bookcurios Chapter 412: Zhao Hui's Pressure
Chapter 412: Zhao Hui's Pressure
Mr. Zhao was very busy with the infrastructure construction in Dingzhou and was completely immersed in the vigorous construction.
In the capital, inside the imperial palace.
Zhao Hui sat in the imperial study with a frown on his face, racking his brains over the affairs of Yanzhou and Shangjun.
After the Battle of Yanzhou, he was filled with resentment towards Xing Shuren. Xing Shuren had been beaten so badly by the Xianbei, yet he remained as arrogant as a peacock with its tail spread out.
This person not only offended the reinforcements from Dingzhou, but also had a quarrel with the governor Zheng Xiangyi.
You should know that the official authority of the governor not only covers administrative jurisdiction, but also the defensive military dispatch.
In theory, Xing Shuren was half a level lower than the governor, but he relied on his favor to be arrogant and overbearing, and did not take Zheng Xiangyi, who was sent there, seriously at all.
In addition, in the battle of Shangjun, two barracks were sent out, and the loss was as high as half, and among them were specially trained Xiaowu Guards.
This result made Zhao Hui feel more pressured.
Logically speaking, Yan Ruxiang had a large number of people under his command, and the people he sent were just for assistance, so the casualties should not be so serious.
Zhao Hui suddenly felt that Yan Ruxiang did this on purpose in order to weaken the imperial army.
"Wang Defa, why are Yan Ruxiang's troops in Qin so weak that they have to rely on the men we send out to fight? Is it because their weapons are different?"
Zhao Hui was full of doubts and turned to look at Wang Defa beside him.
Wang Defa was holding a whisk in his hand, his eyes slightly closed, and he was distracted.
Being asked so suddenly by the emperor, he was a little confused and stammered: "Ah, Your Majesty, you, you are talking about me, I don't know."
Seeing Wang Defa's off-key appearance, Zhao Hui sighed helplessly, "Ah~ How can I ask a eunuch like you about this? Let's wait for the reports from those two to arrive before we discuss it."
As he was speaking, Qin Lian came hurriedly with a report and said, "Your Majesty, this is the secret report submitted by Bi Kou and the others."
Zhao Hui was just worried about the lack of news, and this was like a perfect opportunity. He hurriedly asked Wang Defa to bring it to him.
I saw that the paint seal on it was still intact, probably because Qin Lian hadn't had time to check it yet.
Wang Defa knocked off the lacquer seal, took out the report and handed it to Zhao Hui, who immediately began to read it carefully. As he read, his expression became increasingly gloomy.
"Your Majesty, what happened?"
Qin Lian asked cautiously, his heart filled with anxiety.
Zhao Hui put down the report in his hand, met Qin Lian's eyes, and said slowly:
"They reported that the reason Zhao Hong's army was so powerful was because all their cannons used explosive projectiles, similar to our current mortars."
After hearing this, Qin Lian's body shook slightly. Although he didn't show it very obviously, he could not hide the shock in his heart.
"And judging by the captured artillery, the artillery they are currently using has begun to improve, somewhat imitating our infantry artillery. If used on the Tiger Barrel Ershi Cannon, its lethality is astonishing."
Zhao Hui continued, his brows furrowed even more.
Qin Lian then understood why Zhao Hui looked so unhappy. It turned out that he was worried about Zhao Hong's growing military strength.
"Your Majesty, these weapons are now in the possession of several countries near the Great Zhou. Although their power varies, they cannot remain stagnant forever. Behind every war, there are people who delve into the secrets of war."
When Zhao Hui heard Qin Lian's words, he thought to himself: Yes, there is no wall that is impenetrable. It is only a matter of time before we are discovered by the enemy.
So how can we stop or limit it? This concerns the foundation of the country and military suppression. Qin Lian didn't know how to answer for a moment, so Zhao Hui had to give up for the time being.
He now firmly believed that his manufacturing level was comparable to Zhao Sheng's, and that whatever Dingzhou had, they could also imitate in the capital.
Since then, various high-quality imitations of Schleder-Enfeoff rifles and mortars of different calibers have appeared in the capital's camp, and even infantry guns have developed into large-caliber and portable ones.
In Zhao Hui's view, powerful artillery is the key to victory in war.
This all happened later.
At present, Bi Fujian and Kou Xun both said that the war losses were serious and they wanted to wait for repairs in Shangjun before returning to the capital.
After suffering such a huge loss, Zhao Hui was also heartbroken about his own national defense. After all, the defense of the capital was relatively weak.
So he agreed to their request.
……
Go to the county town.
After Yan Ruxiang's army was reorganized, Zhao Qin also moved the remaining people to Shangjun.
The mansion where Zhao Hong originally lived became Zhao Qin's residence.
The Governor's Mansion became their joint military and political office area.
Because the main tasks in the future would be sieges and street fighting, Yan Ruxiang called in his former craftsmen to increase the caliber of the mortar to extend its range.
At the same time, small-caliber tiger barrel cannons were manufactured.
In the past, their smallest tiger barrel cannon was two stones, but now they can make one stone.
The two-stone gun fires explosive pellets, while the one-stone gun only fires shotgun shells.
From the seized semi-finished products, they discovered the secret of manufacturing explosive projectiles, so these were not difficult for them.
After Zhao Hong fled to Dingbian, he redivided the land with Qi Guanlie and other Di people and recruited some soldiers in the local area.
The young and strong people who were originally oppressed by the Di tribe in the area became landless and chose to join the army to make a living. The Di people also allocated 200,000 people to join Qi Guanlie's army.
The assigned Di soldiers did not go to Yanzhou in time, but instead trained intensively in Dingbian to familiarize themselves with new weapons such as the Tiger Barrel Cannon.
Zhao Hong's production of new weapons progressed rapidly, and together with the remaining weapons, it was enough to arm an army of 100,000 people.
After three months of intensive training, Zhao Hongding's army has become much stronger than before.
Especially the new Shenwu Dajiangjun cannon, which is equipped with eight wheels, four groups in the front and back, with two in each group.
The new Shenwu Dajiangjun cannon had a caliber of half a foot, a barrel length of three feet, and a range of 2,000 steps, though a normal range of 1,500 steps was easily achieved. It was a truly powerful weapon in siege warfare.
Seeing that winter had arrived and the food in Dingbian was no longer enough to feed the current soldiers, Zhao Hong decided to send troops to attack Shangjun.
At this time, Shangjun was facing the same dilemma.
Yan Ruxiang decided to send troops to attack Yanzhou.
Bi Fujian and Kou Xun have already left Shangjun. As for the military force of Shangjun, there are only 170,000 people capable of fighting.
Zhao Qin was worried that if all these people left, the city would be empty. If someone came to attack the city, it would be a dead end.
"King Qin, please leave General Qian behind this time. I will lead the existing Qin army to attack Yanzhou. With our current weapons and equipment, it will be no problem for us to capture Yanzhou."
After Yan Ruxiang knew Zhao Qin's concerns, he decided to let Qian Dazhuang's 50,000 people stay in Shangjun.
After all, this army has never cooperated with me, and it is a border army of the imperial court, so I may not be able to command it.
"General Yan, I feel relieved when you say that. I wish you a successful battle this time." Zhao Qin said.
Seeing Zhao Qin's attitude, Qian Dazhuang couldn't help but despise him.
After going to Yanzhou, they will continue to fight with Chang'an. He knows very well how many troops are there.