On the question of how to view the possession of firearms by the Dingyan Army and whether it is necessary to revise the established guidelines and policies of the crossing team for this purpose, the brothers attending the meeting can be said to have different opinions and opinions. However, it can be basically summarized into two categories. The first is to attach great importance to it, believing that even if it may have some adverse effects on the implementation and completion of the overall plan for pacifying the world, it is necessary to temporarily adjust the established plan, take advantage of the fact that the Dingnan army is only in possession of primitive firearms, and take advantage of the ongoing action of the imperial court to reduce the feudal domain, find an appropriate excuse to raise troops to crusade against the Dingyan army, and nip the use and development of its firearms in the bud, so as to prevent future troubles forever. The other group is unimpressed, believing that there is no need to adjust the established plan for a small difficult army, and to conquer it at the cost of possibly affecting the overall plan of pacifying the world. At this stage, it is only necessary to closely monitor the Dingyan Army to prevent the outflow of firearms, and after the corresponding plan is completed step by step, then go back and slap the Dingyan Army into powder.

However, unlike in the past, when civilian officials mostly advocated solving problems by peaceful means, and military generals mostly hoped to eliminate hidden dangers by force, this time, in response to the problem of the difficult army, it was the technical members represented by Li Junwu, Zhou Lei, and Liu Wendong who advocated immediate armed strikes in the crossing team. It is the military-type members represented by Xu Shao'an, Wang Feng, and Muttel who advocate ignoring the difficult army for the time being and responding to all changes unchanged.

On the one hand, perhaps out of awe of the development of science and technology, or perhaps because they felt that the original standout and superior transcendent status was threatened, Li Junwu, Zhou Lei, Liu Wendong and other members of the Ministry of Science and Technology team could be said to have firearms in the Dingyan Army, and felt that the existence of the firearms unit of the Dingyan Army, which was called the "Thunderbolt Army", with more than 90 artillery pieces, more than 1,500 flintlock guns, and a total number of nearly 2,500 people, was absolutely intolerable. It is to actively support the immediate use of force to resolve the hidden danger of the difficult army.

On the other hand, out of extreme confidence in their own strength, out of the heroic spirit of looking down on the world and who competes with each other, Xu Shao'an, Wang Feng, Muttel and other members of the military team can be said to be indifferent and disdainful of the fact that the Dingyan Army has some primitive firearms. According to Muttel's words, the dozens of front-loading guns and 1,000 flintlock pistols of the so-called "Thunderbolt Army" of the Dingyan Army were simply not enough. If the brothers don't know about it, maybe they may suffer a small loss at the beginning of the first encounter in the future. Now that he knows about it, and he knows about the quantity, performance, and training level of his equipment, how can he have the opportunity to show off his might when he meets him in the future. If your brothers are still not at ease, then there is no need to revise the established policy plan, as long as the committee gives my brother an arrow, and then asks Qiu Mingbo to draw a brief map, brother and I can immediately lead the "Ranger Battalion" and "Wolf Tooth Battalion" westward to the Dingyan Army, raid the secret military village where the "Thunderbolt Army" is located, destroy all kinds of firearms in it, and then snatch Chen Baoqiang and others back, and eliminate the ability of the Dingyan Army to make firearms.

Although it was not an impossible task to attack the so-called "Thunderbolt Army" of the Dingyan Army from a distance with the "Ranger Battalion" and the "Wolf's Tooth Battalion", it was not a good look on the face of the feudal towns that were unknown and the imperial court sent troops to raid the feudal towns without fault - the imperial court never ordered the local feudal towns to have firearms, and the crime of the difficult army could not be punished on this ground. Second, it was difficult to raid the "Thunderbolt Army" Yi, but it was difficult to snatch out Chen Baoqiang and others safely. After all, Tongwan City is not a walled city in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is almost impossible for the "Ranger Battalion" and "Wolf Tooth Battalion" lacking heavy artillery to break through this white city that is heavily guarded, tall and strong, and can be said to have been built with the lives of countless craftsmen, let alone rush into the city to rescue Chen Baoqiang and others.

Therefore, after some discussion and weighing, the final resolution of the participants did not contain any content about sending troops to raid the "Thunderbolt Army", but followed the strategy of "responding to all changes with the same", and solved the relevant problems in two steps without changing the current policy implemented by the crossing team and without affecting the overall situation.

The first step is to strengthen the intelligence department's presence in the direction of the Raider Army, to carry out a comprehensive infiltration of its upper and lower levels, and to closely monitor its firearms production and all the circumstances related to the "Thunderbolt Army". At the same time, after Qiu Mingbo returned to the Dingyan Army, the local intelligence department station should try its best to get in touch with Qiu, Chen, and others, and keep abreast of their dynamics and situation, so that when the time is ripe, these four people can be taken out of the Dingyan Army and sent to Kaifeng - although the enlarged meeting of the committee has agreed to accept Chen Baoqiang, Qiu Mingbo, and others, in order not to arouse the suspicion of the Dingyan Army, Qiu Mingbo still needs to return with his delegation this time, and cannot stay in Kaifeng.

In the second step, after picking up Chen Baoqiang, Qiu Mingbo and others, the crossing team should secretly strengthen the military strength of the military towns around the Dingyan Army such as Lingzhou, Fuzhou, and Yanzhou, and on the one hand, form a situation of entrapment against the Dingyan Army to prevent it from further expanding its territory and strength. On the other hand, it is necessary to strictly control the passage of the Dingnan army to the Khitan or the Western Regions, and disperse outward with fire weapons. After the crossing team completes the established plan for the southern expedition and the northern expedition, they will move westward to completely eliminate the hidden danger of the Dingyan army.

When Xin Feiyu returned home and explained to Qiu Mingbo the relevant resolutions of the crossing team, Qiu Mingbo, who thought that the other party would accept him and let him stay in Kaifeng, couldn't help but be a little disappointed. First, although the Dingyan Army treats them very preferentially, no matter how preferential they are, they can't be comparable to the conditions of the crossing team in Kaifeng - I haven't seen the situation and living conditions of the crossing team in Kaifeng before, and now I see that the other party is in control of the government in politics, the world in the military, and the glory in life, how can Qiu Mingbo not be blushing, envious, and yearning for it; Second, although the crossing team has decided to strengthen the intelligence work on the side of the Determination Army, and when the time comes, they will try to get the four people out of the Determination Army; Although Qiu Mingbo had never engaged in intelligence work and knew very little about the relevant situation, he also understood that it would not happen overnight for an intelligence force to gain a foothold in a certain place and form an intricate intelligence network that contacts all directions. What's more, it is still in an area controlled by an alien race, and its difficulty can be imagined. And this also means that after going back this time, he, his wife, children, and brothers may have to wait for a long time before they have the opportunity to break away from the Dingyan Army and return to Kaifeng City. Therefore, although he didn't say it, Qiu Mingbo was unwilling to return to the Dingyan Army in his heart.

However, I don't want to return unwillingly, considering that it is not appropriate to startle the snake now, plus my wife, children, family and good brothers who share weal and woe are still in Xiazhou, if I don't go back, I am afraid that their situation will be worrying. Therefore, no matter how reluctant he was in his heart, Qiu Mingbo had to accept the arrangement made by the crossing team, and after having a meal at Xin Feiyu's mansion, he took his leave and returned to the station of the Dingyan Army Mission before dark.

Fortunately, in the past few days, Qiu Mingbo has been taking leave from the envoy Li Guangyan in the name of visiting Kaifeng City, and basically returns to the pavilion at this time every day. In addition, "Qingyuan City" is the most heavily guarded place in Kaifeng City, even the locals of the capital rarely move around it, let alone outsiders who are not familiar with the place like the Dingyan Army Mission. Therefore, although Qiu Mingbo made a small mess at the gate of "Qingyuan City" and "South Third Gate" that day, no one saw it, and it did not become a topic of discussion in the streets of Kaifeng City. Therefore, neither the chief and deputy envoys of the mission, nor the other members of the entourage, had any doubts about his frequent outings in the past few days.

On the eighteenth day of September in the fourth lunar calendar of Jianlong, after completing a series of established procedures such as entering the contribution ceremony and accepting the rewards of the imperial court, Li Guangyan led all the members of the Dingyan Army to enter the contribution ceremony, including the unwilling and reluctant Qiu Mingbo, to leave Kaifeng City and embark on the return journey back to Xiazhou - because he needed to participate in the crown ceremony next year, Li Guangxin, who had previously entered Beijing to report on his work, was still left in the capital by the imperial court and could not return with his own brothers. Just two days before the departure of the Dingyan Army Mission, an intelligence team composed of agents from the Internal Affairs Department and the Foreign Affairs Department of the Ministry of Intelligence was also formed, and dozens of detectives dressed up as long-distance caravans, scholars traveling thousands of miles, tourists visiting the mountains and rivers, passers-by who sought relatives and friends, and even beggars fleeing from the famine and begging for food, flocked to Xiazhou, Yinzhou, Suizhou, and Youzhou under the jurisdiction of the Dingyan Army in various ways and in various capacities. Began to carry out a comprehensive investigation and infiltration of the Dingyan army.