The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"If you throw quickly, you can still survive; but if you're even a little bit slower, the outcome will be completely different."

"If we wait until the city falls before surrendering, that will be a test of Xiang Ji's patience, and he is not usually a patient person."

Liu Bang's decree only emphasized that no one should do anything that would harm the people.

However, these Southern Ming generals, including the stubborn soldiers, could not possibly be included in the category of ordinary people.

What would Xiang Yu, blinded by rage, do when faced with enemy soldiers he could vent his anger on at will?

What is there to say?

They start by hitting the mouth to prevent surrender, then they hit the legs to prevent escape.

Need I say more about the rest?

Their only chance of survival was to surrender decisively when Xiang Yu's army besieged the city, which would have saved their lives.

Unfortunately, most generals did not have such a clear understanding.

Or perhaps, they all harbored a bit of wishful thinking.

They might be able to defend cities that other generals couldn't.

If we really can't hold out any longer, then we can just surrender.

Unfortunately, their past experience backfired at this moment.

The Southern Ming generals who had experienced all of this knew, of course, but they figured they wouldn't be able to speak up until their next life.

As for the news brought back by the scouts—the general was dead and the entire army was wiped out—it only made them think that those people weren't smart enough to make a wise choice when defeat was inevitable.

"These people, I don't know if they think too highly of themselves, or if they are too loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

"However, I think the latter is unlikely. If someone were truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, how could they allow the rebel Li Zicheng to enter the capital?"

"Why do you think these people haven't surrendered, seeing Xiang Yu's repeated victories and his indiscriminate slaughter wherever he goes?"

Li Er said he didn't quite understand.

The disparity in strength was so great, and the Han dynasty's kindness to its people was evident to all.

The chaos of the Southern Ming Dynasty is also well-known.

The Qing dynasty was unable to mount any significant resistance against the Manchu invasion.

Even Zhang Xianzhong went out of Sichuan to resist the Manchu army, but the Southern Ming court did nothing.

To say that these generals and soldiers were truly loyal to such a court would be absurd; they would have to be blind.

"What thoughts could soldiers possibly have? In the end, they are nothing more than pawns; they simply do what their commanders tell them to do."

"If you want to talk about their purpose, it's probably just to fill their own stomachs and, if possible, support their families. That's all."

Regardless of the dynasty or the circumstances, only generals think about making meritorious contributions.

The lowest-ranking soldiers, for the vast majority of them, initially only hoped to fill their stomachs with their military pay.

If the generals do not surrender, then the consequence of their surrender is that they will die at the hands of the supervising troops behind them.

Moreover, they have no idea what kind of enemy they will be facing.

"As for those generals, their refusal to surrender can be attributed primarily to their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."

Li Er did not deny that there might be a small number of truly loyal ministers among them.

In the final years of any dynasty, there will always be some loyal ministers who step forward to uphold order.

But most people are certainly selfish.

"Either they think the Ming Dynasty is not finished and want to hold on a little longer to preserve their wealth and status."

"Either they want to put up a fierce resistance in order to increase their bargaining power."

“As long as Xiang Ji fails to capture the city after a prolonged siege, he will surely send an envoy to persuade them to surrender. At that time, they will be able to use their strong defense as leverage to demand more benefits.”

"Whether it's money, official position, or title, there is hope."

The premise is that they must actually be able to stop Xiang Yu's offensive.

If they can actually do it, then their plan is quite clever.

If they could stop Xiang Yu, then if they could defend key locations, they might also have a chance to stop Han Xin.

If these two conditions are met, then there will truly be a chance to wait for Liu Bang's envoy to persuade them to surrender.

"Well……"

"Leaving aside the fact that the Southern Ming Dynasty had any generals skilled in defending cities, how many of the generals who have made their mark in the entire history books could withstand the combined attack of these two?"

People capable of such a feat are extremely rare, not only throughout the entire Southern Ming Dynasty but also throughout the entire history books.

There weren't many people who could withstand Xiang Yu's offensive, but there certainly were.

There are certainly those who can stop Han Xin.

These two individuals can be placed opposite each other, with the two representing a newly established dynasty that is on the path to prosperity, while the other represents a dynasty in its twilight years.

I wanted to stop these two...

After some deliberation, Li Er concluded that he probably couldn't do it.

"This is no longer just wishful thinking, it's outright daydreaming."

"That makes sense, though. They don't know who their opponent is. The intelligence brought back by the scouts can only tell them that the opposing general is extremely capable."

"Based on this alone, it is indeed difficult to make people surrender decisively."

"After all, in most cases, generals believe that individual bravery cannot determine the outcome of a battle."

Of course, this is just the usual situation.

This understanding of the usual situation is deeply ingrained in the habits of every general.

"The generals who encountered Xiang Ji earlier all thought the same way, so after the city fell, they had no chance to surrender."

But how innocent were those soldiers who were unjustly killed?

Although Xiang Yu ultimately had to leave some soldiers to guard the city, the vast majority of them would die because of the general's greed.

"Fortunately, Xiang Ji's temper has been tempered considerably. After entering the city, apart from the generals, personal guards, and supervisory teams, ordinary soldiers did not suffer a large-scale massacre, but some casualties were inevitable."

"In the end, it was these civil officials and gentry of the Southern Ming that were too bizarre."

Perhaps Liu Bang's initial plan was to treat everyone equally, whether it was Zhang Xianzhong or the Southern Ming, he could gradually erode them through appeasement.

There's no need for overtly blatant schemes to take effect; simply improving people's lives slightly will allow for gradual progress through other means.

There's no need for a major conflict, nor for these Southern Ming soldiers to be sacrificed innocently.

Zhang Xianzhong was a sensible man, and he readily accepted the money and grain sent by Liu Bang for disaster relief.

However, the Southern Ming dynasty clearly hadn't distinguished between the major and minor kings, or rather, they hadn't even figured out their own positions.

Most of them feared the Manchus, so when Dorgon and Li Zicheng were at war, they didn't dare utter a sound, only secretly taking the opportunity to occupy a few inconspicuous cities.

Moreover, after confirming Li Zicheng's defeat, the Qing army, before truly entering the Central Plains, hastily relinquished the cities they had occupied.

However, now that they have learned that it was not the Manchus or Dorgon who entered the Central Plains, they have begun to flaunt their power and arrogance.