Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 220 Xuancheng

Xuancheng, Geng Prefecture.

Geng Jiye looked at his father who had tied him up in shock and asked, "Father, why is this happening?"

Geng Jiye's father, Geng Fupu, said earnestly: "The world has been in chaos for nearly 20 years. I thought the Qing Dynasty had seized Huguang and occupied Nanjing, and the destiny was determined. I never thought that Meng Zhou defeated Bolo, killed Lekedehun, recaptured Nanjing, and renamed it Jinling. It can be seen that the destiny is not determined. Xuancheng and Jinling are close together and must be invincible."

"Father, since we can't hold on, why did you refuse Lin Shiqi in person when he sent people to persuade us to surrender last time?" Geng Jiye asked, twisting his body.

Although Geng Fupu was very old, his eyes revealed a deep wisdom and insight into worldly affairs. He slowly spoke to Geng Jiye, "If a few scouts and light cavalrymen with a letter of persuasion can persuade us to surrender, then it would be as easy as dust."

Geng Jiye's eyes widened. Was he going to chop off his son just for this? Thinking of this, Geng Jiye fell to his knees and slammed his head. He grimaced in pain and tears immediately flowed out. He cried, "Father, I am your son. You shouldn't let me go even if it's just a token of my loyalty, father!"

Geng Fupu was stunned for a moment, then reacted and cursed: "A rotten tree cannot be carved. How can I capture someone whose descendants are plotting to gain wealth and honor?"

Seeing that he still looked ignorant, Geng Fupu sighed and continued, "The world is in chaos and the situation is turbulent. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow. Although Meng Zhou now occupies Nanjing and has a large army, it is invincible. However, the world is like a chess game. Black plays first. The world is divided into three parts, and the Qing court occupies two. Although Meng Zhou is in a strong position, the world is unpredictable. If I defend Xuancheng to the death, when the city is broken, the Geng family's family business will be destroyed and the people will die. But if I surrender without a fight, if one day the Qing army returns, my family will not be able to escape the disaster!"

Geng Jiye felt mixed emotions when he heard this. He knew what his father meant, which was the family's wisdom for survival, but he still asked in confusion, "Father, you have thought of everything, but why did you tie me up?"

Geng Fupu nodded, with a hint of expectation in his eyes: "I tied you up just to show Lin Tongzhen, to let him know that my Geng family has made some sacrifices. I will drag you outside the city in a while, so that the people of Xuancheng can see you. Once outside the city, I will let you go. And you, Jiye, remember, no matter where you go, you must remember your family. As for us, we will stay here and surrender to Lin Tongzhen. In this way, no matter how the situation changes, there will always be a branch of the Geng family's bloodline that can continue. If the Qing army comes again in the future, I will be the mastermind of the rebellion, and you can just kill me!"

……

As Geng Fupu stood at the city gate, he held a thick hemp rope in his hand, and the other end of the rope was tightly bound to his son Geng Jiye.

The common people gathered together, whispering to each other. They looked at Geng Jiye being tied up, full of suspicion and confusion. Geng Fupu took a deep breath and said loudly: "My fellow villagers, what I, Geng Fupu, did today was really forced. The Southern Capital has restored the clothes of the Ming Dynasty, and the revival of the world is in sight. My son Geng Jiye insisted on following the Tartars, which is against the great principles. As his father, I am deeply saddened."

He paused and continued, "Therefore, I drove this unfilial son out of the city to show my Geng family's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."

After saying that, Geng Fupu pushed Geng Jiye out of the city gate. He closed his eyes, unable to bear to watch his son leave.

In this way, Geng Jiye embarked on a journey to the north alone with the expectations of his family, while the Geng family prepared to surrender to Lin Shiqi in Xuancheng.

Lin Shiqi, as a former veteran of Liaodong, was determined to lead Meng Jun in uprising outside Suzhou. Meng Jun would probably not have been able to gather the rebel army if it had not been for Lin Shiqi's determination.

Today, Lin Shiqi is considered the second most important figure in the army besides Meng Jun. He leads tens of thousands of troops alone. This was something that was simply unimaginable to Lin Shiqi at the time.

The army arrived at the city of Xuancheng in a mighty manner. Since the expedition, they have basically been marching without firing a single arrow or cannon. This time, they encountered Geng Jiye, a tough nut to crack. Lin Shiqi has decided to let this loyal army shine at the city of Xuancheng.

Lin Shiqi had just set up the camp and without stopping for a moment, he ordered his auxiliary soldiers to start building siege equipment. After arranging for his subordinates to deal with it, Lin Shiqi drove his horse to a high place to investigate the defense of Xuancheng. Looking at the sparse figures on the city wall, Lin Shiqi frowned, wondering what Geng Jiye was planning.

He thought for a moment, turned to look at Chu Zhangyin who was standing beside him, and said, "Old Chu, please write a letter to persuade him to surrender. Let's give this Geng guy another chance."

Chu Zhangyin nodded when he heard this, and then turned around to prepare his pen and ink. However, at this moment, something unexpected happened - the gate of Xuancheng suddenly opened, and dozens of people walked out of the city. These people were unarmed, and only one knight was holding a letter in his hand, riding a horse and rushing towards Lin Shiqi's camp.

Not long after, the letter was delivered to Lin Shiqi. After he took the letter and opened it, Lin Shiqi's expression became a little complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Let's go back to the camp first!"

Lin Shiqi returned to the camp and ordered the auxiliary soldiers to stop building siege weapons. Then, he turned to Chu Zhangyin and said, "Old Chu, you don't need to write that letter of persuasion anymore."

Xuancheng, not a single arrow was fired!

………………

Meng Jun has been in this world for three years. When he started the uprising in Suzhou, he was full of passion and inspired the will of those around him all the time. He started from outside the city of Suzhou, from nothing to something, from an unknown person, to now he has created a huge military group, with a military town force covering thousands of miles and tens of millions of people.

But as their power grew, Meng Jun's prestige as a leader naturally grew higher, but Meng Jun felt that the passion in his heart was slowly cooling down.

It is a blessing for a person to always be passionate, but when Meng Jun is in a high position, with more power and greater strength, the more compromises and concerns all parties have.

In fact, Meng Jun already knew the reason for the unusual movements in Jinling City, but the relationships between officials such as Zeng Daowei, Zeng Ying, and Xu Yunjue were complicated, and Meng Jun needed to find a breakthrough point.

Where there are people, there must be the underworld, or it can be called a network of relationships. After Meng Jun entered Jinling City, many people were unwilling to give in and wanted to restore the preferential treatment they had once received. However, many people were afraid of Meng Jun's army's forceful attack on the city. Xu Yunjue and others were just the first group to show up.

Meng Jun looked at the joint record and sentencing of the Inspectorate and the Department of Justice on the table, picked up a pen, and wrote a word on the document - "Approved"