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

“This is the middle strategy… I think that surrendering to the imperial court is also a good option.

As long as the court agrees to let us go, at worst the army will be disbanded, and my adoptive father can become a rich man. "Zhang Dingguo said again.

Zhang Dingguo knew very well that the imperial court would not easily believe that they would surrender. After all, his adoptive father had surrendered several times before, and each time he rebelled immediately after overcoming the difficulties.

And based on his inference about the rising nobility of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Shikang would not easily accept their surrender and would most likely attach many harsh conditions.

For example, disbanding the army and keeping them under strict supervision, not allowing them to run around, not allowing them to take the imperial examinations, etc.

But no matter what, you can survive.

However, Zhang Xianzhong just frowned and did not relax after hearing this.

"My son is still too naive, do you know how many crimes we have committed?

Your father and I, together with that bastard Li Zicheng, dug up Zhu Ming’s ancestral tomb.

I heard that Zhu Youjian is very petty and suspicious. If we really hand over our military power and surrender.

I estimate that he will die soon. This is not a good strategy, not a good strategy!"

Zhang Xianzhong had no trust in the imperial court at all, just as he believed that the imperial court would no longer trust him.

Zhang Dingguo seemed to have guessed that his adoptive father would not choose the middle option. Fortunately, his adoptive father did not blame him for it, so he continued:

"The best strategy is that the imperial court has decided to attack Sichuan, and we have no strategic location to defend. We can no longer stay in Sichuan.

I think we may be able to go to Yunnan and Guizhou. I have already found two routes that can go to Yunnan and Guizhou.

But the mountain road is rugged, and perhaps many things cannot be taken away.

But as long as we escape from Sichuan, we can either go to Yunnan or Guizhou provinces to occupy the mountains, or go to Jiugang via Yunnan. These are all possible ways out.”

According to Zhang Dingguo's judgment, the imperial court was determined to take Sichuan this time. Even if they could dampen the morale of the imperial court army, after all, the imperial court army only had tens of thousands of people.

But Zhang Dingguo knew that the imperial army could mobilize more troops at any time, and even if they won for a while, they would lose sooner or later.

The offensive and defensive situations have changed, and now the court can afford to lose once or ten times, but if they lose again, it may be a catastrophic disaster.

However, throughout history, it has been difficult for decision makers to choose the best strategy among the three strategies of best, middle and worst. Even the middle strategy is rarely chosen.

The reason is very simple, because the so-called best strategy is generally not considered by decision makers, even if they know that doing so may be right.

But who is Zhang Xianzhong? He was once one of the Eight Kings and is now the Emperor of the Great Western Kingdom. Now he is asked to occupy the mountains and become a mountain king.

It would be a cowardly act to flee to the mountains in disgrace when the outcome of the battle is still unknown.

As for the old port, the mountains are high and the roads are long, the place is unfamiliar and the future is uncertain. No one knows what the situation is like over there.

"Your worst plan is still the best. No, my son, you got it wrong. That should be the best plan." Zhang Xianzhong muttered.

"As long as we can defeat the imperial court, just one big victory, I, your father, will pursue them relentlessly until we drive them out of Sichuan.

As long as we can control the roads leading to Sichuan, it will not be so easy for the imperial court to come in again." Zhang Xianzhong said with great confidence.

No matter what, there are only a few imperial troops entering Sichuan. As long as he tries hard, he will always have a chance.

Zhang Xianzhong was not afraid of death, but he was afraid of a cowardly death. He didn't even care about his wife and children. He only cared about whether he could die happily.

Therefore, he thought that the best strategy for his adopted son was the worst strategy, and the worst strategy was the best strategy. As for the middle strategy, it was too cowardly and not good.

"I, your son...will listen to you, my foster father." Zhang Dingguo sighed inwardly, stood up, bowed and said.

He had guessed this result on his way here.

He knew his adoptive father too well.

But even though he knew this was the case, as a subject, he still had to say what he should say.

When he was six years old, he would have frozen to death on a winter night in Yulin if his adoptive father had not rescued him and given him food and water.

Therefore, he respected his adoptive father's choice, which was nothing more than death.

……

On October 11, Zhang Shikang led an army of more than 50,000 and arrived at the suburbs of Chengdu.

Three days ago, Zhang Shikang received another letter from the capital, and he became a father again.

And this time there are two more.

Gu Hengbo gave birth to a daughter on August 20th, and Zhang Shikang named her Zhang Qixue.

On August 22, Li Xiangjun gave birth to a daughter, and Zhang Shikang named her Zhang Qiwen.

The reason why the three children’s birthdays are so close is, of course, because Zhang Shikang worked intensively for a whole month last year.

However, Zhang Shikang was still a little surprised that all three children were daughters.

People at that time were somewhat superstitious, and some families would believe that the fact that they kept giving birth to daughters was destined by God.

But as a top student in nine years of compulsory education, Zhang Shikang certainly knows that this is just a matter of probability.

The probability is 50%, which is nothing more than that he will encounter it.

Zhang Shikang doesn’t care whether it is a boy or a girl. Considering his age now, he will have one.

According to calculations, Chen Zhuer will give birth in about a month.

From this perspective, Zhang Shikang had four more children in just one year.

This made the other brothers in the Second Sons Group very envious. For example, Sun Dasheng, Xu Wenyuan and others had been focusing on fighting and gaining military merits in the past two years.

When Zhang Shikang summoned them to join the Beijing camp, he repeatedly told them that they had to report to the court and help His Majesty solve problems. He also said something like, "How can we have a home if the bandits are not eliminated and the Jiannu are not destroyed?" and so on.

The brothers of the Second Sons were young and energetic, and they all believed it.

But more than two years passed, and Zhang Shikang suddenly had eight concubines, and was about to have a wife.

They are all single. In order to fulfill their eldest brother's ambition, their families suggested marriages, but they refused all the proposals on the grounds that there would be no point in having a family if the Jiannu were not destroyed.

Who can I talk to to explain this?

"Marshal, according to the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhang Xianzhong has cut down a lot of trees these days, and it seems that he is building a chariot." The commander of the royal guards, Hong Xiucheng, reported.

"I think it's to deal with our firearms." Qin Liangyu took over the conversation.

For thousands of years, tactics have been constantly improved, and when a new tactic emerges, many countermeasures will be put forward.

As an excellent commander, Qin Liangyu could certainly guess it.

"Oh, Zhang Xianzhong was able to harm the imperial court for more than a decade, so he must be quite capable.

However, if we only use chariots to resist our musket phalanx, it may not be enough.

I am worried that the weather may not be good."

Zhang Shikang looked at the sky and said.

At that time, the thing that firearms feared most was rainy days. Once it rained, almost all firearms would be useless.

The artillery is still better. At worst, we can ask the military craftsmen to build some waterproof sheds in advance, so that they can be covered with them when it rains and still be used.

But there was no better way for muskets. After all, the soldiers were always on the move, and if they got wet while loading gunpowder, they were basically doomed.

"The walls of Chengdu are strong. Even if we bombard them with artillery, it will probably take four or five days. Just wait and see. Zhang Xianzhong will never easily leave the city to fight us in the field this time."

Zhang Shikang looked towards the Chengdu city road in the distance.

"Are they waiting for the rain?" Ma Lingqi asked in surprise.

The answer is self-evident. The imperial army was almost arriving at the city of Chengdu. If Zhang Xianzhong wanted to fight a field battle, he would have already left the city to fight.

"So, brother has been looking for someone who can observe the celestial phenomena these days. Is he worried about this?" Sun Dasheng muttered.

"Misfortunes are often accompanied by blessings, and blessings are often accompanied by misfortunes. Who knows?"

Zhang Shikang gave an amusing smile.

……