Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 101 Steady Eastward Advance
Therefore, even though everyone agreed with Sun Chengzong's proposal and agreed that defenses should be strengthened north of the capital to prevent Jian Nu from attacking the capital from the Tatar direction, everyone chose to remain silent and silently prayed that such a thing would not happen.

Since no one expressed their opinion, Sun Chengzong's memorial was naturally approved according to Zhu Tianqi's wishes. After receiving Zhu Tianqi's approval, Sun Chengzong could only sigh helplessly. He did not complain about Zhu Tianqi. Or maybe he was disappointed with Zhu Tianqi, because he had already thought of the difficulties here, and he had imagined receiving such an approval.

Therefore, Sun Chengzong had no choice but to write a letter to Yuan Chonghuan, instructing him to pay close attention to the movements of the slave-building army. If any abnormal situation was discovered, he must report it in time without any delay.

After receiving Sun Chengzong's letter, Yuan Chonghuan also guessed the result of the letter Sun Chengzong sent to the capital. However, since there was something that even Sun Chengzong couldn't do, he couldn't do it, so he had to act according to Sun Chengzong's order first. .

Huang Taiji was naturally aware of the actions of the Ming army, and he had been alert to every move of the Ming army, because the Ming army's defense line was advancing forward, and all the Eight Banners troops under his command were in Chahar. The area around Aomulun, which belongs to the Dorote tribe, is empty in the rear. If the Ming army suddenly attacks in large numbers, the consequences will be disastrous.

Today's Huang Taiji is not that he doesn't want to fight the Ming army head-on, but that his strength does not allow it. In the Battle of Ningjin last year, his Eight Banners Army suffered heavy losses and has not yet fully recovered. With its current strength and condition, he hastily fought against the Ming army. If the army goes to war, the result will definitely be much worse than the battle of Ningjin last year.

Therefore, Huang Taiji could only postpone the battle against the Ming army, accumulate strength, and wait for the opportunity. Huang Taiji, who had already surrendered the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong, began to target the Tatars.

Hou Jin's conquest of the Tatars went smoothly, but because of the emptiness in the rear, he needed to always be vigilant about the movements of the Ming army, and was also restrained by the Ming army to a certain extent.

As for the Ming army, although Yuan Chonghuan also knew that Jiannu's rear was empty, he did not rush to send troops to attack. He still continued to advance the defense line step by step to the east.

Because Yuan Chonghuan knew very well that unlike Jiannu, the Ming army did not just rush in and plunder and get some bargains, but to regain an inch of mountains and rivers, they had to keep an inch. If they advanced now, they could indeed regain a large area of ​​land, but Jiannu Once the army returns to reinforce, there will be no danger for our side to defend, and we will have to retreat in the end. There is no point in mobilizing troops and troops in such a way, and may even lose troops and generals.

And Yuan Chonghuan is also very satisfied with the current situation. At least his defense line is advancing eastward. During this period, he has recovered hundreds of miles of rivers and mountains without spending a single soldier. Moreover, he now has With sufficient Hongyi cannons in the army, Yuan Chonghuan would be confident to defend it as long as a new stronghold and fortress was established.

Zhu Tianqi was very pleased to see the report from Liaodong recently submitted by the Ministry of War, and immediately ordered to reward Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan, and reward the Liaodong army.

Naturally, no one in the cabinet objected to this. After all, it was true that Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan had recovered a large area of ​​land in just two months after taking office. If anyone stood up to oppose, wouldn't they be deliberately looking for trouble to offend others?At least for now, it seems that Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan are favored by the Holy Grace and are the emperor's important ministers. Wouldn't it be foolish to offend them?
In addition to the good news from Liaodong, Sun Yuanhua from the northwest also presented himself with new results recently obtained by the northwest military industrial base - the first batch of Hongyi cannons have been cast, and they are far more powerful than before!

After Sun Yuanhua successfully smelted qualified steel suitable for casting artillery, he trial-cast a Hongyi cannon. Sun Yuanhua had already mastered the casting method of the Hongyi cannon, so it was not difficult for him.After the cannon was cast, Sun Yuanhua asked Zhang Boyu to transport the cannon to an open area outside the valley for test firing. The results were gratifying. The range and power of the Hongyi cannon reached the level of the Hongyi imported from the West. The standard of the cannon is still a little inferior to Sun Yuanhua's improved Hongyi cannon.

After all, this batch of steel was used for the first time, and we still don’t know the quality of the steel produced using new blast furnaces and smelting methods. In order to prevent the steel quality from not reaching the standard and the risk of explosion, Sun Yuanhua did not dare to change the cannon rashly. The casting size and caliber are only cast according to the parameters of ordinary imported Hongyi cannons.

But now judging from the test results, the quality of these newly smelted steels is at least not bad compared to the steel of the Westerners!

Sun Yuanhua couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief, showing a gratified smile. After working almost without sleep for more than a month, he finally achieved some results today. A good boss.

Sun Yuanhua immediately ordered to start mass production and smelt a large amount of "new steel" according to the new iron smelting technology. This time, he directly cast it according to the parameters of his modified Hongyi cannon. The newly cast Hongyi cannon was cast because of the The advantage in terms of materials is that it is easier to use than the Hongyi cannon that I used to cast using a combination of copper and iron, and its power and range are also slightly better.

Sun Yuanhua was so happy that he wrote a memorial about the good news and sent it to the capital.

Although Zhu Tianqi was very happy after learning the good news, in his reply to Sun Yuanhua, in addition to words of praise, he also urged Sun Yuanhua not to be satisfied with casting Hongyi cannons, but to seize the time to develop more powerful artillery. and cannonballs.

At the same time, we must also pay attention to the development and development of portable firearms and equipment. In addition to developing flintlock guns based on the firecracker information I gave him before, I also need to develop some portable small artillery.

After all, although heavy artillery is powerful, once it is placed in a certain position, it is difficult to move again. Its mobility in actual combat is too low, especially when dealing with enemies like Jiannu who mainly rely on cavalry. Equip some portable firearms equipment that are easy to move and transport to improve the mobility of the army.

Sun Yuanhua had participated in the actual combat against the Jiannu, so he could naturally understand Zhu Tianqi's intention of asking him to develop portable firearms such as small artillery and flintlock guns. In the previous battle with the Jiannu, the Hongyi cannon It is often very powerful in the defensive battles when Jiannu sieges the city, but cannot be used in field battles. Although the power of the Hongyi cannon is great, it also has great limitations.

(End of this chapter)