Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Shi Fu was furious when he learned that the garrison in Ehu Town had been defeated and that Qianshan County had been occupied by the Restoration Army!

Shi Fu roared, "How dare Li Chengming! A mere four or five thousand soldiers, running rampant right under my nose! Useless idiots! All of them are useless idiots!"

His officers and soldiers were terrified and dared not utter a sound!

Zhang Zhongliang, the garrison commander of Ehu Town, who had abandoned his men and fled alone, dared not utter a sound.

"You!" Shi Fu pointed at Zhang Zhongliang and shouted, "It's all because of your incompetence! If you had held Ehu Town, or even just two more hours, we wouldn't have been completely defeated by the rebels, and Qianshan City wouldn't have fallen!"

Shi Fu grew angrier with each curse, finally shouting, "Drag this man out and behead him, as a warning to others!"

"I'm innocent!" Zhang Zhongliang kowtowed repeatedly. "General Shi, I'm innocent! It's not that my Zheng army is incompetent, it's just that the Xingfu Army is too cunning! Their firearms are too sharp, truly beyond human resistance!"

Shi Fu remained unmoved, and no one stood up to plead for Zhang Zhongliang. If Zhang Zhongliang didn't take the blame, who else would?

Two soldiers came in and dragged Zhang Zhongliang outside. Even after he was dragged outside, his cries could still be heard: "General, spare me! General, spare me! Ah..."

Zhang Zhongliang's voice abruptly stopped; it seemed he had been beheaded.

Only after beheading Zhang Zhongliang did Shi Fu's anger subside slightly.

Shi Fu said to a sergeant, "General Chen, you're in charge of the firearms unit. Have you seen the two cannons that Commander Zhou salvaged from the Qianshan River?"

Lieutenant General Chen stepped forward and replied, "This humble general has inspected them. These two cannons are entirely black, exquisitely crafted from fine steel, and shaped like smooth, slender cylinders. They have a longer range and greater power than the Hongyi cannons, yet are much lighter!"

Upon hearing what Lieutenant General Chen said, some people below began to discuss:

"The entire cannon is made of high-quality steel? How is that possible!"

"I've only ever heard of cannons being made from pig iron and bronze, never from fine steel!"

"The Restoration Army has even mastered the method of making cannons from high-quality steel; no wonder their guns are so formidable!"

As Shi Fu listened to his subordinates' discussions, his expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He could shift the blame for the defeat and loss of Qianshan County onto Zhang Zhongliang.

But in Fuzhou, who will be blamed for the defeat?

Is it all Zhang Zhongliang's fault for failing to stop the Restoration Army?

Is it because the garrison in Qianshan County was incompetent?

Is it because the enemy's artillery is superior?

But wasn't all of this Shi Fu's own arrangement and plan?

Shi Fu has already lost Xinzhou Prefecture, and now he has also lost Qianshan County, leaving Fenshui Pass as an isolated pass. Zheng Zhilong's sentence of immediate execution would be too lenient!

Shi Fu was a competent general. Although he had no outstanding qualities, he was competent and did not act rashly out of momentary anger, even attempting to launch an attack to retake Qianshan City.

But Shi Fu was at a loss as to what to do next.

Just as Shi Fu was in a dilemma, the supervising officer Zheng Zhibiao stepped forward and said, "Since the enemy's firearms are so powerful, the defeat is not entirely our army's fault."

Fortunately, Commander Zhou was clear-headed and did not make any rash moves to try to retake Qianshan City. Instead, he returned to Ehu Town, gathered the defeated and deserting soldiers, and rebuilt the defense line!

Next, General Shi and I will write a letter to Duke Pingguo (Zheng Zhilong) so that he can make a decision, and then we will make further plans!

Shi Fu glanced gratefully at Zheng Zhibiao. If Zheng Zhibiao had spoken up for him, even if he was punished, he wouldn't have been arrested and imprisoned!

The last defeat at Xinzhou City was prevented from being substantively punished by Zheng Zhilong because Zheng Zhibiao spoke up for Shi Fu.

Zheng Zhibiao was a sensible man. Although he was a member of the Zheng family, he and Shi Fu were in the same boat in Fenshuiguan.

He was involved in some of the decisions, so if Shi Fu were to be punished, he wouldn't be able to escape responsibility. Therefore, he could only try to shift the blame to others.

......

After leaving Qianshan City, Zheng Jun's reinforcements did not retreat directly to Fenshui Pass. Instead, they gathered up the defeated and deserting soldiers of Zheng Jun and returned to Ehu Town to rebuild the defense line.

Zhou Xiaobing, the commander of the reinforcements, was also appointed as the garrison commander of Ehu Town.

Li Chengming was also quite troubled when he learned of this. Did he have to attack Ehu Town again?

Moreover, it seems that Zhou Xiaobing, the commander of this Zheng army, is even more troublesome than Zhang Zhongliang, the previous garrison commander of Ehu Town.

This man is pragmatic, quick-witted, and knows how to adapt to changing circumstances. If the Restoration Army were to attack Ehu Town now, it would be no easier than before.

Ultimately, the Restoration Army was simply too small in number.

If we could have left 2,000 troops in Ehu Town, this awkward situation wouldn't have happened.

Shaking his head, Li Chengming didn't think too much about it. He first selected about five hundred people from Zheng Jun's prisoners to replenish the troops lost by the Xingfu Army in this battle.

Then the four thousand soldiers of the Xingfu Army defended the city and rested and trained in Qianshan City.

Once the recruitment and training of soldiers in Xinzhou City is completed, troops will be dispatched from both sides simultaneously to completely annihilate the garrison in Ehu Town!

"Captain!" Yan Huidong came in to report: "The two cannons that were stuck in the Qianshan River and couldn't be retrieved in time have been salvaged."

Li Chengming: "Zheng Junqian's?"

Yan Huidong said with a wry smile, "It can only be them. These two cannons were not found in Ehu Town, so they may have been transported to Fenshuiguan."

Li Chengming thought for a moment: "It's alright. Even if they get these two new cannons, they won't be able to replicate them, and they might not even be able to use them properly. Two cannons won't enhance their strength!"

Li Chengming still believed in Liang Zicheng's abilities. According to Liang Zicheng, no one in this era except him could directly smelt steel, so they couldn't forge steel cannons.

Yan Huidong seemed to remember something and said, "There are still six new cannons in Qianshan City, but they've run out of shells... this..."

Li Chengming was prepared and said to Yan Huidong, "Take some men back to Xinzhou City tomorrow. I have already asked Liangzicheng to prepare the shells. You can transport these shells back at night. I will send someone to meet you at the Qianshan River."

Yan Huidong has drones, which can easily bypass Zheng Jun's outposts and sentries, and transporting a batch of artillery shells is not a problem.

Yan Huidong nodded, accepted the order, and left.

Xinzhou City...

These days, Liang Zicheng has been staying in Fenglingtou Town, working on his steel plant. Zhang Xiyan is in charge of recruiting soldiers, while Huang Longkun and Song Yourong are in charge of training them.

Huang Longkun was originally in charge of gunpowder manufacturing, while Song Yourong was focused on cultivating and refining penicillin. Neither of them wanted to be in charge of training soldiers.

After learning that the Xingfu Army had successfully captured Qianshan City, Huang Longkun and Song Yourong wanted Li Chengming to transfer two of his comrades back to train troops.

Annoyed by the calls, Li Chengming ordered He Mingqiu to return to Xinzhou City to oversee the military training!

Two days later, Yan Huidong successfully delivered the shells to Qianshan City.

Five days later, Han Demin could no longer bear the days when no one spoke to him. He agreed to help Li Chengming manage the civil affairs of Qianshan City and restore order and people's livelihood, but he would not serve the Xingfu Army.

Li Chengming nodded in agreement: "As a newly surrendered person, you still need to go through a probationary period before you can serve the Restoration Army."

Twenty days later, news came from Xinzhou City: the first batch of two thousand men recruited had initially formed combat capability, and at the same time, the second batch of eight cannons from the steel mill had been completed and were ready to be deployed to Ehu Town at any time!

......

In Fujian, Zheng Zhilong was furious when he received the battle reports from Shi Fu and Zheng Zhibiao. He cursed, "Shi Fu is incompetent! Zheng Zhibiao is incompetent too! These traitors of the Restoration Army have gone too far! That Li Chengming, I will not be able to quell my hatred until he is torn to pieces!"

After the scolding, the problem still needs to be solved.

After discussing with his advisors for a long time, Zheng Zhilong decided that they could no longer afford to engage in small-scale skirmishes. So he ordered his younger brother Zheng Hongkui, who was stationed at Xianxia Pass, to send troops directly to Xinzhou Prefecture to destroy the Xingfu Army's stronghold and solve the problem once and for all!