Zhou Xian thought for a while and said, "Let Wu Yuanji take over, Zhao Qin should let him continue to station in Dingtao! When the contribution is made, it will not be too late to improve. We are our own people, so we don't have to be so anxious. Liu Yuchi will go to Liaodong with you at that time. I will ask Hou Fangyu to temporarily assist Wu Yuanji. The name of Hou Gongzi Shangqiu is always useful."

Li Kai nodded, "The second young master is wise."

Zhou Xianxiao said, "Li Kai, do you know your strengths and weaknesses?"

Li Kai looked puzzled, "Please give me advice from the second son."

Zhou Xian turned to Zhou Gan who was sitting aside and said, "Zhou Gan, what do you think!"

Zhou Gan thought for a while and said, "Brother Li is a good man, but he doesn't have any shortcomings!"

Zhou Xian smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Others are good. Inside, the Yongzheng Camp has to ask him about the promotion of the general and above. Every army general has difficulties, and he will help him. There are countless people willing to work hard for him from top to bottom. On the outside, Yu Baiyi is his brother, Ding Keze and him are brothers, Wang Jun and Xia Kuiyuan directly apply to him to do things. In terms of winning people's hearts and wide connections, I can't compare to him."

As he said that, Zhou Xian glanced at Li Kai and continued, "And his weakness lies in this. The Yong Bing and even the Third Army formed a network of relationships from top to bottom, connecting them. When he made contributions, he was in a dilemma, fearing that he would be wronged. When he had been there, he was reluctant to punish him. The Yong Bing and the Second Army were good at fighting, but the military discipline and the domineering generals were also the first among the three armies."

Li Kai's face suddenly changed, "Second Young Master, I was wrong."

Zhou Xian shook his head, "I don't mean to blame you. This is your strength. As for the slightest bad impact it brings, it is not worth mentioning at all. Perhaps it is because Wu Yuanji has a strict personality, which makes up for your shortcomings to a certain extent. But in the future, if you lead alone, you have to change it slightly, at least you must not understand the rewards and punishments. Whoever has made merits will reward you; whoever has done so will punish you. Do you understand?"

Li Kai clasped his fists and said, "I understand."

Zhou Xian continued: "I'm asking you to come here, not mainly about this. You will set off for Liaonan in the past two days. What are your plans? Let's hear it."

Li Kai frowned and pondered for a moment, saying, "I thought that if I wanted to seize Jinzhou, I would first occupy Juehua Island. It was hanging on the sea, more than 20 miles away from the nearest land. It is the largest island in Liaodong Bay, and there is no problem with tens of thousands of troops. I want to wait for a few days in Lushun before I can take a boat to seize Juehua Island. Then use it as a base to capture Huludao, and then kill to Jinzhou."

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "Do you know how many Qing soldiers are on Juehua Island?"

Li Kai replied: "There are about 3,000 people, and there are only more than 100 real Tartars, and the rest are Han soldiers. Because our army had attacked the coast of Liaodong many times before, the Qing army built many forts on high coasts. When Sun Dashen managed Ningyuan City, Juehua Island was the location of the Liaodong Daming Navy. The island was full of cities, forts, and other facilities, which was the focus of the Tatars' defense."

Zhou Xian smiled, "It seems you have put in a lot of effort. But you should also know how Juehua Island fell at that time!"

Li Kai nodded and said, "In the sixth year of the Tianqi period, Nurhaci took advantage of the late winter of the twelfth month and the sea was frozen. He led his troops to walk on ice from the shore and go straight to the island. Although the guard Yao Fumin ordered a fifteen-mile ice trench along the island, the weather was too cold and the ice trench was frozen soon after. Tens of thousands of Manchu cavalrymen landed on the island, attacked the north gate of the garrison, and rushed into the city. More than 7,000 Ming troops and more than 7,000 merchants on the island were killed by the Tartars, and more than 2,000 ships of various ships were also burned."

Zhou Xian nodded slightly, "It is not difficult for you to capture Juehua Island, but it is only more than 30 miles away from Ningyuan City. Wu Sangui was ordered to rescue the capital and moved 500,000 people around Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan. After Ningyuan was taken over by the Qing army, nearly 10,000 troops were stationed. If it was other seasons, the navy could stop the Qing army from landing on the island. But once it was winter, what was the difference from the situation at that time, how could you defend it?"

Li Kai said: "The second young master mentioned this, my subordinates also considered it. I felt that the reason why Juehua Island was lost at that time was because most of the Ming soldiers on the island were sailors, without armor and few weapons. They were chilling ice day and night, cold and bitter, and had too few troops to effectively resist the Qing army, which led to great defeat. However, the more than 10,000 people under my subordinates were elite soldiers, and all armor and weapons were available, and there were many artillery, so it would be no problem to defend Juehua Island."

Zhou Xian shook his head, "But what I want is not supposed to, but a complete guarantee. You must know that these more than 10,000 people are the mainstay of our army. If there is any mistake, it will not be easy to recover."

Li Kai frowned slightly and said, "But the second young master, how can there be any complete guarantee for the march?"

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "You are right, but at least you have to estimate how likely it is to succeed. At this moment, there are only less than two months before winter begins. Even if the weather gets colder and delays, you will only have three months at most. It takes time to capture Juehua Island, repair the island's city barriers, and transporting supplies to the island also takes time. In this way, there will be not much time left for you to operate Juehua Island. In this case, if the Qing army attacks in large quantities, the possibility of you being able to defend it will be greatly reduced. If you are trapped in the isolated island, you will really have no place to escape."

Li Kai's face changed slightly, and he was silent for a moment and said, "What the second young master taught me is that my subordinates are not considerate."

Zhou Xian waved his hand and smiled, "In fact, your strategy to seize Juehua Island is not wrong, but the timing is wrong. I don't doubt your ability at all, but I'm afraid you're too anxious. Recovering Liaodong is not a matter of one day or one night. Take your time and first remove the key pass of the Qing army. When the weather warms next year, you will immediately send troops to seize Juehua Island. Next, you will seize one or two points on land, form a junction with Juehua Island, and then slowly seize Jinzhou."

Kai Li thought about it and said that this was indeed the safest way. "What should I do during this period?"

Zhou Xian said: "There is a Changxing Island in the southwest of Fuzhou, which is very large. Before, considering that there are many mountains and forests in Liaodong, there are towering trees that can be built directly everywhere. I once placed some shipbuilders in Furong Island, Laizhou to Lushun. However, due to the surrounding environment of Lushun, I can only build some small and medium-sized ships so far. So I want to move the shipbuilding place from Lushun to Changxing Island. In the future, not only will I build those small boats, but also warships. After you go, use it as a base! Help me do this. Also, Changxing Island is also closer to Liaodong Bay. I say this, you understand!"
Chapter completed!