Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Three days later, the sun shone brightly, but everything was desolate.

Three large armies suddenly appeared around Gucheng.

Zhang Xianzhong's spies planted outside the city quickly reported the news back to the city.

The scout hurriedly dismounted, shouting, "General, General! Tens of thousands of troops have appeared outside Gucheng and have surrounded it!!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong, who was in the main hall of the Gucheng County government office, suddenly stood up and hurriedly asked, "Xiong Wencan and Zuo Liangyu's troops?"

"It doesn't look like it. This army's morale and equipment are different from Zuo Liangyu's! It looks like they number fifty or sixty thousand!"

"Go and summon Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi to me!" After saying this, Zhang Xianzhong paced back and forth in the hall with a worried expression.

Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi are Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons. They have been following Zhang Xianzhong all over the country fighting guerrilla warfare, and now they are all poised to strike in Gucheng.

Zhang Xianzhong did not expect that an army of unknown origin would suddenly appear and surround all of his more than 10,000 men in Gucheng. This made him feel a sense of crisis, so he hurriedly called everyone to discuss the matter!

Before long, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi arrived in the hall one after another.

Upon seeing that the four men had arrived, Zhang Xianzhong didn't waste any time: "My scouts just reported that fifty to sixty thousand Ming troops have surrounded Gucheng! I summoned you here to discuss how to deal with this!"

The four men were taken aback upon hearing this. Sun Kewang stepped forward and said, "Father, aren't the Ming army all in Xiangyang right now? My inside informant in Xiangyang hasn't reported any unusual activity there!"

Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu looked at Zhang Xianzhong for no apparent reason, without saying much.

"Our scouts report that this army is not the Ming army from Xiangyang!"

"Not from Xiangyang?" Before Sun Kewang could finish speaking, as if he had thought of something, he quickly said, "Two months ago, I heard that the emperor mobilized more than 100,000 troops to fight a battle against the Qing army that had invaded the border at Shuntian Prefecture. Could it be that Ming army?"

As soon as Sun Kewang finished speaking, Liu Wenxiu, who was standing to the side, suddenly clapped his hands and said, "I heard that in Shuntian Prefecture, more than 200,000 troops from both sides were engaged in a fierce battle, and Emperor Chongzhen even personally led his army straight to Dorgon's central camp! That's really damn tough!"

"Finally, the Ming army defeated the Qing army's vanguard defenses. Seeing that things were going badly, Dorgon withdrew beyond the Great Wall, and the war ended!"

Hearing Liu Wenxiu's words, Li Dingguo nodded slightly: "It seems we underestimated Emperor Chongzhen! Just a few days ago, he issued an edict abolishing the two feudal lords of Jin and Dai! He also exempted the people of the empire from taxes and corvée labor for three years! Now his tone has changed, and even our recruitment efforts have suffered a lot of setbacks; very few people are willing to join us anymore..."

Aichin added curiously, "I remember the emperor always thought we were the biggest threat, so why is he suddenly fighting the Qing army to the death?"

Sun Kewang pondered for a moment, still unable to understand why the emperor had changed his tune, and then said, "Over the past year, the court has been making constant moves. Even the Minister of War, Yang Sichang, was kicked out of the court by the emperor. Wasn't he still in Xiangyang just a few days ago?!"

He paused, then continued, "I heard that Emperor Chongzhen established a Military and Political Bureau to oversee all military and political affairs, including the distribution of troops and military pay. Sun Chengzong, Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangshan, and Li Banghua were appointed as Ministers of Military and Political Affairs, replacing the power of the original Six Ministries of the Cabinet!"

Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly after hearing this: "The current court cannot be judged by conventional standards. These five military and political ministers, except for Li Banghua, are all civil officials who came from military backgrounds, unlike the previous cabinet ministers who only knew how to wield a pen! We must be careful in dealing with them!"

Zhang Xianzhong fought against Zuo Liangyu and Chen Hongfan in Yunxi at the beginning of last year. After his defeat, he accepted the offer of amnesty from Xiong Wencan, the governor of five provinces, and was settled in Gucheng. He has been preparing his troops and making preparations for a comeback.

He had a vague feeling that these 50,000 to 60,000 troops were directly under the command of the military and political bureau, and that even the five provincial premiers, Xiong Wencan and General Zuo Liangyu, who were in Xiangyang, probably did not know that Gucheng had been besieged.

Now, suddenly oppressed by the military and political bureau led by Sun Chengzong, he felt panicked and confused. None of these people were easy to mess with or deceive.

"I think we should keep the city gates closed and see what this army is up to before making any plans!" Liu Wenxiu said from the side.

In Liu Wenxiu's view, they had already surrendered to the Ming court, and at worst, they would not be directly wiped out by the military and political authorities.

After listening, Li Dingguo nodded slightly: "General Liu is right. I think it's definitely because we weren't adapted by Xiong Wencan!"

"Gao Jie and Liu Guoneng, who surrendered to the Ming court before us, have both accepted reorganization!"

"After the Battle of Shuntian, I heard that both of these surrendered generals were promoted to generals by the emperor, and Liu Guoneng was even promoted three ranks from adjutant general!"

Sun Kewang thought for a moment and then asked, "If the Ming army really wants us to leave the city for reorganization, should we leave?"

As soon as Sun Kewang finished speaking, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi all turned their gazes to Zhang Xianzhong on the head seat, awaiting the final decision.

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the hall, with only the crackling and popping of the stove fire echoing around.

After a long silence, Zhang Xianzhong sighed, "These ten thousand soldiers are our last hope for survival. If we can avoid going out, we should!"

Zhang Xianzhong didn't have any good ideas either. Now, with 50,000 to 60,000 troops surrounding Gucheng, there was no need to attack. Just besiege them for three months, and they would naturally run out of food. At that time, the Ming generals could attack however they wanted.

"Why don't we strike first and break through the encirclement?" Ai Nengqi suggested.

"Which way should we rush?" Liu Wenxiu asked.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Zhang Xianzhong, who had been deep in thought, also raised his head slightly and cast a glance at them.

"If we're going to strike first, we should head towards Sichuan!" Sun Kewang added from the side.

In Sun Kewang's view, the Sichuan and Chongqing region has been a place where local warlords have always existed. If they were to invade Sichuan, the Ming army would not be able to wipe them out in a short time. They could also prepare for war like Li Zicheng is doing in Shaanxi now.

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo frowned deeply: "If there's another ambush force on the way to Sichuan, our entire army will be wiped out!"

Li Dingguo believed that if the three armies were to surround Gucheng, there would definitely be more than one line of defense. To the east was Xiangyang, where Zuo Liangyu's troops were stationed, and they could guard the eastern and southeastern roads.

The only option left is to head west. If he were the commander of the army, he would definitely set up an ambush before the passage into Sichuan to ambush the surrendered army that breaks through the encirclement. At that time, with an ambush in front and tens of thousands of troops pursuing from behind, this defeated army that has just broken through the encirclement will definitely be annihilated on the spot!

Seeing that what the others said made sense, Zhang Xianzhong pondered for a moment and decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes. Even if he fought against the Ming army, he would be in a very advantageous position as the defender of the city. If all else failed, he would break out of the city.

He sighed, "Let's see what this army's intentions are. If a war really breaks out, we'll defend the city for a month and then make further plans!"

Upon hearing this, everyone replied in unison, "Yes!"

Zhang Xianzhong then waved his hand: "Go and prepare..."