My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

The King of Qin was overjoyed, but said aloud:

"Your Highness is too kind. This is what I should do."

"As a prince of the Ming Dynasty, I have a responsibility to share the burdens and solve the problems of the court."

Zhu Cilang didn't say much. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhu Cilang mounted his horse and prepared to leave.

The King of Qin then cupped his hands and said:
"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness the Crown Prince, wishing you a safe journey, a swift quelling of the rebellion, and a triumphant return!"

Zhu Cilang stopped talking, pulled on the reins, and the horse turned around and led the group away.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, raising a cloud of dust.

Watching Zhu Cilang's departing figure, the Prince of Qin couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "How long has it been since the Ming Dynasty has had a crown prince like him?"
Once he becomes emperor, the Ming Dynasty will rise again!

The subsequent development of the situation was a natural progression; the army continued its mighty march straight towards Hanzhong.

However, some unexpected events still occurred along the way.

According to reports from scouts, a sudden heavy snowfall has occurred in the Chencang (Baoji) area, accumulating to a depth of several feet, completely burying the roads and making it difficult for the army to continue its advance!
Faced with this situation, Zhu Cilang immediately summoned several generals for a discussion.

Ultimately, it was unanimously decided to change the route and enter Hanzhong via the Baoxie Road!

The specific route was as follows: starting from Xi'an Prefecture, passing through Zhouzhi (now Zhouzhi County) and Mei County (now Mei County), then entering Baoxie Road, passing through Liuba and Baocheng, and finally arriving at Hanzhong Prefecture.

However, even with the changed route, the army could not set off immediately, because Zhu Cilang had already arranged for 50,000 laborers in Chencang to clear the way in order to ensure the smooth progress of the march.

After all, this march would take them into the Qinling Mountains, where the roads were rugged, difficult, and fraught with danger. Without laborers clearing the way, the army would surely suffer heavy losses.

Among these 50,000 laborers, several thousand were people who lived in the Qinling Mountains year-round. They knew every ravine and stream in the mountains like the back of their hand, were familiar with the dangers of the mountain roads, and knew how to cleverly avoid them.

With them as guides, the army could avoid many detours and unnecessary casualties.

After all, Zhu Cilang did not want to repeat the mistakes of Li Zicheng, who suffered continuous casualties along the way. If these problems could be avoided, he would naturally try his best to avoid them.

While waiting for the laborers to arrive, Zhu Cilang temporarily stationed himself in Xingping County.

In his spare time, he heard that there was Mawei Post Station and the tomb of Yang Guifei in this area, so he decided to go and visit them.

However, when Zhu Cilang arrived at Mawei Post Station, the scene before him made him somewhat disappointed.

Because this place has none of the bustling and prosperous scenes of later generations; it is just a desolate wasteland.

This is because during the Ming Dynasty, only some legends about Yang Guifei circulated here, and no special place was built to commemorate Yang Guifei.

Moreover, Li Longji was so incompetent in his later years that he almost caused the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty would naturally not promote places related to Li Longji!
Next, Zhu Cilang visited the tomb of Yang Guifei.

There stood an inconspicuous earthen mound, surrounded by weeds, appearing particularly desolate.

The surface of the earthen mound is uneven, seemingly telling the story of the vicissitudes of time.

Standing in front of the tomb, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but wonder: Is the remains of Yang Guifei really buried in this tomb?
After all, according to historical records, this seems to be just a cenotaph!

Of course, Zhu Cilang didn't care about this; he had only come to pass the time while waiting.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The 50,000 laborers who were originally in Chencang gradually arrived in Zhouzhi County.

Upon learning the news, Zhu Cilang immediately ordered his army to break camp and set off for Zhouzhi County.

After the army and the laborers officially joined together, they formed a massive army of about 200,000.

Then the army, like a winding dragon, marched mightily towards Hanzhong Prefecture.

Along the way, banners fluttered, and the sounds of horses' hooves and footsteps mingled together, as if forming a stirring battle song.

Another point worth mentioning is that although it was previously said that the plan was to enter Sichuan and have a decisive battle with Li Zicheng, anyone with a little military knowledge knows that this war was destined not to take place in Sichuan, but rather in Hanzhong.

After all, Li Zicheng hadn't even reached Hanzhong yet, so what strength or confidence did he have to say he wanted to enter Sichuan?
Zhu Cilang had already made meticulous arrangements in Hanzhong.

He ordered all troops around Sichuan to begin moving to Hanzhong, making Hanzhong the key location for this decisive battle.

Therefore, calling this battle the Battle of Hanzhong is truly fitting.

Meanwhile, the scene shifts to Hanzhong.

Hanzhong is bordered by the Qinling Mountains to the north and the Daba Mountains to the south, with the Han River flowing through it, forming a unique landscape of "two mountains flanking a river". It connects Guanzhong and Sichuan to the north and south, and radiates to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain to the east and west.

Due to its mild climate and abundant water resources, Hanzhong has been known as "Little Jiangnan" since ancient times. It is an important agricultural area and the birthplace of the Han Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty continued its strategic position and established Hanzhong Guard here.

Hanzhong Guard, as a standard guard post under the Shaanxi Military Command, had a rated strength of 5600 men and was commanded by a commander who oversaw five thousand-household units.

Of course, like other garrisons in the Ming Dynasty, Hanzhong Garrison had far fewer people, currently numbering less than two thousand!

However, Hanzhong was bustling with activity at this time, with troops from the surrounding areas stationed everywhere, turning this once peaceful "Little Jiangnan" into a huge military stronghold.

Among them were Sichuan troops from Sichuan, Guizhou troops and chieftain troops from Guizhou, "Hu Guang Army" from Hunan and Hubei, some ethnic minority garrison troops, and of course, local troops stationed in Hanzhong!
In conclusion, the number of troops in Hanzhong now exceeds 90,000!
Under normal circumstances, at this time in the late Ming Dynasty, it would have been an almost impossible task for the imperial court to mobilize so many troops far from the capital.

Because the Ming Dynasty was already in a state of decline at this time, it simply did not have enough prestige or money to do this.

But don't forget, after the Battle of Songjin, the Ming Dynasty was no longer the same Ming Dynasty!
In addition, Zhu Cilang was wealthy, so this kind of thing naturally happened.

After all, in today's world, there really is nothing that money can't buy.

Previously, Zhu Cilang had allocated eight million taels of silver to Hanzhong. This batch of silver was like a timely rain, providing strong support for the upcoming decisive battle.

A portion of the silver was frozen and stored as a strategic reserve.

The other part was used to recruit troops and boost morale, and this amount alone cost about two million taels of silver.

With this money, the soldiers were naturally willing to risk their lives for the court, and even the 20,000 chieftain soldiers that Zhu Cilang wanted all arrived in Hanzhong.

Otherwise, with just words and an imperial edict, it would be difficult to attract so many people.

Originally, the local chieftains in Guizhou did not pay much attention to the imperial court's orders.

In their view, the imperial court is now beset by internal and external troubles, and even if they do not obey the imperial decree, the court has no power to take action against them.

Therefore, although they had accepted the silver from Lin Zhaoding, the General of Guizhou, they had no real intention of sending troops and only intended to go through the motions. However, when Lin Zhaoding approached them again, they were dumbfounded.

Because Lin Zhaoding told them directly that the imperial court was determined to fight a decisive battle against Li Zicheng's peasant army in Hanzhong and would be mobilizing 500,000 troops to Hanzhong!

The chieftains were taken aback upon hearing this.

Although they knew in their hearts that the number of 500,000 troops was definitely fabricated by Lin Zhaoding, the general of Guizhou, they also understood that if the imperial court really wanted to fight a decisive battle with Li Zicheng's peasant army, then the number of troops would be at least around 200,000.

At this critical moment, if they don't send troops to help, then perhaps after the imperial court finishes dealing with Li Zicheng, they will be the next ones to attack!

Besides, they had already accepted all the money given by the imperial court, so it wouldn't make sense for them not to send troops!

Left with no other choice, the chieftains had to agree to send troops.

Then, by piecing together what they could, they finally managed to gather 20,000 men and handed them over to Lin Zhaoding, the general in charge of Guizhou.

In addition to the original army in Guizhou, there are now 25,000 soldiers in Guizhou.

However, this brings a new problem: the military forces in Hanzhong are now too complicated.

Army troops from all over the country gathered here, and due to differences in their living habits and combat methods, they were completely unable to coordinate with each other.

Like a pile of loose sand!
Although Zhu Cilang had previously ordered Liu Jiayin, the Sichuan general, to temporarily coordinate the army, it was clear that apart from the Sichuan army, other armies did not recognize him at all.

For example, the Tusi soldiers from Guizhou only recognized their own Tusi general and ignored Liu Jiayin's words. They didn't even listen to the words of Lin Zhaoding, the general of Guizhou, and formed their own small group.

Even the places where the army was stationed were far away from the places where the Han Chinese army was stationed.

For example, because the two generals of Hunan and Hubei did not come in person, the 20,000-strong "Huguang Army" was not very obedient.

Fights happen every day in various places!
In short, this army of 90,000 men was extremely difficult to coordinate, and the military situation in Hanzhong was in a state of chaos.

This is where Zhu Cilang's foresight was fully demonstrated.

Because he had already thought of these things, he personally came to Hanzhong to take command of the massive army with his prestige and power.

After all, no matter how much trouble they dared to cause, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble for the Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang.

Knowing that Zhu Cilang would personally come to oversee the situation, Liu Jiayin, the general of Sichuan, and Lin Zhaoding, the general of Guizhou, temporarily put the matter of military coordination aside.

They were simply trying their best to prevent major conflicts between these armies and to avoid harassing the local people of Hanzhong.

However, among all the generals who came to Hanzhong this time, there was one person whose identity was very special.

This person was none other than Li Dingguo, who had just arrived in Hanzhong not long ago.

Previously, Li Dingguo followed Ma Xianglin to Sichuan, but after arriving in Hanzhong, Li Dingguo, with his keen military insight, knew that Hanzhong was the key place for the decisive battle between the two sides.

Therefore, he decided to stay and not continue his journey to Sichuan.

Seeing this, Ma Xianglin didn't say anything more, so he let him stay there.

At this time, the person in charge of the military defense of Hanzhong was Liu Jiayin, the general of Sichuan.

Faced with the sudden appearance of Li Dingguo, he was at a loss as to what to do with him.

After all, Li Dingguo's identity was somewhat special. He was once Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son before surrendering to the imperial court.

Therefore, Liu Jiayin couldn't help but feel a little worried, fearing that Li Dingguo might have other ideas.

Fortunately, Ma Xianglin said goodbye to him before leaving and specifically reminded him of one thing:

The Crown Prince values ​​Li Dingguo highly; you must make proper arrangements for him!

After hearing this, Liu Jiayin then assigned Li Dingguo the official position of guerrilla general.

In other words, Li Dingguo's official position remains unchanged; he is still a guerrilla general.

In addition, Liu Jiayin gave him three thousand soldiers and ordered him to inspect the military defenses of Hanzhong every day.

However, after arranging these matters, Liu Jiayin gave Li Dingguo another order!
That is to prohibit Li Dingguo from taking the initiative to go into the mountains and make contact with the peasant army.

Unfortunately, Liu Jiayin didn't really trust Li Dingguo, the peasant army leader who had surrendered to the imperial court. He was afraid that Li Dingguo would collude with Li Zicheng and then become an enemy of the imperial court.

Li Dingguo didn't say anything, but readily agreed.

Because he understood Liu Jiayin's concerns.

However, Li Dingguo was not stupid, because he never intended to just plunge into the Qinling Mountains to find Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong and persuade them to surrender.

If he really did that, Li Zicheng would probably tear him to pieces on the spot!

After all, Li Zicheng didn't care whether he was Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son or not. As long as he saw that Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered to the court, Li Zicheng would definitely treat him as an enemy and kill him without hesitation.

Therefore, Li Dingguo was waiting for the right opportunity to persuade Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to surrender.

That morning, the sky was still somewhat hazy, and a light mist swirled around the campsite like a veil.

As usual, after having breakfast in his tent, Li Dingguo got up and prepared to lead his men out to inspect the surrounding defenses.

Outside the camp, the morning breeze, carrying a hint of chill, rustled the tent curtains, making a soft "whoosh" sound.

Soldiers came and went, some organizing weapons, others feeding horses, creating a busy yet orderly scene.

Li Dingguo had not gone far from his tent when a sudden burst of noisy footsteps broke the tranquility.

He subconsciously stopped and looked up, only to see a group of soldiers leading several ragged peasant soldiers slowly towards him not far away.

Those peasant soldiers were all emaciated, their eyes filled with exhaustion and despair.

Their clothes were tattered, some even revealing their skin, which was covered with scratches from thorns.

Her hair was a mess, as if it hadn't been combed in a long time, and it was covered with grass clippings and dust.

They walked with faltering steps, each step appearing extremely difficult, as if a gust of wind could blow them over. (End of Chapter)