Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 17 Where did His Majesty get the elite troops? !

Wu Sanfu called over several of his trusted associates and asked them to watch over the grain and grass entering the warehouse before he stood up and walked towards the front yard.

As I walked along the side wing and arrived at the front yard, I saw my father holding a teacup and staring blankly.

Behind him, dozens of adopted sons had the same expression on their faces.

He is called an adopted son, but in fact he is a personal soldier.

Before Wu Sanfu could go forward to ask clearly, he saw the grass and trees in the front yard suddenly tremble.

Dust fell from the wall and a rumble like muffled thunder came from the distance.

Wu Sanfu, who had followed his father and brother to the battlefield, subconsciously rushed to Wu Xiang, drew his sword, and the blade rang out.

He just looked out through the open door, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

A steel jungle rose from the morning mist on the street outside the door.

Thousands of heavily armored infantrymen marched in formation along the rammed earth official road, their newly repaired iron armor gleaming with a cold blue-gray glow.

Each collar of armor had six hidden buckles riveted on it, and the porch lanterns shook when the iron boots stepped on the ground.

The soldiers in the front row held two-meter-long sabers with blades that shone with a cold blue light.

The major general's Adam's apple rolled heavily.

The iron stream below the city was close to a hundred steps. He could clearly see that there were two-foot short guns inserted diagonally behind the soldiers. The gun barrels that were repaired in a hurry were shining black in the morning sun.

In the team, you can also see lightly armored warriors pushing wheeled tiger-crouching cannons.

boom! boom! boom!
Three cannon shots blasted, and eight hundred soldiers stopped in their tracks.

In the smoke and dust raised by the iron boots stepping on the ground, a scarlet and broken flag fluttered in the wind.

Baring its fangs and claws in the morning light.

As the flag rolled up, the only remaining words "Yongwei" were revealed.

Wu Sanfu's eyelids twitched as he watched, and these four words kept surging in his mind.

Obey orders...obey orders!
They were able to carry heavy armor and march on foot, moving when ordered and stopping when forbidden. No one disrupted the formation and there was not a single noise.

These are elite soldiers, the best among the elite!
"General Wang Erhu, obeys your orders!"

There was a thunderous roar from the door.

Wu Sanfu's hand holding the knife trembled, and he saw an eight-foot-tall man lifting his visor.

There was a centipede-like scar on the man's left cheek, running from his brow to the corner of his mouth!

"Yongweiying..." Wu Xiang squeezed out three words from between his teeth, his knuckles turning white.

He had personally witnessed the scene of the Yongwei Camp's defeated soldiers fleeing into the capital after Zhou Yuji's death, with their armor and weapons abandoned and the remaining soldiers roaming about.
What on earth did Your Majesty do to these people?
In just a few days, they have become so elite?!
I’m afraid even if Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu were still alive, they wouldn’t be able to do it!
"Get up." Wu Xiang responded in a hoarse voice.

Wang Erhu immediately stood up and took out the roster and equipment book that he had revised overnight.

"Reporting to the Governor, the Brave Guard Battalion currently has 1,036 soldiers, all of whom are here."

Wu Xiang took the two booklets.

I watched it from beginning to end, but didn't find any mention of the number of tiger squatting cannons.

Pointing to the center of the team, he asked, "Are these cannons?"

"Loaded with three pounds of gunpowder, it can reach 200 steps."

Wu Erhu grinned, revealing the black hole where a front tooth was missing. "These fifty guns were just delivered from the Arsenal of the Ministry of War this morning. The carriages are all covered with iron wheels, so they haven't had time to be registered yet."

Wu Sanfu, standing behind his father, gasped. He recalled the official report he had read from the Ministry of War two weeks ago. Zhou Yuji's letter requesting assistance said that when Li Zicheng's old battalion cavalry charged, they would often begin their circular charge from three hundred paces away.

In a field battle, apart from elite cavalry, the only way to fight is with artillery. However, the previous artillery was mounted on a stand and it was difficult to move with the troops.

Unexpectedly, just one month later, the Ministry of War came up with a solution.

When did the Ministry of War become so efficient?
"Cavalry?" Wu Xiang suddenly looked up, his eyes as sharp as knives.

A faint sound of horses neighing could be heard in the distance, a sound that was very familiar to him, the governor who had been in Liaodong for many years.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground began to tremble.

It first rolled through the clouds like spring thunder, and then turned into the Qiantang tide.

Wu Sanfu managed to stand steady by holding onto the weapon rack, and saw that the morning mist in the southeast was suddenly torn apart - eight hundred cavalrymen broke through the mist!

These war horses were covered in scale armor, each piece of armor was only the size of a copper coin, and the horse masks were carved with lion patterns.

What's even more terrifying is the eight-foot-long lances in the cavalry's hands. The lance tips are made of fine steel and have a three-foot-long cold edge. This is clearly an armor-piercing weapon that only existed in the Tang and Song dynasties!
"Three thousand battalions!" Wu Xiang clenched the list tightly, the parchment crumpling in his palm. He screamed excitedly, "Your Majesty sent that elite cavalry!"

Wang Erhu's voice sounded at the right moment, "His Majesty has specifically instructed that these thousand cavalrymen be temporarily under the command of General Wu."

The eight hundred cavalrymen reined in their horses at the same time and stood behind the Yongwei Battalion.

Wu Xiang only felt his temples throbbing.

When he was young, he followed Man Gui to the top of Zunhua City and saw Huang Taiji's Bayala. Those white-armored soldiers had never had such a murderous aura.

When Guangning suffered a disastrous defeat in the second year of the Tianqi reign, 5,000 white-armored soldiers of the Eight Banners, wearing heavy armor and equipped with armor-piercing spears, pierced the 30,000 Liaodong cavalry into a sieve.

Sometimes, these one thousand cavalrymen can even be the key to determining the overall situation.

Wu Xiang thought that these cavalrymen would serve as His Majesty's imperial guards and provide close protection for the royal family.

I didn't expect that I would give it to him.

It seems that Your Majesty is really determined to give it his all!
Then I have to wait for a few days at least.

"How much food and grass do we have?" Wu Xiang suddenly turned to look at his son, his voice hoarse without even noticing it.

Wu Sanfu hurriedly pulled out his account book from his chest. "We currently have 4,000 dan of rice and wheat, 930 dan of fodder, 800 jin of gunpowder, and lead bullets."

"Not enough!" Wu Xiang interrupted directly. "Go to the Jinyiwei in person and tell Li Ruolian that at least 30,000 dan of grain and fodder must be collected for military use. Then go to the Wucheng Bingma Division and requisition all the mules, horses, and carriages. You need four-wheeled carts that can carry 400 kilograms."

Afterwards, he asked his adopted son in the personal army to unfold the city defense map and point it out outside the Deshengmen city wall.

"General Wang, the situation is critical. I won't exchange pleasantries with you. Lead your men to build two low rammed earth walls here, leaving them fifteen feet apart. The musketeers of the Brave Guard Battalion will hide behind the wall, and the Tiger Crouching Gun Mounts will be in front."

"Clay jars should be buried at the base of the low wall. Each jar should contain ten pounds of gunpowder and three pounds of broken iron."

Wang Erhu only took a look at the city defense map and understood it in his mind.

He clasped his hands together and led the Yongwei Battalion back again, heading straight for Deshengmen.

Wu Sanfu followed closely behind.

At this time, another personal soldier rushed into the parade grounds, panting heavily. "Report to the General! Xiangcheng Earl Li Guozhen sent a message that there are only 400 soldiers left in the Shenji Battalion who can operate artillery. They have arrived at Zhengyang Gate with 35 French cannons and are awaiting the General's orders!"

Wu Xiang's hands froze on the map.

Your Majesty still has a Franco-cannon! ?
Where did he get so many elite soldiers?!
Even if they searched the house, they wouldn't find so many things!
At this moment, I looked at the three thousand soldiers standing in silence on the training ground.

Wu Xiang suddenly felt that the city walls of the capital might be much stronger than he had imagined.

(End of this chapter)