Chapter 2497
In the spring of 1654, Chongzhen finally could not bear the pressure from both inside and outside the country and announced a request for an armistice from Haihan.
But if they want to hold armistice peace talks at this time, there are almost no exchange conditions that Ming can offer. Fortunately, Haihan also needed time to digest the areas captured in a short period of time, so he agreed to Ming's request for peace talks.
However, the meeting place this time was not chosen in the south far away from the capital of Ming Dynasty. Haihan chose Dagukou, three hundred miles away from the capital, as the meeting place for both parties, and specified that Emperor Chongzhen should personally come forward to ensure the validity of the agreement between the two parties.
I don’t know if Haihan did it intentionally, but the final negotiation date happened to be Emperor Chongzhen’s birthday this year, which is quite ironic.
Twenty-seven years after the time-travel operation, Tao Donglai finally met his opponent. But Emperor Chongzhen, who was only forty-three years old at this time, already had gray hair and an aging appearance. He looked even older than Tao Donglai, who was over sixty years old. It can be seen that he has been exhausted mentally and physically in order to cope with the current situation over the years, but the decline of Ming Dynasty is not his fault alone, and it is impossible for him to change the fate of Ming Dynasty by himself.
Fortunately, the appearance of Haihan prevented the Chinese civilization from being destroyed by the barbarians. Replacing Daming with Haihan is probably the best way out for this country.
The conditions proposed by Tao Donglai on behalf of Haihan this time were more than just dividing the river with the Ming Dynasty to rule. He asked the Ming Dynasty to unconditionally surrender to Haihan and hand over the existing ruling area to Haihan in a peaceful manner. To this end, Haihan will ensure the personal and property safety of the Ming Dynasty royal family and all serving civil and military officials, and ensure that they will not be held accountable by Haihan for any behavior before the armistice.
In addition, Haihan will allocate the current Shuntianfu area to the Ming royal family as a fief, and retain the ruling power of the Ming Dynasty in the fief. This is equivalent to allowing the Ming Dynasty to continue to exist in name, but only as a vassal state of Haihan.
Of course, Chongzhen also had the right not to accept these conditions, but Tao Donglai reminded him that at this time, more than 50,000 Haihan troops were assembled at Dagukou. If Chongzhen rejected Haihan's conditions on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, the war would continue. , and the capital will be the next attack target of the Haihan Army.
Of course, Tao Donglai did not forget to use Haihan's usual method and invited Chongzhen to visit the Haihan navy and army units already stationed in Dagukou.
Chongzhen had only heard about the greatness of the Haihan Army in the past few years, but this was the first time he saw this army with his own eyes. And this trip also wiped away all the luck in his heart.
The gap between the Ming army's weapons and equipment level and that of its opponents was far beyond his imagination. Tao Donglai asked his men to show him several new weapons with great lethality, such as heavy machine guns, howitzers, etc. Although these high-cost advanced weapons have not yet been installed in large numbers in the Haihan Army, they can already be put into use in combat operations.
The purpose of Tao Donglai's demonstration of the performance of these weapons was to make Chongzhen understand that it was basically impossible for the Ming Dynasty to resist unification by force. The strength gap between the two armies was too big. Continuing the war would only increase the casualties of the Ming army, and Haihan At most, it's just more military spending.
"There are no big obstacles for our country to conquer the capital and destroy the Ming Dynasty. However, our country is willing to resolve disputes through armistice and peace talks and let the change of dynasties proceed in a peaceful manner. This will not only benefit the Ming Dynasty, but also Haihan and Haihan." It’s a good thing for everyone in the world.”
"How will history record this story? Will you abdicate the throne and give priority to the country and the country, win praise from future generations, or will you resist to the end and be killed by our army in the Forbidden City, becoming an enemy chief despised by future generations? The power of choice is in your hands. ”
"What I can guarantee you is that as long as you choose reconciliation, you will see this country become stronger in your lifetime, stronger than at any time in history! After you step down from the throne, you can also be free You can go anywhere and enjoy the treatment of an abdicated emperor. Even if the place you want to go is not under the control of Haihan Kingdom, we can send troops to escort you." "In any case, we can talk about whatever you want. There is really no need to continue fighting this battle. Ming Dynasty is not our country’s enemy, but it’s time for Ming Dynasty to end.”
Tao Donglai's words made Chongzhen very sad. He had been in power for more than 20 years, and he had worked hard to restore the glory of the empire, but he could not defeat Haihan, a rising star. Now that Haihan was forced into a situation with no way out, he was really unwilling to do so.
But what if you don’t give in? Haihan has proven its power and did not carry out mass killings and looting during the attack on the Ming Dynasty, which shows that what Tao Donglai just said is indeed credible. If we continue to fight, there seems to be no other possibility besides turning the Ming Dynasty into ruins.
Chongzhen asked: "You just said that I can go anywhere in the future? Even if it is not the territory of Haihan, can I go?"
Tao Donglai nodded in affirmation.
Chongzhen said again: "Can I go to the Manchu and Qing lands in Liaodong?"
Tao Donglai immediately understood what he meant and responded in a deep voice: "I can tell you clearly that without the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu Qing Dynasty will no longer have the meaning of existence. As long as the Ming Dynasty is over, the next step for the Haihan Army is to fight. Send to Liaodong and solve the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If you are interested, you can also go out with the army and witness this process with your own eyes."
Tao Donglai understood that Chongzhen did not want to lose this tone. He had been fighting the Manchu Qing Dynasty for more than 20 years in power. If it were not for this foreign invasion, the decline of the Ming Dynasty would not have been so fast, and it might not have even happened. This will give Haihanneng an opportunity to take advantage of the situation in the south. Chongzhen hated the Manchus so much that he naturally did not want to see the Manchus survive in the world.
From Haihan's perspective, attacking the Manchu Qing was only one of the established goals. Not only would the entire Liaodong region be brought under Haihan's rule, but they would also have to continue to expand northward and try to include the entire Siberian region.
In such a grand undertaking, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was just a small stumbling block. In the past, Haihan used the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to contain the Ming Dynasty, but now that the Ming Dynasty is almost gone, there is no need for the Manchu Qing Dynasty to continue to exist.
Chongzhen was silent for a while, and then said: "On the day when the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, I issued an edict to the world, and Haihan succeeded the Ming Dynasty and became the lord of the Central Plains!"
In February 1654, Chongzhen and Tao Donglai signed an armistice agreement at Dagukou, and Ming Dynasty formally surrendered to Haihan.
(End of chapter)