Leaving Padang Deng Ming, I went straight to Fengjie, although there was no delay on the way, but it also took a few rì, and it was already early March when I arrived. After entering the city, Deng Ming immediately went to meet Wen Anzhi, who immediately met with him.

"The whereabouts of the imperial court are unknown?" After seeing Wen An, Deng Ming immediately asked.

When he first arrived at the end of the Ming Dynasty three months ago, he didn't pay much attention to the victory or defeat of the Ming army, but gradually became closely related to himself; Some time ago, Deng Ming was worried about how to explain his origin to the Ming civil and military officials in the future, in case the Yongli Emperor sent someone to inquire in detail, Deng Ming could not think of a reason to continue refusing; But this time, as soon as he saw Wen Anzhi's letter, Deng Ming immediately worried about the safety of the Ming court, if the Southern Ming Dynasty collapsed, Deng Ming's current reputation would definitely be wanted by the Qing court.

"Maybe I went to southern Yunnan." Wen Anzhi's face was full of worry. At present, there are various theories, but most of them say that Li Dingguo protects the Yongli Emperor and continues to move to the southwest, and it is getting farther and farther away from Fengjie, and it is becoming more and more difficult to get in touch.

In the past two months, the Ming army in Sichuan has also been panicked, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Wen Anzhi has been propagating that the Yongli Heavenly Son will not enter Sichuan - the imperial court originally gave an order to prepare to take over. However, news continued to come after that, saying that the imperial court had changed its mind after leaving Kunming, and instead of going north, it went south. Wen An dismissed this kind of news as a rumor, but he also faintly believed it in his heart. Today's Zi Wen Anzhi is not ignorant, the roads in southwest Yunnan are bad, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and the population is sparse, which is definitely not suitable for leading the soldiers who are still resisting in various places, but it is not very easy to be pursued by the Qing army.

"Qingyang has arrived in Jianchang, this is an urgent message sent to me by him." Wen Anzhi handed a letter to Deng Ming.

He himself hadn't realized that since he met Deng Ming, he had become more and more dependent on Deng Ming. Wen Anzhi is nearly eighty years old, and Sichuan is not only militarily severe, but also has complex factions and many towns, which makes Wen Anzhi feel very tired of running it, but he did not have an assistant who could not only trust him but also help him share the heavy responsibilities - until Deng Ming appeared. This young man is full of strength, hard-working, and he is also a member of the Ming clan, and the old man who walks very hard grabbed a crutch, and naturally he clenched it tighter and refused to let go.

Deng Ming looked at it quickly, the letter was very long, and he didn't know the names of some of them, so Deng Ming asked while reading, and Wen Anzhi explained at any time on the side. Feng Shuangli told them to wait for the imperial court not to come, but they kept learning that the imperial court and the army of the king of Jin were fleeing farther and farther, and from mid-February onwards, Jianchang's deserters appeared in an endless stream, and Feng Shuangli tried his best to suppress the troops. This letter was written on February 20, just two days before this letter was written, Ai Jiye, who had been ordered to Jianchang with Feng Shuangli to prepare for the pick-up, suddenly disappeared, and left the barracks at night with several personal guards.

"Ai Jiye is the son of Ai Nengqi...... Wen Anzhi explained to Deng Ming, Ai Nengqi is also Zhang Xianzhong's righteous son, and Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu are listed as the four princes of the Great Western Dynasty, Yongli also gave Ai Jiye the title of king after recruiting Anxi Ying, although he is not old and does not have too many subordinates, but he still has a certain appeal in Xiying.

Deng Ming nodded and continued to look down, Feng Shuangli complained that there was a sudden uproar in the army, Ai Jiye's subordinates saw that the prince had abandoned the army and fled, and they immediately dispersed, and now Jianchang is already a rì three shocks, and the soldiers are circulating rumors that Wu Sangui is attacking Jianchang all day long, no matter how he refutes the rumors, he can't suppress the spread of these rumors, even if he beheads some of the soldiers who spread rumors.

Feng Shuangli's last thing is even more worrying, that is, Wu Sangui has sent people to persuade him to surrender three times, Feng Shuangli wanted to kill the envoy to stabilize the army's morale, but many of his subordinates were resolutely opposed, and the argument that the two countries would not fight each other prevented him from doing so. Moreover, some of his subordinates are still openly and secretly persuading him to agree to Wu Sangui's persuasion, and now the main surrender faction in the army is on a par with the main battle faction. Feng Shuangli asked Wen Anzhi to try to send him a team of reliable soldiers to help him stabilize the situation in Jianchang no matter what, and as quickly as possible.

"Jianchang is in crisis." After reading the letter, Deng Ming also understood that the shape there was very sinister, but Jianchang was the retreat of the imperial court and the Jin king Li Dingguo to Sichuan, and if Jianchang fell into the hands of Wu Sangui, then the road to the north of Yongli and Li Dingguo would be blocked.

"Feng Shuangli, the old man, has also seen it, he is a loyal minister with a firm heart, who does not share the sky with the Tartars, and he will not ask for help, since he wrote this letter, then he must feel helpless." Wen Anzhi had told Deng Ming before that Liu Wenxiu was based in Jianchang when he ran Sichuan, where there were not only the grain stored by Liu Wenxiu, but also a large number of strong men and farm tools that he had transported from Yunnan to prepare for the reclamation of Sichuan: "Jianchang now has about 40,000 men, which is more than the population of Chengdu. ”

"The inspector summoned me back, did he want me to go to Jianchang?" Deng Ming saw that Wen Anzhi was reluctant to give up Jianchang and wanted to help Feng Shuangli, if he couldn't use himself in this matter, then Wen Anzhi would not send an urgent letter to Badong.

Deng Ming guessed well, although Wen Anzhi wanted to help Feng Shuangli, but he couldn't send an army at hand, at most one or two hundred people might not help, and after thinking about it again and again, he didn't come up with any good plan, and at first he wanted to reply bluntly that he couldn't help. Later, Wen Anzhi had an idea and felt that Deng Ming was a clan that could play a role in calming people's hearts, so he wrote to Jianchang and asked Feng Shuangli to insist as much as possible, and at the same time hurriedly asked Deng Ming to rush back to Fengjie.

"It's very dangerous to go to Jianchang, the old man can only give Mr. Deng a hundred people at most, and he can't avoid the eyes and ears of chóngqìng, and he can't move quickly." Let Deng Ming go to Jianchang is also a last resort for Wen Anzhi, if there is any other way, he is not willing to let Deng Ming take risks, after all, in the Kuizhou army, Deng Ming'an is like Mount Tai, Wen Anzhi said truthfully: "If there is another way, it will never trouble Mr. Deng." ”

"The superintendent is serious, I have the responsibility to go to Jianchang to stabilize the morale of the army," Deng Minggang talked to Liu Tichun, knowing that the core of his strategy is in chóngqìng, and attacking chóngqìng must rely on the strength of the western camp, if Jianchang is lost, Liu Tichun's strategy will be declared bankrupt, and the Ming army will be trapped in a corner of the Three Gorges: "Without further ado, I will prepare to go." ”

Wen An was stunned, he didn't expect Deng Ming to be so easy to speak, originally he was worried that Deng Ming would not take risks, and he also prepared a set of rhetoric - of course, if Deng Ming resolutely didn't go, he couldn't help it: "It's hard for Mr. Deng, I'll choose a hundred jīng soldiers to accompany Mr. Deng." ”

There are still some military horses in Kuizhou, although there are not many but there must be a hundred, Wen Anzhi plans to send a fleet of ships to transport Deng Ming and his escorts to the vicinity of Chóngqìng at the same time, and when they arrive at their destination, Deng Ming and the guards disembark and leave - for example, in the Changshou area, the fleet will return to Fengjie: "The sailors and ships can be ready in two days, Mr. Deng bypassed Chóngqìng and went straight to Chengdu, there should also be some horses in Chengdu, dozens of horses must be there, Mr. Deng can change some horses there, Then go to Jianchang. ”

Deng Ming said yes first, but after thinking about it, he shook his head and said: "I don't need so many people, I have twelve guards now, and the superintendent will pick ten more strong men for me, so that the preparation should be faster." It is good to give more than 60 horses, and we have three horses for one person, and the speed of riding in turn will be much faster, and it is easy to change horses in Chengdu. ”

If there were only about 20 people and more than 30 horses, Wen Anzhi would be able to prepare ships and sailors tomorrow, but he was a little worried: "Is there too few people?" ”

"The point is not that I want to go to Jianchang, what's the difference between a hundred and twenty?" Deng Ming thought about it again, and directly told Wen Anzhi's dignitaries: "Mr. Li Qian, who accompanied me back from chóngqìng last time, was brave and fierce, and the supervisor lent him to me for use, and it would be good to give me six more people, twenty people and sixty horses." ”

Although many people in the Ming army were still waiting to see the situation, holding unrealistic hopes for the future, thinking that opportunities would always appear, Deng Ming knew that the Southern Ming was about to fall, and Yongli was the last Southern Ming he knew, if he could not change history, then Yongli would flee to Burma, and then the Qing court would dominate the world. Now Deng Ming is eager to do something and do his best to break a different historical path, so he is racing against time than Wen Anzhi.

Although I don't know why Deng Ming is so anxious, Wen Anzhi still feels that Deng Ming has a kind of vitality that he hasn't seen for many years, and his attitude of striving for victory is also very inspiring, which makes Wen Anzhi suddenly feel that things are promising, and most of the yīn depression in Duorìlai's heart has also been cleared - a few days ago, Wen Anzhi was so worried that he couldn't eat as he was before he learned about Wanxian's victory, but now he smiled and sighed: "It's hard Mr. Deng, so diligent in the king's affairs." ”

"Inspector," Deng Ming laughed, "Is there anyone in this world who is more diligent in the king's affairs than me?" If the war is unfavorable, am I not the one who suffers the most? If Wang Shi can expel the Tartars and recover the Central Plains, can there be anyone who benefits more than me? ”

Wen Anzhi also smiled and nodded, although he felt that what Deng Ming said made sense, he still secretly admired.

The two didn't say much, and prepared separately.

After leaving Wen Anzhi's room, Deng Ming was blown by the cold wind and his mind suddenly sobered up: "What do you mean that there is no one who benefits more than me?" I'm obviously not a clan, what did Daming Zhongxing do to me? I won't be able to put it on by then. Alas, I'm pretending to be a sect and I'm about to pretend to be real, and I'm so deceived that I'm about to trick myself in. ”

After taking two more steps, Deng Ming was shocked again and stopped: "Didn't I tell Master Wen that I am not a sect?" He also repeatedly explained to him that I had nothing to do with Emperor Lie, and that the mission to the Three Gorges was the same as the fake King Han he engaged in to appease the army. How do you see that he still seems to agree with my words? Could it be that he didn't believe it at all? I still think I'm a clan. ”

At this time, Wen Anzhi was in the study reflecting on Deng Ming's words just now, and couldn't help but admire: "If all the children of the Heavenly Family understand things like the King of the Young Tang Dynasty, how could Da Ming become like this." If the Ming Dynasty is gone, the clan will no longer have any status, and only the Shaotang King can see such a simple truth. ”

"Hmm......" After Wen Anzhi sighed, a cloud of doubt suddenly rose from his heart: "King Shaotang just said that if the officers and soldiers expel the Tartars and restore the whole country, he will benefit the most?" No, it's supposed to be today. ”

However, this suspicion disappeared after a while, and remembering Deng Ming's majestic appearance, Wen Anzhi smiled again: "I'm seventy-seven, and I don't know if I can see the officers and soldiers recovering the two capitals and thirteen provinces." When I came out three years ago, I thought that I couldn't live up to the grace of the first emperor, as long as the Ming Dynasty was prosperous, I would be able to feel at ease under Jiuquan, and then who was the Son of Heaven and what did I have to do with it? Alas, I really want to see the day when Wang Shi recovers Shenjing, so that I can go underground to see Emperor Yi. ”

……

On the same day, Wen Anzhi called Li Xinghan over, and when he heard that such a dangerous task was going to be handed over to Deng Ming, Li Xinghan immediately objected and persuaded Wen Anzhi to take back his life, but after hearing Wen Anzhi say that Deng Ming's determination had been decided, Li Xinghan said that he was willing to set off with him.

While Wen Anzhi and Li Xinghan were carefully considering the other six candidates, Deng Ming also told his guards of the task, and Zhou Kaihuang and nine of his companions who had fought with him in Wanxian all expressed their willingness to go to Jianchang with him, while Liu Jinge and Yuan Xiang objected in unison, believing that this was not a risk that the noble Deng Ming should take.

"Sir is burdened with a heavy responsibility, how can he put himself in danger?" Liu Jinge and Yuan Xiang's rhetoric is basically the same, in short, Deng Ming is too important, if Jianchang and Deng Ming have to choose one of the two, then they must choose Deng Ming's safety first. And they don't think that Deng Ming must be in danger if he doesn't go to Jianchang, in Yuan Xiang's words, Feng Shuangli has been named the king of Qingyang by the imperial court, so he has to have some ability, and he will definitely be able to stabilize Jianchang's shape. Seeing that Yuan Xiang opposed it so fiercely, Zhou Kaihuang, who supported Deng Ming, also became ambiguous, and no longer spoke out to support Deng Ming's decision, but hid to the side without saying a word.

"If the country doesn't exist anymore, do I still have to pay it?" Deng Ming knew that these people regarded themselves as clansmen, so he put on a royal style - I have to admit that Deng Ming felt that pretending to be a royal child could indeed satisfy people's vanity: "General Yuan and General Liu are both loyal people, and they have no time to make a living for the country, but for me, it is for the country and for themselves, and they should not be left behind." ”

Seeing that Yuan Xiang and Liu Jinge still had the intention of persuading again, Deng Ming said: "I have made up my mind, if you still don't agree, then I will let the overseer leave you in Fengjie, this trip may encounter danger, I need brothers and partners who agree with me, if you think it is inappropriate, I will not force it, it is better than having a disagreement on the road." I will ask the superintendent for two more people," said Deng Ming and glanced at the silent Zhou Kaihuang: "If Mr. Zhou Qian doesn't agree with it, I will ask for three." ”

Liu Jinge was furious when he heard this: "What did Mr. Deng take our kindness as? ”

As soon as the words came out, Liu Jinge found that there seemed to be something wrong with his attitude, he just persuaded Deng Ming not to take risks because he was following the explanation of his father and master, but now he suddenly remembered that his master said that he should "be loyal to all things", don't argue with Deng Ming in everything, let alone be a bird to oppose Deng Ming's decision - this explanation is obviously a contradiction.

Liu Jinge, who was confused, became dumb only halfway through his words, and Yuan Xiang on the side made up the second half of the sentence for him: "Since Mr. Deng has this determination, he swears to follow him." ”

Zhou Kaihuang didn't speak, but just hugged his fist towards Deng Ming.

"Okay, let's go and get ready, we're going to set off tomorrow."

……

That night, Wen Anzhi made preparations, and the dry food and weapons for Deng Ming and his party were also checked repeatedly, and finally Wen Anzhi also brought Deng Ming to make a final explanation: "Qingyang is the old department of the King of Shu." ”

"Oh?" Deng Ming was a little puzzled by this.

Wen Anzhi had long expected that Deng Ming didn't understand, and the latter made a lot of jokes in this regard, and when he first talked about the King of Shu, Deng Ming thought that the King of Shu was the Ming clan - in fact, the King of Shu was killed by Xiying, and Yongli gave this prince to Liu Wenxiu, the former prince of Xiying, which also led to many Sichuan soldiers being dissatisfied.

"The King of Shu and the King of Jin are at odds ......" Since Wen Anzhi already understands that Deng Ming is a person who doesn't know anything about the faction, he won't hint at it anymore now, but explain it to him clearly. Because Li Dingguo put Liu Wenxiu under house arrest until death, and also classified many of Liu Wenxiu's subordinates as "old Qin soldiers" - referring to them as Sun Kewang's faction, Liu Wenxiu's subordinates secretly had opinions about the king of Jin. Wen Anzhi meant that after Deng Ming arrived in Jianchang, he should emphasize the importance of Jianchang to the imperial court to Feng Shuangli, and it was best to mention less Jin King Li Dingguo in his words, so as not to make Feng Shuangli unhappy: "Qingyang Gong is loyal to the country, but ......"

Wen Anzhi's words made Deng Ming's heart suddenly feel another pimple: When is it, do you still care about this?

Wen Anzhi had told Deng Ming a lot of similar precautions before, he knew that Wen Anzhi had to pay attention to these as a supervisor in Sichuan, a place with many factions, and he also knew very well that Wen Anzhi took the trouble to tell himself that these were completely out of love and kindness, for the unity of the Ming army, but Deng Ming still couldn't help but feel ridiculous - not that Wen Anzhi was ridiculous, but that this era and the Southern Ming Dynasty were too ridiculous, and they had been beaten by the Manchu Qing Dynasty to the point of having no place to stand, but the view of the portal was still so heavy. The army should be divided into camps, western camps, and descendants; Xiying will be divided into the Jin king's line, the Shu king's line, and the Qin's king's line; Not only in Xiying, but also in the camp and the lineage, there are also chaotic factions.

"Don't worry, Inspector." Deng Ming assured Wen Anzhi: "I will definitely not say anything good about King Jin in front of Qingyang, nor will I say that I want him to stick to Jianchang to ensure that King Jin retreats, lest he withdraw to Chengdu in anger." ”

Wen Anzhi heard the mockery in Deng Ming's words, but he also knew that it was not aimed at him, so he sighed softly: "It's good that you know it in your heart." ”