Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

After Zhang Xianzhong broke through the encirclement from the salt route in eastern Sichuan into Chu and successively captured Zhushan and Fangxian, he sent out all his generals, and even began to personally lead the campaigns.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong was personally leading his main force of 40,000 elite troops, stationed at Caoshi, 30 li outside the city of Jingzhou.

Therefore, this put the local lord in trouble.

As luck would have it, Zhang Xianzhong's central army camp was located on the southern slope of Changbanpo, an ancient battlefield of the Three Kingdoms period. At this time, banners covered the sun, the camps stretched for more than ten miles, and the murderous aura soared into the sky.

Jingzhou, a strategically important town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, was also the hereditary fiefdom of Prince Hui, Zhu Changrun. Its importance is self-evident.

Zhu Changrun, the seventh son of Emperor Shenzong of Ming, served as a prince for more than forty years. In this important and precious land, he levied exorbitant taxes, seized tens of thousands of acres of farmland, accumulated millions of taels of silver in the government treasury, and had 200,000 shi of grain in the granaries. He also possessed countless armor, silk, and jewels, making him arguably the richest prince in Huguang!

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong's personal visit to this region was not for leisure; he had only one goal: to conquer Jingzhou, capture Prince Hui alive, and devour the fertile lands of Jingxiang. If he succeeded, he would have essentially solidified his foundation for dominance in Huguang.

We must win this battle!

So inside the commander's tent, the lights were on all night, and the air was filled with a smell, like the rust on armor and the smell of gunpowder.

At this moment, Zhang Xianzhong sat upright in the center, still wearing his black iron armor. His scarred face appeared particularly ferocious in the candlelight. In his hand, he toyed with a red-gold wine pot that he had just seized from Qizhou.

Aside from being a little nervous, he was in a good mood. After all, the results achieved had exceeded Zhang Xianzhong's expectations.

Previously, the army was divided into three routes—Liu Wenxiu led 30,000 troops eastward, captured Qizhou within three days, captured Prince Zhu Cikui of Jing alive, seized 800,000 taels of silver, 100,000 shi of grain, five small red cannons, and took more than 10,000 refugees with him, so he basically did not have to worry about food and supplies.

Ai Nengqi led 20,000 troops westward to besiege Jingzhou City, launching a fierce attack day and night. Although the city has not yet been breached due to its high walls, everyone knows that he has driven the Hui King's garrison to the brink of defeat. The people inside the city are in a state of panic, and the city will naturally fall at any moment.

As for Zhang Xianzhong's route, he personally led the main force of 40,000 men in the central route and stationed them at the key passage of Jingxiang. This served two purposes: to support the two flanks and to intimidate the government troops in Huguang. He waited for the two routes to achieve great victories, at which point he could combine his forces and sweep through the entire northern Hunan region!

"Father!" Sun Kewang, holding a crumpled and sweat-stained military report, strode forward, knelt on one knee, and shouted excitedly, revealing his joy. "Liu Wenxiu has delivered a report of victory! Qizhou City has fallen, the Prince of Jing has been captured, and all the wealth of the Prince of Jing's palace has been seized. We have temporarily expanded our army by 8,000 men, and the captured grain and weapons are enough to sustain our army for half a year!"

As soon as the military report arrived, cheers erupted in the tent, filling it with laughter and jubilation.

Even Zhang Xianzhong slammed his hand on the table, making the golden wine pot clang, and laughed loudly.

"Good! Good indeed! Wenxiu truly is my worthy son! These pig-dog princes of the Ming Dynasty have sucked the people's blood and sweat for so many years; it's time for them to spit it out! In a few more years, they'll make them give up the entire country as well! Haha, Ai Nengqi, how's it going in Jingzhou? How many more days can that old dog, Prince Hui, hold on?"

Upon hearing this, Ai Nengqi's joy faded slightly. He then stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed.

"Father, the walls of Jingzhou are indeed high and thick, and the cowardly Prince Hui is a coward who has gathered his garrison troops and palace guards to defend the city to the death. Our army has been attacking for days, suffering more than three thousand casualties, but has not yet breached the city... But please rest assured, Father! I have cut off the water supply inside the city and burned down the granaries outside. I predict that within three days, chaos will break out inside the city, and the fall of the city will be imminent!"

"well!"

Zhang Xianzhong nodded with satisfaction, not angered by the slowdown in this area. He then abruptly stood up, strode to the "Complete Map of Huguang" hanging in the tent, and emphasized the locations of Jingzhou, Qizhou, and Hengzhou with his rough, scarred fingers, beginning to rally the troops.

"Once we capture Jingzhou and seize the wealth of the Hui and Jing princes, our army will immediately expand by 100,000! At that time, neither that old dog Yang Sichang nor that brat Zhang will be a threat! Xiangbei and Jingxiang will be in my hands, and half of the Ming Dynasty's territory will be mine!"

Judging from the current situation, Zhang Xianzhong's statement was not an exaggeration at all; it has almost become a fact, at most...

The generals naturally understood this principle, so upon hearing it, they were all filled with fervor and shouted in unison.

"May the King be mighty! The Great Western Kingdom will surely triumph!"

At this moment, Ai Nengqi suddenly hesitated, and then said...

"Father, we have been in Huguang for some time now, and the Ming army has mostly realized what's happening. Moreover, although our army has been advancing rapidly in three routes, it is true that our forces are scattered. Although Yang Sichang's main force is still in eastern Sichuan, Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong are both fierce generals. If they return to reinforce us overnight, our army will be attacked from both sides..."

"Nengqi is overthinking it!"

Zhang Xianzhong smiled again, then waved his hand, his tone carrying the unique arrogance and wildness of a warlord, "Zuo Liangyu is arrogant and disobedient. Yang Sichang ordered him to arrive in Jingzhou within ten days, and he'll obey? So I'm worried about that man. Perhaps... I should look at Zhang Da. Alas, I wonder how Li Dingguo is doing with him? Oh well, he's no threat now. Only Dingguo can stop him, making him unable to advance north in the short term. Once I've conquered Jingzhou, I'll march south and crush this brat in one fell swoop!"

His words were filled with an air of invincibility.

Hearing this, Ai Nengqi naturally had nothing to say. Zhang Xianzhong also planned to have a few drinks with everyone to celebrate!

However, at that moment, a rapid sound of horses' hooves and shouts from the guards suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Urgent report! Your Majesty, this is an extremely urgent report!"

A spy rushed into the commander's tent, knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty! Yang Sichang has personally led 50,000 government troops, abandoning eastern Sichuan and rushing back to Jingzhou and Xiangyang day and night. His vanguard has already reached Dangyang, less than 80 li from our army! Moreover, he has Zuo Liangyu's elite cavalry as the vanguard, only 60 li away, and will be able to engage our army within an hour!"

"What?!"

As Zheng Yu was about to invite someone in for a drink, Zhang Xianzhong was struck dumb, freezing on the spot. The ecstasy on his face instantly froze, then turned ashen.

The generals inside the tent were all greatly alarmed. Ai Nengqi was the first to react, seeing that his fears had come true, and thus speculated...

"Father, Yang Sichang has abandoned our defenses in eastern Sichuan by undermining our main force. He must be heading straight for our main army to fight a decisive battle!"

Clearly, the generals in the tent also knew Yang Sichang's extremely obvious intention.

Their faces looked extremely grim.

After all, Yang Sichang was the Grand Coordinator and Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, commanding the most elite border troops under his command, including Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, and Meng Ruhu. Of course, whether they listened to Yang Sichang is debatable, but it was a fact that they were well-equipped and well-trained, far superior to the peasant army.

Now, Yang Sichang has brought his entire force of 50,000 elite troops, while Zhang Xianzhong has divided his forces into three routes. The main force in the central route numbers only 40,000, and most of them are refugees he has coerced. The number of his true veteran soldiers is only about 10,000. Zhang Xianzhong is at a disadvantage in terms of both troop strength and combat power.

Therefore, at present, none of the generals in the tent, including Zhang Xianzhong, want to fight him.