After Ye Zongliu led his troops to capture the capital city of Ganzhou, he began to expand the army on a large scale, gathering tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in just half a month, and the strength of the army increased from 280,000 to 350,000.

Then, Ye Zongliu left an army of 50,000 thieves to garrison the capital of Ganzhou, and an army of 100,000 thieves to garrison Xingguo County, Ningdu County, and Shicheng County respectively, while he led an army of 100,000 thieves to Ruijin County in the east, preparing to join the army of 100,000 thieves led by Wang Neng and invade Tingzhou Mansion again.

This time to the east, Ye Zongliu also specially sent someone to contact Deng Maoqi in the south, preparing for the two families to march at the same time to seize the Tingzhou Mansion.

It's not that Ye Zongliu has to keep an eye on Tingzhou Mansion, but that Ye Zongliu wants to take advantage of the supply difficulties of the more than 40,000 officers and soldiers who are now going south to conquer and suppress, and take the initiative to rush up to invite the battle, wanting to take this opportunity to defeat the more than 40,000 officers and troops in order to regain the initiative in this battle!

Just when Ye Zongliu led an army of 100,000 thieves to Ruijin County, Deng Maoqi also sent someone to send a reply, saying that he would gather troops and horses to enter the Tingzhou Mansion as soon as possible, so as to assist Ye Zongliu in his attack.

Orthodox fifteenth year mid-April.

Ye Zongliu ordered Wang Neng to lead 50,000 thieves and soldiers to continue to garrison Ruijin County to defend the rear of the army.

And Ye Zongliu himself led an army of 150,000 thieves to rush into Tingzhou Mansion in one fell swoop, and divided his troops into three routes: Ye Zongliu personally led a main army of 100,000 to besiege Tingzhou Mansion, and 30,000 thieves and Kou elite soldiers all the way to Liancheng County in the east of Tingzhou Mansion, and 20,000 thieves and Kou Biao troops raided Ninghua County and Qingliu County in the north of Tingzhou Mansion.

At the same time, Deng Maoqi also gathered an army of 100,000 thieves, led by his younger brother Deng Maoba, and rushed to the Huanggongling area, more than 100 miles south of the capital city of Tingzhou, to ambush, preparing to block more than 40,000 officers and troops in Wuping County.

As a result, the Tingzhou Mansion and the Fujian Political Envoy Division, who had just calmed down, suddenly became noisy, and the people and officials everywhere were trembling, and the emergency documents from all over the country flew to the military headquarters like snowflakes.

At the same time, the army of thieves who remained in Ganzhou Mansion in Jiangxi Province was not idle, and was still plundering the population and capturing the city.

What's more serious is that whether it is Ye Zongliu's thieves or Deng Mao's seven thieves, they have all begun to train elite soldiers, hoard troops and baggage, and have begun to embark on the principle of building a government with elite soldiers.

For the imperial court, this is far more serious than losing the city and losing the land!

It didn't take long for the news of Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu's two bands of thieves attacking everywhere spread throughout the southern provinces.

The Investigation Department also clarified the deployment and direction of action of Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu's two bandits, and sent them all to the camp of Liu Juntao's department in Wuping County.

Liu Juntao was also taken aback after receiving the news, and said to Zhang Xiaojun, Yan Hu, Zhou Zongsheng, Sun Xu and others: "In this way, the thieves have resurged, and our previous battles are like a dream!" ”

Everyone was also secretly frightened, and they all hugged their fists and asked for battle, asking Liu Juntao to meet with General Dai Jingkui and immediately ask for battle and attack.

Zhang Xiaojun said anxiously: "General! The grain and grass we carry with the army can still support four months, and it can completely support our 25,000 soldiers to attack north. ”

Yan Hu also said: "General, what Commander Zhang said is very true, we must enter the army as soon as possible, otherwise the previous results will be in vain!" ”

Liu Juntao pondered for a while, and then said: "Now the thieves are huge, although our army is strong, but after all, the strength is insufficient, if we go north alone, we will inevitably be weak, and we must pull the 20,000 troops under the general!" ”

After speaking, Liu Juntao took Zhang Xiaojun, Yan Hu, Zhou Zongsheng, Sun Xu and others to the Chinese army camp to meet General Dai Jingkui.

"My lord! Now that the bandits are back in flames, our army must go north to meet the battle as soon as possible, otherwise the situation will be completely out of control if the bandits are allowed to run rampant like this! ”

At this time, General Dai Jingkui was also worried about this, and said: "I also want to attack as soon as possible. However, now our army is short of food and grass, and there has been no response from the military department, and our army will not be able to go north in a short period of time! ”

Liu Juntao pondered for a while, then clenched his fists and said: "Dare to ask the general, how long can the grain and grass in the army last at this time?" ”

General Dai Jingkui couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and said: "I can probably hold on for about two months." ”

"General, there is still a large amount of grain and grass carried by the lowly army, which is estimated to be used by the army for about a month and a half! Coupled with the grain and grass in the army, our more than 40,000 soldiers should be able to hold out for three and a half months, which is enough for us to repel the attack of the thieves! ”

Speaking of this, Liu Juntao said with a smile: "Of course, the premise is that the general can get the authorization of the Ministry of War!" ”

After hearing this, General Dai Jingkui couldn't help but pause for a moment, and then said with a sigh: "Liu Guerrilla led his troops south to carry extra grain and grass, which is really heartfelt!" In this way, I immediately sent fast horses to report to the army headquarters for battle, and at the same time, our battalions and armies began to gather troops and horses, ready to go north at any time! ”

Liu Juntao immediately received the order when he heard the words and said; "Don't worry, general, I will immediately send someone to send grain and grass to the Chinese army camp, which will be distributed by the general."

After Liu Juntao and the others returned to the camp, everyone asked Liu Juntao why he took out the grain and grass so happily and divided it, Liu Juntao said: "Now we want to end this battle as soon as possible and return to Yushan Town, so I can only make this decision!" ”

On the same day, the soldiers and horses of each battalion in Yushan Town evened out the grain and grass and sent it to the Chinese army camp.

And the general Dai Jingkui also sent a fast horse to send a request to the military department, but it will take at least ten days to go back and forth, and it will take some time for the army to go north.

At this moment, Deng Mao couldn't wait for the news of the start of the Tingzhou Mansion for a long time, so he couldn't sit still.

It's not that Deng Maoqi is worried that the 40,000 officers and soldiers in Wuping County will be killed, but that he is worried that he won't come!

This time, Deng Maoqi made a bloody investment and deployed all his most elite 100,000 troops in Huanggongling, preparing to gather and annihilate more than 40,000 officers and troops.

But now that the more than 40,000 officers and troops in Wuping County have not moved, Deng Maoqi began to think wildly.

After thinking about it, Deng Maoqi ordered Chen Zhengjing to lead 100,000 soldiers and horses to stay in the south of Ganzhou Mansion, and he led 200,000 troops east to Huanggongling, preparing to gather 100,000 soldiers and horses of his younger brother Deng Mao's eight divisions, and concentrate 300,000 main forces to gather in Huanggongling, and start a decisive battle with the more than 40,000 officers and soldiers!

Deng Maoqi made a desperate bet this time, knowing in his heart that if he was defeated, he would fall into a situation from which he could not recover, and there would be no chance of recovery.

However, Deng Maoqi was confident that he would defeat the more than 40,000 officers and troops, not to mention that the terrain of Huanggongling was dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the 300,000 army he led had also undergone "strict" training, which was already much stronger than the previous so-called million army.

Deng Maoqi thought that the 300,000 army he led already had the strength to fight a decisive battle with the official army!

More importantly, the more than 40,000 officers and soldiers are well-equipped, and the men and horses of Yushan Town are sharp in firearms, if these more than 40,000 officers and troops can be annihilated, Deng Maoqi can capture all these troops for his own use, and the combat power of the army under his department can explode geometrically!

As the saying goes: wealth is in danger!

Deng Maoqi made a desperate attempt to lead the department to join Deng Mao's eight departments this time, and also took his only nephew Deng Bosun with him, ready to be tempered as his heir.

Deng Maoqi has no heirs, he loves his nephew Deng Bosun very much, regards him as his own, and has regarded Deng Bosun as Deng Maoqi's successor in the thief army, even Deng Maoba thinks so.

This time, Deng Maoqi thought that he had the chance to win, so he brought Deng Bosun over, and asked him to lead 10,000 elite soldiers to participate in the war.

After learning the news, Ye Zongliu was overjoyed and said to his subordinates: "This lion and tiger fight must be one death and one injury!" Here's our chance! ”

Ye Zongliu is very aware of the strength of Liu Juntao's troops, so he is very sure that this time the army of Deng Mao's seven subordinates will definitely be defeated, and Liu Juntao's troops and horses and the rest of the officers and troops will definitely not be better, and the loss of troops will be certain!

Therefore, Ye Zongliu seized the time to attack the city and let Deng Maoqi and the official army start a decisive battle, and ignored it!

And Liu Juntao also received a message from the Investigation Department, learning that the army of Deng Mao's seven departments was frequently mobilized, and the 300,000 troops did not know where to go!

In this regard, Liu Juntao also attached great importance to it, and on the one hand, he asked the Investigation Department to seize the time to search for the whereabouts of the main army of Deng Mao's seven departments, and on the other hand, he began to think about the current battle situation.

Twelve days later, the Ministry of War finally sent an order, and General Dai Jingkui's request for war was finally approved by the Ministry of War.

After receiving the order, General Dai Jingkui immediately ordered the officers and men of each battalion to set off as a whole and prepare to go north to rescue the capital city of Tingzhou!