Song Zushun knew very well that now that the morale of the army was so low, there was no point in continuing to resist. Even if the Chu army launched a full-scale attack again and he ordered the army to resist, I am afraid that his soldiers would mutiny...
And the generals under him were the ones who rebelled!
In the past two days, many generals under him, including several military commanders of the Jiangbei New Biao Army, have tested his tone one after another.
The tone of voice was naturally one of surrender.
Some people even secretly suggested that he surrender!
Not to mention these generals, even the Yangzhou magistrate and other civil servants in the city, together with the gentry in the city, have come to persuade Song Zushun several times, saying that if they resisted to this extent, they could be considered worthy of his majesty and the court.
Now, it's time to think about yourself and your family, as well as the more than 10,000 soldiers and the many people in the city.
Yangzhou City has been sealed off for more than a month. Rice prices in the city have already been sky-high, and even ordinary people with money can't buy rice.
Many people in the city have run out of food at home.
If this continues, even if the Chu thieves don't come in, many people in the city will starve to death.
This made Song Zushun feel angry and helpless at the same time!
What makes them angry is that ordinary soldiers and gentry want to surrender. After all, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have no responsibility to defend their territory. Whether they defend or retreat, it all depends on the choice of the general.
But these civil servants under their command actually want to surrender. You must know that civil servants have the responsibility to defend their territory. Let alone surrender, even if they escape without permission, they will be punished. The lightest case is dismissal from office and exile, and the worst case is execution and confiscation of their homes.
This made Song Zushun very angry. It had been more than two hundred years since the imperial dynasty had raised scholars like this!
What makes him helpless is that the civil and military officials are so corrupt, how can the country be undefeated!
Even if Song Zushun was dedicated to resisting and fighting, he could not change the minds of most people.
In anger and despair, Song Zushun finally failed. Do whatever you want!
After all, even if he ordered his troops to continue resisting, these subordinates would not listen now. They were all waiting for Song Zushun to give the order to surrender. Many of them actually expected to surrender directly and then become an official in the Chu Dynasty. job.
But if you want him to order surrender now, he won't!
He did not stop his men from surrendering because it was for the lives of more than ten thousand soldiers and many people in the city, but he himself had no such intention.
Song Zushun still had his own arrogance.
At this time, a young man wearing casual clothes also came to Song Zushun's house.
This person is not too prominent in the outside world. He is just an ordinary second-class secretary of the Hanlin Academy in the Chu Empire. This time he entered Yangzhou City to act as a lobbyist.
The reason why he was able to come and go freely in the war-torn city of Yangzhou was naturally without the assistance of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty in the city.
The New Biao Army of the Ming Army on the front line opened a gap in the defense line to let him in. Hundreds of soldiers of the New Biao Army escorted him to Song Zushun's mansion. Then the commander of the Zuo Army of the Jiangbei New Biao Army personally led him into Song Zushun's mansion and Meet Song Zushun.
When Song Zushun saw this messenger, he looked at the commander of the Zuo Army of the Jiangbei New Biao Army under his command. He didn't know yet that the commander of the Zuo Army, whom he regarded as a confidant, had defected to the Chu thieves.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for the envoy of the Chu thieves to appear in front of him.
He did not order killings or anything like that. He still knew that the envoy would not be killed when the two armies were fighting, but he did not think that the envoy could convince him.
He, Song Zushun, had been an official all his life, and I dare not say that he was deeply favored by the emperor, but he also had his own persistence.
He will never become known as a traitor and ruin his reputation for the rest of his life.
Song Zushun was not only the commander-in-chief of the Jiangbei army, but also the governor of Jiangbei. He was not an ordinary general, but a senior civil servant.
Among people like civil servants, some have weak knees and fall to their knees at every turn, but some are also hard-nosed and would rather die than surrender.
And many times, these civil servants who would rather die than surrender are not doing it for the imperial court or the emperor's favor... they just do it for their own posthumous reputation.
Reputation, especially posthumous name, is very important to some civil servants.
Song Zushun also thought so.
Therefore, he did not think that a mere messenger could change his mind. Even if the other party said that he was a high-ranking official and had a generous salary, Song Zushun would not be swayed by it.
However, the envoy on the opposite side did not say anything about high-ranking officials and generous salaries, or even mentioned the treatment after surrender. He just took out a map and spread it in front of Song Zushun: "This is what my emperor ordered me to do." Bring it here for Master Song to take a look at the world map!"
Immediately afterwards, Song Zushun was confused and began to explain the map: "Our Chinese Kyushu is located in the east of Asia. To the south is the Nanyang Peninsula and Nanyang Islands. Siam at the southern end has thousands of miles of fertile land and is rich in rice. It can be harvested three times a year, and the annual yield per mu can reach a thousand catties. From it, tens of millions of people can be fed."
"There are spice islands on the Nanyang Islands. The price of spices is comparable to gold. Countless barbarian ships transported these spices to Europe or China, and the profit was more than one million!"
"To the east is the Koryo Peninsula. Needless to say, this land is barren. However, after passing the Koryo Peninsula, there are Fusang Islands. These islands are rich in gold and silver. If you take them, you can get tens of millions of gold."
"In addition, the vassal towns on the island are divided and the people are in dire straits. If the Jiangbei New Standard Army can kill Fuso, it will be easy to sweep across the Fuso Islands."
"To the northeast is Liaodong. This Liaodong Song Dynasty must be familiar with. It contains the Eastern Capture. This is our great enemy of China. Once our Northern Expedition to Chu succeeds, the next step is to send troops to Liaodong and regain the lost land in Liaodong."
"Liaodong has a lot of iron and coal, which is easy to dig and refine. It can be used to cast guns and cannons to prepare an army of millions."
"In addition, there is a lot of black soil in Liaodong, and the black soil is extremely fertile. If we grow rice from it, we can add another Jiangnan area to China and support tens of millions of people."
After hearing these words, Song Zushun looked at the map and then at the envoy. He didn't know what he was thinking about, but he did not stop the envoy from continuing to speak.
"To the north of China are the Tatar barbarians. They have been our enemies for thousands of years, and now they are even more like running dogs of the East. After our Northern Expedition to Chu, after attacking Liaodong, we will also send troops north to the grasslands to regain their homeland and expel the Tatars. , take back the land with rich water and grass around Yinshan Mountain into Chinese hands, and use it to herd horses and raise sheep!"
"The northwest of China is all over the Western Regions, and further west is Central Asia. Herding in Mongolia, the Western Regions, and Central Asia will not only make tens of millions of people alive, but also millions of fine horses."
"If you take it, you can get millions of cavalry!"
"To the south of the Western Region is the Indian Peninsula, thousands of miles of fertile soil, rich in gold, silver and precious stones, which can feed hundreds of millions of people."
"Going further west around the Black Sea, you can reach the Eastern European plains. The thousands of miles of plains there are far greater than the North China Plains. From them, hundreds of millions of people can be fed."
"Continuing to the west, there are Central Europe and the lands of Western Europe. Most of them are plain fertile soil. The soil is not as fertile as the south of the Yangtze River. If you take it, you can support 200 million people."
As he spoke, the messenger pointed to another section of the map, which was east of China and the two continents across the ocean: "This place is called America, divided into North America and South America."
"South America has a lot of saltpeter, a lot of forests, a lot of products, and thousands of miles of fertile land, which can feed hundreds of millions of people!"
"And North America has a pleasant climate, which is comparable to our land in the south of the Yangtze River. In addition to its rich products, it has tens of thousands of miles of fertile soil. Its arable land is as vast as half of China."
At this time, the messenger paused slightly and then said:
"With this, we can feed one billion people!"
When Song Zushun heard these words from the messenger, he couldn't help but look at the world map with his eyes wide open!
Is this world so big?
Their Chinese Kyushu only occupies a corner of the world, a relatively large corner at most, and there is an infinitely vast world outside of China.
There are lands rich in gold and silver, and there are countless fertile fields.
It’s just, what does this have to do with them Chinese people?
But the envoy's words of "take it" made Song Zushun couldn't help but ask: "Do you really want to conquer the whole world?"
The messenger smiled at this moment and then asked: "Why not?"
"Once our army of the King of Chu succeeds in the Northern Expedition, we will send our troops to Liaodong. After destroying the eastern captives, we will join our forces to the north and west to destroy the Tatar Wac and other barbarians."
"At the same time, expand and develop the navy, taking Nanyang and Fusang first."
"Then send the navy to occupy strongholds in North and South America, control the shipping routes, and gradually colonize and occupy them. Finally, it will be easy to command the army to capture North and South America."
"It is a bit more difficult to go west to the Western Regions and even West Asia and Europe, but as long as we continue to fight, settle and colonize while fighting, and turn the borderland into the hinterland, who dares to say that in a few decades, the western border of our country Chu will not be Atlantic?"
"The virtuous in the world live there. This is true for China, and so is the world!"
After saying that, the envoy calmed down a little, and then said: "My emperor appreciates your talent very much, Lord Song. Our Chu army is sweeping the world, and your new Jiangbei army can be said to be the best. My emperor regrets it." You are a great general, so you sent me into the city to persuade him!"
"Otherwise, waiting for a few days will not affect our army's ability to capture Yangzhou City."
Song Zushun knew this was a fact. Even if the Chu army outside the city did nothing now, the current situation inside the city would not be able to sustain it for a few more days. In the past few days, a large number of troops would probably surrender one by one, well, together with the civil servants and gentry. …
Moreover, his subordinates did not chop Song Zushun with a knife, and then used Song Zushun's head as a token of surrender. This was already worthy of Song Zushun, and it was not in vain that Song Zushun treated these subordinates well before.
The people under him have surrendered one after another. After a few days, the Chu army will probably be able to take over the entire Yangzhou city intact.
Song Zushun couldn't stop this, and when the war reached this point, he didn't want to stop it anymore...
He couldn't let more than 10,000 troops and more than 100,000 people die with him, and the death would be meaningless.
At this time, the envoy paused for a while and then said: "In addition, I also brought the emperor's oral edict to Mr. Song!"
At this time, although Song Zushun was very reluctant, he still stood up as a sign of respect.
Even if the two sides are in a hostile relationship, it is a fact that the Chu Empire has become a dynasty that rules most of China, and it is also a fact that Luo Zhixue is the emperor of the traditional central dynasty.
And it is necessary to show a certain amount of respect in front of the messenger.
At this time, I only heard the envoy say: "Your Majesty orally:
"Old Song, I think you are still capable of fighting, unlike those wine bags and rice bags in Zhu Mingli. Therefore, if you, Old Song, are willing to fight for the living space of the Chinese people and the future of the Chinese nation, then I I can give you a chance."
"The First Cause of All Realms"
"An opportunity to lead troops to conquer the Western Regions!"
"The structure should be bigger. Don't focus on a big fart place like China Jiuzhou all day long."
"Follow me and I will take you to take a bath in the Mediterranean!"
Hearing this, Song Zushun was stunned for a moment, and then asked the envoy: "Where is the Mediterranean Sea?"
The messenger pointed to the sea area between Europe and Africa on the world map and said: "Here!"
After Song Zushun finished reading, he gritted his teeth and said, "Is this true?"
The messenger said: "The Emperor has no jokes!"
After Song Zushun took a deep breath, he lifted his robe and knelt down in the direction of Luo Zhixue's camp, and at the same time said:
"I accept the order!"
(PS: Song Zushun, the only military strategist in the late Ming Dynasty, wrote the military book "Guide to the City")
