Li Zicheng raised an eyebrow and pressed, "Why do you say that?"
The man quickly began to explain.
“I dare not deceive you, sir. Mangultai never wanted to come to Guangning, this deadly place.”
"But that Daishan, Nurhaci's eldest prince, was cunning and treacherous, and he tricked Mangultai."
"Therefore, Mangultai was very dissatisfied with Daišan from the very beginning."
"Recently, the Shengjing authorities have been using false information to deceive Mangultai, which is why he has the idea of surrendering to our Great Ming."
This person is quite shrewd.
I let it slip earlier, but I'll get back to the point now.
They kept referring to "our Great Ming Dynasty".
Li Zicheng ignored him and instead looked at Li Ruolian beside him.
"General Li, do you think this man's words are credible?"
Li Ruolian was already extremely excited.
He nodded and said, "Whether this is true or not, let's get Mangultai to open the city gates first!"
"As soon as the city gates open..."
Li Ruolian didn't finish speaking, but Li Zicheng already understood what he meant.
When Mangultai's surprise attack failed and he retreated back to Guangning, he must have brought in earth and stones and piled up a small hill behind the gates, blocking all the city gates.
Therefore, even if cannons were used to bombard the city gate, it would have no effect.
Even the Italian cannons bestowed by Gao Qingyun could not level the mountain.
However, as long as the Jurchens themselves move the earth and stones away and open the city gates.
By then, even if they have some ulterior motives or change their minds halfway through, it will be too late.
Li Zicheng smiled and said to the man, "Did you hear what General Li said?"
"Go back to the city now and make Mangultai open the gates."
The man shook his head with a wry smile.
"My lords, I'm afraid this is not enough."
"Although Mangultai wanted to surrender, he still had several thousand soldiers and the city of Guangning."
"So he still wants to negotiate with our Great Ming."
Li Ruolian frowned: "What does he want?"
Is it silver?
The man shook his head again.
“What Mangultai wants is land! He heard that our Great Ming Dynasty is giving land as a reward to the Beijing Garrison this time, so he is a little envious.”
Li Ruolian immediately sneered.
"His plan is quite clever!"
"But I can't agree to his condition."
"His Majesty has decreed that more than three million mu of land in Jiangnan and the Central Plains should be distributed among my soldiers."
"It didn't say that these fertile fields could be used to bribe your Jurchen people!"
The man's heart skipped a beat after hearing Li Ruolian's words.
"No wonder the Ming army attacked the city like madmen this time, risking their lives."
"So it turns out that the young emperor spared no expense."
At this moment, Li Zicheng spoke up.
"General Li, Mangultai's request is not impossible to grant."
Li Ruolian turned around abruptly: "Li Zicheng, what do you mean by that?"
Li Zicheng smiled and leaned closer, whispering in his ear, "General Li, don't be in a hurry, let me finish what I have to say first."
"I said I would grant Mangultai's request and give him land, but I didn't say where!"
"Our Great Ming Dynasty covers a vast area, including the fertile lands of fish and rice in the south and the vast yellow sands of the northwest."
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian smiled as well.
"So that's what you meant."
"That's fine too."
He said to the Jurchen envoy, "Then hurry back to the city and tell that Mangultai."
"Just tell him his request, and I, the general, will grant it."
"Following the standard of the Beijing Garrison, each person was allocated fifty mu of land."
After seeing the envoy off, Li Ruolian looked at Li Zicheng again.
"Li Zicheng, quickly bring out all the cannons and make it look like you're about to fire."
"Let's scare the Jurchens one last time!"
Li Zicheng did not object and turned to walk out.
On the other side.
The envoy hurriedly ran back to the city of Guangning, first entering the city in a gondola, and then telling Mangultai everything he had just heard.
Mangultai immediately summoned all the Ejen under his command and told them the news.
Those people immediately sighed.
He echoed the same sentiment as the messenger.
"This young emperor is truly magnanimous!"
"That's over three million acres of land! He's really willing to give it up!"
"With such great benefits right in front of them, no wonder the Ming army is so fearless!"
Mangultai said unhappily, "Why are you saying all this?"
"Tell me, did the Ming army really agree to our conditions, or are they just fooling us like Daishan did?"
"We can't just open the city gates and surrender, only to have them deny everything the moment we do!"
Upon hearing this, the Ezhen immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Most of what the Ming army says is unreliable."
"Even if that General Li really thought that way, would the Ming Dynasty court admit it?"
"Yes, who knows what that little emperor is thinking."
Just as they were talking, a guard rushed in.
"Banner Master, esteemed lords, something terrible has happened."
"The Ming army outside the city suddenly brought out their cannons again!"
The group was immediately startled.
What's going on?
"Didn't we already agree to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"
But Mangultai realized what was happening.
He gritted his teeth and said, "It must be that the Ming Dynasty doesn't trust us! They're afraid we'll use delaying tactics."
It was mentioned several times in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms!
The Jurchen leadership had little formal education, but they were quite interested in novels.
At this time, the Jurchens had not yet entered the pass; they were merely using the Three Kingdoms as a military treatise.
It's not too outrageous.
It would be truly baffling if, decades later, the Jurchens started listening to storytelling and worshipping Yue Fei.
As soon as Mangultai said this, the other Ejen also realized what was going on.
"Yes, what we're doing does seem to be a delaying tactic."
"Banner Master, what should we do?"
"Should we quickly withdraw the troops from the city walls to avoid them being bombarded by the Ming army's cannons?"
Mangultai quickly shook his head.
"We cannot retreat!"
"If we withdraw our troops, won't the Ming army be even more certain that we're using a trick?"
"Besides, given the power of the Ming army's cannons, even if we withdraw our men, we probably won't gain any advantage."
"Men, raise a white flag on the city wall, and then order the city gates to be opened!"
Although everyone felt helpless after hearing this, they couldn't voice their opposition.
He could only bury his head in his hands and go out to lead people to move the earth and stones behind the city gate.
Meanwhile, the Ming army outside the city, seeing the white flag on the city wall, did not dare to make any rash moves.
As the gates of Guangning City slowly opened, Li Ruolian burst into laughter.
"The Jurchens actually opened the city gates!"
As for Li Zicheng, who was standing next to the cannon, he also breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, the Jurchens did indeed submit."
"Otherwise, once I fire this cannon, even if we eventually capture Guangning, the Jurchens will know that I only have one Italian cannon."
"The other cannons are all ordinary."
“It won’t be so easy to scare them again in the future.”
He watched as Li Ruolian led his troops closer to the city gate, then turned to the Imperial Guard beside him and said, "Quickly inform General Qin and the court about what happened here."
After saying this, Li Zicheng laughed again.
"Nurhaci entered the city because some people in the city surrendered."
"I never expected it! In just a few years, the tables have turned!"
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