After defeating Qi Sansheng's reinforcements, Yilong Fort became a rootless village. Although the fort occupies a favorable location, most of the defenders suffered casualties and could no longer hold on. Early the next morning, Zhou Guodong and Liu Tichun launched a two-sided attack on Yilong Fort, and selected dozens of prisoners with loud voices to go to the front of the fort and shout that Qi Sansheng was defeated, Yilong Fort was like a ripe apple, and the Chu army was so light. He reached out and took it off. Seeing that the situation was over, the defenders on Guansuo Ridge fled in panic from the back mountain. The Chu army successfully passed through this natural barrier and was only separated from Kunming by the last pass of Tu'er Pass. March to Tuerguan! Zhou Guodong and Liu Tichun continued their efforts and ordered Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding to attack Tuerguan. A series of battles after the Guiyang battle fully proved that the surrender troops of the leading party were sometimes more effective than the Chu army's own troops. Since Miao was defeated Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding came to their hometown, and of course they had to "return home" in glory, tightly tied to the Chu army's chariots. Since Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding embarked on this road, there was no possibility of turning back. Every time they fought with the Western Army, they were very brave and more ferocious than the Chu Army. On the one hand, they did this to get Zhou Guodong and others Even Wang Kefan's trust was, on the other hand, to cut off the retreat of his soldiers and make their hands stained with blood, so as to better control the troops. "Zhou Guodong and Liu Tichun let the two of us attack Tu'er Pass. This is a rare opportunity. With luck, we will be the first to capture Kunming." "If we can capture Kunming in one fell swoop, Liang Guogong will definitely remember you and me. I can easily get my name, become a general, and guard one place in the future. " "I don't dare to hope for anything else. I will be satisfied as long as I stay in Yunnan forever like the Mu family. The weather in Yunnan is good, and I am used to staying there. I don't want to. Let's go." Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding's families are all in Kunming, and most of their officers and soldiers have families in Kunming. Seeing that Kunming is approaching, they are eager to return home. They are afraid that their wives and children will be implicated because of their rebellion, so their morale is very high. , launched a fierce attack on Tuerguan overnight. Tu'er Pass is the north gate of Kunming. Not only is the terrain difficult, but also the defense facilities are very complete. It can be called a dangerous pass that cannot be opened by one man. Although Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding are local snakes, they don't know what Tu'er Pass is. The obvious weakness is to attack from the front. In the eyes of Zhou Guodong and Liu Tichun, this would definitely be a fierce battle with heavy casualties. Even if Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding could conquer Tu'er Pass, it would take several days and cost thousands of troops. Unexpectedly, The battle only lasted until noon the next day, when Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding sent good news. They had broken through the barrier and were chasing the fleeing enemies in the direction of Kunming. "Will the rebels become more powerful after they surrender?" Zhou Guodong was stunned and puzzled. When Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding fought with the Chu army, their performance was mediocre and there was nothing amazing. However, after surrendering to the Chu army, they repeatedly performed extraordinary feats. He defeated the generals of the Western Army such as Wang Shangli, Bao Shengting and Qi Sansheng until they lost their temper, and even died directly or indirectly in their hands. "That's true." Liu Tichun sighed. In the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty, there were countless similar examples. Many Ming armies were weak troops who suffered repeated defeats at the beginning, but suddenly became very powerful after surrendering to the Manchus. Chuangying suffered a lot as a result. Zhou Guodong carefully inquired about the process of capturing Tu'er Pass, and then he found out the reason why Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding succeeded so easily. In addition to the bravery of their attack, the key was that after Qi Sansheng was injured and defeated, Kunming's Western Army had been shaken in morale and was in chaos. Although a small number of defenders fought desperately at Tuerguan, they were unable to get support from the rear and were finally defeated by Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding. According to the prisoners' confessions, Qi Sansheng was seriously injured and could no longer see anything. The Western army in Kunming was leaderless. Many civilians and generals felt that Kunming could no longer be defended, so they abandoned the city with their troops and family members and fled. The situation became more and more serious. It turned into a great escape including all the soldiers, civilians, officials and gentry. Kunming was now an undefended city. Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding took advantage of the victory and marched, and they were likely to occupy Kunming without any blood. "These two guys, Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding, clearly want to take the credit. Anyway, this is also an opportunity they have earned. My army commander is magnanimous and will not compete with them for the first credit in capturing Kunming." Zhou Guodong sent an order to the entire army. , speed up the advance, cooperate with Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding to capture Kunming, and pursue the fleeing Western Army. Yunnan has a vast territory, and remote areas are not easy to fight. It will take several months to pacify the entire Yunnan with only the power of the Chu army. Zhou Guodong's response to There was no interest in such a thankless task, so all preparations were left to Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding. Two days later, Zhou Guodong and Liu Tichun rode horses side by side and entered Kunming from the north gate. On the city gate, the square flag of the Chu army fluttered in the wind. Make a fortune! Sun Kewang is not good at fighting, but he is a rare master of internal affairs.After operating in Yunnan for several years, Zhou Guodong selected a batch of food, gunpowder and medicines that were urgently needed by the Chu army, and sent people to transport them to Tan Xiao in Guizhou. He also ordered Miao Zhenzong and Zhou Wuding to continue to deliver the goods. March into the hinterland of Yunnan, sweep out the guards of various state capitals, and eliminate the Western Army that still refuses to surrender. After capturing Kunming, the overall situation of the southwest war has been decided. The only flaw is that the whereabouts of the Yongwang Zhu Cihuan have not been found. According to the prisoners' confession, the Western Army took him away when they fled Kunming. It is said that they fled to the Zhenxiong area. Liu Tichun immediately Leading tens of thousands of elites to attack Zhenxiong, trying to eradicate the weeds On the battlefield in Hunan, Sun Kewang, after a period of preparation, ordered the Western armies in Changsha, Hengyang, Yuezhou and other places to break out at the same time and retreat towards Guizhou. There are several large rivers in central Hunan. In addition to the Xiangjiang River, the Yuanshui River and the Xiaoshui River are very important waterways. If there are enough time and sufficient ships, the best route for the Western Army to retreat is to enter the Xiaoshui River from the Xiangjiang River, and then Assemble in Changde, then evacuate from Yuanshui River to Qingshui River in western Hunan, and return to Guizhou by waterway. This route saves time and effort, and can bring most of the troops back to Guizhou intact. After returning to Guizhou, they can join forces with Feng Shuangli immediately. The next step is to attack, defend, or continue to retreat to Yunnan. There is room for maneuver. However, after Lu Renqing and Teng Shuanglin captured Yiyang and other places, they cut off the waterway of Xiaoshui River, and Changde became very dangerous. Sun Kewang thought twice and decided to retreat by land. After burning down the warehouse, Sun Kewang led his army to leave Changsha and first attack Xiangxiang in the southwest. At the same time, Bai Wenxuan left Hengyang and also attacked Xiangxiang in the northwest, trying to defeat Wang Sheng first. After the armies reunited, they retreated calmly. Wang Sheng carried two cities on one shoulder and started a fierce battle with Sun Kewang and Bai Wenxuan at the same time. He was stuck between Sun Kewang and Bai Wenxuan, refusing to let them join up. After comprehensive mobilization, Wang Sheng's military strength increased significantly. There were tens of thousands of troops in Xiangxiang and Xiangtan. Sun Kewang and Bai Wenxuan combined were roughly equal to him. Wang Sheng's army had many new recruits. Sun Kewang and Bai Wenxuan's morale was Down, both armies had obvious weaknesses, and they fought fiercely for several days, with the outcome still indistinguishable. At this time, other troops of the Chu army came up from all around, and they put on a posture of fighting the Western Army in the Xiangxiang and Xiangtan areas. However, Sun Kewang did not have the determination to fight to the death, let alone the confidence to win. Seeing that he had been unable to defeat Wang Sheng took the initiative to break away from the battle, gave up his attempt to join forces with Bai Wenxuan, and retreated separately. It¡¯s impossible not to leave! If the fight continues, the Western armies from Yuezhou and other places will have to be mobilized to fight the Chu army in the Xiangxiang area, otherwise they will be surrounded by the Chu army. Both situations are not good for Sun Kewang, and he will want to leave at that time. , it is not a retreat, but a breakout. How many defeated soldiers can run back to Guizhou depends on luck. If we retreat now, we can take advantage of the Chu army's encirclement to retreat to Baoqing Mansion, which is still under the control of the Western Army and can meet Sun Kewang. Before retreating, he also sent someone to notify Bai Wenxuan, asking him to retreat from southern Hunan, join the Western Army in Chenzhou and Yongzhou Prefecture, and withdraw from Lingling to Guilin, Guangxi. Bai Wenxuan was in a similar situation to him, but he did not have to go through the many obstacles in western Hunan. In the mountains, as long as we retreat to Guangxi, we can basically escape. As for the Western Army in northern Hunan, it is relatively safer because it is not the main attack direction of the Chu Army. The Western Army in Yuezhou can retreat from the Changde Mansion area to Guizhou as long as it bypasses Dongting Lake. In addition, Sun Kewang will also be given to Li Dingguo. He wrote a handwritten letter, in which he changed his condescending and arrogant attitude in the past, and instead reiterated the old friendship between brothers. His words were very polite, and he asked Li Dingguo to withdraw his troops from Hubei as soon as possible and return to Yunnan and Guizhou to aid. The Western Army set out from Yunnan for an expedition to Huguang. It was difficult to transport food and grass, so there were many auxiliary soldiers. On the battlefield in Hunan alone, there were more than 100,000 auxiliary soldiers, plus more than 50,000 armored soldiers, the total number was nearly 200,000. , following Sun Kewang's order, the 200,000 Western troops did not bother to fight the Chu army again, and fled together. On the land of Xiangchu, the Western Army was like a migrating herd of animals, retreating westward one after another. At this time a year ago, they marched eastward through these roads, towards Changsha, towards Changsha, and towards Changsha. Hengyang launched attacks on Yuezhou, Chenzhou and other places. When they came, they were majestic and invincible, but when they left, they were dejected, like a dog that had lost its home. In fact, this was no longer an organized retreat. Sun Kewang was nominally the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, but he could only command tens of thousands of troops who had withdrawn from Changsha. The other troops were out of control. Even Sun Kewang's own troops were in Chu. Under the pursuit and pressure of the army, they ran faster and faster, and the more they ran, the more chaotic they became. Along the road, all kinds of heavy supplies were scattered everywhere, and a large number of auxiliary soldiers had fled. The soldiers could only carry heavy armors on their own. In order to compete for roads, horses and livestock, various departments fought and used knives. Firefights are not uncommon.Whoever has the bigger fist will be able to escape first. Of course, the remaining troops will not try their best to stop the Chu army for them. It¡¯s chaos! The various units of the Western Army rushed hundreds of miles in one day. As soon as they left the boundaries of Changsha Prefecture, half of the troops were scattered. Sun Kewang was still trying his best to maintain the order of the retreat at first, but soon found that doing so was in vain, so he gave up his efforts. With the 20,000 to 30,000 direct troops that could still be controlled, they rushed all the way to Shaoyang, the capital city of Baoqing Mansion, and prepared to gather the troops again after arriving in Shaoyang.