weaving

Chapter 1463 Too late!
The last quarter of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

That is, just moments before Liu Zongmin launched his attack on the Dragon King Temple.

Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, had already led his main force to retreat hastily, lest he be intercepted after Liu Zongmin attacked the Yongyi Army, at which point he would likely have no chance of escape.

To put it bluntly, Li Zicheng was exploiting this time difference!

The rebel soldiers had been traumatized by the Yongyi Army, and they could not gain any advantage against them, whether in attack or defense.

The fact that Xiangong Temple could not be breached after being besieged for several months is one piece of evidence; while the fact that Longwang Temple was breached by the Yongyi Army in one attack is another piece of evidence!

At this moment, the rebel soldiers felt a profound sense of powerlessness...

It was very similar to the scene after the Battle of Tongguanyuan, when the Shangluo Mountains were in dire straits. At that time, only eighteen riders broke out with the rebel king, and even later they regrouped and gathered hundreds or thousands of men.

However, morale was extremely low. They had neither fighting spirit nor supplies, and many soldiers deserted without saying goodbye. Even Hao Yaoqi led his troops away from Shangluo Mountain to venture out into the world.

It was just like when they were trapped in the Yufu Mountains. They were defeated in every battle against the government troops, the enemy suffered heavy losses, and they were cut off from food. They also encountered continuous rain, and many soldiers fell ill. At one point, they even thought that they were destined to die in the Yufu Mountains.

Fortunately, there were old brothers like Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, and Li Guo, who were loyal and devoted to him to the death. In particular, Liu Zongmin even killed his wife and children to prove his loyalty.

Only then did they barely break through the government army's encirclement and manage to enter Henan, finally ushering in a rare opportunity for the rebel army to develop greatly!
But then he encountered Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, who once again thwarted Li Zicheng's ambition to become emperor, almost bringing him back to square one.

Fortunately, Li Zicheng still had his base in the Funiu Mountains and tens of thousands of elite soldiers following him. His strength and situation were much better than when he was in the Shangluo Mountains and Yufu Mountains.

Li Zicheng really had a bad life.

His first major nemesis was Hong Chengchou, the Governor-General of Shaanxi's Three Border Regions, and Sun Chuanting, the Governor of Shaanxi.

In the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, it was these two men who almost annihilated him at Tongguan Pass. If the Jurchens had not invaded the Central Plains, Emperor Chongzhen would not have hastily conscripted them to defend the capital. In that case, Shangluo Mountain would have been Li Zicheng's death ground!
Pity.

Both Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were transferred to guard the capital region. Later, one became the Governor-General of Jiliao and was stationed in Liaodong; the other was imprisoned for several years.

This gave Li Zicheng the opportunity to break out of Shangluo Mountain and wreak havoc on the Ming Dynasty once again.

His second major nemesis was Yang Sichang, the governor-general of nine provinces and a minister.

It was Yang Sichang's strategy of "four main points and six corners, forming a net on all ten sides" that once again shattered Li Zicheng's dream and almost trapped him to death in Yufu Mountain.

Fortunately, Zhang Xianzhong, known as the "Eighth King," employed the tactic of "defeating the enemy by retreating," which tied down Yang Sichang's main force. He also successfully launched a surprise attack on Xiangyang using the "secret crossing of Chencang" strategy, ultimately forcing Yang Sichang to his death. Otherwise, Li Zicheng would have had no chance of breaking out of Yufu Mountain.

After this failed three-attack on Kaifeng, it's hard to say whether Li Zicheng can regain his former glory!

…………

The southward march of the rebel army went very smoothly, without encountering any obstacles.

Although the Yongyi Army scouts could occasionally be seen spying from a distance, they only observed from afar and never got too close. If the rebel army cavalry approached, they would immediately retreat and never engage them.

Just as the army passed Wangjiakou Village, they received bad news—Zhuxian Town had already been captured by the government troops!

The rebel leader was stunned. He was furious and kept whipping the roadside weeds with his horsewhip, cursing, "Zhang Cheng, that little bastard, is a real liar!"

Niu Jinxing, who had been staying close to Chuang Wang, hurriedly stepped forward and whispered a reminder to him: "Grand Marshal, with morale at a low point, be careful what you say...be careful what you say!" Chuang Wang immediately understood, glanced at the people around him, and said sternly with a grim face: "No one is allowed to leak this news."

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they hurriedly promised each other, "We will never leak this."

The rebel leader's cold gaze swept over the crowd again, and seeing that Song Xianze was not among them, he asked, "Where is the strategist?"

Just as everyone began searching for the missing person, Song Xianze stepped forward from behind. He smiled and said to the rebel leader, "I am still not as good as you generals. I have rushed here as fast as I could, but I have fallen behind."

Seeing him panting heavily, the rebel king did not reprimand him. Instead, he gently comforted him, saying, "Don't even mention the strategist, I feel exhausted too."

In fact, Song Xianze had been traveling with Li Yan's army and had just spurred his horse to catch up when, coincidentally, the rebel leader received news from Zhuxian Town and stopped there.

At this moment, Song Xianze has not fully understood the thoughts of the rebel king, so he dares not tell him the truth and only says that he is not good at riding and that is why he is lagging behind.

"Grand Marshal, I have heard about what happened in Zhuxian Town. Fortunately, General Yigong rushed out, and Generals Gu Ying, Li Mou, and Zhang Nai were not trapped inside. This is already a great blessing."

Seeing that the rebel leader's expression had softened, Song Xianze continued, "Gold and silver are all external possessions. You can never have too much of them, and it's not a big deal if you lose them. But it is a real pity that we have lost all our grain and supplies."

Fortunately, all the generals have managed to break through the encirclement. The most urgent task is to find General Yigong and his men. If they can easily breach a few forts along the way, the soldiers won't have to worry about food!

The rebel leader nodded, then looked at Niu Jinxing and the others. Seeing that they had no objections, he ordered, "Mount up, the whole army sets off, passing through Weishi and Weichuan, heading straight for Xuzhou before dividing the troops."

Song Xianze hurriedly asked, "Where is Yufeng? Is he coming with us to Xuzhou?"

“Yes.” Chuang Wang said without thinking, “Zhang Cheng is a bastard who doesn’t keep his word. The movements of the government troops are unclear now, so Yu Feng can’t go to Tongxu anymore. Let’s go to Xuzhou together first, and then decide on the matter of dividing the troops to collect supplies based on intelligence.”

The rebel leader, not allowing any further questioning, shouted, "Ziyi, go to Yufeng Camp yourself and convey my words to him."

"Yes."

"Mount up and let's go!"

…………

The first to receive news of the rebel leader's defeat and retreat were the officials in Kaifeng and Prince Zhu Gongxiao, after all, "being near the water tower allows one to get the moon first."

Despite the elite and courageous nature of the Yongyi Army led by the Earl of Yongning, the officials of Kaifeng and Prince Zhou had placed their hopes on Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu.

After all, the government troops stationed in Zhuxian Town numbered as many as 150,000 to 160,000, which was more than three times the size of the Xuanda army brought by Zhang Cheng!

Who would have thought that Ding and Zuo would be so easily defeated, not even lasting half a month, and were utterly routed by the rebels, with Ding and Zuo almost escaping alone.

Only then did they remember the army of the Earl of Yongning. They kept sending officials into the camp to plead for help, and even the King of Zhou sent an envoy promising generous rewards to the army. Only then did the Earl of Yongning lead his army across the Yellow River and advance to the city of Kaifeng.

Now, upon hearing that the rebel army had retreated, the entire city of Kaifeng was as festive as if it were New Year's Day, with crowds everywhere spreading the news, and the crackling of firecrackers echoing everywhere...

The second person to receive the news was Luo Rucai, nicknamed "Cao Cao," who was stationed in Suining, Guide Prefecture.

Although he still couldn't quite believe it in his heart, the news was personally delivered by his general Wang Long, so he had no choice but to believe it.

Luo Rucai's most trusted strategist, Ji Gui, immediately advised him: "General, hurry to Zhuxian Town, or it may be too late!"