Chapter 346: Selling a Daughter for Fame 1
The traitorous troops stationed in the direction of Taiyuan were in a panic, as they were all afraid of the arrival of the Ke Nan Army, especially Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin.
They were discussing where to flee with their men, as they now had no way back. They couldn't return to the Jianlu, and the Ming court wouldn't spare them. Were they to follow the example of the bandits?
Kong Youde was in a dilemma, but Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin sent someone to contact Zhao Xiaofei with the last glimmer of hope, hoping to see if they could get a good result through negotiation.
As soon as Zhao Xiaofei and his army set out from Datong, they received the other party's negotiation envoy.
Zhao Xiaofei received them in the central army tent. A middle-aged man knelt down and saluted, saying, "Han Dewang greets His Majesty!"
"Are you here to negotiate on behalf of Geng Jingzhong and others?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Yes, I only represent the two masters Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin!" Han Dewang said.
"What about Kong Youde?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Kong Youde fought stubbornly and was determined to fight to the death!" said Han Dewang.
"In that case, you tie up Kong Youde and bring him to see me. I can pardon the crimes of Geng Jingzhong and Monk Zhixin. And let them continue to lead the troops! As for the official positions, I can promise that they will not lose their positions as the monkey king!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Thank you, Your Highness! I will go back and tell the two adults!" said Han Dewang.
"Go!" Zhao Xiaofei drove the man away.
As soon as Han Dewang left, Zhao Xiaokun came in. He had heard everything from outside and asked, "How are you going to deal with these two traitors?"
"Of course they are cannon fodder for us! The island countries, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indochina Peninsula all need us to clean up. At least the first and second island chains must be controlled by the Ming Dynasty, right? The soldiers have limited manpower, and it is impossible to kill all these traitorous troops!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"That's fine. It's better than letting those foreigners take it over! However, their strength cannot be too strong." Zhao Xiaokun said.
"I know! This time we can easily take over the whole of Shanxi!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"So what if we capture him? Ni Yuanlu is raising military funds for the new army. We have finished fighting in the front, and their new army is stationed in the back to compete with us for territory." Zhao Xiaokun said.
"What does this old guy Ni Yuanlu want to do? Believe it or not, we will cut off the court's financial and tax revenue!" Zhao Xiaofei said angrily.
"There are also Zhang Huangyan and Shi Kefa in the south. They are loyal to the Ming Dynasty! And after the empress dowager's purge, how many people in Jiangnan dare not pay taxes now? The court's tax revenue is about to return to normal, and it will be much more than that of the Chongzhen period!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"That's what I said! It turns out we have the confidence! The new army can come, but we must have our own territory in the future." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Is he the same as other princes?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.
"Of course it's different! We will keep our own army! If you want to disband the army, wait until we are buried!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Why do I feel like this plot is similar to the movie "The Warlords"! We are fighting for territory in the front, and the army behind is busy taking over the territory!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"Pooh, pooh, pooh! None of the three people who pledged their allegiance had a good ending!" Zhao Xiaofei spat quickly.
"We have to be on guard against the imperial court. The emperor is young now and has not fully experienced the taste of power. When he grows up, he may deal with us." Zhao Xiaokun reminded.
"I got it! I've even thought of a place to do it!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Where?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.
"Qingdao! I can build a city there and then a port, which can be used for attack or defense. If it doesn't work out, I can retreat overseas." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Sure! When you go back this time, please grant Qingdao, Shandong as your fiefdom." Zhao Xiaokun said.
The two brothers discussed a countermeasure and the army continued to march towards Taiyuan.
Meanwhile, inside Taiyuan, Kong Youde was organizing his troops for defense. He couldn't go anywhere now; Mongolia had been destroyed. Since the death of Ligdan Khan, no one from Genghis Khan's family had been able to unify the various Mongol tribes. As a result, the Mongolian grasslands were now in disarray.
Li Zicheng was blocking the way westward, so Kong Youde could not possibly go to Li Zicheng. Moreover, he had killed many rebels at Shanhaiguan, and they had a deep blood feud.
The south is even more impossible to go. The Ke Nan Army in the Jingxiang area is heading north and has already reached Henan. It will soon enter Shanxi. Unless we move east now!
Kong Youde considered moving east, but what would that make him? From a traitor to a bandit. He still couldn't imagine how badly the Jianlu were defeated, and all the other bandit forces, except Li Zicheng, had been wiped out. He had finally convinced some local gentry to follow him in establishing effective rule, but if he moved east, he would become a bandit. All his previous efforts would be in vain, and he couldn't let it go.
So there was no other option but to hold out. A few days ago, he heard that Wu Sangui had been defeated and surrendered. Now that Wu Sangui's Guanning Army had been reorganized, Wu Sangui was still able to lead the troops. He thought that if he could hold out against the Kenan Army, he might get the same treatment as Wu Sangui.
Kong Youde was overthinking it. You're not his brother-in-law. You don't have a beautiful girl to marry. No! Wait! Speaking of a beautiful daughter, he actually has one. She's in the army, and she's about to get married to one of his men, Sun Yanling.
Kong Youde asked the captain of his personal guards to call his daughter over. Kong Sizhen was only 14 years old now, and was at the age when she was about to bloom.
"Girl, come here, Daddy wants to ask you! How do you feel about Sun Yanling? Do you have him in your heart?" Kong Youde asked directly.
"I don't know. I will listen to whatever you say, Dad." Kong Sizhen said weakly.
"Father has changed his mind now and wants to marry you to Prince Li of the Ming Dynasty. What do you think?" Kong Youde said.
"Dad, why? How could the Prince of Li from the Ming Dynasty fall for me?" Kong Sizhen had no confidence at all. His confidence came from his father's status. Right now, his father was practically a lost dog. How could a dignified prince, a double consort of the Ming Dynasty, fall for her?
In her eyes, Zhao Xiaofei was not only a skilled warrior, but also the most talented poet in the Ming Dynasty. She also read his Dream of the Red Chamber every day and couldn't put it down. In her eyes, Zhao Xiaofei was the idol of every young woman in the Ming Dynasty.
Now that her father said he wanted to marry her to him, Kong Sizhen was really surprised and had no confidence that Zhao Xiaofei would be interested in her. Even though she thought she was very beautiful, there were few women in the world who could compare to her.
"Prince Li will like you, Dad has this confidence! As long as you are willing! But if you don't want to, Dad will send you and Sun Yanling away. Dad will not do anything to break up a couple." Kong Youde said softly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
