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

Sichuan has been known as the "Land of Abundance" for hundreds or even thousands of years. Its land is fertile, its produce abundant, its food plentiful, and its population large.

More importantly, Sichuan's terrain is treacherous, with difficult roads and numerous mountains and valleys, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack... If Zhang Xianzhong could successfully enter Sichuan and occupy the prefectures and counties in eastern Sichuan, he could return to the mainland, completely escape Yang Sichang's encirclement and suppression, establish a base in Sichuan, become a king or hegemon, and even establish a state would be within his grasp.

Such a temptation was indeed very strong, and it's understandable that Zhang Xianzhong made this decision.

In truth, who among those in the tent hadn't considered going to Sichuan? It's just... it's just that the treacherous mountain roads were both their strength and their weakness.

Sun Kewang frowned, desperately trying to dissuade Zhang Xianzhong.

The road into Sichuan was far too perilous! The mountain roads were rugged, supplies were difficult to transport, and there were also issues with the climate and local conditions, not to mention the language barrier. If the Ming army were to suddenly guess the location correctly, the army would suffer heavy losses and be trapped in a desperate situation. Sun Kewang was about to speak when Zhang Xianzhong stopped him with a look.

Sun Kewang remained silent, and at this moment, no one in the entire tent dared to offer any further advice.

Seeing that no one in the tent dared to object anymore, Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly, his expression softening. His gaze then shifted and landed on Liu Jinzhong, who had been the first to stand up and strongly advocate for entering Sichuan.

Liu Jinzhong was a fierce general under Zhang Xianzhong. He had been active on the Sichuan-Shaanxi border in his early years and was extremely familiar with the terrain of eastern Sichuan and western Hubei. Naturally, his words were more important in the matter of entering Sichuan.

"Jinzhong, since you strongly advocate entering Sichuan, you must be very familiar with the routes in eastern Sichuan. Tell me, where should my army depart from, and which route should we take?"

Seeing that his suggestion had been adopted, Liu Jinzhong was immediately invigorated. This was one of the few opportunities he could have to surpass Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang, so he quickly stepped forward and walked to the map.

Liu Jinzhong stretched out his rough fingers, the fingertips slowly tracing the mountain range on the west side of Fang County.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief! In my humble opinion, our army can set out from here, first marching westward to the Banqiao and Shangkan area, then turning into the Jiudaoliang Gorge, passing through the Baima Pass, and directly reaching Daning County in eastern Sichuan! After taking Daning, we can then take Wushan and Kuizhou as a base, expanding into Sichuan, and in this way, the entire Sichuan will be ours!"

As soon as Liu Jinzhong finished speaking, his tone was confident, his back straight, as if the route was foolproof. He was even already fantasizing about being bestowed some kind of title of king at the founding ceremony.

Unfortunately, his fantasy didn't last long before dissenting voices emerged from inside the tent, even more intense than before.

"Liu Jinzhong, are you a spy sent by the government troops?! You might as well be courting death, why are you even going so far as to take our lives?" Sun Kewang was the first to step forward, pointing at the map and retorting sharply.

"The Jiudaoliang Gorge, Baima Pass, and Daning Pass are all narrow, winding paths clinging to sheer cliffs. At their narrowest points, only one person or horse can pass at a time, with sheer drop-offs on either side. A single misstep will mean certain death!"

Liu Wenxiu then retorted.

"Our army numbers in the tens of thousands, including provisions, supplies, artillery, weapons, families, and civilians... stretching for dozens of miles. Traveling along such narrow paths would probably take more than half a month! Even if there are no government troops blocking the two ends of the canyon, under these circumstances, there's a risk of mutiny."

Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu's words were like a bucket of cold water, making Liu Jinzhong secretly fearful.

Oh right! How could I forget that? If there really is a riot, I'll be the first one to get killed.

"Moreover, if we take this route, our army will only have a little over 20,000 shi of grain, which will not be enough to feed us, and some of us will starve to death."

"General, at this time, the miasma in the mountains of eastern Sichuan and western Hubei is at its most pervasive, and poisonous insects, snakes and ants are everywhere! Most of our soldiers are from Hubei, Hunan, Henan and Shaanxi. They have lived in the north for a long time and are not used to the water and soil of the south. After entering the deep mountains, they are very susceptible to malaria, dysentery and other epidemic diseases."

"Both Baima Pass and Daning Pass are formidable strongholds, where one man can hold off ten thousand. The government troops only need to send a few hundred men to guard the passes, and even if our army has a hundred thousand men, we will not be able to break through!"

"The people of eastern Sichuan have always feared the government troops and harbored hostility towards the bandits. After our army enters Sichuan, it will be difficult to gain the support of the people. We will have to rely on looting for food and supplies, which will completely alienate the people!"

After some people started opposing Liu Jinzhong, almost everyone in the tent united and used various reasons to refute Liu Jinzhong.

The voices of opposition surged forth like a tidal wave, but the key was that every single one of their arguments was well-reasoned and hit the nail on the head.

Liu Jinzhong's face turned red. He had been full of confidence, but now he was speechless, as if he were already the sinner before the army had even set off.

As for Zhang Xianzhong, his expression was also grim, not because he had almost listened to Liu Jinzhong, but because he was angry to see so many people in the tent opposing Liu Jinzhong.

Are they really only against Liu Jinzhong's route into Sichuan? If that's the case, Sun Kewang could have finished speaking! So many people are rushing to refute him simply because they want him to use it to refute themselves and the strategy of entering Sichuan!

So many people in the debt are his adopted sons.

Sigh, a dry job is a dry job; it can never compare to family.

Zhang Xianzhong raised his hand, stopping the generals who were still vehemently objecting, and said coldly, with an unyielding resolve, "..."

"Gentlemen, there's no need for beating around the bush. I've made up my mind; the decision to enter Sichuan is irreversible. Since you all feel this route is blocked, then let's take another one. However, I must remind you—the Sichuan road is treacherous, and no matter which way you change, you'll suffer losses. If you're afraid of hardship, you can come out of the tent now and join the government troops."

Upon hearing this, everyone was so frightened that they immediately became uneasy and pledged their loyalty to Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhang Xianzhong nodded, ignoring the oaths and vows of his generals. He leaned closer to the map, his eyes gleaming as he scanned the terrain of Fang County, Zhushan, and eastern Sichuan, pausing to ponder and sometimes frowning slightly.

After this incident, everyone inside the tent held their breath and remained silent, no one daring to disturb them again.

After a full incense stick's time had passed, Zhang Xianzhong finally raised his head, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes, and pointed heavily at a route on the map.

"How about starting from Fang County, heading north around the Yunyang border to avoid He Renlong's Shaanxi border troops, and entering Sichuan through Ziyang and Hanyin in southern Shaanxi?" Zhang Xianzhong looked up at the crowd, indicating that they could speak freely.

It was Sun Kewang—Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son—who was the first to oppose it.

"General, this... He Renlong's border troops are stationed in the Yunyang and Ziyang area, with tight defenses and scouts everywhere. Our army has tens of thousands of troops, and the target is too large... What if we can't bypass their surveillance? There's a vast plain there, and He Renlong's cavalry is extremely powerful..."

Faced with Sun Kewang's tactful reminder, Zhang Xianzhong merely frowned but did not get angry. He then changed his route, pointing towards Zhushan.

"Then we can go through Zhushan and enter Sichuan via Wuxi, right? The mountain roads around Wuxi are remote, and the government troops are poorly defended."

At this moment, Ma Yuanli inside the tent bowed.

"Reporting to the Commander, I have been there. The mountain road in Wuxi is even more treacherous than Jiudaoliang, and it is extremely easy to get lost..."

Zhang Xianzhong frowned for a longer time than the first time, but he still patiently gave three more routes.

One route runs southwest from Fang County, through Xingshan and Badong, into Sichuan.

One route goes south from Fang County, passing through Hefeng and Sangzhichuan.

Another route goes west from Zhushan, passing through Zhenping and entering Sichuan.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as these three routes were proposed, they were refuted one by one by the generals under his command.

The reasons were always the same few: either the government troops were heavily guarding the area, the mountain roads were too dangerous to travel, the food supplies were cut off, or the local chieftains were obstructing the way...

The crowd's objections might just be well-intentioned advice... or perhaps not.

Regardless, Zhang Xianzhong had already used this as a pretext to challenge his authority, and under constant obstruction and hindrance...

His face grew increasingly grim, and the purple noodles gradually turned a dark red. Zhang Xianzhong's anger was building up until it finally erupted...

"That's enough!"

Zhang Xianzhong slammed his hand on the table and pointed at his generals, cursing them.

"I said I'd go to Sichuan, so I'll go! This won't do, that won't do—when did you all become so indecisive and cowardly? Am I taking in a son or a daughter?!"

Zhang Xianzhong's eyes widened in fury, and his roar was like thunder, causing everyone in the tent to lower their heads and dare not look him in the eye.

Perhaps feeling he had been too harsh on his comrades, Zhang Xianzhong said nothing more after his outburst. He simply bent down again, his gaze fixed intently on the map, his finger tracing the routes rejected by the others. Finally, he abruptly stopped at a point on the map.

"This is the last route, we have to take it whether we like it or not. Starting from Fang County, we'll pass through Guanduping, Shangkan, and Jiudaoliang, traversing the three treacherous passes of Daning Pass, Baima Pass, and Tiemenkan, heading straight for Daning and Wushan in eastern Sichuan!"