I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Sun Laiwang put away the flag and returned to his own residence.

At this time, in the inner quarters of the Sun family, the maids had already embroidered more than a dozen Great Shun army flags.

"Father, you're back!"

Sun Wei came forward and said, "Don't we already have a flag? Why embroider so many more?"

"What do you know?"

Sun Laiwang took these flags very seriously and personally inspected each one.

"Later, hang it on the doors of our shops and the house in the east of the city!"

As he spoke, he picked up a yellow brocade flag with black lettering and said, "This flag should be hung at the main gate."

"Father, why embroider a separate piece of yellow satin, and even trim it with gold thread? Gold is so expensive!"

Sun Laiwang snorted and said, "The one who will soon take over Baoding is the rebel general Liu Fangliang, whose status is second only to Li Zicheng."

Sun Wei said, "However, according to custom, only the emperor can use this kind of yellow silk flag. Li Zicheng has already declared himself emperor, so no matter how high Liu Fangliang's status is, he cannot overstep his bounds!"

Do you know what the situation is like inside the rebel army?

"have no idea!"

"I don't know either, so..."

Sun Laiwang paused, then continued, "Since we don't know the details, we must be even more cautious. Liu Fangliang and Li Zicheng have split their forces into two groups; they can be on equal footing. Why should Liu Fangliang be subordinate to someone else?"

"Dad, you're overthinking it!"

"You're just too young!"

Sun Laiwang smiled dismissively and said, "The Ming Dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu Gao, but back when the rebel armies were rising up at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was still begging for food! This country was conquered bit by bit! Even after taking Nanjing and becoming emperor, there was still the Little Ming King above him."

"How is the current situation any different from before? Therefore, it's still unclear who will ultimately rule this world!"

"Li Zicheng is far away, and we can't curry favor with him. We can only try to please Liu Fangliang, who is right in front of us. Maybe we can even get him a position. This is what your father calls planning ahead, understand?"

Sun Wei was still puzzled and said, "What if Liu Fangliang has no ulterior motives? What if it's inappropriate to hang up the yellow satin flag with gold trim?"

"Since you're young, you should learn a lot!"

Sun Laiwang smiled confidently and said, "We are welcoming the Great Shun army, not just Liu Fangliang. This is called welcoming the royal army. What's the problem?"

"That...makes sense!"

Sun Wei realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly.

"Son, remember this: this world isn't about fighting and killing, it's about understanding human relationships and navigating social interactions. You need to learn more about it in the future!"

Sun Wei bowed and said, "Your son will remember!"

Sun Laiwang nodded and then said, "Later, I will draft the surrender document for Father. You will watch from the side. When the Shun army enters the city, you will go with Father to welcome them. Behave properly and do not have any conflicts with them, otherwise our Sun family will be wiped out."

Sun Wei scratched his head and asked, "Do I have to go too?"

"Of course you should go."

Sun Laiwang sighed slowly and said, "I'm getting old. From now on, the Sun family will depend on you to lead the family. If you can seize this opportunity and make a name for yourself in front of Liu Fangliang, your future will be limitless!"

"By the way, go to the brothels and find a few attractive women, the kind who are open-minded, and send them to the Shun army camp."

Sun Wei nodded and quickly said, "I'll go right away."

That evening, Sun Laiwang personally wrote a letter of surrender.

"To Liu Fangliang, the Tiger General of the Great Shun Dynasty..."

Thinking about this title, it seems inappropriate; "Tiger General" is too general.

"Liu Fangliang, Marquis of Cizhou of the Great Shun Dynasty, General of Might and Valor..."

I still feel it's inappropriate to call him by his first name; it's somewhat offensive.

Sun Laiwang crumpled the paper into pieces and had Sun Wei lay out a new one.

Sun Wei asked, "Dad, you've rewritten it twice, why?"

"In this kind of situation, the form of address is very important and needs to be carefully considered."

After pondering for a long time, he finally began to write: "Respectfully presented by Sun Laiwang, a Confucian merchant from Baoding, to the Great Shun Heavenly Might General and Marquis of Cizhou!"

"As time goes by, the flames of war rage, and the isolated city of Baoding is torn apart by wind and rain. My grandson, Laiwang, is from this land. He has inherited the teachings of his ancestors and passed down the family tradition of poetry and books. Although he is not familiar with military affairs, he has a deep heart for saving the world."

It is said that the Marquis of Cizhou is both wise and brave, and his benevolence is known throughout the land. Wherever he goes, he does not commit any offenses against the people, and the hearts of the people are with him as warm as the spring sun.

I observed the celestial signs and the people's desire for peace. Knowing that the will of Heaven is difficult to defy and the trend of the times is inevitable, I decided to follow the will of Heaven, lead the wealthy households in the city to open the city gates and make donations, so that they may all be of goodwill and work together to bring peace to the world.

We are willing to give all our possessions, including gold, silver, treasures, grain, and cloth, to be registered and recorded for military supplies, as a sign of our sincere allegiance.

This action is not for personal gain, but for the sake of the common people. We hope that the General will consider our sincere intentions, be magnanimous in accepting our plight, and refrain from resorting to arms, so that the ancient city may be spared from devastation, and the people may live in peace and prosperity, sharing in this peaceful and prosperous era. We eagerly await the General's triumphant return, wishing him great success, swift restoration of order, and blessings upon all living beings.

The entire surrender document was written in one go. Sun Wei, watching from the side, praised, "Father, what excellent writing!"

Sun Laiwang was somewhat dissatisfied. After reading it twice, he picked up his pen and crossed out the last paragraph.

Then lay out a new sheet of paper and make a new copy.

"Father, why did you remove the last paragraph?"

There's a problem with this passage.

"What's the problem? I see everything's fine!"

Sun Laiwang smiled and said, "Li Zicheng was a rebel; do you think it's possible to stop them from looting?"

"Let them steal if they want. Father just said something, what's the big deal?"

"It's extremely important!"

Sun Laiwang put down his pen and said, "The former rebels have transformed into the Great Shun Army. Now, mentioning looting is just exposing their weaknesses, isn't it?"

"I see!"

Sun Wei nodded repeatedly, completely convinced.

There is so much to learn from how my father handled this matter!

Just then, the sound of the night watchman's gong came from outside; it was already past midnight.

Sun Laiwang said, "Go and tell people to hang up all the Great Shun army flags!"

"Dad, it's still early, and besides, they didn't say they'd definitely be going to town tomorrow!"

"How do you know it's not tomorrow? These things require early preparation. If we're late, everything we've done these past few days will be wasted!"

"I understand, I'll go right away!"

Sun Wei responded and left, instructing his servants to hang the embroidered Great Shun army flag outside the gate, and not even leaving out the house in the east of the city.

After all preparations were complete, it was already past midnight, and dawn was just around the corner.

The Sun family father and son dressed neatly, took the carefully prepared surrender document, and hurried to the city gate.

Under the cover of night, only a few lanterns swayed in the wind on the streets, making the place seem particularly deserted.

Sun Wei, being young and with better eyesight, noticed a figure in front of him!

"Father, look who's that?"

Sun Laiwang strained to see, and immediately cursed, "Isn't that Zhou Baishun from the silk shop in the south of the city? Damn it, he's here even earlier than us!"

The two dared not delay and quickened their pace to reach the city gate.

At this moment, a whole row of people were kneeling here!

Sun Laiwang couldn't help but say, "You think this is too early? Look at them, they'll be waiting for you as soon as it gets dark!"

Sun Wei exclaimed, "He's usually so quiet, but today he's so enthusiastic!"

"Alright, let's find a better spot quickly!"

By the dim light of the lanterns, the Sun father and son finally found a conspicuous yet respectful spot, and slowly knelt down to await the arrival of the Da Shun army.