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

……

"Your Highness has urgent military intelligence!"

A trusted soldier handed a letter from the front lines to Lekedehun.

He opened the letter, glanced at it, and immediately frowned.

The appearance of urgent military intelligence at a banquet is certainly not a good thing.

Everyone present could glean something from Lekedehun's subtle expression.

"What's happening at the Baylor front?" Bahana asked on behalf of everyone.

"The rebels attacked us first, and the city of Yanping Prefecture and the county seat of Shunchang fell. Zhao Guozuo sent troops to try to take them back, but the enemy's firearms were exceptionally sharp, resulting in heavy casualties. They were unable to fight any longer and wanted to request reinforcements from the rear."

"Have someone copy this letter, and you can all take a look."

As Lekedehun spoke, he handed the letter to a servant, who immediately picked up a pen and ink and began to copy it.

Before long, everyone present received a copy of the intelligence report from the Fujian front.

"Are the rebels' firearms really as formidable as the documents describe? Prince Gongshun, General Jingnan, you have fought against the rebels. Tell everyone what you think of their firearms?" Hong Chengchou finished reading the intelligence and finally looked at Kong Youde and Chen Tai.

Chen Tai didn't speak; he looked at Kong Youde.

Kong Youde breathed a sigh of relief; he was finally able to tell the truth.

He didn't say anything or explain before because he was afraid the Manchus would suspect that he was making excuses for the defeat, and he would probably die even faster if that happened, so he just kept quiet and suffered in silence.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the enemy's firearms are far more formidable than just the words on paper. The firearms they use are quite different from those we usually use."

"The firearms they used were somewhat similar to muskets, but with a wider stock and a stronger barrel. More importantly, they could load a new round simply by pushing and pulling, and could fire the next shot within two breaths without the need for a matchlock."

"The bullets fired by the rebels' firearms not only traveled faster, but were also far more accurate and powerful than those of the muskets, capable of killing people from 800 paces away."

"When the battle begins, the firing is as dense as a rain of bullets; if you show your head, you're dead. You must stay far away."

These words immediately caused an uproar at the scene.

"What? You can kill someone from 800 paces away? Prince Gongshun must be joking. That distance is comparable to a cannon shot."

"A musket can only fire three or four hundred paces, and even at that distance, it's not guaranteed to kill. To kill someone with a musket, you need to get at least within one hundred and fifty paces."

"At that rate, the enemy's firearms can probably fire for more than 800 paces. No wonder Prince Gongshun lost two battles in a row. With such powerful firearms, how can our army possibly stand against them?"

Hearing the discussion, Kong Youde felt much better.

After the previous two defeats, he was beaten like a drowning dog.

Everyone was blaming him, saying he had given poor command, underestimated the enemy, and so on. He didn't explain, only blurting out that the enemy's firearms were sharp.

But others would just think he was talking nonsense.

However, now that the truth has been revealed, no one will say that he mismanaged the situation or underestimated the enemy.

Now I'm going to tell you the truth. If you ever encounter Li Tian and are defeated, don't blame me for not warning you!

"In addition to that, the enemy also has a type of firearm, which I call the Divine Might Thunderclap."

"That Divine Might Heaven-Shattering Thunder—currently, no one in our army knows what kind of weapon it is or what it looks like. All we know is that it can be concealed within the army, and its range is extremely long, estimated to be two thousand paces!"

"Moreover, the divine might of the thunderbolts doesn't fire in a straight line, but in a curve, allowing it to hit from a low position and easily bypass the city walls to blast its way into the city! It's like a thunderbolt from the heavens!"

"Its power is immense; anyone within a radius of two or three zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) who is hit by it will undoubtedly die."

Kong Youde recounted everything he had seen and heard in the two defeats, and the heavy burden of defeat seemed to be lifted from his shoulders.

His words were like a stone dropped into a still lake, stirring up ripples.

"Divine Might Heaven-Shattering Thunder? It can strike from a high altitude and has immense power? Where did such a weapon come from? I've never heard of it before!"

"With such weapons, even if red-coated cannons were mounted on the city walls, it would be difficult to defend against them."

Seeing the heated discussion below and the growing anxiety among the troops, Lekedehun frowned deeply. He knew he couldn't let the discussion continue, or the morale of the army would be completely shattered.

"Cough cough."

"Quiet down, everyone. It's just a bunch of firearms. Without gunpowder and shells, it's just a pile of scrap metal. There's no need for you to panic."

"The firearms that Prince Gongshun just mentioned, please take note of and show them to us. The enemy can make firearms, and our army can also make them. Once our army has copied them, the enemy's advantage in firearms will be completely wiped out."

Kong Youde gave a bitter smile; "I am incompetent. Both battles were crushing defeats. There were no spoils to be found."

Lekdhun's lips twitched. At this moment, he realized something and felt a little panicked. The enemy's firepower was so sharp that even taking advantage of the chaos to pick up any loose pieces of equipment was impossible.

How powerful would that firepower have to be?

For a moment, he suddenly felt that Kong Youde's defeat was not due to tactics or strategy, but rather to his weaponry.

"Has the Prince Gongshun sent any spies?" Bahana asked at this moment.

The Jurchens were most adept at sending spies. Back when Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, the founders of the Qing Dynasty, had not yet entered the Central Plains, they secretly colluded with Shanxi merchants to transport grain and weapons to the Jurchens and share intelligence.

The Jurchen people of the Later Jin dynasty gradually grew stronger, eventually seizing the opportunity to enter the pass and establish their rule over the world.

Kong Youde gave a wry smile again; "Of course, we've arranged for spies, monks, and refugees to be sent out."

"But without exception, it was completely ineffective. The enemy's weapons workshops were heavily guarded and personnel were strictly controlled. Any spies who made contact were immediately apprehended."

"Money and beauty are useless."

"Moreover, the rebels implemented some kind of military control, and several groups of people went there but never returned, having been forced to farm."

After hearing Kong Youde's words, everyone gained a new understanding of the strength of the rebel army led by Li Tian.

After a long silence, Hong Chengchou finally spoke.

"The enemy's firepower is formidable, but it's impossible for over 100,000 people to be equipped with it. I guess at least 4,000 to 5,000 people are equipped with it, and at most over 10,000."

"In that case, we only need to avoid their Divine Machine Battalion."

"Therefore, I have a bold proposal: withdraw all troops from Fujian and concentrate our forces in Jiangxi and Zhejiang."

"Let the remnants of the Ming dynasty occupy the Fujian region, so that they will have no worries about logistics. Only in this way will the remnants of the Ming dynasty dare to fight against Li Zicheng with peace of mind. They will draw our firepower, and our army will only need to launch a surprise attack from the rear when the two armies are engaged in battle. No matter how sharp his firepower is, he will not be able to withstand the attack from both the front and the rear."

Hong Chengchou proposed a bold strategy.

Everyone was shocked to hear this, and General Babu of Fengguo even stood up and shouted angrily.

"General Hong, according to the laws of our Great Qing Dynasty, abandoning a city is a capital offense, let alone abandoning three prefectures. Who can bear such responsibility?"

The room fell silent upon hearing this, and Hong Chengchou didn't say anything more, since he was just offering a suggestion.

Everyone was discussing the feasibility of this plan, but in the end, only Lekedehun could make the final decision. In the end, everyone's eyes turned to Lekedehun, who was the General Who Pacifies the South and was in charge of all affairs in Jiangnan.

Lekedehun did not dare to make a decision easily, so he discussed the feasibility of the plan with others and wrote a letter to the court. Finally, after receiving Dorgon's support, he decided to implement Hong Chengchou's plan.

Let the Qing army in Fujian withdraw and let the Ming army occupy the territory. Let the Ming army fight Li Tian first. Then they only need to attack Li Tian's rear and pick off the Ming army at the end.

The strategic decision resulted in a transfer order falling into the hands of Zhao Guozuo, the Fujian Provincial Commander. Upon seeing the order, Zhao Guozuo immediately suspected it was fake.

But after looking at it from left to right and then at the messenger, Zhao Guozuo found that there was nothing wrong with the seal and the handwriting. He had no choice but to admit that the transfer order was genuine.

"Withdraw the troops? And no massacres allowed? Is this the General's order? Is this still the Qing army?"