Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Xiao Gongchen led 10,000 Zheng troops from Xianxia Pass, passing through Jiangshan in Quzhou, Erdu Pass, Guangfeng County, and finally arriving at the city of Xinzhou.

Although the journey was only a little over 100 kilometers, it involved crossing towering mountains and mostly taking mountain paths and trails. So, it took Zheng Jun four whole days to travel this 100-kilometer journey!

Of course, Xiao Gongchen's steady personality also played a role.

Upon arriving near Xinzhou Prefecture, Xiao Gongchen did not immediately besiege the city or station his army at its gates. Instead, he first sent out scouts to gather intelligence and dispatched men to the nearby mountains and forests to cut down large trees and make siege weapons.

Xiao Gongchen, accompanied by several attendants, arrived at a place not far from Xinzhou City. Gazing at the city walls, he said to his adjutant, "The surrounding area is fortified with scorched earth measures, and the city's defenses are tight. I heard that the bandit leader Li Chengming is not in Xinzhou City. I wonder who is currently in command of Xinzhou City?"

The adjutant replied, "This band of rebels calls themselves the Restoration Army. We know very little about them, except that they came from Hubei and we have heard that they have eight leaders, but we only know that the leader is named Li Chengming."

After Li Chengming led his troops to capture Qianshan County, he remained there. This time, Shi Fu from Fenshui Pass will also send troops to contain the bandit leader Li Chengming!

Xiao Gongchen nodded and said, "Judging from the intelligence sent by Shi Fu and the various things we've learned, Li Chengming is definitely not a simple person. If Shi Fu can restrain him and allow us to focus all our efforts on capturing Xinzhou Prefecture, that would naturally be a good thing!"

The adjutant asked, "General Xiao, what's next...?"

Xiao Gongchen ordered, "Give the word to the troops to rest and recuperate, and we will attack the city again first thing tomorrow morning!"

The adjutant asked, puzzled, "Then why don't we surround Xinzhou City first?"

Xiao Gongchen gave the adjutant a meaningful look and slowly said, "Why surround it? To prevent the rebel army from escaping the city? Let the rebel army and civilians inside the city escape if they want to. Without Xinzhou City, the rebel army will be no threat!"

The adjutant chuckled and said nothing more.

Xiao Gongchen had long known from intelligence that the Restoration Army was small in number and had to rely on Xinzhou City for development. If the Restoration Army really abandoned the city and fled, Xiao Gongchen would be laughing in his dreams.

Next, Xiao Gongchen's task was to rest and reorganize the army, gather intelligence, and await the arrival of tomorrow.

Besides military intelligence, the scouts sent out by Xiao Gongchen also managed to uncover other important information.

Upon returning to the military camp, a scout came back to report to Xiao Gongchen: "General, there is a place called Fenglingtou Town, about ten miles northwest of Xinzhou City. There is a cannon foundry for the rebel army there. I heard that the rebel army's powerful steel cannons were forged there."

"A cannon foundry?" Xiao Gongchen's expression changed slightly. "Are you sure the enemy's cannons were forged there?"

Xiao Gongchen had also seen the intelligence provided by Shi Fu, which said that the Restoration Army could directly cast cannons from fine steel, which were extremely powerful and accurate. Moreover, these cannons weighed only about a thousand catties, making them very convenient to transport with the army.

If we could learn the secret of how the Xingfu Army used high-quality steel to cast cannons, it would greatly enhance the strength of the Zheng army.

The scout said directly, "It's absolutely true. The bandits were implementing a wicked policy in Fenglingtou Town and were unpopular. When they saw us coming, someone offered to lead the way. According to him, his family was ransacked by the bandits, and he hated them to the bone. So he had been asking around about a workshop that the bandits had built there. He only realized it was a cannon foundry when he saw the bandits carrying cannons out of there."

Xiao Gongchen listened quietly to the scout's report, then suddenly said, "Prepare the horses! This is of utmost importance; I must go myself!"

Xiao Gongchen realized the importance of this matter and decided to make the trip himself.

Liang Zicheng was unaware that his momentary oversight had led to a potential leak of secrets at the steel plant in Fenglingtou Town.

Xiao Gongchen arrived at Fenglingtou Town on horseback with his personal guards and saw the steel plant with his own eyes.

The steel mill occupied a large area, but it was completely deserted. The Xingfu Army who had been guarding it, the prisoners who had been working there, and the craftsmen had all returned to Xinzhou City.

Xiao Gongchen led his men to inspect the area, but apart from a few steel billets that looked somewhat like cannons, they couldn't discern anything special.

Xiao Gongchen and the others he brought were not craftsmen and did not know anything about steelmaking or cannon casting.

When Liang Zicheng led his men out of the steel plant, they were not entirely unprepared. They took all the people they could, as well as the tools and molds they could carry.

But the greatest secret to forging steel cannons lies in refining molten steel, and the greatest secret to refining molten steel is hidden in those few blast furnaces that have already cooled down.

The four complete blast furnaces stood there quietly.

If experienced ironworkers were present, they might actually be able to discern something. If these ironworkers were allowed to work on it for a while longer, it's hard to say they wouldn't discover the secret to smelting steel.

Xiao Gongchen and his men were all seasoned soldiers and naturally couldn't see through the tricks of the trade. They ordered, "Go and ask around the area if there are any blacksmiths, cannon makers, or villagers who have worked here before. Have them come and take a look."

The subordinates accepted the order and left, but after inquiring around, they found no craftsmen and had not heard of any villagers working there.

The craftsmen in the vicinity were all employed by Liangzi City. During this evacuation, the employed craftsmen and their families were taken to Xinzhou City.

As for the casual laborers, they were all prisoners of war. Even the road repairs and mining were done with prisoners of war. Liang Zicheng even complained that there were too many prisoners of war and he couldn't arrange that many jobs.

Xiao Gongchen's men went to inquire, but naturally they couldn't find out anything.

Looking at the four blast furnaces, Xiao Gongchen seemed to be deep in thought. He then instructed, "Take good care of these four furnaces and make sure they are not destroyed. Once I conquer Xinzhou City and capture those craftsmen, I will naturally know how they forged steel cannons."

......

At this time, Yan Huidong also led his cavalry company back to Xinzhou City. Liang Zicheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yan Huidong return.

Liang Zicheng patted Yan Huidong on the shoulder and said, "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know how to fight this battle."

Yan Huidong asked curiously, "Don't you also have small reconnaissance self-destructing drones? Just remove the explosives and you have a reconnaissance aircraft."

Liang Zicheng said, "That one can't fly very high or very far, and the resolution isn't high either. In short, it's not as good as your reconnaissance drone. Plus, your drone can drop grenades, which can be surprisingly useful in crucial moments!"

Yan Huidong said speechlessly, "If I hadn't come back, wouldn't you have fought this war?"

Liang Zicheng chuckled twice but didn't say anything.

Everyone is tacit.

How could the war stop without drones? However, Yan Huidong's return to Xinzhou City at this time was indeed unexpected by Liangzi City.

Not only in Xinzhou City, but also in Qianshan City, the troops were in short supply. Li Chengming needed 2,500 troops to capture Ehu Town, which was more heavily fortified and had more troops than before.

Zhou Lei, who remained in Qianshan City, had only 1,500 troops and had to be ready to deal with the possibility of thousands of troops from Fenhuo Pass attacking the city at any time!

Xinzhou City has 3,000 troops, which is quite a lot compared to other cities. Most importantly, it also has eight new cannons, which are very effective in defending the city.

Therefore, Liang Zicheng felt that Li Chengming needed drones more, and he had never thought that Li Chengming would send Yan Huidong back.

With drones and eight new cannons, Liangzicheng has enough confidence to defend Xinzhou City!

Only by holding Xinzhou City can Captain Li Chengming fight freely, give the Restoration Army tactical options, and achieve the strategy of self-defense and counterattack.