Ma Bao's words made Ma Jinzhong think a lot. Indeed, after the Suizhou War, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the imperial rule in Huguang would soon come to an end.
Huguang area is thousands of miles away, and the people's household registration is calculated in millions. If the Chuang army can really occupy and govern Huguang, it will immediately become the scene of Chen Youliang in the late Yuan Dynasty. Moreover, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there are no two Wu regimes of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng.
"Brother Liancheng...what do you mean?"
Ma Jinzhong still had doubts in his heart. The question he was most worried about was, of course, whether he could still maintain the authority he had in the past after surrendering. If he really followed Li Laiheng's conditions, he would be relieved of all military authority, and then he would be with a small soldier again.
What's the difference? How could Chuang Jun treat himself well?
Ma Bao looked at Ma Jinzhong and saw that his expression was constantly changing. He had already guessed what Ma Jinzhong was thinking and worrying about, so he replied:
"I have made it very clear. The commander-in-chief and the employer never care about your background. On the contrary, in the Chuang army, most of the generals are from northern Shaanxi, and almost all of them are Chuang Wang's old friends. But now Chuang Wang
In the north, Jieshuai is in the south, so it is necessary for Jieshuai to form a new team... Do you understand what I mean? As long as I am willing to surrender according to Jieshuai's terms and show enough sincerity, then
In the future, you and I, brothers, will have enough positions in the army, wouldn't it be better than fighting to the death here?"
"This..." Ma Jinzhong still hesitated. He gritted his teeth and said harshly, "Okay! I can surrender according to King Li's terms. If I fight to the death, I have no chance of winning. Since I have to surrender, there is no point in dragging my feet.
.But you have to give me a guarantee!"
"What guarantee?"
"You and I will become brothers now. You swear to heaven to protect my future and that of my brothers, so that I can surrender according to King Li's request."
Ma Bao laughed and said: "You and I are brothers... Okay, then today we will exchange orchids and become brothers. Brother, if you give me such a great achievement, I will naturally protect you in the army from now on."
We have a certain status. We are all people from the army, and with these connections, it is natural to help each other."
Ma Jinzhong was still worried, and asked Ma Bao to pledge his blood as an alliance and swear an oath to heaven before agreeing to surrender according to the conditions given by Li Laiheng.
In fact, to put it bluntly, now that Ma Jinzhong is surrounded and killed by the intruders in the camp, and has no food, even if he does not surrender, the entire army will be wiped out by tomorrow at the latest.
He is holding on to the so-called "brothers" with his gestures now, just to add some chips to his future prospects.
The implicit meaning in Ma Bao's words is also very obvious. As long as Ma Jinzhong is willing to surrender, he is willing to give this credit to Ma Bao. Ma Bao will reciprocate in the future, supporting and protecting Ma Jinzhong's status within the Chuang Army.
The sworn alliance with Jinlan is more of a gimmick. For Ma Jinzhong, the biggest guarantee is that he can form an interest alliance with Ma Bao. For him, Ma Bao's revelation of the internal situation of the Chuang Army has shown Ma Bao's sincerity.
, as Ma Bao said, both of them were born in the army, so they naturally have a connection of interests.
The protection of a general like Ma Bao is more valuable than the thousands of soldiers and horses under Ma Jinzhong himself.
Of course, a very important point is that if he doesn't surrender to Li Laiheng today among the thousands of troops under his command, there may only be a few hundred or dozens of troops left tomorrow...
Essentially, Ma Jinzhong has no leverage at all!
After the two became an alliance through blood, Ma Jinzhong's changing and extremely ugly face finally stabilized. When the dejected officers and soldiers in the camp heard that the commander had surrendered, not only did they not feel despair, but their faces showed signs of despair.
He looked obviously happy that this battle was finally over!
But Ma Jinzhong knew that the matter was not over yet. He looked at the river flowing by the bank and whispered: "Huchen...Jin Shenghuan is Zuo Liangyu's best friend. He may not surrender."
"Hmph!" Ma Bao looked stern. He was a former Henan official and military garrison, and now he is a mighty general of the rebel cavalry. As the strength of the elite soldiers in his hands increased, his overall momentum became more and more fierce.
Warships attach great importance to... This second request, said to be a request, is actually a task given to me and to you. Brother, since you plan to surrender to the army, you have to make plans for the next step.
Don’t miss your old relationship with Jin Shenghuan at this time.”
Ma Jinzhong nodded: "That's right, that's right. It's just that Jin Shenghuan is a good water master and has high prestige among sailors. If he refuses to fight to the death and insists on being loyal to Zuo Liangyu, we may make a sudden attack and everything will happen."
The ship will be destroyed, and only then will one regret it!"
"Then, if you are not sure, don't send out troops suddenly for a surprise attack. I will first report Jin Shenghuan's situation to the Commander-in-Chief, and after the Commander-in-Chief has made an agreement, we will consider whether to continue to recruit troops or send out troops for a surprise attack."
"That's not necessary..."
Ma Jinzhong rolled his eyes. What he was thinking was that if Li Laiheng made the decision, would he still be able to take credit for the victory of the Zuozhen Navy?
In order to surrender, I was willing to give up the military power of these thousands of troops. If I couldn't get a general position in the army in the end, it would be a real loss.
"Brother Chengbi, Jin Shenghuan and I have been friends for many years and have a deep relationship. If I understand him with reason and move him with emotion, I believe that Jin Shenghuan will definitely give in. At least, he will not categorically destroy the ship."
"Are you really sure? If you go to persuade them to surrender in person, Jin Shenghuan will immediately know that the siege camp is about to be destroyed. If he has other intentions, he will probably destroy the ship immediately, and we will not even have the chance to raid and seize the ship."
Ma Jinzhong nodded in agreement, and finally said in a compromise: "What about this arrangement? I will go to the ship to persuade Jin Shenghuan to surrender, and the other troops will be ready to raid and seize the ship at any time. In the end, regardless of the result of my persuasion to surrender, as long as the agreed time comes,
They all immediately launched an attack."
Ma Jinzhong's suggestion was quite risky. If the plan failed, he himself might be detained and killed by Jin Shenghuan. Even if the plan was half successful, the credit would still fall on the soldiers who raided and seized the ship.
However, Ma Bao looked at his expression and knew that Ma Jinzhong must be quite sure of convincing Jin Shenghuan before he proposed such a plan. He nodded and added:
"I will personally accompany you on board the ship to persuade you to surrender. Since we have become brothers, we will naturally not let you take risks alone."
Ma Bao's words moved Ma Jinzhong for a moment, but when he thought about it more carefully, he felt that the main reason for Ma Bao's words was that he didn't want to let go of his personal contribution to persuading Jin Shenghuan to surrender.
The two of them were typical hectic, sitting on the fence and watching. The eldest brother did not laugh at the second brother, and there was no need to say anything more. Ma Jinzhong immediately ordered the remaining thousands of officers and soldiers in the camp to get ready. He and Ma Bao took more than a dozen servants
The soldiers boarded the ship to persuade Jin Shenghuan to surrender, while the others, regardless of the situation, would immediately launch a surprise attack to seize the ship as soon as the time came.
Just in case, Ma Bao sent one of the two soldiers he brought back to the outside of the camp to inform Li Laiheng of the whole situation. If he really failed to persuade Jin Shenghuan to surrender, he would have to cooperate with the troops outside the camp.
Raid.
Ma Bao secretly sweated in his heart. He knew Ma Jinzhong very well, so he knew that it was actually a risk-free thing for him to ride into the camp alone to persuade him to surrender. However, Ma Bao did not know Jin Shenghuan well, so he followed Ma Jinzhong on board the ship to persuade him to surrender.
, it would be too tragic if Jin Shenghuan killed himself impulsively. We can only trust Ma Jinzhong's vision and judgment.
Wealth and honor are sought in danger. If Ma Bao wants to be a founding father, a hero from the dragon, or become a general under Li Laiheng, he will always have to pay a certain amount of risk.
The two of them had their own thoughts, and finally boarded Jin Shenghuan's ship with a very small number of followers. The ship was originally Zuo Liangyu's ship, but now it has become Jin Shenghuan's temporary command headquarters.
=====
"Political Joke"
1. Chongzhen, Yang Sichang, Lu Xiangsheng, Li Laiheng, and Fang Yiren took a hot air balloon ride together.
The hot air balloon leaked air and could no longer lift the five people. It began to fall. It was extremely dangerous and someone had to sacrifice themselves to jump out.
First, Chongzhen shouted "For the Ming Dynasty", and then threw Yang Sichang out. The balloon's fall was suspended, but after a while, more air leaked, and the fall accelerated again, and another person had to jump out.
Chongzhen looked at Lu Xiangsheng. Lu Xiangsheng shouted "for the sake of all people in the world" and jumped out.
But the balloon was still falling, so Li Laiheng shouted "For the people of the world" and threw Chongzhen down.
However, the balloon's falling speed continued unabated.
At this time, Li Laiheng and Fang Yiren looked at each other, shouted "for the sake of breaking into the army" and threw each other out.
2. Question: What are optimists and pessimists?
Answer: Optimists learn Shaanbei dialect, and pessimists learn Hubei dialect.
3. A scholar in Suizhou complained: "Your Majesty is really pretending."
As a result, he was immediately arrested by the red team with strict pay.
The scholar argued: "I didn't tell you which king it was. How could you just arrest me? I was actually talking about Zhang Xianzhong!"
"Stop lying to me!" Yan Xin roared, "I have worked under Jie Shuai for so long. Do I not know who is the most pretentious?"
4. An old man was wandering on the sidewalk and accidentally fell into the river beside the road. He immediately shouted for help!
The two soldiers of the Huguang Breaking Army heard this and turned a blind eye, continuing to walk and talk and laugh as before.
The old man was so anxious that he immediately shouted, "The intruder Li Zicheng must die! Long live the Ming Dynasty!" Unexpectedly, the two soldiers remained indifferent.
The old man thought for a while and shouted, "Down with Li Laiheng! Long live Li Zicheng!" Two soldiers were shocked when they heard this, and hurriedly jumped into the river, dragged the old man ashore and handcuffed him.