Chapter 470: War Conference

Besides these, everyone also saw another type of war chariot, similar in form to the ones before, but not equipped with cannons — instead carrying a kind of cylindrical device.

It looked very strange, and no one knew what it was; the crowd buzzed with discussion.

Xiong Tingbi heard their talk and understood in his heart that this cylindrical device was actually a hand-cranked rotary machine gun.

And apart from these, there was another kind of cart, pulling nine iron barrels behind it, all pointing skyward, looking very strange.

These iron barrels varied in size and specifications, so even fewer people knew what they were. Some officials even started making private bets about it.

When Xiong Tingbi saw this, his jaw nearly dropped in astonishment. Vehicle-mounted rocket launchers — actually mounted on horse carts?!

These rocket launchers could also be raised and lowered; once loaded, they could fire nine rockets at once. The barrels differed in size because the rockets came in different models — some heavy, some light, with different firing ranges.

All these things were novel; the people of Liaodong had never seen them, and neither had Xiong Tingbi. Xiong Tingbi had only read about them in His Majesty's letters, but he didn't know how these things were supposed to fight.

The infantry behind the convoy were all wearing plate armor as well, which looked quite light and nimble. They carried long arquebuses on their backs — the very long kind; bayonets hung at their waists, and it was clear these men were all musketeers. This force was very strange, leaving onlookers dumbfounded.

Xiong Tingbi felt some worry in his heart. These men's equipment naturally looked excellent, and it must have cost a great deal. But could all this miscellaneous stuff actually fight?

This matter was extremely important — nothing could go wrong. If something did go wrong, what then?

Xiong Tingbi began pondering in his heart what method he could use to keep them in check.

These men were the Imperial Guard Corps, sent by His Majesty himself, so naturally he couldn't leave them sitting on the bench. Otherwise they'd be dissatisfied, and His Majesty would be dissatisfied too.

But if he let them go into battle and fight, and they botched it — then what would Old Xiong do?

If the entire campaign failed, the blame would likely fall on Old Xiong.

So he needed to think of a way to keep these Imperial Guards from finding fault while also not letting them do anything.

Only, this method didn't seem easy to come up with, and Xiong Tingbi had a headache over it.

But Xiong Tingbi wasn't given much time to think, because the column had already come to a halt.

This once again startled the people of Liaodong.

After these Imperial Guards stopped, they actually stood perfectly still in place. The entire army was extremely solemn — no one even raised a finger, just standing there quietly.

If not for the occasional blink, one would think these men were wooden stakes. Even the horses stood motionless in place, only occasionally pawing the ground or snorting.

The entire force made no extraneous movements — it was extremely eerie, sending a chill through the onlookers' hearts.

Xiong Tingbi's eyes lit up instead; he seemed to gain some insight in his heart. These men weren't as useless as they appeared.

You see, in the military, strict discipline was extremely important. Why?

Because it ensured the battle formation held together. On the battlefield, once a formation fell apart or descended into chaos, everything was lost.

And these men before him — setting aside other aspects — their discipline seemed quite good.

From within the ranks, three men rode out on horseback.

All three were young, but all wore armor, giving them a rather dashing bearing.

After riding over, the three dismounted together and came straight to Xiong Tingbi.

Upon seeing Xiong Tingbi, the one in the lead clasped his fists and said, "Sun Chuanting, Commander of the Left Army of the Imperial Guard Command, pays respects to Governor Xiong."

Hearing this, Xiong Tingbi quickly returned the gesture with cupped hands and said, "Commander Sun, no need for formalities."

Commander of the Left Army of the Imperial Guard Command — a fourth-rank military post — naturally didn't hold such high standing before Xiong Tingbi. But Xiong Tingbi didn't dare look down on him; the man was one of the Son of Heaven's own guards, born with a status above others.

It was only that in the past, the Imperial Guard had declined and been trampled underfoot by civil officials. Now they'd turned things around, so naturally their treatment was different.

Besides, Old Xiong was also one of His Majesty's men; if the other party showed him respect, he should show respect in return. A flowered sedan chair is best when everyone helps carry it.

"Commander Sun, please, step inside." Xiong Tingbi smiled and made a gesture of invitation, then turned and walked into Shenyang city.

At the same time, Xiong Tingbi's gaze also swept over the young man on Sun Chuanting's right side. This young man was very tall and burly, with a large saber at his waist, looking extremely mighty and imposing. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be a young man who could fight very well.

Xiong Tingbi judged at a glance that this young man should be a fierce warrior. He just didn't know how skilled he was; Xiong Tingbi actually felt a little anticipation in his heart.

The group entered the city gate, and matters of lodging were naturally handled by the subordinates below — such things were second nature to the people of Shenyang. Shenyang was now one vast military camp, so housing five thousand troops was naturally no problem.

After the group entered, Xiong Tingbi said with a smile, "Commander Sun, I've prepared a meal to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel. But Shenyang is a frontier city, with little to offer. The food is rather simple — please don't mind."

Hearing this, Sun Chuanting wasn't particularly surprised.

Even if the other party didn't offer him a meal at all, there would be nothing to say about it.

Sun Chuanting and his men had their own rations, and besides, he didn't want to dine with Xiong Tingbi. Sun Chuanting had come with a mission; this time he had to get things done and done well — he had no mind for eating.

Moreover, Sun Chuanting could already tell from Xiong Tingbi's behavior that this Governor Xiong looked down on him — or rather, looked down on the force he had brought.

Sun Chuanting could understand that too; if you hadn't proven yourself, people would look down on you — nothing strange about it. In the military, weakness was the original sin; there was nothing to say about it.

But Sun Chuanting couldn't accept it, because he was strong. As for how to prove it, Sun Chuanting naturally had his ways.

Should he go complain to His Majesty, or jump up and say something?

That was a child's trick, utterly meaningless. If he couldn't produce results or win battles, what use was talking?

Sun Chuanting said, "Governor Xiong, no need to be polite. We already ate when we set up camp earlier; we can eat again in the evening. Why don't we first discuss the matter of advancing our troops?"

Hearing Sun Chuanting's words, Xiong Tingbi nodded and said, "That works as well."

The other party wasn't a wine sack or a rice bag — this actually made Xiong Tingbi breathe a sigh of relief.

If the other party had actually agreed to dine with him, then he would have had to change his attitude, coax them along nicely, let them claim some merit, and then send them off contentedly.

If the other party genuinely wanted to fight, then he would have to see what they were capable of.

The group soon arrived at the Governor's office.

Because this campaign was extremely urgent, the Governor's office had long since prepared a war conference hall.

In fact, a war conference hall had always existed — it just hadn't been this large before.

The expanded conference hall was laid out with maps; many things were clearly marked, with red and green little flags scattered across the entire map.

This map was extremely detailed — after all, the lands occupied by the Jianzhou barbarians had originally belonged to the Great Ming. Places like Tieling, Qinghe, and Kaiyuan were hardly unfamiliar, so naturally there was no worry of getting lost or losing one's bearings when advancing.

Sun Chuanting glanced at the map, then at Xiong Tingbi, and said with a smile, "Governor Xiong truly lives up to his reputation!"

Although many people looked down on Xiong Tingbi, and many officials at court were highly critical of him, believing Xiong Tingbi was a man of empty reputation without real talent — they thought that if not for His Majesty's trust, a man like him should go home and raise children.

As for the merits Xiong Tingbi had established in Liaodong, even fewer people valued them. In many people's eyes, it was just defending cities — what difficulty was there in that?

Besides, the court had given them so much money and so many weapons—who wouldn't be able to hold the line with all that?

As for Xiong Tingbi blowing up Nurhaci, many people thought it was nothing more than relying on cannons and getting lucky.

But Sun Chuanting didn't see it that way. He understood the situation in Liaodong very well. Ever since the Battle of Sarhu, the Ming's position in Liaodong could be said to be hanging by a thread—Shenyang and Liaoyang were both in imminent danger, and Guangning was even worse off.

It was just that Sun Chuanting had never had a voice before, so his opinions didn't count for anything.

But after Xiong Tingbi arrived in Shenyang, he quickly stabilized the situation and established a new defensive line, preventing the Jianzhou barbarians from crossing even a single step beyond the line. And he even managed to kill Nurhaci with cannon fire—there was no questioning Xiong Tingbi's ability.

So Sun Chuanting held Xiong Tingbi in great respect, and his attitude toward him was very cordial.

Xiong Tingbi glanced at Sun Chuanting and also let out a sigh of relief.

He had been afraid that this young man before him, being young and hot-blooded, and with His Majesty holding him in such high regard, would easily become arrogant and overbearing. If someone was arrogant and overbearing, even if talented, they were hard to get along with—just like Huo Qubing back in the day.

Did Huo Qubing have talent?

He did, and he was illustrious and famous. But back then, Huo Qubing had grown up at Emperor Wu of Han's side, and that pride of his was considerable.

Although Xiong Tingbi deeply admired Huo Qubing's abilities, dealing with someone like that was still very uncomfortable. But the Sun Chuanting before him showed no such inclination, which let Xiong Tingbi breathe easy.

"Lord Xiong, would you tell me what you plan to do next?" Sun Chuanting looked at Xiong Tingbi and asked, going straight to the point.

In truth, Sun Chuanting's question was inappropriate. He had come to cooperate—he should simply do whatever Xiong Tingbi told him to do.

But Sun Chuanting knew himself very well. He was with the Imperial Guard Corps, so Xiong Tingbi would certainly have reservations. To put it plainly, he couldn't afford heavy losses, yet he still needed to earn merits, and then be carefully protected—while also not being allowed to ruin things.

Under those circumstances, how the hell was the Imperial Guard Corps supposed to fight?

Sun Chuanting absolutely could not let Xiong Tingbi do that. By asking this question, he was trying to fight for an opportunity for himself, to find a suitable point to fight this battle.

Xiong Tingbi looked at Sun Chuanting and naturally understood what he was thinking. This young man didn't want to follow orders!

This couldn't help but give Xiong Tingbi a headache.

If he really let this young man do things according to his own ideas, then if something went wrong, it would be hard to explain. But then again, it wasn't without benefits—if he could let His Majesty know that they had done it deliberately, then even if something happened, Old Xiong seemed like he could distance himself from the blame.

Xiong Tingbi said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "Alright, I'll tell you."

After saying this, Xiong Tingbi picked up a pointer stick, walked to the side of the map, and reached out to point at a spot.