Chapter 396 Send someone to listen to the cannon's feet

Outside the mouth of the Yalu River, a warship is on the ship.

Shang Kexi said anxiously: "Great use, what should we do? The general's place is blocked now, and our reinforcements can't even get up!"

There were four people in the captain's room, Lei Dayong, Shang Kexi, Peter, and a captain, but the captain sat far away, and was sitting aside and smiling foolishly.

"It seems that there are also powerful characters in this Tartar! I am afraid that we may have reinforcements, and now we use cannons to guard us. The waterway has been blocked, and Marshal Mao has indeed become an isolated city!...We have to be careful in the future." Lei Dayong looked at the anxious Shang Kexi, silent for a while, and said.

"It's really true that this is true. However, now, I'm still thinking about how to open up the waterway. Without reinforcements and supplies, I'm afraid that the general will not be able to support it for long!" Shang Kexi was already confused. When he thought of so many supplies, he couldn't replenish Mao Wenlong, he was worried that Mao Wenlong could not support it. After all, there were only four or five thousand people in Zhenjiang Fort, and the Tartars had tens of thousands of people, and the troops were really disparity.

Lei Dayong was also confused. After all, he had no experience in fighting. He could come here because of his loyalty to the emperor, his new army clan, and his identity as a platform attendant. However, when it comes to war, especially water war, Lei Dayong couldn't touch the door. However, after staying in the new army for a while, following the emperor, Sun Chengzong had learned how to calm down. Although he was anxious, he was not as sad as Shang Kexi on the surface, and wrote the word "sorrow" on his face.

Lei Dayong looked at the barbarians among them. Both of them seemed confident and far from as anxious as Shang Kexi. The captain named Rekaz would not say anything, and he didn't know what was going on. If Peter hadn't told him something was wrong, he wouldn't know what happened yet. Apart from sitting on the side and smiling foolishly, he could basically not do anything. As for Peter, he also looked confident. Lei Dayong looked at it and thought he had some idea.

"Peter, tell me, what should we do now?" Lei Dayong asked, looking at Peter's indifferent look.

"Oh, Lord of the Imperial Commander, in fact, this matter depends on how you view it. Although this is a bit troublesome for our warships, it is not difficult for ordinary small boats and small warships to go up..." Peter said vaguely.

Lei Da was used to his interest. The emperor asked him to learn things from this barbarian. It was true. The barbarian seemed to have something in his stomach. He immediately asked, "Oh, Peter, how should I say this? How should I explain it?"

"Oh..., Lord of the Imperial College, isn't this easy? You know, because our warships are sailing in the inland rivers, they have a fixed channel in the river, and generally they can only choose to sail the deepest place. Therefore, if our enemies block the river surface and only need to fire guns towards this fixed channel, they can easily block the river surface. Then, when our warships drive upwards and pass through the waterway that must be walked, it will be difficult not to get shot. This is a skill. Of course, I don't guarantee that our enemies will understand these..." Peter said without any hesitation, while using a white napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth that had just drunk wine.

Lei Dayong had some intuitive understanding of land warfare, and some understanding of naval warfare. He was a layman who couldn't touch the door. After hearing Peter's words, he understood a little, and said excitedly: "..., what do you mean is that our larger boats cannot go up, but there is no problem with going up a boat? Isn't it?" Lei Dayong asked happily. If this is the case, it would be unreliable for the Tartars to block the river surface.

"Haha, yes, the imperial envoy, it can be said that as long as our warships or big ships cannot go up, small boats, such as our sampans and centipede ships, there is no problem. The boat has shallow draft, very flexible, and has no fixed channel. If our enemies want to aim and shoot, this is simply unimaginable..." Peter said without caring.

Shang Kexi was also happy when he heard this. If this were the case, the Tartars would not completely block the river surface and could still provide reinforcements.

"Peter, what do you mean is that the Tartars cannot aim at the boat, can't hit it?" Shang Kexi couldn't help asking.

"No, no, no, I think you may have misunderstood what I mean. I mean, we can send some small boats, such as sampans and centipede boats, carrying supplies, and still flow upstream to attract our enemies to open fire, that is, to attract Tartars to open fire. These small boats are small and not easy to be hit..." Peter forked a piece of meat and chewed hard, eating while saying indifferently.

Shang Kexi was a little unhappy. What was this idea? He was to use the lives of his own people to fight against the levels set up by the Tartars!

"Peter, what do you mean is to force us to rush through the pass? Regardless of the Tartar cannons? Although some materials can be transported up, there will definitely be a lot of losses... And, the most important thing is, how can your fleet go up? If your fleet cannot go up, how can you complete His Majesty's explanation?" Shang Kexi couldn't stand Peter's leisurely look and said angry at Peter.

Peter had an insignificant expression, drank a sip of red wine, wiped the corners of his mouth again, and said, "No, no, no, I may have misunderstood what I mean. I mean, send a small boat to attract our enemies as much as possible, that is, the Tartars fire, the more times the Tartars fire, the better... You should know that the number of fires of a cannon is limited, and our enemy, that is, the Tartars, have heard, are a group of wild animals.

The barbarians don't know how to cast cannons themselves. The cannons they use now are still captured from our Ming Dynasty, right? In other words, the total number of fires they fire can be estimated. Every time they fire, the lifespan of this cannon is reduced once. So what we have to do now is to send some small boats to attract our enemies as much as possible, that is, the Tartars keep firing until they consume the number of fires. You must know that our enemy, the Tartars

The cannons were seized from the Ming Dynasty many years ago. In this way, the lifespan of the cannons may be lower. In other words, perhaps, without firing many cannons, those cannons will be scrapped... In this way, our enemy, the Tartars, will never have cannons anymore, um..., do you understand what I mean?" Peter looked at the two young men beside him, one in his twenties, and the other was younger, less than twenty years old. However, they were the confidants of the emperor of the Eastern Empire. In a war, the resources they could use were even far more than many Thai kings. In terms of war, although Peter did not like them much, he respected them quite well. Although they did not even understand these simple common sense of war, Peter was still happy to explain to them, not to mention anything else, the supplies, food, and wine provided, so that Peter could "respect" them.

Lei Dayong looked at the barbarian in a daze. Unexpectedly, there were so many tricks in water wars and artillery wars. He never knew this. Lei Dayong had been in the General Staff for a long time and knew a lot about the information about the Tartars. Naturally, he knew the background of the Tartars. The Tartars really did not cast their own cannons. Now they could take out some cannons, which were completely from the Ming Dynasty that was seized before. Those cannons were already in use before. It was indeed a few years ago. Just as this barbarian said, the Tartars' cannons had a limited lifespan, and one less was destroyed. If they were completely destroyed, there would be no one...

Shang Kexi and Lei Dayong understood what the idea of ​​this barbarian was. Although he felt that this barbarian was not concerned about the life or death of others, he did not admit it either. The barbarian said it was reasonable.

"..., two imperial envoys, our mission is to help Mao Damao at a critical moment, not now. The Emperor's Majesty also means this, because once we appear, the war will almost end. Think about how many cannons there are on our fleet, and His Majesty the Emperor promises that we can shoot as much as we can, that is, we can fight without any scruples. Even if the enemy has only one person and only one horse, all our cannons can still fire at the same time. I think, in this case, our enemy, the Tartars, cannot see it.

Any hope of victory will definitely retreat consciously, so we don’t have to hurry now. Just send small boats to lure the Tartars into firing the cannons until all their cannons are scrapped. I think we originally expected that Marshal Mao could last at least one month, right? In other words, we still have at least one month to slowly wipe out the Tartars’ cannons. A month later, when we appeared in the Great Insect River, the Tartars’ cannons were already mute, right?” Peter stopped eating and explained to the two young men with a serious expression.

Both of them swallowed their saliva. The barbarian was indeed right. They really didn't need it now and could not go up. The emperor had already explained that these warships were the final decision. According to estimates, Mao Wenlong would have no pressure to hold on for another month. Unless the Tartars attacked without any casualties, they would have to brave the Tartars' artillery fire to support them. However, this situation may not happen, because the casualties of the Tartars were quite large.

Shang Kexi was very depressed and sent a small boat to lure the Tartars into firing the artillery. No matter what, this task fell on their Dongjiang Town. There were many small boats and small warships in Dongjiang Town. There were no one else except Dongjiang Town. In other words, this task was clearly a mission to die, and belonged to them Dongjiang Town. Shang Kexi was from Dongjiang Town and was involved and had feelings for Dongjiang Town. Shang Kexi felt very depressed. He obviously took advantage of it, but he still had to fill it with his own lives.

"Then, since it consumes the artillery of the Tartars and makes it impossible for them to attack our warships, can we use the Red Barbarian cannons to fight against the Tartars on the other side of the river? Our Red Barbarian cannons can easily hit four or five miles. Although there are some red-clothed cannons in the Tartars, there must be not many. There may be only a few shots that can be shot so far. If we are farther away, we can fire from a distance from six or seven miles to lure the Tartars into firing the Tartars, you see, is this possible?" Shang Kexi didn't want the people in Dongjiang Town to risk the Tartars' guns to attract the attention of the Tartars and lure them to fire. This is really too cowardly. Shang Kexi spent a long time thinking about it and took his mind to the few red Barbarian cannons that the emperor supported Mao Wenlong.

Lei Dayong's eyes lit up: "This method is OK. The Tartars can hit us with cannons, and we can hit them with cannons. If our cannons are broken, Your Majesty will also send us new ones. If the Tartars are broken, it will be gone. Yuan Ji, this method is good. I will immediately arrange for people to load the red-clothed cannons opposite the Tartars cannons and fight against the Tartars across the river..." Lei Dayong didn't want to be beaten on his side, so he immediately agreed.

"Okay..., but if the Red Barbarian cannons came ashore, will the Tartars follow? After all, the Big Insect River is not deep or wide..." Although Shang Kexi liked it, he also thought of another question. What should the Tartars do if the Red Barbarian cannons came ashore?

"Or let's put it on the boat. If you are a little far apart, you can still fight against the Tartars..." Lei Dayong thought for a while and said.

"...No, no, no, I want to remind you two, you must understand the strategy of His Majesty the Emperor and not ruin the matter of His Majesty. If you rush to move the Red Barbarian cannons to the other side of the Tartar River or use a large boat to fight, then it will definitely attract the attention of the Tartar leaders. If they discover and realize that there are a large number of troops and even a large number of warships gathered here downstream of the river, ready to support Zhenjiang Fort at any time, then you may scare away our enemies at any time. Then, you may ruin the matter of His Majesty the Emperor, and perhaps the Emperor will punish you..." Peter immediately stopped him when he saw the two young men's plans.

"This..." The monk Lei Dayong was stunned. This was indeed a problem. The emperor repeatedly explained that he could not expose his strength early. This grand strategy was the word "entanglement". He wanted to drag the Tartars to Zhenjiang Fort. Only when Mao Wenlong could not hold on could he go up, instead of simply repelling the Tartars. If it was contrary to the strategy, even if it was a victory, it would be a failure...

Monk Lei Dayong was depressed. There were too many names for fighting, far from being as simple as they thought. He could not get on a warship or cannon, and he could only take his own people one by one to die, which made the Tatars think that Dongjiang Town had only these methods.

"Commander Peter, then, what should we do now?" Lei Dayong asked with a little discouraged look.

"Oh..., Lord Imperial Envoy, in fact, what you have to do now is to hide your strength and constantly send boats to lure the Tartars to fire and paralyze the enemy. Our Captain Rekaz's boat has many excellent gunners. They can not only hear the number of cannons, but also distinguish the power of cannons, and also distinguish the direction of the cannons, so that they can go upstream to listen to how the Tartars fired for a while. After a while, our gunners will thoroughly figure out how many cannons the Tartars have, the types, power, and the direction they are in. In this way, after half a month, we waited

As a result, you can send red cannons to fight against the Tartars. You can't say how many cannons can be killed or how many cannons can be killed. In this way, the Tartars will think you are reinforcements sent by His Majesty the Emperor from Beijing, and will not know that a group of warships and a large number of reinforcements gathered downstream of the river. In this way, our strategic goals will not be exposed. ... Do you understand?" After all, Peter is older and more experienced. Perhaps this war is just a passerby and a spectator for him, so he did not make the mistake of "the mischief of the authorities", and he carefully analyzed the situation of both sides of the enemy and us.

Monk Lei Dayong and the other two sat down a little decadently. After Peter's explanation, they finally realized that it is definitely not a good time to break through the blockade immediately. If the Tatars' blockade is now opened, then the Tatars will definitely be interested in how many reinforcements there are downstream. Then, it is likely to expose their strength and their strategies. Then, even if the Tatars retreated in this battle of Zhenjiang Fort, even if the Tatars retreated, they could be said to have failed and the established goals were not achieved. What they can do now is to confuse the Tatars.

Lei Dayong said a little decadently: "In other words, what we can do now is to send a few people to listen to the cannons?"

"... In addition to a group of my Dongjiang men went to die..." Shang Kexi added with some dissatisfaction.

Lei Dayong glanced at Shang Kexi, didn't say anything, and lowered his eyelids.

"Oh, no, no, no, the envoy Shang Qin, isn't going to die. I'm right. The Tartars are on the hills. If they know anything, they usually set a fixed channel. They don't care so much about those who can get away, and there is no good way. They are usually difficult to hit. You should know that those small boats are too small and are walking around at any time. I have experience with this. Oh, do you think, will the Tartars fire all the cannons together for a small boat? Obviously not..." Peter quickly explained.

Shang Kexi nodded again. Although he felt uncomfortable, he refused to admit it. This barbarian said it makes sense.

"In fact, we are not only going to listen to how the Tartars fired, but also to figure out how many cannons they have, where they are distributed, and then draw a rough map of the position. After half a month, you can send one or two larger warships to carry our Red Barbarian cannons and fire at these artillery from a distance downstream. In this way, you can take revenge. You may not be able to shoot down a Tartar cannon... In this way, we will not expose our existence, and we can gradually consume the Tartar cannon, making the Tartars think that we only have this ability to make them careless... Then... Oh, we appear as a savior, and let our enemy, the Tartars completely fail..." Peter said to the two young imperial envoys with a gaze.

Monk Lei Dayong was so happy that he had been bored for a long time, but he didn't come up with a better way. He could not violate the emperor's grand strategy; he had to gradually wipe out the Tartar cannons to clear obstacles for the warships to arrive on the battlefield; he could not expose his own strength and the existence of the fleet. This was really a painful thing.

"It seems that this is the only way now. Yuan Ji, let's report the situation here to Your Majesty. Let's see what Your Majesty says..." Lei Dayong thought for a while and said.

Shang Kexi nodded with difficulty and agreed to this plan. That is to say, the next thing is that the lives of Dongjiang Town have to be used to fill the big guns of the Tartars. It is expected that things are as the barbarians said, as the cannons are difficult to hit small and medium-sized boats, and fewer Dongjiang men can be killed.

Shang Kexi stood up, walked out in a depressed manner, walked to Captain Rekaz who had been giggling, and suddenly: "Rekaz!"

"Yes!" Rekaz jumped up suddenly.

"Learn my Ming Dynasty's official language well. If you have military achievements in the future, Your Majesty may be appointing you as an official. Remember, it's much better than any noble in your Taisie..." Shang Kexi said loudly to the barbarian who didn't understand Chinese. After saying that, he went out without looking back.
Chapter completed!