After waiting in the city of Chongqing for three days, he did not see any sign of Li Guoying retreat. During this period, Yuan Zongdi experienced the whole process from full of hope to complete disappointment. As time passed, the officers participating in the military meeting also became increasingly 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 original Sichuan Army lacked enough respect for Yuan Zongdi. Some people began to question Yuan Zongdi's strategy and publicly proposed to cross the river from places that the Qing army did not care about, then attack Futu Pass, and approach Chongqing by land.

"This plan is not possible." Yuan Zong immediately expressed his opposition when he heard this proposal: "Our army was cut into two sections by the Yangtze River, and reinforcements are not easy. Moreover, once we confront the Qing soldiers, our navy will withdraw from the river mouth to cover the mainland division."

Yuan Zongdi pointed out that behind the Qing army was a strong city and a joint camp, and he was not afraid of even a slight setback. However, if the Ming army was defeated, it would be very dangerous, so the navy would have to be on the edge of the army. In this way, if it was defeated and some troops were surrounded by the Qing army, they could escape through water transportation. Moreover, the army was scattered on both sides of the Yangtze River, and it also needed to communicate and reinforce by ships: "But in this way, we could not block the Jialing River. Li Guoying could see our movements clearly at the head of Chongqing. The navy dispersed its troops and gave the Tartars a chance to win in the chaos."

"How about our entire army crossing the Yangtze River?" Li Xinghan said: "If our army crosses the river all the time, there is no need to block the mouth of the Jialing River. Our Land and Navy are gathered together and will not give the Tartars a chance to attack."

But Yuan Zongdi still shook his head: "Last time, Fuhou and I could attack the Western Wall of Chongqing, because the Tartars had weak troops and had no chance to make a counterattack. But now Li Guoying's subordinates had two or three thousand soldiers, and Futuguan could not expand its troops at all."

From Futu Pass to the city wall west of Chongqing, the terrain of this section is similar to a narrow peninsula, sandwiched by the Yangtze River and Jialing River. Once you attack simply from this side, it will become a war of attrition.

"Li Guoying is good at defending. This kind of one-sided attack is even more unfavorable. If it is consumed, our losses will definitely be much greater than that of the Tartars. Moreover, Li Guoying has artillery and the Jialing River is in his hands. He can send people to land behind us at night at any time, and it is hard to defend." Yuan Zongdi felt that it would be difficult to achieve good results in Li Guoying, who was backed by the strong city in such a narrow frontal attack, and it would be difficult to achieve good results: "Besides, there are many Tartar cavalry, but what I said just now. If they are frustrated and retreat to the next camp or Chongqing city, we have no choice. If we fail, we will be pursued by the Tartars as a victory."

In addition to being difficult to attack, Yuan Zongdi also believed that the entire division had other hidden dangers to cross the Yangtze River: "The Tartars may not necessarily send reinforcements from Baoning, but we must not be defensive. In addition to being wary of Li Guoying's sending people to rush over, we also have to leave a large force to guard against an enemy army coming from the upper reaches of the Jialing River, so that they would not suddenly appear behind our army and catch us off guard. In addition, there were threats from Guizhou. Zunyi could not pass through the army, but it was still possible for Wu Sangui to send thousands of reinforcements. This enemy army could go directly to Jiangjin from Loushan Pass and follow Qijiang. Therefore, not only should one force be placed to place the enemy troops from Baoning from the north, but Jiangjin from the south also should be placed to guard against Guizhou to encircle our army's rear. After a few moments, how many troops can we take out to attack Futu Pass and the western wall of Chongqing?"

Now, in addition to the 12,000 war soldiers owned by Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi, there are more than 2,000 soldiers sent by Fengjie. The armored soldiers under Li Guoying in Chongqing are estimated to be around 8,000. It seems that the Ming army has an advantage of nearly 2 to 1, but excluding the protective troops in the rear, the Ming army's advantages are actually very limited.

No one can come up with a way to solve the problems raised by Yuan Zongdi. Since this is the case, the military meeting will not have any results.

"It's not a good sign to be strong under the city." Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi came to the riverside again. Looking at the Chongqing Qing army that was still motionless across the street, Deng Ming was inspired to retreat: "After all, we are still inadequate. As long as Li Guoying makes up his mind to defend, we will have no way to deal with him and have no strength to fight a war of attrition with him."

"Is the admiral planning to withdraw his troops?" Yuan Zongdi heard Deng Ming's implicit voice, and his face was helpless: "But Chongqing is in Li Guoying's hands, and the Yangtze River is blocked. It's only a year before Li Guoying can set up an army of 20,000 in Chongqing. If it takes a few years, it would be great?"

The Qing army in Chongqing divided the Sichuan-E-Ming army into two groups. Moreover, the stronger the Qing army in Chongqing, the greater the pressure on Fengjie. Not only did the Kuidong army not be able to provide timely reinforcements when Chengdu needed it, but western Sichuan could not support Kuidong in materials. Yuan Zong was at the first chance to look at the green flag on Chongqing city: "If we don't take Chongqing, Li Guoying will use it as a stronghold to develop its power to Jiangnan, completely divide western Sichuan and eastern Sichuan, and even get in touch with Guizhou."

When Liu Tichun and Deng Ming first discussed Sichuan's strategic issues, they also repeatedly mentioned Chongqing, saying that this was a stronghold that must be captured. As long as Chongqing was in hand, Wu Sangui's army could not be able to threaten Sichuan from the south, and the Ming army had room for maneuver.

Although Deng Ming was eager to gain control of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in full, he did not seize Chongqing's strength from Li Guoying, so it would be useless to be anxious: "Does General Yuan have any good plans?"

"No." Yuan Zongdi replied honestly.

"Then will we just stay here without fighting?"

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

Now Deng Ming's army still has millions of stagnant rations. Although the exposure of tens of thousands of troops is amazing, persisting for a year is not a problem. However, Deng Ming cannot see the meaning of persistence: "What are we waiting for?"

"Maybe there will be some turning point." In fact, Yuan Zongdi also knew that it might not be of any significance to wait. However, Chongqing's geographical location is too important. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a stinger that plunged into the key points of the Ming army: "I will think about it carefully and see if I can come up with any good strategies to defeat the enemy."

So many days have passed since the fire broke out, and it is meaningless for the Ming army to hide behind the mountain. When Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi were trying their best to study countermeasures, the Ming army troops also began to return to the bank of the river.

"I still need cannons. If we had hundreds of cannons, this battle would be much easier." Now Yuan Zongdi also realized that blasting tactics are not omnipotent, but the Kui Dong Army, a craftsman who made cannons, did not have it at all: "The admiral should just ask the Prince of Yanping for some."

"Even if you want it, you can't build a few doors now, and it still can't quench the near thirst." After two days, seeing that you still can't come up with any good solutions, Deng Ming decided to admit defeat: "Those who shake the big tree should retreat. Regardless of whether it will be more difficult to fight in Chongqing in the future, we have no choice but to deal with Li Guoying now. If we continue to waste like this, we will not benefit us at all. We should withdraw our troops."

If Chongqing is taken down and the Qing army is annihilated, the Ming army can certainly act without any scruples, but the Qing army is still there, and retreat needs to be carefully planned. Deng Ming suggested that Yuan Zongdi retreat first, and the Kuidong Army and Fengjie's army have about 6,000 combat soldiers, and their equipment is not as good as the Zhejiang soldiers under Deng Ming's command: "Li Guoying's troops are similar to mine. He can't come out to pursue me in an empty city, right? Even if he really dares to do this, my troops will not be 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 using fraud again and wanted to kill someone to retaliate, so even if he pursued himself, he would leave three thousand armors in the city. Originally, Li Guoying did not have the advantage in his troops, and he would leave half of his troops to defend Chongqing. What else would he pursue?

"After General Yuan returns to Wanxian safely, I will lead his troops to Dufu, but before that, I need to transport the baggage to Dufu first." Although Deng Ming thought that Li Guoying was very likely to pursue him, there was a large amount of supplies in the Ming army camp, which could almost fill all the Ming army's ships and could no longer hold many personnel. Moreover, such a large amount of baggage would seriously drag down the speed of the march, and at the critical moment, I still need to divide troops to protect: "General Yuan first helps me to continue blocking the estuary of the Jialing River, and wait for my ship to transport things to Dufu, and then leave after the empty ship returns. Without the burden of extra baggage, I can handle it calmly even if I encounter any situation."

Yuan Zongdi knew in his heart that since Deng Ming began to transfer excess baggage, the attack on Chongqing was about to end. Although Yuan Zongdi was unwilling to do so, he could do nothing about it: "I have been fighting in Chongqing for so long, but I didn't shoot an arrow into the city, and then retreated after a fight. I was really angry and killed people."

"Anyway, I can't take it, so it's better if I don't fight. At least we won't die in vain." Deng Ming could see it. Now the earliest batch of ships to Chengdu have returned empty ships. The ships transporting 20,000 women should be in the future. It is estimated that they will return here one after another: "About a month, the ships carrying the baggage will return empty ships. Then General Yuan can set off in twenty days. It will be almost a month before General Yuan returns to Wanxian. I will leave at that time. Although it has been delayed for some time, the land will be opened immediately after returning to Chengdu, and I will probably get it once this year."

Yuan Zongdi felt that the retreat plan was unstable, so he came up with another set: "Obviously, although Li Guoying lacked enough troops, who dares to say that Baoning's reinforcements would not arrive by chance after the Mo General retreated? Why would you do this? Mo General retreated to Zhong County first, then set up a camp, and after the admiral retreated to Jiangjin, he sent someone to notify Mo General. After learning that the admiral's army was safe and sound, Mo General continued to retreat to Wanxian. If Li Guoying was brave enough to pursue the admiral, Mo General would kill him and attack him with the admiral."

Since Li Guoying refused to retreat, Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi now suspected that Baoning and other places did have a strong reserve team with the Qing army, otherwise it would be difficult to understand why the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi were so calm.

"It's good." Deng Ming pondered for a moment and felt that Yuan Zongdi's method was indeed safer.

...

When they were about to load the baggage into the ship, the Ming army camped along the river to give Chongqing a certain deterrence.

The Qing army on the other side was still motionless in the camps on the other side of the river, silently facing the Ming army across the river. Deng Ming was unwilling to stay idle, and he trained troops in places behind the camp where the Qing army could not see it every day. Now the Ming army has sufficient food, and although the exercise intensity is not small, it can ensure that the soldiers recover their physical strength.

Today, when Deng Ming was training troops in the rear, he suddenly came to report to the front camp, saying that abnormal behavior had occurred in the Qing army camp.

This time it was the Qing army camp's turn to send cheers. After rushing back to the riverside, Deng Ming saw that it was not Li Guoying's bidding camp that was patrolling the camp today, but a group of new cavalrymen, who were also holding colorful flags.

"Eight Banners of Manchuria." Soon the navy sent a more detailed observation report. They reported that a Manchurian cavalry with a population of about 100 suddenly appeared around Chongqing, which made the originally slightly dull Qing army go crazy all of a sudden.

"Are you from Baoning?" Yuan Zongdi's face was gloomy, and the officers beside him showed nervousness, especially those younger generations of Kuidong soldiers. Deng Ming showed a look of fear that was beyond hiding when they saw them.

"Aren't it just one hundred Manchu soldiers?" Deng Ming was extremely surprised after discovering that the morale of the Kui Dong Army was shaken.

Yuan Zongdi felt a little ashamed of his subordinates. He explained to Deng Ming privately: "The officers and soldiers said that these real Manchu Tartars are different from our Han people. They eat raw meat and can even tear apart tigers and leopards with bare hands. The female Tartars of the Manchu tribe can also bring buffaloes to the ground."

"General Yuan, do you believe this?" Deng Ming was shocked. In his previous life, he had a Manchu classmate, friend, and a female Manchu classmate with good relationships in college: "General Yuan, have you ever fought with Manchu 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 unbelievable, perhaps it was just a difference in degree: "I heard from Hushang that the three walls in the Battle of Huaiqing defeated the Eight Banners of Manchuria."

Yuan Zongdi was silent for a while and whispered: "The officers and soldiers in the last general are not all brave men like San Walls, and the losses of San Walls are also very large."

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

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

Soon Deng Ming discovered that the emergence of the Eight Banners of Manchuria had a greater impact on the Fengjie soldiers. After confirming that the army that had just appeared in Chongqing was a Manchuria soldier, a large number of Fengjie soldiers showed obvious panic, and the officers were all uneasy, and they could not hide it even in front of Deng Ming.

Fortunately, the performance of the Zhejiang soldiers was much stronger than that of the Kuidong Army and the Fengjie soldiers. They were all witnesses of the Zhenjiang Battle. They saw Zheng Chenggong chopping down thousands of heads of the Eight Banners soldiers of the Manchus, and then all picked bamboo poles to show off their martial arts.

"Aren't it just one hundred Manchurian Eight Banners soldiers?" After seeing the uneasiness of the Fengjie soldiers and the Kuidong soldiers, the Zhejiang soldiers sneered: "What tearing the tiger and leopard? They are all blowing."

Although the Zhejiang soldiers' narrative of the Battle of Zhenjiang is of certain benefit to morale, the effect is limited. After all, the Sichuan-European Ming army did not witness it with their own eyes, and the Zhejiang soldiers were just bystanders rather than winners of that battle.

Deng Ming had no choice but to do anything about this. Perhaps the one who is the least afraid of Manchu soldiers in the Kuidong army is Li Laiheng's troops. Deng Ming also caught a small number of Manchu Eight Banners soldiers in the battle when Deng Ming sneaked into Lang Tingzuo. Deng Ming remembered that when Li Laiheng arrived in Nanjing, the prisoners were imprisoned outside the camp surrounded the curious Li army officers and soldiers all day long. The curious expression on their faces at that time was like tourists who had just arrived at the zoo.

"Maybe they were the same as General Yuan and other subordinates, but people were never too afraid of their own prisoners. If they looked at them for a few days, they felt nothing strange." Deng Ming thought to himself: "Did they find that the Manchus also ate cooked food, had to drink water, and had no ability to tear off the shackles, and they would eliminate their fear? If they had known that there would be such rumors, I would have taken a few Manchu prisoners back to Sichuan."

...

"Manchurian soldiers!"

"Manchurian soldiers!"

At this time, on the other side of the Yangtze River, Li Guoying listened to the cheers inside and outside the city with satisfaction. The Eight Banners of Manchuria were sent from Beijing to Sichuan. The Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi had never planned to let these Manchuria princes go to the battlefield, but this time the situation was really urgent, so he asked his personal guards to recruit these Eight Banners of Manchuria from Baoning.

This action did achieve the expected effect of Li Guoying. After seeing the Manchu Taijun, ordinary green camp soldiers were immediately cheered; the Chongqing generals were also deeply encouraged - although they were not as superstitious as ordinary soldiers, if the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi were not sure, if Chongqing was really dead, how could he call the Taijuns? Taking this opportunity, Li Guoying declared that Jiange was foolproof and Deng Ming had absolutely no possibility of sending troops to attack the Qing army's retreat, and the Qing army also unanimously accepted Li Guoying's statement, each of them was full of confidence, and was ready to perform well in front of Taijun.

"Now, Deng Ming, do you still have the courage to attack my retreat?" Li Guoying smiled proudly and looked at the other side: "Even if you have this power, seeing that I am so calm, do you still dare to guess that my retreat is unstable?"

...

That night, Deng Ming noticed that the Kuidong Army and the Fengjie Army had sent additional Shuanggang, and the sentries were all facing a great enemy.

"Just one hundred Manchu soldiers." Deng Ming sighed in his heart.

"Admiral forgives the crime." Yuan Zongdi also solemnly apologized to Deng Ming: "The general's random guess about Baoning is really a big mistake!"

"Why did General Yuan say this?"

"If Li Zhe had not been fully prepared, how could he have transferred all the real Tartars guarding the rear to Chongqing?" The nervousness of his subordinates seemed to have affected Yuan Zongdi. He shook his head and sighed: "These days, I am completely asking for trouble, and I am afraid that he will also implicate the Admiral. Li Guoying has been watching our jokes on the top of the city?"

"My opinion happens to be the opposite of General Yuan." Deng Ming smiled and said, "Until this Manchu soldier came to Chongqing, I dared not say whether Li Guoying's back road was empty. Now I'm sure."

Seeing that Yuan Zongdi looked a little puzzled, Deng Ming explained: "I guess General Yuan heard the cheers from the Qing army today?"

"I'll hear it."

"It is obvious that Li Guoying used these Hundred Manchu Eight Banners to boost morale, so why should he boost morale? That must be because there was a big problem with morale. Why did he lose morale? It must be because General Yuan's plan worked, and all the Qing army officers and soldiers were worried that the retreat would be cut off, so the morale of the army was disintegrated."

"Oh." Yuan Zongdi was stunned for a moment and suddenly shouted: "The admiral said it well. Didn't we miss the opportunity? I saw that the Tartars were still as moving as a mountain, and I thought they were full of morale and had no gaps to take advantage of. If we had known this, we should have attacked."
Chapter completed!