Early Chongzhen, Seventh Year.
Across the Central Plains, a vast net was being slowly drawn tight.
Grand Coordinator of the Five Provinces, Chen Qiyu, had finally laid out his grand encirclement plan—mobilizing multiple armies across provinces, sealing roads, rivers, and mountain passes alike, determined to suppress the roving rebel forces in one decisive operation.
Among the four main encircling forces—
Gao Family Village alone commanded two.
Luo Xi, Flat Rabbit, Zheng Gouzi, and Flying Mouse were stationed at Shangnan County, forming a firm northern pressure point.
Bai Yuan was stationed at Luoshi County, coordinating directly with imperial forces and acting as one of the central anchors of the encirclement.
Meanwhile, to the west, Lu Xiangheng and Qin Liangyu blocked the rebels' route into Sichuan, their forces sealing off the mountainous passages like iron gates.
With the west blocked and the north sealed—
The rebels had only one choice left.
South.
They turned their blades once again toward Xiangyang.
The Broken Plank
Huguang Provincial Governor Tang Hui personally rushed to Xiangyang with Hubei garrison troops, engaging the rebels in a brutal, bloody confrontation.
At first glance, the outcome should not have been in doubt.
Yet reality was cruel.
Somehow, the rebels had acquired a large quantity of border army equipment—
Arquebuses.
Three-Eyed Arquebuses.
Ambush repeating crossbows.
Not only did their numbers exceed Tang Hui's forces, their equipment was superior.
Gunfire tore through the battlefield.
Formations collapsed.
Governor Tang Hui was defeated in crushing fashion, his troops scattering in disorder as he fled in retreat.
And with that—
The encirclement broke.
Like water finding the weakest crack in a dam.
The rebels surged east into Tongbai County, then abruptly turned north, slipping back into Henan.
Luoshi County
When the news arrived, Fan Shangzheng felt his vision darken.
He slammed the urgent military report onto the table in front of Bai Yuan.
"Mr. Bai, look at this! Just look at it!" he said angrily. "It's infuriating beyond words! That Huguang Provincial Governor is utterly useless. Completely useless!"
"He couldn't even stop the rebels!"
"They smashed through him, split into three columns, bypassed Luoshi County entirely, looped through Hubei territory, and slipped straight back into Henan!"
Bai Yuan picked up the report, then unfolded the map beside it.
He traced the rebel movements slowly with his finger.
After a long pause, he sighed softly.
"…Ah."
"These rebels," he said, "are truly a handful."
This was the exact scenario Dao Xuan Tianzhun had warned them about before.
The bucket theory.
When water fills a bucket, it doesn't matter how tall most of the planks are—
If even one plank is short, the water spills from there.
Among the four armies, three were strong.
But Huguang's contingent was weak.
And the rebels had flowed straight through that weakness.
Fan Shangzheng said grimly, "They've re-entered Henan. I must immediately recall my troops to respond."
Bai Yuan nodded. "Go, then. We all must go."
He looked at the map again, brows furrowed.
"But without a proper encirclement," he added quietly,
"these troublesome rascals will never be truly eliminated."
Fan Shangzheng produced another document.
"Grand Coordinator Chen has already adjusted the deployment," he said. "He's ordered me to garrison Nanyang Prefecture, and Zuo Liangyu to garrison Runing Prefecture."
"As long as these two points hold," Fan Shangzheng continued, "the rebels won't be able to re-enter Henan. They'll be forced back into the encirclement."
Bai Yuan examined the map carefully.
The arrangement was sound.
There was nothing more to say.
"Then let's move," he said.
The army immediately began marching from Luoshi County toward Nanyang Prefecture.
Over three hundred li.
Several days of forced marches.
Along the way, messengers from Chen Qiyu arrived one after another, continuously fine-tuning troop positions, adjusting routes, and desperately trying to tighten the net once more.
Fan Shangzheng was not a brilliant commander.
But he had one great virtue—
He obeyed orders exactly.
Runing Prefecture
On the city wall of Runing Prefecture stood a man of thirty-five.
Zuo Liangyu.
At the prime of his life, his posture was straight, his expression confident, his eyes sharp as he gazed down upon the army assembled below.
At thirty-five, he had already risen to Assistant Military Commissioner and Chief Commander of Aid and Suppression.
Such a rise could not be explained by seniority alone.
He commanded three thousand loyal household troops, elite soldiers who followed him personally.
Beyond that—
He controlled large numbers of garrison troops.
But that wasn't the most important thing.
The core of Zuo Liangyu's strength lay elsewhere.
His army contained a vast number of surrendered and pacified bandits.
As the official in charge of bandit suppression, Zuo Liangyu had fought the rebels repeatedly—and won.
Almost every battle ended in victory.
Under such pressure, countless rebels surrendered.
Zuo Liangyu did not execute them.
Nor did he hand them over to civil officials like Wu Shen.
Instead—
He selected the strongest and fiercest among them.
He absorbed them into his own army under the banner of
"atoning for crimes through meritorious service."
These former bandits fought alongside him in suppression campaigns.
And his forces expanded rapidly.
Quietly.
Secretly.
By now, his true strength had grown to nearly ten thousand men.
Of course—
When reporting upward, he always said three thousand.
Never more.
As for the surrendered bandits?
They were never reported at all.
No one knew.
Except him.
Unreported troops meant no court provisions.
No pay.
No rations.
So where did the money come from?
From plunder.
From massacres.
From innocent heads falsely claimed as bandit kills.
A subordinate stepped forward and reported:
"General, your subordinate led men to cleanse a village. We obtained over three hundred heads. How shall we handle them?"
Zuo Liangyu's eyes lit up.
"Oh?" he said with interest. "Over three hundred?"
He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.
"Good."
"Pick out the head of a sturdy man."
"Call him the fierce bandit… let's see… 'Dumpling Boiler.'"
The subordinate blinked.
Zuo Liangyu continued calmly, almost cheerfully.
"Find a woman's head. Say she was his female subordinate—'Dancing Red Sleeve.'"
"Then an old man's head. Claim he was Dumpling Boiler's strategist."
"Name him… 'Little Brains.'"
Zuo Liangyu chuckled.
"Draft a memorial to the throne."
"Say I annihilated the notorious bandit Dumpling Boiler and captured the heads of his female general and strategist."
"Send it up and claim merit."
The subordinate grinned broadly.
"As you command."
As the man hurried away, Zuo Liangyu laughed softly to himself.
Once the rewards come down, that money can raise even more troops.
Nearly ten thousand soldiers.
Not rabble.
Not starving mobs.
But young, strong, well-fed men.
Well-armed.
Well-trained.
"I am powerful now," he thought smugly.
"Who in this world can restrain me?"
At that moment—
A messenger rushed up the stairs.
"General! Orders from Grand Coordinator Chen Qiyu!"
"The rebels have moved north from Tongbai County, split into three columns, and are heading toward Runing Prefecture!"
"Please deploy your troops immediately and block them from entering Henan!"
Zuo Liangyu nodded indifferently.
"Understood."
"Tell the Grand Coordinator I will comply."
Once the messenger left, Zuo Liangyu's lips curled into a cold sneer.
"Chen Qiyu?" he scoffed. "A mere civilian official."
"You think you can command me?"
"I could crush you with one hand now."
He waved his hand.
"Let's go."
"Fight a few skirmishes."
"If we meet large forces, avoid them."
"If we meet small groups, capture them."
"Absorb the strong ones."
Only strength protects a man.
His lieutenants stepped forward in unison.
"As you command!"
Zuo Liangyu looked down at the map of the Great Ming, spread before him.
In his heart, a single thought echoed—
Heroes emerge from chaotic times.
"And I," he smiled coldly,
"am destined to rise."