In Qingdao, Meng Jiucheng stayed for a month, and watched with his own eyes the Navy added several more naval ships and more than a thousand sailors.

With Rong'er here, there is not much problem with Huang Laochuan's recruitment and incorporation. Pirates are not good at fighting, but they are good at sailing, which is also an aspect that Meng Jiucheng values.

Although Meng Jiucheng had the idea of ​​recruiting coastal people such as Fujian and Guangdong to settle down in Shandong, how many people will now abandon their safety and run to this war-torn place?

Even sailors in the navy are temporarily hired, or maritime merchants to please Meng Jiucheng, or to personally seek high salaries, they cannot be relied on for a long time.

It is obviously not a task that can be completed in a short period of time to learn and cultivate qualified sailors. Moreover, those hired sailors are likely to be reserved when teaching.

If Huang Laochuan was recruited, the situation would be very different. As long as he settled on the shore, Meng Jiucheng would control the pirates.

If they want to do well with Meng Jiucheng and their family members will benefit from it, they have to perform and work hard.

Therefore, Meng Jiucheng could come up with generous conditions, which was to ask the pirates to settle down here and complete the transformation of soldiers.

Of course, if the Red Turban Army continues to be strong and the base areas continue to be stable, over time, people from the southern coastal areas will come to settle down.

After all, being able to escape pirates like Fujian Road also shows the difficulty of survival.

Originally, Meng Jiucheng wanted to leave Qingdao after Huang Laochuan and his son and subordinates arrived.

But the changes in the situation forced him to change his plan, set off early, and rushed to Muling Pass.

Obviously, Jin Ting was not very satisfied with Pusan ​​Anzhen's performance in Shandong. Wanyan Xun, a patient with Alzheimer's disease, transferred Pusan ​​Anzhen back and sent another heavyweight figure to the town of Shandong to deal with the rebel army.

This heavyweight figure is Hou Zhi, the Left Chief of the Shangshu. Jin Ting issued an order to go to Dongping Prefecture, and Quan served as the general manager of the military commander of the route, responsible for dealing with the Red Coat Army.

Speaking of Hou Zhi, he is not a simple person. He was originally from Dong'a, Shandong. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Mingchang, and was a generous and promising person.

In April of the third year of Zhenyou (1215 AD), Hou Zhi, who was then the Taichangqing, submitted nine good strategies to save the country to Wanyan Xun. Although it was not adopted by Wanyan Xun, it won Wanyan Xun's appreciation.

Therefore, Wanyan Xun decided to give Hou Zhi a chance to make achievements!

This may not be a wrong decision, but it is very abnormal.

Pusan ​​Anzhen was dispatching all kinds of troops to attack Huo Yi and other rebels. His departure immediately caused the attack to come to a halt.

Although it was only a temporary pause, the rebels from all walks of life still got a chance to breathe.

It turned out that Hao Ding's troops, which were originally dependent on Liu Erzu, had grown to more than 60,000 people. They attacked and plundered the Teng, Han and Shan states, and used warships obtained from the attack on the siege to invade both sides of the Yellow River.

On the surface, the rapid momentum of the rebel army under Hao Ding's troops has successfully surpassed the two predecessors, Yang Aner and Liu Erzu.

So, Comrade Hao Ding, who was proud of his youth, also made the same mistake as Yang Aner, and couldn't wait to start building a title of emperor.

Emperor, this is really an irresistible temptation. Countless heroes and heroes and martial artists have longed for the supreme emperor throne.

Throughout history, under the temptation of the emperor's throne, many people have lost their basic rationality and judgment. In order to live the addiction to being an emperor, they even forgot the huge risk of becoming an emperor.

In fact, this cannot be entirely blamed on Hao Ding for being short-sighted and unable to grasp the direction of life. Among the leaders of the peasant army in China in history, it seems that few people can withstand the temptation.

Even if you only briefly obtain the short-term emperor-like happiness and excitement, and then face a catastrophe, many people are happy with it.

As soon as Liu Erzu died, Hao Ding was relieved from his dependence.

So he called himself the Emperor of Han, set up all officials, established regimes, and finally became the second emperor in the Red Coat Army.

As a result, the Jin army's attention was attracted by the new emperor, and Hou Zhi, who had just taken office, immediately regarded Hao Ding as a good bargaining chip for his achievements.

The chain reaction caused by this was that Huo Yi finally had the opportunity to successfully take over Liu Erzu's baton. Moreover, Huo Yi's organizational ability was no less than that of Liu Erzu, and the Tai'an Red Coat Army quickly grew after the failure.

Now, the Red Coat Army led by Peng Yibin, Shi Gui, Xia Quan, Shi Qing, Pei Yuan, Ge Ping, Yang Deguang, Wang Xianzhong and others have all relied on Huo Yi, and the Tai'an Red Coat Army has been boosted.

Taking advantage of the adjustment and deployment of the Jin army, he was preparing to attack the Han emperor Hao Ding in Yanzhou. Huo Yi led his army out of Tengzhou, attacked Qufu, and then marched towards Tai'an.

At the same time, Huo Yi sent a letter to Meng Jiucheng, making an appointment to act together, and after conquering Tai'an, he would attack Jinan again.

Meng Jiucheng actually did not want to have major military operations, although the supply of gunpowder and ammunition to the rebels and other rebels has not been interrupted.

But Huo Yi's invitation still needs to respond. Moreover, the joint action is not to mobilize troops. It is enough to transfer the troops from Muling Pass to Qingshi Pass and more than 10,000 people will participate in the war.

Of course, this is also beneficial to the Red Turban Army.

First of all, you can push the front one step forward and reach Laiwu on the western front.

Secondly, the more fierce the rebels of various groups are, the less free the Jin army can deal with the Red Turban Army. The larger the territory the rebels occupy on the periphery, the more they can play a buffering and early warning role.

If Laiwu and Tai'an can be conquered, Meng Jiucheng is also preparing to join forces with Li Quan to attack Zibo. He will eliminate this obstacle that lies between the two armies, so that the situation in Shandong will not be worse than the defeat of Liu Erzu and Hao Ding.

In fact, Meng Jiucheng had already written a letter, hoping that Li Quan's troops could put pressure on Zibo and create more favorable conditions for the Red Turban Army to attack Laiwu.

Judging from the current situation, the Shandong rebel army mainly consists of the four major branches of Meng Jiucheng, Li Quan, Huo Yi and Hao Ding.

In addition to Hao Ding, Meng Jiucheng hopes to meet the top three, form an offensive and defensive alliance, try to watch over each other, and stabilize the situation before the war between Song and Jin.

Therefore, when Meng Jiucheng went to Muling Pass this time, he did not bring Yang Miaozhen with him. Instead, he told her to stay at home, and it didn’t matter whether it was Jiaozhou or Qingdao. Another thing was to place Huang Laochuan through his close relationship with Rong'er.

Without further ado, Meng Jiucheng led his personal guards to Muling Pass day and night. At this time, Han Shouzhong, who had already received the letter, also sent deputy general Wang Xian to lead three thousand troops to arrive.

Regardless of whether Li Quan would put pressure on Zibo, the Red Turban Army had dispatched more than 13,000 troops, and the victory was greatly increased.

After a slight adjustment, Meng Jiucheng led his troops to head westward and rushed to Qingshi Pass.

Qingshiguan Castle was once the southern gate of Linzi, the ancient capital of Qi. It was built with the Jade Emperor Mountain as a barrier. It was built with the dangerous terrain and was known as "the gate of Zhizi, which clashed with the south, and was sent to the army to cross the border."

Although as time goes by, the importance of Qingshi Pass is no longer as important as before, it is also a dangerous pass.

Meng Jiucheng led his army to Qingshi Pass, met with Yan Tong and Wang Min, and discussed the attack on Laiwu and even Tai'an.

"The Laiwu defenders are three thousand, and they are not strong in combat power. They can win the attack!" Wang Min reached out and clicked the map and said, "The only thing that our army can think about is the enemy of Zibo. I heard that the Huamao Army was transferred to guard the battle, and the chief general Guo Zhongyuan has also been through many battle formations. If we go south to attack our army, we must guard against it."

"Although the Flower Hat Army is strong, it has insufficient strength." Meng Jiucheng said: "A total of less than 3,000 cavalrymen, dare to go all out?"

"At most, two thousand will be dispatched, and our army can be divided into troops to block or ambush." ​​Yan Tong said: "The last general tends to ambush, severely damage or annihilate them, and avenge the nine kings and their former robes."

When attacking Yang An's childhood, the Flower Hat Army was very powerful, which naturally made Yan Tong hate him.

Meng Jiucheng calculated the force of the troops and believed that if it was a blockade or ambush, five or six thousand people would be enough. In this way, attacking Laiwu still had a great advantage in military strength.

"Or we can wait a moment and wait for Huo Yi's men to get closer." Wang Min was still very safe and did not want to take the lead. "In addition, there are Miss Liu's men in Boshan area. Can you contact them to start together?"

Meng Jiucheng thought about it and said, "If the contact is convenient, it would be fine. However, the effect they can play will not be too great."

Meng Jiucheng was quite polite when the remnants of the army were defeated and there was a shortage of food and supplies in the mountains.

"I think it's a perfect solution to send troops to block the Jin army's southern aid route in Zibo, and then attack Laiwu." Wang Min retreated to the second best and made another suggestion.

Meng Jiucheng nodded and said, "Mr. Yes, I will send Wang Xian to lead two battalions of troops to Boshan north, set up camps to build a fortress, and block the Jin army."

"I am willing to go with General Wang." Wang Min volunteered to follow the army to praise the painting.

"Then I'll be in trouble." Meng Jiucheng bowed and said, "Please repay me immediately after driving to the place, and our army will head towards Laiwu."

In fact, Qingshi Pass can also play a role in blocking the Jin army, but there are loopholes. Entering Boshan north completely blocked the Jin army heading south from Zibo Prefecture.

…………

"The magic? Heavenly Thunder?" Laiwu's guardian Pucha Li family frowned.

In front of him were several surviving Jin soldiers who had seen the power of the Red Turban Army's artillery before, and were selected by the Li family of Pucha to inquire about the situation.

The Red Turban Army dispatched from Qingshi Pass and marched towards Laiwu. The Li family of Pucha realized that the enemy was coming to attack, so they urgently learned about the enemy's situation.

"Sir, it's indeed a magic trick." A Jin soldier seemed to be a little scared because of this. "The little one heard it, it was really a shocking sound; the little one also saw a ball of fire, suddenly..."

"That's right, the little one heard it, and his ears are still buzzing now!" Another Jin soldier added with lingering fear.

"Yes, sir, the enemy must have used magic tricks..." The other Jin soldiers hurriedly agreed, saying their own experiences, exaggerating the powerful power of the enemy's weapons.

"Sir." The staff member who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke: "The enemy should have used some magic tricks, and such a side-by-side is not unbreakable."

Oh, Pucha Li family raised their heads suddenly, paused for a moment, and then looked dazed, saying, "Sir, do you have a way to break it?"

The staff member nodded and pondered, "The blood of the black dog, the filthy stools, the scattered objects and the broom, all have the effect of breaking the magic."

Pucha Li's eyes lit up, and he glanced at the staff with admiration. He admired his erudition and nodded vigorously, "I will win this battle and I will give you the first meritorious service. I will ask someone to set up a village outside the city to try it out. If it is invalid, then retreat and the infant city will defend itself."

…………………

Obviously, Meng Jiucheng was still surprised that the Jin army dared to go out of the city to fight. Then, he received information from Yan Tong.

Out of caution, the forward Yan Tong did not attack immediately when facing the enemy's camp, but instead reconnaissed and spyed.

He took some personal guards around the Jin army camp, then retreated with his nose covering his back.

"What kind of formation is this? I almost vomited it out." Yan Tong discussed with the staff officer and other officers, trying to solve his confusion.

"This may be some spell or array created by the Jin army." An officer speculated: "I guess he wanted to restrain our army's artillery."

Yan Tong looked at the others and expressed his agreement. He nodded and said with a serious expression: "I think you don't want to attack first. The enemy has already set up magic circles, and it is unknown whether the artillery can be restrained. It is not too late to make a decision when Meng Shuai arrives."

An officer was more anxious and more confident in artillery, so he turned to ask the artillery officer, "Did Mr. Meng teach you what should I do if I set up a restraining magic circle when an enemy army set up?"

The officer shook his head blankly and said, "Meng Shuai has never said this. He just told him to prevent moisture, and to observe carefully before shooting, and pay attention to safety when ignition."

Yan Tong thought for a while and said, "I think this matter is very secretive, and Meng Shuai doesn't want people to know. I will send someone to report the situation here to Meng Shuai and ask him to decide."

In fact, when Meng Jiucheng received the Pegasus Express, he quickly rushed from the central army. He could not help but feel amused and crying when he heard the narration of Yan Tong and others.

Yan Tong saw Meng Jiucheng's expression and thought he didn't understand the key points. He quickly coughed lightly and said, "The filth can break the spells. The sachet and the broom are all utensils that are contaminated with filthy objects in daily life, and they also have this effect."

Meng Jiucheng opened his mouth, but when he saw that everyone was serious, he swallowed the word "nonsense" into his stomach.

What kind of shitty juice, pancakes and brooms are not only used to increase the stench, but also to increase the smell.

Meng Jiucheng pondered for a moment and knew that it was obviously not the time to carry out popular science education at this time, and he didn't know how much verbalism it took. He also needed to add examples to convince these generals who were already deeply rooted in their thoughts.

So, he chose a simpler way.

"The evil tricks are not worth worrying. The Jin people have been exhausted, and the Jin army burned, killed, looted, and the crimes are obvious. Our army has no taboos for the crimes on behalf of the heavens." Meng Jiucheng concluded with confidence. He could see that the expressions on the faces of the generals were relaxed, and he felt relieved, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Chapter completed!