Deng Ming and Zhao Tianba, who were waiting outside Tan Hong's camp, had been gathering to observe the movement on the camp, and after putting the pearl on the camp wall, they vaguely heard a noisy discussion from the opposite side.

"Your Highness, if the person surnamed Tan really gives us a boat, but it can only carry twenty people, what should we do?" Zhao Tianba asked Deng Ming quietly.

The words "His Royal Highness" by Zhao Tianba surprised Deng Ming, in front of everyone, Zhao Tianba and Zhou Kaihuang called themselves so that Deng Ming understood that acting was to avoid infighting and stabilize the army's heart, but now the twenty soldiers who followed behind him were far away, why did Zhao Tianba still call him like this?

I didn't see it, Zhao Tianba was really into the play, too dedicated. Deng Ming replied with a smile: "Then we have to rely on this boat to transport the two thousand troops across the river." ”

If a boat can carry twenty people, it will take more than a hundred round-trips, if it takes a quarter of an hour to walk back and forth on the Yangtze River...... Deng Ming didn't bother to calculate how long it would take.

Li Xinghan, who was stationed in Wanxian, was probably the person who knew Tan Hong the most in the Ming army, and he repeatedly told everyone that Tan Hong was a calculating and insatiable person, and he was always picking fat and thin, pushing back and hindering, and he was not a person who had credibility and kept his promises. In the past, Tan Hong repeatedly violated his assurances to Wen Anzhi and other friendly generals and blatantly preserved his strength. This time, he defected to the enemy with Tan Yi, and he still looked like a rat at both ends. Zhou Kaihuang's evaluation of Tan Hong was also very low, and the officers of Yuan Zong's first department and Tan Wen's department all concluded that Tan Hong would not let him live because of Deng Ming's treasures.

Deng Ming looked at the camp opposite a little nervously, but he couldn't show it yet, and he had to try to be calm.

……

"Ben Hou understood what the prince meant, but now the boats in Ben Hou's hands have been sent out, and he will not return to the camp until midnight. It's freezing outside, the prince might as well go into the camp to rest for the night, and he will definitely send the prince to leave safely tomorrow morning......" Tan Hong changed his face and shouted at Deng Ming under the camp wall with a smile.

Without waiting for Tan Hong to continue, Deng Ming interrupted his words: "I understand the kindness of the Hou Ye, but since the Hou Ye doesn't have a boat now, then I will send someone to get it tomorrow morning," Deng Ming pointed to Zhao Tianba beside him: "Tomorrow the Hou Ye can hand over the boat to my chief." ”

After saying that, Deng Ming turned around and left quickly, while Zhao Tianba looked at Tan Hong's base, slowly took a few steps back before turning around to keep up, and kept looking back at the movement of the camp.

"He's suspicious! He was suspicious! Seeing this, Qin Xiucai was disappointed and anxious, and stomped his feet and shouted: "Master Hou quickly sent troops to chase after him, otherwise the cooked duck will fly." ”

Even if the heads of thousands of ordinary soldiers of the Ming army were killed, the credit obtained was far from comparable to the merit of capturing the prince of the Ming Dynasty. These exiled princes still had great appeal among the gentry and the common people, so the Manchus attached the most importance to them, and the capture of the prince-level clan was also the greatest credit. If the prince of Han Wang slipped away from his eyes, it would be a great credit for Tan Hong to be lost, and he would definitely not accept such a result.

Han Shizi may also turn around and find another way out, after all, unlike ordinary soldiers, Han Shizi will have guards by his side and may also carry some dry food. If Han Shizi was captured by other Qing troops, Tan Hong would be even more unable to forgive himself - he racked his brains to guard the riverbank, and he didn't pick up the pie from the sky, but he cheapened others for nothing.

"The whole army is in pursuit, don't let him run!" Tan Hong shouted. He had more than 2,000 soldiers in this camp, and it was more than enough to garrison this large camp to guard the riverbank. It is not too difficult to send more than 500 men from the battalion to establish a blockade line to prevent a small number of routs from sneaking over, but if you want to search the mountains and catch people on the rugged riverbank, it is very insufficient.

Tan Hong estimated that the Ming army that escaped from the battle of Chóngqìng could have four or five hundred people - in fact, of course, it was a low estimate, because Tan Hong was well aware of the contradiction between the camp and Tan Wen's department, and of course he could not imagine that the sailors of the army would help Tan Wen's subordinates cross the river; In addition, after the envoy from Chóngqìng reported the general course of the First Battle of Chóngqìng, Tan Hong took it for granted that Tan Wen's army had been wiped out. And Yuan Zongdi's water camp was pursued all the way by Tan Yi and Wang Mingde's boats, it is estimated that only a few soldiers were able to escape from the river, even if a small number of soldiers abandoned the boat and landed on the shore, the number would be very limited, Tan Hong did not expect that the water camp Qianzong desperately fought for his comrades to fight for a glimmer of life.

Since there is such an estimate, Tan Hong refuses to let go of this prince of Han, compared with this important person, the exploits of the four or five hundred Ming army are not worth mentioning at all.

Tan Hong was counting on biting Han Shizi's trail and not letting the other party escape from his field of vision. The only thing that is suitable for traffic is a narrow path on the shore, and the rest of the river is the steep slopes and vegetation of the mountains, and the cliffs cling to the river. If the other party is in a hurry to chase and flee to the side, fleeing into the mountains covered with plants, there will be no enough manpower to search the mountains to find his trace.

Glancing at the sun, Tan Hong added another order: "Bring torches and cotton clothes." "If the search of the mountain is delayed until after the rì falls, the cotton clothes and torches are a guarantee that it can continue.

Without waiting for Deng Ming to leave far, Tan Hong's camp suddenly opened the gate, and the first to chase out were a few cavalrymen, who were all Tan Hong's cronies, and chased after Deng Ming and his party with great expectations from the head of the family. If they can hold Han Shizi, it is best, if not, they will be responsible for monitoring Deng Ming's whereabouts and guiding the pursuers behind. If Deng Ming escaped into the mountains and forests, they would need to report to Tan Hong the specific location of Deng Ming's entry into the mountains - such a vast mountainous area, with less than 2,000 troops at hand, it would be tantamount to searching the mountains aimlessly.

When the cavalry left the camp, Deng Ming and his party were only a mile away from Tan Hong's camp, although the road on the shore was very difficult to walk, but the cavalry still moved much faster than Deng Ming and his group on foot, and soon approached behind. In the face of the close pursuers, the group in front of them appeared very calm, still retreating at a normal walking speed without running. Zhao Tianba, who stayed in the final formation, had been silently estimating the distance of the pursuers, and when the cavalry at the front had approached to the point that he was only thirty steps away from Deng Ming's team, Zhao Tianba suddenly stopped, and quickly bent his bow and arrows to aim at the enemy whose face was clearly visible.

An arrow came out, Zhao Tianba did not attack the enemy soldier, his target was the mount of the chasing soldier at the front, this arrow hit the horse's face, and the severe pain made the war horse immediately launch a madness, it couldn't help but turn the knight on its back upside down, and beat wildly, blocking the narrow road. By the time the furious horse finally fell into the river on the bank, Deng Ming and his gang had already walked far away. Looking at the comrade who had been trampled by his own mount and broken his leg and fell in the grass and groaned, the cavalrymen all looked at each other, and no one could come up with any good way to pursue.

If it was on flat ground or even in a slightly wider valley, the cavalry could make more copies and detour back in front of the fleeing enemy, slowing them down and blocking their way. But the situation was completely different at this time, if it was outflanked from the mountains full of vegetation, the cavalry could not move as fast as on foot, and a strip on the shore that could barely be called a road was too narrow, and the cavalry rushing to the front was the best target, and once the mount was hit by an arrow, it would immediately become an effective obstacle to blocking the pursuers, and the cavalry behind did not have any room for detours.

Since they couldn't catch up, they had to follow far behind. The cavalry was helpless, not as arrogant as just now, and when they chased after Deng Ming and his party again, the vanguard did not come forward closely, but was fifty paces away, and followed at the same speed as Deng Ming and his party.

When he received the report that the cavalry was not progressing well, Tan Hong had already left the camp with 1,600 soldiers. He also ordered his subordinates on the blockade line to keep their eyes open tonight and make sure not to let anyone get through. For the unfavorable progress of the cavalry, Tan Hong had already expected it, and he was determined to succeed, so he brought a large army out to prepare for the search of the mountains.

After hearing the cavalry report the other party's moves, Tan Hong felt a little worried, now he felt that he was racing against the sun, once the sun set, then the possibility of Han Shizi escaping would undoubtedly increase a lot.

"It would be much more convenient if Han Shizi was as timid as a mouse and quickly fled into the mountains as soon as he saw his pursuers." Tan Hong thought in his heart: "But they are still walking in a hurry, and they are not willing to lose their bodies at all." ”

If Deng Ming had already entered the mountain, then Tan Hong's subordinates could quickly chase him to the location where he entered the mountain, because it was much faster to move by the river than in the mountain, so Tan Hong's vanguard would soon be able to run two more miles and copy Deng Ming's front, and then the whole army would enter the mountain together in the nearby range, and the dragnet search would definitely be able to capture Deng Ming.

If Deng Ming and the others ran away in a panic, they would soon run out, and after being caught up by Tan Hong's infantry, they would not be able to escape far even if they entered the mountains. But as now, when the pursuers get closer, they are still in good shape, and it is almost dark, and the chance of escape is still very good.

"Han Shizi's guard officer is very capable and calm, and his archery skills are quite good." Tan Hong didn't think that a young sect disciple would be so calm and calm, so he gave all the credit to Zhao Tianba, and he even had a heart of love in his heart: "If he is willing to surrender, I don't have to hand him over, I can let him be a small colonel in my camp first." ”

In Tan Hong's view, the top priority is to force Han Shizi into the mountains, hiding and escaping in the mountains consumes a lot of body, and he is slow to move, Tan Hong has ordered the soldiers to carry cotton clothes and pine resin, as long as Han Shizi enters the mountain, even at night, as long as some soldiers are sent to follow and search, and some soldiers go along the coast to unfold the net, they will definitely be able to prevent these people from escaping.

At the moment, Tan Hong was most worried that Han Shizi would leave a group of people to fight to the death before the sun went down, using the narrow terrain to delay for a while, and he would take the opportunity to run into the mountain. If he didn't know the exact location of his entry into the mountain, it would be much more difficult to find it at night, so Tan Hong ordered the front army to speed up the pursuit and catch up with Han Shizi and his party as much as possible.

"Capture the prince of Han alive, and add wine and meat to the whole army! Those who capture Han Shizi will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver! In the hoarse agitation of the heralds, the morale of Tan Hong's army was greatly boosted, and the soldiers who had experience in tracking down were all gearing up, intending to win the reward of five hundred taels of silver. A few guys from Orion were even more jumping, feeling that with their ability to track their prey, it was not a problem to follow the tracks of a few big living people.

……

Seeing the figure of infantry appearing behind him, Deng Ming, Zhao Tianba and the others immediately sped up. If Zhao Tianba shè down a cavalryman, the wounded horse could hold off the pursuers for a long time, but shè down an infantry would have no effect at all. There is no time to stop and shè the arrows to form a deterrent to the pursuers, so it is only necessary to speed up the pace and distance as much as possible.

"It's a good thing the road by the river is so narrow, otherwise we would have been caught up." Looking at the pursuers behind him, Zhao Tianba said to Deng Ming happily that they were still walking instead of running at this time, but the speed at which the pursuers behind them closed the distance was not fast.

Deng Ming didn't understand this and was full of curiosity, Zhao Tianba explained briefly as he walked: "If it is on flat ground, the enemy soldiers are chasing from behind, and the good body and fast speed will soon approach us, forcing us to run as well; But now there is only one road, and the one in front blocks the back, and even if there is a good body in the back, it is blocked and cannot be copied. Your Highness, behold, their cavalry is now held back by their own men. Such people are crowded with people, and the most consumable body is lì, but according to the current situation, they still can't catch up within three or four miles. ”

When Zhao Tianba was unhurriedly popularizing military knowledge to Deng Ming, Tan Hong was becoming more and more anxious, and his head was turning west minute by minute, and the troops in front had not been able to catch up with Han Shizi at this time. Sixteen hundred soldiers, heavily armed, pursued the road for several miles, and the troops formed a long line of snakes on this road, and crowded the road to the brim. Tan Hong, who was anxious in his heart, kept urging the situation on the front line, and his cavalry could not get through from the shore full of infantry, so they drove their mounts into the water, and passed the news back and forth on the river near the shore, and did not run back and forth in the water, and the mounts of these knights were also exhausted.

Tan Hong looked at the sun that was about to set in about half an hour, left the infantry column beside him, and drove his horse into the shallow water on the shore with the guards and the heralds just now, overtaking the column walking on the shore road, and rushed to the front of the column in three steps and two steps, observing the movement in front of him with his own eyes.

"Travel light!" Seeing that the vanguard was only a little more than a mile away from Han Shizi, Tan Hong immediately gave such an order. The soldiers in front of them chased for almost ten miles, Tan Hong saw them panting one by one on the muddy road, one foot deep and one foot shallow, obviously their bodies were almost exhausted, and Han Shizi and his gang in front seemed to have some strength left. It seemed that Han Shizi himself seemed the most tired, and he was dragged forward by the arms of several guards around him. Tan Hong decided to force these people into the mountain immediately, so as not to let the credit that was already close at hand have any mistakes: "Force the prince of Han Wang into the mountain, and each of your teams will be rewarded with two taels of silver." ”

Under the heavy reward of two taels of silver, these soldiers did not care about the danger, and when they heard the order, they took off their heavy armor and helmets three times and divided them by two, and shouted and rushed after them. Anyway, the distance is not far, and the task of bombing the enemy into the mountains is relatively simple, and there is no need to save the body. Soldiers who boasted of being good runners rushed into the vegetation area to overtake their comrades in the front row, and some soldiers even stepped on the icy river water to fight for silver. As for whether these soldiers would be killed by Han Shizi's guards with bows and arrows after removing their armor, Tan Hong didn't care at all.

Under the rapid pursuit, Deng Ming and Zhao Tianba didn't care about saving their bodies, and ran at full speed in front. Deng Ming's two dozen people had already abandoned the armor worn in front of Tan Hong's camp before, and now they had all the weapons in their hands thrown away, in order to reduce weight, Zhao Tianba threw his bow and arrows on the ground without hesitation.

"Where are the cavalry? Chase! Pursue! Seeing that Han Shizi's guards threw away all their weapons, Tan Hong shouted anxiously, but all his subordinates were in front of him, and the cavalry behind couldn't get through even if they wanted to pounce, so they could only watch the other party fly away and disappear behind a protruding mountain rock.

The mountain rock that Tan Hong saw was the place where Zhou Kaihuang and Li Xinghan met and almost caught fire. Based on the experience just now, Zhou Kaihuang and Li Xinghan were sure that it would be difficult for them to coordinate the whole army to fight an offensive battle with the terrain in front of them, and even if they had a good banner and a considerable number of cavalry, it would be very difficult to control an army that stretched for several miles along the river, not to mention that they had no conditions in their hands now.

After the pursuers running at the forefront bypassed the mountain rock that blocked their view, what appeared in front of them was a semicircular river bay with a diameter of 20 meters, and in the left hand, that is, in the direction where Deng Ming and the others fled, there were dozens of Ming soldiers with spears blocking the widest part of the road, the leader holding a long sword, wearing military boots on one foot, and straw sandals wrapped in bark on the other.

On the opposite side of Jiangwan, more than a dozen Ming archers stood in a row along the shore, and the "Han Shizi" who had just been pursued was pressing his hands on his knees, bending over and panting violently, looking at the pursuers who were being targeted by the archers - Deng Ming regretted that he had not exercised enough before, and he did not carry any equipment on his body, but he was far from being as good as the other soldiers, and he was the most wolf in the group. Running all the way down, I only felt like my heart was about to jump out of my throat. And this kind of appearance is taken for granted, if Tan Hong saw the pampered clan disciples walking like flying just now, maybe he would be suspicious.

"Shoot the arrows!" At this moment, the leader of the Ming army, who had straw sandals tied to one foot and military boots on the other, let out a loud shout.

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Author's note: There is another shift in the afternoon.