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

Faced with this scene, Li Zicheng was so angry that his eyes turned red, the veins on his forehead bulged, and he roared:

"You bastards! Calm down, all of you!"

But his voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the battlefield, and no one paid him any attention.

Suddenly, at that moment, a guard beside him shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Chuang Wang, look over there!"

Following the direction pointed out by his personal guard, Li Zicheng saw a place not far away that seemed to have few Ming troops stationed there, appearing exceptionally open and seemingly a suitable breakout point.

Li Zicheng was overjoyed, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope, and hurriedly said:

"Go over there! Go over there!"

At this point, Li Zicheng couldn't care less about anything else; he only had one thought in his mind: to get away from the chaotic peasant army as soon as possible!
Otherwise, it probably wouldn't be long before he himself was dragged off his horse and trampled to death by these peasant soldiers!
So Li Zicheng, with his meager force of ten thousand men, slaughtered the surrounding peasant army as he headed toward the breakout point.

Their swords gleamed coldly in the darkness, each swing sending up a spray of blood.

The surrounding peasant soldiers fell to the ground under their attack, but more and more kept surging forward, halting their advance.

On a high platform not far away, Zuo Liangyu saw this scene through his binoculars. A cold smile appeared on his lips, a smile full of smugness and calculation.

Clearly, all of this was part of Zuo Liangyu's plan.

Zuo Liangyu knew that with the situation hopeless, Li Zicheng would definitely be the first to try to break away from the peasant army. Therefore, he had long ago "left" a way out for Li Zicheng, so that Li Zicheng could lead his remaining troops to escape there.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there may not be many Ming troops stationed there; in reality, that's not the case.

Because Zuo Liangyu had set up a fourth line of defense there, and the troops in this fourth line of defense were the 20,000 chieftain soldiers that Zhu Cilang had previously assigned to him!
These chieftain soldiers, like him, were so eager to make a name for themselves that they couldn't sleep!
After all, Zhu Cilang had said that he would grant official titles to these chieftain soldiers after the war was over.

These chieftain soldiers, eager to gain greater military merit, will undoubtedly spare no effort in fighting Li Zicheng.

Furthermore, most of these chieftain soldiers came from mountainous areas, where they were familiar with the terrain and better suited for mountain warfare. The area was already quite close to the Qinling Mountains, which was perfect for leveraging their advantages.

However, just in case, Zuo Liangyu still deployed some of his personal guards there.

These personal guards were all carefully selected and trained by him; they were extremely loyal to him and had formidable fighting capabilities.

In short, he wanted to completely eliminate Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong here!

And so, Li Zicheng led the remaining ten thousand men and began to charge toward the seemingly weaker defensive line.

They broke through the defenses with ease. The Ming soldiers seemed not to have expected them to break out from there, and were caught off guard. Some even scattered and fled after just one encounter.

Li Zicheng was secretly delighted, thinking he had finally found a way out, and charged forward even more desperately.

But as he walked, Li Zicheng suddenly realized something was wrong.

Because there was no way out ahead, but a mountain hundreds of meters high!

The mountain resembled a gigantic monster in the darkness, exuding a terrifying aura. Before he could even take a few steps, his warhorse could run no more, emitting heavy panting.

With no other option, Li Zicheng dismounted and prepared to walk. Seeing this, the others also quickly dismounted and followed Li Zicheng on foot.

After running for a while, they were almost at the top of the mountain.

But suddenly, in the next second, countless arrows shot out from the jungle ahead.

The arrows rained down like a dense storm, striking the peasant army in front of them directly.

In an instant, screams rose and fell as peasant soldiers in front of them fell to the ground, their bodies pierced by stray arrows, blood gushing out.

Immediately afterwards, a group of soldiers who looked like savages suddenly sprang out of the forest. They were dressed in strange clothes, their faces were smeared with various paints, and they were carrying weapons that no one could name, and they rushed straight at them.

Looking at them by the moonlight, they were as terrifying as mandrills!
It is obvious that these are the Tusi soldiers of Guizhou!
Upon seeing this, Li Zicheng knew he had been tricked!
His face turned deathly pale instantly, and his heart was filled with despair.

But now it was too late for regrets, so he could only order his veteran soldiers to charge into battle against the local chieftain's troops.

"Don't panic! Kill them! Kill them and we can escape!"

The next second, the veteran soldiers rushed forward.

However, Li Zicheng underestimated these chieftain soldiers. Although they looked unremarkable and were short, they had grown up in the harsh mountainous areas and had been hunting and roaming the forests since childhood, which had given them a strong physique.

Therefore, their fighting power was incomparable to that of ordinary peasant armies!

Furthermore, the mountainous terrain made it even more suitable for them to fight, so for a time they managed to force the enemy into a series of defeats.

In just one encounter, dozens of people died instantly, their bodies lying haphazardly on the ground, their deaths extremely gruesome.

"Get out! Get out!"

Suddenly, someone shouted something, and the surrounding peasant soldiers, thinking it was an order from Li Zicheng, immediately began to scatter and retreat.

Like headless flies, they retreated blindly in the darkness, completely ignoring the peasant army that was continuing to advance behind them.

The next second, the two groups of people collided head-on, instantly causing another commotion!
Taking advantage of this opening, the Tusi soldiers on the other side rushed up and fought again, instantly taking the lives of hundreds more!

However, at this moment, Li Zicheng was furious and hurriedly roared:

"Don't retreat! Don't retreat! Charge forward, all of you!"

Li Zicheng knew that since he had been deliberately lured here, it was obvious that the Ming army would also set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain after he arrived. If he retreated down the mountain at this time, he would be caught in a pincer attack, which would be tantamount to courting death.
So the only thing we can do is try to keep pushing forward!
But by then, no one was listening to him anymore.

The dense crowd was thrown into complete chaos in the mountains and forests, and then everyone scrambled down the mountain.

If someone accidentally falls, they will roll down the mountain along with those around them, but they will die before they reach the bottom.

Even Li Zicheng was swept up and rushed down the mountain. He tried desperately to break free from the crowd, but to no avail.

At this point, not only the peasant soldiers at the bottom level went mad, but even the veteran soldiers around him went mad!
Seeing this, the 20,000 chieftain soldiers who had been hiding on the mountain rushed down the mountain and attacked immediately!
They were like tigers descending from the mountain, unstoppable, mercilessly killing the retreating veteran soldiers!
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain on the other side, Zuo Liangyu had already led 20,000 elite troops to approach the mountain.

As for the main battlefield next door, the two sides were still fighting fiercely, but for Zuo Liangyu, nothing was more important than the heads of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng.

So he made some simple arrangements over there and then personally led his men to deal with Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng!
Not long after, he saw Li Zicheng's army!

At this moment, Li Zicheng was trapped halfway up the mountain.

To move upwards, one must face the overwhelming attacks of the chieftain's soldiers.

Downwards, he faced Zuo Liangyu's well-trained army. At this moment, Li Zicheng was filled with despair.

On the other hand, Zuo Liangyu felt confident of victory, a smug smile on his face, as if he could already see himself beheading Li Zicheng.

Once the distance between the two sides closed, the Ming army launched an attack without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang bang."

Another burst of gunfire rang out, the sound echoing through the mountains like thunder, instantly killing many peasant soldiers.

Some peasant soldiers fell to the ground or fled in panic under the shock of the gunfire.

Some peasant soldiers tried to escape to the left and right, but how could Zuo Liangyu not be prepared?

The next second, screams came from the forests on both sides.

This is because they accidentally stepped into a trap.

Some of the traps were deep pits filled with sharp bamboo sticks, while others were animal traps; once you stepped on one, you would be tightly clamped and unable to escape.

It is obvious that Zuo Liangyu had prepared all of this in advance; he had gone to great lengths to eliminate Li Zicheng's peasant army.

Meanwhile, Zuo Liangyu and the chieftain's soldiers on the mountain continued to launch attacks on the peasant army.

They were like two sharp scissors, constantly cutting through the already tattered cloth of the peasant army.

After round after round of fighting, Li Zicheng's forces had dwindled to only about 5,000 men, and that number was still decreasing.

The corpses around them were piled up like mountains, emitting a nauseating stench.

However, the Guizhou chieftain's soldiers and Zuo Liangyu's side also suffered considerable casualties.

Although the chieftain's soldiers were brave, many of them were injured or killed by the peasant army's tenacious resistance.

Although Zuo Liangyu's elite troops were well-trained, they inevitably suffered losses in the chaotic battle.

But it was much better than the peasant army, which had only about 500 casualties in total.

Moreover, at this time, Zuo Liangyu and the chieftain's soldiers were already bloodthirsty and had long forgotten about persuading them to surrender. They only wanted to completely annihilate the peasant army in front of them!
However, at this time, the people surrounding Li Zicheng were all his absolute confidants.

They surrounded Li Zicheng tightly in the center, like a solid fortress, and then vigilantly observed everything around them, ready to deal with any attack at any time.

At this moment, Li Zicheng was already in a sorry state. His hair was disheveled and hanging over his shoulders, his face was covered with blood and dirt, and his clothes were torn in several places.

By the dim light of the moon and torches, looking at the Ming army attacking from both above and below, Li Zicheng knew that he was probably going to die here.

His heart was filled with resentment and regret. He was unwilling to let his years of hard work go to waste and regretted that he had not listened to Zhang Xianzhong's advice.

But by then it was all too late, and the shadow of death was slowly creeping over him.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Zhu Cilang finally led the remaining army here.

Meanwhile, the battle was still raging, but the number of farmers had been reduced to about 30,000, and a large portion of them were Li Zicheng's old soldiers.

These people were far more formidable than ordinary peasant armies; most of them still showed no intention of surrendering and continued to fight the Ming army.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang didn't bother with any more words and simply waved his hand.

The next second, the army behind them pressed forward!

Moments later, the war was completely over!
Those who chose to surrender are now kneeling on the ground, trembling.

Those who refused to surrender turned into corpses!

When Zhu Cilang spurred his horse forward, what came into view was a shocking and extremely tragic scene.

By the flickering torchlight and the cold, frosty moonlight, Zhu Cilang saw countless corpses lying haphazardly on the ground before him.

The corpses were in various positions; some were twisted into a ball, as if they had suffered great pain before their death, while others lay flat on the ground with calm faces that conveyed endless desolation.

Some of the corpses still retained some warmth, with wisps of steam visible, indicating that they had just died.

Even worse, some people turned into a puddle of mud, and only by looking at the limbs and broken pieces next to them could one tell that this puddle of mud was once a living person!

Blood gushed out beneath them, gradually forming a river that shimmered with an eerie red hue under the moonlight.

For a moment, Zhu Cilang's heart pounded wildly, his eyes filled with shock and reluctance.

Because this is actually the last thing he wanted to see!

But the essence of war is killing, and that is an unchangeable fact.

If he didn't kill these peasant soldiers, they would kill the Ming army. Whether the Ming army or the peasant army dies has never been a difficult question to answer.

Zhu Cilang knew this well, and although he felt very reluctant, he also knew that everything he was doing was right!
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang tried his best to suppress the surging emotions in his heart, keeping his voice as calm as possible, and then looked at Liu Jiayin, the Sichuan General, who was standing beside him, and slowly said:
"Minister Liu, I trouble you to send people to treat the soldiers and civilians who are still alive. As long as they have a breath left, they must be treated."

"Let's save as many as we can."

At this point, there were no longer any peasant armies here, only ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty!

Upon hearing this, Liu Jiayin immediately and respectfully accepted the order:

"The minister obeys the order!"

After saying this, Liu Jiayin rode away.

Before long, squads of soldiers followed Liu Jiayin. These soldiers quickly dispersed and carefully searched the battlefield for every wounded soldier.

Whether they were Ming soldiers or peasant rebels, as long as they had a breath left, they all had to be treated.

Then, Zhu Cilang slowly turned his gaze to the mountain not far away.

At this moment, shouts of battle could still be heard from the mountain. It was obvious that Zuo Liangyu and Li Zicheng were engaged in their final battle.

It must be said that Zuo Liangyu was indeed quite capable; he seemed to have truly driven Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng to the brink of defeat! (End of Chapter)