Mid-September.
Sun Kewang was shocked when he found Li Dingguo.
Thousands of Li Dingguo's elite troops were actually helping the people farm as Qin Liangyu said.
They sowed the plump wheat seeds into the soil, waiting to take root, sprout and grow vigorously just like the Ming Dynasty.
The scouts on guard in the distance had already told Li Dingguo the news. When Sun Kewang arrived, Li Dingguo personally greeted him.
"Brother, why are you here?"
"I..." Sun Kewang paused, then changed the subject and asked, "General Qin sent someone to deliver a letter to you earlier. Did you receive it?"
"Got it." Li Dingguo frowned as he answered.
Judging from the way Sun Kewang addressed Qin Liangyu, he seemed to have surrendered to the Ming court.
Sun Kewang no longer concealed it and explained directly: "Dingguo, I have surrendered to General Qin."
"Why? Yi...Zhang...King of Daxi also suspects you?" Li Dingguo changed the way he addressed Zhang Xianzhong twice while speaking.
Zhang Xianzhong raised him, and he was a grateful person, so he did not say anything bad to Zhang Xianzhong.
"Not yet, but soon!" Sun Kewang sighed, "Wang Zhaolin is like a mad dog, flattering in front of people and biting behind their backs. Sooner or later, I will be expelled from the Dashi Army like you."
"What position did the Ming court give you?"
"Not yet."
Li Dingguo was stunned for a moment, then asked, "How many soldiers and horses will you be given?"
"Five so far," Sun Kewang pointed at the five followers in the distance, "those are the ones."
Li Dingguo took a deep breath and stared at Sun Kewang's eyes for a while: "Are you okay? The Ming court treated you like this, and you still surrendered?"
Sun Kewang shook his head: "I am a defeated general, I am convinced."
"Then...how is the King of Daxi?" Li Dingguo asked this question after hesitating for a long time.
“Escape to the mountains.”
Li Dingguo nodded and asked no more questions.
He did not blame Sun Kewang for his surrender.
He believes in a principle: Do not advise others to be good unless you have experienced their suffering; if you have experienced others' suffering, it does not necessarily mean that they will become good.
"So, brother, you came here this time to persuade us to surrender?" Li Dingguo asked.
"Yes," Sun Kewang nodded, "General Qin said that you are a kind person and should not do evil things anymore."
"An evil thing? I am doing an evil thing by starting an uprising?"
"Before, the court was seriously ill and imposed heavy taxes, and you raised an army as a righteous act. Now the court is exempting taxes and reducing levies. If you raise an army again, you will be committing an evil act!" Sun Kewang began to persuade.
"Stop fighting and give the people a chance to live!"
Li Dingguo looked up at the sky.
The sunlight pierced through the morning mist like a sword, bringing warmth to this peaceful land.
Under the morning sun, civilians and soldiers worked together in the fields.
Sweat and laughter fell on the moist soil.
Smoke was rising from the thatched hut in the distance, and the aroma of food was everywhere.
If there were no war, this would be a pure land.
The people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Although their lives were not rich, they did not starve.
Li Dingguo felt confused as he looked at this happy picture.
After checking his mind, he asked Sun Kewang: "After surrendering, where will General Qin send me?"
"You have two choices. One, stay under General Qin's command. Two, go north to the grasslands to fight the Mongols."
"The Mongols have repeatedly raided the south since the beginning of this spring, and the imperial court has long lost its patience."
"The people of the Ming Dynasty suffered so much. There were powerful enemies slaughtering them outside, and righteous armies killing each other inside. Apart from the imperial court, no one stood up for them."
"If you really have a heart for the country and the people, you should go north to the grassland as soon as possible to avenge the people!"
Li Dingguo stood there and thought for a while before finally making up his mind.
In fact, even if Sun Kewang didn't come, he would have to make a decision immediately.
Because the food and grass have been eaten up.
Next, you either have to rob food or buy food.
He fled in a hurry and had almost no money on him, so the only option left for him was to steal food.
But he didn't want to do such a bad thing.
The soldiers under his command also felt the difficulties and expressed their willingness to surrender to the court and serve as official troops.
Driven by internal and external factors, Li Dingguo finally made up his mind.
After he found out the direction Zhang Xianzhong had fled, he knelt down and kowtowed towards that direction: "This kowtow is to thank my adoptive father for saving my life."
Bang!
Li Dingguo kowtowed again: "This kowtow is to thank my adoptive father for raising me for fifteen years."
Bang!
Li Dingguo straightened up and then bent down and kowtowed for the last time: "This kowtow is to bid farewell to my adoptive father. From now on, Li Dingguo will stay away from here and go north to kill the enemy."
"Godfather, please take care of yourself!"
A few days later, Li Dingguo led his troops to surrender to Qin Liangyu.
End of September.
When this news was sent to Beijing, Chongzhen was reading another news.
The admission lists for the autumn examinations in various places have come out.
Because of the boycott of the exam in Southern Zhili, the results were announced the latest.
He saw two familiar names on the list: Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu.
The three great thinkers in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties finally all passed the imperial examination and became juren.
(Another thinker, Wang Fuzhi, passed the imperial examination in the 15th year of Chongzhen.)
Chongzhen was considering how to use them.
"Your Majesty, there is good news from Chengtian Prefecture!" Wang Chengen ran in holding a newspaper.
"read."
"Qin Liangyu won a great victory over the bandits in Chengtian Prefecture. The main force of the bandits was completely wiped out, and only two thousand remnants fled into the mountains. The main force of the bandits Li Chuang lost more than half and fled north in panic. Qin Liangyu is organizing troops to pursue them."
"In this battle, we also captured the bandit generals Liu Xiyao, He Jin, and Sun Kewang."
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