Zhao Liangdong looked at the letter in his hand, and a wave of anger surged in his heart, he was born and died for the Qing court for more than ten years, not only earned an official position for himself, but also won the respect of the green camp in Gansu and Shaanxi. It was precisely because Zhao Liangdong was quite famous for his bravery that Hong Chengchou would call him by name and ask him to serve in the shogunate of Changsha, Hunan Province, and resist Li Dingguo's attack head-on. After arriving in Hunan, Zhao Liangdong did not meet Hong Chengchou's expectations, and wrote a few strokes of thick eyebrows and heavy ink on the credit book for himself.

Last year's large-scale attack on the Yongli court in the southwest was a blow to the Qing court, which not only had abundant supplies, but also promised to reward the soldiers who had made meritorious contributions in this battle after the elimination of the Southern Ming. Zhao Liangdong thinks that this is his last chance to make meritorious contributions, after the fall of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the world will be peaceful, and Zhao Liangdong can also enjoy wealth and prosperity with his merits over the years. Unlike Wu Sangui and other Han Chinese, Zhao Liangdong had already carried the flag for merit when he served under Azig, and in the future, Běijīng would definitely find a good place for a Han Eight Banner general like him to find a place of prosperity.

But now Wu Sangui actually wants Zhao Liangdong to play under Li Guoying!

What kind of thing is Li Guoying? When Zhao Liangdong threw himself into the Azig banner that had just entered the customs with a white body, Li Guoying was driven all over the street by the intrusive army with Zuo Liangyu, and after Zuo Liangyu's death, he surrendered to the Qing army in Jiangbei, and he was already a general soldier at that time, and he was still a general soldier many years later. In Shaanxi, Li Guoying also relied on his desperate efforts to tie up with Wu Sangui to prosper all the way, Hong Chengchou transferred all the strong generals of Ganshan's Jīng soldiers, and Li Guoying, who was left behind, belonged to the general of Liba before becoming the governor. In the eyes of Zhao Liangdong, who relied on military merits to rise from a soldier all the way to a general, Li Guoying has no prestige at all.

What's more critical is the issue of treatment, the attack on Yungui is běijīng personally asked about the materials, military salaries, grain and grass are all preferential and there will be no shortage of problems, but what kind of poverty Sichuan and Shaanxi have become, Zhao Liangdong himself also knows in his heart. And if he led the troops to Sichuan, Zhao Liangdong knew that he would definitely not be treated as a descendant by Li Guoying, and if the materials were insufficient, he would definitely deduct himself first, and when he was fighting, he would inevitably be regarded as a striker when attacking, and he would definitely be responsible for retreating when retreating, and his name would not be written in the credit book first.

"I'm not going!" Zhao Liangdong spit out this sentence hatefully, he felt that as long as he didn't let go, Wu Sangui couldn't force him to go to Sichuan, Zhao Liangdong was included in the sequence of the Western Expedition was arranged by Hong Chengchou and approved by the imperial court.

After saying this, Zhao Liangdong's eyes widened and Wu Sangui looked at each other, and he held his breath to resist the king of Pingxi to the end.

Wu Sangui's reaction to Zhao Liangdong was not completely unexpected, and other backgrounds that were not as strong as Zhao Liangdong had already been blown away by him. In particular, some of the miscellaneous troops of the two Guangxi provinces are probably the most tragic group of people after the Kunming fire. When Kunming was first captured, Wu Sangui sent Geng Jimao's and Shang Kexi's descendants out of the country under the pretext that a major event had been decided, and the remaining Liangguang soldiers were not very popular with the important ministers of Liangguang. But after the Kunming fire, Wu Sangui, who returned to Guizhou, was not rich himself, and was intercepted by Hu Quancai for supplies, so he had to use these miscellaneous troops first, and forced them to return to their hometown after giving them a few days of grain and grass.

In addition to the troops of Liangguang, Wu Sangui, an army from Jiangnan, also wanted to drive some away, such as that Dai Jianxiong, whose old benefactor Lang Tingzuo had also agreed, intending to let Dai Jianxiong return to the division to strengthen the defenses weakened by Zheng Chenggong's invasion. But after Deng Mingyi tossed around, the matter was delayed, and after the shape was stabilized, the newly appointed Jiang Guozhu pushed 265, saying that General Dai would stay in the southwest to serve.

"Since General Zhao is unwilling to serve the country, then forget about this matter."

To Zhao Liangdong's surprise, Wu Sangui didn't mean to force him at all, and nodded and let Zhao Liangdong leave, which made Zhao Liangdong, who was holding back his strength for a long time and preparing to quarrel, feel as if he had punched him empty. After leaving the temporary palace of King Pingxi in Guiyang, Zhao Liangdong was still a little puzzled, and he also felt happy and puzzled to be able to pass the test so easily: "Didn't King Pingxi remember the credit I gave him to frame Hong Chengchou in the first place?" Zhao Liangdong also planned to move this matter out just now, reminding Wu Sangui not to forget it: Zhao Liangdong was on his side in the Kunming Change.

"No, if Wu Sangui really thought about this, he wouldn't want to bombard me and leave." Zhao Liangdong shook his head, but he couldn't think of any other reason for a while.

After Zhao Liangdong left, King Pingxi brought other famous Ganxi generals, Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao, and like Zhao Liangdong, these two people also refused to go to Sichuan to play for Li Guoying. These two people were originally Qin generals of the Ming Dynasty, after Li Zicheng captured Xi'an, they surrendered Li Zicheng, and after the Manchu Qing came, they surrendered to the Manchu Qing again, although Wu Sangui was also Wu Sangui's subordinates when he guarded Hanzhong, but they did not belong to his Guanning military lineage. Neither of them has raised the flag yet, Wu Sangui doesn't need to be so polite, and sarcastically mocks the two, implying that they are greedy for life and afraid of death.

However, Wu Sangui ended here, there was no further pressure, he had already thought of countermeasures to deal with these Shaanxi soldiers. After Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao left one after another, Wu Sangui called in the steward in charge of his own domain and asked, "How much sand has been mixed with the grain for Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao now?" ”

"For every nineteen stones of grain, mix one stone of sand and soil into twenty stones and send them to their military camps." The steward of the clan replied honestly.

"Give them such good food, no wonder they refuse to leave," Wu Sangui immediately ordered: "From today onwards, give them one percent of the soil mixed with their food; Half of the hay is mixed with grass, and the military salary is 30%. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Well, there's Zhao Liangdong." Wu Sangui pondered for a while, because Zhao Liangdong was a banner man and helped Wu Sangui after the Kunming fire, so Wu Sangui has always given him the treatment of his descendants, but today since Zhao Liangdong doesn't know what to do, then don't blame King Pingxi for being polite: "In the future, I won't give Zhao Liangdong a whole live pig, and all the meat will be given to his female pork and pig skin, and the rice will also be mixed with some sand, not a lot, just giggle his teeth first." ”

After the steward took the order and left, Wu Sangui thought about the problem of governing Guizhou, if he continued to expropriate in Guizhou, many people would soon be unable to survive, and the people's livelihood would become very difficult. It was not in line with Wu Sangui's intention for Guizhou to become impoverished and uneasy, but if he did not collect heavy taxes now, Wu Sangui would not be able to maintain a large army, and now the king of Pingxi was not sure how long he would stay in Guizhou: "If Deng Ming and Zheng Chenggong attack Jiangnan again, will the imperial court transfer me back?" If that's the case, the emperor will definitely take another province to compensate me, so it's a good idea to take more from Guizhou now. ”

After a while, the guards reported that Li Guoying's envoy had come again to ask for an audience, and that this envoy was about to return to Sichuan, and had come to see the king of Pingxi before leaving, and asked Wu Sangui what kind of reply he wanted him to bring to the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

"Let Governor Li rest assured, he has served under this king for so many years, how can I not help?" Wu Sangui said with a smile: "I have already told General Zhao, General Zhang, and General Wang, and they are all happy to return to Sichuan to serve, but they need some time to prepare." Presumably, Governor Li also knew that more than a year ago, the king's army was on the road of Loushan Pass, and now it is difficult to collect grain and grass, and the king also has to prepare some food for several generals. ”

…… Deng Ming didn't plan to stay in Wanxian for long, he waited for a few more days, thousands of Ming troops arrived from Fengjie, and with these troops watching, Xiong Lan had no chance to defect again. Seeing that the situation in Wanxian County had become stable, Deng Ming planned to leave, Xiong Lan rushed to see him off, he thought that Deng Ming was going to return to Fengjie, but seeing Deng Ming's men loading a large number of baggage and horses onto the boat, it didn't feel like it.

"I'm not going to hide it, I'm going to Chengdu." Deng Ming thought about it for a while and felt that there was no need to deceive Xiong Lan on this kind of thing, so he told the truth: "Thanks to the intelligence of Xiong County's order, I learned that Chengdu was in distress." ”

"Did the Admiral come in person?" Xiong Lan was taken aback, and hurriedly persuaded: "The Admiral sent a messenger to Chengdu to report jǐng, why bother to go on this trip in person?" ”

"I'm an idle person." Deng Ming said with a smile, a large number of Ming troops rushed to Wanxian from Fengjie, the main purpose was not to monitor Xiong Lan, but to prepare in advance for the army that was about to attack Chóngqìng.

Shut down

After Deng Ming encouraged Xiong Lan, he went to check his outfit again, Xiong Lan pondered carefully for a while, and suddenly called Pu Fu and said to him: "From today on, you are President Qian, when I am not there, help me watch Wanxian." ”

"Where are you going?" Park was stunned for a moment and hurriedly asked.

"I'm going to take a trip to western Sichuan." Xiong Lan briefly explained a few words, and then summoned Qin Xiucai and asked him to accompany him to see Deng Ming.

"Admiral, I plan to select Wanxian Jīng Rui and go to Chengdu with the Admiral."

"Huh?" Deng Ming was very surprised by the request, and then shook his head again and again: "No need, you can guard Wanxian with peace of mind." ”

"The Admiral intends to attack Chóngqìng, and there is no use here at all for lowly places, but the troops in western Sichuan are weak, and there may be places where lowly positions can be effective." Xiong Lan's attitude is very resolute.

Just now, Deng Ming thought that Xiong Lan was just showing loyalty, so he didn't care, and after seeing Xiong Lan's stern face, Deng Ming also stood up strictly: "Why did Xiong County Ling ask for orders to go to Chengdu?" ”

"Admiral Mingjian, first of all, there is really no place to get a lowly position here, the lowly post has defected repeatedly, the superintendent will not trust the lowly post at all, don't say that he is going to fight chóngqìng, even if he sorts out the grain and grass for the army, I am afraid that he will not be at ease, if the lowly post is still in Wanxian, the superintendent may have to leave more people to keep an eye on the humble, and cannot concentrate on the front line." There was no one else around, and Xiong Lan honestly told her thoughts and thoughts: "Staying here with a humble position is harmful to both the superintendent and the admiral. ”

"Well, that's true, but I'm afraid you're also worried in your heart, in case the front line is frustrated, the overseer is worried that you will take you down first if you repeat it." Deng Ming nodded, and asked again, "What else?" ”

Xiong Lan knew that what Deng Ming said was also true, the Ming army's offensive was fine, if it didn't go well, whether it was Wen Anzhi or the Ming army officer who stayed in Wanxian to monitor him, it was very likely that Xiong Lan would be arrested first, just in case. At that time, Deng Ming was not nearby, and Xiong Lan was not sure whether he could save his life, even if the Ming army casually found an excuse to kill him, most likely no one would intercede for him.

"If you go to western Sichuan with your henchmen, the superintendent can relax, and the admiral does need more troops."

Deng Ming thought for a while, and shook his head slightly: "But my subordinates are all one person and three horses, and you can't keep up with me." ”

"It's okay to do this, the admiral goes first, and the lowly takes people to rush later, even if it's a few days late, it can be arrived after all."

Deng Ming thought for a while and asked, "How many people are you going to take?" ”

"About three hundred, and the soldiers are not too expensive." Xiong Lan replied.

"I won't delay the trip in order to take care of you, you have to prepare your own food, and you have to find your own guide along the way, the risk is not small." Deng Ming reminded: "There are many enemy troops around Chóngqìng now, which is not quite the same as a year ago, you have to think about it." ”

"Even if the risk is great, it will not be much greater than staying, and the admiral has said that you must work hard to be impressed. If you are misunderstood that you are investigating the military situation and want to surrender to the Tartars, you will be beheaded by the Governor, won't you be wronged by your humble position? ”

Listening to Xiong Lan's funny, Deng Ming laughed: "Okay, I agree, you can go by yourself, it's not like leaving your post without permission." ”

Xiong Lan thanked her repeatedly, and immediately went to gather people, planning to take a few boats to follow behind Deng Ming.

Li Xinghan looked at the background of Xiong Lan's departure and asked, "Why did Mr. agree with him?" He couldn't help at all. ”

"Yes, his soldiers have never fought before, and they have to carry food on foot and collect food along the way, I'm afraid it will take a few months to arrive, right?" Ren Tang also felt that Xiong Lan and them could not play the slightest role, and echoed Li Xinghan and said: "Even if they finally arrive in Chengdu, it is estimated that they can only be used as auxiliaries." ”

"Yes, it's possible that they'll get lost and haven't arrived for a long time." Deng Ming agreed with Li Xinghan and Ren Tang's judgment, in this era, it was not easy for a group of Wanxian soldiers to fight in western Sichuan, especially since they were not called jīng rui, and their equipment and morale were even more suspicious: "But what he said is right, if he stays, without me interceding for him, the supervisor may dispose of him one day; Other officers may also find him unhappy, and no one will speak for him when the time comes. Well, don't talk about other people, it's just that someone really hurt him, I just knew in advance, if I didn't have time to stop it, would I really pursue the subordinates who came here from Jiangnan for such a person who has been repeated three or four times? ”

Ren Tang and Li Xinghan didn't speak, but looking at the expressions on their faces, they obviously wanted to say, "Admiral, you also know that he is a capricious villain?" ”

"Since he wants to struggle to survive, as long as he doesn't hinder me and doesn't hurt others, I won't stop him, Wanxian County does have him here and he is almost the same, anyway, he just went out to avoid the limelight, and he may not really go to western Sichuan. When I come back in the future, regardless of whether he has made meritorious service or not, I will praise him in person and praise him, so that others will be at ease with him. ”

Taking the ship captured from the Qing army, Xiong Lan took Qin Xiucai and more than 200 other henchmen, followed closely behind Deng Ming's fleet, and sailed upstream together.

In front of the Causeway Pass, Deng Ming took the guards to get off the boat and log in, although there were more Qing troops in the area of Chóngqìng than when Deng Ming passed by last time, but the surrounding situation was similar to before, there were deserted and uninhabited areas everywhere, and Deng Ming and his party often did not see a single figure for a day.

This situation lasted for more than ten days, and Deng Ming and his party had nowhere to replenish along the way, and sometimes they needed to hunt to replenish food.

It wasn't until they reached the vicinity of Longquan that Deng Ming and the others saw traces of other human beings - a beacon tower of the Ming army.

When looking at the red flag fluttering on the outpost, a big stone fell to the ground in Deng Ming's heart, and it seemed that Chengdu had not been attacked. What made Deng Ming even happier was that the last time he came to Chengdu, there was no garrison of the Ming army here, and now that a beacon tower has been built, it means that the situation in Chengdu is better than the last time he came.

However, the situation of the jǐng ring at the outpost was not good at all, Deng Ming arrived in Longquan early in the morning, and he rushed into the beacon tower with his people, and the defenders inside still did not make any reaction.

These sleeping Ming soldiers were pulled out of the bed by the guards, and when they were brought to Deng Ming, they still looked sleepy-eyed.

After seeing Deng Ming, the little leader of the beacon tower was taken aback, the last time Deng Ming came to Chengdu, this little leader followed Liu Yao, so he recognized Deng Ming.

"Why did Mr. Deng come here, is he going to the capital?" This little boss not only did not know the movements in eastern Sichuan, but also did not know that Deng Ming now claimed to be the governor of Sichuan.

"Of course, I'm going to the capital, will I make a special trip to Longquan?" Deng Ming said dissatisfiedly: "Why are your guards so negligent, don't you know that you have to take turns to keep vigil?" ”

Several of the guards were speechless, and the little leader was even more frightened, for fear that Deng Ming would be angry and kill him.

"I won't pursue it this time, and I won't do it again in the future." Deng Ming didn't bother with these little soldiers, but asked them to take out the grain and help feed the horses, and after a little rest, he would rush to Chengdu.

The soldiers of the beacon tower immediately ran back to look for food and grass if they were amnesty, and after knowing that it was okay, the little leader of the beacon tower also relieved his heart and came to tell him that the beacon tower had been established for more than half a year, but since it was built, not to mention the human figure, even the ghost shadow has not seen a single one, and as a result, the defenders have slackened.

This small leader also reported to Deng Ming that there should actually be a hidden Ming army secret post on this road, which Chengdu could prepare in advance to find Chóngqìng to send troops to attack, but the beacon tower did not receive any jǐng report here, indicating that the secret post along the way did not find Deng Ming and his party.

Seeing that Deng Ming's face was getting worse and worse, the little leader hurriedly explained: Although Deng Ming was not found, if the Qing army sent a large army, it would definitely be discovered.

"If the Tartar army comes, won't they send scouts to search? Before you even discovered the army of the Tartars, you were killed by the Tartar scouts! Zhao Tianba reprimanded.

"If we don't return peace for two days in a row, the capital will know about it." The little leader lowered his head in defense.

"Yes, the capital may be jǐngti, but your lives will be gone." Deng Ming shook his head and said, "Forget it, just remember not to be so careless in the future." ”