"There's absolutely nothing wrong with that." After discovering that the Qing army appeared in the upper reaches of the Qijiang River, the Ming army immediately sent scouts to reconnoiter repeatedly, and Li Xinghan personally went to the front line to check the banner of the Qing army.

"It couldn't have come at a better time." Deng Ming sighed softly.

No matter whether Zhao Liangdong appeared ten days earlier or ten days late, Deng Ming would not be in such a dilemma as he is now.

After a large number of empty ships returned from Chengdu, Yuan Zongdi retreated to Wanxian as originally planned, and after the soldiers of Dachang and Fengjie had left, Deng Ming's troops gradually retreated to Jiangjin, the confluence of the Qijiang River and the Yangtze River. When the vanguard of the Ming army set up a large camp in Jiangjin, they sent an envoy to Yuan Zongdi as agreed, telling the other party that Li Guoying was still honestly staying in the city of Chóngqìng, without showing any intention to pursue the Ming army, so that Yuan Zongdi could return to Wanxian with peace of mind.

"General Yuan will immediately pull out the camp and set off after receiving my letter, and now it is too late to send people to chase after him, and the sailors of the Qing army have also been released from the Jialing River by us." After the envoy who went to Yuan Zongdi returned to the army yesterday, Deng Ming asked the boat division blocking the entrance of the Jialing River to burn the water camp, and came to Jiangjin with the remaining troops to join the main force and prepare to return to Chengdu together. If Zhao Liangdong had arrived ten days earlier, Yuan Zongdi would not have left; If Zhao Liangdong arrived five days early, Deng Ming would send someone to recruit Yuan Zongdi and Fengjie's soldiers and horses; If Zhao Liangdong had arrived two days earlier, Deng Ming would not have let the army at the mouth of the Jialing River burn the camp and rush to Jiangjin.

"I don't know how many people Zhao Liangdong came." Deng Ming ordered additional sentry agents to be sent to monitor the whole process of the Qing army coming from the upper reaches of the Qijiang River. According to Li Xinghan's early reconnaissance, the cavalry strength of this Qing army does not seem to be strong and cannot stop the reconnaissance of the Ming army.

"Yes." A few guards took the order and left, "Zhao Liangdong's military appearance, do you still remember?" Deng Ming stared at the map for a moment, and slowly asked a few people around him.

"Yes." Li Xinghan and Zhou Kaihuang replied, their faces showing solemnity. And Zhao Tianba, Ren Tang, and Mu Tan, who have never been to Kunming, are puzzled.

"There are so many Qing army camps around Kunming, and Zhao Liangdong's troops stand out from the crowd, completely different from others. On the night we set the fire, Zhao Liangdong was in the city, and the commanders of the other battalions were in the camp to personally lead the team, but ...... Don't underestimate this person. Deng Ming was very impressed, on the night of the burning of Kunming, the only battalion of Qing troops who gave up the false order was Zhao Liangdong's military camp. After staring at the map for a while, Deng Ming said to himself: "I don't know how many people the Qing army came?" ”

"There shouldn't be a lot, Zunyi and Loushanguan are no longer populated, and there are no warehouses and military stations." Zhou Kaihuang cheered Deng Ming up and said: "Zhao Liangdong's personal soldiers seem to have more than a thousand, right?" In order to transport grain and grass from Guizhou to such a battalion of soldiers, 20,000 or 30,000 auxiliary soldiers had to be dispatched. ”

"Hmm." Deng Ming nodded lightly in agreement, he had the same idea as Zhou Kaihuang, Wu Sangui couldn't throw such a jīng soldier lightly, and he wouldn't let them go on the road with one-way food, so this Qing army must be followed by a steady stream of transport troops: "Wu Sangui really can't afford it, so he sent a jīng soldier to come." There is a way that those who come are not good, and those who are good do not come, since Wu Sangui dares to send such a little people, there must be some basis, we can't be careless. ”

…… After discovering that the Ming army detectives were wandering around, Daniel Zhang was suddenly a little worried, believing that now his cavalry should make it their first priority to intercept the Ming army's reconnaissance horses. However, Zhao Liangdong disagreed, believing that his cavalry should not waste too much jīng power on intercepting the opponent's sentinels, but should put reconnaissance of the Ming army in the first place.

Through Guò's observation of the movements of the Ming cavalry, Zhao Liangdong found that the commander of the Ming army had similar ideas to himself, both of which were reconnaissance-based, supplemented by interception, and Zhao Liangdong laughed happily when he saw this: "The thief is ignorant!" Originally, the thieves were in the shadows and our army was in the light, even if the thieves had less reconnaissance of our army, their mastery of the shape was far above ours. If the leader of the thieves had given priority to blocking our army's reconnaissance, it might not be clear whether our army was 12,000 or 13,000, but we didn't even know whether there were thousands or tens of thousands of thieves; Maybe the thieves don't know the banner of every general in our army, and they don't know how long our army's queue stretches along the Qijiang River, but we don't even know who the thief leader is and whether chóngqìng is still in the hands of officers and soldiers...... Ha ha. ”

When the Ming army was going all out to explore the reality of the Qing army, Zhao Liangdong also received a steady stream of information, and soon the Qing army determined that the Ming army on the opposite side was led by Deng Ming himself, and had set up camp in Jiangjin, with a rough estimate of more than 15,000 troops.

"If three of them are armoured soldiers, they are four thousand five hundred armoured soldiers, and the rest are unarmoured soldiers. Since he was camped in Jiangjin, it means that Chóngqìng is still in the hands of officers and soldiers, otherwise why would Deng Ming stay here? After getting the rough information, Zhao Liangdong immediately began to analyze: "I have a feeling that Deng Ming seems to want to withdraw from the army. If he wanted to attack Chóngqìng, there was no need to sit in Jiangjin and build a strong camp here. It seems that we arrived just in time for General Deng Ming's withdrawal, but it seems to be too coincidental for me to be sure. ”

"Since Deng Ming dared to set up camp so close to Chóngqìng, then he must have a strong sailor at hand." Wang Jinbao added: "We all have boats, wooden rafts, and bamboo rafts in our hands, and we can't compete with Deng Ming's sailors on the Yangtze River. ”

It is difficult to capture Chóngqìng without a strong naval division, which is the consensus of the generals of the Qing army. Zhao Liangdong built a large number of rafts and bamboo rafts in the upper reaches of the Qijiang River, and then went down the Qijiang River - they had discussed before that if the Ming army was besieging Chóngqìng, then the Ming army's naval divisions would definitely be concentrated near the mouth of the Jialing River, and Jiangjin was unlikely to have a heavy garrison of the Ming army, let alone a Ming army sailor worth mentioning. If the Qing army had acted quickly, it was likely that the Ming army would have rushed out of the Qijiang River and crossed the Yangtze River before it could react.

"Even if he plans to retreat, he will act in batches, and this fifteen thousand men will not be all his troops." Daniel Zhang said: "Rushing straight to Jiangjin is not necessarily the best policy, and we can't cross the Yangtze River when we rush out of the Qijiang River." Why don't we abandon the boat and land, find a place to camp on the south bank, and try to get in touch with Chóngqìng. ”

Zhao Liangdong frowned and pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, "Otherwise, since Deng Ming dares to come to Chóngqìng, his sailor will not be weaker than the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi." We still have to go straight to Jiangjin and force Deng Ming to transfer both water and land divisions to resist us, so that Governor Li will have a chance to break out of the Jialing River and get in touch with us. ”

Recalling the experience of working with Li Guoying in the past, Zhao Liangdong made a judgment: "If it were someone else, such as the former Governor of Huguang, Lord Hu, I would not dare to take such a risk, but Governor Li should not miss the opportunity." ”

...... "There were six Qing generals here, as well as the personal soldiers of the six of them, a total of 3,000 to 4,000, followed by 12,000 to 13,000 auxiliaries, about half of our military strength." At this time, Deng Ming also got information about the Qing army. In addition to Zhao Liangdong, Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao are very famous, and they have always been Qing generals who have been valued by the Eastern Army.

The strength of the Qing army greatly exceeded the expectations of the Ming army, and the way they maneuvered shocked the Ming army, according to the report of the reconnaissance, the rear of the Qing army did not have as many supplies as expected.

"With so many soldiers and horses, we must not let them join Li Guoying, otherwise the military strength of the Tartars will surpass ours." Zhou Kaihuang looked puzzled: "Is Tartar so confident?" Convinced that Li Guoying will definitely be able to defend Chóngqìng, and this support army will definitely be able to fight into Chóngqìng? ”

"Or maybe they look down on us too much, and the six generals with three or five thousand personal soldiers think that we can't stop us." Receiving such contempt from the enemy, a burst of anger rose in Zhao Tianba's heart, and he sneered and said: "These Tartars have come from afar, we should face them head-on, our armor soldiers are twice as large as theirs, and we can gather them together and annihilate them in one drum." ”

"Hmm." Deng Ming also felt that this mention was very tempting, this 15,000 Qing army had no backup and no sailors, and once the enemy was defeated, it could be completely annihilated. However, what worries Deng Ming is his own combat effectiveness, the equipment of the Zhejiang soldiers may not be bad, but the combat experience may be far from being comparable to Zhao Liangdong's subordinates.

Shut down

"Report." The herald rushed to the Chinese military tent with the latest enemy situation.

According to the intelligence, the Qing army coming from the south had no intention of stopping or defending, and continued to march towards Jiangjin.

"Zhao Liangdong has also sent a wide range of horses in the past two days, and he caught one outside our camp yesterday." Deng Ming showed the military situation to everyone: "He wouldn't know that we have more troops than him, why did he recklessly bump into him like this?" ”

"It was he who rushed through Jiangjin, and our Lu Shi couldn't stop him, can he rely on those broken wooden platoons to force his way across the Yangtze River?" Ren Tang said in surprise. He was most concerned about the situation of the Qing army's naval army, and now Zhao Liangdong's army did not have warships, and those improvised wooden rafts and bamboo rafts may be useful when marching, but they cannot be used for water battles at all. If the Qing army wanted to cross the river with these rags, the Ming army's ships would not have to fight, and they could wipe out all the Qing troops on the river with a few hits.

Although everyone was puzzled, Zhao Liangdong's intention was obvious, and the Ming army naturally had to deal with it, Deng Ming ordered the whole army to concentrate on Jiangjin, and at the same time, the naval division made every effort to block the river near Jiangjin, and Zhao Liangdong was never allowed to cross the Yangtze River.

That night, the vanguard of the Qing army was not far from the Ming army camp in Jiangjin, and Deng Ming's troops were basically assembled in place. After nightfall, a red light suddenly appeared in the south of the Ming army, and the raging flames soared into the sky.

"The camp of the Qing army is on fire?" The officers of the Ming army looked at each other, but instead of attacking rashly, they redoubled their efforts to hold the camp, intending to wait until after dawn to gather more information before making a decision.

After dawn, the fireworks on the side of the Qing army have not stopped, and the Ming army's horse exploration report that last night it was Zhao Liangdong's former army burning unneeded grain and wooden rafts, and as the Qing army rushed to the front army's camp, they burned the surface vehicles and excess baggage.

"Zhao Liangdong is going to be desperate." Deng Ming immediately realized that Zhao Liangdong was using a plan to break the cauldron and sink the boat, and wanted to motivate the whole army to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army: "Well, with 15,000 men and horses and one-way food, I rushed all the way from Guiyang, and there was no way to retreat, this was just to make my subordinates die." This Zhao Liangdong really has the courage of an overlord. ”

After learning of the Qing army's moves, even Zhao Tianba, who was the most angry in the past, became calm, and some Zhejiang officers even built yì to stick to the camp - anyway, Zhao Liangdong could not cross the river now, and he didn't even have much food left, as long as he held the camp for two days and waited for him to fight and become chaotic.

"He couldn't cross the river in the first place, and it was the same whether he burned the wooden rafts or not, in addition to encouraging the morale of his army, it was also to deter our army. Our army is twice as strong as theirs, and if he does not dare to take line in front of the battalion, he can calmly attack our scattered camps, each trying to protect himself; Or swagger past our camp and camp in a place by the Yangtze River - he doesn't have much to eat, but he still has enough to eat for a few days, right? The pillars of fire at night and the smoke and dust during the day all rose into the sky, and Li Guoying must have seen it, he has been able to come out of the Jialing River, and he will definitely come to inquire about the news. ”

Deng Ming ordered all battalions to prepare for battle: "If Zhao Liangdong and Li Guoying are allowed to join forces, their strength will surpass ours; Now that Zhao Liangdong has few people, if we don't dare to fight, and the three armies will be angry, then what should we do when the Qing army chases after us when we withdraw, and the whole army must be dispersed? ”

Although he ordered Zhao Liangdong to be confronted, Deng Ming was also very careful, planning to line up his troops in front of the battalion, give full play to the advantages of defense, first block the onslaught of the Qing army that was in ruins, and then try to counterattack after the enemy's first three axes have passed.

When Deng Ming and his subordinates were discussing the plan for arranging the troops, Yingmen reported that the Qing army had sent an envoy. The person who came walked into the Chinese military tent proudly and handed over Zhao Liangdong's war appointment. Deng Ming did not move silently, picked up the pen and signed the words "Ming rì decisive battle", and returned it to the Qing army envoy to let him take it back: "As soon as Ming rì is in the morning, Admiral Ben will leave the camp, and I hope that General Zhao will not miss the appointment." ”

The envoy of the Qing army gave Deng Ming a thousand: "Deng Shuai, rest assured, the head of my family has long been going to meet Deng Shuai on the battlefield." The covenant of Ming rì, rain or shine. ”

After sending off the envoys of the Qing army, Deng Ming once again emphasized that the decisive battle of the Ming Dynasty must first seek stability and then victory, especially Zhao Tianba, who must suppress his reckless attack: "Our army is twice as large as the Qing army, as long as it is stable and does not suffer a quick defeat, it will definitely win." ”

Everyone nodded yes.

"In addition, those auxiliaries of the Qing army should not be underestimated, although they have no armor, but they can follow Zhao Liangdong all the way, they are obviously very combative, and after the cauldron is wrecked, everyone knows that they are in the place of death, and most of them will fight with us." Originally, Deng Ming felt that his auxiliaries were more advantageous, because they were not forcibly recruited, but coastal volunteers from Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, but at the moment, it seems that the auxiliaries of the Qing army are not bad.

"I'll personally command." Deng Ming plans to come to the front line again. Ming rì Zhao Liangdong's decisive charge must have been extremely fierce, Deng Ming on the front line not only helped to boost morale, if necessary, Deng Ming was not afraid to fight with Zhao Liangdong's own soldiers.

...... "Deng Mingzhuzi is a bit bold." After seeing Deng Ming's reply, Daniel Zhang commented with a little regret: "He refuses to let us go." ”

"Our army is broken, and the thieves still dare to fight, it seems that the morale of the thieves is not bad, and it will be a hard battle." Before sending the letter, Wang Jinbao also thought that Deng Ming would choose to stick to the camp -- if the Ming army was unwilling to take the risk of fighting, the Qing army would be able to pass through the front of the Ming army in Jiangjin relatively safely -- Wang Jinbao thought that if he was in Deng Ming's position, he would probably be satisfied with eliminating part of the Qing army's rear troops, and this was also an acceptable result for the Qing army, and their rear troops were all from Guizhou.

Since the Ming army refused to let it go obediently, the Qing army began to carry out general mobilization, and Tan Xiaozhuang's auxiliaries were also issued with a knife or a long wooden spear.

"The Yangtze River is ahead! When we arrive at the Yangtze River, there will be a large number of imperial court ships to pick us up, and when we cross the river, we will have chóngqìng, and when we arrive at chóngqìng, there will be grain, and you will also be registered as official soldiers, and from then on you will have military pay and rice every month. Zhao Liangdong's personal soldiers were hoarse and tried their best to propagate to the Guizhou auxiliaries: "All the way from Guiyang to here, you only need to take one more step to live, you have worked hard all the way here not to let the thief kill the head, right?" ”

Including the thousands of auxiliaries gifted by Wu Sangui, the auxiliaries who set off with the army from Guizhou were no longer one of the five at this time. Tan Xiaozhuang silently held the spear issued to him, and listened to the propaganda of the pro-soldiers with his companions. After discovering the Ming army, Zhao Liangdong let the auxiliaries eat openly. After eating a full meal for two days, Zhao Liangdong's personal soldiers came to tell everyone that as long as they arrived at chóngqìng, they would be given official officers and soldiers, included in the combat establishment, and would live a good life forever.

The excess food has been burned by the officers, and Tan Xiaozhuang and they all know that if they don't defeat the Ming army, everyone will die within a few days, and they won't even have a chance to enter the ground, and they can't be reincarnated, so they can only be a lonely ghost in this place far from home.

"As long as each of you kills a thief, our army will win," the pro-soldier made a final agitation, shouting to the auxiliaries: "Each of you must kill a thief with all your might!" It is enough to kill one, and you will be able to live, and you will be able to eat enough every day in the future. ”

...... "In the decisive battle of Ming, Deng Ming will definitely defend with all his might, wanting to exhaust our strength, and then counterattack; I dare say that Deng Ming must be thinking: he has a large number of men, and he is defensive, and it must be our army that runs out of strength first, as long as we can't defeat him quickly, he will win! Zhao Liangdong took out a full set of battle plans and discussed with his colleagues: "Those Guizhou Yankees have almost been agitated, so let them go to Deng Ming's position." These rì people have suffered hardships, they are resentful, and they will fight hard to break the blood in order to survive, haha, Deng Thief has suffered hardships. ”

The other generals all had knowing smiles on their faces. The group of Guizhou cannon fodder who survived by luck have been abused along the way, and they have been forced to go crazy, and they will definitely fight to the death with the Ming army tomorrow. Zhao Liangdong regretted that he didn't have the opportunity to see this scene with his own eyes.

"Deng Ming will focus his attention on the frontal battlefield, and after the Guizhou Yankees who don't want to die rush forward, he will have no time to take care of it, and then we will slam his flank!" Zhao Liangdong decided to launch a flank attack with all the Qing army's jīng Rui - himself, Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao's personal soldiers: "Deng Ming rǔ stinks and does not dry, I don't believe he can react." ”

After Zhao Liangdong introduced the battle plan, Wang Jinbao thought for a moment and asked a question: "If General Zhao's plan is to succeed, it needs Deng Thief to attach great importance to the front, and it is best to be on the front line himself, so that the success can be assured." If he ......"

"There is no hypothesis," Zhao Liangdong interrupted Wang Jinbao impatiently, "He must pay full attention to the positive." ”

"Why?" Another Ganshan general asked.

"First, because I'm Zhao Liangdong! Second, because Deng Ming has seen my soldiers. Third, Deng Ming is not completely ignorant of soldiers. Zhao Liangdong's whole body was full of confidence: "Deng Ming has seen me in person, and he has seen a little bit of the world, so he will definitely put all his attention on the front and guard against my Zhao Liangdong's frontal attack!" ”