Entering Kunming City and staying in the military station, Deng Ming and the guards hurriedly conducted some brief reconnaissance while they were having lunch. The outside of Kunming was heavily guarded, but the inside of the city was quite relaxed, and there were some men in the military station who took care of food, but there were not guards everywhere like the post station outside the city.

Now there are remnants of Xiying everywhere in Yunnan, and the Kunming area has just been pacified, and the Qing army has plundered the local area on a large scale, and they also know that the people are very hostile to them. So Wu Sangui blasted away all the people who used to live in the city, and now there are no people, no foreign traders, no tourists, not even a miscellaneous army in Kunming, and there has never been an accident in more than three months. Even if a bold person tried to sneak into the city, it would be difficult to get through the strict inspection of the guards guarding the city gates.

After preliminary observation, Deng Ming and his entourage felt that it was not difficult to escape from this military station, but it was a big problem to escape from the city. Deng Ming put away all his thoughts about making trouble, and planned to meet Wu Sangui once in a low-key manner.

Along the way, Deng Ming once asked him why he was summoned to Kunming, and Wu Sangui's guards clearly told him that they wanted to ask some questions about the fighting in Dongchuan Mansion - Wu Sangui had limited time, and he had no time and no mood to grind with a small soldier, so one of the duties of the personal soldier was to let Deng Ming understand what he should and should not say before Wu Sangui met him, so as not to delay Wu Sangui's precious time.

When on the way, Wu Sangui's guards had already asked several times, Deng Ming claimed that he didn't know anything, they were just ordered to go to Jianchang from Chóngqìng to surrender, and later heard that Wu Sangui's Yunnan envoy had arrived, so they went to meet, and then they were raided by Jianchang's soldiers, the army was scattered, and they withdrew to Dongchuan Mansion, and then came to Kunming along the avenue, intending to take the Guizhou road back to Chóngqìng. As for the fighting in Dongchuan Province, Deng Ming claimed that he had seen nothing, and that he was still in good condition when he was in the strongholds along the way. It was only after they had passed Guò that they saw many beacons behind them being lit, but they did not return to take a look. All in all, Deng Ming could not provide any valuable information. Deng Ming would never admit that he had ever obtained the arrows and seals of the Dongchuan Mansion guards -- as a Baoning soldier, he naturally strictly adhered to his duty, and except for accepting hospitality from the strongholds along the way, he would never interfere with their actions, nor would he inquire about whether they had received any news, let alone ask them about the content of the military information they transmitted.

Wu Sangui's personal guard did not talk about the news reported by Dongchuan Mansion, and Deng Ming never mentioned the matter. He had inquired about the Qing soldiers when he was in the Dongchuan stronghold, and knew that they had received the fake report he had written, which mentioned a group of Boryeong soldiers, but no one knew that it was this group of Boryeong soldiers who sent the report first.

After listening to Deng Ming's narration, Wu Sangui's personal guards felt that this person was of little use. However, since Wu Sangui has confessed, he has to bring someone back to show him, maybe Wu Sangui can ask something useful; And if you don't bring people back, it will be a dereliction of duty on the part of this personal guard.

Deng Ming estimated that Wu Sangui would not take a little Bao Ning Qian to heart, so he asked Zhou Kaihuang and the others to prepare, he followed this personal guard to see Wu Sangui in the afternoon, and after the other party was impatient to blow himself out, everyone immediately set off to leave Kunming. Now every extra moment is very dangerous, no one knows when the rout of Dongchuan Mansion will flee back to Yunnan, and when the time comes, the story of the "Li Ming" of Baoning Qianzong will be reported to Kunming, and the lie will be immediately exposed.

After lunch, Deng Ming left the military station, Zhou Kaihuang and others waited for him to come back, everyone didn't even open their luggage, just waited for Deng Ming to leave as soon as he came back. But Deng Ming didn't come back until he didn't move, and he couldn't leave before the city gate closed today.

Finally, Deng Ming finally came back, but they couldn't leave now, because Wu Sangui didn't see Deng Ming at all. Hong Chengchou had just returned to Kunming to discuss with Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong about the upcoming new wave of offensive against Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan.

Deng Ming waited like this for an afternoon, and then a personal soldier came out and asked Deng Ming to go back first and come back tomorrow to meet him. Because Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou are going to have dinner, they will not meet Deng Ming today.

Zhou Kaihuang and the others complained bitterly after hearing this, if Wu Sangui had something to do today and something to do tomorrow, wouldn't he want to stay in Kunming for a long time? As time went on, the danger they were exposed to became greater and greater, but when they entered the city, they handed over all their weapons, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't do it.

Li Xinghan set fire to the city. 10,000 Qing troops were concentrated in camps near several city gates, and most of the urban area of Kunming was empty, even if they secretly lit fires, they would not be discovered, and the fire would not be discovered until it was so big that it would be discovered. Almost all of these subordinates have become arson experts, and seeing this situation that is particularly suitable for arson really makes Li Xinghan and the others feel itchy.

However, this opinion was immediately rejected by everyone. It is easy to light a fire at night, but as soon as the city is on fire, the soldiers guarding the city gate will not let people out of the city.

"Wait another day, if Wu Sangui doesn't see me tomorrow, we'll slip away in the evening." Deng Ming felt that it was a little too conspicuous to slip away immediately, so he planned to endure it for another day, if he had nothing to do tomorrow, probably Wu Sangui's personal guards would no longer be particularly concerned about this matter.

……

Some of Wu Sangui's young guards had long heard of Hong Chengchou's name, but it was the first time they had seen him. After seeing this famous figure, some of the guards were a little unexpected and a little disappointed in their hearts. At this time, Hong Chengchou was already old, and he needed to walk slowly, so old that he didn't seem to be able to open his eyes very much, and he needed to bring his eyes closer when he looked at maps or official documents. Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong both shouted desperately at the top of their voices when they spoke to Hong Chengchou, but this master of Jinglu often couldn't hear clearly, and even if he heard clearly, he rarely expressed his opinions, and looked like he was indispensable to the various plans proposed by Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong, as if his strength was completely insufficient.

There were still many people who always talked about Hong Chengchou's rush to Huguang a few years ago, and he blocked the imposing Li Dingguo, so that the Ming army could never take a step further. Coupled with Hong Chengchou's previous exploits for the Manchu Qing Dynasty's southern expedition to the north, those Qing officers and soldiers who had never seen this person felt that Hong Chengchou must be a god-like figure. But after seeing Hong Chengchou's old and old appearance, many guards on the side, as well as those Qing army generals who had not dealt with Hong Chengchou, secretly felt in their hearts that he should really go home to retire - it seems that it may not be Hong Chengchou's credit to block Li Dingguo in Huguang in recent years, they are all old and decayed like this, how can they command the army? It would be good not to be confused and not to send his subordinates into the tiger's mouth, most likely Li Dingguo was already at the end of the crossbow at that time, and Hong Chengchou was lucky and had the right time.

The reception dinner prepared by Wu Sangui was very sumptuous, including a variety of Yunnan specialties, and the generals who were fortunate enough to participate were all smiling. Only Hong Chengchou still looked unresponsive, and there were not a few teeth left in his mouthful, and he just tasted a few mouthfuls of porridge and put down the spoon.

Seeing that Hong Chengchou seemed to be about to fall asleep, Wu Sangui talked about some interesting things he had encountered recently to liven up the atmosphere, causing laughter one after another. But Hong Chengchou didn't mention anything about it, and after he tried to smile a few times, his eyelids drooped even lower, and he was about to doze off at the banquet.

"Recently, there is something in Dongchuan Mansion, and the last general is a little confused, and I hope that the old man will give some guidance." Wu Sangui mentioned the war in Dongchuan Mansion as he spoke, Zhao Liangdong sat on the side and interjected a few times, and the two expressed their opinions and immediately had another argument. A few generals next to him also made fun of a few words, and there were many absurdities in them, which were unanimously ridiculed by Wu and Zhao.

After arguing for a few words, Wu Sangui suddenly came to his senses, this was a banquet for Hong Chengchou, how could he ignore the guests, but when he turned his head to look at Hong Chengchou again, he saw that the old man had tilted his head and fell asleep on the seat.

"The old man is indeed tired." Wu Sangui was bored, so he motioned to Hong Chengchou's guards to send him back to rest.

But Hong Chengchou woke up at this time, and then apologized to everyone present, claiming that he was too old to survive, and he asked the accompanying generals to stay and continue to eat well, and he left first with the support of several guards.

After leaving Wu Sangui's residence and getting into the carriage, Hong Chengchou closed his eyes in the carriage to recuperate. Now he has no interest in this kind of personal communication, he feels that he is not far from entering the earth, and that interpersonal relations are no longer of much significance--the biggest suspense for Hong Chengchou is whether the Manchu Qing can take deep root and firmly control the whole of China in their hands.

Hong Chengchou knew that he was spurned and cursed by the people of the world, and he also knew that he would definitely not get any good evaluation in history, and even his Manchu master would not say good things about him in the future. As for the reputations such as "safeguarding the unification of the motherland", "conforming to the flow of history", and "promoting the great integration of the cultures of various ethnic groups", Hong Chengchou still does not understand these terms, and even if he does, he will not expect to be able to deduct them on his head in his dreams. As for the former residence in his hometown, now even Hong Chengchou's biological mother and younger brother refuse to go back to live, and even his relatives despise Hong Chengchou to such a point, and he would never have thought that one day, this kind of place where everyone will spit on when they pass by, someone would build it into a patriotic education base.

Since he was scolded so miserably by the world, Hong Chengchou made up his mind to help the Manchu Qing Dynasty establish an indefatigable foundation. If the children and grandchildren of the Chinese are ruled by the Tatars for generations, if the whole of China is the slaves of the Tatars in the end - then how strong can you be compared to me?

As for the argument between Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong, Hong Chengchou also heard it just now, and at this time he snorted in his heart: "After all, they are still two martial artists, and they will only think from a military point of view." This is obviously Jianchang is making infighting, some people are fighting, some people are surrendering, and the main surrender must still have the upper hand, so the main battle will fight to the death, and the back road of Jianchang's surrender will be cut off. ”

However, in front of Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong or in front of the generals, Hong Chengchou has no interest in being in the limelight. Didn't Wu Sangui just say that someone had already returned from Jianchang? Hong Chengchou knew that he would find out the truth after Wu Sangui asked about the situation, and Hong Chengchou felt that instead of trying to convince everyone there, it was better to go home and carefully review the attack plan that Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong told him today. Hong Chengchou felt that there was no big problem with the plan. But now that I'm going to help the Tartars take all of China, everyone will soon be slaves to the Tartars like me, and there will be no chance to turn over, so I can't make a mistake at this last juncture and leave others a chance to resist the Tartars.

……

In the military station, Deng Ming was secretly discussing with the guards the escape route after Ming Rì got out of the city, when suddenly there was a commotion at the door, and it sounded like a few cavalry had arrived.

After a while, another Qing soldier wearing Wu Sangui's personal guard waist card walked into the military station, stood in the hall and shouted: "Baoning Qianzong Li Ming!" "When I heard the name, I went out to see.

It turned out that after Hong Chengchou left the table, Wu Sangui told Zhao Liangdong that there was already an eyewitness who had been brought to Kunming, and since the two talked about the war in Dongchuan Mansion, they asked the guards to bring Deng Ming for questioning.

After learning about the situation, Deng Ming had joy and worry in his heart, and the joy was that at the banquet, Wu Sangui might be even more impatient to ask more; The worry is that there is no time limit for the banquet, and Wu Sangui may also ask endlessly. In addition, there are many people, and who knows if other people will suddenly ask some difficult questions. With this kind of uneasy psychology, Deng Ming followed Wu Sangui's personal guards and came to the temporary palace of King Pingxi alone.

When the guards went in to report, Wu Sangui and their topic had already been talked about elsewhere, and the people were a little drunk. When he sent someone to look for it just now, Wu Sangui asked the guard who brought Deng Ming to Kunming, knowing that this Baoning Qianzong actually didn't know anything. Now that the interest in the conversation has passed, and the person who came can't provide any useful information, Wu Sangui frowned, and asked the guards to blow the person away. But Zhao Liangdong said a word on the side, thinking that since he came, it would be better to see him, maybe this Bao Ning Qian always had some useful news, and it was not too late to ask a few words and send him away.

Wu Sangui thought about it, everyone brought it to Kunming, and it was cold to the guards when they didn't see each other. For such a guy who doesn't know anything, Wu Sangui doesn't have the leisure to take time.

"Bring it in." Wu Sangui then ordered.

Deng Ming was taken to the noisy banquet in this way. Wu Sangui, who was already a little drunk, was shocked when he saw the visitor. The young man looked in good health—Deng Ming was well developed because he was well nourished, his waist was straight, and his appearance looked good.

With Wu Sangui as a general for many years, he also saw that this young officer had a brave spirit: "This is a man who has been on the battlefield, fought and killed people, and he is still so young, it's not bad." Wu Sangui commented in his heart. Zhao Liangdong next to him glanced at Deng Ming twice, and his judgment of this person in his heart was similar to Wu Sangui.

Wu Sangui asked about the situation in Dongchuan Prefecture, and Deng Ming inferred that he didn't know according to what he had thought in advance, and that he was just busy going south, and planned to make a detour to return to Chóngqìng earlier, and he didn't have time to take care of the war later. The military intelligence report transmitted in Dongchuan Prefecture was impossible for Deng Ming to inquire about because of the limitations of his authority. As for Jianchang's current situation, Deng Ming's statement is similar to the report he sent, that is, Jianchang is currently in charge of Di Sanxi, probably in order to gain prestige, so he surrendered to Li Guoying and Wu Sangui, and deceived a few Qing soldiers to kill Liwei in the past. Deng Ming repeatedly emphasized that this was all his speculation, and the specific facts were not clear.

If it is an ordinary person, then the conversation will probably end here, Wu Sangui may throw a few rewards to this Baoning Qianzong who has run a wrong way, and send Deng Ming away to let him leave Kunming tomorrow. However, because Deng Ming's first impression on Wu Sangui was good, he asked more: "How were you ambushed in Jianchang?" ”

……

Two hours later, Hong Chengchou's troops will return from the Pingxi Palace. When a confidant general returned to the mansion, he saw that the study was still brightly lit, and Hong Chengchou was frowning and pondering at the huge map of southwest Yunnan and Burma spread out on the table, and in his hand was a thick stack of reports from front-line generals.

"It's too hard, my lord." Seeing this, this henchman was so moved that he didn't know what to say. While they were partying at Wu Sangui's banquet, Hong Chengchou was silently figuring out the loopholes in the military plan alone.

"Shall the king be negligent?" Hong Chengchou said lightly and asked a few words about what happened at the dinner.

When he heard that Wu Sangui had brought in the eyewitness who had been to Jianchang, Hong Chengchou smiled slightly, and asked without raising his head: "Who is in charge of the battle in Jianchang?" Who is the Lord and the Lord? ”

"Huh?" Hong Chengchou's words made the general stunned, he was very familiar with Hong Jingluo, and knew that this old man looked old, but in fact, he was still immortal and his words must be true.

"Isn't Jianchang the main battle and the main surrender?" Seeing that the general didn't reply, Hong Chengchou slowly raised his head and asked slowly, "What did that Bao Ningqian always say?" ”

He said......" The general hurriedly repeated the general meaning of Deng Ming's description: I can't see any signs of infighting and disagreement in the Jianchang Ming army, and it is likely that Di Sanxi is trying to establish power.

"That's not right!" Hong Chengchou began to shake his head before he finished listening.

Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong had actually thought of the Ming army's military action, but they retreated because they couldn't explain it politically, but Hong Chengchou knew very well what was going on in Dongchuan Mansion. This statement of Mr. Boryeong Qianzong is inconsistent with the facts identified by Hong Chengchou, making the facts clear and clear become ambiguous. Hong Chengchou didn't remind Wu Sangui just now, because he felt that the truth would be revealed in a moment, which was not particularly important. But listening to the report of his henchmen, Hong Chengchou immediately felt a little uneasy: someone was trying to deceive the Manchu generals, although I don't know for what reason, but it was obvious that this person was trying to be detrimental to the great cause of the Tatars to conquer China!

"This person is not telling the truth," Hong Chengchou reached out and took out an arrow from the bamboo tube and threw it to the general. At this time, his eyes opened, and there was no dullness or turbidity in them: "Go quickly, and bring this Bao Ning Qian to this scripture!" ”