Everyone present, including Li Jiucheng and his son, also nodded in agreement. Kong Youde's slightly honest round face showed a smile and waved his hands: "We are all old friends from Dongjiang. It's right to think in one place and use your strength in one place. But in the future, it is better for everyone to discuss important matters together. "Kong Youde has a high prestige among the old brothers in Dongjiang. With the help of the Dengzhou Rebellion, they reunited and naturally regarded Kong Youde as their backbone. Everyone knows that this is Kong Youde¡¯s self-effacing statement, so naturally it cannot be taken seriously! Mao Chenglu pondered and said: "Although the officials in the imperial court are fiercely partisan and corruption and bribery are common, there are many people with insight. It is difficult to say whether our delaying tactics will work for the other party. Therefore, we have to prepare with both hands. On the one hand, we will fight with the other party. Talking about recruitment, asking for money, on the other hand, we must actively prepare for war and actively defend against the imperial court sending troops to encircle and suppress us." Geng Zhongming praised loudly: "Brother Mao is still careful, we should have taken precautions early." Everyone at the wine table also nodded in agreement. Kong Youde picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp, and said: "What Brother Mao said is really planning for my brother Dongjiang. I agree very much." Kong Youde played with the wine glass in his hand and thought about it: "Dengzhou City is connected to the Liaohai Sea to the north and the Liaohai Sea to the southeast. The land routes on the three west sides are clear, and they are all oppressed by the Ming army. Our brothers want to stay here for a long time, and then establish a sphere of influence. First, we must calm down the affairs in the city, and then expand our influence to the surrounding counties to deal with the Ming Dynasty. When the army comes to Dengzhou to attack or besiege, our troops scattered in the surrounding counties can harass it from the outside, so that the Ming army can focus on one thing and lose another. Only in this way can we hold on to Dengzhou for a long time and manage this place as our brothers. "Otherwise, it will be impossible to survive." Kong Youde's words undoubtedly set the tone and course of action for the rebel army in the future. From these words, it can be seen that Kong Youde has profound thoughts about the future of the rebel army. The course of action he formulated is also practical and feasible. Li Jiucheng's blood-red eyes lit up and said: "Yes, take advantage of the fact that the counties near Dengzhou are not on guard. Immediately raise troops to launch attacks in various places, and you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort." Mao Chenglu, Geng Zhongming and other people in Dongjiang Town are all experienced The people in the battle formation thought carefully about Kong Youde's remarks and felt that they were consistent with the reality faced by Dengzhou City, so they all nodded in agreement. Kong Youde threw the wine glass on the table and loudly ordered the soldiers who were waiting: "Get the map. Today we brothers will come to draw the attack route." There are all kinds of storage in the arsenal of Dengzhou Town. Kong Youde and others got a free advantage. Hidden among them is a map of the area near Dengzhou. After the soldiers got the map. Kong Youde took an empty space on the wine table and laid out the map of Dengzhou on the table. Kong Youde pointed at the map with his finger and said: "Brothers, come and see, where I am pointing is Dengzhou. To the east, west and south are the densely populated state capitals in three directions." His finger marked out on the map. A straight line, he kept saying: "Along Dengzhou to the southwest are Huangxian, Zhaoyuan, Laizhou, Pingdu, Changyi, etc. These state capitals are rich in food due to their flat terrain and fertile land. Once occupied, , enough to provide our army with enough food and grass." Kong Youde continued to move his fingers along the map. Said: "Directly south of Dengzhou are Qixia, Laiyang, Jimo and other counties. These counties are densely populated. We can capture young people here to transport food and supplies for our army. In times of crisis, we can also push Go to the front of the formation to resist the Ming army's attack." Pause for a while. Kong Youde continued: "The top priority is that we must send troops to occupy these prefectures and counties as soon as possible as a barrier to ascend to the state. Deal with the imperial army." Li Jiucheng, Geng Zhongming, Mao Chenglu, Li Yingyuan and others followed the movement of Kong Youde's fingers, and they all showed excitement. color. These people fought their way back to Dengzhou from Wuqiao not long ago. The burning and killing along the way have tasted the sweetness, and these counties are as if they are undefended to the rebels. Let alone burning, killing, looting, and now there is an opportunity to kill in the nearby counties and counties of Dengzhou. How can it not be exciting? Mao Chenglu was excited with everyone for a while, and suddenly thought of a question, he turned to Kong Youde and asked: "Brother, I have just arrived here. I don't know much about our military strength in Dengzhou. I wonder how many soldiers there are and what is the status of the troops?" Kong Youde waved his hand and looked complacent. Said: "Since the Wuqiao Rebellion, our troops originally had more than 3,000 infantry and cavalry. After the mutiny, we continued to absorb troops along the way. When we arrived at Dengzhou City at the beginning of the year, we had more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry. Dengzhou Outside the city, two generals Liu Chengzu and Cao Shaozhong took advantage of the opportunity of the battle between the two armies to directly lead 10,000 Liao soldiers to join them. At this time, there were more than 20,000 infantry, cavalry and horses. After entering Dengzhou City, there were more than 20,000 soldiers in the city. People have now been incorporated into our army. Together with Brother Mao's men and the two thousand officers and soldiers of the Tianjin Navy, we now have more than 43,000 soldiers, including more than 20,000 of our elite infantry and cavalry. Inside the city, another 20,000 soldiers were stationed outside the city.¡±; Mao Chenglu frowned slightly and said: "In my opinion, once the imperial court is ready to go to war, it will recruit a large number of troops. We currently only have more than 40,000 soldiers, and it seems that the number of troops will not suddenly increase in a short period of time. To increase the number, it is better to concentrate these troops together rather than disperse them. Simply attacking and occupying nearby states and counties, and then dividing the troops to garrison them will only distract our army's combat strength. I am afraid that even Dengzhou cannot be protected, so when the troops are insufficient, it is best to concentrate the troops in one place." Chen Guangfu, who had been silent, said: "Vice-General Mao is indeed a person who has been fighting all the time. I support the concentration of the main army in one place. Go to the recalcitrant Fucheng and directly attack the enemy with one blow. In order to prevent these prefectural cities from rebounding in the future, after transporting all the materials, food and wages from the occupied cities to Dengzhou, they will directly burn the cities where they are located to avoid future troubles!¡± It's really cruel. You can imagine how many people in Denglai would be displaced and homeless if the rebels really wanted to do this! Li Jiucheng's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the map, and he said gloomily: "Laizhou is located in the southwest of Dengzhou. It is the throat of Dengzhou by land. The roads around it extend in all directions. The geographical location is very important. If we can control Laizhou, we will By coordinating Dengzhou's south and north, it can greatly reduce the imperial court's pressure on Dengzhou City and play a vital role in our success in establishing a foothold." Kong Youde nodded and said loudly: "Brother Jiucheng has a clear vision. It is very accurate. Even if other cities are not controlled, Laizhou will be in the hands of our army. With the water and land channels in our hands, our plan to occupy Dengzhou for a long time can be completed. " Mao Chenglu, Geng Zhongming and others are all watching. After studying the map carefully, Li Jiucheng finished his suggestion and everyone nodded in agreement. Geng Zhongming said loudly: "Please ask the commander-in-chief how to arrange the troops, and we will all obey the orders." Kong Youde showed a smile on his face and said: "Brother Geng, you have full authority to negotiate with the imperial court on behalf of our old brothers in Dongjiang, and negotiate with the imperial court for peace. Responsible for the security of Dengzhou City, I will leave you 10,000 soldiers in Dengzhou City." Geng Zhongming put away his laughter and said: "Marshal Du, don't worry, wrangling with the imperial court is also my specialty. Dengzhou must be impregnable in my hands. Nothing goes wrong." Kong Youde nodded, turned to Li Jiucheng and said, "Brother Jiucheng and nephew Ying Yuanxian will lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to plunder all the way south along the direction of Qixia, Laiyang, and Jimo. After capturing the prefectures and counties, they will collect as much food as possible. Supplies are prepared as needed, and all the county offices where the army passes are destroyed to avoid threatening me. Then we turn back from the direction of Jimo and head west towards Pingdu and Changyi." After that, he turned his attention. Turning to generals Mao Chenglu, Chen Guangfu, Wang Bingzhong, Liu Chengzu, and Cao Shaozhong, he said: "The remaining brothers followed me and led 20,000 troops to attack Laizhou directly along the direction of Huangxian and Zhaoyuan, striving to capture it in a short time. Laizhou City made the two states of Deng and Lai truly correspond to each other from the north to the south and rely on each other. "On the tenth day of April in the fifth year of Chongzhen, the rebels in Dengzhou City divided their forces into two groups and began to plunder the county houses along the way to Denglai, forcing the real external implementation in history. The burning, killing and looting started nearly two months earlier. Kong Youde personally led 20,000 soldiers directly to Huang County, southwest of Dengzhou City. Under his command were Mao Chenglu, Chen Guangfu, Wang Bingzhong, Liu Chengzu, Cao Shaozhong and several experienced generals. The 20,000 soldiers were divided into infantry and cavalry. Among them, there were 5,000 cavalrymen. Originally, Kong Youde had only 3,000 cavalrymen under his command. The remaining three thousand cavalry were temporarily expanded. Three thousand horses were captured when Dengzhou City was captured. There were many people in the Liao army who were good at riding and shooting. Kong Youde directly selected three thousand soldiers from the Liao soldiers to form a new cavalry army. . In addition to the five thousand cavalry, Kong Youde's troops also included an artillery battalion, a chariot battalion, one thousand archers, three thousand sword and shield soldiers, three thousand long spearmen, three thousand spearmen, and four thousand heavy baggage troops. . Most of the soldiers under his command are veterans from Dongjiang Town. Most of them have experienced battlefield fighting and are quite elite. Kong Youde and other Dongjiang generals are quite confident. There is no power in Dengzhou that can compete with them! On April 11th, the fifth year of Chongzhen, more than 60 mutual aid societies under Huluyan had just finished their spring plowing. This year, the Breeding Department of the General Mutual Aid Association had made new progress in increasing corn production. Therefore, the main crops for spring plowing focused on the planting of corn, and the rest Crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes have also begun to be improved and tested. The unique natural conditions in the mountains mean that the mutual aid associations in Huluyan do not have to worry about irrigation and fertilization of food crops. As long as there is no major natural disaster, it is no problem for the 100,000 farmers in Huluyan to have a good harvest. This year¡¯s spring plowing is entirely led and run by the Huluyan Mutual Aid Association, and Feng Jian¡¯s main energy is devoted to the upcoming Kong Youde rebellion. Early in the morning, Feng Jian, Chen Lilan, Su Su, and Xiaohan were sitting together to have breakfast.After drinking up the milk, he said with a smile: "Lilan and you three are breastfeeding, you should drink more milk and supplement whatever you drink, so that my Ning'er, Kang'er and Jie'er will not be short of food!" Today It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day of reunion. Lao Hai wishes all book friends: the whole family will be reunited and enjoy family happiness; invite wine to the bright moon and share this wonderful time of Mid-Autumn Festival! ! ! (To be continued)