Chen Jianghan, the chief general of the Green Camp, stood on the beacon tower and looked northwest. His old commander followed General Wu Sangui all the way from Shaanxi, Sichuan to Yunnan, and was then sent to Dongchuan to guard. Although his troops were not large, Chen Jianghan was very excited to see the old commander because this was a job that was independent and could enjoy the credit as long as he did well. If the commander could go to the next level, Chen Jianghan would of course rise with the flow.

As the officer guarding the Dongchuan troops, Chen Jianghan is one of the few who knows the real purpose of Dongchuan construction. Although the soldiers and auxiliary soldiers below should not know too much, these supervisors who supervise the construction of beacon towers and warehouses need to know that they must understand the purpose of building these facilities in order to better complete the task. Their only purpose of coming to Dongchuan was to prepare for the attack on Jianchang. The commander also revealed some situations to them. Wu Sangui's expectation was to build a batch of warehouses along the avenue in half a year to eight months. In the warehouses in the middle area, they must be able to supply the food and grass needed for marching from Dongchuan to Jianchang. The closest to Jianchang, the baggage required for the same size of troops to fight for one month.

This is not an easy task, the workload is very high and the requirements are urgent. The Qing army in Dongchuan was building forward while transporting forward. When the progress was slow at the beginning, they were constantly urging from Kunming. In order to reserve the supplies required for 5,000 troops to fight in a month in advance, Kunming had to support the construction team for at least 10,000 people for a year, and the transportation consumption was not inferior to personnel consumption. The cost of every stone of stone reserved for the combat army was more than five stones.

The military situation around is getting better and better, and the work of Dongchuan Prefecture is also progressing smoothly. Although there is no people and it is impossible to raise manpower and material resources from the local area, there is no need to guard against harassment from bandits or sporadic squads of the Ming army. Every day, just urge the auxiliary troops to build it carefully. The days of peace are too long, and it makes people feel that the war seems to have ended.

Although the scale of the warehouse is far from meeting the requirements, the most basic transportation and reserve system have been completed. After these facilities are completed, the materials will no longer be exposed, and the losses will be greatly reduced. Moreover, each construction team has warehouses that can be replenished, and no longer has to rely entirely on the front delivery of the rear as before. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the next work is to continue to expand around the built strongholds, which is much more comfortable and easier than the beginning of the wind and outdoor sleep.

At the same time, there are beacon towers and watchtowers that protect various warehouse strongholds. Since there is no harassment from the Ming army and bandits, these buildings are not urgent. They are still wooden structures for the time being. In the future, as more materials are gradually transported, the buildings will be further reinforced. With these early warning and investigation systems, construction can be carried out safely and reserves are well protected. After the army comes, they can safely march in Dongchuan Prefecture. If Wu Sangui decides to increase the troops to fight in the future, such as from 5,000 to 8,000, and the combat time is extended from one month to three months, then as long as the strongholds along the way are further expanded and more materials are transported.

But just a few days ago, Kunming suddenly sent a new order and sent a letter from Jianchang Di Sanxi to surrender. Wu Sangui asked Dongchuan to quickly send troops to help the surrender general stabilize the troops, and then transferred all Jianchang's supplies and manpower to Kunming. Wu Sangui's order said that after the Green Camp Army who went to accept the surrender arrived in Jianchang, it would completely destroy all the warehouse facilities in Jianchang and kill all those who refused to leave Jianchang and go to Yunnan, regardless of whether this person was a commoner or a soldier.

After reading the order, Chen Jianghan's boss commented: The good days are over.

Chen Jianghan felt a little regretful. Jianchang surrendered, and Wu Sangui ordered a complete destruction. As this goal lost its strategic value, the military channel of Dongchuan also became worthless. After Jianchang's people and materials arrived in Yunnan through Dongchuan, it is conceivable that Kunming would never invest any resources to continue to build Dongchuan. Originally, Wu Sangui felt that the cost was huge, and he gritted his teeth and invested in it in order to wipe out the remaining Ming army in Yunnan. Now he was unable to get rid of this burden. He was plundering the Ming army stored in Jianchang into his own hands, not only could he recover the cost, but it seemed that he could make a lot of money. As for what to do with Jianchang and Dongchuan in the future, it was the issue that Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, needs to consider.

Because he realized that construction work would definitely be suspended, Chen Jianghan certainly had no motivation. Despite this, he was just regretful at this time, but the new order he received yesterday made him feel extremely angry.

Just last night, a former stronghold in the northwest rushed over and said that it had received an emergency order sent by the general from the Sichuan Xingdusi. The order was briefly said a few words to inform them that there was a major change in the Sichuan Xingdusi. The general was attacked by the Ming army from Jianchang and Chengdu. A Sichuan Qing army unit sent by Li Guoying was also in the Xingdusi. Now they are resisting step by step and trying to return to the controlled area of ​​the Qing army. Under such a severe military situation, the general ordered the Qing army in Dongchuan Prefecture to immediately start to strengthen the clearing of the fields. The officers of each stronghold should immediately start burning all warehouses and supplies and lead the auxiliary soldiers to evacuate into the mountains. Any materials that cannot be taken away must be destroyed immediately. The beacon tower, watchtower and campsite must be completely destroyed, leaving no buildings for the Ming army to rest.

"What absurd thing is this?" After receiving the order, Chen Jianghan jumped up and almost pushed the sender out to whip the whip. The messenger said that the beacon tower where he was also located felt that the order was too shocking, but it was passed down further ahead. Their chief also saw the first beacon tower messenger who began to pass the order. The other party said that the stronghold where he was located had carefully verified the seal on the official document, which was accurate, and the messenger who came to report the message also held the arrow of their boss at the head.

"No, I can't give orders unless I see the orders and arrows of the Lord with my own eyes." Chen Jianghan made his position at that time. He wanted to fly to his superiors immediately and express his grief to the other party: these strongholds were built after hard work. If Jianchang refused to surrender, these warehouses would be the fundamental guarantee for sending troops to attack the Sichuan Xingdusi in the future. This stronghold was poured into Chen Jianghan's efforts, and also consumed a lot of money and food from Kunming. Not only was Chen Jianghan's emotional imperceptible, but it would definitely cause Kunming to be furious. He could not accept such orders both public and private.

This statement did not aroused the disgust of the envoy. He had similar thoughts about Chen Jianghan reporting to his stronghold officers and planned to hold on for the time being. If the Ming army did not arrive, then keep the stronghold. If the Ming army really came, it would not be too late to execute it. The envoy claimed that the reason why he came to Chen Jianghan was because his commander could not intercept the order. However, if Chen Jianghan's reaction was to burn the stronghold immediately, the envoy would try to persuade him to adopt an attitude consistent with his commander. This news made Chen Jianghan feel a little relieved. Of course, he did not dare to intercept the order, so he sent the order to the next stop, but also asked his messenger to bring his personal opinions.

After sending the envoy away, Chen Jianghan couldn't fall asleep all night. He ordered the soldiers to take out the armor that they had not worn for many days and wipe off the dust from their weapons. After dawn, he climbed up to the platform and kept looking northwest. There was no change in the whole morning, but near noon, he suddenly saw a pillar of blue smoke rising from the front and rushed straight into the sky. Soon after, the blue smoke turned into thick black smoke.

"Have you lit the beacon tower?" Chen Jianghan looked at the shape and color of the smoke and said to himself bitterly. The beacon tower is not necessarily ignited only when it is discovered that the enemy is approaching, but the shape of the black smoke shows that they have indeed discovered a large group of enemy soldiers now.

"Light the beacon tower." Although Chen Jianghan was reluctant, he still ordered the opponent. The soldiers would use the prepared mugwort and straw to emit green smoke, intermittently, and then continuously emit green smoke. If the situation did not change, it would continue. If the brigade of Ming troops that they could not resist appeared, a lot of coal would be added to the fuel to the beacon tower and a large amount of black smoke would be quickly released.

The smoke in front became thicker and thicker, and it was no longer a columnar. Chen Jianghan shook his head, which meant that the entire stronghold was burning. The one in front of him was already a midway stronghold. Since even the midway stronghold was lost, the main granary warehouse in front must have been burned, and the reserves there were all transported by the civilians from Kunming.

However, Chen Jianghan still did not intend to give up. There were no residents here in Dongchuan, and there was no material to collect quickly except the warehouses along the road. No matter how strong the Ming army was, they could not quickly penetrate into the hinterland of Dongchuan Prefecture as long as they had to eat. Chen Jianghan planned to wait a little longer. If the Ming army reached this point, it would be better to just throw away a few frontier strongholds than to lose them all. If you keep your own, it would be much easier to restore the front.

After a while, Chen Jianghan saw a team of cavalry running towards him along the avenue. He squinted his eyes and observed carefully. The team of cavalry looked like there were only twenty people up and down, holding the green flag of the Qing army.

Chen Jianghan's stronghold had not been reinforced and the camp wall had not been repaired. He stood on the watchtower and waited for the Qing soldiers to come to the stage. As soon as these cavalry approached the stronghold, Chen Jianghan rushed over and shouted loudly: "What happened before?"

"Who is in charge?" The leader of the knight raised a bag of official documents and threw an arrow at the same time: "I am Li Ming, the Qianzong of Baoning, and come here at the order of the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Come here, hurry up, listen to me read the official documents, I still have to rush."

"President Baoning Qian? Why did you come here?" Chen Jianghan said to himself strangely. At this time, his soldiers had already sent him the arrows. Chen Jianghan took a look and said, yes, it was owned by his commander.

Deng Ming's face was full of impatient expression. Finally, he saw a Qing soldier who looked like an officer walking towards him surrounded by guards. He reached out and took the order out of his bag, read the scorched earth order he wrote in the name of the Qing general, and then handed the document to the other party to verify the seal below.

This was not the first officer Deng Ming met who refused to carry out the order. The Qing army officer at the outpost in front also refused to burn the stronghold. Deng Ming argued with him endlessly. In the end, the other party became suspicious and ordered his subordinates to take over the people. However, the other party overestimated his combat effectiveness, and the Qing soldiers hesitated after hearing the order. They were not as quick as Deng Ming's subordinates. Not only could they take Deng Ming, but they were unable to hold Deng Ming. On the other hand, the guards and several guards in the stronghold were killed by Deng Ming's guards in a blink of an eye. The remaining dozen guards were also taken by Deng Ming, forcing them to light the beacon tower and burn the stronghold. The auxiliary soldiers around the stronghold were frightened and scattered.

"Light the alarm immediately," Deng Ming pointed to the light blue smoke on the beacon tower and said that the color was wrong. He directly ordered the Qing soldiers around him: "Take the strong men away immediately and burn the stronghold."

"This beacon can only be filled with black smoke when you see a brigade of enemy soldiers. The stronghold cannot be burned unless the general in person." Chen Jianghan raised his head angrily after hearing Deng Ming's order. Since he saw the general's order arrow, his subordinates around him were at a loss. Chen Jianghan is now in a mess. However, even if the seal is true, it is not a single General Baoning Qian's turn to point fingers here. Chen Jianghan asked Deng Ming: "Why did Baoning soldiers come here? Where are the sir?"

This question made Deng Ming hesitate for a moment. The officer just now seemed to start like this. He first became dissatisfied because of geographical issues, and further developed into anger. He resolutely refused to execute the order and developed deep suspicion. Deng Ming wanted the Qing soldiers to execute the orders, and he could not be entangled with details like them. Just like in Jianchang, the appearance of details indicates that there was already a germ of doubt.

"Catch it!" Deng Ming shouted softly.

With the call out, eight guards immediately jumped up, six of them dealt with Chen Jianghan's guards, and the other two captured him in front of Deng Ming like lightning.

"What are you going to do? This is Dongchuan, not the territory of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi!" After being forced to kneel down in front of Deng Ming, Chen Jianghan was still arguing loudly. In just a few seconds, it was not enough to wake him up.

"Catch it!" Deng Ming did not argue with him about whose territory Sichuan was, and he spat out a word coldly.

Wu San raised his sword and fell, Chen Jianghan's head rolled on the ground, still with his eyes wide open.

"Where is the adjutant?" Deng Ming raised his head and asked. The Qing soldiers around him were stunned. After hearing the question, several people turned around and turned their eyes to a dumbfounded person. He also stared at Chen Jianghan, who was on the ground with his head open, and could not speak.

Following the eyes of these people, Deng Ming also turned his eyes over and shouted loudly: "Immediately ignite the beacon fire, then burn the barracks and lead the team to leave."

After hearing Deng Ming's call, the man raised his head and looked over. His dispersed gaze gradually gathered: "You... will kill Chen Tou when you come...you Baoning bastards..."

Deng Ming didn't listen to him and pointed, "Take it!"

"What are you going to do?" The Qing soldier saw Deng Ming's guards rushing towards him, reached out to draw his sword, and shouted: "Brothers, let's fight!"

Before the knife was completely pulled out, the Qing army officer was shot by Zhou Kaihuang. Some Qing soldiers had not yet reacted, and several of them also pulled out their weapons. Seeing that the leader had already corpsed on the ground, these people didn't know what to do next, and confronted Deng Ming's guards.

"Military information is 100,000 urgent!" Deng Ming shouted, attracting all the enemy's attention to him. He raised the order arrows and official documents high: "Who else dares to violate the military order!"

After controlling the Qing soldiers, Deng Ming and others monitored them for completing all scorched earth operations, then called the dozen or so Qing soldiers together and asked, "Is there any good hidden places nearby?"

A pale-faced Qing soldiers answered. He was a small leader of these people. Deng Ming nodded and recorded the location he said on a piece of paper. Then he also drew a sketch with the help of these Qing soldiers. After confirming that the sketch was well drawn, Deng Ming carefully folded the picture and hid it in front of them: "You may have to hide here for ten days to half a month, don't go around. After reinforcements arrive, they will go to your hiding place to look for you."

After saying that, Deng Ming took out another piece of paper and handed it to the leader, telling him: "This is the credential for you, and this is my stamp on it. If I am fine, it is naturally not necessary. But if I die in battle, you will take this credential to prove that you obey the orders I conveyed and strengthen the walls and clear the world. I will bear any guilt. Remember, my name is Li Ming, Baoning's Qian Zong."

"Thank you, Mr. Li Qian." The frightened little leader quickly collected the certificate and thanked him in a pleasing manner. Several others said: "Mr. Li Qian is a good person and a heavenly person. Why do you do if you say such despicable words?"

After taking all the horses away, Deng Ming and his party left this stronghold behind.

After running for a while, they stopped and began to clean up the blood on their bodies. After Deng Ming packed up, he took out a notebook to record the conflict just now while waiting for others. After the World War in Wanxian, he often made such records. He recorded a lot of experience and experience on the way from Fengjie to Chengdu, but the fastest accumulation of text was the days after he arrived in Jianchang.

"We were better than the first time. We didn't have a big fight, but we almost started fighting with them." After Deng Ming finished the record, he began to discuss the gains and losses with his companions: "For the first time, the leader of the Tartars quarreled with us, and his subordinates became hostile and wary of us; this time we started before that time, but it was still a little late. It seems that as long as the other leader is still there, he will not change his mind and listen to us."

Then he discussed some experiences and lessons in combat cooperation. Deng Ming and his party got back on horseback and continued to move forward, and soon another stronghold appeared in front of them.

"Another one who refused to obey the order to burn the camp." Deng Ming looked at the intact camp and the light blue smoke on the beacon tower, shook his head and sighed at the people around him.

After arriving at the base and showing the arrows and seals, Deng Ming immediately asked: "Who is responsible here and who is the deputy?"

After seeing the officer and deputy in charge, Deng Ming shouted without hesitation: "Take it!"

He rushed up and grabbed the two of them. Deng Ming's guards killed people without waiting for the order. When the two Qing army officers died with their eyes closed, they were only ten seconds after seeing Deng Ming, and they did not understand why they died.

At this time, Deng Ming shouted at the Qing soldiers who were in an uproar in front of him: "I am Li Ming, the Qianzheng of Baoning. These two people openly resisted military orders and died. Now, after listening to my orders, they immediately ignited the beacon, burned the warehouse and barracks."

Like the previous stop, Deng Ming left a certificate of seals, allowing the remaining Qing soldiers to flee to a hidden place they thought were safe to wait for rescue.

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