Xia Chengde and his men did not belong to the formation sequence of the advance battalion for the Eastern Expedition.

Although in terms of team formation, they followed the practices of the advance battalion and achieved basic unity with the advance battalion, but in terms of equipment, they still followed the same rules as before.

At present, except for the two heavy Hongyi cannons that can only shoot at long range, their other melee equipment are relatively old, either matchlock guns, three-eyed blunderbuss and other old firearms, or hooked spears and knives.

Cold weapons such as shields, bows and crossbows.

Before, Xia Chengde's troops had never fought side by side with Yang Zhen's advance battalion. He didn't know much about the advanced firearms equipped by the troops in the Zhengdong advance battalion, and he didn't really realize the huge gap between the two.

Although his son Xia Shu, after working in the Associate Camp Affairs Office, learned a lot about things that he had not known before and also reported to him various new firearms from Songshan Iron Works and Ammunition Factory, he did not care much about it.

He had seen a lot of all kinds of fancy and unconventional firearms before. He had seen everything from divine fire flying crows to fire dragons coming out of water. These magical-sounding firearms may not necessarily have much power when used in real life.

However, after the recent big battle, Xia Chengde suddenly discovered that the firearms used by the sentries in Yang Zhen's advance camp, such as Zhang Chen, Li Lu, Yang Shen and others, were more powerful than he originally imagined.

Much bigger.

Zhang Chen's musketeers were much better than his bird gunners in terms of accuracy, range, and reloading speed.

Also, the so-called flying general grenades that Li Lu and others equipped in large quantities were different from the so-called thunder cannons he had seen before.

It was only at this time that he suddenly realized that the secret to why Yang Zhen was able to achieve such incredible victories lay in these amazing firearms.

"Since you said so, there is no problem. We are all our own people. If you defend Xicheng, I will defend Songshan."

Yang Zhen saw that Xia Chengde was well informed and did not insist on the Lumi Gun or the Sky Cannon. He no longer hesitated at the moment, but turned to Zhang Degui, who had an unhappy look on his face and said:

"Old Zhang, since Vice General Xia likes the flying general you have created, it will be your honor. Go back and check the inventory of the ammunition factory and allocate a group to support Xicheng.

"Including the south gate of the city guarded by Vice General Lu and his team, if the Tatars attack there, a group of them must be allocated in advance as backup."

Since July, Yang Zhen has been supervising the production of ammunition, and in addition to the ironworks and ammunition factory in the city, two production bases, Heishigang and Hongluoshan, have been opened outside Songshan City.

Currently, those two bases cannot cast cannons or guns by themselves, but there is no problem in boiling salt, making medicine, casting and loading tens of thousands of enemies, and flying generals.

The output in these few months was quite large, and even before the Manchu Tatars besieged the city in October, the ammunition and supplies produced were transported to Songshan City via land and water for storage.

Therefore, the ammunition storage in Songshan City is not a big problem in the short term. It is enough to supply the advance battalion of the Eastern Expedition to fight one or two more wars.

But the problem is that Zhang Degui does not know how long the Manchu Tatars' siege of Songshan will last, and he cannot predict this.

If the Manchu Tatars insist on destroying Songshan, destroying all the officers and soldiers in Songshan, or in other words, destroying the advance battalion for the Eastern Expedition, then it would be hard to say.

By then, no matter how much ammunition there is, it won't be enough.

Therefore, for him, the great steward of Songshan City, he must save as much as he can. Who knows how long this war will last?

However, since Yang Zhen agreed to Xia Chengde and promised to provide flying generals to the West Gate garrison and the South Gate garrison, he naturally could not deny it.

When Yang Zhen spoke, he responded calmly.

Seeing Zhang Degui like this, Yang Zhen smiled bitterly and said to him: "The issue of ammunition is very important. It is related to the life and death of our Songshan City. It is true that we must be cautious. But to solve the problem, we cannot just rely on cutting expenditures. The key is to increase revenue.

"Let's do this. From today on, you can put aside other things for the time being and focus on ammunition production. Tell Wang Shoutang and Pan Wenmao to work harder and divide the craftsmen, handymen and bosses under them into tasks.

With three shifts, it can work day and night.

"As for the matters of casting new cannons and making musket tubes that were assigned to them in the past, let's put them aside. The most urgent task now is to ensure the supply of ammunition in the city. If the supply is not available, you can also talk to them about the consequences.

"

After Zhang Degui heard this, he quickly agreed.

After Yang Zhen finished giving instructions on ammunition production, he took another look around the city. He walked along the city head, from the west gate to the south gate, and then from the south gate to the east gate. Everywhere he went, he inspected the fortifications, summoned the generals, and asked questions.

, condolences to the soldiers.

It was not until noon that day, when the fog between the mountains and the sea cleared, that Yang Zhen returned to the north gate and sent a team of sentries out of the city from the north gate. Only then did he finally descend to the top of the city and return to the General Military Mansion.

Yang Zhen originally thought that Dorgon would be impatient to attack Songshan City if he surrounded Songshan City so quickly after he led his army to Songjin Army.

Even if he doesn't come to attack the city, he should still send people to contact him.

By sending someone to contact him, on the one hand, he can confirm whether what Tong Guoyin said is true or false, and on the other hand, he can also confirm whether Duduo is dead or alive.

However, what surprised Yang Zhen was that both of his ideas came to nothing.

Until the evening of that day, the sky dimmed again, and until night finally fell, the lights were lit in the city. The Songshan City defenders who were waiting in full array did not wait for the shelling or siege by the Tatars outside the city.

For the officers and soldiers who were waiting in full formation at Songshan City, it was always a good thing that the Manchu Tatars did not attack the city, no matter what the reason was.

But for Yang Zhen, once everything goes beyond his expectation and makes him confused, it will make him feel uneasy.

Of course, there is a reason for the things that make Yang Zhen puzzled.

One is that Dorgon arrived in a hurry and did not bring heavy artillery, and the heavy artillery in front of Songjin Army was simply not enough to destroy Songshan City.

The second is that Ye Keshu and the others reported to Huang Taiji that Hauge was seriously injured and unconscious, and are waiting for Huang Taiji's latest order.

Once Huang Taiji wanted to visit the Songshan Army in person, Dorgon's status would immediately drop. In order to avoid suspicion, he still had to wait for Huang Taiji's reaction before making a decision.

After the news of Duduo's defeat and capture reached Shengjing, Huang Taiji was frightened, angry and furious. However, in the end, he only sent an urgent order to Duo Ergun, who was stationed in Liaoyang, to order all the Zhengbai Banner soldiers and horses to come.

Song Jinjun responded to the situation.

As for what Huang Taiji was going to do, or what he was going to do to save Duoduo, Duoergon had no way of guessing, and he had no expectations.

Judging from the precedents of Huang Taiji's dealings with Erbeile Amin and Third Beile Manggurtai, Huang Taiji did not have any deep love for his half-brothers.

Especially for the three powerful Dorgon brothers, Huang Taiji's thoughts may be more about suspicion, fear, and wariness, rather than deep love.

Although Huang Taiji appeared to be frightened and angry on the surface, in the end he just called Dorgon, and the two Azig brothers led their own troops to deal with it, which already illustrates this point.

Obviously, deep down in his heart, Huang Taiji only regarded this matter as a matter for the three Dorgon brothers, rather than as a matter for the entire Qing Dynasty.

Otherwise, he should have gathered all the soldiers and horses in the country at that time and led the army personally.

Of course, what surprised Dorgon and made him feel uncertain at the same time was that once the news about Hauge being seriously injured and unconscious came out, the situation might change.

Huang Taiji, who may not have planned to come to Songjin Army now, may have been unable to sit still in Shengjing City, and may have come here because of this.

This is the reason why although Dorgon had led his army to Songjin Army, he still besieged Songshan City and refused to attack.

So, is it possible for Huang Taiji to visit Songshan Army in person?

Yang Zhen, who was inside Songshan City, certainly didn't know, and he didn't even know anything about it, but Dorgon, who was outside the city, was equally unsure.

Therefore, when Yang Zhen was uneasy in the city, Dorgon was actually also anxious in the Xiaoling Hebei camp.

However, no matter how long the night is, dawn will eventually dawn and all questions will have answers.

Yang Zhen was puzzled and uneasy about what happened. At noon on the tenth day of October, the truth finally came to light and he had a reasonable explanation.

Dorgon, who was equally anxious and anxious, finally waited for a definite answer.

At noon on the tenth day of October in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the Manchu Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji personally led the Manchuria Zhenghuang Banner Zhenglan Banner Baya La and Alha Chaoha troops in front, and Prince Li Daishan led the Zhenghong Banner Jia La Niulu to escort grain and grass.

The baggage trains and artillery were behind them, and they drove to the north bank of Xiaoling River in a mighty manner.

As soon as Huang Taiji led his army to the north bank of the Xiaoling River, he was detected by the Songshan City Sentinels lurking in the lower reaches of the Xiaoling River. In the afternoon of that day, the news spread into Songshan City.

As soon as Yang Zhen heard the news, he immediately sent an order to withdraw all the troops that had been sent out earlier.

Including the small team that Li Lu sent to station at the Empress' Palace, they also withdrew again.

And in the afternoon of that day, Yang Zhen once again convened a meeting of generals above the garrison level in the city in the lobby of the front yard of the Songshan General Military Mansion.

At the meeting, on the one hand, he informed the generals of the latest changes in the military situation around Songjin, and on the other hand, he personally conducted a pre-war mobilization for the defense of Songshan.

Yang Zhen knew very well that the biggest test he had faced since he led his troops to take charge of Songshan City had arrived.

The real battle, or the big test, has arrived.

If he can bear it, then he will truly stand firm in this era.
Chapter completed!