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

"The four gates of Shaoyang are safe and sound, the local militia are on duty in shifts, the fields in the countryside are being plowed in spring, the gentry are not making a fuss, and the people are at peace."

"Wang Yunfeng's troops in the Xinhua direction are still only on the lookout from a distance, and there is no sign of mobilizing troops to encircle or secretly laying an ambush."

"Madam is well. She spends her days tending flowers and feeding birds in the back garden, her mind at peace. There is no need to worry about her."

Zhang Da looked at the letter from Shaoyang County over and over again, carefully checking the handwriting. Only after confirming that it was familiar and correct did he feel relieved.

Zhang Da let out a long breath, carefully folded the letter, and tucked it into his bosom, keeping it close to his body.

It seems Yang Sichang still had some sense of shame.

"Have you read all the letters?"

Yang Sichang got his hands on the letter from Shaoyang first, and without even glancing at it, he personally went to Zhang Da's temporary residence and handed it to him.

At this moment, he was not wearing official robes, leaving only a refined and scholarly air, making him look like an old scholar who had studied for many years.

"Reporting to the Commander, I have finished reading it."

"How's things at home?" Yang Sichang walked to the table, his tone calm and composed. "Nothing's gone wrong in Shaoyang, is there?"

"Thanks to the governor's good fortune, everything is safe and sound."

"That's good." Yang Sichang smiled, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Dazhou. "You've stayed at my headquarters these past few days, with meat at every meal, peaceful sleep every night, and servants attending to you. How does this compare to Shaoyang?"

This place is so pleasant, I don't even miss Shu.

Even if Zhang Da really said that, Yang Sichang wouldn't believe him.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, this place is indeed excellent. The headquarters is well-organized, with ample provisions and a comfortable living environment, far superior to the thatched huts in Shaoyang. However... I always keep my homeland of Shaoyang and the brothers and people in my heart."

Yang Sichang wasn't angry at all. Instead, he nodded slightly, then his smile deepened, and he lowered his voice as he spoke.

"While you've been in my camp these past few days, have you heard the rumors circulating about you in the city?"

Isn't it just about arranging flowers and playing with beautiful women day and night?

Zhang Da pretended not to know.

Yang Sichang looked at him with a slightly amused expression.

"It's nothing serious. Some of the generals under your command and some of the servants in your household are gossiping in private, saying that you, Zhang Da, are a young hero, but you have only one shortcoming—you're a womanizer. They say that you spend day and night in the camp mingling with the maids assigned to you, indulging in sensual pleasures and neglecting your duties..."

Zhang Da has had a tough few days. To spread his reputation for womanizing throughout Xiangyang, he has practically exhausted himself, and only now has he finally earned these comments from others.

Zhang Da directly and frankly admitted it.

"Commander, food and sex are the greatest desires of humankind. The attraction to beauty is a natural human trait. Why should I heed the opinions of others?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Sichang was taken aback at first, then clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

"You're quite the honest guy, a real man of character."

Then Yang Sichang changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious.

"However, even so, you are still young, the time to make your mark, and your health is the foundation. Beauty can lead you astray, and comfort can corrupt your ambition, so you must take care of your health. Young people should not indulge in the pleasures of the heart, but strengthen their muscles and bones and take good care of their bodies so that they can fight on the battlefield and bring peace to the land."

coming!

Zhang Da knew that Yang Sichang's visit today was definitely not just to deliver a letter to him.

Zhang Da bowed and replied.

"I will keep your instructions to heart. I will certainly keep my mind focused, reflect on myself diligently, and never let personal matters interfere with my duties."

"Self-reflection is one thing, self-discipline is another." Yang Sichang suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and looked north. "Sitting and reflecting won't do any good; we need to get moving. Lord Zhang has been staying indoors lately; wouldn't you like to find a place to stretch your muscles and get some exercise?"

Sure enough, they're going to assign me a task.

Zhang Da suppressed the turmoil in his heart and became respectful.

"Where should we go to stretch our muscles and bones? Your subordinate will follow your instructions."

Yang Sichang slowly turned around, his smile vanishing completely, replaced by a grim and solemn expression. He stared at Zhang Da and said, word by word.

"Head towards Henan. Head towards Nanyang Prefecture and Shangluo Mountain to suppress the bandits."

"Suppress thieves?"

Zhang Da frowned slightly, a sudden unease creeping into his heart.

No, I've already successfully made it ashore.

"Commander-in-Chief, Zhang Xianzhong has already entered Sichuan and is surrounded on all sides by the Three Gorges and Hanzhong. He will find it difficult to re-emerge in the short term. The banditry in Huguang is gradually subsiding. May I ask what other bandits are still at large, and if we need your personal intervention?"

He already had a name in mind, but he dared not say it aloud.

Yang Sichang did not answer directly, but walked to the table, unfolded a yellowed map of Shangluo, Henan, and pointed to place names on the map, speaking in a slow and deliberate tone.

"When Lord Zhang was in Shaoyang, did he know of a man who, after suffering a military defeat, went into hiding in the deep mountains, only to rise again now, his dying embers extinguished?"

Zhang Da's heart skipped a beat.

"This man is named Li Zicheng."

He really is the rebel leader!

In October of the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), the Battle of Tongguan Nanyuan took place.

Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting surrounded Li Zicheng at Tongguan South Plain, where Li Zicheng's main force was annihilated, and corpses littered the fields.

Li Zicheng's tens of thousands of followers were either killed, surrendered, or scattered. In the end, only eighteen riders, including Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu, were left. They fought desperately to break through the encirclement and escaped into the Shangluo Mountains, where they hid by day and came out by night, barely surviving until they were almost wiped out.

Just when everyone in the court thought he had no chance of making a comeback... no one expected that he would lie low for less than a year and then quietly raise an army again.

May of the twelfth year of the Chongzhen reign, which was half a year ago.

Just then, Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again in Gucheng, and Luo Rucai responded, causing shockwaves throughout Hubei and Hunan.

The imperial court urgently dispatched elite troops from Shaanxi and the three border regions southward to Sichuan and Huguang to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong, leaving the entire border defenses of Henan and Shaanxi vulnerable.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Li Zicheng led his troops out of the Shangluo Mountains and officially launched another uprising.

He rallied his remaining troops and contacted starving people along the way, first fighting in southern Shaanxi, and then marching eastward to Henan.

What is the current situation in Henan?

Henan has suffered from severe drought for years, leaving the land barren and plagued by locusts, leaving millions of people displaced with nowhere to live.

As soon as Li Zicheng entered Henan, he raised the banner of "Welcome the King of Chuang, no more taxes." Starving people flocked to him, and in just a few months, his followers surged from a few hundred to tens of thousands. His momentum was overwhelming, and he had already captured several counties in western Henan, with his army heading straight for Nanyang and Luoyang.

Yang Sichang's voice was filled with exhaustion as he spoke.

The original plan was to deal with Zhang Xianzhong first, then Li Zicheng. However, in the dilapidated house of the Ming Dynasty, before this side could be repaired, a crack appeared.

Yang Sichang pointed his finger heavily at the Nanyang Prefecture boundary, his voice resolute.

"If we don't stop this traitor, once he captures Luoyang and takes down the Prince of Fu, with ample funds and provisions, his army will surely swell to 100,000 or 200,000. At that time, the Central Plains will be in ruins beyond repair."

Zhang Da already knew what Yang Sichang wanted him to do.

Sure enough, Yang Sichang turned around and stared directly at Zhang Da, no longer bothering to hide his gaze.

"You're a sensible man, so I won't beat around the bush. How about we go to Henan and do our part to suppress the bandits for the imperial court?"

Zhang Da remained calm, bowed, and asked, "I dare not refuse the Governor's kindness. However, I am of limited experience and have meager troops. I wonder what I can do for the court and for the Governor?"

"As I told you before, Zhang Xianzhong's entry into Sichuan is a major threat. In order to block Zhang Xianzhong and prevent him from heading east to Huguang and north to Shaanxi, I have deployed almost all of my Shaanxi border troops, Huguang elite troops, and naval warships along the Three Gorges, Hanzhong, Yiling, and Jingzhou line, encircling him from all sides and locking down the gateway to Sichuan."

Yang Sichang spread his hands, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Therefore, I currently have no large troops to send to Henan to suppress Li Zicheng."

"The heavy responsibility of besieging Li Zicheng and curbing the expansion of the rebels cannot be entrusted to Meng Ruhu, who is far away in Sichuan, nor to Zuo Liangyu, who has his own troops," Yang Sichang said solemnly, pointing out each name one by one. "I have already ordered the governors of Henan and Yunyang to mobilize their troops to guard the key routes in western Henan and southern Shaanxi; and ordered General Chen Yongfu, Zuo Guangxian and other generals to lead their respective forces to suppress the rebellion."

At this point, Yang Sichang stared at Zhang Da and said, word by word, his ultimate goal.

"However, these government troops are brave but lack strategy. Li Zicheng is cunning and treacherous. I hope you will go to the Henan army and advise generals such as Chen Yongfu and Zuo Guangxian. With Lord Zhang advising on military affairs in the army, we will surely avoid detours, suffer fewer defeats, and curb the rebels' momentum as soon as possible."

Zhang Da stood there, head bowed, silent.

To go or not to go?

If he went there, Zhang Da could legitimately step into the core battlefield of the government army, transforming from a local official in Shaoyang into a strategist in the government army who participated in quelling the rebellion of the rebel leader Li Zicheng.

If he truly achieves something, his reputation will spread throughout Henan, Huguang, and Shaanxi. He will no longer be just a young man from Shaoyang County, but will become a renowned talent for suppressing bandits, known throughout the court and the country.

This paves the way for him to truly rise to a high position in the future.

The key point is that the encirclement and suppression is not something that can be accomplished in a day. It may take three months, five months, or even a year and a half to end.

Once Zhang Da goes to Henan to assist in military affairs, there is absolutely no possibility that he will return to Shaoyang in the short term.

If the court were to try to win them over or coerce them further in the long run, would those people in Shaoyang still be his people?

Moreover, how could Zhang Da be so sure that he could defeat Li Zicheng?

Liu Zongmin and Li Guo, both under his command, were fierce generals. The bandits' tactics were unpredictable, and the government army suffered more defeats than victories.

Zhang Da, a strategist with no troops or power, would be the first to be discarded like trash once the government army suffered a major defeat, and might even be pushed out as a scapegoat.

Sigh, should I go or not...?

wrong

Zhang Da suddenly realized that Yang Sichang had come to see him in person.

Is there any way to refuse?

Moreover, he had been living and eating for free at the Xiangyang military headquarters, sleeping soundly every night and even sleeping with several maids. Now, he could simply return to Shaoyang safely, amass a powerful army, and establish his own independent regime...

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

At this moment, Yang Sichang, faced with Zhang Da's silence, did not urge him but simply watched him quietly. Of course, this was the best way to urge him on.

In the end, Zhang Da straightened his back and bowed deeply to Yang Sichang.

"Since the commander-in-chief has given the order, your subordinates dare not refuse."