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

Zhang Da's statement, "Li Zicheng would absolutely not attack Luoyang," silenced the entire hall.

Upon hearing this, the generals were initially filled with fear, but then, united as one, a single thought arose in their minds.

"It's over, the commander-in-chief sent Ma Su instead."

After the fear of disappointment comes a wave of anger and contempt.

However, due to Zhang Da's possession of the military governor's token and his status as the Vice Commissioner of the Henan Military Supervisory Commission, the generals, despite their deep contempt, dared not openly curse him, and could only resort to sarcastic remarks.

"As expected of Zhang Qianshi, he is a young hero. His vision is different from that of us ordinary people! We have been fighting on the frontier for more than ten years, licking blood off the edge of a knife, and we still dare not make any guarantees. But you, Qianshi, only glanced at the map a few times and immediately concluded that the rebels would not attack Luoyang. You are truly a prophet!"

"But I am foolish and cannot understand. Luoyang is a vital city in the Central Plains, and Prince Fu has amassed a fortune. If it were me, I would risk my life to take a bite. Does this bandit Li Zicheng really want to gnaw on tree bark instead of eating the fat meat?"

"General Ma is mistaken. The Vice-Commander is a highly talented individual personally promoted by the Commander-in-Chief. How could you or I possibly fathom his abilities? Perhaps the Vice-Commander has already been in secret communication with the rebel leader and knows his thoughts. We mere mortals should just listen and not make a fuss, lest we appear ignorant?"

Many generals in the hall nodded to themselves upon hearing the conversation, their faces revealing knowing, cold smiles.

At this moment, the garrison commander Wang Dingguo crossed his arms and casually speculated.

"I've heard that when you were in Xiangyang, you spent your days frolicking with your maids and neglecting military affairs. Now that you've arrived in Nanyang, you immediately contradict all of our judgments. Could it be that you're still in the arms of a woman and are just talking nonsense?"

"Please stop talking, everyone. It's normal that the Vice Commissioner is young and has never experienced battle, so he doesn't know much about military affairs."

……

Immediately, the hall was filled with sarcastic remarks, all criticizing him for being ignorant of his own limitations, a mere armchair strategist, and a traitor to the country and the army.

Zhang Da kept his eyes down, remaining silent and letting them take turns mocking him.

Seeing that he was neither angry nor upset, the generals assumed he was simply at a loss for words and became even more unrestrained. At this moment, someone else stepped forward and earnestly advised him...

"Commander Zhang, Luoyang is bordered by the Yellow River to the north, the Funiu Mountains to the south, the Hulao Pass to the east, and the Xiaohan Pass to the west. It is the throat of the world. Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, possesses immense wealth, and the city is piled high with grain. The rebels are currently lacking food, pay, weapons, and supplies. How could they possibly let this opportunity pass? You say Luoyang is unimportant, but I truly don't know, if Luoyang is unimportant, then what place is important?!"

"Yes, Vice Commissioner Zhang, Luoyang is crucial to the overall situation in the Central Plains; we must not underestimate it!"

"My lord, take another look at the map. The rebel army is stationed in Yiyang, which is only about a hundred li from Luoyang. A light cavalry can reach it in a day. This is clearly a prelude to attacking Luoyang!"

Admonitions, doubts, and sarcasm mingled together, creating a noisy and chaotic atmosphere in the Zhenlu Hall, with everyone completely disregarding Zhang Da.

Only after the hall gradually quieted down, with all the generals waiting to see Zhang Da's embarrassed state, did he slowly raise his head and speak calmly.

"Have you all finished speaking?"

The hall was completely silent.

"Now that you've said that, I'll say it again: our army's defensive objective is still not Luoyang."

Upon hearing this, the junior officers in the hall began to grow restless. They had already tried to curse, talk, and argue, but nothing could be done; they could only wait for his explanation.

So Zhang Da walked up to the "Map of Henan Province" and pointed to the location of Luoyang City.

"You all regard Li Zicheng as a god, and his soldiers as heavenly warriors, but Li Zicheng is not! He is nothing more than a stray dog ​​that just crawled out of the Shangluo Mountains!"

Zhang Da's tone suddenly became more forceful, as he was about to unleash all the grievances he had just suffered.

"His forces number over 30,000, which seems formidable, but in reality, less than 10,000 are elite veterans. The rest are newly recruited starving civilians, unarmed, untrained, and without any weapons. Can such a force possibly attack Luoyang?"

"Luoyang is a well-fortified city with deep moats and complete military equipment. It is protected by moats and the Chan River. The city has nearly 10,000 soldiers and its defensive weapons are extremely complete!"

In the eighth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng joined forces with tens of thousands of troops to launch a fierce attack on Luoyang. After several days of fighting, they made no progress and were eventually defeated by reinforcements. Li Zicheng nearly lost his life. Would he forget this lesson from the past?

Moreover, Li Zicheng's current base is in the mountains of western Henan, not on the plains of Luoyang!

He is now stationed in the area of ​​Lushi, Songxian, and Luanchuan. The Funiu Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, with high mountains and dense forests, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack. When the government troops come to suppress them, they cannot find the main force, but he can come out of the mountains to plunder at any time. This is the foundation of his survival!

Luoyang is flat and indefensible. If he attacks Luoyang, he will be abandoning his advantages and fighting a positional war with the government troops on the plains. If the siege fails, Zuo Liangyu's troops will come from Huguang, Chen Yongfu's troops will come from Nanyang, and the Shaanxi government troops will come from Tongguan. With three routes surrounding him, he will have no way to escape!

Finally, and most importantly, what Li Zicheng lacks most right now is not money or food, nor territory, but time and the opportunity to expand his forces!

He had just returned to power, and his army consisted of too many new recruits. He needed time to train them, to gather more refugees, and to seize grain and weapons from small counties to gradually build up his strength. Luoyang was of paramount importance to the imperial court. If he attacked Luoyang, Commander Yang would immediately abandon the campaign against Zhang Xianzhong and redeploy his main force back to Henan. Would Li Zicheng do something so foolish?

Zhang Da's words left the generals in the hall dumbfounded, their mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.

The silence lasted only a moment before someone else jumped out, clearly dissatisfied.

"Nonsense!" Lieutenant General Ma Jinlu retorted loudly, his face flushed. "Even if Luoyang is difficult to attack, the wealth of the Prince of Fu is there for all to see. Doesn't the rebel Li Zicheng have the will? His tens of thousands of starving people are waiting for money and food to survive. If he doesn't attack Luoyang, where will he get the provisions?"

"The counties of Lushi, Songxian, and Luoning in western Henan are all territories that Li Zicheng has already conquered. He has already plundered the granaries and wealthy households there, enough to sustain him for several months! Moreover, if he needs supplies, he only needs to capture small counties like Ruzhou, Lushan, and Nanzhao!"

"Then... Luoyang is a vital city in the Central Plains. Occupying Luoyang means being able to command the Central Plains. Doesn't he want to contend for the world?" Guerrilla Zhou Shilu still refused to give up and asked stubbornly.

"With his current ragtag army of 30,000, does he even dare to talk about conquering the world? Even if he occupies Luoyang, can he hold it? Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Sun Chuanting—if a real fight breaks out, which one of them can he withstand?"

"But...but Yiyang is very close to Luoyang. His stationing troops in Yiyang is clearly a plot to seize Luoyang!" Garrison Commander Wang Dingguo said urgently.

"Is stationing troops in Yiyang a pretext to seize Luoyang?"

Zhang Da drew lines on the route between Yiyang and Nanyang: "West of Yiyang is the Lu family's old camp; south is Nanyang; east is Ruzhou. His garrison in Yiyang is a central support position. He can advance to attack Ruzhou, retreat to defend the Funiu Mountains, and keep an eye on Nanyang to the south. He only knows one side of the story and not the other. How foolish!"

After a round of rebuttal, the faces of the Zhenlu Hall generals turned pale and then red.

If we don't attack Luoyang, where else can we attack?!

"Commander Zhang! According to you, if the rebel leader doesn't attack Luoyang, where else can he attack?"

All the generals in the hall turned to look at Zhang Da. Zhang Da felt the time was right, pointed at the crowd, and then pointed to the ground.

"Li Zicheng's next move will not be to attack Luoyang, nor to flee to Shaanxi, nor to advance eastward to Ruzhou, but rather to devote all his strength to attacking Nanyang in the south!"