Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 333 Victory without a fight

Since the Chongzhen period, Huang Taiji repeatedly defeated Ligdan Khan. It was not until Ligdan Khan went on a western expedition to Qinghai and died of illness on the Xilatala grassland that the Qing court gradually controlled the Mongolian tribes south of the desert. However, the Mongolians in the north of the desert remained dissatisfied and repeatedly rebelled. It was not until Dodo conquered the Khalkha Mongols that the tribes in the north of the desert gradually calmed down.

However, it is not necessarily true that the Mongolian tribes and the Qing court were of one mind. The Eight Banners cavalry were once famous for their might. Since entering the Pass, the Ming troops from all over the country surrendered. The Mongolian cavalry drawn by the Qing court were naturally willing to follow. But after suffering repeated defeats in the southern land, these Mongolian cavalry who fought with the army inevitably developed strange thoughts. It turned out that the myth of the invincibility of the Eight Banners was ultimately just an illusion.

Laxi returned to Wuchang City, and his dejected appearance made the Qing troops in the city feel uneasy.

Gulbuha was afraid that Laxi would say something in public that would discourage the entire army, so he took Laxi into the tower house regardless of everyone's speculation. He also ordered his personal guards to guard the surroundings strictly and kill anyone who dared to spy.

After entering the house, Gulbuha scolded, "Why are you like this? With your look, anyone can see that you are not doing well in the negotiation. Tell me, what does King Zhou mean? Are you willing to let us go?"

Laxi shook her head and said, "The King of Zhou only said that those who surrender will not be killed, and those who do not surrender will die."

Upon hearing this, Gulbuha sat on the chair, his hand unconsciously stroking his bearded chin back and forth, and he remained silent for a long time.

Seeing that Gulbuha had remained silent, Laxi spoke again, “The King of Zhou also said that if I didn’t reply within a quarter of an hour after entering the city, he would send troops to attack the city.”

Gulbuha stood up suddenly and cursed again: "You idiot, why didn't you tell me such an important thing!" After cursing, Gulbuha paced back and forth, cursing as he walked: "You didn't even mention how to arrange things after the surrender, and you gave us such a short time!"

Gulbuha looked back at Laxi, turned around and walked out of the tower, looking at the Zhou army arrayed under the city, like an endless black carpet, covering the sky and the earth, with no end in sight. Battle flags fluttered, stretching endlessly on the battlefield, and on the river, there were a large number of warships, cruising in the river, with their black cannons pointed undisguisedly at Wuchang City.

Gulbuha looked around at the defenders on the city wall, all of whom looked uneasy. He sighed in his heart, then motioned for Laxi to come over.

Laxi came over in a hurry and stood beside him. Gulbuha said to him, "Go again and tell him that I am willing to surrender. Please give me some more time, King Zhou."

Laxi asked hurriedly: "How long will it take?"

"It will take at least half an hour!"

Laxi nodded, then dropped down the city wall with a rope. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she ran towards the Zhou army at almost the fastest speed in her life.

When Laxi was brought to Meng Jun's side out of breath, Meng Jun looked at him and thought to himself, "This person runs really fast. If he were in the future, he would probably be the long-distance running champion."

Laxi said breathlessly: "Your Excellency, my general is willing to surrender. Please, Your Excellency, give me some more time."

"how long?"

"Half an hour... that's enough, that's enough."

Meng Jun thought that Wuchang was surrounded and it was impossible to cause any trouble in just half an hour, so he agreed to Laxi's request.

But Meng Jun did not release Laxi. Instead, he sent a man to the city and shouted, "The king agrees to your request!"

Meng Jun asked Laxi in detail about the number of Mongols in the city and how many war horses there were. Laxi thought that the general was about to surrender, so he told Meng Jun all the intelligence about the Qing army trapped in Wuchang City.

In Wuchang City, after Laxi left, Gulbuha immediately asked someone to call Xu Fan.

A moment later, Xu Fan came over. At this critical moment, Gulbuha did not beat around the bush with Xu Fan, and went straight to the point and said, "We are now trapped in Wuchang City. Whether it is Prince Su, Prince Yu, or Marshal Baiyintu, it is impossible for them to come to rescue us, so I decided to submit to King Zhou and save the lives of my warriors."

Xu Fan nodded like a chicken and said, "In our situation, we have no choice but to surrender. No one can blame us. So should we send someone out of the city to discuss terms with King Zhou?"

"I have already contacted King Zhou. You just need to appease the soldiers and you don't have to worry about other things." Gulbuha waved his hand and said.

Hearing this, Xu Fan said in a hurry: "How can this be done? To appease our subordinates, we must also know how King Zhou will deal with us. Otherwise, if our subordinates ask me, I won't know anything. Once the army's morale is shaken and chaos breaks out, what can we do?"

Gulbuha also thought it made sense after hearing this. He grumbled for a while, but then he was really helpless and said angrily: "What's the point of discussing it? In this situation, what can we talk about? King Zhou said that if we surrender, the whole army can live, but the letter of persuasion for surrender mentioned that we should be promoted based on our talents."

Seeing what Gulbuha said, Xu Fan had no choice but to return to the Green Camp Army and then summon his generals.

In view of the current situation, Xu Fan summoned his generals. Among the people who came, all of them were wearing helmets and armor, with their hands on swords. Each of Xu Fan's generals was accompanied by guards. They were all fully armed and stared at the military tent very closely, fearing that someone would use the smashing of cups as a signal.

Xu Fan was somewhat helpless when he saw this. Now there was nothing to hide, so he spoke directly to his generals: "The Mongols are going to surrender, and I am also planning to surrender. What do you think? Those who are willing to surrender can surrender with me. Those who are unwilling to surrender, I will not stop them. It is up to you whether you want to defend the city or break out."

Several subordinates looked at each other, and it took them a while to digest such a big news. Xu Fan urged: "Everyone, make a decision quickly. The time given by King Zhou is not enough!"

"I will surrender"

"I'd like to follow the general"

"The general has the final say..."

There was no commotion, no one objected, whether they were Mongols or Green Camp soldiers.

After Xu Fan and Gulbuha arranged everything, they opened the city gates. Unarmed and dressed in cloth, they went to the Zhou army camp to meet Meng Jun.

When Gulbuha entered the army's temporary tent, he looked up and saw a young man with a clear face sitting in the main seat, looking at him indifferently. This was the first time Gulbuha had seen Meng Jun, and his age was a little beyond Gulbuha's expectations.

Upon first sight, Gulbuha could not find a suitable adjective to describe the now famous Lord of Jinling.

He seemed to be just an ordinary young man, looking at him indifferently. However, that indifferent look made Gulbuha feel a great deal of weight, because behind this indifference was the power brought by tens of millions of people and the commander of hundreds of thousands of troops.

Gulbuha suddenly felt that Prince Yu Duoduo and King Zhou seemed to have some similarities in that they both won great victories at a very young age.

Gulbuha collected his thoughts, knelt on the ground, and said in a loud voice: "The defeated general Gulbuha greets the prince."

"The defeated general Xu Fan pays his respects to His Majesty." Xu Fan, who was standing aside, also knelt on the ground and followed Gulbuha's words.