More than 20,000 Qing troops were captured in the First Battle of Anqing, and Deng Ming did not release these prisoners immediately, but used them as auxiliaries, but Deng Ming had already told these prisoners that they did not have to worry about their lives, and when the Ming army did not need their services, they would naturally release them all, and when they served in the Ming army, they also had a monthly salary of one or two silver, and an additional one or two severance pay when they left.

"We still have to fight in Jiangnan for a period of time, and we need auxiliaries, so we don't have to recruit ourselves with these people; Moreover, when explaining his intentions to his subordinates, Deng Ming paused halfway and said in an accentuated tone: "This is tens of thousands of people, maybe after we release them, they will go to Chizhou to wait for us, and then surrender and ask for a severance pay of one or two silver; Then go to Taiping to wait for us, followed by Jiangning, Yangzhou, Suzhou...... If such a thing really happens, then along the way, even if I have a mountain of gold and silver, they will be poor, and I can't afford to be dismissed no matter what. ”

After selling some Jiangxi goods in Anqing, Deng Ming bought some grain, and then continued downstream, approaching the next important town, Chizhou.

Soon after setting up camp outside Chizhou, Mu Tan ran to report that an envoy had come to see Deng Ming.

"Didn't you hand it over to you?" When Mu Tan arrived, Deng Ming had just started eating, he had been busy all day, and after setting up camp, he patrolled the whole camp before returning to his tent to prepare for dinner, and he was already hungry. In the impression that Mu Tan had already eaten just now, Deng Ming complained in his heart that Mu Tan was full and didn't know that he was hungry, and said with some dissatisfaction: "You can handle it with full authority." ”

"It's not from Chizhou, it's from Tongcheng, and after entering the camp, he claims to be the magistrate of Tongcheng." Tongcheng also belonged to the jurisdiction of Anqing Prefecture, and after the news of Deng Mingquan's annihilation of Zhu Guozhi's 30,000 army reached Tongcheng, the magistrate knew that there was no longer the ability to resist the Ming army around Anqing, even if the Ming army sent a partial division to Tongcheng, he would definitely not be able to hold on, and could only choose between suicide and being executed by běijīng.

From that day on, the magistrate of Tongcheng completely lost the ability to control his own destiny, and could only stay helplessly in the yamen and wait. This was really an unbearable torture, but after learning that Deng Ming had not captured Anqing and marched downstream, the magistrate of Tongcheng still did not feel relieved, because Deng Ming's army was not far from Tongcheng, and it was basically the distance between morning and evening.

What's worse is that the magistrate heard that there were people nearby who were plotting to make trouble -- this was the second time in eight months that the Ming army had penetrated deep into the hinterland of Jiangnan, and seeing that Deng Ming's army was like entering a no-man's land, the Qing army seemed to have no ability to resist at all, and some Jiangnan scholars began to liven their minds, such as these scholars around Tongcheng planned to raise troops to attack the county seat to welcome the Ming army's recovery of Jiangnan.

It's just that these scholars have no enthusiasm, but they don't have the level of conspiracy, and the officers they buy are very unreliable, and some people have already gone to the county order to inform; The fact that they were gathering grain and grass and recruiting civilians to prepare for rebellion had already been revealed, and the county magistrate had been aware of their intentions long before they tried to buy off the officers.

If it was peacetime, the Tongcheng County Commander would have ordered a suppression long ago, but now that Deng Ming's army was on the side, the magistrate would not dare to suppress the people who supported the Ming scholars, for fear of drawing Deng Ming's attention to Tongcheng; It was also due to Deng Ming's military pressure that the officers and soldiers, gentry, and officials of Tongcheng were all on both ends - maybe Deng Ming would not stay in Jiangnan for a long time, but compared to the Manchurian soldiers of Běijīng who were far away in the sky, Deng Ming's 10,000 Jīng soldiers were close at hand, and supporting the county order to suppress the pro-Ming forces might be rewarded by Běijīng, but the possibility of becoming a posthumous award was great, in order to otherwise enjoy the glory given by Běijīng, The pro-Qing faction in Tongcheng was also generally opposed to the pro-Ming faction that intended to settle the incident by force.

In line with the idea of valuing peace, the magistrate invited the leader of the Yongming faction in Tongcheng who intended to make trouble to his yamen with a knife and gun, this scholar thought that he would definitely die, but after meeting, he found that the magistrate had a kind attitude and polite words, and claimed that he never forgot the Ming Dynasty, and that he was an official in the Qing Dynasty just to eat a meal, and everyone was a scholar - why should a scholar be embarrassed by a scholar? All in all, the magistrate of Tongcheng hopes that these scholars will not make trouble, at least not during his tenure.

Unexpectedly, the attitude of the county order made the leader of the Yongming faction misunderstood, thinking that the county also had the intention of being right, so he began to persuade him to join the conspiracy group, and also expressed his willingness to give up the first position of the group, and everyone dedicated Tongcheng to Deng Ming as a meeting gift. After being categorically rejected by the magistrate, the leader of the Yongming faction left angrily, and before leaving, he said that he would give the magistrate another three days to think about it, and if he still refused to be the leader of the Yongming faction by then, they would have to make trouble themselves.

After the leader of the Yongming faction left, the magistrate felt that his trouble was even greater, and because of his weak attitude, the other party had a misunderstanding, and he also had greater confidence in the uprising, and a war in Tongcheng seemed inevitable. In the end, a staff member had an idea, pointing out that Deng Ming was the source of these troubles, and the so-called bell must be tied to the bell person, so he reached an understanding with Deng Ming on building a yì owner.

The shape was urgent, and the magistrate of Tongcheng and the county could not send envoys to pass on the information, so he personally rushed to Deng Ming's camp and expressed his willingness to give all the warehouses in Tongcheng to Deng Ming, only begging him not to send troops to support the Tongcheng Yongming faction.

"Since it's a county magistrate, then I really have to see it in person." Deng Ming reluctantly put down his chopsticks, stood up and followed Mu Tan out of the camp, his stomach rumbling in protest - after eating the first bite of food just now, the hunger was even more difficult to contain.

After hearing the intention of the Tongcheng magistrate, Deng Ming also thought that those scholars were too early, and when the Ming army was still unable to control the south of the Yangtze River, these scholars were unnecessary sacrifices. So Deng Ming immediately changed to Ren Tang and asked him to lead a thousand jīng soldiers to Tongcheng to visit those who were preparing to start an uprising, and explained to them that Deng Ming was not able to control Jiangnan for the time being, and asked them to continue to accumulate strength and patiently lurk in the territory of the Qing court.

"I can not enter Tongcheng and guarantee that you will not be charged with losing your land, but my condition is that Tongcheng will not shed blood - it doesn't matter if you shed the blood of those who support Běijīng, but these scholars with great minds must be unharmed, otherwise I will not sit idly by." Deng Ming said to the magistrate: "Since I can't promise not to interfere in Tongcheng, then I won't ask for the things in the warehouse in vain, do you know anyone who does Tongcheng tea oil and date business?" I'm going to buy some, in addition to I have some Jiangxi native products, if you want to, you can sell some to you, the price is fair, never forced. ”

In order to ensure that the magistrate would not settle accounts after the autumn, and also to ensure that the pro-Ming faction in Tongcheng would not make radical moves, Deng Ming asked the magistrate of Tongcheng to write a letter of allegiance to Deng Ming, and Ren Tang would show this letter of allegiance to the pro-Ming faction in Tongcheng, and then bring it back to Deng Ming as a guarantee. As for Deng Ming's instructions to the Tongcheng Yongming faction, Ren Tang will also bring them, that is: long-term lurking, accumulating strength, and waiting for orders.

After finishing this qiē, more than half an hour had passed, and Deng Ming saw that it was too late, so he beckoned the magistrate of Tongcheng to stay in the Ming military camp for one night, and the Ming and Ren Tang's 1,000 jīng soldiers set off to return to Tongcheng together.

Back in his tent, Deng Ming sat back at the dining table, took a big mouthful of rice, and swallowed it impatiently, and was about to take a second bite, when Mu Tan, who was still in his soul, appeared in front of him again: "Admiral, Tongling County Commander asks to see you." ”

"Tongling? I haven't even arrived in Chizhou yet, what is he doing here? Deng Ming was shocked and angry, but no matter how dissatisfied he was, he still had to put down his job, get up again and follow Mu Tan.

Tongling belongs to the jurisdiction of Chizhou Prefecture, now Deng Ming is not far from the capital city, Tongling is also on the Yangtze River, located in the downstream of Chizhou. Jiangnan was not only an important place for taxation and grain supply in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but also a large amount of brass output in Anqing, Tongling and other places, providing a steady stream of coinage materials for Běijīng. In recent months, the brass produced in Anqing, Chizhou, and Tongling is no longer transported north, but stored in Tongling downstream, ready to be sent to Běijīng after the end of the transportation.

After Zhu Guozhi's defeat in Anqing, in order to strengthen the defense of the capital city, Chizhou did not let go of the one or two hundred newly recruited green battalion soldiers in Tongling, and all of them were transferred to the capital city. If there were no brasses, the magistrate of Tongling felt that Deng Ming might still pass through the door and not enter, so he tried his best to transport this batch of brass to Chizhou.

It's a pity that Chizhou resolutely refuses to accept it, and the Shen Governor's Mansion in Fucheng only needs soldiers, not copper -- Zhu Guozhi has completely lost all the mobile troops in western Jiangsu, and Chizhou can't make up two thousand green battalions even if he scrapes the ground. Not only Chizhou does not want it, but the Taiping Mansion downstream also rejected Tongling's request to transport brass to them, and now this batch of brass is a hot potato, whoever dares to accept it will wait for Deng Ming to attack the city and then fall into a crime of losing the land.

There was no way to ask for help, and the anger of Tongling County rose from his heart, and the evil was born out of his heart, and he slapped the board and yelled at the curtain guests who were like dirt: "Don't you want to? That's good, I don't want it, then I'll give Admiral Deng, more than one million catties of good copper, I don't believe Admiral Deng either! ”

Shut down

The request of the magistrate of Tongling is very simple, that is, not to attack the county where he has nothing but the government servants, he is willing to hand over the copper materials and inventory to Deng Ming, and do his best to meet Deng Ming's requirements. Deng Ming generously met his request, and finally the two agreed that Tongling would load the copper and grain in the warehouse on the ship in advance, and when Deng Ming's army approached, the magistrate of Tongling was convinced that the county could not hold on, so he ordered his subordinates to carry these materials to the downstream Taiping Mansion direction to "break through", but unfortunately the breakthrough failed, and the materials were captured by Deng Ming.

This kind of trade did no harm to Deng Ming, leaving a way for these magistrates to survive, not only to establish friendship and friendship, but also to ensure that they would not burn warehouses and ships in desperation and sink into the river, destroying precious supplies.

After reaching an agreement, Deng Ming called the guards and asked them to take the Tongling Governor to rest, and after pondering for a while, Deng Ming ordered the Tongling Governor to be taken next door to the Tongcheng Governor's County, so that they could get to know each other - this is also a kind of mutual restraint, if they want to regret it in the future, they must also weigh the consequences, and do not think that there are no witnesses and insiders on the Qing court's side.

The second time he returned to the dining table in the tent, Deng Ming sat down and drank a bowl of water, let out a long sigh of satisfaction, and was about to wipe out all the food on the table.

"Admiral—"

Just after lowering his head and picking up the rice bowl, Deng Ming's voice came from Mu Tan's ears again, which made his body freeze as if petrified, and now this voice is definitely the last thing Deng Ming wants to hear.

"The prefect of Chizhou asks to see you."

"Oh my God, they're going to starve me to death, won't they discuss coming together?" Deng Ming put down his job heavily, stood up angrily, and followed Mu Tan to meet the visitor for the third time.

"Governor Shen is here."

After seeing the visitor, Deng Mingcai opened his mouth to say a greeting, and the Chizhou prefect on the opposite side fell to the ground, whimpering and said: "The lower officials meet the admiral, and the lower officials' hearts are in Cao Ying's heart and in the Han ......."

I was really in no mood to watch the officials perform anymore, and Deng Ming, who was in a hurry to go back to dinner, interrupted him impatiently: "Governor Shen doesn't need to say it, I know your hardships, do you mean that as long as I don't beat your Chizhou Mansion, you are willing to give me some benefits?" If that's the case, hurry up and tell me the benefits you are willing to give me, I'm really busy today. ”

"Exactly." Deng Ming was so straightforward that the Chizhou prefect was a little uncomfortable, but he still quickly followed Deng Ming's rhythm and began to put out his conditions one by one.

Although the prefect of Chizhou tried his best to collect the troops under his rule, but in the end he only made up more than 1,000 armor, the prefect personally paraded the army, and found that less than two-thirds of the more than 1,000 green battalions were really armored, and even if they had armor, they may not have participated in several cāo exercises, as for the morale, it was a mess, and a large number of soldiers transferred from the prefecture and county openly discussed what to hand over the armor to the Ming army, and then take a tael of silver home, they did not even shy away from the officers of the city!

Just the day before yesterday, the prefect of Chizhou did not lead the guards, but only took a few staff to raid the military camp in the south of the city, and when he entered the barracks, he heard the soldiers inside shouting trumpets, and then the prefect saw a large number of soldiers standing densely in the camp, sweating and practicing.

Seeing this, the prefect was very moved, and he watched from the side for a while before he was discovered by the officers and soldiers who were trained by Cāo, and when the officer headed by him came up to ask for his guilt in fear, the Chizhou prefect, who was in a good mood, not only gave them kind words of encouragement, but also rewarded them with some silver for the soldiers of this battalion. When they accepted the reward, the officers and soldiers below all had very strange faces, as if they were mixed with shame, panic, and the appearance that they wanted to laugh but did not dare to laugh.

After returning to Yamen, the prefect also praised the officers and soldiers of the Green Battalion in the Chengnan camp to the officers of the guard who did not follow him, saying that he had regained some confidence in sticking to Chizhou. Although the officers of the surrounding guards felt incredulous, since it was the prefect who saw it with his own eyes, how could it be fake? Immediately, it was also a flattery.

After enjoying a compliment proudly, the Shen Governor of Chizhou asked these guard officers to solve his doubts by the way: "The cāo practice that this official saw today is completely different from the previous one, and I don't know what use this is on the battlefield after thinking about it?" Saying that, the prefect of Chizhou described the scene he saw to these henchmen: "As soon as the order was given, the soldiers thrust their knives and guns into the ground, and then held their heads in their hands and squatted on the ground. Then they would stand up again, pick up their knives and guns and make a fight, and when they were all set up and there would be a trumpet, they would plunge their knives and guns into the ground again, and crouch down with their heads in their hands. The officer felt that they were extremely well trained, extremely skillful in their movements, and neat as if they were a person, which was really pleasing to the eye, but what was the use of this on the battlefield? ”

When the prefect of Chizhou happily recounted what he had seen, the faces of the surrounding guard officers became whiter and paler, and they had all heard of Deng Ming's habits when he fought in Nanjing and other places. After the prefect's voice settled, these guard officers were silent for a while, and suddenly they jumped up and rushed towards the prefect, and suddenly all the people reacted as if they had been pricked by bees, scrambling to hug Shen Prefect's thighs, and crying one by one: "Lord Prefect, this Chizhou can't be guarded, let's hurry up and find a way!" ”

While Deng Ming and the Chizhou prefect were busy reaching a consensus, Zhou Kaihuang and Ren Tang slipped into his camp, the former to report on the recent progress of literacy, and the latter had just selected 1,000 soldiers and 2,000 captive soldiers who could serve as auxiliaries, and came to Deng Ming to ask Deng Ming to leave the camp for approval.

"Why does the Admiral have so much left?" Ren Tang looked at the food on the table and said a little strangely: "Admirals generally don't have leftovers." ”

"Who sued you? It's normal for the admiral to have leftovers, and now he doesn't have leftovers just because he is in the army, do you know how the admiral was seen by the Yasukuni Duke in the first place? Zhou Kaihuang proudly told Ren Tang about the scene when he first met Deng Ming, and he also added fuel and vinegar to the fact that Deng Ming didn't eat cleanly.

Talking and talking, Zhou Kaihuang picked up the bowl and ate it, and Ren Tang was stunned when he saw this: "Haven't you eaten dinner?" ”

"I've eaten, but I'm a little hungry." Zhou Kaihuang's mouth was stuffed with food, and he replied vaguely: "Anyway, the Admiral won't eat it." ”

"Well," Ren Tang watched Zhou Kaihuang eat and drink for a while, and also moved to get the wooden barrel for the rice: "I seem to be a little hungry too." ”

...... "You two guys! After Deng Ming returned to the camp, what he saw was a clean wooden barrel, and Zhou Kaihuang and Ren Tang who were leisurely picking their teeth and chatting with wooden branches at the table.

Deng Ming was furious, these two guys knew that the chief was still hungry, Zhou Kaihuang hurriedly went out to ask the guards to do it again, and Ren Tang was relieved on the side, and after figuring out why Deng Ming hadn't eaten so late today, Ren Tang immediately said with a smile: "Congratulations to the Admiral, Zhou Gong vomited, and the world returned to the heart." ”

While waiting for the meal to be cooked, Deng Ming was hungry and discussed their work with Zhou Kaihuang and Ren Tang, and when he saw that these two guys were reporting, they also burped one or two from time to time, and Deng Ming was so hateful that he secretly grinded his teeth.

Perhaps seeing Deng Ming's hatred, Ren Tang explained to Zhou Kaihuang the allusion of Zhou Gong spitting and feeding, saying that this was a good omen, and finally praised: "In the view of humble duties, the sage of the admiral, I am afraid that it is still above Zhou Gong!" ”

"Zhou Gong is one meal and three vomits, and he is more virtuous than Zhou Gong is to vomit four times?" Zhou Kaihuang said on the side: "Four times is fine, just let Shen Zhifu and them get together a table of mahjong." ”

"Thank you for your good words, but you still don't have to." Deng Ming hurriedly waved his hand, saying that he was definitely not as virtuous as Zhou Gong, and he didn't want to pursue this realm.

"Well, at least it's hot." Deng Ming always looked at the good in everything, and when he smelled the aroma of the food, he suddenly felt as if his appetite was about to start to ache with hunger, and he had to pour the food down immediately.

"Admiral—"

Mu Tan appeared at the door of the tent, and when he opened his mouth to speak, Ren Tang and Zhou Kaihuang both saw Deng Ming, who was sitting with his back to the tent door, trembling violently, as if he had been frightened the most.

"The prefect of Taiping Mansion came with all the prefects of his subordinate counties to ask to see the admiral."

Syllable!

Deng Ming slapped his chopsticks on the table and said angrily: "Where are they here?" Liangjiang Governor Yamen? Come and join in the fun. I am here in the Ming army barracks, and I am the Sichuan Governor of the Ming Dynasty, not their Liangjiang Governor! Boom away! Blasting them all out for me! ”

In the end, Deng Ming stood up helplessly, and before leaving, he said to Ren Tang and Zhou Kaihuang: "Thank you, thank you two crows!" Sincerely. ”