Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 122: Submission
Su Guansheng had a cold expression on his face. He stared at Ma Bao in front of him and spoke in a cold voice.

"We are based in Guangdong Province. If there is a war between Chaozhou and Huizhou, how could we not know about it?"

"The ministers of the court just fled to Guangdong from Fujian. If Chaohui was lost, how could we not have any news? How could Chaohui be taken by the Qing invaders in just over a month? You thief, you still dare to lie and make excuses until now."

Although Su Guansheng started to scold, a trace of shock flashed in his eyes. How could he not see that the thief in front of him was determined to die? Such people would hardly lie at this time.

He lied to save his life. He was ready to be killed. What's the point of lying? He didn't believe that this thief was someone who would die for his master.

But how is this possible? The Qing army only invaded Fujian Province in August. When Lu Daqi fled to Guangdong in September, most of Fujian Province was still under the control of the court.

It was only the beginning of November. The imperial court had hundreds of thousands of troops in Fujian Province. It was impossible that all of them would surrender with Zheng Zhilong. How could the Qing army possibly capture the entire Fujian Province in just two months?

That's more than 100,000 people, or even more than 100,000 pigs. Even if the Qing army were to kill them all in two months, they wouldn't be able to finish.
Even if Zheng Zhilong surrendered Fujian Province, his people had been in Guangdong Province, Chaozhou and Huizhou. If the Qing army really invaded the two prefectures, how could they not receive any news of such a major event?

Zhu Lang also had a look of astonishment on his face. He subconsciously glanced at Li Chengzhi next to him. When he saw him nod slightly, his heart suddenly sank.

He just felt that everything in front of him was extremely absurd. He had just taken tens of thousands of soldiers with great effort, saying that they were going to defend Nanxiong Prefecture in northern Guangdong.

But in the blink of an eye, half of Guangdong Province was lost. Behind Nanxiong is Huizhou Prefecture. If Chaozhou and Huizhou are both lost, what is the point of defending Nanxiong?

Ma Bao looked at the shocked expressions on the faces of the people on the field, and his expression finally changed. He glanced at the people on the field and suddenly grinned.

"If we attack the city and seize the land, we may not be able to seize these two prefectures in two months, let alone one month. But what if you offer them to us?"

Ma Bao looked sarcastic, and without waiting for anyone to ask him back, he continued to speak, with a cheerful look on his face.
"I don't know much about this matter. I only know that a gentry named Gu from Chaozhou went to Li Chengdong's army in Tingzhou and said that he admired the Qing Dynasty and wanted to offer Chaozhou to the Qing court."

"By the way, it is said that this Gu was a high-ranking official in the imperial court of your Great Ming Dynasty. Not a small court like the Hongguang and Longwu dynasties two years ago, but a serious official in the capital during the Chongzhen Dynasty, tsk tsk."

Ma Bao chuckled. Seeing that the faces of the people on the field were getting uglier, his expression became more cheerful as well. He continued:

"I gathered with Li Chengdong and others at the border of Tingzhou, and arrived at Chaozhou City after five days of marching. Guess what, as soon as we arrived at Chaozhou City, the city gate opened automatically, and we went straight into Chaozhou City to rest that day."

"I heard that the man named Gu was promised the position of Chaozhou prefect by the Qing government. As soon as we enter the city, the Qing government will make him the prefect."

"Seeing the Tartars being so generous, Gu wanted to make new contributions. He was said to be familiar with Li Shilian, the general of Huizhou, and volunteered to persuade Li Shilian to surrender."

"It took us five days to reach Chaozhou, and another five days to enter Huizhou Prefecture. As soon as we entered the border of Huizhou Prefecture, Li Shilian tied up your Ming royal family members and went directly to the army to surrender. From the time we set out from Tingzhou to the time Li Shilian entered the army to surrender, it took exactly ten days. How could it take as long as a month?"

Ma Bao didn't know what he was thinking about, and suddenly he burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears came out
"These traitors, traitors!"

Su Guansheng's face was filled with shock and anger, and he suddenly yelled
But he only cursed once, and then stood there with a sullen face. It was unclear whether he was cursing Ma Bao or the gentleman named Gu.
Everyone in the field had a gloomy face, and no one knew what they were thinking.

Ma Bao laughed to himself for a while, and when he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he seemed to find it boring, so he stopped laughing and said softly:
"That man surnamed Gu not only offered Chaozhou and Huizhou, but also knew everything about your court." "According to his report, the Tartars already knew that your Grand Secretary Su Guansheng in Guangzhou had led the Guangzhou soldiers to Zhaoqing to participate in the enthronement. Guangzhou City is now empty of soldiers."

"The Tartars took Chaozhou and Huizhou without a fight. Now that Chaozhou and Huizhou are both lost, Guangzhou is short of troops. Why don't we dare to attack Guangzhou?"

Ma Bao finished his story in one breath, and then stood there in silence, saying no more.
"Bastards, these bastards"

Su Guansheng was even more shocked and angry when he heard what Ma Bao said.

He had not expected that the Qing army's surprise attack was actually caused by his leaving. He was trembling slightly, and it was obvious that he was extremely angry.

Zhu Lang stood in front of his seat, the astonishment on his face had long disappeared, replaced by a gloomy expression.

If Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, there would be no barrier in front of Chaozhou. Chaozhou had no soldiers, and the army in the court was far away in Zhaoqing, so it was obviously too late to rescue.
Seeing that they could not rely on the Ming Dynasty, the Chaozhou gentry naturally took the initiative to serve the Qing Dynasty in order to protect their family property and wealth.
The surrender of the Chaozhou gentry brought about a chain reaction. The gentry of the two places colluded with each other. Seeing that the Chaozhou gentry not only kept their family property after surrendering, but also received official positions and rewards, they also surrendered to Huizhou.

The Qing court also learned from the surrendered gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou that Su Guansheng had led his troops away and Guangzhou City was already empty of troops.
Huizhou Prefecture is next to Guangzhou Prefecture. How could the Qing Dynasty not launch a surprise attack on Guangzhou?

The letters reporting safety also had an explanation. Chaozhou and Huizhou both surrendered to the Qing court together, and their seals were complete. So what could the court documents say?

To be honest, if Zhu Lang was on the side of the Qing court, he would have launched a surprise attack on Guangzhou.

If Guangzhou can be captured in one fell swoop, the situation in the entire Guangdong Province will collapse immediately.

But when Zhu Lang thought of this, his expression became uglier. Although the surprise attack on Guangzhou was reasonable, he was the one being attacked.

Ma Bao saw that everyone in the room was silent, as if they were still digesting the news he had said.
He glanced at the young man in dragon robes above him, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke

"I know you have 20,000 Guangdong troops in Guangdong Province, but you absolutely cannot defend Guangdong Province."

"Although the raid failed, Li Chengdong still has more than 6,000 men under his command, and the Tartar Guangdong Provincial Governor Tong Yangjia also has more than 11,000 men under his command. These people will arrive later..."

Ma Bao was halfway through his words when Li Chengzhi's expression suddenly changed. He suddenly shouted:
"Didn't you just say that you don't know how many people are in Tong Yangjia's army?"

Ma Bao glanced at Li Chengzhi, who looked angry, and said calmly

"I didn't lie to you. I only know that Li Chengdong's army has 6,000 soldiers. I'm not a general in Tong Yangjia's army, so how can I know the exact number of soldiers in Tong Yangjia's army?"

"This number was secretly counted by Li Chengdong when the two armies gathered together. I saw it by accident."

"Didn't you tell me to tell the truth? I'm really scared of death, and I can't lie to you with news that I'm not sure of myself."

Ma Bao looked at Li Chengzhi with a grin, his face full of sarcasm.
(End of this chapter)