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

Urged on by Zhang Da, the clanging of armor and shouts of officers in the Zhenlu Hall gradually faded away as the generals began to attend to their respective duties of city defense in preparation for the impending arrival of Li Zicheng.

At this moment, Zhang Da stood with his hands behind his back in front of the "Map of the Mountains and Rivers of Henan Province," lost in thought.

Zhang Da was neither a hot-blooded youth nor an optimist. Moreover, he understood perfectly well that the generals in the hall who all spoke of dying for the Ming Dynasty and capturing Li Zicheng alive—they weren't either. Perhaps by now they had already recovered from their fervor and emotion, continued to hold pessimistic views, and were ready to surrender as soon as things went wrong…

Why would those generals act this way?

Is it simply because they were afraid of being defeated by Li Zicheng?

It's probably more than that. They are all knowledgeable about military strategy. Even if Zhang Da's defensive strategy was flawless, there was still a fatal flaw that they were all aware of but didn't explicitly state.

There are too few defenders and too many rebels. If any link in the entire war goes wrong... if one place collapses, everything will collapse.

If even one general flees in fear, one battalion mutinis and surrenders, or one pass is easily breached, the entire Nanyang defense line will collapse like rotten wood.

The tolerance for error is so low as to be almost zero.

The biggest weakness is having too few soldiers and too few generals.

But this weakness is impossible to fix. You can't exactly ask Luoyang for troops, can you? Who cares!

They staked everything on the loyalty and courage of a group of soldiers from the late Ming Dynasty...

Zhang Da wasn't stupid, which is why he was so afraid of death that he didn't even dare to stay in the city. However, after the defeat, his attempt to emulate the donkey cart war god was ultimately a last resort to save his life. Even if he returned and wasn't punished, he would still lose face upon meeting him again...

We still need to find a way to win!

Yang Sichang's main force is currently engaged in the campaign against Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan and Hubei, leaving Henan with a depleted military presence. Nanyang is now fighting alone... However, in such a vast province as Henan, Zhang Da would never believe that Nanyang is the only major town with this isolated army.

Where are the remaining soldiers?

Luoyang.

After going around in circles for so long, we've ended up back here again...

Everyone is afraid of death. At this moment, Luoyang must be complaining about having too few troops. How could they possibly lend troops to Nanyang for defense? No matter how important Nanyang is, is it more important than Luoyang?

What if?

"Inform me of the person in charge of matters in Luoyang about this!"

Zhang Da asked his attendant for some detailed information about Luoyang and began to study it carefully.

Luoyang is an ancient capital of the Central Plains, the residence of emperors since the Zhou, Han, Wei and Jin dynasties. It has high walls and deep moats, and abundant money and grain. Since the Ming dynasty, Prince Fu Zhu Changxun has been in charge, making him the richest man in the world and accumulating hundreds of millions of wealth. As for those in charge, there is General Wang Shaoyu in charge of the army, and Governor Li Xianfeng who oversees the military and political affairs of Henan and controls the region.

Zhang Zhen's eyes lit up

These three people have money, food, and soldiers!

If... if they were willing to launch a surprise attack on the rebel army's strongholds of Lushi, Luoning, and Yiyang when Li Zicheng was attacking Nanyang with all his forces, cutting off their retreat, burning their supplies, and disrupting their rear, Li Zicheng's army would surely be thrown into chaos and unable to attend to both ends.

Wouldn't the crisis in Nanyang be resolved by then?

If fought well, this could even be a major victory, a decisive one achieved through a strong defense of the center and a pincer attack from both flanks, enough to cripple Li Zicheng once again and make Zhang Da's name truly resound throughout the Central Plains.

This battle might even be mentioned in future military treatises!

Zhang Dagang, his face flushed, suddenly came to his senses again.

Why should they take that risk and listen to me?

Zhang Da turned around, slowly walked out of the Zhenlu Hall, passed through the corridors of the government office, and arrived at the residence arranged for him by the generals in Nanyang City. He went straight to the desk and sat down.

Spread out the plain paper and grind the thick ink.

We can't ask for help, but what about working together to achieve something?

Zhang Da closed his eyes and concentrated, recalling the deeds and personalities of the three people from Luoyang in his mind.

Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, goes without saying.

Extremely greedy and stingy, addicted to wine and women, cowardly and afraid of death, obsessed with money, ignorant of military and political affairs, arrogant, extravagant and muddle-headed.

Zhu Changxun was the third son of Emperor Shenzong of Ming, and his mother was Consort Zheng. Emperor Wanli of Ming launched a "succession struggle" for more than ten years for him, and almost deposed his eldest son Zhu Changluo and made him the crown prince.

Although he ultimately failed to achieve his goal, the rewards bestowed upon him by Emperor Shenzong were unprecedented.

The wedding cost 300,000 taels of silver, and the construction of the Luoyang Prince's Palace cost 280,000 taels of silver, ten times the usual amount. He was granted 20,000 hectares of farmland, and since the fertile land in the Central Plains was insufficient, he also obtained farmland from Shandong and Huguang to make up the difference. He even demanded the confiscated property of Zhang Juzheng, miscellaneous taxes along the river, and tea monopoly silver from Sichuan salt wells. He monopolized the Huai salt monopoly in Luoyang, making him as wealthy as a country. People at the time said that "Luoyang is richer than the Imperial Palace."

Zhang Zhen really couldn't understand why this good-for-nothing was so favored!

This year, Henan suffered a severe drought and locust plague, leading to cannibalism and widespread displacement. When reinforcements passed through Luoyang, they were all filled with anger.

"The Prince's mansion possesses millions in gold, yet we are left to die hungry at the hands of thieves!"

Lu Weiqi, the Minister of War in Nanjing, visited Zhu Changxun's residence multiple times, pleading with him to distribute his wealth to recruit soldiers and provide relief to the people in order to protect Luoyang. Zhu Changxun ignored him completely, continuing to stay in his study every day, drinking fine wine. His only interest was women and entertainment, and he ate until he weighed over 300 jin (150 catties), turning into a gluttonous person who refused to stop!

When Li Zicheng's army besieged the city, he panicked and reluctantly gave 3,000 taels of silver to reward the troops, only to have it embezzled by General Wang Shaoyu... Ultimately, the city fell, he was captured, and knelt down begging for his life, only to be reprimanded by Li Zicheng.

"You are a prince, the richest man in the land, yet in this famine you refuse to part with a single penny of your treasury to relieve the people. You are a lackey!" He was eventually killed.

It can only be said that he deserved to die. If Zhang Da gains power in the future, he will also take action.

And Wang Shaoyu, the General of Luoyang

This man is no good either. Greedy Wang Shaoyu, as the general of Henan, guarding Luoyang, likes to cut off the soldiers' silk and grain to enrich himself. He has been drinking the blood of his soldiers and withholding their pay for a long time. The soldiers are full of complaints and the morale of the army has long since collapsed.

At this time, Li Zicheng's army was approaching, and he dared not fight in the open field. He forced his troops to retreat into Luoyang City, only seeking to protect himself.

Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, was able to come to his senses and reluctantly took out three thousand taels of silver to reward the army, but he embezzled it all... This eventually sparked a mutiny, with soldiers binding the defending general, opening the city gates, and surrendering to the rebel army. Luoyang fell in a single day.

It was even more incomprehensible to Zhang Da that such a person could become a general than that of Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, who was deeply favored.

Then, Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, was also present in the city.

Li Xianfeng was more well-read and more normal than the previous two. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and served as the governor of Henan. However, he had neither the ability to govern the army nor the strategies to pacify the people. When faced with problems, he would only shirk responsibility and avoid taking the blame.

According to historical events, when Li Zicheng captured Luoyang, he was leading troops outside and dared not return to defend it. Afterwards, he was held accountable by the court and hanged himself out of fear of punishment.

Three divine beings...

Zhang Da scratched his head, at a loss for what to do. He figured he'd be better off relying on the generals in the hall than on these three.

Damn it! No wonder the Ming Dynasty perished.

However, only these three people held any power in the entire Henan province.

After much deliberation, Zhang Da still decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

Since Prince Fu was greedy for money, afraid of death, and concerned about preserving his wealth and status

Since the general was greedy for merit, avoided trouble, and was afraid of hard work

Since the governor was incompetent, afraid of responsibility, and fond of a good reputation

……