Chapter 199 Hot Air Balloon
Upon arriving at their destination, the old prince, due to a foot injury, did not exchange pleasantries with Qi Rong and the others. After leading them into the city and settling them in, he returned to the garrison to have someone treat him.
The Duke of Qi was taken away for medical treatment as soon as he entered the city.
Qi Rong and Qin Zhong led their men to set up camp in an open area within the city. After establishing their camp, they asked the old prince for a few men and briefed him on the battle situation.
The imperial court is still fighting the rebels, but the logistics of Prince Sheng's faction can't keep up. With the Tartars pressing in, Prince Sheng directly ordered his men to retreat from the border cities of Daxing and Datong.
The army was brought back to Da Ning, but even so, Prince Sheng and his men could not hold out for long.
Qi Rong and his men did not actually want to follow the old prince's orders. After finding out the situation on the frontier, they prepared to lead their men there first.
The old prince was quite capable in his younger days, but unfortunately he hasn't led troops for many years now. He doesn't know how the people sent by the other princes are doing, so it's better for them to act on their own.
Moreover, when he arrived, the King of Chu had told him that the person above might not have good intentions. As the saying goes, a general in the field may not obey the emperor's orders. When it comes to fighting, especially in the war against the Tartars, he is definitely better than most people.
Therefore, he can act expediently this time. As long as he can recapture the city, the higher-ups won't make things too ugly for him.
Qi Rong summoned Lin Changning, and a group of generals gathered around the sand table to examine the current situation.
"The four border cities are now all in the hands of the Tartars. If we rely on only three thousand men, we may be in a difficult situation."
Qin Zhong nodded: "Three thousand men are indeed not enough. It's fortunate that we brought three thousand men with us. If we had only brought fifteen thousand, it would have been much more difficult."
Lin Changning sighed. With just this many people, there were indeed some who were not enough, not to mention that his eight hundred new recruits were also mixed in.
These greenhorns had never been on the battlefield, let alone fought against the Tartars.
It's still quite difficult.
Qi Rong frowned and pondered for a long time. After the general explained the battle situation, he sent him away.
"Old Qin, what do you think?"
Old Qin sat to the side, staring intently at the sand table, somewhat troubled. He had been stationed in Datong for nearly a decade, and now all four cities—Datong, Daxing, Yongning, and Yongzhou—had fallen into the hands of the Tartars.
They only have 3,000 men with them so far, so it will indeed be quite difficult for them to retake the city.
"If we could obtain command of the personal guards of the regional princes, this matter would be much easier."
After all, among these personal guards, the one closest to the frontier is their King Chu, and in terms of combat experience against the Tartars, their King Chu guards are the most experienced.
Qi Rong nodded in agreement. The current difficulty lies in how to bypass the old prince and take over the command of the personal guards of the various regional princes.
For a moment, no one could think of a particularly suitable solution.
Seeing that Lin Changning hadn't spoken for a long time, Qi Rong looked up and asked, "Xiao Liu, why aren't you saying anything?"
Lin Changning was looking at the four cities on the sand table and thinking.
When Qi Rong asked her, she pointed to the cities on the sand table and said her thoughts: "Commander, I'm thinking, which of these four cities will have fewer Tartars stationed there?"
After saying that, he stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "When we fled from Daxing, the Tartar army was only about 10,000. These cities were abandoned by Prince Sheng, so the Tartar army probably wasn't that many. Let's say it was around 20,000. Each city could only be assigned 5,000 people to garrison it."
Lin Changning looked at Daxing thoughtfully: "I don't know about the other cities, but Daxing probably doesn't have that many people stationed there. Firstly, we had very little food left when we left, and secondly, we took almost all the people in the city to Taiyuan. So even if the Tartars go there, they will only get an empty city. Therefore, the number of people stationed in Daxing probably won't be that many."
Looking at the sand table, Qin Zhong increasingly felt that Lin Changning's words made sense: "Commander Lin, are you saying that we might be able to use Daxing as a breakthrough point to first take back this city? And then fight for command?"
Lin Changning nodded; that was exactly what she meant.
Qin Zhong could not deny that this was indeed a good method, but the most crucial point was difficult to solve.
Qin Zhong pointed to Yongning City: "But if we want to bypass Yongning and attack Daxing directly, it will be extremely difficult."
Qi Rong nodded in agreement: "If we launch an attack from the left, we will have to pass through Datong. The Tartars are probably stationed there quite a bit. If we want to attack from the rear, we have to go through Yongning."
Lin Changning sighed; she had thought of that too.
Old Han sighed dejectedly and said, "Unless we fly over there, it will be difficult for an army of 3,000 to get around."
Hmm? Fly over there?
Lin Changning's eyes lit up, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
To say it can fly, perhaps it's not impossible.
Perhaps this could also be used to launch a surprise attack.
"Commander, I think I have a solution!"
The group of people in the tent suddenly looked at Lin Changning, who then ordered someone to bring out paper and pen.
As they scribbled and drew on paper, a group of people looked at the strangely shaped large basket that Lin Changning had finished drawing, somewhat puzzled.
Some people are still unsure of their purpose.
Lin Changning looked at Qi Rong: "Commander, please have someone find me some things. I need a bamboo basket that can hold two people, and some mulberry paper, preferably coated with tung oil, so that it is more windproof."
Qi Rong took the paper but was also somewhat confused, wondering what Lin Changning was trying to keep in suspense.
However, based on his trust in his sixth son, he quickly ordered someone to go and prepare things for Lin Changning.
Lin Changning had actually thought about using hot air balloons for observation before, and he had even built some small hot air balloons.
However, Daxing was too busy last year, and later forgot about this matter.
Looking at the puzzled expressions of the people around him.
Lin Changning began to explain, "Everyone has seen Kongming lanterns, right? I want to make a large Kongming lantern, with a basket large enough to hold a person hanging from it, and then put kerosene in the basket."
"Once we can take flight, we can use the wind to fly towards the Tartar camp, pour oil down from the sky, and then launch a fire attack. They won't be able to see anyone, but they'll see divine fire falling from the sky, which will naturally cause their morale to collapse. Then, when we launch our attack, it will surely be much more effective."
Qi Rong only needed to think for a moment to understand what Lin Changning was talking about.
Qin Zhong's eyes lit up. He did think it was a good idea, but flying into the sky in a large Kongming lantern was still a bit terrifying.
"If a person goes up to heaven, how will they come down?"
Lin Changning said matter-of-factly, "Just reduce the fire and it will come down. Kongming lanterns also fall down after the candle inside goes out."
Qin Zhong hesitated a little, but Qi Rong made the decision directly.
"Then let's do as Xiao Liu says and have someone send the things over as soon as possible. We'll try it tonight."
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