The Exorcising the Dragon Gang's eastern forces withdrew to Lihu.
Events proved that once some of the rank-and-file leaders had been persuaded and some of the core troops had been brought around, the entire half-uncontrolled army would turn with them.
Once the troops reached Lihu, however, what mattered was no longer one man's mouth, but tens of thousands of mouths-nothing soothed people better after a long march through the rainy season than a bowl of hot soup and a hot flatbread.
And if there were dry tents and fires to share beneath broad shelters, so much the better.
Unfortunately, Zhang Xing and the Exorcising the Dragon Gang's western rear command lacked the means to provide everyone with hot water to soak their feet as well. Or rather, if they could have managed that much, Zhang Laosan, the rebel lodged in Great Wei's vitals, would never have been driven into a corner.
He would have dared take the initiative and lead twenty thousand troops against Xuzhou first.
Nor were the soldiers the only ones whose spirits recovered. The exhausted leaders recovered somewhat too, but not enough, because Zhang Xing was clearly determined to fight. The very reason they had ended up in such a sorry state was that, at Zhencheng, the gateway to Eastern Commandery, they had suddenly heard that the imperial troops were already moving, prompting them to retreat farther.
In other words, battle could come at any moment.
Under these circumstances, just as Wei Xuanding had said earlier, everyone had to be persuaded, and quickly.
"In terms of strength, we now have forty thousand troops... and possibly another five thousand reinforcements. I've already sent someone to Mount Mangdang to have Wang Zhen march north immediately." Inside a fairly large tent, Zhang Xing stood beside a table near the stove,