Before coming to Ireland, the Duke of Norfolk also made some serious preparations. He studied some of the previous examples of the rebels and the British, and found a characteristic of the Irish rebels - they had little of a strong stronghold, which the Duke of Norfolk believed showed that these rebels were not capable of attacking fortifications, or at least were inadequate. This would be a weakness that the British army could exploit.

Secondly, the British army had suffered some losses in previous battles, which the Duke of Norfolk believed were mainly caused by the dispersion of forces and the strayed into the enemy's ambush circle. However, it can also be seen from these examples that the Irish rebellious combat ability is still significantly inferior to that of the British army - their attacks are mainly based on harassment and mines, and there are few examples of British troops being able to completely annihilate the British army, even if it is only a platoon.

Of course, the Duke is also aware that the Irish rebels also have many advantages, for example, most of Ireland are pro-rebels, at least, mentally pro-rebels. Even some of the Irish who are still serving the United Kingdom are no exception.

The Irish are unreliable, but for the time being they must be used in many places. This gave the Irish rebels another advantage, and that was the intelligence advantage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, looking at some of the previous battles, our army has attacked, and if it is not dispersed, it will not be able to find those rebels at all; And as soon as our troops disperse, they will be attacked by superior rebels. If we don't solve this problem, we may be doing more with less. At the military meeting before the expedition, the Duke of Norfolk said to the officers below.

"In fact, Ireland's problem is not a military problem, at least not the military. The main problem is political. Therefore, the solution to the problem of the Irish rebellion must also be a combination of political and military means. Or even seven political, three military.

What is the politics of the seven? The first is to clean up the bandits. You all know that if our every move is in the enemy's sight, and we know nothing about the enemy's movements, then we are blind and deaf. Who can a blind and deaf man, even if he be as strong as Samson, beat him? So, our first step was to gouge out their eyes. And then find a way to buy the people who are willing to cooperate with us, let them be our eyes, so that we can achieve real victory.

The second is that we must act cautiously and no longer step into the enemy's trap as easily as we did before. Ladies and gentlemen, look at this map. On this map, I have divided the whole of Ireland into three categories.

The first type of area is the area that we have complete control, like where we are now. I would call this type of area a security district. Marked as a green area on the map. In this area, the enemy operates mainly underground, and their main means of destruction is the theft of various secrets.

The second type of area is the area where both our forces and the rebel forces can infiltrate to a high degree, such as the outskirts of the cities we control. These places are close to us, the time required for our troops to react is very short, and the enemy's forces in these areas are not absent, but they can only operate on a small scale, and the intensity of their actions is limited. I call these areas quasi-vigilante zones and they are marked orange on the map.

The third type of area is the area controlled by the rebels. Most of these areas are rural, far from our strongholds, and difficult for us to control, that is, the nests of the rebels. Rebels can operate openly in this area, while those who lean toward us can only operate underground if they go to these areas. I would call this area a secluded zone.

Ladies and gentlemen, our tasks are different in different regions. In the security zone, our main task is to catch the bandits and spies and make the traitors blind.

We must formulate a strict secrecy system to avoid leakage of secrets, and at the same time, we must strengthen public order and eliminate bandit spies. We have to carry out strict identity documents and household checks, and all the people in the city must have documents to show their identity, well, we can call it a 'good citizen certificate', and the Irish who hold the 'good citizen certificate' must have a guarantor, so that they can act as each other's guarantors, and if anyone is a bandit spy, or has dealings with a bandit spy, all the guarantors will be punished together. In addition, we are to organize here the Irish who are willing to find our side, give them certain powers and advantages, let them deal with those Irish spies, and even use them to go to the second and third types of areas to help us fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, our forces are limited, and we have so many places under our control, that the United Kingdom now has to confront France, expand overseas, and suppress such rebellions. If the United Kingdom were to devote too much of its forces to Ireland, it would probably be strategically worth the cost even if we were to win.

Therefore, do not have any illusions that a large army of 350,000,000 will be mobilized from within the country to suppress the rebellion, although it is not entirely impossible, but if it does come to such a point, the United Kingdom will certainly pay a greater price elsewhere. If it really gets to the point where you, including me, will become a joke of the whole United Kingdom because of your incompetence. Therefore, using the Irish to fight the Irish is the most economical and reasonable way to do it. I hope you understand that.

In the second type of area, we are going to gradually strengthen our presence, we are going to build more strongholds in these areas, we are going to expand our area of control, we are going to protect those who are willing to support us, and we are going to crack down on those who are inclined to rebels.

In this area, we are going to build a strong fortress in every village and station some troops. Set up a large base between several small strongholds, and station an army that can quickly support the battle of other strongholds. We will also build roads between these bases that will allow for mutual support. In addition, it is necessary to build blockade walls and blockade ditches that will prevent the rapid maneuver of the enemy. Eventually, we want the people of this area to look up and see our watchtowers; If you look down, you can see our blockade ditch, and as soon as you go out there is our road, and you can't walk a few steps before you meet our detective team. In this way, we will be able to consolidate these areas and turn the second type of area into the first type of area.

As for the third category of areas, now we are mainly engaged in armed strikes.

Gentlemen, the rebels are powerless to engage our army head-on, and our army must insist on operating in a large military group in the third type of area, and not easily disperse its forces. The combat goal of our army is not only to arm the rebels themselves, but also to be the basis for the existence of the rebels. The rebels were able to exist because the Irish in those places supported them. And the Irish supported them because they felt that the traitors could bring them benefits.

Therefore, the actions of our army are aimed at admonishing them, making them realize that the traitors cannot protect them, and even bring them pain. In this way, they will no longer dare to support the rebels. Without the support of these Irish peasants, the rebels would be vulnerable.

So, ladies and gentlemen, the principle of our army's operations in the secluded zone is to make the Irish in this area as fearful and miserable as possible. To put it more simply, it's ......"

At this, the Duke of Norfolk stood up, leaned forward with his hands on the table, and his eyes sparkled fiercely: "Kill anything we see that moves, whether it be a man or a woman or a child; burn down all the buildings we see, whether they are mansions or thatched huts; Take everything we can with us that is valuable, whether it's money, goods, or just a chicken. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a necessary move for political reasons, and this is our policy! You must strictly enforce this policy, and any hesitation or so-called sympathy or chivalry is a betrayal of His Majesty the King, and of the United Kingdom—do you understand? ”

All the officers stood up at the same time and replied in a loud voice: "Understood! ”

"Good." The Duke of Norfolk said, "Sit down, gentlemen. Let me now explain the objectives of our operation. The goal of our operation is to create a great panic in the non-security zone, thereby weakening the rebels and buying us time to consolidate the security zone and the quasi-security zone undisturbed. Ladies and gentlemen, the more you kill, the more you burn, and the more you rob. The more likely we are to consolidate the policing districts, and the more likely it is that the operations of the quasi-policing districts will succeed. This time our plan of action is called 'Noose'. Now, let our General Anderson lay out the specific battle arrangements......"

After this meeting, the 40,000 British troops moved quickly, and they were divided into eight groups and marched from Dublin to the east. According to their battle plan, the 40,000-strong army would first cast an encirclement on a large area of the countryside east of Dublin, and then the encirclement would gradually tighten like a noose. The British would destroy everything in the area they passed. Eventually, according to the plan, a large number of rebels, as well as the peasants who supported them, would be encircled in a shrinking encirclement and finally settled. The Duke of Norfolk believed that if this operation could be successful, it would be a heavy blow to the Irish and turn the whole of Ireland around in one fell swoop.

Regarding this operation, the Duke of Norfolk believed that his chances of success should be quite high. First, there are only a limited number of high-ranking officers who know about the entire program, which makes the possibility of a leak slim. Secondly, even if the purpose of the plan was revealed, he did not think that the rebels would be able to transfer all the peasants from such a large area in such a short period of time. So now, the Duke felt that he only needed to wait for good news in the Doge's Palace.