It didn't take long for this reaction to be reflected on Qimu Island, and the reports of the various agents sent by Lu Wenyuan were always "no situation found". This made Lu Wenyuan, Chen Sigen, and Zhu Mingxia, who were originally full of confidence and just waiting for the action to begin, all anxious.

According to the schedule, on October 31, Kong Youde raised the flag of rebellion, and on November 22, he led his troops to Dengzhou City, during which only 22 days passed. Now that several days have passed, the detectives who are inquiring about the news on the official roads of Huang County should at least get some vague news - such as "someone has rebelled" and the like, after all, there are more than 1,000 people in Kong Youde's department, and they are well-equipped, and they are not a liliang that will be ignored.

But no one from the direction of Texas had such news.

Fast forward to the 10th of November, and there was still no news on the road. I can't sit still anymore. After urgent consultations, Zhu Mingxia decided to send a make-up scout cavalry -- Lu Wenyuan, through Sun Yuanhua's connections, bought more than a dozen Mongolian horses from the Dengzhou army as scouts' mounts. The Fubo army has always lacked the ability to maneuver quickly in battlefield reconnaissance methods.

Acting as a scout cavalry is not a scout of the special reconnaissance team, but a member of the cavalry teaching squadron from the northbound detachment. Considering that a large number of horses might be captured during the operation in Dengzhou, in order to use it on the spot, a company of the cavalry training squadron of the army training corps was incorporated into the northbound detachment, and one of the platoons had been transported to the island of Qimu.

The principle of the use of cavalry by the Fubo Army is close to the light cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic Wars, that is, it is mainly used for reconnaissance, raiding and pursuit, and is generally not used for cavalry combat and breakthrough, so the cavalry in the squadron is taught to be trained in reconnaissance.

Lu Wenyuan looked at the dozen or so scout cavalry in makeup in front of him: he really looked like a ****: a single small businessman pretending to be a horse gang running goods, with a guy leading a donkey. I opened my mouth to open my mouth and couldn't understand the local dialect of Shandong. When Lu Wenyuan asked, they were not all Shandong natives - they were all specially trained, and they could speak well in a dialect.

"They've been training for more than a year, and this time it's a real fight." Zhu Mingxia said, "I originally planned to let them enter the battle later, but I didn't expect that they would be sent to use." ”

The scout cavalry each had a monocular, a revolver. Plus two grenades. The cavalry watched and looked after each other, and the difference between the two groups was no more than a hill or a sight away. According to the arrangement: Seven or eight teams were scattered in the direction of Texas and searched in three to five times.

The scout cavalry searched and advanced along the main road in the direction of Wuqiao, collecting information along the way. But there has been no useful information. Until a group of cavalry arrived in Sangyuan Town, Wuqiao County, which got useful news from the local hawkers,

Ten days ago, Kong Youde's department had passed through this place and headed north. The chicken snatching incident did happen, but the matter was later concluded - the soldier who robbed the chicken and killed the people was beheaded, and the uncle of the Wang family no longer pursued it. Kong Youde has already led his troops to leave.

But what happened next made the local people very frightened, because a few days later came the news that a large village dozens of miles away had been wiped out - although the government said that it was done by bandits, everyone said that most of it was the work of Liaodong soldiers. Several large families in the village that were slaughtered had some wealthy relatives, so the matter could not be covered, and the local gentry jointly went to the county magistrate. He also sent people to the palace to accuse these lawless "soldiers and bandits."

"Is this useful to the government?" The scout cavalry deliberately made an ignorant appearance, "In my hometown, the soldiers killed a few people, and the county lord didn't care, and he insisted that the bandits did it." Even if you look for a master in the province, it may not work. ”

"You're always a trader outside, with wide eyelids, what haven't you seen? We little people. He cut it down with a knife to the military master, but several big families died in the village, and several gentry in the county were close to each other. There is a family that has melons and vines with Mr. Wang's family. Master Wang can't say that he can't see it—the villagers can't explain it. ”

The scout cavalry did not dare to delay, and immediately sent people to hurry back and report the news to the senators on the island of Qim.

In this way, it caused the worries of the "three people on Qimu Island": the news brought by the scout cavalry showed that Kong Youde did not raise the rebel flag at Wuqiao as in the old time and space history, but eased the situation through other means. In this way, he will lead the army to continue northward, and eventually either lose the battle at the Daling River, die or surrender, or because he went north, the army's heart was shaken and he went directly to the Manchu Qing.

Once such a situation happens. Using Kong Youde to disrupt Shandong's Jihua will be completely defeated. A lot of jihua will have to be modified. In particular, there are big doubts about whether the occupation of Jeju Island is still necessary.

"Kong Youde is not rebellious, we have to force him to rebel!" Zhu Mingxia slapped the table: "Otherwise, we will have to go into battle shirtless." ”

Chen Sigen said: "Is it okay to use Sun Yuanhua to force him?" He slaughtered the village like this, it was difficult for Sun Yuanhua to shelter. ”

"I'm afraid not. Sun Yuanhua's level of army management is limited, and his ability to restrain his subordinates is not strong, and the old people of Dongjiang are regarded by him as capital. Lu Wenyuan shook his head again and again. Besides, this kind of thing is not uncommon in the late Ming Dynasty, and Sun Yuanhua will not embarrass a strong general like Kong Youde for this matter. ”

"I can only count on the local gentry in Wuqiao. For example, the Wang family. Lu Wenyuan is an expatriate, has received a lot of professional training in history, and followed Zhao Yinggong in Shandong for a few months, is relatively familiar with the social conditions and people's livelihood of the Ming Dynasty, and put forward the plan after consideration.

Lu Wenyuan continued: "The Wang family is a well-known gentleman in Wuqiao, and he is very shili. Wang Xiangchun, the head of this family, is the backbone of the Donglin Party, and he was on the "Donglin Point General Record" that year, known as 'the white strip in the sky and the stars'. ”

"Good fellow, it's still 'white stripes in the waves'! The eunuchs are very good. Chen Sigen laughed.

"Moreover, Wang Xiangchun also has a cousin named Wang Xiangjin, who is the political envoy of Zhejiang, and his official position is not low. Not to mention these two brothers, just one Wang Xiangchun can make Kong Youde unable to eat and walk around. ”

The question is whether the Wang family is willing to take the lead, Lu Wenyuan believes that the Wang family is very likely to come out.

Since the uncle of the Wang family is willing to support one of the servants' chickens, then a village in the local village of the hometown was slaughtered, which also involved distant relatives, whether it was for public or private reasons, their family had to come out and speak.

"The problem is that it won't be a few months before they come out to talk, and they won't be able to catch up."

Lu Wenyuan scratched his head - since he had a bun, he couldn't wash his hair often, and he often felt that his scalp was itchy: "That's right." ”

"The top priority is to find Kong Youde's ministry and find out his next move so that he can deal with it." Zhu Mingxia said. Originally, their mastery of historical materials gave them a sense of "one-way transparency" about the situation on the battlefield, but now Kong Youde's abnormal actions have made the "fog of war" permeate again.

"Where are they now?"

According to the report of the scout cavalry, after Kong Youde led his troops to leave Wuqiao County, he walked all the way north for about 20 miles, slaughtered a large village, and then lost the news.

“…… There are still a few groups of people who have searched all the way, but the news has not yet arrived. ”

Zhu Mingxia opened the map and marked Kong Youde's trail on the map. Judging from the map, if he was going to continue north to Shanhaiguan on the mission of reinforcing the Daling River, he should go east, not suddenly. To the north, Dongguang County and Nanpi County are far from the route to Shanhaiguan in the north.

"What did he do when he went to Dongguang and Nanpi?" Chen Sigen was a little puzzled, "Could it be ......" He noticed that the two counties on the map were on the banks of the canal, "He wouldn't want to rob the boats on the canal, right?" ”

The Grand Canal is a north-south artery, and with hundreds of ships sailing on the river every day, it is clearly a very oily target.

"No, he didn't dare to." Lu Wenyuan shook his head, "Blatantly leading troops to intercept canal ships is a rebellion ......"

"He didn't rebel in the first place."

"That's just as well."

Zhu Mingxia said: "I estimate: Kong Youde went north to Dongguang and Nanpi, either planning to make a big deal on the side of the canal, or it was just a false shot. ”

He thinks the latter is more likely.

If Kong Youde had the intention to rebel, he could do it in Wuqiao, there was no need to rush to Nanpi or Dongguang, and a county town in Wuqiao was enough for him to rob. He avoided the city of Wuqiao and went north, obviously with the element of distancing himself from the relationship, and once the imperial court wanted to pursue it, he could repay the debt - his route was not originally to go north.

“…… Kong Youde's men and horses are cavalry, and they maneuver very fast. He could have gone all the way north, slaughtering several villages along the way, making a big profit, and then suddenly turning east, returning to the original route and continuing to Shanhaiguan. With sufficient food and grass, there is no problem for the cavalry unit to walk 40 kilometers a day. ”

"But in this way, wouldn't he not rebel in Shandong?"

"It's a possibility." Lu Wenyuan said, "However, in history, Kong Youde had no intention of rebelling at the beginning, and he himself was forced to participate in the Wuqiao Mutiny. It was mainly lower-ranking officers and enlisted men who decided to launch a mutiny. ”

This shows that in the old Dongjiang region of Shandong, the mood of rebellion has always existed. Kong Youde mutinied in Wuqiao, and as soon as he arrived in Dengzhou, he received a response from Geng Zhongming and other old people from the Dongjiang River. Throughout the Dengzhou Rebellion, the rebels continued to receive support from the old Dongjiang Army, and they grew very strong.

"At a deeper level, the mutiny of the former Dongjiang old department is an inevitability. Just look at the situation in Shandong. ”

Lu Wenyuan had been in Shandong for several months, and had a lot of dealings with the church, the government, the army, and the people, and in his opinion, the rebellion of the Liaodong Army was inevitable. Shandong's guest army and main army were in constant conflict, and the land was barren and the people were poor. The gentleman is powerful and powerful. The Liaodong Army, which had been excluded and discriminated against for a long time, had accumulated enough resentment, but it lacked a fuse.