Zhu Qizhe stood in front of the map, his eyebrows were deeply locked, and he remained silent for a long time.

Now, what should I do?

The strength of the rebels had exceeded his expectations.

Originally, he thought that the rebels took Chongqing, Hejiang and Luzhou in one go while the court was unprepared.

After all, without war, it is impossible for these cities to be stationed with officers and soldiers at all times, and the civil servants in the city cannot be full and spend money to hire a large number of young and strong people to defend the city.

Before Anbangyan and She Chongming rebelled, there was no war in the southwest, and the cities everywhere were basically in a state of unprepared defense. Therefore, it was easy for She Chongming to capture several cities.

He always believed that the reason why She Chongming was able to seize three cities was because none of these three cities were fortified.

Now it seems that this is not the case at all.

The chieftain soldiers under She Chongming and An Bangyan were not chaotic at all. The court was already prepared. They could still fight for more than a thousand miles within a month and take down so many cities. They were not a dish at all!

As the saying goes, knowing oneself and enemy, he will never be defeated in a hundred battles, but he is ready to go without understanding the strength of the rebels.

It seems that I am a little arrogant and I don’t take the rebels who have been making trouble for more than ten years seriously. This is a typical underestimation of the enemy!

This won't work.

Zhu Qizhuo reflected deeply for a while, then humbly asked for advice: "Brother-in-law, how do you think the chieftain soldiers under An Bangyan and She Chongming?"

When Ma Qiancheng heard this, he said without hesitation: "The Yi soldiers are good at using double-eared waist knives, and they are generally equipped with vine shields and longbows. Most of them are proficient in hunting techniques. If they encounter them in the mountains and forests, the officers and soldiers may not be their opponents."

Damn, is that amazing?

Zhu Qizhi said in surprise: "Have you fought with them? Are they really that powerful?"

Ma Qiancheng shook his head slightly and said, "I have never had a conflict with them. However, when I pacified the Yang Yinglong Rebellion in Bozhou, I led my army to fight with them. Their swordsmanship is indeed good and the archery technique is quite accurate."

Is the archery technique quite accurate?

Then wouldn’t the city be very powerful?

Zhu Qizhi thought about it and asked again: "How many troops do An Bangyan and She Chongming have now?"

Ma Qiancheng estimated: "From their advancement speed, the combined forces of the two families should be more than 100,000, and many chieftains from all over the world should also follow them to raise troops. I guess their combined forces will be at least 200,000."

Two hundred thousand?

How could a ten thousand new recruits from Qi's family have not brought enough muskets and artillery?

Zhu Qizhi said decisively: "No, your report to the court immediately. Ten thousand new recruits are not enough. Now, the front lines from Chongqing to Chengdu, Hejiang, Luzhou, Fushun, Neijiang, Ziyang, Jianzhou, Xindu, Longquan and other cities have all been occupied by the rebels. If you want to fight, you will have at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops."

Thirty or forty thousand people were recruited at one time!

When Ma Qiancheng heard this, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "This, judging from the current situation, it's hard for the imperial court to mobilize 10,000 people and supplies. 30,000 to 40,000 people and supplies. However, there is probably not so much food, supplies and supplies. What should I do then? Will I argue with the imperial court?"

Dispute?

What a good thing!

Zhu Qizhe clapped his hands and said, "This is better. Then you will have more reason to occupy the land of one prefecture and three states. The court asked you to recruit soldiers and fight but did not give enough food and salary. This is obviously a loss for the court. Even if they really want to attack you, you can still complain, right? By the way, you have to ask the court to equip a batch of muskets, otherwise, it would be too much of a loss to attack the city."

Ma Qiancheng said in surprise: "Mustgers and artillery? How many muskets and artillery can the court bring out now? Even if I want them, they may not have to give it to you!"

Zhu Qizhuo said wisely: "If you don't give it, just keep asking for it. Even if they can't take it, they have to give it a few muskets and cannons, which means something."

He is preparing to use muskets and artillery on a large scale when siegeing the city.

Originally, he was just going to bring a few tiger squat cannons and dozens of new flintlock rifles to use them at the critical moment of siege. In this way, even if someone suspected, he could ask Ma Qiancheng to explain that this was sent by the Qi family army during the Battle of Hunhe.

After all, at that time, the Qi family's army had all used up all ammunition and was about to be wiped out. The muskets and artillery were useless, so it would be reasonable to give them some.

However, by this time he had changed his mind.

Because their long-range firepower disadvantage is too obvious.

When ordinary bows and arrows are shot against each other, the range of them standing on the city wall is farther than theirs, and their archery skills are quite accurate. His men and horses have never practiced any bows and arrows, so when they shoot against each other, they are definitely not their opponents.

If you don’t bring too many muskets and artillery, you may have been thrown into a large area before you rush to the city wall.

At this time, there was nothing to worry about. Anyway, he was ready to let Ma Qiancheng have his own troops, so what if the muskets and artillery were exposed?

The stronger their firepower, the more feared the court will be!

As long as they did not clearly rebel, the court had to consider how much it would cost to clean up the stone pillar chieftain.

After he returned, he began to prepare. Within a few days, a batch of tiger squat cannons and new flintlock rifles were quietly transported to the conscription site of Ma Qiancheng, Xing'anzhou by water.

The court's reaction speed was really slow at this moment. After several days, Ma Qiancheng received a joint document from the cabinet and the Ministry of War, allowing him to recruit about 40,000 troops. However, the document clearly stated that the remaining 30,000 troops could only send gun tips and Xia Tian's military uniforms. As for food and wages, they would not be able to get all together for a while, so Ma Qiancheng had to think of a solution first.

This means that you are ready to pay a debt.

At this moment, the two gangs of madmen in the court were really ignorant. Liaodong and Southwest were in danger. They were still busy with internal fighting, unable to raise all the food and salary for 30,000 people, and were still preparing to pay for the debt. They could do this kind of thing!

However, Ma Qiancheng didn't say anything, just rely on the debt. Anyway, these little princesses can already be raised, so there is no need to worry at all.

Moreover, the more he was owed to the debt, the more he felt at ease when he took over the land of one prefecture and three prefectures.

What about him? You are typical of letting the horse run away and not giving the horse grass. I will find some grass to eat by myself. Can't it?

More than a month passed in a hurry, and Ma Qiancheng's 40,000 troops were almost recruited. Finally, news came from Yunyang that the court's food and supplies were about to arrive.

When Zhu Qituo received the news, he hurriedly brought his civil servants and generals to Xing'an Prefecture in advance, waiting in Ma Qiancheng's tent.

On this day, Liu Ruoyu finally brought Gao Zhongxia and his elite troops from the Tunwei to Xing'anzhou with the food and supplies sent by the court. Zhu Qizhu immediately ordered that all the civil servants and generals gathered in the tent of the commander and prepared to set off.

This is a bit coincidental. Why are Liu Ruoyu and Gao Zhongxia the ones who escorted food and supplies?

Actually, it's not a coincidence at all.

Because Liu Ruoyu had long written a sealed letter to Wei Zhongxian according to Zhu Qizhu's request.

The secret letter means that the war in the southwest will definitely last for a long time. At that time, the troops under Sichuan Governor Zhu Xieyuan and Guizhou Governor Wang Sanshan are likely to reach hundreds of thousands. Such a large force cannot be left alone. You must first let me be the Yunyang Army Supervisor and Sichuan Army Supervisor, and then be promoted to the Southwest Army Supervisor. I will help you watch them.

Not to mention, Wei Zhongxian really regarded Liu Ruoyu as his confidant. After all, the two of them had a gun together, which was more powerful than anything else!

Besides, the court's internal struggle is fierce now, and it is the time to use people, so he can't draw any confidant hands to stare at the southwest.

Therefore, as soon as Liu Ruoyu sent his secret letter, he happily agreed and directly sent Liu Ruoyu a military supervisor and a military supervisor in Sichuan.
Chapter completed!