weaving

The fourth day of the eighth lunar month, at the end of the Si hour.

The vanguard of the rebel leader's cavalry arrived in Xuzhou, and shortly after noon, the rebel leader Li Zicheng himself led the main force to the city of Xuzhou.

At this time, the scouts had already discovered that the Yongyi Army had split into three routes, with a force of government troops from Xinzheng, Weichuan, and Yanling, all heading towards Xuzhou.

According to intelligence reports, government troops have already been stationed in Fugou County, and even scouts have been spotted in Lin'ying County, indicating that the main force must have already entered Lin'ying County as well.

"Sure enough... Zhang Cheng dug a huge pit for us between Yanling and Fugou!" Yuan Zongdi said angrily.

Liu Fangliang disagreed, saying, "Originally, we didn't know Zhang Cheng's plan, which is why we didn't dare to divide our troops to gather supplies. But now that we know there are government troops lying in ambush in the Yanling and Fugou areas, isn't that perfect?"

Yuan Zongdi immediately realized, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "You mean... we just need to bypass the ambush in Yanling and Fugou, and then we can send our troops to gather supplies elsewhere!"

Liu Fangliang smiled but remained silent, while everyone else looked down in deep thought.

Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, was troubled, but he seemed to think that Liu Fangliang's words made sense. However, this time he just closed his eyes and pondered, and unusually did not ask Song Xianze and Niu Jinxing for their opinions.

After thinking for a moment, Tian Jianxiu also spoke up in support, saying, "I think Mingyuan's method is feasible..."

When he said this, he kept his eyes on the rebel leader, but seeing that the leader did not express any opinion, he said nothing more.

At this moment, Li Guo, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "If you ask me... we should attack Xiangcheng first, and then send troops out to collect supplies."

Liu Fangliang looked at Li Guo, his expression slightly grave, and said, "Buzhi, how many soldiers and officers do you think are stationed in Xiangcheng?"

"Although it's not a large number, there are still three or four thousand men."

Tian Jianxiu, standing nearby, pressed on, "Are they very good at fighting? Are they also elite members of the Yongyi Army?"

"Whether they are the elite of the Brave and Resolute Army or not, I can't say for sure, but they are definitely very capable fighters!"

At this point, Chuang Wang also spoke up: "Three or four thousand men were able to stop Bu Zhi's troops, so they must be the elite troops that Zhang Cheng brought."

“Dragon King Temple is an elite force, Zhuxian Town is an elite force, and Xiangcheng here is also an elite force… How many elite forces does Zhang Cheng actually have available?” Yuan Zongdi voiced his question.

“There’s another government army force in Tongxu and Qixian, and they’re quite capable!” Li Yan added.

Tian Jianxiu blurted out, "Elite infantry and cavalry are everywhere. How did Zhang Cheng manage to do that?"

"Yu Feng, don't be anxious." Song Xianze spoke up at this moment: "I don't know how Zhang Cheng did it."

Just as everyone was looking on in confusion, Song Xianze looked at Chuang Wang and continued, "However, I just had a sudden inspiration and thought of something that might be able to give Zhang Cheng another push."

"Oh……"

Upon hearing this, the rebel leader was intrigued and pressed, "Strategist, what is it that you're thinking about? Please tell me."

"Grand Marshal, generals, please think about it. Have any of the imperial generals who have fought against us ever seen an army as large and capable as the Yongyi Army?"

"That fellow Zuo Liangyu has quite a few troops, probably around 100,000." Gao Yigong seemed somewhat unconvinced, and he brought up Zuo Liangyu.

"hey-hey……"

Song Xianze, however, asked him unhurriedly, "General Yigong, in your opinion, how do Zuo Liangyu's troops compare to Zhang Cheng's troops?"

"That... is naturally not enough!"

“It’s not just inferior, I think it’s far worse than that.” Liu Fangliang continued, “We’ve known that old scoundrel Zuo for a long time. We’ve fought him at least eighty or a hundred times. We know exactly what kind of people he is.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Song Xianze, and he laughed, "Military Advisor Song, just say what you have to say. Why beat around the bush with us roughnecks?" Song Xianze smiled awkwardly and said, "Didn't we devise a 'divide and conquer' plan before? Now, we can add another charge against Zhang Cheng."

"What is it?"

"Hehe..." Song Xianze said with a sly smile, "'Unauthorized recruitment of soldiers' is a serious crime in the Ming Dynasty!"

Niu Jinxing smiled and praised, "Good. Brother Ce is indeed capable; you've added another charge against Zhang Cheng."

Gao Yigong, however, disagreed. He said, "Strategist, that's all hindsight. What should we do now? Give me a strategy."

All eyes immediately turned to Song Xianze, but he himself did not show any change in expression. However, one thing was quite strange—today, Song Xianze had not waved his "goose feather fan".

Song Xianze didn't even bring a feather fan with him!

Clearly, he also knew that when the rebel army suffered defeats and the generals were in a bad mood, he shouldn't keep waving his feather fan around.

"What General Mingyuan just said was very good."

Song Xianze said, "Government troops have been spotted to the north, northeast, and east of Xuzhou. This shows that they must have been following us all the way here. Our army is currently short of supplies and morale is low. It is not advisable to continue fighting the Yongyi Army."

There are still three or four thousand government troops stationed in Xiangcheng ahead. I don't think we should attack Xiangcheng. Taking it would result in heavy losses, and we wouldn't find much food or supplies. It would be a losing proposition.”

"Strategist, what exactly do you mean?" Liu Mingyuan asked, somewhat anxiously.

"Our main force will advance on Xiangcheng in multiple routes, making it appear as if we are about to attack the city, thus misleading the government troops into believing that we are truly going to take Xiangcheng. Once the government troops have been mobilized by us, we will then suddenly divide our forces..."

The Grand Marshal will lead one force along the Ru River, through Jia County, and into Ruzhou to forage for grain along the way; General Yufeng will lead one force along the official road, through Ye County, and into Nanyang Prefecture to forage for grain; General Mingyuan will lead one force southwest, bypassing Linying without attacking, and going directly to the Yancheng area to forage for grain. If the main government army attacks, they will go to Xiping to forage for grain in Runan Prefecture.

After listening to Song Xianze's words, Chuang Wang walked silently to the map and examined it carefully.

Knowing that he was deep in thought, none of the others dared to disturb him, and instead stayed by his side, examining the tattered map of Henan together.

A moment later, the rebel leader turned around and looked at everyone. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Fangliang's voice came: "Grand Marshal, Fangliang thinks we should go south from Xuzhou along the Xun River, pass through Linying and Fugou, and go through Xihua and Shangshui to collect grain."

If government troops pursue and intercept us, we can either head west to Yancheng or south to Xiangcheng and Shenqiu, depending on the situation. Both routes lead to Runing Prefecture, so we won't be blocked by government troops.

The rebel leader stared at the map again, remaining silent.

"Grand Marshal, with so many men traveling together, we simply don't have enough provisions."

"it is good."

It was Liu Fangliang's words that finally made the rebel leader make up his mind: "Go back and reorganize the troops. After you have a quick bite to eat, set off immediately. There is no time to delay."

"What's the point of eating now?" Liu Fangliang said with a wry smile. "I'm going back to camp to regroup and set off immediately. We'll have a proper meal after we get our supplies!"

As Liu Fangliang walked away, everyone's faces were filled with worry.

Indeed, the rebel leader and his men were only able to have a full meal after entering Xuzhou City, but the food reserves in Xuzhou City were very limited, and there would be no next meal after this one.

Liu Fangliang said he wouldn't eat and would set off immediately, thinking he would leave more food for the rebel army.

"Grand Marshal, I'm starting to worry about Jie Xuan now."

Upon hearing this, Chuang Wang was also taken aback. He stared at Song Xianze and said in a deep voice, "Jiexuan has more cavalry. With him here, I am at ease."

"What I'm more worried about now is Luo Hu... and Er Hu's safety!" (End of Chapter)