"Platform, the city wall is used to prevent capture, but now that the city wall is in the hands of the rebel army, it has become the biggest obstacle to our advance. If we cannot break the city in time, it will be very disadvantageous for us. Also, if we attack the city by force, with the barbican outside and the inner city inside, we will not have the upper hand in terms of military strength and will suffer great losses!
Platform, at this moment, we should not worry about whether the city wall will be destroyed or not. We should worry about the rebel army. If the city wall is destroyed, it can be rebuilt, but if the tens of thousands of soldiers are gone, it will be over. If we attack the city by force, how can we do it without tens of thousands of lives? If we try to sow discord and persuade them to surrender, not only will we not succeed, but we will also waste time. A wall or tens of thousands of lives, which is more important? "
Wei Xuezeng looked at Xiao Ruxun's face, walked back to his chair, and sat down. He thought for a moment, then said, "If I let you take charge of this, how confident are you? How much time and manpower will you need?"
Xiao Ruxun said, "Digging tunnels to the bottom of the city is not a small risk. To avoid being seen through by the enemy, we need to dig several tunnels at the same time. We will start from the most secret part of our camp and dig all the way to the bottom of the city wall. I estimate that we will need a thousand people. When the time comes, as long as one tunnel is successful, the prerequisites will be met. After that, we will need gunpowder. I roughly estimated that we will need about twenty thousand pounds of gunpowder. We will wrap it in a quilt and pour tung oil on it to ignite it. We will use a match as a fuse to ignite it.
"Ridiculous!"
Before Wei Xuezeng could speak, a general stood up and pointed at Xiao Ruxun. He said with dissatisfaction, "This has never happened before. How can we use gunpowder to destroy the city wall? Not to mention five tunnels, a thousand people, and twenty thousand pounds of gunpowder. Do you think this is all your own? "
Xiao Ruxun stood up and stared at him angrily. "Since ancient times, which general would tell their emperor that they will definitely win before going to war? The battlefield is ever-changing, and anything can happen. Who can guarantee that my plan will not work? Currently, the rebel army has occupied the city, and we are at a disadvantage in attacking the city. The longer we wait, the more variables there will be. If we attack the city for three days, we will lose a thousand men. How many thousand men do we have to compensate for this loss? "
Wei Xuezeng slapped his armrest and said angrily, "All of you, sit down!"
Xiao Ruxun and the general could only sit down together.
However, even though they were seated, Wei Xuezeng still hadn't made up his mind. Just as everyone was waiting for Wei Xuezeng's final decision, someone came to report, "Gansu Inspector-General Ye Mengxiong has arrived with his army. Please see me!"
Wei Xuezeng stood up and nodded. "Please!"
Ye Mengxiong? Ye Mengxiong, the firearms expert and the creator of the Ye God's Gun?
Xiao Ruxun was a little more expectant as he looked outside the tent. Not long after, a dignified old man wearing leather armor and a helmet opened the tent flap and walked in. All the generals stood up together.
"Gansu Inspector-General Ye Mengxiong pays his respects to you!"
Ye Mengxiong bowed to Wei Xuezeng.
"Hahaha! Man Zhao! I've been waiting for you for a long time! "
Wei Xuezeng laughed and helped Ye Mengxiong up. At the same time, the generals behind Wei Xuezeng also bowed to Ye Mengxiong. "I pays my respects to you!"
Ye Mengxiong returned the salute and was pulled by Wei Xueceng to sit beside him. Wei Xueceng said, "Nan Zhao, you came at the right time. This old man has a big question to ask you. You know firearms and gunpowder, but this old man only knows a little about firearms and gunpowder, so I dare not speak nonsense."
Ye Mengxiong smiled. "Just say it."
Wei Xuezeng looked at Xiao Ruxun and gestured for Xiao Ruxun to speak. Xiao Ruxun stood up and walked forward, bowing to Ye Mengxiong. "I, Ningxia General Pinglu Garrison Xiao Ruxun, pays my respects to you!"
Ye Mengxiong replied with an "oh" and walked forward to help Xiao Ruxun up. "You are Xiao Ruxun?"
"I am!"
Xiao Ruxun replied.
"You are indeed extraordinary. I've heard about your bloody battle at Pinglu Garrison and your raid on Ningxia Town. Also, I heard that you are especially good with firearms? You used firearms to defeat the three thousand captives that Lao Bai found? "
Looking at Ye Mengxiong's curious expression, Xiao Ruxun nodded. "Reporting to you, I planned to lure Bo Yun and Mighty Rabbit's troops to the area between the inner and outer city. He set up firearms to shoot from all sides, causing the enemy to be in chaos. They scrambled to escape and trampled over each other. He also set up an archery team at the city gates to shoot at them, causing them to suffer heavy losses. Finally, he used the cavalry team and spears to attack. After a fierce battle for an entire night, he finally defeated the enemy."
Ye Mengxiong nodded with a look of admiration. "Looks like you are one of the few generals in the Nine Borders who are good with firearms. You set up an archery team and an artillery team, right? As far as I know, in the Ming Dynasty Army, only the army in Zhejiang has an archery team. "
Xiao Ruxun nodded. "I know a little about how to use firearms. He used Mu Wangying's three-stage firing method to train the archery team. He also made the cannoneers familiar with the method of changing sub-guns to form a continuous firepower attack. This shortens the time needed to change ammunition and increases the power of firearms. Firearms are not as flashy as the army thinks."
Ye Mengxiong continued to ask, "You only use archery and cannons?"
Xiao Ruxun nodded again. "I think that the most practical firearm for individual soldiers is the archery gun. Compared to the Five Thunder God Machine Gun and the Three-Eyed Gun, it is more suitable for individual soldiers to use. The most practical heavy firearms are the Frank Gun and the Ye God Gun!"
"Oh? You also know how to use the guns that I used in the past? " Ye Mengxiong immediately felt that he had met someone of the same trade. It was rare to meet someone of the same trade. He continued to ask with interest, "Why don't you tell me what's so good about the guns that I made?"
Xiao Ruxun answered fluently, "The key point of the guns that Fu Tai made is that they are easy to move around. They can even be pushed up a hill and fired from a high vantage point. On the other hand, my Daming Cannons are heavy and difficult to move around. They can only be used to defend the city and cannot be used in the field. This greatly limits our Ming Dynasty Army's ability to fight in the field.
On the other hand, the Ye God Gun can easily follow the army and fire at any time to attack the enemy in the field. It is indeed a good gun. Before I left for battle, he ordered all the Frank Guns in the city to be transformed into carriages and cannons. Along the way, they relied on carriages and cannons to be successful. Before the battle, they can casually fire cannons to bombard the enemy's formation. When the enemy is in chaos, they can then use the horses and shields to attack and bring them down! "
The generals started to whisper amongst themselves, and Wei Xuezeng seemed to have understood something as well. He lowered his head, thinking about something.
Ye Mengxiong clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Today, I've finally met a general who really understands the cannons that I made. General Xiao Ruxun. Most of the generals in the nine borders don't like firearms, giving up on them because they are hard to operate. However, it's rare to meet a general who is good at using firearms like you. May I have the honor to meet the carriages and cannons that you modified and your archery team?"
Xiao Ruxun smiled and said, "If Fu Tai wishes to meet, there's naturally no reason not to."
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