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

Chapter 804 Li Dingguo's Suggestions
"Boss, I have thought about surrendering. If it was surrendered before, it would have been surrendered. Didn't Song Jiang accept the amnesty? A real man can bend and stretch. Dad was a frontier soldier in the past. But now the team has been disbanded. I am not the Eighth King anymore. There are less than a thousand people in my old camp except for the four of you. If I surrender with such a small amount of capital, will the court accept it?"

Zhang Xianzhong asked back worriedly. He still trusted Li Dingguo, so he naturally would not think like Sun Kewang that Li Dingguo came up with this idea to use him as a shield and make profits for himself.

At the beginning, Zhang Xianzhong adopted Li Dingguo as his adopted son and cultivated him vigorously because he valued Li Dingguo's kindness and righteousness. If Li Dingguo was really a treacherous villain, not to mention that Zhang Xianzhong himself did not believe it, even if it was true, Zhang Xianzhong would have accepted it. Who made him fail to judge people?
Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong had absolute trust in Li Dingguo, but the problem was that Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Wenxiu had the same concerns. If he surrendered when he had a large army, the Ming army would definitely accept it. But now he had become a dog without a home. If he surrendered without strong capital at this time, would the court let him go?

"If I surrender to King Lu, or other officers and generals, I may not be sure of success. But if I surrender here, I think I can still give it a try." Li Dingguo said.

Zhang Xianzhong was stunned: "What do you mean by that?"

"Father, look over there..." Li Dingguo stretched out his hand and pointed in the direction of Dangzikou. Zhang Xianzhong subconsciously looked over there, but he didn't think he saw anything.

"Boss, just say whatever you want to say, don't beat around the bush." ​​Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but urge.

Li Dingguo smiled and explained to Zhang Xianzhong and his three brothers, "I just went to the front to take a look. There is a large group of Ming troops at Dangzikou, and they are flying the Gao banner."

"What's the problem?" Zhang Xianzhong was puzzled. Even Liu Wenxiu and others didn't understand what Li Dingguo wanted to say.

Li Dingguo no longer beat around the bush and told Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Wenxiu directly that he had learned about the various units of the Ming army and had a general idea of ​​the situation of each Ming army general. According to what he knew, there was only one general with the surname Gao in the Ming army, and this general was Gao Jie, the general transferred from Shaanxi.

Gao Jie played a great role in the destruction of Gao Yingxiang's army. After that, the situation in Shaanxi improved due to the destruction of Gao Yingxiang's army. The court ordered the various tribes in Shaanxi to wipe out the remaining small bandits in the province, and at the same time, sent troops into Henan to cooperate with Chen Qiyu and others to encircle and suppress the various rebel armies.

This is how Gao Jie's troops came from Shaanxi to Henan. However, Gao Jie did not fight with Zhang Xianzhong's troops before, but was chasing Li Zicheng's troops. However, Li Dingguo did not know how Gao Jie's troops got to Dangzikou. Perhaps it was because of the mobilization of various Ming army units that they appeared in Dangzikou.

Compared with other Ming army generals, Gao Jie was different from them. According to what Li Dingguo knew, Gao Jie was originally a subordinate of Gao Yingxiang, or more accurately, a subordinate of the new King Li Zicheng. It is said that Li Zicheng has always been accustomed to wearing a green hat, both his first wife and his second wife.

Li Zicheng's second wife followed Gao Jie. It was because they had an affair that she was afraid that Li Zicheng would cause trouble for them, so she left Li Zicheng and took her people to join the government army.

Gao Jie was lucky because the person he surrendered to was Wang Rong, the commander of the Shanxi Guard. After the surrender, Gao Jie's wife, Xing Qiaoer, Li Zicheng's second wife, was very capable. She somehow managed to make Wang Rong become her adoptive father. In this way, Gao Jie became Wang Rong's godson.

It stands to reason that relying on a mere commander of a garrison and being worshipped as a foster father would at most allow Gao Jie to have a place in the Ming army, but no one could have expected what happened later. Less than a year after Gao Jie surrendered to the court, a major event occurred in the Ming Dynasty. This major event was that Zhu Shenzhu, a member of the royal family in Shanxi, suddenly raised an army and entered the capital in just half a month under the banner of clearing the court of evil officials and pacifying the national crisis, thus becoming the regent of the Ming Dynasty.

At present, Zhu Shenzhui is not only the regent, but also the King of Wu. Except that he did not eventually ascend the throne, he is no different from the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, the nominal emperor of the Ming Dynasty is still Emperor Chongzhen, but in reality he is in control of the country by Prince Wu Zhu Shenzhui. It won't be long before Zhu Shenzhui replaces Chongzhen and ascends the throne, becoming the true master of the Ming Dynasty.

The inconspicuous Shanxi Guard Commander Wang Rong was exactly the uncle of the current Regent Zhu Shenzhui. Wang Rong had a son named Wang Jinwu, who was not only Zhu Shenzhui's cousin but also his general. He now controlled the most elite troops of the Ming Dynasty. It was Wang Jinwu who not only helped Zhu Shenzhui capture the capital, but also led his troops to repel Huang Taiji in Liaodong at the Great Wall. He had outstanding military exploits and was already the number one person in the Ming military.

Judging from this relationship, Gao Jie rose to fame overnight and was actually related to the regent Zhu Shenzhui. To be honest, he should call Zhu Shenzhui "cousin". This is also the reason why Gao Jie later went to Shaanxi and was like a fish in water under Sun Chuanting, because Sun Chuanting was Wang Jinwu's brother-in-law and his sister was married to Wang Jinwu. Otherwise, how could Gao Jie, a mere surrendered general, rise to prominence in just a few years and become a general? "This Gao Jie is really lucky!" Li Dingguo's words stunned everyone, including Zhang Xianzhong, who didn't expect Gao Jie to have such a background. When you think about it, Gao Jie was just an inconspicuous quartermaster under Li Zicheng before, and his status was far behind that of a rebel leader like Zhang Xianzhong. He even cheated on Li Zicheng's wife because of his affair, and was eventually forced to surrender to the court.

Such a guy actually became the general of the Ming Dynasty. It was said that he might even get a title based on his military achievements. Everyone felt very unhappy.

"This is human fate. If such things had happened in the past, who could have predicted the subsequent changes? Not everyone can have such luck." Li Dingguo sighed.

This made everyone nod their heads. Yes! Comparisons are frustrating. It was unimaginable that Gao Jie, a mere woman thief, had such an opportunity. But he did it. How could anyone have thought of it before?

"Boss, what you mean is that if we surrender directly to Gao Jie, Gao Jie might show mercy to us?" Although Zhang Xianzhong envied Gao Jie's opportunity, he was more concerned about his own situation. After thinking for a while, he asked.

"Father is right. That's exactly what I think." Li Dingguo nodded and said, "First of all, Gao Jie is a rebel, and many of his subordinates are rebels. The rebels in the world are one family. If we go to join him, at least Gao Jie won't be disgusted with us like other government generals."

"Are all the righteous armies in the world one family? Brother, don't forget that Gao Yingxiang was defeated and captured. Gao Jie contributed a lot. He was Gao Yingxiang's subordinate back then." Sun Kewang asked in return.

Li Dingguo smiled and explained, "This is different. Gao Yingxiang is Gao Yingxiang. How can father and father be compared? It is true that Gao Jie worked under Gao Yingxiang, but he is actually a direct subordinate of Gao Yingxiang's nephew Li Zicheng. He probably has never even met Gao Yingxiang, so how can he be loyal to Gao Yingxiang? Moreover, don't forget how Gao Jie joined the government army. Based on the grudge between him and Li Zicheng, it is impossible for him to let Gao Yingxiang go."

"But father is different. He has never had any grudge against Gao Jie, and he has nothing to do with Li Zicheng. Even when Gao Yingxiang was alive, father was on equal footing with Gao Yingxiang. Gao Jie resented Li Zicheng, but what did that have to do with father? Moreover, father's surrender to Gao Jie was a great achievement for Gao Jie. How could he refuse such a good thing?"

"That's true..." Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly and said so in his heart.

Li Dingguo continued, "Gao Jie is different from other generals. Other generals might be ruthless to my father, but Gao Jie is from the righteous army, so he should be given some face. Moreover, Gao Jie's background is different. His wife is a righteous soldier of Wang Rong. This means that she is not only related to the current regent, but also related to Sun Chuanting. As long as Gao Jie is willing, with his status and face as a guarantor, my father's life will naturally be safe."

"As for the third one, it's the bribe I mentioned just now. Gao Jie's family background is there, and he doesn't have a deep foundation in the Ming army. He has been fighting all these years, and his family probably doesn't have much assets. Although his father was defeated, he has a lot of gold and silver. As the saying goes, you can't kill a wolf without sacrificing a child. Spend more money to bribe Gao Jie. As long as Gao Jie accepts the money, everything will be fine."

Li Dingguo's words were clear and logical, which made Zhang Xianzhong very moved.

If Gao Jie is indeed as Li Dingguo said, then surrendering to Gao Jie is the best way out at the moment. As long as Gao Jie is dealt with and Gao Jie guarantees for him, his life will be safe. He may even be able to get a position as a result of his voluntary surrender.

As for what to do in the future, that is a matter for the future. After the crisis is over, whether to be a court official or to act according to circumstances, it will not be too late to decide when to look back on the actual situation. Right now, saving your life is the most important thing, and everything else can be put aside.

"What do you think?" Zhang Xianzhong asked the other three. Liu Wenxiu nodded to indicate that he agreed with Li Dingguo's method. Although Sun Kewang wanted to object, he knew that Li Dingguo's method seemed the most reliable at the moment. If Gao Jie was really as he said, then it would indeed be a way out. Although Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo had conflicts, he was not stupid in this situation. He couldn't joke with his own life, right?
As for Ai Nengqi, there is no need to ask. He obeyed Zhang Xianzhong's orders and always agreed with Zhang Xianzhong's decision, no matter whether it was right or wrong.

Seeing his adopted sons like this, Zhang Xianzhong finally made up his mind and decided to surrender to Gao Jie in order to save his life. However, how to surrender does not mean to take people to Dangzikou to surrender immediately. Doing so would be foolish. Zhang Xianzhong had to test Gao Jie's attitude and bargain before surrendering. So after discussion, it was decided to send Li Dingguo as an envoy to Dangzikou. Li Dingguo, who made this suggestion, did not refuse and immediately agreed. After a little preparation, he took some gold, silver and jewelry given to him by Zhang Xianzhong and two followers to Dangzikou to find Gao Jie.

(End of this chapter)