weaving

Chapter 1431 The best outcome is a "lose-lose situation".

On the first day of the eighth month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the night breeze was much cooler than the previous day, and felt very comfortable on people's bodies, clearly indicating that the unbearable heat was about to pass.

However, in Henan... especially in the Kaifeng area, people still couldn't sleep, and even the cool night breeze couldn't dispel the burning heat in their hearts.

Whether officials, generals, rebel leaders, bandits, or starving people hiding in various villages and wilderness, they all had no desire to sleep, because their hearts were filled with worry for tomorrow and hope for the future...

From Kaifeng towards the capital...

From Xincheng towards Ruzhou and Lushan...

From Zhuxian Town towards Qixian and Xuzhou...

From Chenliu towards Suizhou City, Guide Prefecture...

Throughout Kaifeng Prefecture, messengers on horseback galloped along almost every official road and avenue. They included government officials, bandits, officials from the imperial guards, civilians, and even members of the rebel forces such as Li Zicheng, Cao Cao, and others.

The great battle beneath the walls of Kaifeng captivated the hearts of all factions within the Ming Dynasty, becoming the focus of attention across the entire world. The victory of either side would inevitably influence the strength of the forces that followed.

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In the eyes of the court officials and Emperor Chongzhen, they naturally hoped that Zhang Cheng could achieve a Pyrrhic victory over the rebels, and the best outcome would be "mutual destruction"!
In this way, we can not only defeat the rebels and prevent Kaifeng and the Central Plains from falling into their hands, but also take this opportunity to weaken Zhang Cheng's brave and resolute army. It can be described as "killing two birds with one stone".

From Zhang Cheng's perspective, things were much simpler. The high-ranking officials and generals, led by Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, hoped to defeat the rebel leader and force him to retreat from Kaifeng, thus taking the opportunity to reclaim the entire territory of Kaifeng Prefecture.

In this way, they could maintain a long-term military presence in Henan by suppressing bandits, while simultaneously developing military settlements within the province, thus achieving their goal of managing and dominating Henan.

As for the rebels, their strategy was even simpler and more direct: to eliminate the Yongyi Army brought by Zhang Cheng of Xuanfu and capture Kaifeng, so that they could use this great achievement to raise the banner of righteousness, command the heroes of the world, and carry out the great cause of changing dynasties!

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Besides the three main participants mentioned above, other forces also showed great concern for the battle of Kaifeng.

For example, for Cao Cao and Luo Rucai, who were directly involved in the battle, the outcome of the Battle of Kaifeng not only proved whether their choice of allegiance was correct, but also became the key to their future course of action.

Furthermore, Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi who was in Xi'an reorganizing Shaanxi's military and political affairs and training troops, was also paying close attention to the Battle of Kaifeng, because the outcome of the battle here would determine how much time he had left to do his own work.

If Zhang Cheng's government troops win, the court will not be too eager to force him to send troops to the Central Plains. This will give him ample time to thoroughly reorganize the military affairs in Shaanxi and more time to train his soldiers and practice military formations, thus increasing his chances of victory in future campaigns.

However, once Zhang Cheng's brave and resolute army is defeated, the court and the emperor will inevitably press him day and night, leaving him no time to train his soldiers. If he hastily sends troops to the Central Plains, he will inevitably suffer more defeats than victories.

Furthermore, Zhang Xianzhong, the Eighth King of Yinghuo Mountain, and the Five Traitors of the Left were also very concerned about the battle in Kaifeng.

Although Zhang Xianzhong, the Five Leftist Bandits, and Li Zicheng, the King of Chuang, all belonged to the group of bandits, their ambition to dominate after Li Zicheng became the sole ruler made them somewhat worried about their future situation.

Previously, the various rebel forces were roughly equal. Although one of the groups had been powerful, none of them were strong enough to command the others. Their relationship was more of a temporary collaboration, and they had not established a true hierarchical relationship.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and Li Zicheng all became powerful figures at different times, the five left-wing traitors who banded together for warmth also formed a significant force.

Just like Luo Rucai's alliance with Zhang Xianzhong before, and his later break away from Zhang Xianzhong to join Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong's current cooperation with the Five Revolutionary Leftists, these are all fair cooperative relationships, without any superior-subordinate leadership. They are used to splitting up and uniting, and each is used to making the decisions in their own camp. How could they be treated as inferiors, having to ask for instructions and report on everything? Wouldn't that suffocate them?

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong and the five traitors of the Left hoped that Li Zicheng would suffer some losses and be weakened by the government army, so that he would become as strong as them. In this way, they could continue to cooperate with each other and fight against the government army together.

But once Li Zicheng truly defeats the government army and captures Kaifeng, his strength will inevitably surge again, and his reputation and prestige will also rise to a level that even if they were to combine their efforts, they would find it difficult to reach.

If that were the case, they would be powerless to resist him. They would either be wiped out and devoured by Li Zicheng, or become generals under his command, having to report on everything, big or small, and their military supplies would depend entirely on his government.

This is not what they expected!
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The Yongyi Army was very quiet that night. Apart from the sentries stationed outside the garrison and the visible and invisible sentries inside and outside the camp, all the soldiers were asleep.

Only the General Commander He Biao was still inspecting the various camps at the Dragon King Temple. The soldiers following him also moved quietly, afraid of disturbing the soldiers who had already fallen asleep.

"You all go back and rest first. I'll go check on the commander." When General He Biao saw that there was still a faint light coming from the Yongning Earl's command tent, he immediately gave the order to the soldiers who were still following behind him.

"General Commander..."

One of the guards had only uttered three words when He Biao stopped him with a gesture, and he did not say anything more.

He Biao is a special figure in the Yongyi Army system. He has no generals or soldiers under his command. Although he has several hundred garrison soldiers, they are not allowed to go to the battlefield. In terms of equipment alone, they are no different from ordinary soldiers.

Although the garrison commanders of each battalion were responsible to He Biao, they were only under his leadership in terms of garrison duties. Other matters, such as selection, dismissal, and transfer, were decided personally by the Marquis of Yongning, the military supply officer.

He Biao only has the right to make suggestions!

Even so, within the Yongyi Army system, officers, soldiers, and officers all held He Biao in high esteem.

His current position in the Yongyi Army is similar to that of Wu Zhizhong, who has been stationed in Xuanfu and has not led troops into battle since the Battle of Julu. He has become the right-hand man of the Earl of Yongning.

Although there was no explicit ranking, Wu Zhizhong and He Biao were clearly of higher status than the others...

Just like Chen Zheng, Zhang Guodong, Wei Zhice, Jin Xinpeng, Yan Qingrong, Guo Yingxian, Liu Guangwu, and others, their official positions in the imperial court were mostly above those of the two of them, but their actual status in the Yongyi Army was significantly lower than that of Wu and He.

The guards at the gate stopped saluting He Biao and instead lifted the tent flap for him.

He Biao stepped lightly into the military tent. Looking up, he saw Zhang Mingyuan, the commander of the central army, holding an oil lamp in front of a map, while Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, stared at the red dots and red and blue lines on the map by the dim light of the oil lamp.

"Commander, it's time to rest," He Biao said softly.

"Hey, Black Impermanence is here to take my life," Zhang Cheng joked.

"Commander, you are responsible for tens of thousands of soldiers in my Brave and Resolute Army. You cannot continue to train like this. You should rest early."

"Heh..." Marquis Yongning smiled slightly: "How can I fall asleep before the sleepy bug comes to me?"

He looked up from the map and said softly, "You've come at the right time. Let's have a talk."