bookrebus Chapter 758 A Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot? (New)
Chapter 758 A Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot? (New)
Compared to the beleaguered Dorgon and Haoge, Li Zicheng was in high spirits. The Shun army swept through the country, winning battle after battle after entering Beizhili. The government troops were no match for him and could not stop his advance.
The news that the Qionghai Army had been ordered to march north to defend the emperor had not yet reached Li Zicheng's ears. He only knew that in the entire north, apart from the Tartars in Liaodong, no one could defeat the Shun army, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands, head-on. It was only a matter of time before they reached the capital.
After entering Hejian Prefecture, Li Zicheng summoned his generals to discuss their next steps.
During this period, the Da Shun army fought all the way from Henan to Beizhili, engaging in more than a dozen battles, large and small, with government troops, winning all of them. The morale of the troops soared, and they selectively forgot their past experiences of being driven away by government troops.
Inside the main tent, everyone was beaming with joy. Gao Yigong said with a smile, "King Chuang, our escape from Hong Chengchou's encirclement in northern Shaanxi and our subsequent campaign in Henan was truly a stroke of genius. Now, with the Eight Great Kings and Cao Cao holding back Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting in northern Shaanxi, there are no decent troops left in the entire Beizhili region that can stop us. Attacking the capital now is simply a godsend..."
Liu Zongmin feigned anger and said, "Still calling yourself the King of Rebels? You should call me Grand Marshal!"
After capturing Luoyang, at Liu Heizi's urging and with the support of others, Li Zicheng dared not declare himself king for the time being, but he had already called himself "Grand Marshal of the Righteous Army." Hearing Gao Yigong still referring to him as "King Chuang," he was quite displeased, but out of respect for Gao's brother-in-law and old comradeship, he couldn't show it. Only after Liu Zongmin spoke did his expression brighten. He said, "Zongmin, we're all brothers, why be so formal? Grand Marshal is just an empty title for others; there's no need for such formality between us brothers."
Gao Yigong was taken aback by Liu Zongmin's words. He realized that he had been calling Li Zicheng "Chuang Wang" so often that it had become a habit. He looked up at Li Zicheng's faint smile and knew exactly what was going on. He quickly said, "Yigong was too presumptuous. Please forgive me, Grand Marshal."
"It's alright, it's alright." Li Zicheng waved his hand, seemingly not taking it to heart at all.
Liu Heizi watched all this from afar, secretly amused. They hadn't even reached the capital yet, and this self-proclaimed Grand Marshal was already showing his true colors. The bandits' ambitions were nothing special; how could they compare to his own general? His general was a Marquis, Left Commander-in-Chief, and Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince. In terms of military achievements, rank, and official position, he was already the number one military general in the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't care about any of that. His ambitions were far greater; becoming the ruler of the world was his true goal.
Li Zicheng addressed the crowd, saying, "We have now reached Zhengding Prefecture. Once we pass Baoding and Hejian Prefectures, we will reach Shuntian Prefecture, and the capital will be right before our eyes. The reason I have gathered you all here today is to discuss whether we should plunder Beizhili and then return to Henan or Shaanxi, or whether we should take advantage of the situation and march on the capital in one fell swoop?"
Liu Zongmin stood up excitedly, waving his fist and shouting, "We've come this far, what are you still hesitating for, Grand Marshal? Let's march straight to the capital, bring down that old man Chongzhen, and you can be the emperor, and we'll all be marshals and generals!"
The smooth journey so far had made everyone somewhat complacent. Almost everyone believed that the government troops ahead were no match for them, and that capturing the capital and changing the dynasty would be a piece of cake. Everyone echoed, "That's right. We must not let our efforts be in vain."
"Grand Marshal, don't be foolish! The Northern Zhili region has already been plundered by the Tartars, what more could they possibly take? Only by sitting on the dragon throne and becoming emperor will the whole country be ours, and we can have whatever we want!"
……
With everyone in unison supporting a direct assault on the enemy's capital, Li Zicheng chuckled and said, "Since everyone says so, I won't be coy. We'll set off tomorrow. Zong Min will be the vanguard, Yi Gong will bring up the rear, and I will lead the main army in the middle, passing through Nanpi and Cangzhou before entering Shuntian Prefecture."
This route was the best one he had discussed privately with Liu Heizi. As the "liaison for the Da Shun Army Office" of the Qionghai Army, Liu Heizi was a half-baked scholar with experience in independent command. He had also trained in the Military Affairs Office and received personal instructions from Liu Ye, Yan Guang, and others before his departure. His vision and perspective were naturally superior to those of Liu Zongmin and others who only knew how to kill. In the absence of historical strategists such as Li Yan, Song Xianze, and Niu Jinxing, he had become Li Zicheng's specially invited military advisor. This route could avoid the garrisons such as Zhongtunwei in Shenyang, Zhongtunwei in Datong (Note 1), Shenwu Right Guard in Zhengding Prefecture, and the Three Guards in Tianjin. Although the garrisons had declined by the end of the Ming Dynasty, they were still powerful enough to preserve their strength for the northward march. Li Zicheng would certainly not choose to fight these garrisons to the death. These garrisons generally did not leave their posts and would mostly choose to observe the Da Shun Army passing by.
"The Grand Marshal is wise!" Liu Zongmin was very satisfied with the arrangement. "I will definitely be the vanguard and clear a path for the army!" Being the vanguard meant that he could seize more silver and women, and the government troops were not strong enough to withstand the attack. This task was practically a freebie.
Gao Yigong felt somewhat bitter. Hundreds of thousands of troops had swept through, scattering the government troops and rendering them powerless to pursue. The so-called rearguard action was merely a euphemism; in reality, it meant being neglected and receiving far less spoils. He was utterly loyal to Li Zicheng, but not adept at flattery. He hadn't noticed it before, but recently he sensed Li Zicheng's growing distance from him, and this thought left him feeling rather disheartened.
Liu Heizi was pleased that Li Zicheng had adopted his suggestion. This was exactly what Liu Ye had hoped for: the Da Shun army's entanglement with government troops in the Zhen Ding and He Jian prefectures was not the outcome he desired. Avoiding obstacles along the way and capturing the capital in the shortest possible time would be most advantageous for the Qionghai Army.
The massive Shun army left Zhengding Prefecture and headed straight for Shuntian Prefecture along the Nanpi-Cangzhou route. Liu Zongmin led an advance force of 10,000 men, charging ahead with high spirits, and along the way, they captured many prefectures and counties, plundering vast amounts of spoils.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), the Laba Festival, a day for eating Laba porridge, the army, which had advanced smoothly, reached Bazhou and finally encountered its first worthy opponent since leaving Henan.
In order to seize more spoils, Liu Zongmin advanced rapidly, looting and abandoning the prefectures and counties along the way without stationing any troops, thus creating a considerable distance between himself and Li Zicheng's army. At this time, scouts reported that Liu Guozhu's troops, the general of Baoding, were blocking the army's path ahead in Bazhou.
Liu Zongmin, blinded by his victories, said nonchalantly, "So many soldiers have been defeated by me along the way, what can a mere general do? It's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Brothers, let's follow me and kill our way through, chop off this old man's head for our drinks!"
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Note 1: Shenyang Zhongtunwei and Datong Zhongtunwei were both located in the area of Hejian Prefecture. They were originally under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Commandery and Shanxi Commandery, respectively. Later, due to various reasons, they were moved to Hejian Prefecture and placed under the jurisdiction of Beiping Commandery.