"It was Li Laiheng who came up with the idea!" He Jin replied, "He told me this idea when we were surveying the terrain today, and I relayed it to you, the Governor!"

"Li Laiheng!" Wang Yongji smiled and nodded: "As the saying goes, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans. This boy is so young and yet he has such a plan. He has a promising future! If we can successfully capture Ningyuan, I will credit him with the first achievement!"

"I would like to thank the Governor on behalf of Li Laiheng!" He Jin bowed deeply to Wang Yongji.

Wang Yongji laughed and sat back in his seat.

Everyone else was also very happy, except Wu Sangui, whose smile contained a hint of...jealousy.

After deciding on the strategy of building earthen hills and setting up artillery along the river, everyone began to arrange subsequent military deployment plans around this strategy.

After discussing for a long time, everyone was not as happy as expected, but became more silent.

Because they found that their own artillery could only suppress the enemy's artillery and could not completely eliminate the threat.

After all, the distance is too far, so you can only aim within a range and cannot achieve precise shooting.

It’s difficult to hit the enemy’s artillery with artillery from two miles away!

Furthermore, the number of Ming army cavalry was not large, and often they had to rely on infantry formations to contain the Eight Banners cavalry.

However, the infantry would become very bulky after forming a formation and become a target for enemy artillery.

If the infantry formation was hit twice by the Red Cannon, it would be in danger of collapse.

Because the Battle of Ningyuan was of great importance, the senior generals of the Ming army discussed the battle plan in the military tent for the next five days.

The soldiers below took the opportunity to prepare tools for digging and crossing the river, as well as obstacles such as chevaux de frise and deer horns to resist cavalry.

......

In Ningyuan city.

"Report!" The messenger ran to Prince Su Haoge and said, "Prince Su, is there any movement from the Ming army today?"

"What?" Hauge couldn't sit still anymore.

The Ming army arrived at the Ningyuan River a few days ago.

He thought the Ming army would take advantage of the situation to launch an attack or a surprise attack.

The result was beyond everyone's expectations.

Not only did the Ming army not attack, it did not even launch a small-scale test.

Every day, they just sent scouts to investigate back and forth along the river as usual.

Although he didn't know what the Ming army was doing, the more it did so, the more uncertain he felt.

After a moment of silence, he shouted outside, "Come here, order all officers above the rank of lieutenant commander of each flag to go to the southwest corner of the city wall to observe the enemy situation."

"Yeah." The personal guards quickly left to convey the message.

After the order was issued, the generals gathered on the city wall at the southwest corner of Ningyuan City. After observing with their clairvoyance for nearly an hour, they walked down the wall and returned to the city.

In the temporary general's mansion, Hauge sat firmly in the middle.

The rest of the generals stood on the left and right and looked at Hauge.

"The Ming army has set up camp on the south bank of the Ningyuan River," Hauge raised his eyelids, "Did you all see it?"

"Your Highness, we saw it." Led by Man Dahai, a group of generals answered.

Hauge closed his eyes and continued to ask: "You said...why didn't the Ming army cross the river and attack the city?"

Man Dahai looked around and saw that no one was talking, so he felt it was inappropriate and could only bite the bullet and answer: "I thought... the Ming army was waiting."

"What are you waiting for?" Hauge asked again.

"Waiting for artillery!" Man Dahai's expression was solemn. "The Ming army carried hundreds of artillery pieces when they attacked Guihua City. This time when they attack Ningyuan City, they must have brought a lot of artillery pieces."

"That makes sense!" Haoge nodded. "In fact, too many cannons are useless, and too few are not enough. Just the right amount is enough! When I left Shengjing, I brought over a hundred Red Barbarian cannons, not too many, not too few, just the right amount."

"Your Majesty is wise. It's not the quantity of artillery that matters, but its quality. The artillery of the Ming army is very easy to explode, so they carry a large number of artillery every time they go on an expedition." A general bowed and said, "The artillery of our Qing Dynasty is all top-notch. The Ming army can't compare at all."

"Yes, Prince Suqing, if numbers were more effective, the Ming court would not have lost all the land outside the Great Wall!"

"I thought that the Qing Dynasty relied on cavalry and archery to conquer the world!" Another general echoed, "Artillery and the like can only play a supporting role, not the key."

"Prince Su, after the war begins, I am willing to lead a group of soldiers to attack the Ming army's artillery positions and take back all their artillery."

"......"

Under the pressure and praise of the generals, the Ming army's advantage in the number of artillery pieces disappeared.

It gives people a feeling of...celebrating a funeral as a celebration of happiness.

Although Hauge was prone to arrogance, it was only limited to conversation and laughter.

I won't make such a low-level mistake on the battlefield.

He coughed loudly to interrupt everyone's flattery: "Okay, let's stop talking and laughing! The Ming army is coming with great force this time, don't underestimate the enemy, otherwise you will be killed by underestimating the enemy."

"yes."

"Yes, sir." The generals replied with red faces.

Since the Ming army did not make any moves, Hauge could not make any arrangements and could only instruct his generals to send out more scouts for reconnaissance.

As for the others...they remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances.

boom!

Before dawn the next day, Hauge, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by the rumbling sound of cannons outside.

Haoge suddenly opened his eyes, pushed away the charming woman beside him, and shouted outside: "What's going on? Who is firing?"

"I'll go check it out right away!" The guards outside the door ran away.

Not long after, he ran back and said, "Your Majesty, it's the defenders on the city wall firing."

"Why are you firing?" Hauge asked unhappily, staring at the door.

"Your Highness, the Ming army piled up dozens of earthen hills in the upper and middle reaches of the south bank of the Ningyuan River overnight. The height of the earthen hills is very high. According to scouts, they are higher than the walls of Ningyuan City." The personal soldier replied, "And... the location of the earthen hills is within the range of the red cannons on the city wall!"

"What?" Hauge suddenly felt his head tighten and his back go cold.

Something bad is going to happen!

He was a veteran on the battlefield and had already guessed the purpose of the Ming army's pile of earth.

The earthen hill was within the range of the Red Cannon, which meant that the Ningyuan city wall was also within the range of the Red Cannon.

"Hurry!" Hauge jumped up from the bed.

As he put on his clothes and armor, he shouted outside, "Hurry up and pass the order down, fire the cannons to attack the Ming troops on the hill!"