Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 253 Blackmail
In the hall, Cao Zhijian and other Huguang generals all had their eyes flickering and remained silent. Hunan Province had sent troops to Hubei Province several times, and each time they suffered heavy casualties. Who would be willing to fight the Qing court at this time?

However, it was difficult for everyone to refuse at this time. After all, they were generals of Hunan Province. It was reasonable for the court to transfer them to defend Hunan Province. It was difficult to refuse.
Cao Zhijian's eyes turned, but he suddenly said

"The Tartars are about to invade Huguang, so we must gather our troops to meet the enemy, but the army needs money to set out. If the money is not distributed to the army, the soldiers will probably make trouble. If we want to gather troops, I'm afraid the court must prepare the money first."

Cao Zhijian's eyes flickered slightly. If the Guangdong Provincial Court really gave him money, he would take it first and decide whether to go or not when the time comes.

If the court can't come up with money, then it can't be blamed on them. They also want to serve the court, but it's difficult for them to do so if the court doesn't have money.

Wang Yuncheng and other generals in the hall obviously understood Cao Zhijian's intention. At this time, they all looked at Liu Xiangke opposite them, wanting to see how the Guangdong Provincial Court would react.

Liu Xiangke had no expression on his face when he heard this, and he said directly

"Silver money, what silver money? The imperial court has not taken a cent of the taxes from Huguang in the past two years. All of it has been given to you, the generals of Huguang, to support the army."

"You are already receiving military pay from the counties now, so why do you need more military pay?"

"If you want the imperial court to allocate funds, you can hand over the taxes collected by Huguang over the past two years to the imperial court, and the imperial court will naturally allocate funds to you."

Cao Zhijian and others were stunned when they heard this. Now they were indeed occupying various prefectures and counties in the name of collecting military funds, which made them not know how to respond.
As for handing over the money collected in the past two years to the court, that is absolutely impossible. There is no reason for them to take the money out of their pockets. Giving the money to the court would be a sin.

Cao Zhijian was still trying to find another excuse, but Ma Jinzhong suddenly said

"The Tartars are about to invade Huguang. This is a critical matter. Let's not talk about the issue of military pay for the time being. The gathering of the army requires a large amount of rice. I wonder how much rice the court can provide to Huguang."

Liu Xiangke glanced at Ma Jinzhong, who looked serious, and said

"The imperial court gives the Huguang Governor's Office 2,000 shi of grain every month..."

Before Liu Xiangke could finish his words, he was suddenly interrupted by Zhang Xianbi, who looked unhappy and said

"There are hundreds of thousands of troops in Huguang, but the court only gives us 2,000 dan of grain every month. What's the use of this little bit of rice?"

Liu Xiangke was suddenly interrupted at this moment, his face turned cold, and he said

"Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of troops in Huguang. Who can support you?"

Zhang Xianbi was shocked when he heard what Liu Xiangke said, while Cao Zhijian, Ma Jinzhong and other Huguang generals all had slightly changed expressions on their faces. Even without looking at the head on the table, everyone knew that this was definitely not a good thing.

Liu Xiangke snorted coldly, and lost his patience with these people, and said directly

"There is one more thing I want to remind you. Yongzhou and Wugang have now been incorporated into Guangxi Province, and the imperial court has stationed troops in these two cities."

"From now on, all troops from Huguang are not allowed to enter Wugang and Yongzhou. Any soldiers who enter these two places will be regarded as bandits by the imperial court and will be directly exterminated on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhijian and the others' expressions suddenly changed. The Guangdong Provincial Government had revealed its true intentions.

Yongzhou and Wugang are both at the rear of Hunan Province. At this time, the Qing invaders were advancing in large numbers. The imperial court did not send troops to Hunan to help, but instead stationed troops in the rear. This was clearly a large army behind to supervise the battle and force them to fight desperately with the Tartars.
Zhang Xianbi's face was filled with rage, and he could not help but shout:
"What does the court mean by this? Are they planning to force us to die?"

Liu Xiangke had no expression on his face. He just glanced at Zhang Xianbi who was furious, and then said

"What are you talking about? Zhang Xianbi, you have 20,000 soldiers under your command, Cao Zhijian has 30,000, Huang Chaoxuan has 80,000, and Ma Jinzhong has another 30,000. The total number of troops from Huguang is no less than 200,000 or 300,000."

"The number of Qing invaders entering Huguang this time is only 20,000. You and your troops from Huguang have hundreds of thousands against 20,000 Qing invaders. How can we let you die? The court is still waiting for your victory report."

Zhang Xianbi's expression froze when he heard this. He opened his mouth slightly and looked at Cao Zhijian beside him. He didn't know how to respond for a moment.
They know their own business. They know best what the tens of thousands of troops under their command are like.
Not to mention 20,000 Tartars, even if they encountered 2,000 Tartars in the wild, they would turn around and run away. 20,000 Tartars, what else could they do but send them to their deaths?

At this time, Cao Zhijian and other people from Huguang also began to find something wrong. Before they came today, they originally thought that the new court of Guangdong Province was here to promote them, but they never thought that the court of Guangdong Province would give them a wake-up call as soon as they arrived at the hall. Later, they were shocked to hear the news that the Qing invaders were about to launch a large-scale attack. What made them even more incomprehensible was the attitude of the court of Guangdong Province towards them at this time. The Tartars were about to invade Huguang, and it was the court that should have begged them to resist the Tartars. Why was the court of Guangdong Province so aggressive at this time? Wasn't the court afraid that they would abandon Huguang in anger?
Huang Chaoxuan's heart sank, and he looked up at He Tengjiao. He Tengjiao was the governor of Huguang, and it was He Tengjiao who should be negotiating with the court at this time. The court of the newly established Guangdong Province did not know the importance of the matter. Didn't He Tengjiao know the importance of the matter either? Without them, would the court still want Hunan Province?
Huang Chaoxuan looked up at He Tengjiao, but He Tengjiao did not react at all. Since he saw Liu Chengyin's head, He Tengjiao had been sitting there silently without saying a word.
Huang Chaoxuan felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw that He Tengjiao had no reaction. He knew that He Tengjiao would not speak easily.
Huang Chaoxuan glanced at the generals in the hall, and his face was also ugly. At this time, all the generals in the hall were silent.

Ma Jinzhong and his men were closest to the Qing army in Hubei Province. Logically, they should be the most anxious. However, most of Zuo Liangyu's troops surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Now, a large number of the garrisons in Hubei Province were the remnants of Zuo's army. Ma Jinzhong and his men had already made their way back, so they just watched from the sidelines.
Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai were traitors. Since they surrendered to the Governor's Office, they have always been close to He Tengjiao. If He Tengjiao didn't say anything, they wouldn't say anything either.
These two groups of people were originally bandits. Once the Qing invaders came, they could just go back to their old ways and flee to other places. This was something they were familiar with.
At this time, the most affected people in Hunan Province were Huang Chaoxuan, Cao Zhijian and other old generals of Hunan Province.

Huang Chaoxuan and his men controlled the richest prefectures and counties in Hunan Province, and most of their generals and soldiers were from Hunan Province. Once the Qing invaders occupied Hunan Province, they would be seriously injured even if they could escape with their entire army.
Huang Chaoxuan thought for a while with a gloomy face, and finally looked at Liu Xiangke opposite him and said

"The imperial court first killed the generals of Huguang without saying a word, and then stationed troops in the rear of Huguang, forcing us, the Huguang generals, to fight the Tartars."

"We don't have silver, and we don't have enough food. We, the generals of Huguang, have defended the border for many years, sleeping on ice and enduring hunger. But the court is forcing us like this now. Aren't you afraid that we, the generals of Huguang, will be disheartened?"

"The imperial court hastily forced us to gather our troops. If the war goes badly, Hunan Province will most likely be taken over by the Qing invaders, and Hunan Province will be filled with war. The people of Hunan Province will be blamed for this."

Liu Xiangke looked at Huang Chaoxuan, who was looking angry, with a cold look in his eyes. How could he not hear that Huang Chaoxuan was threatening the court with the fall of Hunan Province?

Liu Xiangke sneered in his heart, but was not moved at all. Previously, His Highness the Regent decided to ignore the generals of Huguang and chose to go directly to your province. He thought that His Highness was angered by the domineering attitude of these people, so he ignored the people of Huguang.
But now it seems that His Royal Highness the Regent is indeed clear-sighted. These people in Huguang have no loyalty to their king and are really extremely rebellious.

At this time, the Qing invaders were about to attack. When these people heard the news, their first reaction was not to discuss how to deploy troops to defend, but to immediately ask the court for money and food. When they saw that they could not get money and food, they threatened the court with the safety of Hunan Province.
This Huguang is really as Your Highness said, it has become too big to be eliminated, and it really needs to be cleaned up thoroughly.
If the imperial court wants to subdue these people, it can only use the army. Since the imperial court is unwilling to use troops in Huguang at this time, there is really no need to waste time with them.
Liu Xiangke glanced at the Huguang generals on the opposite side and said in a cold voice
"Han Xin, what a Han Xin, they are indeed one of the Thirteen Towns of Huguang, even their methods of threatening the imperial court are exactly the same."

Huang Chaoxuan and the others' expressions changed slightly when they heard this, but before they could speak, Liu Xiangke continued.

"I have informed you of the imperial decree. It is up to you to decide how to proceed."

"Just think it over before you decide. If you disobey the imperial court, Liu Chengyin will be like you!"

He Tengjiao, who had been silent, blinked when he heard Liu Xiangke's words.

But looking at the gray head on the table, He Tengjiao hesitated for a moment, but finally fell silent.
Cao Zhijian, Hao Yongzhong and others were all stunned when they heard this. They looked at Liu Xiangke, who had a cold expression on his face, in disbelief. What did they mean by "let them decide for themselves"? Could they choose to surrender to the Qing Dynasty?

Is Liu Xiangke crazy? Does he know what he is talking about?
Doesn't the Guangdong government know that Hunan can only rely on them to defend it? Isn't the government afraid of losing Hunan?
Cao Zhijian and others were shocked. They were so fearless before because they could use Hunan Province to force the imperial court.
But at this time they found that the imperial court would rather give up Hunan Province than bow to them, and they suddenly became in a dilemma.
Of course they could surrender to the Qing court, but they were in Hunan Province and knew the situation in Jiangxi Province.
The Qing court also used the direct descendants of civil officials to govern various places. When these surrendered generals came to the Qing court, at most they could only retain their own troops. Sometimes even their troops had to be split up and confiscated.

After surrendering to the Qing court, they can no longer dream of becoming local emperors in Hunan Province like they are now.
The generals of Huguang thought about it and suddenly realized that the best outcome for them now was to maintain the status quo, respecting the Ming court on the surface, but continuing to dominate Huguang in reality.

But now the Qing court is coming, if they want to continue to live as they did before, they can only repel the Qing army.
It is definitely not enough to rely on one family to repel the Qing army. All families in Huguang must draw their elite troops to unite. This goes back to the original point.
Since we have to gather troops to defend Hunan Province, we might as well just agree to the imperial court's order. At least with the name of the imperial court, everyone can be more united.

Huang Chaoxuan obviously thought of this. Looking at Liu Xiangke who was unmoved, his expression darkened.
At this time, no one spoke on either side of the hall. Huang Chaoxuan and other Huguang generals were unwilling to bow to the court, and Liu Xiangke already knew the bottom line of the court, and it was impossible for him to make concessions to the people of Huguang.
The military leaders in Huguang are extremely domineering. If he shows any weakness now, these people will almost certainly take advantage of him.

Since the imperial court has already made preparations to give up Hunan Province, what else can he give in to? As His Highness said, if they rebel, then we should suppress them.

These people avoid the Tartars like snakes and scorpions, but threaten the imperial court with intimidation. If this is the case, what use is there for the imperial court to have these people?

Both sides in the hall were unwilling to be the first to bow their heads and surrender, and the situation was deadlocked for a while.

Fu Shangrui, who was standing by, saw the two sides were on the verge of a fight, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He kept looking up at He Tengjiao.
But at this time, He Tengjiao was still like a wooden sculpture, just sitting silently at the head, as if he was completely unaware of what was happening in the scene.

The situation was deadlocked for half a minute, but there was still silence. Seeing this, Fu Shangrui had no choice but to speak.

"Gathering troops is a matter of great importance, so we still need to think about it carefully. Censor Liu and the other generals have been exhausted from the journey, so why don't you take a break first? We can discuss the gathering of troops later."

Hearing this, Liu Xiangke turned his head and glanced at Fu Shangrui beside him, his eyes were cold, but Liu Xiangke just glanced at him, and then quickly turned back, still sitting in the chair, without saying a word.
Fu Shangrui was the governor, and his title was one rank higher than Liu Xiangke's. But when he saw the coldness in Liu Xiangke's eyes, Fu Shangrui's heart trembled.

Fu Shangrui also reacted immediately at this time and realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Fu Shangrui's face was covered with cold sweat. It was not until this moment that he finally understood why He Tengjiao had remained silent from the beginning. However, he had already said something and could no longer take it back.
Huang Chaoxuan saw that Liu Xiangke had no reaction, so he snorted coldly, waved his sleeves, and walked out of the hall. Cao Zhijian and the other two also stood up and followed Huang Chaoxuan out.
Cao Zhijian and others left, not because of their good relationship with Huang Chaoxuan, but to show their attitude to Liu Xiangke.
After the three people from Hunan Province left, Ma Jinzhong was silent for a moment, bowed slightly to He Tengjiao above him, and then stood up and walked out of the hall.
Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng left, but Lu Ding did not follow them. Lu Ding walked up to Liu Xiangke and directly expressed his willingness to be transferred by the court. He also said that he would meet Liu Xiangke later to explain the situation of Huguang to the court.
Liu Xiangke looked at Lu Ding who suddenly came over, and he couldn't figure out what he was doing, so he just nodded in agreement.

After Lu Ding left, Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai looked at each other and stood up. They first bowed to He Tengjiao above them, and then bowed to Liu Xiangke to say goodbye, but they did not reveal any intentions. After bowing, they left together.
At this point, all the generals in the hall dispersed, and the first meeting between the Guangdong Provincial Court and the Huguang Generals ended unhappily.
(End of this chapter)