Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 781 Come to vote
Without further ado, just do it.

Li You and Zheng Hongkui hit it off and decided to contact Jing Wuer, and soon the two sides were in touch.

To the surprise of Li You and Zheng Hongkui, the progress after the contact was extremely smooth. Jing Wuer not only directly proposed his intention to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but also did not care much about some of the requests. They originally thought that Jing Wuer would bargain with them, such as official positions, rewards, etc., in addition to the command of the Niulu he led, etc., or other requests of one kind or another.

But who would have thought that Jing Wuer didn't consider all these at all. He directly stated that as long as Ming Dynasty was willing to accept them, he could be the director and make arrangements according to Ming Dynasty's wishes. As long as Ming Dynasty didn't treat these people unfairly, they would work hard for Ming Dynasty.

This result surprised Li You and Zheng Hongkui, but they were also a little confused. In order to worry that Jing Wuer's surrender was fake, they made a series of back-up arrangements. But it was not until Jing Wuer personally brought people to show his sincerity, and he and another Niulu Zhangjing were willing to go to Ludao alone to meet Li You and Zheng Hongkui, that they were convinced that Jing Wuer's surrender was real.

As a warship approached Ludao from north to south, Li You and Zheng Hongkui were already waiting at the dock. When they saw two burly men getting off the warship, they knew that the two men must be Jing Wuer and another Niulu Zhang Jing Guanbao.

Jing Wuer is older, with a rough look and a big beard, while Guan Bao is much younger. The two look somewhat similar and it seems that they are related by blood. If not, why would Jing Wuer go to Chengzitan after leaving Jinzhou and persuade Guan Bao to surrender to the Ming Dynasty together?
Li You and Zheng Hongkui exchanged glances and stepped forward to greet him.

"But what about Generals Jing Wuer and Guan Bao?" Li You asked with a smile. At this time, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao had already landed. Although Shikama was not far from the mainland, it only took them half an hour to get to the island by warship. However, both of them were landlubbers and had never been on a boat, let alone going to sea. After landing, their legs and feet felt a little weak and their faces turned slightly pale.

"I dare not call myself a general. I am Jingwuer. This is my nephew Guan Bao. May I know your name, general?" Jingwuer smiled and asked while bowing.

"I'm General Li You, and this is General Zheng." Li You said with a smile. Zheng Hongkui was also very polite. He greeted the two of them with a smile on his face and bowed.

When they heard that the two main generals of the Ming army were standing in front of them, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao were a little surprised. They originally thought that the other party would send their subordinates to pick them up, but who would have thought that both generals came. Such preferential treatment really made them feel flattered.

Jing Wuer and Guan Bao had never seen Li You and Zheng Hongkui, but their names were now well known throughout Liaodong. Even the various tribes in the Eight Banners were terrified at the mention of them, especially since the latter had just led the navy to annihilate the coalition forces of Pidao and the Korean navy, winning an extremely beautiful victory. After the news spread, the various tribes in Liaodong were even more frightened, and they were all worried that Zheng Hongkui's warships might appear one day, and with them would be Li You's highly combat-capable army.

Previously, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao thought that Li You and Zheng Hongkui were burly generals, or were as rugged as them, with big beards. But when they met, they found that it was not what they imagined at all. Li You was tall but white and slim, with a beard on his lips. He didn't look like a general at all in ordinary clothes, but more like a scholar.

Not to mention Zheng Hongkui. Although he had a short beard and looked stronger than Li You, he looked more like a scholar. If his identity was not revealed, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao would have thought that they were military councilors, not commanders.
Upon learning the other party's identity, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly knelt down to kowtow. Seeing this, Li You and Zheng Hongkui hurried forward to support them, and each of them pulled them up from the ground.

"General, you two have come to surrender. There is no need to perform such a grand ceremony. Since you are here, you are one of us. According to military rules, you only need to perform a military salute."

"Hmm..." Jing Wuer responded subconsciously, then immediately realized and changed his words: "Yes... I understand. I am new here and don't know the rules. Please don't blame me, gentlemen."

"It's okay, it's okay. Ignorance is not a crime." Although Zheng Hongkui looks like a scholar, he is actually well-educated, but his character is careless because of his background. Otherwise, he would not have led the charge into battle with a sword in hand.

With a big grin, he patted Jing Wuer's shoulder and said in a very familiar way: "Don't worry, brother. The military etiquette of my Great Ming is not complicated. When I have time, I will send someone to explain it to you in detail and you will understand. Besides, you and I are both from the battlefield. Why do warriors have so many rules? Once you come here, you are one of us, you are our brothers! Come on, come on, how are you feeling after the boat ride? Can you bear it? How about taking a rest? If you are fine, let's have a few drinks together today, as a welcome to you."

Zheng Hongkui's attitude was not like that of a scholar, nor even a general. Instead, he looked like a hero who had come to Liangshan to join the bandits. He was very casual. But this look made Jing Wuer feel very close. The Jurchens had not been established for a long time and were originally from a fishing and hunting background. They always liked straightforward men. When Zheng Hongkui said this, Jing Wuer immediately laughed and nodded repeatedly, saying that it was okay for him. Since General Zheng wanted to drink, he happened to be thirsty, so he would drink with General Zheng. The two of them were talking and laughing and were very intimate. They walked back with their arms around each other. Li You saw this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As for Guan Bao, who had been silent, he had no choice but to apologize to Li You, saying that his uncle was just like this, and asked General Li not to be offended.

Li You waved his hand and said it was okay. Zheng Hongkui meant what he meant, and what Zheng Hongkui said was not wrong. Since you are here, you are one of us. It's like being at home. Don't be restrained. Let's go! Let's drink together.

The attitude of Li You and Zheng Hongkui made Jing Wuer and Guan Bao feel relieved. They originally thought that they would be treated with some difficulties after surrendering, but they did not expect such a warm reception. When they arrived at the place, Zheng Hongkui asked someone to bring the prepared wine and food, and pulled Jing Wuer to sit next to him. As for Guan Bao, Li You accompanied him, and the four of them sat opposite each other and drank and talked.

The wine was not good, and the military rules prohibited drinking, but today was an exception. As for the dishes, they were ordinary, except for some fresh fish, the rest was no different from usual. But as they drank and ate, the two sides quickly became familiar with each other, and the more they talked, the more relaxed they became.

After three rounds of drinking, Zheng Hongkui put down the wine glass in his hand and asked Jing Wuer why he wanted to surrender to the Ming Dynasty this time? As the Niulu Zhangjing of the Zhenglan Banner, they were also well-known and powerful people in the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, they had not fought with them since Zheng Hongkui led his troops across the sea. Why did they suddenly want to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?
This question was not only what Zheng Hongkui wanted to ask, but also what Li You had been curious about. The two of them had been thinking about it for days, but they couldn't figure out what Jing Wuer was thinking. If they didn't get to the bottom of this matter, they would feel uncomfortable, so they asked it directly under the influence of alcohol.

Jing Wuer was not surprised by this question. Since he had decided to defect to the Ming Dynasty, he naturally expected the other party to ask him these questions.

Raising his hand to drink the wine in the glass, Jing Wuer wiped his mouth and immediately explained the matter to Li You and Zheng Hongkui.

Jingwuer did not beat around the bush and told the other party directly what he thought, including how the Zhenglan Banner was suppressed by Huang Taiji and how his old master Manggurtai died. When talking about the sad things, Jingwuer, a big and strong man, even shed tears. In the end, he even cursed Huang Taiji as a bastard who ignored family affection in order to fight for power and was so cruel to his own brother.

Apart from these, Jingwuer also mentioned Yuetuo, saying that Yuetuo intended to kill someone with a borrowed knife and use their Zhenglan Banner as cannon fodder. He, Jingwuer, was not a coward, but he was unwilling to be schemed against and die in such a cowardly way. Instead of doing so, it would be better to rebel directly. Moreover, Jingwuer said that they, the Jurchens, were originally the people of the Ming Dynasty. When the old Khan started the rebellion, they were his subordinates and had no choice. Now Huang Taiji changed the Later Jin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, and he no longer called himself Khan but an emperor, but in his heart he was still a person of the Ming Dynasty.

In this case, isn't it natural to surrender to the Ming Dynasty? What good can come from following a man like Huang Taiji? Not to mention that they and Huang Taiji have a deep hatred, this is the real reason for deciding to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

At this point, Jing Wuer patted his chest and assured Zheng Hongkui that since he had come to the Ming Dynasty, he would obey the Ming Dynasty's orders and do whatever it told him to do. However, he had one request, which was that he hoped to continue leading the troops in the next war with Huang Taiji. His greatest wish was to chop off Huang Taiji's head to avenge Manggurtai. As long as the Ming Dynasty could allow him to avenge this, he would not hesitate even if he died!
After listening to Jing Wuer's explanation, and looking at his indignant expression, as well as Guan Bao's sad nod beside him, Li You and Zheng Hongkui suddenly realized why they had come to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

All this fuss was caused by the division within the Eight Banners. No wonder Jing Wuer specifically mentioned in his letter that as long as the Ming Dynasty could accept him, he would be able to persuade other Niulu of the Zhenglan Banner to surrender.

Zheng Hongkui had been in the south for a long time and didn't know much about the Eight Banners, but Li You was different! He had followed Wang Jinwu since he was a child. He had not only been to the grasslands, but also dealt with the Jurchens. He knew a lot about the situation in Liaodong, and he also knew a lot about the Eight Banners created by Nurhaci.

Although the Eight Banners system was created by Nurhaci, in fact, this system was built on the basis of the original Jurchen tribe. Nurhaci's Later Jin was also established based on the Eight Banners system. From this point of view, each banner of the Eight Banners is actually no different from a previous tribe. The banner owner is the owner (leader) of the tribe, and the political power composed of the Eight Banners is also a relatively loose and relatively independent existence, which is completely different from the political structure of the Ming Dynasty.

Even though Huang Taiji later changed the Later Jin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and adjusted its political structure to the centralized power of the Ming Dynasty after he became emperor, the Eight Banners system could not be changed. This is also the real reason why Huang Taiji suppressed Amin and Manggurtai. In addition to being Huang Taiji's political enemies and threats, their independence had affected Huang Taiji's rule over the Qing Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)