"Chongqing should not be able to launch an offensive for the time being after this battle, we have a little leisure," Deng Ming said to his subordinates, no matter what, it is not easy for the Qing army to recruit tens of thousands of auxiliaries. Through the interrogation of the prisoners, it was already known that the mobilization of the Qing army began at the beginning of the year, and that there were a large number of resources allocated by Beijing. When Li Guoying reports the news of the defeat, even if the Qing court sends troops and supplies again, it will be a long time later: "The Yellow River will freeze in winter, and Li Guoying will not threaten us again until the beginning of next year." ”

Deng Ming ordered the 2,000 standing army to set off immediately, and the conscripts were not all disbanded, and many soldiers in Chengdu did not have the opportunity to marry because of this battle, and felt very unwilling, Deng Ming announced that if they wanted, they would temporarily serve as auxiliaries for a period of time to help carry armor and supplies.

After hearing that troops were going to be sent to Yunnan and Burma, the conscripts hesitated, and 6,000 people responded to Deng Ming's call and were willing to set off with only weapons instead of armor. Although the soldiers were counting on going to Huguang and Jiangnan, Deng Ming was gone, and they estimated that Huguang would not be able to go, and they couldn't get a girl from Jiangnan as a daughter-in-law, so they thought about going to Yunnan to talk about family affairs.

However, many soldiers asked Deng Ming to make a guarantee that after the end of this campaign, they would do their best to help them solve lifelong problems. Deng Ming knew that this was now the most urgent request of the talents in western Sichuan, so he announced in public that he would definitely arrange it for everyone, so Deng Ming brought some silver taels from stock. He did not know what the demand for gold and silver was on the other side of Yunnan, but after thinking about it, in order to be able to fulfill his promise, he ordered to bring more grain, and perhaps the people of Yunnan were more willing to accept this kind of dowry—in this era, grain was also wealth, but it was much more difficult to transport than gold and silver.

The soldiers of the Ming army set out happily, and when they heard that the grain was intended for them as a dowry, the soldiers felt kind when they looked at the heavy vehicles. The 8,000 Ming army set off for Jiading Prefecture and then went straight to Kunming.

……

Half a month ago, all the Qing troops who had fled back from Zhongxian County had arrived in Chongqing, and when the Shanxi Green Camp inquired, they learned that none of Wang Mingde's men had returned.

"Wang Shuai is the whole army is annihilated." Although it was the expected result, Shanxi Luying still felt sad, after all, they still had the idea of what to do.

Many people asked Li Guoying to pay tribute to the soldiers who died in the war, in addition to Wang Mingde and them, there were also those Shanxi comrades who disappeared in the barren mountains and mountains. In addition, the people of Shanxi believed that they should ask the imperial court for compensation for the sacrificed officers and soldiers.

After hearing this request, Daniel Zhang sneered, did not say a word, and waited to see how Li Guoying ended. And the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi was also very embarrassed, he said that the enemy situation is not clear now, it is better to wait for the investigation carefully, and the lost soldiers of the Shanxi Green Battalion may also come back in a few days.

Li Guoying and Daniel Zhang both knew the plans of Wang Mingde's gang, but they could not say it openly, otherwise the court would know in the future that the two of them knew in advance. Li Guoying talked to Wang Mingde and them before leaving, knowing that they would definitely make peace with Deng Ming, and he planned to pretend not to know, no matter how thrilling Wang Mingde said about the breakthrough process in the future, Li Guoying would report it as it was.

Seeing that Li Guoying is so affectionate to his loyal subordinates, the people of Shanxi are a little puzzled, even if they can escape a few in the future, this pension is also money, is there a grudge between the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi and Qian?

It is impossible to send people to investigate the situation in Zhongxian, although there is no main force of the Ming army and water division in western Sichuan on the river, the Ming army still firmly controls the river. Moreover, Yuan Zongdi had already deployed some cordons in the east under the cover of the naval division, and the farthest outpost had been established on the Tongluo Gorge. Now that the Ming army has blocked the road to Zhongxian, it seems that Wang Mingde and they are even more unlucky.

Li Guoying found various excuses to drag on for half a month, and in the end he began to be suspicious. It is said that Wang Mingde made a deal with Deng Ming, and he should be able to come back soon after getting the ship, even if Li Guoying saw Wang Mingde come back first when he returned to Chongqing, he would not feel too surprised. But now a month has passed, and there is still no news from Zhongxian.

"Has the peace negotiation failed? Wang Mingde: They were annihilated by Deng Ming? Li Guoying couldn't help but get nervous, there were still two hundred garrison eight banners in the big camp in Zhongxian County.

With the passage of time, not only Li Guoying, but even Daniel Zhang, who hated Wang Mingde the most, began to be suspicious, and the governor of Shaanxi privately went to discuss with the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, feeling that maybe Wang Mingde and they were really killed.

"Both the Governor and the Governor believe that Deng Ming will keep his word, but what if he doesn't keep his word this time? With an army of 70,000, Deng Ming, a thief, might break the contract and sneak attack the unsuspecting Wang Zongbing and them. Daniel Zhang carefully analyzed Li Guoying, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it became: "General Wang still has more than 10,000 sets of armor in his hands, and the craftsmen of Gan and Shaanxi are not working in black and white, and it will take more than half a year to make it. ”

Li Guoying was silent. Armor is an important strategic material, and it was Li Guoying's idea to leave all the armor at the beginning. Li Guoying felt that he had to negotiate peace anyway, and he was powerless to stop it, so he simply saved some more materials for the imperial court. Hearing Daniel Zhang say this, Li Guoying became even more worried: "Is it because I killed the people stationed in the Eight Banners?" ”

After waiting for a few more days, Yuan Zongdi's troops suddenly retreated. When the generals in Chongqing got the news, they all felt that even if Wang Mingde himself was still alive, the army would definitely be finished, otherwise the Ming army would not have taken the initiative to retreat - obviously the Ming army did not think it was necessary to continue the blockade.

After a few more days, there was still no news of Wang Mingde, and Li Guoying finally concluded that Deng Ming had broken the contract this time -- if it hadn't been for the Ming army to tear up the agreement, Wang Mingde would not have been able to escape alone: "Let's pay tribute to the dead soldiers by the river tomorrow." ”

"The Return of the Soul ......" was almost after Deng Ming's departure, Li Guoying held a soul conjuring ceremony at the edge of Chongqing City, and solemnly poured three glasses of wine into the Yangtze River. Li Guoying has been angry and tired these days, and his physical strength has reached the limit, and at the memorial ceremony, Li Guoying remembered that his elite was empty, and his henchmen and cronies were lost, and he also had to explain to the imperial court why the Shanxi Green Camp was able to escape but the garrison of the Eight Banners was destroyed......

barely supported until the completion of the conjuring ceremony, Li Guoying, who was exhausted, had a dark eye in his eyes and fell to the ground. This is the second time since the battle with Yuan Zongdi that Li Guoying has fainted. The last illness was not cured, and then I learned that Sun Sike had lost the back road, and exposed the truth to Deng Ming, Li Guoying took the illness to command the army to fight, and then broke through the mountains and mountains, and hurried back to Chongqing to inspect the warehouse and coordinate the whole army.

The next morning, Gao Mingzhan, who was worried about the old chief's health, went to visit, and saw that the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi had woken up, with a cloth wrapped around his head, sitting on the bed, and the servants were feeding him porridge.

"I'm all right." Li Guoying said weakly, reassuring Gao Mingzhan: "I was too tired yesterday." But it's okay, I've figured it out now, and their martyrdom is not a bad thing, at least it won't cause rumors. Besides, if the thief did such a thing, no one would believe him in the future. ”

Gao Mingzhan nodded vigorously. Wang Mingde and Hu Wenke were both captured twice by Deng Ming like him, and the whereabouts of these two people were unknown, which made Gao Mingzhan also feel sad that the rabbit was dead and the fox died.

Taking the bowl from Li Guoying's servant, Gao Mingzhan sat on the edge of the bed and personally served Li Guoying to eat porridge. Li Guoying ate two mouthfuls of porridge and waved his hand to indicate that he was full: "When I get up tomorrow, I will write a chapter for the imperial court, and Chongqing can no longer be defended......"

In the middle of speaking, I suddenly heard a faint sound of drums outside, and then there seemed to be a commotion again.

"What's going on?" Gao Mingzhan frowned, turned around and scolded: "Who is so ignorant and doesn't know that the Governor is unwell?" ”

Yesterday, Li Guoying fainted in public, and everyone in Chongqing knew that he needed to recuperate, not to mention the drums, even the guards were lightly moved, lest they disturb this Ganshan Optimus Prime.

But the noise outside grew louder and louder, as if the city was already full of people. Gao Mingzhan stood up and said to Li Guoying: "Your Excellency, go out and have a look." ”

"Open the window." A haggard Li Guoying stretched out his hand to the window, and in order to keep the room quiet, the servants not only blocked the windows with wooden planks, but also plugged all the gaps.

"Your Excellency the Doge." Gao Mingzhan looked at Li Guoying's pale face, and his face showed embarrassment.

"It's okay, I want to know what's going on."

At Li Guoying's insistence, the servants dismantled the sealed windows. As soon as you open the window, you can hear the rumbling drums and human voices, and the sound can be heard in the depths of the yamen, so you can imagine how lively the city is.

"This drum is coming from the Chaotian Gate?" Li Guoying asked suspiciously.

……

"How can you say that you have no clothes, and you are ...... with your son?"

Thousands of Qing troops held their heads high, lined up on the other side of the Jialing River, and sang loud military songs.

"Beat the drum hard and sing it loudly!"

Hu Wenke shouted vigorously to his subordinates: "Let the Governor take a look at our mighty army!" ”

Wang Mingde and they stayed honestly in Zhongxian for a month, and then informed Yuan Zongdi until the Ming army completely withdrew before leaving the camp and setting out on the way home. And Yuan Zongdi also returned the personal soldiers who were captured by Wang Mingde and them last time. After learning from Yuan Bu's mouth that there was nothing to do in Chongqing, the returning Qing army had no psychological burden, and returned slowly and leisurely, and hunted and entertained a few times on the way -- the autumn was high and cool, and the horses were strong and the deer were fat. After hitting the fat prey, Wang Mingde and the Manchurian Taijun had a good conversation, and the relationship was even more harmonious.

Seeing the city of Chongqing, Wang Mingde and the others decided to surprise the governor, who had been loyal for many years, and they were convinced that when Li Guoying learned that they had brought back all the armor intact, they would laugh happily.

……

After Gao Mingzhan asked the herald the reason for the commotion, he didn't know what to do, so he turned his head and looked at the bed: "Lord Governor, this ......"

Wang Mingde couldn't finish his words, he jumped to the side of the bed with an arrow, and anxiously reached out to help the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, who had fallen limply on the pillow again. Hearing the answer between Gao Mingzhan and the herald, Li Guoying fainted again. Gao Mingzhan shouted: "Doctor, call the doctor!" ”