Chapter 256: Preparation for War
Ning Chen put down the bowl and chopsticks and said calmly:
"It takes almost half a month to get from the border to Fuzhou City."
"This means that the Grand Master received the news that the Queen was sentenced to death a few days before we captured Fuzhou City."
"Without an edict, he led an army of 100,000 to Fuzhou City without permission. This is enough to prove that he rebelled."
Pan Yucheng asked curiously: "Then why did he only bring an army of 100,000 people?"
Ning Chen smiled and said: "Because when he led the army to set off, he didn't know that we had captured Yuzhou City."
"One hundred thousand troops, plus Zuo Xiang's 20,000 troops, a total of 120,000 troops. Plus Fuzhou City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, which is enough to stop Daxuan's army."
"Taking ten thousand steps back, even if they can't be stopped, they can still retreat to the border... The 100,000 troops left behind will be his retreat."
Pan Yucheng nodded slightly.
"The Grand Master should already know the situation in Yuzhou City by now."
Ning Chen hummed, "We have scouts, and so does the Grand Master."
"Then what do we do now?"
Ning Chen smiled and said: "The soldiers will block it, and the water will cover it with earth."
"Zhuzhou City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We have more than 30,000 people. As long as we don't fight hard, we should be able to hold on for a while."
"In the memorial sent to the capital a few days ago, I have explained the situation to His Majesty and asked him to mobilize troops to support... But until the reinforcements arrive, we can only rely on us."
After Ning Chen finished speaking, he frowned and said worriedly:
"The only thing I'm worried about now is that the Grand Master knows that we have captured Yuzhou City and will mobilize the remaining 100,000 troops."
"With an army of 100,000, we can still hold on for a while... If we have an army of 200,000, I'm afraid Fuzhou City won't be able to defend it for a few days."
Pan Yucheng said in a deep voice: "How long do you think it will take for reinforcements to arrive?"
Ning Chen thought for a moment, "One month, one month at the latest."
Pan Yucheng smiled bitterly, "If the Grand Master really mobilizes the remaining 100,000 troops and 200,000 troops, can we last for a month?"
Ning Chen said word by word: "You must hold on even if you can't hold on, even if you fight to the last person... You can't lose the city of Yuzhou, otherwise Daxuan will be in danger!"
Ning Chen looked at Lei An, "How long will it take for the Grand Master's army to arrive at Fuzhou City?"
Leian said: "Three days at most."
Ning Chen pondered for a moment and said, "We still have time to prepare."
"Lei An, go and inform Yuan Long. Prepare to roll the rocks and drop the wood tung oil. All the people from the Musket Battalion will support me."
"Old Pan, go and notify Mu Anbang and ask him to lead his army into the city and prepare to meet the enemy."
Lei An and Pan Yucheng took the order and were about to leave when Ning Chen called out to Lei An again.
"Send someone to inform Yuan Long that I have another task for you."
"yes!"
Lei An ran out, ordered someone to notify Yuan Long, and then ran back again.
Ning Chen said in a deep voice: "Send people to control all the private artillery rooms in the city. I need gunpowder. The more the better."
"Tell those private gun room owners that we will pay them money afterwards...and ask them to make gunpowder urgently. How much should we buy?"
"In addition, get me tarpaulins, hemp ropes, and smaller wooden barrels from the baggage camp...as many as you can."
"After everything is ready, send it to the Governor's Mansion immediately without any delay... Also, have the people from the Musket Battalion on standby at any time."
Leian leaned over and said, "Yes, General Mo will do it now."
After Lei An left, Ning Chen smiled bitterly.
Two thousand muskets can't stop the grand master's army of one hundred thousand, maybe two hundred thousand.
It would be nice if there were artillery.
Unfortunately, the artillery has not been built yet.
Even if it was built, it would be too late to transport it from the capital to Fuzhou.
Therefore, Ning Chen thought of something that was easy to make and extremely lethal... an explosive pack.
...
In the afternoon, Leian brought a large amount of gunpowder, tarpaulin, hemp rope, wooden barrels and the like.
Ning Chen transferred people from the firearms camp.
Then teach them how to make explosive bags.
This stuff is easy to make.
Loose powder simply burns, but compacted powder explodes.
Use tarpaulin on the inside and linen on the outside. Wrap the gunpowder, press it tightly, and then tie it tightly with hemp rope, leaving only the lead.
The same operation is done for wooden barrels. The outside of the barrel is hooped with an iron ring, the inside is filled with gunpowder, the lid is sealed, and the lead is left...it is a gunpowder barrel.
The prepared explosive bags and gunpowder barrels were immediately sent to the North City Gate.
Before I knew it, it was getting dark.
Ning Chen was very curious, why has no one in this world made such a simple and easy-to-make explosive bag?
Maybe they don't have this concept in their minds and think that gunpowder can only be used to make firecrackers and fireworks, right?
Just like in the previous life, China developed gunpowder, but it became a weapon used by Western powers to burn, kill and loot.
Ning Chen was thinking about it when suddenly a bright light made him turn around subconsciously.
With just one glance, Ning Chen's head buzzed, and he was frightened.
A soldier from the musket battalion actually lit a torch.
Ning Chen was like a cheetah, rushing over with a few steps and kicking the soldier and the torch away.
Then rush over immediately and stamp out the torch.
"Are you looking for fucking death?"
Ning Chen pointed at the soldier lying on the ground and roared.
The soldier was so frightened that he quickly got up and clutched his stomach, fell to his knees and said tremblingly: "General Ning, I...it was too dark, I was busy and forgot...General, please spare my life, General, please spare your life..."
"You idiot, you want to blow us all to death, right? How did you get into the Firearms Camp? How did Yuan Long teach you? You have no common sense at all."
Ning Chen was almost mad.
The yard was full of gunpowder, and a spark could make everyone present die.
"Take this idiot away, give him thirty canes, and never enter the Firearms Camp again."
The soldier was dragged away.
Ning Chen was still furious, "How could there be such an idiot in the Firearms Camp? A spark could raze the governor's mansion to the ground and make all of us die."
"I allow you to die on the battlefield, but I will never allow you to die because of the stupidity of your own people."
The soldiers of the Firearms Camp were all frightened, they were all scared just now.
As a member of the Firearms Camp, the first lesson is that you must never see fire where there is gunpowder.
"If anyone does something stupid again, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Come here, surround this place...no sparks are allowed within a hundred meters."
Ning Chen gave the order and had people surround the area.
Even so, he was still worried, so he sent a few supervisors...to prevent someone from getting confused while working and doing stupid things again.
After making the arrangements, Ning Chen left quickly.
Good guy, it's so fucking scary.
Ning Chen came to the north gate.
The soldiers were transporting rolling stones and fallen wood to the city wall.
Ning Chen found Yuan Long, told him about the stupid thing the soldier had done just now, and scolded Yuan Long.
Yuan Long was scolded so much that he couldn't even lift his head.
"How do you lead the troops... If I didn't need them now, I would punish you too."
Ning Chen had scolded enough and finally got down to business: "Remember, all the explosive packs and gunpowder barrels must be stored separately and heavily guarded."
"Tung oil should also be stored separately... The more rolling stones and falling wood, the better."