I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Five-colored banners of the Shun Dynasty were hanging on the city wall of Zhen Ding Prefecture.

Liu Fangliang led the Shun army from the south into Hebei through Zijing Pass, encountering almost no significant resistance along the way.

When they arrived at Zhending, the garrison had already fled upon hearing the news, leaving behind only an empty city.

As was customary, they would enter the city and loot it for three days, leaving the city's inhabitants completely emptied.

After several days of rest, the army's next target was Baoding.

Once Baoding is captured, the gates of Beijing will be wide open, leaving it with no defensible terrain.

Once the main force of the Shun army captures Juyong Pass, the two armies can then launch a pincer attack on Beijing.

The plan was good, but then something unexpected happened.

Grand Secretary Chen Yan led the main force of the Beijing garrison to the southern front.

Liu Fangliang looked at his generals and said, "The Ming army has 200,000 troops stationed in Baoding Prefecture. It seems they are preparing for a desperate battle. Do any of you have a good strategy to defeat them?"

"The Ming army is already at its last gasp; what need is there for any good strategy? Just attack directly!"

The speaker was named Zheng Siwei, whose rank in the Southern Route Army was second only to Liu Fangliang.

This person is extremely brave in battle, but his weakness is that he is too fierce; when he can act, he never uses his brain.

It was with this reckless spirit that they conquered cities and territories along the way, becoming invincible.

In the past, Liu Fangliang would most likely have agreed, and might even have personally led his troops to the decisive battle.

However, as his army continued to grow, he himself transformed from a peasant into the Marquis of Cizhou of the Great Shun Dynasty, and became increasingly cautious when making decisions.

"This force is the main force of the Ming army's Beijing garrison. We must not underestimate them and must devise a foolproof plan."

Zheng Siwei, still with his usual carefree attitude, continued, "The Ming court is utterly corrupt. What difference is there between the capital garrison and the local guards? This humble general is willing to be the vanguard and slay that old scoundrel Chen Yan!"

Liu Fangliang looked at Ma Chongxi and asked, "Strategist, what do you think?"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ma Chongxi first smiled slightly, then said, "The Marquis is right, a direct assault is not advisable in this battle."

Zheng Siwei was immediately displeased and retorted, "We've fought our way here, and the Ming army is utterly no match for us. What's there to worry about?"

Ma Chongxi waved his hand, then slowly said, "General Zheng, please don't misunderstand, I never said we wouldn't fight!"

Zheng Siwei, puzzled, said irritably, "Old Ma, what exactly do you mean? Don't play games with me!"

"Don't rush, don't rush..."

Ma Chongxi pointed to the map and said, "Two hundred thousand troops is no small number. For the Ming army, the biggest problem now is food."

Zheng Siwei said, "Even if Baoding Prefecture is running out of food supplies, Chen Yan can still transport grain from Beijing."

"Then cut off his supply lines and see how long that bastard Chen Yan can hold out!"

Liu Fangliang couldn't help but nod and said, "Then it's settled. Zheng Siwei, you will lead one force to outflank and cut off the grain supply route from Beijing to Baoding!"

Zheng Siwei immediately replied, "This subordinate obeys!"

"Wait a moment!"

Everyone looked over, and it was Ma Chongxi who was speaking.

Zheng Siwei said with displeasure, "Old Ma, what are you going to do now?"

Ma Chongxi, with a mysterious smile, said, "Cutting off the supply lines is something that can be done by sending anyone. General Zheng has more important things to do!"

Zheng Siwei immediately became interested: "Tell me quickly!"

Ma Chongxi remained calm and said, "Although that old scoundrel Chen Yan has no real ability, he's quite adept at accumulating wealth. I've heard he's collected quite a bit of bribes over the years! Now that he's personally leading troops, this is no ordinary move, so I suspect..."

Liu Fangliang's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Does the strategist mean that this person might be transferring his family assets?"

"Exactly!"

Ma Chongxi smiled confidently and said, "As long as we can get Chen Yan's family and assets, that old scoundrel will definitely surrender without a fight!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at each other.

It sounds like there's nothing wrong with it, but it's all just speculation after all. How accurate can it be?

Seeing the doubt in everyone's eyes, Liu Fangliang asked, "Why are you so certain, strategist?"

Ma Chongxi bowed respectfully and said, "Just a guess!"

"A guess?"

Zheng Siwei immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "What if I guess wrong...?"

Just then, the door was pushed open and someone rushed in.

Liu Fangliang frowned and said, "Didn't I just say that no one is allowed to enter without a military order?"

The messenger looked nervous and said, "My lord, His Majesty has issued a decree!"

Liu Fangliang quickly stood up. Immediately afterwards, a eunuch walked in, holding a whisk in his left hand and a roll of yellow silk in his right.

"Imperial decree!"

"Your subject respectfully receives the imperial edict!"

Liu Fangliang led the way in bowing, and the others followed closely behind.

"His Majesty said that a large piece of fat meat has fallen from the sky, and he hopes that the Marquis of Cizhou can catch it."

After speaking, the man handed the imperial edict to Liu Fangliang and then turned and left.

Liu Fangliang quickly stood up and called out, "Sir, please have a cup of tea before you leave."

"I have official business to attend to and cannot linger. Goodbye!"

Li Zicheng was born into a peasant family and hated three types of people most in his life: officials, gentry, and eunuchs.

Therefore, after he became emperor, he treated officials, gentry, and eunuchs with particular harshness.

For example, the eunuch who just delivered the imperial decree was not allowed to accept gold or silver, and he could not miss the deadline for returning home; otherwise, his only fate would be death, with no room for maneuver.

After everyone left, Liu Fangliang opened the imperial edict, and after just one glance, he was suddenly stunned.

Zheng Siwei asked, "What happened? Has Juyong Pass already been breached?"

"How...how could this be..."

Liu Fangliang murmured to himself, his eyes filled with shock.

Zheng Siwei asked again, "What exactly does it say?"

Liu Fangliang ignored him and instead looked at Ma Chongxi, handing him the imperial edict.

Ma Chongxi quickly bowed and accepted the document with both hands. Upon reading its contents, he suddenly smiled.

Zheng Siwei grew even more impatient and asked, "What exactly is written?"

"General Zheng, you should see for yourself!"

Ma Chongxi handed over the imperial edict, which Zheng Siwei took, glanced at it, then suddenly frowned and handed it back.

"I can't read, so you read it!"

"Sorry, I forgot about that."

Ma Chongxi slapped his forehead and then read aloud: "A secret agent has reported that Grand Secretary Chen Yan, along with his relatives, protégés, and former subordinates, fearing the might of our army and the imminent danger of losing their lives and property, have sold off all their land deeds and obtained countless amounts of gold and silver. They intend to take advantage of this chaotic situation to escape to Nanjing and plan for the future..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Siwei was completely dumbfounded.

It turned out to be exactly as Ma Chongxi had guessed!

Scholars are different; they're so cunning!

It seems I need to be more careful in the future, and never mess with scholars.

Ma Chongxi put away the imperial edict and continued, "I won't read the rest, but it basically says that Chen Yan sent 5,000 troops to escort him along the Grand Canal. His Majesty ordered us to ambush him halfway. If we can capture Chen Yan's family and property, we can both replenish our military supplies and force him to surrender—killing two birds with one stone!"

A glint of light flashed in Zheng Siwei's eyes, and he immediately volunteered, "This humble general requests to fight!"

Liu Fangliang asked, "The enemy has five thousand soldiers. How many do you plan to bring?"

Zheng Siwei said confidently, "Three thousand is enough!"

"We must not be careless!"

"The Ming army's fighting capacity is ridiculously weak. I'm already being generous by leading three thousand men!"

Liu Fangliang shook his head and said, "The purpose of this battle is not to plunder gold and silver, but to seize Chen Yan's vital point. It's better to play it safe."

Somewhat disappointed, Zheng Siwei said, "Since the Ming army has five thousand men, I will also bring five thousand. Is that alright?"

Liu Fangliang nodded: "Zheng Siwei, listen to my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Go and select five thousand elite troops, set off immediately for the Grand Canal, and seize back the money and provisions for me!"

"Yes, sir!"