softmpu over a serial null modem connection between pc's is the way i do this. there are roland or yamaha serial midi drivers you can install on the soundfont pc under win9x/xp/later? or hairless serial midi bridge for winxp-10 (or linux).
munt, timidity or falcosoft (vsti) midi player can connect directly to the incoming serial midi port or you can use midiyoke/loopmidi to connect to any other midi player like fluidsynth, roland vsc, yamaha syxg50 etc... here are some example workflows:
dos pc > softmpu > null modem cable > roland serial midi driver > falcosoft midi player > bassmidi vst (or any vsti)> sf2 soundfont
dos pc > softmpu > null modem cable > yamaha cbx200w driver > timidity (player or service) > gus/sf2 soundfont
dos pc > softmpu > null modem cable > hairless serial midi bridge > midiyoke/loopmidi > fluidsynth > sf2 soundfont