Therefore, you must keep Ulysses Grant outside the pass, so that they have no chance to betray you as they betrayed His Majesty. Otherwise, if Ulysses Grant enters the pass, everything you have now will be destroyed in an instant. The key to stopping Ulysses Grant from entering is the army of George Washington. If he surrenders to Ulysses Grant, then Shanhai Pass will fall without a fight. If he holds Shanhai Pass for you and your army moves north to reinforce, then you will be the victor.

As for whether George Washington will surrender to the Manchus, it depends not only on how you treat him, but also on whether His Majesty is safe and sound.

He is still loyal to His Majesty.

But His Majesty will not surrender to you.”

Brian Carter said.

“The descendants of the Taizu would rather die for the country than surrender to the enemy!”

Franklin Roosevelt said slowly.

Then he took out his dagger and placed it on the table in front of him, looking at Abraham Lincoln with a roguish pride. He now understood Brian Carter’s purpose. Although it was hard to believe, it was indeed the only way out. Otherwise, he would never escape from Beijing, and no matter how well Brian Carter could fight, he could not protect a burden and break through hundreds of thousands of troops.

“What do you want?”

Abraham Lincoln looked at Brian Carter with a half-smile and asked.

“Very simple, let’s make an exchange. His Majesty will issue a handwritten imperial edict to George Washington, William Clark, Joseph Foster, and Samuel Cooper. If they are willing to surrender to you, they may do so; if not, they are absolutely forbidden to surrender to the Manchus, or else their entire clans will be executed. William Clark is from Gaoyou, George Washington’s whole family is in Beijing, Joseph Foster’s family is in Shangqiu, and Samuel Cooper is from your hometown. If they surrender to the Manchus, then their clans will be executed, and they must defend Shanhai Pass and the Great Wall line to the death, waiting for your army to take over. In exchange, you must let us go. The crown prince can stay here as a hostage, but Your Majesty must be released. We will board a ship in Tianjin and go to Nanjing. His Majesty can also make a gentleman’s agreement with you: from now on, Ming and Dashun will use the Huai River as the border and not invade each other.”

Brian Carter said while gnawing on a chicken leg.

Chapter 10: Your Majesty, Please Proceed to the Imperial Hall

“Do you think that’s possible?”

Abraham Lincoln said with a half-smile.

“I think it’s possible. Now His Majesty is of no use to you. Even if he doesn’t die, what can you do with him? Are you going to give up being emperor and restore His Majesty to the throne like Cao Cao?

If that’s the case, I have nothing to say.

If you continue to honor His Majesty, then I’ll continue to be my Jinyiwei.

If you want to be emperor yourself, then even if you keep His Majesty in Beijing, Nanjing will just set up a new monarch. All the government offices are there, there are plenty of royal family members, the six ministries of Nanjing, the Censorate, the Military Affairs Office, the two major eunuch guards in Fengyang and Nanjing—these people can just pick a suitable royal and make him the new emperor. It’s not a big deal, and you’ll still be an enemy state to Ming.

Then Ming and the Manchus will attack you from both sides.

And that’s if His Majesty doesn’t die. If you force His Majesty to his death, then George Washington, William Clark, and Joseph Foster will not be able to surrender to you. Even if they surrender to the Manchus, they will never surrender to you. The enmity of a sovereign cannot be forgiven!

After all, they are still ministers of Ming.

If they surrender to the Manchus and bring in Ulysses Grant, they can claim to be avenging His Majesty with foreign troops. As ministers of Ming, their loyalty is intact. But surrendering to you is different. And it’s not just them—afterwards, all Ming officials who surrender to you will bear original sin. Do you understand what original sin is? Sin in the bones, evil that flows through the bloodline for generations. As long as they have even a shred of integrity, they will not surrender to you. Before this, maybe, but after this, no. Then they can surrender to the Manchus without hesitation.

Surrendering to the Manchus does not carry original sin.

I am a Ming official; whoever can avenge my lord is my lord!”

Brian Carter said.

These last words were what Joseph Foster said when he surrendered to the Qing.

Abraham Lincoln looked at him deeply.

“You see, keeping His Majesty is not only useless, but will also bring you trouble. Letting His Majesty go is different. First, you no longer have to worry about fierce resistance from northern Ming officials, or even about Ulysses Grant being brought in. Joseph Foster will obey the edict, William Clark will obey the edict, Samuel Cooper will obey the edict. This is your reward for releasing His Majesty. They are not surrendering, but thanking you for not harming His Majesty. George Washington will also obey the edict—after all, his family is in your hands. As long as they don’t surrender to Ulysses Grant, you can smoothly take over Shanhai Pass and the Great Wall line, then wait at your leisure for Ulysses Grant’s army to come and use the stronghold to defeat him.”

Brian Carter continued.

“Then why should I let you go? Isn’t it the same if I keep you here?”

Abraham Lincoln suddenly said with a smile.

“Uh, it’s not the same.”

Brian Carter said.

“They could bring Ulysses Grant to rescue His Majesty.”