Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 332: Letter of Persuasion

North shore.

Looking at Wuchang from the other side of the river, Hauge felt a sense of frustration that he could not suppress, like dusk, spreading from the bottom of his heart. He knew that the Qing soldiers in Wuchang were already like fish on the chopping board, and could be slaughtered at will by Meng Jun. Hauge no longer had any hope that the Mongolian cavalry could escape, and he only hoped that the Qing troops in the city could kill more of Meng Jun's men.

Under the city of Wuchang.

The victory in the decisive battle made Meng Jun extremely confident. The army surrounded Wuchang and the morale of the soldiers was high. On the other hand, looking at the city wall, even though he was far away, Meng Jun could smell the frustration of the Qing army in the air.

Lin Shiqi used a telescope to explore the city, then put it down and said to Song Wuque beside him: "I think there are quite a few Mongolian soldiers in Wuchang City."

Song Wuque echoed, "The curved sword and felt hat are the characteristics of Mongolian soldiers. Since the Mongolian soldiers did not have time to withdraw, then the Green Camp soldiers in the city should have not left. In my opinion, we can persuade them to surrender and surround them from all sides, so that the Qing soldiers can't escape even if they have wings."

Lin Shiqi frowned and said in a deep voice: "That being said, Your Majesty has captured the Eight Banners several times, beheading all of them, regardless of whether they were Manchu or Han. I'm afraid Your Majesty will not accept surrender."

Song Wuque said: "Now that the war has not started, if we do not accept the surrender, the soldiers in the city will see that there is no hope of survival and will fight to the death. Even if our army uses the power of a great victory to attack the city and fight against the army with a suicidal mindset, even if we win, I am afraid it will be a miserable victory."

After listening to Song Wuque's words, Lin Shiqi looked up at the tall Wuchang City, pondered for a moment, and said, "I will go to see the king in person."

Then Lin Shiqi ran to the rear camp under the king's flag and presented it to Meng Jun, saying, "Your Majesty, Wuchang City is a dead city. No matter the enemy or us, we all know that there is no hope of breaking out. Haoge cannot cross the river to rescue the city. Why don't you send people to persuade them to surrender? Besides, most of the people in the city are Mongolian cavalry. In terms of archery, horse riding and shooting, the Mongolians are the best in the world. Even if the cavalry in the south of the Yangtze River trains hard, they can't compare with the Mongolians on horseback."

"Okay, Shiqi, then you will persuade the troops in the city to surrender. All those who are willing to surrender, regardless of whether they are Mongolian or Han, will be pardoned."

Since the decisive battle, after killing thousands of Han army bannermen, Meng Jun has been thinking about how to deal with the Eight Banners surrendered soldiers. At that time, the Qing army was powerful and looked at the world covetously. Meng Jun killed all the Eight Banners surrendered soldiers who were occasionally captured in order to strengthen the will of the troops. But now Duoduo was defeated and Hauge escaped. Times have changed, and it may be time to change the policy towards the Eight Banners.

The current situation, whether it is the war situation in Huguang or the situation in the world, is just like the battle between Emperor Wu of Han and the Huns in the past. The offense and defense have changed, and the offensive and defensive situations of both sides have undergone opposite changes.

In such a context, if they were obsessed with killing, it would only harm their own strength. The siege of Wuchang was a good experiment. If they could make the Mongolian cavalry surrender, perhaps the political slogan of Manchu-Mongolian unity that the Qing court had long advocated would become fragile, causing the two sides to be suspicious of each other and alienating the Qing court.

After asking Meng Jun for his opinion, Lin Shiqi immediately returned to the battlefield and ordered his clerk Chu Zhangyin to write a letter of persuasion for surrender.

After receiving the order, Chu Zhangyin was very excited, his ideas flowed like a stream, and he finished the work in one stroke.

The letter was as follows: "I have heard that the greatest virtue of heaven and earth is life, and the greatest virtue of man is benevolence. Benevolence means loving others. Today, hundreds of thousands of my troops have gathered in Huguang, and we have defeated Duoduo in one battle. They have lost their army and fled in panic like rats, leaving you alone to defend the isolated city.

You have advocated justice in obedience to heaven and comforted the people on behalf of the guilty. Now my king is leading the army in person and will surely conquer Wuchang. Haoge has fled far away to the north of the Yangtze River, leaving Wuchang alone as an empty city. You are now in a desperate situation, with no reinforcements outside and no strong army inside. The city is in danger and your generals are few.

Our king has a righteous heart and his words are followed by the law. The military generals in the city are willing to surrender the city and not let any civilians be hurt. Then, no matter whether they are Mongolian, Jurchen or Han troops, no one will be hurt and no life will be lost. The military generals will perform their duties and promote people according to their abilities.

Under the heaven and earth, there is no double-mindedness, and we all regard it as one. Just like Xiu Tu's return to Han, and like the Huihe's support for Tang, our king is known for his benevolence and justice, and has long been clear about rewards and punishments. Those who surrender with their entire cities will be rewarded, and those who are stubborn and unyielding will be punished in an unpredictable way. The fortune and misfortune of a person's life depend on a tiny matter, and the fame and honor that will last for eternity can be won in a moment. "

After reading it, Lin Shiqi touched his chin and said after a while: "Can those Mongols in the city understand what this letter is about?"

Chu Zhangyin was a little embarrassed when he heard this. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Tongzhen, how about I write a new one?"

"Forget it, let's just leave it at that. Come on, send someone to deliver the letter."

…………

On the city wall of Wuchang.

Gulbuha looked at the words for a long time before he said, "The Han people are like this. They have to write simple things in a way that people can't understand."

After that, Gulbuha sent a confidant to the city wall and said loudly: "You go to the other side and talk. If the King of Zhou is willing to open a way for us to leave the city, I am willing to offer Wuchang to the King of Zhou."

Then he whispered a few words in the ear of his confidant Laxi, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Be careful."

Lin Shiqi, who was at the foot of the city, saw a man hanging from the tower and was delighted. He said happily, "It seems that the Mongols are not so loyal to the Qing court."

Song Wuque smiled and said calmly, "As the saying goes, even ants try to survive, let alone humans. Besides, the Tartars have suffered repeated defeats. Even the ever-victorious Prince Duoduo was defeated by the king. It's not surprising that the Mongols have second thoughts."

Several cavalrymen of the Zhou army brought Laxi to the front of the Zhou army. After searching her, Lin Shiqi personally brought her to Meng Jun.

Laxi could speak Chinese, but her accent was a bit strange. When she saw Meng Jun, she said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, my general is willing to offer Wuchang City intact to you. I only hope that you can make way for our army to leave. Then you can take this magnificent city of Wuchang without any effort."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yanwu could not help but stand up and accuse him, "You have caused chaos in the world, and now you are trapped in an isolated city. You actually want to escape unscathed. How can such a thing be so easy in the world!"

Seeing Meng Jun's gloomy face and impatience, Laxi hurriedly said, "Your Highness, to show sincerity, my general said that he would only take 3,000 Mongolian cavalry out of the city, and all the people would leave their leather armor and bows and arrows in the city, only take a scimitar and a horse, and leave without leaving any property."

Hearing this, Meng Jun smiled and said, "You can go back to the city now. I have only one thing to say. If you surrender, everyone can live. If you don't surrender, you will die!"

Laxi was so disheartened that she could only let the two Zhou soldiers drag her away. At this time, Meng Jun's voice came again: "You only have a quarter of an hour after you return to the city. If you don't surrender, the day when the army breaks into the city will be the day you die!"