My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Sensing the anger of the chieftain's soldiers, Zhu Cilang's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

He wanted to make these chieftain soldiers resent their chieftain so that he could move on to the next topic.

Seeing that the group of chieftain soldiers were becoming increasingly agitated and on the verge of exploding, Zhu Cilang gave Li Hu a wink.

Li Hu understood and immediately stepped forward to reprimand him:
"quiet!"

This shout, like a thunderclap, rang in everyone's ears, and the chieftain's soldiers instantly fell silent.

However, they were all still red-faced and their eyes were filled with anger and resentment.

Some people even wished they could rush back to Guizhou right now to question those chieftains about how they were doing things, saying that they couldn't be this greedy!

Of course, as angry as they were, once they returned to Guizhou, they would still obediently follow orders and wouldn't dare to question their chieftain about why he had seen their reward money.

In Guizhou, the local chieftains were considered absolute rulers, and they could execute people at will without anyone's permission.

Their fate was entirely in the hands of the chieftain, as insignificant and fragile as ants!
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Zhu Cilang continued:
"If you can only get twenty or thirty taels of silver, at most fifty taels, then how much will the lower-ranking soldiers get?"

"You know, I gave each of them twenty taels of silver this time. Do you think they would even get one tael?"

Upon hearing this, one of the chieftains' generals was once again filled with rage.

He took a step forward angrily and then shouted:

"Your Highness, ordinary soldiers do not receive any silver, not even a tael! The chieftain only gave them some grain and salt before they went to war."

Good heavens, the lower-ranking soldiers are even worse off, they only have some food and salt!

And it goes without saying that there wasn't much grain or salt available!

As soon as this person spoke, the other chieftain soldiers felt even more enraged.

This money was clearly a reward from the Ming Dynasty, so why did it end up in the hands of the local chieftain?

And their greed is so extreme, it's simply insane!
Although they fear the chieftain, they can still be angry when they need to be!

Seeing that the time had finally come, Zhu Cilang sighed softly, a hint of regret on his face, and said:

"Alas, I never expected these chieftains to treat you like this. Fine, fine, I'll take the liberty this time and reward you with another sum of money!"

“The local garrison commander will receive 500 taels of silver, the local captain will receive 300 taels of silver, the local lieutenant commander will receive 200 taels of silver, the remaining officers will each receive 100 taels of silver, and the ordinary soldiers will receive 20 taels of silver.”

"When you leave, I will send someone to deliver the silver to you."

As Zhu Cilang spoke, he looked at Lin Zhaoding, the Guizhou General, who was standing to the side.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaoding naturally understood that Zhu Cilang wanted to win over these chieftain soldiers, so he quickly and respectfully replied:

"The minister obeys the order."

The chieftain's soldiers were utterly stunned when they heard these words.

They never expected that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty would be so generous, especially since he had already rewarded them with silver.

Although they did not receive the silver, it was not the fault of the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince.

But now this Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty is going to reward them with the same amount of silver again. How could they not be excited?

The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty was truly benevolent! He wasn't as cruel as the legends portrayed him to be!
But soon some people realized something was wrong, after all, "unsolicited kindness is either a trick or a theft," a saying that applies everywhere.

This prince is so generous, is he probably going to use this money to buy their lives?
But even if you want to buy their lives, it shouldn't cost that much money, right?

Finally, one of the local triad leaders couldn't help but speak up:
"May I ask, Your Highness, why are you so generous to us?"

Zhu Cilang looked at the man, but instead of answering his question directly, he asked:

"What's your name?"

The man said:

"Your Highness, my name is Bo Aman."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly, then continued:

"Bo Aman, to tell you the truth, the reason I treat you this way is firstly because I feel that you are really pitiful. You are doing the same things as others, but you don't get the normal treatment. This is really unfair."

"Secondly, I would like to arrange some other tasks for you."

"That means after this war ends, the imperial court will recruit troops in Guizhou to expand the imperial army stationed in Guizhou."

"Simply put, I want you to become military generals of the court, no longer subject to the control of the chieftains."

"At that time, the local garrison commander will directly become a Ming Dynasty thousand-household commander, a fifth-rank official; the local thousand-man commander will be directly promoted to deputy thousand-household commander, a fifth-rank official; the local battalion commander will become a hundred-household commander, a sixth-rank official; and so on for the others."

"In short, I will grant you all official positions, making you officials of the Ming Dynasty, and you will no longer be subject to the Tusi!"

Upon hearing this, the chieftains and generals were stunned into silence, their bodies frozen in place, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

It's important to understand that although their current official positions are officially conferred by the Ming Dynasty, and even correspond to the Ming Dynasty's Thousand-Household Commander, Deputy Thousand-Household Commander, and Hundred-Household Commander, the reality is quite different.

They had seen the local chieftains of Guizhou before. Those people were all arrogant and domineering, always surrounded by followers. Even their chieftains treated them with utmost respect and dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Firstly, the other party was an official of the imperial court.

Secondly, the other side has troops.

As for them, they were barely considered local rich people on ordinary days, but they still had to bow and scrape when they saw these thousand households, and they had to kneel and kowtow directly when they saw the chieftain!
If they could become officials appointed by the imperial court, they would have completely defied fate and become superior people overnight. How could they not be tempted?
But soon, some of them calmed down, their eyes revealing a hint of worry and fear, because they knew that their chieftain would definitely not let them leave.

Moreover, their families were still in the hands of the chieftain.

If they really become officials in the Ming Dynasty, then these families will be doomed!

It should be understood that all of them had always been the private property of the chieftains, who could execute them at will, as easily as executing an ant.

So, becoming an official in the Ming Dynasty was not an easy task.
Unless one truly abandons their family, but if that's the case, then being an official seems to lose its meaning!
Just then, a bold chieftain general spoke up:
“Your Highness, we are indeed very tempted by what you have said, but if we agree, our families will surely die, because the chieftains will not allow us to betray them.”

These words struck a chord with everyone, and instantly, all eyes turned to Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang smiled faintly, because he had already considered this matter.

Then he said:
"You can rest assured, because I have already considered the things you are worried about." "After this battle, I will send 50,000 soldiers to return to Guizhou with you to help you deal with this matter."

“If any chieftain dares to detain your family, it will be considered a rebellion, and all the troops in Han will be sent to Guizhou!”

"No matter how powerful your chieftain is, he can't defeat the imperial army of over 200,000, can he?"

As soon as these words were spoken, sparks of excitement ignited in the eyes of all the chieftains and generals.

After all, if one could be a superior person, who would want to be a servant of a chieftain?

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang's voice rang out again:
"I do not intend to force you, so you do not need to make a decision now."

"If you agree, I will naturally be very happy."

"But if you are still willing to return to the chieftains and become their servants, I will not make things difficult for you."

"But I must tell you something: this opportunity only comes once. If you don't seize it, you will never have another chance."

"At that time, your descendants will only become slaves of the chieftain and live the same lives as you."

"Whether you become officials appointed by the court or continue to be slaves, go back and think it over carefully."

After a pause, Zhu Cilang continued:

"Now that the court is focusing all its efforts on fighting the peasant army, you must keep your men in check. If they cause any more trouble, I really will kill them."

"Therefore, it's best to remain calm for the next few days and be ready to accept my orders at any time!"

Upon hearing this, how could the chieftains and generals dare to utter a single word of dissent?

He quickly replied with a respectful expression:
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will definitely discipline the soldiers under our command when we return, and we will absolutely not allow them to cause any more trouble."

After saying this, the group knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Cilang.

This time, however, no one felt fear anymore; all they felt was a longing for the future!

After all, they simply couldn't refuse the conditions offered by the young master in front of them!
To reiterate, one is a proper official of the imperial court, and the other is a servant of a local chieftain. If it were you, which one would you choose?
And so, amidst profuse thanks, the group of chieftain's soldiers finally left.

Watching their departing figures, Zhu Cilang smiled with satisfaction.

He knew that most of these people would not refuse his proposal, and all he had to do was wait for Li Zicheng to arrive before he could begin to deal with the matter!

Throughout the entire process, everyone surrounding Zhu Cilang remained silent. Although the atmosphere was somewhat somber, it concealed a subtle tacit understanding.

After all, those who could stand here were all exceptionally intelligent and meticulous individuals, and they had already guessed Zhu Cilang's deeper meaning from the very beginning.

That is to win over the forces under the chieftain, thereby cleverly dividing the chieftain's power.

Among this group, the happiest was Lin Zhaoding, the General of Guizhou.

He stood in the crowd, a smile unconsciously playing on his lips, his eyes sparkling with excitement; he looked as if he was about to cheer and jump for joy.

After all, although he held the title of General of Guizhou, he actually commanded very few soldiers, less than 15,000 at most.

This often left him feeling powerless when facing the complex situation in Guizhou.

But if Zhu Cilang's plan succeeds, the situation will be very different.

It is no exaggeration to say that the local garrison in Guizhou could be expanded to at least 40,000 troops.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhaoding felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey. How could he not be happy?

Of course, Zhu Cilang was always a thoughtful person, and favoritism was never his style.

Now that they have already rewarded the chieftains' soldiers in Guizhou, how could they forget their own people?

The next second, his gaze slowly swept over the crowd, finally landing on Liu Jiayin, the Sichuan General, and then he asked:

"How much silver does Hanzhong still have?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jiayin quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, and respectfully replied:

"Your Highness, there are still approximately four and a half million taels of silver left."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly, a thoughtful look in his eyes, and then continued:
“One million taels of silver will be taken out to reward the three armies.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Jiayin was startled, his eyes widening like copper bells, his face filled with astonishment.

Although the imperial court has money now, it can't afford to squander it like this!
The next second he hurriedly said:

"Your Highness, the army was already rewarded when it assembled."

Zhu Cilang smiled slightly, a smile that carried an undeniable air of authority.

"It's alright. After all, I just rewarded the Guizhou chieftains' soldiers again. I can't be biased and mistreat my own people. Just do as I say. If the silver isn't enough, I'll just send more from the capital!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jiayin knew that further persuasion would be futile and would offend all the soldiers present.

Therefore, he immediately bowed and accepted the order, saying:

"I obey!"

Hearing this, the people present were also delighted, since they were also entitled to a share of the silver. With the incentive of silver, their morale would naturally be even higher.

Thus, of the eight million taels of silver that had been prepared, four and a half million taels had already been spent like water, leaving less than three and a half million taels.

However, in Zhu Cilang's view, none of these were problems!
As long as the scourge of the peasant army can be completely eliminated, let alone eight million taels, even eighty million taels would be worth it!
Two days later, Ma Xianglin, who had been sent to Sichuan to recruit soldiers, finally arrived in Hanzhong, weary from his journey.

Ma Xianglin brought another 30,000 Sichuan soldiers with him this time. Of course, they could also be called White-Spear Soldiers, since he recruited them under the name of White-Spear Soldiers.

However, these are all new recruits and are not yet capable of going directly to the front lines.

However, it's still a good option for reserve combat power!
At this point, the imperial army had finally been assembled.

All of these amounts add up to a total of 220,000!

This doesn't even include the logistics personnel. If you include them, the number of troops mobilized this time is roughly 400,000, almost the same as the troops mobilized in the Battle of Songjin! (End of Chapter)