Chen Tailai couldn't figure out why the dignified Grand Scholar of the Hall of Martial Prowess, Agui, the man known in the martial world as the second emperor, Heshen, the esteemed Minister He, and that old dog Qianlong who loved to inspect river courses on young women, why these three sons of bitches dared to treat him like an idiot.
Did they think Chen had never read "Water Margin"?
Now, even though Agui's personal guards were worth little, he had chopped off the head of Kexun, a Manchu Tartar general. Were they, these Tartars, satisfied?
Feeling that he was being treated like a fool, Chen Tailai was furious. He first resentfully ordered the heads of Kexun and Agui's guards to be hung on flagpoles to dry. Then, he summoned all his strategists.
Chen Tailai touched his bald head and said, "I have already ordered the heads of the Tartar envoy to be hung on the flagpole. Now I want to ask you gentlemen to analyze what we should do next."
The strategists exchanged glances, then looked at Chen Tailai as if he were an idiot.
Did he not know how to feign surrender? Did he not know how to stall for time? Did he just chop people up without a word, forcing the Tartars to fight him to the death?
After a long pause, one strategist finally spoke, "Since Lord Dong has already committed a heinous act against the Tartars, then we should go all the way."
Chen Tailai said, "Have I not gone far enough?"
The strategist replied, "Enough, but also not enough."
"Killing the Tartar envoy merely solidified the resolve of Lord Dong's soldiers to rebel against the Qing, but it is still insufficient."
"In my humble opinion, it would be better to seize this opportunity to send people to confiscate the property of all the Tartar lords within Jining and execute them. Firstly, it will enrich our military funds, and secondly, it will let the soldiers know that there is no turning back."
Chen Tailai lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and then shouted, "Guards! Relay my order, confiscate the property of all the Tartar lords within Jining and execute them!"
Following this, Chen Tailai turned his gaze back to his strategists, "Do you gentlemen have any other strategies?"
Another strategist bowed to Chen Tailai and said, "I believe Lord Dong should send people to contact the rebel Zhu in Yizhou and the Bagua Sect in Shan County."
"As the saying goes, a single tree cannot support a house. If Lord Dong relies on himself alone, even if he can cut off the Tartars' grain transport, the impact on the Tartars will be minimal. If the Tartars are forced to launch a full-scale attack on Lord Dong, how long can Lord Dong hold on?"
"With the assistance of the rebel Zhu and the Bagua Sect, both can somewhat tie down a portion of the Tartars, and the pressure on our side in Jining will be much smaller. What does Lord Dong think?"
Chen Tailai first grunted, then said with a headache, "Before... Before this, didn't I lead troops to suppress the rebel Zhu? Will that fellow surnamed Zhu agree to ally with us?"
Chen Tailai had not thought of contacting Zhu Xiaosong and the Bagua Sect before. While the Bagua Sect was easier to deal with, he had made a mortal enemy of Zhu Xiaosong. Now, sending people to Zhu Xiaosong to propose an alliance against the Qing, would that fellow surnamed Zhu be willing?
Furthermore, he occupied Jining and that fellow surnamed Zhu occupied Yizhou, but Yanzhou lay between Yizhou and Jining. Even if that fellow surnamed Zhu were willing to join forces with him, with Yanzhou in between, would that work?
However, after listening to Chen Tailai's concerns, the strategist gently fanned himself and said, "Why doesn't Lord Dong join forces with the rebel Zhu and divide Yanzhou completely?"
"That fellow surnamed Zhu can establish peasant associations, and Lord Dong is also establishing peasant associations, isn't he? Aside from peasant associations, that fellow surnamed Zhu has neither the advantage of terrain nor popular support that Lord Dong enjoys. At that time, it may not be impossible to bring him under his command."
After a long period of deliberation, Chen Tailai finally made up his mind.
Let's do it!
Whether that fellow surnamed Zhu was willing or not, he had already raised the banner of rebellion. It would be best if he could win over that fellow surnamed Zhu, but even if he couldn't, there was no loss.
...
Compared to the resounding Bagua Sect and Chen Tailai, Zhu Xiaosong, who had completely occupied Yimeng, appeared overly quiet, showing no intention of expanding outwards.
Of course, this quietness was only relative to the Bagua Sect and Chen Tailai.
Compared to raising the banner of rebellion against the Tartars, Zhu Xiaosong was currently more focused on consolidating his foundation at Menglianggu.
What is a foundation?
Page 421 of the second volume of the Dragon Slaying Technique clearly explains that a region where the righteous army comes and leaves, and becomes the rebel army when the righteous army leaves, cannot be considered a base area, but only a guerrilla zone. Only by destroying the rule of the Jurchen and developing Menglianggu's own military strength and regime can it be considered a base area.
To put it more directly, a complete base area must achieve its own self-sustaining functions, including the training and replenishment of soldiers and talent, and the manufacturing and supply of logistics and equipment.
Li Zicheng, for example, was a typical wandering rebel, without his own base.
Zhu Xiaosong's long-held idea was to turn the entire Yizhou into a base area.
Compared to Yanzhou or other places, Yizhou had unique advantages.
First, the common people were poor enough, and the existence of a large number of impoverished people was the fundamental support for all reforms.
Second, there were many mountains, and the Tartars' cavalry and artillery could not be fully deployed, providing sufficient strategic space.
Third, it was dangerous. Both Huluyay and Baizhangya could rely on their steep terrain to develop arms factories.
With these three prerequisites, one could talk about a base area. Otherwise, it would easily become like Gou Chengzi's wandering rebels, who, even if they could sweep across the land for a time, would lack stamina and easily repeat the pattern of "rising and falling swiftly."
This is also a common mistake made by other穿越者 (time-travelers/穿越者). Almost all 穿越者 believe that training troops and developing technology can conquer the world. In reality, this idea is no different from the ideology of wandering rebels. It is normal for things to go wrong, and if they don't, it can only be attributed to divine intervention.
Of course, the situation faced by any 穿越者 is different, so it is also necessary to pay attention to another four-character idiom.
Adapt to local conditions.
Take Zhu Xiaosong as an example.
Did he really think that occupying Yizhou would allow him to establish a base area?
The answer was no.
Because the Tartar court would not sit idly by while he stirred up trouble in Yizhou, a large-scale crackdown was inevitable. If they didn't crack down, it would be preposterous.
The reason Zhangjia Agui was allowing Zhu Xiaosong to stir up trouble in Yizhou without interference was entirely because Chen Tailai had cut off the Tartar court's grain transport in Jining. xxs壹贰
Choosing the lesser of two evils, Agui now had to focus all his efforts on suppressing Chen Tailai to restore the grain transport as soon as possible.
Therefore, upon receiving Chen Tailai's letter inviting him to share Yanzhou, Zhu Xiaosong immediately summoned all the big and small leaders of Menglianggu.
Clearing his throat, Zhu Xiaosong began, "The Governor of the Jining River Course, Chen Tailai, has invited us to send troops to Yanzhou and share Yanzhou between us, with whoever captures the territory taking it. What do you all think?"
Zhu Erdan frowned and asked, "Chen Tailai? Brother, do you think this guy can be trusted?"
Liu Huaiwen also spoke, "Boss, this Chen Tailai was previously with Mingxing to suppress us. Now he has suddenly raised the banner of rebellion, and he wants to share Yanzhou with us. I suspect there might be a trap?"
Zhu Xiaosong shook his head and said, "Chen Tailai failed to suppress us several times while following Mingxing, but he didn't rebel. If he didn't rebel, he would likely be scapegoated by Mingxing, so the possibility of a trap is not high."
"However, as for whether he can be trusted, that's also utter nonsense."
"To put it bluntly, is Chen Tailai the same kind of person as us?"
Ke Zhiming saw Zhu Xiaosong looking at him and shook his head, replying, "Reporting to Young Master, that Chen Tailai is not the same kind of person as us from Menglianggu."
"Although Chen Tailai is also establishing peasant associations in Jining, the peasant associations he establishes are merely a bridge between the common people and the corrupt gentry. The gentry still collect rent as usual, and the common people remain poor as always. It is completely different from the peasant associations we are establishing."
"The reason Chen Tailai invited us to share Yanzhou is likely because the Tartar Imperial Envoy Zhangjia Agui has already arrived in Jinan with the firearms battalion."
Zhu Xiaosong nodded, then turned his gaze to the other leaders, "Have you all heard? Whether Chen Tailai can be trusted or not is actually not important. What is important is that the Tartar Imperial Envoy has arrived with the firearms battalion."
"If Chen Tailai is eliminated by the Tartar Imperial Envoy, then the Tartar Imperial Envoy's next target will definitely be us."
Zhu Erdan asked, "Then what is your intention, Brother? Should we agree to Chen Tailai?"
Zhu Xiaosong grunted and said, "Agree, but we need to discuss how to divide it carefully."
Speaking of this, Zhu Xiaosong got up from his chair and walked to the map hanging in the room, pointing to the map. "According to our location and Chen Tailai's location, the best way to divide it is to use Witaiji to Xujiaying as the boundary. Chen Tailai takes the north, and we take the south."
"However, this way, Chen Tailai will stand in front of the Tartars for us. This kind of thing that benefits us but disadvantages Governor Chen will likely not be agreed upon by Chen Tailai."
"Therefore, the best method is to use泗水县 (Sishui County) as the boundary. We take the east, and let Chen Tailai take the west."
"At the same time, we will not only share Yanzhou with him, but we will also advance into Tai'an Prefecture."
"If he, Chen Tailai, is willing, we will take the territory east of Feicheng, and let Chen Tailai take the territory west of Feicheng."
Zhu Erdan frowned and said, "This way, wouldn't we be standing in front of Chen Tailai? Once the Tartars attack, we will bear the brunt of it, while Chen Tailai can hide behind us and watch the show."
Liu Huaiwen also said, "Boss, should we reconsider this matter? As the second boss just said, why should we take the blow for Chen Tailai?"
Zhu Xiaosong chuckled and said, "Look closely at the map, and then think about the difference between base areas and guerrilla zones that I told you about before."
Zhu Erdan grunted, looked at the map with a frown for a long time, and asked, "Brother's intention is that we occupy Mount Tai and at the same time control the Jining river course?"
Zhu Xiaosong smiled and said, "Not bad, you've made some progress."
"I told you before that to establish a stable base area, the primary condition is to have a place to stand firm."
"Before, our strength was insufficient, and we could only look at Mount Tai with envy. Now that we have the strength, why shouldn't we take Mount Tai into our hands?"
"As for standing in front of the Tartars for Chen Tailai, if you look at it from another perspective, hasn't Chen Tailai also blocked the Tartars behind us?"
"Don't forget that Fuk'anggan is still suppressing the Bagua Sect in Caozhou Prefecture. Once the Bagua Sect is annihilated, Fuk'anggan's next target will definitely be either us or Chen Tailai. It's a good thing to have Chen Tailai block Fuk'anggan for us."
Speaking of this, Zhu Xiaosong sat back in his chair and smiled, "Of course, the most important point is not who blocks the Tartars for whom, but that Chen Tailai's existence is very important for overthrowing the Tartars."
Zhu Erdan asked, "Just because he controls the Tartars' grain transport?"
Zhu Xiaosong shook his head and said, "This is only one reason, but the main reason is not just because he controls the Tartars' grain transport."