The overlapping arrangement of trenches, wooden stakes, and barbed wire is not only low-cost and fast, but also more than enough to stop the attack of the Jiannu.

The Jiannu army demolished the city walls and set fire to the houses inside the city. However, due to the heavy winter snow, many houses in the city were spared and became ready-made shelters for the Ming army.

Twenty thousand Ming troops took turns working, and within a few days, they had basically completed the construction of the defensive positions and the repair of the houses in the city. Both officers and soldiers could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Compared to a year ago, the troops stationed in Guangning had been greatly reduced. However, with the improvement of weaponry, as well as the quality and determination of officers and soldiers, they were now relatively confident in resisting the Jiannu attack, which was several times larger than their number.

Xiong Tingbi knew that 20,000 infantrymen were more than enough to defend Guangning, and that he still lacked the manpower to continue the attack. However, if he wanted to send more troops, he would be stretched in terms of logistics and supply.

As a key location for storing grain and supplies in Guangning, Youtunwei was close to the sea, making transportation more convenient. However, the only way to get from Youtunwei to Guangning was by land, which was both costly and labor-intensive.

Therefore, in the absence of local laborers for transportation, the 20,000 troops stationed in Guangning are almost the current limit.

What's more, there are cavalrymen, and the daily consumption of food for people and horses is quite astonishing.

Xiong Tingbi roughly calculated that it would take hundreds of thousands of silver to advance from Ningyuan to Jinzhou and Dalinghhe; and to rebuild Youtunwei and advance to Guangning, without one million silver it would be difficult for the Ming army to garrison there for a long time.

Thinking of this, Lao Xiong grinned. Shaking off his thoughts, he stepped onto the fort and continued to inspect Guangning's city defenses.

The city wall was demolished, but not completely. The city foundation was difficult for the Jiannu to completely destroy in the freezing cold, and the artillery position was built on the basis of the city foundation.

There are no red cannons, but the number of artillery is enough to make up for it. There are also Ming Dynasty heavy cannons with a range close to that of the red cannons, which will be more than a hundred in number.

Standing on a gun platform one meter above the city walls, Xiong Tingbi looked through a telescope. The perimeter was lined with trenches and breastworks, and light artillery would be deployed to bombard the invading enemy at close range.

"I'm afraid the artillery won't be used." Xiong Tingbi put down the telescope. While expressing satisfaction with the city defenses, he also sighed, "The Jiannu are suppressed on all sides. It will be difficult for them to concentrate their forces to launch a large-scale attack."

Since Guangning is heavily defended, it is different from a small fort. If the Jiannu want to attack again, it will be impossible to succeed without tens of thousands of troops.

As the governor of Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi knew more and had a more thorough understanding of the situation on the Liaodong battlefield.

Last year, before the Dongjiang River was opened, Mao Wenlong led a large number of Liao people to flee to the islands; last year, southern Liaoning was still in the hands of the Later Jin, without the current Ming army in Luda to contain it; last year, the military and political affairs of the Guangning region were still under the control of the idiot Wang Huazhen...

If Xiong Tingbi still had some concerns and worries when the Ming army had not yet gained a foothold in Guangning, now he hoped that the Jiannu would attack again.

Unfortunately, the Jiannu probably also knew that they were no longer able to take the initiative to attack Guangning.

After Xiong Tingbi sighed, he patted the cannon and said, "Fortunately, this cannon is not too heavy and can be equipped to infantry. Besides, this is originally a field cannon."

Zhu Mei looked at the artillery and said, "I think it's still too heavy. It will be difficult to advance in Liaoze."

"What about winter?" Xiong Tingbi stroked his beard lightly with a smile and looked towards the east.

Winter has always been the time when the Jiannu launched an attack, but the situation is gradually reversing. The increasingly powerful Ming army can take advantage of the freezing period and take the initiative to attack the Jiannu.

On the surface, the Ming army's recapture of Guangning had restored the situation to the previous year. Even the surrounding forts had not yet been firmly occupied, and the situation in Guangning was even worse than last year.

However, after the grand strategy of four-way deployment was launched, the war in Liaodong was no longer limited to western Liaoning, nor was it limited to Lushun and Pi Island, the headquarters of Dongjiang, but should be a holistic and comprehensive assessment and judgment.

Moreover, the emperor's tactics were quite clever. At least for now, he had won over the Chahar and Inner Khalkha tribes, which provided another way for the Ming army in western Liaoning to counterattack, avoiding the Liaoze River.

Last year, the Jiannu were able to quickly break through the Liaohe River defense line. Firstly, it was because of the freezing cold weather, and secondly, they moved in a straight line, crossing the Liaohe River from Huangniwa, at an extremely fast speed, which was beyond the expectations of the Ming army.

The Liaohe River, located outside the Liaodong Great Wall, was a nomadic area for the Mongols. The emperor's efforts to win over the Mongol tribes created favorable conditions for the Ming army to pass through.

The accompanying generals smiled at each other. Repeated victories had strengthened their confidence. Therefore, they had no fear or hesitation in taking the initiative to attack.

Furthermore, although Liaozhen and Dongjiangzhen are friendly forces and cooperate with each other, is there no competition between the two armies psychologically?

Who doesn’t want to achieve more and greater merits, who doesn’t want to be granted a title and promoted, who doesn’t want to please the Emperor and make him remember his name and merits?

A horse galloped up close, almost as if it were flying. The rider dismounted, knelt on one knee, and presented the bamboo tube with both hands, "Sir, urgent news from Liaonan."

When Xiong Tingbi heard the word "Liaonan", his eyes flashed, as if he had a guess. He quickly stepped down from the fort, took the urgent report, and opened it to read.

As he had guessed, Liu Xingzuo succeeded in his rebellion, and Zhang Keda, the general of Dengzhen, led more than 20,000 troops to attack southern Liaoning.

Now, Fuzhou has been taken without a fight, and the Ming army is continuing to expand its victory. It will join forces with the Luda Ming army to attack Daishan's two red flags.

After pondering for a while, Xiong Tingbi decided to take another action to support the military operations in southern Liaoning.

………………

Gaizhou City Wall.

The flag on the city wall has been changed, indicating that the Ming army has captured another city.

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