Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

Once Gao Jie was captured, his army lost its backbone and fell into chaos. Gao Jie had three generals under his command: Li Benshen, Hu Maozhen, and Li Chengdong.

However, Gao Jie had single-handedly trained all his troops, and none of the three of them could command their support. At this critical juncture, they could only do their best to keep an eye on their own troops and quietly wait for the opportunity to come.

"Did you send that letter to Commander-in-Chief Shi Kefa?" At that moment, a beautiful middle-aged woman sat at the main seat in the conference hall, and beside her was a child of eight or nine. This woman was none other than Gao Jie's wife, Xing. She was Li Zicheng's second wife, already stunningly beautiful in her youth, and now possessed a unique charm.

Back then, Li Zicheng sent Gao Jie to write a letter to persuade He Renlong to surrender, but Gao Jie did not do so. As a result, Li Zicheng removed Gao Jie from his position as vanguard general and transferred him to the main camp as a camp guard officer.

At this time, Xing was the quartermaster of the rebel army, in charge of the army's supplies. As a result, Gao Jie often encountered her.

Seeing Gao Jie's tall, imposing figure and vibrant energy, Xing began to flirt with him. Gao Jie, on the other hand, was immediately drawn to Xing's beauty. Thus, Gao Jie and Xing became an intimate couple.

As the saying goes, there is no wall that is impenetrable, and Li Zicheng eventually learned of their affair. To protect himself and his own future, Gao Jie resolutely took Xing and his men with him and defected from the Chuang army to join the Ming court.

Xing was also a heroine. It was her idea to write to the commander-in-chief, Shi Kefa, and ask him to mediate.

Gao Jie's ambush on Huang Degong failed, and he was captured. What they are more afraid of now is Huang Degong's crazy revenge. The nickname "Huang Chuangzi" is not called for no reason. After suffering this ambush, Huang Degong will not just accept it!

They wanted to save Gao Jie, but to be honest, Gao Jie's men were no match for Huang Degong, so asking Shi Kefa to mediate was the best solution she could think of.

"The letter was delivered yesterday, so there should have been a reply by now," Hu Maozhen said with a puzzled look on his face as he arranged for the letter to be delivered.

"Perhaps the commander-in-chief needs to make some preparations," Hu Maozhen said after a moment's thought. "Now we can only wait and see what happens. However, I've asked someone to inquire, and although Huang Chuangzi is furious, he hasn't made things difficult for the commander-in-chief!"

"There's been a lot of activity in Yizhen City right now. I wonder if Huang Degong is planning something major." Li Benshen, badly injured in the battle, forced himself to attend the meeting. He sighed and said, "We still need to do our part to defend ourselves, lest Huang Degong go crazy."

"Oh, I don't know what's wrong with him. Why would he mess with Huang Chuangzi for no reason?" Xing looked at her young son and said, "Has Li Chengdong been notified? Where is he?"

"I've already sent someone to notify them," Hu Maozhen said. "But he's going to bring his troops here, so it won't be fast. It'll take at least three to five days..."

Li Chengdong, whose courtesy name was Tingzhen and nickname was Huzi, followed Gao Jie as a thief since he was a child. He was nicknamed "Li Hezi". Later, he followed Gao Jie to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and is now stationed in Xuzhou.

He was tall and mighty, with an upright figure, a square face, clear contours, a pair of piercing tiger eyes, and a gaze as sharp as a torch, as if he could see through people's hearts.

After receiving Xing's letter, Li Chengdong did not dare to delay in the slightest. He immediately ordered two thousand cavalrymen to set off first, and his deputy general Sun Bin followed with three thousand infantrymen.

Gao Jie's decision to send troops to ambush Huang Degong was both unexpected and reasonable to Li Chengdong.

Gao Jie was inherently cold-hearted and arrogant. Especially after his credit for the strategic plan, he became even more disdainful of everyone. He also treated Huang Degong, one of the four commanderies, with disdain. Privately, Gao Jie even spoke of his desire to seize Huang Degong's territory.

Huang Degong had rashly led 300 cavalry through his territory, like a fat sheep walking into a wolf's den. How could Gao Jie resist taking a bite? He had suffered a crushing defeat and been captured, a fate all his own.

As for Li Chengdong, he really didn't want to get involved in this matter, but he had no choice.

Gao Jie defected from Li Zicheng, and Li Chengdong had been one of them. Within the Ming army, they were always looked down upon. If they hadn't stuck together for support, they would have been torn apart long ago. He had to come even if he didn't want to. Gao Jie's life or death might not matter, but they couldn't disperse. Unfortunately, Gao Jie's men were fighting on their own, and besides Gao Jie, only Li Chengdong still held some prestige. That's why Xing had rushed him back 800 miles to take charge.

Now, five days have passed since the ambush, and Li Chengdong has no idea what the current situation is. He can only hurry up and travel.

When they were only fifty or sixty miles away from Gao Jie's camp, a soldier suddenly came to report: "General, there are people blocking the road ahead, and they have a letter for you!"

"A letter?" Li Chengdong frowned and asked, "Who delivered the letter? Did they say anything?"

"The man said he wanted to read the letter, General. He is waiting for your reply here..."

"Please meet me in the mountains, General Li... Shi Kefa..." Li Chengdong unfolded the letter and frowned after reading the handwriting. The letter contained only a few words, inviting him to meet, but the signature made his eyes jump!

"Shi Kefa..." Li Chengdong couldn't help but gasp.

"Is this Shi Kefa wanting to meet him? Or is this a trap set by someone?" Li Chengdong was full of doubts.

But Shi Kefa was the Minister of War, and Li Chengdong was familiar with his handwriting. Furthermore, this letter had his personal seal on it! This letter was most likely written by Shi Kefa. Could it be that he really wanted to see him? But why did he want to see him? Li Chengdong was puzzled. After all, Shi Kefa was a high-ranking minister, second only to the emperor. Why would he come to see a mere general like him? Was it about an ambush?

"Inform them to rest on the spot!" Li Chengdong thought about it and decided to go and meet Shi Kefa. As for whether Shi Kefa was cheating, Li Chengdong didn't believe it... Was it necessary to use it on him?

"Your Majesty, why do you go to so much trouble to meet Li Chengdong?" At this time, in a pavilion in the mountains, Shi Kefa was sitting with Chongzhen drinking tea.

"If I say I'm looking for talents for the country, would you believe me?" Chongzhen picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Longjing before the rain! Shi Kefa really has some good tea...

"Since Your Majesty said so, it must be true." Shi Kefa said quickly.

"Xianzhi, what you said is a bit insincere." Chongzhen said with a smile.

Chongzhen had very complicated feelings towards Li Chengdong, because he had a bad reputation in history.

In real history, after Gao Jie was killed, Shi Kefa promoted Li Chengdong to the position of General of Xuzhou in order to appease Gao Jie's subordinates. In the first year of the Hongguang reign, during the Qing Dynasty's campaign against Jiangnan, Prince Yu Duoduo and Minister of War Zhang Cunren launched an expedition. Li Chengdong led his troops in surrendering to the Qing. He subsequently followed the Qing army in its campaigns against Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, participating in Zhang Cunren's Jiading Massacre, capturing and killing Emperor Shaowu of the Southern Ming, Zhu Youlang, and murdering anti-Qing ministers Chen Zizhuang and Zhang Jiayu, committing numerous crimes.

But it was this person who suddenly "found his conscience" and turned himself into a loyal minister of Emperor Yongli.

Along with Jin Shengheng and Wang Deren, he "rebelled" in southern China, reclaiming his place as a "loyal and righteous minister" of the Ming dynasty, even fearing death. Furthermore, to avenge the death of a beloved woman, this once ruthless and fickle general ultimately disregarded his own safety, swept into the turbulent current and drowned. Emperor Yongli personally bestowed upon him the posthumous title of "Zhongwu," bestowing upon him the titles of Grand Tutor and Prince of Ningxia.

This is a complex and controversial figure, but one thing is undeniable: his military talent is unmatched in this era!

"The reason I'm treating this man this way is, first, Li Chengdong is highly gifted in military affairs and a rare talent. Second, if we want to successfully quell this situation, Gao Jie's forces must be led by someone of some importance, and this person must not be too close to Gao Jie... Among Gao Jie's generals, Hu Maozhen has always been loyal to Gao Jie, and Li Benshen is his nephew. Only Li Chengdong, although also an old subordinate, still has some disdain for Gao Jie's behavior and actions. Third..." Chongzhen picked up the teacup, thought for a moment, and said, "Li Chengdong has been stationed in Xuzhou for the past few years. If we want to hold on to this half of our territory, Xuzhou cannot be lost at all costs..."