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

At the same time, the commander of the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry was coldly watching the peasant army in front of him.

He stood tall and straight, his eyes revealing a coldness and authority.

However, he did not rush to take action because he had received orders to persuade the peasant army to surrender before launching an attack.

If they surrender, then there is no need to harm their lives!

But if they refuse to surrender, they will only face certain death.

Therefore, he cannot break the rules, otherwise he will definitely be punished when he goes back, and the credit he has earned will turn into a mistake, which would be a loss.

Moreover, at this very moment, the soldiers behind him had already raised their flintlock pistols and aimed them at them.

He only needs to give the order to turn all these people into sieves.

Thinking of this, he said coldly:
"Gentlemen, you are surrounded! Surrender now! Otherwise, death awaits you!"

His voice was cold and ruthless, echoing in the silent air and sending a chill down the spine of every peasant soldier.

However, upon hearing this, Li Guo angrily rebuked him:
"Surrender my ass! I will never surrender! If you've got the guts, come and have a go!"

As he spoke, his young and resolute face was filled with anger and determination, and he gripped his weapon even tighter, as if he were ready to fight the enemy to the death.

Seeing this, the officer gave up trying to persuade him.

They had already encountered several waves of peasant army scouts before, some of whom surrendered and some who did not, so they were used to it!
Just as he was about to give the order to fire, suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves rang out from afar, accompanied by shouts:

"Wait a minute, do it!"

The sound instantly eased the tense situation somewhat.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, including Li Guo, because for a moment he felt that the voice sounded familiar!

Not long after, the person who had spoken earlier arrived in front of the crowd.

The person who arrived was none other than Li Dingguo!
The officer who had been standing there earlier, seeing that it was Li Dingguo, quickly spurred his horse forward and said:

"General! This humble general has discovered the scouts of these rebels. I originally intended to persuade them to surrender, but seeing that they refused, this humble general had no choice but to kill them all!"

His tone was respectful and cautious, as if he were afraid of offending the general.

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo simply nodded, and then said:
"Leave this to me, you go ahead and gather more information."

The officer didn't say much upon hearing this, but simply cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Dingguo:
"In that case, this subordinate shall take his leave!"

After saying this, he led the cavalrymen to continue their inspection.

After all, Li Dingguo was a close confidant of the Crown Prince, and not someone a mere captain would dare to offend.

At the same time, the men brought by Li Dingguo instantly surrounded Li Guo and his group.

However, at this moment, Li Guo and the others were completely stunned.

Because Li Guo had already recognized that the Ming general standing in front of them at this moment was none other than Li Dingguo, the adopted son of Zhang Xianzhong!
Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng had cooperated many times before, so he knew Li Dingguo. The two had even fought side by side against the Ming army.

But speaking of which, when Zhang Xianzhong surrendered to Li Zicheng, wasn't it said that Li Dingguo was already dead? How come he's now a military general of the imperial court?
Li Guo was filled with doubt and confusion; he couldn't understand the reason behind it.

Suddenly, at that moment, one of Li Guo's personal guards shouted:
"Ergou, is that you? How did you become a Ming soldier?"

"Sanwazi, is that you? Didn't you die in the Qinling Mountains? How come you're here?"

For a time, all sorts of shouts could be heard.

Li Guo's personal guards stared wide-eyed, their faces showing surprise and confusion, because the people surrounding them were none other than the peasant army that had been driven away by Li Zicheng not long ago for various reasons!

They originally thought that these people would surely die in the Qinling Mountains after being driven away, but unexpectedly, they not only did not die, but also became members of the Ming army!
This made them feel like they were dreaming!

In an instant, the atmosphere at the scene became somewhat noisy.

Just then, Li Guo suddenly roared:

"Shut up, everyone!"

The moment those words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence again. Everyone stood there quietly, the atmosphere oppressive and tense!

Immediately afterwards, Li Dingguo spurred his warhorse to stand before Li Guo and said:
"Long time no see, Li Guo."

His voice was gentle and calm, seemingly without the slightest hostility.

However, upon hearing this, Li Guo suddenly revealed an extremely mocking smile, and then sneered:

"When I heard from Zhang Xianzhong that you were dead, I was sad for you for a long time. I never expected that you would actually survive and become a military general in the imperial court!"

"Judging from that person's attitude towards you, your current status seems to be quite high."

"I really can't understand how the dignified Li Dingguo could become a lackey of the imperial court?"

His voice was full of sarcasm and questioning, as if he wanted to vent all the anger in his heart.

Li Dingguo was not angry upon hearing this, but slowly said:
"Li Guo, if the Ming Dynasty were still the same as before, I, Li Dingguo, would still insist on rebelling as before, to fight for a way out for the people of the world!"

"But believe me, the Ming Dynasty is different now. I think it can still be saved, so I want to give it a try!"

"Moreover, compared to dealing with the Ming Dynasty, our common enemy should be the Jurchens."

Li Guo had obviously heard about the Jurchens, but he didn't care.

In his mind, the only enemy of the peasant army was the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Jurchens, they were merely enemies of the Ming Dynasty, not their enemies!

Then Li Guo sneered:
"Don't try to reason with me, I don't understand."

"I'll only ask you one question: what are you trying to do? Are you going to kill us?"

His eyes revealed a sense of vigilance and resolve, as if he had already prepared for the worst.

Li Dingguo shook his head and said:
"I don't want to kill you, but I want to persuade you to surrender. If you surrender, you will all live!"

"Surrender, Li Guo! The peasant army is doomed to defeat."

"And I can tell you something: those cavalrymen you saw earlier were the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, the elite troops of Liaodong who should have been stationed there!"

"But in order to deal with the peasant army, the imperial court transferred them here to deal with you."

"Besides that, I have 70,000 elite Ming troops behind me, and you have 150,000 elite Ming troops behind you!"

"In other words, you are now completely surrounded and have no chance of winning."

"Only by surrendering can you save your life; if you don't surrender, you're doomed."

"Furthermore, this time the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty is personally leading the expedition. All the soldiers will fight to the death and will never retreat." "In this battle, the peasant army will be completely annihilated!"

His voice was steady and powerful, each word like a heavy hammer striking Li Guo's heart.

As soon as he said this, the peasant army behind Li Guo immediately became restless.

Because they never expected that the imperial court would actually mobilize 200,000 troops to deal with them, and they never expected that they would be surrounded by the Ming army!

The most critical thing is that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty personally led the expedition!
These events, one after another, were like a bolt from the blue to them!

Their faces showed terror and despair, as if they could already foresee their own deaths.

Soon, one of Li Guo's personal guards couldn't help but speak up:

"If we surrender, will the imperial court really spare our lives?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo quickly assured him:
"Of course! You all know what my status was before. If the imperial court can accept someone like me, then what about ordinary peasant army generals like you?"

Upon hearing this, the guard's expression softened, and a hint of hesitation and expectation appeared in his eyes, as if he were considering whether to surrender.

Before he could say anything, Li Guo suddenly turned around, drew his sword from his waist, and slashed down.

The movement was swift and decisive, completed almost instantly.

The next second, the soldier's expression froze, and then he clutched his neck in pain as blood gushed out.

He then fell helplessly off his horse.

Blood splattered like a fountain onto the people around them, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

Immediately afterwards, Li Guo pointed to the corpse of the personal guard he had killed and said:
"Let me tell you, no one can betray King Li! If you dare to betray him, this is what will happen to you!"

His voice was cold and ruthless, like that of a cruel judge.

The remaining guards' faces instantly turned extremely grim, and none of them dared to say anything more.

This filled them with anger and resentment.

After all, things have come to this point. If we don't surrender, are we really just going to wait to die?

Having finally made it out of the Qinling Mountains, all they want now is to survive, not die here!
On the other side, Li Dingguo was not surprised when he saw this scene.

After all, he had known Li Guo for a long time and knew that the relationship between Li Guo and Li Zicheng was extraordinary.

Li Guo was Li Zicheng's nephew. He had followed Li Zicheng since childhood and fought in the peasant army for many years. He had long regarded Li Zicheng as his faith and support, and naturally stood on Li Zicheng's side.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Li Guo to betray Li Zicheng.

But Li Dingguo couldn't bear to kill his former comrade-in-arms, so he could only continue to persuade him:

"Li Guo, the situation is different now. The imperial army is powerful. If you insist on resisting, you will only increase casualties."

"It would be better to surrender to the imperial court; perhaps then you can save your life."

But Li Guo just smiled coldly, his eyes full of disdain.

"Li Dingguo, don't think that just because you're wearing this official uniform you've forgotten your origins! I, Li Guo, was born a member of the peasant army, and I will die a member of the peasant army. I will never bow down to the imperial court!"

Hey!
Seeing this, Li Dingguo sighed helplessly, because he knew that Li Guo was determined to die!

Then he looked at Li Guo, a resolute glint in his eyes!
"If that's the case, then I have no choice but to kill you. But don't worry, I won't let anyone desecrate your body, and I will give you a proper burial."

Upon hearing this, Li Guo merely gave a cold laugh, his eyes seeming to say:
It's still uncertain who will die!

Li Dingguo said no more and immediately prepared to order the attack, his eyes showing no mercy whatsoever.

It should be noted that although Li Dingguo used peasant armies to form an army, this army had never been recognized by other armies since its establishment.

The Ming generals all believed that they were peasant soldiers who had not received proper training and lacked loyalty, and were therefore completely unusable.

Therefore, this army composed of peasant soldiers desperately needed an opportunity to demonstrate its strength and loyalty!

Don't be fooled by their past friendships and brotherhood; for the sake of their future, even friends and brothers can turn against each other!

This may be cruel, but that's reality!
As their head coach, Li Dingguo also had to consider the future of these people!

Just as the two sides were about to fight, a sudden change occurred!
Suddenly, the two guards behind Li Guo exchanged a glance, a hint of ruthlessness and determination flashing in their eyes.

The two then instantly drew their knives, their movements as swift as lightning.

The sharp blade, accompanied by a whistling sound, pierced directly towards Li Guo's back.

This happened so suddenly that Li Guo had no idea that his personal guards would attack him, so he didn't have time to react at all, and the two knives pierced through his chest.

Blood gushed out instantly from the wound, staining his armor red.

"what!!!!!!"

The next second, Li Guo couldn't help but roar, his voice filled with anger, pain, and disbelief.

He then turned around and looked at his two bodyguards with an incredulous expression, his eyes filled with shock and confusion, as if asking:

"Why? Why did you betray me?"

Immediately afterwards, one of them spoke, his voice carrying a hint of coldness and helplessness:

"General, don't blame us for resorting to dirty tricks against you, it's just that you're blocking our path to survival!"

"The imperial court has already surrounded the peasant army. The peasant army is doomed to defeat. Brothers, your only chance of survival is to surrender. I'm sorry!"

After saying this, he suddenly drew his broadsword.

When the broadsword was pulled from Li Guo's body, it brought with it a stream of blood that splattered onto his face, but he didn't care at all.

Seeing this, the other person also drew his broadsword, and another spurt of blood gushed out instantly.

Immediately afterwards, Li Guo's body went limp, and he fell directly off the horse with a dull thud, raising a cloud of dust.

After that, Li Guo twitched twice more on the ground and then fell silent.

His eyes were wide open, as if he had died with his eyes open in disbelief.

Li Dingguo, who was not far away, had already ordered his men to stop attacking when he noticed the unusual activity, and then coldly watched everything in front of him.

Seeing Li Guo die, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

However, he did not blame the peasant army that attacked Li Guo, because they were just trying to survive.

In this chaotic world, everyone has their own choices. They make these decisions for survival, which, though somewhat cruel, are also understandable. (End of Chapter)