After breakfast, Xiong Tingbi stood on the top of the city wall.
The military flags fluttered in the cool morning breeze, carrying a hint of solemn fighting spirit.
Xiong Tingbi looked at the wild boar skin army in the distance with a serious expression on his face.
Every time when a battle was approaching, Xiong Tingbi was in this state. He had to be serious. He was really afraid that something might go wrong.
In fact, Xiong Tingbi's situation has been like this since Shenyang was the only isolated city left.
The reason was simple. If Shenyang was lost, Liaoyang would certainly not be able to be defended either. The Ming could then retreat to Guangning and Jinzhou, but even if the entire Liaodong region was lost, there would be no way to stop Ye Zhupi from doing anything else. For example, if Ye Zhupi wanted to attack Korea or head west, the Ming would be unable to stop him.
Only by standing here in Shenyang City could we stop Ye Zhupi from going west, and prevent the Ming Dynasty's westward passage from being completely wiped out. Therefore, Xiong Tingbi also knew the importance of Shenyang, and Ye Zhupi on the opposite side certainly knew it too.
Nurhaci had been harassing Shenyang City for the past year, but he had never been able to take it down.
Xiong Tingbi really didn't dare to make any mistakes, and he had always been trembling with fear, treading on thin ice. He was always like this, let alone when the battle was about to begin?
If something went wrong during the battle and Shenyang City was lost, Xiong Tingbi would feel ashamed to return to see His Majesty. His Majesty had promoted him since he ascended the throne and had great trust in him in Liaodong.
Your Majesty supported Xiong Tingbi in everything he asked for, whether it was money or material. He even made some excessive demands, and Your Majesty supported them all. When someone impeached him, Your Majesty never took it to heart.
Xiong Tingbi had no way of betraying such trust. Even if he lost his life, he would stay in Shenyang City.
Xiong Tingbi's eyes were determined, his right hand pressing the long sword at his waist, and he slowly said to Li Rongguang beside him: "This battle is very important. Whether we can keep Shenyang safe depends on this battle."
"If I win this battle, Liaodong will be able to enjoy peace for at least a few years. Pass the order on, and everyone, unite as one, and strive to achieve great success this time. Tell those in the court that we have done a great job in Liaodong, and that His Majesty's money has not been wasted! Also, tell the soldiers that if we win this battle, I will commend His Majesty on their behalf, and then they will have the money and official positions they want."
"Don't worry, Marshal! We brothers have all been holding our breath. We will definitely teach them a lesson this time!" Li Guangrong laughed and said, "We will definitely not let them take advantage of us. Even if they bite off a piece of our flesh, we will break a tooth of theirs!"
"It's good to have such a spirit!" Xiong Tingbi said with a smile.
Although the war clouds were gathering, Wild Boar Skin did not attack after breakfast.
Xiong Tingbi knew that they couldn't fight right after breakfast. But the wild boarskins were not idle either, showing off their power, and some of the fearless ones were even cursing from the top of the city wall.
"Xiong Tingbi, you coward!"
"Bear barbarian, coward!"
Words like "Coward, you're afraid of death!" kept ringing under the city wall.
Xiong Tingbi stood on the top of the city wall, turning a deaf ear to such words. The only response to Wild Boar Skin's shouting was the sporadic arrows that were suddenly shot at them.
Xiong Tingbi had a very bad temper, which was widely known in Liaodong. Many people said that he did not look like a civil official, but more like a military general.
In fact, how a person behaves outwardly is actually a choice. Xiong Tingbi's behavior was largely to integrate with the officers and soldiers of Liaodong, not to say that he was such a hot-tempered person.
Only by expressing yourself in this way can you gain the trust of the soldiers; only by being rude can you make the soldiers understand you; only by having a bad temper can you make people fear you.
This kind of thing is very common in history. For example, Cao Cao's "I like to kill people in my dreams" is also a way of self-protection.
However, many civil officials were dissatisfied and felt that Xiong Tingbi's behavior was a disgrace to the emperor, which became a point of attack on Xiong Tingbi. Xiong Tingbi did not care at all. As long as the emperor trusted him, nothing else mattered.
As for the curses from below the city wall, Xiong Tingbi paid even less attention. On the contrary, such curses made Xiong Tingbi even more certain that the enemy did not dare to attack him, but wanted him to leave the city. How could he fulfill their wish?
When the sun was high in the sky, the wild boarskins finally stopped cursing.
Li Guangrong stood beside Xiong Tingbi with a very ugly expression.
Xiong Tingbi was not mad enough, but Li Guangrong was furious. How could his men bear the insult to the Marshal?
"They're coming." Xiong Tingbi said slowly, "Let everyone get ready."
"Yes, Marshal." Li Guangrong quickly agreed.
The Ming army on the city wall had already been ready for battle.
In fact, the two sides have fought more than once and are familiar with the basic routines.
Xiong Tingbi placed wooden chevaux de frise at the foot of the city wall to slow down the enemy's attack.
On the other hand, Wild Boar Skin formed a chariot formation.
The earliest inventors of this thing were Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou. They used a wooden cart to move forward, and wrapped the front of the cart with iron sheets to block arrows. It could also be used to besiege the enemy.
This thing is called a shield cart, which can not only block bows and arrows, but also block muskets.
Teams of wild boarskins pushed shield carts forward from the city walls. Although their speed was not fast, they moved very steadily. The bows, arrows, and muskets on the city walls were basically unable to break their defenses. They could only see them moving forward continuously.
Li Guangrong happened to see this scene and turned to look at Xiong Tingbi. Seeing that his commander-in-chief had no intention of speaking, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
