Hearing that it was the famous Zhang Huangyan who came, the guards at the camp gate hurriedly went in to report, and at the same time invited Zhang Shangshu and his entourage to enter the camp. After entering the camp, Zhang Huangyan soon saw that there were groups of Ming troops training in cāo, and several leading Zhejiang army officers cheered and ran towards Zhang Huangyan after seeing the comers.

The guards who brought Zhang Huangyan into the camp were still a little wary, but when they saw these friendly troops from Zhejiang running over to greet Zhang Huangyan, the last bit of suspicion also disappeared, and they no longer followed closely behind these people but stood a few steps away, so as not to interfere with the happy time of the reunion between the Zhejiang officers and soldiers and their leaders.

Seeing that many of his subordinates were safe and sound, Zhang Huangyan was also very happy. The Zhejiang army in front of him gave him a new feeling, not only everyone was equipped with armor and weapons, but also held a lot of flags, and the officers and soldiers had a kind of courage - but the instructors sent by Li Laiheng were very dissatisfied when they saw this situation, and felt that the Zhejiang army was too undisciplined.

Ren Tang is also among them, and he also has a helmet and a sword with him. After meeting Zhang Huangyan, Ren Tang and the other officers excitedly talked about their experiences after the breakup. Knowing that the Zhejiang army was the main force in several major battles in Nanjing, Zhang Huangyan was very surprised. However, the facts are in front of us, the first two battles were won by the Zhejiang army alone, and the third battle of the Zhejiang army was not only for the Kuidong army, but also side by side.

"Good, good!" After hearing the exploits of these subordinates, Zhang Huangyan was very happy, but he was also a little strange in his heart, when the camp was bombed in Wuhu, the Zhejiang army rushed to escape from the camp with his family members and friends.

Many of the officers were happy and felt a little hot, so they loosened their armor a little, and some even took off their helmets, revealing their bald heads. These head shapes, which are no different from those of the Qing army, made Zhang Huangyan stunned for a moment. If the army breaks up and everyone needs to escape, shaving their heads is not an unforgivable act - at the beginning, the Ming army also killed the Han people who shaved their heads, but Emperor Longwu issued a special edict to prevent this behavior, believing that the people were forced to shave their heads, and that the imperial court did not protect the people effectively, and strictly forbade the army to get along with these refugees.

In the past, the soldiers of the Ming army always tried their best to keep their hair, believing that keeping their hair was a symbol of integrity and courage, and this idea was carried out from top to bottom from ministers and officers to soldiers. But Deng Ming did not have similar beliefs at all, he originally thought that it was too hot to have long hair in summer, and he hated to shave his head. When operating in enemy-occupied areas, Deng Ming regarded safety as far more important than his hair, so he not only shaved his head, but his guards also shaved their heads, and actively persuaded Li Laiheng and the Zhejiang army to shave their heads as well.

After noticing Zhang Huangyan's gaze, Ren Tang showed a ashamed expression. Like everyone else, Ren Tang also shaved his head. Everyone knows that this is convenient for the Ming army to succeed in the sneak attack, and the hair can grow longer if it is shaved, and the head cannot be picked up if it falls off.

When everyone followed Zhang Huangyan before, they saw that the high-ranking officers of the Zhejiang army insisted on keeping their hair, and of course the soldiers were not willing to be cowards, unwilling to be despised by their peers and suspected by their superiors. And Deng Ming is the complete opposite example, and even the reason is good for everyone. In summer, shaving his head is cool and not easy to grow lice, Deng Ming felt that it was not easy to say it directly, so he stroked his heart in front of thousands of Zhejiang soldiers and generously stated: "The ambition to serve the country is not on the top of the head, but should be between this square inch." ”

Zhang Huangyan listened to Zhejun's narrative and nodded, and didn't say anything more. This time, when he fled, in order to save his hair, he preferred to put on makeup and become a Taoist priest.

When Zhejiang Bing and Zhang Huangyan were talking, Deng Ming and Li Laiheng received the news and immediately ran out to greet them.

When he was in the barracks, Deng Ming did not wear a hat or helmet for convenience, and he did not have time to put it on when he hurried out. Zhang Huangyan saw that Deng Ming was similar to the others, with only a thin layer of hair, and a long strand of hair that spread out at the back of his head - so that he could be tied into a braid if necessary.

After meeting Zhang Huangyan, Deng Ming invited the other party into the Chinese military tent.

Zhang Huangyan felt that one of the guards beside Deng Ming was very familiar, but he didn't remember it until after entering the account, and he asked Mu Tan, "Are you from the Yanping Domain?" ”

"Yes, Zhang Shangshu has good eyesight and good memory." Mu Tan saw that the other party had already recognized himself, and he reluctantly admitted: "The last time Zhang Shangshu went to Jinmen, he was a guard behind the king of Yanping County. ”

Zhang Huangyan nodded, looked left and right, and asked, "Where is the king of Yanping County?" ”

"The king of Yanping County has gone to sea." Deng Ming replied, and asked rhetorically: "Doesn't Zhang Shangshu know?"

"Oh? Didn't come back? Of course, Zhang Huangyan knew that Zheng Chenggong had retreated, if it weren't for the news spreading among the Zhejiang army, maybe there would not have been a bombing of the camp.

"Nope." Deng Ming replied confusedly.

Zhang Huangyan glanced at Mu Tan a little strangely, he remembered that this person was one of Zheng Chenggong's personal guards, so he thought that Zheng Chenggong had gone and returned. If Zheng Chenggong hadn't come, how could his personal guards be here?

"How did you get here?" Zhang Huangyan was puzzled, and finally asked.

As soon as he saw Zhang Huangyan's gaze rolling on him just now, Mu Tan secretly screamed badly. Zheng Chenggong repeatedly explained that Deng Ming's identity must be kept secret, especially to Zhang Huangyan. Ren Tang also went to Kinmen with Zhang Huangyan, and Mu Tan recognized him when he was in Chizhou, but fortunately the other party did not recognize him.

Today, Mu Tan was also lucky, hoping that Zhang Huangyan would not remember him. Fortunately, Zhang Huangyan didn't ask immediately as soon as they met, giving Mu Tan a little time to think, and when Zhang Huangyan asked, Mu Tan was already confident: "After the king and Zhang Shangshu agreed to send troops, they let the lowly officials rush to Fengjie and report to the Wen Inspector to know." Governor Wen sent Admiral Deng to lead Kuidong's soldiers and horses out of Sichuan to cooperate, and the humble post was thus left by Admiral Deng's side. ”

This answer is reasonable, although Zhang Huangyan seems to feel that something is wrong, but he didn't think much about it, but believed Mu Tan's words: "Oh, then from Fujian to eastern Sichuan, the road is really hard." ”

"Serve the country, and dare not be hard work." Mu Tan replied respectfully, secretly happy in his heart, this time was a fool, it did not make Zhang Huangyan suspicious, nor did he reveal Zheng Chenggong's secret.

After staying in Deng Ming's army for two years, Zhang Huangyan found out that Deng Ming actually did not have a direct subordinate army, and the soldiers and horses in the battalion were either Li Laiheng's troops or Zhejiang soldiers. According to Deng Ming's requirements, the Zhejiang army still had to come out to practice step by step every day. However, since Zhang Huangyan's arrival, all the cāo training plans were sent to Zhang Huangyan, and Deng Ming no longer accepted the reports of the Zhejiang army officers, but asked them to report to Zhang Huangyan as before.

"Zhang Shangshu came here, but it saved me a lot of energy." Two days later, when Deng Ming discussed the training plan of the Zhejiang army with Zhang Huangyan again, he said to the latter: "Originally, these officers and soldiers did not want to go to Sichuan, and planned to risk their lives to return to Zhejiang to reunite with their families. ”

With the great victory of the Ming army and the annihilation of the Qing army's naval division, the desire of these Zhejiang soldiers to go home rose again. Now that the Ming army has the right to control the waters of this section of the Yangtze River, after learning that Ma Fengzhi raised troops in Wusong Mansion, there is no main force of the Qing army worth mentioning from Nanjing to the mouth of the Yangtze River, and the soldiers of the Zhejiang army are even more like arrows. In addition to these Zhejiang soldiers who did not bring their families, there are also some Zhejiang people in Anqing who also have the intention of going home. It's just that because of the separation of men and women, it is temporarily impossible to act as a family unit, otherwise I am afraid that a large number of people have already turned around and gone down the river.

"Originally, I wanted to give them a ride, but it was too far, and I had to rush back by myself after sending them back to Zhoushan. Now that Zhang Shangshu is here, not only do I save my strength, but I don't have to take this risk. Deng Ming said to Zhang Huangyan: "As for the Zhejiang soldiers in Anqing, I plan to let them decide to stay in a few days, and I will not be reluctant to return to Zhoushan if they are willing to do so." But I always feel that Zhoushan may not be able to feed such a large number of people, right? ”

Deng Ming's statement made Zhang Huangyan feel a little surprised. When he first came to the camp, Zhang Huangyan saw that Deng Ming provided armor and weapons for this Zhejiang army, and strictly practiced it, so he thought that Deng Ming wanted to turn this army into his personal leader, but he didn't expect that he actually wanted to send the soldiers back to Zhoushan from the beginning. Zhang Huangyan has been with these Zhejiang soldiers for many years and has a deep affection for this army. If Deng Ming led the army away, although Zhang Huangyan felt a little sad in his heart, he also felt that this was a helpless thing - after all, Deng Ming could lead this army to victory, and he could also provide them with equipment that Zhang Huangyan would never be able to provide.

At that time, Zhang Huangyan felt that if he insisted on bringing these troops back, he would at least have to return the equipment provided by Deng Ming, otherwise he would be robbing other people's property, and not only would the army have complaints, but Zhang Huangyan himself would not want to see these soldiers continue to fight the Manchus with their bare hands. Anyway, the army did not fall into the hands of the enemy, and it would be a good thing if it could play a greater role under the leadership of a Ming general. Zhang Huangyan no longer wanted to mention the issue of the command of the army, and he didn't want Deng Ming to return it with both hands, and he also expressed his attitude of not seizing Zhang Huangyan's military power.

Shut down

However, as Deng Ming said, Zhoushan is now overcrowded, and the Zhejiang army, which lacks territory, simply cannot guarantee the survival of so many troops and their families. Zhang Huangyan wanted to disband some of the army several times and let some of the soldiers and civilians of Zhoushan sneak back to the Manchu territory to serve as obedient people—at least to survive, rather than eventually starve to death overseas.

Zhang Huangyan used all his strength to maintain the survival of the army and the people, which is also one of the reasons why the equipment of the Zhejiang army is so poor. After hearing Deng Ming's Jianyi, Zhang Huangyan said that he would not let all the people and horses of Anqing return to Zhejiang: "It's a pity that the road from Fengjie to Zhoushan is long, otherwise I really hope to be able to send people to western Sichuan, where there is enough land to feed the army and civilians, but Zhoushan does not." If we keep sending people to western Sichuan, I can also take in more refugees in Zhoushan. The volunteers who resisted the Tartars in the coastal provinces rose one after another, but I was suffering from limited output, and I really could not bring all these righteous soldiers to Zhoushan, so I could only let them fend for themselves. ”

Zhang Huangyan felt that it was better for those Zhejiang soldiers who dragged their families to Huguang, so he volunteered to go to Anqing in two days to help persuade some people to immigrate to Sichuan.

"It's a long way to Sichuan, and life and death are uncertain, if they don't want to go, forget it." Deng Ming didn't expect Zhang Huangyan to agree with his immigration plan so much.

"Chengdu is a country of abundance, but it has been killed too much by the thieves of the West. Of course, it would be best if we could occupy the southeast, but Sichuan could not give up. ”

Zhang Huangyan thought that Deng Ming and Wen Anzhi ignored Sichuan, but persuaded Deng Mingdao: "Since ancient times, whether it is for the great cause of Zhongxing or if you want to show your ambitions, you need to be deeply rooted. If production can be resumed, Sichuan alone will be able to supply hundreds of thousands of troops with food, and the Wen Governor and Admiral must not take it lightly. ”

Deng Ming nodded, he and Zhang Huangyan had the same opinion on this issue. Only when the land is controlled by the Ming army for a long time and defended it for several years or even more than ten years from being ravaged by the enemy, can the inhabitants of the land develop a relatively strong cohesion. It is precisely because Li Zicheng lacks a solid foundation that he cannot withstand too much failure, and he also lacks the ability to compete with the Qing court. Many prefectures and counties in the southeast returned to obedience when they saw Zheng Chenggong's great power, and after the Qing army counterattacked, they rushed to rebel, and their appearance made Deng Ming very uneasy.

"Now Chengdu Mansion is still under the control of the Sichuan Army, right?" Today is a discussion in Zhang Huangyan's barracks, and Li Laiheng did not come with Deng Ming, so Zhang Huangyan did not have too many scruples when he spoke.

"Yes, now Liu Yao, the chief soldier of Chengdu, and Yang Youcai, the deputy general, are both veteran martial artists." Deng Ming was stunned for a moment, but still answered honestly. Zhang Huangyan's evaluation of the West Thief has already shown his inclination.

"The personnel of the Sichuan army are reliable, and the hereditary military attaches who can persist until now are loyal to the imperial court, and Admiral Deng and Inspector Wen should try their best to support the two generals Liu and Yang." Zhang Huangyan saw that Deng Ming had no intention of refutating, so he continued: "Back then, Li Thief advocated chaos, which led to the disaster of today. Xingshan Li Laiheng is the son of a tiger, and a tiger is Li Chuang's own nephew, who is more fierce than his uncle......"

All the dynasties of the Southern Ming Dynasty were very vigilant against breaking into the camp, not only did they give as little food and salary as possible, but they also made every effort to limit the territory of the rest of the camp and not give them the opportunity to make meritorious contributions and expand their organization, and they also tried their best to divide and disintegrate, hoping to completely turn the camp into a plate of scattered sand with no combat effectiveness. Although the project was not a complete success, it still had a great effect, except that the beneficiaries were the Manchus rather than the Southern Ming.

Now Zhang Huangyan also revealed to Deng Ming his deep worries about breaking into the camp. Although Deng Ming never mentioned his life experience, Zhang Huangyan has heard a lot of rumors. Wen Anzhi trusted this young man so much, the approximate reason Zhang Huangyan could guess, but now it was not clear which king he was behind - Zhang Huangyan was convinced that Wen Anzhi would definitely know.

In Zhang Huangyan's view, the previous methods should still be used to deal with the generals in Kuidong, so that they do not belong to each other, and the credit should be divided into small parts, so that each general can get a share. And now Deng Ming relies so much on Li Laiheng, in Zhang Huangyan's view, it is tantamount to playing with fire. If Li Laiheng's strength swells too quickly and monopolizes a large number of credits and captures, Zhang Huangyan is worried that it will lead to the emergence of a new leadership core in the camp, which is not a good thing for the Ming court.

"Well," Deng Ming nodded, and carefully explained: "Now the arrogance of the Imperial Court is very arrogant, and the tiger commander is still obedient and modest, if the reward and punishment are not appropriate, I am afraid that it will chill the soldiers." ”

"Linguo Gongren called Little Tiger, and he also called himself Tiger Shuai, apparently not forgetting that his father was a tiger. The so-called harmless tiger will, tiger hurts people's hearts! The thieves and thieves are capricious and most untrustworthy, and the Admiral should not be careless because they are now meek. Zhang Huangyan saw that Deng Ming was careless about breaking into the camp, and he was very worried. When he came to the camp a few days ago, Zhang Huangyan was worried about Li Laiheng's identity, and he was not sure what kind of treatment he would receive after reporting his name: "The admiral must not forget the hatred of the emperor. ”

"What Shang Shu said is extremely true." Seeing that Zhang Huangyan's face was full of anxiety, Deng Ming immediately tried to reassure him: "General Li also told me about this matter, he hated not knowing the names of his biological parents, and occasionally heard someone say it, so he was ashamed and ashamed. General Li also told me that no matter how great his exploits are in the future, others will first think of him as a rebel, and his children and grandchildren will never be able to get rid of this thief name......"

Zhang Huangyan listened for a while, and his face showed some sympathy: "Alas, Lin Guogong should have been a child of a good family, his parents died, and he had to recognize a tiger as his father-in-law, and he was also a hard-working person." ”

After discussing Li Laiheng's life experience, Zhang Huangyan talked about the 20,000 Zhejiang soldiers in Anqing and their families. Regarding Deng Ming's sitting back and watching Li Laiheng's strength expand, Zhang Huangyan has quite an opinion; But handed over his men to Deng Ming and Wen Anzhi, but Zhang Huangyan didn't mind at all, saying that the matter was settled, and these people should follow Deng Ming back to enhance Wen Anzhi's strength. Zhang Huangyan said: "The army is used by the imperial court, and it is not Zhang's private property, as long as it can be beneficial to the country, where can there be reluctance?" ”

It's just that Zhang Huangyan emphasized again: "These people must be handed over to Yang Shuai in Chengdu, and the military power must still be in the hands of our own people." ”

After leaving Zhang Huangyan's camp, Deng Ming went to Li Laiheng's camp to discuss the matter of continuing to ask for food and wages from Nanjing.

After learning that Deng Ming was going to return the military power to Zhang Huangyan, Li Laiheng was also surprised: "The admiral took these people to life and death, and finally won three great victories in a row. ”

Deng Ming thought that if Li Laiheng knew that this idea was first proposed by Deng Ming, he would probably be even more angry, and maybe even the instructor would not send it. Deng Ming had no choice but to explain: "Zhang Shangshu has been fighting hard for more than ten years, and I only hate that I don't have more strength, and there is no way to help him train the army to be stronger." If these horses can help him and let him continue to fight the banner of righteousness in eastern Zhejiang, how can I be reluctant? ”

Li Laiheng still objected, and found many reasons to try to persuade Deng Ming to take back military power.

Deng Ming asked: "Does Hu Shuai have any prejudices against Zhang Shangshu?" ”

"It's not that I have prejudices against Zhang Shangshu, it's that Zhang Shangshu has prejudices against me." Li Laiheng did not hide it, and immediately told Deng Ming, after two days of observation, he was convinced that Zhang Huangyan did not regard the soldiers who broke into the camp as his own, and he still looked like he was guarding against the enemy.

"There is no such thing," Deng Ming categorically denied: "Zhang Shangshu has great respect for Hu Shuai. ”

"Really?" Li Laiheng said suspiciously: "Why can't I feel it? ”

"It's true. Just today, when I was talking to Zhang Shangshu just now, Zhang Shangshu also talked about Hu Shuai and the ancestor of Hu Shuai. Deng Ming's words are true, but the next thing is to make it up completely: "Zhang Shangshu said that he has long heard that the handsome ancestors of the tiger have managed the army well, and they have not committed any crimes in the autumn where they have passed. This time, he came out of Zhoushan with the Zhejiang army, and ordered the soldiers not to disturb the people along the way. ”

"Where, where, how can the ancestor be compared to King Yue." Li Laiheng was modest, but his eyebrows were already full of smiles.

"Zhang Shangshu also said that only by uniting can we expel the Tartars, so he wants to help me persuade the men and horses of Anqing to go to Huguang and Sichuan, because Zhang Shangshu knows that we urgently need manpower." Deng Ming continued: "Zhang Shangshu also specifically mentioned Inspector Wen, saying that he has a lot of energy and can work together with the generals of Kuidong, if the imperial court had not suspected that the loyalty camp was too much over the years, the shape of Huguang and Sichuan would have been alleviated long ago. Fortunately, we still have time, and it will not be difficult to expel the Tartars in the future, as long as we let go of the portal. ”

Li Laiheng sighed: "I have heard for a long time that Zhang Shangshu is a hero, it is better to meet if he is really famous." While speaking, Li Laiheng secretly made up his mind to select a group of jīng officers tomorrow to help the Zhejiang army reorganize its troops.

At this time, Liang Huafeng sent another envoy, and under the instructions of Lang Tingzuo, he collected a group of prisoners of the Fujian army, about 100 people, who had previously been used as coolies by the Qing army, each with shackles or under close surveillance. Lang Tingzuo has been urging Liang Huafeng to try to send Deng Mingyao's people out of the city, but heavyweights like Gan Hui and Yu Xin can't save Liang Huafeng; Even the captured Fujian army officers are not easy to handle, and forcibly bringing them out of the prison will not only attract criticism from the Qing army in the city, but also Guan Xiaozhong and Jiang Guozhu are still eyeing the sidelines; Therefore, Liang Huafeng picked out the Min army in the coolie team, and planned to exchange these people for some bannermen in Deng Ming's hands.

"Even though they are ordinary soldiers, we should also exchange them for flag men, and finally start returning prisoners of war, we have to let Liang Huafeng be able to explain the past to the other Tartars in the city, so that things can continue." Deng Ming immediately made a decision, but the banner man was the most advantageous weight in his hands, and the Manchu civil and military officials in Nanjing did not treat the Han people as human beings, but the lives of the Manchu soldiers were very valuable in their eyes. In the end, he said that he could return ten first, but the soldiers of the Green Battalion could return two hundred to Nanjing, to show the determination of the Ming army to exchange more for less.

"This is our first exchange and it's a good job." Deng Ming gathered a large number of officers and made a serious deployment.