There is no difficulty in attacking cities and plundering land in Huangzhou and other places, and the local defenders have neither combat effectiveness nor morale, and there is also the assistance of Zhou Peigong, so the Ming army not only knows the strength of the defenders, but also does not have to worry about the reinforcements of the Qing army coming to disturb them. Deng Ming was given the responsibility of the Zhejiang army for all these combat work, and Li Laiheng's army acted as a reserve force to fight outside the battlefield - after all, Deng Ming also had to guard against Zhang Changgeng, although Deng Ming did not think that Wuchang still had the courage to attack the Ming army.

In the attack on several small cities, Deng Ming still used blasting tactics, and the gunpowder collected from Jiangnan may not be enough to deal with Nanjing, but it is very rich to deal with the county seat of Hubei. Although the Zhejiang army had no experience in blasting, with the help of Deng Ming's battle notes and his guards, they quickly mastered the technique of blasting.

Like Liu Tichun in Yunyang, Deng Ming also asked the Zhejiang army to use the city wall to practice after breaking the city, and Li Laiheng also sent his subordinates to watch, and soon the Ming army's cave attack and blasting skills have improved considerably, and he also told the Ming army officers who were full of interest: "After returning to Kuidong, you can go to General Liu for advice, and now General Liu must be the first person to blast in Kuidong." ”

The uneasy people saw that the Ming army came to attack the city and captured the city, and there was no forced requisition of Ding and grain, but only a list was hung around the yamen, calling on ambitious people to join the army. The Ming army also spread the word to the suburbs, claiming that any civilians who were willing to return to Sichuan with them would receive 20 acres of free land for each man, and 10 acres for women, and that they could become the owners of these cultivated land as long as they cultivated for ten years and paid one stone of grain for every 10 acres. Although most people were skeptical of this kind of good thing, and many people felt that Sichuan was too far away, some poor peasants were willing to follow the Ming army to try their luck.

Every time Deng Ming left from a city, Zhou Peigong led the army to recover, this time Zhou Peigong followed from Wuchang and more than 2,000 Qing soldiers, led by Zhang Changgeng and his family of green battalion officers. Zhou Peigong had already written the recital for them before the reconquest of the city, and after the reconquest of a place, these officers took Zhang Changgeng's letter of appointment and took office. In addition to these military attachés, there were also some gentlemen who came with them, and they helped Zanhua with military affairs as Zhou Peigong's staff, and these people would also get a military merit from the recovery work, and easily become new local officials.

According to the agreement with Deng Ming, Zhou Peigong ordered Wu Shen not to disturb the people, which was also firmly supported by the officers and staff, in addition to the local nostalgia, they also needed good military discipline to form a good relationship with the local gentry - they were all here to be officials, not bandits.

A very rare scene appeared on the land of various provinces in Hubei: the Ming army with strict military discipline came and left; Then the Qing army, which had strict military discipline, followed, and after entering the city, it was also unpunished.

The local gentry and common people did not know anything about the secret discussion between Zhou Peigong and Deng Ming, but only knew that Zhou Peigong was a good official who was both brave and close to the people, not only could he follow the Ming army without fear, but also never took the opportunity to harm the place.

Suddenly, Zhou Peigong became famous in Hubei, and the civil and military bureaucracy he brought with him was also praised by the local people.

Soon after, Deng Ming made preparations and broke through the capital city of Huangzhou in one fell swoop, almost wiped out Hu Quancai's old party, rested in the city for a few days, and left with a large number of captured ships and supplies, and marched towards Wuchang. And the brave Zhou Peigong soon arrived with five hundred jīng soldiers, and as soon as the Ming army left, he entered the city to appease the people. Zhou Peigong entered the yamen of the city in the morning, and at noon he posted a list of people, and he even visited the celebrities in the city non-stop. In order to let the fleeing people return to the city as much as possible, Lord Zhou also opened the four gates, and all the staff who came with Lord Zhou also entered the city and calmly began to work in the yamen.

Of course, this move greatly stabilized the hearts of the people, but the gentry and the people were not only admiring and surprised, but also sweating for Lord Zhou. Fortunately, the Ming army had no intention of turning back, and after learning that the rearguard troops of the Ming army did not look back, the gentlemen discussed one after another, although Lord Zhou was playing an empty city plan, but presumably the Ming army was also afraid of Lord Zhou's wisdom and bravery.

Although Zhou Peigong was very courteous to his father, he was iron-faced and selfless to those officials who escaped from the battle: many remnants of the Hu Party rushed back to cry to Zhou Peigong after seeing the Qing army recovering the city. Before they could tell the thrill of escaping death, Zhou Peigong took them all down with a sinking face, and the dismissal and investigation were unambiguous, no matter whether these criminals spent all their family property and bribes, or moved out of their relatives and friends to support them, it was useless.

As a result, Zhou Peigong's reputation became even louder, but in just a few days, the whole Huangzhou Mansion praised Zhou Daren for being young, but he was as bold as a tiger, loved the people like a son, and was more iron-faced and selfless, and he was simply a perfect person in ancient and modern times. has a good reputation, a sense of security and wisdom, and is Zhang Changgeng's descendant, and many gentlemen feel that the position of the prefect of Huangzhou Mansion in the future will definitely not escape from the palm of Zhou Wanren's hands. Under this kind of mentality, everyone came to visit Zhou Wanren one after another, sent gifts and greetings, and the gentry leaders of Huangzhou Mansion took the lead and collectively sent a letter to Governor Zhang of Wuchang, asking the governor to promote Lord Zhou as the prefect of Huangzhou to the imperial court -- in fact, it was a small scale and value of support.

In addition to handling official duties, Zhou Peigong also inspected the city defense many times and personally inspected every gap in the city wall. Since this was the last city that Deng Ming planned to attack, Deng Ming used all the gunpowder captured along the way on the walls of Huangzhou Mansion, using the tactic of simultaneous blasting in four places. Zhou Peigong stood on the edge of the city wall at the gap, caressing the remnants of the wall thoughtfully.

As in other recovered cities, eyewitnesses reported that the Ming army had dug down the city walls in the blink of an eye, which coincided with Zhou Peigong's impression of Zhongxiang.

"Zhong Xiang, before I was captured, asked many times what the Ming army was doing, whether they could dig up the city wall in one day, and everyone told me that it was absolutely impossible. But the city wall collapsed in one day, and after I went back, I was ridiculed by many people, saying that I was exaggerating. Afterwards, I asked a lot of experienced generals, and they all said that it would never be possible to attack the cave in ten days and half a month, and it was like I was talking nonsense. This time, following Deng Ming, Zhou Peigong saw that none of the cities along the way could resist a little, and even the capital of Huangzhou Mansion also fell within two days. Although the lack of troops was the main reason, it was clear that the city walls did not play any role in front of the Ming army.

"Someone." Zhou Peigong ordered the people to be mobilized, dug up the land under the gap, and then went down to inspect it himself. In the past, due to his rush to recover the city, Zhou Peigong did not have the time to carry out such a detailed inspection, but this time he inspected all the gaps, and there were no relics that should have been carried out after a normal cave attack.

"These walls are crumbling from the bottom up, not collapsing." Zhou Peigong muttered, this phenomenon is also consistent with Zhong Xiang and other cities that were attacked by Deng Ming.

Soon, new news was received in the city of Huangzhou that Lord Zhou took a hundred soldiers and horses to chase after the Ming army, supposedly because he was worried about Wuchang.

…… When most of the Ming army arrived near Wuchang, the strength had swelled to more than 60,000 people, of which 30,000 were the original Kuidong Army and Zhejiang Army, 5,000 were auxiliaries from Jiangnan, and the remaining 20,000 were men recruited from Huangzhou Prefecture. The number of women in the battalion also exceeded 40,000, in addition to the daughter-in-law married by Li Laiheng for his subordinates, the family members of the Zhejiang army, and a large number of family members carried by Huangzhou Zhuangding.

According to the agreement with Deng Ming, Wuchang's soldiers and horses had retreated to the city, but Deng Ming was still very careful to discuss the march plan with Li Laiheng, preparing to pass through the rivers near Wuchang and Hanyang in batches, and to prevent a sudden attack by the Qing army. The plan had been made and the specific details were being finalized, when the guards reported that Zhou Peigong was coming again, and Deng Mingrang invited Zhou Juren to the tent next to him, and then went to see him after the military discussion was completed.

After the meeting, it was already dark, Deng Ming walked into the tent and saw that the candles had been lit in the tent, and Zhou Peicheng read by the light.

"Mr. Zhou didn't appease people in Huangzhou Mansion to appease people, why did he come to me again?" Deng Ming asked a little strangely, "Is there something wrong with Governor Zhang?" ”

"The students haven't just arrived, they haven't returned to Wuchang yet, and after seeing the Admiral, they will go back to report to the Governor." Zhou Peigong closed the book and put it in his arms.

"Mr. Zhou is polite, Mr. is now an official, if he doesn't rì, he will be the prefect of Wuchang, don't be too modest." Hearing Zhou Peigong call himself a student again, Deng Ming smiled and said, "Mr. is here today, what's the matter?" ”

Shut down

Zhou Peigong first talked about the affairs of Huangzhou Mansion, praised Deng Ming's words and letters, and the strict discipline of the Ming army, and said that after he returned to Wuchang for a while, he would definitely tell Zhang Changgeng about Deng Ming's righteousness, and definitely not let the villain separate the relationship between the two sides.

After releasing a large number of smoke bombs, Zhou Peigong got up to say goodbye, and as usual, Deng Ming sent him out of the camp. Seeing that he was about to walk to the camp gate, Zhou Peigong said casually in a joking tone: "Now all parts of Huangzhou Mansion know the method of Admiral Jīng to pass the five thunders, and after casting the method, the city wall will turn into powder. ”

The guards behind Deng Ming all laughed silently, Deng Ming also laughed, and after laughing, Deng Ming asked rhetorically: "It turns out that Mr. Zhou came here today for this matter." ”

Zhou Peigong had already vaguely guessed the approximate, and he couldn't help but test it, after seeing Deng Ming's guard smile just now, he was even more sure in his heart, but he didn't expect Deng Ming to break it in one mouth, and he was stunned.

"Does Mr. Zhou believe that I am a spell breaker?" Deng Ming asked with a smile.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Peigong finally shook his head slightly: "Zi Buyun is a ghost and a god." ”

Deng Ming applauded lightly and said with a smile: "With just one piece, Mr. Zhou is much stronger than that Hu Quancai, as for how I broke the city, Mr. Zhou must have already figured it out, right?" ”

As these words came out, Zhou Peigong suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him was cold, and the guards beside Deng Ming had no smile on their faces, and they all looked at him coldly.

Immediately, Zhou Peigong regretted his trip today, he originally knew that spying on Deng Ming's military was very dangerous, but he couldn't help but be curious. Since Zhong Xiang was captured, this mystery has been shrouded in Zhou Peigong's heart, so he can't let go of it, so he wants to use other things as a cover and test it without a trace when he leaves.

"It's to dig a tunnel to the bottom of the city, then fill it with gunpowder, and then blow the city wall into the sky with a bang." Deng Ming's expression was relaxed, and he continued to walk towards the camp gate as he spoke.

Zhou Peigong, who was originally staying in place, was stunned for another two seconds when he saw this, before he quickly followed, only to see that Deng Ming still wanted to talk about homely things: "This is much faster than the previous acupuncture attacks, and the effect is quite good; However, if I were to defend the square, I would not have to dig a large pond to store water, and I would have to dig a tunnel quickly to irrigate the water; Or as soon as they find someone digging a tunnel, they will send troops out to attack. It's so broken! ”

At this time, Deng Ming had already walked to the gate of the camp, so he stopped and made a gesture of invitation to Zhou Peigong: "I don't want to send it far, Mr. Zhou, please." ”

Zhou Peigong looked at the camp gate, although it was only a few steps, but it felt as if it was far away in the sky, Deng Ming finished talking for a long time, and Zhou Peigong asked in a tone of disbelief: "The Admiral wants me to go?" ”

"Could it be that Mr. Zhou plans to spend the night in our army tonight?" Deng Ming asked in surprise.

Zhou Peigong stared at Deng Ming twice, and suddenly bowed deeply again, and walked out of the camp gate quickly.

"Why did the gentleman let him go?" Looking at Zhou Peigong's back, Ren Tang asked with some puzzlement.

"I can't hide this for long, and I can't keep it a secret if I kill him." Deng Ming knew that the reason why he was able to keep the secret of blasting in the past was because the captured Zhongxiang, Gucheng, Yunyang and other places were always in the hands of the Ming army, and this time when he used blasting technology in Huangzhou, he was ready to be known by the Qing army. After the Ming army retreated to the north of Wuchang, Zhang Changgeng would definitely send people to several cities in Huangzhou to check, there were too many people in the Qing army who had military experience than Zhou Peigong, and they would definitely be able to understand it faster: "We don't have any cities for the Tartars to use this trick, not to mention that even if they know, they don't know when they will be able to come out; I had planned to reveal this secret, so that in the future the Tartars would not have the confidence to hold on to the lonely city, as long as they felt that the walls were useless, and even if we did not have gunpowder, they might flee with a weak heart. ”

Deng Ming looked at Zhou Peigong who was far away, and laughed again: "If I say it to him so lightly, I'm afraid he will be even more scared, and I don't know what killer features I haven't used." ”

…… After Zhou Peigong and his entourage turned, he felt a chill on his back, and his clothes were soaked in cold sweat, he glanced back and saw that the Ming army did not chase after him.

"Go back to Wuchang." Zhou Peigong shouted.

After rushing to the city of Wuchang, Zhou Peigong glanced back again, and there was still no trace of the Ming army's pursuers, but he did not feel relieved at all. Zhou Peigong came to the Yamen of the Governor of Huguang with a heavy heart, carefully reported to Zhang Changgeng what he had seen in Huangzhou, and finally reported what Deng Ming said today to Governor Zhang.

Like Zhou Peigong, after hearing that the mystery of the Ming army's siege had been solved, Zhang Changgeng was first overjoyed - this mystery had also troubled him for a long time, and he had already planned to send a few old military affairs to Huangzhou to investigate - and then his eyebrows tightened again: "You mean: Deng Ming didn't take this secret seriously at all?" ”

"Yes." Zhou Peigong replied in a low voice, at this time, he no longer had the slightest joy of discovering the secret in his heart, and was full of greater doubts and fears: "He must have more powerful means." ”

Zhang Changgeng pondered for a while, and then sighed: "Is it that he has another means, and the use of gunpowder blasting in Huangzhou is just to cover people's eyes and ears, so that we can believe it?" Zhou Peigong shook his head with a wry smile, Zhang Changgeng thought for a while, and suddenly exclaimed: "Does he really know the method of five thunders, and gunpowder is used to cover up spells?" ”

"The students really don't dare to say it, Deng Ming is really unfathomable." Zhou Peigong's face was full of frustration: "Whether he really understands the art of lightning strikes, or relies on gunpowder to blow up the city, the city wall is useless to him anyway; Nanjing is not the city wall blocking him, but he doesn't want to fight at all. ”

Zhang Changgeng and Zhou Peigong discussed for a long time, but they couldn't guess that Deng Ming still had powerful means. After leaving the yamen, Zhou Peigong returned to his home, and his wife was surprised and delighted when she saw her husband suddenly come home: "Isn't the master in Huangzhou?" How did you get back? ”

Recently, Zhou Peigong's work in Huangzhou Mansion has been very smooth, but at the moment he is not in the mood to show off, he did it silently for a while, and suddenly said to his wife: "Do you remember the story I asked you to read before, about An Lushan and Li Linfu?" ”

"Yes." Mrs. Zhou replied quickly, the book said that An Lushan claimed that the most feared person in his life was Li Linfu, because every time Li Linfu could guess what he was thinking in advance, this was probably the most frightening for a rebellious person. Mrs. Zhou not only remembered this account, but also remembered her husband's disdain: Zhou Peigong thought that An Lushan, a tyrant who was not afraid of the emperor, could not be so timid.

"I can believe it now," Zhou Peigong opened his palm lightly, and now there was still cold sweat in his palm: "I completely believe it." ”

…… The women's battalion and auxiliary soldiers successively passed through guò safely, and the last Ming army was Li Laiheng's strong soldiers and the Zhejiang army's jīng rui, and these 10,000 soldiers boarded the boats, hoisted their sails, and slowly passed from the front of Wuchang City against the river.

At the head of the city of Wuchang, Zhang Changgeng, Zhou Peigong and a large number of Wuchang civil and military personnel all looked at the Ming army fleet coming from the river. When I saw a large number of women in the Ming army before, there was also a stunned Qing general who was enthusiastic and rushed out of the city to sneak attack: Now there are tens of thousands of Qing troops in Wuchang City, and when the time comes, Deng Ming must be fine when the city gate is closed.

This general's mention was unanimously scolded by everyone, especially Zhang Changgeng and Zhou Peigong, who knew that the city wall was useless, and even thought that this military general was stupid.

When moving forward slowly, Deng Ming on the ship was also looking at Wuchang City from afar, and Nanjing, for such a strong city with high ponds and deep pools, Deng Ming felt that it was not enough to rely on blasting alone, and if the Ming army could have other means such as heavy artillery, the certainty of breaking through this strong city would be greater.

"Beat the drums!" Seeing that the distance was almost over, Deng Ming gave an order, and the flag bearer raised a signal flag on the mast of the leading ship.

At the same time as the signal flag was raised, the drummers began to beat the war drums slowly, and the ships behind repeated the same action, their drummers listening to the drums in front of them and starting to beat the drums with the same rhythm. After hearing the sound of the drums, the Ming soldiers, who had been trained many times, raised their scabbards or clubs and struck their shields, and all the Ming soldiers in the entire fleet, except for the sailors with cāo sails, joined in the performance.

Knock, knock, knock, knock...... The neat drumming of tens of thousands of people echoed on both sides of the Yangtze River.

At the head of the city, Zhang Changgeng felt a slight sweat on his forehead, and looked around left and right, and the civil and military officials of Huguang were also pale.

The sound of the drum drifted into the most remote corners of Wuchang and Hanyang City, including the home of the old man of the Admiral of the Wuchang Ma Army, and the old gentleman sat on his chair without saying a word, listening to the drum until it faded away and finally disappeared completely.

"The three kings of the Southern Ming Dynasty were in civil strife, and the officers and soldiers easily recovered the provinces of Hunan, captured Chóngqìng, Guiyang, and Kunming, and I no longer doubted the victory of the imperial court and the unification of the world." The old gentleman whispered to himself: "But now it seems that this year will be the end of the troubled times, or the beginning of the troubled times?" ”