Li Yan asked again: "Among the dead and injured fishermen, are there any military families?" ”

"Not really. :3" Li Zhong immediately replied: "There are not many ships in the navy, and there are no new sailors. ”

Li Yan nodded and said slowly: "That's good." If you have a blood feud with the soldiers, it will really be difficult to use Zheng Zhilong's sailors in the future. ”

Li Zhong asked puzzledly: "Haven't you always been reluctant to reuse the bandits, why do you want to use Zheng Zhilong's Haikou now?" ”

"The sea is different from the land." Li Yan said helplessly: "The land division, whether it is cavalry or infantry, can train a peasant into a warrior in a year or two. However, the sailors are different, operating warships across the ocean is all based on experience and courage, not one or two years of training. Fishermen in small fishing boats have to start from scratch when they get on a warship. As long as Zheng Zhilong's subordinates can strictly abide by the order, they should still be retained as much as possible. ”

Li Zhong said worriedly: "But Zheng Zhilong has no intention of surrendering, it is easy to solve his land strength, but Zheng Zhilong can also gain a foothold in Taiwan." Coupled with the fleet in his hands, I'm afraid it's our coastal zone, and the trouble has just begun. ”

"Then slowly consume!" Li Yan slapped the table and said firmly: "I don't believe it, without the financial resources on land, how long can he hold on!" Inform Huang Desheng and Zuo Mengeng and ask them to speed up the elimination of Li Zicheng. By the way, you can let him recruit Shimada Mixiu first. Tian Jianxiu has a lot of contact with us, and his status in Li Zicheng's team is not low, and recruiting him down can break the resistance of Li Zicheng's troops faster. ”

"Well, I hope it helps." Li Zhong nodded and said: "They are scurrying around in the mountains, our troops are not enough, and Zuo Mengeng is not trying his best, so he always can't surround them." ”

"That's right," he then mentioned: "Zuo Mengeng sent someone to contact, hoping that we can provide him with some firearms, so as to improve the combat effectiveness of his subordinates and annihilate Li Zicheng as soon as possible." Moreover, he also wanted to appoint several county commanders so that he could raise food and wages on the spot. ”

Li Yan said without the slightest discussion: "Tell him to hand over Zhu Changzhu and the former Ming officials earlier, and after the troops are reorganized and trained, the firearms will naturally be available." As for food and wages, a supply station can be set up in Jiangxi to supply it nearby. However, the troops were inspected and rosters were established, and the food was fully distributed, and only half of the salary was paid. If he is not satisfied, he can join forces with Li Zicheng, and I will exterminate them together. ”

"Then we have to let Zhou He prepare in Jiangxi," Li Zhong proposed: "Zuo Mengeng is not a good child, it is better to be prepared." ”

Li Yan completely agrees with this, and he naturally will not let anyone harm the stability of Daliang again. However, he also knew that Zuo Mengeng had been running around for the past two years, and he had already become a lost dog, and these people turned out to be officials and soldiers, so if they were really allowed to be rogues, they were really incompetent. So as long as a certain amount of pressure is maintained, Zuo Mengeng will not take risks.

He was now worried about Sichuan, where the army was thin, and Zhang Xianzhong's 100,000 or so subordinates had arrived in Chongqing, and once they were allowed to gain a foothold, Chengdu would immediately become a dangerous place.

So he said: "The Sichuan side must strengthen some troops. A thousand veterans, captains, and captains were sent from the north to let Zhao Datong train a new army on the spot in Sichuan. Government officials should also speed up the transfer of government officials and seize power in Sichuan as soon as possible. However, when the land is redistributed, for those who are involved, we will keep it as it is, and then deal with it when we have the spare strength. ”

Li Zhong nodded and said, "Well, this does need to be considered. Moreover, the localities along the river in western Hubei should also strengthen their vigilance to prevent Zhang Xianzhong's remaining bandits from going east along the river and causing trouble. ”

Li Yan completely agreed, and asked Li Zhong to send a document to the relevant units according to this meaning. He is also helpless now, not only is there a large number of troops along the Great Wall, but now he must strengthen the coastal defenses, and the number of troops always feels stretched and insufficient.

And Sun Kewang and others, who had just settled in various counties in Chongqing, finally began to have time to discuss the leadership of the team. They are all rebellious old men, so they naturally know the truth that a snake can't do without a head. But after all, they are only brothers of the same generation, and even if they are in order, they cannot be used as a basis for who is the leader. In the face of the temptation of the leader, it is inevitable that some people will do unrighteous acts, so Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu and Li Dingguo are all loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and they are on guard to prevent being hacked by others.

The former Ming official army in several counties around Chongqing was powerless, and the county seat was easily captured. The original rebel forces around Chongqing also happily came to defect to the old-timers, and the surrounding areas of Chongqing were soon controlled by them.

Sun Kewang invited Liu Wenxiu and Li Dingguo to Chongqing several times to discuss matters, but he finally made a meeting by messenger and finally settled on a river beach at the junction of the area controlled by the three people.

The three men left their guards far away and met alone on the river beach. They all sighed in their hearts, it turned out that they were close brothers, but Zhang Xianzhong's sudden death in battle made them completely distrustful of each other.

Liu Wenxiu took the lead and said: "Two elder brothers, the younger brother has given the two elder brothers a salute." ”

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo also took advantage of the situation to give each other hands and greeted each other, and the embarrassment between their brothers disappeared a lot. Sun Kewang spoke first: "Is the matter of Nengqi confirmed?" ”

Liu Wenxiu nodded depressedly and replied, "It should be that he died in battle." None of the people who fled saw it with their own eyes, but the traders from Huguang said that they had seen the notice from the Liang court. ”

Li Dingguo asked expressionlessly: "Then now, what should we do?" ”

"Revenge will be talked about slowly." Sun Kewang said straight to the point: "We can't form a rope, even if we want to avenge our father-in-law, we can't do it." It's better to decide who will be the top spot. ”

Liu Wenxiu didn't wait for Li Dingguo to speak, and first said: "It's good for the two elder brothers to discuss, and the younger brother absolutely supports it." ”

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo had no doubts about Liu Wenxiu's promise, so the two looked at each other and didn't know how to persuade each other. As for the fire, none of them were reckless, knowing that if they did, they would die faster.

After waiting for a while, Liu Wenxiu saw that the two didn't know how to speak, so he proposed: "Or, the two brothers talk about the next plan, which brother makes sense, which brother is in charge, what do the two brothers think?" ”

Li Dingguo nodded in agreement, and first said: "I think we made a mistake when we came to Chongqing in a hurry. Although the mountains here are steep, they are surrounded by Li Yan. So next, we should get out of here as soon as possible, enter Yungui, and connect Nanming, so that we can advance and retreat freely. ”

Sun Kewang shook his head: "There is no problem with Yungui, but Lian Nanming is not wise." The official mansions, officials and troops of Nanming in various places, you have not seen it, where is there still a little bit of spirit. Officials, big and small, are either vying for power or waiting for the new dynasty to take over. Joining forces with them to resist the Beam will not do us any good. It's better to contact Yungui's Tusi, the Tusi are better at fighting than the Han soldiers, and in this time of chaos in the world, if those Tusi have a little ambition, it will be much easier to persuade them. ”

Li Dingguo looked at Liu Wenxiu, and the meaning was obvious, that is, let Liu Wenxiu be the referee.

So Liu Wenxiu arched his hand and said: "Since the two elder brothers love each other, the younger brother will tell the truth." I still hope that what my brother said makes sense, those officials and soldiers in Nanming are indeed a muddy puddle, and they are still more reliable. ”

Sun Kewang laughed when he heard this. And Li Dingguo was also trustworthy, and hugged his fist to Sun Kewang and said: "Since what my brother said is reasonable, then ask my brother to take charge of the overall situation." ”

Sun Kewang smiled and said solemnly, "Okay." Since the two brothers love each other, then I'm not welcome. From now on, let's collect food and soldiers, and set off to Yungui in half a month, and my brother and I will take the lead. At the same time, the two brothers will recommend a few of you who can speak well, and after we have set a strategy, let these people go to the front station. Do the two brothers think it's possible? ”

"It's all at my brother's orders." Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu clasped their fists and said.