After hearing Deng Ming say that he was going to Nanjing to see Zheng Chenggong, Wen Anzhi did not agree very much: "The soldiers are fierce and the war is dangerous, how can Yanping be sure of victory?" You'd better stay in Fengjie, if Yanping can really pacify Jiangnan, then it's not too late for you to go. ”

Deng Ming thought to himself: "I estimate that Zheng Chenggong will lose this battle, so I have to go and see if there is anything that can be done." Now everyone except me feels that the war has been fought for many years and can continue to hold on. The Ming army has been at a disadvantage for so many years, which has made many people get used to it, and feel that there is nothing, and they will be able to counterattack and recover the land in the future. But I know that if I don't fight hard, the Manchus will soon completely wipe out the Ming army. ”

In the past, the Ming army lost Huguang, Guangdong, and Guangxi several times, and regained it several times. Yesterday there was news from Yunnan that Li Dingguo had returned to Kunming, which made the Ming army in Fengjie feel a lot more at ease, thinking that the imperial court might also return soon, and perhaps the king of Jin would soon show his might again and drive Wu Sangui out of Guizhou. Although it is a good thing that the morale is not depressed, Deng Ming felt that the Ming army's sense of crisis was also affected, and the fire in Kunming made the Qing army's offensive not completely drive the Ming army in Yunnan to the outside as Deng Ming knew, but since the Qing army could not stay, Deng Ming felt that it must be very difficult for Li Dingguo to launch a counterattack.

Seeing that Deng Ming was bent on leaving, Wen Anzhi thought for a while and asked, "Do you think that Sichuan is not safe and plan to find an opportunity to go to Fujian?" ”

Fengjie was attacked on all sides, and Wen Anzhi felt that the Shaotang King might feel that it was very dangerous to stay here, so he planned to leave this dangerous place and go to Zheng Chenggong's army, after all, Xiamen, Penghu and other places were separated from the Qing army by the sea, and there were also the Zheng family's sailors to protect.

Deng Ming didn't expect Wen Anzhi to think of it, and hurriedly explained: "I don't have this intention, I really want to do my part in Nanjing." If I make some contributions in the battle of the king of Yanping County to recover Nanjing, then I can persuade him to transport military rations to Fengjie in the future. If I want to go to Fujian, then I should go directly to Fujian, why do I need to go to Nanjing? ”

Wen An thought that Deng Ming was not a timid person, but he still thought that this trip was of little significance, especially if it was not necessary to leave immediately: "Yanping sent troops in May, and after he went to eastern Zhejiang to join Zhang Shangshu, he had to wait for the opportunity, and it would take a hard battle to enter the Yangtze River, and it was estimated that it was unlikely to arrive in Nanjing before July." If you go too early, Yanping may not have arrived yet. One more day in enemy territory is a little more dangerous, so you might as well set off again in mid-May, and it will be there in about a month. ”

"I also plan to scout the terrain around Nanjing, maybe I can use it in the future." Deng Ming felt that Wen Anzhi's statement made sense, so he asked how much time it would take to observe the surroundings of Nanjing.

"It's enough to set off in mid-May, and don't stay too long, after Yanping enters the Yangtze River, the Tartars are bound to be under martial law around Nanjing, and the old man estimates that if you go to the middle of July, Yanping will almost be able to enter the Yangtze River, and at that time the Tartars will probably start martial law. Even if you arrive early, leave before July, lest you be trapped in the city of Nanjing. ”

Deng Ming took Wen Anzhi's words to heart, nodded and said, "What the superintendent said is, I know." ”

Wen Anzhi thought about it again: "It seems that you can't stay in Fengjie, but why do you have to rest for a few days just after you come back, let your guards also rest, pack up during this period, and then go to Dachang and Padang." Yasukuni Gong handed over his son and nephew to you, but you didn't take it with you, so why do you have to explain it to the elders of other people. ”

Deng Ming has no henchmen in the local area, Yuan Xiang and Liu Jinge are in charge of one side of the judiciary, no matter how you look at it, Deng Ming interferes in the layout of the place, and it will definitely become more and more important in the future, Wen Anzhi has always been a little suspicious that Deng Ming has ideas about the big position, and the arrangement of these two people is not only Deng Ming cultivating his own forces, but also winning over the generals who break into the camp. In this case, it is better to be a good person to the end, and then go to meet with Yuan Zongdi and Liu Tichun, and by the way, you can also meet other old generals who broke into the camp, and have a good relationship with these leading generals - Wen Anzhi is a loyal minister, of course, he will not teach Deng Ming how to deal with the generals, how to dig the corner of today's wall, at least he will not teach openly.

"That's what the Overseer said." Although Deng Ming failed to fully understand the psychology of the old man Wen, he could also feel the implied meaning of the words, since ancient times, the relationship between people has become more and more familiar, and the more they meet, the more natural friendships are deeper, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty has the tendency to sweep the world, Deng Ming also feels that he should get along with these generals, gain their trust, and fight side by side in the future.

"This kid," Wen Anzhi twisted his beard, pondering in his heart: "Although he is sometimes confused, he is very thorough in this regard, and he never forgets to win the loyalty of his courtiers from the hands of the Son of Heaven. ”

Seeing that Wen Anzhi had no other explanation, Deng Ming got up and said goodbye, and Wen Anzhi waved his hand to let him leave. Since the news of the Kunming fire reached Fengjie, Wen Anzhi felt as if he had suddenly become a few years younger and his appetite was much better. Before meeting Deng Ming, he was often so worried that he couldn't eat, especially after the defeat of the chóngqìng army, he couldn't eat for a few days. I slept sweetly at night, often dreamless all night, and felt full of strength after sleeping until dawn.

"This kid is not a loyal and filial son," after Deng Ming left, Wen Anzhi asked the servants to have a meal, in order to celebrate Li Dingguo's recovery of Kunming, today he took out a mushroom and stewed a piece of meat: "The good things given by the emperor can no longer be eaten by him." ”

……

After summoning the guards to announce his decision, Deng Ming planned to rest for a few days on Fengjie first. Indeed, as Wen Anzhi said, there is no need to be in a hurry, first set off to Dachang, Badong, and other places that I haven't been to last time, so as not to make Kuidong feel that he favors one over the other.

Now Mu Tan is also one of Deng Ming's personal guards, and he certainly agrees loudly with this decision. Zhao Tianba said without hesitation that he could set off at any time. Most of the other guards didn't think much about it, since Deng Ming was not afraid of taking risks, they should accompany them.

On the contrary, Li Xinghan, who had always been careless in the past, showed some strangeness after hearing this decision, and after Deng Ming noticed this, he stopped him after everyone disbanded and went to rest.

"Does Brother Li have any doubts?" After there were only two people left, Deng Ming asked bluntly.

"Nothing." Li Xinghan was hesitant, obviously insincere.

"That's a few more," Deng Ming said with a smile: "Brother Li has anything to ask, just say it, I must know everything." ”

"Don't dare," Li Xinghan pondered for a moment, and finally confided in his heart: "Is Mr. going to abandon Sichuan?" ”

"Why does Brother Li think so?" Deng Ming was a little surprised, why did Wen Anzhi and Li Xinghan have this idea when he mentioned going to Nanjing?

"Well, if Mr. is going to Nanjing, there is nothing strange about it, after all, the filial piety tomb is located." Li Xinghan and Wen Anzhi don't think exactly the same, in his impression, the king will not run around all day long, but will stay in the capital steadily, just like the generals in chess, don't they all stay in the royal city honestly? And the conquest of the Quartet should be the duty of the generals.

Li Xinghan is a native of Sichuan, and the last time he went to Yunnan with Deng Ming was his first time out of the province. Although Deng Ming's personal guard should advance and retreat with the coach, but this time Deng Ming may not leave when he arrives in Nanjing, which means that Li Xinghan will be far away from home, and may not have the opportunity to come back for many years. If you can't come back for many years, then this possibility is not small.

"No," Deng Ming shook his head and said, "Just like when we went to Jianchang, now the shape is sinister, and only by fighting the Tartars desperately can we win the victory and expel the Tartars and restore Shenzhou." If Yanping can succeed in this battle, the overall situation in the world will change, and it may even turn the tide in one fell swoop. With such an opportunity in front of me, I felt that I could not stay in Fengjie and watch the success or failure, but should go to Nanjing to do my part. But I assured Brother Li that I had no intention of abandoning Sichuan, and that when Nanjing was completed, I would not only come back to fight side by side with the soldiers, but also try to persuade Yanping to send troops to come and transport grain and grass. ”

"Sir's intentions are understood." Seeing Deng Ming so heart-to-hearted, Li Xinghan was also very moved, and he suddenly thought: Deng Ming is the king of Shu and a native of Sichuan, of course he will not stand by and watch the recovery of Sichuan.

"I went back first." A big stone fell to the ground in Li Xinghan's heart, and he happily said goodbye and left: this time it was the same as going to Jianchang, it only showed that Deng Ming was a different clan.

After convincing Li Xinghan, Deng Ming pondered alone for a long time, when he first came to this world, it was not that he had no illusions about fleeing overseas, but at that time he did not have any ability to achieve this goal, so he could only stay outside the city of chóngqìng and think about how to shave and survive.

"Later, I met Yuan Zongdi, Zhou Kaihuang, Zhao Tianba, and Li Xinghan, and they all respected me and were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect me, so I hope to change history and reverse the trend so that these people can live. If I still can't do anything in the future, and the Manchus still sweep the world, will I live and die with them at that time, or will I try to flee overseas? Deng Ming always thought that he was still a person who valued love and righteousness, but when faced with his own question, he pondered for a long time and did not give an answer.

At this time, Li Xinghan had returned to his friends, and he saw Wu Baoping, Wu Yuewang and a few others muttering.

"Don't you just want to go to Jiangnan to retire? Didn't you get your wish this time? Wu Baoping asked.

"I just said it casually, I don't know what is going on in Jiangnan, maybe I can't stand the climate there at all, and I can't get used to eating things there, I will not adapt to the water and soil, I will get sick, and I will become a ghost in a foreign land." Wu Yuewang frowned, and solemnly predicted his future.

"Phew, bah." Wu Baoping spat twice in a row and scolded: "Good and decent, what are you doing to curse yourself?" ”

"When we are soldiers, are we still taboo dead words?" Wu Yuewang obviously didn't take it to heart.

Seeing Li Xinghan coming over, Wu Baoping shouted to him: "Mr. Li Qian, did you say that Mr. Deng is going to Nanjing and not coming back?" ”

These Sichuan soldiers reacted a little slower than Li Xinghan, and after listening to Deng Ming's plan, they turned around and left, and when they went out, someone came up with the same idea, and when they talked to their companions, everyone became suspicious.

"What nonsense?" Li Xinghan swept these guys with disdain, and said loudly: "Have you forgotten that Mr. Deng is actually the king of Shu?" ”

At this time, there was no Zhou Kaihuang and others present, and no one would argue with Li Xinghan. Regarding the speculation that Deng Ming was the king of Shu, these Sichuan troops were not sure at first, but after talking about it for a long time, everyone looked more and more like it, and Deng Ming did not explicitly deny their temptation, so now it is the consensus of Li Xinghan's group.

"Although the filial tomb is in Nanjing, the ancestral tombs of the Shu kings of the past dynasties can be here," the people present did not mention the word filial piety, but the more Li Xinghan said, the more he felt justified: "If you don't calm the whole Sichuan and keep the ancestral tomb peaceful, how can Mr. Deng bear to leave Sichuan?" Do you think Mr. Deng is unfilial? ”

"Of course not." The audience shook their heads one after another, and when they were questioned by Li Xinghan like this, they all felt empty-hearted, and they all felt as if they had made a big mistake.

"Then why did Mr. Deng go to Nanjing?"

Li Xinghan was going to continue to show off his knowledge, and this question was asked extremely in his heart, and he was just like someone sent a pillow when he wanted to doze off: "Naturally, Mr. is worried about state affairs, and he sees that the land of Shenzhou is full of Tartars, and he refuses to stay in Sichuan to watch the success or failure, so he wants to go to Jiangnan in person to help the king of Yanping County, no, it is the commander of the army of Fujian and Zhejiang to recover Nanjing." Moreover, when Mr. Deng took the king of Yanping County and Zhang Shangshu to recover the southeast, he would naturally lead them up the river and return to Sichuan to eliminate Li Guoying. ”

"I see." Listening to what Li Xinghan said sonorously and powerfully, everyone became excited.

"It's like going to Jianchang and Kunming, is it true that Mr. won't go back to Sichuan if he goes elsewhere? Since it is not, then why do you think that Mr. will abandon Sichuan when he goes to Nanjing? ”

Li Xinghan's questioning was very powerful, and so far everyone was completely persuaded by the eloquent Li Qian, and Wu Baoping said convincingly: "Li Qian is still insightful." ”

"That's," everyone's compliments made Li Xinghan feel very enjoyable, and he could see that these people were convinced: "Otherwise, how could I be President Qian?" ”

After enjoying another burst of praise from everyone, Li Xinghan finally blushed a little: "Okay, in fact, this is what Mr. said to me just now." ”

……

On the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth month, Deng Ming left Fengjie with 19 guards, and Wen Anzhi instructed him to write more letters back before leaving the Ming army-controlled area, and if he had any problems, he could write to inquire at any time. When these people came, the Wen Inspector also carefully told Deng Ming about the xìng characters of the generals of Kuidong, their preferences and Deng Ming, their history, their proud deeds and the scars that they did not want to be touched, and the old man told Deng Ming all of them. Wen Anzhi was afraid that Deng Ming would not be able to remember these things, and he had tested him several times.

"Inspector, please come back, wait for good news." Walking out of the Fengjie City Gate, Deng Ming turned back to Wen Anzhi, who had come to see him off.

"Well, be careful all the way." Wen Anzhi twisted his long beard again, still with his usual unfazed appearance.

Still the same as last time, Deng Ming and his entourage took the Fengjie boat at Caotang Lake, passed under the White Emperor City, sailed into the Three Gorges through the magnificent Kuimen of Guò, and then transferred to a small boat in the Daning River and went straight to Dachang.

"Mr. Deng, it's been a long time." This time it was not Yuan Zongdi who he met at the gate of Dachang County, he ran out to greet him when he learned that Deng Ming had arrived at the mouth of the Daning River, and the two sides met halfway.

On the way, Yuan Zongdi also served Deng Ming as a guide: "This is Guanyin Rock." ”

Deng Ming looked along Yuan Zongdi's arm, and there was a mountain rock that looked like Guanyin Bodhisattva in front of his left hand, and he nodded: "Sure enough, it's Guanyin Bodhisattva, it looks like it's still smiling at us." ”

"Seeing Mr. Deng coming, the Bodhisattva was also happy." Yuan Zongdi laughed, walked for a while, and then pointed to the front right: "This is the Double Eagle Screen." ”

The tall and wide pitch-black rock wall looks like a pair of eagles with wings spread.

"Mr. Deng has seen Dapeng Mountain in Wushan, right? There's no such thing as a double eagle screen here, right? ”

Deng Ming felt that they were all similar, but since Yuan Zongdi asked so, he smiled and said, "It's indeed more like here." ”

"The eagle spreads its wings, just like Mr. Deng's majesty." Yuan Zongdi laughed again as he spoke.

During this period, Deng Ming talked about the arrangement of Yuan Xiang, and Yuan Zongdi waved his hand generously: "Since my nephew has entrusted it to Mr. Deng, then let Mr. arrange it, does Mr. Deng still need someone?" I also have a nephew who is also good. ”

"I fully understand General Yuan's kindness," Deng Ming hurriedly declined: "It's just that it's very dangerous around me, to be honest, I'm not willing to take General Yuan with me, because if there is anything wrong, it will be difficult for me to explain to the general." ”

Yuan Zongdi glanced at Deng Ming seriously, and his face was stern: "Yuan Xiang is not a coward who is afraid of death. ”

"It's really not, I don't mean to insult General Yuan, General Yuan Xiao is brave when he is by my side." Deng Ming replied calmly: "But I do have some scruples, and General Yuan must be able to understand this ideal." ”

Yuan Zongdi looked at Deng Ming seriously again, and sighed: "To be honest, I didn't expect that Mr. would fight to the death, of course I understand Mr.'s concerns." ”

The third prince was so honest with himself, Yuan Zongdi was moved but did not come out, after arriving in Dachang County, Yuan Zongdi told Deng Ming that he had set up a wine banquet, and he recently smuggled stone salt to Huguang in exchange for a batch of good wine and came back: "Mr. Deng broke the Wu thief in Kunming, it is really happy, Dachang has celebrated several times, since Mr. Deng is here in person, then we will celebrate again." ”