Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

(The person who hand-made the generator in the previous chapter was observer Yan Huidong; this has now been corrected.)

Eight days later, Jin Shenghuan led an army of 50,000 across the Xinjiang River and arrived at the city of Qianshan.

The drone flew high into the sky from Qianshan City, looking down at the vast and boundless army of 50,000.

"How's it going?" Zhou Lei leaned closer to look at the tablet and asked, "Can you pinpoint Jin Shenghuan's location?"

Yan Huidong pointed to the tablet and said, "Here, here... and this spot, could all be General Jin Shenghuan. Even if it's not Jin Shenghuan, they should be important officers. We need to find an auspicious day to take them all out."

Zhou Lei asked curiously, "You still had grenades? Didn't you throw them all away?"

Yan Huidong shook his head: "Hand grenades don't last long. We ran out of them during the last defense of Xinzhou. But I heard that Huang Longkun has managed to get some nitroglycerin, which can be made into gelatinous explosives. I'll have him send some over later."

Zhou Lei laughed and said, "Huang Longkun only produced some experimental samples, which he treated like treasures. Apart from the captain, no one else wanted them."

Yan Huidong said, "Have you forgotten the two generators I sent him? They weren't given away for free. I told him I wanted ten kilograms of his gelatinous explosives."

Zhou Lei asked, "He agreed to give it to me?"

Yan Huidong said, "How could I refuse? Besides the generator, I also specially made an electric arc generator for him. He can't do without this thing if he wants to make nitric acid more conveniently, so this is a deal between us."

Zhou Lei said enviously, "You guys have it so good! You have time to study your own profession. Unlike me, I have to train soldiers during the day and supervise them learning to read at night. It's tough!"

Han Demin was in charge of logistics and civil affairs in Qianshan City, but Zhou Lei was the overall person in charge. Through the Zheng family army and the Xingfu army, Qianshan City was transformed into a military fortress, with more soldiers than civilians in the city.

In Qianshan City, military affairs are of paramount importance. In order to gain an advantage in the upcoming battles, Zhou Lei has been working non-stop day and night, never daring to relax for a moment.

Seeing the enemy's 50,000 troops approaching the city, Zhou Lei breathed a sigh of relief. After all the effort he had put in, he could finally see how it would go.

Seeing Zhou Lei complain about how hard he was working, Yan Huidong, still staring at his tablet, said, "You have to do everything yourself. How can you not be tired? Have you forgotten how Zhuge Liang died? He died from overwork!"

Zhou Lei smiled wryly and said, "I know that, but I don't dare to change the personnel and systems that the captain has decided. I'm afraid that if I do, problems will arise."

Previously, under Li Chengming's leadership, there was no need to worry about other miscellaneous matters; all that was needed was to carry out the orders given by Li Chengming.

But when it came to actually managing a city, Zhou Lei finally understood what it meant to "look at others carrying loads without feeling the strain, but when you carry the load yourself, it breaks your back."

Being in charge of military affairs is not just about commanding battles, but also about taking care of every soldier's basic needs, from food and drink to their toileting, which involves all sorts of things, big and small, that can be quite a nuisance.

Zhou Lei believed he lacked the ability to judge people and dared not easily delegate authority, so he could only exhaust himself.

......

Outside Qianshan City, in an inconspicuous tent by the Xinjiang River, Jin Shenghuan listened to his subordinates' report and chuckled contemptuously: "A small city like Qianshan and Ehu Town actually defeated Zheng Zhilong's army of over ten thousand. I wonder if the Xingfu Army is too strong, or if Zheng Zhilong is too incompetent. Today, I'll come and meet this Xingfu Army!"

Wang Deren, a military officer standing to the side, said, "General, should we divide our forces to attack and capture Goose Lake Town?"

Jin Shenghuan waved his hand and said, "No need. If the Xingfu Army is easily defeated, Qianshan City can be captured in less than two days. After capturing Qianshan County, we can take Ehu Town and then head straight for Xinzhou Prefecture. There is naturally no need to divide our troops!"

If the Restoration Army has any real skill, they can hold out in Qianshan City for a while. Then, Ehu Town and Xinzhou City will naturally send troops to reinforce them. At that time, we can simply besiege the city and attack the reinforcements!

No sooner had Jin Shenghuan finished speaking than Lieutenant General Wang Deren, with a fawning expression, flattered him, saying, "General, you are truly exceptional; I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"

Jin Shenghuan nodded in satisfaction, finding Wang Deren's words extremely agreeable.

Wang Deren was originally a subordinate of Wang Tizhong, who was originally a general under Li Zicheng. After Li Zicheng disappeared at Jiugong Mountain, Wang Deren surrendered to the Qing Dynasty along with Wang Tizhong.

Later, Wang Tizhong had a conflict with Jin Shenghuan, who was also a surrendered general. Wang Deren secretly betrayed Wang Tizhong and colluded with Jin Shenghuan to lure and kill Wang Tizhong.

From then on, Wang Deren became a loyal dog of Jin Shenghuan. According to the course of history, two years later, Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren, dissatisfied with their low official positions, rebelled against the Qing and sought to restore the Ming. In the end, they were both surrounded and killed by the Qing army in Nanchang.

Regardless of what happens in the future, Jin Shenghuan is currently at the height of his power, having absorbed the former Wang Tizhong's forces and now commanding an army of over 100,000. Wang Deren's flattery gives him a sense of satisfaction in completely crushing his mortal enemy, Wang Tizhong.

As for the Restoration Army, Jin Shenghuan could not be said to have disregarded it. Before the battle, he sent out a large number of spies to gather information. Although they could not obtain detailed information, they knew the approximate troop distribution of the Restoration Army.

The Xingfu Army only had a little over 10,000 men, and they were stationed in four different places. There were less than 5,000 men in Qianshan County. If they couldn't even take down the small city of Qianshan, Jin Shenghuan felt he should just die under the city walls.

With Jin Shenghuan's order, 50,000 troops surrounded Qianshan City on three sides, leaving only an opening on the east side.

Jin Shenghuan's strategy of surrounding the city on three sides and leaving one side open was tantamount to telling the Restoration Army: If you have the ability, you can abandon the city and break out from the east, or request reinforcements to enter the city from the east. Of course, whether you will be intercepted or whether you will be besieged and attacked by reinforcements depends on your ability.

Upon seeing Jin Shenghuan's troop deployment, Yan Huidong smiled and said, "This Jin Shenghuan is quite something. He's surrounded three sides and left one open. He's got his hands on our Qianshan City."

Zhou Lei shook his head and said, "Let's just play the coward for a while, fire a couple of shots every day when we have nothing to do, and wear down this traitor Jin Shenghuan. If we want to completely defeat this army of 50,000, we'll have to wait for the captain to take action."

When Li Chengming was mentioned, Yan Huidong said admiringly, "We can't learn the tactics that the captain used to lead a thousand men to kill an army of tens of thousands. If we want to annihilate these fifty thousand men, the captain has to take action."

In the last expedition, Li Chengming first broke through Ehu Town, then took Qianshan City, and then captured Ehu Town a second time. He then rushed to Xinzhou City from a distance of 100 miles away and used 1,500 troops to break through 10,000 Zheng troops. Li Chengming's actions not only shocked the world, but also made the assault team members completely admire his command and combat capabilities.

In retrospect, the seven assault team members realized that they could not have done it so cleanly and efficiently. It was not impossible to win with fewer troops, but no one except Li Chengming could have done it repeatedly with low casualties.

Zhou Lei held up his binoculars and looked at Jin Shenghuan's army outside the city, saying, "Why is he the captain and we aren't? If we had each gone out on our own from the beginning, I estimate that even if the others joined forces, they might not have been able to defeat the captain."

"Hmm... Jin Shenghuan's troop deployment is about the same level as Zheng's army, so his combat strength is probably no stronger than Zheng's army."

Yan Huidong said, "Even if we go it alone, we can only rely on other forces to develop slowly. The captain knows history well; we definitely can't outdevelop him..."

Jin Shenghuan is cunning indeed. I found five tents that resembled his, but I'm not sure if they belonged to him. It seems he's also heard that our Restoration Army has a big bird.

Having sent out so many spies to gather information, Jin Shenghuan had already learned quite a bit about the strange bird's deeds. Adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," Jin Shenghuan subconsciously concealed himself.

Cherishing one's life is Jin Shenghuan's instinctive reaction.