The next day, the Ming army's offensive was still fierce, and when Wacheng learned that the Ming army had almost cleared the outlying strongholds in the east of the city, Mang Bai and others could no longer sit still. Due to the slow progress of the Ming army during this period of time, the people of Wacheng still thought that the defense line was quite stable, and the Ming army was helpless against it. Now I know that in the face of the suddenly powerful Ming army, the outer defense line is actually vulnerable, and since this is the case, the defense of Nawa City is no longer reassuring.

What made the Ava officials even more anxious was that an urgent report was sent from the Thai-Burmese border, saying that the Siamese (Thailand) king Narai seemed to be planning some action, and that a lot of troops had been concentrated on the border, and there seemed to be Ming Dynasty officers on the camp. Because Siam has not yet launched an attack, this kind of information is estimated to be unknown to the Ming army, but if Siam really attacks, then the Ming army may know about it. At this time, Wacheng was unable to reinforce the eastern front at all, and it was not even easy to call for reinforcements from all over the country -- the capital was under siege, and not only did the prestige of the government seriously decline, but also the transportation, orders, grain and grass preparations, and overall arrangements were greatly affected. If the Siamese king Nalai really marched into Burma, he would inevitably form an alliance with the Ming army, so that the Ming army would have a sizable and loyal and reliable allied army.

So the king of Burma immediately made a decision and decided to send another envoy to negotiate with Deng Ming: "Deng Ming only cares about the safety of their emperor, so Yongli must not be returned to them." However, we may be able to give them some of the elders first, and see if we can get rid of the siege first. We lied to them and said that when the Ming army returned to Bamo, we would send Yongli to them. ”

Since Deng Ming didn't want Ge Lao, these people were of no value to Mang Bai, keeping them for wasting food, killing the enemy troops who were afraid of angering the outside of the city, and simply returning this hot potato to the other party. However, once released, many people in Myanmar were worried that the Ming army would feel that the victory was in their hands, and they must fight this battle to the end. After some discussion, Mang Bai decided to let a person out first, this pavilion elder must have a family in Ava City, so that he has the capital to blackmail him, and he did not dare to incite the Ming army to attack the city as soon as he left the city.

When the Burmese envoy came to the detention place of the Ming army elder, he showed the guards a reckless warrant to enter. As Deng Ming continued to attack, the treatment of these pavilion elders was improved again, because Mang Bai wanted to make a good relationship and have a channel of communication with the Ming army if necessary in the future; Later, Mang Bai found that he was not the only one who wanted to use this channel, and after the road leading to the outside world in Wacheng was controlled by the Ming army, many ministers who originally advocated the execution of Ming Dynasty cabinet members and generals of the Imperial Forest Army never mentioned the execution again, and also sent servants to secretly send clothes and quilts to Ma Jixiang and Mu Tianbo who were imprisoned...... Therefore, Mangbai replaced the guards with more reliable king's guards, and no one was allowed to approach without Mangbai's warrant.

The food was sufficient, but the guards were even more severe, and Ma Jixiang and the others guessed that Deng Ming was still on the offensive. Recently, these captives have heard the roar of guns outside the city from time to time, and they all know that this is a clash between the Ming army and the Burmese army on the outskirts of the city. Every day, this group of officials constantly prayed to the gods and Buddhas, prayed that the Ming army would be able to kill them as soon as possible, and at the same time prayed that the Burmese would not be mad enough to kill them before the city was broken.

In the past, cabinet officials rarely said good things about Deng Ming in front of Emperor Yongli, after all, it is difficult to judge whether such a person of unknown origin is a blessing of the imperial court. However, after hearing the explosion outside the city, Deng Ming immediately became the mighty god of war in the mouth of cabinet officials, and everyone repeated Deng Ming's previous great military exploits over and over again, always looking forward to waking up and the Ming army would enter the city. It's a pity that both Deng Zhanshen and King Gongchang disappointed them, every time the officials heard the sound of hurried footsteps outside, they imagined that the next moment they would see a group of Ming troops with smiles on their faces rushing in, but unfortunately their illusions were broken again and again, and these movements were later proved to be a change of guard by the Burmese army.

When the Burmese envoy arrived today, they simply singled out the scholar Yang Zai and took him out of detention without any explanation. Yang Ge was always Ma Shoufu's son-in-law, and after the Burmese left, the rest of the people looked at Ma Jixiang, hoping that he would give a reasonable guess.

"It must be the Burmese who asked him to negotiate with Bao Guogong." Ma Jixiang sighed: "He is my son-in-law and a loyal servant of the emperor, the emperor, me and my daughter are all in the hands of the Burmese, and the Burmese expect that he will not dare to talk nonsense." ”

Ma Jixiang's biggest problem is timidity, although he insisted on saying to Mu Tianbo that he was useful to Mangbai, so the Burmese would not kill them, but in fact, Ma Jixiang was not sure about this at all, and his words were not so much analysis as self-comfort. No matter how well Ma Jixiang knew in his heart, as long as he saw the knife, there was nothing he would not do, and he didn't even need others to show the knife, as long as the person holding the knife handle glared at him.

However, aside from timidity, Ma Shoufu is good at observing words and feelings, figuring out people's hearts, and actually guessing the thoughts of the Burmese people.

"Elder Yang Ge can't persuade Baoguo Gong to withdraw from the army!" As soon as everyone heard this, they shouted.

Mu Tianbo knew that the person who knew Yang Zai best was his old father-in-law, so he asked Ma Jixiang: "In Yuanfu's opinion, what does Yang Ge Lao say to Baoguo Gong?" ”

"It depends—" Ma Jixiang replied without hesitation, "to see if the Duke of Baoguo is willing to keep him." If he could stay on the side of the Ming army from now on and not have to come back, then he would definitely persuade Baoguo Gong to continue the attack; If the Burmese envoy was on the side, and the Baoguo Gong still had the intention of letting him come and go as an envoy, then he would definitely persuade the Baoguo Gong to withdraw from the army. ”

……

The attack in the morning allowed the Ming army to take two more key strongholds, and seeing that there was a danger of being outflanked by the Ming army, the Burmese troops in the other strongholds abandoned the forts and fled back to Wacheng. Deng Ming did not order the pursuit, and today's battle was short but fierce, with hundreds of dead and wounded.

This offensive was launched to increase his bargaining chips, but this purpose must not be leaked out, so Deng Ming did not explain his plan at the officers' meeting, so as not to make the Ming army known all at once and give the Burmese a chance to know their hole cards. Although Deng Ming did not give an explanation, and the army resolutely obeyed the order to attack at any cost, Deng Ming was a little unbearable after seeing the casualty statistics reported by various ministries -- nearly 100 people were killed or disabled in just two days, and more than 200 needed to be bedridden -- but if the Burmese still refused to give in, Deng Ming would continue to launch a strong attack tomorrow, and these casualties would give him a more advantageous position at the negotiating table.

"If tomorrow the Burmese have not shown the slightest concession, then they will tentatively blast the city wall......" Deng Ming secretly set a stop-loss line of 500 dead in his heart, if such a sacrifice could not make Burma misjudge the intentions of the Ming army, the Ming army could only stop the costly attrition, and instead consider leaving some troops to protect the survival of the reckless regime.

At this time, the guards reported that Burma had sent another envoy, and Deng Ming breathed a sigh of relief, and it seemed that the Burmese were already afraid. After all, it is impossible for the Burmese to know that Wu Sangui has ended the war in Guizhou and exerted tremendous military pressure on Yunnan. Since Burma had sent a new envoy so quickly, Deng Ming estimated that they were planning to make some concessions. It is impossible to put Yongli back, the Burmese are not brainless, and they will not easily give up the best card in their hand, and Deng Ming deliberately emphasized the importance of Yongli to the envoy before.

"It would be nice if the Burmese could be persuaded to release the officials and the Imperial Guards, who could help the reckless regime survive, and if the Temporary Truce allowed Pang Gao and the monks to consolidate their power." Deng Ming knew that he was making a wishful calculation, this negotiation would be very difficult, and the time was very tight, and soon Bai Wenxuan would not be able to withstand the pressure and ask for the withdrawal of troops again. Once it was discovered that the Ming army had voluntarily withdrawn, Burma would never back down.

When the Burmese envoy was brought in, Deng Ming felt his heart tighten again, and he suddenly began to worry that the Burmese had seen through his intentions, and that the envoy had come to laugh at his bluff.

"Well, should I strike first, or should I brake statically?" Because he can't read minds, he doesn't know the cards and bottom line in the opponent's hand, Deng Ming also feels a little tricky about what strategy to use, and he can't figure out how strong he should be.

Burmese envoys entered the tent and paid homage to Deng Ming. Deng Ming looked at the other party majestically, as if nothing had happened on the surface, but in fact, he was quite nervously waiting for the other party's opening remarks, and he was more and more worried that the blood of the soldiers would be shed in vain in the past two days.

"This is Yang Ge Lao of the Celestial Empire." The Burmese envoy, who was fluent in Chinese, stood up and immediately introduced one of the people who followed him to Deng Ming.

"Elder Yang Ge?" Deng Ming let out a voice of doubt.

"Guogong, the next official is Yang Zai......" Yang Zai, who had endured for a long time, shouted, and finally saw the army of the Ming Dynasty again, full of bitterness and long-term fear, which made Yang Zai's tears rush out in an instant.

"It turned out to be Yang Ge Lao." After listening to Yang introduce himself silently, Deng Ming bowed slightly, and his face did not show the slightest wave. After Yang cried loudly, the Burmese envoy standing opposite him kept watching carefully, but he didn't see Deng Ming showing any excitement.

Although his expression did not change, Deng Ming's chest was bright at this time: "The sacrifices of the soldiers have not been in vain." In order to maintain his composure on the outside, Deng Ming exerted all his strength to suppress the ecstasy in his heart, he glanced at the Burmese envoy, and said secretly: "It seems that this time we are still wolves, and you are sheep." ”

"Since Lord Er can let Yang Ge Lao out of the city, why don't you let Ma Yuanfu and Qianguo Gong come to my camp?" Deng Ming's eyebrows gradually rose, showing anger: "But it seems that Lord Er finally has a little sincerity today." The Celestial Empire will be rewarded for its merits, and it will continue to eliminate the heart of the vassals to be good and naturalized. I will take Yang Ge Lao to King Gongchang's side, if it is confirmed, we can temporarily stop attacking the city tomorrow. ”――

Author's note: From the 22nd to the 27th of this month, I will go to Beijing to attend a meeting of the Chinese Writers Association, so I will not continue to update until the 28th. Press again: There is a virus in the machine, the file that records the name of the dragon is lost, and the author will open a registration post when I turn back, please do not register again if you have signed up and appeared, thank you for your cooperation.