The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 44 An Alliance with Hidden agendas
Jiang Han sneered:
"alliance?"

"Boss Zhang, you just betrayed our allies right in front of me. How can I trust you?"

Jiang Han was no stranger to the name Zhang Cunmeng, who was known for his incorruptibility.

In the chaotic world at the end of the Ming Dynasty, this guy was an anomaly among the first generation of peasant army leaders, and had a bit of the temperament of a time traveler.

In the first year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, he rose up in Luochuan and gathered a group of fierce warriors who would later become famous throughout the land, almost like playing a game of collecting powerful generals.

Zhang Cunmeng had eight squads with more than 3,000 men, including Li You, the Earl of Wuyang, and Wu Ruyi, the Earl of Taiping, from the Shun Dynasty.

The three brothers who resisted the Qing Dynasty were Wang Guang'en, Wang Guangxing, and Wang Guangtai.

Kui Mulang Liu Yingfeng, Great Heavenly King Gao Jian, Flying Dragon Zhe Zengxiu, Fourth Heavenly King Li Yangchun, and so on, can be described as a gathering of formidable figures.

Of course, the most important of them all was Li Zicheng, the later emperor of the Great Shun Dynasty. (He's still serving as the village head now.)

The problem is that among all the powerful men under Zhang Cunmeng's command, he himself is the weakest.

Jiang Han felt that he was like a time traveler, not only because of Zhang Cunmeng's eye for talent, but also because of his determination to establish a base.

Zhang Cunmeng specifically chose Mizhi, Li Zicheng's hometown, as his base because Mizhi was the border area between the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty's Yansui Governor and the Shaanxi Governor.

The continuous mountain ranges could be used to hide troops, the vast farmland could be used for production, the people suffered from oppression, most able-bodied men rose up in rebellion, and the mass base was very good.

Isn't this condition the same as that of the base areas in later generations?

However, the good times didn't last long. The Ming Dynasty's heavy blow came swiftly and ruthlessly. The governors of Yansui, Hong Chengchou, and Shaanxi, Zhang Fuzhen, were mobilized at the same time, determined to wipe out Zhang Cunmeng and his gang in Mizhi.

Zhang Cunmeng's eight captains all believed that it was unwise for them to confront a big shot like Hong Chengchou right after leaving the newbie village; they should immediately relocate and fight a guerrilla war.

However, Zhang Cunmeng defied public opinion and demonstrated his "genius" command skills.

Because of the abundance of talented people under his command, he had the illusion that he could fight the government army head-on, so he chose to defend his territory and fight the Ming army head-on.

But as soon as the fight started, Zhang Cunmeng discovered a fatal problem: he was no match for his opponent.

At that time, Ma Ke was just a minor commander in the Ming army. He led three hundred cavalrymen and defeated Li Zicheng and his future big bosses so badly that they were almost wiped out.

Zhang Cunmeng was beaten into retreat and quickly became cowardly.

To save his life, he did not hesitate to betray his allies, Double-Winged Tiger and Purple-Gold Dragon, and surrender to Hong Chengchou.

This led to his isolation and desertion from his followers, with all his captains leaving. Not long after, Zhang Cunmeng himself was beheaded when Hong Chengchou purged the peasant army's surrendered generals.

This perfectly illustrates what it means to be both incompetent and wicked.

So how could Jiang Han dare to easily agree to an alliance request from such a person? He might be betrayed one day.

Seeing Jiang Han remain silent, Zhang Cunmeng's eyes darted around, and he pointed to Lu Tao, who was bound hand and foot to the side:
"Lord Jiang, I personally captured the bandit leader Lu Tao today and brought him before you. Isn't that enough to show my sincerity?"

Jiang Han glanced at Lu Tao, who was tied up like a dumpling, his face covered in blood, and a rag stuffed in his mouth.

Jiang Han was somewhat puzzled:
"Has this guy lost his mind? How dare he come looking for trouble with me?"

Zhao Sheng, who was lighting the lamps, quickly stepped forward to explain:
"Sir, Lu Tao is here to attack Majia Village on the orders of the Li family."

"Knowing he didn't have enough troops, he pulled us in to prepare for a joint attack."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han frowned even more deeply:
"The Li family? The Li family told him to come, so he came?"

"It's always the government troops chasing bandits all over the mountains; there's no reason for bandits to actively seek trouble with government troops."

Zhao Sheng shook his head:

"My lord, you may not know this, but Lu Tao's only remaining daughter is with the Li family, so he has no choice but to obey orders."

"For the past few years, the Li family has been using his daughter to blackmail Lu Tao into robbing merchants and laborers from all walks of life to help protect the Li family's trade routes."

"I see," Jiang Han nodded, finally understanding the cause and effect.

He waved for Dong Erzhu to pull the rag out of Lu Tao's mouth and asked:
"Hey Lu, you've fallen into my hands today. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"Next, I'll ask you whatever you want to answer, and I'll give you a quick and easy answer."

Lu Tao didn't even glance at Jiang Han, but stared intently at Zhang Cunmeng and Zhao Sheng, spitting out a mouthful of blood:
"Bah! If it weren't for this scoundrel surnamed Zhang betraying me at the last minute, I might have been able to break through the defenses and capture you alive!" "Trying to extract information? Dream on!"

Jiang Han laughed. His two reserve teams were still standing firmly at the back. What kind of pipe dream was Lu Tao having?

So Jiang Han waved to Li Laowai, who was not far away, and gave him instructions:

"Old Wai, this guy's really stubborn. Go and have a good talk with him, but don't kill him!"

Li Laowai rubbed his hands together excitedly and grinned widely:

"Alright! Don't worry, sir. Back when we were interrogating Mongol scouts, there wasn't a single mouth I, Old Li, couldn't pry open!"

After saying that, he led several soldiers to take Lu Tao away.

Seeing that Jiang Han had accepted Lu Tao, Zhang Cunmeng tentatively asked:
"What are your thoughts on the alliance, Lord Jiang?"

Jiang Han pondered for a moment, then nodded:
"can."

Jiang Han knew perfectly well what Zhang Cunmeng was up to.

He simply wanted to use his elite troops as a shield, to hold the line when the government forces surrounded and suppressed them, so that he could preserve his strength.

Even today, they are ready to sell themselves at any time, so that their equipment can be seized and their subordinates can be incorporated.

Jiang Han had no intention of forming a genuine alliance.

He needed to get in touch with Zhang Cunmeng to infiltrate the peasant army.

When the tax-repression season arrives this summer and autumn, he plans to formally launch a rebellion and join the peasant army.

In the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, many border troops were about to rebel and defect to the enemy. He took advantage of this opportunity to raise his banner and incorporate these border troops into his own forces, thus preventing them from joining other sides.

Or he could wait until Zhang Cunmeng falls, and then take over the group of powerful men under his command.

Around June of this year, bandit leaders Wang Jiayin and Gao Yingxiang were about to break through Fugu and invade Shanxi.

Yan'an Prefecture will become the next main battlefield, and he doesn't have much time left. He needs to form an "alliance" with Zhang Cunmeng in advance.

Zhang Cunmeng was somewhat surprised, not expecting Jiang Han to be so easy to talk to, so he tentatively asked:
"Lord Jiang, I'm sure you don't think much of the equipment we captured this time. Why don't you let me have it?"

He adopted an extremely humble posture, but in his heart he was making his own calculations—he had to get his hands on this batch of armor and swords no matter what, even if it meant acknowledging Jiang Han, a border general much younger than himself, as his elder brother.

Calling him "brother" is nothing. If calling him "brother" would grant him equipment, he would consider Jiang Han his biological father.

Jiang Han shook his head:
"Lu Tao was captured by us. It seems like Chief Zhang didn't contribute much, did he?"

Zhang Cunmeng was a little anxious. He had come here specifically for the equipment and originally intended to reap the benefits, but Jiang Han's men were too fierce, so he had to quickly step in to add to the spoils, otherwise he wouldn't even get a taste of the spoils.

Zhang Cunmeng hurriedly spoke up:

"Lord Jiang, your forces are already formidable enough. These broken swords and tattered armor are surely beneath your notice. Why not share some with the brothers to bolster their morale?"

"Since we are allies, Lord Jiang wouldn't have the heart to see his ally living such a miserable life, would he?"

Jiang Han pondered for a moment and then agreed to Zhang Cunmeng's request:
"Alright, since this is our first meeting, I'll only take half of these swords and armor. The rest can be left to Chief Zhang, after all, you're the one who captured Lu Tao."

"However, I want that crouching tiger cannon. I doubt Chief Zhang has enough gunpowder to operate it, right?"

Zhang Cunmeng hesitated for a moment:
"This"

He did want that cannon, but Jiang Han was right; they simply didn't have the raw materials to make gunpowder.

Having figured this out, Zhang Cunmeng stopped worrying about it and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Jiang Han:
"Alright! Thank you, Lord Jiang."

"From now on, our two families will stand together through thick and thin, sharing life and death!"

And so, the two, each with their own agendas, shook hands and officially became allies.

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(End of this chapter)