Chapter 360: Recruitment
Gao Ming immediately took action after receiving the letter. In fact, he had been preparing for this all along. He had sent people to keep an eye on the Yilin Army, and his every move was under his surveillance.
Gao Ming had waited for too long, and now that the time had come, he immediately took action.
First, the question of recruiting. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew about this, so how could Lu Xueyin not know? Gao Ming had already thoroughly investigated the internal forces of the Yilin Army. The Yilin Army was a complex and complex force, each with its own agenda, but the two most powerful factions were actually divided.
One faction is the appeasement faction, and the other is the independence faction.
The independence faction is led by the second-in-command Fang Erniu. Although his name sounds rough, he is an ambitious and cautious person. He has made an indelible contribution to the development of the Yilin Army to where it is today.
Surprisingly, the one seeking to recruit the troops was Peng Jiang, the leader of the Yilin Army. Peng Jiang was a former blacksmith, a burly man with immense strength. He had initially struggled to survive, so he led several of his disciples to rebel against the government, and slowly built up his current situation.
But he was a man of little learning, and knew nothing about the art of commanding subordinates. He rose to power through sheer courage. But now the Yilin Army was too powerful, and he could no longer control the power of his subordinates. Even his position as the leader was becoming unsettling.
But he couldn't give up the power in his hands, so what he wanted most was for the court to recruit him, preferably to make him a king, or even a title, so that he could live out his next life in peace.
What a simple wish this is.
But he could no longer control the Yilin Army. Fang Erniu saw clearly that if they wanted to recruit Peng Jiang, as the leader, they could still have a good ending. But the conditions offered to these people under their command would not be so good.
Moreover, they were plotting a rebellion. Could the imperial court really be so magnanimous as to let them go? Fang Erniu didn't believe it. Even if they were let go for the time being, they would be held accountable in the future.
After all, what good people can there be among those officials?
Therefore, Fang Erniu's idea was to divide the territory and rule it, and become the second King of Nanyang.
But he didn't consider that the Nanyang King was defeated because Shu was remote and had complex terrain, making it difficult to send troops. As for the Yilin Army, with its convenient location, it would be difficult to defeat him. How could Da Gan allow another Nanyang King to appear?
But Fang Erniu couldn't see this. They all came from humble backgrounds, so their knowledge was limited. It wasn't that they couldn't accomplish great things without knowledge. In fact, they had risen from ordinary people to become the second largest armed force in Dagan, which was already quite impressive and capable.
However, after gaining power, they did not make up for their own shortcomings, but instead expanded blindly, which led to the current situation.
That's getting off topic.
Now the people of the Yilin Army are also restless and have their own plans.
Gao Ming first asked the spy to contact Peng Jiang, in order to reach Peng Jiang before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
The spy sent by Gao Ming met Peng Jiang very smoothly.
Gao Ming had already planted spies within the Yilin Army, and there were more than one. These spies had a clear understanding of the internal situation of the Yilin Army, and from this, they knew how lax and chaotic the internal management of the Yilin Army was.
The spies were very clever and said to Peng Jiang, "Boss, Lord Lu is interested in winning you over because of your righteousness. Why don't you accept his offer?"
Peng Jiang hesitated and said, "Surrender to Lu Xueyin? But she's just a woman, how can I be so inferior to her? If the world knew, wouldn't they laugh at me for being a coward?"
A flash of disdain flashed across the spy's eyes. "You're still a coward? What kind of hero are you? How dare you look down on them, the Lord? How dare you?! From beginning to end, even if you tie up all your ancestors, they're no match for a finger of the Lord!"
The spy took a deep breath and suppressed the curse words that were about to come out of his mouth.
He patiently said, "Why would the boss think so? The boss is not the only one who is inferior to Lord Lu. The entire court, including the civil and military officials, and even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, have not raised any objections to Lord Lu's status, right?"
That's true. Peng Jiang was somewhat tempted. He added, "I'm afraid these scholars are two-faced. They said it well at the time, but they might find a reason to settle accounts with me later. Now I'm on top of this mountain, above everyone else, and no one dares to interfere. Isn't that a happy life?"
The spy thought to himself, "You're not the most powerful person on this mountain, and no one dares to stop you. The second-in-command was almost hitting you in the face, and you didn't even fart."
He has been in the mountains for a long time and knows the internal situation of the Yilin Army very well. Who doesn't know who else? Why pretend?
The spy's expression remained unchanged. "Master, a scholar values reputation above all else. Our... our Lord Lu has the best reputation right now, and he cherishes it above all else. He's made a promise, and he certainly won't seek reconciliation later. Think about it, when has Lord Lu ever changed his mind and gone back on his word?"
Peng Jiang thought, and it was true. Lu Xueyin truly was the most reputable person in Dagan. Her character was impeccable, and even the soldiers in his army admired her greatly. Many people said that if they were civilians under Lu Xueyin's rule, they wouldn't have to become bandits and rebel, and they wouldn't have been left without a way out.
"But... I'm afraid others in the army have different ideas." Peng Jiang said again.
The spy curled his lips and said, "What do you mean by having other ideas? It's just that you are not sure of being able to control the entire Yilin Army. It's just a nice way of saying it."
The spy puffed out his chest, a hint of pride in his tone: "Boss, if you agree to submit to Lord Lu, why worry about his other ideas? With Lord Lu backing you up, don't you have the final say over the entire Yilin Army?"
Peng Jiang's eyes suddenly lit up. That's right, he couldn't control them, but Lu Xueyin could! With Lu Xueyin's support, who would dare to oppose him?!
Peng Jiang finally understood something deeper: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He was afraid of Lu Xueyin, but if he and Lu Xueyin were on the same team, those who were afraid of Lu Xueyin would also be afraid of him!
Submit! You must submit!
Peng Jiang's eyes lit up, and his tone softened, "Then I wonder what the conditions are for my surrender, Lord Lu?"
Now he doesn't want to go back to live a hard life.
How could a spy make such a decision? But before he arrived, Gao Ming had already revealed the news: "Don't worry, Boss. Lord Lu will definitely not treat you unfairly. The specific arrangements will have to wait until Lord Lu arrives. However, based on our Lord Gao's understanding of Lord Lu, a title of nobility is definitely necessary."
This is not groundless, Gao Ming really guessed this.
Don’t underestimate how great a title of nobility is, there is actually a lot of knowledge involved.
Most titles have a characteristic, that is, they are hereditary and can be passed down from generation to generation. However, there are also some that cannot be passed down. If the time comes, you can give him a title that only lasts for his generation, and that is not a break of promise.
So Fang Erniu’s concerns were right, these officials were all very bad.
However, Gao Ming and Lu Xueyin both felt that they were not trying to trick Peng Jiang.
Lu Xueyin and Gao Ming had thoroughly studied the development of the Yilin Army. Initially, they were motivated by the people's desire to survive, and were forced to rebel. However, this was no longer the case. They also began to burn, kill, and plunder, killing even the kind and wealthy.
He also raped women, and many women committed suicide after being abused by them. Currently, Peng Jiang has more than 20 concubines in his backyard, all of whom were women he had robbed.
With this kind of behavior, how could Lu Xueyin let him go?
The purpose of recruiting him was just to put an end to the war as quickly as possible. Lu Xueyin didn't want any more casualties, so she thought it was appropriate to exchange a title for peace.
I'm getting off topic. Anyway, Lu Xueyin offered a very good condition that Peng Jiang couldn't refuse.
But Peng Jiang was not that stupid, he did not agree immediately.
Instead, he said, "This is a serious matter. I need to think about it carefully."
This is to wait for the right price and hope to gain more benefits.
The spy nodded, unsurprised. "I will convey the boss's wishes to Lord Lu. If you have any further requests, please let me know and I will convey them truthfully. However, Lord Lu's army is already on its way, so please make a decision as soon as possible."
This is a subtle threat. If you don't agree, the Lu family army will not be a pushover.
Peng Jiang knew it very well and felt a little unhappy, but he didn't say much. He nodded and let him leave.
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