Inside the farm outside Seongju, residents are busy. In several battles in the past few days, many teenagers were killed and wounded. Most of the teenagers are orphans and have nothing to do with the residents of the farm, but after more than half a year of getting along, the simple residents have long regarded these half-grown children as relatives.

With the elixir, there were no injured teenagers who survived, and even the corpses of the dead were not left. A solemn room, a row of spirit cards, and a row of well-dressed mounds have become a place for the teenagers to express their sorrows.

Sitting in wooden wheelchairs with prosthetic limbs, the teenagers had a deep sadness on their faces. After the simple and solemn funeral, the teenagers were busy again.

After Xu Chen finished offering incense to the brothers, Lu Hao handed the information he had just gotten to the eldest brother.

According to the analysis of the information sent back by Huaqing last time, the rebels in Yangzhou may shrink their forces and stick to Yangzhou. Lu Hao tried his best to use short words to report the situation to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen quickly read the letter paper in his hand, put it on the incense candle and lit it, and after the tongue of fire rolled up and turned into ashes, Xu Chen slowly spoke: "Li Yi is a smart person, Wang Zhonghe's ability must be clear to him, the early purpose of dividing troops to attack the place has been achieved, and with Li Lun's previous experience, coupled with Wang Zhonghe's consistent cautious style, it is impossible for Li Yi to set up an ambush again, and the rest can only be a combination of troops and an upright competition of troops." ”

Lu Hao continued: "According to the intelligence that Huaqing has probed these days, the strength of the rebels north of the Yangtze River is about 20,000, and with the sailors, it is less than 30,000. If you want to prevent the attack of more than 70,000 people from Wang Zhonghei, I'm afraid it's not easy!"

Xu Chen said: "The rebel army is not north of the Yangtze River, Li Yi is now shrinking his forces and sticking to Yangzhou City, and more than 30,000 soldiers and horses can still hold Wang Zhonghei for a long time." And the rebels have a water division, as long as the waterway is guaranteed, it is not difficult to retreat. ”

"By the way, have the people who went to the south come back? have you found out Yang Tinghe's movements?" Xu Chen then asked.

Lu Hao shook his head and replied: "Wuyi Mountain is too big, Huaqing has not yet gained Li Yi's trust, and it is only difficult to obtain such confidential information." ”

When he learned that the rebel leader Yang Tinghe was heading south, Xu Chen sent people south to investigate, and at that time Xu Chen planned to use the chaotic battle situation and the strength of the army to drag down and eliminate the attacking cultivators. It's just that the storage of the thousands of miles of transmission notes caught Xu Chen a little off guard, and he didn't have time to act according to the original plan, so he could only bite the bullet himself, which also caused huge casualties. Fortunately, Wanjia helped Xu Chen through this crisis. Now that the dust has settled, Xu Chen hopes more and more that he can get enough military merit for himself to quell the rebellion, so as to obtain higher political power and prepare for the next confrontation.

After Xu Chen listened, he said: "If you can't find it, forget it, now that Li Yi north of the Yangtze River has reached the last moment, Yang Tinghe and that side are estimated to be able to do it, and after they do it, they will naturally know his whereabouts." For now, let the people in the warehouse and the carriage and horse shop lay the contact point in the south!"

"Okay!" Lu Hao nodded and replied.

Xu Chen then asked, "How is the progress of the recruitment?"

Lu Hao shook his head with a little regret and replied: "It's not very ideal! The orphans and beggars of appropriate age around Shengzhou have basically been recruited, and if they recruit older people, the plasticity is not strong." ”

Xu Chen thought for a while, and said: "Let's go to the refugees to recruit them! A large number of refugees gather at various ferries north of the Yangtze River every day, and except for those who are more bold and make a fortune as refugees, few civilian boats approach. Let Zheng Tai lead the fleet to search along the north bank of the Yangtze River, bring the refugees to the south bank, and then let the fourth child select young people of appropriate age from among them, and each person will pay five yuan for settling down. In addition, let Shengzhou Taishou draw a piece of land outside the city and distribute it to the families who joined the army, so let's be on the edge of the farm!"

"In addition, send some people to Ryukyu Island and do a good job in the early stage of development!" Xu Chen said suddenly.

Hearing this, Lu Hao was puzzled: "Big brother, is this going to move out of Shengzhou?" But didn't the news from Master Huineng say that it was okay?"

Xu Chen turned his head, looked at him, and said seriously: "You know, I won't entrust my fate in the hands of others. ”

Lu Hao looked at the eldest brother's solemn appearance and sighed: "But everyone has just settled down for a long time, and they are leaving, or a barren place like Ryukyu, I'm afraid many people are unwilling!"

Xu Chen said expressionlessly: "It's okay, if you don't want to leave, just buy a piece of land in Shengzhou City to settle them, this farm and shipyard can't be kept, the less our secrets are leaked, the safer it is." ”

Saying that, Xu Chen stared at Lu Hao and said sternly: "Remember, our road in the future is very difficult, only people who are used to wandering can accompany us to the end, which is why I try not to drag the family with the people, there are too many fetters, it is difficult to give up lightly." ”

"Oh......" The eldest brother's words made Lu Hao a little low, he knew that what the eldest brother said was right, but he was inevitably a little sad in his heart.

Just when Xu Chen was discussing the future layout, hundreds of miles away in Yangzhou City, the main minds of the rebels gathered together, and in the face of the imminent famous general Wang Zhonghe, Li Yi and others had to be cautious.

"Strategist, why do you call me back, Old Qin is killing hard!" Qin Gang's loud voice couldn't help but call out.

Li Yi, who was at the top, glared, and Qin Gang immediately quieted down. Glancing at the full hall of civil and military affairs, Li Yi said with a slight heaviness: "Wang Zhongsi is now in Shanyang County, and I am afraid that it will not be long before he will come to Yangzhou." ”

"That being the case, then why should the military commander order all the soldiers and horses to return to defense? Even if it is only to hold on to the city of Yangzhou, several important places in the north should also be guarded by some people. You must know that in a siege battle, leaving a few fortresses that are horns of each other, it will be much easier to defend!" The old man in a white shirt stroked his long beard, and he looked quite complacent.

Kong Ke, who was sitting opposite him, glanced at him, and then turned to Li Yi who was at the top, and Kong Ke was also puzzled about this matter. It's just that he believes that even these mediocre talents can see the problem, and Li Yi is unlikely to ignore it. Li Yi must have a reason for this arrangement. However, Kong Ke was still eager to know this reason, because he secretly felt that he was only afraid that Li Yi was hiding his defense and vigilance, and this defense and vigilance was likely to bring great disasters to him and Yang Xun behind him in the future.

Li Yi ignored the long-bearded old man, and when he looked around, he caught the trace of exploration in Kong Ke's eyes, the corners of his mouth rose slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "You must have some doubts about the deployment below, but it's okay, now that the time is almost up, some things can also be known to you!"

Li Yi smiled and explained the confusion of everyone in the audience: "The sect leader, his old man, is actually no longer in Yangzhou!"

"What?" Except for some people who had noticed the clues in advance, the rest of the audience were all shocked!

Ignoring everyone's panicked appearance, Li Yi still said unhurriedly: "I chose Yangzhou to start the incident, just because Yangzhou is more suitable, but the foundation of my teaching is not here after all, and Yangzhou is not suitable as our base camp." The sect leader must have integrated the forces in Wuyi Mountain for many days, and after the sect leader marched east to take the land of Fujian and Guangzhou, it was time for us to evacuate Yangzhou. At that time, we will rely on the land of Fujian and Guangzhou, use the mountains as a barrier, guard the Xianxialing Ancient Road, attack the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang with sailors, and even enter the Yangtze River to attack Hunan and Chu, or go north to disturb Hebei and the Central Plains. Constantly weaken the strength of the Li dynasty, and when the people of the Tang Dynasty are poor, then wave their troops to the north and take Guanzhong in one fell swoop, then the world can be determined and the great cause can be accomplished!"

I have to say that Li Yi's speech is still very demagogic, and more importantly, the plan he said is extremely feasible. None of them are stupid people in the field, just a little thought, all of them are enthusiastic, as if victory is just around the corner, and the world is about to change owners!

"Okay! Haha, it's very good!" The long-bearded old man who had just made the suggestion didn't mind Li Yi's coldness at all, and after hearing this, he stood up excitedly and bowed down to Li Yi and said: "The great talent of the military advisor, the old man admires it! If he follows the strategy of the military advisor, then the old man will definitely see the day when the sect leader faces the south and respects it in his lifetime! Congratulations to the sect leader! Congratulations to the military advisor!"

"Congratulations to the sect leader, congratulations to the military advisor!" After the old man bowed, everyone else in the audience stood up and bowed respectfully.

Kong Ke also bowed, but his eyes were full of bitterness. is also a person who is proficient in the way of military formation, Kong Ke naturally knows how successful Li Yi's strategy of relying mainly on a strong naval army is when the strength of the Datang naval army is almost zero.

Since ancient times, there has been no example of the South unifying the North, and that is because there has never been a Southern regime that has used the Naval Division as the main force of the attack. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the regimes trapped in the south all used the Yangtze River to block the attack of the northern regime by using the Yangtze River and the sailors to maintain the imperial court in a corner of peace. In their eyes, the water division was only used as a weapon of defense, and at the same time, when the Han Dynasty faced the invasion of the greatest threat to the grassland peoples, the Central Plains of Pingchuan was even more where the water division came in. For this reason, the great unified dynasty ignored the powerful power of the naval army. As a result, some ridiculous people have made absurd and unruly remarks such as the high terrain in the north and the convenience of the north to the south. The imperial court in the Central Plains never regarded the southern regime as a danger, and the southern regime was all regarded as synonymous with reluctance and stealing peace.

But Li Yi is different, in this era of the first rise of maritime trade, Li Yi, an extremely smart person, soon discovered the high profits brought by maritime trade, and at the same time became more aware of the huge role of the navy.

It has a long coastline, two large rivers that run through the east and west, and countless rivers and lakes that run from north to south, covering almost the entire Tang Dynasty. With such superior hydrological conditions, why can't the sailor become a weapon to dominate the world?

"Okay, let's prepare our arms and go to war! I'll wait for one more day in Yangzhou, and the sect leader will take one more piece of land, and our foundation will have more foundation in the future!" Li Yi explained, waving his hand and ordering everyone to retreat.

"Yes!" everyone received the military order, calmed the doubts in their hearts, and got a beautiful vision, and their hearts were full of energy.

Kong Ke was the only one who left with a slight bleak step.

"Brother Kong Ke!" Before Kong Ke went out, Li Yi called him.

"What's the matter with the military advisor?" Kong Ke calmed down and looked back and asked.

Li Yi smiled and said: "There is something I hope that Brother Kong Ke can run." ”

Kong Ke's eyes turned slightly, and he replied respectfully: "Although the military advisor orders, Kong Ke is duty-bound!"

"Hehe, that's good!" Li Yi smiled and said: "That's the case, Wang Zhongsi must be here in a few days, and we are not determined to be in Yangzhou, so this retreat naturally needs to be prepared early." ”

"The canal passes through the city, Yang Fan is a big river in a moment, as long as the sailor guards the canal, our army has no worries about retreating. And Wang Zhongsi does not have a water division under his command, and he is a land general, who has never been in contact with water warfare, and it is not difficult to rely on our army's water division to defend the canal and waterway!"

Wang Zhongsi is indeed only a famous general in the land war and does not know how to use the water division, but once Li Yi's side shows signs of retreat, with the insight that Wang Zhongsi has cultivated on the battlefield over the years, he will definitely be able to discover Li Yi's intentions as soon as possible. At that time, the battle for the canal waterway would become the focus of the battle between the two armies. The canal is no bigger than the ocean, the canal is only a dozen zhang wide on the left and right, and the army stands on the bank, and the use of strong crossbows can still cause great damage to the sailors on the canal. After Kong Ke heard Li Yi's words, he was shocked that the other party might be beating the attention of the sailor under Yang Xun's command, so he said so without thinking about it.

"Haha! Brother Kong Ke is too careful!" Li Yi saw it, laughed, and said after laughing: "I don't mean to let Brother Yang Xun return to Yangzhou to help guard the canal waterway." ”

"Oh?" Everyone is smart, and Kong Ke didn't have the embarrassment of being seen through on his face, but looked at Li Yi, waiting for his answer.

Li Yi finished laughing, shook his head, and continued: "As the saying goes, there are three holes of cunning rabbits, and we have more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, and we can't just pin all our hopes on the canal and waterway. If there is a change in the waterway, then we will all have to explain it here. Therefore, I want the Yang Xun brothers to lead an army alone and open a land route southwest of Yangzhou, so that in case the army can move south by land. We have a water division, even if we can't hold the canal and waterway in Yangzhou, and send tens of thousands of remnants to cross the river at that time, there is still no big problem. At the same time, it can be used to temporarily cut off Wang Zhonghe's way to the south with the help of the water division, so as to gain enough time for our army to evacuate, which can be said to be counted in one fell swoop!"

"The military division in the southwest of Yangzhou still wants to take Shengzhou City!" Kong Ke looked at Li Yi and said meaningfully.

Li Yi met Kong Ke's gaze, smiled, and said, "Don't Brother Kong Ke think it's very important to take Shengzhou? What's more, Brother Yang Xun really can't take Shengzhou City?"