Fu Shanhe

Chapter 60: Establishing Trust
"How long has it been since these gunners last practiced?"

On the city gate tower, Li Mu asked in confusion after seeing the "precise hit rate" of the artillery.

The range is only five or six hundred meters, but it can deviate by one hundred or eighty meters.

No matter how large the error of artillery is, it shouldn't be so exaggerated.

It's not a problem with the gun, it's a problem with the people.

"My Lord, I will tell you the truth.

This is our first time firing a cannon. In the past, we only practiced reloading."

The young soldier's excited answer left Li Mu speechless on the spot.

I have seen horses let loose in the mountains, but I have never seen one let loose so thoroughly.

We have never fired live ammunition before, so it is good enough to be able to fire the shells safely, and we certainly cannot expect accuracy.

“Well done, keep working hard and strive to become a qualified artilleryman as soon as possible.

When reloading, be careful not to hurt yourself.

Later, each of you will receive a reward of one tael of silver!"

Li Mu encouraged, suppressing his depression.

It is not the soldiers' responsibility to neglect armaments.

Risking their lives to operate the centuries-old cannon, even if they have no credit, they have worked hard.

The episode ended, and Li Mu's attention was drawn to the actions of the rebels.

The enemy was too stingy. They only fired a few artillery shells but failed to overturn the general's flag, so these guys started to retaliate.

Looking at the rebel troops who launched a hasty charge, Li Mu rubbed his eyes.

The formation was too chaotic, with densely packed soldiers rushing forward in a swarm.

"Pass the order, artillery fire freely!"

Li Mu gave the order on the spot.

The enemy is coming to offer his head, there is no reason for him to refuse.

The roar of artillery fire announced the start of the Battle of Yangzhou.

After charging under artillery fire and paying a heavy price, the rebels finally reached the moat.

Countless soldiers threw sacks filled with soil into the moat in an attempt to fill it up.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Li Mu couldn't help but reveal a sarcastic smile.

Filling up the river is a huge project.

There is no need for vehicles to transport soil and rocks, it all depends on manpower. This work will take a long time.

What's more, the defenders would intercept them. Within just a quarter of an hour of launching the siege, the enemy had suffered hundreds of casualties.

Fighting like this is simply exchanging human lives for gunpowder.

……

"General Huang, the siege equipment has not been built yet, call off the troops immediately!"

Zong Guangtai said tiredly.

He was busy recruiting craftsmen to build siege equipment when the commander-in-chief launched the attack.

If the enemy is caught off guard and a surprise attack is launched at night, there might be hope of success.

It's daytime now and the enemy is already ready for battle.

Without siege equipment, even if we crossed the moat, we could only look at the city wall and sigh.

"Humph!"

"Those government troops actually dared to bombard my camp. If I don't launch a counterattack, it will be a huge blow to morale!"

Huang Renlong said angrily.

This is simply too bullying. He just relies on the advantage of artillery. Once his cannons are delivered, he will definitely give the enemy a good beating.

"General, please be patient for a moment.

The various rebel armies are gathering together. If you suffer heavy losses under the city of Yangzhou, I am afraid it will affect your position in the rebel army!"

Zong Guangtai persuaded helplessly.

Anyone with a little military knowledge knows that a big city like Yangzhou is difficult to capture without the cooperation of the inside line.

At this time, the Five City Army was defending Yangzhou. Their secret forces in the city had been squeezed out of the power center. It was almost impossible to open the city gate from the inside.

If you choose to storm a city, you must be adequately prepared.

The moat in front of us is not so easy to cross.

Whether it is filling a river or building a bridge, a large number of auxiliary tools are needed.

"That's it!
For your sake, sir, let the government troops in the city live a few more days.

When all the rebel forces gather together, I will tear them into pieces to vent my hatred!"

Huang Renlong said viciously.

Although he was shouting loudly, he was actually beating nervously deep down inside.

It is so difficult to capture the city of Yangzhou, so it would not be easy to seize the kingdom of Dayu.

"Mr. Zong, is there any way to quickly expand the number of troops and improve the combat effectiveness of our army?"

When Zong Guangtai heard Huang Renlong's question, he almost vomited blood in anger.

If there really was such a good idea, the Zong family would have used it long ago.

Just to put together the current team, they paid the price of losing their dominance.

But if he refused directly, he would seem too incompetent.

After hesitating for a while, Zong Guangtai said slowly:
“It’s easy to expand the army, the general just needs to send out troops and go out to recruit soldiers.

However, Yangzhou Prefecture had been prepared, and the villages we passed along the way were almost all deserted.

These people either entered the city or hid in the mountains.

Now that we want to recruit soldiers, we can only send people to further places.

As for improving the combat effectiveness of the army, it is nothing more than enforcing strict military discipline, strengthening training, and then fighting a few battles on the battlefield.

Elite soldiers are made through fighting. After conquering more places, the troops under the general's command will naturally become elite."

This perfunctory answer obviously could not satisfy Huang Renlong.

"Thank you for your advice, sir!"

Although he was being polite, deep down in his heart he had already realized that this Mr. Zong was not the Sleeping Dragon who would help him fight for the world.

If you want to achieve hegemony, you may need to find more talented counselors.

……

After the first round of siege, the originally nervous defending soldiers became more confident.

Sure enough, confidence comes from opponents.

The rebels attacked the city with great force, but they didn't even touch the city wall, and left behind hundreds of corpses.

Through practical actions, he told everyone what a mob is.

"Pass the order down, all the soldiers who participated in the battle just now will be rewarded 30 coins each!
Let me tell you, every time you repel a round of enemy attacks, the soldiers involved will receive a reward."

It’s not that Li Mu was stingy, it’s simply that all the enemies died outside the city and the defenders didn’t get a single head, so they couldn’t report to their superiors.

It just so happens that these young and strong men who were recruited all came from the lowest level of society, and they would fall asleep when talking about making achievements.

If you want to motivate everyone, the best way is to give them money.

The amount of money is secondary. The key is to establish his image as a man of his word in the eyes of the public by distributing the money in full.

Only when the credibility is high enough, will people be willing to work hard for you when the time comes.

……

“Sir, the Marquis sent me here to check the situation on the battlefield.

The enemy just launched an attack from this side. I wonder how many casualties there were?"

The man who came was Marquis Wuyang's personal soldier. He had met Li Mu several times before, and the two men were familiar with each other.

"Guard Liu, please tell the Marquis that we are doing fine here.

With the bloody battles of the soldiers, hundreds of enemy soldiers were killed and the first round of the rebels' attack was successfully repelled!"

In order to highlight his contribution, Li Mu deliberately avoided the question.

He knew how to report, but it was difficult to verify his previous military achievement, so he could only make it vague and focus on repelling the enemy.

(End of this chapter)