Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 479 1 Unification ()

Manlik felt a little regretful. If he had known this would happen, he would have accepted Zheng Jun’s conditions. Now he was like meat on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.

At this time, all the Spaniards' guns had been confiscated by Zheng's army. More than 1,800 Spanish soldiers were driven to an open space, surrounded by Zheng's troops who were under close surveillance.

Manlik arrived at the Zheng army camp in fear, with only an interpreter by his side.

When he saw a young general sitting on the main seat, Manlik guessed that this should be the son of Zheng Yi Guan, now the head of the Zheng family and the overlord of the South China Sea.

As soon as Manrique met him, he saluted and said, "Your Excellency, I am Manrique, the Spanish Governor-General of Luzon and Manila."

After listening to the interpreter's words, Zheng Chenggong looked coldly at the person in front of him without saying a word. The interpreter looked at Manlik with some embarrassment.

Manlik coughed lightly and then said, "Dear Lord, congratulations on winning this great war. I am willing to surrender to you and hope you can treat the prisoners well. My family will also pay a considerable ransom." After that, Manlik bowed deeply again.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong could not help but sneer and said, "How can you call this a great war when it is just a small battle involving a few thousand people? How can you, a tiny barbarian, understand the vastness of the universe?"

When Manlik saw Zheng Chenggong smile, he felt a little relieved. He was about to speak when a general of Zheng's army walked into the tent and whispered something to Zheng Chenggong.

Then the general stepped back a few steps and stood aside, while Zheng Chenggong announced solemnly: "What has been said cannot be taken back, this is not the time to accept surrender, and you are desperate and begging for surrender, how can I let you go easily? Pass on my order, these barbarians will all be killed, leaving no one alive!"

The interpreter was so scared that he collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Manlik hurriedly asked questions, but the interpreter had no time to answer. He knelt on the ground and said to Zheng Chenggong in a hurry: "Sir, I am not a barbarian!"

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand in disgust, and then his personal guards stepped forward and dragged the two men out. Manlik was very anxious and kept asking the interpreter what Zheng Chenggong had said.

The interpreter cried and explained to Manlik: "We are all going to die!"

Manlik's body shook violently, his legs went limp, and he was unable to walk anymore. Two Zheng army guards dragged Manlik out of the camp.

Without guns, they were no different from lambs to be slaughtered. Killing took place in the open space outside the bastion. Cries for mercy and curses were intertwined until there was no Spaniard left standing in the open space.

The Zheng family captured Manila, the most important city in Luzon at that time. Although there were still some churches and private armed forces in other parts of Luzon, the organized forces of Spain in Luzon had been completely destroyed by Zheng's army.

Just as Zheng Chenggong began to prepare to relocate the landless people from Fujian to populate Luzon, the Zhou army's envoy, Meng Hong, traveled thousands of miles and finally arrived in Yongchang City under the personal protection of Li Dingguo.

Yongchang is called a city, but compared with the cities in the Central Plains, it can only be regarded as a larger town at best. Yongchang is small, has few people, and is poor. This was Meng Hong’s first impression of Yongchang when he arrived.

The Yongli Emperor and his ministers had very complicated feelings about Meng Hong's arrival. Before Meng Hong met the emperor, Jinyiwei Commander Li Yuanyin, on the secret order of Yongli, contacted Meng Hong first and asked him the purpose of his visit.

The people sent by Li Chengdong kept persuading Li Yuanyin to resign and return to Li Chengdong's side, but Li Yuanyin refused to do so. He said: "The country is in danger, how can I abandon the emperor and leave!"

As soon as Li Yuanyin saw Meng Hong, he blocked everyone and asked, "Mr. Meng, what is your purpose for coming here?"

Meng Hong spoke frankly, saying: "The country is in turmoil, the Jiannu invaded and the world was in chaos. Our king followed the will of heaven and the people and led the army to suppress the rebellion and pacify the world. This shows that the Ming Dynasty has fallen and a new dynasty should be established to follow the will of heaven and the people's wishes."

Meng Hong's words were too straightforward. Li Yuanyin actually knew in his heart that Meng Jun had already occupied most of the world. Sending people to persuade the emperor to abdicate was already giving some face to the Ming court.

If Meng Jun were to give up the throne to the current emperor, it would be nothing but a foolish dream. Under the current circumstances, Yongli has neither the strength nor the prestige to command the world.

After listening to Meng Hong's words, Li Yuanyin didn't know how to refute. After a long while, Li Yuanyin said, "Mr. Meng's words, I will report to the emperor without changing a word!"

Li Yuanyin told Emperor Yongli everything that Meng Hong had said. After hearing this, Emperor Yongli burst into tears, sighed, and choked up, saying, "The Ming Dynasty is about to perish in my hands. The state affairs are like this, and I have done nothing wrong. Since I ascended the throne, the world has been in trouble, both internally and externally, and the country is gradually declining. If it is true as Meng Jun said, the Ming Dynasty is over, and the country will have to change its ways. How can I face my ancestors in the future!"

After Yongli finished speaking, he cried bitterly, and the attendants on both sides bowed their heads and wept. Li Yuanyin was also very upset. Seeing the emperor crying bitterly, he stepped forward and advised: "Your Majesty, things have come to this point, why don't you ask the ministers?"

After a long time, Yongli finally gathered his composure and ordered all the court officials in Yongchang City to be summoned.

Since its establishment, the Yongli court has been in turmoil, and the capital has been moved again and again, to Zhaoqing, Wuzhou, Guilin, Anlong, Kunming, and now to Yongchang. With each move, some court officials were lost, especially those who escaped from Kunming City, where many court officials were lost and left.

This is different from history. At that time, it was the Qing Dynasty that ruled the world. Many scholars were unwilling to surrender or shave their heads and change their clothes. Therefore, even when Emperor Yongli fled to Burma, there were still a large number of scholars following him. Now, the Qing Dynasty has fled beyond the Great Wall, and for more people, there is no psychological pressure to serve the Zhou Dynasty.

Yongli said to his ministers: "The King of Zhou sent an envoy to ask me to abdicate the throne to Zhou!"

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers were in an uproar. Cao Fengming shouted: "This thief who usurped the country wants to destroy our Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty must not agree to it!"

There were actually some ministers who agreed with him, but under such circumstances, no one dared to speak out against him, for fear of being pointed at and called a traitor.

Liu Chengyin said at this time: "Your Majesty, Meng is a traitor with evil ambitions. Now his true intentions are finally revealed. He has revealed his intention to usurp the throne. Your Majesty, Lu Zijing once said to Sun Zhongmou that everyone can surrender to Cao, but you cannot. The situation in the past is no different from today. If Your Majesty abdicates, I am afraid that something unbearable will happen!"

Emperor Yongli had a solemn expression on his face, his mind was in turmoil, and he fell into deep thought. As this matter concerned his own safety, Emperor Yongli had to think seriously about it.

After a long while, Yongli spoke up: "Although I am of little virtue and talent, I am the emperor and bear the heavy responsibility of the country. How can I throw it away lightly? However, Meng Jun is powerful, and even the Wu thieves have surrendered to Meng. Ministers, do you have any good plan?"