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

The next second, all the peasant soldiers behind Li Guo dismounted and knelt in unison before Li Dingguo, shouting loudly:
"General Li, we are willing to surrender to the imperial court!"

Li Dingguo didn't speak, but slowly walked up to Li Guo.

He looked at Li Guo's unseeing face and sighed slightly. Then he squatted down and gently reached out to close Li Guo's eyes.

In fact, if possible, he really didn't want Li Guo to die, but Li Guo refused to surrender and wanted to drag everyone down with him, so it seemed that Li Guo had no other way out but death.

Just like his uncle Li Zicheng, the two of them, uncle and nephew, are probably doomed to die!
Suddenly, at that moment, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind again.

The sound of horses' hooves grew clearer and clearer as they approached from afar, and there were a great many of them, numbering at least several thousand!
Without even looking, it was clear that the main army from the rear had arrived.

Li Dingguo then addressed the peasant soldiers kneeling on the ground:
"The army is coming. You all kneel on the ground and don't look up. Leave the rest to me!"

Upon hearing this, these peasant soldiers dared not utter a single word of dissent and hastily replied:
"Don't worry, Lord Li, we understand!"

After saying this, everyone buried their heads in the ground, not daring to lift them.

Even so, their bodies were still trembling slightly, clearly terrified.

At the same time, Li Dingguo gave some instructions to his generals, then mounted his horse, squeezed its flanks with his legs, and the horse shot off like an arrow towards the army.

After all, Li Guo was Li Zicheng's nephew and a general in the peasant army. This matter had to be reported to Zhu Cilang.

Because the formal battle was about to begin, Zhu Cilang abandoned the imperial carriage and rode a single horse to join the army in battle.

Not long after, Li Dingguo came to Zhu Cilang's side.

Because the army was still advancing, Li Dingguo did not dismount, but instead bowed to Zhu Cilang from his horse and said:

"Your Highness, a troop of Li Zicheng's scouts has been spotted ahead. Apart from the leader, who was killed by his personal guards for refusing to surrender, the rest have all surrendered!"

Zhu Cilang was not surprised to hear this news, because the Ming army had already captured many of Li Zicheng's scouts, and most of them had chosen to surrender.

But the next second, Li Dingguo suddenly continued:

"The leading general was none other than Li Zicheng's nephew, Li Guo!"

Ok?
Zhu Cilang was somewhat surprised when he heard the name "Li Guo".

He certainly knew who Li Guo was; he was Li Zicheng's nephew and a prominent figure in the peasant army.

He followed Li Zicheng in his campaigns from a young age, making many contributions and enjoying high prestige among the peasant army.

However, Zhu Cilang never expected that Li Zicheng would appoint Li Guo as the commander of the scouts, and he never expected that Li Guo would die on the battlefield so soon.

Coming to his senses, Zhu Cilang asked:

"Are you sure it's Li Guo himself?"

Li Dingguo nodded.

"I know Li Guo, and I would never mistake him!"

Zhu Cilang was immediately in a good mood. After all, Li Zicheng had no sons, so he had always been grooming Li Guo as his successor. The importance of Li Guo to Li Zicheng was self-evident.

Almost no different from a son!
Before the two sides even clashed, Li Zicheng lost his 'son,' which was a rare piece of good news for the army!

Immediately afterward, Li Dingguo continued, his voice tinged with earnestness:
"Your Highness, I promised Li Guo that even if he were to be killed, I would not allow anyone to desecrate his body. I hope Your Highness will grant me permission to properly bury Li Guo's body after the war."

As soon as he said this, Zhang Shize, who was standing next to Zhu Cilang, immediately became somewhat angry.

Then he looked at Li Dingguo and rebuked him:

"This Li Guo is Li Zicheng's nephew, how can we let him go like this? In my opinion, we should cut off his head and display it to the public, which will also dampen Li Zicheng's arrogance!"

Upon seeing this scene, Liu Jiayin, the Sichuan General, immediately gave a mental thumbs-up to this future Duke of England!
Because at this point, he certainly wouldn't dare to refute Li Dingguo; only this future British duke had that kind of confidence!
Upon hearing their conversation, Zhu Cilang hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly, his eyes conveying a sense of authority and composure.

"Forget it, he's already dead. Let's not desecrate his body anymore. If we do, it might cause the peasant army to rebel and refuse to surrender. If that happens, who knows how many more people will die."

"After this battle, give him a proper burial."

Zhang Shize didn't say much after hearing this, he just nodded respectfully.

"What His Highness says is correct!"

Li Dingguo also hurriedly said:
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhu Cilang then continued:

"As for those peasant soldiers who surrendered, take them away and keep them under guard."

"However, you can tell them that the court's previous promise still stands: that all their crimes will be pardoned if they surrender."

Li Dingguo quickly bowed again.

"I obey!"

He then withdrew.

Regarding this battle, Zhu Cilang did not assign Li Dingguo any tasks, but only instructed him to lead his peasant army to persuade the peasant army to surrender.

Therefore, Li Dingguo's main task this time was not to fight, but to persuade people to surrender!

The army then continued its advance, the sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground deep and resonant, like a stirring battle song.

However, when passing by the peasant soldiers who had surrendered before, those people still didn't dare to raise their heads.

They knelt silently on the ground, listening to the approaching sound of hooves, their hearts filled with fear and unease.

The slightly trembling ground beneath their feet seemed to be telling them something:

That means Li Dingguo wasn't lying; the imperial court really intended to completely eliminate the peasant army in Hanzhong this time!
The heavy clatter of hooves struck their hearts like hammer blows, making them feel the majesty and irresistibility of the imperial army.

At this moment, they even felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, they killed Li Guo and surrendered to the imperial court; otherwise, they would probably be corpses by now.

As for killing Li Guo, they might regret it in the coming decades, after all, Li Guo was once their general, and they killed him with their own hands!

But at least they have the chance to regret it later, instead of dying right now.

In this chaotic world, all they wanted was to survive.

Meanwhile, the scene shifts to Li Zicheng's side. After waiting for more than half an hour, there was still no news of Li Guo, and none of the scouts he had sent out had returned.

Li Zicheng sat anxiously in the center of his tent, pacing back and forth incessantly.

He really couldn't understand what was happening at the front. You see, Li Guo was one of his most trusted generals and also his own nephew, so Li Guo would never betray him or surrender to the court!
If that's the case, there's only one reason why he hasn't returned: he must have already been arrested or killed by the imperial court!
Thinking of this, Li Zicheng was filled with remorse. He shouldn't have sent Li Guo out to gather information in the first place.

It's too late to regret it now.

Moreover, at this point, he really dared not send out scouts to gather information again.

Because what happened before was enough to prove that there was indeed an ambush ahead, sending out more people would only result in them never returning.

But then again, we can't just sit here and wait, can we?
For a moment, Li Zicheng felt like a wild beast trapped in a cage, powerless and helpless.

In desperation, Li Zicheng suddenly thought of Zhang Xianzhong.

Although the two had argued about some things before, perhaps he can give me some useful advice at this crucial moment.

Therefore, Li Zicheng hurriedly sent someone to invite Zhang Xianzhong over.

Zhang Xianzhong was somewhat bewildered when he arrived. He had thought that after the previous argument, Li Zicheng would not pay any attention to him for a while, but he did not expect that Li Zicheng would take the initiative to discuss matters with him.

After the two sides met, Li Zicheng did not hesitate at all and told them about what Li Guo had done before.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.

He roughly guessed that Li Guo was probably already dead at this moment.

After all, given Li Guo's temperament and status, it was impossible for him to surrender to the imperial court, but he dared not say it aloud.

Because Li Guo was Li Zicheng's nephew, this statement undoubtedly struck a nerve with Li Zicheng.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xianzhong could only say:

"King Chuang need not worry too much. General Li is young and promising, and he is unlikely to be in any trouble. Perhaps he just explored a large area and did not have time to return."

"We might as well send out some more people to gather information, but this time we should warn them that they only need to check the situation within a five-mile radius, and return immediately if anything seems amiss."

"This way, we can get the information as quickly as possible and reduce the dangers encountered by the scouts."

Li Zicheng thought there was some truth to this.

Because the area of ​​five li is not too far, even if something really happens ahead, he can directly send a large army to provide assistance.

Soon after, Li Zicheng organized another scout team.

He personally selected more than thirty agile and experienced cavalrymen and sternly warned them that they could only survey the area within five miles at most this time.

You can return once an anomaly is detected!
After receiving their orders, the cavalrymen quickly galloped forward.

After that, Li Zicheng began to wait anxiously again.

And this time he was not disappointed, because the scouts he had sent out returned not long after.

This is good news, but there's also bad news!

That means that of the more than thirty scouts sent out, only one came back alive, and he practically crawled back, trembling with fear.

Li Zicheng quickly had someone help him up, then asked in a trembling voice:
"What happened? Why are you the only one who came back?"

The scout said in a trembling voice:
"We were ambushed by Ming troops ahead. We were no match for them. Everyone died, and I was the only one who came back alive!"

His voice was filled with fear and despair, as if he were still immersed in the horrific scene he had just witnessed.

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng exchanged a glance, both looking astonished.

Although they had roughly guessed that they would encounter such a thing, they were still incredibly shocked when it actually happened.

The imperial court had actually set up an ambush ahead! This meant they might have already fallen into a trap set by the court, and the situation had become extremely critical!

But Zhang Xianzhong wanted to get more information, so after the scout calmed down a bit, he asked him some more questions in detail.

It turned out that not long after they left, they were suddenly ambushed by a group of cavalrymen who had been lying in wait nearby.

Those cavalrymen were all tall, strong, well-equipped, and well-trained. They were no match for them and were completely surrounded in a short time.

The scout who was lucky enough to return alive was left far behind because his horse was the weakest.

There just happened to be a grove of trees there, which conveniently concealed his figure.

Therefore, when he discovered that the scouts ahead had been ambushed, he was able to immediately turn around and flee. His horse also seemed to sense its master's fear and ran with all its might.

That's how he managed to save his life.

After hearing the scout's account, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong had different expressions, because they knew that this was truly a matter of life and death.
At this moment, Zhang Xianzhong felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and fear overwhelmed him completely.

Although he had vaguely guessed that this might be the outcome, those guesses were just his worst-case scenario.

He never expected that things would actually develop to this worst possible point, just like a nightmare!
Moreover, what lies before them now is a complete dead end.

If they continued forward, they would have to fight the imperial army to the death, but they had no idea how many imperial troops were waiting for them ahead.

If they really only have 30,000 to 50,000, with their numbers and their desperate attitude, they might still have a chance.

But if it exceeds this amount, the outcome is hard to say!
It seems that retreating in time is the best option?

But then again, where can we retreat to?
Should we return to the Qinling Mountains?

The thought of the Qinling Mountains sent a chill down Zhang Xianzhong's spine.

Although the continuous mountain range could provide temporary shelter, it was poorly supplied with food and clothing. If they were to go back, they would probably all starve to death in the Qinling Mountains.

In an instant, the fear of death was like a sharp blade, piercing every nerve in his body, and even his body trembled slightly involuntarily.

In contrast, Li Zicheng remained unusually calm.

Li Zicheng knew in his heart that panicking was useless at this point; it would only make the situation worse. He had to find a solution as soon as possible! (End of Chapter)