Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 298: Peace talks? No, it's surrender!

The child bit his fingers, looked at Weng He eagerly, and spoke.

"Can I go back too?"

"But grandpa once told me that our hometown doesn't want us anymore..."

Weng He understood that the child was probably talking about the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty was truly inhumane. When dealing with overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, it stated more than once that they were abandoned overseas people and publicly stated that it would not care about them.

Overseas Chinese are not even allowed to return to their hometowns!
Weng He took a deep breath and spoke.

"how is this possible?"

"The Manchu Tartars will abandon our Han Chinese overseas descendants, but our Tang Dynasty will not. Otherwise, how could we have come to Southeast Asia?"

"One day, sooner or later, you will all return to your roots..."

As he spoke, Weng Tong seemed to have found the meaning of his coming overseas to serve as an official.

It is not just for promotion and wealth, but also for the Han people who are living overseas but still have their hearts in their homeland.

There is no contradiction between the two!
Weng He rubbed the child's head, took out a silver dollar from his arms, stuffed it into his hand, and spoke.

"Use it to buy candy!"

After saying this, he held his head high and chest out, then strode forward with the team.

……

Hangzhou City!
Hangzhou General’s Mansion!
The Tang Dynasty's envoy held his head high and chest puffed out, and walked into the Hangzhou General's Mansion with a calm expression, despite the angry stares of the Eight Banners disciples beside him.

Jiang Guoyu looked disdainful and arrogant, treating the Eight Banners descendants around him as air.

Zhejiang Governor He Yun took the initiative to step forward to greet him.

"Your Excellency has come from afar, it must be very hard."

"Please follow me. The two generals have prepared a banquet in the reception room and are waiting for the envoy to take a seat."

Facing the envoy sent by the Tang army, He Yun behaved quite humblely.

It can even be said to be humble.

It can be seen how insecure he is right now.

Jiang Guoyu just nodded slightly when he heard this.

"Lead the way!"

Hearing this, He Yun nodded and led the way.

Jiang Guoyu was brought all the way to the reception room of the General's Mansion in Hangzhou.

Jiang Guoyu walked into the reception room, glanced around, then walked to the empty main seat without any hesitation and sat down.

His swaggering actions made Youfeng, Ruichang and others frown.

But given the current situation in Jiangnan, the Qing Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, and as people are under someone’s roof, they can only bow their heads.

A servant came forward to fill Jiang Guoyu's glass with wine, and He Yun took the initiative to greet him.

"Your Excellency, please, this is Shaoxing girl red wine that has been stored in the cellar for twenty years. It has a sweet and mellow taste. This is a good wine that I specially prepared for you. Your Excellency, please have a taste."

Jiang Guoyu heard this and waved his hand.

"No need!"

"I didn't come here to drink today."

"My Tang soldiers are now on high alert, ready to mobilize and retake Zhejiang at any time. I don't have that much time to talk nonsense with you."

"Let's get straight to the point!"

Hearing this, He Yun opened his mouth to say something, but before he could say anything, You Feng on the side spoke.

"Okay, since the messenger said so, let's get straight to the point."

Jiang Guoyu nodded immediately and said.

"After careful consideration, we, the Tang Dynasty, have decided to give you a chance to surrender."

"If you surrender unconditionally, our Tang Dynasty can guarantee the safety of you and the Eight Banners of Hangzhou."

When Jiang Guoyu said this, You Feng and others were stunned.

Ruichang couldn't help but argue.

"It's peace talks, not surrender!"

"Although the Qing Dynasty was defeated in the Jiangnan War, Zhejiang Province still has a considerable number of soldiers capable of fighting. How could they surrender without a fight?!"

Enming, Shi Delu and others also echoed.

"Yes, how could the Qing Dynasty surrender without a fight?"

"Zhejiang still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and is still capable of fighting!"

Jiang Guoyu sneered disdainfully when he heard this.

"With your reputation, do you think you are qualified to negotiate peace with the Tang Dynasty?"

"The Tang Dynasty has granted your request for surrender and spared your lives, which is already a great favor."

"If you don't know what's good for you and disobey the will of heaven, when the heavenly soldiers come to kill you, don't say I didn't warn you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions on You Feng and others' faces froze instantly.

Anger was written all over every face.

However, none of them dared to get angry.

Jiang Guoyu snorted coldly and continued.

"My Great Tang Royal Army is ready to send troops to Zhejiang at any time."

"I advise you not to put up a meaningless resistance!"

You Feng took a deep breath and continued.

"The Qing Dynasty still has tens of thousands of soldiers in Zhejiang Province, including some elite troops, and we still have the strength to fight."

"How can you surrender unconditionally?"

"You can take over Zhejiang without any troops, but as a condition, I hope you can open a way for my Qing troops to withdraw from Zhejiang..."

Jiang Guoyu's face turned obviously cold, and he said bluntly.

"It seems that you don't understand what I'm saying."

"I have said that the only option before you now is unconditional surrender."

"The Tang Dynasty will not negotiate any terms with you!"

"You are not worthy!"

He is still frighteningly strong.

Upon hearing this, Ruichang couldn't help but slam the table.

"If you are so insincere, then there is no need to talk." "Keep fighting!"

"Believe me, the tens of thousands of Qing troops in Zhejiang will make you pay the price."

However, although Ruichang appears to be very strong on the surface, he is actually very unsure in his heart.

Faced with the powerful Tang army, it was really difficult for the Qing army to muster the courage to fight.

Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces were all lost in a short period of time.

Zhejiang cannot stand alone, how long can it hold out?
Jiang Guoyu glanced at Ruichang coldly and sneered disdainfully.

"Tens of thousands of troops?"

"Haha, could it be that you guys have included those Green Camp soldiers in the count?"

"Haha, who gave you the confidence? Under the circumstances that the Qing Dynasty is about to collapse, will those Green Camp soldiers still follow you to the end?"

"I might as well tell you that it's not just you bannermen who have contacted our Tang Dynasty and asked for surrender."

There was an obvious threat in Jiang Guoyu's words.

Tell You Feng and others clearly that there is a traitor on your side!
The Green Camp soldiers and you Eight Banners are not of the same mind. Those Green Camp soldiers have already sent people to contact our Tang Dynasty.

Of course, Jiang Guoyu did not directly point out who contacted Datang.

But the more this happened, the more likely it was that the Qing Dynasty would fall into internal self-doubt, causing bannermen like You Feng to begin to feel suspicious of the Han people.

It may even further intensify the latent conflicts between Manchus and Han people within the Qing Dynasty.

After hearing what Jiang Guoyu said, You Feng and others' faces really changed.

There was obvious worry on many people's faces.

The Green Camp had other intentions. The few thousand Eight Banners soldiers in Hangzhou could not defend Zhejiang...

He Yun continued to speak tentatively.

"Is there really no discussion?"

"The Qing Dynasty is willing to pay any price, just to allow the Hangzhou Eight Banners to safely cross the river and return to Jiangbei."

Jiang Guoyu said in a firm tone, without allowing any room for argument.

"Unconditional surrender is the only way for you to survive that the Tang Dynasty offers."

"If you surrender unconditionally, our Tang Dynasty can guarantee the safety of the Eight Banners in Hangzhou and will not kill without reason."

"But if you refuse to surrender and choose to resist to the end, then after Hangzhou is captured, all the Eight Banners of Hangzhou will be wiped out!"

Jiang Guoyu's threat was simple.

Surrender can save your life.

But if they resist stubbornly, the Eight Banners of Hangzhou might be massacred after the city is captured.

You Feng heard this and took a deep breath.

"Please wait a moment, envoy. We need to discuss further before we can give you a reply."

Jiang Guoyu nodded expressionlessly.

"Half an hour!"

"I'll give you half an hour."

"In half an hour, no matter what the outcome of your discussion is, I will set off to return."

"May the best of luck to you all!"

Upon hearing this, You Feng couldn't help but clench his fists and secretly cursed the Tang envoy for his arrogance.

But in the end he agreed.

Youfeng led a group of Qing army high-ranking officers out of the scene and went to the back hall to discuss matters.

As soon as he arrived at the back hall, Ruichang couldn't help but speak.

"Governor, we cannot surrender!"

"The Tang thieves have made it clear that they are not going to let the Eight Banners go. The so-called surrender to save lives is just one-sided talk by the Tang thieves."

"Once we lay down our weapons, the Tang thieves will turn hostile. At that time, we will be like fish on the chopping board. It will be too late to regret it!!"

Ruichang, the general of Hangzhou, did not want to surrender so easily.

This is really too frustrating!

As soon as Ruichang said this, before Youfeng had time to speak, Enming on the side spoke up.

"Then may I ask, General, if we refuse to surrender and the Tang bandits attack us, how are we going to resist them?"

"Once Hangzhou is lost, what will the Eight Banners of Hangzhou do?"

"The Tang thief's envoy said that if we resist, after the city is captured, no one from the Eight Banners will be left alive."

Unlike Ruichang, Enming was willing to surrender.

The reason is very simple, he is afraid of death.

If he was not so afraid of death, he would not have joined Shi Delu in instigating You Feng to abandon the city when he was in Fuzhou.

Ruichang opened his mouth when he heard this, but couldn't say anything.

Seeing this, Shi Delu, who was standing by, also started to persuade them.

"General, I think you should surrender."

"The reason why we surrendered is not because we are afraid of death, but for the sake of the more than 10,000 Eight Banners people in Hangzhou."

"I believe that even if the emperor knows that we have surrendered to the Tang thieves in the future, he will understand."

Ruichang said nothing, and Youfeng had a very conflicted expression on his face.

He Yun started talking about exerting pressure.

"Generals, as far as I know, the Tang thieves have already pushed their troops to Huzhou, and I'm afraid they may attack Zhejiang at any time."

"We should have prepared earlier!"

When He Yun said this, everyone's heart sank and they realized the seriousness of the matter.

With the Tang army approaching, I'm afraid they really don't care much about the peace talks.

Sending an envoy may just be a gesture.

If we refuse to surrender, I'm afraid the Tang army will send troops immediately.

Take a deep breath and force yourself to calm down.

After hesitating for a while, Youfeng finally spoke and made a decision.

"Things have come to this point. The situation in Jiangnan has collapsed and is irreversible."

"For the sake of the Eight Banners of Hangzhou and the people of Hangzhou, we will bear the infamy and surrender..."

(End of this chapter)