unclear

Chapter 672: Trapped Alone 2
As time goes by, it depends on whether Sun Chengzong and the Army Staff are reliable. From the moment he decided to inspect the border, Sun Chengzong's army should also set out from Yan'an Prefecture and head north on the pretext of an exercise.

If they betray me, then there is nothing to say. Since it is a gamble, there must be winners and losers. My habit is to either not gamble or go all in. The win or loss is determined by one bet!

In the Gobi terrain, the speed of cavalry is faster than that of armored forces in later generations. When their tracks were discovered, they were more than 20 miles away. By the time Baihong Da Taiji and Shunyi King left, scouts could already be seen cruising on the east and west sides of Xinghe City.

No abnormalities were found in the south, but Hong Tao did not let the troops move south. He continued to dig trenches. This was already the fourth layer, a bit like the Fourth Ring Road in later generations, expanding outward in circles around the army vanguard’s station, with each trench less than 200 meters apart.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead a ten-man cavalry force to Datong and Xuanhua to ask for help. Please grant my order!" Seeing that the two Mongolian leaders and their troops had fled one after another, but the emperor did not leave, Du Wenhuan could not help himself even though he knew there was a contingency plan.

The Mongols and the Jurchens had very different ways of fighting. Being able to defeat the Jin Dynasty did not necessarily mean they could defeat the Mongols. Moreover, they had nearly 30,000 soldiers and generals at the beginning, but now there are only more than 5,000.

"You could have died easily before, but not now. I never do business at a loss. Although there are no people in the south, there are hidden dangers. As long as we step into that ravine, there may be battlefields everywhere. This place is wide and flat, which is just right for the army to exert its power. Why bother with this?

Ding Shun, you lead the northeast and the north, Du Wenhuan, you lead the west, and I will lead the south. Tell the soldiers to hold out for four days, don't save bullets, and kill as many as possible. How to do it, figure it out yourself! "

If he could send someone back to call for reinforcements, how could a cunning person like Hong Tao miss it? Even the important officials in the court did not know the exact time of the trip, and the only one who could leak the news to the Mongols was the border general. And the Mongols came so punctually, it must be inseparable from the tip-off.

Since they were all planning to fight to the death, how could they let themselves call for reinforcements easily? At this time, the post roads, paths, and ravines south of Xinghe City were probably all blocked, and there was no way to pass even with the emperor's edict. After all, the soldiers and low-ranking officers did not know the imperial edict, and the generals had the final say on what to do.

But the battle did not start immediately because it was getting dark. The cavalry had no interest in attacking in the dark, and seeing that the army was hiding outside Xinghe City and showed no signs of breaking out, they simply sent several hundred cavalry to patrol nearby and even occupied Xinghe City.

The army also retreated to the bottom, sending 1,000 men to each of the east, south, west and north to take turns in three trenches, with the remaining 1,000 men in the middle watching the horses as a reserve. Then they slept when it was time to sleep, ate when it was time to eat, and kept the lanterns lit all night, as if a small city had suddenly appeared.

"Beep, beep, beep... bang, bang... bang, bang, bang..." Just after the hour of Mao, Hong Tao was disturbed from his breakfast by a burst of crisp sounds. Holding a biscuit in one hand and a can of fruit in the other and a telescope hanging on his chest, he climbed onto the roof of the van with the help of Wang Chengen.

Compared with yesterday, the number of besieged enemy troops has increased by several times. The originally empty field has been covered by a large group of cavalry. There are also figures swaying on the Xinghe city tower, with a total number of at least 30,000.

Most of the gunfire came from the east. The cavalry there seemed to be the most anxious. They took the lead in launching a tentative attack, but were then shot by the outermost muskets and retreated, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

"What do you think would happen if I could create a musket that could fire continuously within a breath?" Looking at the uneventful confrontation on the battlefield, Hong Tao simply put down the telescope, sat on the roof of the carriage and continued to eat breakfast, daydreaming as he ate.

"The bullets are endless. Five thousand... no, one thousand is enough. Wherever the troops go, no one can defeat them!" Zhang Ran, wearing a helmet and armor, carrying a rifle and a pistol, and holding a half-man-high shield, never left. He gave a very high evaluation of the emperor's hypothesis. "Give me five hundred people, sweep across the desert!" Du Wenhuan curled his lips. Who doesn't know how to brag?

"What about you?" Seeing that Wang Chengen and Ding Shun did not answer, Hong Tao began to call out their names.

"Your Majesty often says that professional matters should be left to professionals. I don't know how to march and fight, and my duty is to serve Your Majesty well." Wang Chengen was still as steady and cautious as usual. He would not easily get involved in the affairs of the palace and would avoid even jokes if possible.

"I haven't thought about it carefully. I generally think that fighting is easy, but logistics support is difficult, and long-term stability is even more difficult." Ding Shun was not afraid of saying something wrong and upsetting the emperor, but he was not mature enough to suddenly hear such a weird hypothesis.

"Chief of Staff Ding, why don't you tell me more about it!" Hong Tao was originally idle and had nothing to do, and was afraid that these generals who didn't have much combat experience would have wild thoughts, so he found a topic to chat about and divert their attention. Unexpectedly, Ding Shun's answer was a bit unexpectedly perfect, and he couldn't help but ask again.

“If there really are muskets that can fire continuously in a breath, we can’t carry too many of them. One per hundred households is enough, otherwise the bullets and gunpowder will be insufficient.

The southern and northern parts of the desert are vast and sparsely populated, with complex terrain and unpredictable climate. It is not easy for our army to supply troops. If we want to fight over a large area and long distance, how to safely transport supplies and ammunition is more worthy of careful consideration than winning the battle in person.

If there is no foolproof solution, it is not advisable to act rashly. Even if there is a proper way to provide logistics, students do not think that they can win the battle in one go.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, the northern Hu cavalry had been defeated, and a great deal of people's blood and sweat was spent on this, but no method of ruling was ever found. Once the national strength declined, the Hu people would come back again. It is useless when it is used, and the harm will come like a flood. It is unwise to spend so much effort to gain it! "

Ding Shun was quite straightforward and told everything that was on his mind in detail. Then he noticed that Wang Chengen and Zhang Ran looked unhappy. Although Du Wenhuan did not have a gloomy face, his eyes were vague and he seemed uneasy.

He knew roughly why this happened. Wang Chengen and Zhang Ran must have felt that his words implied that he was refuting the emperor's ideas, which was extremely disrespectful. Even if Du Wenhuan did not share the same hatred of the two eunuchs, he was worried that the emperor would be unhappy after hearing what he said.

"Well, that's very insightful! It's worth my more than ten years of hard work to have a student like you in Haihu Division. Come, hold up the can. Drinking is not allowed during wartime. I will use the can as wine to toast you!"

Hong Tao also saw the different expressions of the four people, but he could not say it clearly. He could only fully affirm Ding Shun and use this to guide others to change their thinking patterns.

It is difficult to say whether it has any effect. Like Wang An, Zhang Ran accepted the new knowledge system only after his three views were formed. The old and new concepts coexist in his mind, and it is unlikely that he will change completely.

(End of this chapter)