Huang Taiji pondered for a moment before finally uttering his second sentence since their meeting. "Mr. Fan's insights are insightful and pertinent, and I wholeheartedly agree. Only by knowing both ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle. Knowing the enemy's strengths and still forcing our weaknesses to attack their strengths is truly unwise."
Raising his teacup and gesturing to Fan Wencheng, Huang Taiji continued, "If the enemy has no city to rely on, can our army, relying on artillery, trenches and bridges, break through the enemy's defenses?"
Fan Wencheng knew that Huang Taiji was referring to southern Liaoning, more precisely, Jinzhou. Although the Ming army in western Liaoning was strong, it was still far away. However, if the Ming army occupied this bridgehead, it would be a serious threat.
Unless the Later Jin gave up the coast, gave up southern Liaoning, and retreated to Liaoning, it would not be possible for the Ming army to continue to occupy Jinzhou and stabilize its foundation.
Well, Ningyuan had red cannons and a fortified city, but the Later Jin were too weak to withstand the attack. As for Jinzhou, it seemed like it had neither of these things!
Fan Wencheng didn't dare to make a hasty judgment, but he didn't hesitate. He said slowly, "I haven't seen the Ming army's defenses, so I don't dare to answer rashly. But without fortified cities and red-haired artillery, the attack will definitely be more advantageous than in Ningyuan."
Huang Taiji was not harsh. In a war, who dared to easily judge victory or defeat? If Fan Wencheng said victory was inevitable, it would cause his dissatisfaction.
Of course, Huang Taiji was also a little disappointed, not with Fan Wencheng, but with the current offensive capabilities of the Later Jin Dynasty, which were indeed difficult to break through the Ming army's solid defense.
If Jinzhou's defenses were also impenetrable, Huang Taiji would have no choice but to wait for an opportunity. For example, as Fan Wencheng mentioned earlier, launching a quick attack while the Ming army was advancing to repair the city would have been a good option.
Among the four great beiles of the Later Jin Dynasty, Daishan and Amin both fought against the Ming army and suffered losses; not to mention Manggurtai, who was already a useless person.
Huang Taiji's Plain White Banner, however, had never engaged the newly reorganized, trained, and equipped Ming army. He believed in the Ming army's improved combat capabilities, but he clearly didn't fully understand the extent of the improvement.
Without personal experience and without being truly hurt, people always feel that others are incompetent and that the results would be different if they were in the same situation.
This is the mentality of Huang Taiji now. Obviously, he has to be beaten badly before he knows how powerful he is.
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