First, Resolve the Rear's Concerns

"Kewang."

"To keep track of the movements of the government's main army, I've decided to put you in charge of the scout teams we've already sent out."

Zhang Xianzhong thought for a moment, deciding to give this adopted son a bit more responsibility to test his mettle and see if he could handle important tasks in the future.

"Oh, and Feng Shuangli will be transferred to work under you from now on, as a deputy commander."

"He's quite brave and resourceful, and should be able to help you out a lot."

This capable son seemed very competent and skilled in both civil and military matters, but he had only recently joined the Rebel Army. The three hundred soldiers in the Veteran Camp weren't very familiar with him.

Having Feng Shuangli, one of his three trusted generals, assist Sun Kewang would help him quickly gain control of the hundred Veteran Camp soldiers under his command.

"Thank you, adoptive father!"

Sun Kewang was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply, and thanked him. "Adoptive father, please rest assured. I will personally monitor the crucial routes the government army must take to reach Dingbian City."

"I will do my best to prevent the terrible situation where the government army arrives near Dingbian City and our Rebel Army is caught completely unaware."

This was a matter of life and death.

Sun Kewang wanted to become a person of importance by helping Zhang Xianzhong rebel, but he didn't want to die young.

Therefore, he couldn't overemphasize the importance of the biggest threat facing the Rebel Army at the moment.

"Alright."

Zhang Xianzhong nodded and smiled with satisfaction. "Kewang, you don't need to go in person for this. After all, no matter how fast the government army reacts, you know how slow the current government is in allocating funds and supplies for the soldiers to march."

"Under normal circumstances, we should be relatively safe for at least two months."

"That Orphan Youth Camp has already been initially trained by me."

"Once I take them out of the city for training a couple of times and they've seen blood, I can basically start letting go and have time to worry about other things."

He spoke frankly to Sun Kewang about his recent plans. "Now that our Rebel Army has you, a Fourth Layer of Martial Dao Qi Refining Realm expert, joining us, and the training of the Veteran Camp Martial Soldiers has initially shown results, we will make a move in half a month at the latest."

"I've sent people to investigate Tian Family Fort, located northwest along the Wuding River. They were the first to send people to report to the Yansui Town governor's office, which led to the news of our Rebel Army raising the banner of rebellion being leaked so quickly and attracting the government's attention."

"Otherwise, after our Rebel Army captured Dingbian City and implemented the policy of allowing people in but not out, how could the news of our uprising have spread so quickly?"

"The Tian family's retaliatory actions have cost our Rebel Army at least three months of recovery time! If I don't eliminate the Tian family, I won't be able to quell the hatred in my heart!"

"Tian Family Village, located one hundred and fifty li northwest of Dingbian City, and Wang Family Village, located one hundred li southeast of the county seat, control the official roads along the Wuding River to the north and south of Dingbian City, respectively. They are thorns that we must remove!"

"Once the government army arrives, these two wealthy families, if they wish, can easily block both of our retreat routes!"

"It's not that there are no other retreat routes, but those are places overrun by Demons and Monsters. With the current fighting strength of our Rebel Army, we don't have the power to pass through them!"

"To ensure the safety of our two retreat routes, north and south, these two powerful families' strongholds, who are sworn enemies of our Rebel Army, must be taken down one after another!"

A fierce glint flickered in Zhang Xianzhong's eyes as he said grimly, "Another reason I've decided to attack these two wealthy families' strongholds as soon as possible is that the large amount of cultivation resources we obtained after capturing the county seat have been almost completely depleted due to the recent recruitment of too many soldiers into the Rebel Army's Logistics Camp and the continuous selection of Martial Soldiers."

"At the current rate of cultivation resource consumption, we can only last for half a month at most."

"Although the two of us can also lead three hundred Veteran Camp soldiers, form the Blood Fiend Army Formation that we've just initially practiced, and hunt various low and intermediate-level Demonic Beasts outside the city to temporarily solve the problem of insufficient cultivation resources."

"Since taking down the strongholds of those two wealthy families can also solve this problem and allow us to obtain a lot of weapons and equipment, I think we don't need to think too much about this win-win situation."

"Before, our Rebel Army only had me, a Qi Refining Realm expert, holding the fort, and the Rebel Army had just started, so everything was chaotic. We didn't have the ability to attack these two wealthy families' strongholds."

"Now, not only have you, a Qi Refining Realm expert, joined us, but the Veteran Camp soldiers have also practiced some basic army formations, and the Orphan Youth Camp that I've been focusing on training has also achieved initial results."

"As long as our Rebel Army goes all out, we are quite confident in taking down these two wealthy families' large strongholds one after another."

"Whether it's to ensure the safety of our Rebel Army's retreat routes or to obtain a large amount of cultivation resources to meet the needs of our Rebel Army, this battle is imperative!"

Zhang Xianzhong was a far-sighted leader of the Rebel Army. Now that he had told Sun Kewang his plans, he had clearly made a decision.

He was just informing Sun Kewang so he could be mentally prepared.

"Your son obeys!"

Sun Kewang immediately accepted the order.

He looked up at Zhang Xianzhong with great admiration.

Indeed, he hadn't been disappointed. This Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, was a courageous and far-sighted leader of the Rebel Army.

Compared to other Rebel Army leaders, he was far superior, not on the same level at all.

Only such an ambitious and clear-headed Rebel Army leader was worth Sun Kewang's sincere allegiance.

Seeing Zhang Xianzhong thinking several steps ahead and planning for retreat routes before the crisis even arrived was extremely wise and perfectly matched the image of a wise lord in Sun Kewang's heart.

As for attacking two ordinary wealthy families, Sun Kewang felt no pressure at all.

With two Qi Refining Realm experts leading the Rebel Army soldiers who had initially gotten on the right track, if they still couldn't take down those two wealthy families' strongholds, they might as well go home and sleep, and never think about achieving future great deeds through rebellion again.

The two discussed for a while longer, and then Sun Kewang took his leave from Zhang Xianzhong, turning around and striding away with full confidence.

This Sun Kewang seems skilled in both civil and military matters, and his recent performance has been outstanding. He is likely also a prodigy who has awakened a Star Destiny.

Sitting in his grand armchair, watching Sun Kewang's retreating back, Zhang Xianzhong speculated in his heart, From what I can see now, his loyalty is not an issue.

Next, I need to test his ability to lead troops in battle and see if he is capable.

If he performs well, I, Zhang Xianzhong, will have my first capable helper, and someone to share the pressure with in the future.

As for the four monstrous talents in the Children's Camp, especially Ai Nengqi and Li Dingguo, as long as they grow up quickly, my core team can officially form in the future, and this Rebel Army can finally get on the right track.

Thinking of this, he let out a long breath, and the immense pressure that had accumulated during this time slightly eased.

He turned his head to look at the night outside the window, his eyes flickering with uncertainty, sitting motionless for a long time.