The Exorcising the Dragon Gang's eastern force withdrew to Lihu.
Events proved that, as long as some of the grassroots backbone could be persuaded and some of the core troops led to change direction, 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 large awnings, so much the better.
Unfortunately, Zhang Xing and his western caretaker organization in the Exorcising the Dragon Gang lacked the ability to provide everyone with hot water to soak their feet as well. Or rather, if they could truly have managed that much, Zhang Laosan, the rebel lodged in Great Wei's heart, would never have been driven into a corner.
He would have dared take the initiative and lead twenty thousand troops against Xuzhou first.
Of course, it was not only the soldiers whose spirits had turned around. The exhausted leaders had recovered somewhat as well, but not enough, because Zhang Xing was plainly determined to fight. And the very reason they were in such a sorry state was that, while at Zhencheng, the gateway to Eastern Commandery, they had suddenly learned that the imperial government troops had mobilized, prompting them to retreat still farther.
In other words, this battle could come at any moment.
Under these circumstances, just as Wei Xuanding had said earlier, they had to persuade everyone, and quickly.
"In terms of strength, we now have forty thousand troops... and we may have another five thousand reinforcements. I've already sent someone to Mount Mangdang to tell Wang Zhen to head north