After interrogating the captured Ming army, Tan Yi had both joy and sorrow in his heart. Happily, there is indeed a prince in this Ming army, and he is still in Wanxian County today, and he even learned that this prince is currently known as Deng Ming; The worry is that the Ming army has arrived in Wanxian for two days, and has not encountered any resistance, so the Ming army's body will be very good, and the more than 2,000 Ming army may still be quite combative. When overcoming the resistance of this Ming army, if they divided dozens of jīng rui to protect the Han prince and escaped, then Tan Yi's chances of catching this big fish were not very good.

Thinking of this, Tan Yi was even more anxious to urge the soldiers who had not yet disembarked to hurry ashore, if that Han Shizi did not react in time, he might still have time to catch up.

It is said that the safest way is to choose a place where there is still some distance from Wanxian to land, and then march towards Wanxian after reorganizing the troops, just like the Ming army's actions a few days ago. However, Tan Yi felt that firstly there was not so much time, and secondly, he confirmed that there were only two thousand, four or five hundred reorganized Ming troops in the city. The strength of the Ming army is only half of Tan Yi's strength, and there is no general in charge, all of them are middle and low-level officers who are organizing and controlling the troops, neither combat experience nor prestige can be compared with Tan Yi, Tan Yi is still very confident to defeat this Ming army.

So the Qing soldiers did not hesitate, and the ships on the river drove directly into the field of vision of Wanxian, and poured down the battleships in front of the Ming army. As an experienced veteran, Tan Yi guarded against possible counterattacks by the Ming army, and the command system that had been honed over the years also showed its efficiency.

When the Qing army quickly arranged the beachhead and continuously sent follow-up troops up, chaos broke out in Wanxian County.

The officers first gathered the army and announced that a large Qing army was approaching; When the soldiers in the city were panicking, the officers listened to Zhao Tianba's lie and ran to dismiss the newspaper; As a result, the jǐng newspaper had just been lifted, and from the head of Wanxian County, the shore was densely packed with Qing troops like ants.

"The surname is Zhao! You're going to give me an account! Li Xinghan shouted.

"This is my idea," Deng Ming immediately stood up to relieve Zhao Tianba: "I think it's better to fight back from the city than to retreat without a fight." ”

"Mr. Deng......" Li Xinghan felt that he was so angry by this unscrupulous sect disciple that he had no way to speak, why should he fight the battle that must be lost? However, when he saw the relaxed expression on Zhao Tianba's face, he was suddenly full of anger and went towards this thief, he pointed at Zhao Tianba and asked, "Mr. Deng, is this thief the first ghost idea?" ”

"I came up with it...... Deng Ming of course wouldn't let Zhao Tianba give himself a top cylinder, and continue to distinguish for him.

"Mr. Deng said to me, you, Mr. Li Qian, and Mr. Zhou Qian, will never leave their subordinates to escape, so even if half of the soldiers can escape, the two of you still have to stay in this mountain." Without waiting for Deng Ming to finish speaking, Zhao Tianba next to him interrupted him, and met the angry eyes of everyone in the hall without fear: "You will not leave your brother to escape, Mr. Deng said that he will never leave you to escape, come out of chóngqìng together, and return to Fengjie alive together." ”

Suddenly, there was silence in the county hall that was still noisy, as if ice water had fallen from the sky, which suddenly extinguished the anger of Li Xinghan and the others.

After Zhao Tianba finished speaking, he turned around and gently clenched his fists at Deng Ming, and said in a respectful voice: "Originally, I didn't want to say that those ships were grain ships. My task is only to protect Mr. Deng from danger, which is easy and safe, but since Mr. Deng has this determination, then I am willing to stay and live and die with everyone. ”

Deng Ming sighed softly, he didn't think about it just now, his decision also dragged Zhao Tianba, who was relatively safe, into danger.

Since hearing Deng Ming say that he wanted to live and die with everyone, Zhao Tianba's respect for Deng Ming in his heart has increased a lot, and he silently recited in his heart: "Third Prince, if one day you really covet the throne, I will stop you no matter what." But I will definitely be by your side in this battle, and no one will hurt a single hair of your cold hair. ”

When the voice of the county government sounded again, everyone no longer complained that Zhao Tianba was lying or asked to continue to withdraw from the army as they did when they first found out that they had been deceived, but discussed how to face Tan Yi.

"It is definitely not possible to defend the city, there is no way to defend Wanxian County, let alone thousands of troops." Someone immediately pointed out this: "If we let the troops defend the city with us, and expect them to help us fight, then it is better to wipe our necks ourselves." ”

"After nightfall today, if these people make a riot, or if Tan thieves attack at night, we won't be able to resist." The officer who spoke showed a fierce expression and said, "Or, while Tan Yi hasn't landed yet, let's kill these people first, even if they let them escape, they can't stay in the city." ”

"It's a waste of energy." Deng Ming didn't think much of this, and wanted to kill thousands of people, which could be done in a while? Besides, the enemy is currently in power, if he kills these surrendered troops and kills them weakly, how can he deal with the swarming Tan Yi troops?

"Mr. Deng," while everyone was gossiping, Zhao Tianba came to his side and asked in a low voice: "I remember you said that in the Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Guangwu of Han led his army out of the city to counterattack, right?" ”

"Yes." Deng Ming nodded.

"I advocate going out of the city for a decisive battle!" After receiving an affirmative reply, Zhao Tianba announced loudly.

"There's no other way than to fight against the city." Zhou Kaihuang did not object to this opinion, because the defense was obviously waiting for death.

It was determined that there were still many problems in the battle, and the biggest problem was that Tan Yi's troops were twice as large as the Ming army.

"We have been raising jīng in the city for the past two days, and the Tartars have come from afar, even if they take a boat, it is impossible to compare with us." Li Xinghan cheered himself up, and everyone reluctantly agreed with his words.

Even if the comparison of forces is not considered, Tan Yi's command system is still more handy than that of the Ming army, if it is a dignified match, whether it is looking for the opponent's flaws, or Cāo's own army is attacking and defending-for-tat, no one in the officers present dares to say that they can compare with Tan Yi.

Moreover, the banner of the Ming army is not uniform, Tan Wen and Yuan Zongdi's banner orders are different, and the officers have always obeyed orders, and have never been commanders, if they are asked to give orders, they will probably be in a hurry. On the battlefield, if the wrong flag is issued, it can cause chaos in the army. If these people could use the banner flexibly, they wouldn't have had to dig out the trouble of using that clumsy arrow-in hindsight that the connection was quite poor.

"Let's just not arrange any troops, everyone aimed at Tan Yi's general flag, and rushed there to kill him without leaving a piece of armor!" After deliberating for a long time, he could not come up with a reason, and an officer was impatient and shouted loudly.

"It's easy to think!" Zhou Kaihuang retorted unceremoniously. Attacking the position of the opponent's general flag is of course very good, this is something that any warring party dreams of, not only can the opposing general completely lose control of the army, but also can shake the enemy's military morale. Since there are such great benefits, no clear-headed general will let this happen lightly: "Tan Yi didn't just debut, will he not guard against us and fight hard?" ”

If everyone swarms to kill Tan Yi's general flag, it will also affect the deployment of their own troops, and the other party can calmly deploy troops and outflank the interception. All in all, if you can win without a flag, what do armies throughout the ages use flags for?

When he first heard Deng Ming's willingness to share difficulties, a wave of enthusiasm and a great desire to defeat a strong enemy rose in the chest of every officer, but after discussing for a long time and not seeing a good solution, the surging passion in everyone's hearts gradually receded, and the blood full of enthusiasm gradually cooled down again. There was no new discussion in the county government, and disappointed and pessimistic expressions reappeared on everyone's faces. Zhou Kaihuang glanced at Deng Ming and opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't say what Brother Zhou thinks," Looking at everyone's expressions and Zhou Kaihuang's appearance of stopping words, Deng Ming knew that the other party probably wanted to mention yì and let himself escape first, when he was watching Tan Yi's fleet on the mountain just now, he not only thought of the battle of Kunyang but also thought of a very dangerous solution, if others could have a good idea, Deng Ming would not have taken it out, but now it seems that they don't have a foolproof plan: "I think it is better to go straight to Tan Yi's banner, since his ability to command in battle is stronger than ours, Until we take the banner of General Tan Yi, we can't let him give full play to his command advantage. ”

Zhou Kaihuang was stunned for a moment, and wondered in his heart: He didn't hear what I was saying just now?

Without waiting for Zhou Kaihuang to speak again, Deng Ming continued to elaborate his thoughts: "Someone just said that Tan Yijun has strict orders, if he is stronger than us against him, then we can't let him play his strengths with strict orders, and don't let him play against us." ”

Deng Ming's idea is to continue to learn from the tactics used by Zhu Di.

Zhu Di first used this tactic in Zhengcunba, and at that time it was the famous eunuch Zheng He who assisted him in implementing the tactic. Zheng He's original name was Ma He, and after the victory of Zheng Cunba, Zhu Di gave him the surname Zheng by pointing to the name of the battlefield in order to reward his military exploits. Later, Zhu Di used this tactic again and again in Yucheng, Shenzhou, and Jiahe and won.

But after Deng Ming made his plan clear, everyone was unanimously opposed, even if Deng Ming brought out the precedent of Zhu Di's success, it was useless.

Although Zhou Kaihuang once praised Deng Ming's family origin, this time he was also one of the opponents: "After all, it is too dangerous, Mr. Deng is so risky, the slightest mistake is to lose the whole game." ”

"Do we have any other way to win? Or is there any other way we can go undefeated? Deng Ming shook his head and said, "If the army is defeated, how can I escape alone?" As long as we can interfere with and disrupt Tan Yi's command, and don't fight him in a dignified battle, it's worth the risk. ”

When everyone objected, Zhao Tianba kept silent, and after Deng Ming finished speaking, he looked at him for support: "What does Brother Zhao think?" ”

"I can't do it alone," Zhao Tianba really didn't object, but supported Deng Ming's decision: "I need at least twenty strong men who are skilled in martial arts and can ride horses." ”

Seeing Zhao Tianba say this, everyone couldn't think of a better way, coupled with Emperor Chengzu's great martial arts, they finally agreed to Deng Ming's plan, and immediately began to find twenty skilled helpers for Zhao Tianba.

Of course, some people are worried, what if Tan Yi refuses to take the bait? Deng Ming has similar concerns. Sheng Yong, Ping'an, Wu Jie and others were all famous generals of the Southern Army in the early Ming Dynasty, and they were all defeated by the tactics of Emperor Chengzu. If Tan Yi is more calm and calm than them, if Tan Yi's control of the army is more powerful than these famous generals, if Tan Yi's military discipline is better than that of these generals' subordinates...... Then Deng Ming can only cry out in vain.

"I would like to be Mr. Deng's Zheng He." Zhao Tianba patted his chest and said aloud with righteousness, he remembered the battle of Zhengcunba that Deng Ming talked about, but Zhao Tianba immediately found that his words seemed to be a little wrong, and immediately added: "Of course, not to be a eunuch." ”

……

The plan has been decided, and the Ming army marched out of Wanxian in a row.

The ships of the Qing army on the opposite side also docked, and the Qing army that had landed in the upstream position earlier rushed to the city of Wanxian under the leadership of Tan Yi. As Tan Yi's flag was raised high, there were loud cheers from the Qing army's position. Although there is some relatively flat ground near Wanxian, the mountains are also close at hand, and the undulating terrain obstructs the vision and signals, making it more difficult to command the troops than flat land.

However, this was originally Tan Yi's hometown, and his officers have also been stationed here for many years, but half of the Ming army is unfamiliar, and the advantage of the Qing army is undoubtedly greater than that of the Qing army. Seeing that the Ming army on the opposite side actually drove out of the city and had a battle, Tan Yi was full of confidence, and said with a long smile: "The thief is stupid, this is where I come in." ”

When the Qing army and the Ming army were arranging their own formations, Deng Ming was seriously making final preparations in the county office. When he went to Tan Hong's camp before, he didn't wear armor, and this was the first time he wore it into battle.

"Your Highness's General Flag." The guards brought a large red pennant and handed it to Deng Ming, who did not correct what he meant.

I had never seen the clan go out as a general before, so the soldiers didn't know what kind of specifications to make the flag. Deng Ming didn't think much about it, and planned to write a "Han" character directly on the flag. Since Chóngqìng had heard the news of Tan Hong's defeat, they would definitely have heard about Han Shizi's presence in the Ming army, and Deng Ming was determined to impersonate him again.

"Draw pen and ink." Although Deng Ming's major is oil painting, he took a public course in calligraphy in his first year of college, and he also practiced calligraphy with painting before entering university.

Soaked in thick ink, Deng Mingti wrote a big "Han" character on the military flag. After looking at it, the effect is very satisfying, and it can definitely be called a lot of pen power - the trick of exercising pen power in a regular university in the previous life must be unheard of by people now, right?

Deng Ming strode out of the hall of the county office, and the guards walked behind him with the battle flag held high, full of pride and solemnity, there were people who raised the flag, but they were holding the battle flag of the Ming clan, which was only passed down in legends before. Zhao Tianba and the twenty sharps selected by Jīng were standing in front waiting for him. After seeing Deng Minghe's battle flag indicating the clan's expedition appeared, the twenty armored soldiers saluted him neatly and shouted in unison: "Swear to fight to the death for Your Highness!" ”

Deng Ming thought about it, but still did not correct their statement, but smiled at these soldiers.

When the officers gathered the soldiers just now, they all told their subordinates that Deng Ming had taken the initiative to stay and fight side by side with the soldiers, and these twenty soldiers also heard it. Deng Ming turned over and got on the horse, and they also jumped on the horse's back, one by one with their lips closed, and followed behind Deng Ming, Zhao Tianba, and the guard horse holding the royal flag high.

Deng Ming and his entourage rode out of Wanxian County, and the Ming soldiers who lined up outside the city saw Deng Ming's Wang Qi, they already knew the heroic behavior of this clan disciple, and the Ming officers and soldiers shouted to the position of Wang Qi.

……

Suddenly hearing the thunderous cheers from the Ming army, Tan Yi was startled at first, and hurriedly sent scouts to investigate, the Ming army that had just left the city had not yet opened the formation, and the scouts had been running to the front to observe carefully for a while before returning to report to Tan Yi.

"The clan is on the march!" After Tan Yi figured out why the other side was shouting, he carefully looked at the flag that appeared on the battlefield: "The grand occasion of the clan's expedition, I didn't expect that I would be lucky enough to see it." For so many years, I have been looking forward to seeing the battle flag of the Ming Dynasty flying on the battlefield, and I have always thought that this is just wishful thinking. I didn't think I actually saw it today, but it was across from me. ”

After a short period of emotion, Tan Yi felt a burst of ecstasy, Han Shizi did not escape from this dangerous place but faced the battle, so the chance of catching this big man was greatly increased, compared to offering a county town of ten thousand to the Qing court, this credit is much greater.

Compared with the morale of the Ming army, the Qing army was much duller. Tan Yi's subordinates were still descendants of the Ming army not long ago, and when they understood that the opposite side was a clan on the march, many people felt an inexplicable depression in their chests. Although the imperial court has always been a vague image for them, they only need to obey Tan Yi and be loyal to Tan Yi, even if the opposite is the Great Tomorrow, they have to fight with it, but once they see that the supreme Great Tomorrow family really appears on the battlefield, they still feel a sense of oppression.

"The morale on the other side is very high." Tan Yi had already sorted out his thoughts, left all the undeserved feelings behind, and began to think about how to defeat the enemy. He admits that the morale on the other side is good, but the war is not only about morale, but also about the right command. Tan Yi was full of ambition, and his confident command ability was absolutely overwhelming the young clan opposite.

Despite this, he also has to boost morale, if the soldiers feel sorry when they see the children of the clan opposite-even a little bit, it is not conducive to stabilizing the morale of the army, Tan Yi hopes that his soldiers will not only not hesitate but will be extremely blushing, and they will be full of enthusiasm when they see Han Shizi's banner: "Pass my order, and whoever captures Han Shizi will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver!" ”

In terms of purchasing power, the value of one tael of silver at that time was equivalent to about 500 yuan, and one hundred taels was equivalent to a huge sum of 50,000 yuan. As soon as this reward came out, the Qing army's position, which was still a little dull just now, suddenly shouted, and everyone was gearing up, not inferior to the other side at all.