After the Qing army retreated, the Ming army collected wood and lit a bonfire, gathered together to dry the wet clothes. Deng Ming now regretted putting the bag wrapped in a down jacket in the camp, and probably had been burned to ashes with the camp. Fortunately, compared with the North China where Deng Ming went to school, the winter in Chongqing was much warmer, without the cold wind like a bone scraper, nor the heavy snow flying all over the sky.

The only thing that could comfort himself was that Deng Ming hung the beads around his neck and brought them with him - this was his only remaining property, and there was not even a copper coin. Deng Ming didn't know how much money this beads could be worth in ancient times. Whether it was Zhao Tianba or Zhou Kaihuang, they never mentioned that they had seen Deng Ming's "treasure". Deng Ming just wanted to exchange this beads for a bite of dry food in times of danger and save his life.

Zhou Kaihuang and some other officers gathered the scattered soldiers and counted more than 1,200 soldiers. There was no senior general, and the highest was an intermediate officer like General Qian. Because Zhou Kaihuang was Yuan Zongdi's confidant, he had become the leader of the officers. Some people think that Deng Ming seemed to be Yuan Zongdi's new commander and wanted him to participate in the decision-making level. However, Deng Ming knew that he knew nothing about marching and fighting, and refused to cause trouble for everyone, and wanted to be an idle person with only ears but no mouth.

The result of the discussion was that everyone was short of food and clothing, and if they wanted to survive, they had to return to the base as soon as possible, so they had to act immediately. The mountain road ahead was rugged and sparsely populated. Everyone agreed to walk along the Yangtze River, and the shore was relatively flat and easy to walk, and it was not easy to get lost. It is estimated that Wen Anzhi's main force would march along the Yangtze River to Chongqing. Those people were the same camp remnants as Yuan Zongdi and Zhou Kaihuang. One day they would meet the army and be safer.

After the discussion, the officers waited for Zhou Kaihuang to issue an order to set off, but the latter pondered for a while and asked everyone what they meant: "I don't know what is going on in Xinjinhou?"

When Tan Yi arrived at the city of Chongqing, he told Yuan Zongdi and Tan Wen that Tan Hong, the Marquis of Xinjin, had already set out, and set out earlier than the main force led by Wen Anzhi, and would arrive in Chongqing faster. However, Tan Hong and Yuan Zongdi were very distant. Zhou Kaihuang and the officers could not believe Tan Hong. If Tan Hong rebeled from the Ming court like Tan Yi, then the army where Deng Ming was still in danger. Considering that Tan Yi and Tan Hong always acted together and reported to each other, it would seem even more suspicious.

"If Xinjinhou also rebelled," another officer said carefully: "Then most of them will camp along the river, right? If the supervisor did not rush over, we alone would probably not rush over."

After several battles and retreats, some of the Ming army's weapons were damaged, some were lost, and many of them fell into the river. Now there are only two or three soldiers with weapons, and more than one thousand people are close to bare hands. Such soldiers will not have a chance of winning when they fight against thousands of main forces of Tan Hong.

"Don't hurry to leave," Zhou Kaihuang made a suggestion: "Let's cut down some trees separately so that the brothers can at least have a stick in their hands."

"If Xinjinhou also surrendered to the Tartars and the supervisor failed to defeat him, then we would be dead." Some officers disagreed. Even with sticks in their hands, the force of the Ming army was weak in front of Tan Hong. Don't expect to fight head-on: "If Xinjinhou is still a member of the imperial court, then we'd better leave quickly, and the pursuers from Chongqing may come at any time."

"Let's find a stick," Zhao Tianba, who had been listening to the side, saw that Zhou Kaihuang was hesitant, and suddenly spoke out to his suggestion: "The Marquis of Xinjin may have surrendered to the enemy, but they may have been defeated by the supervisor. If we have a stick in our hands, we can beat the dogs, and if we don't, we can only be bitten by the dogs. The Tartars in Chongqing may send a small number of people to pick up the bar, or they may send the main force to chase after us. We can also beat the stick to pick up the bar. If the main force comes, will we throw the stick and run away? Besides, we have a crutch, so it will save more effort when walking on the mountain road."

The army had just suffered a defeat and the people were in panic, and the officers could not effectively control the army. Zhao Tianba expressed his opinion, and he felt that the morale of the army was not at the moment. If he set out immediately, most of the troops would be separated without encountering the enemy. Once he encountered danger, he would not be able to resist. Moreover, the soldiers were exhausted and had no meals. If there was no chance to rest, many people would fall down this night.

Although Zhao Tianba was not a member of Yuan Zong's division, his words were influential, and the officers unanimously agreed to carry out some rectification first. The army did not continue to advance that day, but carried out simple arming. Zhou Kaihuang also assigned people to collect wild vegetables, wild fruits, fish, and hunt. In his words, he would eat something first, and he would be more powerful whether he was fighting or escaping. In addition to simple weapons, the Ming army also made several flags. If an emergency occurred, these officers could also have basic communication and command capabilities.

After some rectification, the Ming army, which was originally a mess, looked like an army again. Zhou Kaihuang and other officers were more confident. Even if they encountered an enemy, they would not be able to stand dead and be slaughtered. Seeing that it was getting late, the Ming army did not intend to brave the cold wind to rush to the night, so they ordered the entire army to rest and maintain their strength to march during the day, and at the same time sent guards to guard them.

The next morning, 1,200 Ming soldiers set out in a team. After resting for a night, the morale of the army recovered a lot. The soldiers were also led by officers and marched in an orderly manner on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Deng Ming, Zhao Tianba and Zhou Kaihuang walked together. To be precise, Zhao Tianba was always with Deng Ming and protected him. Deng Ming did not know other officers, so he followed Zhou Kaihuang's team.

"I thought about it carefully last night," Zhou Kaihuang said to Zhao Tianba on the road: "Even if Xinjinhou rebelled and did not go to Chongqing with Tan Yi, he would definitely put the main force on the north bank to stop the army of the army from advancing towards Chongqing."

"Without military rations and naval forces, can the supervisor continue to attack Chongqing?" Zhao Tianba asked back.

"No!" Zhou Kaihuang immediately shook his head: "But if Xinjin Hou surrenders to the enemy, he will always try to make a contribution, right? He thought that he blocked the army of the commander for Chongqing, right? And he would think that maybe the commander turned around and stopped attacking Chongqing and withdrew his troops, then he would have won a great contribution for nothing!"

Zhou Kaihuang’s analysis made Zhao Tianba nod slowly: “Yes, if the Marquis of Xinjin did not join the river with Tan Yi, it would be best. Even if he surrendered to the enemy, we might not be able to fight for a bloody path.”

The main force of Wen'an, who set out from Fengjie, must advance along the north bank. If Tan Hong rebels, in order to make meritorious, he must defend the north bank heavily. In this way, the Ming army on the south bank will have a chance to escape. Now the Ming army has recovered a lot and can fight. After discussing for a while, the two young officers felt that the pressure in their hearts had been reduced a lot. Deng Ming showed confidence again when he saw the two of them.

...

The more you worry about something, the more you will happen.

Tan Hong did not stay on the north bank to block Wen'anzhi as he hoped to open the land. He did set up camps on the north bank, but he also set up a camp on the south bank, and he himself and some of his elite troops were stationed in the camp on the south bank.

Last night, Tan Hong met the envoy sent by Chongqing to report the victory. After learning that his and Tan Yi's conspiracy was progressing smoothly, Tan Hong immediately ordered the entire army to shave his head without hesitation, threw away the Ming army's flag, raised the Qing army's green flag, and transformed into the Han army of the Qing Dynasty.

Since Wen Anzhi's main force was to march along the north bank and Tan Hong, who was eager to show his loyalty to Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, of course, he had to set up defenses on the north bank. But Tan Hong knew very well that what was blocking Wen Anzhi's army from continuing to advance was the loss of food and grass and the reality of the destruction of the navy. Without military rations and naval forces, what could the Ming army do if they walked to the Jialing River and looked at the Chongqing city on the other side?

"Now the thief Wen is already angry and embarrassed. The marquis holds the army and integrates military tactics." Standing beside Tan Hong was his master Qin Xiucai. He kept praising Tan Hong for his wise deployment on the south bank, for fear that his master would be eager to make contributions, so he went to the other side to fight with Wen'an.

"Haha, now is the time when Guanwen thief is defeated, how could I not know?" Tan Hong twisted his beard with a smile. Even if he didn't persuade him, he would never take the initiative to trouble Wen Anzhi. The joke is that Wen Anzhi has a large group of generals who broke into the camp, leading the most combative Ming army in Sichuan and Hubei. Especially when they learned that they and Tan Yi were rebelling, they would not show mercy. Tan Hong seemed to be able to see the angry faces of the enemy generals. Tan Hong did not have the habit of sending him to the door to find a fight.

"The son of a thousand gold, don't sit in the Chutang." Tan Hong thought to himself. He estimated that Wen Anzhi could only return to Fengjie after learning that the navy was defeated. But if the other party insisted on finding a place and leaving, it would be very unsafe for Tan Hong to stay on the north bank. Furthermore, Tan Hong felt that he had the strength in his hands to get enough benefits from the Qing court. If he really wanted to fight the main force of the Ming army and lose his elite troops, it would be too unfair. The ones he deployed on the north bank were all the old, weak and disabled soldiers in Tan Hong's hands, and he would not feel sorry for his losses. He set up camp on the north bank to block the Ming army just to give Li Guoying a good impression, not to really have to fight for his whole life.

In addition, people from Chongqing told Tan Hong yesterday that many Ming army defeated soldiers ran to the south bank. Tan Wen and Yuan Zongdi brought to Chongqing were all elite soldiers and generals. Tan Hong estimated that after he surrendered, he would still be stationed by Li Guoying in Wanxian area in the future to resist the threat from the east for Chongqing. Now is a good time to "take advantage of the illness and kill people". To annihilate these defeated soldiers, Tan Hong can also relieve a lot of pressure in the future and also show his merits for himself. Of course, Tan Hong takes this kind of face and inner thoughts even more.

The events this morning also confirmed Tan Hong's judgment. The shadow of the main force of the Ming army was not seen on the north bank, and the south bank camp blocked more than a hundred defeated soldiers in just half a day. Most of these Ming soldiers were bare-handed and unorganized. Some people were still shocked and were caught without even notice of Tan Hong's flag replacement. Even though they noticed Tan Hong's rebellion, they could not escape Tan Hong's net: there were two thousand people including Tan Hong's personal guards in the camp by the river, and each post opened his eyes widened and waiting to capture Ming soldiers for meritorious service. From the camp to the mountain, Tan Hong also deployed a blockade line. Whether it was to break through the barrier or to steal from the mountain road, Ming soldiers were captured and killed by Tan Hong's subordinates.

"We're just sitting here, waiting for the thieves to fall into the trap." Although he had just surrendered, Tan Hong had already consciously boasted of himself as the Qing army officers and soldiers. He firmly believed that hundreds of Ming army soldiers would come one after another, adding luster to the top of his head.

...

"There are Tan Hong's joint camps along the river bank ahead, and the camp is not the red flag but the green flag."

"This thief, he has indeed been betrayed!" After hearing the scout's report, Zhou Kaihuang roared fiercely.

Although he was in a dangerous situation, Zhou Kaihuang did not dare to rush forward. He kept sending scouts to explore the way forward and guard the rear. After rectification, the Ming army was in order again, and the marching was restored. After the reconnaissance team in front discovered Tan Hong's camp by the river, they observed and returned the brigade in the rear. They reported that there were many corpses in front of the camp, which were obviously soldiers of the Ming army who had just been killed. More than a thousand Ming army members were lurking in the woods three miles away from Tan Hong's camp.

As more reports were sent back, the worry on Zhou Kaihuang and Zhao Tianba's faces became heavier and heavier. The sharp-eyed scouts saw Tan Hong's banner in the camp, and he was personally sitting on the south bank. On the mountain road south of the camp, some of the newly built high platforms were also found, as if Tan Hong had established a blockade.

"How many people are there in the camp?" Zhou Kaihuang sent several teams of scouts in succession, repeatedly observing whether there were loopholes for the Ming army to break through, but the scouts reported that they did not find obvious weaknesses. As time went by, Zhou Kaihuang couldn't help but have the idea of ​​fighting to the death.

But the scout's report was like a basin of cold water pouring down from the beginning: "There are at least one or two thousand people in the camp, with high alert, and all bows, arrows, wood and stones are prepared. There is a newly dug trench in front of the camp. The patrol team kept patrolling in front of the camp, so we couldn't get close to see."

There were only more than 400 people in this thousand, two hundred Ming army, and there were swords and guns. The rest were temporary sticks. Using such armaments and forces to attack Tan Hong's superior troops, even Deng Ming knew that it was no different from dying.

"The State Public Transmission has been sent to protect Mr. Deng." Zhou Kaihuang looked at Zhao Tianba. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the main force had little hope of breaking through. As an officer of the Dachang Army, he was unwilling to leave his brothers and escape alone, but Zhao Tianba was an envoy sent by the court and the King of Jin. Deng Ming was a very important royal family to Yuan Zongdi. He still hoped that these two people could escape: "Brother Zhao could bring the angels all the way from Yunnan to Fengjie, so it should not be difficult to bring Mr. Deng back, right?"

Zhao Tianba sighed slightly. He could indeed bring the five eunuch envoys from the Yongli court from Kunming, but the situation was incomparable to today. First, not everyone was advancing at the enemy's territory along the way. Second, when passing through the enemy's territory, the other party did not know that such an important person had passed. Although today the distance was close, the enemy was densely populated, and the enemy was very vigilant. However, although Zhao Tianba knew the difficulties, he still had to try hard. Finally, he nodded at Zhou Kaihuang and said, "Brother Zhou, don't worry, I will protect Mr. Deng in full."

After saying that, Zhao Tianba was about to pull Deng Ming into the mountains and forests, but unexpectedly, Deng Ming, who had always obeyed unconditionally, flatly refused.

Although they don’t know why these two people value their own safety so much, Deng Ming is also unwilling to leave thousands of friends behind to escape alone. Although they are not from this era, Deng Ming also feels that Zhao Tianba is unlikely to sneak through: "There is a blockade line on this mountain. Brother Zhao and I are alone, and I don’t know how many secret whistles of the enemy are hidden, so how can we smuggle? Besides, everyone is in danger now. One more person means more strength. Although I am not good at martial arts, I also have a lot of strength. I would rather stay and fight with everyone to fight for a way out, than be caught and killed by the enemy like a dog."

Zhao Tianba looked at Deng Ming without saying a word from the side, and said to himself: "Don't I know what you said? But don't mention adding you and me, even if you or two thousand soldiers are added, how can you overcome such a wall of iron?"

Deng Ming's words made Zhou Kaihuang ponder for a moment, and when he looked up again, he still discussed with Zhao Tianba: "I will take my brothers to attack Tan Hong's camp, which may make Tan Hong's secret whistle hidden on the mountain distract. Even if there are not, there are thousands of soldiers under the camp, and for a moment they don't care about sending troops to chase you just two of you. As long as you hurry up and break through, you can safely return to Fengjie."

Deng Ming looked at Zhou Kaihuang in surprise. He fully understood the meaning of this was to use thousands of soldiers to attract Tan Hong's attention and create conditions for his escape. Without waiting for Zhao Tianba to answer, he jumped up to object: "Absolutely not! If Tan thief is on high alert at the moment, we will wait for two more days. They will always relax."

This time it was Zhou Kaihuang's turn to look at him silently, feeling bitter, thinking: "How can these thousands of brothers hide for a long time from Tan Zhe's camp? And in order to hide, you can't ignite the fire to keep warm, as long as you spend a night, you don't know how many people will fall. Why not take advantage of everyone's strength to launch a fierce attack, and maybe a few more luck will escape this disaster. Anyway, there are so many dangers. You are the Duke of the State repeatedly explaining that we have to protect the people, and it's just a matter of people's affairs to fight for you to get more escape opportunities."

Thinking of this, Zhou Kaihuang will announce an order to prepare the soldiers to pass the barrier.

"Not good! Something big happened." At this time, a scout in charge of the defender hurriedly ran in and reported to Zhou Kaihuang: "A team of pursuers came behind us. We found their scouts, and they should have seen us too!"

"What?" Zhou Kaihuang felt completely cold this time. There was no way out now, and there were pursuers behind him. Could it be that even the road to survive through the raid was blocked?
Chapter completed!