The more the Ming army outside the city rejoiced, the more miserable the Jurchens inside Guangning City were.
"I'm so angry!"
Mangultai slammed his fist on the table.
At this point, he simply refused to admit that he had any problems.
After all, it was he who took the initiative to suggest that they go out of the city to launch a surprise attack in the first place.
As a result, after being ambushed, he led the way in fleeing.
Otherwise, even if the Jurchens suffered a great loss, some of them would surely have managed to escape, preventing a complete annihilation.
"The Ming army is truly cunning!"
Mangultai placed all the blame on the Ming army.
The few Ejen left behind in the city turned grim upon hearing this.
They didn't know exactly what happened last night.
However, they did know that Mangultai had run back alone.
"Even at a time like this, the flag lord is still saying these things!"
They were both a little angry, and at the same time, a little regretful.
"If we had known this would happen, we should have gone to Korea with Hauge back then!"
"This is terrible! We've come to Guangning, are we really going to die here!"
These few people's emotions visibly declined.
However, Mangultai didn't care at all.
He's still making excuses to clear his name.
"And then there's Li Ruolian. Even Huang Taiji suffered at his hands back then. There was nothing I could do about it!"
"Alright, although the sneak attack failed this time, we only lost a thousand men."
"We still have more than nine thousand people in the city, so it's not a major blow."
"You will now divide the troops inside the city into three groups, and have them take turns guarding the city, understand?"
Mangultai was unreliable at crucial moments and panicked when things came to a head.
But once the incident was over, he became clever again.
These arrangements are quite reliable.
The others did cheer up a little.
"Don't worry, Chief, we'll make the arrangements right away."
Soon, they indeed divided the remaining nine thousand soldiers into three groups, each with three thousand men.
After the first group of soldiers reached the city wall, they looked at the Ming army camp outside the city and their spirits were somewhat low.
"The banner lord led his men out of the city to launch a surprise attack last night, and they were defeated just like that?"
"Why!"
Many people sighed in secret.
I have a feeling that Guangning City probably won't last much longer.
Normally, the officers of Zhenglan Banner would definitely come over and reprimand them.
Tell them to stop saying such discouraging things.
But after what just happened, those people felt even more uncertain.
He then lost the will to reprimand the other soldiers.
As a result, the morale of the Jurchens visibly declined.
In the Ming army camp outside the city.
Although Li Ruolian hadn't slept all night, she was too excited to sleep at this moment.
Looking at the dejected Jurchen soldiers on the city wall, he laughed loudly, "It seems the Jurchens are truly finished!"
"He lost his fighting spirit after just one minor defeat!"
Li Zicheng also did not sleep.
He raised an eyebrow: "General Li, from what you're saying, it seems you know a lot about the Jurchens."
Li Ruolian smiled and shook her head.
"I don't really know much about the Jurchens; I only know this from General Qin."
Speaking of Qin Liangyu, he turned and asked, "By the way, where are General Qin's White-Spear Soldiers now?"
Two Imperial Guards standing in the distance quickly approached after hearing Li Ruolian's question.
"Reporting to General Li, General Qin's White-Spear Soldiers are escorting supplies in the rear."
"We've only just arrived in Ningyuan City."
Although Zhu Youjian ordered hundreds of thousands of grain transport workers to transport grain.
But soldiers must also be responsible for escorting them.
Otherwise, the grain sent out by the imperial court would mysteriously disappear before reaching the front lines.
Zhu Youjian didn't trust anyone else with this matter, so he could only let Qin Liangyu handle it.
Li Ruolian nodded after hearing this, but then suddenly hesitated.
Li Zicheng noticed his expression and asked in a low voice, "General Li, what's wrong with you?"
After hesitating for a moment, Li Ruolian finally revealed her thoughts.
"I'm thinking about whether we should slow down the siege."
"Once General Qin's White-Spear Soldiers arrive, we will launch a general offensive against Guangning."
Li Zicheng was quite surprised.
"General Li, what makes you say that?"
"The Jurchen troops in Guangning City are now terrified."
"Instead of launching a full-scale attack now, we're waiting several days. Isn't this giving the Jurchens a chance to catch their breath?"
Li Ruolian nodded.
"I naturally understand this principle."
"only……"
He suddenly waved his hand, dismissing the Imperial Guards beside him, before speaking his true feelings to Li Zicheng.
"Li Zicheng, you don't know this, but I was suddenly promoted to such a high position by His Majesty, all thanks to General Qin's help, which allowed me to secure my position."
"Only in this way can the Beijing Garrison be trained."
"But if I were to take all the credit for the attack on Guangning, wouldn't that be ungrateful?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng almost burst out laughing.
He never expected that Li Ruolian would be such a person.
Li Zicheng thought to himself, "This Li Ruolian is simply adorably naive. On the battlefield, she's too busy vying for credit to even think about it."
"And yet, he actually wants to shirk responsibility for the credit!"
Although he looked down on Li Ruolian somewhat, he also trusted him more in his heart.
After all, people who know how to repay kindness are always more reliable.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Zicheng looked up and said, "General Li, your intentions are good."
"But have you ever considered that our expedition to Liaodong is not for our own sake?"
"To put it simply, this is the emperor's edict."
"On a grand scale, this concerns the safety of the imperial court and the survival of the Ming Dynasty."
"General Li, you mustn't be thinking about these things at a time like this!"
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian could only nod.
Li Zicheng was speaking profound truths, and Li Zicheng had no room for rebuttal.
"Ah, you're right." He sighed, "This credit really shouldn't be given away privately."
"In that case, we won't wait for General Qin."
"Let's launch a full-scale attack on Guangning tomorrow!"
Li Zicheng laughed and said, "That's right!"
After making up her mind, Li Ruolian stopped hesitating.
The next morning, he began to deploy his troops and prepare to attack the city.
But before launching the formal attack, he still managed to find Li Zicheng.
"How many shells does your Italian cannon have left?"
Before the army set off, Zhu Youjian had actually told him that Li Zicheng's cannons were neither cast by the Ming Dynasty itself nor bought from foreigners.
It was the mysterious and unpredictable Master Gao who bestowed it upon Zhu Youjian.
So although this cannon is powerful, the number of shells is limited; once a shell is fired, there are fewer left.
Li Ruolian then asked the question in advance.
Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng smiled slightly.
"General Li, rest assured, the Italian cannons do not have many shells left, but I have also made other preparations for this expedition."
"Other preparations?"
While Li Ruolian was still wondering, she saw Li Zicheng suddenly wave his hand.
Not far behind them, dozens of craftsmen immediately emerged and brought out more than a dozen cannons.
"Hmm, why are there so many Italian cannons?"
Li Ruolian was initially startled, but he quickly noticed something amiss.
It turns out that of those dozen or so cannons, only the one in the very center was a genuine Italian cannon.
The others were just ordinary cannons.
It was just deliberately disguised; from a distance, it looked very similar to an Italian cannon.
Li Ruolian asked in confusion, "Li Zicheng, what are you trying to do?"
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