When I first heard that the Qing army was going to attack Chengdu, Deng Ming and his guards thought that this was a god-given opportunity that would allow the Ming army to win more easily. Now there are almost no man’s land between Chongqing and Chengdu, and it is impossible for the army to collect food and grass on the spot. Therefore, if the Qing army in Chongqing set out, all military rations would need to be transported from the starting point.

If you take a water route, the Qing army would need to take a longer route, and go upstream, and the speed would be slower. During this period, the Ming army could first conquer Wanxian and go upstream to the city of Chongqing. Once the Ming army navy entered the Yangtze River near Chongqing, the supply line and retreat route of the Qing army's front-line troops would be cut off, leaving only a dead end. If the Qing army chose to take a land route, Chongqing would also need to provide all the supplies, and all auxiliary soldiers would also need to provide - because marching in an unmanned area, not only could the food be collected, but the strong men who transported supplies could not be found.

The Qing army in Chongqing has always relied on the Jialing River waterway to maintain survival. The amount of supplies that Shaanxi can transport through the Jialing River can raise as many soldiers as it can. Although the transportation capacity of this supply line has been continuously improved, it seems to be quite limited at present. If the Qing army used a large amount of resources to maintain the troops attacking Chengdu, it is conceivable that Chongqing will not be left with many soldiers. The Ming army can easily seize Chongqing first and then eliminate the Qing army in western Sichuan that became an isolated army.

However, after Park Fan finished recounting the information that Xiong Lan had inquired, Deng Ming discovered that the Qing army was not as stupid as he thought.

In front of Park Fan, Deng Ming spread out the map of western Sichuan, slid his fingers along the Jialing River on the map, and finally stopped near Jiange.

Jiange is located in Baoning Prefecture, slightly west to the north of the city, not far from the Jialing River waterway. From here, along the Jialing River to the north, it is Guangyuan, an important town in the north of Baoning Prefecture. Guangyuan is located at the junction of Shaanxi and Sichuan. There is a road connected to Hanzhong to Guangyuan, a supply center in southern Shaanxi. Both soldiers and materials can be transported to Guangyuan from Hanzhong to Guangyuan quickly. The Jialing River and its tributary Baishui converge in Guangyuan, and the transportation to Gansu and central Shaanxi along these two waterways is also relatively convenient.

"Whether the food and grass transported to Baoning or Chongqing, the Qing army loaded ships in Guangyuan, then transported them downstream to the front, and then returned empty ships against the current. If the news from Mr. Xiong Qian found out was correct, the Qing army would definitely set off from Guangyuan and head straight to Jiange along the Jialing River. The Qing army arrived in such a short distance. In Jiange, abandoned the ship and changed to land, took the Shu road and went straight to Jiangyou from Jiange, and then went to Mianzhu, and broke into the western Sichuan plain." Deng Ming thought about it. The transportation from Guangyuan to Jiange was too convenient and basically would not cause any logistical pressure on the Qing army. The problem was the section from Jiange to Mianzhu.

Deng Ming asked: "How many people do you think the Qing army needs to transport food and grass?"

Guards, you and I express your opinions.

"There are no people along this road. If the Tartars want to ensure food and grass, Beizhi feels that three auxiliary soldiers are needed to help one warrior."

"I think two are almost the same as one."

"Even if it's two to one, 1,500 warriors will require 3,000 auxiliary soldiers. General Liu of the capital mansion has about 1,000 warriors, and the Tartars will probably not be less than this number."

"One thousand five war soldiers? Then the Tartars are too ruthless. There will inevitably be losses on the road. It is necessary to have three thousand people."

"Three thousand armored soldiers need 6,000 to 9,000 auxiliary soldiers, and the entire army has 9,000 to 12,000. Can Tartars get so many troops?"

Deng Ming felt that most of the Han people in the Qing army were Han, so he suggested that his subordinates call their opponents by Qing army rather than Tartars, but everyone was not used to it.

Deng Ming stood by and listened for a while, and asked Park Fan again: "When the Qing army was in Wanxian, how many troops could reach at most?"

"There are about five thousand." Park Fan said, and then told Deng Ming: "This is not counting Xiong Qian's two thousand people."

"No need to count, because Xiong Qian always uses his own settlement and raising troops. The Qing soldiers sent 5,000 troops and still have the ability to continue to advance towards Yunyang." Deng Ming whispered, and asked Pu anger again: "After the 5,000 Qing army members arrived in Wanxian, will Wanxian's reserves be smaller and smaller, or will it gradually increase?"

"The number of food continued to increase. At the beginning, there was no food in the warehouse. Most of Mr. Xiong Qian asked the retreating people to take it away, but the Tartars quickly transported the food and then continued to attack Yunyang after they reserved some." Pu Fan replied honestly.

"I guess that's the same." Deng Ming nodded.

The expressions of the guards around him were already serious. After fighting in the east for more than half a year, they were all very clear about what Park Fan’s information showed.

"The distance from Guangyuan to Chongqing is probably the same as the distance from Chongqing to Wanxian, and the transportation method is basically the same. Full load ships go downstream, unload the cargo, and then return to the air ships against the current. Even if the water transportation distance from Chongqing to Wanxian is slightly closer, and the Yangtze River shipping is better than the Jialing River, the Qing army has been operating Baoning Mansion for many years, and its control and familiarity with waterways are far above Chongqing Prefecture. I think the loss from Guangyuan to transport grain to Chongqing will definitely not be greater than the section from Chongqing to Wanxian." Deng Ming said to the guards: "Since the Qing army can raise 5,000 soldiers in Wanxian and its reserves are still increasing, it is absolutely no problem for them to raise 10,000 soldiers in Chongqing. Well, when Gao Mingzhan and Wang Mingde came to Wanxian, Chongqing could not leave people to defend. We don't guess more, even if Chongqing can raise 15,000 soldiers now."

Although Deng Ming's estimated number is already very conservative, this force is still much higher than the Qing army's strength when Yuan Zongdi attacked Chongqing last year. At that time, there were only more than 4,000 soldiers in Chongqing, of which only had only one thousand armored soldiers. Now the total strength of the Qing army is at least three times that of that time. The courage to try to attack Fengjie shows that Chongqing has a large number of armored soldiers, which is estimated to have reached as many as four or five thousand.

"It seems that the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi has not been idle this year. He has built a lot of ships, and there will definitely be more and more. If we sit still, Li Guoying will be able to raise at least 30,000 troops in Chongqing at this time next year."

Deng Ming's words made many guards look mixed expressions on their faces. What was worried was that the difficulty of attacking Chongqing this time was greatly increased. What was happy was that the Ming army was ready to start attacking Chongqing, otherwise it would inevitably become more difficult in the future. Zhao Tianba gave Deng Ming a wink. After Deng Ming understood what he meant, he asked Park Fan to go out and wait outside first.

"We originally planned to set off in the twelfth lunar month and break the city in one fell swoop when we arrived at the city of Chongqing. Now it seems that this is not easy." After Park Fan went out, Zhao Tianba immediately stood up and said, "And the navy of Chongqing Tartars is probably stronger. We must be careful to march so as not to be ambushed by the Tartars."

Others also had similar concerns. Even if Wanxian was not enough, the Ming army went upstream on the way from Wanxian to Chongqing, and the advantage of hydrology was on the side of the Qing army. When attacking Chongqing last year, Wang Mingde did not have a large army and a navy worth mentioning, so the Ming army approached Chongqing very easily. Thousands of people dared to land near Chongqing on ships, and set up camps under the eyes of the Qing army, not very worried about the enemy leaving the city to counterattack. But the situation is completely different now. The Ming army must march cautiously, which means more preparation time is needed, and a series of camps and advance bases are needed to be established further away from Chongqing - a large area of ​​unmanned land means that the Ming army's mobility is also deeply affected.

"The Zhejiang Army is probably not very familiar with Sichuan's geography and thought this battle would be easy. Let them exercise, this is a good opportunity." Li Xinghan smiled bitterly.

Now Deng Ming has only one-quarter of the 30,000 male men in his hands, including armor. Although he has some training in Huangzhou, Hubei, he still lacks training and practical experience. Chongqing's Qing army is strong and the Ming army has no overwhelming advantage. If he is not careful, he may even be defeated.

"We must wait until Duke Jingguo arrives before setting off together." Zhou Kaihuang said his opinion loudly.

Even if Fengjie's defenders were added, the Ming army still dared not say that they had a stable victory. But if Yuan Zongdi brought some troops to Fengjie to meet Deng Ming, the Ming army would have at least 12,000 soldiers. Even if he went to Chongqing to challenge the 5,000 Qing army's armored soldiers, there would be no great danger.

"Even if you send someone to Duke Jingguo immediately, and then Duke Jingguo sets off immediately after hearing the news, it will take twenty days to one month, right? Before the army moves, food and grass will go first. We must first take down Wanxian, and then transport troops and supplies, and advance to Chongqing by water. The closer we get to Chongqing, the more we need to be prepared for the Qing army's counterattack, and the marching speed will be much slower; at this time, the enemy in Chongqing must have received an alarm. Li Guoying now has so many ships, so it is very likely that he will send a support immediately.

Army, then the battle in Chongqing will last for a long time." Deng Ming calculated with his fingers. If he had to conquer Chongqing first, he would not have time to reinforce Chengdu: "The Qing army would not transport Chongqing soldiers back to Baoning with great difficulty. The one who set out from Guangyuan to attack Jiange must be another Qing army. This is not a big problem for Li Guoying. He just needs to reserve supplies in Guangyuan and allocate a green camp from Ganzhou and Shaanxi. They may set out at any time."

"Since Gao Mingzhan has inquired, he is likely to be the main general of this battle." Ren Tang reminded Deng Ming.

"It's right. Li Guoying is the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Sitting in Baoning will help him to easily draw troops from Shaanxi. He may not be willing to run around. Gao Mingzhan is the governor of Sichuan, and it seems that he should be responsible for this matter." Park Fan had reported just now that Gao Mingzhan was Wanxian who left half a month ago. Deng Ming said: "About the days, he has returned to Baoning long ago. After he reported to Li Guoying, when the green camp and supplies gathered in Guangyuan, it's time to set off. It's probably what happened in half a month."

"I didn't expect that the Tartars had the strength to divide the troops into two groups. We must immediately send an alarm to the capital." Li Xinghan shouted.

Since the Qing army captured Chongqing, Chengdu's main focus has been on the east side, and it is believed that the Qing army is likely to attack from Chongqing. This kind of vigilance has no meaning. If the Qing army really launched an attack, Chengdu would almost never resist with its own strength. However, when Deng Ming returned from the Sichuan Xingdusi, he formed an alliance with Feng Shuangli of the Western Camp, Liu Yao felt that the situation around Chengdu had improved greatly, and if necessary, he could ask Feng Shuangli for help.

At present, Liu Yao and Yang Youcai still think that Chongqing is the most dangerous direction. The Ming army in the capital and Jiading Prefecture are now focused on Chongqing Prefecture, and they are a little negligent about the north. Liu Yao also believes that if the Qing army in Chongqing wants to advance westward, he will not only get an alert in advance to ask Feng Shuangli for help, but Fengjie will not sit idly by, so Chengdu is still quite safe.

"Well, I'm afraid it will take until Jiangyou falls before the capital will find that the Qing army will go south. When they know that the number of Qing soldiers is at least tens of thousands, it will be too late to ask for help." Deng Ming knew that the biggest problem in Chengdu was that his strength was too weak, and he could not take care of the north when he focused on the east. He could not afford to raise a few post horses in the entire city, let alone establishing a reconnaissance network or post station system.

Even if Chengdu issued an alarm, he dared not say that Jianchang's reinforcements could arrive in time. The roads on the Daxue Mountains were not easy to walk, and Jianchang might not be able to respond in time.

"I'd better go to the capital in person." After thinking about it, Deng Ming felt that it would be better to go there immediately. In case of danger in Chengdu, Deng Ming felt that his fame could also soothe people's hearts. If he learned that Deng Ming was rushing to Chengdu in person, Jianchang would probably realize that the situation was urgent and might be able to send reinforcements in time: "You all follow me."

As for the candidates to report to Jianchang, no one of the guards wanted to go there. They felt that not only would they have to go for a long detour, but they also had no chance to make meritorious contributions. At the suggestion of Zhou Kaihuang, everyone unanimously recommended Zhao Tianba to be the envoy, because he was from Xiying and was easy to talk to Feng Shuangli, Di Sanxi and others.

But Zhao Tianba refused to agree, arguing that his going would only be worse, and it was possible to fight Feng Shuangli and the others on the spot. Seeing that Zhao Tianba reacted so fiercely and his reason was high-sounding, Deng Ming naturally couldn't force him to go there, so he had to find a few other riders from Fengjie and ask them to rush to Jianchang immediately to ask for reinforcements for Chengdu.

However, it is still unknown whether the Qing army will send troops, and the time of the attack is completely uncertain. After all, this is based on Xiong Lan's intelligence, so Deng Ming cannot ask Feng Shuangli to mobilize urgently, so he only asked him to send a team of elite troops to Chengdu to assist Deng Ming, and Liu Yao and Yang Youcai to defend the city according to the situation.

After sending an envoy, Deng Ming rushed to meet Wen Anzhi and reported his new news and his decision to set off for Chengdu soon.

"Is this Xiong Lan's words credible?" Wen Anzhi was obviously skeptical of this information and had no confidence in Xiong Lan's character: "I sent troops from Guangyuan, and he actually found out about such a long time ago? He also sent someone to hide nearby and report it as soon as you come back."

"The General of Mo felt it was still credible. If this was Li Guoying's plan, the General of Mo felt that they would not mention Jiangge and Jiangyou, but deceived us to say that Chongqing's troops were weak. The Qing army had already attacked western Sichuan along the Yangtze River, which tempted us to attack Chongqing. As for Xiong Lan's investigation of this, it was not surprising. Gao Mingzhan might have just asked casually. If there were Western Sichuan people in the Wanxian garrison, he would take it away. He did not expect that Xiong Lan would be determined to be more focused on his words and deeds." After Deng Ming finished explaining, he pleaded with mercy to Wen Anzhi for Xiong Lan: "Although Mr. Xiong Qian surrendered to the enemy again this time, he did not hurt our people, and he also found out the enemy situation and made such great contributions. In the eyes of the General of Mo, let him go again."

"You agree, what else can I say?" Wen Anzhi said dissatisfiedly: "Next time if you really want to plead for someone, don't agree first and then talk to me; instead, you should talk to me first and then agree to me after I agree."

"What the supervisor advised was that he would know that he was wrong."

...

More than 60 horses were picked out from Fengjie's good horses. Deng Ming took twenty guards and Park Fan on the boat, and hundreds of soldiers also boarded the boat and marched upstream. When he went to western Sichuan last time, Deng Ming and others took a boat to Changshou and then got off the boat and rushed to Chengdu. However, this time, Wanxian was blocking him. If Deng Ming wanted to go to Changshou, he needed to solve the problem of Wanxian first.

Yunyang has now regained control in the hands of the Ming army. The left-behind Qing army prosecutor immediately retreated after seeing the Ming army's vanguard. After arriving in Yunyang, Deng Ming led his troops off the ship to rest and handed him a fast horse to Pu Fan, asking him to return to Wanxian to report to Xiong Lan immediately.

"Why don't sir let Xiong Lan fall for defeat and then sneak into Chongqing?" Mu Tan asked. On the way, he made this suggestion to Deng Ming, but was rejected by Deng Ming in front of Park Fan.

"There are many Qing troops in Chongqing, and it may not be useful for him to sneak in. Moreover, firstly, he may be seen through, and secondly, even if he is not seen through, the Qing army may kill him to serve as a warning. Mr. Xiong Qian has few subordinates, and because he was a concubine and gave birth to a child, everyone looked down on him. I think this possibility is very high." Deng Ming replied.

"It's a bit dangerous, but he can't help it. He has committed such a great sin. Do he dare not agree to let him atone for his sins?" Mu Tan said strangely: "It's not a bad idea to try it."

"It's not bad for us, but it's bad for Xiong Lan. The reason why he surrendered to us again was because he knew I would leave him a way out." Deng Ming shook his head: "If he felt that there was little chance of survival, he might be cruel and follow the Lu Ting to the end."

On the night when Pu Fan arrived, Xiong Lan suddenly attacked and captured more than a thousand Qing soldiers who left Wang Mingde in Wanxian. These left-behind Qing soldiers also heard about Xiong Lan's past. They knew that before surrendering to the Qing army, he let all the Ming soldiers who refused to surrender, and announced in public that he believed in the motto of "everyone has his own ambitions" - this further proved that Xiong Lan was a fool and did not even have the courage to kill people. When he was with these Qing soldiers, Xiong Lan personally admitted these things. Not only did he claim to be weak-hearted, but he also said that he believed in Buddhism and did not want to kill animals.

After learning that Yun Yang had lost, Wang Mingde's men felt that Xiong Lan might not have the courage to surrender to Deng Ming for the third time, but they did not expect that Xiong Lan would turn against him and act so quickly. Moreover, she took action steadily and accurately, and did not give the Qing army any chance to resist.

"Bear thief, don't you say that everyone has their own ambitions?" Several officers of Wang Mingde were tied up and taken to the dungeon, shouting in despair on the way.

Xiong Lan's master Qin Xiucai stood beside him and couldn't help but sneer after hearing the shouts. In his memory, such a method is Mr. Xiong Qian's true nature. As long as Xiong Lan does not kill Deng Ming's people, Deng Ming will not kill Xiong Lan in the future; but if he dealt with Gao Mingzhan and Wang Mingde, what's the point of releasing these officers?

"Card all the Tartars and don't give them food." Qin Xiucai majesticly conveyed Xiong Lan's order: "But don't kill them, wait until Mr. Deng comes before dealing with it."

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