Upon hearing the words "cannot survive," Ke Zhiming was also taken aback.
As the leader of Menglianggu's overt intelligence network, and having learned many interrogation skills from the remnants of the Imperial Guards, Ke Zhiming naturally knew how to distinguish whether a person was telling the truth or lying.
The sneer Ke Zhiming had just made, as well as the expressions and actions on his face, were all intended to make these two spies mistakenly believe that he was a hot-tempered and irritable person.
Ke Zhiming understood very well that a person's actions could deceive, and what a person said could also deceive, but a person's eyes could not lie.
Ke Zhiming had been paying attention to the eyes of these two people.
When one of the spies said, "We cannot survive," the despair in both of their eyes deeply shocked Ke Zhiming.
After a period of silence, Ke Zhiming took a deep breath, exhaled the turbid air from his chest, and asked in a deep voice, "You say you cannot survive, what's going on?"
One of the spies said with a dejected expression, "We cannot survive, that's all there is to it."
"We Solons have fought countless battles for the Great Qing, and our tribesmen have died in almost every battle the Great Qing has fought. However, we Solons can only live in the deep mountains and old forests of Heilongjiang. The Emperor of the Great Qing does not allow us to farm, nor does he allow our tribesmen to engage in business or study. We can only make a living by hunting."
"We Solons are not stupid, and we understand in our hearts that the Emperor of the Great Qing wants us to live in the deep mountains and old forests so that we can maintain our combat effectiveness and continue to fight for the Great Qing."
"As for whether we Solons live or die, they couldn't care less."
"However, even though we know this, we can do nothing to change it, because we Solons are only over twenty thousand people. If we anger the Emperor of the Great Qing, then the Solon tribe will only face complete annihilation like the Dzungars."
Ke Zhiming grunted and asked, "Then how do you plan to come south with your entire tribe to pledge allegiance to my young master?"
The spy said, "Since you have defeated the armies of the Great Qing time and again, and the Qing court has begun to transfer troops of our Solon soldiers, we Solons have seen hope."
"The Taiji of our Solon tribe said that you Han people are oppressed by the Great Qing, and we Solons are also oppressed by the Great Qing. As long as you are willing to teach us to farm, then our Solon tribe is willing to migrate to your place, and our Solon tribe is willing to unite with you to fight against the Great Qing."
Having said this, the spy looked at Ke Zhiming with hope and asked, "Can your leader agree?"
Ke Zhiming nodded, and after grunting, he inexplicably asked, "If you truly come with sincerity, then please state your identities."
The two spies exchanged glances again, and one of them said, "Until we have seen the leader of your Menglianggu, we will not reveal our identities."
Ke Zhiming nodded again, and did not force the two spies to reveal their identities. Instead, he got up and left the room where they were being held.
Ke Zhiming could generally conclude that these two spies were telling the truth.
After receiving the news reported by Ke Zhiming, Zhu Jinsong, the arch-rebel leader, was also bewildered.
According to the usual behavior of my Great Qing court, although the Solon tribe has made great contributions to my Great Qing, in the eyes of my Great Qing emperors, only the Manchu Eight Banners are considered their own people. Others, such as the Han Eight Banners or the Mongol Eight Banners, or those like Solon, are merely dogs raised by my Great Qing.
Now, the Solon tribe, which my Great Qing court relies on most on the battlefield, has actually taken the initiative to find Zhu Jinsong, the arch-rebel leader, and expressed their willingness to join forces with this arch-rebel leader to resist the Qing. This matter sounds magical, but in reality... in reality, it is indeed quite magical.
It's truly that reality is more absurd than fiction.
After pondering, Zhu Jinsong decided to see these two spies himself.
Upon arriving at the room where the two spies were being held, Zhu Jinsong sat down and directly asked, "If you have come with sincerity to talk, then state your identities."
The two spies exchanged glances, and one of them looked at Zhu Jinsong blankly and asked, "Who are you?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "What? You went to great lengths to see us, and now that you've met us, you're asking who we are?"
The two spies scrutinized Zhu Jinsong for a moment, and one of them shook his head and said, "No, you are not Zhu Jinsong."
Zhu Jinsong was somewhat bewildered by what the spies said and asked, "How am I not Zhu Jinsong?"
The spy said with an expression that clearly showed he knew Zhu Jinsong was lying, "Before our Solon camp raised an army to go south, the Qing court provided us with intelligence, saying that Zhu Jinsong was a strapping man with a waist of eight chi and a height of ten chi, who could stand on his fist and run horses on his arm, and who ate three human hearts for every meal. You are like a scholar with a pale face, how can you be Zhu Jinsong of Menglianggu?"
Upon hearing this from the spies, Zhu Jinsong was stunned.
A waist of eight chi, a height of ten chi, standing on his fist, running horses on his arm, are you sure you're talking about Zhu Jinsong and not Chun Ge?
Also, who the hell eats human hearts!
Ke Zhiming, standing behind Zhu Jinsong, said with a dark face, "The person sitting in front of you is indeed my young master, the leader of Menglianggu, genuine and true."
Seeing that Ke Zhiming, who "should have some status" in Menglianggu, said so, the spy couldn't help but hesitate. After carefully observing Zhu Jinsong, he said in a deep voice, "Young leader of the Solon tribe, Agutai, greets the leader of Menglianggu."
Zhu Jinsong then grunted and looked at Agutai, asking, "Are your Solon people really preparing to migrate south with your entire tribe?"
Agutai nodded: "That's right. As long as the leader of your Menglianggu is willing to accept us, we Solons are indeed prepared to migrate south with our entire tribe, and what I said earlier is indeed true. As long as you are willing to re-accept us and teach us to farm, allowing us Solons to live like the Han people under your rule, then we Solons can fight for you."
However, to Agutai's surprise, Zhu Jinsong was not as excited as he had imagined after receiving his promise. He didn't seem to attach much importance to the battle-hardened Solon soldiers.
Just as Agutai was feeling uneasy, Zhu Jinsong suddenly asked, "If your Solon people migrate south with your entire tribe and come to our side, can you abide by our rules?"
"I can tell you now that the laws of our Menglianggu mostly inherit the laws of the Great Ming. Inter-tribal intermarriage is forbidden, meaning you will have to intermarry with Han people, speak the Han language, write Han characters, and read Han books in the future. The Solon will completely become a part of the Han people, and the name Solon tribe will slowly disappear into history. If this is the case, are you still willing to come south?"
That's right, Zhu Jinsong completely copied the CCP in some aspects, but in some aspects, Zhu Jinsong intended to learn from Emperor Zhu, and never thought about creating equality or inequality.
True equality is unity, not creating dozens of VIPs.
Zhu Jinsong also did not intend to slowly integrate the Solons but made his intentions clear from the outset.
It's best if they are willing, and if not, there's no forcing.
In the Qianlong era, there was no human rights.
Agutai was silent for a long time. Just when Zhu Jinsong thought Agutai would refuse, Agutai suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Jinsong with a solemn expression, asking, "Then can you guarantee that you will treat us the same as Han people?"
After Zhu Jinsong nodded. Agutai lowered his head and hesitated for a long time, finally raising his head and saying, "If you guarantee that you will treat us the same as Han people, then we Solons are still willing to migrate south with our entire tribe."
Zhu Jinsong nodded again, pondered for a moment, then tapped the table in front of him with his finger, and said in a deep voice, "I can accept you, but your Solon tribe cannot migrate south."
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong's words, Agutai immediately felt like he had been played.
Agutai felt that all his sincere efforts had been wasted!
Agutai's heart sank, and he asked, "You are willing to accept us, but you don't let our Solon tribe migrate south. Do you also want to treat us as tools for fighting, just like the Great Qing? If that's the case, what's the difference between fighting for you and fighting for the Great Qing court?"
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said, "Your Solon tribe, including the old, weak, women, and children, is only over twenty thousand people now. If your Solon tribe migrates south with your entire tribe now, do you think how many of your Solon people will be left when you arrive in Jinan from Heilongjiang?"
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Agutai's expression became dejected.
Don't forget, the distance from the Solon tribe's dwelling in Heilongjiang to Jinan Prefecture is thousands of miles. Moreover, some of the Mongol Eight Banners are loyal followers of the Great Qing court, and these Mongol Eight Banners will definitely obstruct the Solon tribe's southward migration along the way.
If it were just the cavalry of the Solon tribe, they could disregard the encirclement and suppression by the Great Qing court, as the combat effectiveness of the Great Qing officials and soldiers is what it is. The Solon tribe is fully qualified to call the Eight Banners of the Great Qing trash.
However, what about the addition of more than ten thousand old, weak, women, and children?
The entire Solon tribe is only over twenty thousand people, and the other more than ten thousand are old, weak, women, and children. To travel from Heilongjiang to Shandong means that these over twenty thousand people not only have to travel thousands of miles through Mongolia and Zhili but also face the encirclement and suppression by the Great Qing army.
Who else dares to say they don't take the encirclement and suppression by the Great Qing court seriously?
After a long silence, the spy gritted his teeth and said, "It is inevitable that the Solon tribe will suffer casualties in order to pass through Mongolia and Zhili provinces. Many tribesmen may fall on the road south."
"However, if our Solon tribe continues to remain in Heilongjiang and allows the Tartar court to keep conscripting our Solon people, then our Solon tribe will only have a path to extinction."
"My father said that since death is inevitable either way, it's better to migrate south with the entire tribe and take a chance. Even if not many Solons are left, it's better than staying in Heilongjiang and waiting for gradual extinction."
"Cutting flesh with a blunt knife is too painful."
Another spy also said, "We know that you Han people look down on us from the bottom of your hearts, and you may not really be willing to teach us to farm."
"However, we Solon people are different from the Jurchen Tartars. We know what gratitude is. As long as you are willing to teach us to farm and allow our Solon tribe to multiply, then we can fight for you. We Solon people are not afraid of death."
Zhu Jinsong, however, shook his head and said, "This is not a question of being afraid of death, but you are looking at this migration too simply."
"The Oirats, who fought in a bloody battle with 170,000 people, only had 50,000 left after returning east. Your Solon tribe, at most, has only over 20,000 people. If these over 20,000 people migrate south to Jinan Prefecture, it would be good if only 2,000 were left."
"Therefore, the most secure method is not to migrate south with the entire tribe at this time."