"Do you know how many soldiers there are in the Tiger Flag?" Yang Yuan said to Eunuch Li in front of him with a cold face.
Without waiting for Eunuch Li in front of him to respond, he continued: "You can only keep two thousand households of soldiers and horses, but you want our Tiger Flag soldiers to disarm and return to the fields. This is impossible, and we will not agree to it. If the court really wants to do this, then there is no sincerity in this recruitment, and we don’t need to talk about it.”
Eunuch Li's face across the long table became a little ugly.
Seeing that Liu Heng never stopped his men from saying these words, he knew that this was what the owner of the Tiger Flag in front of him meant.
Zhang Huai saw something was wrong in the atmosphere between the two parties, and said with a smile: "Don't misunderstand me, Mr. Liu. It's not that Eunuch Li insists on removing the tiger-character flag from his troops. In fact, the Lingqiu garrison camp can only have two thousand soldiers at most." The imperial court only issued pay for two households with a population of 1,000. Liu Dongzhu must keep all the soldiers of the Tiger Banner. The extra salary can only be paid by the Tiger Banner himself, and the court will not pay more. Give me a penny and a grain of grain, Mr. Liu, you are a businessman and you should know best that you cannot do this kind of loss-making business."
After speaking, he looked at Liu Heng.
"Hmph, when did the imperial court's salary and silver supply become sufficient?" Yang Yuan snorted coldly.
Zhang Huai showed a hint of embarrassment.
Everyone in the imperial court was sharing the benefits of pay and silver, and the generals also expected to receive empty pay. Naturally, the pay and silver received by the people below would not be sufficient.
Liu Heng rested his wrist on the edge of the table and said in a calm tone: "The extra money does not need to be bothered by the court. You can raise the Tiger Flag yourself."
"Impossible." As soon as Liu Heng finished speaking, Eunuch Li shook his head vigorously and said, "Since the Tiger Character Banner has chosen to be recruited, everything must be done in accordance with the rules of the court. In addition to the Lingqiu garrison camp, no other personnel are allowed. The other troops will stay in Datong."
Zhang Huai, who was standing next to him, said: "I know that Mr. Liu, you are not short of money, but there is no need to spend this wasted money on raising so many soldiers and horses. With this money, you can buy a big house and add a few acres of land. This is all." Heirlooms are more cost-effective than raising soldiers."
"It seems that we can't reach an agreement." Liu Heng smiled faintly and said immediately, "It's better than this. The common people will propose a few conditions. If you two can agree, we will continue to talk. If you can't agree, the common people will not embarrass you two. I will personally send someone to escort you two out of Lingqiu."
Eunuch Li frowned.
He heard that Liu Heng was willing to serve as a guard for Lingqiu before, which made him feel that Liu Heng was short-sighted and that the recruitment matter could be easily solved. Now that he heard that the other party wanted to put forward conditions, he felt a little unhappy.
After all, Tiger Flag is just a business name, and Liu Heng is just a lowly businessman, with the title of bandit leader at most. Such a person is not qualified to negotiate terms with the court.
"Eunuch, this is Lingqiu after all. We might as well listen to their conditions first." Zhang Huai was afraid that Eunuch Li would say something he shouldn't say, so he reminded him in a low voice.
Eunuch Li suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, held the orchid in his hand and pointed forward a little, and said in a high voice: "Well, let's listen to your conditions."
"The conditions for the grassroots people are very simple. Firstly, the Tiger Character Banner will not reduce the number of soldiers in its hands. Secondly, Xinping Fort must be garrisoned by Tiger Character Banner soldiers and horses. As long as these two points are met, the Tiger Character Banner will agree to recruit troops." Liu Heng stretched out two A finger wiggled.
Xinping Fort is a border fort connected to the grassland. Now that he has it in his hands, he is not prepared to give it a try.
"What? You are still going to occupy Xinping Fort." Eunuch Li screamed.
Zhang Huai, who was standing next to him, said with a somewhat unsightly expression: "Since Dongzhu Liu has agreed to the garrison position at Xia Lingqiu, Xinping Fort can no longer occupy it, and the guard of Xinping Fort is usually held by the general from the East Road. The grade seems to be a little worse."
Xinping Fort is a border fort, and many merchants smuggling from the grassland will enter and exit the grassland through Xinping Fort. This is also a way of making money for the General Military Mansion, and he is not willing to let it go.
"Then let the imperial court appoint our proprietor as the East Road General. Anyway, Xinping Fort was also taken down by our Tiger Flag." Yang Yuan said expressionlessly.
He is the director of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau of Tiger Character Banner. When facing outsiders, he always speaks with a straight face.
"No, I can't give you the position of General Datong." Eunuch Li immediately objected, "If you are willing to go to Liaodong, our family can fight for you."
Yang Yuan snorted coldly and said: "Who doesn't know the situation in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty now? If we go to the Ming Dynasty, we can still survive, but I am afraid that we will die in the hands of Hou Jin soon."
"With Scholar Sun in Liaodong, the situation has improved. I believe it won't take long to regain the lost territory. Going to Liaodong at this time is a good opportunity to make contributions. If you go to Liaodong now, you may have the opportunity to become a marquis and prime minister in the future. We all have to salute you when we see you, why bother fighting for the position of a mere Datong General." Mr. Li said openly.
Liu Heng smiled lightly and said: "Let others do the matter of conferring titles and becoming prime ministers. The common people do not intend to leave Datong."
People from the Tiger Character Banner's Foreign Intelligence Bureau have been sending a steady stream of news about Liaodong to Lingqiu. He knows very well what the situation in Liaodong is, and even if they make contributions in Liaodong, it will only be the civilian commanders who will take the lead in the end. , he, a general who was recruited, had no chance of getting ahead.
"The general is a senior official of the third rank. If Liu Dongzhu goes to Liaodong, I'm afraid you will be able to become the commander-in-chief in a few years. By then, you will be on an equal footing with this general. Such good opportunities are rare!" Zhang Huai persuaded.
As the commander-in-chief of Datong, he was unwilling to have such a powerful military force as the Tiger Flag under his command.
"My defeated general, what qualifications do you have to be on an equal footing with my boss." Yang Yuan snorted coldly, with a sarcastic look on his lips.
Zhang Huai looked embarrassed when he heard this.
Liu Heng looked at Eunuch Li in front of him and said: "The common people only have these two conditions. If Eunuch agrees, then Tiger Character Banner is willing to accept the recruitment. If he doesn't agree, please go back and find someone who can make the decision." "
Yang Yuan on the side suddenly said: "It's best if you don't agree. Our Tiger Character Banner can send troops to capture the entire Datong. Then send someone to Shandong to find the Wenxiang Sect to discuss important matters."
After the words fell, the expressions of Eunuch Li and Zhang Huai changed.
However, Zhang Huai changed his color because he was worried that the Tiger Character Banner would really send troops to take over Datong, and Eunuch Li changed his color because he came to Datong to recruit the Tiger Character Banner. The main reason was because of the rebellion of the Wenxiang Sect in Shandong, which made the court confused and unable to tell the difference. troops to deal with the Tiger Flag.
Eunuch Li knew that he could no longer hide his trump card, otherwise the recruitment of the tiger-character flag would collapse and delay the important events of the court. He, the messenger sent by the court, was afraid that he would be imprisoned if he returned.
