Around noon on October 17th, Li Xin, Zhao Bingzhang, and others entered Yuguan City under the protection of the Tiger Warriors.
Today, Yuguan City is no longer resembling a magnificent city, with its walls collapsed and houses damaged by continuous artillery bombardment.
Upon entering the city and seeing the royal guards bustling about, Li Xin felt somewhat gratified.
"Your Highness,"
Liu Zheng, the commander of the Divine Martial Army, stepped forward and immediately knelt down, saying, "This humble general greets Your Highness!"
"No need for such formalities."
Li Xin waved his hand, pointed around, and asked, "How are the preparations for war at Yuguan City going?"
"Your Highness,"
Liu Zheng replied, "From yesterday until this morning, the city of Yuguan has been completely cleaned up."
The city's inhabitants and prisoners have all been mobilized.
The bluestone slabs from the eastern part of the city are being moved to the western part.
Cement, steel, and other supplies unloaded from merchant ships are also being transported here.
In the afternoon, concrete can be prepared and poured to reinforce the west gate and strengthen the defenses of the west city.
Your Highness, strive to completely seal off the West Gate by the day after tomorrow and reinforce it with concrete!
In addition, the remaining bluestone slabs within the city will be transported to the city walls for unforeseen circumstances.
"Uh-huh!"
Li Xin nodded and said, "The city gate is the most urgent matter!"
In addition, the damaged city walls should be repaired as soon as possible.
If there is a shortage of cement, report it promptly.
This morning I sent a message to Dongning that as long as the port is not frozen, several more batches of supplies should be delivered in the near future.
Defense must be done well!
"Your Highness, rest assured!"
Liu Zheng patted his chest and said confidently, "The defense will definitely be in place!"
During this time, General He and I were also moving cannons together.
Cannons were placed at intervals on the south city wall of Yuguan, as well as on the nearby barbican, outer city, and gate wall.
Even the catapults inside the city were moved to the city walls.
At that time, the cannons and thunderclaps on the city walls will be our powerful weapons in defending Yuguan City!
General He has already selected the artillery positions!
With that, Liu Zheng led Li Xin to the south city wall.
Looking at the soldiers busily setting up artillery positions around him, Li Xin nodded slightly.
Upon seeing Li Xin, He Chaojun quickly approached and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, you've arrived!"
"How's the artillery position selection going?"
Li Xin asked with a smile.
"The selection is basically complete."
He Chaojun replied, "This morning, we also sent people out of the city to conduct distance surveys, and the range and firing angle of the cannons on the city wall were also marked."
"As long as the enemy arrives, I guarantee they'll all die here!"
"Well done!"
Li Xin nodded in satisfaction.
He knew the purpose of He Chaojun's actions; once the cannons were moved to the city wall, their position was essentially fixed.
After measuring the distance, different firing angles can achieve different ranges.
When war breaks out, the firing angle can be quickly adjusted for cover fire.
The advantage of doing this is that it increases the rate of fire!
"The snow is falling continuously, the weather is too cold, and the ground is frozen!"
He Chaojun said with some regret, "Otherwise, we could bury landmines outside the city as a barrier."
Unfortunately, it's very difficult to dig now!
"As long as we have cannons!"
Li Xin didn't feel particularly regretful or disappointed.
After several days of heavy snow, the area around Yuguan City was covered in a blanket of white.
This is bad news for them.
This is certainly not good news for the enemy either!
Marching in snowy weather will not only slow down the pace of the army, but will also significantly reduce the efficiency of logistics, supplies, manpower, and combat operations.
Inadvertently, this also bought time for the Dongning army!
However, with the ground frozen, it's probably impossible to dig trenches.
The defenses in the eastern part of the city are too weak!
If the imperial army from Liaodong, Jinzhou, and other places were to return and attack Yuguan City from both sides, the defenses of the eastern city would probably be hard to withstand!
Although Wei Jun and Zhang Cheng's Shenwei Army launched a feigned attack on Liaodong to divert the enemy's attention there.
But no one can guarantee that the enemy forces in Jinzhou will not abandon Liaodong and march westward.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xin looked at He Chaojun and instructed him: "Since the western city is a key defensive point, it doesn't matter if we deploy more artillery."
However, we can't let our guard down in Dongcheng either!
Especially given the severe damage to the eastern city wall during yesterday's artillery battle, we should be even more vigilant.
We must guard against enemy troops coming from Jinzhou in the east. Better safe than sorry!
He Chaojun and Liu Zheng, you both need to be on high alert!
"clear!"
The two quickly agreed.
"Your Highness,"
Looking at Li Xin, Liu Zheng said, "This morning, my unit dispatched all its scouts to the vicinity of Jinzhou and Jizhou to gather intelligence on the enemy's movements."
If the enemy makes any unusual moves, news will surely come through.
Your Highness, please rest assured!
We're keeping an eye on things in Jinzhou too!
"That's good, that's good!"
Li Xin nodded in satisfaction.
It seems that Liu Zheng is capable of considering all aspects of a problem and is about to become a qualified general who can stand alone!
Not bad, not bad!
Li Xin felt somewhat relieved!
After giving He Chaojun, Liu Zheng, and others some more instructions on reinforcing the city's defenses, Li Xin returned from the city wall.
However, Li Xin did not enter the temporary garrison general's mansion, but instead went to a warehouse in Yuguan City.
This warehouse has been completely cleared out.
The warehouse has now become a heavily guarded workshop where craftsmen from Dongning will produce necessities such as gunpowder, shells, and bullets.
Although the fleet accompanying Yuguan City carried a large amount of logistical supplies this time, these craftsmen will also serve as a supplement.
In case the defense of Yuguan City turns into a protracted war of attrition, these will come in handy!
Better safe than sorry!
This was just one backup plan that Li Xin had prepared!
In fact, these can only be considered as auxiliary measures. The most important thing is to see the combat performance of the Prince's Guard in Yuguan City and the Shenwei Army that is feigning an attack on Liaodong!
As long as the Shenwei Army can achieve good results in Liaodong and tie down the enemy forces in Liaodong, Jinzhou and other places, the pressure on Yuguan City will be greatly reduced!
As for the enemy forces in the area around the capital, no matter how large their total strength is, they have come from afar, and it is also the winter when heavy snow has blocked the mountains. Whether they are marching or fighting, it will inevitably be affected.
In particular, many of the reinforcements gathered near the capital came from Hedong, Zhili, Heluo, Huguang, Guanzhong, Huaibei and other places.
Those soldiers had never experienced the harsh cold of the North, and it would take them some time to adapt!
This is also an advantage for Li Xin!
Taking all factors into consideration, this is the source of Li Xin's confidence in devising a plan to launch a surprise attack on Yuguan City!
Therefore, Li Xin was not afraid!
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