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

However, Zhu Cilang had no interest in joining in the fun at this moment.

He stood there quietly, gazing intently at the mountain.

Because no matter what, Li Zicheng's fate was already sealed!
Faced with the Ming army's powerful offensive, Li Zicheng had no way out, and his defeat was only a matter of time.

And right now, it seems that the one thing he has in abundance is time!

Just then, someone suddenly appeared beside Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang turned around and saw that the person who came was none other than Li Dingguo!

Then Zhu Cilang asked calmly:
"What? Even at this point, you're still thinking about persuading them to surrender?"

Li Dingguo didn't speak, but just looked at the mountain in front of him and sighed softly, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He did want to continue trying to persuade them to surrender, but at this point it seemed pointless.

Since the Ming army was about to completely annihilate Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, what was the point of him trying to persuade them to surrender now?

But at that moment, Zhu Cilang suddenly continued speaking:
"If you want to go, then go ahead, but this is your last chance."

"As long as they are willing to surrender, they can all live, including Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng!"

His voice was calm yet firm, as if giving Li Dingguo a final choice.

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo's eyes widened instantly, and he looked at Zhu Cilang with an incredulous expression.

He never expected that, even at this point, when the Ming army could have completely wiped out the peasant army, Zhu Cilang would still allow him to persuade them to surrender!
After realizing what was happening, Li Dingguo hurriedly bowed and said in a trembling voice:

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

After saying this, Li Dingguo no longer hesitated and headed straight up the mountain. His steps were firm and hurried, as if he was afraid of missing this last opportunity.

Watching Li Dingguo's receding figure, Zhu Cilang gently shook his head, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

At this point, Zhu Cilang could have done nothing at all and just watched Zuo Liangyu besiege Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. And if nothing unexpected happened, the battle would have ended in an hour at most!

At that time, the heads of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng will also be delivered to him by Zuo Liangyu!

But he ultimately did not do so, just as he had said before, he still felt a pang of reluctance towards these peasant armies.

Because the root cause of peasant uprisings is ultimately the oppression of the people by officials.

Even if Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng are eliminated today, as long as the root causes such as land annexation, official corruption, and frequent natural disasters are not eradicated, it will probably not be long before another 'Zhang Zicheng' or 'Wang Zicheng' rises again.

The peasant armies at the end of the Ming Dynasty were like weeds, impossible to extinguish even by wildfires, and always springing up again with the spring breeze.

The surrender policy, on the other hand, transforms a massive destructive force into a constructive one. If these peasant armies can be properly resettled and sent to Liaodong, it can not only alleviate social unrest at its source but also strengthen border defenses.

When it comes time to take action against the Jurchens in the future, they will all become soldiers of the Ming Dynasty!
Furthermore, successfully appeasing the peasant army leaders was itself a demonstration to the world that the imperial court still possessed authority and control.

This proves that the imperial court can subdue rebellions through 'education' and can also deter other uprising forces, thereby stabilizing public sentiment and boosting morale.

This was of paramount importance to ancient dynasties!
Its significance is no less than winning a war!
Moreover, at this time, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were not the only ones who rebelled.
They were merely the two most powerful of the many rebel armies; throughout the Ming Dynasty, uprisings of all sizes continued to erupt one after another.

Therefore, the effect of a successful surrender is far greater than that of a complete extermination!
So if Zhu Cilang could successfully persuade Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng to surrender, he would be willing. At worst, he would just keep them under house arrest until they died of old age, just as he had discussed with Li Dingguo before!

This seems to be different from Zhu Cilang's previous ideas?
After all, before this, Zhu Cilang was determined to kill Li Zicheng, the culprit!

The reason why Zhu Cilang had such a change in mentality was because he had seen too many dead people along the way!

According to previous rough estimates, the peasant army has suffered at least 80,000 casualties!

This number has exceeded Zhu Cilang's previous estimate of the number of casualties. He originally wanted to keep it below 50,000, but he did not expect it to have reached 80,000!

Therefore, all he wants now is to end this war as quickly as possible without increasing the number of casualties!

Ultimately, the peasant army was not the Jurchens!
Zhu Cilang could not turn a blind eye to their deaths!
After regaining his senses, Zhu Cilang looked at Li Hu beside him and said:
"Order a halt to the attack."

Although his voice was not loud, it was filled with an irresistible authority.

Upon hearing this, Li Hu bowed and replied without hesitation:
"As ordered!"

He then strode towards the rear guard, and soon after, a powerful drumbeat rang out, its penetrating sound seemingly piercing the dark night sky.

Instantly, the drumbeats could be heard for miles around, the rhythmic beats seeming like a pause in the war.

Meanwhile, Zuo Liangyu and the Guizhou chieftain's soldiers, who were fighting the peasant army far up in the mountains, also heard the drumbeats.

Zuo Liangyu understood that this was an order to retreat.

Although he felt somewhat unwilling, he knew that it was the Crown Prince's order and he had to obey it.

The Tusi soldiers, having recently participated in some training with the Ming army, naturally recognized that this was an order to retreat.

Although they didn't know why they were ordered to retreat at this time, they had no choice but to stop attacking and begin to retreat due to orders.

At this time, the number of veteran soldiers gathered around Li Zicheng had dwindled to less than two thousand.

And their current situation is truly dire!

The surrounding area was filled with gruesome corpses; some had been killed by flintlock pistols, some by arrows, and others by swords—it was a sight too painful to behold.

Moreover, the surviving veterans were all possessed. Even though the Ming troops on and below the mountain had retreated, many of them were still wildly swinging their weapons!
It was as if they were still fighting the enemy!
Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly said in a trembling voice:
"The Ming army... it seems the Ming army has withdrawn."

Although the sound was not loud, it was exceptionally clear in the quiet atmosphere.

However, upon hearing this, the remaining people showed no joy; their faces remained filled with fear and despair.

Because they knew that the withdrawal was only temporary, since they were now completely surrounded and their lives hung in the balance.

"What's there to be happy about in withdrawing troops? It just means dying a little later."

Immediately afterwards, a helpless voice rang out, filled with pessimism and despair.

Upon hearing this, everyone else lowered their heads and remained silent.

Just then, Li Dingguo finally arrived.

When Zuo Liangyu saw Li Dingguo arrive, he was so angry that his nose almost twisted. He knew without a doubt that Li Dingguo must have said something inappropriate in front of Zhu Cilang, which was why Zhu Cilang had ordered the attack to stop.

Thinking of this, Zuo Liangyu immediately launched into a tirade against Li Dingguo:

"Li Dingguo! You heartless bastard! You've already surrendered to the imperial court, why are you still thinking about the peasant army?"

"Do you still think you're a peasant army?" His voice grew louder and louder, as if he wanted to vent all the anger in his heart.

At the same time, the soldiers around him began to look at Li Dingguo with hostility.

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo didn't bother to argue with Zuo Liangyu.

Because he knew that Zuo Liangyu was already somewhat out of control at this point and wouldn't listen to anything he said, he simply said calmly:

"General Zuo, this is His Highness the Crown Prince's decree. If you are not satisfied, go and talk to His Highness the Crown Prince."

His voice was calm yet firm, without the slightest fear.

When Zuo Liangyu heard Li Dingguo mention Zhu Cilang, he immediately lost his temper!
So he could only glare at Li Dingguo and then stop talking, though his chest was still heaving, clearly his anger had not completely subsided.

At the same time, Li Dingguo removed his armor and weapons, then looked at Zuo Liangyu and said:
"General Zuo, I am about to go up and persuade them to surrender. Please do not make a move before I come down."

Seemingly fearing that Zuo Liangyu would stab him in the back, Li Dingguo added:
"There are so many soldiers watching here. If General Zuo dares to make a move before I come down, His Highness the Crown Prince will not let you off the hook."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liangyu felt even angrier and then burst into another tirade of curses:

"Bullshit! I may not be the best person, but I would never dare to disobey His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Don't worry, as long as you don't come down, I won't lay a hand on you!"

"But if you fail to persuade them to surrender, then don't stop me. I will personally cut off the heads of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng!"

When he mentioned "Zhang Xianzhong," Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but emphasize his words.

Clearly, he was deliberately trying to embarrass Li Dingguo, since everyone knew that Zhang Xianzhong was Li Dingguo's adoptive father. This was tantamount to telling Li Dingguo:

If you can't persuade me to surrender, I'll kill your father with my own hands!

But Li Dingguo remained unmoved and simply turned and walked up the mountain.

His steps were steady and firm, and he had only one belief in his heart: he must succeed in persuading the enemy to surrender.

By this time, the surrounding scene had become extremely tragic.

From the foot of the mountain to the top, corpses were piled up everywhere, and the blood had gathered together to form a small river that flowed down the mountainside.

Under the moonlight, the blood was a vivid and glaring color, as if it were a true reflection of war.

Li Dingguo climbed the mountain stepping on blood and corpses, nearly slipping several times and only managing to steady himself by holding onto the corpses beside him.

Moments later, he was covered in blood and dirt, but he didn't care and just continued to walk uphill with difficulty.

At the same time, the peasant army, which was halfway up the mountain, also spotted Li Dingguo approaching them.

But at this point they didn't know what to do. Someone instinctively wanted to shoot an arrow, but was stopped by the people next to them.

"Wait! Maybe they've come to persuade us to surrender!"

The man spoke in a trembling voice, which was filled with a glimmer of hope.

At this point, they have completely lost the courage to continue fighting.

They only hoped that the Ming army would send someone to persuade them to surrender, so that they might still have a way to survive.

Upon hearing this, the peasant soldier who was drawing his bow slowly lowered his bow, clearly hoping that the other side had come to persuade him to surrender.

But soon after, someone reported this news to Li Zicheng.

At this moment, Li Zicheng sat blankly in the center of the crowd. His hair was disheveled, his face was covered in dust and blood, and his eyes revealed a sense of despair and exhaustion.

He's just a walking corpse!
Therefore, when he heard the news from his subordinates, Li Zicheng simply nodded and did not say anything.

Because he roughly knew who the people coming were, and apart from Li Dingguo, he estimated that no one else would come to persuade them!

Before long, Li Dingguo finally arrived at the front of the peasant army.

"I have come here on the orders of His Highness the Crown Prince to persuade him to surrender. Take me to see the rebel leader."

Li Dingguo spoke directly and without any hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the surrounding peasant soldiers instantly relaxed, as if they had heard some great news.

They quickly made way for them, and some even took the initiative to lead the way.

And so, Li Dingguo walked through the layers of peasant soldiers and went inside.

At this moment, the peasant soldiers around him looked at Li Dingguo with no hostility, only inexplicable gratitude.

Because they knew that their lives might be in the hands of this former peasant army general.

They prayed silently, hoping that Li Dingguo could successfully persuade Li Zicheng to surrender so that they could live.

A moment later, Li Dingguo finally met Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who was sitting next to him.

Seeing that Zhang Xianzhong was safe and sound, Li Dingguo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Because compared to Li Zicheng, Li Dingguo cared more about his adoptive father Zhang Xianzhong.

He had been worried that Zhang Xianzhong might have died in the previous battles, since anything could happen on the battlefield.

Now that Zhang Xianzhong is safe and sound, they can finally put their minds at ease.

Just then, Li Zicheng suddenly spoke up:
"Li Dingguo, now I completely believe what you said before. It turns out you really didn't lie to me!"

His voice was low and weak, as if he had used up all his strength.

Li Dingguo looked in the direction of the sound, and finally shook his head with a wry smile.

"King Li Zicheng, now that things have come to this, what's the point of saying all this?"

Li Zicheng smiled bitterly:

"It's really pointless now. So tell me, what are you here for this time?"

Li Dingguo stated frankly:
"Just like before, I'm here to persuade you to surrender! Even now, His Highness the Crown Prince is still willing to accept your surrender!"

"As long as you are willing to surrender, everyone can live! Including you, the rebel leader!"

"So, surrender, King Li Zicheng! Stop being so stubborn!" (End of Chapter)