In Badong, Deng Ming was once again welcomed by the Ming army stationed in the middle of the road. Liu Tichun, the general guarding Badong, went to the city gate first to greet him.

"General Liu." Deng Ming bowed respectfully. Many people have titles, and it is very troublesome to remember them clearly. Moreover, Deng Ming felt that the standards for the Ming court awarded titles were also a problem. Although his status was almost the same, one might be a duke and the other was a uncle, so Deng Ming decided to call them generals in the future.

"Mr. Deng." Liu Tichun replied.

After making some polite words at the city gate, Deng Ming quickly turned to the topic after entering the city and asked the same question as Yuan Zong in Dachang: "What do you think of the current situation? In the opinion of the general, should we continue to guard the Sichuan gateway for the court in the Three Gorges, or should we try to develop downstream?"

After hearing a series of questions, Liu Tichun did not look surprised. The left-behind staff of Liu Tichun in Wushan County had already sent him news, and Yuan Zongdi and Deng Ming did not conceal their conversation in front of everyone, so Liu Tichun was prepared. However, seeing that Deng Ming raised this issue as soon as he arrived in Badong, Liu Tichun was a little surprised at Deng Ming's anxiety.

"Mr. Deng is right. There is no future in Sanxia. It is not beneficial to guard the Sichuan gateway for the court at present. I just don't know where Mr. Deng is going?"

Since Deng Ming kept asking people about this question and looked impatient, Liu Tichun judged that Deng Ming had made up his mind to give up the Three Gorges. If he wanted to give up, he could say the last question. As for when to give up, it would be impossible to decide for a while, so Liu Tichun did not think there was any direct harm in supporting this suggestion; if Deng Ming made up his mind to give up, it would not be appropriate for Liu Tichun to not agree with a few words. After all, he still hoped to leave a good first impression on Deng Ming.

Liu Tichun's answer was so refreshing that Deng Ming was slightly stunned. When talking to Wen Anzhi, Deng Ming could not understand the meaning of the supervisor's words, nor could he guess the other party's thoughts, but it was much easier to see the thoughts of the remaining generals in the camp.

During Dachang, Deng Ming and Yuan Zongdi had a private secret talk. Yuan Zongdi also asked Deng Ming where he wanted to transfer, and then he could judge whether it was feasible. Yuan Zongdi believed that strategic transfer was difficult, at one time, another, and at another time, the current situation was very different from that when Li Zicheng retreated to Shangluo Mountain, so Yuan Zongdi could not find a transfer location for consideration.

In Deng Ming's view, although Liu Tichun agreed very happily, he could not find a specific location just like Yuan Zong. Most of the time he was the same as Yuan Zong, and he did not think that strategic transfer was feasible.

"Yes." Deng Ming's interest was much worse when he thought of this. He did not continue to talk about his thoughts but pondered without saying anything.

"Does Mr. Deng feel something is difficult?" Liu Tichun asked when he saw Deng Ming's face showing a worry.

"I'm not hiding the general," Deng Ming replied: "The situation in the southwest is critical. I hope to ensure that the Three Gorges can be kept safe. The supervisor asked me to come to the military parade in each town, and he also intended to encourage the garrisons in each town. However, after only two places, General Yuan and the general were not optimistic about continuing to stick to the Three Gorges, which was really embarrassing."

"So... he wanted to stick to it." Liu Tichun was stunned at first, then complained in his heart, and even complained a few times in his stomach that he was helping him to advise on the staff.

After failing to figure it out, Liu Tichun quickly changed his tone: "Mr. Deng said, if you think about it carefully, you should still stick to the Three Gorges. Now there are many rumors in the army that the Southwest King's Division is not good at fighting. If we hear the news of the news of the movement to be transferred, the rumor of this point will turn into ten. Besides, we are familiar with the landscape and terrain here. If we change the place, it will be the change of host and guest."

Seeing that Liu Tichun quickly overturned what he had said just now, Deng Ming firmly believed that the other party was just trying to figure out what he meant. Fortunately, Deng Ming was very self-aware, and Liu Tichun was not good at this, so his tone became a little stiff, and Deng Ming was finally not fooled.

"I heard that during the Battle of Chuangwangshan, 60,000 rebels were attacked by 120,000 Tartars and 50,000 Guanning Army. Because the disparity of troops was too large, the situation on the battlefield changed unexpectedly and suddenly, so the various battalions of Chuangwang were suddenly defeated, and only the general and one army could remain calm in the face of danger. Most people ran back to Beijing in panic after being defeated, and only the general led their troops to complete the team and returned."

The initial stage of the Battle of Shanhaiguan was that 60,000 rebels and 50,000 Guanning Army were fighting with the 50,000 Guanning Army, who were defending the city. Due to the small gap in strength and the advantage of defense, Wu Sangui was still bargaining with Dorgon. However, in the first day of the battle, Wu Sangui was defeated three times. All the outer fortresses of Shanhaiguan were conquered by the camp, and more than 10,000 people were eliminated. Wu Sangui shaved his head overnight, and then ran to Dorgon alone to beg for help. The next day,

When the camp attacked the main fortress of Shanhaiguan, it was suddenly attacked from behind by the Qing army twice as much as his own. The generals of the camp who thought they were sure to win were immediately in chaos. Only Liu Tichun reacted the most quickly. He quickly calmed the morale of the army, controlled the army to retreat in an orderly manner, and repelled the vanguard sent by Dorgon to pursue. In the battle of Shanhaiguan, the 60,000 camp lost as many as 30,000 people. If it were not for Liu Tichun, the loss would have been greater.

Deng Ming shook his head and said, "If someone says that the general is a person who is shaky and has no opinion, I will never believe it."

When Liu Tichun heard Deng Ming mention the name of King Chuang and the old stories about the camp, he did not react fiercely. His face was very calm, not as stumble as Yuan Zongdi.

Deng Ming's shocking remarks in Dachang reached Badong. When Liu Tichun heard them, he was even more shocked than Yuan Zongdi who was present. After all, he had never seen Deng Ming before, and Yuan Zongdi knew more about Deng Ming's uniqueness. Moreover, Yuan Zongdi could use his own conversation to masturbate, but Liu Tichun followed Li Zicheng all the way to Beijing from Xi'an.

After receiving the report and confirming what the third prince said, Liu Tichun and his master studied the meaning of his words all night long.

Although the Southern Ming court repeatedly claimed to pardon the generals who committed the previous rebellious crimes of the generals who broke into the camp, each claim could be regarded as another confirmation, confirming that they had committed such a great sin - their crimes cannot be erased, even if Yuan Zongdi could find an excuse, Liu Tichun could not escape; and the repeated pardons of Nan Ming were not relieved. If it was true that he would not blame him, why should he repeatedly declare it?

However, Deng Ming's remarks in Dachang were regarded as a turning point, which means that he had never committed any crime in the camp and was also a contribution to the country. If Deng Ming was the son of today rather than just a third prince who had hidden his name, this was almost the final conclusion of the question of "how to determine the camp should be identified". What Liu Tichun and others couldn't understand was what the basis for Deng Ming's statement was? If this could really become the final conclusion on the camp problem, Liu Tichun and others certainly hoped that the nails nailed on this coffin were real and indestructible.

Finally, the master's explanation of Deng Ming's remarks - the master's personal understanding or personal speculation of the third prince is: the camp and the Xiying were to clear the king. Didn't Emperor Lie once say "The ministers misled me"? The third prince announced that he did not regard the camp's actions as a rebellion against the court, but as the spontaneous act of clearing the king by the ministers; the third prince was following the relatively vague statement of Emperor Lie, and clearly confirmed that the camp and the Xiying were to clear the king for the first time! The Qingming was right, and the only mistake was that the rioters did not do it cleanly and thoroughly, which led to these rioters who later defected to the Tartars. The performance of the camp after the camp was even more irreproachable: after clearing the treacherous slander around the emperor, he returned to Huangming and continued to fight against the Tartars and those rebel ministers who defected to the Tartars.

Liu Tichun felt that the master's explanation was perfect. He never thought that he could explain the rebellion of the camp and the Western camp in this way. But the only problem was that no matter from any angle, he could not interpret his ascension to the throne as a loyal emperor rather than usurpation of the throne, so Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong still could not distinguish the crime...

Well, the master also admitted that there were many people in history who held the banner of Qing dynasty, and those who failed were undoubtedly traitors, and those who had succeeded in completing the great cause of Qing dynasty, all of them usurped the throne without exception. However, no matter what, the latest speech of the third prince was obviously to take off the hats of "rebels and gangs" to the soldiers of the Chuangying and Xiying, and classify them into the "loyal ministers blinded by ambitious people".

He once wrote a "persuading" letter to the ambitious people, namely Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, to support them ascend to the throne. Although this matter is a bit troublesome, it will be easier to deal with if the nature changes. Besides, the descendants of Confucius's Mansion, the descendants of Confucius, also gave Li Zicheng a letter to the surrender? Not only did he give Li Zicheng a letter, but a month later, the Confucius Mansion also gave another letter to the Qing Dynasty. Can the court still pursue the crimes of Confucius's mansion and destroy the tribe of Confucius?

Liu Tichun and his master both understood that Deng Ming was just a way to show his attitude. Although it was very different from the previous attitude of the court to announce pardon for the camp, it was still not a gold medal for exemption from death. If the future emperor had a view of Liu Tichun and wanted to find his unhappiness, he could destroy his clan with other excuses. In the final analysis, first, we must change the view in the minds of the future emperor and make the other party like you; second, we must make contributions, so that the emperor would be embarrassed to kill you - or the contribution should be great enough that the emperor felt that killing you to vent his anger in front of the people of the world would be a loss.

Therefore, Liu Tichun decided to follow Deng Ming's baton, not be the vanguard of opposition and the first to find opportunities to make contributions in the future. Unexpectedly, before saying a few words, the other party pointed out that he was insincere, and Liu Tichun immediately didn't know what to do.

"Emperor Lie once said: All the ministers misled me. Although Emperor Lie worked hard to govern, the ministers did a lot of things to deceive Emperor Lie, which made Emperor Lie unable to understand the truth and distinguish right from wrong. I hope the general will boldly tell the truth and not let the court and the supervisor be deceived."

Deng Ming had no official position, so he played the signs of the Yongli court and Wen Anzhi. What he said just now was a bit demanding from Chongzhen's ministers. Although Deng Ming repeatedly denied that he was a child of the royal family and everyone was just speculating about his identity, this possibility alone was enough to make Liu Tichun and Yuan Zongdi unwilling to make him unhappy; in front of the genuine emperor who controlled the power of life and death, the ministers were not only unwilling, but they did not dare.

Liu Tichun was a little embarrassed after hearing this. If he was at the same time, he would be despised by the other party. Fortunately, Deng Ming did not have the right to say the same thing, so Liu Tichun would still decide to answer seriously out of self-esteem. If he was in the Golden Palace at this time, facing the emperor's great power, Liu Tichun would no longer consider whether he would be despised.

"Where is Mr. Deng going?" Liu Tichun asked.

"How about Jiangnan?" Deng Ming felt that Jiangnan was economically developed and densely populated, able to provide a large number of military supplies and soldiers, and could contact Zheng Chenggong and other overseas Ming troops. It seemed that there was a possibility of developing maritime trade. He described his reasons to Liu Tichun.

"I have never been to Jiangnan. It may be as good as Mr. Deng said, but the problem is how to go to Jiangnan? If all the strong men and auxiliary soldiers in the Three Gorges area are included, we still have 100,000 people, more than 100,000 families, and 300,000 people will lead their families to march towards Jiangnan thousands of miles away. Where does the food and grass come from? If there are so many food and grass to use, the supervisor will counterattack Chongqing again." Liu Tichun shook his head repeatedly. There were no Jiangnan people in the camp, and there was a completely unfamiliar area for them: "If only a part of the elite troops is mobilized, it will be just an isolated army. If you can't walk into Jiangnan, you will be eliminated by the Tartars."

"It seems that the camp was not firmly guarding the whole place at the beginning?" Deng Ming asked again.

"I had to do it at the beginning. Shaanxi had a severe drought and the people had no food." Liu Tichun meant that if a base was opened in the disaster area, even if the officers and soldiers did not come, they would starve to death: "After arriving in Henan, although there was also a disaster, the food was no longer transported to Beijing... Well, the food that was about to be taken away by those treacherous ministers did not need to be transported out of Henan, so we immediately stationed..." In the 14th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng opened a base in Henan, and the camp was quickly formed

He quickly gained the ability to fight with the regular army of the Ming court to defend the territory. He was no longer as weak as before. He was chased by the officers and soldiers and had almost no ability to fight back: "Also, avoid the real and attack the virtual. Henan was empty at the time, so he could take root in the camp, but Huguang is not empty now. The Tartars are very cautious about us. From Badong to the downstream, they are all the fortresses of the Tartars, and many troops were stationed. If we could break through these forts, we would have expanded our territory long ago."

"Yes." Some words were vague, but Deng Ming could understand the other party's meaning. Although the situation is in crisis, it is better than giving up the control area's mobile operations. This is a last resort.

"In addition, there is morale to the military," Liu Tichun said more and more, "Unless everyone knows that they must leave when they are dead, this kind of movement is the most unwilling morale to the military. Do you let the soldiers meet their wives and children along the way? If they let them go, they will inevitably be afraid of war and want to keep their strength to protect their families. There is also food, and it doesn't matter if the soldiers sleep in the open, but what about taking their families? Who is willing to let their families suffer? They will definitely try their best to collect food for their families; they will not be willing to let their children suffer?

If you spend your energy to build a hut for your family, can the army move quickly? Finally, it is common for the army to go to war and the soldiers are used to separation from life and death, but the whole family is very different from joining the army. Every battle will be damaged. After the war, the wife cries her husband and son cry for her father. Women who are familiar with each other may cry with each other. After crying, they will mostly say despicable words in their husband's ears. Every time they fight, they hear the camp crying, and they see their beautiful wife and young children crying. How can the morale of the army be cleaned up after these battles?"

When Li Zicheng set up an old camp, children and women were all in the camp and isolated from the soldiers. However, there were not many families in the camp at that time, and it was far from comparable to the current Ming army in the Three Gorges: "If you really want to go to Jiangnan thousands of miles away, you must separate the men and women camps, and you are not allowed to meet. If your husband dies in battle or your wife falls behind, you cannot notify your family. In this way, the soldiers think that your wife is following after a child and are willing to sacrifice your life to find a way out; and the wife also thinks that her husband is in the front army, and will try her best to follow." Liu Tichun felt that

In theory, we can maintain morale in the military, but there is still the old problem just now, that is, when the situation is not so dangerous, this plan for division of the battalion will seriously shake the morale of the military: "Now, many of the army are from Sichuan. Even if they have not lived in Sanxia for many years, or even ten years, I am afraid that the division of the battalion will be ordered. Before we can set off, a large number of people will escape into the mountains with their wives and children. Not many people are willing to follow us to risk our lives to march towards Jiangnan. Even loyal subordinates will inevitably have complaints."

Deng Ming sighed unconcealedly. He was not an unknown person, and he could not solve any of the problems raised by Liu Tichun.

"If the population of Jiangnan is really as good as the teacher said, it is indeed a good place to go," Liu Tichun thought for a while and said, "Unless Yanping, Zhang Shangshu can first gain a foothold in Jiangnan, it is best to go along the Yangtze River to Huguang for a while, and then we can mobilize troops to go down the river and join them. We know where the purpose of this trip is, and we know that there are friendly troops there to provide food, accommodation, and life is much better than here. The officers and soldiers may be able to grit their teeth and persevere. If they close their eyes and throw down the Three Gorges, the whole army will advance eastward. Not to mention soldiers, I don't want to go, who knows if they can really capture a piece of land when they arrive in Jiangnan? Are the Tartars empty in their troops there?"

"With the general's opinion, where should we attack next?" Deng Ming has basically given up his strategy of planning for Jiangnan. Both Yuan Zongdi and Liu Tichun disagree, which means that the feasibility of this strategy is not high.

"Chengdu." Liu Tichun replied without thinking: "But our army has no military rations and cannot even go to Chongqing. If you can contact the court, it is best to let the King of Jin enter Chengdu as soon as possible and attack Chongqing with us."
Chapter completed!