Chuǎng Wáng quickly led his men to the outer edge of the Dabie Mountains to scout the situation, and sure enough, the Tianxiong Army under Lu Xiangheng, which had once wrapped around them like an iron hoop, had already withdrawn in full.
Inside the temporary camps hastily erected by the Ming forces, only Zuo Liangyu remained, still lingering and dragging his feet. Even generals such as Zu Kuan and Luo Dai had already pulled their troops back.
"Only Zuo Liangyu is left," Chuǎng Wáng exclaimed with unconcealed joy. "Heaven truly favors us. We can finally come out of these cursed mountains. Zuo Liangyu is famous for bullying the weak and avoiding strong opponents. We still have tens of thousands of men. He will never dare fight us seriously. At most, he will make a show of force and then let us pass."
Chuǎng Jiāng nodded in agreement. "That is exactly how he is."
The Eight Great Kings laughed among themselves. "Heh. We've clawed our way back from the gates of death this time."
Cao Cao let out a long breath. "Let's get out of here quickly. I am completely sick of the Dabie Mountains."
With consensus reached, the next question became which direction they should take once they emerged.
Chuǎng Jiāng frowned slightly as he weighed the options, then spoke. "I intend to remain in Henan. With Lu Xiangheng gone, the central plains will be thinly defended. Military administration will be lax, and Henan is suffering from a severe drought. Recruiting new soldiers there will be far easier for us."
Several of the other leaders found his reasoning persuasive and immediately decided to follow Chuǎng Jiāng.
The Eight Great Kings, however, spoke with confidence. "I am heading to Sichuan. The land there is full of towering mountains, dense forests, and tangled terrain. Once I enter the Shu Mountains, no Ming army will be able to deal with me."
A few more leaders chose to follow the Eight Great Kings.
At that moment, Chuǎng Wáng, who had always been more of a symbolic leader and rarely expressed firm opinions, unexpectedly spoke up. "I want to return to Shaanxi."
Everyone froze.
"What?" voices rang out in disbelief.
This was the first time their mascot-like leader had expressed such a clear and decisive stance. In the past, had he not always followed Chuǎng Jiāng's lead without question?
Everyone stared at Chuǎng Wáng in astonishment. Even Chuǎng Jiāng himself felt a flicker of surprise. Normally, the elder brother listened to me and followed my decisions. What has gotten into him today?
Chuǎng Wáng spoke with growing intensity. "The Battle of Lu Prefecture cast me down from the clouds straight into the abyss. I truly thought it was all over for me. But then the Manchus invaded the passes and saved us. That was when I finally understood. I am a man destined by Heaven. Whenever I meet calamity, Heaven intervenes to help me."
The crowd sucked in a collective breath, stunned.
Chuǎng Wáng continued, his eyes bright. "I no longer wish to hide or flee. I will act openly and uprightly. I have decided to return to Shaanxi, strike Xi'an first, establish Guanzhong as my base, and seize the realm."
An uproar exploded around him. "You've gone mad. How could we possibly take Xi'an?"
Chuǎng Wáng shot back without hesitation. "I am a man aided by Heaven. With the Manchus invading the passes, the main Ming forces have all been transferred to confront them. Xi'an's defenses will naturally be weakened. Taking it may be as easy as turning one's hand over. Once Xi'an is mine, I will follow the example of Big Brother Wang Jiayin from back then, proclaim myself king, establish a royal court, and set up government offices."
Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
Chuǎng Jiāng desperately wanted to shout, Wake up, wake up at once. Do not talk nonsense while fully awake.
But this was his elder brother. He could not say anything that would strip him of face in front of everyone. He could only stand stiffly, his expression painfully awkward.
Chuǎng Wáng looked around and asked, "Who will come with me?"
Everyone instinctively took half a step backward.
Some retreated behind Chuǎng Jiāng, others slipped behind the Eight Great Kings. In the end, not a single person stood at Chuǎng Wáng's side.
Only Cao Cao remained in place, trying desperately to salvage the situation. "Big Brother Chuǎng Wáng," he pleaded, "please do not act on impulse. It is true that you are destined by Heaven, but Heaven's will sometimes toys with men. Even if the main Ming forces have withdrawn, Xi'an still has towering walls and formidable defenses. Even a small number of garrison troops and local militia could hold us off. It is far too difficult for us right now. We should begin with smaller prefectural cities first."
Chuǎng Wáng shook his head firmly. "My mind is made up. Who will come with me?"
Everyone retreated another half step.
Seeing this, Chuǎng Wáng stopped trying to persuade them. "If none of you will go, then I will go alone."
He immediately gathered his own men, the largest faction among the roaming bandits, a full twenty thousand strong, and separated from the other leaders.
Chuǎng Wáng led his army westward out of the Dabie Mountains and plunged into the rugged terrain of Yunyang.
Meanwhile, the other bandit forces, under the leadership of Chuǎng Jiāng, the Eight Great Kings, Cao Cao, and the rest, exited the Dabie Mountains through several different routes.
The Eight Great Kings headed straight for Sichuan.
Chuǎng Jiāng, on the other hand, marched north after leaving the mountains, preparing to advance toward Kaifeng.
As soon as Chuǎng Jiāng emerged from the Dabie Mountains, he discovered that Zuo Liangyu was still stationed there.
He reassured himself silently. Do not be afraid. Zuo Liangyu will not dare attack us.
This time, however, he was wrong.
Although Zuo Liangyu was known for his many eccentricities, he was not completely useless. From time to time, he could still fight a hard battle. More importantly, his troops were mostly recruited from Zhongzhou, all local men.
Local soldiers, after all, had homes and families to defend.
With a thunderous roar, the Zhongzhou troops launched a sudden and ferocious assault on Chuǎng Jiāng's forces.
Chuǎng Jiāng hastily organized a response. The two sides fought from morning until afternoon, but he was unable to hold his ground. Forced back across the Tang River, he fled toward Tianjiaying. Zuo Liangyu pressed the advantage unexpectedly, even crossing the river in pursuit, completely routing Chuǎng Jiāng's army and sending his men scattering in panic.
Having won a rare victory, Zuo Liangyu was filled with pride and quickly sent a report of his achievements to the imperial court.
Unexpectedly, at that very moment, Yang Shengwu submitted a memorial impeaching Zuo Liangyu for deliberately avoiding battle against the bandit forces. Emperor Zhu Youjian ordered Zuo Liangyu to redeem himself through meritorious service.
Zuo Liangyu flew into a rage. "Damn it all," he roared. "I fight a real battle for once, and not only do they withhold rewards, they accuse me of avoiding battle. Is there no justice left? No law? If this is how they want to play, then I am done fighting. Whoever wants to fight can go fight."
From that point on, Zuo Liangyu completely gave up.
Meanwhile…
Chuǎng Wáng Gao Yixian led his main force of ten thousand men westward after leaving the Dabie Mountains. Soon, they entered the Pingding Mountains, followed the winding mountain paths for some distance, and plunged into the Yunyang region.
The most formidable presence in Yunyang was, without question, Luo Xi.
Gao Yixian had no desire to bite into that hardest of bones. He crossed ridges and valleys, threaded his way through forests, and continued north through the mountains, marching toward Tong Pass.
Tong Pass.
To its north lay the Wei River and the Yellow River. To its south rose the Qinling Mountains. It stood at the junction of rivers and mountains, the eastern gateway into Guanzhong.
Since ancient times, this place had been a critical military stronghold.
The Ming court, of course, had stationed troops here.
However, this region had long since fallen within the field of view of Li Daoxuan's diorama box. Several years earlier, he had already begun managing the area. By now, the entire Tong Pass garrison had become devoted followers of Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Although they still bore the formal title of Ming government troops, in truth every soldier had undergone ideological training, studied the Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention, and wore the image of Dao Xuan Tianzun embroidered over their hearts.
Today, the Tong Pass garrison was welcoming a visitor.
This visitor was none other than Sun Chuanting.
Because of the Manchu invasion, all veteran students of the Yellow Pole Military Academy had urgently returned to their units, ready to respond at any moment to the call to confront the Manchus. Left behind at the academy were only a large group of new recruits, along with Flat Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi, two veterans whose allocation of skills seemed, at times, profoundly questionable.
After careful consideration, Sun Chuanting decided to bring the new recruits out for a large-scale exercise, allowing them to familiarize themselves with mountain warfare.
Thus, Sun Chuanting, Flat Rabbit, and Zheng Gouzi led several hundred military academy recruits and two thousand newly enlisted militia greenhorns out of Puzhou. They crossed the Yellow River at Fenglingdu and arrived at Tong Pass.