The mighty Ming army drove all the way back to Wanxian, the soldiers were very excited, today the Ming army killed only seventeen people, although hundreds of wounded, but most of them were not worth mentioning minor injuries. In addition to the relatively large proportion of casualties among the guards around Deng Ming, the Ming army's teams were basically the original appearance when they opened Wanxian to face the battle. Themselves, their friends, and their companions around them were all intact, and it was such a brilliant victory, which made every Ming soldier feel comfortable, even those wounded who were carried back by their companions, they were all talking on the stretcher, laughing loudly, and their voices were louder than the other.

Before the expedition, although the soldiers were clear about Deng Ming's plan, they also knew that this battle was one enemy and two enemies, and defeat was a dead end. Not to mention the pessimistic prospects, the soldier already had the idea of killing a man in his heart, and comforted himself that he had been able to escape from Chóngqìng here for several more days; Most of the rest of the soldiers felt that it was already the best result to be able to win, after all, Tan Yi was also a local snake in Kuizhou, and for these ordinary soldiers, he was a big man to look up to; Even those who are optimistic also feel that if the casualties can be less than 1,000 and defeat Tan Yi will be a great victory.

Therefore, such a result made the soldiers feel like in a dream, the powerful enemy army that seemed invincible and had pushed the Ming army into a desperate situation was so vulnerable, and today's battle was not much more difficult than the march, where is this war? It's just chasing people for an hour. The Ming army first raided Tan Yi, and then hurried to the aid of Han Shizi, and the Ming soldiers in the last few rows of the army lined up with the army to run east and west, and as a result, they won the battle without even seeing a single enemy - there were still many soldiers in this situation, and they were now complaining loudly: the enemy army was so incompetent, that their legs were sore.

While laughing at the incompetent enemy army to their heart's content, the soldiers knew very well who had led them to such a glorious victory, and when they saw Deng Ming's figure, the Ming officers and men cheered at him in a frenzy until they shouted hoarse in their throats and did not realize it at all.

Zhao Tianba, who was following Deng Ming, was also happy in his heart.

Over the years, the Ming court has always lost more and won less, not to mention winning more with less, even if it fights more and fights less, it often makes a fuss, for example, this time the Ming army had the upper hand at the beginning and was inexplicably defeated. Over the years, repeated failures have made the Ming army more and more pessimistic, and the Qing army has become more and more arrogant. This pessimism is unwilling to admit in the mouth of the Ming army, but it is in the heart. This is also one of the reasons why the officers of the Ming army were almost immediately discouraged when they heard that the Qing army was more numerous than their own, so they quickly reached a unanimous opinion: this battle will be lost, and they should retreat quickly to try to allow more people to escape.

"Two thousand to five thousand, and there are no losses, not only did this battle be fought, but I also personally participated, not only participated, but also made a great contribution to it." The more Zhao Tianba thought about it, the more proud he became, twenty-two people resisted thousands of enemy soldiers, this is simply a legend, as for the dozen or so people chasing hundreds of enemies and slashing, killing more than ten miles of blood on the road, it is even more amazing: "I heard His Highness talk about the battle of Kunyang several times today, at that time I still wanted 3,000 people to chase and kill 400,000, what kind of majestic scene has become?" Although there are not so many enemy troops today, it is a little bit interesting. ”

After thinking about the battle of Kunyang, Zhao Tianba remembered the battle of Zhengcunba mentioned by Deng Ming, originally Zhao Tianba had always looked down on eunuchs, but when he heard that Zheng He had taken the heads of enemy generals several times among tens of thousands of chasing soldiers, he immediately respected the eunuchs of Sanbao: "Even Emperor Chengzu was full of praise, and gave him the surname Zheng, we also have a bit of Zheng Daguan meaning today, right?" Well, yes, it's not that we don't want to take it, there are really no enemy generals, but it's a pity that we are not eunuchs, otherwise we will be Wantianba in the future...... Phew, what a pity, it's fortunate that we are not eunuchs, otherwise there would be more than 10,000 heavenly tyrants in this world......"

In front of Wanxian City, Xiong Lan led a group of people to greet the triumphant Ming army, and the gong and drum team formed just now knelt at the front - Xiong Lan hoped that when Han Shizi saw this team, he would remember the little credit he had just made so that he would not be a killer. Seeing that the front of the Ming army was Deng Ming's Wang Qi, Xiong Lan, who had once again bound himself and surrendered, and his accomplices quickly lowered their heads and knelt motionless on the side of the road.

Although he hoped that Han Shizi would be able to bypass him, Xiong Lan also made preparations with both hands, the ropes on his body looked strong, but unlike others, Xiong Lan did not let people really tie the final buckle to death like other brainless accomplices, but secretly held the two rope ends in her hands. With his arms behind his back, the man was kneeling on the ground, and it was hard to tell that he could untie the rope on his own as soon as he let go.

This time, Xiong Lan also felt that he had done a little too much, Han Shizi changed his banner as soon as he left the city gate, although he felt that the other party seemed to be a soft-hearted person, but Xiong Lan did not dare to say that the other party would definitely spare him. In Xiong Lan's calculations, the Ming army must be very tired after fighting for so long, if Han Shizi turns his face and wants to kill the demoted officials of Wanxian, the scene may also be very chaotic, he will let go of the rope and run into the mountain, the tired and armored Ming army may not be able to catch up with him, and there are also those accomplices who are serious about tying themselves up and can delay the time - they also dare not say that they will definitely be able to escape, but it is always a trick to leave a glimmer of life for themselves in the worst situation.

Han Shizi's banner was getting closer and closer, Xiong Lan secretly raised his eyes to take a look, and saw that Deng Ming had already ridden his horse to a short distance, he quickly lowered his head again - Han Shizi would definitely not chase him down in person, and he and those guards were probably tired enough.

The sound of horses' hooves is getting closer and closer, Xiong Lan, who has been calming himself just now, suddenly felt his heart beating wildly, he didn't see the battle just now, Tan Yi, who is known as the prestige, was defeated by this Han Shizi, that is Renshou Hou, ruthless and resourceful, I heard that Tan Wen and Yuan Zongdi were defeated casually in chóngqìng. Xiong Lan didn't say that he had seen or heard of it, but he never dreamed that there would be such a one-sided battle, and more than 2,400 Ming troops drove out of Wanxian County for an hour, and they defeated twice as many enemy soldiers as they were.

If such a man kills himself...... Xiong Lan's little abacus and little idea that she used to cheer herself up just now suddenly disappeared, and she almost let go of the rope and stood up and ran away regardless of it, but at this time, Xiong Lan also felt that her two calves suddenly trembled uncontrollably, and her legs and stomach began to beat violently, and she quickly began to ache, as if she had begun to cramp.

When Xiong Lan desperately tried to take back control of his body, his accomplices around him were also trembling, Xiong Lan could feel the violent shaking of those people around him, a gust of wind blew, Xiong Lan also smelled a strong smell of urine, someone must be incontinent, the smell is so strong I don't know how many people there are.

The horse stopped in front of Xiong Lan, he looked at the horse's legs, biting his lip, and his hands behind his back began to tremble, spasmodically holding the rope in his palm, what used his companions to delay for a while, what first stabbed into the crowd behind him, and then used the terrain of Wanxian County to escape, these Xiong Lan couldn't think of the escape plan that he had been thinking about for a long time.

"Xiong Lan ......"

A voice came from above his head, it was Han Shizi's voice, as soon as this voice sounded, someone next to Xiong Lan suddenly completely collapsed, and an accomplice threw himself forward on the ground, as if his body was paralyzed and he couldn't kneel at all.

As the guy fell, an incoherent cry was violently spat out: "Your Highness, the small sin deserves death...... Spare your life, Your Highness, the little ones don't dare anymore, the little sins deserve death......"

Realize that Xiong Lan also explained to her accomplices, don't cry and make a fool of yourself, if you completely lose your temper, not only will it not help begging for mercy, but it may also arouse the other party's murderous intentions, this is not the first time Xiong Lan has explained this to them, the last time they surrendered, everyone controlled their feelings well. But today's atmosphere has completely changed, after seeing the result of the battle just now, Xiong Lan's gang of accomplices can no longer control their fear of Han Shizi, even the most calm Xiong Lan is involuntarily mobilized with his whole body at this time, and he can't even spit out a word of the words he thought of earlier.

The people on the horse ignored the demoted officials who cried and begged for mercy, and continued to question Xiong Landao: "Did I tell you that betraying the court is already a big crime, but I promise you that you can never do it again because of your leadership anyway?" Is there anything else you have to say this time? ”

Xiong Lan felt that his tongue began to obey again, and his two calves trembled less, because he noticed that the other party did not seem to be determined to kill him.

"Your Highness, sinner...... What a foolish sinner is! Sinners are cowards! Seeing that the Tartars were so powerful, they were scared out, and they only thought about how to save the dog's life. Xiong Lan tried hard to lower her sin to a higher level, from treason for glory to greed for life and fear of death: "Just now the sinner knew that the death penalty was inescapable, but he did not escape, but took people out of the city to shout to the Tartars, His Highness should kill the sinner, but this may make other people who have the heart of righteousness hesitate, Your Highness!" The life of a sinner is worthless, so let's give it back to the sinner, maybe it can be of little use to the great cause of the court. ”

The person on the horse was silent for a while, and then spoke in a softer voice again: "But I already said last time that this matter should not be done again, I let you go once is enough to let others know the leniency of the imperial court, why do I want to let you go twice?" ”

"Your Highness, sinners have heard that the sages have said, 'There are no more than three things.' It's not that you can't do it again. When the sages say this, they mean that they will have the opportunity to repent. Xiong Lan felt that the chance of survival suddenly became very big, and most of his courage returned, and he didn't know if the matter was just three or not, it was good to be able to use it anyway: "The sinner does not dare to escape today, and he is dedicated to making meritorious service to redeem himself, and letting the sinner prove His Highness's generosity, so that other repentant people can follow the example of sinners to make meritorious atonement." Besides, His Highness said last time that sinners can redeem themselves because of some merits, but he didn't say that he can redeem himself only once, and he can't redeem himself again in the future. ”

Deng Ming looked down at Xiong Lan who was kneeling in front of the horse, he was really angry when he first saw Xiong Lan turn against him today, thinking that if he won this battle, he would definitely break this person's body into pieces. But after the victory, Deng Ming's murderous intent towards Xiong Lan did fade a lot, and this person's actions did not cause any harm to the Ming army, and after killing so many people, Deng Ming was also a little tired.

"The food I asked you to prepare before I left the city, as well as the wound medicine......" Deng Ming already had the idea of sparing Xiong Lan, so he asked in a long voice.

"The sinners have been arranged," Xiong Lan replied hurriedly, "sinners dare not be lazy, hot food and hot water have been prepared, and the army can eat it when it enters the city, and if there is a lack of sinners, they are willing to take the death." ”

At this time, Xiong Lan had completely recovered the control of her body, and when she spoke, Xiong Lan secretly tied a butterfly buckle to the two rope ends she was holding in her hand, and pinched the two buckles of the butterfly buckle with her thumb.

"Okay, I'll spare you one more time." These days, Deng Ming feels that this guy is still quite talented, the food and accommodation of the Ming army are well arranged, if he kills him, he will have to cāo heart, after saying that, Deng Ming shouted to the members of the gong and drum team kneeling behind Xiong Lan: "Loosen the general bond for Xiong Lan." ”

Those soldiers kneeling behind did not restrain themselves, and when they heard the rumors, they wanted to kneel forward to help Xiong Lan and the other officials loosen their ties.

"Your Highness, sinners have one more thing to tell." Xiong Lan screamed again.

"What's the matter?"

"The sinner just released Tan Hong for a while." Xiong Lan honestly explained to Deng Ming her actions of releasing Tan Hong and other captives.

"Where is he now?" Deng Ming impatiently interrupted Xiong Lan's account of boiling porridge and steaming cakes for the prisoners, and asked bluntly.

"I was imprisoned by sinners again, and I am still in the county jail."

"Well, then I don't care about you." Deng Ming lifted the reins of the horse, no longer looked at Xiong Lan and went straight to the gate of Wanxian County.

"Sinner, thank Your Highness for not killing." Xiong Lan shouted loudly behind her back, and at the same time used her hands to tie the butterfly buckle in her hand into a dead button, and then the soldiers behind her began to move again, moving over to untie the ropes of the officers who were tied to Xiong Lan.

After untying the rope, the officials were still kneeling on the side of the road, and they didn't dare to stand up until the Ming army drove over, Xiong Lan looked at those companions with wet crotch with some disdain, and was about to scold them, when suddenly a gust of wind blew, freezing Xiong Lan shivered, and then he found that his clothes were also soaked with sweat, and he was about to wring out the water.

Although Deng Ming has gone away, there is still a lot of fear on the faces of these demoted officials, the last time they surrendered, they celebrated each other, and soon they were all smiling, and this time although they were happy to pick up another life, but no one would laugh again.

"This Han Shizi, such a compassionate person, is so powerful when he fights. Renshou Hou...... No, that Tan Yi old thief talked and laughed and killed people, I thought that Han Shizi was by no means his opponent, and I didn't think that Han Shizi would beat him easier than killing chickens. After returning to Wanxian County, a demoted official whispered. Just now they learned from the triumphant Ming soldiers that Deng Ming led a dozen cavalry chasing thousands of people to cut down - it was difficult for him to associate this kind of heroism with Han Shizi, who was not thirsty for killing, and he could not connect with any of the generals he knew.

The other officers also agreed when they heard this, and they were equally incredulous.

"Tan Yi turned his face ruthlessly, he has the ability to ambush and kill Fu Hou, but it is not possible to let him go into battle to fight the enemy by himself," Xiong Lan had already changed into a dry suit, and after hearing this, he whispered his opinion: "Ruthless may not be a true hero, and the reverse is the same." ”

……

"Your Highness is so magnanimous."

The last time Xiong Lan was pardoned, Li Xinghan and the others were a little dissatisfied, but today there was no opposition, in addition to the great victory led by Deng Ming, the small losses of the Ming army were also one of the reasons. If the Ming army had won a hard battle today, with hundreds of casualties, the officers would not have been in such a good mood, and now everyone thinks that it is really a trivial matter whether to kill Xiong Lan or not, and whether to investigate the responsibility of whether to investigate or not to surrender the army in Wanxian County.

"Xiong Lan is quite capable," before Deng Ming and they all felt that after the dispute during the first surrender, Xiong Lan and the rest of the officers in Wanxian County were already incompatible, and they didn't expect him to have such a big appeal, the most amazing thing for Deng Ming was his determination and ability to take action, making a plan is relatively easy, but after making a plan, it can be quickly put into practice, which is quite a great talent: "Determine a goal, and then do your best around this goal, this is a masterpiece, How could he be so unwillful in Tan Hongjun's army? ”

Deng Ming's questions Zhou Kaihuang and Li Xinghan naturally couldn't answer them, so he sent someone to inquire about Xiong Lan's situation, and as for Deng Ming's evaluation of Xiong Lan, these people didn't quite agree: "A rooster and dog thief, His Highness exalts him too much, what kind of person, isn't it the same as killing a dog if His Highness wants to kill him?" ”

"He can give me a reason not to kill him," Deng Ming explained to everyone why he decided to spare Xiong Lan's life: "If he hadn't beaten gongs and drums and shouted 'Tan Yi is defeated' today, the Tartars surrounding us would not have retreated so quickly, and I am afraid that there would be losses, Xiong Lan's move may have saved the lives of several guards, and he exchanged this for his own life." Perhaps, it is not the guard who loses but me, and I spare his life if he saves my life. ”

"Your Highness was too risky at the time." Thinking of Deng Ming being the first soldier at that time, Zhao Tianba was a little afraid, obviously the reinforcements were coming soon, and the encirclement could still be maintained, so there was no need for Deng Ming to fight in person.

"It was I who proposed to stay, no longer fleeing but sticking to the top of the hill," Deng Ming casually said at that time The reason was not what he really thought at the time, and now he had the opportunity to say the real reason: "Someone died in battle because of my decision, how can I stay behind?" ”

"Isn't this for the whole army," Zhao Tianba felt that this reason was completely untenable: "How can His Highness's daughter's body be thrown lightly?" ”

"Yes, Your Highness is not everyone." Li Xinghan rarely echoed Zhao Tianba's statement, but his opinion on this issue was the same, and the clan was different.

"I'm not a clan, I'm going to make things clear to you today," Deng Ming shook his head and said, "My surname is Deng and not Zhu." ”