Day and night, the route was unimpeded, and the cavalry returned to Fuzhou City the next evening.

Zhao Mengqi summoned his ministers to discuss in the staff hall.

After reading Uncle Xie Fang's letter, Lu Xiufu continued, "Judging from all kinds of clues, all the six counties of Tingzhou were broken by bandits, and the whole territory was reduced to a bandit area, and the seat of Zhangzhou Prefecture was besieged in Longxi County.

Longyan County and Changtai County were broken and occupied, the situation in Zhangpu County was unknown, Tong'an County in Quanzhou was besieged, and the situation in Anxi County was unknown, but Qingyang Iron Field was controlled by bandits. ”

"If Quanzhou City is lost, it will not only cause a violent earthquake in the government and the opposition, but also cause us to fall into strategic passivity, which is equivalent to blocking the sea and land passages in southern Fujian."

"In the north, the 6,500 people of our army should be able to arrive in Jianpu County, where the Southern Jianzhou Prefecture is located, today, if there is no change, we will continue to divide our troops to Jianning Mansion to carry out the task of curbing the northward expansion of bandits.

"Fuzhou City, in addition to the two hundred people of His Royal Highness's personal guard, there are still two commanders of Ma Xingsi, two battalions of Dongwei, about 1,500 people, and a number of van troops."

"In terms of time, the transport fleet has returned to Lin'an, and it should almost set off today and tomorrow, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dongwei brigades will arrive in about seven days."

After Lu Xiufu introduced the situation, the atmosphere in the staff hall became solemn.

Chen Wei got up and left the seat and walked to the sand table, and then the others followed around the sand table.

Picking up the indicator pole, Chen Wei pointed on the model of Quanzhou City, "Judging from the information given by Quanzhou, there are currently about 10,000 pirates and more than 30,000 bandits outside the city, but I think that the other party should be aware of our north-south strategy and realize the importance of Quanzhou City, so they are trying to seize the initiative here, so the bandits in Tingzhang and Zhangzhou will continue to gather here, and there may be no less than 100,000 people within five days." ”

"Although most of these people are tenant farmers who are not accustomed to the army, they were born in poor mountains and bad waters, and the folk customs are really strong, and they are supported by Haoqiang openly and secretly, I am afraid that they can no longer be regarded as ordinary rabble."

"They also control the Qingyang Iron Field, and their armament must have been greatly improved, and the bandits have broken through so many counties, no matter what means they use, it shows that they have a certain ability to siege the city."

"On the other hand, Quanzhou City only has more than 3,000 troops, although it is possible to recruit people to help defend the city, but the local civil situation is complicated, if it is not properly controlled, then the people will become a hidden danger."

"So in general, Quanzhou City is in danger."

Zhao Mengqi nodded, his expression still very calm, "Does the bachelor think that those people are not bluffing, but really want to capture Quanzhou City?" ”

"Everything they do is essentially to protect their own interests, but how can they achieve this goal?"

Chen Wei asked himself and replied, "In their eyes, His Royal Highness is the culprit who harms their interests, even if you compromise with them now and promise not to change the pattern of Fujian, I am afraid it will be difficult to make them feel at ease, after all, if you reign in the world in the future, you may still regret it after your strength is strong, so for them, the best result is that Your Highness is completely overthrown, and you will never be able to touch the power, or even die." ”

"I estimate that they have created the current situation, and they have also made a variety of plans, one of which is to use Quanzhou and Liuqiu as bargaining chips to coerce His Highness to bow to them, and then control His Highness through various means and become their puppet."

"Second, if His Royal Highness chooses to rescue Quanzhou as quickly as possible, but the troops in his hands are very limited, and he will be intercepted and killed if he goes rashly, and those people will unite with other forces after the matter is completed, forcing the official family to accept the reality."

"Third, if His Royal Highness wants to wait patiently for the follow-up troops to act, then they will definitely do their best to capture Quanzhou in a short period of time, and use this as a base to fight against His Highness, so that the chaos on the Fujian Road will become protracted, and even form a de facto separation, then His Highness is the sinner of the Great Song Dynasty, when the wall falls down and everyone pushes it, His Highness will have no chance to inherit the country, and then it depends on the situation, if the imperial court is still strong, then they can find a few scapegoats, reconcile with the imperial court, and then reintegrate into the Great Song Dynasty......"

Zhao Mengqi couldn't help laughing, "These people, what are they doing, the first place in infighting...... If I were to pick the second one, I would think they would do that. ”

Chen Wei changed color suddenly, "Your Highness, whether it is the first or the third, in fact, there is room for maneuver, or there is hope for cracking, when there is a shame in the end after temporarily retreating, even if we have to fight, we can't really beat it, it's just that the process is more difficult, and the second option is definitely the lowest strategy, and it is absolutely not feasible!" If Your Highness falls, then everything will be over! ”

"Bachelor, don't be too nervous." Zhao Mengqi's face was indifferent, and his tone was a little relaxed, "You should just teach the juniors, do a tactical analysis, and add a little experience to everyone." ”

Chen Weihu looked at Zhao Mengqi suspiciously, but he didn't see any clues, so he had to believe it for the time being, and pondered on the sand table.

"If His Highness is in a hurry to rescue Quanzhou, there are two roads to choose from, land and sea, and they can't be sure what His Highness will choose, then they must ambush their forces in a place that takes care of both sides......"

After thinking for a while, Chen Wei pointed the indicator pole at Xinghua Bay.

"From Fuzhou to Quanzhou, there is only one official road, and there are several places close to the coast, but this place is the most perfect."

"The Xinghua Army is next to Fuzhou, and the three counties under its jurisdiction have been calm and quiet, and no bandits have been reported, but the cavalry team sent by His Highness to Quanzhou to deliver the letter has been intercepted multiple times, which shows that the Xinghua Army has a big problem."

"Then, between the Xinghua Army and Fuzhou is a large area of impassable mountains, so this section of the official road is almost close to the coast."

"And the north bank of the mouth of the Hagi Lu River is the most dangerous and best to set up an ambush here, the official road passes between Weng Mountain and the Fengtou Mountain, which is blocked by Hagi Lu River, if His Royal Highness leads the army to reach here by land, it is very easy to be surrounded on all sides, and it is basically impossible to escape."

"If Your Highness takes the sea route, there are dozens of islands such as Nanri Island at the mouth of Xinghua Bay, no matter how many ships can hide, it is very suitable for ambushes at sea."

Zhao Mengqi also looked at it carefully for a while, thoughtfully, "It is indeed an ambush place with the best of both worlds, but if I go to the deep sea and bypass them, won't they be blind in vain?" ”

Seeing that Zhao Mengqi still had the intention of taking an adventure, Chen Wei couldn't help but grow his head, "Your Highness, even if you arrive in Quanzhou safely, what can you do?" Even if you take all the soldiers in Fuzhou City away, how can these more than 1,000 people relieve the siege of Quanzhou? Lao Chen can be sure that once Fuzhou is confirmed, they will definitely come to capture it, and once Fuzhou is lost, the army sent to Nanjianzhou and other places will be cut off from logistics supplies......"

"The Bachelor has a point." Zhao Mengqi looked like he was taught, and then grinned, "But don't forget that I still have a Shenzhou, in addition, I brought a lot of sharp firearms this time, so I can go to Liuqiu first, with firearms, the base on the island only needs a small number of troops, plus the people can defend it, so that I can exchange more than two thousand elite combat power, then I can do a lot of things." ”

Chen Wei thought about it, and it seemed to be a little feasible, "What about Fuzhou?" You're not going to be a soldier, are you? Your Highness, it was you who asked Lao Chen to be the Chief of the General Staff, and you said that even you yourself have to obey Lao Chen's command, don't forget! ”

"Hehe, soldiers, there will always be crowding, I didn't say I didn't listen to you, isn't this discussing with you...... Although the risks are a bit high, the benefits are also high, and it may be able to lay the foundation for victory and speed up the entire counterinsurgency process. ”

Zhao Mengqi roughly said his idea, and Chen Wei took his staff and Lu Xiufu and others to deduce it several times, and the success rate was about fifty percent.

But if it really succeeds, it will not only be able to keep Quanzhou and Liuqiu, but also severely damage the power of the traitors, and even create an opportunity to encircle and annihilate the nearly 100,000 bandits who gathered under the city of Quanzhou.

The more difficult to determine, and the more important factor to influence is when the follow-up troops will arrive.

If something happens on the Lin'an side and delays the time for the follow-up troops to go to sea, Zhao Mengqi may fall into a very dangerous situation.

So Chen Wei is still difficult to decide, after all, he loses all the games when he makes a mistake.

However, Zhao Mengqi was full of confidence, "Bachelor, don't hesitate, where can you always be stable in the world, give it a go, and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle......

"What bike? What touches? Chen Wei was confused.

Zhao Mengqi touched his nose, "It's not important, don't care about these, the so-called three points rely on luck, seven points rely on hard work, how can you not fight if you want to do big things, not to mention that I think luck has always been very good, besides, I have Shenzhou, in case something is not good, it is a big deal to run away." ”

At this time, Lu Xiufu also spoke, "Chen Xiang, in the opinion of the lower officials, this risk is still worth taking, otherwise the chaos will be delayed, and it will cause great damage to the country and the people." ”

Maybe it was infected by the momentum of young people, or it may be influenced by the feelings of family and country, Chen Wei finally agreed.

"That's... Okay, the old minister will accompany His Highness to fight! Now send someone to quietly go to Gutian to recall the two battalions. ”

"No, no, no, don't be quiet, just make a big fuss!" Zhao Mengqi's eyes flashed with cunning.

Soon after, the closed Hesha Gate was opened, and three heralds rode out on the official road to Gutian.

The temporary post station that has been set up along the way, and the horses are changed every fifty miles, so as to quickly convey military orders.

Then the city was also lively, and the officials beat gongs and drums, and walked the streets and alleys to read out the proclamations.

"His Royal Highness King Yan has an order, recruit temporary bravery, all the soldiers and armor are provided by the government, the salary is paid daily, three hundred Wen a day, and the people who are strong and resolute and resolute must behave well, and if they perform well, they can be promoted to the main army under the command of King Yan in the future, and those who are interested can go to the Tiger Festival Gate tonight to apply for the ......"

For a time, the entire city of Fuzhou became restless.

Yan Wang's army is well treated, which is well known, and he eats better than many rich people in the countryside every day.

However, it is still very dangerous to be a soldier after all, and there are still not many people who really dare to go, but the population base in the city is there, and it is not difficult to recruit three or four thousand.

Moreover, Chen Wei also mobilized and called on large families to gather their nursing homes to form a militia group, which is more than 2,000 people.

In addition, there was also a collection of means of transportation, all ox carts, chickens, and buses, and the officials were recalled to the yamen and began to run errands overnight.

So in the midst of the disturbances, the news that King Yan was going to rescue Quanzhou also spread.