Chapter 198: Troops Pointing at Shengjing

The 30th of the twelfth lunar month, the end of the year.

As a qualified big brother, Wang Yan naturally let his subordinates go wild. Unlike last year when there were only three thousand troops, this year, counting the military households and such, there were over thirty thousand people. There were over a hundred people—officers, master craftsmen, physicians, a few small civil officials, and so on—who were qualified to eat at the same table as him, so he naturally couldn't drink with his subordinates like last year.

Therefore, Wang Yan only went out early in the morning to Yixian and Panshan to comfort the troops, said some auspicious words, and returned to Jinzhou City in the afternoon to start the New Year.

Not to mention the rank-and-file soldiers, on the hot fire-heated kang beds in every room, a group of roughnecks were noisily drinking, eating meat, and bragging.

Wang Yan, along with over a hundred people, was drinking and having fun in the backyard of the government office, which had been sealed with glass by some craftsmen. The wives and children of this group of people were all in the General's Mansion, being taken care of by his four women together.

Although they had only spent one New Year together, and most of these hundred people had joined this year, everyone still tacitly engaged in the reserved program: getting Wang Yan drunk.

This made Wang Yan unable to handle it; there were too many people, and no matter how well he could drink, he couldn't defeat so many people. Halfway through the meal, he was drunk off the stage early by a bunch of things that couldn't see the situation, and the remaining group shouted about finger-guessing games and drinking, not stopping until midnight...

As for the matter of drinking and getting drunk in the army, Wang Yan was relatively open-minded, just treating it as a New Year holiday. Moreover, there were no entertainment activities in this era, and they were all a bunch of killing embryos; what else could they do besides drink and brag during the New Year?

Besides, these rank-and-file soldiers had their limits; no one really drank to death. The soldier's manual was clear: roll call early tomorrow morning; whoever wasn't in place would be demoted to a military household.

Normal duty personnel were also arranged, and they could react to emergencies and maintain a certain degree of combat effectiveness. Moreover, apart from Huang Taiji, no one would come to fight him. Huang Taiji was in a mess internally, and such cold weather was not good weather for large-scale fighting. Even for winter warfare, Huang Taiji couldn't produce enough logistical supplies, so it wasn't a big problem.

Wuchen Year, the first day of the first lunar month, Guihai, Western calendar February 5, 1628, the Great Ming Empire changed the reign to Chongzhen, which was the first year of Chongzhen.

The 5th, someone came from Ningyuan to summon Wang Yan to receive the edict.

Wang Yan rode to Ningyuan in a daze; he didn't know what edict he was receiving. Until he heard the eunuch reading the imperial edict, heard that he was promoted to Deputy Regional Commander, added the title of General of Pacifying the Country, and also heard the encouragement for Man Gui and the reward of fifty taels of silver, Wang Yan thought for a moment and understood Zhu Youjian's intention.

If one had to say, Zhu Youjian's Emperor status wasn't for nothing; this little scheme was used quite well.

It had to be said that this move would indeed cause some trouble for Wang Yan. Although Wang Yan also shared silver with other Assistant Regional Commanders and Mobile Corps Commanders, and the relationship was indeed close, that couldn't withstand the reality of the official position. After all, once the official position came up, making money would be easy and happy.

Although the troops commanded by Wang Yan actually far exceeded the standard, in name, he was still an Assistant Regional Commander. Having the reality without the name and having both the reality and the name were two completely different things.

There were dozens of Assistant Regional Commanders in Liaodong, all in their thirties or forties, either with family connections or having struggled in the army themselves. How could they end up losing to an eighteen-year-old kid? Who the hell could be convinced by this?

After giving enough silver and sending away the eunuch who delivered the edict, Man Gui frowned: "Does the Emperor have an opinion about us?"

"General, he has an opinion about me."

"Why?"

Wang Yan sat down familiarly, picked up the teacup, and scraped the tea leaves to drink the tea. Now he was a Deputy Regional Commander, qualified. Besides, with his relationship with Man Gui, it had long been like this.

Man Gui understood the meaning, waved his hand to the young maid standing and serving, and the personal guards outside: "All of you go down, close the door."

Sitting in the upper seat, Man Gui also started drinking tea: "Speak, what exactly is going on?"

"Sigh..." Wang Yan let out a long sigh and said: "General, things have reached this point, so I won't hide it from you. You know about the few concubines I took last year, right?"

Man Gui nodded and laughed: "Of course I know. The whole of Liaodong is discussing it, saying you're fierce enough..."

Wang Yan shook his head: "General, how do you think the late Emperor died?"

"There were rumors before that he was secretly harmed, and hands were moved on the newly built treasure ship. But later it was left unsettled, only saying the late Emperor caught a cold and died of an incurable illness." Man Gui frowned: "Why, does it have something to do with this?"

"To tell you the truth, General. I have definite news proving that the late Emperor's death was caused by the original Prince of Xin, the current Emperor Zhu Youjian, colluding with the Donglin Party."

"Hiss..." Man Gui took a deep breath. Although he had had suspicions before, he didn't expect so many things behind the scenes: "Is it really so?"

"Those few women of mine were participants at the time, and even... even one of them was Zhu Youjian's woman..." Wang Yan looked at Man Gui, who was staring with wide eyes, and said: "At that time, the caravan guards I sent out encountered these people being intercepted and killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Beijing Camp troops. They saved them on impulse, and that's how today's disaster came about..."

"You... this can... sigh..." Man Gui didn't know what to say for a moment. How could he have imagined that Wang Yan was so urine-like? He even dared to put a hat on the Emperor?

"Things have reached this point, and it's useless to say more." After a long time, Man Gui sighed: "This matter was never something that could be brought to the table. Now the Emperor has promoted you to Deputy Regional Commander, putting you on the fire to roast. This matter is only one of them; more of it is because you are now in the limelight, and it's no exaggeration to call you the top card of Liaodong. Also, all the silver you earned was used to raise troops, and you've been making arrangements and connections up and down, forming cliques—in the eyes of the royal family, this is treason."

"Sigh... in the end, it's still because our Liaodong is stable and has a lot of silver to skim, which makes people jealous. This time, it's just using you as a raft to open the knife. Now it seems that this pacification of Liaodong is not just talk; the Emperor and the ministers in the court are not pleased with us..."

Man Gui sighed for a while, helped Wang Yan excuse himself, and stared seriously at Wang Yan: "You go back and take out silver, send it to all the Assistant Regional Commanders in Liaodong, and stabilize the current situation. Actually, they aren't fools either; they can all see the Emperor's intention, but human hearts are the most complex. It's hard to guarantee that someone won't sell us out."

"Also, on the Jianzhou Jurchen side, you must not be lax. At this time, once a mistake is made, I'm afraid neither of us will be able to keep our heads..."

"Rest assured, General, I will handle it when I go back," Wang Yan responded: "Actually, General, you don't need to worry. Zhu Youjian is only testing us this time. Otherwise, why didn't he directly dismiss me or transfer me, but instead promoted me to Deputy Regional Commander? Doesn't this show that Zhu Youjian has no certainty, and even less sufficient power to suppress Liaodong, so he doesn't dare to act rashly."

This statement was indeed correct. After all, he was the Emperor; wasn't life and death just a matter of a word from him? Now that there wasn't that word, it meant the Emperor didn't dare to say it, and even less dared to act.

It was just Wang Yan's form of address... Man Gui looked deeply at Wang Yan: "Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youjian, Wang Yan, that is the Emperor; it's not a name you or I can call at will. It's better to pay attention."

After staring at each other for a moment, Wang Yan cupped his hands in fear: "General's instruction is correct, I was wrong, I will definitely pay attention in the future."

Man Gui waved his hand: "Alright, hurry back and handle the business. Pacify those Assistant Regional Commanders. If they make a scene, it won't look good for anyone, and it will be the face of the entire Liaodong that is lost."

"Yes, General, I take my leave."

Wang Yan cupped his hands in a salute, got up, and walked out.

Man Gui narrowed his eyes, staring at Wang Yan's back, still staring until Wang Yan disappeared...

After a long time, Man Gui shook his head, walked away with his hands behind his back, strolling along.

He had also seen some clues about Wang Yan's thoughts. If he were to go up and stop him, or set up an ambush of swordsmen to kill Wang Yan, he had seen the combat effectiveness with his own eyes. Besides, this kid was very shrewd. Not to mention whether anyone under him would sell him out, what if Wang Yan fought to the death and took him with him? It wasn't worth it at all.

If he were to use troops to suppress... not to mention whether his hundred thousand troops were Wang Yan's match, nor how many of the hundred thousand troops had been bought by Wang Yan. If he really killed Wang Yan, where would he go to make a fortune? The silver he had earned in these two years was more than all the years he had been in power combined. Wasn't that good? Wasn't that fragrant?

Another point: with the relationships Wang Yan had built over two years by throwing silver, he wasn't sure if he would be beheaded by those around him for a reward if he really used troops to suppress him. There were plenty of precedents for this... human hearts were truly hard to fathom; it was quite good to just muddle along and make a fortune...

Most importantly, if that day really came, he didn't know when it would be. Why should he bother with so much?

Returning to Jinzhou City, Wang Yan called Sun Fugui and several high-level officials, and had them take silver notes to send gifts to the various Assistant Regional Commanders in Liaodong to stabilize people's hearts.

This matter indeed had a certain impact on Wang Yan. After all, a Liaodong with different agendas and an iron-clad Liaodong were two completely different things. But to say how big the impact was, that was nonsense; in the end, strength was the foundation.

He had twenty thousand regular soldiers and over ten thousand reserve military households. It wasn't that Wang Yan looked down on the generals of Liaodong, but even the trashiest military households under him, without using guns, might have more casualties in a ten-thousand-versus-ten-thousand situation, but they could still win battles. Not to mention that when his guns and cannons were all deployed, he would definitely make that bunch of old soldiers cry for their fathers and mothers.

Therefore, giving some silver was just a gesture. If there were really any who didn't know what was good for them, not only would he cut off their share of the money, but he might have to use some methods.

He had twenty thousand regular soldiers now, but in the end, his strength was still a bit lacking. He had more than enough to defend, but not enough to advance. It was easy to take territory, but once territory was occupied, he had to send troops to suppress and stabilize it. In this way, the people he had were simply not enough. He still had to proceed slowly and gradually control Liaodong.

He couldn't rush to slap Zhu Youjian in the face anymore. Although Zhu Youjian couldn't do anything to him, the banner of righteousness was truly annoying. For the near future, it was better to stay quiet and develop in silence...

There was less than two months until spring. Man Gui was right before; Huang Taiji would inevitably go south to plunder. One reason was to grab supplies, and the other was to divert internal contradictions and turn the guns outward.

But letting Huang Taiji lead a large army to besiege Jinzhou City again was definitely not okay. After all, once a war started here, the Great Ming's attention would focus on him, and being too much in the limelight wasn't good either. Exposing his strength too early was disadvantageous to him. But if he fought his way over, he would also expose his strength. It was better to just beat the hell out of them and show his muscles to scare the small-minded people; that was more cost-effective.

After figuring it out, Wang Yan started a large-scale training again. And the matter of his promotion to Deputy Regional Commander was suppressed, and everyone maintained a superficial stability.

At the end of the second lunar month, after nearly two months of high-intensity training and a large-scale military competition, Wang Yan selected soldiers with combat effectiveness between five thousand and nine thousand, as well as the latter ten thousand, in proportion. The former led the latter to form ten teams of three hundred people, totaling three thousand troops. They brought weapons, ammunition, and all kinds of supplies to the Mongolian tribal garrison that had been beaten into submission in the winter. They would help train the soldiers systematically and on a scale, and provide armor, sabers, bows, and crossbows, excluding guns and cannons.

At the same time, Wang Yan ordered the various small Mongolian tribes to merge into large tribes, and opened a market near the Yixian military camp, allowing some merchants and commoners to operate and exchange supplies here.

Around Jinzhou City, over forty thousand commoners who had survived the winter began to engage in large-scale construction, repairing roads and bridges, building water conservancy projects, establishing schools, building large factories, and building shipyards by the sea.

Wang Yan used work as relief, issuing paper vouchers that had his seal, were improved and made with toughness and resistance to rot, added with special anti-counterfeiting secret stamps, and marked with different amounts, to exchange for survival supplies.

This thing was naturally created to let the commoners accept it, so it could be used directly as money in the future.

The Great Ming had paper currency, which was the treasure notes created because the early Great Ming lacked copper. But later, due to over-issuance and no recycling, the treasure notes depreciated severely. Wang Yan naturally wouldn't let that kind of thing happen; his paper vouchers were issued based on the value of the goods in the warehouse. In the short term, they would absolutely not collapse; they were quite stable.

As for the long term, was he afraid the currency would collapse? He would just rob them.

He also sent people to secretly kidnap many old scholars from within the pass to outside the pass, forcibly changing their teaching methods of "zhi, hu, zhe, ye," and when the schools were built, whether they were boys or girls, he would let this group of people teach the children to read and write. Education started from childhood, and strictly speaking, these children who hadn't grown up were Wang Yan's foundation for the future.

In fact, the regular soldiers under him could basically recognize all common characters, and the officers had to be able to read and study independently. These people could fully serve as literacy teachers. Because the most basic requirement to become a real soldier under him was to be literate. With various treatment temptations in front and a group of officers kicking them from behind, it wasn't difficult to make twenty thousand people literate in two years.

It was just that considering they were a bunch of killing embryos who would shout and beat people at every turn, it was easy to corrupt the children, so he didn't let them go to the front.

Speaking of children... in the back residence of the General's Mansion, Wang Yan was sitting there drinking tea, with the Zhou sisters, Zhang Yan, and a group of young maids to the side, all nervously staring at Ding Baiying, who was sitting there letting Zhang Yan's father, Physician Zhang, take her pulse.

It was Zhang Yan who had taken Ding Baiying's pulse before, but no one in the room believed her except Wang Yan, so they had sent someone to find her father.

After a while, Old Man Zhang let out a long breath, looked at the women present, and finally his gaze fell on Wang Yan: "General, it is a pulse of joy."

"Thank you for your hard work." Wang Yan nodded. He knew this best; after all, it was a valve installed by the system's living father—as long as he was willing, he was a hundred percent accurate. He glanced at Ding Baiying, who instantly had a maternal glow on her face upon hearing the news, and said: "Is there anything you need help with in your daily life recently? Don't be polite; if you need anything, just bring it up."

No matter what, this was his father-in-law; it was only right to care for him. It was just that this form of address was truly awkward; he didn't know how other people's concubines addressed their fathers, but he couldn't say it, and instead, the other party was still calling him General...

"Many thanks, everything is fine. Usually, Little Yan will also bring back a lot of things when she goes back." After thinking for a while, Old Man Zhang pondered: "It's just that Little Yan and the Zhou sisters are not young anymore, um... you should still pay attention to the matter of children..."

This was also because he knew Wang Yan's temper and that he was someone who could understand words; otherwise, even if he were given eight guts, he wouldn't dare to say this to Wang Yan.

"Oh my... Father..."

Zhang Yan, who was to the side, saw her father say this and ran to the side with a blushing face.

She had adapted now, and besides, she was powerless to resist, and she was accepting it quite well now. All the food and clothing in this mansion were things she hadn't even heard of before, let alone seen. Moreover, Wang Yan never restricted women in the back residence, nor did he care what women did. She went home to see her father when she had nothing to do, and even staying for two days was no problem. She could also run to the hospital that had been set aside for a group of physicians and doctors to study and diagnose patients, follow them to learn, and live a very happy life.

Wang Yan looked at the few women who were shy but couldn't hide their longing with a smile, and nodded: "Yes, I know."

"She has a good constitution; as long as she pays attention, there will be no problems." Old Man Zhang got up and said: "Alright, I'm going back if there's nothing else; there are a lot of things waiting. If there's a problem, send someone to call me."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "I'll see you off."

Old Man Zhang refused: "Don't shame this old man; stay where you are." After speaking, he turned and went out. He was from a small family; it was a blessing of three lifetimes that his daughter could be looked upon by someone, so how would he dare to let someone see him off? That was different from saying let her have children; that was not knowing the situation.

Once Old Man Zhang left, the remaining Zhou sisters, Zhang Yan, and a group of young maids all gathered around Ding Baiying.

Zhang Yan said proudly: "I said it was a pulse of joy, but you didn't believe me. Believe it now, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I blamed you wrongly; it was all my fault." Ding Baiying looked at her with amusement, then glanced at the Zhou sisters: "What? Are you all envious? Why are you looking at me like that? Go find the great master."

Wang Yan, who was behind, drank tea with a smile: "No need to worry, let nature take its course, let nature take its course."

Although his back residence was relatively harmonious, there were still some little thoughts. It would have been fine if there hadn't been any before, but now that Ding Baiying was pregnant, it was only normal for the other three women to have thoughts and not want to fall behind.

It was just that they were still a bit young; Ding Baiying was older, and twenty-four this year was just right. The Zhou sisters were twenty and nineteen, and Zhang Yan was even worse, only seventeen. Wang Yan was enjoying himself while cursing this damn era. Except for Ding Baiying, the Zhou sisters were barely okay, but Zhang Yan was not; having children too early was unhealthy, so one by one.

In the future, he really had to popularize and promote the policy of marriage and childbearing after eighteen. If any great master dared to break the ban, he wouldn't be able to shoot them—after all, they were all labor—so he would send them to dig mines and repair roads to exert their residual value. The specific sentencing standards would be studied slowly later; anyway, remember it first.

Zhang Yan had just arrived and was a bit reserved. The Zhou sisters were different, their beautiful eyes flowing, their pretty faces full of spring: "Great Master~~~"

That little voice was so flirtatious, turning three turns and winding three times. Under Ding Baiying's eye-roll and Zhang Yan's shyness, Wang Yan got up directly, picked up the Zhou sisters with one hand each, and went into the bedroom...

Children's love was just a condiment; iron horses and golden spears were the main melody.

On the 17th of the third lunar month, Wang Yan stood on the wall of the North Gate of Jinzhou City, looking at the dense and orderly army of over ten thousand people below, drew the long saber at his waist that hadn't tasted blood for a long time, pointed it to the north, and shouted with all his might: "Depart, kill the slaves."

The personal guards beside him became loudspeakers, shouting in unison to repeat Wang Yan's order just now.

A moment later, the army below sounded a neat and powerful "Kill the slaves," which resounded through the clouds and shook the wilderness.

People inside and outside the city looked in the direction of the sound, and although they couldn't hear anything, they knew that was their protective umbrella.

On the city wall, watching the army go north, Wang Yan turned to Sun Fugui beside him and said: "I leave the home to you."

Sun Fugui patted his chest with a clatter: "Rest assured, General, I guarantee there will be no problems."

Wang Yan didn't say anything more, patted Sun Fugui on the shoulder, took his personal guards down the city wall, rode his horse, and shouted as he headed toward the front of the troops.

As the saying goes, strike first to gain the advantage, strike later to suffer disaster.

Wang Yan had already thought about it before: Huang Taiji definitely wouldn't submit to him, so they had to fight at least once. Therefore, Huang Taiji's southward strike to fight him was inevitable. Anyway, whether he was beaten or he beat others, it would expose his strength, so he absolutely couldn't let Huang Taiji come to his door to fight him, so he acted first. As for orders? There was no such thing.

This battle was secondary to fighting Huang Taiji; what he wanted to fight was Zhu Youjian, and he wanted to slap Zhu Youjian in the face. Although he said he would hold back for a while before, Liaodong was indeed a bit restless recently, and Zhu Youjian's actions were not few. Some civil officials near Shanhai Pass had been transferred very frequently recently, and he heard that he had even met Sun Chengzong alone? Was this because Yuan Chonghuan wasn't good enough, so he changed people?

This battle was to use a strong fist to hit politics. It was to let Zhu Youjian, the various civil and military officials and nobles in the court who were careful, and the generals of Liaodong recognize the situation and know what strength was. It was also to let them know that General Wang was now the little overlord of Liaodong, and if they didn't have full certainty and weren't prepared to tear their faces, they should be honest and not move around easily.

The grain and grass for the attack were ready at any time, and they could just take the reserve military households and go. The reason he chose today was because Wang himself had calculated it, and today was extremely auspicious, the Emperor star fell in the north, and it was most suitable to camp and move troops...

This time, Wang Yan could be said to have gone out with all his strength. In Yixian and Panshan, except for leaving one thousand troops to garrison, the rest of the main force went north directly to fight, aiming at Shengjing.

In Jinzhou City, except for leaving five thousand medium-grade regular soldiers, the rest of the people, including over ten thousand reserve military households, totaling over twenty-three thousand people, plus the two two-thousand-person teams attacking the flanks, totaled over twenty-seven thousand people, carrying guns, cannons, and explosives, pointing at Shengjing.

Cannons were relatively difficult to manufacture, and after such a long time, he had only managed to produce less than forty. As for the power, anyway, it was much fiercer than the Red Barbarian Cannons.

The two flank teams were each equipped with five cannons. The one in Yixian attacked Guangning, the one in Panshan directly attacked Haizhou—which was today's Liaoning, Anshan, Haicheng—and he himself led people directly toward Shengjing.

Because Wang Yan sent troops out to fight when he had nothing to do, plus the location of Guangning itself, there were over ten thousand troops stationed here, which wasn't something two thousand people could take down. But as long as this team of people used cannons to bombard the city walls to scare them and not let them out of the city, that was enough.

The team of people advancing to Haizhou would certainly not be able to pass either. Wang Yan's intention was so obvious that Huang Taiji could see it clearly; how could he not send people to guard against it? But similarly, as long as these two thousand people contained the line, that was enough.

The twenty thousand troops led by Wang Yan himself were the main force.

On the 18th, they captured several enemy fortresses and small cities in succession, and after arriving in the Liaozhong area, they killed another three thousand enemies, and then camped to rest.

In fact, the front line only had more troops stationed in a few heavy towns. After all, after Wang Yan tossed about in the rear, there weren't enough people to kill if there were few, and he couldn't catch them if there were many. Huang Taiji's strategy of merging villages and towns to station troops was relatively large. And the towns in the entire rear were numerous. Now it was the transition between winter and spring, and although it was useless, Huang Taiji still had to guard against Wang Yan sending troops to harass him again, so Huang Taiji didn't have that many troops to put on the front line.

Moreover, from a normal perspective, it wasn't suitable for large-scale operations at this time. The roads were hard to walk, and the weather was still cold, which was a test for both soldiers and logistics. But Wang Yan's soldiers didn't have so many problems. Besides, he didn't plan to fight for a long time; it would be over in a few days. He had enough dry food to eat, so what pressure did he have?

In fact, when Wang Yan set out from Jinzhou and had actions on both flanks, Huang Taiji received the news. Although he was very unconvinced, Huang Taiji felt a bit empty seeing Wang Yan's fierce offensive.

The reason he didn't send troops immediately was one, the transmission time of information, and two, Wang Yan's location. At that time, Wang Yan was near Guangning Wei; who knew where he was going to fight? If Wang Yan besieged a point to strike reinforcements, the troops he sent out would definitely not return, so everything had to wait until Wang Yan's attack target was determined before he could act.

There was also the most important point: he had to prepare logistical supplies for the war. Although there weren't many to begin with, it still took some time to organize them.

Now Wang Yan's twenty thousand troops had fought all the way to Liaozhong. Although he still couldn't be sure, the probability was that he was going to fight Shengjing.

To tell the truth, Huang Taiji couldn't help but laugh at the possibility. Over twenty thousand people dared to fight his old nest? Were they drunk?

Immediately, Huang Taiji organized troops, ordered ten thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry, brought firearms, and also brought the small cannons they had developed, and went directly to fight Wang Yan head-on. At the same time, the troops stationed in the small towns in the rear were also urgently transferred to station fifty miles in front of Shengjing as the second wave of troops, waiting to act according to the situation. Liaoyang City, as the forward station of Shengjing, was also ready to go, ready to attack at any time.

The goal was simple and direct: the terrain in Liaozhong was flat, which was conducive to cavalry charges. This time, he was going to have a field battle with Wang Yan, achieve success in one battle, kill Wang Yan, and before the Great Ming reacted, directly approach Jinzhou, then Ningyuan, and then Shanhai Pass...

The picture was too beautiful, and Huang Taiji didn't dare to imagine it anymore. Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, Huang Taiji looked toward the capital and grinned...

Huang Taiji knew what he was doing, and Wang Yan naturally knew what Huang Taiji was doing. When troops were transferred there, Wang Yan knew it immediately.

Wang Yan's head hadn't been kicked by a donkey, soaked in water, or squeezed by a door. Although he was confident that his cavalry wasn't weak, how could he play cavalry charge with Huang Taiji on the plains? That was purely a big idiot; he couldn't do such a thing.

The moment he received the news, Wang Yan directly led his troops across the Liao River, found a hill nearby to camp, and watched Huang Taiji's next movements.

He was now in this position, one hundred miles from Liaoyang, less than two hundred miles from Shengjing, and over two hundred miles from Guangning Wei. No matter what, Huang Taiji's troops definitely couldn't retreat; it just depended on whether they insisted on coming over to have a field battle with him, or divided into several routes to reinforce.

The result was naturally destined; just changing to a small hill, was Huang Taiji afraid of that? Fight him.

Wang Yan overestimated his position in the heart of that old bastard Huang Taiji. He had been out for over two years, and the number of Later Jin soldiers he had killed totaled over ten thousand, and he had killed even more of the male Ding of the Banner people. Even so, Huang Taiji didn't take him and his troops, as well as his guns, cannons, and explosive packs, seriously? Truly, it was a bit shameful.

On the 19th, Wang Yan rested in place without taking action. In the afternoon, the two thousand troops sent by Huang Taiji arrived, camped on a small hill five miles away to rest, preparing to rest well and then come to fight Wang Yan...

This really didn't take Wang Yan seriously; they just rested on the opposite side so openly?

Wang Yan shouted: "Zhang Zonglong!"

"Here!" A sturdy man sitting in the distance heard the voice, immediately got up and shouted, then hurriedly ran over: "General, what are your orders?"

This was someone who had followed Wang Yan all the way from Ningyuan, a rough man whose name was given by Wang Yan.

Wang Yan tilted his head toward the opposite side and said faintly: "Pick three thousand cavalry to go over and greet them. Do you know how to fight?"

"This subordinate obeys the order."

Nodding, without saying anything else, Zhang Zonglong responded, ran back, organized the troops with a shout, and before long, three thousand cavalry were ready to go.

Zhang Zonglong took the lead, holding a crossbow bolt with a small explosive pack installed: "Brothers, kill!"

"Kill..."

Three thousand people shouted in unison and charged toward the opposite side.

Wang Yan held a telescope and watched the situation on the field from the hillside.

He saw that after the opposite side was in chaos for a while, five thousand cavalry rushed out in a moment. Wang Yan didn't know how many; he just saw that the opposite side had quite a few more than his three thousand, just a rough estimate.

Wang Yan turned his head and shouted: "The whole army, prepare."

This was an excellent opportunity. He didn't expect the opposite side to dare to send five thousand out in the first small probe. If this was handled well, he would take them away in one wave. It might also be that the opposite side knew he only had six thousand cavalry in total and wanted to go half-and-half with him...

Both sides formed an arrowhead attack formation. It was only five miles, and in a moment, it shortened to two miles.

The opposite side drew their bows and shot arrows, shooting directly horizontally. They had fire sticks, but if they took out fire sticks for cavalry charge, wasn't that looking for death? With ammunition pre-loaded, the distance of two miles was just one shot. Shooting arrows was at least two rounds, and fast ones could do three. Comparing the two, the outcome was clear.

Of course, no matter how awesome their cavalry archery was, it was useless.

At a distance of over one mile, counting the opposite side charging over and counting themselves charging over, it was basically within range. Zhang Zonglong led people, directly took the fire stick, lit the fuse, didn't even look, and shot directly toward the opposite side horizontally, then turned the horse's head to open the distance laterally. The people behind followed suit, and in an instant, three thousand explosive packs were shot over.

The people in front were likely safe, but the ones behind really depended on fate. Because the further back, the closer the distance between the two sides, basically within range. Those with good fate were fine, or suffered an injury; those with bad fate were gone on the spot. But no matter what, the casualties were always much smaller than cavalry charge.

As the dense explosion sounded, Wang Yan watched the opposite side fall off their horses, and the five thousand cavalry were directly blown into chaos. Of course, quite a few of his own people also went down...

But overall, he made a big profit.

Located in small hills, two armies in field battle, equal numbers, where the hell was there any military strategy? Just fight.

Watching Zhang Zonglong turn his horse's head, preparing to take a gun to shoot, Wang Yan shouted: "Cavalry, follow up."

The three thousand cavalry behind, who had just finished organizing the army, shouted and killed their way down.

The five thousand people on the opposite side had already been scrapped for the most part in this wave, and the remaining ones had just stabilized their frightened horses and had no resistance ability at all. Zhang Zonglong turned his head and combined with the people rushing down from the mountain to shoot, and one round was enough; they were all taken away.

Then, the six thousand cavalry who combined their forces directly shouted and killed toward the opposite hillside.

But this time, Wang Yan was clever but was misled by cleverness.

The opposite side watched their five thousand cavalry not even survive one wave and were gone; how could they dare to come down? They stood on the hillside, cavalry and infantry shooting arrows together... The weather was also particularly good, without a bit of wind, and standing on the slope indeed increased the range.

Fortunately, Zhang Zonglong stopped the charge in time and didn't hit it hard, losing a dozen people and retreating.

Wang Yan watched and wanted to slap himself; he was being clever and not confident.

"Go down the mountain, set up the cannons."

Following Wang Yan's order, the remaining ten thousand people directly broke camp and went down the mountain.

This encounter battle didn't have to be fought; he could have ignored them and left, but Wang Yan needed to scatter these people and let them go back to spread fear...

This was a question of morale and will. The invincible iron cavalry was defeated, and the enemy had powerful cannons and guns with a range far exceeding their bows and arrows. As these things were spread by word of mouth, a little fear would be spread, and a seed of fear would be planted in the hearts of the Later Jin soldiers. It was just like the Great Ming soldiers thinking of running away the first time they saw the Later Jin, instead of fighting.

When he fought to Shengjing later and let the defenders in the city see it with their own eyes, it would deepen this impression again. And Wang Yan didn't plan to exterminate them in the short term; he would just hang them like this. As time went on, it would become an iron fact that they couldn't beat Wang Yan, which would disintegrate their fighting spirit from the root.

Arriving one mile outside the opposite mountain, the artillery went up to set up cannons and aim. Twenty-some cannons lined up in a row, which was truly imposing. The people on the mountain shot arrows down desperately, but it was useless; there were special people holding shields to surround them, and they were setting them up there.

At this moment, Wang Yan wanted to shout, Battalion Commander...

But his army structure was different, and there was no such position as Battalion Commander, which was a pity.

Bored, he waved his hand, the signal soldier shook the small flag, and it fell. The people in front lit the fire in unison...

After three rounds of cannon fire, the horses, which had long been impatient, let out a long hiss, and Wang Yan took the lead and charged up... ===== CHAPTER 199 =====