Li Sicheng squinted his eyes and tried to look into the distance.
Sure enough, the other party had no intention of stopping and continued to move forward.
This is too arrogant, do you think you are the only ones with artillery?
Who are you looking down on!
"Go down with the order, prepare the artillery, prepare the bows and arrows!"
From the top of the city downwards, whether it is artillery or bows and arrows, the range will increase.
If the Ming army continues to advance, it will soon enter the shooting range. If we don't fight now, we will wait until later!
Li Bin immediately began to command, and the defenders on the city wall were busy nervously, aiming their cannons at the incoming enemy. At the same time, the archers began to take up their positions.
The team at the bottom of the city seemed to realize that they were about to enter the range of the opponent's artillery, and finally stopped.
But I saw a man and a horse leaving the team and trotting towards the city gate.
Li Bin felt something was wrong, so he waved his hand to the soldiers to wait for instructions, and then returned to Li Sicheng.
"Father, the other party seems to have something to say."
Li Sicheng waved his hands repeatedly and said: "The Ming people are cunning and must have some conspiracy. My son must not be fooled by them!"
"Father, please don't worry, there is only one person here... No, this person..."
Li Bin looked confused and quickly took out a monocular telescope.
I bought this thing from an Ottoman businessman at a huge price, and I can't bear to take it out on weekdays.
"Father, the person coming seems to be... my second uncle!"
Li Sicheng took the telescope, looked at it, and said in surprise: "He is really the second brother!"
"Father, look..."
Li Sicheng pondered for a moment, and then said: "Open the city gate and let the second brother enter the city!"
"No, Your Majesty!"
Zheng Fu hurriedly stopped him and said, "What if it's a trick of the Ming army..."
Li Sicheng said doubtfully: "The Qing family can go and see for themselves, it is indeed Prince Gong!"
Zheng Fu shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, please think twice. Even if the person coming down from the city is His Highness Prince Gong, now that the Ming army has occupied Qinghua, where did His Highness come from?"
Li Sicheng suddenly realized and said: "You mean, the second brother may have surrendered to the Ming army?"
Zheng Fu's old face turned dark, did I say that?
If the investigation is clear in the future and they are not mutinous, they will not be able to settle accounts with me!
"My veteran is just suggesting that it is better to be more prudent in this situation!"
Li Bin stepped forward and said: "Master Zheng is right, but since my second uncle is here alone, there should be no problem."
Zheng Fu thought for a while and said: "In my opinion, the city gate cannot be opened easily. It is better to lower the hanging basket."
Li Bin thought for a while and asked his second uncle to sit in the hanging basket and pull him up with a rope. It seemed not very honorable.
However, now I don’t have to worry about so much, so the hanging basket is a safe way.
He waved to the guards on the city wall, who signaled and ordered people to put down the hanging basket.
Soon, Prince Gong Li Kechang climbed up the city wall in a hanging basket.
"Brother Royal, Brother Royal!"
As soon as he got out of the hanging basket, he knelt on the ground and burst into tears.
Li Sicheng deliberately kept a distance from him and asked, "My brother got up and asked me, how is Qinghua City now, and how did you escape?"
Li Kechang stood up slowly, wiped his tears and said: "That night, the firepower of the Ming army was too fierce. My brother thought that the gods were coming down to earth to bring anger to Annan, so he was so frightened that he hid in the cellar and did not dare to show his head. Later, a fire broke out in the city. Fortunately, my brother hid in the cellar and escaped. Unexpectedly, as soon as the Ming army entered the city, all the officials who stayed in the city rushed to offer surrender. What's more, in order to claim credit from the Ming army, they took my brother out of the cellar. I found it."
Hearing this, Li Sicheng showed hostility in his eyes and asked: "You were captured? Then why did the Ming army let you go again?"
"My dear brother, I don't know. The Ming army did not let me go. Instead, I asked my brother to rectify the remaining troops and help them attack Thang Long!"
Li Sicheng subconsciously took a step back, and the guards around him quietly stepped forward.
"Chen
I originally planned to die to serve the country, but then I thought, since the Ming army asked my brother to attack Thang Long, which contained two important pieces of information, I pretended to agree in order to pass the information to the emperor brother in time!"
"Oh? What information?"
Li Kechang paused for a moment and then said: "First, since the Ming army's firearms can capture Thanh Hoa, they can also capture Thang Long. They could have taken advantage of the victory and pursued it, but they did not do so and stayed in Thanh Hoa. This is Why?"
At this time, Li Bin said: "They probably have no ammunition. That kind of artillery is so powerful, I guess... the production of ammunition is very cumbersome and expensive, and it is absolutely impossible to use it endlessly!"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right, the Ming army has no ammunition!" Li Kechang continued excitedly, "In this case, no matter how many they have, they will not be able to defeat them quickly. We only need to hold on and the Ming army is in a different place. During the battle, the supply loss is huge, I’m afraid it won’t be able to last for long!”
Li Sicheng nodded and said: "As for the supply of firearms and ammunition to the Ming army, Zheng Qing's family and others also inferred this. You just mentioned two pieces of information, where is the other one?"
"Secondly, regarding the Champa Kingdom, after the new Champa king relied on the Ming army to regain the territory, he did not want the Ming army to continue to penetrate deeper, so he cut off the Ming army's supplies on the grounds of insufficient food and grass. If this army The Ming army will put back the old Champa king, and the Champa court will definitely be in a bloody storm. The Ming army cannot attack Shenglong for a long time, so they will inevitably withdraw. At that time, we can regroup our forces and capture Champa in one fell swoop!"
After listening, Li Sicheng looked happy. He originally thought that Annan was about to perish. Now it seems that as long as he survives this hurdle, the prospects are very optimistic!
There is a saying that the Han people often say, which is called a blessing in disguise, which is roughly what it means.
But the question is, can they withdraw?
Zheng Fu stepped forward and asked: "How can His Highness Prince Gong be so sure that the Ming army will withdraw?"
Li Kechang said: "Before the arrival of the Ming army, His Majesty issued an order to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Most of the food and grass were transferred to Thang Long and Thanh Hoa. Now that the food and grass in Thanh Hoa have been burned to ashes, it is difficult for the Ming army to find enough
How long can they last without supplies?"
Zheng Fu nodded, it makes sense.
Li Kechang continued: "Brother the emperor did not know that the number of Ming troops who raided Qinghua City was very small. After entering the city, they were busy plundering gold and silver and no one was willing to serve as supervisors. I ordered them to organize
With the troops and horses ready, they were easily out of the control of the Ming army. Now all the three thousand men and horses under the city have been returned to the emperor!"
Li Sicheng finally smiled. In the past, three thousand people would not be considered too many, but the current situation is different. Even one more person is useful.
With these three thousand people, it will be easier to defend.
Just...
A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately hesitated.
Li Kechang seemed to have discovered the other party's concerns, and said: "If the emperor is worried, you can order them to put down their weapons when they enter the city."
"Well, this..."
Li Sicheng hesitated a little, whether he could trust these people...