Under the guidance of Zhu Cixiang, the craftsmen completed the modification of the chariot in only three days.
Not only is it smaller in size, except for the main frame of the chariot, almost all other parts that can be replaced with bamboo and rattan are replaced with rattan and bamboo weaving.
The weight of the originally four to five hundred kilogram chariot was reduced by almost half. Including the two soldiers operating it, the weight did not exceed five hundred kilograms.
After modification, not only did the speed of the tank increase, but its weight was reduced and its flexibility was greatly enhanced. After a trial run, Zhu Cixi knew that it was the limit of what he could achieve.
Immediately, the craftsmen were ordered to build a large number of prototypes according to the prototype, and at the same time build heavy tanks and transport tanks.
Heavy tanks only need to be strengthened according to the structure and appearance of light tanks, while transport tanks are much simpler.
In order to build enough chariots in a short period of time, Zhu Cixiang outsourced all unimportant accessories to military households in Datong and Xuanfu. The craftsmen in the army only built the main frame.
For example, for the huge umbrella canopy, military households can go to the mountains to cut rattan, take it home, dry it and slowly weave it. The baffles and carriages can also be made by carpenters from all over the world.
The Ming army was slow to move in Xuanfu and frantically built chariots. Naturally, they could not hide it from the Jiannu army on the banks of the Liao River.
At this moment, in the army's commanding tent, Dorgon's face was very ugly. He thought that the little emperor had achieved such great achievements at such a young age and must be young and vigorous. He would take the initiative to lead the army out of Zhangjiakou, like Liaohe came to kill.
.
Who would have thought that the young emperor would be so conservative? He was not like a young, energetic and proud emperor. Instead, he had imitated the prudent behavior of old Chen.
"Sir, looking at the current situation, I'm afraid the Ming army will not take the initiative to attack. What should our army do?"
"Back to the regent, the Ming army already has the advantage of food and grass. It is normal not to take the initiative to attack. But I didn't expect that the little emperor would be so steady. In this case, only our army took the initiative to attack first. Otherwise, if it continues like this, it will eventually
It's us who suffer."
Hong Chengchou also sighed and said slowly.
In fact, he was also a little surprised that the little emperor was so conservative.
After all, a young man is an emperor and has achieved such great achievements, so he will inevitably become arrogant and arrogant.
The reason why they stayed in the Liaohe River was that they hoped to attract the Ming army to the Liaohe River for a decisive battle.
In this way, the Ming army's grain roads would be thousands of miles long, which would not only bring the advantages of their cavalry into play, but also transport grain directly from Jinzhou.
On the contrary, if they cross the Liao River and continue to march westward, the Ming army will definitely intercept them north of Zhangjiakou. Relying on the Great Wall to the south, the grain road will be extremely stable.
"Sir, given the conservative nature of the little emperor, even if our army reaches the north of Zhangjiakou, the Ming army will probably not engage in a decisive battle with our army, and will most likely choose to stand firm. Why not wait and see?"
Dorgon looked hesitant, thought for a while and tried to say, in fact, he did not want to directly confront the Ming army in a decisive battle without being completely sure.
After all, he brought almost all of Da Qing's wealth this time. If he loses, the losses will be too heavy, and Da Qing may never be able to turn around again.
And even if the Ming Dynasty's more than 200,000 troops were all destroyed on the grassland, with the Ming Dynasty's national power and the ability of the little emperor, it would not take three to five years to recover.
The Ming Dynasty could afford to lose, but the Qing Dynasty could not afford to lose.
That's why he was reluctant to march, because the best situation is that the Ming army directly goes south to attack the northwest. The Qing Dynasty took the opportunity to destroy the Tumote tribe, which not only strengthened itself, but also cut off the source of Ming's war horses, and then went south to support Li Zicheng.
In this way, regardless of victory or defeat, the Qing Dynasty will be in an invincible position.
Even if Chuang Wang couldn't hold it back and was destroyed, there was still Zhang Xianzhong in the southwest, and the Qing cavalry could go south from the Hetao, plundering and containing the Ming army at the same time.
Because compared to the three-sided defense of Jizhen, Datong, and Xuanfu, the defense system of the northwest border towns is much weaker and cannot stop the Eight Banners' cavalry at all.
"Prince Regent, if our army does not attract the main force of the Ming army away from the Great Wall, then King Chuang and the Eighth Kings may not dare to take the initiative. If the delay is too long, our army will consume too much food and grass, and will fall into passivity.
I'm afraid I may have to retreat in the end.
And once our army retreats, the Ming army will surely sweep across the northwest with thunderous force, and it will be too late!"
Hong Chengchou naturally understood what Dorgon was thinking. It was impossible to expect King Chuang and the Eight Great Kings to take action first, so he shook his head and said slowly.
Nowadays, the daily consumption of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on horse chews is too great, and they cannot compete with the Ming army.
Once those Mongolian cavalry are disbanded, it will take several months to gather them again. In these few months, King Chuang will probably be finished.
"It seems that we can only move westward. I hope the Eight Kings and King Chuang can gain some momentum and invade Henan and Shanxi."
Seeing what he said, Dorgon gave up completely and no longer hesitated. After speaking, he looked at Hong Chengchou and asked: "Sir, is Qian Qianyi still unwilling to submit to the Qing Dynasty?"
"Prince Regent, Qian Qianyi is proud and incompetent. I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade him to surrender."
Hong Chengchou shook his head helplessly. In the past two years, he had been a lobbyist countless times, but Qian Qianyi never wavered.
"If you can't persuade him to surrender, then forget it. I'm too lazy to waste food, so I just used him to sacrifice the flag this time!"
Dorgon obviously lost his patience and said with a stern expression.
He originally wanted to use Qian Qianyi to check and balance Hong Chengchou. For this reason, he not only went to recruit him several times in person, but also provided him with delicious food and drink without any hesitation. He just wanted to imitate the way Bage had influenced Hong Chengchou, so that Qian Qianyi could do the same.
She willingly submitted to him, who would have thought that the old man would be so ignorant of praise.
Hong Chengchou did not persuade Dorgon to continue to treat virtuous corporals. It would be best if a smelly and tough Donglin scholar like Qian Qianyi could be recruited to surrender.
Not only can it severely damage the morale of scholars all over the world, but it can also severely damage our prestige. But if you can't recruit someone to surrender, that's normal.
But what Hong Chengchou and Dorgun didn't expect was that when Qian Qianyi was led to the guillotine the next day, he no longer had the same pride as before. He peed his pants out of fear, begged for mercy, and expressed his willingness to surrender.
This really shocked the two of them, and they both looked as if they had seen a ghost and couldn't believe it.
Neither of them expected that Qian Qianyi was actually a man who was greedy for life and afraid of death. Looking at Qian Qianyi who was so ugly, Dorgun had a look of disdain on his face. He felt that he had personally recruited someone like this several times in the past year.
Being alone is simply a great shame.
Hong Chengchou also felt that he had been humiliated and deceived. Because of Qian Qianyi's performance, he felt very ashamed at one time.
In fact, it's no wonder that the two of them were deceived, because Qian Qianyi himself probably didn't even know that he was so afraid of death, and it wasn't until he went to the guillotine that his true nature was revealed.
This kind of person usually thinks that he is a hero and a good man who is not afraid of life and death. How can others see it?
So it's not surprising that even an old fox like Hong Chengchou thinks Qian Qianyi is as smelly and tough as Yang Lian.
Because Qian Qianyi's usual expression of looking down upon death was not an act at all, but real, and he thought so in his heart. It wasn't until the last moment of death that his mind collapsed and he couldn't lie to himself, let alone others.