With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

"Company commander, the Ming army has sent someone to negotiate with us?"

Inside the company camp, Liu Guanyi, the company commander, couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the Ming army's request for negotiation.

"Let them in."

Before long, two messengers arrived at the camp.

When Weng Wenxian saw Liu Guanyi, he bowed to him with a humble attitude.

"My name is Weng Wenxian, and I have come today to negotiate with your army."

However, Weng Wenxian's humble attitude was met with Liu Guanyi's indifference.

"Negotiation? What's there to negotiate? Once my army arrives, we'll annihilate your entire force tomorrow. What right do you have to negotiate with us?"

Weng Wenxian was stunned by what he was told.

The other side is right. Based on the battle during the day, both sides have figured out each other's strength. The Ming army is no match for the new army. The two sides are not on the same level and have no right to negotiate.

Weng Wenxian chose to swallow his anger and continue;

"Actually, our army and the Ming army are not all the same. If the general can give us a chance, we can turn enemies into friends in this battle and provide intelligence to your army."

Upon hearing this, Liu Guan smiled. "Oh? Interesting. But you have no proof; how can I believe you?"

However, Weng Wenxian did not respond to this statement; "I would like to ask the general about a few people. Not long ago, several men named Shi Lang, Shi Fu, and Hong Xishan defected to your army. I wonder if they are still with your army? We would like to make contact with them."

"Is this related to the negotiations?" Liu Guanyi's expression turned serious. Those people might be related to the Ming soldiers in front of him.

Could he be a spy? We must inform our rear.

"Yes," Weng Wenxian affirmed. "These men were originally from my Zheng family army, but they had to leave and join your army to make a living because Li Chengdong harbored resentment."

"As long as these men are still with your army, we are willing to withdraw immediately and provide intelligence on Li Chengdong. However, we hope that your army will take the initiative to attack at that time."

Upon hearing Weng Wenxian's words, Liu Guan smiled. After a brief conversation, he was delighted and unintentionally gained a wealth of information.

First of all, this army is alienated from the Ming army, unwilling to contribute, and even willing to betray their comrades.

There are people from the other side in our own army; those people are probably spies.

The other side wanted the new army to take the initiative, either as bait or to use the new army to kill the man named Li Chengdong so that they could escape.

"Alright, I understand. You can go back now." Liu Guanyi didn't reveal anything and then ordered everyone to leave.

Upon hearing this, Weng Wenxian became anxious. His side had released so much astonishing information, yet the other side hadn't even given a single promise. How could he dare to go back?

"General, this matter is of great importance, and we need your promise."

Liu Guanyi stood up, exuding an imposing aura. His eyes were like sharp blades, seemingly able to cut through people's hearts and see through everything.

"A promise? What kind of promise do you want? Everything you just said is unverifiable. If I give you a promise, would you believe it?"

"I even have reason to suspect that you came here to negotiate today because you want to gather intelligence on our army or to stall for time."

"General Weng, please return. If what you say is true, there will surely be a response in the next few days."

After saying this, Liu Guanyi chased him away. Weng Wenxian felt that the other party was a bit domineering, but he dared not say anything harsh for fear of angering the other party.

He then took his leave and returned to his military camp, where he told Zheng Chenggong about the conversation.

"Then we'll have to wait a few days."

Meanwhile, Liu Guanyi also reported Zheng Chenggong's intentions to the authorities.

Upon learning this, Yan Naichao inquired with Shi Lang and the others in the rear and received a reply: the army had recently accepted a group of people who had defected, and these people were currently attending classes at the military academy.

"Wang Qi, how credible do you think Zheng Chenggong's words are?"

Inside the Longxiang First Army's conference room, Yan Naichao turned to ask Wang Qi.

Wang Qi had served in the Ming army, so he was probably more familiar with the internal workings of the Ming army.

"Commander, there's about an 80% chance that Zheng Chenggong's words are true."

"First of all, the Ming Dynasty was a nominal government. Whenever a rebel army rose up, as long as it raised the Ming banner, it could receive rewards and titles. However, these rewards were all fake and had no effect on the rebel army. In reality, the rebel armies in various places were all warlords and were not controlled by the court."

"The Ming court is now controlled by Li Chengdong. Li Chengdong has a strong army and controls local rebel armies under the guise of the court. This is only because people are intimidated by Li Chengdong's power."

"Once Li Chengdong is defeated, the local rebel armies will fight independently and fall into disarray."

Wang Qi was quite tempted to take the initiative.

This way, they wouldn't be in a passive position, and in his mind, the new army was invincible and shouldn't just defend.

"What do you think?" Yan Naichao asked the other staff officers.

"I know a little about Zheng's army and Li Chengdong. I heard that Shi Lang and others escaped from Li Chengdong's command and joined Zheng Chenggong. Li Chengdong wanted to force Shi Lang and the others to their deaths in the name of the imperial court, so Shi Lang had no choice but to flee the Ming army and join our army."

Staff officer Han Liyu spoke up at this moment.

"Moreover, their demands are not high; they only want to make contact with Shi Lang and his group in exchange for intelligence. If the intelligence is true, it is not unreasonable for our army to take the initiative to attack. If it is false, we can also eliminate spies in the army."

"Alright, let them make contact with Shi Lang." Yan Naichao immediately decided; "After obtaining the intelligence, send an elite reconnaissance team to confirm it. If the situation is true, our army will take the initiative to attack."

Upon receiving a response from the new army, Zheng Chenggong confirmed that Shi Lang and others were safe and sound, and was even surprised that they were attending classes within the new army.

A few days later, Zheng Chenggong demanded the return of his general's body, gave Li Chengdong's position to the new army, and then decisively withdrew his troops back to Quanzhou Prefecture.

Meanwhile, Li Chengdong, who was in the rear, immediately learned that Zheng Gongcheng's attack had failed and that he had retreated due to heavy losses.

"Retreat? If Zheng Sen dares to retreat, I'll kill him!"

Li Chengdong clearly realized that Zheng Chenggong was just giving him the runaround, and he slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Your Excellency, please calm down. The Zheng family is quite prestigious in Fujian. Taking action against them could cause a popular uprising," Huang Shijun advised Li Chengdong, dissuading him from his crazy idea.

"Moreover, if our army starts fighting amongst itself, it will only benefit the Jianning rebels."

"It's fine if we get a bargain. Let Zheng Sen retreat. Who will listen to my orders in the future?" Li Chengdong was furious, and his angry words startled everyone else.

Huang Shijun quickly added:

"Duke, it's good that Zheng Sen retreated. It'll allow the court to strip him of his title. After this battle, we can slowly plot against him and gradually destroy his reputation as Lord Guoxing."

Li Chengdong snorted coldly; "In Zhu Ming's world, there is truly no one else to rely on but me, Li Chengdong, to shoulder the burden."

"Let him withdraw, but first make Zheng Sen hand over 100,000 shi of grain to supply the army."

Li Chengdong made an outrageous demand, already giving Zheng Sen a way out.

However, 100,000 shi of grain is no small amount.

Upon hearing this, no one said anything more. They simply followed Li Chengdong's orders, ordering Zheng Chenggong to retreat and then demanding provisions from him, or silver if necessary.

Zheng Chenggong was furious at being extorted, but he chose to pay up to avoid further trouble. After handing over some grain and silver, he immediately returned to Quanzhou Prefecture. He did not want to get involved in the internal strife among the Han people, nor did he want to face such a powerful enemy as the New Army.

After returning to Quanzhou, he sought out Western missionaries, wanting to purchase the most advanced firearms.

After Zheng Chenggong left, Li Chengdong's army continued to advance, but before they reached Yanping Prefecture, they were blocked by a military camp in front of them.

"Enemy troops spotted ahead, estimated to be only about five thousand men?"

Upon receiving intelligence, Li Chengdong arrived at the front line to observe and indeed found only a camp of 5,000 men blocking his way. He then decisively ordered an attack.

"A mere five thousand men dare to block the advance of my army? Crush them!"