Tang Tong thought of the evil things that Kong Youde and others had done in history, and thought to himself, since I can't subdue you, I'll kill you first. This way, if one more scourge dies, many fewer Han people will die in the future.
"Sir, this is not possible. You are an official of the Ming Dynasty, and the other party is also an officer and soldier of the Ming Dynasty. Once the court finds out about this, it will be disastrous. Sir, it is better to promise them huge benefits and recruit these people. If they die, let them die on the battlefield." Before Zhao Yapeng agreed, Zhang Niujiao interrupted. Although Zhang Niujiao had no special skills and was older, his mind was more flexible than that of ordinary people. He had been with Tang Tong for so long, and he could see that Tang Tong wanted to go on a killing spree. He didn't want to kill people, but if he really killed these people, it would be very troublesome for the court. Even if Emperor Chongzhen didn't blame him now, it would still leave a thorn in Emperor Chongzhen's heart.
"Well, Lao Zhang, you go and negotiate this matter. We will hire them, and pay them per person per month, ten taels of silver per person. We will pay them a deposit this time, ten taels of silver each. When the time comes, everything they loot in the war will belong to them." Tang Tong glanced at Zhang Niu Jiao and thought that this was also a good idea.
"Yes, sir, don't worry. There is no reason for them to refuse such generous conditions." Zhang Niujiao was stunned for a moment when he saw Tang Tong promised such generous conditions, and then nodded in agreement.
After Zhang Niujiao and a dozen other men boarded a small boat and left, Zhao Yapeng, standing by, couldn't help but ask, "Sir, isn't ten taels of silver per person per month too much? These days, soldiers only get one tael of silver a month, and anything they loot belongs to them. Aren't we being put at a disadvantage?"
"Haha, Yapeng, don't worry, we won't suffer any loss. When they have robbed enough, all their things will be ours. I originally wanted to leave them a way to live, but since they want to die, you can't blame me." Tang Tong smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. When it comes to killing traitors, Tang Tong will not be soft-hearted. Although Kong Youde and others are not traitors now, what they did in history is enough to make the Han people in later generations hate them.
In fact, Tang Tongwei did not understand history, and did not know that Kong Youde at that time actually wanted to find a force to join, and that Kong Youde and the general Huang Long also had a deep grudge at that time. Tang Tong was rejected by Huang Long, who said that Kong Youde and Huang Long were one and the same, and it was impossible for him to recruit him.
Zhao Yapeng stopped talking immediately after hearing what Tang Tong said. Although he was not very smart, he knew from Tang Tong's clear meaning that Lord Tang was not at ease. If he continued to talk about this, it would not be what a subordinate should do.
Although Tang Tong asked Zhang Niujiao to negotiate, he did not hold out much hope, so he still ordered Zhao Yapeng and others to prepare for a battle. Once the other party refused even such conditions, in order not to leave any disaster for the Ming Dynasty, he had no choice but to kill these people first. As for Chongzhen, as long as he could severely damage the Jiannu army and give Chongzhen some money, it would not be a big deal. Moreover, historically speaking, in the late Ming Dynasty, the court would not easily kill warlords in various places as long as the other party had a large army. Only those generals who had no troops would be killed when Chongzhen disliked them.
After Zhang Niujiao arrived at Pi Island, he made some arrangements and finally met Huang Long, the general here. The humiliation he had suffered along the way made Zhang Niujiao, who had always lived a very glorious life, feel very depressed. After meeting Huang Long, Huang Long put on airs, which made Zhang Niujiao even more upset. You know, when Tang Tong was with Zhang Niujiao and the others, he never put on such airs. How could Zhang Niujiao feel comfortable when he was treated like this?
After secretly criticizing General Huang for a while, Zhang Niujiao told him the purpose of his visit. When Zhang Niujiao listed the conditions, Huang Long's eyes lit up and a greedy look flashed across his eyes. When he looked at Zhang Niujiao again, it seemed as if he regarded Zhang Niujiao as a big sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Huang Long pondered for a while, and after some thought in his mind, he was a little hesitant about taking the army to Goryeo to plunder. The reason was that Pi Island was very close to Goryeo, only separated by a distance as wide as the Yangtze River, and it was also very close to Jiannu, only about seventy or eighty miles away. In order to fight against Jiannu, this place had to rely on Goryeo. If Huang Long took his troops to plunder Goryeo, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in this place in the future.
Faced with huge temptation, Huang Long's heart was finally filled with greed, and he began to bargain with Zhang Niujiao. Seeing that this man was getting more and more greedy, Zhang Niujiao became more and more dissatisfied with Huang Long. He used the excuse that he could not get the final offer and left with his men. Huang Long saw that this matter was profitable, and he became energetic all over. He agreed and waited for Zhang Niujiao's reply.
;
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
