After three days of waiting under the city of Chóngqìng without seeing the slightest sign of Li Guoying's retreat, Yuan Zongdi went through the entire process from full of hope to complete disappointment. As time passed, the officers who participated in the military conference also became more and more suspicious of Yuan Zongdi's judgment, and even Yuan Zongdi's confidence was shaken.

The Zhejiang soldiers under Deng Ming and the guards from the former Sichuan army lacked enough respect for Yuan Zongdi, and some began to question Yuan Zongdi's strategy, openly proposing to cross the river from places where the Qing army upstream could not take care of them, and then attack Futu Pass, approaching Chóngqìng by land.

"It's not going to work." As soon as Yuan Zong heard this mention, he immediately objected: "Our army was cut into two sections by the Yangtze River, and it was not easy to reinforce, and once it confronted the Qing army, our naval division would have to withdraw from the mouth of the river to cover the land division." ”

Yuan Zongdi pointed out that behind the Qing army was a fortified city and a joint camp, even if it was slightly frustrated, it was not afraid, but if the Ming army was defeated, it would be very dangerous, so it was necessary to let the sailors be on the side of the army, so that in case of defeat, if there were troops surrounded by the Qing army, they could also get out of danger by water; Moreover, the army is scattered on both sides of the Yangtze River, and it is also necessary to communicate and reinforce the Guò boats: "But in this way, we will not be able to block the Jialing River, Li Guoying can see our movements clearly at the head of the city of Chóngqìng, and the dispersion of the naval division will give the Tartars a chance to win in the chaos." ”

"How about our whole army crossing the Yangtze River?" Li Xinghan said: "If our army crosses the river in all its parts, then there is no need to block the mouth of the Jialing River, and our land division and water division are concentrated together, and we will not give the Tartars a chance to sneak attack." ”

But Yuan Zongdi still shook his head: "Last time, Fu Hou and I could attack the western wall of Chóngqìng, it was because the Tartar forces were weak and there was no chance of counterattacking at all, but now Li Guoying has 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers and horses, and Futu Pass can't show its troops at all." ”

The topography of this section from Futu Pass to the western part of the city wall resembles a narrow peninsula, sandwiched between the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, and a simple attack from this side would turn into a war of attrition.

"Li Guoying is good at defending, this kind of one-sided attack is even more disadvantageous, our losses will definitely be much greater than those of the Tartars, and Li Guoying still has artillery, Jialing River is in his hands, he can send people to land and attack the camp behind us at night at any time, and it is impossible to prevent it." Yuan Zongdi felt that it would be difficult for Li Guoying, who was backed by a strong city, to achieve a good record in such a narrow frontal attack: "Besides, there are a lot of Tartar cavalry, or what I just said, if they are frustrated and retreat to the next battalion or chóngqìng city, we have no choice, if we lose, we will be pursued by the Tartars." ”

In addition to the difficulty of attacking, Yuan Zongdi also believed that there were other hidden dangers for the whole division to cross the Yangtze River: "The Tartars may not necessarily send reinforcements from Baoning, but we can't afford not to guard against it." In addition to guarding against Li Guoying sending people to sneak across, we also have to leave a large force in case an enemy army suddenly arrives in the upper reaches of the Jialing River, lest they suddenly appear behind our army and catch us off guard; In addition, there is a threat from Guizhou, and the road in Zunyi cannot lead to the Guò army, but it is still possible for Wu Sangui to send thousands of reinforcements over. This enemy army went out of Loushan Pass and could go directly to Jiangjin along the Qijiang River. Therefore, it is necessary not only to put a force to let go of the enemy soldiers from Baoning in the north, but also to put a force in Jiangjin in the south to prevent people from Guizhou from outflanking our army. After this back and forth, how many more soldiers and horses can we take out to attack the Futu Pass and the Chóngqìng West Wall? ”

Now in addition to Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi's 12,000 soldiers, there are also more than 2,000 armor soldiers sent by Fengjie, and the armor under Li Guoying is estimated to be about 8,000.

No one could come up with a solution to the problem raised by Yuan Zongdi, and since that was the case, the military conference would not yield any results.

"Under the fortified city, it's really not a good sign." Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi came to the riverside again, looking at the Qing army on the opposite side that was still unmoving, Deng Ming had the idea of retreating: "In the final analysis, we are still not strong enough, as long as Li Guoying is determined to defend to the death, we have no way to take him, and we have no strength to fight a war of attrition with him." ”

"Is the Admiral planning to retire?" Yuan Zongdi heard Deng Ming's voice, and his face was helpless: "But chóngqìng is in Li Guoying's hands, and the Yangtze River waterway will not be passable." It's only been a year, and Li Guoying has already been able to put 20,000 troops in chóngqìng, so if it takes a few more years, will it be repaid? ”

The Qing army divided the Sichuan-Hubei Ming army into two groups, and the stronger the Qing army of Chóngqìng, the greater the pressure on Fengjie, not only the Kuidong army could not be reinforced in time when Chengdu needed it, but the western Sichuan could not support Kuidong in terms of materials, Yuan Zong looked at the green flag on the city of Chóngqìng at a loss: "If we don't take the chóngqìng, Li Guoying will use it as a base to develop his forces to the south of the Yangtze River, and completely separate the western and eastern Sichuan, You can even get in touch with Guizhou. ”

When Liu Tichun and Deng Ming discussed the strategic issue of Sichuan for the first time, they also repeatedly mentioned chóngqìng, saying that this was a stronghold that must be taken, and as long as chóngqìng was in hand, Wu Sangui's army, which could not be received, would not be able to threaten Sichuan from the south, and the Ming army would have room for maneuver.

Although Deng Ming was also eager to completely obtain control of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, he did not have the strength to seize chóngqìng from Li Guoying, so it was useless to be anxious: "General Yuan still has a good strategy?" ”

"Nope." Yuan Zongdi replied honestly.

"Then are we here without a fight or leaving?"

"Let's wait a few more days." Yuan Zongdi said: "Anyway, the admiral seized a large amount of grain and grass from Jiangnan, which is enough for the army. ”

Now Deng Ming's army still has millions of stone of military rations, and although the consumption of tens of thousands of troops exposed is amazing, it is not a problem to persist for a year, but Deng Ming can't see the meaning of persistence: "What are we waiting for? ”

"Maybe there's going to be a turnaround." In fact, Yuan Zongdi also knew that there might not be any point in waiting, but the geographical location of chóngqìng was too important, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a stinger that penetrated into the vital point of the Ming army: "The last general will think about it carefully and see if he can come up with any good strategies to break the enemy." ”

So many days had passed since the fire, and there was no point for the Ming army to hide behind the mountains anymore, and while Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi were digging out their hearts to study countermeasures, the Ming troops also began to return to the river bank.

"We still need artillery, if we had hundreds of guns, this battle would be much easier." Now Yuan Zongdi also realized that the blasting tactics were not omnipotent, but the craftsman Kui Dongjun, who made the cannons, did not have it at all: "The admiral should ask the king of Yanping for some." ”

"Even if you want it, you can't make a few now, and you still can't quench your thirst by far water." After another two days, seeing that he still couldn't come up with any good solution, Deng Ming had already decided to admit defeat: "Those who shake the big tree and don't move should retreat, no matter whether it will be more difficult to fight in the future, anyway, now we have nothing to do with Li Guoying, it will not benefit us in the slightest if it continues to be consumed like this, so let's withdraw our troops." ”

If the Qing defenders were taken and annihilated, the Ming army could certainly act without scruples, but now that the Qing army was still there, the retreat needed to be carefully planned. Deng Mingjian yì Yuan Zongdi retreated first, and the combined army of Kuidong Army and Fengjie had about 6,000 soldiers, and the equipment was not as good as the Zhejiang soldiers under Deng Ming's command: "Li Guoying's strength is about the same as mine, he can't come out to pursue me in an empty city, right?" Even if he really dares to do this, my troops are not at a disadvantage, and I am not afraid of him at all. ”

Deng Ming estimated that Li Guoying would definitely be worried that Yuan Zongdi was deceitful again, and he would want to kill a horse pistol, so even if he pursued himself, he would leave 3,000 armor in the city - Li Guoying's troops would not have an advantage, and he would leave less than half of the soldiers and horses to defend the chóngqìng, what else would he pursue?

"After General Yuan returns to Wanxian safely, I will lead my troops to the capital, but before that, I need to transport the baggage to the capital first." The so-called not afraid of 10,000, just afraid of what happens, although Deng Ming thinks that the possibility of Li Guoying chasing him is very small, but at the moment there are a large number of supplies in the camp of the Ming army, which can almost fill all the ships of the Ming army, and can no longer fit many personnel; Moreover, such a large amount of baggage will drag down the speed of the march, and at the critical moment, it is necessary to divide troops to protect: "General Yuan will help me continue to block the mouth of the Jialing River first, and wait for my ships to transport things to the capital, and then leave after the empty ship returns. ”

Yuan Zongdi knew in his heart that since Deng Ming began to transfer the excess baggage, this attack on chóngqìng was about to end, and although Yuan Zongdi was unwilling to do so, he was helpless: "The soldiers have been under the city for so long, and they have not sent an arrow to the city and retreated after a fight, which is really angry and murderous." ”

Shut down

"Anyway, we can't take it, it's better not to fight, at least we don't die in vain." Deng Ming can see that now the first batch of ships to Chengdu have returned empty, and the ships transporting 20,000 women should also arrive in Chengdu, and it is estimated that they will return here one after another: "In about a month, the ships carrying the baggage will return empty, so General Yuan can leave in twenty days, and it will be almost a month before General Yuan returns to Wanxian, and I will leave at that time." Although it was delayed for a while, it was immediately cleared after returning to Chengdu, and it will probably be harvested once this year. ”

Yuan Zongdi felt that this retreat plan was not safe, and came up with another set: "Obviously, although Li Guoying is short of troops, who dares to say that Baoning's reinforcements will not arrive after the last general retreats?" It's better to do this, the last general will retreat to Zhongxian first, and then set up camp, and wait for the governor to retreat to Jiangjin and send someone to inform the last general. After learning that the Admiral's army was safe, the last general continued to retreat to Wanxian, if Li Guoying dared to pursue the Admiral, the last general would kill him back and attack him with the Admiral. ”

Because Li Guoying resolutely refused to retreat, now Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi both suspected that there was indeed a strong reserve of the Qing army in Baoning and other places, otherwise it would be difficult to understand why the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi was so calm.

"That's fine." Deng Ming pondered for a while, and felt that Yuan Zongdi's method was indeed safer.

…… When they were about to load the baggage on the ship, the Ming army camped along the river to give chóngqìng a certain deterrent.

And the Qing army on the other side of the river, as always, remained motionless in the camp on the other side of the river, silently facing the Ming army across the river. And Deng Ming refused to be idle, every rì in the camp behind the Qing army in a place that could not be seen by the Qing army to train the troops, now the Ming army has enough food, although the intensity of exercise is not small, but it can ensure that the soldiers can recover.

Today, when Deng Ming was training his troops in the rear, he suddenly came to the front battalion to report that there was an abnormal behavior in the Qing army camp.

This time, it was the turn of the Qing army camp to let out bursts of cheers, and after rushing back to the riverside, Deng Ming saw that it was not Li Guoying's standard camp that appeared on patrol today, but a group of new cavalry, and they were still waving colorful banners.

"Eight Banners of Manchuria." Soon the sailors sent more detailed observations, and they reported that a Manchurian cavalry numbering about 100 men suddenly appeared around Chóngqìng, which made the Qing army, which was already a little dull, go crazy all at once.

"You're from Boryeong, right?" Yuan Zongdi's face sank, and the officers beside him all showed nervousness, especially those of the younger generation of Kui Dongbing, Deng Ming saw that they all showed fear that was difficult to hide.

"Isn't it just a hundred Manchurian soldiers?" After discovering that the morale of the Kui Dong Army was shaken, Deng Ming was extremely surprised.

Yuan Zongdi felt a little ashamed of his subordinates, and he explained to Deng Ming in private: "The officers and soldiers all say that these Manchurian true Tartars have a different physique from our Han Chinese, eat raw meat, and can even tear tigers and leopards with their bare hands. The Manchu female Tartar can also pull the buffalo to the ground. ”

"General Yuan, do you believe this too?" Deng Ming was taken aback, in his previous life, he had Manchu classmates and friends since elementary school, and there were Manchu female classmates who had a good relationship with the university: "General Yuan, didn't you fight with the Manchurian soldiers?" ”

"Of course I don't believe it!" Yuan Zongdi argued: "But the soldiers trust a lot. ”

From Yuan Zongdi's tone, Deng Ming felt that the other party was not completely unconvinced, maybe it was just the difference between Cheng Dù: "I heard Hu Shuai say that in the Battle of Huaiqing, the three walls broke through the Eight Banners of Manchuria. ”

Yuan Zongdi was silent for a while, and said in a low voice: "The officers and soldiers in the last general are not all strong men like the three walls, and the losses of the three walls are also very large. ”

"The King of Jin has defeated thousands of Manchurian Eight Banners, and this time in Zhenjiang, the King of Yanping County killed four thousand Manchurian Eight Banners in one day." Deng Ming's voice raised a little.

This time, Yuan Zongdi was silent for a longer time, and when he spoke again, his voice became lower: "But the King of Jin is not here, and the King of Yanping County is not here." ”

Soon Deng Ming found that the appearance of the Eight Banners of Manchuria had a greater impact on the Fengjie soldiers, and after confirming that the army that had just appeared in Chóngqìng was a Manchurian soldier, a large number of Fengjie soldiers showed obvious panic, and the officers were all nervous, even in front of Deng Ming.

Fortunately, the Zhejiang soldiers were much stronger than the Kuidong Army and the Fengjie Army, both of whom were eyewitnesses to the Battle of Zhenjiang, and saw Zheng Chenggong cut off the heads of thousands of Manchurian Eight Banner soldiers, and then all picked bamboo poles to boast of their martial arts.

"Isn't it just a hundred Manchurian Eight Banner soldiers?" After seeing the uneasiness of Fengjie Bing and Kui Dongbing, Zhejiang Bing sneered and said, "What tears the tiger and leopard? It's all blowing. ”

Although the Zhejiang soldiers' account of the battle of Zhenjiang was beneficial to morale, the effect was also limited, after all, the Sichuan-Hubei Ming army did not witness it with their own eyes, and the Zhejiang soldiers were only bystanders rather than victors in that battle.

Deng Ming was helpless about this, perhaps the lowest fear of Manchurian soldiers in the Kuidong Army was Li Laiheng's troops, and Deng Ming also captured a small number of Manchurian Eight Banners in the battle of Lang Tingzuo. Deng Ming remembered that when Li Laiheng arrived in Nanjing, the camp where the captives were held surrounded by curious Li officers and soldiers all day long, and the curious expressions on their faces at that time were like tourists who had just arrived at the zoo.

"Maybe they were the same as General Yuan's subordinates, but people are always not too afraid of their own captives, and it won't be unusual to look at them for a few more days." Deng Ming pondered in his heart: "Did they eliminate their fear after they found out that the Manchus also ate cooked food and drank water, and they didn't have the ability to tear off the shackles?" If I had known that there were such rumors, I should have taken a few Manchurian prisoners back to Sichuan. ”

...... "Manchurian soldiers!" ”

"Manchurian soldiers!"

At this time, on the other side of the Yangtze River, Li Guoying listened with satisfaction to the cheers inside and outside the city, and the Eight Banners of One Hundred Manchuria had been sent to Sichuan from Běijīng. The governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi had never intended to let these Manchurian princes go to the battlefield before, but this time it was really urgent, so he asked his personal guards to recruit these 100 Manchurian Eight Banners soldiers from Baoning.

And this action did achieve Li Guoying's expected effect, after seeing the Manchurian Taijun, the ordinary green battalion soldiers immediately thundered with joy; The generals were also deeply encouraged - although they were not as superstitious as ordinary soldiers were about the martial bravery of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, if it wasn't for the fact that the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi was absolutely sure, if Chóngqìng was really dead, how could he have called the princes? Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Guoying declared that the Sword Pavilion was foolproof, and Deng Ming had absolutely no possibility of sending troops to attack the back of the Qing army, and the Qing army also unanimously accepted Li Guoying's statement, and they were full of confidence one by one, and they were determined to show themselves well in front of Taijun.

"Now, Deng Ming, do you still have the courage to attack my back?" Li Guoying smiled proudly in his heart and looked at the other side: "Even if you have this strength, but seeing that I am so calm, do you dare to guess that my back road is unstable?" ”

…… That night, Deng Ming noticed that the Kuidong Army and the Fengjie Army had added double posts, and the sentries were all facing the enemy.

"Just a hundred Manchurian soldiers." Deng Ming sighed in his heart.

"Admiral's forgiveness." Yuan Zongdi also solemnly pleaded guilty to Deng Ming: "The last general's random speculation about Baoning is really wrong! ”

"Why did General Yuan say this?"

"If it weren't for Li Thief's complete preparation, how could he have transferred all the real Tartars guarding the rear to chóngqìng?" The tension of his subordinates seemed to have affected Yuan Zongdi, he shook his head and sighed: "These rìzi are here, the last general is completely asking for trouble, I'm afraid it will even involve the admiral, Li Guoying, he has been watching our jokes in the city?" ”

"My opinion is just the opposite of General Yuan." Deng Ming smiled and said: "Until this Manchurian army came to Chóngqìng, I didn't dare to say whether Li Guoying was empty in the back road, but now it is certain." ”

Seeing that Yuan Zongdi's face was slightly puzzled, Deng Ming explained: "The cheers of the Qing army today, I guess General Yuan heard it, right?" ”

"The Admiral hears it."

"Obviously, Li Guoying used this hundred Manchurian Eight Banners to boost morale, why should he boost morale? That must have been a big problem with morale. Why is morale so low? It must be because General Yuan's strategy worked, and everyone in the Qing officers and soldiers was worried that the back road would be cut off, so the army was discouraged. ”

"Oops." Yuan Zongdi was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly shouted: "What the Admiral said is right, didn't we miss the opportunity?" When I saw that the Tartars were not moving like a mountain, I thought that they were full of morale and that there was no gap to take advantage of. If we had known this, we should have attacked it. ”

"I can't call it, the other party's morale is really low, but we may not be able to beat them away, just sacrifice the soldiers in vain. It makes me regret that now I know that Li Guoying's back road is empty, but there is no army that can be used to copy his back road. Deng Ming felt that in the final analysis, it was still insufficient strength, Chengdu did not and was temporarily unable to support a large army to the Northern Expedition, and he did not know how long the Qing court would be able to send reinforcements to Sichuan and Shaanxi: "Regardless of whether there was a chance before, it is definitely not there now, we still have to withdraw the army, but General Yuan can leave boldly this time, and Baoning will definitely not be able to send more reinforcements in the short term, and this hundred Manchurian soldiers is Li Guoying's last capital." ”