My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 278 Oh no! We've fallen for Li Zicheng's trap!

At this point, the atmosphere in the tent finally eased.

They then discussed in detail the specifics of the surrender the next day, such as how to write the surrender document, who to send to deliver it, and how many people to send to Sun Chuanting the next day.

Meanwhile, inside Tongguan.

Sun Chuanting, who had just managed to fall asleep, suddenly opened his eyes in his sleep.

Those eyes, which were originally tightly closed, were now filled with terror and panic, as if they had encountered something extremely terrible in their dreams.

Immediately afterwards, he couldn't help but shiver, the chill spreading instantly from his spine to his entire body, causing him to involuntarily shrink back.

Because he really did have a nightmare!
He dreamed that Li Zicheng breached Tongguan Pass, that he died for his country, and that the Ming Dynasty perished.
This nightmare woke him up instantly.

At this moment, his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and his breathing became rapid and heavy.

Fortunately, it was just a dream!

After comforting himself in this way, Sun Chuanting lay down again and slowly closed his eyes.

But the nightmares kept flashing through my mind, as if they were more than just a dream.
More than an hour later, Sun Chuanting finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, before dawn, the world was still shrouded in a hazy darkness, with only a faint glimmer of dawn appearing on the horizon.

dong dong dong.
But just then, a series of urgent knocks on the door broke the tranquility of the early morning.

This was followed by anxious shouts:
"My lord! My lord! Get up quickly, something terrible has happened!"

The voice was filled with terror and panic, as if the sky had collapsed.

Almost instantly, Sun Chuanting opened his eyes and sat up straight in bed.

His movements were swift and agile, as if he were suddenly pulled up by an invisible force.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sun Chuanting rolled out of bed and hurriedly walked towards the door as soon as his feet touched the ground.

Recently, because Li Zicheng has been attacking Tongguan every day, Sun Chuanting has been sleeping fully clothed at night so that he can react immediately in case of an emergency.

Even when he gets up in the morning, he doesn't even wash his face, just eats something and goes straight to the city wall, his main strength is his quick reaction!
The same is true today!

After all, this is a matter of life and death, and every minute and every second is crucial, allowing no room for the slightest slackness or delay.

When he opened the door, he saw a guard standing in the doorway, looking at him with a panicked expression.

Sun Chuanting was somewhat puzzled by this scene, but not surprised, because he had already prepared for all kinds of emergencies.

So he simply asked:

"What? Has the rebel army attacked the city again? I'll go check it out right away!"

After saying this, Sun Chuanting hurriedly planned to go to the city wall to take a look.

He was disheveled and his face was slightly fogged up, but that didn't stop him from doing what he had to do.

Before he could take a step, the military officer suddenly grabbed him and said in a trembling voice:
"Sir, that's not how it is!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting became puzzled.

Just as he was about to ask what had happened, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

It was just too quiet today; the entire Tongguan area was eerily quiet. Not a sound could be heard.

You know, at this time of year, the rebels would have already attacked the city, but today it's so quiet, which is obviously not right.

Just then, the military officer who had come to deliver the message finally spoke.

"My lord, the rebel leader did not send anyone to attack the city today, but instead sent someone to surrender!"

what?
surrender?

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting's mind went blank.

His eyes widened instantly, his face filled with shock and disbelief, as if he had heard the most astonishing thing in the world.

Not
What the hell is going on here?

Yesterday, the rebel leader Li Zicheng was still desperately attacking the city, attacking from dawn until afternoon, as if he wanted to raze the entire Tongguan Pass to the ground.

How come the thief suddenly wants to surrender after I woke up?
What tricks is Li Zicheng up to?
Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?

Sun Chuanting asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Upon hearing this, the military officer quickly replied:

"Anyway, that's what the people Li Zicheng sent said. We also think this is a conspiracy, so we dare not make a decision on our own. That's why we've come to discuss this matter with you, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting left without saying a word and rushed towards the city wall.

The messenger general followed closely behind, not daring to utter a sound the entire way.

Upon reaching the city wall, Sun Chuanting saw a peasant army general riding a black horse below.

The general was holding a white flag and waving it vigorously.

The white flags fluttered gently in the breeze, as if conveying some kind of message to the people on the city walls.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, it was common knowledge that white flags were used to surrender, so the soldiers on the city wall did not fire arrows.

Furthermore, since the other side kept shouting that he was sent by Li Zicheng to surrender to the imperial court, the soldiers on the city wall dared not make a move.

After all, when two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys!

Even so, Sun Chuanting was still somewhat unsure.

His gaze was fixed on the man below the city, his eyes filled with vigilance and suspicion.

Just then, the man below the city wall seemed to have noticed something and hurriedly shouted:

"May I ask if the person atop the city wall is Lord Sun Chuanting?"

Seeing that he had been discovered, Sun Chuanting didn't hide anything and said directly:
"It is indeed I, the official. And who are you, and what brings you here?"

His voice was calm and authoritative, as if he were declaring his identity and authority to the other party.

The general holding the white flag shouted:
"I am Liu Zongmin, a subordinate of the rebel leader Chuang Wang. I have come to surrender to you on behalf of Chuang Wang, and I also have a letter written by Chuang Wang himself. I hope you will accept us."

His voice carried a hint of respect and humility, as if he had truly given up resistance and intended to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

As soon as these words were spoken, the people on the city wall began to whisper among themselves.

Because they all knew Liu Zongmin.

Liu Zongmin was a general under Li Zicheng. He was highly respected in the peasant army because of his bravery in battle, and he was also one of Li Zicheng's confidants.

Li Zicheng's willingness to send a trusted confidant to surrender suggests that he genuinely intends to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

However, most people remain skeptical, since Li Zicheng has little credibility with the Ming army!

Even so, Sun Chuanting still decided to meet Liu Zongmin in person.

So he shouted loudly to Liu Zongmin downstairs:

"Remove all your weapons and armor and come up to the city for a discussion!"

His voice carried an unquestionable tone of command, as if telling the other party that this was his only choice.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers on the city wall lowered a huge basket down, preparing to pull Liu Zongmin up.

As for why the city gates weren't opened, it was, of course, to prevent any accidents from happening.

At this time, any negligence could lead to serious consequences, so Sun Chuanting had to be careful.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin, who was standing below the city wall, naturally agreed obediently.

Immediately afterwards, he dismounted, casually removed all his weapons and armor, and stood there wearing only a cotton coat.

Then, Liu Zongmin obediently sat on the basket, gripping the edge of the basket tightly with both hands, and let the soldiers on the city wall pull him up.

In fact, when Liu Zongmin first learned that Li Zicheng was going to send him to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he was extremely unwilling.

He felt that surrendering to the Ming army at this point would be tantamount to suicide.

But Li Zicheng said at the time that it was a feigned surrender, not a real surrender, and repeatedly assured that the Ming army would not kill the envoy.

He also said that Liu Zongmin was his confidant and eloquent, and that only Liu Zongmin was suitable for this kind of thing.

Anyone else would definitely not have been able to accomplish this!

Having served under Li Zicheng for many years, Liu Zongmin knew Li Zicheng's temperament and methods well. Although he was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to agree.

And so, this is what happened.

A moment later, Liu Zongmin was pulled onto the city wall.

Before he could even stand still, dozens of soldiers surrounded him.

However, they did not make a move immediately. Instead, they carefully searched his body, leaving no corner unchecked, for fear that he might be hiding some concealed weapons or ammunition.

Liu Zongmin was terrified and dared not resist in the slightest, allowing the soldiers in front of him to search him.

A moment later, the officers and soldiers finally confirmed that Liu Zongmin was not carrying any weapons, only a letter from Li Zicheng.

Immediately afterwards, the letter was handed to Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting looked down and saw the words "Li Zicheng's letter to Sun Chuanting, the Governor-General of Shaanxi, begging for surrender" in large characters.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sun Chuanting opened the so-called 'letter of surrender':
Governor-General Sun Gongtai:

He himself was a commoner, and due to the hardships of the world and the pressure from the government, he had no choice but to raise the banner of righteousness.

However, years of war have led to the devastation of the people's livelihood. Every time I see the corpses of the starving in Guanzhong, I cannot help but feel heartbroken.

Now that I hear that Lord Sun is stationed in the Three Qin regions, and his military might is awe-inspiring, I, Zicheng, am willing to lead my troops to surrender in order to atone for my past sins.

I have three requests:

Firstly, if by imperial grace, Zicheng is appointed as the General of Shaanxi, he must rectify military discipline and protect the territory and its people.

Secondly, all the soldiers under Zicheng's command are willing to obey the imperial decree and move to Liaodong to guard the border and defend against the Jurchens.

Thirdly, we request the court to allocate three months' worth of provisions and pay to reassure the army and ensure that the soldiers have no worries about their rear.

I swear to Heaven!
If granted permission by the imperial court, I will surely repay it with my life.

All 600,000 troops under your command must immediately lay down their arms and await orders, with absolutely no disloyalty. Any disobedience will be punished by Heaven and man!

I humbly request that Lord Sun, understanding the situation below, relay this message on my behalf.

Since Cheng Jin led his troops, they had been eagerly awaiting news of a pacification offer.

Li Zicheng, I bow my head and pay my respects!

After reading the contents of the letter, Sun Chuanting frowned even more deeply.

At first glance, Li Zicheng's letter of surrender seemed to be full of sincerity.

If the court were willing to give him the position of general, he would be willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty with hundreds of thousands of troops, and even cooperate with the court to relocate all of these hundreds of thousands of people to Liaodong.

This is much lower than the Northwest King that Li Zicheng had previously demanded.

But to be honest, Sun Chuanting didn't believe a single word of the letter!

Before this, Li Zicheng had already surrendered to the Ming Dynasty six times!

If he falls for this trick again, he'll really be an idiot!

He immediately recognized that this was Li Zicheng's conspiracy.

However, when he thought of Zhu Cilang's previous instructions, Sun Chuanting hesitated again.

According to Zhu Cilang's previous orders, he was obligated to accept the surrender of the peasant army.

Then these surrendered peasant soldiers had to be dispersed again and sent to Liaodong in batches.

This was both an imperial edict and Zhu Cilang's order, and even Sun Chuanting dared not disobey it.

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting coldly looked at Liu Zongmin and asked:

"Liu Zongmin, I don't care what tricks Li Zicheng is playing, but I think you should know the court's attitude towards peasant armies like yours now."

His voice was cold and serious, like a sharp sword piercing straight at Liu Zongmin.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin quickly clasped his hands in greeting and said:
"As you say, sir, we are aware of this. So please rest assured, as long as the court agrees to our conditions, we are willing to go to Liaodong."

Sun Chuanting continued:
"Surrender isn't something we'll agree to just because you say it. Shouldn't you at least show some sincerity?"

His eyes revealed a deep wariness, as if telling Liu Zongmin not to think he could get away with it so easily.

Liu Zongmin was not surprised at all by these words, but instead smiled and said:

"Don't worry, sir. The rebel king has already thought of this. As long as you agree to our surrender, when I return, the rebel king's army will retreat ten miles and send the first batch of surrendered peasant soldiers, about ten thousand men."

"This is our sincerity in surrendering. But I wonder if Your Excellency could also demonstrate the sincerity of the imperial court?"

His gaze was fixed on Sun Chuanting, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Sun Chuanting raised an eyebrow and said:
"I cannot make the decision on appointing Li Zicheng as the General of Shaanxi; it must be reported to His Majesty before a decision can be made."

"So you'd better make some other requests, and I might be able to grant them."

Liu Zongmin was naturally aware of this, so he continued:

"Don't worry, sir. We are aware of this matter, so we will not put you in a difficult position."

"The peasant army is currently short of food and medicine. We hope that you, sir, can give us some. What do you say?"

Sun Chuanting thought about it and felt that the request was not too unreasonable.

Even if this is some kind of conspiracy, they won't suffer any losses.

Because first the other side withdrew their troops ten miles away, then sent 10,000 men over, and then they provided food and medicine, this deal seemed to be in their favor no matter how you looked at it.

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting nodded and said:
"In that case, I agree."

"As long as you withdraw your troops ten miles and then send people over, I will give you whatever you want."

"In addition, I will report this matter to the court as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongmin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and said:

"Rest assured, my lord, I will go back and report immediately. Within half an hour, the 600,000 troops will have retreated ten miles, and 10,000 men will have been delivered to Tongguan!"

After saying this, Liu Zongmin prepared to leave.

However, the Ming soldiers around him remained tightly surrounding him, seemingly unwilling to let him leave.

Upon seeing this scene, Liu Zongmin was somewhat flustered, but he still pretended to be calm and looked at Sun Chuanting.

Seeing this, Sun Chuanting casually waved his hand and said:
"Let him leave!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Ming soldiers around him made way for him.

Then two soldiers lowered Liu Zongmin down again.

After descending from the city wall, Liu Zongmin quickly put on the armor he had taken off earlier, and then rode away without saying a word.

As for Sun Chuanting and the others, they watched from the city tower in the direction Liu Zongmin had left.

Immediately afterward, a burly general with a solemn expression standing next to Sun Chuanting could no longer contain his worry and couldn't help but speak up:
"My lord, I have a strong feeling that this is a conspiracy by the rebel Li Zicheng!"

"The rebel leader was attacking Tongguan with great momentum yesterday, eager to break through the city gates and wipe us all out."

"But to suddenly surrender today, this change is too abrupt."

"Given Li Zicheng's previous fickle nature, I think you shouldn't believe him."

As soon as he finished speaking, another military officer beside him quickly chimed in:
"My lord, I wholeheartedly agree. This must be a conspiracy devised by that scoundrel Li Zicheng."

"His actions were merely a delaying tactic."

"He might be plotting something bigger in the dark, just waiting for us to let our guard down so he can deliver a fatal blow."

"I hope that you, sir, will see through this carefully and not be deceived by his appearance, lest you fall into his treacherous trap."

Hearing these words, Sun Chuanting sighed helplessly before slowly saying:
"How could I not know that this is Li Zicheng's conspiracy? Li Zicheng is cunning and has always liked to use these kinds of tricks."

"But don't forget, the imperial court has already issued an imperial edict, which clearly stipulates that the Ming army must accept all peasant armies that come to surrender and then send them to Liaodong for resettlement in accordance with the edict."

"Now that the rebel leader Li Zicheng wants to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, are we going to openly defy the imperial decree?"

"Disobeying an imperial order is a capital offense! If the court finds out, all of us generals and soldiers will likely face annihilation!"

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to be frozen in place, no longer daring to utter a word.

After all, defying the imperial decree was far too serious for them; it was a matter of life and death, and the rise and fall of their families. No one dared to cross that line lightly.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Chuanting sighed heavily and said:
"Well, well, things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time."

"In any case, our main task is still to defend Tongguan Pass, which is our foundation."

"As long as Tongguan is not lost, we are not afraid of Li Zicheng's schemes and tricks."

Once these words were spoken, no one dared to say anything more. They simply stared solemnly at Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops in the distance.

In the soft morning light, they could clearly see hundreds of thousands of people densely packed in the distance, a dark mass that looked like a surging tide.

The scene was quite spectacular.

Even though everyone knew in their hearts that Li Zicheng's army was not actually very strong, and most of them were a motley crew lacking proper training and strict discipline.

However, it must be admitted that the number of Li Zicheng's army was truly frightening.

The sheer number of people was like an invisible mountain, making it hard for everyone to breathe.

Time passed slowly in the tense atmosphere. After about half an hour, a sharp-eyed general suddenly shouted:

"Look! Li Zicheng has actually withdrawn his troops!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting immediately reached for the binoculars from a nearby soldier and began to carefully observe the movements in the distance.

Sure enough, the next second he saw Li Zicheng's more than 500,000 troops slowly retreating. The neat but slightly sluggish ranks were like a winding dragon, gradually moving away from Tongguan.

Upon seeing this scene, the other generals present were instantly astonished.

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief. No one had expected that Li Zicheng would actually retreat.

About half an hour later, another troop of soldiers began to slowly march towards Tongguan.

Needless to say, these were the first batch of people Li Zicheng sent to surrender.

Sun Chuanting continued to scrutinize the group through his binoculars.

They were all dressed in rags, with haggard faces and unsteady steps, and many of them had missing limbs.

Upon seeing this, Sun Chuanting's expression changed instantly, and he cursed viciously:

"You scoundrel, I actually fell for your trick!"

The military officer standing nearby, hearing this, asked with some curiosity:
"My lord, what's wrong? Is there something amiss with this group of men?"

Sun Chuanting said angrily:

"The peasant army that Li Zicheng sent consisted mostly of the old, weak, sick, and disabled, and some of them were wounded in the previous siege battles!"

"Damn it! We've been tricked!"

"Li Zicheng clearly wants to dump all these burdens on us so that his army can maintain its fighting capacity!"

what?
Upon hearing this, the generals nearby quickly took out their binoculars and began to examine the scene closely.

Soon, they found that Sun Chuanting was right.

The people Li Zicheng sent this time were either elderly people with gray hair and unsteady steps, or small children with frightened eyes, or thin and weak people who looked as if a gust of wind could blow them over.

Besides, the other half were missing limbs, their bodies wrapped in tattered bandages, with blood still seeping from their wounds, clearly wounded in the previous siege.

Now even the dumbest person understands what's going on!
One of the generals immediately turned red with anger and shouted:
"Damn Li Zicheng, he has absolutely no martial ethics! Sending over the old, weak, sick, and disabled is one thing, but why did he even send over the wounded soldiers from the previous siege?"

"In this way, we solved a huge problem for him, but we've gotten ourselves into a lot of trouble!"

"Damn it, how dare this guy do such a thing? He has absolutely no humanity!"

In an instant, the soldiers around him were filled with rage. They gritted their teeth, filled with righteous indignation, as if they wanted to devour Li Zicheng alive.

(End of this chapter)