Although Liaozhen did not carry out any major military operations for nearly a year, the limelight seemed to have been stolen by Dongjiangzhen.
But this is only a temporary phenomenon. In the future, when Liaodong is recovered, Liaozhen, which possesses red cannons and cavalry groups, will be the real main force.
Once Guangning is recaptured, Liaozhen will have to face the main forces of the Later Jin Dynasty under Liao and Shen, and the Dongjiang Army will become a restraining and coordinating force.
In fact, the fact that Xiong Tingbi held the posts of governor, general manager, and possessed the imperial sword shows that his status and trust far surpassed Mao Wenlong.
Xiong Tingbi also knew what was important and that monopolizing power would also provide an excuse for criticism.
Therefore, the military pay was handed over to the military governor, and military law was handed over to the military court. He was only responsible for training troops, military command, and preparations for the recovery of Jinzhou, Dalinghhe, and Guangning.
Reaching out to brush away the thin layer of snow on the battlements, Xiong Tingbi chuckled and said, "If the Eastern Tartars return in defeat, perhaps we won't have to chase them down; someone will intercept them along the way!"
Huang Degong blinked his eyes, and then he began to understand a little bit. He also laughed, "Hu Dun Rabbit, I hope he has the courage."
Xiong Tingbi also allied with Mongolia, but unlike Wang Huazhen, he did not put all his hopes on it.
He sent a messenger and made it clear in the letter that if the Eastern Tartars were defeated and returned, and if Ligdan Khan's troops intercepted and killed them, their heads could be exchanged for a reward of silver.
Each head of a Zhenyi tribe was rewarded with fifty taels of silver, the same as the Ming army's reward, but without any labor or effort on the part of the Ming army. This policy was approved by the emperor, and it now depended on whether the Mongolian tribes dared to take advantage of the situation and plunder.
I'm not asking you to fight to the death with the Later Jin. You don't even dare to touch the defeated Eastern Tartars, and you still have the nerve to come here and ask for a reward?
Of course, even if the Mongol tribes remained unmoved, the annual quota of compensation silver would still be given. It wasn't much anyway, so there was no need to lose the big picture for the sake of penny-pinching like Chongzhen did, who pushed all the Mongol tribes onto the Later Jin just to save money.
Xiong Tingbi inspected the city and came to the artillery position, where he saw artillery officer Luo Li and others pointing and conducting the final survey and distance measurement.
"Sir." Several officers bowed and saluted.
Xiong Tingbi raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite. Thank you all for your hard work."
As he spoke, he took a few steps forward, patted the cannon covered with oilcloth, and said with a smile: "Don't set off firecrackers during the New Year. When the Eastern Tartars attack, we will use the roar of these cannons instead!"
Luo Li was born in Fujian and Zhejiang. He already had empirical skills in firing cannons, and he mastered the theory through further study of martial arts, which can be said to be a further step forward.
If the Ningyuan incident had not been of such great importance, he would have been retained at the military academy as an artillery instructor. After this battle, some artillery officers would have grown up, and he would most likely have been transferred away.
However, Luo Li hoped to finish this battle before leaving. He was confident in the power of the Red Barbarian Cannon and was sure to inflict heavy casualties on the Jiannu. And this was military merit. Returning to the martial arts school to teach students, it would bring a completely different level of qualifications and reputation.
"If the Jiannu dare to attack the city, we'll let them experience the power of these cannons." Luo Li pointed outside the city, where there were several reference points known only to them. "We already have all the actual firing data. No further testing is needed. We can fire continuously."
After a pause, he said with a hint of regret: "If a few more artillery batteries were set up on the city, the Jiannu would suffer heavy casualties under concentrated fire."
Xiong Tingbi smiled, patted the arm of the officer with the odd accent, and said, "Red Cannons are expensive. Placing them on the city walls for passive defense is not a long-term solution. The fact that the court was able to remove over twenty of them is already a real challenge."
Luo Li pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. The court is currently manufacturing field artillery. I must thoroughly study artillery techniques and urgently bring them into battle, so that I can follow you, my Lord, to defeat the Jiannu and recover Liaodong."
"Very good, very good." Xiong Tingbi felt his blood boiling and said, "Your Majesty will train an invincible cavalry in three years. You must also train a proficient artillery in three years. With cavalry and artillery, the Jiannu will be destroyed and Liaodong will be pacified. A true man who has accomplished such a feat will have no regrets even in death."
Glancing at the young general in front of him, Xiong Tingbi stroked his beard and smiled, feeling extremely relieved.
......................
It was almost five o'clock in the morning and sporadic snowflakes began to fall in the capital.
The first day of the new year, the first day of the third year of Tianqi, arrived in this light snow.
At five o'clock in the morning, Zhu Youxiao was awakened by Empress Zhang Yan. But after firing the first shot of the new year, the emperor, who was looking forward to a good start, wanted to play dead and hold his wife to sleep for a while longer!
"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor." Although the happiness and sweetness had not completely disappeared, Zhang Yan could only coax the emperor to get up, "We have to get up early today..."
Zhu Youxiao hummed, hugged the queen, who felt very good, and kneaded her, but he didn't want to open his eyes.
Zhang Yan blushed and her heart began to beat fast, her voice trembling a little, "Your Majesty, I still have to go to Fengxian Hall and Fengci Hall to pay my respects, and I also have to go to wish Concubine Liu a happy new year..."
Zhu Youxiao's eyes were blocked, but he was very accurate in finding her. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes, reluctantly letting go of the red-faced and panting queen, and sat up from the bed with a wry smile.
Zhang Yan hurriedly stood up and straightened her messy underwear, then called for the palace maids to help the emperor change his clothes.
After washing and dressing, Zhu Youxiao and the queen sat down at the table and saw the palace servants bring them hot dumplings, some refreshing side dishes and pepper and cypress wine.
Eating dumplings and drinking pepper and cypress wine on the first day of the Lunar New Year is a tradition, and the royal family is no exception.
"Your Majesty, please eat more. You've been very busy today!" Zhang Yan picked up the dumplings, dipped them in the sauce, and put them on Zhu Youxiao's small plate.
Zhu Youxiao yawned again. His working hours were usually fine, but he felt a little uncomfortable getting up so early all of a sudden.
Eat, or you'll be hungry. Worship, congratulations, and a grand court meeting, and then there's the banquet, and I don't know when it will be!
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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