Speaking of which, until now, the Izu Base Camp still cannot determine the total offensive strength of the Ming Army.
Their poor way of responding to the war and inefficient intelligence collection have made it impossible for them to know how many people the Ming army has come, so they have made big mistakes in the distribution of troops.
The sentinel sent by Minamoto Yoshitsune ran back with a pale face and told Minamoto Yoshitsune that the Ming army's offensive strength was at least 20,000, which was five times their number. In a head-on confrontation, there was no possibility of victory, or even possible. It’s not necessarily that you can’t live.
This answer is quite reliable and is similar to Minamoto Yoshitsune's own judgment. He looked at the pale-faced subordinates around him and let out a long sigh.
"Are you gentlemen still willing to continue fighting?"
The subordinates were speechless.
Only his most loyal subordinate, Musashibo Benkei, publicly stated that as long as Minamoto Yoshitsune decided to fight, he would protect Minamoto Yoshitsune and fight until his last breath.
The statement of this loyal monk subordinate made Minamoto Yoshitsune feel a little relieved, but the overall situation has been decided and it is meaningless to continue to make sacrifices.
"That's all, why do you need to do more killing? The overall situation has been decided, and there is no point in continuing to struggle. Let's leave it like this."
Minamoto Yoshitsune ordered his men to express their willingness to surrender to the Ming army. There was only one request, that is, the Ming army could not kill them and give them a way to live.
After the decision to surrender was made, Minamoto Yoshitsune obviously noticed that the generals around him breathed a sigh of relief, and their faces were full of the expressions of surviving a disaster. Obviously, they were not very willing to lose their lives in this war.
They don't know exactly why they are fighting, or they know a little bit, but they are not willing to accept it. They have no empathy with Minamoto Yoritomo, and they do not have the same marriage relationship as Hojo Tokimasa.
So why lose your life over this?
According to the current smoothness of the Ming army on the battlefield, there is a high probability that they will accept their request. The winner's margin can well guarantee their life safety.
Minamoto Yoshitsune left the army camp alone, sat on a big rock, and kept thinking about his short life.
He had been familiar with the Chinese art of war since he was young in Mutsu Province, practiced archery, equestrian skills, and diligently practiced martial arts, just to one day lead the army back to Kyoto, kill the enemy Taira clan, and avenge his father.
But what he didn't expect was that before he could return to Kyoto, the Taira regime had been wiped out.
Before he could do anything, his enemy was already dead, and his entire country was about to be swallowed up by the overly powerful Ming Kingdom.
His heart was full of family hatred, which did not rise to the level of national hatred. Facing an enemy he had never imagined, he fell into mental confusion, but this did not prevent him from judging the reality that Japan was about to fall.
But this country did not leave any deep traces in his heart. Dying for the country seemed to him to be quite absurd and unreasonable.
Now he decided to give up the fight so that more people could survive.
But in order to maintain the honor of the warrior and the promise to his brother, he will kill himself and will not choose to live in this world.
When things came to an end, he had already let go of many things that he had not let go of in the past, but he still had some regrets.
One is that he failed to kill his enemy personally to avenge his father.
Second, there is no chance to see with one’s own eyes whether the heaven on earth in that book is real.
It's a pity, but now, he has no choice.
Musashibo Benkei didn't know when he stood behind Minamoto Yoshitsune. Seeing Minamoto Yoshitsune's lonely back, he sighed and walked forward slowly.
"If you decide to commit suicide after surrendering, then please allow me to commit suicide with you and accompany you all the way to hell."
Minamoto Yoshitsune was well aware of Musashibo Benkei's loyalty, so he just smiled bitterly.
"Why bother?"
"I am your retainer and I have sworn to fight for you. If you choose to end it, I have no reason to live."
"Life is precious."
"Oaths and dignity are more valuable."
So Minamoto Yoshitsune no longer tried to persuade Musashibo Benkei, but silently waited for the judgment of fate to come.
Kong Zhende was surprised to learn that the Japanese army that came to the aid was ready to surrender.
Along the way, for some unknown reason, although the Japanese army was defeated, no one had surrendered. Kong Zhende almost thought that he had encountered a group of opponents who were poor but very moral. He thought that these people still had a bottom line.
As a result, people actually surrendered.
So Kong Zhende began to wonder whether Ming Dynasty had fought too fast before. It wasn't that these guys didn't want to surrender, but they were just running for their lives and didn't react at all to surrender.
Now they reacted and began to surrender.
Where there is the first, there will be the second, and it is estimated that more and more people will surrender in the future.
Surrender is of course a good thing. The soldiers and ordinary people below are blessed. Although they will be sent to a bitter and cold place, they will eventually become citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and they can enjoy the welfare policies that the citizens of the Ming Dynasty can enjoy.
To them, this is nothing less than reinvention.
As for the bosses, they are unnecessary burdens to Ming Dynasty. They can just eliminate them all. They may think that they can get some good treatment after surrendering, but this is all wishful thinking.
With the size of the Ming Dynasty and the operational capabilities of its political cadres, the annexation of a small country with a population of about five million did not require the cooperation of the exploiting classes at all, just like the old nobles and bureaucrats who were completely wiped out.
Kong Zhende allowed their surrender in the presence of the envoys who came to surrender, and ordered their commanders to surrender with all their troops abandoned.
Minamoto Yoshitsune agreed and formally led four thousand troops to surrender to the Ming army on August 4, 2017, giving up resistance.
Kong Zhende met with Minamoto Yoshitsune and found that Minamoto Yoshitsune was tall and handsome. He was in sharp contrast with the surrounding subordinates and did not look like a straw bag, so he talked to him curiously.
Then he discovered that Minamoto Yoshitsune could speak Chinese that was not fluent but could barely communicate.
He continued to inquire and learned that Minamoto Yoshitsune was the half-brother of Minamoto Yoritomo, the current leader of the Japanese resistance army. He was familiar with many Chinese military art books and had considerable cultural literacy.
"Since you are Minamoto Yoritomo's younger brother and you were entrusted with important responsibilities by him, why did you choose to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"
Minamoto Yoshitsune smiled bitterly.
"I have witnessed with my own eyes how the Ming army fought, and then I understood that with our current military strength, even if the number of people is three times larger, we cannot win. Continuing to fight is nothing more than increasing unnecessary casualties. It is better to make this happen as quickly as possible Get it over with."
Kong Zhende looked up and down Minamoto no Yoshitsune and felt that this man was not only extraordinary in appearance, he was also knowledgeable and discerning.
"Then will your brother also choose to surrender?"
"No, brother will most likely choose to die in battle rather than surrender."
Minamoto Yoshitsune said with a serious face: "I surrendered because I thought we could not defeat the Ming Dynasty, so I wanted to end the hopeless war as soon as possible and reduce unnecessary casualties of the people. However, my brother did not think so, and in order not to embarrass my brother , I will kill myself after the surrender, please ask the general for permission."
Minamoto Yoshitsune faced Kong Zhende in a posture of sitting down, which made Kong Zhende a little uncomfortable.
He let Minamoto Yoshitsune stand up again and looked at Minamoto Yoshitsune.
"Did you choose to surrender with the belief that you would die?"
"yes."
Minamoto Yoshitsune looked determined: "I just ask the general to treat the rest of the tribe well, let them do whatever they want, spare them a life, and give them some coarse grains to satisfy their hunger. They are all rough people, hard-working people, born to be miserable, and in the end It’s also painful, I can’t do anything, the only thing I can do for them is to survive.”
Kong Zhende thought about it and nodded.
"Okay, I promise you, I allow you to kill yourself, and you will not harm your tribe. After they are disarmed, they will be incorporated into the Ming Dynasty's logistics formation to transport food and fodder for the Ming Dynasty army. They will not die."
"Thank you, General."
Minamoto Yoshitsune expressed his gratitude to Kong Zhende and then prepared to commit suicide.
Before committing suicide, Minamoto Yoshitsune took out a book from his arms and gave it to Kong Zhende with both hands.
Kong Zhende took it and took a look and was surprised.
"Hongwu Political Commentary? You?"
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PS: Ask for votes as usual~~
PPS: How was your National Day break? I am very busy. I am attending various weddings and busy writing at the same time. I am very tired. This book has reached the final stage. After finishing writing, I need to take a good rest for a while to let myself recover from the bleeding. I am so tired. .
(End of chapter)
