There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Nangong County Government Hall.

Lin Feng presided over the military meeting, and Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Yan, and Yang Lukai sat aside to listen.

"Sir, the Tatar right-wing army commander Yue Tuo personally led about 15,000 Manchu Tatar cavalry and has approached about 20 miles away from Nangong County, preparing to encircle and annihilate our Zhenming Army." Guo Zhenghui reported.

"To encircle and annihilate us, we have to see if they have such good teeth. Do you have any strategies to defend against the enemy?" Lin Feng asked.

"Sir, the Tatars currently have a clear advantage in strength. Our two cavalry brigades plus the Guards Brigade total less than 4000 people, only about a quarter of the Tatars' strength.

I suggest that we rely on Nangong County and defend the city first to see if the Tatars have the determination to attack the city. At the same time, the Longquan Combat Brigade and the Second Shanxi Combat Brigade were ordered to go south to respond. "Chief of Staff Zan Hua Lu Jun suggested after analyzing the strength of both sides.

"Sir, the main purpose of the Tatars is to plunder people and property. Although they have many troops, they will definitely not fight a war of attrition. I judge that the Tatars will fight quickly. As long as they can withstand a wave of attacks, the Tatars will withdraw. The possibility is still very high." Panda, deputy general of the Guards Brigade, analyzed.

After listening to the opinions of several people, Lin Feng said: "Currently we have few troops and can only defend the city. But we have to discuss how to defend it. We cannot just defend it blindly. We must defend with an attack."

"What your Excellency said is true. Nangong County is not big and the city walls are not wide. The number of defenders that can be accommodated at one time is limited. I suggest that the defense in the city is mainly responsible for the defense of the city with the Minzhuang mobilized by our Guards Brigade to withstand the first attack of the Tatars. Wave offense is not a big problem.

The two cavalry brigades were still placed outside the city to contain and harass the enemy troops attacking the city, looking for opportunities to cut off the Tatar supplies. There are fifteen thousand of them, and their daily consumption of food and grass is also very large. If the Tatars suffer heavy losses in siege, they can also attack the Qing army from both inside and outside to try to retain them. "Fang Xiaoyu continued.

Listening to the Zhenming Army's deliberations, Lu Xiangsheng and others were so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths. Are they discussing attacking the Tatars? Why does it feel like we are discussing the suppression of civil unrest? We don't take field battles with the Qing army seriously at all. Can we respect a powerful enemy?

"Based on everyone's opinions, we should follow the strategy of defending the city and defeating the enemy on the move. Guo Zheng sent people to notify the Longquan Brigade and the Second Shanxi Brigade to go south for support. Wu Yunna and Hong Tu led the cavalry brigades to cruise around the periphery, keeping an eye on the enemy's dynamics. , to prevent being surrounded." Lin Feng ordered.

"Yes!" The generals took the order.

"Master Lu, do you have any other opinions?" Lin Feng asked after finishing the arrangement.

"Master Lin, you have already thought it through. If you have any tasks, you can ask me and the others to take charge of them." Seeing how confident Lin Feng and others were, Lu Xiangsheng didn't want to say anything more.

"Master Lu will coordinate the overall situation with me and ask General Zhang to help mobilize the people in the city to help defend the city." Lin Feng said without politeness. Only by allowing them to deeply participate in the Zhenming Army's operations can they effectively change some of their understandings.

Twenty miles outside Nangong City, there is a Qing army camp.

General Yue Tuo, the commander of the right-wing army of the Tatars who attacked the Ming Dynasty, was also discussing the attack on Nangong.

"Have the identities of this group of Ming troops been found out? There are not many Ming troops who dare to fight with my Qing cavalry in the field." Yue Tuo asked.

Tong Gui, the assistant leader in charge of the sentries, replied: "General, according to the prisoners' accounts, this Ming army calls itself the Zhenming Army and came from Shaanxi."

"About how many of them are there?"

"According to the investigation, this Ming army has a small number, about three to four thousand people. Only about a thousand people entered Nangong City, and there are two thousand cavalry roaming outside." Tong Gui went on to report that they investigated very carefully .

"There are not many Ming troops who dare to fight with our army in the field. If we encounter them this time, we must find a way to eat them. Otherwise, they will become our powerful enemies in the Qing Dynasty when they develop in the future." Yue Tuo paused for a moment. He said after thinking. I have to say that the Manchu and Qing army generals had a much stronger view of the overall situation.

If the Ming army encountered a strong enemy, their first reaction would be to run away quickly and leave the hard bones for others to chew on, even if they break their teeth.

"General, this Zhenming Army should be defending the city now. Do we want to attack the city? Prince Rui told us not to attack the fortified city." Deputy General Du Du asked.

"Nangong is just a county town. The city wall is not high. We must concentrate our forces and try to capture it at once. The commander ordered us to speed up our raids in wealthy places in Shandong. We cannot waste too much time here." Yue Tuo said.

"General, let's capture some Ming people as vanguards and send out a large army to encircle the city on three sides. The Han art of war all talks about surrounding three walls." Du Du showed off his art of war.

"Okay, I'll leave it to Vice General Du to attack the city. I'll give you six thousand men to attack Nangong City with all our strength. The cavalry of the Zhenming Army has not entered the city. There is no problem with six thousand fighting one thousand. I will personally bring other cavalry to you. Raid the formation." Yue Tuo ordered.

"Yes!" Du Du accepted the order. The 15,000 Manchu right-wing troops led by Yue Tuo rested in the camp for a night while cutting down trees to make ladders and other siege equipment.

Early the next morning, Yue Tuo left 3,000 people to guard the camp and personally led 12,000 people towards Nangong City.

It was only about twenty miles from the camp to Nangong City, and the cavalry arrived in only two-quarters of an hour.

Arriving four or five miles in front of Nangong City, Lieutenant General Du Du led an army of 6,000 Tatars, divided into three directions, drove out more than 1,000 captured Han people, and began to attack the city with ladders.

Lin Feng, Lu Xiangsheng and others were all watching from the tower. Lin Feng took out his telescope and looked at it. Seeing Lu Xiangsheng's curious look, he handed the telescope over to him for a look.

"It is truly a divine weapon. It can be seen so clearly from such a distance. It is so useful in directing battles." Lu Xiangsheng praised.

"Master Lu, our Zhenming Army has a lot of good stuff." Fang Xiaoyu added on the side.

"Order the artillery to fire!" Lin Feng ordered when he saw that the Tatar siege army was approaching.

More than 40 fine steel artillery pieces produced by Zhenming Ordnance Factory have been set up on the top of Nangong City, and the bombardment mode has been started with a "bang, bang, bang" sound.

After fighting for more than ten rounds in a row, the first batch of Tatar siege teams carrying ladders were beaten to pieces, and then they stopped firing.

"Master Lin, this cannon doesn't seem to be made of bronze." Lu Xiangsheng asked.

"Yes, this is a stainless steel artillery specially made by our Zhenming Army. It is also very easy to move." Lin Feng replied.

"I am quite specialized in command artillery. Can you give these gunners to my command?" Lu Xiangsheng begged.

"No problem, it's all thanks to Master Lu." Lin Feng naturally agreed.

After the artillery was handed over to Lu Xiangsheng's command this time, he immediately changed the method of firing volleys of artillery and adopted a combination of two or three guns to fire in bursts, which greatly improved the efficiency of artillery firing. It seems that professional matters really need to be directed by professional people.

However, Nangong City has four walls. Lin Feng's side, including Minzhuang, only has 1,300 or 400 people, less than 400 people per wall.

There were 6,000 Tatars attacking the city, and they concentrated on three walls. About 2,000 people gathered on each wall, giving them a clear numerical advantage.

Fortunately, the Tatars did not have portable artillery, otherwise there would be no need to guard the city.

Although the artillery on the city head commanded by Lu Xiangsheng was very efficient, the Tatar army still ran to the bottom of the city wall. At this time, the artillery could no longer hit.

Immediately, ladders were set up one after another, and the Tatars began to climb the wall and attack the city.

"Fire gunners, fire!" the commanders at the top of the city ordered.

The sound of firecrackers sounded as densely as fried beans, and the Tatars were shot to the ground one after another. The people at the top of the city continued to throw rolling stones and logs down.

However, there were still many Tatars, and they were not afraid of death when they charged, and soon some of the Tatars climbed to the top of the city. Fang Xiaoyu and Panda went up with the Guard Brigade to stop them. Lin Feng glanced at Lu Xiangsheng and said, "Master Lu, let's go up too and see who can kill more Manchu Tatars."

"Okay, charge!" Lu Xiangsheng had been recovering from his injuries for a few days, and his body was almost healed. Lin Feng equipped him with a set of plate armor and a horizontal sword, and he was already eager to try it.

(End of this chapter)