With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

"To restore the glory of the Ming Dynasty is our inescapable duty!"

Yan Ying spoke with such passion and fervor that even he himself was moved.

But Li Tian didn't seem to be persuaded.

The glory of the Ming Dynasty is none of his business.

I have 100,000 elite soldiers and an endless supply of Hanyang rifles, why should I work for your Ming Dynasty?

Am I the kind of person who is despicable?

"General Yan, how many troops are still garrisoning Jianning City? Are the provisions sufficient?" Li Tian did not answer, but instead asked other questions, which were rather sensitive.

Yan Ying: "There are still 200,000 soldiers and civilians in Jianning Prefecture, and our food supplies can last for another six months! If the Qing army wants to fight, we will fight them to the very end!"

"General Yan, you're not being honest." Li Tian sneered. The other party thought he was a young man who hadn't entered society yet, and was trying to deceive him right away.

With so many soldiers in the city, why not go out and fight the Qing army in the open? Why are you in such a hurry to offer amnesty to Li Tian?

As for having enough food supplies for half a year, that's just wishful thinking.

Yan Ying's lie was exposed, but she didn't blush or skip a beat; she just laughed it off.

"General Li is indeed a heroic young man with discerning eyes. To be honest, we still have 100,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, and our food supplies can last for three months."

"But our Ming army still has 200,000 troops on its way to reinforce us. I believe they will arrive in Jianning Prefecture soon. At that time, the Qing army will surely collapse without a fight. If General Li had joined our Ming army earlier, with your abilities, you would have been able to achieve unparalleled merit sooner or later, and being ennobled as a marquis or duke would have been within your reach."

Li Tian shook his head without saying a word, found a rock to sit on, and quietly watched the other person boast.

He realized that he didn't believe a single word Yan Ying said.

Although Li Tian did not have the depth of historical research of some historians and knew nothing about the Battle of Jianning Prefecture, he still knew about the rise and fall of some dynasties.

The Ming dynasty was followed by the Qing dynasty, so no matter how much Yan Ying praised them, their demise was inevitable.

Having learned about the Southern Ming Dynasty's history of internal strife, Li Tian was even more certain that the other party was lying.

Will friendly forces help? Are you all that united?

After a brief standoff, Yan Ying, seeing that the young general was unyielding, decided not to continue trying to persuade him.

Why not follow the bright path of surrendering to the imperial court, instead of relying on 100,000 men to become king?

That's ridiculous. War isn't just about having more people.

When you're out in the game, you need both ability and connections!

"Since the young general has no intention, we will not try to persuade him further. However, I would like to remind the young general that the Qing army is formidable in open field battles. With your troops, you may not be able to hold out for more than three days."

Yan Ying bowed and took his leave, his words tinged with contempt. Since he couldn't persuade him, he didn't want to anymore.

With these 100,000 men present, they can draw away a portion of the Qing army's main force, thus reducing the pressure on the city defenders.

If this group is scattered, we can take in some of the able-bodied men and restore some of our strength.

"That Commander is underestimating you." Yu Qiang was indignant when he saw Yan Ying looking down on his boss, and he wished he could slap her twice.

"It's alright." Li Tian didn't care, because he didn't take the other party seriously either. What he was more concerned about now was whether the 100,000 people could have enough to eat today.

"Reporting to the commander, Commander Kong has encountered some trouble and requests your instructions."

A soldier came to the meeting room to report on the situation with Kong Yunfei.

"Commander Kong led his men to Lijiazhai to borrow grain and tools. The chief of Lijiazhai said that we had killed people from their village. Not only did he refuse to lend our army supplies, but he also fired at our army, causing two people to be wounded and one to be seriously wounded."

"Commander Kong requests the order to fire."

"Li Family Village?"

Li Tian's expression was solemn. Anyone who dared to harm his men had to be expelled from Li Family Village!

"Yu Qiang, you continue to organize and build up the base and lead the way."

Li Tian followed the soldiers away from the position and immediately headed to Li Family Village.

Lijiazhai is not far away, about three miles from the military camp. A few hours ago, they arrested two villagers from Lijiazhai to question them.

Normally, knowing that there are 100,000 people watching nearby with predatory eyes, one would either hide in a corner trembling with fear or provoke Li Tian.

Could it be that the other person thinks they have too long a life?

Upon arriving at the Fifth Army's camp, Kong Yunfei was already waiting there, and three wounded soldiers were lying on the ground.

One of them had been shot in the chest and another in the abdomen; a medical professional in the team was performing surgery on him.

"Commander." Kong Yunlong's eyes were filled with anger. If it weren't for military orders, he would have ordered an attack on Li Family Village directly.

Lijiazhai is built on flat land halfway up the mountain, with a wooden and stone wall more than two meters high protecting the village safely.

The terrain is high and easy to defend, making it difficult to attack. Any attempt to force an attack would inevitably come at a heavy price.

Li Tian looked towards the village, where he could vaguely see several figures peering out from the city wall.

"Father, there are more and more of them. Have we gone too far? Should we go out and apologize now?"

Inside the city walls, Li Xiangshan glanced outside the village and anxiously offered advice to his father, Li Zhenyan.

"Hmph, what good are numbers! I see right through them, they're just a bunch of rebels with guns, they don't even have a cannon, not even a suit of armor, what's there to be afraid of!"

Li Zhenyan snorted coldly, clearly not taking the group of people outside seriously.

Not long ago, a platoon from the Fifth Army came to trade with Li Family Village. Li Zhenyan saw that the rebels were few in number and dared to ask to do business without any investment, asking to borrow grain and tools. How could he possibly agree? He immediately ordered his men to fire arrows to drive them away.

"Besides, the third brother has already sent word that the imperial court has dispatched troops to wipe out this group. What if the court holds us accountable after we lend them things?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangshan shuddered. The imperial army was even more terrifying. If he were labeled a traitor, Li Family Village would definitely be slaughtered!

Whenever the Qing army captured a city, they would inevitably massacre the inhabitants!

Those Tartar soldiers don't listen to reason!

"In this chaotic world, you must be careful in everything you do. If you are not careful, your family will be destroyed and your people will die. There is still a lot for you to learn, Xiangshan."

Li Zhenyan gave his eldest son earnest advice, passing on his decades of experience in a practical way.

Li Xiangshan nodded. Old ginger is spicier. At this moment, he saw that the rebels outside the city had made new moves.

"Dad, what are they doing?"

While the father and son were talking, the rebel army outside the city made a move.

Li Tian ordered the soldiers to unload the bullets, collect the gunpowder, and make several explosive charges.

Soon a soldier pushed out a bullet, bit the bullet head, shook it from side to side, and after a while the bullet head was removed, and the uncompressed powder inside was taken out, piece by piece, like black square snowflakes.

The round-nosed bullets of the Hanyang rifle were filled with smokeless powder, which has three times the energy density of black powder!

In a sense, unlimited bullets also mean having unlimited copper-nickel alloy and unlimited smokeless gunpowder.

Smokeless gunpowder would be more than enough to destroy this small city wall.

Li Tian wouldn't waste the disassembled cartridge cases either, as they were a rare copper-nickel alloy.

"Wang Han!" Kong Yunfei shouted, and a soldier stepped forward.

"Your team is responsible for burying the explosive charge under the city walls and detonating it. The rest of you will provide suppressive fire and cover Wang Han's team!"

"Yes, sir! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

Wang Han immediately led his squad members, found some wooden planks to put on their heads, and charged forward with explosives.

Meanwhile, the others began firing freely to provide suppressive fire.

Compared to the muskets of that era, the modern bolt-action fire of the Hanyang Type 88 was simply a game-changer.

What's more, they have unlimited ammo!

The soldiers unleashed a barrage of fire at the city walls, the density of which was astonishing; anyone who dared to peek out was killed.

Terrified, Li Zhenyan and his son scrambled down the city wall.

"Dad! What kind of guns are they using? They shoot so fast! And so powerfully! Even rocks explode when they're hit! Just now, Cat got shot in the head, and his head looks like an exploded watermelon!"

Li Xiangshan was terrified. The incessant gunfire outside the village filled him with fear and anxiety.

Li Zhenyan was panting heavily, but quickly calmed down.

"Look at you, so pathetic! What are you afraid of? Our Li Family Village is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as we hold it, the imperial court will soon send troops to wipe out the rebels!"

However, just as Li Zhenyan finished speaking, a deafening explosion pierced the sky.

Li Zhenyan and his son felt dizzy and rolled several times on the ground before stopping. When they came to their senses and looked at the village gate, their hearts sank.

The village gate was breached, and the enemy troops had already stormed into the village.

It's over, it's over.