There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 16 Let's Divide Hubei
Zhang Zhengmo recovered from his initial surprise, his back straightened instantly, and he asked with a faint smile, "Haha, what conditions do you want to negotiate, nephew?"

Nie Yu took over Yidu County in less than a day, which was indeed beyond Zhang Zhengmo's expectations.

Even Zhang Zhengmo himself had to preach and develop his power first, then forge weapons and store food and fodder, and only then agreed on the tenth day of March next year to use stories and prophecies to incite believers and the people to rebel.

Zhang Zhengmo just stared at Nie Yu. He wanted to see how this good "nephew" would negotiate with him.

Nie Yu didn't mince words and said, "I want Yidu and Zhijiang, including the entire Jingzhou Prefecture. They will all belong to my Nie family. Yichang Prefecture, including Changyang, will belong to Uncle Zhang. Our two families will divide Hubei equally, with Tiger Tooth Mountain as the boundary."

"..."

Zhang Zhengmo didn't say anything.

Chen Rong, who was standing behind him, couldn't bear it anymore. He took a step forward and yelled with a red face.

"Kid, you call this negotiating terms? Zhijiang and Yidu are yours, and Changyang is left to us. Are you trying to kick us out of here? Do you really think I don't dare to bring my men to fight you?"

"What are you talking about to our general?"

Wang Er, a former member of the military law team and now a temporary personal soldier beside Nie Yu, immediately drew the Tang sword from his waist and shouted angrily.

When he drew his sword, Chen Rong on the opposite side was not willing to be outdone and drew his sword to attack him.

The rebel army and White Lotus detectives surrounding the county government hall seemed to have received some signal and drew their swords one after another.

"Wow~!"

For a moment, the originally harmonious atmosphere in the lobby of the county government office suddenly became tense.

I don't know how long the stalemate lasted...

Zhang Zhengmo said softly, "Put down your knives!"

Chen Rong was a little anxious: "Brother!"

Zhang Zhengmo glared at Chen Rong, then looked around at the Christian constables behind him: "Didn't you understand what I said?"

"Second brother, put the knife down quickly."

Liu Hongduo then tried to smooth things over, and said to Nie Yu, who was sitting high in the hall, "We are all anti-Qing righteous soldiers, but we are in different camps. The Qing demons have not been completely wiped out yet, and we brothers should not fight each other here and kill each other!"

“…Put down your knives!”

Nie Yu was silent for a moment, then raised his hand.

Wang Er and his personal soldiers all put away their swords as ordered without saying a word.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhengmo couldn't help but feel even more envious. It was no wonder that such an "obeyed" army could capture the county town so easily.

If he remembered correctly, the Nie family father and son had only been training for less than a month. How did they train such "elite soldiers"? Or was it that he had been wrong all along, and that Nie Jieren was only cowardly on the surface, but actually had ambitious ambitions?

Zhang Zhengmo shook his head and decided not to think about it for the time being. Now that the county town has been lost and the other party is obviously not an easy target, he still has to make long-term plans.

"My dear nephew, I won't say anything polite. You can take Yidu and Zhijiang, and Tiger Tooth Mountain will be the boundary between our two families. But there are tens of thousands of followers of my White Lotus Sect in Zhijiang and Yidu. You can ask me to leave, and I don't want these people either, but you have to give me some bargaining chips, right?"

After hearing this, Nie Yu actually thought about it seriously. To be honest, he didn't want these White Lotus Sect members. As long as Zhang Zhengmo was willing to go to Changyang, he could tolerate him taking some of the followers away.

But it didn't matter. If the other party didn't want them, he wouldn't refuse to keep them. After all, they were still people, and they could at least farm and raise horses. Nie Yu pondered for a moment and said, "It's very simple. I can allow you to take your core members with you. I can even provide you with some weapons and food as supplies for your sect's military operations. Even if your sect deliberately wants my father to be the headmaster to act as a puppet to attract the attention of the government, I can also promise you on my father's behalf that I will not remove the title of headmaster for the time being."

These words are really infuriating. They keep calling our sect noble and saying that they can provide food, fodder and weapons, and they even say that I can keep the title of the head sect leader for the time being.

It's as if the White Lotus Sect is some evil cult that people should avoid, and even the leader seems to be a shabby thing that they have to beg for, otherwise they can't give it away...

As for food, fodder and weapons, let's not talk about the food, which was indeed provided by the other party, but the pig iron and gunpowder were all purchased from secret channels with great effort.

If you are not careful, you may be tracked down and exposed by the authorities.

Now, it is obvious that they are going to swallow up their food, pig iron and gunpowder, and give them some symbolically, which is like alms.

"Okay, then it's a deal!"

Zhang Zhengmo thought for a moment and then responded happily.

Chen Rong and Liu Hongduo both wanted to say something but hesitated, but intimidated by Zhang Zhengmo's usual majesty, they finally said nothing more.

Zhang Zhengmo saw it but did not explain much. He also had his own considerations. If the money was swallowed, it was swallowed. It was not his money in the first place.

Moreover, Nie Yu also said that he would provide them with some weapons and food supplies. It might not be as much as what they have accumulated, but it would still be enough to support them in raising an army.

Zhang Zhengmo saw it very clearly. Now the situation was stronger than the person. He controlled the White Lotus Sect in three counties and might be able to mobilize tens of thousands of troops, but at least now he had nothing to do in Yidu County.

Instead of fighting to the death with Nie Yu here, it would be better to return to the Changyang base camp. With Nie Yu in the front to withstand the pressure, even if the other party does not keep his promise, he will definitely be given special attention by the Qing army.

Because Yidu is closer to Jingzhou Prefecture, and the prefecture is currently managed by Hubei Governor Hui Ling in charge of military supplies, he will definitely not sit idly by and watch the rebels grow stronger in Yidu.

Therefore, Zhang Zhengmo could fully accept it, and it was also the solution that maximized his interests under the current situation that was obviously unfavorable to him.

Nie Yu also nodded: "Then it's a deal!"

The two smiled at each other, without making any verbal agreement, as they all understood each other tacitly.

It’s a deal?

They will definitely betray each other later, the key is to see who is stronger at that time.

The verbal terms were agreed upon, and He Shunan brought his troops back to report, and also brought back the head of Wang Qilong, the commander of the Yidu garrison.

Seeing that the other side's men had even chopped off the head of a Qing army captain, Zhang Zhengmo finally put away the last bit of contempt in his heart.

He looked down on them before because he was the one who killed the county magistrate and the registrar, so he was naturally dissatisfied. He felt that he started the rebellion too late, allowing Nie Yu to take the initiative.

And now, the other side sent troops to kill a high-ranking Qing army officer, a general at the level of a thousand commander.

This is a big deal. No matter how they killed him, he was killed!
"This warrior under my command truly possesses the potential to be a great general. He was able to kill the Qing Yao captain. However, the Qing Yao has now lost a county magistrate and a captain. The capital of Jingzhou will surely be furious. My nephew, you better prepare early!"

Zhang Zhengmo meant what he said. He didn't want Nie Yu to be wiped out by the Qing army just after he started his rebellion in Changyang.

"If the Qing dog comes, I will make sure the other party never returns!"

This was quite an exaggeration, but Zhang Zhengmo didn't believe it and wanted to leave Yidu as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)