The First Episode of Amnesia

  On the evening of December 14th, Tan Wen stormed into Tan Yi's camp in a rage and loudly questioned him as soon as they met: "Why didn't you exert yourself to attack the city?"

  For so many days, Tan Wen and Yuan Zongdi's Ming army have been attacking non-stop, just to make the Chongqing garrison a tired army. However, Tan Yi has taken over Tan Wen's position for two days, but he has not moved. Seeing his colleagues inexplicably giving the enemy a chance to breathe, Tan Wen couldn't bear it and came to urge Tan Yi to hurry up and go to war. He estimated that the other side must have the idea of saving their strength in mind, and would probably find some excuses for the generals to rest.

  Now that the situation in the world is so critical, where can we still save our strength! Tan Wen made up his mind not to let Tan Yi muddle through.

  Facing Tan Wen's undisguised anger, Tan Yi was not tense at all, and slowly opened his mouth: "Can we really take down Chongqing?"

  "How can we not?" Unexpectedly, the other party did not use the excuse he had guessed, and Tan Wen replied without thinking: "Our current military strength is more than twice that of the defenders in Chongqing, and General Wen's army will arrive soon. Is there any reason why we cannot take down Chongqing?"

  "Yes, once Chongqing is taken, it will cut off the north and south. Even if the imperial court is at a disadvantage in the war in Yunnan, in the worst case, the imperial court can at least shift its forces to Sichuan. Those remnants of the rebel army can also move south and merge with the remnants of the Western Camp, making a big show."

  Tan Wen and Tan Yi were both former Sichuan army of the Ming court, they had fought many battles with Li Dingguo of the Western Camp, and also had a lot of friction with Yuan Zongdi of the Chuan camp. Tan Wen thought that Tan Yi was probably unwilling to see these former rebels achieve merit, so he didn't want to exert himself, and advised him in good faith: "Alas, now the country is in danger, let's temporarily unite with them and try our best to survive, after the great Ming dynasty revives, it won't be too late to punish these rebels severely."

  "At most, it's just a struggle to survive. Even if we capture Chongqing, the revival of China is still hopeless." Tan Yi remained calm and composed: "I think that while we can still capture Chongqing and have the military strength to block the Yangtze River, why not surrender instead..."

  "What nonsense is this!" Tan Wen slapped the table heavily and shouted loudly.

  "The Qing court has always been consistent in not changing the original title. In the Ming dynasty, a marquis who defected was still a marquis, and an earl who defected was still an earl. Sun Keshuang was originally a duke with one character in the Ming dynasty, and after defecting, he was still a duke with one character. As a noble of the Qing dynasty, we are stronger than those of the Ming dynasty, aren't we?" Tan Yi seemed to have completely ignored Tan Wen's excited expression, his tone remaining unchanged: "Even if the Qing court demotes us after we defect, being an earl of the Qing is still stronger than being a marquis of this precarious Ming dynasty. Even as a baron or viscount, it's much stronger than here."

  "Is this still human language?" Tan Wen was shocked and even more angry: "We absolutely cannot surrender!"

  "Really?" Tan Yi immediately clapped his hands, and a large group of armored soldiers rushed in, everyone with swords drawn, squeezing the central tent to the brim. Tan Wen and the few bodyguards he brought were surrounded in a small circle that was hard to turn around in. Tan Yi took advantage of Tan Wen's momentary surprise, quickly retreated two steps, and hid behind the armored soldiers.

  Tan Wen's face turned very pale, and the other party had obviously made up their mind. If he didn't agree with Tan Wei's proposal, he would probably be hacked to pieces in a moment. The breathing of several guards beside him also became very urgent. These people were all Tan Wen's elite soldiers, but relying on the power of these few people, they could not kill their way out of the encirclement.

  "I was born a subject of the great Ming dynasty, and I will die a ghost of the great Ming dynasty." Tan Wen finally spoke out his determination.

  "Everyone has their own ambitions, I won't force it, just as you wish." Tan Yuhe, hiding behind Xia Shi's back, chuckled: "However, even if a ghost wants a human head, it's useless, so just give it to me instead."

  ……

  Wang Mingde stared blankly at the messenger in front of him, and it took him a while to come back to his senses after hearing the other's words. With more and more Ming troops gathering outside Chongqing City, he had given up hope of survival two days ago when they were surrounded, and was only holding on with the thought of dragging out one more day. Tonight, after nightfall, the city gate guards reported that a messenger had arrived from outside, and Wang Mingde's heart went through a struggle between heaven and man. He guessed that the other side was probably here to persuade him to surrender. Although he thought he had made up his mind to die, when it came down to it, he hesitated again. In the end, he decided to pretend to cooperate for the time being, to see if he could drag things out a bit longer, and at least not completely cut off the road to surrender.

  But the envoy was pulled up to the city by a pulley, and as soon as he saw Wang Mingde, he took off his hat, revealing a shiny black scalp that had just been shaved. The envoy was Tan Yi's personal soldier, claiming that his master had already killed the Ming court's Fu Marquis Tan Wen, and the whole army shaved their heads to surrender.

  "This Chongqing city is about to be broken through at dawn and dusk, how could he surrender to me instead?" Wang Mingde muttered in his heart. However, if this matter were true, it would be a narrow escape. Wang Mingde asked repeatedly, gradually guessing that the other party might take advantage of this opportunity to surrender, in order to make a fortune by meritorious service.

  "If the general does not believe it, he can send someone to follow Xiao into the camp and take a look. Tan Wen's head is in our young master's tent." The messenger explained with all his might.

  Wang Mingde, although extremely hoping it was true, feared that the other side had come to deceive and open the city gate, so he hung two trusted followers and the visitor together under the city wall. After more than an hour, the dispatched trusted followers finally returned, and they personally saw Tan Wen's head.

  "Ah, Heaven won't destroy me, Wang Mou!" Wang Mingde exclaimed with extreme joy, and hastily added: "Good fortune to the imperial court!"

  During the wait, Wang Mingde thought it over carefully again and had to admit that the other side's timing of surrender was extremely good. At present, Sichuan is empty, and Li Guoying, the Qing court's governor-general of Sichuan and Shaanxi, will surely be overjoyed when he learns of this matter and will definitely replace Tan Huai in heavily petitioning for merit in Beijing.

  There were several more of Tan Yi's subordinates who followed Wang Mingde's two confidants back, seeing that Wang Mingde had already believed in himself. The leader then revealed Tan Yi's plan: "The main bandit army is under the leadership of Wei Anzhi (the fake governor) and is rushing towards Chongqing. Those who came with them include Li Laiheng (Li Zicheng's nephew), Liu Tichun, Hao Yaogui (all former Dashun generals)...

  Upon hearing this string of names, Wang Mingde's spine suddenly turned cold. These were all the elite remnants of the vanguard troops who had rushed over to continue their attack after capturing Chongqing. If these troops arrived, even with Tan Bian's several thousand soldiers assisting in the battle, Wang Mingde would likely still be unable to hold the city.

  "The bandits have already transported all the grain from their various dens to the camp at the foot of the city. Now, 40% is in my lord's hands, and the rest are in the camp of that bandit Yuan Zongdi. As long as we break through his main camp, the bandits will be without food or fodder." Tan Yi's subordinates reported all the strengths and weaknesses of the Ming army to him. If they defeat Yuan Zongdi, Wen Anzhi would not have the ability to hold on even if he came to the foot of Chongqing City, and this time, the Sichuan-Hubei Ming army was fully mobilized, these grains were almost their entire reserve, once defeated, before harvesting grain next year, the Ming army would no longer have the ability to attack: "Not one of Tan Wen's men escaped, tomorrow my lord and the general will attack from front and back, and we will surely defeat the bandits."

  "Hmm, the bandits will surely be defeated." Since Tan Wen had been killed and the news hadn't leaked out yet, his army would be like a dragon without a head tomorrow.

  Wang Mingde estimated that Yuan Zongdi would still use his main force to attack the city, and most of the camps were not well-defended. If Tan Yi launched a surprise attack from behind, the chances of success would be extremely high: "But Yuan Zongdi still has a navy, so I estimate that many bandits will still be able to escape."

  "This matter our house's Lord Hou also has an arrangement, ordering Xiaodie to discuss with the General..."

  Yuan Zongdi's naval forces were anchored in the Yangtze River, while Tan Xian's ships were anchored in the Jialing River, with Chongqing City in between. Yuan Zongdi could not see what was happening on the Jialing River, but from atop Chongqing City, his situation was clearly visible. Tan Xian planned to have his envoys use flag signals to communicate with him from atop Chongqing City, and after the Ming army's defeat, they would inevitably retreat. When Yuan Zongdi's naval forces retreated halfway, Tan Xian's naval forces suddenly burst out of the Jialing River, splitting Yuan Zongdi's naval forces in two.

  "This plan is great!" Wang Mingde clapped his hands and laughed, immediately agreeing to this plan.

  What delighted Wang Mingde even more was that the visitor also reported that Tan Hong was planning to surrender to the Qing, and was now camping tens of miles downstream of the Yangtze River, blocking Wen Anzhi's vanguard. After defeating Yuan Zongdi's naval forces tomorrow, Tan Hong would intercept and kill the defeated Ming troops retreating by land, catching them all in one net.

  "I've long heard that Governor Tan is wise and full of strategies, indeed it's true. I was about to make a decision for Governor Tan, no, I'll make a decision for the two Governors Tan to go to the Shaanxi Provincial Governor's office to report their achievements."

  Wang Mingde heard Tan Yi and Tan Hong's poisonous plan one after another, thinking that he didn't know how long the two people had discussed it. Tomorrow, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Yuan Zongdi's ships would be lost under Chongqing City. Those troops who couldn't get on the ship would naturally have no way to escape. Even if Yuan Zongdi himself could escape, he wouldn't be a major threat to the Sichuan Qing army again. Without ships and food for the soldiers, and with Tan Hong blocking in front, Wen An estimated that they wouldn't even see the city wall of Chongqing.

  ……

  On the fifteenth day, at dawn, Yu Sheng gazed at the rising sun and felt increasingly uneasy: "After two whole days and nights, there was not a single movement, nor had he heard that any Qing army had come to reinforce Chongqing. Commander Wen's large army is probably about to arrive."

  For the past two days, Xu Ming had been reminding Yuan Zongdi to be on guard against the Qing army's reinforcements, but the other party didn't take his words seriously. It's not surprising that Yuan Zongdi didn't put Xu Ming's warnings in his heart, as Xu Ming had no concept of the deployment of the Qing army in Sichuan, the roads that could be used, and the grain warehouses. Yuan Zongdi had been in Sichuan for many years and was quite familiar with the situation of the Qing army. The roads that might be used by the Qing army had long been explored by his scouts, so there was no need for Xu Ming to make a fuss.

  The siege has reached a critical moment, and Yuan Zongdi went to the front line early this morning to direct the battle. As usual, Zhou Kaihuang and Zhao Tianba stayed behind with Yu Ming. For the past few days, Yu Ming had been asking them various military questions, and they answered him one by one. However, Yu Ming's heart was heavy, and he became silent and taciturn. The two of them found it strange that Yu Ming looked worried when things were going better and better.

  "Leveling the moat is a must-do before attacking the city, and there are a few key points to it..." Zhou Kaihuang pointed out the formation of the Ming army soldiers in front of him to explain to Yu Shi.

  Just as they were talking, a cry of surprise was heard, followed by more shouts. Yuwen saw the person who had cried out pointing straight at him with his arm, his mouth open in shock but unable to speak. Turning around, he saw that a thick smoke was rising from the big camp, and in an instant, a blaze of flames shot up into the air, only then did they hear the sound of shouting coming from there.

  "The big camp is on fire!" Zhou Kaihuang shouted loudly: "The bastards who stayed behind to guard, our grain and fodder!"

  The shouting grew louder and sounded like a killing cry rather than just an exclamation.

  "The Tartars are coming to kill." Zhou Kaihuang shouted again and threw down the name, hastily running towards the camp.

  Zhao Tianba was also surprised and uncertain. According to reason, if the Qing army came to kill, the sentries around the camp would definitely discover it, and even the soldiers left in the camp would fire warning shots. How could there be a fire first and then a fight? Was there a traitor in the camp? Concerned about the military rations of tens of thousands of troops, Zhao Tianba also wanted to return to the camp immediately to see what was going on, but he still had the responsibility of protecting Yu Ming, which made him hesitate for a moment.

  "Should we send the Third Prince to a safe place first?" Zhao Tianba thought quickly while glancing around, and found that Yu Ming had already reacted and was following closely behind Zhou Kaihuang, running in big strides. Zhao Tianba also followed tightly, thinking: "Although this Third Prince doesn't understand military tactics, he does have some guts, seeing the enemy but not retreating instead advancing forward."

  Xu Ming had been following Zhou Kaihuang for days, treating him as a companion. When he saw Zhou Kaihuang rush towards the main camp, he subconsciously followed suit. At this moment, he didn't know what was happening either. Unfamiliar with the place, Xu Ming wouldn't have known where to go if he hadn't been following someone he knew.

  After running a few steps, the killing shouts in front became louder and clearer. Zhou Kaihu suddenly stopped his footsteps and shouted loudly: "How can the Tartars sneak into the camp to set fire? There must be traitors rebelling!" His face was red with anger, and he was so angry that tears were about to come out. He rushed towards the big camp again.

  Near the big camp, the flames in the sky above have already made it possible to smell the smoke and fire. Some of Yuan's scattered soldiers are fleeing in a fluster towards Zhou Kai's direction. He grabs one of them, his mouth almost touching the soldier's nose: "Who is the rebel?"

  "They are the troops of Ren Shou Hou," said a soldier, choking back tears, as nearly all the soldiers in the camp knew Zhou Kaihuang, who was the guard commander under Yuan Zongdi. "A troop of Ren Shou Hou's men came and entered our camp gate, starting to kill people, then many more rushed in."

  "This dog thief, has he surrendered to the Tartars?" Zhou Kaihuang roared: "These dog officials and soldiers are the most unreliable!"

  Zhao Tianba also caught a fleeing soldier, who said more clearly that he saw one of Tan Yu's soldiers drop his hat and found that they had even shaved their heads.

  "Don't let them escape, take back the main camp." Zhou Kaihuang continued to advance towards the main camp while blocking the fleeing soldiers who had been left behind. Yu Ming and Zhao Tianba also rushed to help. The first few were a bit difficult, but after grabbing a few, more and more people were caught, and soon dozens of soldiers were rounded up, and they advanced towards the main camp once again.

  Zhou Kaihuang had already drawn his sword and was running to the camp gate when he picked up a long spear from the ground. With the spear in hand, he charged into the camp first. Seeing that Zhao Tianba also held a long spear, Xu Ming hastily looked around and finally found an abandoned long spear. Feeling it was not enough, Xu Ming also picked up a knife and tied it to his waist.

  With a sword at his waist and a long spear in hand, Yesheng felt his courage surge, and he charged into the camp with the posture of Zhou Kaihuang and Zhao Tianba. The choking smoke came face to face, and the soldiers who had gathered earlier were fighting, Zhou Kaihuang's figure was illuminated by the firelight, he was two steps ahead of Yesheng in entering the camp, and now his face was covered in blood. Yesheng saw him stab an enemy soldier in the chest with one spear, then kicked the enemy soldier off the tip of his spear, and a blood arrow suddenly sprayed into the air, turning into a bloody rain that fell down.

  Xu Ming stared blankly at the red mist, surrounded by the mournful cries of people on the verge of death.

  "Ah——"

  A man in front of him let out a deafening roar towards Xuming, the cold light of the gun blade followed the shout and pressed towards Xuming. Although the ferocious face made Xuming's heart tremble with fear, he still instinctively retreated backwards, dodging the long spear that was pouncing on him.

  Yue Ming's movements were not as fast as the enemy soldier who was rushing over, and in the blink of an eye, the enemy had arrived right in front of him. Yue Ming subconsciously raised the rifle stock in his hand, unsure if he could block this blow. But before the thrusting enemy bayonet and Yue Ming's weapon made contact, a long spear suddenly inserted from the side, prying open the bayonet that was pressing towards Yue Ming's chest. The owner of the spear bumped into Yue Ming's shoulder, sending him flying to one side.

  Then the gun flashed and thrust into the opponent's heart, when the enemy soldier swung his stick to meet him, the gun tip suddenly rose up, and stabbed into the enemy soldier's wide open mouth.

  At this time, Xu Mingcai saw that the person who came was Zhao Tianba. With a strong press of both hands, Zhao Tianba pressed the enemy to kneel on the ground, and then kicked out with one foot, stepping on the opponent's chest. However, this shot was so powerful that the tip of the gun had already penetrated through the back of the enemy soldier's head, and Zhao Tianba couldn't kick the enemy away with one foot, so he twisted the gun handle.

  The rotating gun blade and the human skull rubbed against each other, making a chilling creaking sound. The enemy soldier, still staring with his eyes open, spat out blood and white foam that splattered all over Xue's face.

  Zhao Tianba drew out his gun and freed one hand to grab Xing Ming, urgently calling out: "Mr. Deng, what are you doing here?" As he spoke, he pushed him out of the camp gate.

  The enemy soldiers near the camp gate have been killed, Zhou Kaihuang is brave but not reckless, he doesn't pursue them and leads his men to exit the camp gate. Yuan Zongdi's large camp has four gates, with the central army tent and warehouse in the center, surrounded by other military tents. In such a short time, the enemy soldiers set fires everywhere inside the camp, and still have the strength to seize each camp gate, it is clear that they are not a small number. Now the fire in the camp is getting more and more intense, the smoke has already obscured the view in front of us, relying on these dozens of people beside me, it is obvious that we cannot put out the fire, and we also need to guard against the attack of unknown numbers of enemy soldiers.

  Xu Ming looked towards the direction of Chongqing, and Yuan Zongdi's general flag seemed to be moving in this direction. He had probably discovered the anomaly in the main camp and was hurrying back to retake it and put out the flames.