Chapter 242: Liu Liangzuo's Troubles

While the imperial army kept its banners furled and drums silent, quietly closing in on Guguang to spring a surprise on the roving bandits, the Dashun army here in Taiyuan was still wallowing in a life of wine, women, and extravagance.

Stationed here by imperial order was Han Huamei, Martial Might General of the Runing Guard of the Dashun army. Compared to Xie Yinglong, this Han Huamei enjoyed even greater prestige among the Dashun ranks—not only was he a veteran, but he also shared some unspoken connection with Li Zicheng himself.

As for what that connection was, besides heaven and earth knowing, only Li Zicheng and Han Huamei themselves knew.

"The Dashing King has reached Pingyang and sends word commanding General Han to heed the lesson of the Hanchuan defeat—hold fast behind strong walls, do not rashly dispatch troops and ruin the situation. Wait until the Dashing King's eastern expedition army arrives, and matters will be discussed anew."

That day, Han Huamei, in the midst of feasting on meat and wine, looked at the messenger before him who had come to deliver the news, yet showed no sign of tension—he merely waved his hand to indicate he understood.

After the messenger withdrew, Han Huamei muttered: "Tell me, that soft-shelled fool Xie Yinglong—he was told to hold Hanchuan, just to deal with Zuo Liangyu. Not only did he lose Hanchuan, he even got himself chopped down by Zuo's camp. What a disgrace to our Dashun army."

"Disgracing the Dashun army means disgracing the Dashing King. I'll have to demand satisfaction from that dog thief Zuo Liangyu myself. What good ideas do you all have?"

Niu Wancai, Right Martial Might General of the Runing Guard assisting in the defense here, looked like an honest sort of man as he stammered: "Han Iron Leg, don't you forget what the military advisor instructed. That Xie fool lost to the Zuo bandit precisely because he was too careless and underestimated the enemy."

"Besides, our Taiyuan isn't like Xiangyang—Xie Yinglong only had to guard against the Zuo bandit, but here we're at a crossroads in every direction. Guguang isn't far to the right, and Tongzhou is to the north. I say it's safer to just stay put in the city."

"The military advisor? That old ox-nose can live up to that title?" At Niu Wancai's words, everyone present immediately scoffed in disdain.

In their eyes, Li Yan was far superior to that coward Niu Jinxing.

Most people took Niu Wancai's words as wind past their ears. One commander paid no heed and simply stepped forward to say: "According to my scouts' reports, the Zuo bandit rested a full half month in Xiangyang before setting out, and even after departing his advance has been slow. He still hasn't reached Nanyang Prefecture."

Another person said: "Nanyang? If I remember correctly, that region is now under the Marquis of Righteousness's control!"

"The men under the Marquis of Righteousness aren't idle eaters. I'd wager the Zuo bandit can't get past Nanyang either. Who knows—the next news we hear might even be the Marquis of Righteousness retaking Xiangyang."

"Oh, so it's the Marquis of Righteousness in Nanyang. My military affairs have kept me so busy that I'd momentarily forgotten."

With that, Han Huamei no longer worried at all about Zuo Liangyu to the south. After all, the distance between Xiangyang and Taiyuan was vast, and the territory between was held by various Dashun generals. Zuo Liangyu might have luckily defeated Xie Yinglong, but he absolutely could not defeat Zhang Nai, the Marquis of Righteousness, at Nanyang.

Thinking this, Han Huamei chuckled and said: "From Xi'an to Taiyuan is such a long way. The way I see it, it's as if Chen Qiyu is deliberately setting Zuo Liangyu up to fail. And really, a villain like that staying on the imperial side is nothing but a scourge anyway."

With that, Han Huamei rose with a smile and said: "In that case, go call the messenger back. Tell him I will absolutely not repeat the mistake that surnamed Xie made. I will hold Taiyuan steady and await the arrival of the Dashing King's eastern expedition army."

"Everyone return to your posts. Each of you guard your own little patch of ground well and don't let anyone slip through a crack. Once the Dashing King's army arrives, the situation will be settled."

Several days later, an imperial army, having no other choice, marched out of Guguang and began a full-scale siege of Pingding Prefecture.

The Dashun forces left to hold Pingding Prefecture were not numerous, and their commander was no one of renown—just a former leader of the refugee camps, with only a little over six thousand men under his command.

Yet this small prefectural city held by only six thousand Dashun troops proved impossible for an imperial army of tens of thousands to take, and the reason was simple: this army marched under a banner bearing the character Liu.

Seeing the Liu banner, many people, though not gnashing their teeth as they would at the sight of Zuo's banner, were still unwilling to let them enter the city easily. At least the Dashun army currently had no record of harassing the people—but the imperial army was another matter entirely. If they were allowed into the city, the people and their families would inevitably suffer plunder once more.

By a small river outside Pingding Prefecture, a great camp had been erected. Liu Liangzuo looked at his men retreating in defeat once again and roared: "Damn it all! I refuse to believe I can't crack open a tiny place like Pingding!"

Before long, the officer leading the assault came running back in a sorry state, kneeling on one knee and saying:

"General, it's not that I attacked without effort—it's that those stubborn commoners in the city are all helping the bandit army. We flew the imperial banner hoping to overawe the rebels, but instead, when the commoners saw our Liu banner, they spontaneously climbed the walls to help defend. The bandit troops in the city number only a few thousand, but the commoners opposing us number ten to twenty thousand! This... in such a short time, I simply cannot take the city."

Hearing this, Liu Liangzuo flew into an even greater rage, spittle flying as he shouted: "Useless! Drag him out and give him twenty strokes of the board! All these years of feeding him, wasted!"

Listening to the screams coming from outside the tent, the assembled officers all shuddered involuntarily.

Liu Liangzuo paced back and forth on the spot, then arbitrarily pointed at one commander and shouted: "Wang Shou, you take the lead and attack again. If the city isn't taken by sunset, both your heads will roll!"

This Wang Shou held the rank of Roaming General, but in truth he was a very minor military officer. Even that Assistant Regional Commander Li Fang had failed to take the city—if he went himself, wouldn't that be walking to his death?

Though a thousand reluctances churned in his heart, Wang Shou, before the furious Liu Liangzuo, didn't dare let out so much as a single fart. He nodded in acceptance of the order and turned to leave the tent.

Liu Liangzuo was troubled—very, very troubled.

There was the matter of being publicly contradicted by Sun Wenqiong inside the pass a few days ago, and on top of that, that old bastard Chen Qiyu had given him a death order: he must take Pingding Prefecture within three days, or face court-martial.

Now, Liu Liangzuo suddenly found himself feeling some sympathy for Zuo Liangyu. This Chen Qiyu was different from previous Supreme Commanders—he was full of schemes. He wasn't a man to be taken lightly, and perhaps he'd never had good intentions from the very start.

Sending Zuo Liangyu to take Taiyuan a thousand li away, and ordering him to crack this hard bone within three days—as things stood now, this was deliberately driving him into a dead end!

Thinking back on what had happened last year and this year, Liu Liangzuo felt a chill run down his spine.

The court had first dealt with Jiang Xiang of Datong—the Jiang family, generals for generations, had been nearly wiped out to the last man. Then Wang Chengyin of Xuanfu, who had refused the imperial summons, followed in Jiang Xiang's footsteps. And most recently, Liu Zeqing, who was closer to him and had already seized full control of Shandong, had also been dealt with.

These men all shared one thing in common: either they refused imperial summons, or they were planning to defect to the bandits. One after another, they had all been cleaned up by the court. Liu Liangzuo had been constantly on guard against the court pulling the same trick on him.

He never expected the Emperor to abandon open methods this time and pull this slow-boiling-frog scheme—using Chen Qiyu's hand to arrange both him and Zuo Liangyu in one stroke!

If he were anyone else, there would be nothing to worry about—he could simply defect to Li Zicheng. After all, even without the imperial army's uniform, he could still thrive like a fish in water. But Liu Liangzuo was different—he and Li Zicheng shared a mortal enmity.

Even if he defected to the Qing barbarians beyond the pass, Li Zicheng was absolutely not an option Liu Liangzuo would consider.

And looking at it from another angle, his family was currently all settled in Fengyang. The moment he defected to Li Zicheng, Chen Qiyu would likely have his entire family beheaded immediately.

Since defecting to the bandits was out of the question, and surrendering to the barbarians was too far away, there was only one path left. For the sake of his future prospects, this time he had to grit his teeth and crack Pingding Prefecture even if it cost him his life.

And if worst came to worst, he could just use the excuse of resting and regrouping to squat here and refuse to leave—he didn't believe Chen Qiyu would dare march his army over to attack him!