Feng Changxin was lying in the trench, looking at the sky. A white cloud was floating in the sky. The more he looked at it, the more it looked like the cloud from yesterday.
In the distant woods, one could vaguely see figures coming and going. However, that had nothing to do with Feng Changxin, who was lying in the ditch at the moment. In fact, if he didn't put something under his feet, it would be impossible for him to see the distant woods.
, but he knew that there were people watching over the Tartars all the time. The people from the Fire Gun Team were preparing for battle all day long. Whenever the Tartars came up, they would give them a hard blow head on.
It's a pity that today's Tatars are becoming less and less like the Tatars he knew. In the past, the Tatars could still let the imperial army dig trenches here easily and leisurely. That was simply not possible.
It's possible that as soon as it appears, the Tatar bows and arrows will come whizzing over. No one is so hard-headed as to dare to stare at those sharp arrows and work.
Today is the fifth or sixth day. He can't remember clearly. Anyway, he was added to the East Route Army as a new recruit. The first job he received was to dig trenches with his brothers. His team deputy was
The veteran of the Eastern Route Army was so good at digging ditches that even those like him and his brothers who were accustomed to heavy work could not match him. Now he knew that fighting was not only about fighting the enemy face to face, but also about digging.
Ditches can also be considered battles.
"Xiaoyue!"
He held a grass stalk in his mouth and called to his teammate: "The ditch between us and the third team has been dug. Now it's no problem to go directly to the third team!"
"No problem, boss!" The team deputy is a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, with a childish look on his face: "The hot pancakes we eat for lunch are sent over from the third team. We are all here.
After the connection is completed, the food cooked in the camp can be delivered to the front without having to walk on the ground!"
"Are we planning to dig right under the noses of the Tatars?"
Feng Changxin smiled and said: "Scouts go out every day in the camp, when will it be our turn?"
"Then I don't know!" The team deputy smiled very happily: "Anyway, our Eastern Route Army just dug and dug and won the battle. I haven't seen what the Tatars look like yet.
Woolen cloth?"
"That's not right!" Feng Changxin exclaimed: "Didn't you mention it because of the big battle with the Tatars a few days ago? How come you haven't even seen what the Tatars look like!"
"It was dark, so I really couldn't see clearly!" the team deputy said seriously, "but, if it says I killed a Tatar, then it must be that I killed a Tatar!"
"Hahaha!" Several people in the trench laughed loudly. They had never met such an honest team deputy. At the beginning, they were a little bit reluctant to have this little guy who was much younger than them as their teammate.
Vice, after a few days, they gradually accepted each other.
"By the way, boss!" Seeing that Feng Changxin was interested in chatting at this moment, the deputy of the squad also came over curiously: "This new recruit has become the leader of the team as soon as he came in. I have never seen this before. Boss, have you left?
What a way!"
"Sigh, what are you talking about!"
Feng Changxin smiled and threw a clod of earth at the other party: "Your boss, I came from the safari team. Do you know what a safari team is? Forget it, you don't even know when you look like this. When I was in Zhenjiang Fort, I
You and these brothers are just killing Tatars in exchange for silver rewards, what do you think?"
"Damn, this is so awesome!" The team deputy's eyes widened: "In exchange for silver rewards, every time we receive silver rewards, they are all issued together after inspection by the superiors. It is only a handful when it is distributed to each brother.
Month’s military pay!”
"So, I'm anxious to earn the reward for whether or not I'll fight the Tatars!"
Feng Changxin said: "Now the land near Zhenjiang Fort has become more expensive. It used to be four taels of silver per acre, but now it's almost six taels. If we don't kill a few Tatars, where can we make money from the land!"
As if to cater to his words, as soon as he said those words, a loud bang was heard, coming from the direction of the camp behind him. Several people were caught off guard and all trembled.
"Those guys in the artillery camp are scaring the Tatars again!" Feng Changxin sat up and said: "It's really annoying. The Tatars didn't dare to attack in the first place, and they are still scaring them. They can't fight if they continue to stay here!"
"
"Continue to stay, and let's continue digging trenches!" The deputy of the team chuckled: "Dig to a place within reach of the artillery camp, and with one blast from the cannon, won't we win?"
"You idiot, the reward money belongs to the artillery camp, and we don't have any at all!"
Feng Changxin pointed at the team deputy and shook his head. The team deputy was stunned and said: "By the way, then we won't get any reward money. This is a big loss!"
In a forest less than two places away from Feng Changxin's team, several cavalrymen rushed out with the loud sound of cannons and ran towards the suspected impact point of the cannonballs in front. Soon, they ran to the place they estimated and started
Look around for traces of shells.
Several other cavalrymen were nervously on guard not far away, wary of the Tatar scouts who might pop up from nowhere. The iconic three-eyed short-fire blunderbuss in their hands fully proved the identity of these cavalrymen. They were
Soldiers and horses of the Liaodong Dusi Cavalry Battalion, known as the "Dongjiang Iron Cavalry".
"Found it!"
The person in front shouted loudly, and the cavalrymen rushed over. Sure enough, on the ground, a white trace dragged far away. At the end of the trace, an iron ball as big as a child's head was lying quietly.
Stay there.
"mark!"
The leading cavalry shouted, and everyone started to move. They took out the cloth bags they had prepared long ago from the backpacks on the horses, and spread the quicklime in the bags evenly on the ground. In a moment, several large and small
Different white lime circles appeared underground.
"Withdraw!" With the order, the cavalry mounted their horses one after another and ran towards the woods where they came from. Soon, everyone's figures were hidden in the woods, as if this group of people had never appeared before.
After a while, there was another loud noise from the direction of the camp, and Linzi's cavalry rushed out again, repeating what they had done half an hour ago.
If you stand on a high place and overlook this battlefield, you will find that in front of the Ming army's camp, in addition to the trenches that are constantly expanding outwards, there are also various strange signs marked with lime everywhere.
In some places, there are several huge circles, some are triangles, and some are boxy. Even circles and triangles are not exactly the same. Some are solid, some are hollow, some are circles within circles, and some are regular triangles within
Inverse triangle.
In short, in the eyes of people who don't know what's going on, this is just as random as a child's graffiti, but in the eyes of those who know these marks, the meaning of these marks is very clear.
One mile, two miles, even four miles, five miles. Each distance has marks in different directions. This is to let the artillery team in the camp know the distance, and the different marks represent the farthest range.
, complicated meanings such as effective range.
Not to mention that the Tartars couldn't understand, even the cavalry scouts who were doing these things might not know the meaning.
However, the commander of the artillery battalion stood on the high platform of the camp and could clearly see these marks. Then, when the enemy attacked in the future, they would know where to reach and what artillery should be used to cause the greatest damage to the enemy.
Already.
In today's East Route Army camp, not only the artillery battalion of the East Route Army, but also 70% of the artillery of the entire Liaodong Division have gathered here.
According to the normal establishment, the artillery battalion of the East Route Army consists of twelve six-pound cannons and thirty-six three-pound cannons. However, after adding the artillery battalions of the main army and the Central Route Army, the size of the entire artillery position has almost expanded.
Three to four times, there are more than forty conventional six-pound cannons alone, not to mention dozens of more powerful rifled cannons.
Jiang Wan even placed all the twelve-pound rapid-fire mountain cannons brought by Mei Xiaofei on the front line, letting Mei Xiaofei personally serve as the artillery commander.
An artillery position of this size is probably unprecedented since the Ming Dynasty had cannons. Jiang Wan took out almost all his property, and the gunpowder and projectiles transported to the East Route Army camp were even more
The journey from Phoenix City to Daying is endless and never stops for a day.
The Ming army hoped that the Hou Jin army would give them time, and the Hou Jin army also hoped that the Ming army would give them time. Now, the time given by both sides to each other has finally run out.
A war is about to break out, it all depends on who attacks first.
In the city of Beijing, on the street where the Ministry of War Yamen is located, since yesterday, urgent military reports of 600 miles and 800 miles have been arriving from time to time. The messengers are showing signs of exhaustion and the bells on their horses are ringing.
Every time you pass by on the street, it will cause discussions among the people along the road.
People in Beijing who have seen the world are more concerned about the current situation than ever before. Although the Tatars have not entered the pass this year, news of the imperial army's unfavorable battles has long spread in the capital. It is said that even Liaoyang
The city has been captured by the Tatars. Outside the Pass, Ming Dynasty has fewer and fewer important places. At the court, the emperor sent several generals to Liaodong. It has only been a few months, and the Tatars are so unreliable.
It's gone. It'll be fine if we wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival.
What the common people didn't know was that these urgent military reports were sent to the Ministry of War Yamen. They only stopped in the Ministry of War Yamen for a while and were immediately sent to the Cabinet.
In the past few years since the current emperor came to the throne, not to mention the officials in the Ministry of War, even the cabinet elders have changed one after another. However, no matter how these officials and cabinet elders rise and fall, this almost affects the Ming Dynasty.
This military report must be delivered to the Emperor of Heaven as soon as possible.
"Good news!"
"Another good news!"
Zhu Youjian's pale face had become much more rosy in the past few days. The news from Liaodong swept away the decadence in the imperial court, which made him feel that his efforts had finally yielded results.
It's not that the Ming Dynasty cannot be defeated. The Ming Dynasty still has loyal ministers and good generals. It's just that there are too many people in the court who do nothing. These guys who have nothing to do but occupy the court hall, leaving these loyal ministers and good generals useless.
"I just said that I read Sun Chuanting correctly. My dear, look at what it means to be invincible. This is what it means to be invincible. He beheaded more than four hundred people and defeated the enemy. Liaoyang is stable!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Wang Cheng'en smiled and matched Zhu Youjian: "This Sun Chuanting was promoted by your Majesty. Naturally, he should know how to kill the enemy bravely and repay the kindness of the emperor. Especially this person has fought in Shanxi and Shaanxi. This person will take advantage of time.
, must be the mainstay of my Ming Dynasty!"
"What a pity!" Zhu Youjian shook his head. No matter how outstanding Sun Chuanting is, he will never let Sun Chuanting control him in Jinzhou. As for Shanhaiguan, let alone think about it. He will never watch a Yuan Chonghuan rise in Liaodong again.
.
"It's not a pity, not a pity at all!"
Wang Chengen said with a smile: "With Sun Chuanting and Jiang Wan in Liaodong, Your Majesty can rest easy from now on. Didn't His Majesty often say that the Tartars destroyed the foundation of our Ming Dynasty? As long as the Tartars cannot be lifted up, Your Majesty will use all means to sort out the country.
The day when the Ming Dynasty will be revived is just around the corner. When the time comes, Your Majesty will personally lead the army to conquer the Tartars and become a wise king. That is inevitable!"
"Is the imperial commander going on a personal expedition?" Zhu Youjian murmured, with a hint of yearning in his eyes. He thought of Emperor Chengzu who had conquered Mobei during his six expeditions.
However, he quickly shook his head. Now is not the time to think about this. Even if by that time, he is the emperor of tomorrow and has countless generals in the court, there is no need for him to personally drive and conquer.
"Where is Jiang Wan? Apart from a military report that came a few days ago, is there nothing?"
He looked through these military reports, and found that they were either from Jinzhou or Liaoyang, but there was nothing from Liaodong Dusi.
"According to the military report from Governor Sun, the Liaodong Dusi and the Tartar army are facing off, with tens of thousands of troops from both sides east of Zhenjiang Fort!" Wang Chengen said in a low voice: "Perhaps at this time, the Liaodong Dusi's troops are fighting fiercely with the Tartars.
This military report may come slowly!"
"How can he still see me as a king's father in his eyes!" Zhu Youjian smiled coldly: "He knew that even if he reported the general's situation to the court, he would not get the support of the court's soldiers, horses, food and grass, so he simply
No more reporting!"
"He underestimated me too much!" Zhu Youjian patted Long An gently: "The emperor should have the world in mind. Even if he has a disobedient heart, as long as what he does is beneficial to Ming Dynasty
, is beneficial to the people of the world, how can I sit back and watch him in danger!"
"What do you mean by His Majesty?" Wang Chengen asked softly.
"Let the Ministry of War return to Sun Chuanting. If Dongjiang Town is willing to control it for the Governor of Liaodong, the Governor of Liaodong can look for opportunities to do things cheaply!" Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment: "It is also a good thing to let Jiang Wan suffer a little loss. Everyone should perform their duties and keep their roots.
Fen, ministers, naturally have to abide by their duties as ministers!"
"What if, even if the war goes unfavorably, he is still unwilling to be controlled by the governor of Liaodong?" Wang Chengen reminded slightly: "Should Your Majesty summon the envoys of North Korea and inform them that if the war goes unfavorably, Jiang Wan may be able to pass through North Korea.
country……"
"No need!" Zhu Youjian interrupted Wang Chengen and said: "If it really comes to that situation, dying in battle is the best ending for him. I will chase him! If he refuses to repent, then let him go.