Chapter 111: Cannibalism
Tian put down his hands. The imperial edict in his arms had no effect. Although the Ming Dynasty was the orthodox dynasty in the hearts of the Ming people, the immigrants from the Ming Dynasty no longer regarded the Ming Dynasty as the orthodox dynasty in the areas occupied by Tang Tong because of the prosperous life. A few days ago, Tian knew clearly that these people hated the Ming Dynasty and would not want Tang Tong to accept the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen.
Tian stood up, knowing that their Tian family must climb to a higher power before the end of the Ming Dynasty. After a few thoughts, Tian forced a smile and said to Tang Tongyu: "The Ming Empire is so big, with an enormous population and millions of troops. I'm telling you, brother, are you really sure you can replace it?"
"Since we are friends, I won't hide it from you. I am confident that I can replace the current imperial court. However, many people will die, which is not what I want. Therefore, I will take a slower approach and slowly devour the current imperial court. Although this process will be long, one advantage is that it will not hurt the vitality of us Han people, nor will it cause too much loss to the Ming Dynasty." Tang Tong answered Tian like this, not because of the friendship between the Tang and Tian families, but because Tian still had something he could use. The royal relatives like Tian had enough strength in their hands. If the property they had in their hands fully supported Chongzhen, they would be a force that could not be underestimated.
In history, these royal relatives and misers were always short-sighted and only cared about their own immediate interests. They forgot that if they did not have the nameplate of Emperor Chongzhen, their fate would never have been the same. Unfortunately, the royal relatives such as the Tian family and the Zhou family did not see this point. After the city was broken, they ended up dead and their property was gone. And those royal princes belonging to the Zhu family also forgot that they were part of the Zhu family. Like the Prince of Fu in Henan, he had a fortune of tens of millions of taels, but just for a little bit of his own petty interests, he held on to the money and waited for Li Zicheng to come and cook him for food. Some of the money was also used to support Li Zicheng in seizing the wealth of the Ming Dynasty.
Tang Tong was well aware of the enormous power held by these royal relatives, but he could not guarantee that these guys would still be as short-sighted as they were in history. If these people came to their senses and strongly supported Emperor Chongzhen, that would be a big trouble. Therefore, Tang Tong still tried to win over those who could benefit him.
After listening to Tang Tong's words, Tian took a careful look and realized that what Tang Tong said was true. The power of those muskets did make Tang Tong's army very powerful. Even the Jiannu people who were defeated in the battle against the Ming army were no match for Tang Tong and his men. Moreover, Tang Tong's army had more than 300,000 people, plus the Mongols. All the Koreans surrendered to Tang Tong. Such strength was even greater than that of the Jiannu people. Replacing the Ming Dynasty was really not a difficult thing. Tian Chang took a breath. He was not a stupid person. Although he was a little bit of a dandy, he still understood that Tang Tong's words were asking their Tian family to choose the team they wanted to stand on.
"You... Prince Tang, what do you want my Tian family to do?" After Tian Chen made up his mind, he breathed a sigh of relief. Between the interests of the Tian family and the Ming Dynasty, Tian Chen quickly chose the interests of his own Tian family. As a noble family, they have always put the interests of the family before the country from ancient times to the present. This point has not changed even for the noble families in later generations. From ancient times to the present, the vast majority of those who can fight for the interests of the country and the nation are ordinary little people. These little people are the backbone of a nation and the wall of a nation.
And people from aristocratic families like Tian are nothing. Except for his own family, almost everyone can be betrayed by these aristocratic families. That's why Tian made up his mind so quickly without any guilt in his heart.
Tong looked at Tian's statement and smiled slightly. To be honest, Tang Tong didn't like Tian's statement at all, because Tian was a Han Chinese. If Tian was a Japanese or something, Tang Tong would definitely be happy, but the person Tian betrayed was Emperor Chongzhen, who was also a Han Chinese, so Tang Tong only had a feeling of disgust in his heart. However, Tang Tong still stood up enthusiastically: "Brother Tian, you are too polite. Our Tang family and your Tian family have a generations-long friendship. Why do we need to be polite between you? In fact, I don't have much to ask of you, Brother Tian. I just hope that those who have worked with me in the past can stand on my side. We have worked together for so long, and I will not treat you unfairly."
Although it was not polite to say this, Tang Tong did not stand up to say this to Tian. From this point of view, Tian also understood that Tang Tong was no longer the small thousand households he used to be, but a figure whose power was much greater than that of his Tian family. Through this silent action, Tian showed Tang Tong that he was in an advantageous position.
"Master Tang, I can't guarantee that. Although we've worked together for so long, no one can guarantee what each person is thinking. Furthermore, the capital isn't safe right now. Those people might not be willing to continue cooperating with Prince Tang." Tian Xinhe was a shrewd man. With his entire family already in the capital, he wouldn't undertake such a dangerous act of subversion.
"I know about this, Brother Tian. Although I don't want to be a prince in the court, I have several friends who want to be officials, such as prefects or generals. To this end, my friends are willing to give you a little hard work fee. For example, if you want a prefect in Suzhou, my friends are willing to give you 100,000 taels of silver. If you want a general in Nanjing, my friends are willing to give you 100,000 taels of silver. Of course, this is just a minimum estimate. Brother Tian, please tell me the specific amount you need." Tang Tong smiled. For the money-hungry royal relatives like Tian, this temptation was hard to refuse.
As expected, Tian Yi's expression brightened when he heard what Tang Tong said. He knew that the Ming Dynasty was doomed. But being able to make a fortune from the Ming Dynasty in this final period was actually a good thing. Besides, Emperor Chongzhen had no money at all. This kind of selling of official titles was possible.
To some extent, he might help Emperor Chongzhen. For Tian, he wanted to gain some credit in front of the emperor.
In these turbulent times, officials were no longer as valuable as military commanders commanding troops. The rewards Tang Tong promised were far less than those offered by a prefectural governor, a position once considered a "hot bun." Although officials in the Jiangnan region showed signs of instability due to difficulties in communicating with the capital, they still operated under the banner of the Ming Dynasty. Tang Tong's goal was to slowly erode Jiangnan through this method. While planting a thorn in the Ming Dynasty's southern border, he also sought to preserve this prosperous region and protect it from the ravages of war.
Naturally, Tian would not go so far as Tang Tong thought. After some consideration, he agreed to Tang Tong's request. After saying goodbye to Tang Tong, he was thinking about going back home to discuss it with his father.
On the next day, Tian boarded a ship of the Tang family's merchant caravan. After a hard journey on the sea, Tian returned to the capital again. He immediately told his father Tian Hongyu about the journey and also told Tian Hongyu about Tang Tong's request. Tian Hongyu was more opposed to Tian's father-in-law. He believed that this kind of selling of official positions could not be done by just one son of the Tian family. He needed to win over more talents. The father and son discussed and decided on a general strategy.
When Tian reported the situation to Emperor Chongzhen, he did not dare to hide anything. After all, it was impossible for Emperor Chongzhen not to arrange spies among Tian's men. When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Tang Tong refused the reward, he did not get furious like Tian Xiangshang, but sighed deeply and sent Tian away.
Under the pretext of hosting his own birthday party, Tian Hongyu gathered the Zhou family, Zhang family and other close relatives together, and then found a secret room. Tian Hongyu then explained his intentions to everyone: "Everyone, I think you all understand that since those rebels cut off the capital from the south, we have all been living in poverty. Although we have stored a lot of food at home, there is an old saying that goes, "Eating up the mountain is the key to success." We all have a The gang members need to eat and drink, but these days, no one has any income. If this goes on, no matter how much gold and silver there are, they will all be eaten up. So these days, I have been thinking about it a lot. We all have to find a way to make a living. In addition, everyone knows that the national treasury is empty and there is no money at all. Even the emperor has spent all his money. As his subjects, we have to do our best to share his worries. I wonder if you have any ideas.
The man from the Zhou family was Zhou Kui, the father of the current Emperor Zhou Yufeng, and the man from the Zhang family was Zhang Guoji, the father of Empress Zhang Yan of Emperor Tianqi. There were a few others, but their identities were not as prominent as theirs. Tian Hongyu mainly tried to win over Zhou Kui and Zhang Guoji, especially Zhou Kui, who relied on his daughter being the current empress and having the highest status among them. In history, this Zhou Kui was a typical miser. According to information found by some people in later generations, after Li Zicheng broke through the capital, he got nearly 10 million taels of silver and other things from the Zhou family, which shows how good Zhou Kui was at accumulating wealth.
After hearing what Tian Yu said, everyone felt a slight disdain for his official and pompous words. One of them asked him directly, "Then I wonder what you have planned, Mr. Tian?"
"Haha, since everyone is asking this, I won't hide it anymore. Someone once came to me, hoping to buy a prefectural position for 100,000 silver coins. I wonder what everyone thinks about this. We have been cooperating happily over the years, so if I have any ideas, I hope to share them with everyone." When Tian Hongyu said this, everyone couldn't help but tremble. This kind of situation might not be a big deal if it happened during the reign of other last emperors, but for Emperor Chongzhen, this was definitely a capital crime. Emperor Chongzhen was a ruthless person when it came to killing people.
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