"This is a monocular telescope!" Sun Chuanting introduced to Chen Yongfu, "It can clearly observe things in the distance!"
After finishing speaking, he took a telescope and began to observe the distance outside the city.
At this time, there were actually telescopes, which were brought to the Ming Dynasty by Western missionaries. However, the number was very small. It was normal that local generals like Chen Yongfu had never seen them.
At this time, he heard Sun Chuanting's words and watched Sun Chuanting's movements. He couldn't help but be curious, and quickly imitated Sun Chuanting's actions.
If you don’t know this, you will be shocked when you see it.
Things in the distance seem to suddenly appear in front of you.
Chen Yongfu put down the telescope, then raised it again. After repeating it several times, he couldn't help but said to Sun Chuanting in surprise: "Sir, this is a treasure. Discover the enemy's movements in advance and prepare early. Even when marching in the wild, the possibility of being ambushed by bandits is also small.
It will be greatly reduced!”
"Of course!" Sun Chuanting listened, nodded, then looked at him and said, "Your Majesty has prepared a lot for this battle of Kaifeng. I can tell you clearly that if we hold on to this battle, the entire Ming Dynasty will be destroyed."
The situation will be greatly improved!"
Over the years, the situation has gotten worse year by year.
The rebels outside the pass are invincible, and they are invincible; the bandits inside the pass are causing chaos, and they are suppressing more and more people.
Under this situation, even ordinary people would despair, not to mention a general like Chen Yongfu who could understand the danger of the situation.
Therefore, when he heard Sun Chuanting's words, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.
If someone else had said this, he would have just treated it as a casual remark.
However, Sun Chuanting is different. This guy seems to have no idea how to adapt and say whatever he wants. This can be felt if you spend more time with Sun Chuanting.
Moreover, Sun Chuanting's prestige was very high, which virtually increased the prestige of his words.
At this time, Chen Yongfu heard this and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "How to change the situation?"
Sun Chuanting pointed his finger at his personal guards and said: "The Yongwei camp is expanding its troops, and the Beijing camp should also be reorganized. They will all be equipped with such armor, and the power of the fire guns will also be greatly improved."
The Yongwei Battalion has been fighting in the north and south in recent years, and has gained a great reputation. It's just a pity that the number is too small, and the number of troops is reduced after each battle. It is a bit like the white pole army in the past, which has a tendency to fail.
But no matter what, the most powerful one at this time is the Yongwei Camp.
When Chen Yongfu heard what Sun Chuanting said, saying that the Yongwei camp was expanding its army and would be equipped with these armors from Sun Chuanting's personal guards, his eyes suddenly popped out with a look of disbelief on his face!
Only those who have been on the battlefield know how important armor is!
If the armor is good, the chance of saving one's life is high, and there will be more veterans. And having more veterans is the guarantee of the army's combat effectiveness!
Before, Chen Yongfu knew that those armors were good when he saw them. After these days, he had a better understanding and knew that these armors were even better than he imagined.
Not only is it lightweight, it’s also sturdy!
It was really hard for him to imagine what the scene would be like if all the Brave Guards Battalion wore this kind of armor!
Wearing such armor can virtually increase your courage several times. People who usually dare not fight will dare to fight the enemy bravely and strive for military glory.
Surprised, he suddenly came to his senses and said with some surprise: "Where did the imperial court get so much money?"
If it weren't for Sun Chuanting in front of him, he would have said "this is impossible" directly.
The imperial court is notoriously poor. It can't even pay military salaries. It will take several years to drag out the fighting power of the bandits!
Of course, Sun Chuanting knew that Chen Yongfu's doubts were natural. If he were not in the capital, he would also be doubtful. Therefore, he explained to Chen Yongfu: "Your Majesty has raided a group of corrupt officials. In addition, the cost of this armor is only the amount of the armor you are wearing."
About 30%!”
"Ah!" Chen Yongfu was dumbfounded when he heard this.
He looked down at the armor on his body, then looked up at the armor of Sun Chuanting's personal guard, with a look of disbelief on his face!
Is it really impossible that a low-cost one would be stronger and lighter?
Seeing his look, Sun Chuanting immediately said calmly: "This is science, you don't understand! You just need to know that there is such a thing!"
"???" When Chen Yongfu heard this, a question mark appeared on his forehead. What kind of science? I have never heard of it.
However, Sun Chuanting said so confidently that he stopped asking questions and just remembered the word science in his mind for the first time.
Thinking about the scene when the Yongwei Battalion went into battle, he couldn't help but look forward to it, and at the same time he felt very envious.
While he was thinking about it, he heard Sun Chuanting say to him again: "After this battle, His Majesty has decided to transfer you to the Beijing camp, so perform well!"
When he heard this, Chen Yongfu was immediately overjoyed. Sun Chuanting said it himself, it must not be a lie. Otherwise, it is falsely spreading the holy will, which is a big sin!
Therefore, Chen Yongfu quickly promised that he would try his best to do his job well and live or die with Kaifeng.
On the fourth day, Ye Xie, who had been leaving the area, rushed back without stopping and brought back bad news.
The bandit vanguard has come to Kaifeng!
When Henan Inspector Gao Mingheng heard this, he couldn't help but admire Sun Chuanting's judgment, so he quickly said to Sun Chuanting: "Sir, it's time to withdraw all the people from outside the city into the city and set fire to the unharvested grain!"
But who would have thought that when Sun Chuanting heard this, he shook his head and said, "It's just the vanguard of the bandits!"
Then, he turned to look at Chen Yongfu and issued an order: "You lead a thousand troops and your personal guards to intercept the vanguard of the bandits. If you can win, then attack. If you can't win, slow down the bandits' advance and choose the opportunity."
Return to Kaifeng!"
The meaning of this military order is obvious, it is to harvest more food outside the city.
"General, I obey!" Upon hearing this, Chen Yongfu did not hesitate and immediately accepted the order with clasped fists.
When Gao Mingheng heard this, he was very surprised. This was not in line with Sun Chuanting's original intention. Has he changed his mind?
He was a little worried and quickly advised: "Sir, there are not many troops in the city to begin with. When the bandits come, we have already harvested a lot of food. Why do we still need to send troops out?"
After hearing this, Sun Chuanting pointed to the outside of the city and said: "I have asked people to harvest grain from far and near, and it is best if they can finish it. If they can't finish it, it will be much easier to return to the city. I don't think the thieves will do it.
If you send troops, you will definitely be surprised, and if you hesitate, you can buy more time."
Logically speaking, it is actually irrational to send troops out at this time.
If someone else sends troops out, they may be rushed and killed by bandits who will be the first to perform meritorious deeds.
However, if Sun Chuanting sends troops out, that may not be possible.
………………
The vanguard of the coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai was Gao Yigong, who had been responsible for inquiring about the news before. He led 3,000 troops and came to Kaifeng first.
"Hurry up, hurry up..." Gao Yigong kept urging along the way, "Then Sun Chuanting is a lunatic. He started harvesting the grain before it was ripe. He is really a prodigal man!"
"Even if we can't grab the grain, we must not let Sun Chuanting harvest all the grain, so he must go faster!"
"..."
We had heard before that Sun Chuanting was trying to harvest grain. The same was true, so the bandits decided to head to Kaifeng. One of Gao Yigong's tasks was to try to destroy Sun Chuanting's intention of grabbing grain. Therefore, he was in a hurry along the way.
.
Generally speaking, when an army is marching, it must have scouting horses in front to detect the path. When encountering rivers, they must detect the depth. When encountering woods, they must detect whether there are any ambush. When encountering villages, they must also check out the points. etc.
However, this time, Gao Yigong was in a hurry in order to get to Kaifeng as soon as possible.
Before Tan Ma even reported back, he had already led his men and horses to arrive. Even while Tan Ma was still investigating, he led his men and horses to pass them, so that Tan Ma had to give up and rush to the front of the team.
This kind of thing can be regarded as a taboo among military strategists. For Gao Yigong, who was accustomed to fighting, it was a bit unbelievable that he would make such a mistake.
But in fact, Gao Yigong is used to fighting, so he doesn't know how to fight in a disciplined manner. According to the news, most of the people in Kaifeng city are civilians, and there are no regular troops at all. And around Kaifeng, too
There are no imperial officers and soldiers.
Besides, now Sun Chuanting is busy harvesting grain and then busy defending the city. He has no soldiers, nor does he have the time and energy to ambush!
It was based on this judgment that Gao Yigong led the men and horses on their way in a hurry.
Taking a step back, he has about a thousand cavalry troops, plus two thousand infantry troops, who are the old pawns among the bandits. If there is really an ambush, how many will it take to kill him?
This is simply unrealistic!
That afternoon, when we were about a day away from Feng, there was a forest on both sides of the official road.
Tan Ma went into the forest, but Gao Yigong, who was following closely behind, ignored Tan Ma and continued on his way with his men.
In fact, at this time, Tan Ma was just dealing with it. Subconsciously, he thought that this forest must be the same as before, and there would be no people at all.
"Hurry up, drive a little longer, and have a good rest at night. We will arrive in Kaifeng tomorrow!" Gao Yigong shouted loudly, asking his guards to urge the infantry behind to speed up.
Tomorrow, when Kaifeng is approaching, we can't rush like this. We must have plenty of physical strength, whether it's people or horses, and we can't stretch the team as long as it is now.
If he really wanted to go to Kaifeng City in this state, Sun Chuanting might see the opportunity and go out to fight.
While he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard his bodyguard exclaim loudly: "Godfather, there's something wrong!"
Military generals in the late Ming Dynasty all liked to adopt godsons. The most representative one was Mao Wenlong, who had thousands of godsons. Zhang Xianzhong also adopted godsons, and the most famous one was four.
The same is true for Gao Yigong. His personal guards are related to his own safety, and most of them are godsons whom he usually accepts when he sees good seedlings.
At this time, Gao Yigong was startled when he heard this and quickly turned his head to look.