Chengdu is still in the hands of the Ming army, and the defenders belong to the old Sichuan army system, with limited strength and dubious combat effectiveness.

Since Wu Sangui led his troops into Sichuan to conquer Chóngqìng and divided Sichuan into two, the Ming army in western Sichuan had neither the ability to contain nor the strength to counterattack, so they could only barely hold the territory, and the main reason why they could hold on to the present was that Li Guoying did not have too many mobile troops in his hands.

The current shape is that the Ming army has a good fighting army in eastern Sichuan, and the number is quite considerable, but the army is out of food; There are a large number of tuntian fields in western Sichuan, and the storage is also very considerable, and the grain and grass in Jianchang are piled up, but there is no army and it cannot be transported to eastern Sichuan - even if there is transportation capacity, it is doubtful whether it will be transported over. The deployment of the Ming army in Sichuan became like this, which was mixed with various complex factors over the years: the Yongli court did not want the force of the camp to be too large, the local Sichuan army did not want the territory to be occupied by others, and the camp was worried that it would be annexed if it did not form a group, coupled with the threat from the Qing army in Hubei, so the rest of the camp was concentrated in the Three Gorges area.

A few years ago, Liu Wenxiu, the king of Shu, once had the heart to run Sichuan, but he was not willing to break into Sichuan to share the territory with him, as long as he broke into the camp to help him defend the flank of the Three Gorges, which was obviously more beneficial to him. Liu Wenxiu once incorporated some Sichuan troops, which of course weakened the local armed forces and made the local snakes a little uneasy, but with Liu Wenxiu's strength, it was completely able to suppress it, and as for the problems caused by the decline in the strength of small warlords in various places, Liu Wenxiu's army could also be completely solved in Sichuan, and his military strength was also improved. At that time, although the camp was in the Three Gorges area to help Liu Wenxiu, he was also secretly vigilant.

Suddenly, Sun Kewang intended to usurp the throne in Yunnan, and Liu Wenxiu returned to Yunnan to assist Li Dingguo Qinwang, but after driving away Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu and Li Dingguo had friction again - Liu Wenxiu publicly claimed that Li Dingguo was in power, as if another Sun Kewang; And Li Dingguo accused Liu Wenxiu of buying the rest of Sun Kewang's department and having the intention of being Sun Kewang's second.

The result of the struggle was that Li Dingguo placed Liu Wenxiu under house arrest, and in order to eliminate the sequelae of the repeated battles, Li Dingguo had to stay in Kunming and sit in Kunming, unable to go to the Huguang front line to personally command the battle - the lack of prestige people to stabilize the morale of the army on the front line, and the inevitable panic and confusion in the Ming army after the internal strife of the three kings, led the Qing army to launch an offensive in Hunan, and the front line of the Ming army quickly collapsed; It was similar on the Sichuan side, where Liu Wenxiu brought the army to Kunming and never returned, and the middle of Sichuan was both empty and chaotic, and there was a group of disgruntled small warlords who gave Wu Sangui the opportunity to easily capture Chóngqìng.

"There are soldiers in eastern Sichuan, and the terrain of the Three Gorges is dangerous, so it is a place to use, as long as the military rations are available, we can hold on here for a long time." Liu Tichun and other generals of the camp have been operating in the Three Gorges for many years and have trained many local soldiers. Although Liu Tichun claimed in the army that it was a rumor and tried his best to refute the rumor, he had no scruples in front of Deng Ming: "If the king of Jin can reach Chengdu, and then try to capture Chóngqìng and get in touch with us, we will have a great future in Sichuan and Shaanxi." ”

"If King Jin leads the whole army north, I'm afraid there will be the troubles that the general just said, right?" As far as Deng Ming knows, Li Dingguo now has a lot of Yunnan people under his command, and many officers and soldiers of the Xiying camp have started families and careers in Yunnan, which is somewhat similar to the situation on the side of the camp.

"It's not far from Yunnan to Jianchang, recently the Tartars have been claiming that they have captured Kunming, I think it may be the truth, most of Kunming is really lost, don't run at this time, when will you stay?" Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng have both been to the Yongli Imperial Court, and Li Laiheng has also been stationed in Guizhou for a period of time: "I have heard about the situation in Guizhou and Yunnan, and there are Tusi everywhere in Kunming, and it is a big trouble to recruit troops and horses, conscription and food, if Kunming is really lost, what are you waiting for if you don't leave quickly?" The soldiers will not be reluctant to give up any longer. As for the fact that men and women are separated from each other and husbands and wives are not allowed to meet, King Jin will definitely not know it! Xiying has forgotten everything else, can you forget the old business? ”

"What if the Wu thief follows after him?" Deng Ming felt that if Li Dingguo could come, then Wu Sangui would certainly be able to come.

Liu Tichun shook his head again: "Where did the Wu thief get the food?" Wu thieves have 180,000 soldiers and horses, and it is definitely not enough to transport food, and most of the military food has to be collected from the local area. ”

When Wu Sangui was entrenched in Shaanxi before, Tuntian had accumulated grain and grass for many years, and at the same time, the Qing court also kept transferring grain to him from Shanxi and Henan, so that he could hit chóngqìng in one fell swoop. He stayed in Chóngqìng for another half year, bringing in a large amount of supplies from the south of the Yangtze River and accumulating enough grain and grass for his march for three months before he invaded Yunnan.

"Mr. Deng doesn't know what kind of scene the army is transiting, Wu thief went over this time, I don't dare to say that I will eat thousands of miles of red land, but in three or five years, don't think about crossing the army on this road in Zunyi, even if it is 10,000 people. It stands to reason that the Wu thief captured Kunming, in order to deter the local Tusi and pacify the place, it will also take a year or two to free up his hands, after all, Xiying has been operating in Yunnan for ten years, and the Wu thief army will not dare to leave if it is not stationed for two years. However, even if Wu Thief wanted to return to Sichuan immediately, he would definitely have to take Jianchang, the road that he had not walked in the past few years. If the King of Jin took the first step, took 100,000 people, ate all the grain along the way, and burned down all the warehouses, then the Wu thief still wanted to chase the Queen of Jin back to Sichuan? Hmph, his 180,000-strong army will first plant fields in Yunnan for three or five years, and then ponder this matter. ”

After chatting with Liu Tichun carefully today, Deng Ming found that his understanding of the transportation capacity of this era had changed dramatically, and it was very difficult to mobilize an army of 100,000 on an expedition without railways and a reliable road network. This time, the Qing court mobilized the whole country to attack Yunnan, although the battle was great, but it also depleted the savings of the Qing court for many years, that is, if you want to withdraw the troops sent to Yunnan to the place of departure, you need to take your time, let alone launch another large-scale attack immediately.

At this time, the advantage of breaking into the camp and sticking to the Three Gorges is manifested. If the Yangtze River was under the control of the Qing army, and the waterway from eastern Sichuan to western Sichuan was unimpeded, then the transportation capacity of the Qing army would be greatly improved; In the case that the Yangtze River was cut off by the Ming army, unless the Qing court broke through the pass at any cost, whether it was to transport materials to Chóngqìng or to Yunnan and Guizhou, it had to travel by land through mountains and rivers, and the consumption was extremely amazing; It was very difficult for the Qing army to attack the Three Gorges from the lower reaches, and the Ming army had been preparing for defense for many years.

In Liu Tichun's strategic conception, the most critical point is that as long as the Yangtze River from western Sichuan to eastern Sichuan is completely controlled by the Ming army, the grain from western Sichuan can be used to feed the army in eastern Sichuan, and the army from eastern Sichuan can be used to defend the tuntian in western Sichuan. It would be best if Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou chased them out of Yungui without knowing whether they were alive or dead, it is estimated that they would have become hungry ghosts after they climbed out of the mountains and mountains in southern Sichuan again, and the Ming army could use water transportation to facilitate the east-west rush, even if they did not fight with them, as long as the walls were clear. In Liu Tichun's view, even if the Qing army touched the edge of the Yangtze River, it would not be able to feed more than 100,000 or 200,000 mouths by fishing; Of course, Liu Tichun thinks that Wu Sangui will most likely work tirelessly to transport grain to the front line again and build warehouses to reserve materials, but it will take a few years, and the Qing court's all-out blow this time failed to completely defeat the Ming army in Yunnan.

"Be sure to take down chóngqìng!"

At the end of the discussion, Liu Tichun deliberately emphasized it again.

As in Dachang, Liu Tichun also arranged drills to show Deng Ming what he had learned.

With the experience of Yuan Zongdi, Deng Ming's face was silent, and he secretly paid attention in his heart to see if anyone would be specially recommended by Liu Tichun. After a young man appeared, Deng Ming noticed that Liu Tichun kept turning his head, observing his expression and reaction.

"What a strong man!" Deng Ming exclaimed loudly. This is not a compliment, this young man is really good, and he is tall, and he looks like he should be well nourished, and Deng Ming estimates that he is a relative of Liu Tichun.

"It's the dog." Liu Tichun replied happily and loudly.

"It turned out to be Ling Lang, what a hero." To be honest, Deng Ming was still a little surprised, first of all, he didn't expect Liu Tichun to let his son come out to perform, and secondly, Liu Tichun looked like he was in his early fifties, Deng Ming didn't expect people in this era to get married and have children so late.

Liu Tichun's son was obtained in Henan in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, and after Shangluo rode out of the mountain in the eighteenth year, he was the first to have a son among the people, and he only turned eighteen years old this year. After watching the drill, Liu Tichun called his eldest son to toast Deng Ming at dinner.

Deng Ming didn't like to drink, so he put down the cup after touching his lips, and said politely to Liu Tichun's son: "How old am I to be the young general, so I will call the young general Brother Liu, how about it?" "Now Deng Ming is pretending to be a noble clan is becoming more and more handy, Liu Tichun is obviously a guard, Deng Ming and his son call him brothers, but it seems that others have taken advantage of it.

The young man glanced back at his father at a little bewilderment, and when he saw Liu Tichun nodding with joy on his face, he said honestly to Deng Ming: "Brother Deng is on top, and the younger brother is polite." ”

Liu Tichun's eldest son is named Liu Jinge, since Deng Ming has expressed an obvious intention to woo him, Liu Tichun immediately boasted about his son's martial arts, and then changed the conversation, saying that he saw that Deng Ming did not have many guards around him, so he might as well take his son away.

Whether it was Liu Tichun or Yuan Zongdi, their thoughts were very badly concealed, and today Deng Ming could guess what he was going to do before Liu Tichun made the preparations. However, Liu Tichun actually sent his eldest son, which made Deng Ming a little surprised and embarrassed. One of Yuan Zongdi's nephews made him feel that it was difficult to arrange - after all, unlike ordinary soldiers, if he neglected it, maybe Yuan Zongdi would think that Deng Ming looked down on him, but Deng Ming was basically a bare-bones commander now, and it was impossible to provide soldiers to the sons and nephews of these town guard generals as subordinates.

This is Liu Tichun's eldest son, if there is a three-long and two-short Deng Ming, I don't know how to explain it - he has not fully adapted to his identity now. In Liu Tichun and Yuan Zongdi's opinion, if the children died in battle to protect the Heavenly Family Clan, there is nothing to say, and it may not be a bad thing for the family in the long run. Since Liu Tichun heard that Yuan Zongdi gave his nephew and the captain of the personal guard who he raised single-handedly and had a relationship so good that he was about the same as his son, he decided to let his son also serve by the third prince's side.

Deng Ming euphemistically expressed his concern, and Liu Tichun immediately stated that this was not a problem: "I also admire Mr. Deng's demeanor in the First Battle of Wanxian, since my son is a military body, it is also my duty to have a husband wrapped in horse leather!" “

If he insisted on not wanting to, Deng Ming was worried that Liu Tichun would have other ideas, so he had to agree to accept it. At this time, he felt a burst of worry in his heart, if all the military towns he inspected in the future acted like this with Yuan Zongdi and Liu Tichun, then when he returned to Fengjie in the future, wouldn't he have to bring back a team of generals who broke into the camp? If this continues, can your own guards still be used as guards? Will there be a contradiction between these children and the soldiers-turned-guards, and is it necessary to form a real guard? The guards of the First Battle of Wanxian were members of the True Guard, and these children were members of the Honorary Guard.

After spending a few days in Padang, Deng Ming will soon be leaving for his next stop. Liu Tichun called his son who was about to be separated to his study, and in addition to their father and son, there was only the master in the room.

In Liu Tichun's view, Deng Ming's main job in the future is to appease people's hearts and inspect the garrisons everywhere. Although they thought that the Ming court clan was a cowardly person who did not dare to fight, and looked forward to the appearance of a different clan prince and king, but when Deng Ming appeared, their mentality immediately changed, and now Liu Tichun and Yuan Zongdi did not want Deng Ming to take risks, if Deng Ming hung up, they would have no investment partners.

"In the future, Mr. Deng will probably not be in such a dangerous situation as Wanxian again," Liu Tichun instructed his son: "But if you encounter an assassin or any critical scene, you must not embarrass me." ”

"Yes, father." Liu Jinge replied seriously.

"Shao Dong, in the future, when you go out, you will not be better than being by the side of the old handsome," the master said earnestly. Liu Jinge is still too young, Liu Tichun and his master are not at ease no matter what, they are worried that he will not get along well with Deng Ming and bring trouble to himself and the Liu family in the future: "Now there are rumors everywhere that the King of Jin has abandoned Kunming, and the imperial court is nowhere to be found." Are these rumors true? Where is the Son of Heaven now, and can he and King Jin arrive in Sichuan safely? This is all unknowing. Although Mr. Deng's identity is still uncertain, there will be no mistake in Shaodong's family affairs, and he can't be confused because Mr. Deng called Shaodong's brother. ”

"Got it, sir." Liu Jinge said impatiently, the master has been instilling similar content in him for several days.

"Listen to Mr. Well!" Liu Tichun glared and scolded.

"Father, this has been said many times," Liu Jinge defended himself: "The children are all in mind, the prince of heaven and earth, the children regard the prince as the monarch's father, and they are filial to him like filial piety to your old man." ”

"The young owner's words are inappropriate," the master hurriedly corrected: "The gentleman's father and the father are very different, no matter what the young owner says wrong in front of the old handsome, the old man will not take it to heart, but the young owner is different, the young owner must be careful in front of Mr. Deng, and don't go against Mr. Deng's will." Sometimes you just don't mention what Mr. Deng is doing wrong, just do what he wants. For example, if Mr. Deng doesn't nod his head, don't mention it again. ”

Liu Jinge asked in surprise: "Don't you think Mr. Deng is doing something wrong?" If Mr. Deng wants to take everyone to death, doesn't he care? ”

"How do you know that Mr. Deng will take everyone to their deaths? Are you smart? Liu Tichun scolded: "You dare to talk back!" ”

"The child knows it's wrong." Liu Jinge immediately lowered his head and apologized.

"Young owner." The master knew that Liu Jinge was still unconvinced, so he explained seriously: "Mr. Deng will probably not be in danger again in the future, even if he wants to supervise the teacher, he will not agree, even if the supervisor has this intention, you have to try your best to stop it; Taking a step back, if Mr. Deng is really on the battlefield again, and you think there is something wrong with his order, it is best not to be the first to mention it. ”

"What if you don't mention it?" Liu Jinge was really unconvinced.

"If you don't mention it, it means that Mr. Deng's idea is right, but you are wrong!" Liu Tichun shouted.

The master was obviously much more patient, and said: "If it is very wrong, then there will be a person who can't hold his breath and come out first, and the young owner can echo it; If it's not bad, others won't speak, Shaodongjia you mentioned, Mr. Deng may not follow it, even if Mr. Deng's order is really wrong, it may not be good for Shaodongjia afterwards, Mr. Deng will feel that you have embarrassed him in front of everyone, does Shaodongjia still remember the story of Yuan Shao and Tian Feng that the old man told you? If the young owner really thinks that Mr. Deng's order is really unworkable, and he has to point it out, then don't say it in front of everyone, and say a sentence or two in private......"

"And it must be right to do what you want? If you were in command of the Battle of Wanxian, would you be able to defeat twice as many Tartars? Liu Tichun was a little dissatisfied with his master's compromising tone, so he interrupted his words and taught his son a lesson: "If Mr. Deng listens to you and loses the battle, you can wipe your neck with a sword!" Sue sù, don't talk nonsense, don't talk. Speaking of this, Liu Tichun sighed: "I just talked too much a few days ago, I don't know if Mr. Deng will be unhappy." ”

……

After returning to his room, Deng Ming was still pondering Liu Tichun's strategy, he felt that Liu Tichun's reasons were very convincing, and he had been persuaded by Liu Tichun a few days ago, but he was a little skeptical in the past few days, because he knew that the Qing court had won the final victory in history, that is to say, the judgment of history determined that Liu Tichun's strategy was wrong; Just like Liu Tichun thinks that he can hold the Three Gorges firmly and continue to wait for opportunities, but Deng Ming knows that it is actually time to fight to the death, which is why he is obsessed with marching into Jiangnan - if you already know that the path chosen by the people around you will eventually lead to failure and destruction, you can't help but think that choosing another path may bring another result.

Just when Deng Ming was hesitating, the guard reported that Fengjie had sent him an urgent letter, and after opening the letter, Deng Ming scanned it and looked up and said to the guard: "Please General Liu come over." ”

After Liu Tichun arrived, Deng Ming said to him: "I must return to Fengjie immediately, I can't go to other military towns for the time being, and I ask General Liu to wait for me to apologize to the generals." ”

"What is the other thing besides Fengjie?" Liu Tichun asked.

"Fengjie didn't have an accident," although it was a secret letter from Wen Anzhi to him, Deng Ming did not intend to hide it completely from Liu Tichun: "But I received news: Jianchang is unstable." ”