Commander Ren Chengwei shook his head and said: "What you are talking about is a general situation. Tiger thieves can conquer several provinces. Let's not talk about the far ones. Let's talk about Luoyang and Kaifeng in Henan. Which one is not as strong as the high wall of Ziyang City? , weren’t they all captured by tiger thieves in the end?”
"I heard that the tiger thieves' cannons are very powerful. Whenever they attack a city, they will pull out the cannons and blast them into the city. I'm afraid they won't be able to stop the cannons with just gold juice and rolling wood and rocks." Yu Lu, the commander, said. .
The Tiger-Character Banner fought from Shanxi to Shaanxi, then from Shaanxi to Henan, and now it came to Shandong. Daming had already learned through bloody lessons some of the Tiger-Character Banner's means of attacking the city.
"What are the cannons afraid of? It's not like we don't have cannons. The worst we can do is to attack them. We are condescending and have the advantage." A commanding officer below said disapprovingly.
Rencheng Guard, as the garrison stationed in Ziyang City, was also equipped with several general cannons and Fran cannons.
Originally, given the size of Ziyang City, there might not be an opportunity to deploy cannons. However, due to the Lu Wang clan and the Wenxiang Rebellion a few years ago, cannons were deployed on the top of Ziyang City with the permission of the imperial court.
"It's not that simple." Commander Ren Chengwei shook his head slightly and said immediately, "The tiger thieves' cannons will bring in a large number of cannons every time they attack the city. I was worried that just these few cannons in Ziyang City would You can’t stop the opponent’s bombardment.”
It was recognized in the Ming Dynasty that the Tiger-Character Banner Army was good at using firearms.
Ming Dynasty also wanted to imitate the tiger-character flag and form a firearms battalion that was different from the past based on the three major battalions. However, because it required a lot of money to set up a firearms battalion, it had to give up.
The Ming Dynasty, which could hardly even afford Liao's salary, naturally couldn't spend more money to form a new army. The firearms camp was a camp that cost more money than ordinary camps.
Fellow commander Yu Lu said: "The general is right. If you want to defend Ziyang City, the first step is to think about how to prevent the cannons from attacking the city."
All the conductors were speechless.
Anyone who has never eaten pork has seen pigs running away, and they all know that cannons are difficult to defend against. If there are any shortcomings, they are slow to load, slightly lacking in accuracy, and cumbersome and inconvenient to move.
But in terms of power, it is difficult to have a weapon that can compete with it. If there is one, it can only be another cannon.
"Why aren't you talking?" Commander Ren City Guards glanced at the several commanders one by one, and immediately said, "The army of tiger thieves is right outside the city and may launch an attack at any time. Everyone, You can’t hide from it.”
Yet no one spoke.
The military positions in the Guard are all hereditary. Although these people are military attachés of the fourth and third grades, most of the titles they hold are from their fathers, who in turn passed them down from their grandfathers, passed down from generation to generation.
His ability to kill enemies has long been depleted, and he is far from being able to compare with his ancestors who earned titles.
"General, do you have any good ideas?" Seeing that the others were silent on the road, the commander knew that there was no hope, so he asked the commander of Ren Chengwei for advice.
However, Ren Chengwei Commander did not expect that his colleagues would turn over to him for advice, and was stunned when he was asked.
Because he himself has no better way.
In fact, the soldiers and horses of Ren City Guards are too stretched. If they are all elite soldiers, how can he be afraid of the Tiger Flag Army?
】
The commander sitting at the bottom saw that the commander was silent on the road, and said: "I have an immature suggestion. Commander, can you consider whether you want to try it?"
"What's the solution? Let's talk about it first?" Commander Ren Chengwei heard that his men had a good solution and asked hurriedly.
Commander Yu Lu said: "Cannons move slowly and are difficult to transport. We can take advantage of this shortcoming and send a cavalry out of the city to directly destroy the tiger thieves' cannon. In this way, the tiger thieves without the cannon will be dead." Teeth, it will be easier to defend Ziyang City."
"The method is good, but who is leaving the city?" Ren Chengwei Commander asked.
Comrade Commander Yu Lu looked at the three commanders below and saw their eyes evasive, and finally looked at the commander sitting in the main seat.
Commander Ren Chengwei noticed his gaze and said, "As the commander-in-chief of the army, do you think it is appropriate for me to lead my troops out of the city to attack the tiger bandit's artillery?"
"The general is definitely not suitable to leave the city." Yu Lu, the commander, said, "This kind of thing does not require too many people, just an elite cavalry is enough, and the leader can be Qian Hu or deputy Qian Hu."
Several thousand households who were not present became his candidates.
Commander Ren Chengwei nodded and agreed with his proposal.
None of the commanders had objections.
As long as they are not asked to lead the troops out of the city in person, they don't care which thousand households are sent out of the city.
Everyone below can be sacrificed at critical moments.
Commander Ren Chengwei thought for a while and said: "This can be regarded as a way. That's it. I will choose the candidates for the sneak attack out of the city because of my colleague."
"Yes." Commander Yu Lu accepted the task with a wry smile.
No matter who is sent out of the city to conduct a sneak attack, it is an errand that offends others.
It would be better if the person who made a sneak attack out of the city died. If he didn't die, he would definitely hold a grudge against him. Maybe one day he would shoot a cold arrow and plot against him behind his back.
Commander Ren Chengwei looked at the others and said, "You should also think about it together. In addition to the method mentioned by Yu Tongzhi, is there any other better method?"
No one spoke.
After a while, one of the commanders said: "I think the method mentioned by Yu Tongzhi is very good. At present, the biggest threat to us from tiger thieves is cannon. Without cannon, the tiger thieves alone can There are 20,000 people, and if more than half of them are killed or injured, we can’t even think about taking a single step into Ziyang City.”
"You all think so too?" Commander Ren Chengwei asked several other subordinates who had not spoken.
"The lower officials and others think that Yu Tongzhi's method is the best policy."
Several commanders and officials who had not spoken spoke out in support of the commander, Zhi Yulu.
Seeing this, Commander Ren Chengwei also knew that these people could not think of a better way than a sneak attack. He himself was the same, and he could not think of any better way to deal with the Tiger Flag's cannon.
Sneak attack is indeed the option with the greatest profit and the least loss.
"There is one more thing." Commander Ren of the City Guards said, "In order to prevent someone from secretly colluding with the tiger thieves outside the city, I have decided to exchange troops and horses at several city gates before dark, and then everyone will go there in person. Keep an eye on the city until the defense change is over."
Upon hearing this, the commander Yu Lu frowned and said, "What did the general discover?"
"No, I am just taking precautions in advance in case someone really conspires with the thief." Commander Ren Chengwei explained.
The commanding officer who heard this frowned and said, "Will the general's delay in dispatching troops and horses in such a big way cause the soldiers guarding the city to feel uneasy, especially when the tiger thief is outside the city?"
