Chen Qiyu wanted to complete his victory in one battle, so he mobilized all his troops to Chacha Gorge.
This resulted in the vast area around being empty and weak.
After Li Zicheng captured Xunyang and burned the Ming army's food, grass and baggage, he followed Liang Yue's advice and immediately led his troops westward.
This strange force caught the Ming army by surprise.
One day later, Li Zicheng's troops suddenly appeared in Xing'an Suo (today's Ankang).
The whole city was in chaos, unable to resist, and was quickly defeated.
In order to cause trouble for the officers and soldiers, Li Zicheng also acted cruelly this time and burned the city directly.
In the following actions, Li Zicheng's troops were unstoppable.
They rushed along the official road at the northern foot of Fenghuang Mountain. Because there were many horses, they went very fast.
Three days later, Li Zicheng's troops captured Hanyin County again.
It was only then that Chen Qiyu, who was far away in Carriage Gorge, learned that there was a fire in the backyard.
Chen Qiyu was dumbfounded when he heard that all the food, grass and baggage had been lost.
"Who is it?"
The messenger quickly reported.
"It's the general Li Zicheng."
Chen Qiyu was so angry that he raised his voice and asked: "Which general is willing to go out and kill Li Zicheng on my behalf?"
None of the generals below spoke.
It's not that they are afraid, it's that they are more thoughtful than Chen Qiyu.
Someone asked: "Bing Xian, Li Zicheng's troops went all the way west, what do they want?"
Chen Qiyu was so angry that he didn't think too much.
"This thief is treacherous and has done such evil things. Why not escape for his life?"
He Renlong glanced at Chen Qiyu cautiously and reminded: "Master Bingxian, heading west from Hanyin County, the road is smooth and there are no obstacles. It won't be long before the troops arrive in Hanzhong."
Chen Qiyu said angrily: "So what? With Li Zicheng, can he still turn the world upside down?"
At this time, Chen Qiyu's advisers all figured it out.
"Master, Prince Rui is in Hanzhong!"
As soon as these words came out, Chen Qiyu woke up instantly as if he was struck by lightning.
No one needs to tell him what the consequences will be if he falls into the trap of the feudal lord.
The map of Hanzhong flashed through Chen Qiyu's mind, shaking like chaff in an instant.
If Li Zicheng really captured Hanzhong and killed King Rui, his head would definitely be chopped off by Chongzhen and buried with him.
"Quick, quick, all the ministries must mobilize their troops quickly. We must not let Hanzhong suffer any losses?"
Seeing that the commander was panicking, the other generals couldn't help but lament.
When the war has reached this point, anyone with a discerning eye can see clearly that it has failed.
Someone else was unwilling to give up and asked a question.
"Sir, if we leave here, what should we do with the bandits in the valley?"
Chen Qiyu just wants to scold her.
Although there are many bandits in the valley, and all of them are famous bandits, killing them all will not make up for the sin of trapping the feudal lord.
"Prince Rui is a royal relative, and your Majesty's blood relationship must not be compromised. We must protect Prince Rui's safety first, and then talk about other things."
The generals had no choice but to abandon the immediate military exploits under Chen Qiyu's coercion and lead their troops to pursue Li Zicheng.
Inside the carriage canyon.
Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui and others have already fallen into a desperate situation.
They had no place to live in the valley, and after being exposed to cold rain for several days, each of them had long since turned into a drowned rat, and many of them fell ill.
They had nothing to eat and were already starving. The few war horses and mules they had were also killed, and it was obvious that they could no longer endure.
If nothing happens, in another ten days or so, even if the army does not come to attack, they will starve to death.
Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to summon other leaders to discuss countermeasures.
But after many discussions, the only solution everyone could think of was to surrender.
But no one can guarantee whether this trick will work.
After all, it has been played once before, so it stands to reason that the court will not be fooled.
But things have come to this, and they have no other choice.
Just when the leaders were feeling desperate, the scout ran back rolling and crawling.
"Report to King Chuang that the army...the army has withdrawn."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone went crazy.
Before Gao Yingxiang could react, Zhang Xianzhong strode over, grabbed the scout and asked him again and again.
"Is this true? Could it be that you have surrendered to the enemy and want to trick me into dying?"
The scout wanted to cry but had no tears.
"Eight Kings, we have reached this point. If I surrender to the enemy, the army will not accept it."
Zhang Xianzhong had a stern look on his face, and he naturally understood that what the scout said was right.
Besides, whether the officers and soldiers have retreated or not, they just need to send people to check again.
Even so, everyone still started to murmur after the surprise.
"I guess there isn't some conspiracy?"
"I think we should stay calm and wait for it to get better."
Amid the turmoil, Gao Yingxiang was the first to calm down.
He thought about it and spoke slowly.
"It stands to reason that the officers and soldiers have surrounded us. As long as we continue to be exhausted, we will be dead. There is absolutely no need for the officers and soldiers to play tricks. Could it be that something happened?"
But what happened, the people trapped here don't know.
Zhang Xianzhong was extremely brave.
"What the hell! Why don't we send some brothers to take a look first. If the officers and soldiers really leave, if we don't run away, why don't we stay here and wait to die?"
Everyone agreed when they heard it.
If you stay here, you will definitely die, so you can't miss any opportunity.
At that moment, Gao Yingxiang sent more than 200 people all the way out, and actually touched the camp left by the army.
As a result, it was empty, there was nothing inside, and the officers and soldiers had long since disappeared.
This group of people was quite careful and ran through several important passes in succession, but in the end they didn't see a single shadow of an officer or soldier.
They ran north for more than thirty miles and searched a large area around them before they felt relieved.
When they learned that the army had really withdrawn and that Gao Yingxiang and others had survived the desperate situation, they had no time to rejoice and hurriedly gathered their troops and walked out of the carriage gap.
They didn't know what had happened, let alone whether the officers and soldiers would come back. For this purpose, they naturally had to run as far as they could and as much as they could.
Therefore, each group immediately dispersed and found their own way out.
There is only one purpose, which is to disperse the strength of the official army.
Under such circumstances, who can survive depends entirely on God's will.
Chen Qiyu had painstakingly prepared an ambush on all sides for more than a year, but Li Zicheng's sudden rise was completely bankrupt.
For a time, the rebel army, which had disappeared for a while, became active again on the land of Shaanxi.
They rushed and moved around, absorbing bankrupt refugees again wherever they went, and the team grew again.
In the process, the rebels from all walks of life finally knew the whole story.
After learning that Li Zicheng had played a trick to surround Wei and save Zhao, everyone escaped from danger. Everyone was full of gratitude to the young leader.
Li Zicheng's name finally began to shine.
Although he was already a relatively famous leader among the rebels before, he still ranked lower than Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui and others.
But this time, in the minds of many people, Li Zicheng enjoys even more love than these veteran leaders.
And for the first time, the imperial court paid attention to this rising star in the rebel army.