"This place is not far from Kunming." Deng Ming looked at the stone tablet on the ground. The eighteen knights were now in Yunnan, and he could feel that the atmosphere north of Kunming was quite tense.

Looking at the distance of Dongchuan Prefecture, there was a lot of fire, but no one in the Qing army knew what was going on.

There is only one passage in the entire Dongchuan Prefecture with an inn and an outpost. After this road was cut off, it was impossible to find out the news. This even alarmed Wu Sangui in Kunming City. The battle situation in Dongchuan Prefecture was very strange. Logically, more and more military information should be sent over time. If the battle situation is not too complicated, the generals and subordinates of the Qing army can judge how large the Ming army has dispatched to launch an attack. What is the rough goal they want to achieve and whether it is necessary to send reinforcements.

But this time there was almost no new information, but the beacon tower was constantly ignited. From the beginning to the end, the first report was: the generals of Dongchuan went to Jianchang to accept surrender, and then encountered an attack from the Ming army and were trying to break through and withdraw. They also encountered a Qing army from Baoning - the fake news written by Deng Ming.

Because the situation was too unusual, the Qing army generals in northern Yunnan could not understand what was going on, so they reported the situation to Kunming. After Wu Sangui saw it, he felt bizarre. This situation reminded him of his youth in Liaodong. When the Later Jin soldiers attacked the Liaoxi Corridor, they were somewhat similar to this: the pursuers of the Later Jin, that is, their vanguard cavalry, ran faster than the Ming army's defeated soldiers, so for a period of time, the rear only knew that the beacon towers in front were lit one by one, but they knew nothing about what happened on the front line, and they could not see new military information reports like today, and there was no rumors. However, the rapid speed of the Jin cavalry in the future could not block the news for such a long time.

But Wu Sangui quickly denied his idea. He knew very well that Feng Shuangli of Jianchang did not have a powerful cavalry. The strongholds and roads on the western Liaoning Corridor must be much more than those in Dongchuan today, which can quickly spread the military information on the front line to the rear. Some villages were scattered in the local area, which also provided convenience for the rapid advancement of the Later Jin Pioneer, so that they did not have to worry too much about supply issues; and there were no people in Dongchuan and the fields were completely deserted. During this period of time, the Qing army

Although some warehouses were built in the village, there were still very few food and supplies transported. That is, it was just enough to maintain food and the opponent's brigade would quickly pause the offensive because it could not obtain supplies on the spot. If the Ming army in Jianchang relied entirely on the supply from Jianchang, then how many civilians would need to travel back and forth from Dongchuan to transport supplies? Even if only one thousand people were supported to fight to Yunnan, they would have to mobilize tens of thousands of civilians? And what could a thousand people do when they really arrived in Yunnan?

Wu Sangui became curious. After a few days, he had not seen new information, and Wu Sangui's interest became stronger. After decades of military service, he could see through most military situations through the fog at a glance, so the confusing situation in Dongchuan seemed like a plate of tempting side dishes.

Three days ago, when the report of Dongchuan with only beacons and no war reports was delivered to Wu Sangui, he was convening a meeting of generals to discuss how to continue to compress Li Dingguo's activity space, attack and lure the Ming army troops in Yunnan. Zhao Liangdong, who was highly valued by Wu Sangui, happened to be in the tent. After the military meeting, Wu Sangui asked Zhao Liangdong to stay and took out the unique side dishes to share with him.

"The officers and soldiers suffered a lot of losses." Zhao Liangdong is now the general of Luo Town and knows nothing about the situation in Dongchuan. However, after reading Wu Sangui's report, he also understood that the Qing army in Yunnan could not attack Jianchang in a short period of time.

Wu Sangui nodded. He finally saved the manpower and material resources from Dongchuan. Now Wu Sangui has planned to give up the idea of ​​continuing to operate Dongchuan for the time being. When he drove Li Dingguo further and eliminated the Ming army in Yunnan, he turned his attention to the north. As the commander of the 200,000 army, the 1,000 troops invested by Dongchuan were not the focus of his attention. However, he showed Zhao Liangdong these reports and did not ask the other party's opinions on the aftermath of Dongchuan. Wu Sangui had already made a decision in his belly, so no one had to give him advice. What he wanted to ask was Zhao Liangdong's view on this bizarre situation.

As Wu Sangui expected, at first Zhao Liangdong didn't understand why Wu Sangui showed him these things. Now Zhao Liangdong shoulders the important task of southwest Kunming. He is the commander-in-chief of the Qing army who pursued Li Dingguo. Dongchuan's affairs had nothing to do with Zhao Liangdong. Moreover, regardless of success or failure, compared with the pursuit of the Yongli court, Li Dingguo's military operations were just trivial matters.

But gradually, Zhao Liangdong showed a thoughtful look on his face, and read the several reports Wu Sangui gave him again, twisted the beard on his chin, and showed a bitter smile with a hint of confusion: "It's interesting, it's really interesting."

"What do you think of the general?" Wu Sangui saw the expression on Zhao Liangdong's face and guessed his thoughts. Wu Sangui had also experienced the process of judging from casualness to curiosity and then to a strong interest in the development of the war in Dongchuan. Among the generals in Yunnan, Wu Sangui admired Zhao Liangdong the most, so the two of them began to do this intelligence question.

Zhao Liangdong gave several ideas in a row. Wu Sangui burst into laughter after hearing this. He had each idea at the beginning, but he soon abandoned it. If Zhao Liangdong thought slowly, he would probably give up in the end. However, Wu Sangui didn't give him time now, and immediately refuted the idea that he had not carefully considered.

As one thought after another was refuted, Zhao Liangdong felt that this intellectual game was more difficult than he expected. He no longer rushed to answer but thought seriously. During this time, he glanced at Wu Sangui and thought to himself: "Did he already understand what's going on?" However, Zhao Liangdong quickly denied this speculation because he saw a trace of expectation in his eyes when Wu Sangui looked at him.

When Zhao Liangdong spoke again, his tone became less certain: "Master General, please see if there will be a team of Jianchang cavalry. The number is not large, there are only about fifty people. Jianchang provided this cavalry with 150 horses to ensure that they can carry enough baggage and attack quickly..."

Hearing this, Wu Sangui's eyes showed appreciation, but he was also a little disappointed. What he admired was because Zhao Liangdong had caught up with his own ideas, and his idea was the same as Wu Sangui's latest speculation; what he was disappointed was that Zhao Liangdong still did not surpass him, and this speculation was just overthrown by Wu Sangui himself.

"This team of Jianchang soldiers can advance very quickly, and continue to attack posts with only a dozen guards along the way. Moreover, this team of Jianchang soldiers are elite troops in the army, able to quickly break through each post. This can explain why the Jianchang soldiers can ignore the supply and supplies and advance southward quickly, and no new reports have been sent back." Zhao Liangdong depicted the battlefield situation he guessed. He thought fifty people were a relatively suitable number, because the number of people was too small, and the Ming army could not advance to such a long distance. But no matter how many people there were, the horses and food needed for high-speed maneuvers seemed to be a problem. Besides, Feng Shuangli could draw out 100 elite riders and hundreds of war horses? Zhao Liangdong would never believe that Feng Shuangli could have this strength. Fifty people were all talking about it.

Zhao Liangdong paused when he said this. He did not see the meaning of agreement on Wu Sangui's face, and he also vaguely felt that there seemed to be a big loophole in his speculation. What is it?

Without waiting for Wu Sangui to remind him, Zhao Liangdong realized where his loophole was, which is what was the purpose of Jianchang launching this battle?

"Feng Shuangli of Jianchang," Wu Sangui spoke slowly, hitting the nail on the head: "Does he want to fight back to Yunnan?"

Of course it is impossible. Not to mention Feng Shuangli's strength, even if he is not clear about his mind and decides to counterattack Yunnan, he will not follow the Dongchuan Prefecture route. Zhao Liangdong is very clear about the fact that the war in Dongchuan currently only has one purpose, that is, to interfere with the construction of the Qing army. Cutting it off before the Qing army uses this passage is a preventive attack.

In this case, the strongest target of the Jianchang army's attack should be the northernmost end of Dongchuan Prefecture, that is, the Qing army strongholds that are closest to them. The further south the strongholds, their attacks will become lower, because the cost of attacking these strongholds will increase sharply; on the other hand, Wu Sangui's cost of repairing the northernmost strongholds is relatively high, but the cost of repairing the southern strongholds near the Yunnan border is relatively low. Under normal circumstances, Feng Shuangli's attack will quickly stop after breaking through one or two strongholds closest to Jianchang.

Why was Feng Shuangli so interested in the strongholds near Yunnan and invested such huge resources?

Any team that can carry out such a back-free and long-distance raid can be called a pride in the army. Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong doubt whether Feng Shuangli can really have such an elite squad. However, even if Feng Shuangli does have such an elite unit of fifty people, why did he carry out this operation? Such an elite soldier can play a decisive role in the battlefield. Not to mention Feng Shuangli, even if Zhao Liangdong has such an elite soldier, he will easily be reluctant to use it like he cares about his own eyes.

If Feng Shuangli really had such an elite force, if he had the plan to counterattack Yunnan now and had to follow the Dongchuan road, such investment might be a little bit possible. But Feng Shuangli does not have much power now, and it cannot explain why he invested such a life-saving force in an assault battle with very little profit and great risks. It is impossible for the siege post to be without casualties. If three or four people were injured without the rear, they would always be killed. Use his elite troops to exchange for the life of the enemy post guards? Or use his own Ruiz to exchange for the life of the outpost without any threat or value?

"What would happen if the general was in Feng Shuangli's position?" Now Wu Sangui has regarded Jianchang's action of sending the golden seal to surrender as a trick to lure the enemy, in order to disperse the strength of Dongchuan's defenders as much as possible in order to launch a sneak attack.

Zhao Liangdong didn't have to consider this issue at all, and all kinds of countermeasures were ready-made. In order to disperse the Qing army's troops in Dongchuan, Feng Shuangli could even use the golden seal of the prince given to him by Emperor Yongli as bait. This horrifying behavior only shows that Feng Shuangli's strength is insignificant. Zhao Liangdong estimated that Feng Shuangli would provide 150 horses to fifty heroes, even whether there were 50 cavalry who dared to fight could fight was suspicious.

If Zhao Liangdong was in such a position, he would first set up a Hongmen Banquet to attack Dongchuan's defenders, and then send troops to raid the stronghold closest to Sichuan Xingdusi. After capturing one or two strongholds, he would send some soldiers to escort the Qing soldiers who had just surrendered to attack south, and he would lead the main force back to Jianchang. After capturing the first few strongholds, he could have greatly delayed the Qing army's attack. Of course, the surrendered soldiers should be allowed to fight behind. If they could be defeated, the ones who died of surrender were the enemy's surrendered soldiers. If they fought, they would continue to attack until they were completely exhausted. Even if someone starved to death because they went too deep and died of illness in the wilderness, Feng Shuangli would not feel distressed.

Forced to turn around and attack friendly forces, the newly surrendered soldiers must have a low morale, slow movement, and will flee in large quantities. The Ming army will advance very slowly and stop quickly. Then there should be a very detailed report back to Kunming: how many strongholds were lost, how many troops were lost, how many people the Ming army dispatched, and after many days of battle, they retreated back to Jianchang on their own, etc.

Feng Shuangli's most undesirable way of fighting is to draw out the most elite soldiers in the army, equip them with all the horses and the best armor, and lead the loyal servants and personal guards to launch a desperate attack into the distance: You don't have to think about coming back, you can hit as far as you can, and burn as many posts as you can.

Although this idea can explain the current situation well, it violates all the principles that generals need to consider and also violates the general's instinct to preserve their strength, so it cannot be a fact.

"It's interesting." Wu Sangui asked with a smile, and he also saw the contradiction.

"I will be stupid." Zhao Liangdong couldn't find a solution to the problem and reluctantly gave in: "I'll ask the Grand Marshal for advice."

"I don't know either." Wu Sangui was very straightforward and admitted bluntly: "I originally expected the general to solve my doubts."

Like Wu Sangui, the more he could not understand the military situation, the more attractive it was to Zhao Liangdong. He immediately said: "I will go back tonight and think about it again. If I have something to gain, I will discuss it with the general."

"Okay," Wu Sangui smiled and said, "If the general can figure it out before me, I will lose to the general for a host."

"One word is determined." Zhao Liangdong and Wu Sangui made a bet. The two of them could each make assumptions and then wait for the truth to be revealed before verifying the right or wrong. For fairness, Wu Sangui would also promptly inform Zhao Liangdong of the latest news.

For this reason, Wu Sangui gave a special order and asked a personal soldier to wait in the north of Kunming bordering Dongchuan Prefecture. If there was first-hand Dongchuan information, it was sent back immediately. This intelligence question was more difficult than initially imagined, and both of them needed more information to improve their guesses.

Deng Ming naturally didn't know about Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong's concern. After confirming that they had entered Yunnan, they planned to turn around and go back. The Qing army posts here are getting denser and there has been no chance of destruction for two consecutive days. It seems that the density of the enemy will only get higher and higher when they continue to move forward, and it is obviously meaningless.

"Let's go and have a meal of Wu Sangui first." Deng Ming said to the guards. He had thrown away the command arrows and seals of the Dongchuan generals, leaving only a piece of Baoning Qianzong's waist card. He planned to use this Qing army station in Yunnan to cheat a delicious meal, and then turn around and return to Dongchuan.

The subordinates agreed with this suggestion. Once they started returning to Dongchuan, all they could eat was the food they buried in the ground, and they could eat vegetables at the inn in Yunnan. Deng Ming planned to pretend to be the envoy of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and he might get meat supply with this identity.

"We will report another news to Wu Sangui." Deng Ming planned to do his last destruction before leaving.

He had already thought about how to explain his identity, and said that Baoning also received a letter from Di Sanxi to surrender. He was an envoy who went to Jianchang to receive surrender. Unexpectedly, when the Ming army suddenly attacked and had no way north, he had to flee along the avenue to Dongchuan, and now he planned to go back to Chongqing by Guizhou. The envoy of Baoning left a half-true and half-false report before leaving the inn, which was a vague experience of the Jianchang incident. The report said that Di Sanxi did replace Feng Shuangli in charge of the government, and said that Di Sanxi was the war-first faction who presided over the ambush. At first, Deng Ming thought that Wu Sangui might believe it. He would wait a few days before he could verify the situation with Li Guoying. He found that there was no such messenger at all, and he would have suspicious about the report, so he would have a headache for Wu Sangui.

Everything went smoothly and a Qing army station was found. After this period of training, Deng Ming and his guards had extraordinary mental ability. Although there were Qing soldiers inside and outside the station, Zhou Kaihuang and they still slept soundly - this was the first time in many days that they had the opportunity to sleep under the eaves, and there were beds and bedding. After leaving here, they would have to sleep in the wild for a long time.

After having breakfast the next morning, Deng Ming enjoyed the tea provided by the inn. Although it was not a good tea, it was also a luxury item that he had never had for many days.

After eating and drinking, Deng Ming and his party were about to say goodbye and leave. Before leaving, they pretended to ask about the distribution of stations along the way to Guizhou. He didn't know if the Qing army in Yunnan could find that they were cheated in time, and the smoke was always released as much as possible.

At this moment, a group of Qing soldiers in brightly-clad clothes suddenly rushed in from outside the door. As soon as the leader entered the door, he asked loudly: "Is there a Mr. Baoning Qian?"

The person who asked the interview was the personal soldiers sent by Wu Sangui to inquire about the news. He had just learned from the local officials that some witnesses from the Dongchuan incident were spending the night at the inn and immediately brought people to take these people to Kunming.

Before Deng Ming could speak, the station's station's station's station's station had already pointed at Deng Ming and told Wu Sangui's personal guard: "It's this Qian Zheng!"

{Piaotian Literature www.piaotian.net Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Chapter completed!