1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3894

Upon meeting Ding Baoguo, Zhao Mingyu didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Lord Ding, do you have any way to deal with the Haihan flying object that flew into the city earlier?"

Ding Baoguo feigned composure and said, "Lord Zhao, are you referring to that thing in the sky? I believe it's nothing more than a strange and ingenious trick of the Haihan people. It won't be so easy for them to use it to conquer Nanchang! I have already ordered my men to be on high alert. If they come again, I will make sure they don't return!"

Zhao Mingyu said with deep concern, "Lord Ding, are you aware that this thing scattered thousands of leaflets urging surrender throughout the city, and even blew up the Desheng Gate tower before leaving? Now the city is buzzing with discussion about it, and the morale of the army must be greatly affected. If we don't have a countermeasure, the enemy only needs to fly over Nanchang every day, and that will be enough to demoralize our troops!"

Ding Baoguo said, "Lord Zhao, this battle hasn't even officially started yet, and you've already backed down by more than half. If that's the case, why did you come back to Nanchang City after you finished talking with the Haihan people a few days ago?"

Zhao Mingyu could certainly sense the hostility in Ding Baoguo's words, but his purpose in coming to the Military Command today was not to turn against Ding Baoguo. He suppressed his anger and said, "As a subject of the Ming Dynasty, I, Zhao, should be loyal to the country. I have long been determined to live and die with Nanchang City. How could I desert my post!"

Zhao Mingyu's righteous and stern rebuttal left Ding Baoguo speechless for a moment. He also needed to get more information about the Haihan army from Zhao Mingyu, so he had no choice but to change the subject and ask, "Lord Zhao, you went out of the city to negotiate and ate and lived with the Haihan army. I wonder if you saw this flying object?"

Zhao Mingyu said, "The place I went to was a temporary command post set up by the Haihan Army. Although there were many people coming and going, I had never seen that strangely shaped flying object. I would also like to ask Lord Ding, did the Haihan Army use this thing when they attacked various places in Jiangxi before?"

Ding Baoguo shook his head and said, "I had never heard of this before, which is why it caught us off guard."

Zhao Mingyu nodded and said, "In that case, that flying object must be a secret weapon they specifically used to deal with Nanchang City!"

Zhao Mingyu's assessment was not good news for Ding Baoguo. The fact that the Haihan Army had brought out secret weapons that had never been seen on the battlefield before could only mean that they were determined to take Nanchang.

Zhao Mingyu then pressed on, "If the Haihan Army outside the city uses this flying object as a vanguard to destroy the city's fortifications, how does Lord Ding plan to respond?"

Ding Baoguo also put away his mocking thoughts about Zhao Mingyu and replied with a solemn expression: "Since the Haihan Army only dispatched one flying object, this thing must be extremely rare over there. It must take a lot of effort to dispatch it, or consume a lot of resources and money. Otherwise, they could just dispatch a hundred or so, blow up a section of the city wall and a city gate, and then they could break through the city in one fell swoop?"

"Therefore, I believe that whether it is scattering leaflets to persuade surrender or dropping explosives, the purpose is to intimidate rather than to break into the city. Moreover, the fact that this flying object flies extremely high and moves very slowly, and dares not land at low altitudes, indicates that it is not indestructible. Due to its size, it must be able to carry only a few soldiers, and even if it were to land in the city by chance, it would be difficult to achieve anything."

"From this perspective, the actual damage caused by this flying object is quite limited. As long as we hold the city's defenses, strengthen patrols and lookouts, and repair the damage in a timely manner, this thing is not a cause for concern!"

Ding Baoguo's analysis was reasonable and well-founded, and Zhao Mingyu nodded repeatedly in agreement with his views.

After Ding Baoguo finished speaking, Zhao Mingyu added, "Lord Ding overlooked one of the functions of this flying object, which is that it can scout the city's defense deployment from a high altitude. This may be one of the reasons why it chooses to fly over the city during the day."

Ding Baoguo said, "If we can't shoot down this flying object, we'll have to find other ways to deal with it. For example, we can increase the proportion of troops on standby in the city, and adjust the city's defenses after nightfall. In short, we should try to prevent the Haihan Army from accurately grasping the city's defenses." Zhao Mingyu also suggested, "We can also have some troops disguised as civilians and dispersed throughout the city. From the air, they shouldn't be able to tell the difference."

After discussing it, the two actually managed to come up with several solutions, and the severe anxiety they had felt when the incident occurred seemed to have lessened considerably.

More importantly, they both discovered that their past perceptions of each other were seriously flawed, but in reality, the other's abilities were by no means inferior. To be able to serve as the chief civil and military official in a province, one's strategic vision, intellect, willpower, and insight are all beyond the reach of ordinary people. It's just that their past political differences were too great, so the two rarely had the opportunity to have such in-depth exchanges of ideas.

"Lord Ding was right earlier. Although this flying object is somewhat frightening, it is ultimately just a clever trick and will not amount to much!"

"Thanks to Lord Zhao's reminder, I realized there are so many ways to deal with this. Once I draft the measures and issue them, the emotions of the soldiers and civilians in the city will soon be calmed down."

As the two talked, they seemed to develop a mutual respect, and the initially confrontational atmosphere gradually dissipated.

But before the two could finish their mutual flattery, a subordinate came outside and said there was urgent military intelligence to report.

As Zhao Mingyu was the Left Provincial Governor of Jiangxi, Ding Baoguo naturally couldn't ask him to leave, so he ordered his subordinates to immediately go inside and report.

The urgent military intelligence brought bad news. The artillery positions of the Haihan Army in the south of the city seemed to have been set up. The enemy shot a letter of surrender on the city tower of Jinxian Gate with an arrow, and the defenders had very little time to consider it, with a deadline of about an hour.

Ding Baoguo frowned as he finished reading the letter of surrender that his subordinate had brought.

The letter was very blunt, stating that if the defending troops refused to surrender, the Haihan Army outside the city would bombard Nanchang City once the deadline arrived, and the defending troops would be responsible for any property and personnel losses caused.

Zhao Mingyu then read the letter of surrender as well, but he offered a unique perspective: "Lord Ding, don't you find it strange that the letter of surrender from the south and the letter of surrender from the north seem to be about the same thing, and not a unified action?"

Ding Baoguo replied, "It is said that the three armies that attacked Jiangxi were not all commanded by Shi Chengwu. It is likely that the other generals in the Haihan Army were unwilling to give all the credit to Shi Chengwu, so they wanted to seize the credit for capturing the city."

Zhao Mingyu nodded and said, "I see. That explains why there are different letters of persuasion to surrender! By the way, Lord Ding, the deadline mentioned in the letter is fast approaching. What are your plans?"

Ding Baoguo said, "I need to go to Jinxian Gate to see for myself how the Haihan Army is attacking."