Chen Jianghan, the general manager of the green camp, stood on the beacon tower and looked northwest. His old commander followed Marshal Wu Sangui all the way from Shaanxi and Sichuan to Yunnan, and then was sent to Dongchuan to guard. Although there are not many troops under him, Chen Jianghan is very excited to see the old chief, because this is a job that is in charge alone, and as long as he does it well, he can enjoy the credit alone. If the chief can go to the next level, Chen Jianghan will of course follow the tide.

As an officer of the Dongchuan Army, Chen Jianghan was one of the few people who knew the true purpose of Dongchuan's construction. While the creeps and auxiliaries below shouldn't know much, the overseers who oversaw the construction of the beacons and warehouses needed to know that they needed to understand the purpose of building these facilities in order to better accomplish their mission. Their sole purpose in coming to Dongchuan was to prepare for the attack on Jianchang. The governor also revealed some information to them, Wu Sangui's expectation was to spend half a year to eight months to build a number of warehouses along the avenue, located in the middle of the warehouse, to be able to supply 3,000 to 5,000 troops and 1,000 horses from Dongchuan to Jianchang to march back and forth to the grain and grass, and in the closest position to Jianchang, to reserve the same scale of men and horses to fight for a month.

It's not an easy task, it's a lot of work and it's demanding. The Qing army in Dongchuan was building forward and transporting forward, and when the progress was a little slow at first, it was constantly urged by Kunming. In order to reserve in advance the baggage needed by the 5,000 troops for a month's operation, Kunming had to feed the construction team of more than 10,000 people for at least a year, and the transportation wear and tear was not under the consumption of personnel, and the cost of every stone of materials reserved for the combat army was more than five stones.

The surrounding military forms are gradually getting better and better, and the work of Dongchuan Prefecture is also progressing smoothly. Although there are no human populations, it is impossible to raise manpower and material resources from the local area, but there is also no need to guard against bandits or sporadic squads of the Ming army. The peaceful rìzi has been too long, giving the feeling that the war seems to be over.

Although the scale of the warehouse is far from meeting the requirements, the most basic transportation and storage system has been completed, and after the completion of these facilities, the materials are no longer exposed, and the loss is greatly reduced. Moreover, each construction team also has a warehouse that can be replenished, so they no longer have to rely completely on the rear for forward delivery as before. The next step is to continue to expand around the already built base, which is much more comfortable and easier than the initial camp.

At the same time, beacon towers and lookouts were built to protect the various warehouse bases. Since there was no disturbance from the Ming army and bandits, these buildings were not urgent, and for the time being, they were all wooden structures, and they will be further strengthened in the future as more materials are gradually delivered. With these pre-jǐng and reconnaissance systems, the construction can be carried out safely, the reserves are well protected, and after the army comes over, it can safely march in Dongchuan Province. If Wu Sangui decides to increase the number of troops on the expedition in the future, such as from 5,000 to 8,000, and the combat time is extended from one month to three months, then it is enough to further expand the strongholds along the way and bring in more supplies.

But just a few days ago, Kunming suddenly sent a new order, and forwarded a letter from Jianchang Di Sanxi asking for surrender. Wu Sangui asked Dongchuan to quickly send men and horses to help the generals stabilize the troops, and then transfer all Jianchang's materials and manpower to Kunming. Wu Sangui's order stated that after arriving in Jianchang, the Green Battalion Army, which had gone to accept the surrender, would completely destroy all the warehouses and facilities in Jianchang and kill all those who refused to leave Jianchang for Yunnan, whether they were civilians or soldiers.

After reading the order, Chen Jianghan's boss commented: It's over.

Chen Jianghan felt a little regretful in his heart. Jianchang surrendered, Wu Sangui ordered complete destruction, and as this goal lost its strategic value, the military passage of Dongchuan also became worthless. After Jianchang's men and materials arrived in Yunnan, it is conceivable that Kunming would never invest any more resources to continue to build Dongchuan - Wu Sangui originally felt that it had cost a huge amount, that is, in order to exterminate the remnants of the Ming army in Yunnan, he gritted his teeth and invested, and now he can get rid of this burden, of course, he can't ask for it. Looting the stored materials of the Ming army in Jianchang into his own hands will not only recover the cost, but also seem to be able to make a lot of money. As for what to do in the future of Jianchang and Dongchuan, that is a problem that Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, needs to consider.

Realizing that the construction work would definitely be suspended, Chen Jianghan certainly had little motivation, but he was only sorry at this time, but the new order he received yesterday made him feel extremely angry.

Just last night, an urgent envoy from the previous stronghold in the northwest arrived, saying that he had received an urgent order from the Sichuan Xingdu Division, which only briefly stated a few words, informing them that a serious incident had occurred in the Sichuan Xingdu Division, that the general had been attacked by the Ming army from Jianchang and Chengdu, and that a Sichuan Qing army sent by Li Guoying was also in the Sichuan Xingdu Division at this time, and that they were now resisting and trying to return to the Qing army's control area. Under such a grim military situation, the general ordered the Qing army in Dongchuan Prefecture to immediately begin to clear the wilderness, and the officers of each stronghold should immediately start burning all the warehouses and supplies, and lead the auxiliary troops to evacuate into the mountains. All materials that could not be taken away were to be destroyed immediately, and beacon towers, watchtowers, and campsites were to be completely destroyed, leaving no buildings for the Ming army to rest.

"What kind of nonsense is this?" After receiving the order, Chen Jianghan jumped up and almost pushed the messenger out and whipped it. The messenger said that the beacon where he was also feeling the order was too shocking, but it was passed down from the front, and their commander had also seen the first beacon messenger to start delivering the order, and the other party said that his base had carefully verified the seal on the official document and it was correct, and that the messenger who had arrived to report the news was still armed with the arrow of their immediate superior.

"No, I can't give orders unless I see the orders and arrows of the adults with my own eyes." Chen Jianghan made his position clear at that time. He couldn't wait to immediately fly in front of his boss and tell the other party bitterly: these strongholds were built after hard work, and if Jianchang refused to surrender, these warehouses would still be the fundamental guarantee for sending troops to attack Sichuan Xingdu Division in the future. Chen Jianghan's efforts were poured into this stronghold, and at the same time, a large amount of money and food from Kunming was consumed, and the self-burning of it was not only emotionally unacceptable to Chen Jianghan, but also would definitely cause Kunming to be angry, and he could not accept such an order in public or private.

This statement did not arouse the disgust of the envoy, and he had similar thoughts about Chen Jianghan's report to the officers of his stronghold, and planned to hold on for the time being, if the Ming army did not kill, then keep the stronghold, and if the Ming army really came, it would not be too late to carry it out. The envoy claimed that the reason why he had come to Chen Jianghan was because his commander could not withhold orders. However, if Chen Jianghan's reaction was to burn the stronghold immediately, the envoy would try to persuade him to adopt the same attitude as his commander. This news made Chen Jianghan feel a little relieved, of course, he also did not dare to intercept the order, so he sent the order to the next station, but also let his envoy bring his own personal opinion.

After sending the emissary, Chen Jianghan could not sleep all night, and he ordered the soldiers to take out the armor that they had not worn for many days and wipe the dust off their weapons. After daybreak, he climbed the high platform and looked vigorously to the northwest. There was no change in the morning, but when it was close to noon, I suddenly saw a column of green smoke rise in front of me, and rushed straight into the sky, and soon this green smoke turned into thick black smoke.

"Did you light the beacon?" Chen Jianghan looked at the shape of the cigarette and said to himself bitterly. The beacon doesn't necessarily only ignite when an enemy is approaching, but the shape of the black smoke suggests that they did spot a large group of enemy soldiers now.

"Light the beacon." Although Chen Jianghan was reluctant, he still gave orders to his subordinates. The soldiers would smoke with a mixture of wormwood and straw, first intermittently twice, and then continuously, and if the situation did not change, it would always be so, and if a large group of Ming troops appeared that they could not resist, a lot of coal would be added to the fuel on the beacon, and a large amount of black smoke would be quickly released.

The smoke ahead was getting thicker and thicker, and it was no longer a column. Chen Jianghan shook his head, which meant that the entire stronghold was already burning. The one in front of him is already a halfway stronghold, and since even the halfway stronghold has been lost, the main grain storage warehouse in front of him must have been burned down, and the reserves there were all transported by the people all the way from Kunming.

However, Chen Jianghan still does not intend to give up. There were no inhabitants here in Dongchuan, and there were no materials to collect quickly except for the warehouses along the road, no matter how strong the Ming army was, as long as they still had to eat, they would not be able to quickly penetrate into the hinterland of Dongchuan Mansion. Chen Jianghan planned to wait a little longer, if the Ming army ended here, then it would be better to lose only a few forward strongholds than to lose them all. If you keep your own, it will be much easier to restore the one in front of you.

After a while, Chen Jianghan saw a group of cavalry running in his direction along the avenue, he squinted his eyes and observed carefully, this group of cavalry looked like there were only twenty people, waving the green flag of the Qing army.

Chen Jianghan's stronghold had not yet been reinforced, and the camp wall had not been repaired, so he stood on the lookout and waited for the Qing soldiers to come to the stage. As soon as these cavalry approached the stronghold, Chen Jianghan impatiently shouted at the approacher, "What happened ahead? ”

"Who's in charge?" The knight at the head held up a bag of official documents, and at the same time threw an arrow: "I am Li Ming, the commander of Baoning Qian, and I am here on the order of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi." Quick, quick, come and listen to me read the official document, I still have to hurry. ”

"Mr. Boryeong? How did you get here? Chen Jianghan muttered to himself strangely. At this time, his soldiers had already sent him the arrows, and Chen Jianghan took a look, yes, it was owned by his commander.

Deng Ming's face was full of impatience, and when he finally saw an officer-like Qing soldier walking towards him surrounded by guards, he stretched out his hand and took the order out of his bag, read aloud the scorched earth order he had written in the name of the Qing general, and then handed the official document to the other party, asking the other party to verify the seal below.

This was not the first officer Deng Ming encountered who refused to carry out the order, the Qing army officer at the outpost in front of him also refused to burn the stronghold, Deng Ming argued with him, and finally the other party became suspicious and ordered his subordinates to take people. However, the other party overestimated his combat effectiveness too much, and the Qing soldiers were also a little hesitant after hearing the order, not as quick as Deng Ming's subordinates, and they were not able to hold Deng Ming, not to mention, in turn, the defenders of the stronghold and several guards were killed by Deng Ming's guards in a blink of an eye. The remaining dozen or so defenders were also held by Deng Ming, forcing them to light the beacon and then burn the stronghold, and the auxiliaries around the stronghold were scattered in fright.

"Immediately light the beacon fire," Deng Ming pointed to the faint green smoke on the beacon tower to indicate that this Yan sè was not right, and he directly ordered the Qing soldiers around him: "Leave immediately with the strong men and burn the stronghold." ”

"This beacon can only be filled with black smoke when you see a large group of enemy soldiers, and the stronghold cannot be burned unless ordered by the general himself." Chen Jianghan raised his head angrily after hearing Deng Ming's order. Since seeing the general's arrows, the subordinates around him have been a little at a loss, and Chen Jianghan is now in a mess in his heart. However, even if the letter is true, it is not the turn of a Bao Ning Qian general to point fingers here, Chen Jianghan asked Deng Mingdao: "Why did Bao Ning Bing come here?" Where are you now? ”

This question made Deng Ming hesitate slightly, and the officer just now seemed to have started like this, first because of the geographical problem, and then developed into anger, resolutely refused to carry out the order, and developed deep suspicions. Deng Ming wanted the Qing soldiers to carry out the order, and he couldn't get entangled with them on the details of the problem, just like in Jianchang, the appearance of the details showed that there was already the germ of suspicion.

"Take it!" Deng Ming shouted softly.

As soon as this shout came out, eight guards immediately jumped up, six of them dealt with Chen Jianghan's guards, and the other two caught him in front of Deng Ming with lightning speed.

"What are you going to do? This is Dongchuan, not the territory of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi!" After being forced to kneel in front of Deng Ming, Chen Jianghan was still arguing loudly, and just a few seconds were not enough for him to come to his senses.

"Slash!" Deng Ming didn't argue with him about whose territory Sichuan was at all, and coldly spit out a word.

Wu San's hand raised and fell, and Chen Jianghan's head rolled on the ground, his eyes still wide.

"Where's the adjutant?" Deng Ming raised his head and asked. The Qing soldiers around were dumbfounded, and after hearing the question, several people turned their heads to a stunned person - he also looked at Chen Jianghan on the ground with a different head, and his mouth was wide open and speechless.

Following the gaze of these people, Deng Ming also cast his gaze, and shouted sharply: "Light the beacon fire immediately, then burn the barracks, and lead the team away." ”

After the man heard Deng Ming's shouting, he raised his head and looked over, and his sloppy gaze gradually regathered: "You guys...... When he came, he killed Chen Tou...... You Boryeong rabbit cubs......"

Deng Ming didn't listen to him anymore, and stretched out his hand to point: "Take it!" ”

"What are you going to do?" When the Qing soldier saw Deng Ming's guard rushing towards him, he stretched out his hand to draw his sword, and shouted: "Brothers, fight!" ”

Before the knife was completely drawn, the Qing army officer was pierced by Zhou Kaihuang. Some of the Qing soldiers hadn't reacted yet, and a few of them also drew their weapons, seeing that the leader had already fallen to the ground, these people didn't know what to do next, and confronted Deng Ming's guards.

"MI100,000 urgent!" Deng Ming shouted, drawing the attention of all the enemies to himself, and he raised the arrow in the air along with the official document: "Who else dares to disobey the military order!" ”

After controlling the Qing soldiers, Deng Ming and the others monitored them to complete all the scorched earth operations, and then called the dozen Qing soldiers together and asked, "Is there any good hiding place around here?" ”

A pale soldier replied, he was a small leader among these people at the moment. Deng Ming nodded, recorded the location he said on a piece of paper, and then drew a sketch with the help of these Qing soldiers, and after letting these Qing soldiers confirm that the sketch was well drawn, Deng Ming carefully folded the map and hid it in his arms in front of them: "You may have to hide here for ten days to half a month, don't walk around, after the reinforcements arrive, they will come to your hiding place to find you." ”

After speaking, Deng Ming took out a piece of paper and handed it to the leader, and told him: "This is the voucher for you, this is my painting on it, if I am fine, I will naturally not use it, but if I die in battle, you will take this voucher to prove that you are following the orders conveyed by me, and I will bear any responsibility." Remember, my name is Li Ming, Mr. Qian of Boryeong. ”

"Thank you, Mr. Li Qian." The frightened little boss hurriedly put away the credentials and thanked him flatteringly. There are also a few humanitarians: "Li Qian is always auspicious, what are you doing with such frustrating words?" ”

After taking all the horses away, Deng Ming and his party left this stronghold behind.

After running for a while, they stopped and began to clean up the blood stains on their bodies. After Deng Ming packed up, while waiting for others, he took out a notebook and began to record the conflict just now. After the First World War in Wanxian, he often made this kind of record, and recorded a lot of experience and experience on the way from Fengjie to Chengdu, but the fastest accumulation of words was in these days after arriving in Jianchang.

"We were better than the first time, we didn't make a big fight, but we almost got into a fight with them." After Deng Ming finished taking notes, he began to discuss the gains and losses with his companions: "For the first time, the leader of the Tartars quarreled with us, and his men became hostile and wary of us; This time, we didn't wait for that time to do it, but it was still a little late, and it seems that as long as the other party's head is still there, he will not change his mind and listen to us. ”

This was followed by a discussion of some lessons learned in combat coordination. Deng Ming and his party remounted and continued to move forward, and soon another stronghold appeared in front of them.

"Another one who refused to obey the order to burn the camp." Deng Ming looked at the intact camp and the light green smoke on the beacon tower, and shook his head and sighed at the people around him.

After arriving at the stronghold and showing the arrow and seal, Deng Ming immediately asked, "Who is in charge here, and who is the deputy?" ”

After seeing the officer and deputy at the head, Deng Ming shouted without hesitation: "Take it!" ”

pounced on the two of them, Deng Ming's guards killed people without waiting for orders, and when the two Qing army officers were killed, it was only a dozen seconds before they saw Deng Ming, and they didn't understand why they died.

At this time, Deng Mingcai shouted to the Qing soldiers who were in an uproar in front of him: "I am Li Ming, the general manager of Baoning, these two openly disobeyed the military order, and they are innocent." Now obey my orders, and immediately light a beacon fire and burn down the warehouses and barracks. ”

As with the previous stop, Deng Ming left a certificate of detention and told the remaining Qing soldiers to flee with their auxiliaries to a hidden location they thought was safe to wait for rescue.