Chapter 157: Entrapment of Xu Dingguo 1
Where was Xu Dingguo? Of course, he was in Henan. He was the general of Henan, so of course he was in Henan. He was probably stationed in the area around Sui County, Shangqiu City, today. Henan wasn't entirely occupied by Li Zicheng; a small portion was also occupied by Ming army officers and soldiers. However, Xu Dingguo was a traitor. Historically, it was he who lured Gao Jie to his death and then surrendered to the Jianlu.
Li Zichu also came to report that Xu Dingguo had been flirting with Duoduo. If Zhao Xiaofei didn't kill this kind of bastard, who else would he kill? So he proposed a trap! Besides power, these spineless generals only had money and women. So Zhao Xiaofei's excuse was to pay the Ming army suppressing bandits in Henan. The money was already on the way, and it was claimed to be one million taels of silver.
When Xu Dingguo heard the news, he was immediately excited. However, his general Wen Zhiping advised him, "General! Don't go! If the court knows that you and Duoduo are secretly communicating, you will never come back!"
"Could it be that the imperial court wants to kill me?" Xu Dingguo said.
"That's right! Think about it, why did the court suddenly want to pay military salaries? It has been in arrears for so many years, and now you have money when you arrive in Nanjing?" Wen Zhiping said.
"But Liu Zeqing gave us hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and how many men do you have?" Wen Zhiping said.
This remark touched Xu Dingguo's heart. He thought to himself, "Yes! How many men do I have? Will they deceive me? Will the court know about my secret dealings with Duoduo?" "Well! I can't afford to lose my life for such a small sum of money. It's better to surrender to the Jianlu."
Just as Xu Dingguo was about to say goodbye to his subordinates, a messenger suddenly came from outside the tent and reported: "General, news has come from the front. Gao Jie and Huang Degong have robbed our pay. They only left us 200,000 taels!"
"What? Where is the salary?" Xu Dingguo asked in surprise.
"The silver has been sent outside the camp. I dare not touch it privately. Please check it personally, sir!" said the messenger.
Xu Dingguo furiously rushed out of the camp and summoned several accountants to carefully count the money. After a long count, they found only 200,000 taels. Xu Dingguo cursed, "Damn you, if you dare to shit or piss on my head, I will never let you go! Pass the word, follow me south!"
"Sir! Where are we going?" Wen Zhiping asked.
"Needless to say, those two old guys Guan Gaojie and Huang Degong asked for money! I can see that the court really wants to give us the money. It's a pity that those two bastards intercepted it!" Xu Dingguo said.
"Sir! Don't be impulsive! Our strength is not as good as theirs. Now is not the time to turn against each other!" Wen Zhiping said.
Xu Dingguo calmed down and decided to use courtesy before force. He sent someone to Gao Jie to demand the silver. Gao Jie actually gave him 300,000 taels, but refused to give the remaining 100,000 taels. Xu Dingguo was quite satisfied with the 500,000 taels. He became increasingly convinced that the imperial court was giving him the money sincerely. Wen Zhiping suggested that the court might be trying to strengthen him to contain Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and others.
Our General Xu Dingguo became more and more convinced that this was the case, so he sent messengers to Huang Degong to ask for his salary. The messengers were sent out, but not a single ounce of silver was returned.
Xu Dingguo asked the messenger, "I want to ask you, what did that old fellow Huang Degong say? Why didn't he return the silver?"
"In reply to your words, Huang Degong said that my face is not worth 400,000 taels, not even one tael. Even if you, the general, go there, it will only be worth 400,000 taels. The remaining 100,000 taels will never be given to us!" said the messenger.
"Damn it! Let me go in person, Huang Degong doesn't have the face to do that! If you go again, tell him that if he doesn't give it to me, you will go to Nanjing to seek justice with him!" Xu Dingguo said.
"Yes! I'll go right away!" The messenger retreated out of the tent.
"Sir! Huang Degong relies on his good relationship with the Zhao brothers and may not take you seriously. It will probably be a waste of time to go there!" Wen Zhiping said.
"What should we do then?" Xu Dingguo asked.
"I heard that Zhao Xiaofei's elder brother is with Huang Degong. Why don't we bribe Zhao Xiaokun and ask him to come forward and mediate. I believe Huang Degong will give him some face!" Wen Zhiping said.
"Okay! Take 100,000 taels of silver and send it to Zhao Xiaokun! You have to do this personally! If you succeed, I will reward you with 1,000 taels!" Xu Dingguo said.
"Thank you, sir!" Wen Zhiping took the order and went to Chuzhou with the envoy.
At the Chuzhou camp, the envoy went to Huang Degong, while Wen Zhiping went directly to Zhao Xiaokun. In Zhao Xiaokun's room, Wen Zhiping presented the gift list. Zhao Xiaokun smiled and said, "Oh! Isn't this gift too expensive? How can I bear it?"
Wen Zhiping felt relieved when he saw Zhao Xiaokun's greedy face, so he told him the purpose of his visit. After that, he said to Zhao Xiaokun, "Sir, it's really not easy for us Henan officers and soldiers! Please help us!"
"The court is wrong in this matter! They shouldn't give you so much silver, it will make people resent you! How many soldiers do you have? My brother is confused! What he did is to provoke conflicts between you and other towns!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
Wen Zhiping didn't dare to respond. Your brother is the only king of a different surname in the Ming Dynasty. You can say whatever you want, but I dare not. You said this, but I dare not say it. Wen Zhiping could only smile awkwardly, thinking that the Zhao brothers had indeed left the Central Plains for a long time and didn't understand the etiquette of the Central Plains. Your brother is a prince, and you are just an admiral. No matter how wrong Zhao Xiaofei is, you can't say this to my face!
"Well, you and I will go together to meet Huang Degong. Let's talk things out face to face!" Zhao Xiaokun said.
"Thank you, sir!" Wen Zhiping bowed and thanked.
Zhao Xiaokun brought Wen Zhiping to Huang Degong's place and asked him, "Duke Jingguo, why are you withholding the 500,000 taels from the officers and soldiers in Henan? Do you know they haven't received their food and wages for almost a year?"
"Sir Zhao, the Henan general has only tens of thousands of people. Can he use so much silver?" Huang Degong said.
"Lord Xu's Henan soldiers are fighting on the front line. They need silver the most to boost morale and recruit soldiers to stop the rebels and the Jianlu. We can't undermine each other at this time! Give me a favor and return the silver to Lord Xu!" Zhao Xiaokun said.
"Sir Zhao, if I return the silver to him, wouldn't it mean that I, Huang Degong, am afraid of him? Sir Zhao, how about this! I can't offend you too much. As long as Xu Dingguo comes in person, I will return the silver to him! I will return it the same way Gao Jie did!" Huang Degong said.
"This is not appropriate! Lord Xu is busy with military affairs on the front line, and I'm afraid there will be some changes!" Zhao Xiaokun said.
"Sir! How many troops does Xu Dingguo have? No matter how busy he is, can he be as busy as Gao Jie and I? I'm not disrespecting you, sir, but let's put it this way! I don't want the 500,000 taels, but I have to give you face!" said Huang Degong.
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