Compared with the behemoth Ming Empire, the Later Jin was at a disadvantage in every aspect.

When the Ming Dynasty was free of factional strife, the army had sufficient food and wages, and its weapons and equipment had an overwhelming advantage, the outcome of the war seemed to be doomed.

Given the population and military strength of the Later Jin, they could no longer afford a victory at a similar cost. However, achieving a victory with a huge casualty ratio was extremely difficult against the rapidly increasing combat power of the Ming army.

On the other hand, even if the Ming Dynasty suffered a defeat, even if it lost hundreds of thousands of troops, it would not be seriously damaged. It could still quickly replenish its troops and continue to fight against the Jiannu.

To put it bluntly, the Later Jin Dynasty was hesitant and had no capital to withstand setbacks; the Ming Empire had more than enough chips in its hands, and it could go all in every time, and victory would be secured with a big win.

……………………

Fengcheng, also known as Phoenix City, was originally under the jurisdiction of Dingliao Guard (stationed in Liaoyang). Later, during the Ming Dynasty, the Dingliao Right Guard was relocated from Liaoyang to Fenghuang Fort.

Relying on the forts established by the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, Chen Jisheng of the Dongjiang headquarters led the rear guard to occupy the two forts of Tangzhan and Xianshan, left troops to garrison, and then used the main force to recapture Fengcheng.

To say it was a recapture was tantamount to taking it over. The Jiannu only left a small number of cavalry in Fengcheng, mainly to serve as a whistleblower, and were completely unable to defend it.

According to the established procedures, Chen Jisheng immediately ordered his officers and soldiers to build fortifications. Within two or three days, the trench breastwork had been built, and a solid fortress was completed again.

That’s right, Zhu Youxiao also began to use fortress advancement tactics to compress the Jiannu’s living space and limit their mobility.

But Zhu Youxiao's fortress advancement was different from the Guanningjin Defense Line in history.

First of all, the amount of construction work and the cost were greatly reduced. Instead of building walls to repair the city, the main work was trench breastworks, wooden stakes, and barbed wire if conditions allowed.

To be precise, this kind of fortress relies on the original fortress, so it doesn’t matter much even if it is ruined. The main defensive role is played by the field fortifications.

Secondly, the construction time is short, ranging from one or two days to three to five days. The entire army takes turns to work on it, which does not leave much time for the enemy to take advantage of the opportunity to attack.

The last point is that the defensive firepower has been greatly enhanced. The Ming army in Liaodong has been fully equipped with flintlock muskets, supplemented by various artillery, which is enough to make the invading enemy pay a heavy price.

The number of field artillery could not fully meet the demand, but the speed and quantity of Ming Dynasty's heavy artillery, which was easy to manufacture, equipped the troops completely beyond the Jiannu's expectations.

The old-style Portuguese cannon was also a large-scale artillery equipped by the Liaodong Ming army. It had a fast rate of fire and could fire area-destroying shotgun shells, making it quite effective against the concentrated charges of the Jiannu.

The cost was the lowest, and the number of grenade vehicles that each Ming army could make themselves was astonishing. As long as there were enough bombs, the overwhelming bombing would be enough to inflict a heavy blow to the enemy.

The Ming army's heavy artillery, Portuguese bombs, and grenade launchers were basically the artillery equipped in the fortresses occupied by the Ming army. Enemies from far to near, from a thousand meters to a hundred meters away, were all within the bombardment range.

According to Zhu Youxiao's plan, the first stage was to build a strong camp, fight a static battle, and advance step by step. If the Jiannu attacked, the Ming army would play to its strengths and inflict heavy casualties.

There were two to three thousand defenders in the large strongholds, and more than a thousand troops in the small strongholds. Almost all the troops advancing were experienced in combat.

Needless to say, Liaozhen and Dongjiangzhen had fought against the Jiannu many times and had the most experience and stronger combat power; while Dengzhen and Jinzhen were responsible for garrisoning the rear forts, such as Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Tieshan, Yizhou, and Zhenjiang, thus freeing up more troops from Dongjiangzhen.

The Later Jin were unaware that the two divisions of Dengzhen had been transferred to Liaodong, leaving Dongjiang with a force of five divisions. If they were to attack with the Five Banners, their advantage in numbers would not be significant.

And this was not the entire strength of the Dongjiang headquarters. Kong Youde led his troops eastward and joined forces with Gou Zhenhuai's Zhongxie at Xiuyan City (Xiuyan), completing the strategic deployment of the two major groups of Ming troops in southern and Liaodong.

Kuandian is Mao Chenglu's front association, Fengcheng is Chen Jisheng's rear association, and Xiuyan is Gou Zhenhuai's middle association. All three associations of the Dongjiang headquarters are deployed.

At this moment, Chen Jisheng was holding up a telescope, gazing into the distance. There, artillerymen were measuring distances, digging pits, planting stakes, and setting up markers.

As long as the Jiannu dared to come, the Ming Dynasty's pre-positioned strongholds would be about a thousand miles away and give them a head-on blow.

Chen Jisheng was extremely confident in the defense of Fengcheng, because it was a mountain city, unlike a fortress on plains.

Fenghuang Mountain Fortress, located on the eastern slope of Fenghuang Mountain, was a city steeped in history. Many historians, familiar with its Tang Dynasty name, Wugut City, would have known that fierce battles were fought there during the Tang army's campaign against Goguryeo.

Wugut was built in the late Western Han Dynasty. At that time, Goguryeo built many high mountain fortresses in Liaodong that were easy to defend and difficult to attack. Wugut was one of them, and it was the largest Goguryeo mountain fortress on the right bank of the Yalu River.

From a bird's eye view of Wugut City, you can see that the center of the city is low-lying, while the surrounding areas are high and steep, forming a huge basin shape.

If you stand at the north gate and look inside, you will find that the entire Wugut City is like an irregular winnowing basket shape, surrounded by abrupt peaks and steep ridges on three sides.

The mountain city used the cliffs of the mountains to its left and right as its walls. The low-lying areas were built with wedge-shaped stones. A high wall of earth and stone was built horizontally at each entrance to the southwest. The city consisted of an outer city and an inner city. The outer city was built in sections along the mountain ridge, forming an oval shape.

In short, this mountain city is located on a steep terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Coupled with the trenches and breastworks built at the foot of the mountain and the artillery on the mountain, it is no less powerful than the fortified city of Ningcheng.

Two thousand men are enough! Chen Jisheng made a confident judgment. Just as he was about to put down his telescope, he saw a large group of cavalrymen, wrapped in smoke and dust, galloping towards him.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!