Seeing Meng Youxiang's face was puzzled, Qi Guoyong explained: "We are far away from the sea, only this size of the land under our feet. If the Nanlu City is captured by the Heyi City, all of us will die without a burial place. In this case, all those who can move, regardless of men, women, young and old, should take up weapons to fight the enemy. At this time, don't follow any common rules."

Meng Youxiang frowned slightly, "Qi Guerrilla, are the reinforcements from the commander-in-chief completely hopeless?"

Qi Guoyong nodded, "Li Chanjun wants to bring the battlefield back to Taiwan and the coast of China to give full play to our army's advantages. Now Shandong has made a resolution to not transfer back to the South Korean general's fleet in the South China Sea, and send six additional pirate ships to reinforce. Apart from these, it is unlikely that we will have any other assistance in a short period of time."

Meng Youxiang's face looked ugly and he didn't say anything more.

Qi Guoyong walked around the coast, inspected the four coastal artillery batteries, and ordered: "If the Heyi landed, he would come from this sea estuary. Find some people and set up more antlers on the coast to prevent the infantry from moving forward. At the same time, a high platform is built here to observe the surrounding waters, and people should be on it at all times. Once an enemy ship comes, immediately blow the trumpet and ignite the bonfire to warn the turrets and soldiers in the city."

The deputy general beside him bowed his hand and said he would do it as soon as possible.

After saying that, Qi Guoyong turned to Meng Youxiang again, "Minister Meng, I have to go there for you. Please bring a great gift to see the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu, and then buy some food from them. As for the price, we can make more concessions."

Meng Youxiang frowned and said, "The Sultans of Brunei and Sulu sent some food before, and we later bought a lot from them. The two countries have small territory, so it may not be easy to buy them."

Qi Guoyong thought for a while and said, "Let's tell them! How much can you buy? There are too many people eating now, so it's always good to store more. In addition, tell the wealthy merchants with ships. The goods are not important at this moment, and the silver is not important. Let them concentrate their efforts to transport people back to Zhoushan first. The goods are stored in Nanlu City, and as long as the city does not fall, they will always be theirs. Gold and silver are stored in the southern Shandong Nanyang Money House. After they return to the Central Plains, they can withdraw them directly from the money house there at any time, and they will not be missing any of them."

Meng Youxiang nodded and said, "I have discussed this matter with them, and they have agreed. Among them, Lei Mingmu took the lead, and several wealthy businessmen also responded actively. They proposed that they were willing to take out all the goods under their banner to reward the soldiers in the city."

Qi Guoyong nodded with appreciation, "This Thunder Mu is tactful. No wonder he can do such a big business. Send someone to notify him and say I want to treat him to dinner. As for the county magistrate Meng, you should set off to see the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu as soon as possible!"

Meng Youxiang asked, "Qi Guerrilla, General Han Gang sent a message saying that he would rush back to Nanlu in the next few days. Should I wait until he comes back to see him before leaving?"

Qi Guoyong shook his head, "No need to wait for him. This time he came back, except for transporting back the people who were released by the Dui Yi, he mainly discussed the war with me and had no direct connection with you. You have a good relationship with many officials in the Sulu court, and you can only do this. Otherwise, there are so many things waiting for you to deal with, so why would I let you be this envoy?"

Qi Guoyong paused and continued: "In addition to buying food, you have to try to consolidate the relationship between our army and the two countries. Although they cannot help a big gang, they are the retreat of our army and must not be in trouble. If the situation is really unsuccessful in the end, we can temporarily retreat into the jungle of Southern Borneo."

Meng Youxiang sighed slightly, "Thank you for your trust, Meng will definitely live up to his entrustedness."

Qi Guoyong smiled, "Minister Meng, don't be so worried? The soldiers come to block the generals, and the water comes to cover the soil. We are not soft persimmons, so we can control them at will. If He Yi wants to seize this place, he must first peel off the skin. If you do your business well, I will do my business well, and see how it will change this day?"

After hearing what Qi Guoyong said, Meng Youxiang did not feel at all relaxed, but instead felt that the burden on him was heavier. He bowed to Qi Guoyong and expressed his willingness to respond.

That night, Meng Youxiang set out to Brunei with gifts.

A few days later, Han Kuo brought three three-masted warships, five pirate ships, and two blessed ships to Nanlu County. He brought more than a thousand people and hundreds of soldiers.

Qi Guoyong held a banquet to entertain him, and several people accompanied him, but Han Kuo was not in a good mood and everyone left early.

When Qi Guoyong saw the others away, he saw Han Kuo still sitting there with a little dull eyes. He walked forward and poured Han Kuo a cup of tea, "Han Ginseng General, what are you thinking!"

Han Kuo came back to his senses and said, "It's Guoyong! Come and have a meeting with me."

Qi Guoyong nodded and sat next to Han Kuo.

Han Kuo said a little sadly: "I always thought that the only difference between our army and the Heyi was that the opponent had more artillery and greater power, but from the last naval battle, it was far more than that. Our army seemed to be far inferior to the Heyi Yi. But in this battle, our army had no way out and had to fight. I wanted to fight again, but we could not fight directly with the main force of the Heyi navy like last time. Instead, we should find out the weakness of the Heyi and then hit it hard. In this way, we can not only pull the soldiers out of the defeat of the last naval battle, but also show the attitude of our army to the Heyi. They are too arrogant."

Qi Guoyong frowned slightly and nodded gently.

The impact of the defeat in the last naval battle was too great, not only on the morale of the army, but also on the people.

Brunei and Sulu were afraid that Zhou Xian would give up Nanyang, so he sent people to ask many times. Many merchants from Nanyang asked to leave, preferring not to have their own property to return to Zhoushan.

If one does not show one's own army's determination to fight to the end with the Dutch and the French, and has hope of winning in the end, this situation may only become more and more serious.

He was silent for a while, his eyes lit up and he said, "Korean General, I chatted with Lei Mingmu two days ago. From him, I learned that in addition to porcelain, silk, tea and other things, the trade volume of the Heiyi in Southeast Asia is also more important, which is pepper. The latter's trade volume even accounts for 80% of the Heiyi trade."

Han Kuo picked up the teacup and took a sip, "What does Heyi want it for? Do you want it to be cooked?"
Chapter completed!