Finally, under Zhang Mingwei's persuasion, Li Dingguo decided to go to the front of the two armies to persuade them to surrender.
For this reason, he naturally would not conceal the situation in Zhang Xianzhong's army, including military deployment, etc., and took the initiative to tell Zhang Mingwei.
In his opinion, the only way out is for Zhang Xianzhong and others to accept the recruitment, and it can also end the war early and bring peace to the world!
Just as they were leaving for the front line, the previous offensive launched by generals such as Zhou Yuji, Bai Guangen, and Zhang Luofu was a furious advance, and even had the intention of competing with each other.
So when Zhang Mingwei caught up with them, they had already arrived at Wuchang City.
Wuchang is the capital of Huguang Province, so of course it is a big city.
The imperial army's East Route Army, which was rushing in all the way, was not yet able to surround Wuchang City, and could only occupy the southeastern sides of Wuchang Mansion.
Wuchang is bounded by the Yangtze River to the north and Hanyang Prefecture to the west.
When Zhang Mingwei arrived outside Wuchang City, Zhou Yuji and others naturally rushed over to report the situation.
When they saw a stranger next to Duke Xingguo, they immediately remembered the recent rumors and immediately understood that this person must be Li Dingguo, one of the bandit leaders who was very valued by the Duke.
Do you think any of them are jealous? Yes, they are.
However, they are all understanding people, and they must not express this kind of thoughts. Even because Li Dingguo is so valued by the Duke, he will definitely have a bright future in the future, so he has the intention of making good friends with him.
However, this did not prevent them from wondering why Duke Xingguo valued Li Dingguo so much.
But at this time, there was no time to take care of this. One by one, they all reported the latest situation to Duke Xingguo.
"My lord, look at the flag, Zhang Xianzhong is still in the city."
"My lord, the general has sent a cavalry army to wait on the west road. If Zhang Xianzhong escapes to the west, he will be severely damaged!"
"..."
After hearing what they reported, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but frown.
According to what he knew, Zhang Xianzhong was definitely not a pedantic person. If you see that you can't beat it, it will definitely slip away. Otherwise, he wouldn't be alive until now.
However, his flag is still in the city. Could it be that he suddenly launched an attack because of the imperial army and advanced so quickly that he had no time to escape?
Zhang Mingwei was thinking about this, but Li Dingguo behind him suddenly asked: "Have you met your adoptive father?"
Hearing his words, everyone knew that this person was Li Dingguo who had just surrendered. Otherwise, no one would call him foster father!
Thinking like this, they glanced at Duke Xingguo and found that Duke Xingguo had no reaction to Li Dingguo's title. He obviously didn't care.
It can be seen that the previous news said that Duke Xingguo attached great importance to this Li Dingguo, and it was indeed true!
With this in mind, Zhang Luofu answered first: "I haven't seen it."
After hearing this, Li Dingguo looked at the others and saw that they all shook their heads, so he quickly asked: "Then who is the general on top of the city now?"
Hearing this, it was Zhou Yuji who answered him this time: "It's Zhang Wenxiu, look at the flag over there..."
Having said this, he pointed with his finger, and sure enough, on a section of the city wall far away from them, there was a big flag with the word "Zhang" fluttering in the wind. And under that banner, many people gathered.
This kind of big flag also has official titles embroidered on it. But it's too far away to see clearly.
However, since Zhou Yuji said this, it must have been confirmed, at least on the banner.
After Zhang Mingwei heard this, he couldn't help but feel happy, and turned to look at Li Dingguo.
It has to be said that Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons are not people who live in vain.
If we talk about merit, Sun Kewang ranks first. Of course, this is also related to saving Zhang Xianzhong.
In addition, needless to say, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu is good at water battles and can soothe people's hearts; he is also very capable of leading troops in battles. In fact, in the original history, he died early, otherwise, his reputation would not be worse than that of Li Dingguo.
The one who died earlier was Ai Nengqi.
This Ainengqi fought bravely and was good at shooting. In the original history, after Zhang Xianzhong was killed by Jianlu, the Daxi Army was defeated and fled. When the Ming army blocked the road, it was Ainengqi who shot the Ming army general to death with an arrow. The collapse of the Ming army allowed the Daxi Army to escape from Sichuan and march into Yunnan and Guizhou.
However, it is a pity that when he went to attack the chieftain, he was ambushed by the chieftain on the way, was hit by a poisonous arrow, and died very early.
Among Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons, Zhang Mingwei had the most favorable impressions of Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu.
Now, Li Dingguo has been recruited, and he heard that Liu Wenxiu is on the top of the city. Of course, he also hopes to recruit Liu Wenxiu.
Therefore, when he turned to look at Li Dingguo, he saw Li Dingguo asking him for orders: "My lord, I am willing to persuade Liu Wenxiu to surrender!"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, let's go and take a look!"
So, a group of them went around the city and arrived soon.
"My lord, it is indeed Liu Wenxiu!" Li Dingguo looked at the top of the city. After telling Zhang Mingwei, he asked for permission, "I'm going over!"
Zhang Mingwei nodded and said, "Go ahead and be careful!"
Li Dingguo was like this, and quickly rushed out and approached the city.
The person on top of the city was indeed Liu Wenxiu. He saw the banner of Duke Xingguo, and his attention was naturally on Duke Xingguo. Unexpectedly, a person came out from behind Duke Xingguo. When he saw it, he was very surprised. It turned out to be Li Dingguo!
"Is the foster father here?" Li Dingguo shouted loudly under the city wall.
After hearing this, Liu Wenxiu frowned and asked instead, "What's wrong with you? It can't be that you surrendered the imperial officers and soldiers, right?"
They always thought that Li Dingguo might have died in the battle or fled somewhere. Unexpectedly, he walked out from the side of Duke Xingguo. It seemed that no one was guarding him, so there was basically only one possibility.
"You should also understand what the people want. If we continue to fight, we will only suffer for the people!" After hearing this, Li Dingguo immediately shouted loudly to the top of the city, "Xingguo Gong has promised me that as long as my adoptive father and brothers If you sincerely accept the recruitment, the court will forget about it."
The people on the top of the city heard this, but before Liu Wenxiu could answer, one of the generals beside him became furious and shouted loudly: "I didn't expect you to be such a disloyal and unjust person, and dare to persuade you to surrender. I bother!"
Li Dingguo naturally recognized that this person was Qi Sansheng, Liu Wenxiu's fierce general.
Hearing his scolding, Li Dingguo was mentally prepared and immediately said loudly: "I am trying to find a good way out for you, so how can I be disloyal and unjust? If you continue to do so, do you think you can win the government office?" The imperial officers and soldiers who led the army? If we continue to rebel, what benefits can we get? All we can do is lose lives!"
No one expected that he would say this. For a moment, the people on the top of the city were silent.
Seeing this situation, Li Dingguo immediately said: "You must have heard a lot of news about the imperial court, and know that the imperial court has improved a lot of measures. Before, in front of our army, the people shouted every day, and in order to start a war, the soldiers fled from the army. The strict prohibition will continue. Can't you see that things are different now? The people's morale and the military's morale are all with the imperial court."
In fact, the situation among the bandit armies in other places is much better than that under Li Dingguo's command. However, this situation also exists.
After hearing what he said, no one spoke on the city wall.
They are all battle-hardened people, and they can naturally see that it is really difficult for them to defeat the imperial army this time.
At the top of the city, Li Dingguo told him his story again, including the story of Duke Xingguo coming out to meet him.
The people on the top of the city couldn't help but be surprised when they heard this. If they hadn't been getting along with Li Dingguo all the time, they all thought there was some ulterior secret behind Li Dingguo and Duke Na Xingguo. Otherwise, how could Li Dingguo be treated so courteously by the Duke of that dynasty?
In fact, there is no need to lie to them about this kind of thing. Because this is considered a big deal, you will know it when you look back. And Duke Xingguo was watching from behind. If Li Dingguo didn't tell the truth, Duke Xingguo would definitely be dissatisfied with what he said.
After Li Dingguo finished speaking, he said sincerely: "I am doing this just for your own good. Otherwise, why would I bother to come here to scold you? I can just learn from Li Laiheng!"
The people on the top of the city were still silent and did not answer immediately.
When Zhang Mingwei saw it, he wanted to step forward, but when he found that the people around him were very nervous, he sent Liu Jin over and shouted loudly to the top of the city: "The Duke said, resistance will only lead to death. Accept the recruitment and want prosperity." Wealth, honor, a wife, and a son. If you can return to your hometown in glory one day, go and defend your country! If you harm the people and your compatriots, no matter how heroic you are, you will be reviled by others even after you die!"
With the example of Li Laiheng, not to mention Li Dingguo, Zhang Mingwei does not need to explain too much.
Otherwise, they would definitely be worried about what would happen if the court settles a score once they are really recruited?
After hearing this, the people on the top of the city looked up at Duke Xingguo in the distance. Then, Liu Wenxiu turned around and asked the people behind him: "Is your military morale stable? How many of Luo Rucai's troops have you taken in before?"
Obviously, they already knew that Luo Rucai's men were unreliable.
Hearing his words, Qi Sansheng smiled bitterly and replied: "Your Majesty sent us here urgently, and we didn't talk about this until we arrived. Before we had time to deal with it, the imperial officers and soldiers came to kill us!"
The implication is that he is naturally unsure of the morale of the military.
Others mean the same thing!
After hearing this, Liu Wenxiu looked at Li Dingguo outside the city, and he understood in his heart that with people like Li Dingguo surrendering, this would further affect the morale of his troops.
It can be said that the war in Wuchang City has already come to an end before it even starts.
Thinking of this, Liu Wenxiu couldn't help but said in her heart: "Father, you probably never expected such a situation, right?"
