is already half of his existing property.

This is full of sincerity.

Even if the emperor is not satisfied, he will probably not be annoyed, and he will only hint that Zhou Yuanzhao will add some more.

The merchants whispered and discussed.

"Zhou Yuanwai donated one million taels, how much should we donate?"

"Mr. Liu, you have to donate at least 500,000 taels, right?"

"Mr. Li, if you donate 500,000 taels, you must be this number!"

"Mr. Cui, you have 300,000 taels, right?"

"Zhao Yuanwai, 200,000 taels, no more."

Everyone, just say something, I say something.

Zhou Yuanzhao was upset when he heard this, so he took a step forward.

"Oh, President Zhou wait."

Everyone stopped Zhou Yuanzhao, which made Zhou Yuanzhao very dissatisfied.

"What's the matter?"

"You are good people to do it to the end. We will make a list at that time and you will present it to His Majesty the Emperor?"

Zhou Yuanzhao thought to himself that these people are really good at fighting.

"If His Majesty the Emperor is dissatisfied, wouldn't I beg myself to eat alone? Don't think about it!"

...
Chapter completed!