At night, the National Protection Army's iron trumpets began to shout again:
"Brothers of the Qianjun Army, Magedang has been surrounded. Surrender quickly."
"Anyone who lays down their arms and surrenders is free to come and go. Those who wish to stay can join the National Protection Army. Those who do not wish to stay will be given travel expenses and can go wherever they wish."
"The Jurchens are a small nation and a small people. They can be rampant for a while, but not forever. There is no future in following them."
"A country that is small but does not humble itself, that has little strength but does not fear the strong, that is rude but insults its larger neighbor, that is greedy and stubborn but clumsy in its relations, is doomed to perish."
…
These days, the National Protection Army made announcements outside Magedang Village every night, and the calls lasted until midnight.
After suffering two losses, the Jin soldiers had no choice but to let it go and never dared to send troops out of the village again.
However, Tuhesu added protective measures in the village and sent more Jurchens to monitor the signing army to prevent any changes.
Chen San was the fifty-man army corps leader. There were several Jurchens watching him. Except for sleeping, there were also people following him even when he ate and went to the toilet.
That night, it was drizzling. Chen San curled up on the kang and felt increasingly cold.
The kang was covered with wheat straw and he was wrapped in tattered linen clothes, which could not keep out the cold at all.
Although it is spring, the damn weather is so capricious. It has been raining heavily for several days, making my body damp and my hands and feet cold.
Today, the Jurchens have restricted food, leaving the noodles for themselves and only giving the soldiers some black beans, and in limited quantities.
It’s okay to eat this for a few meals, but if you eat it all day long, your stomach will feel bloated and you will fart a lot.
There were twenty brothers who signed the army in the big house. Except for Chen San, the others all slept on the floor. The constant fart sounds made the house stink all night long.
The shouts of the National Protection Army kept reaching his ears. Chen San tossed and turned, his mind in a mess, and he couldn't sleep at all.
The National Protection Army was right. Magedang could not hold out for much longer. If it continued to follow the Jurchens, the outcome would be miserable.
Surrendering to the National Protection Army is indeed a way out.
The leader of the National Protection Army who let them go last time was a good person. It was said that he was the imperial teacher appointed by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty himself and had extraordinary abilities.
If you surrender to him, at least your life will be safe.
But the problem was that the Jurchens were monitoring us so closely that even those standing guard were under surveillance, and there was no chance to surrender.
"Wait a little longer, there will definitely be a chance."
As Chen San thought about it, he slowly fell asleep.
In the dim light, I vaguely heard some movement next door, and it seemed like a scream, but I couldn't hear it clearly because of the deafening snoring in the house.
Chen San shuddered, pricked up his ears and listened for a while, but there was no sound again.
He put on his clothes, got off the kang, quietly opened the door and walked out. He came to the door of the room where the Jurchens lived and put his ear to the door to listen to the movement inside.
The room was quiet, no sound could be heard, not even snoring.
Suddenly, the door opened from the inside, and a hand stretched out from inside, grabbed his collar and pulled him in.
Chen San was startled and was about to scream when someone covered his mouth.
Someone whispered in his ear, "Be quiet."
Chen San shuddered, his mind racing: This person speaks Chinese so well, he must not be a Jurchen, could it be...
"We are the National Protection Army. Let go now. If you dare to scream, I will kill you with a single blow. Do you understand?"
National Protection Army?
Chen San's heart was beating wildly, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.
Before he could think about it, something cold touched his neck, and then the hand covering him loosened.
Chen San lowered his voice and begged for mercy: "Please spare my life, sir. I am a soldier and a Han Chinese."
"I'm looking for Qian Jun. Where is Chen San?"
"I...I am Chen San."
"Ha! What a coincidence."
The man was obviously delighted. He continued, "We are Zhang Tianshi... Oh! You must know Zhang Tianshi. He is now the commander of our National Protection Army... He sent us here to ask you if you will follow Jin Gou to the end."
"I..."
"Master Zhang said that he has not ordered a strong attack because he is concerned about the presence of you Han brothers here. He asked me to ask you if you want to surrender. If you don't surrender, there is no need to consider your lives."
Without thinking, Chen San blurted out: "We must surrender!"
When the man heard this, he chuckled and said, "A man who knows the times is a hero. You are a man who knows the times."
"I've wanted to surrender for a long time, but the Golden Dog was watching me so closely that I never found the chance."
As soon as he finished speaking, the soybean oil lamp on the table was lit.
Only then did Chen San see clearly that there were three men standing in the room, all of them looked very tough.
Looking at the kang again, three Jurchens were lying on their backs, their necks cut and blood all over the kang.
"I'm Han Song, platoon leader of the National Protection Army." The leading man introduced himself.
Chen San didn't understand what kind of rank a platoon leader was, but now was not the time to worry about that. He clasped his fists and said, "Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! You've come at the right time. Ever since I was released by Zhang...Zhang Tianshi, I've been thinking about surrendering with my brothers, but the Golden Dogs were very well guarded, so I've been delayed."
Han Song patted his shoulder and said, "Good brother, since you have made up your mind to surrender, just follow me."
Chen San's face showed joy.
Han Song asked again: "How many people do you have?"
"Less than fifty people."
"Are there any other signed soldiers in the village?"
"Yes, they are under the charge of another person. They are all slave soldiers who do odd jobs."
"What kind of chores?"
"Cooking, feeding horses, and serving the golden dog, they work harder and are more tired than us."
In order to better demonstrate himself, Chen San continued, "I am familiar with their Chief Fifty. I can go and ask him if he is willing to surrender to the National Protection Army."
"He won't betray you, will he? What if he tells Jin Gou Gaomi..."
"Should... shouldn't."
Han Song listened to his tone, thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll go with you. If he doesn't agree to surrender, we'll have no choice but to kill him."
"OK!"
Han Song turned to the man behind him and said, "Hei Wuchang, come with me."
The man came over without saying a word.
The three of them quietly left the yard and walked to a dilapidated yard not far away.
Chen San came to a thatched cottage and knocked gently on the window, "Zhao Lao Er."
Someone inside the room coughed twice and asked, "Who's that outside?"
Chen San lowered his voice and replied, "It's me, Chen San."
The door creaked open, and Zhao Laoer poked his head out, surprised, "It's so late, what do you want to talk to me about?"
When he saw two people following Chen San, he asked again, "Who are they?"
"Don't ask, let's go inside and talk."
After the three of them entered the house, Chen San got straight to the point. "Second Brother Zhao, we're all brothers, so I won't beat around the bush. I came to you to let you know that I'm looking for a way to survive and surrender to the National Protection Army."
Zhao Lao Er didn't seem nervous at all after hearing this. He glanced at Han Song and Hei Wuchang and said, "If I'm right, they should be members of the National Protection Army, right?"
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