After a pause, he added, "Even if it's not as powerful, it still has lethality, so there's no need to be too demanding."
Fan Wencheng felt a little comforted, but he knew that with such a gap, he would definitely lose if he fought against the Ming army with firearms.
However, Nurhaci and Huang Taiji's hope of expanding their firearms equipment and competing with the Ming army was no longer possible.
Of course, failure to counterattack did not mean that firearms were useless. If the Ming army could besiege a city, artillery bombardment would still be the key to breaking the city.
Moreover, only Han soldiers could be equipped with firearms, which was also a way for the Jurchens to increase their own strength.
Just like the "cannon fodder" responsible for pushing shield carts to fill the trenches, more is always better. Their firearms are not as good as the Ming army's, but in a battle, it is not the Jurchens who will die.
Huang Taiji made a gesture, indicating Fan Wencheng to follow him, and he walked out.
Seeing that Huang Taiji was not in a good mood, Fan Wencheng knew that his plan must not be adopted, so he did not dare to say much and followed behind him with a slight bow.
………………Dividing line……………………
Being prepared for any eventuality and being cautious and careful have always been the characteristics that Zhu Youxiao adhered to in fighting against the enemy.
The Liaozhen advance eastward to Jinzhou and Dalinghe was also carefully planned. Zhu Youxiao would not agree to start the operation without the artillery in place.
This was not due to his personality, but a judgment made by Zhu Youxiao based on the historical Battle of Dalinghe.
At that time, Huang Taiji sent troops quickly to prevent the Ming army from building the cities of Jinzhou and Dalinghhe, and finally besieged the city before Dalinghhe was completed.
But history did not repeat itself. Huang Taiji wanted to attack quickly to disrupt the Ming army's advance plan.
But now the old slave has not died yet, Daishan and Amin do not submit to him, and his prestige and status in the Later Jin are not that high.
Tens of thousands of Ming troops repaired the circular defensive fortifications of Dalingh City in six days, but the Jiannu did not move; they turned Jinzhou into a solid fortress in seven days, but the Jiannu still did not take any action.
It went unexpectedly smoothly. After Xiong Tingbi personally inspected the defenses of the two cities, he ordered Man Gui to lead his troops to continue to garrison in Yizhou to provide early warning to Jinzhou and Dalinghhe.
At that time, the breath of spring was finally clearly felt in Liaodong.
The refreshing fragrance of green grass and wild flowers, mixed with the smell of moist earth, gives people a sense of vigorous vitality.
Standing on Bijia Mountain, Xiong Tingbi looked around with a telescope. To the south was the endless sea, and to the north was the vast land.
Several Ming army generals performed the same action. The magnification of their telescopes was the same, but the workmanship was different to show the differences in their official ranks and identities.
The telescope in Lao Xiong's hand was a gift from the emperor, and it was covered with gold. The emperor had to be frugal with his money and didn't dare to make it entirely of gold.
Just as Guangning has Youtunwei as a place for storing grain, Jinzhou and Dalinghhe City will use Bijia Mountain as a place to store grain.
Since ancient times, both sides of a war have considered food and fodder to be of paramount importance. Tactics such as intercepting food, burning food, looting food, and protecting food have emerged one after another, the most famous of which is probably the burning of Wuchao during the Battle of Guandu.
As a veteran soldier, how could Xiong Tingbi not understand this? Bijia Mountain is to Jinzhou and Daling River what Juehua Island is to Ningyuan. Its importance is self-evident.
The defense of Bijia Mountain is also quite strong, and the defenders have the advantage of being high above, making it probably more difficult to capture than Dalingh City and Jinzhou.
The person in charge of guarding this place is Lieutenant General Zhu Mei, who is a simple and honest person, smart and capable in his work, and is quite liked by Xiong Tingbi.
In addition to the main general Zhu Mei, the newly crowned martial arts champion Qi Shiguang was also transferred to Liaozhen and stationed in this mountain, taking orders from Zhu Mei.
As for the military scholar named Wu, Zhu Youxiao secretly taught him martial arts and assigned him to the southwest battlefield to fight against the rebels.
With such a transfer, it is estimated that even Wu Xiang’s wife will be different from the historical one, and the emperor will not feel uncomfortable with his descendants, whether they are male or female.
Another military scholar, Zhang Dingwei, was already a qualified artillery officer and was directing the deployment of artillery.
Firing from the mountain, the range of artillery could be increased by nearly one-third. The Ming heavy artillery, in particular, could project artillery shells up to 1,500 meters.
Several large ships were anchored on the sea, and small boats were plying the waters, transporting ammunition and supplies. Although busy, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
After a long while, Xiong Tingbi finally put down his telescope, extended his hand to call over Zhu Mei and other generals, and said, "Although we have the advantage of terrain, we must not be careless in our defense. Due to the size of this mountain, we can only station 2,000 troops. But the importance of this place, do I need to explain it in detail?"
Zhu Mei, the commander-in-chief, bowed and replied, "Don't worry, sir. I will lead two thousand soldiers to defend this grain storage. Even if the Eastern Tartars, ten times their number, attack, we will surely send them flying in defeat."
Xiong Tingbi nodded. He didn't think this place would be attacked by the Jiannu. But as the commander, reminders and warnings were essential.
"Our army's defensive fortifications are complete, but the Eastern Tartars have been reluctant to move. They must be afraid of the attack, or they are still gathering supplies to prepare for the attack." Xiong Tingbi did not take it lightly, even though more than ten days had passed.
In ancient times, it took a long time to mobilize troops and gather supplies to fight a war. The fact that the Eastern Tartars were not seen moving did not necessarily mean they were afraid to attack, but rather that they were preparing.
"The Eastern Tartars may have thought our army was still rebuilding the city and would need a long time, so they weren't rushing to attack." Qi Shiguang bowed and replied, "But they certainly miscalculated."
"That makes sense." Xiong Tingbi nodded in approval and asked Zhang Dingwei, "We don't have many cannons right now, but the Ordnance and Gunpowder Bureau is ramping up production. If more are shipped in, we can just keep them!"
Zhang Dingwei bowed and replied, "The mountain is advantageous, but direct-fire artillery is of little use. It's difficult to launch ricochet attacks. So, we should transport all of them to Jinzhou or Dalinghe to strengthen the defenses there!"
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