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

At this time, Luoyang was completely covered by snow, the world was a pale white, and the north wind howled like a cry, making people's hearts tighten.

Inside the Prince Fu's mansion in the city, however, a completely different scene unfolded – warm, luxurious, and extravagant.

The main hall, "Cheng'en Hall," was scorching hot from the fire, and the furnishings inside were extremely luxurious. Any one of the items could be enough for an ordinary person to live on for ten lifetimes.

On the grand chair at the head of the hall sat Zhu Changxun, the Prince of Fu, the uncle of the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

This prince was fifty-six years old this year. His body was frighteningly obese, weighing more than 360 jin. He looked like a fat, white pig wrapped in brocade, slumped in the chair and almost broke the chair.

At this moment, Zhu Changxun showed a rare panic; his small eyes were squeezed into two narrow slits by the fat on his face, cloudy and lifeless.

At this moment, standing before Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, were two other people, not much better off than him, both with solemn expressions.

The man on the left, dressed in the armor of a second-rank military officer and wearing a scarlet cloak, with a withered face, was none other than Wang Shaoyu, the general of Luoyang.

The man on the right, dressed in a blue brocade robe and wearing a black gauze hat, with a fair complexion, was none other than Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan.

The Chengen Hall, where the three of them were, was extremely quiet, with only the howling of the wind and snow outside and the heavy, labored breathing of Prince Fu.

"Clang—"

With a sharp crack, whether intentional or accidental, the gilded teacup in Prince Fu Zhu Changxun's hand fell to the ground, which startled him greatly.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! That bandit Li Zicheng dares to plot against my Luoyang!"

Wang Shaoyu and Li Xianfeng were also quite alarmed, especially Wang Shaoyu, who knew the true nature of his men.

Zhu Changxun was panting heavily, his fat chest heaving violently. His small eyes were fixed on the two of them, his tone filled with resentment and fear.

"A stray dog ​​who crawled out of the Shangluo Mountains dares to covet my fiefdom? He even said he would conquer Luoyang, capture the prince alive, and seize the prince's vast wealth... I am the late emperor's beloved son and the current emperor's uncle. How dare this traitor lay a finger on me!"

Prince Fu was pathetic, much like that character from later generations who said, "800,000 against 600,000, the advantage is mine," only able to soothe his young and frightened heart with such statements.

At this moment, Li Xianfeng spoke tremblingly, filled with fear.

"Your Highness, things are different now! In Henan, the main force of the government troops has been transferred by Commander Yang Sichang to besiege Zhang Xianzhong. Our forces in Luoyang are weak, and... what if..."

Prince Fu was terrified. Aside from his youthful struggle for the crown prince position, he had spent the rest of his life indulging in a life of debauchery, spending his days drinking fine wine, amassing wealth, and becoming obese. He had never experienced hardship or fear.

"Then...what do we do!" Zhu Changxun's voice trembled with tears, his fat face contorted. "I can't die! My wealth can't be stolen by bandits! You must think of something! Think of something!"

Wang Shaoyu and Li Xianfeng exchanged a glance, both seeing despair in each other's eyes.

"Your Highness, the most urgent task is to immediately request aid from the capital, to inform His Majesty of the critical situation in Luoyang, and to request the court to dispatch a large army to its aid as soon as possible. At the same time, send a fast horse to Governor Yang's headquarters in Xiangyang, requesting the governor to mobilize troops to the north to rescue Luoyang!"

"Yes! Yes! Call for help! Call for help quickly!" Zhu Changxun urged repeatedly, as if grasping at a straw. "Write a memorial immediately! Send it by urgent dispatch! It must be done quickly!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Li Xianfeng with his thick finger.

"Governor Li, immediately draft a memorial stating that Luoyang is in imminent danger, with hundreds of thousands of rebel troops pressing in. With no reinforcements, Luoyang will surely fall, and I will surely die!"

"This humble general...this humble general will also immediately write a request for assistance and send it to Xiangyang!" Wang Shaoyu quickly echoed.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Zhu Changxun struggled frantically, his massive body causing the ground to tremble slightly. "As long as Luoyang can be saved, as long as I can be saved, I'm willing to spend any amount of money! No... we can't spend money! The court should send troops to protect me! It's their duty!"

At this point, Li Xianfeng and the others no longer paid attention to Prince Fu's greedy nature. They immediately ordered someone to bring pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began drafting memorials and letters requesting assistance at a side table in the hall.

Within half an hour, the two requests for assistance were completed, stamped with the seals of the Prince of Fu, the Governor, and the General, and ordered to be sent by fast horse at an 800-mile courier speed to the capital and Xiangyang respectively.

The messenger hurriedly left, and the Chengen Hall fell silent once again.

Is this all I can do?

Zhu Changxun slumped in his chair, still restless, his small eyes fixed on Wang Shaoyu.

"General Wang, you... tell me the truth, how many troops does Li Zicheng actually have? Can he really capture Luoyang?"

Wang Shaoyu didn't dare to give a guarantee either, and could only give vague answers.

"Your Highness, the rebel leader Li Zicheng now commands no fewer than 30,000 refugees and nearly 10,000 elite troops, all of whom are desperate criminals; although our army has nearly 10,000, morale is low... We really don't have a sure chance of holding Luoyang..."

"No confidence? You actually say you're not confident!" Zhu Changxun suddenly raised his voice, both shocked and furious. "I've been supporting you, giving you official positions, providing you with provisions, and now, at this crucial moment, you can't even be confident in defending Luoyang! Useless! All of you are useless!"

The more he spoke, the more frightened he became, and the angrier he grew, until finally his entire body of fat trembled violently, and he was almost in tears.

"If Li Zicheng breaks through Luoyang, he will surely kill me! He will surely plunder all my wealth! My wives, concubines, and children will all be violated by him! I cannot die! I cannot die!"

Li Xianfeng quickly advised

"Your Highness, please calm down! Your Highness, please calm down! Now that things have come to this, besides seeking help from the capital and Xiangyang, we also need to seek help from the surrounding prefectures and counties, especially... especially Nanyang!"

"Currently, within Henan province, only Nanyang has a usable force, which is our only hope for reinforcements!"

Wang Shaoyu suddenly thought of this as well and echoed it.

"That's right! Nanyang isn't far from Luoyang; it's only a two-day journey by fast horse. As long as that Assistant Commissioner Zhang Dake leads his troops north to reinforce Luoyang, we'll have a chance to defend the city!"

Zhu Changxun suddenly realized that Zhang Da looked familiar. He suddenly remembered that this was the madman who had written to him a few days ago, asking him to lead troops to raid the rear of the rebels!

Fine, let him be a madman. Now it's my turn to ask him for help.

"Quickly! Write a letter to Nanyang! To that Zhang Da! Tell him to immediately lead all his troops north to relieve Luoyang! If Nanyang is lost, so be it."

Li Xianfeng dared not delay and immediately picked up his pen again to draft a letter requesting aid. He sent it to Nanyang with the joint signatures of the Prince of Fu, the Governor, and the General. The letter was urgent and pleaded with Zhang Da to send troops north immediately to rescue Luoyang.

When the messenger once again galloped out of Luoyang and disappeared into the vast snowstorm...

Zhu Changxun remained restless, his fear undiminished. He felt that Li Zicheng's army would be at the city gates at any moment, breaching the city walls. He kept muttering to himself...

"No...it still won't work...Nanyang is too far away. What if Zhang Da refuses to come? What if reinforcements don't arrive in time? I'll still be doomed..."

He suddenly looked at Wang Shaoyu and Li Xianfeng, his eyes filled with panic.

"Write another letter! Write another one! Urge Nanyang again! Tell him that Luoyang is in imminent danger, the bandits will arrive at any moment, and that Zhang Da must travel north day and night at top speed! Not a moment can be wasted!"

The two agreed and were about to rise and pick up their pens when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. A guard from the Prince's residence entered to report...

"Your Highness! Governor! General! Urgent military situation outside the city gates!"

Zhu: "Wha...what military intelligence! Have the bandits attacked?!"

The guard lay on the ground, panting heavily, and replied.

"No...not bandits! More than a hundred riders have arrived outside the city gate, all clad in armor and carrying weapons. They claim to be reinforcements from Nanyang, and their leader says...says that Zhang Da is the Henan Military Supervisor personally appointed by Commander-in-Chief Yang Sichang!"

The three of them were naturally delighted and comforted upon hearing this.

Even though Luoyang was about to be besieged, Zhang Da, the Assistant Commissioner, actually came here... The Ming Dynasty still has loyal ministers.

One hour later.

Zhang Da repeatedly showed the guards the token proving his identity, and after being verified by the more than one hundred elite soldiers beside him, the guards of the Prince's Palace were shocked and welcomed Zhang Da into the hall.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the door, Zhu Changxun, Wang Shaoyu, and Li Xianfeng were stunned.

Is this Zhang Da? Not his son? To be trusted by Yang Sichang and appointed as a military advisor in Nanyang, even if he is young, he couldn't possibly be a boy!

Such immaturity is almost excessive!

The three were shocked, utterly shocked, but after the initial shock, they were brought back to their senses by the urgent military situation.

Zhu Changxun was the first to regain his senses, and he rose from the armchair, his massive body swaying slightly.

"So you are Zhang Qianshi? Zhang Da? On behalf of all the soldiers and civilians of Luoyang, I thank you, Zhang Qianshi, for rushing to our aid overnight!"

Wang Shaoyu hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, but upon entering, he saw only the man himself and did not see the other military commanders from Nanyang. His heart tightened immediately, and he quickly asked...

"Commander Zhang, you led the main force of Nanyang to the rescue, but... I don't know where your army is now? When will you be able to enter the city and set up defenses? The rebel Li Zicheng will arrive at any moment, and the defenses of Luoyang urgently need reinforcements!"

The three of them immediately started talking non-stop, treating Zhang Da like a lifeline.

If Luoyang is lost, the Prince of Fu is killed, and the entire Henan province is in chaos, Zhang Da, the Vice Military Supervisor of Henan, will also be held accountable and will surely be punished by the court and beheaded as a warning to the public!

However, facing the three's relentless questions, Zhang Da stood calmly in the hall. Only after they finished speaking and the hall quieted down did he slowly shake his head.

"Your Highness, Governor, General, I have come to Luoyang not to lead troops to rescue you, but to offer my congratulations."

"What's the source of this joy?"

Upon hearing that they weren't there to aid Luoyang, Prince Fu immediately lost interest in giving Zhang Da, this little brat, a friendly look. It was Li Xianfeng, standing nearby, who asked curiously...

"Of course, we should congratulate Li Zicheng for not attacking Luoyang. Even if the city is completely deserted, Luoyang will not fall."