The Dual Heroes (Part 1)

This film (drama)Also known as双雄会（上集），is aMainland ChinaProducerwomen sex，At1984Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating8.1(For reference only)。

Adapted from a fragment of the long novel "Li Zicheng" by Yao Xueyin. In the eleventh year of the reign of Ming Chongzhen, the peasant revolution at the end of the Ming Dynasty, which had lasted for ten years, fell into a low tide and faced the danger of failure. Due to the frantic suppression by government troops and the discord among various righteous armies, the thirteen rebel armies that rose together gradually disbanded; some were defeated, and some surrendered. Only a lone force led by Li Zicheng remained, which also fell into a siege by government troops at Nanyuan in Tongguan, leading to the annihilation of the entire army. In the chaos, Li Zicheng lost his wife and daughter and could only lead 13 riders to break through the encirclement and escape into the mountains. On the way, they spent the night in the forest and narrowly escaped death at the hands of local vigilantes, thanks to the timely intervention of Li Zicheng's general Hao Yaoqi, who dispersed the vigilantes, allowing them to escape. Li Zicheng fled to the mountains of Shangluo, raised the flag of retreat, and prepared for a comeback. The mountains had a sparse population, a shortage of food and supplies, and with winter approaching, they lacked warm clothing, causing low morale among the troops. The court dispatched He Renlong to search the mountains, and upon hearing the news, some soldiers even fled in panic. Li Zicheng, feeling heavy-hearted, executed a deserter in front of the troops to stabilize morale. Faced with this grim reality, Li Zicheng realized that to revive their cause, he could only "break through the gate on horseback" to persuade another peasant uprising leader, Zhang Xianzhong, who had surrendered to the Ming, to raise the righteous flag again. Among the thirteen rebel armies, the Zhang and Li families were the strongest but were in discord. Zhang Xianzhong surrendered to the court in Gucheng, triggering a chain reaction that led to the failure of the uprising. Li Zicheng's subordinates harbored resentment towards him. Zhang Xianzhong, being scheming and unpredictable, also had a grudge against Li Zicheng; thus, the generals led by Liu Zongmin firmly opposed Li Zicheng's reckless visit, believing it was fraught with danger. Li Zicheng, against the overwhelming opposition, was determined to take the risk. Although Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered to the court, he was not trusted. The court didn't provide rations or bestow official titles, and various officials continued to extort. Zhang Xianzhong wanted to rally troops to rebel again, but he was surrounded by 200,000 troops of Zuo Liangyu outside and was under surveillance from the imperial envoy Lin Mingqiu inside, making it difficult to act. Li Zicheng arrived in Gucheng, hoping that Zhang Xianzhong would respond and reinitiate the uprising together. Although Zhang Xianzhong had this intention, he was reluctant to see the Ming Dynasty being overthrown in the future, fearing that Li Zicheng would contend with him for power. The military strategist Xu Yixian also strongly urged Zhang Xianzhong to eliminate Li Zicheng to prevent future troubles. However, Zhang Xianzhong himself realized that without the King of Chuang Li, his lone force would struggle to succeed. The two negotiated repeatedly, but Zhang Xianzhong remained indecisive and could not make a decision. Li Zicheng remained calm and composed amidst the looming crisis, candidly meeting with Zhang Xianzhong. Considering the camaraderie among the heroic woodsmen, Zhang Xianzhong rejected the notion of killing Li Zicheng, and although they each had their own agendas, they eventually formed an alliance. A year later, both rebel armies successfully overthrew the Ming Dynasty.