Hu Quancai issued countless orders overnight, intercepting ships and personnel transporting materials to Guizhou, and using these resources to send Hunan troops to Wuchang. As for the food and military pay that were originally to be transported to Guiyang, since there were no ships for transport, Governor Hu simply misappropriated them and distributed the silver to various prefectures and counties in Hunan as the cost of transfer of the army, and the grain was given to the army on the way.

Hu Quancai sent a memorial to the court again, blaming all his unscrupulous means on the dead Hong Chengchou, saying that he expected the enemy to be wrong. Although the Ming army in Kuidong could still dispatch hundreds of thousands of troops, he forced himself to show that the army did not have this strength.

Although the memorial did not say a word about the court, Hu Quancai hinted that the corruption of the situation in Huguang must not be left alone. It was precisely because of his full support for the court's southwest offensive that Huguang was empty, which caused the current situation. Hu Quancai claimed that if this was not the case, even if Deng Ming brought these more than 300,000 bandits, Hu Quancai's ability to plan would never make the situation so dangerous.

After doing all this, Hu Quancai began to wait with fear, waiting for the inevitable huge offensive of the Ming army.

What made Governor Hu happy was that on July 2, when the Dongting Lake Navy arrived in Wuchang at night, the vanguard of the Ming army had not yet appeared. Now there were Qing army probing horses nearby. Hu Quancai ordered the navy not to rest and immediately rushed to the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Han River to defend.

In addition to the water and land forces that were ready, Hu Quancai also mobilized all the craftsmen near Wuchang to build thick iron chains and stumble into the river day and night. In order to build this defense system, I don’t know how many soldiers were swept away by the torrent of the river, but Hu Quancai did not frown. He now only asked how the progress was, not how much the loss was.

Before the construction of the river rope with wooden stakes and iron chains was the most worried moment for Hu Quancai. For this reason, he sank several stone-filled ships in the Han River to block the river.

With the efforts of the Huguang Governor's Office at all costs, this defensive system was established at an astonishing speed. On July 5, the third day after the Dongting Lake Navy returned to Wuchang, Hu Quancai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could prevent the Ming Navy from entering the Yangtze River, it would be equivalent to cutting off one of the Ming Army's arm. Without the cooperation of the Navy, it would be difficult for the Ming Army to pose a major threat to Wuchang.

Other troops also arrived one after another. Even those prefectures and counties in Hunan did not dare to neglect after receiving the urgent order from Hu Quancai. The local officials asked the cavalry to set off immediately, and the infantry also gathered a team to set off immediately, and rushed to Wuchang as quickly as possible.

For a time, the Qing army was traveling towards Wuchang everywhere on the roads in the two lakes. The post stations and posts in various places also cooperated with all their strength. Governor Hu explained clearly that the Ming army with actual strength of more than 300,000 was heading towards Wuchang. The safety of the two lakes was here, and anyone who dared to neglect the king's affairs would be ruthlessly punished.

These minor officials were all scared by the strict tone of the Huguang Governor's Office, and the strong strength of the Ming army, and used their arduous strength to assist the army in marching. The troops on the road were numerous and scattered, and local officials were exhausted, especially near Wuchang. The troops passing through the border were not stopped for a moment, and many local officials could not find the opportunity to close their eyes for days and nights.

Whenever a new army arrived, even if there were only fifty or one hundred exhausted soldiers, Hu Quancai felt relieved. The iron chains blocking the river were increasing at a rate of one day. The navy, who had been in high spirits for many days, could finally return to the camp to rest a little; Hanyang reported that the trenches around the city had been deepened by three feet, and the defense wall on the top of the city had been repaired for two floors. Hanyang officials asked Governor Hu to allow the strong men to rest for a day, and Hu Quancai thought about it and approved that he could rest for half a day.

"The thief missed the best opportunity." Hu Quancai felt much more at this time. This time, Wuchang was able to turn danger into safety, which was obviously inseparable from his decisive decisions and courage. Governor Hu firmly believed that the court could also clearly observe this afterwards, and realized that he made great contributions to stabilizing the situation in Huguang and ensuring that Wuchang was not lost.

Governor Hu is well-in charge of the king's affairs, and soldiers are not afraid of hardship and fatigue - this is the mainstream of Wuchang at present. But there are also some annoying voices and some rumors circulating, saying that Governor Hu is stubborn and exaggerates the enemy's situation. Because the officers and soldiers are exhausted physically and mentally these days, many local officials even lament that the past year is not as tired as these days, which leads to a certain market for these rumors.

When Hu Quancai learned about this, he just sneered and looked down on it. Later, he thought about it and ordered someone to investigate the source of the rumors. He guessed that some of his subordinates were complaining. When they were repelling the Ming army, they must make these ignorant guys unable to afford it.

Day after day, new reinforcements arrived, and the Ming army did not appear, Hu Quancai was very happy; reinforcements from the prefectures and counties also arrived, but there were still no vanguards of the Ming army, so Hu Quancai was even happier; more and more reinforcements, Governor Hu was also a little anxious while he was happy, urging Hanyang to expand the range of horse exploration and explore the position and number of vanguards of the Qingming army as soon as possible. The Ming army not only missed the best attack opportunity, but also missed the bad attack opportunity. Governor Hu finally felt a little restless and could not be happy.

Li Laiheng from Xingshan led Dang Shousu and other members of the party to take advantage of the situation and soon changed his surname from the Qing Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. Yesterday, Governor Hu received another report that the Ming Dynasty army in Kuidong, which was descending along the river, had approached the vicinity of Jiangling, and it was estimated that the flags had changed there today. Only the Ming army in Zhongxiang's direction still had no movement, and the damn Ming army pioneer refused to show up.

Rumors continued to spread in the streets and alleys of Wuchang. Secret spies reported that these rumors of disrespect for the government had a lot to do with Zhou Peigong's stupid juren. From the day after he returned to Wuchang, some gentry who had a good relationship with him went to Zhou's mansion to visit and condolences. Zhou Peigong's guy actually asserted to the visitors that Zhong Xiang's Ming army would not exceed 50,000. He also said that he had seen the Ming army scattered to the suburbs and did not look ready to attack Wuchang. He asked everyone not to panic, nor to rush to escape from Wuchang.

At first, everyone did not believe Zhou Peigong's words because it was too far from the authoritative news released by the Governor's Office of Huguang. Only some exhausted officials or people who were dissatisfied with Hu Quancai used this as an excuse to complain quietly.

Seeing Wuchang becoming a large military camp, not to mention hundreds of thousands of Ming troops, even the shadow of an enemy soldier was not seen. The gentry who had been released from Zhong Xiang fully supported Hu Quancai in the early days of returning home. Recently, these fencemen have also turned one after another. Whenever they were asked, "Is the Ming army really powerful? Is it really going to attack Wuchang?", they always look around and talk about it. Some people even evasively said, "Governor Hu is mature and steadfast, and it is worth not to seek merit but to seek no mistakes."

After hearing these remarks, Hu Quancai was so angry that he was dizzy and smoked from his orifices. They were clearly just following the rumors and vaguely expressed that they did not believe that the Ming army would attack Wuchang.

Now the officers and soldiers who have worked hard in various places are secretly discussing Governor Hu's bullying of the public. Even the Governor Huguang's yamen is beginning to become unstable. Many people are privately questioning Hu Quancai's wise decision. Yesterday, an aide evasively suggested to Hu Quancai to send a team of snooping horses to Zhongxiang to see what Deng Ming is doing.

Although he knew that the people below lacked absolute trust in him, Hu Quancai really didn't expect that someone would dare to humiliate him in person. This aide was dragged out in court and beaten up twenty boards.

Today, Hu Quancai sat in the yamen for another morning, waiting for the information sent from Hanyang. Every time an envoy arrived, he was nervous and full of expectations, hoping that the envoy would report that he had found bandits who could not see the border, but every time it disappointed Governor Hu.

A few days ago, Hu Quancai ordered the officials in Hanyang to report every hour regardless of whether they discovered the enemy situation: report the matter and report safety without any reason, and send six groups of envoys every day. At that time, whenever there were envoys to report safety, Hu Quancai was in a good mood; but now the situation has completely changed. Every other hour, an envoy rode a fast horse and stepped on the road of Wuchang, and rushed from the city gate to the yamen at a glance, so that everyone in the city could see clearly-Governor Hu's assertion of the Ming army still did not come.

This was like slapping the frontier officials in public. How could Hu Quancai's dignified chief official be humiliated several times a day?

However, with the lessons of the unlucky man yesterday, no matter the civil servants and generals in the yamen today, no one stands up to speak without exception - the Ming army is definitely coming, the later it comes, the more appropriate they are prepared, the longer the time delays, the closer they arrive, and there is no doubt that they must follow Governor Hu's wise judgment.

He was humiliated twice in public. The civil and military officials and staff saw the Governor moving on the chair with their own light, and it seemed that they could not sit still.

"Well, yes," Hu Quancai stammered and said to his subordinates: "Transfer to Hanyang, and there is no need to report safety again if there is nothing to do."

Everyone in the hall looked serious and respectfully.

After being silent for a long time, the Governor General whispered again: "Let Hanyang send a cavalry to Anlu Mansion to see what Deng Ming is doing."

...

Yuan Zongdi returned to Zhongxiang Prefecture City from the suburbs and was discussing the schedule for returning to Kuidong with Deng Ming.

After Zhong Xiang's battle, the Ming and Qing armies entered a state of peace and stability. The situation was completely in line with Liu Tichun's prediction. He had long said that the strength of the two armies was already in balance, and they both had more than enough defense but insufficient attack.

Yuan Zongdi and the four Kui Dong generals used the money they had to buy women around Zhongxiang. When they first heard the news, Deng Ming thought he had heard it wrong, but he didn't expect it to be true. When Yuan Zongdi returned to Zhongxiang, he brought a female camp of more than a thousand people.

"This is not abducting women," Yuan Zongdi flatly denied Deng Ming's speculation and said angrily: "Whether you are a matchmaker or hired, I am not as kind as a polite."

Deng Ming yelled and said nothing.

"I have a marriage letter in hand!" Yuan Zongdi saw that Deng Ming was a little dissatisfied. He guessed that this was another misunderstanding caused by the ignorance of the third prince, so he further explained: "We got the consent of these girls' parents, and even asked someone to be a matchmaker, gave a betrothal gift, and then took them back to the camp."

The local population of Kuidong was originally sparse, and the people fled more and more because of the war. In addition, the Ming army was at a disadvantage, the marriage of the soldiers who broke into the camp in the young area became a big problem. This time, a lot of silver was seized along the way. The four generals of Kuidong discussed it and planned to use the money they received to help the successful officers and soldiers get married.

There were a large number of poor people in Yunyang, Xiangyang and Anlu prefectures occupied by the Ming army, many of whom struggled with hunger all year round, and were so overwhelmed by heavy taxes and debts that they owed. The Ming army of Kuidong bought their daughters from these people. As long as they agreed to marry their daughters to the soldiers of the camp, the Ming army of Kuidong would pay them dozens of taels of silver and a few stones of food, which was higher than the betrothal gifts of poor local families.

The Ming army did not use such naked words to buy such nude words, but instead used engagement and hiring. Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun and others did quite in line with etiquette. After the matter was negotiated, soldiers who were planning to marry someone else's girls would come to the door to kowtow to the two elders and perform half-child rituals. Knowing that these people were still worried about their daughter's future, a large number of officers broke into the camp came forward to serve as witnesses for their subordinates, ensuring that these girls would be married to the Kuidong Army, and would not become concubines, nor would they be treated as maids, and parents did not have to worry about them being transferred by their husband's family.

However, in Deng Ming's opinion, he was still a business woman, but others in this era disagreed with his views. For example, Zhao Tianba praised the Kuidong Ming Army's etiquette and thoughtful manners. Those Sichuan Army, such as Li Xinghan, who had always been picky about the camp, gave thumbs up after hearing this, praising the Kuidong generals as benevolent and righteous troops.

"The women's camp is full of peasant girls with big feet, and they have their husbands' families, so they can't be sent to serve the admiral. I'll buy two maids for the admiral tomorrow." Yuan Zongdi observed his expression and felt that Deng Ming seemed to have something unspeakable in his heart, so he hurriedly explained.

The military families in Kuidong also had to help with their work, so Yuan Zongdi and others did not let their subordinates fight for the little-footed women in the city be their wives. Moreover, the journey from Zhongxiang to Dachang was long, so it was easier to march with these peasant girls.

"Thank you General Yuan for your kindness, no need." Deng Ming felt that he was only twenty years old and didn't have to worry about marriage. He had never been in love, had some longing for love, and had resistance to buying women. However, people around him did not think so. In this era, many men on the sixteenth and seventh days were fathers, especially rich children, who got married early. In order to avoid Yuan Zongdi buying a maid to deliver it to his door, Deng Ming explained: "You don't know what kind of people I like. In fact, I have been looking for them, but I can't find them, otherwise I would have bought them myself."

"Admiral, don't be too picky." Yuan Zong thought of this as well, but he still felt that Deng Ming was single and had the most ethical state of being single.

"I would rather taste the fairy peach than eat three baskets of rotten apricots." Deng Ming joked. Seeing that Yuan Zongdi seemed to have not given up, he hurriedly added: "Besides, I have to go to Nanjing."

"If you don't try it, how can you know it's a fairy peach or a rotten apricot? If you don't like it, you can give it to someone. If you are worried that no one can give it to me, give it to me." Yuan Zongdi said with a smile: "You can put it in Fengjie first."

Deng Ming had to change the topic and ask about the women's camp: "The soldiers who are getting married must be very happy."

"That's it!" Yuan Zongdi was indeed very interested when he mentioned this matter. This time, he went to the expedition to solve the long-standing problems of thousands of officers and soldiers, rewarded the meritorious soldiers, and also greatly encouraged the morale of the army.

The girls who bought them are currently in a camp alone, and Yuan Zongdi refused to allow their fiancé to go to the camp to meet his fiancée. He issued a strict order that anyone who dared to meet his fiancée privately before returning to Dachang would be regarded as a serious crime of rebellion and escape. He would be executed, and his fiancée who had not yet married would be confiscated into the official position. Yuan Zongdi had informed the entire army of this order, and even the female battalion had also notified him.

After hearing this, Li Xinghan and several Sichuan soldiers had a new view on the camp.

Yuan Zongdi explained passionately: "Since I was raising my hair and being taught, I knew that men and women were defending each other, and that my uncle and sister-in-law would not be kinship. These girls were the daughters of good families and were married to our army by Ming media. Now that they have left their parents, they are equivalent to their elders, and they must discipline their subordinates and these future military wives. I have informed the entire army that after returning to Dachang, they will immediately get married. Since they have not yet officially got married, they are naturally not allowed to meet. This is to be polite and not humiliating."

Seeing that Yuan Zongdi attached so much importance to traditional etiquette and focused on cultivating the moral concepts of soldiers, several Sichuan soldiers were even more respectful. Li Xinghan secretly felt that Yuan Zongdi's personality was better than that of the old commander Tan Wen. When he learned that Liu Tichun and Hao Yaoqi were also meticulous in ethics, several Sichuan soldiers felt that they had a deep misunderstanding about breaking into the camp before.

When Yuan Zongdi issued the declaration of the famous sect guards, Mu Tan showed emotion and admiration; Zhou Kaihuang looked serious and nodded frequently, but the touching look on his face seemed to be done on purpose; as for Zhao Tianba, he was absent-minded, as if he was not touched at all.

Yuan Zongdi said that since he was given a hair and received education... I wonder if he had attended a private school? Deng Ming muttered in his heart that Yuan Zongdi's passionate expression had seen him. When he first went to Dachang, the other party also used this expression to make a declaration of defending the territory.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the guards leaving, Deng Ming asked Yuan Zongdi: "It is actually for military reasons that the female camp has been put into a camp?"

"The admiral was very careful." Liu Tichun had told Deng Ming before that soldiers and their families must be separated during the march. Yuan Zongdi smiled and said, "This is the secret of our Zhongzhen Camp (the camp). If the couple is reunited, then everyone will take care of their own family. How can the army command? As long as they are still in the enemy territory for a day, they must not let the couple meet."

"It seems that Zhao Qianhu knows it well." When Yuan Zongdi talked about traditional etiquette, Zhao Tianba's expression seemed to not fully believe him.

"Well, the confidant of King Jin, of course, understands the principles of these marchings." Yuan Zongdi told Deng Ming: "Just don't spread the word."

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