The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 203 Li Zicheng's Transformation
Unable to locate Li Zicheng's troops in the short term, Jiang Han had no choice but to prepare for both possibilities.

On the one hand, he sent out several teams of skilled scouts, forming small squads, to lead local people familiar with the terrain deep into the Qinling Mountains to search for traces of Li Zicheng.

On the other hand, he used the immense prestige gained from capturing and executing Cao Wenzhao alive in Fengxiang Prefecture and various counties in Guanzhong to instigate numerous peasant uprisings, attack county towns and fortified villages, and further disrupt the imperial court's rule in Guanzhong.

Just as Jiang Han was frantically searching for Li Zicheng's whereabouts, he never expected that Li Zicheng had already fled to the Lantian and Shangluo area.

Jiang Han's task for Li Zicheng was to go into the mountains to wage guerrilla warfare and find out the specific details of several roads leading into Hanzhong.

To be honest, Li Zicheng did not initially accomplish this task very well.

The team he led initially struggled to even survive.

He had only three hundred elite border troops under his command; the rest were starving people and civilians gathered from various parts of Guanzhong.

These people had a lot of fighting spirit, but in terms of combat strength, they were indeed weak and incompetent.

Many of them spent the first half of their lives as farmers, toiling in the fields, and never participated in combat, let alone mountain guerrilla warfare.

Their opponents, however, were seasoned veterans such as Cao Wenzhao, Zuo Guangxian, and Deng Qi.

At first, Li Zicheng and his men were able to use their familiarity with the terrain to occasionally strike Zuo Guangxian and his men.

However, as time went on, Zuo Guangxian and his men gradually became familiar with the terrain and figured out the tricks of mountain warfare.

This made things difficult for Li Zicheng.

Several veteran generals, leading their elite troops, launched a frantic pursuit and interception of Li Zicheng's forces in the Qinling Mountains.

Although Cao Wenzhao's cavalry could not operate effectively in the deep mountains, the other generals had well-trained and hard-working border troops under their command, whose combat strength was far superior to the ragtag troops under Li Zicheng.

The battle was one-sided from the very beginning.

Li Zicheng's scouts would often have barely discovered the government troops' tracks when the enemy's elite forces would arrive from some unknown corner, already close in.

The newly recruited soldiers, who could barely even stand in formation, collapsed almost immediately when faced with the elite Ming army.

On this rugged mountain path, the new soldiers could not even form ranks to protect themselves; they would only flee in terror, only to be slaughtered by government troops that rushed out from all directions.

In just one month, Li Zicheng's forces were reduced by 30%.

Every day, hundreds of people died from being hunted down by government troops or from the harsh conditions in the mountains.

A sense of despair permeated the ranks, many began to waver, and even a small-scale escape occurred.

Li Zicheng was extremely anxious. If things continued like this, his small force would be completely wiped out by the government troops in less than two months.

However, as the saying goes, you'll never know your potential until you push yourself.

In despair, Li Zicheng's tenacious character, as resilient as wild grass, was fully unleashed.

He hardened his heart and made sweeping adjustments to his team.

He reorganized the troops of the new and old camps, resolutely sent away the old and weak in the army, and reduced the number of troops to about two thousand.

After sending away the old, weak, sick, and disabled, Li Zicheng was able to devote all his resources to these two thousand followers.

Everything edible in the entire army, whether it was game hunted, wild fruit gathered, or even tree bark ground into powder, was stuffed into the hands of these two thousand men.

Fortunately, Li Zicheng had sent away the old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers in advance, which allowed him to save food and feed the group.

He also figured it out: instead of taking care of the basic needs of thousands of people, it would be better to streamline the workforce and maintain the morale and fighting capacity of the core personnel.

Thus, with a large amount of resources poured into them, these nearly two thousand men were well-fed and healthy.

So Li Zicheng led them and resolutely crossed over from Mount Taibai, the highest peak in the Qinling Mountains.

The troops marched for two days and two nights, breaking free from the government army's encirclement.

To be honest, Li Zicheng would never have been able to make such a tactical maneuver if he had a force of several thousand men and supplies.

Fortunately, he managed to shake off the government troops. Then, Li Zicheng took advantage of the gaps in the march and the rest period to begin intensive training for his troops.

The training content was simple: escape, hiding, and ambush.

Escape is the top priority and an essential skill for any qualified bandit.

This training mainly involves long-distance running on rugged mountain roads, climbing steep cliffs while carrying heavy loads, and learning how to move quickly through dense forests without making a lot of noise.

Those who couldn't run would be mercilessly whipped with rattan canes by Jiang Han's veteran soldiers until they could run four or five miles in one go in the mountains before they were considered qualified.

Li Zicheng wanted to make these new recruits understand that, whether in the mountains or on the plains, running faster than the government troops was the first priority for survival.

Of course, there are always unexpected times.

If you encounter road conditions or weather that prevent you from escaping, you'll have no choice but to hide where you are.

The new recruits need to learn how to identify wind direction and choose a sheltered location with shelter from the wind and rain and a water source to set up camp.

Learn how to leave without a trace, and set up mazes and traps to mislead the government troops;
Learn how to utilize the terrain to set up visible and hidden sentry posts, and use the supplies on your person to build a temporary cordon.

In the midst of towering mountains, spotting the enemy in advance and thus concealing oneself is also a key to survival.

The last training exercise was surprise attack.

If all we do is run away and hide, then we can't really call it guerrilla warfare. We need to strike the government troops unexpectedly at the right time and place.

This training does not require time-consuming and laborious training in formations; it only requires practicing how to ambush.

Li Zicheng personally led these new recruits to repeatedly survey the terrain and taught them how to choose narrow, steep, and densely wooded ambush points;
The veterans taught them how to use the terrain to deploy rolling stones and logs to maximize their power, and also taught them how to dig pits and bury tripwire mines in mountain passes.

Once a successful attack is achieved, regardless of the outcome, they immediately flee along the predetermined route.

The core idea is simple: hit and run, never linger in battle.

Their goal was not to annihilate the enemy, but to kill and harass the government troops with minimal losses, so that the government troops would not dare to pursue them further.

After several weeks of intensive training, Li Zicheng dispersed his two thousand men into smaller groups, scattering them across the mountains near Tangluo Road and Ziwu Road.

Firstly, they started to operate as mountain bandits, robbing merchant groups traveling between Hanzhong and Guanzhong.
Secondly, it would allow them to explore the surrounding terrain and landforms, thus completing the task assigned by Jiang Han.

At first, Li Zicheng was worried that his troops might accidentally harm ordinary travelers and merchants, but he later realized that he had been worrying for nothing.

These days, the merchants who dare to traverse the Qinling Mountains and travel between Guanzhong and Hanzhong are all backed by princes, high-ranking officials, wealthy gentry, and powerful families; very few of them are ordinary people.

Therefore, Li Zicheng not only robbed the caravan of its goods, but also made good use of these well-connected "hostages" as bargaining chips to attract government troops to come to the rescue.

To be honest, if it were an ordinary caravan that was robbed and its members were taken hostage, Cao Wenzhao, Zuo Guangxian and others wouldn't even bother to care.

However, these caravans dared to go out to do business because they all had powerful connections; many of them were even relatives of princes, officials, and gentry.

Now, all the pressure fell on the generals in charge of suppressing the bandits.

After their families were kidnapped, the officials and gentry in Guanzhong and Hanzhong immediately put pressure on the generals who were suppressing the bandits, even threatening to cut off their food and supplies to force the soldiers to go into the mountains to suppress the bandits.

Left with no other choice, Cao Wenzhao, Deng Qi, and others had to bite the bullet and speed up their pursuit, only to stumble headlong into a trap that Li Zicheng had meticulously laid.

Li Zicheng and his men placed the kidnapped hostages in several dangerous locations near the Tangluo Road, and spread rumors to force the government troops to send reinforcements.

The first to suffer were Deng Qi's troops.

Wan Tao, a battalion commander under Deng Qi, personally led a small team of over three hundred men, cautiously making their way towards one of the valleys.

The mountain path was rugged, with towering cliffs on both sides, dense forests, and a sense of impending doom everywhere.

Wan Tao repeatedly sent out scouts to investigate, but apart from discovering some traces left by the enemy in their haste, he did not notice anything unusual.

After they successfully navigated several bends, the view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing dozens of laborers, apprentices, and accountants bound together and left in several stone houses nestled in the mountains. Only a handful of bandits were guarding and patrolling the area.

Upon seeing this, Wan Tao was overjoyed and, without thinking, led his men to rush forward, ready to kill all the bandits and rescue the hostages.

But just as he was leading his men in the charge, he stepped on a buried mine and his right leg was blown off on the spot.

The officers and soldiers present were shocked and immediately realized that they had fallen into an ambush by the enemy. They dared not go forward for a moment, for fear of repeating the same mistake.

Just as the officers and soldiers were preparing to retreat, a pile of huge rocks and rolling logs fell from above.

The rolling logs and boulders crashed into the formation, instantly crushing the soldiers, tearing them to pieces with blood and flesh flying everywhere. Screams and the sound of bones shattering filled the air.

The once orderly retreat formation was smashed open with a huge gap, and boulders blocked their way back.

In the chaos, the pits buried on both sides of the road came in handy, and many soldiers fell in while trying to dodge, their bodies pierced by sharpened bamboo spears.

Immediately afterwards, arrows rained down from all sides of the valley.

Although the new recruits, who had undergone several weeks of training, still had questionable accuracy, they had the advantage of superior terrain, firing down into the crowd and inflicting considerable casualties on the government troops.

"kill--!"

Just as the government troops were thrown into disarray, Li Zicheng personally led over a hundred veteran soldiers and four or five hundred new recruits out of the dense forest on one side.

With the veterans in command, the new recruits were no longer panicked when facing the officers and soldiers. Instead, they formed small teams and followed closely behind the veterans, using the simple tactics they had just learned to attack the isolated and wounded officers and soldiers.

Wan Tao was shocked and, despite the excruciating pain from his broken leg, hurriedly ordered his troops to regroup and attempt a counterattack.

However, Li Zicheng's goal was not to fight a decisive battle with the government army at all.

After a brief skirmish, the new recruits seized a batch of weapons and armor and successfully took the hostages away. Li Zicheng then sounded the retreat horn without hesitation.

Upon receiving the order, the new recruits retreated like a tide, not even having time to clean up the battlefield. They quickly disappeared into the dense forest along the familiar mountain paths, leaving behind only a mess and the corpses of more than a hundred officers and soldiers.

Wan Tao held his broken leg, his face ashen. Had these thieves taken drugs?

How come it's so different from before?
The same scene played out repeatedly throughout the Qinling Mountains for the next two weeks.

The government troops that split up to pursue and suppress the bandits were all ambushed by the bandits without exception, suffering heavy losses.

After being ambushed one after another, the generals in charge of the troops discussed the matter and realized that they could not advance rashly. The best course of action was to advance steadily and surely.

As long as the enemy soldiers are surrounded, they will run out of ammunition and food in a short time.

As it turns out, this tactic was indeed effective.

As time went by, Li Zicheng's arrows and ammunition brought into the mountains were exhausted, and his food supplies were running low.

Although food and supplies were replenished from time to time, it was still not enough to meet the daily needs of more than two thousand people.

However, their victories dwindled due to the vigilance of the government troops.

After suffering several losses, Deng Qi and his team became extremely cautious, carefully narrowing down their search area step by step.

Furthermore, a large number of scouts were dispatched to conduct repeated reconnaissance, and they would never easily enter any narrow or confined areas.

This caused Li Zicheng and his men's carefully prepared ambushes to all fall short.

The most dangerous time was when the ambush was detected beforehand.

The well-prepared elite government troops launched a counter-encirclement from all sides. Although the new recruits fought desperately, they were outnumbered and outequipped, and were on the verge of being annihilated.

In the critical moment, it was Jiang Han's more than 300 elite troops who played a crucial role in stabilizing the situation.

This team, under Li Zicheng's command, consistently played the role of a fire brigade and assault team.

When an ambush goes well, they remain hidden; when the situation is critical, they will not hesitate to engage in battle.

With their superior equipment and skillful teamwork, these elite soldiers managed to break through the government troops' encirclement and held off the pursuing government forces at all costs, allowing the besieged recruits to escape unscathed.

Although Li Zicheng's troops escaped this battle, they were severely weakened.

Jiang Han's elite troops suffered nearly half casualties, and Li Zicheng's hard-earned resources were wiped out.

His situation became incredibly difficult once again.

Just when Li Zicheng was running out of ammunition and food, and was almost trapped to death in the mountains, a piece of incredibly good news arrived.
Ningxia was in dire need of help, and Hong Chengchou issued a transfer order, moving all of Cao Wenzhao's, Zuo Guangxian's, and other troops away from the Qinling Mountains!

This saved Li Zicheng's life.

The only government troops left to encircle and suppress him were Deng Qi's Sichuan army, which greatly reduced the pressure on him.

With most of his troops missing, Deng Qi was unable to stop the enemy's advance.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Zicheng led his troops to repeatedly move between Guanzhong and Hanzhong, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.

Sometimes they would head north to Guanzhong to plunder wealthy households near Xi'an Prefecture; other times they would head south to Hanzhong to harass the Ming army's supply lines and cut off caravans.

During an attack on Lantian County, Li Zicheng also found his destined general, Liu Zongmin, who was forging iron.

The two hit it off immediately.

Before Li Zicheng could even offer any advice, Liu Zongmin grabbed his weapon and, together with Li Zicheng, robbed a wealthy household in the vicinity. He then resolutely joined Li Zicheng's ranks.

In this way, Li Zicheng's army thoroughly established itself in the Qinling Mountains, with well-trained soldiers and ample supplies, and its momentum grew stronger day by day.

Compared to Li Zicheng, who thrived in the mountains, Deng Qi's troops fared much worse.

Because the bandits could not be eliminated in time, trade routes were cut off, and hostages could not be rescued. The gentry in Guanzhong finally lost all patience.

They simply stopped all military pay and supplies for Deng Qi's troops.

You bunch of soldiers, you can't even wipe out a small band of bandits. You've disgraced the imperial court. What right do you have to eat grain?
The quartermasters sent by Deng Qi to Xi'an Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture to urge the payment of grain and salary were repeatedly blocked from entering the government offices.

In the end, he not only returned empty-handed, but was also publicly flogged and humiliated by the local governor on the pretext of "disrespectful speech and offense against the government."

When this news reached the army, the Sichuan soldiers under Deng Qi's command immediately went wild!

This Sichuan army has not returned home for more than three years since it marched north to defend the emperor in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

They fought in battles across the north and south, from the capital to Shandong, and then from Shandong to Shaanxi, making outstanding contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

Today, the ancestral home of Bashu is just on the other side of the Qinling Mountains, very close at hand.

Yet, for the sake of the emperor's command, they suppressed their homesickness and followed Deng Qi into the deep mountains and forests, fearlessly pursuing and suppressing the bandits. They were truly hardworking, loyal, and devoted.

But what they received in return was not the court's commendation or the deserved provisions; instead, they were deliberately humiliated!
Led by Wang Yuncheng, a group of officers could no longer suppress their anger and launched a mutiny on the spot without saying a word.

Enraged soldiers, armed with knives and spears, surrounded Deng Qi's central command tent, their shouts of battle deafening.

If Deng Qi hadn't been fair and just, fair in rewarding and punishing, and considerate of his subordinates, earning him high prestige in the army, he probably would have been hacked to pieces by the mutinous soldiers on the spot.

Wang Yuncheng didn't really want to take action against Deng Qi. He just wanted to use Deng Qi as a hostage to attack the county town, plunder it to his heart's content, and vent his long-suppressed resentment and humiliation.

Faced with his agitated subordinates, Deng Qi had to use all his persuasion to calm them down and persuade them to abandon their plan to attack the county town.

But he also knew that morale was low and it was impossible to continue suppressing the bandits.

Deng Qi then ordered a halt to the pursuit of Li Zicheng, and instructed his troops to avoid the heavily guarded county towns, instead focusing on villages and fortified villages near Guanzhong and Hanzhong, where they would "fend for themselves."

Deng Qi has completely given up.

He no longer cared about military discipline or imperial laws, and tacitly approved the soldiers' looting.

　I really tried so hard; I could still write 5,000 words even after getting home at 8 pm.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)