Chapter 164: Guns? How many guns?!

Geng Bingwen didn’t notice the affair between Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoyu for a while.

But it is undeniable that Zhu Di’s words did a good job of relieving Geng Bingwen’s frustration.

You know, in the original plan, although Geng Bingwen faced off head-on, he could not beat a talented player like Zhu Di.

However, with sufficient food and manpower as backing, Geng Bingwen was confident that he could bring down the Prince of Yan through the Battle of Zhending.

However, no matter how much he planned, he never expected that Zhu Yunwen, who was far away in Yingtian, would actually stab him in the back.

Geng Bingwen was imprisoned in the mansion without saying a word. It depended on Zhu Yunwen’s expression. During those days, he had seen all kinds of ups and downs.

Later, when the news came that Zhu Di was heading south, Zhu Yunwen remembered this old general. Without saying a word, regardless of Geng Bingwen’s old age, he dragged him out, rewarded him with some insignificant things, and asked Geng Bingwen to work for him.

Now there is such an operation.

Geng Bingwen is not a person who can be manipulated by others.

He also held his breath.

Row!
Since you, Zhu Yunwen, treat me like this and think that I, Geng Bingwen, am a traitor and a waste, then he might as well just surrender to Prince of Yan!

Geng Bingwen’s mind was full of thoughts, but he just hesitated for a moment before speaking:

“Your Majesty, why don’t you serve as my subject and guard Peking?”

Guarding Peking?!
When Zhu Gaoyu heard this, he almost laughed out loud.

Li Jinglong is such an unlucky guy. If he wants to attack Peking again, he will really be… kicking into a steel plate.

In Beiping, the eldest brother of the Crown Prince, his mother and the head monk are all there. If Geng Bingwen is added, the situation will be as solid as a rock.

When Zhu Di heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Although the brothers around him were slightly inferior to Zhu Di in leading troops and fighting, they were all good in terms of military acumen.

If according to the news, Li Jinglong led 500,000 southern troops to the north, the number of Yan troops seemed too shabby compared to the terrifying number of “500,000”.

but……

There will be a fatal information gap here.

Zhu Gaoyu saw this, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui saw it, and Zhu Di… was naturally no exception.

I only heard Zhu Di say:

“Li Jinglong, the commander of the Southern Army, only knows that the Yan Army has only tens of thousands of soldiers, but he doesn’t know that I already have the support of the Liao King and the Ning King. In the near future, the three Wuliangha guards will come to join us. This group of Mongolian soldiers can be regarded as the best and most courageous cavalry in the Ming Dynasty.”

“Based on Li Jinglong’s calculations, he will definitely think that the prince will ask for help and lead his troops to leave Peking, leaving only a part of the army behind in Peking.”

“Why not take advantage of their own strategy and set up an ambush not far from Peking? When the Southern Army attacks Peking, we can attack from both sides…”

Like to take side roads and use unusual tactics.

This is indeed Zhu Di’s style.

only……

Zhu Gaoyu scratched his head and couldn’t help asking:
“Dad, where are you going to ambush?”

The atmosphere was tense.

Geng Bingwen immediately thought for a moment and gave an answer:
“How about we ambush at Zhengcunba?”

……

The Southern Army heading north.

At this moment, Li Jinglong was also making plans for this expedition.

Amidst the numerous discussions, Li Jinglong’s eyes were confident and firm, with the tip of his sword pointing directly at the location of Beiping on the map.

He looked calm and composed, but there was a lot going on in his mind.

“The number of troops of the imperial court is simply overwhelming for the Yan army. Instead of fighting all the way, it is better to march the entire army north, attack Huanglong directly, and capture Beiping in one fell swoop. In the face of the overwhelming situation, no matter how much Zhu Di plans, he will only be able to resist stubbornly.”

“This is the righteous army of the imperial court, fighting against the traitors.”

After saying this, Li Jinglong seemed to have convinced himself, who was a little nervous before.

No matter how the Yan army is calculated, at most there are only about 100,000 of them.

Five hundred thousand versus one hundred thousand, no matter how you look at it, the advantage is on the Southern Army.

Li Jinglong didn’t believe that he would be defeated again after redeploying his troops!

However, just after Li Jinglong finished speaking, a muscular man among the many generals did not show a relaxed smile on his face like the others after hearing Li Jinglong’s words.

Ping An once followed Prince Yan. Compared with the group of confident Southern Army generals in front of him, he always felt that this attack on Peking would sooner or later cause trouble.

Indeed, there is no comparison between the 100,000 Yan troops and the 500,000 Southern troops.

But King Yan… would he be someone who would passively wait, or even sit and wait for death?

……

The facts turned out to be just as the Prince of Yan had expected. When the Southern Army moved north, Li Jinglong’s target was directly Peking.

On the surface, the development of things seemed just as Li Jinglong had expected.

Because of the huge disparity in military strength between the two sides, Zhu Di had to seek external aid.

When the Southern Army arrived in Peking, their momentum was enormous.

The Southern Army quickly built fortresses at the nine gates of Peking, ready to take down Peking in one go. When Geng Bingwen appeared on the city wall, the scholars in Li Jinglong’s army could not help but curse:
“Geng Bingwen, Taizu conferred you the title of Marquis of Changxing in vain! Now that we are only defeated in battle, you have chosen to become a member of the Yan thieves. A defeat is but a death. As a general of the imperial court, why can’t you die for His Majesty?”

“He is nothing but a cowardly, vain lackey of the nobility!”

“Geng Bingwen, aren’t you a man of great righteousness? Why don’t you dare to die?!”

“Humph! He was able to speak in the court about Your Majesty hurting his relatives and disregarding Taizu’s last wishes. It is obvious that Geng Bingwen has been harboring evil in his heart for a long time and has long been a man of the King of Yan!”

For a while, there were constant shouting and cursing at the city gate.

Geng Bingwen’s expression was extremely calm.

It seemed that those abusive remarks were nothing but passing clouds and smoke to him.

Even Geng Bingwen was particularly calm and… pushed up a cannon.

Then he aimed the cannon at the fortress and fired!

“boom–“

Due to distance restrictions, the shells could not hit the fortress.

But even so, when those literati who followed the army faced the powerful weapons on the battlefield directly and looked at the ground torn into pieces and the dust stirring up the ground, their faces suddenly turned pale.

Even Li Jinglong couldn’t help but swallow his saliva when facing the huge Urban Cannon.

No wonder that Zhu Gaoyu kept silent about the invention of the cannon even after such a long time, let alone taking the initiative to hand it over to the court, but instead chose to delay it.

So… he had long been preparing to use the Urban Cannon as a powerful weapon on the Jingnan battlefield.

With the Urban cannon, Li Jinglong, who originally thought that the attack on Peking was in his grasp, couldn’t help but feel his heart beating fast.

He took a deep breath and suppressed the negative thoughts in his mind.

Li Jinglong didn’t believe it.

The ammunition in Peking was truly endless.

If you have the guts, just destroy all 500,000 Confederate troops with cannons!
……

Even though he was prepared, Zhu Di never cared about morality or uprightness, and would not give Li Jinglong time to prepare. He waited until the opponent’s layout was completed before the troops inside and outside the city clashed with the Southern Army.

In fact, Geng Bingwen’s previous artillery fire was both a threat and a signal.

The moment the Urban cannon was fired, the Yan army that was originally stationed near Zhengcunba, as well as the soldiers and guards in the city of Peking, all came out in full force.

The clatter of horse hooves, accompanied by fluttering flags and cold-toned armor, rolled in like a silent torrent.

Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaoxu led the charge and charged directly into the Southern Army camp, sweeping across with their spears as if they were in an empty space.

When Li Jinglong received the news and learned that he was attacked from all sides, he was completely stunned.

What about going to find reinforcements?!

Is King Yan crazy?
He actually wanted to defeat the 500,000-strong Southern Army with the 100,000-strong Yan Army.

Even if it’s chopping melons and vegetables, it would take more than a short time to swing it five hundred thousand times, right?

Just when Li Jinglong was puzzled as to what the Prince of Yan relied on, the sound of rolling horse hooves came again from the northeast.

At this moment, a cavalryman hurriedly turned back, his expression changed drastically:

“General! Ahead…ahead is…”

Seeing his ugly face, Li Jinglong’s heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t help but say:

“Why are you hesitating so much?! What on earth is going on?!”

The vanguard soldier swallowed his saliva and said, “It’s the three Wuliangha guards!”

Li Jinglong’s eyes suddenly went dark!
The Three Wuliangha Guards… How could this Mongolian cavalry appear on the battlefield in Beiping? !
The most important thing is, when did Zhu Di trick the three Wuliangha guards into coming here…

Li Jinglong felt even more uneasy, but perhaps because the situation was too urgent, Li Jinglong rarely made a quick decision, frowning and speaking:
“Prepare firearms and wait for an opportunity to find a breakthrough. I don’t believe that no matter how fast the cavalry is, it can be faster than the firearms in my hands!”

The scholar who was originally standing next to Li Jinglong, after hearing these words, his slightly ugly expression eased slightly.

No matter what, Duke Cao still has some real abilities.

No matter how fast a horse is, can it be as fast as a firearm?

No matter how sharp a sword is, can it be as fatal as a firearm?
The biggest reason why the attack on Peking started off well but ended badly was the backwardness of the court’s intelligence.

However, we cannot deny Duke Cao’s military talent just because of this…right?

Just as I was thinking about it, the soldier in front of me had a bitter face:
“General, the firearms we have, except for those used for siege, are only enough to equip 5,000 men.”

After all, the purpose of bringing firearms in the first place was to attack the city, and other things like muskets were not brought in large quantities because of the weight and instability of the firearms.

Five hundred thousand men and five thousand muskets.

Li Jinglong was silent.

The scribe over there was even more silent.

They looked at Li Jinglong’s face, which was purple from holding back anger, and there was a hint of doubt in their eyes.

At this moment, even though the external situation was changing rapidly, they still couldn’t help but have an idea:

Li Jinglong…is he really reliable?

Today’s 6,000 words, I’m back to normal. Everyone go to bed early, good night^_^
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(End of this chapter)