Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Zhang Nengqi looked even more depressed after receiving the order.

Even though I knew my adoptive father would be angry about this, as one of the four generals of the Atlantis Kingdom, I still felt ashamed.

"Third General, His Majesty also told you to stay in Yongchuan and wait for His Majesty's army to come to your aid." The eunuch said after handing the imperial edict to Zhang Nengqi.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to have a decisive battle with the imperial court in Yongchuan?" Zhang Nengqi frowned.

This was obvious. He knew his adoptive father's character too well. After all, the imperial army had only 70,000 to 80,000 men, and if his adoptive father gathered all his troops, there would be more than 100,000 of them.

"I dare not speak nonsense." The eunuch said cautiously.

In Atlantis, you could lose your head at any time if you talk nonsense.

"Go back and tell His Majesty that there is something wrong with the imperial army this time. They have extremely powerful artillery.

It can fire much farther than our French cannons. Let your majesty think twice!" Zhang Nengqi frowned and said to the eunuch.

Although saying this may seem like an excuse for his failure, as one of the four generals of the Atlantis Kingdom, Zhang Nengqi is still very loyal to his adoptive father.

The eunuch agreed and left soon after.

Zhang Nengqi wandered around the room alone for a while, then immediately said to the messenger outside:

"Pass on my military order, remove the beams in the city, and move everything that can be used to defend the city onto the city walls!"

……

After the army crossed the Yangtze River, Zhang Shikang learned through the scattered night raiders that Zhang Nengqi had stationed troops in Yongchuan City to defend it, while Zhang Xianzhong's main force had not yet left Chengdu Prefecture.

So he decisively ordered his troops to split into two groups to attack other county towns in Chongqing Prefecture.

Since the main forces were withdrawn, the defense forces of other counties in Chongqing Prefecture were very weak, and the two armies did not encounter much resistance.

In four days, the two armies successively captured the four cities of Changshou, Bishan, Tongliang and Hezhou.

On the first day of September, after recaptured many cities in Chongqing, the army turned west and arrived near Yongchuan City.

In the evening of that day, Zhang Xianzhong personally led an army of 100,000 to Yongchuan. Both sides chose to fight again the next day because it was getting dark.

That night, Cao Bianjiao and several other generals proposed to attack the enemy camp at night with 6,000 cavalry, but their proposal was rejected by Zhang Shikang.

In Yongchuan City, Zhang Kewang and Zhang Wenxiu had the same idea.

This time, Zhang Xianzhong personally led all his elite troops, except for his fourth adopted son Zhang Dingguo who stayed behind in the capital.

At this time, he was sitting in the main seat, listening to his third son Zhang Nengqi talking about the court's new artillery.

Zhang Kewang frowned and said nothing, Zhang Wenxiu just offered words of comfort, and Zhang Xianzhong drank a bowl of wine in a slightly anxious manner.

"There are only forty cannons, and they are slow to load. The three of you must not lose face." Zhang Xianzhong warned the three.

Zhang Xianzhong trusted his four adopted sons more than his three queens. He killed many people in Chengdu and did not trust the civil servants, but he never doubted the loyalty of Zhang Kewang and others.

During his years of wandering, Zhang Xianzhong abandoned his wife and children many times, but his four adopted sons always stayed by his side.

Although Zhang Nengqi lost the battle, Zhang Xianzhong only cursed him a few words and even encouraged the third brother when he got close to him.

"Tomorrow is the decisive battle. You three must be in high spirits. If we win this battle, we will take Shiqu in one fell swoop and completely block the road to Sichuan.

If Zhang Shikang wants to get involved in our Great Western Kingdom again, it won’t be so easy!” Zhang Xianzhong said again.

Including Zhang Nengqi's troops, their total strength has reached 120,000, while according to intelligence, the total strength of the imperial army outside the city is only 60,000.

In order to guard against Li Zicheng, the imperial army had to leave 20,000 troops in the rear as a defense.

No matter what, 120,000 versus 60,000, the advantage is on me.

"Don't worry, father. When father and son are of one mind, their strength can cut through metal!

I will chop off Zhang Shikang's head tomorrow and use it as a urinal for my father!" Zhang Kewang was the first to express his determination.

Zhang Nengqi also hurried to follow, but Zhang Wenxiu hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Father, what does Prince Baoning mean?

Don't you understand that the lips and teeth are interdependent? "

Among the four generals, Zhang Wenxiu was considered a half-scholar general. Although he was not as good at fighting as the other three brothers, he had always served as a staff officer in all the wars.

The King Baoning mentioned by Zhang Wenxiu is naturally referring to Li Zicheng.

After Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor, he conferred titles on his ministers. Li Zicheng, who was also a rebel and lived in Baoning Prefecture in the north, was conferred the title of King of Baoning by Zhang Xianzhong.

As the first king of a different surname in the Atlantis Kingdom, the title he was given was not low. However, neither Li Zicheng nor Zhang Xianzhong took the title seriously.

However, given that they had a common enemy, the imperial court, there was no conflict between the two sides.

After learning about the imperial court's attack, Zhang Xianzhong quickly shared the news with Li Zicheng, of course hoping that Li Zicheng would join him in resisting the imperial army.

However, Li Zicheng did not even reply to the letter, which made Zhang Xianzhong very angry and he cursed Li Zicheng's ancestors for eight generations.

"Hmph! Once we defeat that bastard Zhang Shikang, I will definitely not let him off!" Zhang Xianzhong smashed the wine bowl to pieces.

Zhang Xianzhong got angry when talking about Li Zicheng. Last time he attacked Shiqu but failed, this guy took advantage of the empty rear of his army and launched a surprise attack, seizing several of his cities.

If Zhang Xianzhong had had a violent temper before, he would have fought with Li Zicheng long ago, but he endured it for the sake of the overall situation.

But this time when the imperial army attacked, this bastard didn't even reply to the letter. He absolutely could not tolerate this.

"Father, please don't be angry. After we defeat the imperial army, I will personally lead the army to attack Li Zicheng." Zhang Kewang expressed his loyalty again.

The four of them discussed the specific countermeasures for tomorrow before returning to the camp one after another, without speaking a word all night.

On the second day, bonfires were lit almost simultaneously in the camps of both armies, which were only five or six miles apart.

Everyone understood that there would be a big battle today.

More than half an hour later, Zhang Xianzhong and his three adopted sons all came to the front of the army wearing armor.

Zhang Xianzhong raised his hand to his forehead and looked at the imperial army formation in the distance. Knowing that the imperial court had artillery with a long range, he was too far away to see clearly, and could only vaguely see that the imperial court had formed the army into several square formations.

Such a square formation clearly shows that the imperial court intends to fight a defensive battle, which is understandable. Generally, those with fewer field troops will form a formation based on the terrain and adopt a defensive posture.

Zhang Xianzhong firmly believed that offense was the best defense. His military strength was twice that of the imperial army. No matter how powerful the forty cannons were, they could not overturn his military advantage.

"Wang'er! Lead your troops to attack from the left.

Xiu'er, you attack the middle, Lao Si, you attack the right.

I have ordered the central army to support you. Remember, even if you are hit by artillery fire, you must not retreat.

Tell the Erlangs that their artillery will be useless as long as they get into a melee with the enemy.

Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!" Zhang Xianzhong ordered his three adopted sons.

"Your sons have obeyed your orders!" Zhang Kewang and the other two responded with loud voices.

A moment later, drums sounded thunderously in Zhang Xianzhong's army.

As waves of shouts and cries of killing resounded through the sky, the war began.

……