Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 79

Although all the forces in Yingtian City are under the banner of the Ming Dynasty, when it comes to intrigue, they seem to be even more sinister than the three groups in Jintan County.

Of course, a considerable degree of this is due to overwhelming strength. After all, fancy moves are useless in the face of absolute strength.

After receiving the call for help, Tulai sent out a large number of scouts and a cavalry unit to go around the rear of Jintan. After fully understanding the enemy situation, he ordered Cao Hu to lead all the surrendered troops to hide four or five miles away from Jintan, waiting for it to get dark before attacking. He and the Eight Banners soldiers followed behind to supervise and act accordingly.

To be honest, if it had been before the surrender, Cao Hu and his men would probably have just dealt with it, and if the situation went wrong they would have fled as quickly as possible.

But the times are different now. Not to mention that the Qing army has already paid the military pay in full, even if it hasn't, there are still the Eight Banners soldiers supervising the battle behind them. No one would leave the rioters in front of them and turn around to test whether the Eight Banners soldiers' swords are sharp.

Speaking of this, we need to mention the peculiarity of human nature.

When they were still the Ming army, even if the wages had been paid in full, as long as there was another group of troops under their command to supervise the battle, the soldiers, no matter how big or small, would always cause trouble.

But now the Eight Banners soldiers were clearly watching them fighting from behind, and although these soldiers felt uncomfortable, they did not think there was anything wrong.

Why?

Similar to how two people get along, unless there are major changes, how they get along when they first meet will determine how they get along for a long time in the future.

Before we surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, you were a Ming army soldier, and I was also a Ming army soldier. Why should I charge into the front while you just leisurely command the battle from behind?

But now we are just newly surrendered soldiers. Isn't it normal for us to do hard and tiring work and be on guard against by our master?

Well, we’ve strayed off topic. Let’s get back to the topic.

Under the cover of the scouts, Cao Hu arrived at the designated location as expected. After seeing the smoke rising from outside the Jintan City, he rushed out directly.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened next. The rioters who were preparing to eat were like lambs to be slaughtered in front of the regular army.

In just three or four quarters of an hour, not even a single living person could be found outside Jintan City.

Afterwards, the cavalry scattered in pursuit, and Cao Hu leisurely went to the outside of Jintan City and knocked on the gate, and the battle was won.

"Everyone, if it weren't for the Royal Master, Jintan would have been tortured by the nose-cutting squad for who knows how long. We should respect the two generals."

During the evening banquet, when the Jintan County Magistrate saw Tulai and Cao Hu sitting down at the table, he brought the wealthy elders in the city to toast them.

Cao Hu should be happy that Jintan was taken without any effort. However, looking at the county magistrate who was wearing Han clothes and had his hair shaved into a rat tail, he couldn't help but complain in his heart:

"Military generals are not as shameless as civil officials!"

Dorgon did issue an order to shave people's heads when he first entered Beijing, but this order aroused many civil unrests, and was abolished after the counterattack by the rebel army.

Even though the various armies had been unstoppable up to now, they had never mentioned this matter again, and the surrendered generals had never thought of using this trip to curry favor with the Manchus.

Seeing the county magistrate dressed like this, how could Cao Hu not feel jealous?

"I should not have come to the banquet tonight because of my military duties, but Jin Tan has just turned from evil to good and I can't refuse your kindness, so I will just drink this cup."

Just when Cao Hu was feeling mixed emotions, Tulai picked up the wine glass, said something, and drank it all in one gulp.

This was as it should be. After all, Jintan was only a new annexation, so how could he dare to drink to his heart's content?

"General, you are so generous! What am I waiting for..."

After Tulai said this, the county magistrate had no choice but to praise him. Would he dare to force him to drink it?

But who knew that he saw Tulai waving his hand when he was halfway through flattering, as if he wanted to say something, so he shut his mouth tactfully. "This time I came to Jintan, first, to rescue the people, and second, to collect food and labor for the army."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed, but under the military's threat, no one dared to whisper.

Seeing this, Tulai was satisfied and continued, "The task of rescuing the people has been completed. Now all that remains is to collect food and laborers."

After he finished speaking, there was silence at the table, and all the people in Jintan turned their eyes to the county magistrate.

They were certainly not stupid enough to think that they could defeat the Qing army without shedding any blood, but they also did not expect to get to the point right from the start.

But it doesn't matter. After all, the share of each family has been decided long ago, and the matter is settled in no time. Everyone can go back to their own homes and hug their own wives. Who would be willing to stay here with those bad guys?

Having said that, some techniques still need to be used when discussing specific matters.

"Master Wang saved our people, and I, Jintan, am not ungrateful, but this nose-cutting group has been making trouble for almost a year." As he said this, the county magistrate secretly glanced at Tulai's face, and when he saw that there was some displeasure between his eyebrows, he swallowed all other excuses and said, "But please rest assured, General, I, Jintan, will do my best."

"Tell me, how much are you going to pay?"

According to Tulai's idea, all the rich people in the city should be arrested, and then the fighting would be very effective. There is no need to listen to the noise of these rich people.

But before leaving, the prince repeatedly told him how he could not act as he did when he entered the pass, so finally at Cao Hu's suggestion he agreed to enter the city to deal with it.

But the county magistrate's appearance made people feel irritated, so he was too lazy to waste his words and just poked the words into the other person's throat.

"this."

"How?"

The Jintan County Magistrate was still thinking about what number he should report, but before he could think it through, he was frightened by Tulai's voice.

It was not that the Jintan County Magistrate was slow to react, but that he was playing against the grain, which made all his original expectations come to nothing.

"Reporting to the general, this county can provide 1,500 dan of grain and silver."

"Bastard!"

"General, please allow me to report in detail. Please allow me to report in detail."

When Tulai saw the county magistrate walking towards him on his knees while howling, he suddenly became furious.

But when he was about to draw his knife, he felt someone pressing his arm, and then he heard Cao Hu's voice from the side: "Commander, it doesn't hurt to listen."

Is he being treated too well?

The thought flashed through his mind, and Tu Lai decided to teach Cao Hu a lesson first, but at the same time he found that the county magistrate took out a stack of tickets from his sleeve.

"General, if it were two or three years ago, Jintan would have contributed more to the king's army, but over the past year, the nose-cutting squad has caused unrest in the entire county, and I really can't contribute more."

Tulai was a reasonable man, but before this his reasoning had always come from the context of war.

It was also God's will that allowed him to gain more knowledge. Born between the white mountains and black waters, Tulai finally discovered another truth in the world.

Of course, the accumulation of knowledge always requires some time to digest, and during this time, Cao Hu stuffed the stack of tickets into Tulai's waist.

"Commander, three thousand taels of silver is not a small amount for a county. We can't just drain the pond and catch all the fish."

(End of this chapter)