Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 222: White Sincerity
Upon hearing this, several Nian Army generals couldn't help but gasp.

Two hundred thousand silver dollars, that's two hundred thousand taels of silver.

Most of them came from poor families and had never seen such a large sum of money.

But the Tang Dynasty offered 200,000 silver dollars, and it was just a gift for meeting.

It is said in the martial arts world that the king of the Tang Dynasty is eager to seek talented people, knows how to appoint people to the right positions, and is generous and righteous. Now that I see him, it is true.

Before they agreed to accept the Tang Dynasty's recruitment, 200,000 silver dollars were delivered to them.

Once they really accept the recruitment, the treatment given to them by the Tang Dynasty will certainly not be bad.

As he spoke, Chen Chengrong signaled to several of his followers to carry in several boxes filled with silver dollars from outside.

The box was opened, revealing rolls of silver dollars tied with red paper.

Chen Chengrong stepped forward and broke open a silver dollar roll. With a rustling sound, white silver dollars scattered in and around the box.

Looking at the white silver dollars, even Zhang Lexing couldn't help swallowing.

The Tang Dynasty is so damn generous!

The Qing Dynasty had previously attempted to recruit the Nian Army to surrender, but the Qing officials who came to recruit them only gave empty promises.

He promised high positions and generous salaries, but when it came to actual delivery, there was no sign of anything happening.

In comparison, the Tang Dynasty is much more sincere.

The two parties are still negotiating, so it is hard to say whether the deal will be successful or not, but the gift of 200,000 silver dollars was given directly.

This is the attitude of truly wanting to recruit the Nian Army!
Unlike the Qing dynasty, you can tell at a glance that they are trying to lure prisoners to surrender and kill them...

When the Nian Army generals saw this, the smiles on their faces began to become more sincere.

Chen Chengrong's smile remained on his face.

"Two hundred thousand silver dollars are here. Brothers, please count and divide them among yourselves."

If you want to surrender, how can we just write a blank check?

Always let the other party see some sincerity.

Speaking of sincerity, is there anything that can show sincerity more than white silver dollars?
Of course, the cute little yellow one is also fine!

Feng Jinbiao spoke up.

"Master Chen, we have seen the sincerity of the Tang Dynasty."

"But if we surrender to the Tang Dynasty, how will the Tang Dynasty accommodate us and our soldiers?"

Chen Chengrong knew that this was a request for an official position.

He smiled and spoke.

"The king said that each of the flag owners can be given an independent brigade, and promoted to the rank of major general and given the title of baron."

"Other than that, the imperial court is only responsible for distributing money and military pay to each unit, and military affairs can be decided by the brigade commanders themselves."

Well, when Ling Shiba was newly surrendered, he received the same treatment.

Zhang Lexing's expression changed.

He wanted to accept the Tang Dynasty's enthronement so that he could have a title and command the entire Nian Army, rather than to elevate the leaders of each banner to the same status as himself.

However, he couldn't question the matter himself, so he could only give his confidant Zhang Fengshan a look and let Zhang Fengshan ask.

Zhang Fengshan instantly understood Zhang Lexing's meaning and stood up to ask.

"Master Chen, the leaders of our flags are all major generals and brigadiers, so what about Brother Zhang, the leader of the alliance? He can't be the same as us, right?"

Chen Chengrong shook his head.

"Of course not. I just forgot to say that."

"As the leader of all the flags of the Nian Army, Banner Master Zhang was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and given the title of Viscount."

Chen Chengrong's attitude is very clear: he can give you official positions, titles, and even gold, silver, and land if you want them.

But it is impossible for you, Zhang Lexing, to obtain the title of commanding all the flags of the Nian Army from the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty will not allow the entire Nian Army to work together!

This is because once the Nian Army is united as a whole, it would undoubtedly be much more difficult for the Tang Dynasty to interfere and gradually gain control of the various Nian Army units.

Even if it needs to be tightened, it can only be done by Li Yi himself.

When Zhang Lexing heard this, the expression on his face froze.

The Tang Dynasty did give him more benefits as the nominal leader of the Nian Army, but this was not what he wanted.

However, Zhang Lexing had no way of expressing his pain.

After all, he is only the leader in name only, and each flag under him serves its own leader.

It was undoubtedly impossible for him to get the support of the leaders of each banner to obtain the title of commanding the entire Nian Army from the Tang Dynasty.

You are all flag masters. Before, it was because you, Zhang Lexing, had the strongest strength and the highest prestige, so everyone recognized you as the boss.

But this does not mean that everyone is convinced by Zhang Lexing.

But now that we have a new boss, no one would be willing to set up a middleman between themselves and the new boss?

Upon hearing this, Gong Deshu, whose strength in the Nian Army was second only to Zhang Lexing, immediately stood up and expressed his position.

"In that case, I would like to thank Master Chen here!"

Gong Deshu's statement made Zhang Lexing's expression freeze. He knew that the Nian Army had already been divided.

But he had no way to do anything about it, because his so-called leader was nothing but a figurehead, and all he could control were his original Yellow Flag troops.

He can't mobilize the rest of the people!
Even if they changed their minds and no longer wanted to accept the Tang Dynasty's amnesty, other flags might not necessarily obey their orders.

At this point, Zhang Lexing knew that it was too late for him to say anything else, and he could only clasp his fists and say to Chen Chengrong.

"Le Xing is here, thank you Tang Dynasty for your kindness!"

Chen Chengrong smiled.

"Master Zhang, you are too polite."

After discussing these, the negotiations naturally ended, and it was a foregone conclusion that the Nian Army would accept the Tang Dynasty's amnesty.

Chen Chengrong took several letters of appointment from his attendants and began to distribute them to the generals of the Nian Army one by one in front of everyone.

He also encouraged them to work hard and serve the Tang Dynasty more in the future! ...

After leaving the banquet hall, Zhang Lexing returned to his residence with mixed feelings, holding the letter of appointment given to him by the Tang Dynasty court and the imperial edict conferring him the title.

As soon as he entered the house, his wife Du Jinchan came forward and asked.

"My husband is back? How did you go about meeting with the Tang envoy today to discuss the recruitment?"

Zhang Lexing smiled bitterly and handed the letter of appointment and imperial edict in his hand to his wife.

Du Jinchan looked through the letter of appointment and the imperial edict, and Zhang Lexing explained with a wry smile.

“It was done, but it wasn’t quite done.”

"The Tang Dynasty is indeed sincere in recruiting us. The gift alone is 200,000 silver dollars."

"They also promised that after we accept the amnesty, the imperial court will not interfere in our military affairs!"

"However, this time, I was given the same official position as Gong Deshu and the others, and I only got the rank of brigade commander."

"Although my military rank and title are Lieutenant General and Viscount, which is higher than their Major General and Baron, I was not given the title of commanding the entire Nian Army."

Du Jinchan is not a weak woman. She is Zhang Lexing's virtuous wife and important adviser.

The strategy she offered to Zhang Lexing was to find a big boss and gain control of the entire Nian Army from him.

But now it seems that this plan has most likely failed!

After listening to Zhang Lexing's explanation, Du Jinchan couldn't help but speak.

“Good wrist!”

"The Tang Dynasty is really good at this. They used a few empty titles and honorifics to turn you into a nominal leader of the alliance."

Zhang Lexing sat down on a chair in the hall and asked.

"Madam, what do you think I should do next?"

"Do you really want to accept your fate?"

Du Jinchan's expression was somewhat conflicted when he heard this.

"My dear husband, the key point now is not whether you want to accept your fate, but the attitude of the flag masters of each flag."

"If they still have their hearts set on you, these tactics of the Tang Dynasty are nothing but children's play."

"But if they start to lean towards the Tang Dynasty now, then I can only advise you to give up your unnecessary ambitions and devote yourself to being a loyal minister and filial son of the Tang Dynasty."

"Unless you send someone to kill the Anhui envoy sent by the Tang Dynasty, and force the leaders of each flag to follow you and break off relations with the Tang Dynasty..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lexing's expression showed obvious confusion and uncertainty.

After a moment, Zhang Lexing slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.

"Forget it, let's just wait for the right time!"

He knew that if he killed Chen Chengrong, the Tang Dynasty's Anhui Recruiting Envoy, it would be possible to force the Nian Army to side with him.

However, it is also possible that he might end up making things worse and turn himself from the nominal leader of the various Nian Army factions into a common enemy.

Chen Chengrong's death in the Nian Army was indeed a big event.

But it does not mean that the death of Chen Chengyong would make the Nian Army and the Tang Dynasty irreconcilable.

The various banners of the Nian Army could have simply killed themselves and taken their heads to ask for forgiveness from the Tang Dynasty!
This matter can also be turned over.

Du Jinchan nodded and said.

"My husband is wise!"

"The king of the Tang Dynasty has always been very generous to his subordinates. If we concentrate on being his loyal subjects and filial sons, we will definitely receive a lot of rewards..."

……

At the end of June in the second year of the Tang Dynasty's Zhaowu reign, the main force of the Tang Dynasty's Second Army withdrew from Guangxi to Guangzhou.

While Li Yi was preparing to lead his troops north to launch the second phase of the Eastern Expedition, he received good news from Jiangxi.

So far, the Tang Dynasty's eastern expedition army has successfully captured Jiujiang, Nanchang, Nankang, Raozhou, Guangxin and other prefectures in northern Jiangxi, and wiped out the main force of the Qing army in Jiangxi in Shangrao.

Almost half of Jiangxi is in my hands!
After receiving the news, Li Yi immediately ordered the General Staff to calculate the military merits and prepare to reward the troops.

Then, he ordered the army to set off.

However, this time the Tang army did not go north through Shaoguan on its eastern expedition, but chose to go west.

They planned to go west from the Pearl River to the West River, then from the West River to the Gui River to reach Guilin, and then from Guilin to the Li River and Lingqu Canal to the Xiang River, and then go directly from the Xiang River to Dongting Lake, and then go directly to the Yangtze River to the east.

This route is a bit of a detour, but it can fully utilize the advantages of water transportation in the south and transport the food, fodder, military supplies and logistics needed by the Tang army to the front line in the most time-saving and labor-saving way.

Since ancient times, the biggest challenge for large-scale military operations has been logistics.

Before the railway network was rolled out on a large scale, water transportation was undoubtedly the most convenient and lowest-loss means of transportation.

For example, if grain is transported by land, a distance of one thousand miles, a civilian pushing a small cart carrying one hundred kilograms of grain from the rear to the front line, it is not certain whether only ten percent of it can be used in the end.

Because the laborers who transport grain also need to eat on the way.

Of course, if you are not afraid of the laborers rebelling, you can also let the laborers bring their own dry food and do labor for you.

In that case, the cost of transporting grain seems to be reduced in the short term, but in the long run, it increases the probability of a rebellion breaking out, and it is unknown how much grain will be consumed to quell the rebellion.

Not worth it!
But if grain is transported by water, a small boat can easily transport hundreds of kilograms of grain, and a larger ship can transport tens or even hundreds of thousands of kilograms.

The loss, even including the food and wages of the boatman and the wear and tear of the boat, is no more than 10%.

How big is the difference between this back and forth?

Therefore, during a war, if logistics transportation can be done by water, it must be done by water.

Even if the route is a little more circuitous, water routes are given priority.

The economic cost lies here. War is not just about fighting on the battlefield. The economic war and the cost war must all be taken into account.

Not to mention that the Tang army is still a firearms unit and is more dependent on logistical transportation, which puts even greater pressure on logistical transportation!

In addition, Li Yi also planned to go to Guilin in person to inspect the half of Guangxi that had just been taken over by the Tang army and stabilize the area.

Of course, this was not a decision Li Yi made on a whim.

Instead, the staff makes the best action plan based on a comprehensive analysis of data on cost, feasibility, safety, etc.

There is a high probability that it cannot be wrong!
(End of this chapter)