Chapter 848 Open the door and surrender

When Zhang Qian came out, he thought he might run into trouble with Haihan, but he didn't expect that Haihan's attitude would be so tough. He was aggressive in every word, and he didn't even bother to say anything in the scene. He almost didn't directly say "surrender".

"The two words were sprayed on Zhang Qian's face.

How could the Ming Empire surrender to a group of overseas barbarians? Zhang Qian would definitely not let go of this, which could be clearly understood with his toes. If he had said the word "surrender" here in Haihan, he would have been immediately regarded as a criminal when he returned home.

Traitors will be dealt with. But if you really want to fight a powerful enemy to the end and sacrifice your life for the country, let alone Zhang Qian, a weak scholar, even the group of Qiu Ba in Shipu Suo City can't do it.

Therefore, surrender is absolutely forbidden, but it is best to avoid fighting as much as possible. As Shi Diwen said, even if they died here fighting for the country, they may not be recognized by the country - this is undoubtedly a

This is an excellent reason for the Ming army, which originally lacked the courage to fight.

Zhang Qian was still waiting to say a few words, but the Haihan officer surnamed Shi was no longer interested in listening to him anymore, and directly asked people to see him off. Zhang Qian was full of anxiety when he came, and his face was dejected when he left. Before setting off,

None of my plans were realized, and I just learned a lesson. If I have to say I have gained something, it is probably that I witnessed the true face of the Haihan Army, and completely eradicated the unrealistic concept of "the Haihan Army is strong on the outside but powerful on the inside."

fantasy.

Ma Ling didn't expect Zhang Qian to come back so soon. After hearing the report, he immediately rushed to the city gate to meet Zhang Qian and asked about the outcome of the negotiation. Zhang Qian responded casually, but his eyes were erratic. Ma Ling understood what was happening and immediately

Screen retreated his men.

"Brother Zhang, have the Han people outside the city agreed to withdraw?" Ma Ling asked hopefully.

Zhang Qian shook his head slightly and said: "This matter is very troublesome. Not only did the Haihan people refuse to retreat, they also asked the defenders in the city to disarm and leave the city and accept their supervision. Although I tried my best to persuade, the enemy chief was extremely rude and gave him an hour

Restrictions, if the defenders still can’t get out of the city after an hour, they will attack the city!”

"These thieves are so rampant!" Ma Ling was so angry that he punched the city wall next to him, causing dirt to fly everywhere. Although he had no fighting will, his personal strength was not bad. With one punch, he actually smashed the adobe city wall out.

A shallow pit, the power is really amazing. However, the real problem still cannot be avoided. The Haihan people are approaching the city. Whether to fight or surrender, a decision must be made immediately. Now that the matter has come to this, Ma Ling does not dare to make any more decisions.

He thought that what the other party said was just a bluff. Once the cannons outside the city were fired, it would be difficult to stop the war.

"Let's call everyone together to discuss it again!" For such an important decision, Ma Ling did not dare to act arbitrarily, and planned to gather several of his hundreds of households to hold another meeting.

After listening to Zhang Qian's talk about the situation outside the city, several hundred households looked at me and I looked at you, and they all kept silent. Ma Ling was so anxious that he could only name them one by one: "Lin Baihu, the situation is like this.

, what do you think we should do?”

After the fair-skinned Lin Baihu was called upon, he responded in a low voice: "This matter is of great importance. I don't dare to discuss it in my humble position. I should obey your decision."

Ma Ling snorted and said to another person: "Zheng Baihu, what do you think?"

This man surnamed Zheng has a big beard and looks rude, but his words are impeccable: "This Haihan thief came to our door, he really deserves to be killed. Brothers, with the salary from the court, they should serve the country! It's just the power of thieves.

It is too large and invincible, so how to defeat the enemy requires careful planning and calculation."

Ma Lingxin thought that this was all nonsense. It was the same as whether he had said it or not. He pointed at the other person and said, "Wang Baihu, do you want to fight or not?"

Ma Ling was afraid that he would follow the example of the people before him, so he simply made the problem more clear. Wang Baihu said with a bitter look on his face: "Master Ma said war, brothers will fight to the death to serve the court. If Master Ma feels that it is impossible,

If we are to fight head-on with the thief, then brothers, we should endure it and conserve our strength for the time being, and take revenge later."

This Wang Baihu seems to be obedient and follows the wishes of his superior Ma Ling, but Ma Ling knows that he, like the first two, only wants to evade responsibility. If Ma Ling talks about war, then after the defeat, all responsibility will be taken away from him.

It belongs to Ma Ling alone. If the Haihan people want to settle the matter after the war, then there are grievances and debts, and they can all be blamed on Ma Ling. After all, he is the commander of Shipu Institute, so the responsibility will naturally be placed on him. In the future, the court will have to

When they were investigated, the same pattern was followed. These hundreds of households had already figured out the key. At this time, they all shirked their responsibilities and refused to make a clear statement, just to throw the blame to Ma Linglai.

.

Ma Ling was extremely angry at this time. He had such a group of cowards who were fearful of the enemy, and it would be troublesome whether they were fighting or surrendering. At the moment, he could only disperse the people with a sullen face and let them return to their respective posts. Zhang Qian bowed and resigned.

However, Ma Ling stopped him and left him alone.

"Brother Zhang, think about it carefully. That enemy chief...that Haihan officer named Shi, does he want war or peace?" Ma Ling asked Zhang Qian again.

Zhang Qian blinked and asked, "Is there any difference?"

"Of course there is a difference!" Ma Ling said anxiously: "If they intend to kill us all, they naturally do not intend to leave us a way out. Surrender or not will be a dead end! If they are willing to seek peace, there may be a glimmer of hope."

Zhang Qian thought for a while before responding: "In my opinion, although the Haihan people are willing to negotiate for peace, they are ready for war. If they want to end the war early, they still have to follow their wishes."

Ma Ling said: "If we follow their wishes and disarm the city, our army will have no power to resist. If we are harmed by the Haihan people, it will be all over!"

Zhang Qian became anxious when he heard what he said: "What a few hundred households just said, do you have any intention of resisting? When the Han people start fighting, these people may open the door and surrender, and tie you and me up.

It’s possible to send it out for merit!”

Ma Ling's face darkened: "These guys usually call each other brothers and laugh, but when the critical moment comes, no one can be relied on. It's really annoying! If I order the city to be opened, and the higher-ups investigate and hold me accountable in the future, these guys will probably betray me!"

"

Zhang Qian said: "If you really decide to open the city to negotiate peace, then you can reach an agreement with the Haihan people and let them solve these problems."

Ma Ling frowned slightly and said, "What if the Haihan people go back on their word?"

Zhang Qian shook his head and said: "What are the rumors you and I have heard about Haihan? Is it that they are powerfully armed? Have vulgar behavior? Spend money like water? Have a good way of making money? None, it is the people of Haihan who keep their promises and do what they say! As long as they promise it.

The business will be completed regardless of loss or profit. This is the main reason why Fuguang merchants are willing to cooperate with them. I am afraid that what the Haihan people say is more reliable than the hundreds of households under your command."

Ma Ling has also heard of rumors about the Haihan people. It is said that most of the rich people in Fuguang are willing to deposit their gold and silver in "banks" run by the Haihan people, and when they need it, they can withdraw it with special gold and silver checks.

For transactions between acquaintances, you don’t even need cash. You can just go to the bank with a check to transfer money. This kind of trust is based on the excellent business reputation of the Haihan people. Only by promising a large sum of money can people trust their money to be deposited in their hands.

After listening to Zhang Qian's persuasion, Ma Ling, who was already somewhat interested in taking action, became even more shaken now.

Ma Qianhu in the city was still hesitant, but the Haihan Army outside the city was already eager to give it a try. After taking control of the eastern port area of ​​Shipu Port, nearly a thousand soldiers had landed, in company units, about 300 meters south of Shipu City.

Several military formations were formed. In front of them was an artillery position that had been set up. Four siege cannons and eight 12-pound army cannons were all in position, ready to fire at any time to attack the city.

Takahashi Nan raised his hand and looked at the time. The mechanical automatic watch in his hand was a private reward given to him by Qian Tiandun after the Battle of Taipei. Although the original value of this watch was not high, in this time and space it was

It can be regarded as a priceless treasure, and Takahashi Minami is grateful for it. After all, among the naturalized civilian officers and cadres, there are only a handful of people who can receive such a precious reward.

With this watch, Takahashi Nan's orders are more timely when commanding operations. For example, at this time, he can confirm that Shi Diwen has very little time left for the defenders in Shipu Suo City.

, but at this time there still seemed to be no sign of any intention to surrender in the city. Takahashi Minami decided to ask his superiors for instructions one last time whether to launch an attack on Shipura Castle on time.

"Tell Battalion Commander Takahashi to launch the attack on time." Shi Diwen was not a soft-hearted person. Since the Ming army in Shipu Suo did not know what to do, they would just carry out the attack according to the plan made in advance. But before launching the official attack

, he felt that he could still give a small warning to the Ming army in the city.

"Let the artillery position calibrate a few rounds first, and don't miss the mark when the battle begins!" Shi Diwen ordered lightly. He knew that Shipu Suo City did not have any long-range firepower that could threaten his artillery position, and he could completely fire this time.

The attack plan was implemented as artillery and stone bomb training.

So just when people in Shipusuo City were panicking, a rumble of artillery was suddenly heard from the Haihan position outside the city. Ma Ling suddenly jumped up from his chair: "Why did the Haihan people start the war in advance! What was promised?

The time has not come yet!”

The defenders on the top of the city were even more confused. When they heard the sound of cannons, they didn't even care about defense. They all ran to the base of the city wall like headless flies. The irony is that the leading deserters were all officers. What happened just now

Several hundred households who expressed their intention to follow Ma Ling were also among them. If Ma Ling had not come out in time to maintain the situation, this group of people might have gone straight to open the northern city gate and fled into the mountains.

In fact, the sound of the cannons only rang a few times and then stopped. It was just that the nerves of the people in the city were too nervous to notice this at all, and they were still making a mess. Ma Ling was also a Qianhu after all, so he soon discovered it

The enemy's situation was not right, and he shouted angrily: "You are so panicked! The Haihan people are just firing artillery in the school, and there is no war yet! If anyone makes trouble again, they will be dealt with according to the military law!"

Seeing that the chaos in the city calmed down, Ma Ling cursed and went to the top of the city to check the situation. Haihan had only fired six rounds just now, including four 12-pound cannons and two siege heavy artillery. Because the distance was too close, six rounds

The shells all hit the southern city wall. One of the siege guns was fired intentionally by the artillery at the city gate. Although it did not penetrate the two four-inch-thick door panels, it had already penetrated the three door bolts behind the city gate.

and two door-resisting bars were all shattered. The hinges at the connection between half of the city gate and the city wall were also loose. Another 12-pound cannonball hit the wall stacks, and adobe debris splashed everywhere.

The height of this wall stack has been cut off by nearly a foot, and no one can be hidden behind it.

Although this round of shelling did not cause any casualties, the panicked performance of his men really disappointed Ma Ling. He thought about how he had organized these men to hold on for several days at the beginning, until the Haihan Army

The plan to retreat on one's own is a huge irony compared to the reality. Many of these soldiers have never been on the battlefield since joining the army. They usually neglect training and only go out for training once a month. How can they be expected to fight when the enemy comes?

Excellent performance when attacking.

Of course, this is not entirely Ma Ling's fault. If he wants to rely on his officers to control the soldiers, he must feed them; if he wants to rely on his superiors to protect him and seek opportunities for promotion, he must pay tribute to his superiors; while doing this

At the same time, he has to support his family and save some property for himself. To achieve these goals, Ma Ling's own military salary alone is definitely not enough. He can only rely on empty pay, reducing military expenditures, smuggling and other means.

Accumulate money. This guard army usually only acts as a facade to scare the pirates, and there is no need to actually start a war anyway. But at this time, facing a well-trained professional army, its weaknesses were suddenly exposed.

Of course, Ma Ling can still order to continue to hold on and wait for the Haihan people outside the city to attack. But he can also imagine the consequences of doing so. With the fighting will of these people in the city, as long as the city gate is broken, there will probably be no more people to continue.

Resisted.

"It's useless to fight, let's surrender..." Ma Ling shook his head helplessly and made the final decision: "Give me the order to open the city gate..."

Seeing Shipusuo City slowly opening the city gate, Gao Qiaonan outside the city also shook his head helplessly: "With such an army, no wonder it colludes with pirates. It is really impossible to leave the Ming Dynasty's maritime territory in the hands of such people.

Saved."

Ma Ling took Zhang Qian, followed by several hundred households, and walked out of the city dejectedly, standing in a line on the side of the road, waiting for the Haihan army to come forward and accept the surrender. Although this is an extremely shameful thing for soldiers, but

These people all felt the same joy in their hearts, at least they had saved their lives for now. As for how the Haihan people would deal with them and the Shipu City in the future, the initiative had already been handed over to them.

Shi Diwen also witnessed all this from a distance, smiled disdainfully and said: "Sure enough, it only takes a few shells to scare them. This courage is worse than that of the guards in Fujian and Guangdong!"
Chapter completed!