Nanjing, Chengxianfang.

A restaurant near Li Street is full of guards standing in front of the gate.

In a private room on the second floor by the window, a handsome young man with elegant face and elegant manners was holding a cup of fragrant tea and savoring it carefully.

Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man wearing a man-in-law uniform and a Dongpo scarf.

"Your Majesty, why did you leave the palace in a very small way?"

It turned out that this elegant young man was Zhu Cilang, the current emperor of the Ming Empire, and the "Person in the Wai" sitting opposite him was Lu Zhenfei, the Minister of War.

Zhu Cixuan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then said, "I think the Ming Dynasty and the Donglu are fighting, where is the long and where is the short?"

The emperor asked Lu Zhenfei and had to answer.

He bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the director of the Eastern Barbarians is to fight in the field of cavalry and shooting, and the Ming officers and soldiers are good at defending the city."

Zhu Cilang nodded and said, "It's right. The strategy of war emphasizes playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses. Only by leveraging one's advantages can one defeat the enemy and win."

Wen Anzhi was confused until now, and he didn't know what medicine was selling in His Majesty the Emperor, but just listened respectfully.

"After ascending the throne, I have been thinking about how to take advantage of the officers and soldiers' advantages of being good at defending. Later, I came up with an idea and found another person who helped me realize my vision. Perhaps this person has also been seen by me. He is a student of the Imperial Ming Military Academy, named Song Yingxing."

Zhu Cixuan paused and said, "I have always kept this from my soldiers because it has not been implemented before. Now I can let my soldiers take a look."

Lu Zhenfei had been aroused by Zhu Cilang and said in a harmonious voice: "Your Majesty also ask me to open my eyes."

"I will follow me."

Zhu Cilang swayed his robe sleeve and stood up and walked downstairs. Lu Zhenfei hurriedly followed.

After Zhu Cixuan went downstairs, he did not leave the restaurant but walked towards the backyard of the restaurant.

Lu Zhenfei was surprised from the moment he entered the backyard.

I saw many trenches dug out in the yard, arranged neatly.

When I walked in, I found that every trench was very deep, and even if I jumped off, I would not show up.

Before Lu Zhenfei could react, Zhu Cilang jumped down.

This scared Lu Zhenfei.

Zhu Cilang is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If there is something wrong with it, wouldn’t he become a sinner?

"Be careful, Your Majesty!"

Lu Zhenfei shouted instinctively.

"Don't panic, I'm fine. The trench is very spacious, so I might as well come in and take a look."

The emperor said this to this point, and Lu Zhenfei certainly couldn't refuse.

He gritted his teeth and jumped into the trench.

Although Lu Zhenfei is a civil servant, he can practice martial arts and boxing on weekdays, so his skills are not worse than Zhu Cixuan.

He stood firmly in the trench without any support.

After looking around, Lu Zhenfei found that the inner space of the trench was really wide as the emperor said, and it did not seem cramped at all.

Not to mention squatting down and turning around, even lying down and sleeping will not have any problems.

"Your Majesty, what's going on?"

How could a great restaurant dig so many trenches in the backyard?

"This restaurant and the house were bought by me by Song Yingxing to test the excavation of the trenches."

Zhu Cixuan explained: "I originally wanted to test it in the military camp, but I thought that this matter had not been implemented yet, so I should control the scope of knowledge. This made Song Yingxing think of such a solution."

After hearing this, Lu Zhenfei was a little amused and crying.

His Majesty the Emperor looks very serious on weekdays, giving people a feeling of being arrogant without anger.

But it is OK to be "unreasonable".

It is obvious that this restaurant is not for making money, but for completing what His Majesty the Emperor said.

But Lu Zhenfei still didn't quite understand how digging a few trenches would help the Ming Dynasty fight against the Donglu.

"I call this kind of trench a trench."

Zhu Cixuan explained: "Although it is not good-looking, it can play an important role in blocking the advancement of cavalry. In addition, trenches can also reduce the threat of artillery. The power of the Qing Dynasty was powerful in cavalry and artillery. If he abolished these two points, this beast would not be afraid of it."

Lu Zhenfei said skeptically: "Your Majesty, although this trench is very wide and long, it is impossible to dig it all the time. Isn't it enough for the Donglu to bypass it?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and said, "I said it well. Donglu's first reaction to see the trenches must be bypassed. But my trenches were not dug casually. They were stuck on the road that Donglu had to pass. If he wanted to bypass, it would be impossible to attack important prefectures, counties, prefectures and cities. In addition, the trenches and bastions are also coordinated. There are hundreds of bastions of all sizes along Shandong, right? The trenches are dug much faster than the bastions. I want the soldiers to use the trenches to fill the gaps between the bastions."

Digging trenches does not require high technical requirements. As long as you give a sample, you can ask people to dig accordingly.

The most important thing is that there must be sufficient staff.

And this is what Daming is most lacking at the moment.

Whether it is Ding Zhuang or a soldier, you can go and dig trenches.

Zhu Cilang felt that at most one month, he could fulfill his requirements.

"Does Your Majesty want to force the Donglu to attack the bastion?"

Although Lu Zhenfei had never seen the bastion with his own eyes, he had seen the sketches drawn by Zhu Cilang.

From the sketch, we can see that a battalion is easier to defend and difficult to attack than an ordinary fortress.

If the Donglu chooses to attack strongly, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

But the problem is that there are areas that cannot be covered between the ridges. If the Donglu circumns, the ridge group will be useless.

The emperor now seems to want to make a net between the bastion groups by digging trenches, leaving the Eastern Captains with no way to go.

I have to say that this is a gamble.

Because there have never been any similar examples before.

If it were an ordinary person, he might have come forward to advise him long ago.

But Lu Zhenfei is a very enlightened person and is very willing to accept new things.

"No matter which one they choose, they will suffer heavy casualties."

Although Zhu Cixuan never felt the benefits of the trench in actual combat, the large number of war examples in later generations were enough to give him confidence.

For example, in the Franco-Prussian War, the trenches played an important role in it.

With the emergence of muskets and cannons, the role of trenches will only become increasingly greater.

If the Donglu chose to attack the castle group after hitting a wall, it would be something Zhu Cilang would like to see.

The solid prism can maximize the vitality of the Qing Dynasty.

After losing troops and losing generals, the Qing generals would definitely be angry and try to make a desperate attempt to turn the tables.

When they were deeply trapped in the quagmire, the Ming army could break out from both wings to form a surround.

Using defense instead of attack was the best choice for the Ming army at the moment, and the bastions and trenches provided the possibility of this tactic.

...
Chapter completed!