Under Chongzhen's series of questioning, the military department had to discuss possible ways to retreat from the enemy in front of him and several ministers......

After some controversy and discussion, stimulated by the new measures, the face of the military department Shangshu full of helplessness also regained a trace of self-confidence. Then, facing the throne, Emperor Chongzhen, who looked anxious, replied.

"Your Majesty, the ministers and others have discussed a specific strategy for retreating from the enemy...... Lao Chen believed that with this method, he could not only repel the rebels' attack on the capital, but also inflict heavy losses on the rebels in the battle and achieve some unexpected results......"

Hearing this, Chongzhen hurriedly asked......

"What...... As long as we can repel the rebels' attack on the capital, keep the capital, and keep the dignity of the court and me...... I don't care if I can inflict heavy damage on the rebels or not......"

"I don't want to see the capital of the Ming Dynasty again in my lifetime, and be plagued by soldiers. Otherwise, I would die and I would not have the face to see my ancestors and ancestors......"

The military department Shangshu did not hesitate, and replied directly: "Your Majesty, our method is divided into two steps......

"The first step is to immediately deploy heavy troops to slow down the rebels' attack on the capital. It would be great if we could block the rebels from attacking the capital......"

"The second step is to take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the rebels are attacking the capital and the two provinces of Shanxi are empty, and give the rebels a big drama of 'attacking the east and the west, and smashing the Yellow Dragon', so that the rebels attacking the capital will fall into a dangerous situation where they can't take care of each other at the end......"

Under the explanation of the military department's Shangshu, including Chongzhen, these people who only know how to talk about soldiers on paper. They are all hopeful about this plan. Especially Emperor Chongzhen, anxious face. Once again, the hope of defeating the Tiger and Leopard Army and defeating Wei Zheng was rekindled.

Less than two days. Because everyone is equipped with war horses, the tens of thousands of troops who have reached the semi-mechanized expedition to the north will complete the assembly.

Zhao Yun, the commander of the cavalry, got the forward task as he wished. The commander commanded 10,000 ironclad cavalry to open mountains and break rocks for the main force of the Northern Army and clear the safe passage to the capital.

For the 40,000 Northern Army personally commanded by Wei Zheng, leaving Datong Mansion meant going out of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces and entering the Northern Zhili under the control of the imperial court.

Although after Datong. On the way to the capital, it has become unsafe. However, the imperial court still dispatched a full 50,000 troops to several county towns where the rebels had to attack the capital.

In the eyes of the ministers of the imperial court, the Haw Par Army was equipped with a series of sophisticated firearms, all of which were aimed at supper and defending the city. In siege battles, powerful firearms such as grenades do little to no avail.

In this case, the gap between the imperial army and the rebels. It's going to get smaller and smaller.

In addition, the officers and soldiers were very good at defending the city, and the city wall fortifications were very beneficial to themselves. The Haw Par Army, which has always been invincible, is likely to sink into the sand under the insistence of the official army relying on the city wall......

The first county town in front of the Northern Army. In the past, there would have been a garrison of only a few hundred men at most, dedicated to defending against thieves. Maintain the stability of the county.

But just yesterday. The county town in front of him, whose city wall is no more than a foot high, is directly stationed in 8,000 officers and soldiers. And that's not all. Along with these officers and soldiers, there were more than a dozen red-coated cannons and forty or fifty other command artillery.

As for what other arquebuses, carry guns, rockets...... Firearms, as long as they can bring lethal injuries to the Northern Army, are all equipped.

Faced with the county town heavily defended by the imperial court in front of him, Wei Zheng did not rush to attack......

He was waiting, waiting for the arrival of artillery.

Wei Zheng from later generations, although he didn't look down on the red-clothed cannons that the officials and soldiers were erected at the head of the city and weighed thousands of catties. However, the red-coated cannon has a range of two miles at every turn, and the performance of firing flowering shells still makes Wei Zheng feel a little jealous in his heart.

Looking at the entire Northern Army, there are only 50 heavy cannons that they have drawn from the heavy artillery division, that is, they are improved on the basis of the red-coated cannons, made of new steel, and at least twice as light, which can compete with the red-coated cannons of the official army. Otherwise, the siege soldiers sent by themselves will definitely suffer heavy losses under the attack of the red-coated artillery of the official army.

After a day's wait, fifty cannons, weighing more than 1,500 catties and transported by gun wagons, with barrels as long as five feet, finally entered the field of vision of Wei Zheng and entered the battlefield where a fierce battle was about to break out.

Since Dolgon's second attack on Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, Wei Zheng has never been to the Equipment Division again.

Therefore, for the cannon parked on the official road in front of him, Wei Zheng saw it for the first time.

Look at the cannon in front of you with a caliber of only a hundred millimeters, however, the barrel thickness reaches two centimeters. Wei Zheng couldn't help but show a wry smile in his heart.

Because, in his opinion, if the steel used to build the artillery is qualified, and there is special steel for later generations. The thickness of the barrel of the cannon in front of him can be reduced to at least one-third of what it is now.

The thickness of the barrel becomes smaller, and the weight of the entire gun will be greatly reduced......

However, no matter what, the cannon in front of him is the most powerful artillery of the Haw Par Army at present.

After quickly putting away the slightly messy careful thoughts in his heart, Wei Zheng asked directly to the commander of the heavy artillery regiment in front of him......

"Commander Wang, Ben Shuai wants to know how powerful and how powerful the cannon in front of him is compared to the red-clothed cannon equipped by the officials and soldiers of the imperial court. On the battlefield, can our cannon completely suppress the red-coated artillery of the officers and soldiers and provide artillery cover for the brothers participating in the attack. “

Speaking of business, the regiment commander, who was born in a military household, quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart because of the fact that he saw Wei Zhengzhen. A proud answer.

"Report to the commander, the last general can say with certainty that when it comes to the battlefield, the red-coated cannons equipped by the officers and soldiers will not even have room to fight back in front of our cannons......

"As long as the red-coated cannons equipped by the officers and soldiers have the courage to fire on the battlefield, the last general will have the confidence to blow up the red-coated cannons equipped by the officers and soldiers into a pile of scrap metal, so that they can taste the power of our cannons..."

Hearing this, Wei Zheng asked with an interested face while his heart was settled.

"Are you so sure?"

The regiment commander replied confidently: "Marshal, the red-clothed cannons equipped by the imperial court officials and soldiers are all made of fine iron. We, on the other hand, are made of steel. Since using the steel frying method that you handed over to the Equipment Division, the steel output of the steel mill can already meet the needs of all firearms. ”

"Therefore, in terms of material alone, the cannon barrel is already far superior to the redcoat cannon in terms of hardness." (To be continued......)