Just as Emperor Zhengde led his army to Zhuozhou, he received the worst news.
Wang Yangming, the governor of Nangan, had no idea how to understand the emperor's intentions. He led his army to attack without waiting for the imperial decree and captured the incompetent King Ning alive in no time.
Upon hearing the news, Emperor Wuzong stamped his feet, beat his chest, and cried out, "Wang Yangming, what are you so anxious about? This credit for suppressing the rebellion belongs to me, and you dare to steal it? The rebels have been captured, and I still have to kiss your ass!"
Wuzong, who was very unhappy, concealed the battle report and continued to lead his army. He ate, drank and had fun in Yangzhou. He also went to a brothel to inspect the female soldiers and indulged himself.
The commotion lasted for more than eight months, and Mr. Wang Yangming was extremely anxious. He had held Prince Ning in Nanjing for half a year and begged the Emperor to accept the captive, but Emperor Wuzong refused.
Finally, Mr. Wang Yangming finally came to his senses and reported the victory again, saying that all the credit went to General Zhu Shou. It was thanks to his prestige and strategy that the rebellion was quickly quelled.
As for Mr. Wang's heroic deeds of personally braving arrows and stones, fighting in Poyang, and capturing Prince Ning, he naturally dared not write a single word. Sure enough, when this book was submitted, Wuzong immediately approved it.
After being captured, Zhu Houzhao finally agreed to return north reluctantly.
But after walking for a few days, Wuzong felt that he was not satisfied yet, so he said to his ministers: How about we let it go this time, let's release Prince Ning, let him rebel again, and I will defeat and capture him with my own hands, how exciting and awesome that would be!
The ministers were stunned. How could they play like this?
Now, the young emperor also seemed eager to fight. He not only gave remote commands, but also designed something to defend the city.
Craftsmanship, Gao Bangzuo felt that these two words were not very reliable.
Looking at Xiong Tingbi's expression and the arrangements made over the past few days, it was clear that Xiong Tingbi hadn't dared to use the emperor's "craftsmanship." Gao Bangzuo opened his mouth and swallowed back the words he wanted to ask.
It’s just craftsmanship, it’s a thoughtful gesture after all. As long as the young emperor doesn’t yell for “lead the army in person”, we’ll be thankful!
…………
In the 24th year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty established Guangning Zhong and Zuo Tunwei, and Jin County was under its jurisdiction.
In the 26th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, Guangning Youtunwei was established, initially located in Shisanshanbao. The following year, it was moved to Linhai Township (now Youwei Town) in Zaoluyang County and was under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Commandery.
The specific location of Youtunwei City is Youwei Manchu Town, 40 miles southeast of Linghai City in later generations. It is on the left bank of the Daling River basin, only 30 to 40 miles away from the Liaodong Bay sea in the south.
Compared with the scale of Guangning City, Youtunwei City is certainly inferior. It is about 300 meters long from north to south and 230 meters wide from east to west, with four city gates in the east, west, south and north.
As Xiong Tingbi said, a small city also has its advantages. Fewer soldiers are needed and the length of defense is greatly shortened.
Moreover, there are quite a lot of defenders in Youtunwei City. They are the troops from the surrounding forts and watchtowers, as well as the defeated troops from Shaling. Together with the one thousand soldiers sent by Xiong Tingbi, there are now more than 20,000 people.
The troops who came to join the group from various forts and watchtowers also brought with them forty or fifty cannons of various sizes, a large number of gunpowder bullets, etc.
Although it was only small, it still increased the confidence of the defenders inside the city when placed on the city wall for defense.
What's more - in addition to these small artillery pieces, there is also the emperor's craftsmanship to help!
On the top of the city wall, Zu Dashou, Du Zhenyu, and Xing Shenyan, the senator sent by Xiong Tingbi, were inspecting.
Looking at the thick logs placed on the city walls covered with thick ice, there were at least two or three hundred of them on all four sides. Zu Dashou and several military generals looked a little strange.
Du Zhenyu, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, still had that poker face, occasionally pursing his lips, looking like he was smiling but not quite.
Next to him was another Jinyiwei captain named Gou Zhenhuai, who had a smile on his face and talked non-stop like a chatterbox.
"This is the work of His Majesty—" Gou Zhenhuai patted the rough round wood with iron hoops and bowed towards the capital. "It's just a tree, sawed and sawed, and it became a cannon..."
Pine and elm cannons are simple and easy to make. Just make a hole in the middle of the wood, or saw it open and hollow it out, and then fasten it with an iron hoop.
Then load black powder into it, fill the front with some gravel and iron or something like that, plug the muzzle with grass, ignite and fire, just like a large shotgun.
This thing is simple and easy to make. Tens of thousands of soldiers cut down the trees outside the city and brought more than 2,000 trees into the castle in half a day. After some simple processing, hundreds of "big spray guns" were set up on the top of the city in a day.
They're still being manufactured in the city, and the total number is still growing. Thousands of "cannons" sounds terrifying.
After testing, it was found that this thing could only fire a few times, and even a single shot could create cracks in the wood. The range was only about 30 to 40 meters.
In the past, Zu Dashou and other military generals would definitely treat this thing as trash and would not even take it even if it was given to them for free.
But what time is it now? Once the Later Jin army comes to attack, bricks that can hit people will be useful.
Besides, this wooden cannon was designed by the emperor. It only takes some effort and gunpowder. Even if it is scrapped after one spray, it is worth it!
Gou Zhenhuai, a captain of the Imperial Guard, was still enthusiastically introducing and praising the city. "My Lords, do you see that line of rotten branches at the foot of the city? If the enemy crosses it, we'll use these wooden cannons to blast them to pieces. Seriously, we can knock down three, four, five, six, seven, or eight of them with one cannon. It's not hard."
Zu Dashou nodded vigorously and praised, "Your Majesty is extremely wise and intelligent, only he could design this weapon to defend the city. Captain Gou is also very thoughtful and considerate. The advantage of this cannon is that it is simple to manufacture, and a single shot can injure several enemies. Even if it is discarded, it is still a huge profit."
The biggest advantages of pine and elm tree cannons are their ease of manufacture and high cost-performance. Furthermore, their large caliber allows them to spray a wide area, making them even more powerful than three-barreled cannons.
"Wow!" Gou Zhenhuai seemed to have met a close friend. He looked at Zu Dashou with a different look in his eyes. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "General Zu, you've hit the nail on the head. After firing this wooden cannon, just throw it down the city wall and use it as a rolling log. It can even hit a few enemies!"
Councillor Xing Shenyan smiled and changed the subject. He patted the thick ice on the battlements and said, "This method of solidifying the city with ice was once used by famous generals in ancient times. It is now being used in Youtunwei City. It is very timely and brilliant."
Gou Zhenhuai chuckled and bowed, saying, "Counselor Xing, you're too kind. I heard about this method in a storytelling novel, so I gave it a try. It was just a stroke of luck that it worked."
Du Zhenyu clung to the wall and looked down, saying, "The walls and the ground below are also frozen, making it slippery. If the Later Jin army tries to break through the wall and climb the city, they will probably suffer a great loss. Brother Gou, you are really thoughtful."
Gou Zhenhuai kicked the sacks beside the city wall and said with a smile, "If it's not slippery enough, I've also prepared soybeans and black beans and will throw them down below the city..."
Ice surface with round, rolling little beans?! Zu Dashou's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself: This guy is really mean.
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